Nov 29 1978
From The Space Library
HEAO 2 continued to operate satisfactorily in its third wk in orbit, and plans were to rotate a new instrument into the focal plane of the observatory's x-ray telescope within several days, the Marshall Star reported. Four of the five instruments aboard had been mounted on a revolving platform at the focus of the telescope so that ground controllers could rotate each into the focal plane on command. A high resolution imager located in the focal plane at launch had transmitted to earth Nov. 18 the first picture ever of an x-ray star and had sent many such pictures since then.
Replacing the high-resolution imager would be a solid-state spectrometer able to observe the entire spectrum at once, measuring the energy (and therefore the wavelength) of each photon that struck the experiment's silicon crystal. This would permit a better understanding of recently discovered astrophysical phenomena such as black holes, pulsars, and bursters. The solid-state spectrometer, the only life-limited instrument aboard, would have priority in the observatory's initial viewing program. (Marshall Star, Nov 29/78, 1)
MSFC announced it had awarded RCA Government Systems Division an $880 000 contract to develop and deliver three video-instrumentation tape recorders for use on Spacelab 1 and subsequent missions. Under the contract, RCA would deliver three STAR-4 units before April 1980 for integration into Spacelab program equipment before the first launch planned for 1981. Spacelab crew members would use the units to record visual and analog data during communications blind spots, while the Space Shuttle was out of contact with NASA ground stations. The information would be played back for transmission when communications were reestablished.
The units, capable of about 500 record-playback operations between tape changes, could record for 45min simultaneously on one video and. two audio channels under computer control. Video bandwidth was 5MHz, audio bandwidths 50 to 8000hz. The instruments would undergo rigorous testing for high performance and reliability, and to ensure equipment compatibility with the manned-spacecraft environment. NASA would install two STAR-4s as part of the Spacelab 1 payload and keep the third as a spare. (Marshall Star, Nov 29/78, 4)
U.S. and Chinese technical officials had begun discussion Nov. 28 of a plan for the People's Republic of China to buy an American communications satellite, the Washington Post reported. The deal would constitute the most sophisticated transfer of technology yet between the two countries. A 15-member Chinese delegation led by Jen Hsinmin, director of the PRC's Space Technology Research Institute, had met with officials from the State and Commerce Depts. and NASA at the start of a 23-day visit to the U.S. The Baltimore Sun quoted a State Dept. official as saying the U.S. would require, as a condition of purchase, that the PRC not use the satellite for military purposes, meaning that the satellite's signals could be transmitted only within China's borders. A White House official said it was understood the Chinese planned to use the satellite to transmit educational television. The communications system could cost as much as $50 million, including the price of sending the satellite into orbit. (W Post, Nov 29/78, A-19; B Sun, Nov 27/78, 13)
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