Jun 7 1974
From The Space Library
Images sensed 1 Jan. 1973 by NASA's ERTS 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite, launched 23 July 1972, had dramatically recorded a Santa Ana wind condition in Southern California, Univ. of California scientists reported in Science. The Santa Ana, rarely recorded by satellite, increased the danger of brush fires, crop and structural damage, and wind erosion in the open desert. The ERTS 1 images provided scientists their first view of the entire dynamics in progress at one time. Monitoring such environmental conditions might aid resource management decisions. (Bowder et al., Science, 7 June 74, 1077-8)
Evidence revealed during U.S.-U.S.S.R. planning for the joint 1975 Apollo Soyuz Test Project had indicated the Soviet Union was never in the race to the moon, the Associated Press reported. U.S. officials had learned the Soyuz capsule was designed for relatively brief earth orbital flights and for ferrying cosmonauts to and from a space station, but it could not make a journey to the moon. AP quoted Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, a member of the ASTP planning team, as saying, "Our Apollo spacecraft is far, far more sophisticated and has got a greater capability than their Soyuz. That doesn't say the Soyuz is no good. It was just built for a different job." In addition, Soyuz was designed to be controlled from the ground or by preautomated devices. "Their spacecraft . . . is designed around a philosophy that it doesn't need a man to fly." Cernan said that the U.S.S.R. "had no major over-all goal like landing on the moon. Their goals were all to be first. Get the first iron ball in orbit. Get the first man there . . . the first woman . . . the first multiman spacecraft" By proceeding in this way, politically they "gained some significant firsts." (Benedict, H Chron, 7 June 74)
The Nation's scheduled airlines, despite the energy crisis, had set service records in 1973 by carrying more than 200 million passengers and taking in more than $1 billion in freight revenues, the Air Transport Association announced. The airlines, with more than 12 000 daily flights, had accounted for almost 80% of the intercity public passenger-kilometers and 95% of all passenger travel between the U.S. and foreign countries. The industry had earned $223 million in 1973 on revenues of $12.4 billion, up from' the $215 million earned in 1972 on revenues of $11.2 billion. Revenue passenger-kilometers were up 6.3% from 1972, while freight-ton-kilometers had risen 12.3%. ( ATA Release, 7 June 74)
U.S. District Court Judge Joseph C. Waddy denied a request by the American Federation of Government Employees for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked NASA plans to lay off or reduce in grade 657 employees at Marshall Space Flight Center. The denial followed a 30 May temporary restraining order issued by Judge Waddy in response to an amendment to a 1967 suit filed by the AFGE against NASA and the Civil Service Commission. The suit challenged NASA's alleged hiring of private contractors for vacated civil service jobs. In a November 1973 decision, the Federal District Court judge had ordered CSC to review contract jobs at MSFC to determine whether they met standards set forth in the Pellerzi rule, which guided CSC in evaluating contracts for personal services. (NASA Off Gen Counsel, interview, 23 Jan 76; Casebolt, Huntsville Times, 31 May 74; Cramer, W Star-News, 1 June 74)
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