May 7 1972
From The Space Library
Tank cart defueling recovered Apollo 16 command module for storage at San Diego Naval Air Station exploded because of over- pressurization. Forty-six persons were hospitalized. All were suspected of having inhaled toxic fumes, but examination revealed no symptoms of inhalation. One suffered broken kneecap and two broken toes. Six were treated for lacerations and bruises. (UPI, W Post, 5/8/72, A2; AP, B Sun, 5/8/72, Al; MSC PAO)
NASA had definite plans for international rendezvous and docking mission to link three Soviet cosmonauts with three U.S. astronauts in 1975, Washington Post reported. Tentative date was June 14, four days after U.S.S.R. orbited Salyut station and three days after cosmonauts docked Soyuz spacecraft at one end of Salyut 15 m (50 ft) long. Apollo spacecraft would dock with orbiting Salyut on 15th Apollo orbit of earth, day following Apollo launch. For 56 hrs astronauts and cosmonauts would work and live together under guidance of mission control centers in Houston and in Baikonur. There were "no longer any technical doubts that the feat of flying an American and a Russian spacecraft together can be accomplished." Dr. Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Director of Manned Spacecraft Center, had said, "We haven't seen anything in a technical sense that says we should stop." (O'Toole, W Post, 5/7/72, B2)
Soviet scientists were studying "collective effect" accelerators with high-current electrons to achieve very high energies needed to split atoms at lower cost and effort than by larger traditional accelerators. Traditional circular accelerators raised energy of electrons 50 mev per m. Collective-effect principle increased energy gain to 1000 mev per m. Very-high current electron accelerators had been developed in U.S. and U.S.S.R. to generate beams of relativistic electrons with speeds close to velocity of light. (Shabad, NYT, 5/7/72, 64)
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