May 25 1971
From The Space Library
USAF'S X-24A lifting body, piloted by NASA test pilot John A. Manke, successfully completed 27th flight after air launch from B- 52 aircraft over FRC in joint NASA-USAF program. Objectives of powered flight were to determine lateral-directional derivatives with rudder bias at 2° toe out, evaluate handling qualities with y accelerometer feed-back and power on, determine transonic pitch damping, and obtain upper-flap pressure with upper flaps at 13°. Although only three of four engine chambers ignited, most objectives were achieved, with vehicle reaching 19 500-m (64 000- ft) altitude and mach 1.1. (NASA Proj Off)
Tenth anniversary of President Kennedy's message to Congress urging that U.S. "commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth." Rep. Olin E. Teague (D-Tex.) said on House floor: "As we attempt to plan for a significant and aggressive national space program for the 1970's, it is well to remember that on this date in 1961 the late President John F. Kennedy made an equally difficult and challenging decision. It is time again that we seize the initiative and make a positive decision for a strong national space program." (CR, 5/25/71, S7698, E5023)
Apollo 15 lunar surface experiments-passive seismic, lunar surface magnetometer, solar wind spectrometer, suprathermal ion detector, cold cathode gauge, and heat flow-were described by experimenters during NASA Hq. press briefing on Apollo 15 science objectives. Mission would return up to 68 kg (150 lbs) of lunar samples rather than maximum 44.5 kg (98 lbs) for previous Apollo missions; man-hours spent on moon would increase from 18 to 40; and area covered could extend to 56 km (35 mi) by use of LRV. Dr. Gary V. Latham, Apollo Program Chief Seismologist, said primary aim of passive seismic experiment was to discover where moon-quakes occurred. "So far we have identified 11 zones in which moon-quakes occur, but one of these is particularly active, accounting for about 80 percent of the energy we record." Source might be "an isolated pocket of magma under pressure at depths between 30 and 400 miles [50 and 600 km]." Third seismometer, to be placed on moon by Apollo 15, was expected to provide data as to whether all 11 zones corresponded to same source mechanism, i.e., small magma reservoirs. Active zone fell on line that bisected Apollo 12 and 14 seismometer stations, "so that makes 15 an exceedingly vital station to us. If we just get one perigee passage and a couple of these moonquakes before station 12 or 14 ceases to function, we'll have taken quite a step forward."
Apollo 15 would be at edge of prominent mascon basins, Serenatatis and Imbrium. "We expect . . . to impact an S-IVB smack in the middle of one of them, probably Serenatatis. So this will be the first time we get seismic waves propagating through one of these mascon features, and, hopefully, we will be able to say something about how its structures differ from the other mare we have been able to record seismic waves through." Edward M. Davin, Program Scientist, Lunar Surface Experiments, said Apollo 12 magnetometer had been "very successfully recording a surprising magnetic field. . . . we now have a general model of the moon based upon three layers . . . a crust, an inner layer, and a core." Apollo 15 lunar surface magnetometer could determine "if there is any asymmetry in the magnetic field" and provide additional information on electrical conductivity that indicated thermal distribution of lunar interior. JPL scientist Dr. Conway W. Snyder said solar wind spectrometer experiment would be "measuring the weather in space. The solar wind which is a plasma - this is an ionized gas-is quite analogous to weather on earth.... it is the phenomenon that determines what magnetic fields are in space, affects cosmic rays, and generally is the fundamental entity in space once you stop considering the planets themselves." With addition of second spectrometer on moon "we hope to be able to start making some definite interpretations of the very complicated kind of plasma effects that go on the moon."
Suprathermal ion detector experiment was described by Rice Univ. scientist Dr. Kent Hills. Apollo 12 and 14 ion detectors had revealed ion clouds that were not lunar-oriented but had been formed elsewhere "from an expanding neutral gas cloud." With Apollo 15 experiment, third station north of other two would give "extended distance with which to investigate these things and . . a different direction."
Cold cathode gauge experiment would indicate amount of gas on moon, Dr. Francis S. Johnson of Univ. of Texas at Dallas said. Ion detector already on moon had detected gas clouds in which concentration sometimes increased 100 times. With second gauge "we hope that there will be the prospect of seeing the same event on two gauges, and then we will be able to tell quite a lot more about where these gas sources would be and also learn something about how they propagate across the lunar surface." Heat flow experiment, with 3-m (10-ftj drill, was to measure amount of heat coming from interior of moon, Columbia Univ. astronomer Dr. Marcus E. Langseth said. Measurement would be made by monitoring heat budget in near-surface material (lunar regolith) over one year with thermometers on probes about 2 m (6 ft) below lunar surface. Measurements could be useful in resolving contradictory data from magnetometer experiments on Apollo 12 and 14. Experiments outside Apollo 15 ALSEP package-laser ranging retroreflector, lunar field geology, and lunar soil mechanics-were discussed by Wesleyan Univ. astronomer Dr. James E. Faller; Donald A. Beattie, Program Manager, Lunar Surface Experiments; and Dr. James K. Mitchell of Univ. of California at Berkeley.
Laser array would provide third leg of triangle formed by laser retroflectors on Apollos 12 and 14, improve ranging reliability from current stations, and "provide for greater efficiencies in telescope use time." Geology experiment objectives were to sample Apennine Mountain front, study Hadley Rille, examine mare, sample volcanic complex to north of landing site, and study cluster of craters southeast of landing site. Soil mechanics experiment would measure density, strength, compressibility and adhesive and cohesive characteristics of material on lunar surface. "The thing that is going to be of considerable interest is the Lunar Roving Vehicle because if we can calibrate this vehicle . . . a knowledge of vehicle tracks and power consumptions should provide ... continuous record of the soil conditions as the crew moved from point to point." (Tian- script)
Mstislav V. Keldysh was reelected President of Soviet Academy of Sciences at general assembly meeting in Moscow. Following reelection, Ts said: "The successes of the U.S.S.R. in the exploration of space have been associated with Keldysh's work. They included the first Sputniks, the flights to the moon and around it, flights to the planets of the solar system, the first manned space flight, the first experimental orbital station, the return of Luna 16 with lunar soil to the earth and the first Soviet moon rover." (FBIS- Sov-71-102, 5/26/71, Ll; Shabad, NYT, 5/31/71, 32)
Sen. Lawton Chiles (D-Fla.) inserted House Memorial 780 from Florida Legislature in Congressional Record "to request that Kennedy Space Center be the site for construction of the space shuttle." (CR, 5/25/71, S7680)
Gen. Charles P. Cabell (USAF, Ret.), former CIA Deputy Director and NASA consultant, died at age 68 after heart attack. (Honsa, W Post, 5/27/71, B17)
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