Jun 15 1976
From The Space Library
Secretary of Transportation William T. Coleman, Jr., proposed a $1 billion program to muffle noisy jet engines and replace older planes with quieter new ones, the Washington Post reported. The proposed program, part of a comprehensive aviation-noise policy submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, would be paid for by a surcharge on airline tickets-probably 2%-that would go into an escrow fund to be used by the nation's airlines over a 6- to 8-yr period. The "retrofit" program-most controversial part of the noise-abatement policy would consist of modifying older 2- and 3-engine jets (such as the McDonnell-Douglas DC -9 and Boeing 727) by surrounding them with sound-absorbent materials to make them quieter. The fund could be used as part of the cost of replacing older 4-engine jets (the Boeing 707 and the McDonnell-Douglas DC-8) with newer, quieter planes. Although the Air Transport Association (ATA) representing most U.S. airlines had long favored replacement of the 4-engine planes, the Post said, it had vigorously opposed retrofit of 3-engine planes because the cost would outweigh the benefits. Retrofit had been advocated by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, and many citizens' groups to reduce noise levels around airports and take advantage of the useful life left in many of the older planes; however, the Post noted that opposition to retrofit in the administration had been based on expense, its possible contribution to inflation, and the fact that newer quieter planes would eventually solve the problem anyway. The Post quoted "no better than 50-50" chances that Congress would go along with providing public financing to help privately owned airlines make their planes quieter, according to a Capitol Hill source. Under Secretary Coleman's proposal, the 8% surcharge on airfares now going into a trust fund for improving terminal and navigational facilities would be reduced by 2%, which would go into the retrofit fund, so that no actual increase in ticket prices would occur. (W Post, 15 June 76, A-3)
Marshall Space Flight Center announced development of a solar-simulator test facility, believed to be the largest of its kind in existence, to compare the efficiency of solar-energy collectors in MSFC's program of assisting the Energy Research and Development Administration in its solar energy program. Designed to provide variable levels of energy similar to ground level solar radiation, the simulator contained a lamp array with 405 tungsten halogen 300-watt lamps paired with the same number of Fresnel lenses to provide an illuminated area for solar collectors up to 1.2 by 2.4 meters. After a 6-wk checkout of the lamp array, power equipment, and solar-collector fluid-flow systems, the simulator would serve to test solar-energy collectors that used either air or liquid as the heat-transfer medium. (MSFC Release 76-111)
The Energy Research and Development Administration announced selection of 2 firms, one in Mass. and the other in Calif., to study potential wind-power use by utilities to generate electricity in their own localities. The JBF Scientific Corp., a small research company in Wilmington, Mass., would study potential wind-power use by the Cambridge Light Co. and the New Bedford Gas and Edison Light Co. in New England; the utilities would provide information about their power needs and other data. The Aerospace Corp. of El Segundo, Calif., would assess potential wind-power use by the Hawaiian Electric Co., which serves most of that state; the Univ. of Hawaii would also participate in the study. Besides examining the utilities and their power needs, the contractors would study other ways of generating electricity (such as coal and nuclear plants), comparing them with wind energy to see if conversion would be practical and economical. The regional studies would last 1 yr each and would cost about $500 000 overall. The resulting data would supply a model for utilities throughout the country to assess the use of wind energy in their own regions. (ERDA Release 76-180)
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