Nov 20 1979
From The Space Library
President Carter designated the NOAA to manage all civilian remote sensing from space. A space policy review committee chaired by Frank Press had assessed future U.S. civilian remote sensing requirements and decided that a single agency could best handle operational satellite activities. NOAA had managed three generations of weather satellites to prepare it for responsibilities in land remote sensing as well as atmosphere and ocean. The directive said the United States would continue to supply Landsat data to foreign users; the DOC would foster private-sector involvement in remote sensing and would coordinate and regulate civil remote sensing through a board representing federal and state organizations including NASA and DOD. (Text, Nov 20/79)
NASA declared successful the launch of Magsat, third in the applications explorer mission series, from WTR October 30, delayed for a day because of high winds. Orbit had 351.9-kilometer apogee, 578.4-kilometer perigee, 93.9-minute period. The sensor boom deployed November 1, and star cameras were turned on November 2. Magnetic-field data analysis that began November 3 already showed substantial differences from 1970s measurements. Cesium cells on the scalar magnetometer exhibited random interference, but the 60% of scalar data unaffected was enough to fulfill mission objectives. (NASA MOR E-662-79-01 [postlaunch] Nov 20/79)
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