Jan 14 1975
From The Space Library
NASA's [[Earth Resources Technology Satellite]], ERTS, had been renamed Landsat, NASA Associate Administrator for Applications Charles W. Mathews announced at a Landsat-B prelaunch press briefing in Washington, D.C. Erts 1, launched 23 July 1972, would be called Landsat-1; ERTS-B, scheduled for launch 19 Jan., would be designated Landsat-2 once in orbit. Mathews said that, since NASA planned a SEASAT to study the oceans (see 9 Jan.), Landsat seemed a more appropriate name for a satellite that studied the land.
Landsat Program Manager Harry Mannheimer said that Landsat- B would be launched into the same orbital plane as Landsat-1 but 180° out of phase. Between them the two satellites would retrace the identical ground track every 9 days rather than the 18-day interval of one satellite. The additional coverage would enable scientists to study dynamic phenomena more effectively. Mannheimer said that a significant improvement over Landsat-1 was Landsat-B's increase in command storage, adding flexibility in commanding the various instruments while the spacecraft was out of view of a ground station.
James R. Morrison, Landsat Resources Survey Program Manager, said that, whereas the emphasis of the Landsat-1 mission was on experimentation, the emphasis for Landsat-B would be on fewer but larger scale applications of remote-sensing information to real resource problems. Of the 120 investigators-compared with 320 investigators during the Landsat-1 mission-57 were U.S.-sponsored and 52 were from foreign countries. During the rigorous selection, preference had been given to investigations that included direct participation and cost-sharing by bona fide users in both the public and private sectors.
New with Landsat-B were the Applications Systems Verification Tests (ASVT), based on results of Landsat-1, to further develop, demonstrate, and document Landsat results. The ASVTs were larger in design and scope than earlier investigations, essentially beyond the capability of any one investigator to manage. ASVTs for Landsat-B included a large-area crop inventory experiment (LACIE), ice-warn program, snow-cover and snow-melt prediction program, natural resources information system, and environmental information system. (Text)
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project crew members Thomas P. Stafford, Donald K. Slayton, and Vance D. Brand participated in a 9-hr exercise at Kennedy Space Center to test the Apollo spacecraft's internal systems, earth-landing systems, and instrument packages. The astronauts climbed into the Apollo, which was inside a huge altitude chamber, to test the systems at simulated altitudes of up to 61 000 m while cabin pressure was maintained at 34 474 newtons per sq m. Pressure inside the cabin was also lowered to zero to test the integrity of the astronauts' space suits. On 16 Jan. the U.S. backup crew for the mission, Alan L. Bean, Ronald E. Evans, and Jack R. Lousma, participated in a similar exercise. (NASA Activities, Feb 75, 11; KSC Release 5-75)
Flight Research Center was investigating the use of TV to provide visual information to pilots of future aircraft and spacecraft, NASA announced. TV might enhance target visibility for pilots of high-performance aircraft that might have to approach and land at high angles of attack with reduced window area, and for unmanned remotely piloted research vehicles that would augment flight instrumentation with visual. For testing, FRC had installed a TV camera on top of a Piper PA-30 aircraft with a 12.5- by 17.5-m TV screen installed on the instrument panel. A curtain would restrict the test pilot's view through cockpit windows with a safety pilot riding in the right seat of the aircraft. Besides demonstrating use of TV for approach and landings, the first phase of the program would evaluate the pilot's ability to judge altitude using TV. The second phase would aim at optimizing the TV system for landing maneuvers. (NASA Release 75-11)
14-17 January: NASA and Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory launched 10 rocket-borne experiments to study the upper atmosphere as a follow-on to the June 1974 Atmospheric Layering and Density Distribution of Ions and Neutrals program (Project ALADDIN'74). Two experiments on the Ute-Tomahawk rockets released chemical clouds into the atmosphere to measure winds and temperature and diffusion coefficients. The first, launched 15 Jan., released aluminum vapor at 160-km .altitude, creating a blue-green glowing cloud visible along much of the eastern seaboard. A second, launched 17 Jan. after a 1-day postponement, released trimethylaluminum in puffs 10 sec apart from 180 km down to 90 km. Five single-stage Super-Lokis carried instruments to measure density, temperature, and wind, and instrumentation aboard two Paiute-Tomahawks measured the atomic oxygen density profile. A prelaunch performance test of a Ute Tomahawk was made 14 Jan. (WFC Releases 75-1, 75-2; NYT, 16 June 75, 29)
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