Jun 29 1970
From The Space Library
Sen. Walter F. Mondale (D-Minn.), for himself, Sen. Clifford P. Case (R-N.J.), Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.), and Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R-N.Y.), submitted amendment to H.R. 17548, FY 1971 Independent Offices and HUD appropriations bill which would reduce NASA R&D appropriation by $110 million-amount requested by NASA for design and definition of Space Shuttle and station. Sen. Mondale said: "This project represents NASA's next major effort in manned space flight. The $110 million... is only the beginning of the story. NASA's preliminary cost estimates for development of the Space Shuttle/station total almost $14 billion, and the ultimate cost may run much higher. Furthermore, the shuttle and station are the first essential steps toward a manned Mars landing... which could cost anywhere between $50 to $100 billion. I have seen no persuasive justification for embarking upon a project of such staggering costs at a time when many of our citizens are malnourished, when our rivers and lakes are polluted, and when our cities and rural areas are decaying." (CR, 6/29/70, S 10057-8)
Ninth anniversary of launch of SNAP-3A, first atomic battery in space. Generator launched by USN on Transit IV-A June, 29, 1961, had already operated four years beyond its five-year design life. MSFC announced award of $143 987 contract to McDonnell Events Astronautics Co. to establish requirements and procedures for field repair of thermal protection panels for reusable space transportation system. (MSFC Release 70-130)
USN F-14A jet fighter, in developmental stage, had encountered problem with movable wing, same design feature that had plagued USAF F-111, Wall Street Journal said. F-14, being built by Grumman Aircraft Corp., would substitute for USN's canceled version of F-111. (WSJ, 6/29/70, 1)
FAA announced publication of R&D Plan To Increase Airport and Airway System Capacity, to meet future demands of air transportation. Plan assumed new approach and landing system was necessary to achieve accurate guidance and minimize site sensitivity problem at high-density airports; reduction in collision potential must be provided as capacity increased; many manual air traffic control functions must be automated; design and configuration of system must reduce vulnerability to subsystem or component failures; increase in IFR capacity required higher precision and greater reliability of navaids; expanded airport accommodations required investigation of new concepts like satellite terminal facilities and all cargo airports; use of more flexible navigation and ATC systems was necessary to reduce noise pollution effects around airport; and, to increase aircraft handling capacity, close-spaced, dependent and independent parallel runways were necessary. (FAA Release T 70-29)
President Nixon in' San Clemente, Calif., issued E.O. 11538 delegating to Secretary of Transportation authority to establish and conduct international aeronautical exposition. (PD, 7/6/70, 840)
June 29-30: NASA held "Skylab and Beyond" press briefing and tour of production facilities at MSFC. William C. Schneider, Skylab Program Director, said project was "in the very critical phase of firming up our designs" and predicted 1972 launch date would be met. Three missions were planned for eight-month lifetime of 14.6-m (48-ft) Workshop. Primary task of first mission would be to study physiological and psychological aspects of space flight for 28 days. Second mission, for 56 days, would operate telescopes. Third mission, for 56 days, would survey earth resources with highly sensitive cameras. (NASA Note to Editors, 6/8/70; Wilford, NYT, 7/1/70, 1)
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