Apr 28 1969
From The Space Library
Dr. Thomas O. Paine, NASA Administrator, testified in FY 1970 authorization hearings before Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences that he believed "the greatest significance" of President Nixon's decision to include in budget amendment amounts for continued lunar exploration after first Apollo landings and for continued Saturn V production was "that it recognizes the fundamental fact that the United States should not and does not plan to stop its further development and use of manned space flight." Early manned lunar landing would allow additional savings of perhaps as much as $39 million in amended Apollo budget. Budget included funds for improved scientific equipment for more advanced missions to moon and for limited Apollo Applications program. Fund cuts would mean some program reorientation as well as delay in Workshop, previously scheduled for mid-1971. Amended budget supported continuation of plans for 1971 and 1973 Mars missions and first mission to Mercury in 1973, with Venus swing-by. In space applications, "where we are placing special emphasis," Earth Resources Technology Satellite program would enable NASA, with other agencies, to test practical use of space to gather information on water levels, crops, forests, and other resources. "Despite the sizable overall reduction . . . we have not reduced the earth resources project." Budget included funds to proceed with NERVA development and continued to give "high priority to our work in aeronautics." New construction would include Aircraft Noise Reduction Laboratory at LaRC, "unique national facility for studying the fundamentals of noise generation and reduction." U.S.S.R. was continuing vigorous program in both aeronautics and space. "The Soviet commitment represents . . . the application of resources at about the same rate as that we have averaged in recent years," with "significantly higher percentage of the gross national product." Soviets were "proceeding in manned space flight programs directed both at sending men to the moon and at substantially enlarged and extended manned operations in earth orbit. . . . Automatic rendezvous and docking flights with Cosmos 186-188 and 212-213 and the manned Soyuz 4-5 mission in January , with manned docking and crew transfer, demonstrated the increasing Soviet capability. . . . They appear to be pointed to a future capability for assembly in earth orbit of large space stations and of manned spacecraft to send to the moon and beyond." U.S.S.R. had "made attempts to launch one or more spacecraft to the planets at almost every opportunity-three or four times the number of attempts we have been able to make." (Testimony)
Mascons might be excess mass deposited by water and supported by internal strength of rigid moon, JPL scientist Paul M. Muller said in address before American Physical Society in Washington, D.C. Muller was codiscoverer of mascons [see April 25]. Mascons probably were not floating on liquid lunar interior as were earth's continents and mountains, but were held there by moon with structural strength. He illustrated with photos taken by Lunar Orbiters and Apollo 8 theory that lunar features might have been cut by primordial lunar water. (NASA Release 69-62; JPL Release 515)
NASA issued RFPS for design and planning studies of 12-man, earth-orbital space station for 1975 with 10-yr operational life, subject to resupply of expendables and crew rotation with logistics vehicles. Work also would include conceptual design of 50-man space base of specialized modules assembled in low earth orbit in late 1970s and early 1980s and comparable to scientific and technical research, development, and operations center on earth. Modified Apollo and Gemini spacecraft would be considered as initial logistics systems if space shuttle did not become available in early phase of space station operations. Data from studies would be available for final design of future space station if program were approved for development. Proposals were due June 9. (NASA Release 69-65)
Nike-Apache sounding rocket was launched by NASA from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) carrying Indian-Japanese payload for x-ray astronomy studies. Rocket and instruments functioned satisfactorily. (NASA Proj Off)
LeRC said its engineers had built and were operating world's largest acoustical testing facility for fan portion of compressors on turbofan engines-key element in aircraft noise. It could test fans up to six feet in diameter to collect basic noise information and help determine fan configuration for NASA'S quiet engine program. Facility was powered by supersonic wind tunnel's drive motor, whose 23,000 hp spun fan to 3,500 rpm. Noise created was recorded by strategically placed microphones to determine differences in level producing by fan blade configurations and effects of noise-deadening inlet lining materials. (MRC Release 69-19)
At international airline conference in Dublin, U.S.S.R.'s First Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation, Gen. Leonid V. Zholudev, denied Tu-144 supersonic transport had been in accident, American Aviation said. It was "undergoing tests according to our program," Gen. Zholudev said. He declined to speculate when Soviet aircraft would go into service and said "many complex problems must be solved." Tu-154, 170- passenger trijet, would enter service "in near future"; An-22 turboprop, with reported maximum takeoff weight of 551,160 lbs, was being used exclusively as cargo carrier. (Amer Av, 4/28/69, 17)
President Nixon met with National Science Board members and NAS council and promised to nominate NSF director without regard to his ABM position. He asked for names for possible nominee and promised to consider only scientific qualifications. President disclosed he had asked Cornell Univ.'s Dr. Franklin A. Long to consider having his name resubmitted to Senate after original decision not to nominate Dr. Long [see April 17] but Dr. Long had declined. (Kilpatrick, W Post, 4/29/69, Al)
April 28-30: At 106th annual meeting of National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., Dr. Eugene N. Parker of Univ. of Chicago and Dr. J. P. Wild of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Sydney, Australia, received Henry Arctowski Medal for studies of solar activity changes and their effects upon ionosphere and terrestrial atmosphere. Dr. Parker was honored for "contributions to theoretical understanding of interaction between magnetic fields of sun and earth and surrounding ion plasmas"; Dr. Wild, for contributions to solar radio astronomy, including development of technique of studying solar disturbances through moving pictures of sun "photographed" in radio spectrum. Dr. Jurgen K. Moser of New York Univ. received James Craig Watson Medal for mathematical contributions to dynamical astronomy. (NAS Release 4/23/69)
Cal Tech scientist Kip S. Thorn suggested pulsars were subject to quakes which accelerated their pulsation. At press interview during annual meeting, he said pulsars' insides were probably superfluids more liquid than liquid-and were gradually cooling, with crust crystallization requiring adjustments. Adjustments, he said, would cause "pulsequakes" and could result in sudden speedups in pulsar periodicity. Cornell Univ. astronomer Dr. Thomas Gold said observations of pulsars indicated they slowed down as they aged, with oldest finally slowing billionths of seconds per year until they reached periods up to almost four seconds. He suggested pulsar radiation might account for luminosity of whole galaxies and even produce all cosmic rays detected throughout universe, including earth. Cornell Univ. astronomer Dr. Frank D. Drake, former director of Cornell's Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory in Puerto Rico, said space clocks were emerging as practical scientific tools, especially in testing Einstein's theories. Dr. F. Graham Smith of Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories, Manchester, England, said space clocks were being used to investigate interstellar medium-gas clouds between earth and other parts of solar system. (Lannan, W Star, 5/1/69, A6; O'Toole, W Post, 5/1/69, Al)
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