Mar 24 1977
From The Space Library
The White House had ordered a review of NASA's 28 advisory committees with the idea of abolishing all those lacking a compelling need for their services, a balanced membership, or open conduct of business within the framework of the law and their mandate, NASA reported. The review should serve to reduce the number of committees except as required by statute and to ensure quality and utility in their recommendations. (NASA Release 77-59)
ARC announced selection of 10 women volunteers aged 35 to 45 with nontechnical backgrounds as test subjects in an experiment to help set medical standards for future Space Shuttle passengers. The experiment, one of a series using varying ages and sexes, would require 9 days of total bedrest to simulate weightlessness, and occasional spins in a centrifuge to simulate Shuttle reentry. Results would show whether or not age and gender affected the ability to cope with spaceflight. (ARC Release 77-15; NASA Release 77-61)
The eighth annual session at JSC of the Lunar Science Conference had discussed the possibility of mining asteroids for the raw materials of space industrialization, the Chicago Tribune reported. Dr. David Criswell, associate scientist at the Lunar Science Institute, said that two developments would make asteroid mining feasible: an engine capable of towing an asteroid, and a method of locating asteroids rich in needed resources. Materials from asteroids would be 1000 times cheaper than materials launched from earth into orbit. (C Trib, Mar 24/77, 4-11)
The Soviet Union had successfully tested a submarine-based missile with a range twice that of its U.S. counterpart, the Chicago Tribune reported. Two SSN-8 missiles fired from a Soviet Delta-class submarine in the Barents Sea had traveled approximately 9120km to targets in the Pacific Ocean. Ships carrying the missiles reportedly could endanger U.S. targets without leaving their home-port areas. (C Trib, Mar 24/77, 1-2)
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