March 1978
From The Space Library
NASA announced arrival of the Space Shuttle orbiter, external tank, and solid-fuel rocket booster at MSFC for first assembly as a complete vehicle for ground-vibration tests. Using a facility originally designed for Saturn V moon-rocket testing, engineers would begin in early spring to evaluate the structural dynamics of the assembly and their effect on the Shuttle's system. The mated vertical ground-vibration tests would consist of "floating" the Shuttle in the tall test tower and applying vibrations with exciters powered by amplifiers similar to those found on home stereo sets; sensors on the skin would record characteristics of the vibrations passing from one area to another. The resulting data would verify system-design and mathematical models of the control-system's reaction to severe vibrations expected during launch and flight into orbit.
The first test-article configuration would include an orbiter and external tank to simulate the high-altitude portion of a mission after separation of the boosters. The second test configuration would consist of solid-fuel rocket boosters filled with inert propellants, stacked in the stand along with the orbiter and tank to simulate liftoff conditions. The third test configuration would be the same as the second, except that boosters would be empty, simulating a mission just before booster separation. Tests would continue through most of the year stopping only to change test configurations. (NASA Release 78-47)
GSFC reported it had asked industry to build a computer that could process satellite images 10 to 100 times faster than present machines. The new computer would be based on 6yr of research in "massive parallelism," consisting of 16 384 processors working together, each processor a simple computer, with a single chip of silicon probably carrying 2 processors. Previous machines had not gone beyond a web of 64 simple computers. The new system would cross-correlate landmark images from earth-watching satellites 100 times faster than present machines, making multispectral classifications (such as distinguishing wheatland from cornfields) and geometric corrections for comparison of pictures taken from different vantage points in one-tenth of the time previously necessary. (Goddard News, Mar 78, 3)
Administrator Robert Frosch said NASA would analyze any chemical samples of UFOs received from credible sources but would not initiate any research programs, Goddard News reported. Frosch outlined NASA's position in a letter to the White House, in response to an inquiry from the director of science and technology policy. NASA was most often asked about the purported UFO sightings by astronauts and President Carter; NASA had satisfied itself that the astronauts had seen nothing abnormal in the space environment, and the bright object President Carter reported seeing in the sky when he was governor of Ga. had been classified as "unidentifiable" by the Natl. Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. Some students of astronomy had suggested that what Carter saw was the planet Venus, at times much brighter than a first-magnitude star.
Although the USAF had routinely investigated reports of all UFO sightings until 1969, when it terminated its "Project Blue Book," it now limited its interest to sightings important to defense surveillance. The Air Force had concluded that never in almost 2 decades of investigating UFOs had it found "evidence of technological developments ... beyond the range of present-day scientific knowledge." (Goddard News, Mar 78, 3)
The Natl. Research Council reported that, at the request of NASA, a committee had reviewed potential uses of microwave sensors to supplement or replace visible-light and infrared detectors for earth-resource surveys from space. The committee had evaluated the potential of microwave sensors to penetrate cloudcover and possibly vegetation cover, to operate day and night, to detect soil moisture, to measure distance, and to aid in geological mapping; sensors specifically studied were synthetic-aperture radar and passive radiometers.
In a letter accompanying the report to NASA, committee chairman Arthur Anderson of IBM wrote: "The Committee concluded that an adequate experimental data base was available to support the initial development of an experimental radiometer sensor system (passive microwave sensor) for soil moisture, subsurface phenomena, and salinity measurements and a single-frequency single-polarization radar for geological explorations as shuttle experiments. The Committee did not feel that an adequate experimental data base was available to support the initial development of a multifrequency multipolarization radar for soil moisture measurements and vegetation or crop classification purposes." (NRC newsletter, Mar 78, 8)
The Carter administration had submitted to Congress a $126 billion budget request for the Dept. of Defense, a 22% increase over last year, the Natl. Aeronautic Association newsletter reported. The $12 billion requested for procurement of 733 aircraft and helicopters was higher than last year, but the bill had asked for 34 fewer fixed-wing aircraft. Missile procurement dropped to $4 billion for 18 860 missiles, compared to 41 674 in FY78; military R&D was up to $12.7 billion. Higher personnel costs would consume more than half the budget. Civil defense at $100 million was the same as last year. The budget had forecast a 6.1 % inflation factor, allowing for 2% growth over FY78. Except for the previously announced B-1 decision, the budget did not kill any major ongoing weapons-development programs. (NAA newsletter, Mar 78, 1; AFSC Newsreview, Mar 78, 2)
The Natl. Academy of Sciences released a report of the ad hoe committee for review of the Space Shuttle main-engine development program. This review was requested by Senators Adlai E. Stevenson (D-Ill) and Harrison H. Schmitt (R-NM) in Dec. 1977 as an independent assessment by Natl. Research Council of the safety of the main engine during both orbital-flight and operational phases of the Shuttle program. The review was to be completed by the end of Feb. 1978 for consideration during FY 1979 NASA authorization hearings.
The committee reported that it saw "no reason to suggest that a safe and reliable main engine cannot be developed ultimately for the manned orbital flight tests and the later operational flights," but submitted a number of recommendations: first, since the flight schedule was not ready yet, the critical milestones should be reviewed later in 1978. Other recommendations included allowance of "adequate time to analyze root problems ... rather than selecting technical `fixes' to sure symptoms," as well as a complete tear-down inspection of the main engine after the first and sixth flights (which had not been envisioned in the schedule).
At a March 31 hearing before the Senate subcommittee on science, technology, and space, with Sen. Stevenson as chairman, Dr. Eugene E. Covert of the NRC described the ad hoc committee's activities and the reasons for its recommendations, expressing appreciation for the cooperation of NASA and its contractors during the review. Dr. Robert A. Frosch, NASA administrator, then summarized "the NASA reaction" to the report and its recommendations; Sen. Stevenson commended NASA's prompt and positive response, but proceeded with further questions on schedule and funding. In addition to NASA staff (including associate administrator John Yardley, MSFC engine project manager J.R. Thompson, Shuttle program director Dr. Mike Malkin, and deputy director Roy Day, and comptroller William Lilly), the Rocketdyne engine project manager Dominic Sanchini was on hand to explain administrative and technical problems encountered with the main engine.
The Senate committee report would contain all the testimony, the text of the ad hoc committee report, and further information on specific questions asked by Sen. Stevenson. (Text, hearing report 95-87, Sen Comm Crate Mar 31/78; "Technical Status of the Space Shuttle Main Engine," Natl Res Cncl, March 78)
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