Jun 28 1971

From The Space Library

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Current revision

NASA press conference at MSC summarized June 21-25 U.S.- U.S.S.R. discussions on joint space docking. Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, MSC Director and head of NASA delegation to discussions, said talks had been friendly throughout. "It was a period of hard work covering very difficult technical areas." Meetings had been successful "in reaching conclusions, in principle, on all these subjects that we discussed, and in some detail in several of the subjects." Need had been felt by both sides for "possibility of flight studies to test the technical require-meats for docking and rendezvous, . . . one that would use the actual kind of compatible ... equipment" that would make possible space rescue from spacecraft of either side that might be in trouble. U.S. and Soviet CMS and space stations with mixed crews could orbit earth within four years. Soviet crews and U.S. crews "would no doubt, if they docked, ... want to open the hatches and visit with one another." Dr. Gilruth said flight test might take place in mid-70s. (Transcript)

Sen. Walter F. Mondale (D-Minn. ), on behalf of himself, Sen. Clifford P. Case (R-N.J.), Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R-N.Y.), and Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.), called up his amendment to H.R. 7109, FY 1972 NASA authorization bill, which would delete from bill $138 million for space shuttle development. (CR, 6/28/71, S10061-80; 10084-112)

Senate passed H.R. 7960, $706.5 million FY 1972 NSF authorization bill. Bill included $2.5 million for Global Atmospheric Research Program (CARP) ; $4 million for Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico; $7.7 mil-lion for Kitt Peak National Observatory; $2.5 million for Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile; $7 million for National Radio Astronomy Observatory; and $19 million for National Center for Atmospheric Research. Report accompanying bill described program of Research Applied to National Needs (RANN) established by NSF during FY 1971 to coordinate research in selected environmental, social, and technological problems. Major research efforts consolidated to form RANN were: weather modification, earthquake engineering, interdisciplinary research relevant to problems of our society (IRPOS), and other efforts formerly funded under scientific project support. (CR, 6/28/71, S9974-81; S Rpt 92-232)

MSC announced award of $125 000, one-year, fixed-price R&D contract to NR to study safety techniques for spacecraft in earth orbit. (MSC Release 71 44)

Bruce N. Torell was elected President of Pratt & Whitney Div. of United Aircraft Corp. at regular meeting of board of directors. Torell would succeed Bernard A. Schmickrath, who was elected a vice president. Changes would be effective July 1. (P&w Eagle, 7/71, 2)

Gen. Thomas D. White Space Trophy for 1970 was presented to B/G Robert A. Duffy (USAF), Vice Commander of SAMSO, in Washington, D.C., ceremony. Citation was for efforts bringing "dramatic improvements in the effectiveness and maneuverability of advanced re-entry systems, and in both the effectiveness and variety of penetration aids designed to compound the difficulties of an enemy in intercepting re-entry systems." (W Star, 6/29/71, A4)

NASA announced it had issued Management Study of NASA Acquisition Processes, report of team established in September 1970 to review NASA project and program planning for R&D and activities and procedures for acquiring goods and services from definition of requirements through contract award. Report covered processes used for acquisitions leading to use of formal source evaluation boards for agency-level and field center-level source selections. Study group had concluded that basic framework of NASA acquisition process was sound, but it recommended some improvements in project planning, source solicitation, and source selection. (NASA Release 71-118; Text)

June 28-30: AAS 17th annual meeting in Seattle, Wash., was devoted to exploration of outer solar system. JPL astronomer Dr. Donald G. Rea said Jupiter was biggest enigma and challenge to most space scientists. It "emits about three times as much energy as it receives from the Sun. It has a magnetic field 20 times that of Earth, intense radiation belts, and apparently rotates at three different speeds. An important characteristic for flight projects is its gravity which will allow us to send a spacecraft to study Jupiter and then continue on" to investigate outermost planets of solar system. JPL scientist James E. Long recommended spacecraft be launched in 1981 for insertion into Jupiter orbit early in 1984 after 750-day trip from earth. "Depending on Jupiter's radiation hazard, the space- craft will have an active life in orbit of six months to a year." It was "imperative that we get direct measurements well into Jupiter's atmosphere over long periods . . . to determine the dynamic processes involved." Technology for Thermoelectric Outer Planet Spacecraft (ToPs), sustained by self-repairing computers and capable of 10-yr scientific missions to outer planets, was described by JPL engineers Carl C. Wertz, Paul O. Chelson, and Richard A. Easton, JPL computers being developed and tested were STAR (self-testing and repairing) and CATS (computer-aided telemetry system). Both had built-in redundancy, with backup parts for each unit that might fail.

Easton said STAR computer was spacecraft's brain and CATS computer its nervous system. Self-repairing computers were needed for outer planetary mission because "potentially hazardous environments, such as the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, or radiation from Jupiter itself, require that Grand Tour spacecraft subsystems be self-adaptive to either transient or permanent failures. Another consideration is the eight-hour roundtrip communications delay from Neptune or Pluto." Leonard Jaffe, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Applications, received Lloyd V. Berkner Award, presented annually by AAS to persons making significant contributions to commercial space utilization. AAS Flight Achievement Award was presented to Astronaut John L. Swigert, Jr., for Apollo 13 crew. LaRC Director Edgar M. Cortright received s 1970 Space Flight Award "in recognition of his contribution to space flight through early planning for the organization of NASA, his direction of the Lunar and Planetary Program, his influence while Deputy Associate Administrator of the Office of Space Science and Applications, and later the Office of Manned Space Flight and his current position as Director of NASA Langley Research Center." In speech on technology crisis Cortright said: "It is ironic that after 10 years of `delivering the goods' in an unparalleled manner, culminating in manned exploration of the Moon, the space program is fighting for its life with a host of other priority programs. Already the national team of Government, industry, and university scientists, engineers, and technicians has been reduced to about 1/3 of its peak of over 400 000. If we are not to see the progress of a decade of dedicated national effort squandered away, we had better make our case for space loud and clear. I think we have a compelling case-even in these days of relevancy." (JPL Releases 577, 578, 579; NASA Activities, 7/15/71, 117; 8/15/71, 129-34; Langley Researcher, 7/19/71, 1; Boeing Release S-0826)

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