Jun 19 1975
From The Space Library
President Ford signed Public Law 94-39 (H.R. 4700, the NASA Authorization Act for FY 1976 and the transition period 1 July 1976 through 30 Sept. 1976). P.L. 94-39 authorized NASA $3 562 310 000 for FY 1976 and $925 150 000 for the transition period. (PD, 23 June 75, 664)
The House of Representatives' Committee on Appropriations reported out H.R. 8070, the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill for FY 1976.
The committee proposed the continuation of the Space Shuttle and Viking projects; various planetary, weather, and scientific satellites; and further development of a strong aeronautics program. No new starts were proposed. The committee also directed deferral of the Pioneer-Venus mission for 1 year to permit a budget-priority decision in 1977 between the Large Space Telescope and Pioneer-Venus. The committee recommended reducing the $57 600 000 requested for Pioneer-Venus to $9 200 000 to maintain a management capability during the 1-yr deferral.
The committee also recommended denial of $1000 000 of the $5 000 000 request for continued studies of the LST, and reduction to $2 000 000 of the $3 000 000 requested for the transition period. The remaining amounts were judged sufficient to complete LST studies.
Within the Construction of Facilities category, the committee denied funds requested for construction of the Lunar Curatorial Facility. No funds were to be used for modifying the 40- by 80-ft wind tunnel at Ames Research Center until the committee had reviewed a formal budget request.
Reduction in the Research and Program Management request reflected a 10% reduction in the payment of General Services Administration space-rental charges. The committee also recommended language in the bill to permit the replacement of five older aircraft with more modern aircraft for greater efficiency and safety. This would reduce operating costs by $1300 000 annually.
The committee recommended a total appropriation of $925 028 000 for the transition period 1 July through 30 Sept. 1976. This total was $33 872 000 under the total budget request and $122 111 less than the authorization.
(H.R. Com Rpt No. 94-313; Budget Chron Hist FY 1976, NASA Ofc of Budget Operations, 16 June 75)
The first radar probes of Jupiter's moon Ganymede had been made by Dr. Richard M. Goldstein of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA announced. Ganymede, at the time some 600 million km distant from earth, was found to have a rougher surface than the inner planets Mercury, Mars, or Venus. Dr. Goldstein scanned Ganymede three or four times on each of six nights in August 1974, using the 64-m antenna at JPL's Goldstone station of the Deep Space Network; the radar employed a 400-kw microwave beam at a frequency of 12.6 cm.
Writing in Science magazine, Dr. Goldstein and co-investigator George A. Morris said the most likely surface of Ganymede was rocky metallic material imbedded in a matrix of ice. Such a surface could be smooth with a top layer of ice rubble but would appear rough to the radar because the ice would be transparent to the microwave beam.
The theory was particularly interesting in view of the finding by the Pioneer 10 and 11 flybys (3 Dec. 1973 and 3 Dec. 1974) that Jupiter itself seemed totally gaseous, with no solid surface to produce a radar echo. The JPL scientists theorized that Ganymede was probably meteoritic in origin. (NASA Release 75-170; Goldstein et al., Science, 20 June 75, 1211-1212)
Flight Research Center announced the award of a $146 000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to LTV Aerospace Corp.'s Vought Systems Div. to study the possibility of flight-testing the oblique wing on an F-8 jet aircraft. LTV would investigate technical and mechanical problems in modifying the test aircraft and would estimate the cost of modifications.
The oblique wing, developed by Dr. Robert T. Jones of Ames Research Center, was a conventional straight wing mounted on top of an aircraft so that it could be swiveled around a central pivot point. The wing could be fixed at zero degrees-perpendicular to the fuselage for takeoff and landing, and moved to various sweep positions at different speeds for the best performance. Wind-tunnel tests had indicated the new design could operate with maximum efficiency over a wide range of flight conditions, offering either increased speed or significant fuel savings. (FRC Release 17-25)
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