April 1975

From The Space Library

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Revision as of 03:32, 28 January 2010

Soviet spending for research and development had risen 50% between 1968 and 1973, representing an increase of from 2.5% to 3.8% of the Soviet gross national product, the Air Forces Journal International quoted a Dept. of Commerce report as saying. During the same period, outlays for U.S. R&D had fallen from 3% to 2.4% of the GNP. The number of Soviet scientists and engineers working in R&D functions nearly doubled in the period, from 594 000 to 1069 000; by contrast, the U.S. technological pool had risen from 454 000 to 531000. The growth stemmed from a Soviet decision, announced in 1968, to increase Soviet expenditures for science and technology by more than 60%. The report estimated that 90% of the Soviet technical workforce was in the military and space fields. (AF Journ Int, April 75,20)

NASA's flying laboratory Galileo II, an instrumented Convair 990, participated in a month-long cooperative investigation of the Arctic seas. Researchers from NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and several Canadian agencies hoped to find methods of measuring critical changes in the Arctic environment that would help environmentalists find out how best to manage Arctic resources.

A major objective of the program was an experiment-called the AIDJEX, the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment-to investigate the relationship among ice motion, weather, and ocean conditions. Combined data from aircraft- and ground-based investigations would be used to interpret satellite data obtained at the same time.

BESMEX, the Bering Sea Marine Mammal Experiment, would study the migration patterns of marine mammals and the relationship between mammal population, migration, and sea-ice conditions.

In a third experiment, scientists would measure microwave emission characteristics of polar ice, hoping to find a key to global monitoring of ice distribution by climate and size. This information would aid in predicting the survival rate of offshore drilling rigs. (ARC Release 75-11)

Goddard Space Flight Center awarded a $20 000 research grant to the University of Florida to establish the feasibility of the electromagnetic wave energy-conversion (EWEC) concept. The EWEC converter used electromagnetic antennas to absorb the sun's electromagnetic radiation into an array of insulated components and then convert it directly to electricity. The absorber operated similarly to insect antennae and the retina of the eye: Insects communicated by the reception of infrared and other electromagnetic radiation or energy, using their antennae tuned to the proper frequency by nature's design. Once received, the energy was converted into electrical impulses. (NASA Release 75-102)

During April-May: NASA conducted Atmospheric Variability Experiment IV and Atmospheric Variability Severe Storms Experiments I and II in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, Army, National Weather Service, and several universities. Coordinating data collected over the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. by satellites, aircraft, radar, and weather balloons, participants hoped to develop new techniques for predicting where and when tornadoes might strike. The data collected, including information on thunderstorms, updrafts, and wind and cloud data, would be compared with ground-truth observations to determine the relationship between severe storms and their environment. Participating in the experiments were 41 radiosonde stations, 18 radar stations, 7 instrumented aircraft, and 5 meteorological satellites. (MSFC Release 75-1.02)

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