Mar 3 1975
From The Space Library
NASA's Remotely Piloted Research Vehicle (RPRV) was being equipped with landing gear to enable it to land under control of a pilot on the ground, Flight Research Center announced. Previously helicopters and parachutes had been used in midair recovery of the vehicles.
Developed by. FRC, the RPRV-a scale-model airplane up to 9 m long-was an economical and safe way to test advanced aircraft. After air launch of the RPRV, a test pilot in a ground-based cockpit used flight controls and instruments to "fly" the RPRV through maneuvers, while a camera provided visual information. First application of the landing gear would be for a spin test of a 3/8-scale model of the Air Force F-15 fighter. (FRC Release 3-75)
In NASA's 5-10 yr Global Air Sampling Program (GASP), a second instrumented Boeing 747 jumbo aircraft began sampling flights monitoring pollution in the earth's atmosphere. GASP data on carbon dioxide, ozone, water vapor, and particles larger than 0.3 microns would help determine whether the amount of ozone was being altered, whether vapor trails from jets contributed to cloud cover, and the amount of pollution caused by aircraft.
The first GASP-instrumented 747 began flights in December 1974. Four aircraft-one each from United Airlines, Pan American, Qantas Airways, and Scandinavian Airlines-would be instrumented for global sampling. (NASA Release 75-60)
For coating solar collectors that heat and cool homes and buildings, black chrome had been demonstrated by a Lewis Research Center scientist to be some 20% more efficient than current coatings. Being "solar selective," black chrome allowed absorption of sunlight but prevented the ensuing heat from radiating out of the collector. Because of this, black chrome would raise the temperature of water in the system as much as 5°C (40°F) over the 95°C (200°F) provided by current coatings. A system with hotter water would require fewer collectors to heat or cool an area. (NASA Release 75-55)
Sen. William Proxmire {D-Wis.) had said that NASA's Space Shuttle program "might be on the verge of a financial breakdown," the Washington Post reported. Citing a General Accounting Office report, Sen. Proxmire warned that the risk of cost overruns had increased and that Congress should look for "cheaper alternatives." (AP, W Post, 6 March 75)
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