Aug 8 1971
From The Space Library
U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos 433 into orbit with 299-km (185.8- mi) apogee, 112-km (69.6-mi) perigee, 88.6-min period and 49.4° inclination. Satellite reentered Aug. 9. (GSFC SSR, 8/31/71)
Apollo 15 Astronauts David R. Scott, James B. Irwin, and Alfred M. Worden were greeted by crowd of 3500 persons during brief stopover in Hawaii en route to Ellington AFB, Tex. On arrival in Texas astronauts were cheered by 2500 persons who waved banners and flags while band played "Fly Me to the Moon." Astronauts were first to return from moon without being required to undergo quarantine. (Stevens, NYT, 8/9/71, 1; AP, C Trib, 8/10/71)
Soviet President Nikolay V. Podgorny had sent congratulations to President Nixon on successful completion of Apollo 15 mission, Tass reported. Podgorny had asked President Nixon to convey congratulations and good wishes "courageous" Apollo 15 astronauts. (FBIS-Sov-71-153, 8/9/71, GI)
Newspapers published preliminary summary of Apollo 15's scientific and technical achievements. Thomas O'Toole said in Washington Post: "The voyage of Apollo 15 did far more than extend man's reach into the heavens. It showed dramatically that man belongs in space. At the end of their three days on the moon and six in lunar orbit, the astronauts . . had gathered more scientific information about the moon than all the manned and unmanned spacecraft that had flown before them." Cameras and instruments in SIM had made first extensive observations from lunar orbit. One of first findings was confirmation that moon was not perfectly round and was dimpled. Evidence from seismometer was backed up by bistatic radar in which spacecraft signals were used to penetrate lunar surface to core.
Seismometer's reception of LM's impact on moon indicated that even small explosion or impact could be recorded at extreme range and verified earlier hypothesis that meteorite impacts were being recorded daily from allover lunar surface. Addition of Apollo 15 station to existing seismic net completed triangular array of instruments for determining focal points of moonquakes. Data from cold cathode gauges at Apollo landing sites and mass spectrometer in orbiting Endeavour confirmed presence of thin lunar atmosphere. Spectrometer picked up pockets of neon and argon and scooped up carbon dioxide that had apparently burst from fissure near where sun was lighting lunar surface at daybreak.
Other data obtained by Endeavour's instruments indicated lunar highlands were rich in aluminum and deficient in magnesium. Waterless basins were rich in magnesium and deficient in aluminum. Most highland regions contained three times as much aluminum as lowlands, and one mountainous region had five times as much aluminum as typical lunar basin. Magnetometer on subsatellite launched into lunar orbit discovered moon had electromagnetic boundary layer. Camera system recorded data for comprehensive map of areas never before flown over, with details and resolution previously impossible. Report by Astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin of terracing along sides of Hadley Rille identical to terracing noted on sides of two tallest mountains in Apennine group-Hadley Delta and Mt. Hadley-suggested mountains and Hadley Rifle had been thrust up from moon by internal pressures that built up inside moon when object the size of state of Rhode Island struck moon and created Sea of Rains 4 billion yrs ago. Scientists had previously thought Hadley Rifle to be younger than mountains and independent of their formation. Samples might hold clues to sun's history and its effects on earth climate, past and future. Walter Sullivan said in New York Times: "Sun-determined changes in the earth's climate have controlled man's history, from the ice ages that plagued the cave men to the desiccation that buried Middle Eastern civilizations, not under invading armies but invading sands. By understanding the role of the sun in these past events, man may be able to assess the effect our parent star will have in determining climates of the future." (W Star, 8/8/71, A10; W Post, 8/8/71, BI; NYT, 8/8/71)
Newspaper editorials praised U.S. exploration. New York Times: "The Apollo program was born a decade ago as an element in Soviet-American rivalry for prestige and political advantage. But the program's brilliant success has made obsolete the nationalistic considerations that seemed so important in the early 1960's. Now it is evident that lunar exploration and eventual settlement offer rewards and challenges for all mankind. Do Washington and Moscow have the courage and imagination to begin making that prospect a reality?" (NYT, 8/8/71)
Washington Post: "There seems to be very little doubt that the mission completed yesterday by astronauts Scott, Irwin and Worden has been the most productive in the history of the Apollo program. The yield of scientific data has already been large and much more is sure to come as laboratories around the world analyze the rocks, pictures and other material. . . . The trip has been a bonanza . . . and it may well go down in history as one of the most useful expeditions ever conducted in helping mankind understand the universe in which it lives." " (W Post, 8/8/71)
Responsibility for NASA space tug activities was assigned to MSFC by Dale D. Myers, Deputy Administrator for Manned Space Flight, in letter to Dr. Eberhard F. M. Rees, MSFC Director. MSFC would manage "in-house and contracted activities" and provide liaison with DOD and European groups interested in participating in development and use of space tug. Dr. Rees later said Space Tug Project Group would be established within Advanced Systems Analysis Office of Program Development. (MSFC Release 71- 178)
Joint NASA-U.S. Geological Survey project CARETS (Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site) was described in Washington Post article. NASA high-altitude aircraft were flying from Wallops Station over Maryland and Virginia to obtain data for ecological analysis. Information gleaned would be included in land use maps, water use and pollution maps, and research reports. (Pfeiffer, W Post, 8/8/71, C10)
U.S.S.R. had in past year "become the potential target of a vastly in- creased number of nuclear bombs and missile warheads," Washington Sunday Star noted. While U.S. was menaced only by Soviet nuclear weapons, U.S.S.R_ had become "first to be put at a disadvantage in the game of nuclear proliferation." France and China had begun deploying missiles that could reach targets within U.S.S.R. but not targets in U.S. France's first squadron of nine intermediate-range nuclear missiles had become operational Aug. 4. Another nine were to be added, Missiles carried 100-kiloton warhead-five times as powerful as atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima-and sufficient range to reach some major industrial cities of U.S.S.R. Communist Chinese had deployed small number of medium-range nuclear missiles and U.S. experts thought they were not concentrating on development of intermediate range and intercontinental missiles. U.S. had 100 Minuteman missiles, 50% of which would carry up to three warheads; 54 Titan missiles; 41 submarines carrying 16 missiles each, with 31 submarines being converted to carry 10- warhead Poseidon; and 470 strategic bombers. U.K. had 3 Polaris submarines; 40 Canberra V-8 bombers; and 2 aircraft carriers with 80 Buccaneer strike aircraft capable of delivering nuclear weapons. French also had 36 Mirage IV-A aircraft capable of low-level delivery of 60-kiloton nuclear bombs. NATO forces in Europe had 7000 tactical nuclear weapons available, with about 2250 missiles and aircraft to deliver them. (Kelly, W Star, 8/8/71, A15)
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