Oct 7 1976
From The Space Library
Modifications of the test stand to be used at the Natl. Space Technology Laboratories for static firing of the combined Space Shuttle propulsion system had been finished 2 wk early, MSFC announced. The stand had been built for tests of the Saturn V first stage and converted for use in the Shuttle program by Industrial Contractors, Inc., of Idaho Falls, Ida. In the tests, scheduled to be conducted late in 1977 by workers in Rockwell Intl. Corp.'s Space Division under MFSC direction, the main engines of the Shuttle would be connected to a structure resembling the orbiter; this simulator, using both flight and nonflight hardware, would be attached to an external tank, the Shuttle element containing liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen for the three main engines. Firing of this combination (known as the Main Propulsion Test Article) would be the first time the three main engines were fired as a system. Engineers would combine acoustic tests with the MPTA firings to obtain data for determining optimum vibration and sound levels; they would also use the data to check tanking procedures. Hardware for the tests would arrive at NSTL next summer. (MSFC Release 76-178)
The Energy Research and Development Administration announced plans to build a "power tower" in 1978 and put it in operation by 1981. Plans called for a large number of sun-tracking mirrors, called heliostats, to reflect sunlight on to a boiler located at the top of a tower; water in the boiler, superheated by concentrated sunlight, would produce highpressure steam to drive a turbine. ERDA was seeking a utility company to construct and operate the pilot plant; the utility would provide the site, install a conventional turbine and generator, and distribute the power to its customers over existing lines. RDA would provide the solar portions (tower, boiler, heliostats, and storage) and charge the utility for the electricity. Sites proposed for the pilot plant were in Ariz., Calif., Fla., Miss., P.R., R.I., and Tex. Three teams-headed by Honeywell Inc., McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., and Martin Marietta Corp.-were working on designs for the pilot plant, and Boeing Engineering and Construction Corp. was developing a design for the heliostat only. ERDA would choose the best design and test it at a facility under construction at the Sandia Laboratories of ERDA in N.M. (ERDA Release NF-76-12)
ESA announced appointment of Michel Bignier, director-general of the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) from Jan. 1972 to June 1976, as director of the Spacelab program effective during Oct. ESA's director general, Roy Gibson, had been managing the program with the assistance of the Technical Inspector, Prof. Massimo Trella, since the former Spacelab director resigned 3 mo ago. In addition to being responsible for directing the Spacelab program, Bignier as a member of ESA's 9-man directorate would assist in collective consideration of major ESA management problems. (ESA release 7 Oct 76)
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