Mar 2 1970
From The Space Library
Apollo 13 Mission Director's briefing was held at NASA Hq.: Mission would be launched from KSC April 11 on hybrid trajectory to moon's Fra Mauro, rugged highland area. Saturn V 3rd stage (S-IVB) would be ejected onto trajectory that would crash it onto lunar surface, providing signals that could be recorded by seismometer left on moon by Apollo 12 crew. Astronauts James A. Lovell, Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr., would land LM on moon and conduct two five hour EVA periods on lunar surface while Astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II orbited moon in CSM, photographing candidate landing sites. Lunar surface EVA would be covered with color TV camera; black-and-white camera would be carried as backup. After return to earth crew, lunar samples, and spacecraft would be quarantined under procedures similar to those for Apollo 11 and Apollo 12. Apollo Mission Director, Capt. Chester M. Lee (USN, Ret.), said continuation of quarantine-thought unnecessary by many scientists-was based "solely upon the fact that a segment of the scientific community considered. the hilly upland site to constitute a new lunar environment . . . . The bio tests . . . physical science, and organic chemistry analyses, have found absolutely no evidence of any life forms or precursors of life." To reduce risk of lightning from high-potential near thunderstorms which had affected Apollo 12, NASA had tightened rules for launching in bad weather. Spacecraft would not be launched if nominal flight path carried vehicle through cumulonimbus clouds, within 8 km (5 mi) of thunderstorm cloud, or within 5 km (3 mi) of overhang from a cumulonimbus cloud; through a cold front or squall lying clouds extending 3000 m (10000 ft); through middle cloud layers 1800 m (6000 ft) or more deep; or through cumulus clouds with tops 3000 m (10 000 ft) or higher. Capt. Lee said although Apollo vehicle was well protected, lightning discharge did occur and NASA officials were "doing everything we possibly can to avoid it, without restricting ourselves unduly" to never launching at all. (Transcript)
NSF published Federal Funds for Research, Development, and Other Scientific Activities, Fiscal Years 1968, 1969, and 1970: Federal obligations for R&D were $15.9 billion in FY 1968 and were expected to total $15.8 billion in FY 1969 and $16.5 billion in FY 1970. Cycle of rapid advancement in Federal R&D funding that began in 1950s had ended. Basic research obligations totaled $2.1 billion in FY 1968 and were expected to be same in FY 1969. In FY 1970 research obligations were expected to rise to $2.4 billion. During decade, basic research had grown more rapidly than either applied research or development. Applied research obligations totaled $3.3 billion in FY 1968 and were expected to be same in FY 1969. For FY 1970, obligations were expected to reach $3.7 billion. Applied research growth rate since FY 1967 had slowed to less than 1% annually. Development obligations totaled $10.6 billion in FY 1968 and were expected to decrease to $10.4 billion in FYs 1969 and 1970. From FYs 1959 to 1969 development portion of Federal R&D total dropped from 79% to 66%. In FY 1969, 77% of Federal R&D funds was expected to go to extramural performers and remainder to intramural at Federal facilities. DOD, NASA, and AEC continued to provide bulk of Federal R&D dollars (83%) in FY 1969, with 75% of their obligations allocated to development. Industrial firms performed 67% of DOD, NASA, and AEC R&D work in FY 1969. Engineering was scheduled to receive most research funds in FY 1969 (29% of total), followed by life sciences (29%), environmental sciences (11%), social sciences (4%), mathematics (2%), and psychology (2%). (Text)
In letter to Deputy Secretary of Defense David M. Packard, Lockheed Aircraft Corp. Chairman Daniel J. Haughton asked DOD for up to $655 million in assistance funds. Haughton blamed "unprecedented magnitude" of Lockheed's disputes with USAF, USN, and USA for corporation's serious financial plight and said Lockheed wanted advance on $770 million it claimed Government owed on defense contracts. Unless money was forthcoming, Haughton said, it would be "financially impossible" for Lockheed to continue C-5A cargo aircraft production and to fulfill contracts for Cheyenne helicopter, destroyer escorts and amphibious floating docks, and short range attack missile (SRAM). (Text)
March 2-4: AIAA Earth Resources Conference to consider technical, economic, and political aspects of global satellite system was held in Annapolis, Md. In keynote address Under Secretary of State U. Alexis Johnson said surveying earth's resources from space could change face of international relations. He warned nations must organize international survey program to avoid serious diplomatic problems when system became operational in few years, "We should start now to consider with other countries how best to capitalize and coordinate earth resource surveying systems as they come to serve the interests of many countries. People value what they pay for and they will not contribute to a U.S. program." Problem of how to handle data gathered from country not participating or not wanting information known was major problem. Rep. Joseph E. Karth (D-Minn.), Chairman of Subcommittee on NASA Oversight of House Committee on Science and Astronautics, said NASA's projected new program costs were "unrealistically low." He predicted, "There will be pressure on Congress to reduce the space budget still further unless the future orientation of the program is based less on space spectaculars and more on the production of tangible benefits." ERC and MIT research teams reported that camera and sensor systems for survey satellites had shown in aircraft and balloon tests along northeastern coast of U.S. that air and water pollution could be monitored effectively and traced to sources by satellites, (AP, Huntsville News, 3/30/70; Lannan, W Star, 3/4/70, A4; AP, C Trib, 3/4/70)
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