Jul 27 1976

From The Space Library

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Current revision

The Viking 1 orbiter photographed a tiny moon of Mars called Phobos at a distance of just over 8000 km, providing a picture so clear that more than 100 craters were visible on the surface only 22.5 km across. At least 6 craters measured nearly 2 km across, meaning that meteorites the size of small towns had crashed into Phobos during the last 3 or 4 billion yr. The face of Phobos in the picture released by JPL was the same one photographed in 1971 and 1972 Mariner 9, first spacecraft to orbit Mars. "This means that Phobos always shows its same side to Mars," said Dr. Thomas C. Duxbury of JPL, as earth's moon always shows the same side because of the pull of earth's gravity. Another Viking 1 picture showed small channels in the Argyre basin of Mars's southern highland that were the best evidence yet for heavy rainfall on the planet in past ages. Present atmospheric pressure on Mars was only about 7.7 millibars, 1/200th of that on earth and insufficient for liquid water to form or rain to fall. (W Post, 28 July 76, A-8)

Johnson Space Center announced that NASA had awarded the Singer Co. Simulations Products Division, Binghamton, N.Y., a $6.5-million 2-yr contract for maintenance, modification, and operational support of JSC's simulation complex at Houston to be used in training flight crews for the Space Shuttle program. Initially, the simulation complex would consist of the Shuttle procedures simulator and the crew procedures evaluation simulator; later, an orbiter aeroflight simulator would be added, followed by the Shuttle mission simulator. In addition to systems and hardware engineering, configuration control, installation and tests of modifications, and development, drafting, and illustration of software, the contract would require maintenance, servicing, and operational support of the equipment as well as documentation and logistics support. Extensions of 24 and 6 mo would be optional. McDonnell Douglas Corp. also negotiated for this contract (see 10 May). (JSC Release 76-48)

NASA announced the appointment of Harold E. Pryor as Deputy Administrative Assistant for Technology Utilization in the NASA Hq Office of Industry Affairs. Pryor had been with NASA since 1964, serving as director of the management systems office, the staff operations division in the Office of Procurement, and the NASA/DOD Contract Administration Services Office in the Defense Supply Agency Hq. He was also executive assistant to the Director, Manned Space Flight Management Operations, until July 1973, when he became director of the Scientific and Technical Information Office. Pryor earned bachelor's degrees in naval science and tactics and in aeronautical engineering; he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He would succeed Clare F. Farley, recently retired from NASA. (NASA anno. 27 July 76)

Tass reported from Moscow the launch of Intercosmos 16, carrying scientific apparatus developed in the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden, as well as in the USSR. Orbital parameters were said to be 523-km apogee, 465-km perigee, 94.4-min period, and 50.6 ° inclination. The probe was to study ultraviolet and x-ray radiation from the sun and the effects of this radiation on upper-atmosphere structure. Observatories in Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, and Czechoslovakia were ;making ground observations of the sun simultaneously with measurements taken aboard the satellite. (FBIS, Tass in English, 27 July 76)

Reporting on the opening of the new National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., Pravda, mentioned the life-size model of the docked Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft, saying that it "arouses the greatest interest among the museum's visitors" and adding, "The USSR and the United States must continue cooperation." The news story, headlined "First Anniversary," quoted both Dr. James Fletcher, NASA Administrator, and his deputy Dr. George M. Low on the technical and political importance of the ASTP mission. (FBIS, quoting Tass in Pravda, 16 July 76, 5)

U.S. intelligence sources reported the third failure of the USSR this year in testing an antisatellite system, when a Russian Hunter satellite failed to stay in orbit 21 July. The Hunter's mission was to destroy the Cosmos 839 launched into orbit 12 days earlier; U.S. analysts did not know what was causing the Soviet problem. Soviet efforts to develop an antisatellite system dated back about 10 yr, with only 5 successful launches out of more than 20 attempts before testing stopped in 1971. All 3 attempts since testing resumed in Feb. 1976 had been failures, the U.S. intelligence sources said. The satellite-destroyer was reported to be about 8 to long and to weigh about 2.5 tons at launch; equipped with 5 main rocket engines, the interceptor was said to be able to close on a target at about 4 km per sec and to get as close as 30 m to the target before exploding on ground command. The Associated Press report noted that the U.S. had not tried to develop a similar system since the 1960s; Dr. Malcolm Currie, DOD Director of Defense Research and Engineering, said last winter that "we are very much concerned about satellite vulnerability." (W Post, 27 July 76, A-2; C Trib, 27 July 76, 2)

27-28 July. NASA's Flight Research Center announced that Edwards AFB, Calif., was the scene of 3 air records set by pilots in the SR-71. Maj. Adolphus (Pat) Bledsoe, Jr., pilot, with Maj. John Fuller as reconnaissance system manager, flew the SR-71 at 3400 kph, surpassing the previous "absolute" (on a straight course) speed record of 2981 kph as well as a world-class speed record of 2920 kph set by Soviet pilots, both in Oct. 1967. Next day, Capt. Robert C. Helt, pilot, with Maj. Larry A. Elliott as recon officer, flew the SR-71 to an altitude of 26 km, surpassing the previous record of 24.4 km (in horizontal flight) set in 1965 by USAF Col. R.L. Stephens in a Lockheed YF-12A interceptor (prototype sister ship of SR-71). On the same day, Capt. Elden Joersz, pilot, with Maj. George T. Morgan, Jr., as recon officer, flew the SR-71 at a speed of 3530 kph to surpass the previous record of 3331 kph over a closed course set by Col. Stephens in 1965 in the YF-12A. The National Aeronautic Association verified the speed and altitude measurements, but the records would be unofficial until accredited by the Paris-based Federation Aeronautique Internationale. (FRC issuance 27-28 July 76; W Star, 28 July 76, 5)

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