Jan 13 1975
From The Space Library
Dr. John L. McLucas, Secretary of the Air Force, announced the selection of the General Dynamics Corp. YF-16 prototype for full scale engineering development as the Air Force's F-16 air combat fighter. A $417 904 758 fixed-price-incentive contract to fabricate 15 engineering development F-16 aircraft was awarded to General Dynamics, which had been in competition with Northrop Corp. and its YF-17 lightweight fighter prototype during flight-test evaluations at the Air Force Flight Test Center. Dr. McLucas said the decision in favor of General Dynamics had been based on cost and technical engineering proposals submitted by the companies. The Air Force planned to introduce a minimum of 650 F-16 aircraft into the active inventory by the early 1980s.
The Air Force also awarded a $55 500 000 fixed-price-incentive contract to United Aircraft Corp's Pratt & Whitney Div. to produce the F100 engine used in the F-16. (DOD Release 16-75)
Marshall Space Flight Center plans for the FY 1975 reduction-inforced had been revised, MSFC announced. The target date for issuance of RIF notices to MSFC employees had been delayed from mid-January to 29 Jan. with an effective date of 14 Mar. The 2-wk delay resulted from the need for an additional decrease in the end-of-FY 1975 personnel ceiling, from 4145 to 4113. This further reduction was MSFC's share of the government-wide reduction of 40 000 employees called for by President Ford in 1974. (MSFC Release 75-6)
Marshall Space Flight Center announced the award of a $59 950 contract to Abbott Laboratories for living human kidney cells to be used by U.S. astronauts in the German electrophoresis experiment during the July U.S.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Abbott Laboratories would provide the cells as part of an experiment to find a way to isolate effectively the one kidney cell in 20 that produced the enzyme urokinase, an enzyme capable of dissolving blood clots. Because gravity made such separations difficult on earth, scientists hoped to develop new technology in the zero-g environment of space. The experiment was being developed, built, and tested by West Germany's Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm Gmbtt. (MSFC Releases 75-7, 75-13)
13-21 January. Preparations for U.S. participation in the joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission in July continued at Kennedy Space Center. After removal from environmentally protested shrouds, post storage inspection, and installation of eight stabilizing fins, the Saturn IB booster, SA-210, was stacked on the mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on 13 Jan. Engineers began electrical and mechanical systems tests on the first stage and installed flame curtains and panels to shroud the outboard engines. The Saturn IVB second stage was mated to the booster 14 Jan. and the instrument unit added to the stack 16 Jan. A boilerplate unit simulating the Apollo command module was added 17 Jan. The boilerplate would be removed and replaced with the actual spacecraft, and the rollout of the entire vehicle to the launch pad was scheduled for March.
The docking system and docking module were mated 17 Jan. after combined systems tests. The complete unit would be placed into the spacecraft adapter in February. Swing-arm launch-control center integration was completed 21 Jan. (KSC Release 165-74; MSFC Release 75-19; Spaceport News, 23 Jan 75, 3; 6 Feb 75, 3; Marshall Star, 2 Jan 75, 2)
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