Mar 27 1973
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(New page: Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, and Dr. Fernando de Mendonca, Director General of the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE), signed a Memorandum of Understanding to ...)
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Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, and Dr. Fernando de Mendonca, Director General of the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE), signed a Memorandum of Understanding to extend the NASA-INPE cooperative project in remote sensing using the ERTS 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite launched by NASA July 23, 1972. The project's purpose was to advance applications of spacecraft and aircraft remote sensing to monitor environmental conditions. INPE would establish a data-acquisition station at Cuiaba, central Brazil, and a data-processing facility in Sao Paulo state. There would be no exchange of funds; both agencies would share all data and information necessary for the conduct of the program; and INPE would make available to NASA, cost free, copies of ERTs data it acquired and processed. The data would be available to the domestic and international community. (NASA Release 73-82)
Langley Research Center had purchased a 737-100 aircraft from Boeing Commercial Airplane Co. for research on advanced flight systems for future air terminal environments, NASA announced. The twin-jet transport, the first 737 built, would be delivered to Langley in January 1974. The $2-million contract with Boeing included modification, refurbishment, and NASA pilot and ground crew training. Special equipment would permit study of efficient air paths, aircraft performance requirements, automatic systems, displays, and pilot workloads. (NASA Release 73-57)
A Federal Aviation Administration rule protecting the public from sonic booms generated by civil supersonic aircraft was announced by Secretary of Transportation Claude S. Brinegar. The rule, prohibiting civil aircraft from exceeding mach 1 when flying over land mass or territorial waters of U.S., would become effective April 27, 1973. (FAA Release 73-57)
Award by NASA contractor Informatics TISCO, Inc., of $410 000 in subcontracts to three minority business enterprises for technical and production activities at NASA's Scientific and Technical Information Facility in College Park, Md., was announced by NASA. Awards to Reliable Engineering Associates, Inc., Automated Typographics, Inc., and Plato Systems, Inc., brought total NASA minority contracts to $513 540, or 15% of the total $3-million contract value. (NASA Release 73-53)
Federal Aviation Administration award of a six-month $125 082 contract to Boeing Co. to develop data to identify aircraft noise patterns in airport vicinities was announced by Secretary of Transportation Claude S. Brinegar. Boeing would collect and analyze noise and performance data on its four in-service commercial aircraft-Boeing 707, 727, 737, and 747. (FAA Release 73-55)
Rep. Charles A. Vanik (D-Ohio) introduced H.R. 6194, Energy Development and Supply Act of 1973. The bill would establish the Energy Development and Supply Commission, a NASA-like agency to "coordinate the Nation's energy policies and develop new sources of clean, cheap energy.” (CR, 3/27/73, H2189)
NASA launched a Nike-Tomahawk sounding rocket from Poker Flats, Alaska, carrying a Goddard Space Flight Center magnetospheric physics experiment to a 2332-km (144.9-mi) altitude. The rocket and instrumentation performed satisfactorily. (GSFC proj off)
The Air Force announced award of a $2 000 000 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to General Electric Co. for services and supplies for reentry system components and related assembly, checkout, and integration support for an advanced ballistic reentry system. (DOD Release 146-73) March 28: Secretary of Defense Elliott L. Richardson testified on the Air Force advanced medium STOL (short takeoff and landing) transport (AMST) prototype development program before the Senate Committee on Armed Services in hearings on the FY 1974 Dept. of Defense budget and FY 1974-1978 program: The AMST program's purpose was "to determine the feasibility of developing an operationally useful STOL aircraft which could be procured in quantity at an average unit flyaway cost (in FY 1972 dollars) of about $7 million each, as an eventual replacement for the C-130 in the 1980s. A decision on engineering development and production of this aircraft will be made only after the prototypes have been evaluated in terms of both performance and cost." The FY 1974 budget included $67 million to continue prototype development of the AMST. (Testimony)
Grumman Aerospace Corp. would lay off 1000 employees to reduce operating expenses, the New York Times reported. The expense paring had been ordered by Deputy Secretary of Defense William P. Clements to increase operating efficiency after the controversy over increasing costs of the Grumman-produced F-14 fighter aircraft. (Andelman, NYT, 3/28/73, P28)
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