Nov 13 1970
From The Space Library
NASA held 12th Annual Honor Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C., with Dr. George M. Low, Acting NASA Administrator, as keynote speaker. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew presented NASA Distinguished Service Medal to Dr. Thomas O. Paine, former NASA Administrator; Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.; Apollo 12 Astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean; and Apollo 13 Astronauts James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr. Vice President said award ceremony was "perhaps the most significant since NASA was founded. Those individuals we honor have accomplished goals that required over a decade of vision, hard work, determination and courage by thousands in the NASA, industry, and university research and development team.... NASA has had an outstanding beginning, successfully meeting its challenging mission and goals. . . . Though some reordering of national priorities and some fiscal constraints will not permit us to do all the things we would like to do in the immediate future, the future still holds many challenges and wonderful opportunities... . I am proud of you, the President is proud of you. We salute you." Dr. Low said NASA could look forward to new achievements in program designed "to maintain that hard-earned lead, but one that also recognizes the many other problems that we as a nation must face. Today, we are moving forward on all... fronts-we have accepted the challenge of the future-a challenge in aeronautics, a challenge in science, a challenge in applications, and above all, a challenge in the exploration of the unknown." Presidential Medal of Freedom was presented to Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 astronauts and to Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team. Herbert W. Grandy, Stationary Engineer at GSFC, received Exceptional Bravery Medal for responding quickly and "without regard for personal safety" to smoke alarm in GSFC building housing satellites, computers, and clean room preventing loss of thousands of dollars and sustaining serious injuries. Group Achievement Award was presented to LeRC Dynamic Power Systems Group; FRC, ARC, and LaRC Lifting-Body Team; Wallops Station Solar Eclipse Sounding Rocket Project; and USN Solar Eclipse Underwater Salvage Team Associated with Recovery of Payload. Outstanding Leadership Medal was presented to Robert L. Krieger of Wallops Station and to former ERC Director James C. Elms. Other awards included Exceptional Service Medal to 18 persons and Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal to 17. (Program; NASA Release' 70-196; NASA Activities, 12/15/70)
NASA launched two sounding rockets. Arcas launched from Ft. Sherman, Canal Zone, Panama, carried GSFC payload to 60-km (37.3-mi) altitude to obtain ozone measurements in conjunction with Nimbus IV satellite overpass. Rocket and instruments functioned satisfactorily. Launch was second in two-rocket series; first had been launched Nov. 6. Nike-Tomahawk was launched from Andoeya, Norway, carrying Norwegian experiment to conduct auroral studies. Rocket and instruments functioned satisfactorily. (NASA Rpt SRL; SR list)
Influence of high-altitude aircraft on stratospheric ozone by adding water vapor from exhausts was predicted in Science by Boeing Co. scientist Halstead Harrison: "Simple, steady-state models for ozone photochemistry, radiative heat balance, and eddy-diffusive -mass transport can be combined to estimate water-induced changes in the stratospheric ozone concentrations and temperatures, the integrated ozone column, the solar power transmitted to the earth's surface, and the surface temperature." He found: "With added water from the exhausts of projected fleets of stratospheric aircraft, the ozone column may diminish by 3.8 per cent, the transmitted solar power increase by 0.07 per cent, and the surface temperature rise by 0.04 K [0.072°Fl in the Northern Hemisphere." Temperatures in lower stratosphere would remain essentially unchanged. (Science, 11/13/70,734-6)
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