Jul 30 1969
From The Space Library
July 30-31: NASA's Mariner VI, launched Feb. 24 on Mars equatorial flyby mission, approached Mars and completed 17 pictures of planet taken at about 111,400-mi altitude, which showed ragged edges of polar cap, W-shaped cloud, and seas, deserts, and craters seen by Mariner IV in 1965. As spacecraft neared and swung around Mars it took 24 close-up pictures from about 2,000 mi at closest point. Pictures were so sharply defined and detailed that they were shown live on TV instead of being refined and released later in photographic prints as originally planned. Pictures-enhanced by computers at JPL to clear out static, highlight images, adjust contrast and brightness, and exaggerate features-were spectacular. They showed that Mars was heavily cratered and looked very much like moon. One photo showed 11-mi-dia crater closely resembling moon's Copernicus crater and diagonal ditch resembling lunar rille. During closest approach, onboard TV cameras took 12 high-resolution and 12 medium-resolution pictures, stored some on board for later playback, and transmitted some immediately to ground stations for conversion to images at JPL. Three of four onboard experiments-TV to take pictures, uv spectrometer to identify and measure gases in upper atmosphere, and infrared radiometer to measure planet's temperature-functioned satisfactorily. Only anomaly was failure in cooling of one channel on infrared spectrometer, designed to identify gases in lower Martian atmosphere, which prevented proper acquisition of data. JPL controllers temporarily lost contact with second Mariner, Mariner VII, en route to Mars, at 6:00 pm EDT July 30. Engineers speculated that spacecraft had been thrown out of alignment when struck by micrometeoroid traveling at 40 mps and had locked on planet Jupiter or another bright object. Contact with Mariner VII was regained seven hours later by switching from one antenna to another and proper attitude was restored by rolling Spacecraft around until it locked on star Canopus. Although some of data being transmitted appeared to be abnormal, flyby mission was still expected to succeed. Mariner VI would continue taking pictures and play back recorded near-encounter data during final phase of mission. Data would be compared with data from Mariner VII (launched March 27), which would fly past Mars polar region Aug. 4. (NASA Release 69-26A; Sullivan, NYT, 8/1/69, 1; Auerbach, W Post, 8/1/69, Al; Lannan, W Star, 7/31/69, A5; NASA News Release, 9/11/69)
July 30: On arrival in Saigon, Republic of Vietnam, President Nixon said: "I am happy that the moon landing, which in its universality signifies a symbolic drawing together of all mankind, has provided an occasion for me to meet with President Thieu in the capital of his country." Later, after discussions with President Nixon, President Nguyen Van Thieu said, "The Vietnamese people fully concur in the message of peace which the three brave American astronauts deposited on the moon for all mankind." (PD, 8/4/69, 1051-4)
During Apollo 11 celebration, credit should be given to former NASA Administrator James E. Webb, "whose organizational skill, vision and drive played a major part in its success," MIT Provost, Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner, and MIT physicist Jerrold Zacharias said in letter to New York Times. "There never was any question regarding the technical feasibility of a manned lunar landing. The real question was whether or not we could organize and manage so large and complex a program on the time schedule laid down by President Kennedy." Webb had organized, defended, and managed program, "and as the world celebrates this great technical and human achievement we should also honor the man who directed its accomplishment." (NYT, 8/5/69, 32)
LRL scientists began injecting pulverized lunar samples into sterile white mice in attempt to discover germs or chemicals hazardous to human beings. Mice, born by Caesarean section and raised in sterile environment so that they would be extremely sensitive to infection, would also have samples mixed in their food and air. (UPI, W Star, 7/31/69, A5; AP, B Sun, 7/30/69, Al)
World Health Organization Director General, Dr. M. G. Candau, and Dr. Karel Raska, Director of WHO's Communicable Disease Div, said in Houston that Soviet scientists had "initiated" plans for lunar receiving laboratory. Soviet delegates to international conferences had discussed subject but no details were available. WHO officials were in Houston to observe LRL at U.S. Government invitation. (W Post, 7/31/69, A3)
After two-hour inspection of Tu-144 at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport, Pan American World Airways president Najeeb E. Halaby said Soviet supersonic transport had left group of U.S. aviation experts "very, very impressed." US.S.R. apparently had progressed further in testing than U.K. or France with Concorde, and Tu-144 had reached 900 mph, breaking sound barrier several times. Concorde hoped to reach mach 1 in six months and U.S. SST was at least five years behind. Aeroflot planned to put Tu-144 in service by 1973. Pan Am would review all information available before deciding whether to order aircraft as hedge against competition. Halaby liked Tu-144's design and advanced instrumentation and was impressed with amount of titanium used in construction. Russians had told him aircraft's noise level was low in landings and takeoffs. (NYT, 7/31/69, 58)
Senate passed S.J.R. 140, providing for striking of medals honoring American astronauts who had flown in outer space. (CR, 7/30/69, S8786)
Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Development of House Committee on Science and Astronautics published Science, Technology, and Public Policy During the Ninetieth Congress. Report covered 19671968, giving details behind 94 public laws passed that authorized, funded, or otherwise affected R&D in U.S. and 45 additional bills on which Congress took legislative action. It included reviews of U.S. policy for science and technology by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and by NSF for United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Both reviews showed pluralistic, nature of U.S. public policy for science, built up by laws, executive orders, and other expressions of policy as they occurred. (Text)
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