Jul 15 1977
From The Space Library
NASA announced that more than 8000 persons had applied for the 30 to 40 openings as Space Shuttle astronauts after a yr-long recruiting effort. Candidates selected would report in 1978 for a 2yr training period at Johnson Space Center. Of the 8037 applicants, 6735 were for mission specialist and 1302 were for pilot; 1142 of the applicants were women. NASA would announce selections in Dec. 1977. (NASA Release 77-145; JSC Release 77-39)
LaRC announced it would dedicate on July 19 the site of a new wind tunnel, the National Transonic Facility, scheduled for completion in 1980 at a cost of about $85 million. The only facility of its kind in the world, the tunnel would use cryogenic nitrogen to test aircraft models in a realistic flight environment; cooling the medium to - 300°F would permit accurate simulation of Mach numbers and atmospheric-density ratios. Although NASA and DOD would be principal users of the tunnel, the schedule would be shared by other federal agencies, private industry, and the scientific community. Speakers at the dedication would be Dr. John J. Martin, assistant secretary of the Air Force for research and development; Donald F. Hearth, LaRC director; and Oran W. Nicks, LaRC deputy director. A display of aircraft developed from LaRC transonic research would include a B-747 freighter; a wide-bodied DC-10 passenger plane; USAF fighters F-14, F-15, and F-106; a Learjet business aircraft; LaRC's B-737 flying laboratory; a T-38 jet trainer; and a UH-1H helicopter. (NASA Release 77-144; LaRC Release 77-29)
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