Sep 8 1978
From The Space Library
NASA announced plans to launch Nimbus-G, first satellite designed to monitor manmade and natural pollutants in earth's atmosphere and the last of seven Nimbus environmental-research spacecraft launched since Aug. 1964, from WTR no earlier than Sept. 18, 1978. A 2-stage Delta launch vehicle would put the 907-kg observatory toward a near-polar orbit.
Nimbus-G would for the first time provide scientists throughout the world with continuous environmental data on physical conditions in the global atmosphere, the oceans, the dynamic atmosphere-ocean interface,. and the earth's heat balance-information vital to understanding climate, oceanography, atmospheric pollution, and regional and global weather patterns. NOAA and several U.S. university scientists would work with NASA scientists on the Nimbus-G project, along with scientists from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Switzerland, Canada, South Africa, West Germany, France, and Belgium. For the first time ESA would bring on line a Nimbus-G direct reception and data-processing capability at Lannion in France that would eventually receive, process, and distribute on a regular basis Nimbus-G data to approved European investigators.
The 8 highly complex sensors on Nimbus-G (seven from the U.S. and one from the U.K.) were improved versions of instruments carried on six previous Nimbus flights to answer three questions: Was ozone in the earth's upper atmosphere changing? Was the earth warming or cooling? What was the extent of pollution in the world's oceans? Nimbus-G sensors would include four to measure atmospheric gases and pollutants and their interrelationships in the earth's stratosphere and mesophere (the upper atmosphere from 10 to 90km [6.2 to 56mi] up). The coastal zone color scanner, sensing colors of the oceans, would enable oceanographers to map chlorophyll concentrations, sediment distribution, and salinity in large areas of coastal or ocean water, and to detect and track water pollution such as oil spills, sewage and industrial waste dumpings, and river sediment.
GSFC would manage the spacecraft, Delta launch vehicle, and global network for tracking and 2-way communications. Kennedy Space Center's unmanned-launch operations team would supervise the Delta launch. General Electric Co.'s Space Division, Nimbus prime contractor with more than 50 major subsystem contractors, would be responsible for sensors and components in the spacecraft, launch vehicle, and ground-reception equipment. More than 1000 subcontractors and vendors had participated in the program. Cost of Nimbus-G spacecraft and instruments had totaled $79 million, $2.6 million less than budgeted. (NASA Release 78-136 [press kit]; MOR E-604-78-08 [prelaunch] Sept 1/78, [prelaunch summary] Sept 1/78; Langley Researcher, Sept 22/78)
NASA announced it had appointed Frank Simokaitis (Maj. Gen., USAF, Ret.) director of its DOD affairs division, Hq Office of External Relations. During World War II, Gen. Simokaitis had been an instructor pilot and bomber pilot in the European theater. Later he had held a series of special investigative, legal, planning, administrative, and staff posts, including executive assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force from 1969 to 1973. Until his retirement, Gen. Simokaitis had been commandant of the USAF Inst. of Technology at Wright Patterson AFB and commandant of the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management. He had received LL.B. and J.D. degrees from St. Louis Univ. and was a member of the bar of the State of Missouri, admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Claims. (NASA Release 78-139)
Langley Research Center announced that Dr. Leonard Hayflick, senior cell research biologist at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Northern Calif., would speak on "The Biology of Human Aging" Sept. 18 as part of LaRC's colloquium series. According to Dr. Hayflick, the ability of the human body to maintain itself had been demonstrated from its large-scale immune and endocrine systems down to the cellular level; its highly adaptable self-maintenance ability had appeared in biological responses of astronauts to sustained zero-g environments. Why did this self-maintenance ability give way to the aging process and eventually death? Could the biological clock be altered, and would it be desirable to do so? Dr. Hayflick would discuss aging both from a demographic and a biological point of view. After explaining cell-culture technology, and its implications, Dr. Hayflick would summarize some modern theories on the aging process, (LaRC Release 78-45)
The U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology reported that Rep. Olin Teague (D-Tex.) had called for hearings on the current status of NASA programs. Convened by the subcommittee on space science and applications and chaired by Rep. Don Fuqua (D-Fla.), the hearings would review NASA projects, with particular emphasis on the Space Shuttle and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. Fuqua said it had been subcommittee practice to hold hearings in the fall before considering NASA requests for new and continuing work in the next year's budget.
John Yardley, associate administrator for Space Transportation Systems, and William Schneider, associate administrator for space tracking and data systems, would testify Sept. 25. Dr. Anthony Calio, associate administrator for space and terrestrial applications, and Dr. Noel Hinners, associate administrator for space science, would testify Sept. 26. Dr. James Kramer, associate administrator for aeronautics and space technology, and Raymond Kline, associate administrator for management operations, would both testify Sept. 27. (H Comm on Sci & Tech Release 95-114)
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