August 1970
From The Space Library
Boeing Co. announced it had built operational prototype of noise-suppressing SST engine inlet for testing with GE4 turbojet engine. Tests, to be completed by end of November, were to demonstrate compatibility and installed performance characteristics of propulsion system components. Inlet included movable center body that, when moved to aft position, created sonic wave in throat region, preventing emanation of most high-frequency sound from engine compressor components during landing approach. Boeing said movable center body feature, combined with SST's rapid takeoff climb, would result in better takeoff and landing characteristics than those of Boeing 707 subsonic aircraft. (Boeing Release S-0683)
Mariner-Mars missions in 1971 were described by team of JPL scientists headed by Dan Schneiderman in Astronautics & Aeronautics: "The first of these voyages of exploration begins. . when, between May 6 and June 3, two Mariner-type spacecraft will rise from launch pads at Cape Kennedy on the way to Mars to become the first spacecraft to orbit that planet." To obtain maximum scientific information, two identical spacecraft would perform separate missions, A and B. Each spacecraft would orbit Mars for 90 days in differing inclinations and periods. "Together they will cover 70% of the surface, permitting the study of seasonal effects. The information gained will help in selecting suitable landing zones for the unmanned Viking project which will land an instrument package on Mars." Missions would carry six science experiments including TV experiment. TV pictures would enlarge understanding of dynamic characteristics, history, environment, and surface physiography of Mars and improve maps of surface. They were not expected to provide direct evidence of _possibility of life, but to furnish indirect evidence of Mars' suitability as habitat for life. (A&A, 8/70, 64-77)
Lawrence Lessing said in Fortune that satellites were "only hope in sight" for comprehensive air traffic control: "Growing congestion and delays are seriously impairing U.S. and international airline operations, and air-traffic control is at the nerve center of the congestive' problem. For nearly a decade leading scientists have urged the development of an advanced space-satellite system for navigation and traffic control. Indeed, such a system is the only hope in sight if air traffic is to grow to its full potential through the rest of this century. Only now, under the pressure of events, is this proposal reaching a critical point of decision." (Fortune, 8/70, 11586)
International participation in ERTS program was discussed in Astronautics & Aeronautics by John Hanessian, Jr., and John M. Logsdon, of George Washington Univ.: "Broad participation in ERTS... makes sense only if a global operational Earth-resources survey system follows. The design and institutionalization of such a system will test the ingenuity of national and international policy makers, and any steps which may make their task less complex are desirable. Widespread international involvement in the ERTS program would be such a step. And it would... serve [both] the needs of many nations of the world and the national interest of the U.S. Many constraints on broad participation in ERTS stem from the level of funding and the pace now planned for the program. Thus it falls within the power of the U.S. to eliminate them. This we should do." (A&A, 8/70, 56-63)
Significance of Soyuz IX in Soviet efforts toward permanent space station was discussed in Science Journal: Although engineering tests and scientific observations had been made during June 2-19 mission, "major emphasis was on bio-medical problems of weightlessness and post-flight adaptation to normal terrestrial conditions." Indications that cosmonauts' systems were slow in readapting to normal gravity had prompted Soviet doctors to suggest it might be necessary to create artificial gravity in permanent space stations and in spacecraft on protracted journeys to planets. Soyuz had been described as "prototype space bus able to accommodate three cosmonauts in comfort and to commute with ease to orbital stations disembarking and taking on passengers through a forward hatch." How rapidly U.S.S.R. advanced to this goal depended on many factors, "not the least the perfection of the new launch vehicle." (Gatland, Science Journal, 8/70, 5, 7)
Use of aerospace management to solve social problems was advocated by Albert J. Kelley, Dean of Boston College School of Management, in Astronautics & Aeronautics. "In the quest for application of technology to domestic and other internal problems, aerospace management with its ability to marshal resources to solve complex problems may-well be the greatest [space program] spin off. In-addressing current and emerging problems, the most urgent tasks will be to identify the parts of the-problem that can be solved by existing technology, to recognize the parts of the problem that need more R&D, to identify the resources needed to solve all elements of the problem, and to organize the resources and efforts and get the job done," (A&A, 8/70, 46-52)
Air Force and Space Digest editorial by John L. Frisbee advocated "show and tell" method of alerting U.S. public to Soviet nuclear threat: "Today's public skepticism about the realities of Soviet nuclear power, and its intended uses, is somewhat reminiscent of the skepticism that existed in the fall of 1962, concerning allegations of Soviet missile-site construction in Cuba. That earlier skepticism disappeared when photos of the Cuban missile sites, taken from high-flying U-2 aircraft, were made, public." One way to awaken U.S. public to current Soviet threat might be to release some of the satellite photography on which US analysis of the threat is based." (AF/SD, 8(70, 8)
“Solar Eclipse, Nature's Super Spectacular” and “Voyage to the Planets” articles appear in National Geographic Magazine
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