Dec 6 1978
From The Space Library
Early analysis of Space Shuttle liftoff-configuration vibration-test results at Marshall Space Flight Center had revealed two primary deviations, the Marshall Star reported: excessive movement in a forward section of the solid-fuel rocket boosters that contained guidance gyros, and a problem with transfer of loads (or forces) at the attach points between the boosters and external tank. After installing brackets to strengthen the boosters at the gyros location, NASA would conduct individual tests on that booster section at a test facility used for smaller components. Additional studies of load distribution at the attach points would determine if additional tests were necessary. After the most recent test phase, engineers found that about 80% of the test modes had verified predictions of hardware behavior during flight. The final test phase, beginning early in 1979, would simulate the Space Shuttle configuration just before burnout and separation of the solid-fuel rocket boosters at an altitude of about 43.5km (27mi), (Marshall Star, Dec 6/78, 1)
Harold Berger of the Natl. Bureau of Standards would give the colloquium lecture Dec, 11 on "Nondestructive Testing-Its Growing Importance for the 1980s," Langley Research Center announced. The aerospace and nuclear industries, which required unusually high reliability and quality in products and operations, had used nondestructive testing extensively since World War II. Berger would describe the early use of NDT, including radiographic, ultrasonic, magnetic, penetrant, and eddy-current techniques. Although early NDT had increased safety and extended product life, it had the potential for significantly improving industrial productivity and conserving energy and materials.
NDT was now facing growing problems such as an aging fleet of military airplanes; demand for a clean environment with NDT implications for nuclear plants, pipelines, and offshore facilities; and needs associated with product liability. These challenges had stimulated new developments; as an example, Berger would discuss radiography, including real-time methods, image enhancement, and unusual radiation techniques using neutrons and protons. (LaRC Release 78-83)
The Marshall Star announced that the most extensive study ever made of Venus had begun with the arrival at the planet of Pioneer Venus 1, the orbiter half of the two-spacecraft Pioneer Venus mission. It went into orbit Dec. 4 and was scheduled to take pictures and make measurements for one Venusian yr (225 earth days) or more. On Dec. 9, the four probes and transporter bus of Pioneer Venus 2 would plunge into the Venusian clouds at widely separated points to measure the dense atmosphere in detail from top to bottom. A spokesman at Ames Research Center, manager of the project for NASA's Office of Space Science, reported Dec. 4 that Pioneer Venus 2 was on course and on schedule. (Marshall Star, Dec 6/78, 2)
On Dec. 12, the U.S. Coast Guard would receive its first lightweight portable firefighting module, developed under direction of MSFC's Technology Utilization Office, the Marshall Star reported. The manufacturer, Northern Research and Engineering Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., would deliver it to NASA representatives in Boston for transfer to the Coast Guard on completion of an acceptance test.
Since MSFC had developed technology for lightweight highly efficient pumps in rocket engines, the Coast Guard had requested help in designing a unit small enough to be lowered onto the deck of small craft but capable of pumping hundreds of gallons of water per min. The module was Oft wide, 5ft high, and 6ft long, and weighed 2500 lb, including fuel for 3hr of operation, and all equipment stored internally. Two people could set it up rapidly without tools, and it could deliver full output flow within 10min.; a special feature was a pair of fiberglass water cannons, or monitors, weighing 401b. The module could draw water from the sea through a lift up to 20ft long and pump at least 1000gal per min through each monitor.
Commercial applications included use on light trucks by local fire departments, on docks and ships for harbor fires, and for forest, offshore oil rig, and high-rise building fires, as well as an emergency booster pump for municipal water and for flood control and military operations. Aubrey Smith, head of TU activities at MSFC, said the firefighting module showed "how NASA-developed technology and expertise can be adapted for down-to-earth uses." (Marshall Star, Dec 6/78, 1)
The Marshall Star reported delivery to Cape Canaveral of a light ion mass spectrometer (LIMS) developed by MSFC scientists, for integration with other instruments on the USAF's SCATHA (satellite charging at high altitudes) scheduled for launch on a Delta Jan. 25, 1979. SCATHA instruments would collect data on electrically charged particles in the upper ionosphere and magnetosphere to help solve the problem of static electricity buildup on satellite surfaces at geosynchronous altitude. The LIMS would measure density, temperature, and speed of low-energy ions from all directions, as sensors separated hydrogen, helium, and oxygen ions and recorded their speed and numbers. Martin Marietta Co., integration contractor, had delivered the instrument to MSFC 3wk previously, and MSFC personnel had installed flight sensors and completed final calibration before delivering it to the Air Force at the Cape. Designed for a nominal 1yr lifetime, SCATHA might return data for possibly 3yr or more. (Marshall Star, Dec 6/78, 2)
ESA announced successful completion Dec. 5 of the fourth development test of the Ariane launcher's first-stage inflight configuration by the Societe Europeenne de Propulsion, Vernon, France. The 142.9sec test (a propulsion time corresponding to depletion of the N204 propellant) confirmed that the propulsion system would function for the nominal duration of the stage's flight, 142.5sec. Also tested was the silicon and phenolic-resin (SEPHEN 301) material to be used for Viking-engine nozzles, replacing other materials exhibiting inadequate resistance in previous tests.
The second test of the third-stage flight configuration, scheduled for Nov. 28 at Vernon, had been interrupted when failure of the cryogenic engine (H8) to ignite caused a small explosion that damaged the propulsion bay, but not the test stand. ESA was investigating the incident and its effect on the development timetable; it would issue a new timetable in early January 1979, with the target of an operational Ariane in 1981 unaffected. (ESA Release Dec 6/78)
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