May 26 1971
From The Space Library
NASA supercritical wing, flown on TF-8A jet aircraft piloted by NASA test pilot Thomas C. McMurtry, successfully completed eighth flight from FRC. Objectives of flight-to explore flutter boundary and evaluate stability and control characteristics near speed of sound- were achieved. Aircraft reached 14 000-m (46 000-ft) altitude and mach 0.975 with military rated power and 10 600-m (35 000-ft) alti- tude and mach 1.1 with afterburner. Flight was last in exploratory flight program; aircraft would be checked out and cleaned before beginning performance-data-gathering program in late July or early August. (NASA Proj Off)
Cooperative U.S. and West Germany barium cloud experiment originally scheduled for launch during April 20-26 launch window, had been postponed until September because of unfavorable weather conditions and minor technical difficulties, NASA announced. Experiment was to study behavior of barium ion cloud at high altitudes to measure magnetic and electrical fields in space and to study plasma physics. (NASA Release)
RAND Corp. report The Space Shuttle as an Element in the National Space Program (RM 6244-1PR) completed in October 1970-study that questioned economic feasibility of NASA’s reusable space shuttle program-was entered in Congressional Record by Sen. Walter F. Mondale ( D-Minn.) Study, undertaken for USAF, concluded “total space funding requirements over the next 20 years are not significantly different for plans that use the shuttle and those that accomplish the same missions without the shuttle.” Results indicated “that criteria other than cost should be used to evaluate the desirability of the space transport system.” (CR, 5/26/71, S7823-9)
Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.) on Senate floor questioned need for space shuttle and space station: “I have written to NASA on a number of occasions to ask whether . . . there is a need for the space shuttle- space station. All NASA has told me in reply is that first, the shuttle would enable us to continue to have an active space program, and second, it would reduce the costs of the space program. But why do we actually need it? What would it help us to accomplish that we could not otherwise accomplish? NASA seemingly has no answer to these questions." (CR, 5/26/71, S7811-2)
DOD spokesman Jerry W. Friedheim told press new large missile silos being built in U.S.S.R. appeared to be designed for two different kinds of ICBMs but more than half of new holes might be for relatively small SS-11 ICBM. (Getler, W Post, 5/27/71)
NSF published Recent Trends in Enrollment and Manpower Resources in Graduate Science Education, 1969-70. Graduate enrollment in sciences and engineering declined slightly between 1969 and 1970. Decrease and declining growth rate 1967-1969 contrasted with 9% annual rate of increase in enrollment for advanced degrees in science and engineering that characterized seven-year period from 1960 to 1967. Number of faculty and post- doctoral students had increased during 1969-1970, but annual rates of growth were "far below" comparable figures for 1967-1969. (NSF Highlights, 5/26/71)
May 26-28: NASA's second Government-Industry System Safety Conference was held at GSFC. In keynote address Rep. Jerry L. Pettis (R-Calif.) said: "The traumatic and inspiring experience of Apollo 13 now can be given profound symbolic meaning. The life on board became vitally important to millions of fellow passengers on Spaceship Earth. For a few moments in history we glimpsed the highest priority. The support crew focused on solving the most urgent problem-and succeeded like seasoned professionals." Agenda covered results of application of NASA system safety techniques to automotive design, oil drilling and exploration, consumer products, surface ships, helicopters and urban transit, and aeronautics and space. NASA's first System Safety Conference had been held in 1968. (NASA Release 71-52; CR, 6/7/71, E5523- 4; GSFC PAO)
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