May 31 1972
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NASA announced completion of major preflight verification test of Skylab Workshop at McDonnell Douglas Corp. Huntington Beach, Calif., plant. Two teams of six astronauts each had performed checkout activities in two six-hour shifts daily for three days, activating Work-shop to demonstrate that it could support all activities planned for missions. Test was one of last two major tests for Workshop, 14.6 m (48 ft) long, 6.7 m (22 ft) in diameter, and scheduled for launch in early 1973. Flight demonstration would be conducted before space-craft was shipped to Kennedy Space Center during summer. (NASA Release 72-117)
Senate Committee on Appropriations favorably reported H.R. 15093, FY 1973 Dept. of Housing and Urban Development-space-science- veterans appropriations bill that included $3.432-billion NASA appropriation. Senate appropriation was $24 million above budget request of $3.408 billion and increase of $82.4 million over House appropriation of $3.349 billion voted May 23. Senate version raised appropriation for research and development (R&D) $74.9 million above House version, to $2.624 billion. Construction of facilities funds were increased by $7.5 million, to $77.3 million. Research and program management funds remained unchanged. Of R&D appropriation increase, $24 million was for aeronautical research in noise abatement and aviation safety and $50.9 million to restore funds deleted in House bill from other NASA research programs. Construction of facilities increase restored funds deleted in House bill-$5.5 million requested by NASA for modification of space shuttle manufacturing and final assembly facilities and $2 million for planning and design. Shuttle funds would support orbiter assembly and external hydrogen and oxygen tank manufacture, baselined "for estimating purposes" at Michoud Assembly Facility, one of possible sites for either or both of these functions. (S Rpt 92-820)
House Committee on Science and Astronautics' Subcommittee on Manned Space Flight met for briefing by NASA on joint U.S.- U.S.S.R. rendezvous and docking mission in 1975. Officials-Dale D. Myers, Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight; Arnold Frutkin, Assistant Administrator for International Affairs, and Glynn S. Lunney, Assistant to Apollo Program Manager-presented chronology of major events leading to mission, preliminary mission description, description of hardware elements, and data on management of engineering phase and of real-time operation. (Transcript)
Two NASA aircraft equipped with camera systems similar to those on board Earth Resources Technology Satellite A (ERTS-A; scheduled for June or July launch) were flying from Ames Research Center in preparation for ERTS flights. ERTS flights would be first U.S. attempt to monitor earth resources from space. Purpose of NASA aircraft flights at 20 000-m (65 000-ft) altitude was to acquire photographic data in color, infrared, and other spectral bands at same time of day as ERTS-A would photograph from 885-km (550- mi) altitude. Data from 50 test sites in continental U.S. would be processed and distributed by ARC to 47 ERTS investigators who required seasonal terrain-change data in agriculture, hydrology, and forestry for analysis of early growing season. Seasonal change data from aircraft would be correlated with ERTS-A data after launch to monitor healthy crops and forests and disease infestation. (NASA Release 72-116)
Robert J. Collier Trophy for 1971 was presented by National Aeronautic Assn. to Apollo 15 Astronauts David R. Scott, James B. Irwin, and Alfred M. Worden and former Manned Spacecraft Center Director, Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, during Washington, D.C., ceremony. (Abrams, W Post, 6/1/72, Dl)
Two sounding rockets were launched from Andoeya, Norway, carrying Univ. of Maryland and Norwegian experiments to measure, in situ, electron and proton spectra in relativistic electron precipitation events. Launches were part of cooperative effort between NASA and Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (NTNF). NTNF was responsible for payload construction, integration, and launch. Nike-Apache reached 165-km (102.5-mi) altitude and good data were received from all experiments. Nike- Cajun reached 110.5-km (68.7-mi) altitude, but payload doors failed to eject, causing loss of Univ. of Maryland data. Good data were received from NTNF ion mass spectrometer. (NASA Rpts SRL)
NASA launched Black Brant VC sounding rocket from White Sands Missile Range, N. Mex., carrying Univ. of Colorado solar ultraviolet spectrometer. Rocket performed satisfactorily. Scientific objectives were not satisfied. (SR list)
Langley Research Center awarded $9 400 000 contract to LTV Aerospace Corp. Vought Missiles & Space Co. for 15 Scout launch vehicles, to be delivered one per month beginning in November 1973. Rocket motors for boosters would be furnished under separate $3 819 000 contract with LTV Aerospace Hampton Technical Center, (LaRC Release 72-7)
U.S. sources quoted in Washington Post said U.S.S.R. had begun building modified class of missile-firing submarines to carry fewer but longer range missiles than current Soviet undersea fleet. New submarines would each carry 12 new SSN-8 missiles with estimated range about 5600 km (3500 mi), or more than twice that of missile currently installed on "Y" class Soviet submarines. (Getler, W Post, 5/31/72, A12)
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