Dec 8 1972
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (1MB PDF)
Soviet newspapers Pravda and Komsomolskaya carried detailed reports of Apollo 17 progress and photos of astronauts on second day of moon-landing mission. Pravda story ended: "We wish them success." Komsomolskaya said mission was "one of the most daring measures ever carried out by mankind, and undoubtedly the most expensive experiment ever in the area of science and technology." Washington Post Foreign Service said "new tone in newspaper cover-age" reflected high-level decision to cover some U.S. news more sympathetically in "period of Soviet- American detente." (Kaiser, W Post, 12/9/72, A3)
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United Kingdom and West Germany agreed to abandon plans for European launcher and to buy U.S. launch vehicles instead. Decision was made at meeting in Bonn between U.K. Aerospace Minister Michael R. D. Heseltine and West German Aerospace Minister Klaus von Dohnanyi. (Reuters, NYT, 12/9/72, C7)
Proposed regulations to give industry access to Government technology for building plants to produce fissionable uranium were published in Federal Register by Atomic Energy Commission. Washington Post said next day that policy change was one of AEC's most important "since the dawn of the nuclear age." Government had previously kept monopoly on uranium plant building because of uranium's bomb-making potential. Dr. James R. Schlesinger, AEC Chairman, had said action was prompted by urgent need to plan atomic plants worth $15 billion or more within a few years because of U.S. energy shortage. (Fed Reg, 12/8/72, 26145; Cohn, W Post, 12/9/72, A3)
Conclusive identification of absorptions caused by water frost in infrared reflectivities of Jupiter's Galilean satellites J II and J III was reported in Science by astronomers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and State Univ. of New York at Stony Brook. Measurements had been made by rapid-scanning Fourier spectrometer on 150-cm (60-in) McMath solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Percentage of frost-covered surface area had been determined at 50% to 100% for J II, 20% to 65% for J III, and possibly 5% to 25% for J IV. Leading side of J III had 20% more frost cover than trailing side, which explained visible geometric albedo differences between the two sides. Reflectivity of material underlying frost on J II, J III, and J IV resembled that of silicates. Surface of J I might be covered by frost particles much smaller than those of J II and J III. (Pilcher et al., Science, 12/8/72, 1087-9)
Vice Chairman Kuo Mo-jo of Standing Committee of National People's Congress of People's Republic of China told visiting French delegation to Peking that U.S.S.R. had begun underground tests of explosive devices in 250- to 300-megaton range Nov. 25. Tests, southeast of Ural Mountains, would continue to Dec. 30. He noted concomitance of European security talks in Helsinki, Finland, and of Dec. 6 Apollo 17 launch. Kuo said both Apollo 17 and Soviet nuclear tests showed technological supremacy with equal military potentialities. (Comparet, Agence France-Presse, Atlanta JC, 12/10/72, Bi )
Public attitude toward space program in late 1960s was described by Washington communications consultant Julian Scheer, former NASA Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, in Washington Past article. "There was a mixed feeling of pride and guilt ... during those years." Program had moved forward as "almost a solitary symbol of some-thing that was working. But the question of its rightful place in the scheme of things always hung over it." While "a cynic would conclude that the American people had turned from social problems," realist "might conclude that what we were hearing in the late 1960s were the first real rumblings against large federal programs. The space program, meanwhile, had gained its momentum while this disillusionment was setting in. We got to the moon, it seemed, almost without anyone knowing it. The program had the velocity-and there was no turning back." (W Post, 12/8/72, A26)
Houston Post editorial commented on international aspects of space program: "The history of the world has provided few efforts more conducive to worldwide participation than space exploration. Its benefits are mutual. The space shuttle is emerging as a practical, self-supporting project and needs wider participation. Meanwhile, space investigations need to be continued. An international space agency would seem to be a practical way to perpetuate what the U.S. and Russia have started." (H Post, 12/8/72)
NASA launched Aerobee 170 sounding rocket from White Sands Missile Range carrying Univ. of Wisconsin soft x-ray experiment. Rocket and instrumentation performed satisfactorily. (SR list)
General Accounting Office released report to Congress that said Lockheed Aircraft Corp. would have to sell 275 TriStar transport aircraft to recover its investment in airliner program. As of Oct. 31, Lockheed had received firm order for 117 TriStars and purchase options for additional 67. (Reuters, B Sun, 12/9/72, B7)
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