May 21 1973
From The Space Library
French satellites Castor and Pollux, jointly launched from Kourou Space Center, failed to enter orbit and fell into the sea when the Diamant-B launch vehicle failed to produce sufficient thrust for the separation of the 2nd and 3rd stages. It was the second straight failure for the French space program. On Dec. 5, 1971, the Polaire satellite had failed to achieve orbit when the 2nd stage of the Diamant-B booster malfunctioned. (AP, M Her, 5/22/73; Tass, FBIS-W Europe, 5/21/73, F3)
The People's Republic of China was preparing to launch weather satellites, Deputy Director Chi Sheng-ying of the Central Meteorological Institute in Peking told an international conference on weather satellites in Paris. (Agence France-Presse, NYT, 5/22/73, 21)
The International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, began a public hearing on demands by Australia and New Zealand that France stop nuclear weapon testing in the Pacific. Australian Attorney General Lionel Murphy asked for a temporary injunction banning the tests, pending the Court's final ruling. He said fallout from the tests endangered Australians and the tests violated Australian territorial sovereignty and freedom of the seas. France was not present at the hearings. (W Post, 5/22/73, A20)
The Air Force announced the award of a $1058 685 contract to Philco-Ford Corp. for feasibility demonstration of an aerial observation designator system for remotely piloted vehicles. (DOD Release 258-73)
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