Jul 2 1973
From The Space Library
The Skylab 3 mission to carry the second crew to work and live aboard the Skylab 1 Workshop (launched May 14) would be launched no earlier than 7:08 am EDT July 28, NASA announced. Skylab 3 Astro-nauts Alan L. Bean (commander), Dr. Owen K. Garriott (science pilot), and Jack R. Lousma (pilot) would conduct scientific and tech-nical experiments for 56 days. Splashdown was scheduled for 8:38 pm EDT Sept. 22 in the Pacific. (NASA Release 73-125)
Dr. James R. Schlesinger, former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman, was sworn in by President Nixon as Secretary of Defense. (PD, 7/9/73, 885)
Plans for a space-shuttle-like "astroplane" or "transport ship," a project of the U.S.S.R. and several other countries, were discussed during a Moscow radio broadcast to Germany. The spacecraft would take off vertically and consist of two winged stages. The 1st stage would separate from the 2nd at a 120-km (75-mi) altitude and start to descend on a ballistic course. At 30 to 40 km (19 to 25 mi) from the earth the engine and steering mechanism would switch on to control an air-craftlike descent to an airfield. The 2nd stage would accelerate after separation and move into orbit at 200 km (124 mi) to dock with an orbital station, unload, and reload. After separation from the station, the 2nd stage would leave orbit and also return to the earth. (FBIS-Sov, 7/11/73, L1)
NASA announced the appointment of Dr. Alois W. Schardt as Director of Physics and Astronomy Programs in the Office of Space Science. Schardt, who had been Deputy Director since 1970, succeeded Jesse L. Mitchell, who was retiring after 26 yrs with NASA and the predecessor National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA ) . (NASA Release 72-124)
NASA launched an Aerobee 170 sounding rocket from White Sands Missile Range carrying a Columbia Univ. x-ray astronomy experiment to a 175.9-km (109.3-mi) altitude. The rocket performed satisfactorily but the telemetry data were severely compromised by radio frequency inter-ference. (GSFC proj off)
The Air Force was redesigning an F-15 jet fighter engine part for the third time, possibly creating a cost-delay in the $7.5-billion program, the Washington Evening Star and News reported. The Chief F-15 Project Engineer, L/C Frederick A. Rall, had said in an interview that the aircraft could perform satisfactorily at speeds and altitudes required for air-to-air combat and that the engine part redesign was to improve performance even further. Other sources had said the redesign had to succeed before the aircraft could perform as a fighter. (Kelly, W Star & News, 7/2/73)
A Federal District Court jury in Fort Worth, Tex., found General Dy-namics Corp. innocent of Government charges that it had conspired to "cheat" the Air Force out of $114 000. The charges had led to a May 30, 1972, indictment. The Government had said General Dynamics had destroyed $114 000 worth of flawed F-111 aircraft components pro-duced by the Selb Manufacturing Co. and then filed a claim with the Air Force for repayment. The jury accepted General Dynamics' claim that it would not have tried to cheat the Air Force out of $114 000, since it had been working under a $4.5-billion contract to produce the aircraft. (AP, W Post, 7/3/73, Al)
July 2-14: European scientists participated in a National Academy of Sci-ences Summer Study on the use of the space shuttle and Spacelab, at Woods Hole, Mass. (NASA Release 73-191)
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