Jul 17 1973

From The Space Library

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Current revision

Skylab Astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin, and Paul J. Weitz testified on the May 14-June 22 Skylab 1-2 mission in a joint hearing before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences and the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. Conrad said the mission had proved the feasibility of maintaining a large space station for manufacturing in space. "I think the data will show that you can do all the things up there that you can do down here and many of them perhaps better." Skylab 1-2 earth resources and solar telescope data would show "that eventually space has a very definite role in helping mankind and in solving some of these problems that are in front of us. After all, the Sun is probably the most single efficient nu-clear device that we know about. We do have an energy crisis, We need to better understand that. We just scratched the surface with our 30,000 photographs we brought back. I think you will find that the Earth re-sources data, when coupled with . .. ERTS [[[Earth Resources Technology Satellite]]s] and those types of sensors will . . . as an overall systems design, tie all of these things we talk about with different satellites into a big picture." At the mission's completion the Skylab 1-2 crew could hand over to the Skylab 3 crew a Workshop that could harbor "a 100-percent successful 56-day mission," Dr. Kerwin said Skylab 1-2 medical experience enabled him to extrapolate a 56-day mission "without difficulty." He felt the inflight portion would be "a piece of cake." Postflight, the Skylab 3 astronauts might "feel a bit loggier than we did." But Skylab 1-2 had demon-strated that this was a "minor illness . . . that you get from being 28 days in space and that you can return very rapidly to normal." Weitz said Skylab's earth resources survey equipment permitted a more selective data acquisition than that of unmanned ERTS. "I think we have shown in the past with unmanned satellites that part of the problem is that you have a continuous data flow, not all of which is usable, but all of which must be processed and reduced and analyzed in some form." With Skylab equipment "we can track point sites" and "be selective . . . pick out specific sites, fields, or a bend in the river, if you want to study silting." (Transcript)

NASA launched a Javelin sounding rocket from Wallops Station carrying a Univ. of Pittsburgh aeronomy experiment to a 724.2-km (450-mi) altitude. The rocket and experiment performed satisfactorily. (GSFC proj off)

The U.S. defense outlay continued to increase despite improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and the People's Republic of China, the U.S.-U.S.S.R. agreement to limit strategic arms, the Vietnam cease-fire agreements, and sharp cutbacks in U.S. military forces, the Wall Street Journal noted. FY 1974 spending was projected at $79 billion, up $4.2 billion from FY 1973, "a shade above the Vietnam-war peak and a shade be-low the World War II pinnacle. While the White House talks detente, the Pentagon speaks of growing Soviet military power and the likelihood, given further price and pay inflation, of $100 billion-plus military budg-ets by the end of the decade." (Levine, WSJ, 7/17/73, 1)

July 17-18: NASA launched a series of 26 meteorological experiments on rockets and balloons from Wallops Station to provide an in-depth comparison between remote sensors on satellites and sensors on rockets and balloons from a mid-latitude site. The project-divided into a day and night series to provide data both with and without solar energy input-was conducted in conjunction with Nimbus 5 (launched Dec. 10, 1972) and Noaa 2 (launched Oct. 15, 1972) satellites. Four Nike-Cajun sounding rockets were launched carrying Goddard Space Flight Center acoustic grenades to measure temperature and winds. The grenades were ejected and detonated in flight, one at a time, from 30- to 95-km (19- to 59-mi) altitude. The first Nike-Cajun was launched July 17 and reached an altitude of 117.4 km (72.9 mi). The rocket performed satisfactorily. Thirty of the thirty-one grenades were successfully detonated and the sound returns were received by the ground microphone array. The second Nike-Cajun launched 79 minutes later reached an altitude of 116.2 km (72.2 mi) and detonated all of its 12 grenades successfully. The third Nike-Cajun was launched July 18 to a 114.9-km (71.4-mi) altitude. Rocket performance was satisfactory and all 31 grenades were successfully detonated. The final Nike-Cajun was launched two hours later to an altitude of 120.7 km (75 mi). The rocket performance was satisfactory and all 12 grenades were detonated successfully. In addition to the Nike-Cajuns, the launches included 4 balloon sondes, 3 Viper Darts, and 15 Super Lokis instrumented to obtain density and temperature data. Participating in the program with Wallops Station were White Sands Missile Range, the Air Force, and GSFC. (WS Release 73-7; NASA Rpts SRL)

July 17, 19, 23, 24: The House Committee on Science and Astronautics held hearings on Federal policy, plans, and organization for science and technology. Dr. H. Guyford Stever on July 17 explained his dual role as National Science Foundation ,Director and, as of July 1, Science Adviser to the President: "I am aware of the need to maintain a strong, independent position as Science Adviser. I do not believe there will be insurmountable difficulties in dealing with this challenge. The newly established Science and Technology Policy Office will be the strong staff arm to help me carry out these new duties I have structured this office to maintain a maximum degree of objectivity and impartiality on science policy matters. . . . I intend to call upon the significant and broad capabilities existent within the Foundation. . . . I will also call upon other Government agencies for assistance whenever appropriate." Dr. Edward E. David, Jr., Executive Vice President for Research and Development and Planning with Gould, Inc., and former Presidential Science Adviser, on July 24 commented on NSF'S new role as "the Government's highest level policy and advisory body with technical competence." He saw the new arrangement at NSF as unstable, with "formidable and demanding" tasks. He saw two possible resolutions: NSF could restrict itself to science and academic research or it could transcend its historic past and achieve the national stature necessary to influence agencies and departments on technical programs that cut across operating boundaries and to serve as the technological beacon for other agencies. Science, Dr. David said, had not been downgraded. "Science and technology will continue to be the warp and woof of our society," but the national scene had changed. The former White House apparatus, 1957-1965, had been "more weighted toward space and military matters. Importantly, the apparatus was also responsible for development of programs to strengthen the infrastructure of science and engineering. . . In recent years we have seen the emphasis shifting toward consumer and public-oriented technologies in energy, transportation, health, education, natural resources, ecology and environment, and social systems. This shift brings with it a powerful new set of policy issues which illustrate the necessity to include not only science and technology, but also economic, social, legal, and political factors"-consumer markets, public preferences, and political beliefs, "matters with which the Federal establishment has little experience or expertise. It is in such matters that the new NSF office must exert leadership and influence." (Transcript)

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