Jan 7 1991
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(New page: NASA named Margaret G. Finarelli as Associate Administrator for External Relations and John D. Schumacher as Deputy Associate Administrator for External Relations. Finarelli, who has serve...)
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NASA named Margaret G. Finarelli as Associate Administrator for External Relations and John D. Schumacher as Deputy Associate Administrator for External Relations. Finarelli, who has served in a number of U.S. government agencies, joined NASA in 1981 as Chief of the International Planning and Programs Office. Schumacher came to NASA in 1989 from a law practice in New York City. (NASA Release 91-3)
The New York Times reported that the United States would announce today at a scientific meeting in New Mexico its intention to buy an advanced Soviet nuclear reactor, known as Topaz 2, built to power systems in space. The United States at present has no working nuclear reactors in orbit and this purchase constitutes a high point in East-West cooperation on technical matters. Topaz 2 is designed to operate up to five years in space and will be set up in the Albuquerque area. It was to be tested by the University of New Mexico, the Sandia National Laboratory, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Air Force Phillips Laboratory. The Topaz 2 can generate from 6,000 to 10,000 watts of electricity. (NY Times, Jan 7/91)
An unmanned $45 million Delta 2 rocket carrying a $110 million NATO communications satellite to replace an older military spacecraft was launched on January 7 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket was built by McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company and was the 202d launch of a Delta. The satellite, which would enable political and military leaders in the NATO area to communicate with one another, was the first of two advanced NATO 4 satellites built by British Aerospace. (AP, Jan 7/91; NY Times, Jan 9/91)
An editorial deplored efforts of the Virginia congressional delegation to block NASA's possible closing of its Reston, Virginia, office. The editorial stated that to cut space program costs, which suffer from a bloated management structure, streamlining must occur and the Reston office was a good place to begin. (Space News, Jan 7-20/91)
NASA scientist Thomas J. Miller said NASA would establish a Nuclear Propulsion Systems Office at Lewis Research Center in early 1991 to develop nuclear propulsion for spacecraft. The Defense and Energy departments would join in this project; the NASA FY 1991 budget included about $1 million for nuclear propulsion development. Such propulsion could significantly reduce the time required from Earth to the Moon or Mars. (Av Wk, Jan 7/91)
The Birmingham Post-Herald, in a series of articles on the space program, expressed concern that quality assurance at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, had declined since the Apollo program, which was at its height in 1970. By 1989, contractor employees working on some 20 Marshall projects numbered 13,398, more than four times as many as the civil service staff. This meant that contracts sometimes could not be monitored closely, which probably was a factor in the cost overrun of the orbital maneuvering vehicle, leading to NASA's cancellation of the program. (Birmingham Post-Herald, Jan 7/91)
NASA's Kennedy Space Center asked for proposals for a follow-on system to its Payload Data Management System (PDMS). The system was to be used to manage data relating to payloads for Space Shuttles and ultimately for the Space Station. The new system, to cover a 10-year period, was to include a relational database management subsystem, a project management subsystem, a technical documentation subsystem, and a page printing subsystem. (Federal Computer Week, Jan 7/91)
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, announced that it planned to request proposals for a study for the Space Network Control (SNC). If the SNC becomes a project, it would result in a new control center in time for the Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (ATDRSS) in 1997 approximately. The ATDRSS would increase services and add more satellites. (Federal Computer Week, Jan 7/91)
Kenneth Szalai, recently named Director of NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards Air Force Base, stated that NASA was putting a new emphasis on aeronautics. The facility's number one project involved the F-18 high-angle-of-attack program to help design more maneuverable aircraft. Similar work was underway on the X-29 as well as modifications on the F-15 jet fighter and testing of Space Shuttle landing gear systems. (Antelope Valley Press, Jan 7/91)
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