Mar 16 1971
From The Space Library
Peking Radio announced that Communist China's second satellite, launched March 3, was transmitting scientific data in "whistles, pips, bleeps, and blurts." Announcement broke two-week silence on launching of satellite. New China News Agency said satellite weighed 220.5 kg (486 lbs) and was in elliptical orbit. (Reuters, W Post, 3/17/71, A12)
NASA Associate Administrator for Organization and Management Richard C. McCurdy testified on research and program management (R&PM) budget request during House Committee on Science and Astronautics hearings on NASA FY 1972 authorization: FY 1972 request was $21 million less than in FY 1971, primarily because of continuing reduction in permanent positions. Request of $697.4 million was based on further reduction of Government personnel of 1500 positions, lowering employment to 28 350-total reduction of 6971 positions from 1967 peak and lowest level since 1963. Cut of "some 20 percent in the 1967-72 period is by a considerable margin the greatest, proportionately, to be made by any Government agency in the period." Of total NASA force, scientists and engineers made up 44.8%, technicians 26.7%, administrative personnel 13.9%, and clerical 14.6%. Hiring restrictions had reduced number of new college graduates added to work force and raised average age to 41.3, with rate of 8/10 a year each year, endangering health and vigor of NASA. "In the past decade, the aerospace industry, overall as well as that portion serving NASA, has passed through a substantial perturbation. Contractor employment climbed to a high peak, then dropped drastically. The current estimate for industry employment on NASA work at the end of this year and next is about 108,000- less than one-third of what it was at the peak of the space program. But with the major reductions in the space program over the last several years, this is how it must be." Daniel J. Harnett, Assistant Administrator for Industry Affairs and Technology Utilization, testified on NASA management of its new technology as "a repository of national resources" : Some 20000 technical contributions had been disclosed by NASA contractors, 3500 in past year. Another 4000 had been reported by NASA employees from in-house projects. Contributions reported were evaluated, defined, and published for use by others. Allocations for FY 1972 were increased over previous year as NASA began to work with innovative events of early stages of 1970s R&D programs. (Transcript)
President Nixon transmitted NASA's 22nd Semiannual Report to Congress covering July 1 to Dec. 31, 1969. In letter accompanying report, Dr. George M. Low, Acting NASA Administrator, wrote, "The two successful Moon missions Apollo 11 and 12 fulfilled the national goal of a manned lunar landing and safe return within the decade of the sixties and convincingly demonstrated the technological competence of the Apollo program." Flights had shown "value of the space program as a unifying force in international relations, for interest in the Moon landings and in the astronauts transcended national boundaries. This Nation, in turn, took the view that the achievement was a triumph for all mankind even though the deed itself was performed by American astronauts." (Text; CR, 3/17/71, H1631)
President Nixon transmitted to Congress NSF annual report for FY 1970. He said: "Science has entered an era of unprecedented fruitfulness. The investment we have made in the last three decades offers us an array of scientific talent and a heritage of scientific achievement unprecedented in human history." (PD, 3/22/71, 495- 6)
NASA launched Nike-Tomahawk sounding rocket from Fairbanks, Alaska, carrying Univ. of Alaska experiment to conduct auroral studies. Mission was unsuccessful. (SR list)
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced S. 1261, to authorize NSF "to undertake a loan guarantee and interest assistance program to aid unemployed scientists and engineers in the conversion from defense-related to civilian, socially-oriented research, development, and engineering activities." (CR, S3225- 31)
Senate passed S.R. 17, establishing Joint Committee on the Environment. (CR, 3/16/71, S3317-25)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2829 30 31
