Sep 25 1968

From The Space Library

Senate adopted Senate-House Conference report on H.R. 17023, FY 1969 Independent Offices and HUD appropriations bill, clear­ing it for White House action. In addition to $500,000 for NASC and $400 million for NSF, bill agreed to by Conference included $3.995 bil­lion for NASA-$12.95 million below amount passed earlier by House and Senate and $375.12 million below original budget request. NASA al­locations were $3.37 billion for R&D, $21.8 million for construction of facilities, and $603.17 million for administrative operations. (CR, 9/25/68, S11393-402; NASA LAR VII/98)

Rep. Seymour Halpern (D-N.Y.) on behalf of himself and 14 sponsors introduced H.R. 19990, Sonic Boom Damage Recovery Act of 1968, to protect public against anticipated damage from sonic boom from mili­tary and civilian aircraft. (CR, 9/25/68, H9149; NASA LAR VII/98)

NASA issued Apollo Status Summary: Apollo 7 space vehicle Flight Readiness Test was under way at KSC, with prime crew-Astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham-to participate without spacesuits and with hatch open. Apollo 8 manned altitude runs had been successfully completed, with prime crew spend­ing 131/2 hr in its spacecraft Sept. 20 and backup crew spending 101/2 hr Sept. 22. (Text)

NASA announced it had selected North American Rockwell Corp. Rocket-dyne Div. to provide injector for Apollo lunar module ascent engine under $10-million subcontract with Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. Bell Aerosystems Co., also under subcontract to Grumman, would continue to provide engine hardware for assembly with the injector. (NASA Release 68-164; MSC Release 68-71; WSJ, 9/26/68, 3)

AEC Chairman Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg told 12th General Conference of International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna that U.S. planned reali­zation of terms of nuclear nonproliferation treaty. "We shall continue to conduct, within the limitations of available funds, an active research and development program both on nuclear explosive devices . . particularly suited for peaceful uses and on various peace appli­cations for which nuclear explosions can be used. Concurrently, we will provide available information and data and technical advice and assist­ance to those nonnuclear weapon parties to the Treaty seeking such as­sistance." (AEC Release S-34-68)

Sen. Henry M. Jackson (D-Wash.) , Chairman of Senate Nuclear Safe­guards Committee, in Senate review of implementation of limited nu­clear test-ban treaty safeguards reported possibility of black-out of communications, radar, and missile systems by electromagnetic pulse (emp) emitted by nuclear explosion. If absorbed in electronic equip­ment, this surge of electricity could blow fuses or disrupt electronic components. Scientists had warned of insufficient data on emp and its possible effects on intercontinental and other missile systems. U.S. would spend third more on underground nuclear testing in 1968 than in 1967. Five-year-old treaty, Sen. Jackson said, was being observed. U.S. sat­ellites kept watch from space "to the earth's surface" to guard against violation. (Text; AP, W Star, 9/25/68, A6; Finney, NYT, 9/26/68)

EDP Technology, Inc., of Washington, D.C., independent concern provid­ing technical support in computer use and technology, had announced it would purchase Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, Buffalo, N.Y., from Cornell Univ. for $25 million. (NYT, 9/26/68)

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