Apr 3 1970
From The Space Library
U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos CCCXXIX from Plesetsk into orbit with 241-km (149.8-mi) apogee, 210-km (130.5-mi) perigee, 88:9-min period, and 81.4° inclination. Satellite reentered April 15. (GSFC SSR, 4/30/70; SBD, 4/6/70, 168)
JPL and USAF officials commemorated 25 yrs of rocket engine testing at Edwards Test Station, Edwards AFB, Calif., by placing historical marker at approach to ETS administration building. Plaque cited April 2, 1945, date of arrival at Muroc Dry Lake of first cadre of 10 JPL engineers and technicians. (Boron, Calif Enterprise, 4/2/70)
Paul E. Purser, Special Assistant to Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, MSC Director, retired after more than 30 yrs service to NASA and NACA. Purser had served as MSC Acting Director in Dr. Gilruth's absence and had been on leave of absence from MSC since September 1968 to assist Dr. Philip G. Hoffman, President of Univ. of Houston. (MSC Release 70-36; MSC Roundup, 4/13/70, 1)
USA's Meritorious Civilian Service Award for Bravery was presented to Milton W. Alberry of Army Aeronautical Laboratory for exhibiting unusual courage and competence during wind-tunnel accident at ARC September 17, 1969. Cheyenne AH-56A helicopter under test broke loose and threw parts into control room. Alberry shut off fuel and electrical supplies to aircraft and rendered first aid to injured coworker "possibly saving his life." (ARC Astrogram, 4/23/70; ARC PAO; NASA Release 69-154)
DOT takeover of NASA's Electronics Research Center was discussed in Science: Since inception in September 1965, ERC had built up to about 825-member staff including 420 professionals. "If the NASA and DOT proponents are right it may not require so wild a transition to bring space electronics research down to earth and deploy it against problems of air traffic control. There seems to be a fair amount of optimism that the technical problems of developing effective control systems will yield to electronics research, but DOT, which plans a budget of about $20 million next year for the center, is likely to encounter the practical problems of getting research funds equal to the task." (Science, 4/3/70, 100)
Science editorial noted that President's Council of Economic Advisers had projected increase in Federal expenditures from $189 billion in 1970 to $206 billion in 1975. It was "within this budgetary situation-one so cramped as to allow little room for maneuvering-that future research funds must be considered. The President's budget for 1971 calls for $15.8 billion of R&D funds, an amount which constitutes a smaller percentage of the total federal budget than in any year since 1959. Research and development funds hit a high of 12.6 percent of the federal budget in 1965 and have been decreasing by an average rate of 0.8 percentage point a year, to 8.7 percent in 1970 and a requested 7.8 percent in 1971. Any statistical projection of R&D funds for the next several years looks bleak, and there is little that can be done to improve matters for the coming year." (Wolfle, Science, 4/3/70; 69)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
