Oct 29 1973
From The Space Library
NASA in cooperation with the Air Force launched Nnss 0-20 Transit satellite for the Navy from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a four-stage Scout booster. The satellite, launched as part of the Navy Navigation Satellite System, entered orbit with a 1139.4-km (708-mi) apogee, 902.8-km (561-mi) perigee, 105.6-min period, and 90.2° in-clination. NASA would be reimbursed by the Air Force for the cost of the launch vehicle and services. (Pres Rpt 74; NASA OSS; SBD, 11/1/73, 6; AP, NYT, 10/31/73, 13)
The U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos 604 from Plesetsk into orbit with a 636-km (395.2-mi) apogee, 614-km (381.5-mi) perigee, 97.2-min period, and 81.2° inclination. (GSFC SSR, 10/31/73; SBD, 10/31/73, 307)
A Soviet delegation of aviation and aerospace industry officials, headed by First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Aviation Industry Stephan I. Kadishev, had completed a three-week tour of major U.S. air transport and engine manufacturers, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported. The visit had been "smooth" despite strained relations between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. occasioned by the Middle East war. (Av Wk, 10/29/73, 24)
The European Space Research Organization had settled on "Ariane" as the name for the European L-3S launcher, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported. ESRO previously had selected "Vega," but some member countries had objected that Vega was a French beer. (Av Wk, 10/29/73, 9)
October 29-November 2: NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration flight-tested a United Air Lines 727 transport aircraft at West Coast airports to evaluate the effects of wing tip vortex trailing during two-segment instrument landing approaches. The tests were part of a con-tinuing NASA and FAA study of wing wake vortices, invisible flows of turbulent air streaming from aircraft wing tips in circular or funnel motion. The UAL 727 was flown under contract to Ames Research Center. (NASA Release 73-237)
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