July 1968
From The Space Library
Ralph Kinney Bennett in Data scored U.S. complacency in year which might "see some of the greatest Soviet space spectaculars of the decade." In U.S., he said, early glamour of space race had faded and NASA projects were neither as ambitious nor as well-funded as they once were. In contrast, he noted, U.S.S.R. showed signs of "a new spurt of activity, new technical accomplishments above our planet, an accelerated assault on the moon and dark rumblings of advanced military uses of the threshold of space. The time for a Soviet resurgence could hardly be better. ‘• • • Soviets are badly in need of a great techno-propaganda feat to reassert their influence on world public opinion. . . ." Soviet hold on European satellite nations had shown evidence of advanced erosion. "Their position in relation to the rest of the communist world is no longer clearly defined." U.S.S.R. was spending estimated $9 billion a year on space and half that sum went toward military applications of space technology. "There is an American attitude ... of waiting until you get burnt before you shed complacency. When Sputnik I burnt us, we came back with a vengeance. Now complacency has set in again. Perhaps we will feel the fire from the Soviets in space before this year is out and react accordingly. But in space technology . . . it's a tough way to play the ball game." (Data, 7/68)
Paul G. Thomas discussed "Earth-Resource Survey from Space," in Space/ Aeronautics. Program called for: first mapping of earth to ultimate scale level of 125,000; first mapping of global sea state and surface temperature to help shipping, fishing, and weather forecasters; monitoring hydrological cycle to assist watershed planning and prediction of botanical responses; measuring plant vigor and impact on supply and price of earth's food; measuring geographical surface phenomena to permit geologists to home in on mineral deposits and further arguments in morphology of planet earth. Signatures and their rapid analysis were major stumbling blocks in program. "Although there are about 50 geological signatures on record and about 100 for agriculture and forestry, each represents a one-of-a-kind situation . . . and, oddly enough, there is often more variance within a species than there is between species." As remote sensing concepts emerged, it was "apparent that successful earth-resource surveillance will not be simply a matter of lashing together existing technology into pseudo-systems and hoping for benefits. The human effort and development funding needed to fully implement a system for earth observation from space will make the lunar landings look like a walk to the corner candy store. Thus the shift in emphasis to cost/benefit studies, new to the space age, is certainly not without foundation. If, on the other hand, an optimized system cannot-or should not-be realized, we should be willing to stumble a bit to find out." (S/ A, 7/68, 46-54)
- July
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