Nov 30 1976
From The Space Library
NASA announced establishment of a joint working group with the Agency for Intl. Development (AID) to explore further cooperative programs upon successful completion of the AIDSAT project. Final demonstration of AIDSAT carne 30 Oct. in Haiti. NASA's Ats 6 satellite showed people in 27 developing nations how space could improve their way of life, using small portable transmitter-receiver units to broadcast high quality color TV directly to low-cost receivers in remote areas. Programs consisted of both filmed and live portions: on film, viewers saw a message from President Ford, followed by one of three films produced by NASA on communications technology, remote-sensing satellites (like Landsat), and prediction and relief in natural disasters. The live segment contained two half-hour programs; the first, originating in the host country, showed officials describing technological challenges and current efforts to meet them, and the second was a two-way question-and-answer session between senior officials in the host country and experts in Washington, D.C., discussing education, health, agriculture, and similar national concerns. Millions of viewers had seen what in many instances were the first color TV broadcasts in the host country. (NASA Release 76-189)
Wallops Flight Center announced appointment of Dorinda S. Bailey, an equal opportunity specialist in the office of the Center Director, as full-time Equal Opportunity Officer for the center. Before coming to Wallops in 1974, Mrs. Bailey had been an examiner in the Civil Service Commission's Bureau of Personnel Investigations. As EO officer, she would be responsible for developing and managing programs to assure equal opportunity in center employment. (WFC Release 76-16)
The Federal Aviation Administration would stick to its deadline for modifications to McDonnell Douglas DC-10 jumbo jets to withstand sudden depressurization, the Washington Post reported, as FAA Administrator John L. McLucas withdrew from subordinates the authority to extend a 1 Dec. 1977 deadline set at the recommendation of the Natl. Transportation Safety Board. The modification, which applied also to Lockheed L-101 Is and Boeing 747s, was ordered after the 1974 crash near Paris of a DC-10 whose cargo door blew off in flight, resulting in the death of 346 persons on board. Depressurization of the plane crushed control cables running beneath the cabin floor. An official at FAA had granted a 1-yr extension of the deadline in Oct. 1976-without McLucas's knowledge-but all U.S. airlines flying DC- I Os had agreed to comply with the original deadline. Compliance dates for the L-1011 and 747 were 31 March 1978 and 30 June 1978, respectively. (W Post, 30 Nov 76, A-9)
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