Nov 9 1970
From The Space Library
OFO Orbiting Frog Otolith and secondary payload, RM Radiation/Meteoroid satellite, were successfully launched by NASA from Wallops Station at 1:00 am EST by four-stage Scout booster. Two spacecraft separated 9 min after launch and entered orbit with 528-km (328-mi) apogee, 299.7-km (186.4-mi) perigee, 92.8-min period, and 37.4° inclination. Countdown had been aborted five times since original August launch date because of bad weather, instrument malfunctions, and death of frogs. Primary objective of 132.5-kg (292-;b) OFO was to obtain information on functioning and adaptability in weightlessness of vestibule, portion of inner ear which controlled balance, by studying two male bullfrogs (Rana castebianca) on board. Through microelectrodes surgically implanted in vestibular nerves leading from sensor cells in frogs' otholiths, scientists would be able to study for the first time electrical response of otolith sensors under weightlessness and simulated gravity provided by centrifuge far at least three days. Frogs had been chosen for flight because their inner ear mechanism functioned similarly to man's and because they were small and amphibious. Onboard spacecraft they were submerged in water with oxygen composition controlled by instruments. After several hours in orbit frogs were in good condition and spacecraft was transmitting data satisfactorily. Primary objective of 21-kg(146-Ib) RM satellite was to demonstrate feasibility and accuracy of advanced radiation dosimeter concept in space and to verify, in flight, operation of instruments to be used on long-duration flights to study meteoroids for at least three months. Satellite reentered Feb. 7. 1971. OFO experiment was managed by ARC and RM by MSC. OFO project was managed by WS. (NASA Proj Off; NASA Release 70-132; WS Release 70-18)
NASA's Apollo 14 spacecraft was moved from assembly building to launch pad at KSC in preparation for launch toward moon Jan. 31. Astronaut Stuart A. Roosa told press at briefing that launch preparations had "gone quite smoothly" so far. Apollo 14 crew, he said, was "the only crew that's been six months from launch four times. I personally will have close to 1000 hours in the command module simulator by the 31st of January." In response to press query Roosa said he would attempt to photograph evidence of moonquakes detected by seismometers: "...the current consensus is that these quakes are coming from around the Rima Parry Five Rille and the southern edge of crater Fra Mauro. So this will be a specific photo target. Both with the Hycon and with the Hasselblad to see if we can see anything new." (Transcript; UPI, NYT, 11/10/70, 33)
Awards ceremony to observe successful completion of more than four years of Saturn V launch vehicle test firings was held at MTF. MTF employees, contractors, and groups of Government workers received special plaques and awards. Guests included local, state government, and NASA officials. Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred W. Haise, Jr., presented flag own around moon on board Apollo 10 to MTF employees to express Apollo astronauts' gratitude, as facility marked last day of space operations. (MSFC Release 70-229)
During individual trips to Europe in past two weeks, Pan Am President Najeeb E. Halaby and TWA President F. C. Wiser had not de-. parted from Aviation industry's support for a supersonic transport, Washington Post reported. "Nevertheless, their reservations on Concorde could have implications for.. .SST program." Halaby had made "straight-forward appeal" for delay of Concorde development and proposed mass production of aircraft be postponed until consortium of international airlines had subjected Concorde to extensive checks by flying it on commercial routes. Wiser, in Geneva, had said Concorde would be money loser unless travelers were willing to pay ticket surcharge of 30%-40% above current fares. (Samuelson, W Post, 11/9/70, Al)
L/C Joe Klass and Maj. Joseph Gervais, both former USAF officers, said in New York that 10-yr investigation indicated Aviatrix Amelia Earhart, who had disappeared over Pacific in 1937, was alive and living in U.S. They believed woman called Mrs. Guy Bolam, who claimed to have flown with Earhart, was Earhart herself and that Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan had been intercepted In 1937 mission for U.S. Government by aircraft from Japanese carrier, held captive throughout World War II in Imperial Palace in Tokyo, and released when Emperor Hirohito bartered her life for his exemption from trial as war criminal. Col. Klass had written book Amelia Earhart Lives: A Trip Through Intrigue To Find America's First Lady of Mystery, published by McGraw-Hill. Mrs. Bolam later held press conference to issue denial, calling book "poorly documented hoax" and "utter nonsense." (AP, W Post, 11/10/70, D2: AP, W Star, 11/11/70, A2)
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