May 22 1975
From The Space Library
NASA successfully launched INTELSAT IV F-1 for the Communications Satellite Corp., as agent for the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, from Eastern Test Range at 6:04 pin EDT.
The 1400-kg satellite entered the desired synchronous transfer orbit with a 35 870-km apogee, 534-km perigee, 10-hr 40-min period, and 26° inclination. ComSatCorp successfully fired the apogee motor at 6:45 pm EDT on 24 May, placing the satellite in synchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean (36 184-km apogee, 35 704-km perigee, 24-hr 4-min period, and 0.5° inclination) with a final operational position to be at 61° cast longitude. When it became operational in June, it would replace INTELSAT IV F-5 as the primary operating satellite in the Indian Ocean area in the global 6-active-satellite INTELSAT network; it would be able to transmit 3500 two-way telephone conversations or 12 TV channels.
The launch was the second recent attempt to place an INTELSAT IV satellite over the Indian Ocean; on 20 Feb., the first attempt failed and INTELSAT IV F-6 had to be destroyed when the Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle tumbled out of control.
INTELSAT launched its first comsat, INTELSAT I F-1(EarlyBird), on 6 April 1965. Between 1967 and 1970 12 INTELSAT II and III satellites were launched before the INTELSAT IV launches began in 1971. (NASA MORs, 16 May 75, 25 Sept 75; NASA Release 75-125; NASA Audio News, 23 May 75; GSFC Wkly SSR, 25-28 May 75; Salmanson, Atlas mgr., NASA Hq., interview, 25 May 77)
A giant 283 200-cu-m balloon carrying a Marshall Space Flight Center gamma ray detector was launched from Palestine, Tex., by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The balloon reached an altitude of 40 km and traveled 800 km before touching down near Ft. Stockton, Tex., 23 hrs later. The purpose of the flight was to detect the sources and determine the nature of sudden bursts of gamma rays coming from various directions in space. (MSFC Release 75100)
Landsat-2 (launched 22 Jan.) was monitoring water resources in Miss. and the effects of pollution on the water system, Marshall Space Flight Center announced. As part of the NASA earth resources program, three data-collection buoys placed in the Pearl River were transmitting water-quality data to Landsat-2, which relayed the data to a tracking station at NASA's National Space Technology Laboratories (NSTL) for processing. Processed data on water temperature, dissolved oxygen, acidity/alkalinity, and conductivity were received in the Miss. Air and Water Pollution Control Commission, where state investigators could identify a pollution source within 15 min of a satellite pass over the buoys.
A similar experiment was being conducted in Mobile Bay by NASA and the Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium. Data from the experiments would help evaluate the usefulness of the system and suggest improvements. (MSFC Release 75-97)
President Ford told a group of eight congreSSMEn at a White House meeting that he would work to reestablish the Office of Science and Technology as a permanent part of the White House organization, the New York Times reported. The office had been abolished by President Nixon 1 July 1973. The Times quoted Director of the Domestic Council James Cannon as saying that President Ford would propose legislation creating the post of science advisor with a staff of 10 to 15 persons and an annual budget of $1 million to $1.5 million. (NYT, 23 May 75, 14)
Rockwell International Corp. announced that its Electronics Research Div., under a contract awarded by NASA on 18 Feb. 1974, had developed a single-chip bubble-domain memory element with a capacity of 102 400 bits, believed to be the largest capacity memory device ever built. The new data recorder-a major milestone in NASA's continuing program to develop an all-solid-state data recorder for future U.S. spacecraft-was one-third the size and one-half the weight of current equipment. It was expected to use half the power and have 10 times the life expectancy of present recorders. Objective of the effort was to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating high capacity memory elements with reasonable yield and operating margins. (Rockwell Int'l Release ERD-1; LaRC proj off, interview, 18 Jan 77)
22 May-7 June: The U.S. and Peru launched more than 40 sounding rockets and balloons in a joint project, called Antarqui for the Inca god of flight, to study the earth's atmosphere and ionosphere from Chilca Launch Range in Peru, a location on the magnetic equator where the earth's magnetic field is horizontal. Instruments aboard the rockets and balloons measured the composition of the neutral and ionized atmosphere, density and temperature, wind shear, and turbulence. The measurements would be compared with data from Explorer 51 (Atmosphere Explorer-C, launched 15 Dec. 1973) and the groundbased Jicamarca and Huancayo Observatories. The overall mission included the launch of 4 Nike-Tomahawks, 8 Nike-Apaches, 7 Super Arcas, and 10 Super Lokis, as well as two balloons measuring 36 m in diameter and 12 ozonesonde balloons.
Project Antarqui was a continuation of a NASA sounding-rocket program conducted during the 1964-65 International Quiet Sun Year when 77 sounding rockets had been launched during the first 4 mo of 1965 from a sea-going launch platform, the USNS Croatan.
Wallops Flight Center managed the program for NASA; the Instituto Geofisico del Peru arranged for the use of the range, supplied range operation and logistics support in Peru, correlated ground-based measurements from Jicamarca and Huancayo, assisted in recovery operations, and performed some preliminary work at the range.
In addition to WFC, Goddard Space Flight Center, Dudley Observatory, Univ. of Pittsburgh, Univ. of Ill., Penn. State Univ., Univ. of Denver, and GCA Corp. supplied scientific payloads for the sounding rockets and balloons. (WFC Release 75-6; NASA Activities, June 75, 14; WFC proj mgr, interviews, 11-12 Jan 75)
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