Sep 12 1978
From The Space Library
LaRC announced that James Patton, Jr., head of the pilots' office, would receive the Iven C. Kincheloe award at the annual symposium of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in Los Angeles Sept. 30. The award would honor Patton's professional accomplishment in initiation, formulation, and conduct of the NASA comprehensive general aviation stall/spin flight research program. John Reeder, chief of LaRC's TCV program office and a Society fellow, had nominated Patton for the award.
In his nomination Reeder noted, "During the (stall/spin) program formulation, Mr. Patton provided invaluable leadership and technical guidance to establish flight safety procedures and ensure a rational and productive flight research program. As a result of his efforts, Langley Research Center has established a stall/spin flight test facility, procedures, and equipment which provide the most sophisticated system to date for general aviation stall/spin research." Patton had been in his present position since 1968; he had started as a research pilot with NASA in Apr. 1966. (LaRC Release 78-46)
INTELSAT announced that earth stations handling satellite communications in countries bordering the Indian Ocean would begin switching to a new larger-capacity comsat, INTELSAT IV--A, which would carry about 6000 2-way telephone circuits (25% more capacity than its INTELSAT IV predecessor) and would eventually, provide increased capacity for international satellite television.
The Indian Ocean INTELSAT had provided communications for and between countries in an area bounded approximately by Britain and Europe in the west and Japan and Australia in the east. The transition of 47 earth stations through 150 steps was scheduled to start Sept. 18 and to be substantially completed by the end of 1978. No interruption or disruption of telecommunications services was anticipated, except that television transmission facilities would be unavailable during the latter half of Nov.
The switchover operation would position INTELSAT IV and INTELSAT IV-A in orbit at the same location and synchronize their harmonic motion (a sway induced by natural forces acting on the spacecraft). The proximity of the satellites would allow earth stations to see both simultaneously, permitting changes in the operational configuration without a break in service. (INTELSAT Release 78-25-I)
A delegation from NASA Hq meeting in Paris with ESA's Spacelab program board would attempt to overcome W. Germany's objections to a proposed barter agreement, under which NASA would provide four, free Space Shuttle launches instead of paying cash for Spacelab hardware it had agreed to buy, Aerospace Daily reported.
The barter deal, proposed by ESA in 1977, had met with opposition from ESA-member governments. Main objection, stated most strongly by W. Germany, was that a European commitment to four Shuttle flights would be premature because European plans to use the Space Shuttle and Spacelab ought to be definite before a barter would make sense: NASA had agreed to the barter instead of paying cash for a full set of Spacelab hardware it had agreed to buy years before: ESA felt that, under the barter, the industrial consortium headed by VFW-Fokker Erno could continue to work with European money at a far more satisfactory pace than could be expected if they relied on NASA money: In exchange for the roughly $100 million the Europeans would pay, NASA would provide four free flights for Spacelab, two for ESA and two for Germany: Observers said that W: Germany's reservations centered on uncertainty about ESA's Spacelab program, and that its own commitment to two flights was premature: If (as was likely) W: Germany's Spacelab missions would not use the Shuttle-Spacelab system's full capability although it had agreed to the dedicated launches, Germany would have to fill up the Space Shuttle or absorb the resulting losses: Other concerns were the rising costs of Space Shuttle flights, as launch costs in deutschmarks increased while the value of the dollar decreased: (A/D; Sept 12/78, 43)
September 12-17: NASA announced it had received word from NORAD that the Pegasus 1 spacecraft assembly launched in 1965 would reenter earth's atmosphere on or about Sept. 17: Predicted dispersion (footprint) of surviving pieces was 200km (125mi) cross range, 3500km (2175mi) down range. The Pegasus orbital band had extended 31.7 °N and 31:7 °S of the equator over an area 75% water: NASA estimated that reentry heat would destroy approximately 9705kg (21 4001b) of orbital hardware, and that about 726kg (16001b) might survive reentry in several pieces. Normal breakup of reentering spacecraft had not so far resulted in personal or property damage on earth; the possibility of a Pegasus fragment's striking an individual or structure was considered to be less than that resulting from meteorites impacting the earth: Pegasus 1, launched Feb. 16, 1965, had gathered micrometeoroid data for use in designing spacecraft; data collection had ceased Jan: 13, 1968: The Pegasus 1 assembly weighed about 10 430kg (23 0001b) and was 21m (70ft) long: The spacecraft, weighing about 1900kg (32001b), had remained attached to the empty S-IV stage and the instrument unit of the Saturn I launch vehicle: Neither the satellite nor the attached S-IV contained radioactive nuclear power sources or materials: Pegasus 2 was still in orbit; Pegasus 3 had reentered Aug. 4, 1969, over the Pacific Ocean: Aerospace Daily reported that Pegasus 1 and associated hardware had reentered earth's atmosphere Sept. 17 over Angola. A NASA spokesman said there were no sightings or reports of debris. (NASA Release 78-141; Marshall Star, Sept 13/78, 2, 20/78, 2; DFRC X-Press, Sept 22/78, 2; AID, Sept 20/78, 91)
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