Oct 2 1980
From The Space Library
Rep. Don Fuqua (D-Fla.), chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, said that his space science subcommittee would hold hearings at the Severe Storm Forecast Center in Kansas City, Mo., on the consolidated storm information system, a joint NASA-NOAA program. The committee heard about the project in July 1979 when it was merely a concept: "it will be a pleasure to see it coming to fruition." When fully operational, the system would give a forecaster real-time atmospheric data such as temperature, air pressure, and wind forces. from around the globe, a substantial improvement on current systems requiring several hours to obtain the data. It would combine communications links with data sources, such as environmental satellites and atmosphere soundings, into a single computer system. (H Comm Sci Release 96-235)
Nature magazine described equipment problems on HEAO 2, also called the Einstein observatory, that might end the mission prematurely. Launched in 1978, HEAO 2 carried the first X-ray telescope "as sensitive as ground-based optical telescopes"; it had a planned lifetime of only one year. Its success in generating new scientific data had led to extension of its mission; until the recent setback, NASA scientists hoped that it would continue to return data well into 1981 when atmospheric drag would take it from orbit. The outcome would depend on the "behavior of the gyroscopes used to position it." Data transmission was halted three weeks ago when two of the six gyroscopes failed after a temporary blackout. HEAO 2 needed three functioning gyroscopes for positioning. One of the other four was already dead; another, running erratically, was on standby. NASA, was working on software for backup control using the two gyros still functioning, along with either a Sun sensor or star tracker on the satellite. (Nature, Oct 2/80, 379)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
