Mar 28 1973
From The Space Library
Secretary of Defense Elliott L. Richardson testified on the Air Force advanced medium STOL (short takeoff and landing) transport (AMST) prototype development program before the Senate Committee on Armed Services in hearings on the FY 1974 Dept. of Defense budget and FY 1974-1978 program: The AMST program's purpose was "to determine the feasibility of developing an operationally useful STOL aircraft which could be procured in quantity at an average unit flyaway cost (in FY 1972 dollars) of about $7 million each, as an eventual replacement for the C-130 in the 1980s. A decision on engineering development and production of this aircraft will be made only after the prototypes have been evaluated in terms of both performance and cost." The FY 1974 budget included $67 million to continue prototype development of the AMST. (Testimony)
Grumman Aerospace Corp. would lay off 1000 employees to reduce operating expenses, the New York Times reported. The expense paring had been ordered by Deputy Secretary of Defense William P. Clements to increase operating efficiency after the controversy over increasing costs of the Grumman-produced F-14 fighter aircraft. (Andelman, NYT, 3/28/73, P28)
March 28-29: Dr. John E. Naugle, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science, testified before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics' Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications during NASA FY 1974 authorization hearings: The Office of Space Science had assumed total responsibility for collecting, handling, and analyzing data from the Apollo program, and "we plan to devote the next several years to their detailed analysis and interpretation. Our objective is a better understanding of the origin, history and present environment of the Moon, and the definition of goals and objectives of possible future flight programs. These studies will also use the data from the stillcontinuing flight program of the Soviet Union." The French-built laser reflector on the Soviet lunar roving vehicle Lunokhod 2 deposited on the moon by Luna 21 (launched Jan. 8), "in addition to the three carried by Apollos 11, 14, and 15, provides another control point for lunar mapping studies and other scientific objectives. The close cooperation between the French and Soviets in putting the device on the Moon and between the Americans and French in securing early observations is a striking example of the possibilities for effective scientific cooperation in space among the nations of the world."
Pioneer 10 (launched March 2, 1972) was "very much a pathfinder as it goes to Jupiter. We know Jupiter has intense radiation fields. We plan for Pioneer 10 to pass by Jupiter about three-and-a-half Jupiter radii from the planet. We think that Pioneer 10 at that distance . . will be able to survive as it goes through those radiation belts. If by chance it does not, then we would probably retarget Pioneer G so that it stayed farther out." If Pioneer 10 survived the radiation belts, "we would probably target Pioneer G closer so that we could get a better look at Jupiter and get more information about the 'intensity of the radiation belts as we get closer to Jupiter.” (Transcript)
March 28-30: A symposium on federally sponsored university research in transportation noise was conducted at Stanford Univ. by the Dept. of Transportation in cooperation with NASA and the National Science Foundation. Papers presented by university researchers and representatives of Government agencies covered jet noise, combustion noise, noise from moving bodies, sound propagation through ducts, rotor noise, high-intensity sound, tire noise, and economic and community aspects of noise. (DOT Release 15-73; DOT PIO )
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