Oct 24 1985
From The Space Library
NASA announced that an October 29 conference in Washington sponsored by NASA, the Department of Defense, and other government agencies would provide a forum for government executives to discuss the Reagan Administration's program to increase government efficiency and effectiveness.
Following welcoming remarks by Dennis Whitfield, chief of staff to the Secretary of Labor, and David Braunstein, director of NASA's productivity programs, conference participants would be briefed on several perspectives on the President's productivity improvement program. Stephen Scholossberg, deputy under secretary for labor-management relations, Department of Labor, would then provide a labor-management view of quality and productivity.
In the afternoon, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless, first human to freely maneuver in space without a tether, would speak on the importance of quality and productivity in the space program. John Franke Jr., assistant secretary for administration, Department of Agriculture, would then give case examples of management's commitment to quality; and Commodore John Kirkpatrick, commander, Naval Aviation Logistics Center, would discuss quality improvement through total quality management. (NASA Release 85-146)
NASA announced today that an American journalist would fly on a Space Shuttle mission in late 1986 as the second in a series of communicators to be selected as part of the agency's Space Flight Participant Program. The first candidate selected under this program was Christa McAuliffe, a classroom teacher scheduled to fly in January 1986.
In today's announcement NASA said it would select the journalist, like the teacher candidate, after a nationwide competition conducted by professionals representing a broad spectrum of individuals in the candidates' field. The competition would be limited to full-time working media representatives (U.S. citizens) with five or more years' experience covering or commenting on the news for U.S.-based audio, video, or print media. Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and effectively to mass audiences in both broadcast and print media would be the basis for evaluation of applications, although it was not necessary for the candidate to have worked professionally in both.
The selection process would first require identification of eight candidates from each of five regions in the U.S.; from the 40 regional nominees, a National Selection Panel would recommend five for final consideration by the NASA Space Flight Participant Evaluation Committee composed of seven senior NASA officials.
The five semifinalists would undergo medical examinations and receive briefings on the spaceflight experience at the Johnson Space Center. Based on results of the physicals and subsequent interviews, the evaluation committee would recommend a primary and backup candidate to the NASA Administrator who would approve the final selection.
The Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication in cooperation with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and a Journalism Advisory Committee comprised of representatives from 16 professional journalism organizations including the American Newspaper Publishers Association, Radio Television News Directors Association, American Society of Newspaper Editors, National Association of Broadcasters, Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi, and the National Newspaper Association would administer the competition. (NASA Release 85-147)
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced today that during the 71st meeting October 23 and 24 of the Council of the European Space Agency it unanimously approved the accession of Austria and Norway to full membership status, bringing ESA membership to 13 countries.
The agreement between ESA and the governments of Austria and Norway required governmental approval and parliamentary ratification in the two countries with the intention of giving them full membership status on January 1, 1987.
The decision followed a period of close cooperation between ESA and the two countries, both of which had been closely associated with many of ESA's activities over the previous 20 years including the Spacelab, Marecs, and ERS-1 programs. (ESA release Oct 24/85)
The European Space Agency announced today that the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) on October 14 and 16 simulated the spacecraft Giotto's encounter with Halley's Comet (scheduled for about midnight March 13, 1986) by testing the spacecraft's systems, the different scientific instruments, and the associated ground systems in the first of a series of rehearsals that would take place up until a few days before the encounter. The first rehearsals showed satisfactory operation of the spacecraft and its payload and helped experimenters and engineers obtain better insight into the type of situations they might face during actual encounter.
Before the formal rehearsals, engineers had switched on and tested all scientific instruments. The two plasma analyzers and the ion mass spectrometer produced measurements of the solar wind and its composition; the magnetometer, of the interplanetary magnetic field.
The onboard camera made observations of the star Vega, the planet Jupiter and, on October 18 and 23, of earth. Taken at a distance of about 20 million km, images of the Pacific Ocean region showed a pattern of darker and brighter structures, the latter being associated with cloud formations. The quality and resolution of the images showed that the camera was functioning according to its design specifications. (ESA release Oct 24/85)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
