Sept 12 1975
From The Space Library
Former astronaut William R. Pogue (USAF, Ret.) received the 1974 Thomas D. White Space Trophy during ceremonies at the National Geographic Society Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Pogue received the trophy-given annually to the military or civilian member of the Air Force who made an outstanding contribution to U.S. progress in aerospace-for his achievements as pilot of Skylab 4 , third and final mission aboard the U.S.'s first manned orbiting workshop. The mission (16 Nov. 1973 to 8 Feb. 1974), longest manned flight in history, had established the foundation for future long-term missions in space. Pogue had retired from both the Air Force and the astronaut corps on 1 Sept. (DOD Release 456-75)
Flight Research Center's F-111 Integrated Propulsion Control System (IPCS) aircraft had made its first flight with the new system operating, FRC's X-Press reported. The IPCS used digital electronics instead of conventional hydromechanical controls for actuating the aircraft's supersonic jet engine and engine inlet. The new system was expected to allow aircraft to fly at full high-speed performance limits without adverse interaction among the engine, the inlet, and the aerodynamic flow over the fuselage. During the I-hr flight, the modified 'inlet and engine were operated entirely under computer control, with routine test transfers between digital and hydromechanical control at all flight conditions. (FRC X-Press, 12 Sept 75, 2)
NASA had selected Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Tex., as the site for a remote storage facility for 10 to 20% of the 382 kg of lunar material brought back from the moon by the Apollo crews, the Johnson Space Center Roundup reported. All lunar material had previously been stored in JSC's curatorial facility; the additional site would safeguard against any catastrophe that might affect the material at the main site.
Samples at Brooks, a cross section of all lunar materials collected during the Apollo missions, would be held in "dead storage" to keep them in pristine condition for analysis by future generations. (JSC Roundup, 12 Sept 75)
Charles M. Duke, Jr., an astronaut since 1966 and lunar mobile pilot on the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission (16-27 April 1972), announced he would leave NASA, effective 1 Jan. 1976. He would also resign from the Air Force after nearly 19 yr of service. During Apollo 16, Duke logged 11 days 1 hr 43 min in space, including a 71-hr 14-min stay on the lunar surface. He and John W. Young made 3 surface explorations of the Descartes region for a total of 20 hr 15 min of lunar excursion.
Since April 1973 Duke had served as technical assistant to the manager for Space Shuttle systems integration. (JSC Release 75-74)
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