Oct 6 1976
From The Space Library
A rocketborne experiment to investigate the ionosphere failed when the second stage of the two-stage Nike-Cajun vehicle failed to ignite, Wallops Flight Center announced. Liftoff at WFC occurred at 3:30 pin EDT, and the Cajun with its payload fell into the Atlantic Ocean about 2 min 14 sec after liftoff. The experiment was to determine ion composition of the D and lower E regions of the ionosphere, with special emphasis on the transition region. Planned recovery of the experiment in midair would have spared the instrumentation from impact and exposure to salt water, allowing reflight at substantial cost savings. A committee had been appointed to investigate the cause of the malfunction. (WFC Release 76-14)
ESA's Science Program Committee announced that it had unanimously approved two new scientific projects at its sixth meeting held 4 and 5 Oct. in Paris. The committee approved participation in the Space Telescope, planned by NASA for launch in 1983, and agreed to finance a plan called GEOSARI (launching a Geos spacecraft into a different orbit on the second flight of the Ariane launcher, scheduled for Dec. 1979). The Space Telescope project depended on a favorable outcome of negotiations with NASA and approval of the project by U.S. authorities in 1977. The committee considered an additional ESA-NASA cooperative project, the Out-of-Ecliptic (OOE) mission to fly two spacecraft around the sun at its north and south poles in a first exploration of the solar system's third dimension; the committee agreed to continue negotiations with NASA and to join in an announcement of opportunities for the mission if necessary before the committee's next meeting, in the spring of 1977. (ESA release 6 Oct 76)
INTELSAT announced award to the British Aircraft Corp. of a 15-mo fixed-price contract for design, fabrication, test, and delivery of a model onboard processor programmable to perform a variety of tasks, including monitoring and control of satellite electronic functions. A standardized system based on microprocessors, rather than hard-wired logic, for each individual function or system would reduce weight and power consumption and increase satellite reliability and efficiency. Value of the contract' was $121600 in U.S. dollars. (INTELSAT Release 76-27-M)
The Brazilian Telecommunications Company received bids from international firms to supply space tracking equipment to the Brazilian satellite communications system, according to a broadcast from the Brasilia Domestic Service. The announcement said the first stage of the domestic satellite system, to be concluded in 1979, would consist of 17 receiving and transmitting stations primarily in the Amazon region, and two space satellites; a third would be used for replacement. During a second phase ending in 1981, 19 more stations would be added. The system would consist of 44 stations in all, the last eight to be added later. (FBIS, Brasilia Domestic Service in Portuguese, 6 Oct 76)
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