Jun 9 1976
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(New page: NASA launched Marisat 2, second in a series of ComSat maritime communications satellites, at 8:09 pm EDT from the Eastern Test Range on a Delta vehicle, into a transfer orbit with apogee o...)
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NASA launched Marisat 2, second in a series of ComSat maritime communications satellites, at 8:09 pm EDT from the Eastern Test Range on a Delta vehicle, into a transfer orbit with apogee of 36 24 km, perigee of 185 km, and 26° inclination. The apogee boost motor fired 11 June would put the spacecraft into a 36 000-km-altitude synchronous orbit at 176°E over the Pacific. Marisat was designed to transmit voice, data, facsimile, and telex messages to and from ships at sea, through special stations in Conn. and Calif. interconnected with existing domestic land networks; initially, the system would be used by the U.S. Navy, until its requirements terminated in the late 1970s. The cylindrical satellite, weighing 655 kg at liftoff and 317 kg in orbit, measured 2.1 m in diameter and was 3.6 m long. Like Marisat 1, which had been operating over the Atlantic since its launch 19 February, it carried 3 'UHF channels for government use, activated or deactivated by ground command, and 2 4-hz channels operating in the L- and C-bands respectively to carry ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship signals; the full ship-to-shore capacity would always be available independent of government use of the UHF channels, which would use separate receiving facilities. (NASA Release 76-83; MOR 492-205-76-02 [prelaunch] 7 June 76, [postlaunch] 14 Oct 76)
Johnson Space Center announced "the most successful balloon flight of its type ever conducted" when a football-field-sized balloon carried a scientific instruments package at a 40-km altitude across the central Texas night sky for 12 hr to gather information on far distant giant and super-giant stars. The 589-kg package known as BUSS-for balloon borne ultraviolet stellar spectrometer-gathered data on 16 separate stars, including Arcturus, a giant star in constellation Bootes; super-giant Antares (alpha Scorpii); Vega (alpha Lyrae); and Spica (alpha Virginis), super-hot star and one of the brightest observed during the flight. Of special interest was super-giant Deneb in constellation Cygnus, 1400 light years distant, whose light recorded by BUSS was emitted before the Anglo-Saxons settled in England; Deneb was so large that, if the sun were located in its center, the earth would orbit the sun entirely within the star's outer limits. The BUSS payload was the culmination of a 3-yr international collaboration between JSC and the Space Research Laboratory of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Dr. Yoji Kondo of JSC was U.S. coprincipal investigator, with Dr. Thomas H. Morgan and Dr. Jerry L. Modisette of Houston Baptist University; the Dutch team was led by Dr. Cees de Jager. Purpose of the balloon flights in a series of star studies that began in 1971 was to evaluate the experiment systems for use on the Space Shuttle; the BUSS package was designed to obtain data on spectral variations of a variety of stars and aid scientists in determining their structure and evolution. Previous flights had obtained some information but only a fiftieth of the spectral range covered by the BUSS payload. The package was landed by a parachute about 26 m in diameter, similar to those used on the Apollo command module; the payload, chute, and balloon were recovered between Abilene and Ft. Worth by NASA engineers who returned the material to Houston. The data would be analyzed by the U.S. team and by the Dutch scientists, who had returned to Holland, in preparation for another balloon flight scheduled for the fall of 1976. (ISC Release 76-39)
Marshall Space Flight Center announced selection of 1 l industrial firms to negotiate for award of contracts totaling $,200 000 for marketable solar heating and cooling subsystems-solar collectors and control systems to be tested and evaluated for inclusion in complete solar-heating systems that would be installed in residences and commercial buildings throughout the U.S. Data gathered from these installations would be used in a national solar-energy development program administered by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), for which MSFC is managing the heating and cooling demonstration. Of the 11 companies selected, 8 were small businesses. The companies were: Northrup, Inc., Hutchins, Tex.; Rho Sigma, Van Nuys, Calif.; Solar Energy Products Co., Avon Lake, 0.; Solar Energy Systems, Inc., Pennsauken, N.J.; Solargenics, Inc., Chatsworth, Calif.; Solaron Corp., Commerce City, Colo.; Sunworks, Inc., Guilford, Conn.; Ying Manufacturing Corp., Gardena, Calif.; Honeywell, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.; Libbey-Owens-Ford Co., Toledo, 0.; and Martin Marietta Corp., Denver, Colo. (NASA Release 76-109; MSFC Release 76-106)
Lewis Research Center announced the first of a number of solar-cell demonstrations it would conduct as part of the national photovoltaic conversion program directed by the Energy Research and Development Administration: a solar-powered refrigerator, standard-size camper's model, fitted with 3 panels of photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into electrical energy. Designed for use in remote locations, the solar cells would run the refrigerator during daylight hours and charge conventional automobile batteries located under the unit; the batteries would power the refrigerator during darkness and on overcast days. With the cooperation of the Interior Department's National Park Service, the refrigerator was being used for perishable foods at a trail-construction camp at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan, a roadless area near northern Lake Superior accessible only by boat or floatplane and typical of places that have no regular electric power. The solar-cell arrays, although relatively expensive, cost less to use in remote locations than the fuel and transportation would cost for alternative power sources. (NASA Release 76-110)
Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, named the Ames Research Center to lead a program to strengthen helicopter research and development and serve as a focal point for industry participation and program management. A special helicopter management advisory group had made a presentation to Fletcher 28 May reviewing research needs and stressing the need for improvements in helicopters if the U.S. industry were to get a fair share of the market. Overall direction of the program would come from ARC; Lewis Research Center would conduct research on propulsion, and Langley Research Center would do research in structures and materials, avionics, and noise. ARC would also conduct research in aeromechanics, including technology integration and large-scale testing and simulation. (NASA Release 76-112)
Successful completion of the Da Vinci II scientific balloon flight by 4 crew members was announced by the Energy Research and Development Administration. Launched west of St. Louis on 8 June, the balloon had flown over the city during the day and moved eastward across the Mississippi River toward evening; it had flown across Ill. and landed near Griffin, Ind., a distance of more than 240 km in 24 hr. Purpose of the flight-a joint project of ERDA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency-was to follow industrial and urban air pollution across the surrounding countryside and to record its changing concentration and chemistry. The crew reported excellent scientific data, especially on concentrations of sulfur dioxide. The crew, its 3m-square gondola, and more than 900 kg of scientific equipment landed safely and in good condition. (ERDA Release 76-170)
An article in Moscow's Krasnaya Zvezda reviewed the increasing use of satellites for military communications, especially in the U.S. Space communications had become available in Britain, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Canada, Brazil, and Norway, as well as other countries, and though basically designed for commercial purposes "there is no doubt" that most of the channels were used by the military, the article said. As an example, the national system of space communications in Iran was said to be developed to provide guidance for combat aircraft. Not satisfied with the potential of commercial systems, the Pentagon and the NATO command had established communications satellites exclusively for military purposes, the article said, quoting U.S. News and World Report as saying that since 1960 "the Pentagon has sent 83 communications satellites ... into orbit but has not got what it wanted. Of all these satellites only 13 still continue in orbit, and not all 13 are functioning normally." The Soviet magazine also pointed out that 6 launches of DSCS-2 satellites had been planned, but 2 had been lost during launch and 2 more had broken down in orbit; the 2 currently operating were over the Pacific and the Atlantic at about 36 000 km, and another 6 had been ordered, the first pair due for launch in spring 1977. As press statements showed that two thirds of the military communications with foreign countries were going through commercial systems, "foreign observers" had concluded that the military systems had proven less reliable than INTELSAT; the Pentagon had explained that requirements on military satellites were considerably higher, as they had to work with small mobile stations in widely scattered locations, needed increased protection against jamming, and must be durable to withstand possible combat effects. The Russian commentator said the U.S. had begun developing a third generation of military satellites-the DSCS-3-with launch scheduled for 1981, and that these new spacecraft would be powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators with longer working life and greater capacity. Elimination of bulky solar panels would also make the new craft more difficult to detect in orbit. After describing the Fleetsatcom and Afsatcom systems, the article pointed out that "the creation of a manned multipurpose transport spacecraft" [the U.S. Space Shuttle] would have a major impact on communications-satellite systems; such spacecraft would be able to launch large mass and capacity comsats, eliminating "complex operations and devices [needed to prepare] the satellite for work following its injection into orbit," and would simplify technical servicing and repair of the comsats while in orbit. Although many technical problems remained, space facilities had become the basis of military communications abroad, the article concluded. (FBIS, Krasnaya Zvezda, 26 May 76, 3)
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