Mar 11 1970
From The Space Library
MSC scientists reported three kinds of earth bacteria had died when exposed to lunar soil gathered by Apollo 11: staphylococcus aureus scraped from Apollo 11 astronauts when they returned to earth; azobacter vinlandii, solid bacterium; and pseuodomonas aeroginosa, used in laboratory studies. LRL chief of preventative medicine Dr. William Kemmerer said conjecture was that all were killed by poison in Apollo 11 core-tube material. Tube held lunar soil gathered from five to eight inches beneath lunar surface. There had been no ill effects in similar tests with Apollo 11 soil or Apollo 12 surface or underground samples. (Cohn, W Post, 3/12/70, A1)
Dr. Thomas O. Paine, NASA Administrator, reported on international cooperation in NASA programs before Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences: NASA had established "sound 'base of extensive and successful cooperation" with over 70 countries in 1960s, entered into almost 250 agreements for international space projects, orbited foreign satellites and flown foreign experiments on U.S. spacecraft, participated in more than 500 cooperative scientific rocket soundings from sites throughout world, involved more than 50 foreign scientists in analysis of lunar samples, and provided for direct daily reception by some 50 countries of data from weather satellites. "Third" countries together spent "roughly $300 million a year on space." "On the aeronautics side of NASA's responsibilities, cooperative projects with Canadian, French, German, and British agencies are contributing importantly to the development and testing of a variety of V/STOL aircraft configurations." In experimental meteorological satellite and balloon program, Project Eole, NASA would launch French satellite to track several hundred balloons to derive global circulation of winds. Cooperative earth resources survey projects had been undertaken with Brazil and Mexico to acquaint foreign scientists and policy makers with potential of remote sensing. NASA had added earth resources disciplines to international graduate fellowship program and planned international workshop in 1971. NASA was providing technical assistance to India in aircraft survey of coconut palm blight in Kerala State so that its spread could be controlled. Agency was considering proposal to launch French synchronous meteorological satellite as joint contribution to Global Atmospheric Research Program and had met informally with ESRO and European aviation officials to consider mission requirements for possible preoperational air-traffic-control satellite system for North Atlantic. Dr. Paine had written new letters to Soviet Academy of Sciences President Mstislav V. Keldysh and to Academician Anatoly A. Blagonravov "inviting new initiatives in space cooperation." Keldysh had accepted suggestion for meeting, but had deferred further discussion for "three or four months" from Dec. 12, 1969. Keldysh had declined invitation of Soviet proposals for experiments on NASA planetary probes, "advocating instead a relationship in which NASA and the Soviet Academy would coordinate 'planetary goals' and ,exchange results' of unmanned planetary investigations." (Testimony)
Saturn V 2nd stage (S-II), scheduled to boost Apollo 17 toward moon in 1972, was successfully static-fired for 378 secs at MTF. (Marshall Star, 3/11/70)
Apollo 12 lunar samples were presented in Bonn to Science and Education Ministry's Parliamentary State Secretary Klaus von Dohnanyi by U.S. Ambassador to West Germany Kenneth Rush. Samples would be investigated at Max-Planck Institute in Heidelberg. (Leyendecker, Bonner Rundschau, 3/12/70)
James M. Beggs, Under Secretary of Transportation, addressed Western Governor's Conference on application of science and technology to problems of pollution, transportation, and employment in Salt Lake City, Utah: "We have left the Age of technology, where a technical innovation... was sufficient cause for the formation of a great new industry or the initiation of a large complex project. We seem to be shifting now to a period of more complexity in decision making, where the longer term effects of our technological advances may be the true determinant of the decision to proceed or not to proceed... the 'Technosocial Age.' " In aviation, "we find a sector of transport supported by burgeoning technology, effective salesmanship, and extremely rapid expansion of traffic demand. In 1964, there were 83 million air carrier passengers. This figure grew to nearly 153 million in 1968. The number of air carrier operations... grew accordingly from 7.4 to 9.9 million." Of total daily operations handled by FAA terminal facilities, four fifths were general aviation. (Text)
Kansas City Times editorial commented on President Nixon's space recommendations: "The hang-the-cost generosity of Congress that marked the early years of the Apollo moon program seems not to have been rekindled by last summer's landing on the Sea of Tranquility, for all the justified national pride that feat stimulated. And Mr. Nixon, judging from his last budget message, is disinclined to buck this trend. The President's conviction seems to be that important and dramatic goals await the U.S. in space, but that the reality of competing demands on the national resources prohibits the setting of binding deadlines for their achievement. His caution is reasonable, even if it does not lend itself to flights of public imagination." (KC Times, 3/11/70)
Status of C-5 Galaxy aircraft program funding was described by Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., Secretary of the Air Force, before Senate Armed Services Committee during hearings on USAF FY 1971 budget request: In 1969 it had appeared "that the 120 aircraft program would cost about $4,831 million, including initial spares. As we interpreted the contract, the contractor would lose some $285 million on 120 aircraft, and any smaller buy the contractor's loss would be higher. The contractor disagreed. By his interpretation... he expected to make a small profit on the total program. As a consequence of budget restraints, rising costs, and an overall reappraisal of defense requirements, we have now limited the program to 81 aircraft. The program's final cost to the Government, however, depends on resolution of the issues between the Air Force and contractor over the contract. We are still trying to work these out with Lockheed but... litigation may be required. If the Air Force wins all the arguments, the 81 aircraft program will cost about $4 billion. If the contractor wins all his points, the cost will be... on the order of $500 million more." It might be "several years before we know the exact outcome of this program." (Testimony)
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