Apr 19 1973
From The Space Library
The U.S.S.R., with the cooperation of the Polish People's Republic, launched Intercosmos Copernicus 500 from Kapustin Yar to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus. The satellite entered orbit with a 1518-km (943.2-m ) apogee, 199-km (123.7-mi) perigee, 102.1-min period, and 48.4° inclination. Copernicus 500-built by Soviet and Polish scientists and carrying Soviet, Polish, and Czechoslovakian instruments-measured solar radiation and characteristics of the earth's ionosphere before reentering Oct. 15. (GSFC SSR, 4/30/73, 10/31/73; Tass, FBIS-Sov, 4/20/73, L1; Warsaw PAP, FBis-Poland, 4/25/73, G4; SBD, 4/20/73, 238)
Cosmos 554 was launched by the U.S.S.R. from Plesetsk into orbit with a 329-km (204.4-mi) apogee, 171-km (106.3-mi) perigee, 89.4-min period, and 72.8° inclination. The spacecraft reentered May 27. Western observers believed it was a reconnaissance satellite and that it had exploded or been exploded during recovery. By the end of May more than 180 pieces had been recorded by tracking stations. (GSFC SSR, 4/30/73; 5/31/73; O'Toole, W Post, 5/19/73, A12; SBD, 4/20/73, 285 5/21/73, 116)
NASA and the Soviet Academy of Sciences had approved results of the Feb. 26-March 3 Moscow meeting of the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Joint Working Group on Space Biology and Medicine, NASA announced. The Group had agreed on common medical procedures to permit comparison of pre- and postflight data on astronaut and cosmonaut body functions. (NASA Release 73-79)
Johnson Space Center notified 45 Civil Service employees that they would be released because of NASA manpower reductions; an additional 38 were informed they would be reassigned or placed in lower-grade jobs. The action, to be completed by June 1, would reduce the JSC work force to 3727 Civil Service personnel. (JSC Release 73-40)
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