Oct 11 1978
From The Space Library
NASA announced that SEASAT, an experimental ocean monitoring satellite launched June 26 from WTR, had stopped transmitting data shortly after midnight EDT Oct. 10 while over Australia. Scientists and engineers at JPL and Goddard Space Flight Center were working with Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. engineers to determine cause of the malfunction. (NASA Release 78-156)
NASA reported the status of Voyager spacecraft as of Oct. 5, 1978: Spacecraft distance from earth: Voyager 1, 704 692 000km (437 875 000mi); Voyager 2, 668 582 000km (415 437 000mi). Spacecraft distance to Jupiter: Voyager 1, 105 983 000km (93 816 000mi); Voyager 2, 201 354 000km (125 117 000mi). Spacecraft distance traveled since launch: Voyager 1, 816 533 000km (507 370 000mi); Voyager 2, 831 435 000km (516 630 000mi). Spacecraft velocity relative to earth: Voyager 1, 24.87km/sec (55 632mi/hr); Voyager 2, 27.10km/sec (60 620mi/hr). Spacecraft velocity relative to sun: Voyager 1, 15.43km/sec (34 514mi/hr); Voyager 2, 14.18km/sec (31 727mi/hr). Date of Jupiter encounter: Voyager 1, March 5, 1979; Voyager 2, July 9, 1979. Date of Saturn encounter: Voyager 1, November 12, 1980; Voyager 2, August 27, 1981. (NASA_ Release 78-154)
On the basis of a 4mo interagency review requested in June 1978, President Carter announced a U.S. civilian space policy that would set the direction of U.S. space efforts over the next decade. The policy would reflect a balanced strategy of applications, science, and technology development that would: 1. emphasize space applications that would increase understanding of earth resources, climate, weather, pollution, and agriculture, with the private sector taking increasing responsibility for remote sensing and other applications; 2. emphasize space science and exploration in a manner that would retain the vitality of U.S. space technology, yet would provide short-term flexibility to impose fiscal constraints when conditions warranted; 3. take advantage of Space Shuttle flexibility to reduce the cost of operating in space over the next two decades to meet national needs; 4. increase benefits for resources expended through better integration and technology transfer among national space programs and through more joint projects when appropriate, thereby increasing the return on the $100 billion investment in space to the benefit of the American people; 5. assure U.S. scientific and technological leadership in space for the security and welfare of the nation, and continue R&D necessary to provide the basis for later programmatic decisions; 6. demonstrate advanced technological capabilities in open and imaginative ways that would benefit developing as well as developed countries; 7. foster space cooperation with nations by conducting joint programs; 8. confirm U.S. support of the continued development of a legal regime for space that would assure its safe and peaceful use for the benefit of mankind.
Since space was becoming a place to work, an extension of the environment, the U.S. would pursue future activities in space when it appeared that national objectives could most efficiently be met through space activities. Finally, the U.S. found it neither feasible nor necessary to commit itself to a high-challenge space-engineering initiative comparable to Apollo. As resources and manpower requirements for Space Shuttle phased down, the U.S. would be able to give greater attention to new space applications and exploration, continue programs at present levels, or contract them. To meet the specified objectives, an adequate federal budget commitment would be made.
The U.S. would maintain a position of leadership in space science and planetary exploration, said the President, continuing a vigorous program of planetary exploration and using the space telescope and free-flying satellites to usher in a new era of astronomy, space systems to develop a better understanding of the sun and its interaction with the terrestrial environment through space systems, and the Space Shuttle and Spacelab to conduct basic research. (White House Release Oct 11/78)
MSFC reported the first-time assembly of all elements of a Space Shuttle-two solid-fuel rocket boosters (SRBs), an external tank, and an orbiter-in the dynamic-test stand at MSFC. Next step would be resumption of mated vertical ground-vibration testing, with the upcoming series of tests being in launch configuration, the Marshall Star reported. National and regional press representatives were present to film and report on the historic first assembly of the entire vehicle. The SRBs would undergo launch-configuration tests filled with inert propellant, replaced by empty units for configuration tests representing the vehicle just before SRB separation. (Marshall Star, Oct 11/78, 1)
The Marshall Star reported that Dr. Noel Hinners, NASA associate administrator for space science, had praised the performance of HEAO 1 in a report to the subcommittee on space science and applications of the House Committee on Science and Technology. Dr. Hinners noted that, before launch of HEAO 1, scientists knew of about 300 X-ray sources in the sky; HEAO 1 was discovering about 3 new X-ray sources every day [see Oct. 9].
Another major result from HEAO 1 was its observation of a hot plasma, apparently about a half billion degrees, extending beyond earth's galaxy and possibly through the entire universe. A plasma of this temperature and density distributed uniformly throughout the universe would constitute about half the mass required to close the universe. "This concept is of such major importance for cosmologists that new HEAO 1 data are being analyzed as they come from the spacecraft," Hinners said. He also noted that HEAO 1 data indicated a new black-hole candidate in the constellation Ara. Scientific results such as these had been "so significant that we made a decision to extend the operation of HEAO 1 through March 1979," Hinners concluded. (Marshall Star, Oct 11/78, 4)
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