Jun 11 1970
From The Space Library
NASA's HL-10 lifting-body vehicle, piloted by Maj. Peter A. Hoag (USAF), successfully completed 36th flight at FRC, demonstrating and evaluating powered approach to landing for first time. After air launch from B-52 aircraft at 13 700-m (45 000-ft) altitude, HL-10 reached mach 0.07 and fired three hydrogen-peroxide rocket engines to approach landing on 6° glide slope instead of usual 18' slope used on unpowered flights. (NASA Proj Off)
Arrangement for mutual satellite tracking support had been made by NASA and French Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), NASA announced. Each agency would provide free network support in tracking, data acquisition, and command activities of space vehicles when workload permitted. For first time, French equipment was compatible with U.S. Arrangement was applicable to French stations in Canary Islands, Upper Volta, Congo, South Africa, French Guiana, and France. NASA stations would be in STADAN network in Australia, Madagascar, South Africa, Ecuador, Chile, England, and U.S. (NASA Release 70-94)
SAMSO, Aerospace Corp., and NR Space Div. had completed study of solution to in-space emergencies involving near-orbiting spacecraft and Space Shuttle vehicles, AFSC announced. Study was based on requirements that space escape vehicle (SEV) must perform all functions required for crew safety from decision to abandon spacecraft until successful recovery. In delayed return, ground station would supply data to aid selection of recovery site; sufficient oxygen and water to last 24 hrs after departure from spacecraft would be available. In "quick return," life support would be provided for only six hours. SEV would become autonomous following issue of "May Day" signal and would splash down without ground-based advice. Crew would plot recovery course using wristwatches and information indicating orbital paths for 24 hrs. Study recommended three kinds of escape vehicle: spherical heat shield, rigid vehicle thermally protected by ablative heat shield; rib-stiffened expandable vehicle which would function like umbrella; and two-man conical reentry vehicle like rubber raft, inflatable and made of double-wall fabric connected by woven drop threads. (AFSC Release 137.70)
Feasibility of high-speed, efficient, digital message transmission through troposphere had been confirmed by AFSC scientists, AFSC announced. Findings were result of research program conducted at AFSC Rome Air Development Center near Niagara Falls, N.Y. (AFSC Release 151.70)
AFSC announced successful flight testing of night strip photography, which produced continuous strip picture rather than individual frames. System, designed and fabricated by Linde Div. of Union Carbide Corp., used reflector that projected narrow beam to ground to illuminate moving strip of terrain and lamp with spiraled-gas flow-through-arc technique, providing intense "line of light." System had been tested in B-47E aircraft from May through August 1969. (AFSC Release 13.70)
Wallops Station announced award of $450 000, cost-plus-fixed-fee . contract to Computer Sciences Corp. for engineering support services at Wallops. Contract covered one year with provisions for two one-year extensions. (WS Release 70-8)
House passed by vote of 308 to 57, H.R. 17970, FY 1970 DOD military construction appropriations bill totaling $637.9 million, after rejecting amendment to strike out $353.8 million for Safeguard ABM deployment. (CR, 6/11/70, H5437-57)
U.S.S.R. had established underwater launching area for submarine missiles targeted on U.S. in Atlantic Ocean off Greenland, Washington Post said. Soviet Y class submarines-equivalent of U.S. Polaris missile submarines-had begun to patrol area in last few weeks. (Wilson, W Post, 6/11/70, Al).
NAS and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences announced beginning of two year exchange program providing for visits of up to one year by individual scientists to lecture and conduct research. (NAS Release)
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