Dec 5 1971
From The Space Library
France's 90-kg (200-1b) Polaire scientific satellite, launched from Kourou Space Center, failed to enter orbit when 2nd stage of Diamant-B booster malfunctioned. (Fms-Sov-71-234, 12/6/71, T2; SBD, 12/7/71, 163)
Launch of Intelsat-IV F-3 comsat, scheduled for Dec. 6 by Atlas- Centaur booster, would be postponed indefinitely pending review of Dec. 4 failure of USAF Atlas-Agena mission, NASA announced. (NYT, 12/7/71, 18)
Dr. Wernher von Braun, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning, described future benefit of space program spinoff in Parade article on applications of space technology to social problems. "On the 1973 flights in the Skylab experimental space station, a medical doctor will go into space with the astronauts. He will carry out a comprehensive program of experiments .. to establish how well men live and work in weightless conditions in an enclosed space as big as a three-bedroom house." With data obtained, space benefits could be achieved in a few years and made available to people everywhere. (Parade, 12/5/71, 8, 12)
Remaining "puzzles" of solar system pattern were discussed by Walter Sullivan in New York Times article: General assumption was that sun, planets, and moons had been formed from "swirling, flattened cloud of material." But: "Why does Mars have two tiny moons, each only a few miles in diameter, yet our moon is a quarter the diameter of the earth? Why do some of the outer moons of Jupiter go the `wrong way'-counter clockwise-around that huge planet? Why is the earth's moon formed of a different mix of elements from that constituting the earth?" Recent information had "illuminated these questions though it had not resolved them." Earth's moon was giving off "far more heat than had been predicted on the basis of assumptions of how it was formed." Mariner 9 photos of the two Mars moons had shown both to be irregular chunks "rather than systematically spherical bodies in the manner normally attributed to moons and planets." George Washington Univ. scientist J. Martyn Bailey had proposed that all seven of Jupiter's outer moons were asteroids captured by that planet's powerful gravity and that Jupiter's clockwise moons had been captured when planet was farthest from sun, while counter- clockwise moons had been captured when Jupiter was nearest sun. Lunar Science Institute scientists had agreed there had been sufficient sorting and layering on earth's moon to produce radioactive crust that could account for heat flow. Information on two Martian moons had indicated that Phobos and Deimos looked much like asteroidal fragments but that did not prove that they were captured asteroids. They could have been formed as spherical moons from material left when Mars was being created and later "battered into their irregular shapes." (NYT, 12/5/71, 4:8)
New York Times editorial praised results of Apollo lunar exploration and noted there was "much more that men have to learn about this puzzling neighbor in space." It had been reported that NASA might have to cancel Apollo 16 and 17 for budgetary reasons. "Such action would confirm the widespread suspicion that the United States was less interested in the scientific results of lunar exploration than in the prestige of being the first nation to land men on the moon." Announcement that Soviet flag had been dropped on Mars might, however, "impel the Administration to decide that this is not the time for the United States to end its scientific bridgehead on the moon. It is the promising re-search prospects from continued lunar study, not Soviet space competition, that give the really valid motivation for continuing the Apollo program to the extent that existing hardware, including the already-manufactured equipment for Apollos 16 and 17, permits." (NYT, 12/5/71, 4:10)
Travel writer Morris D. Rosenberg described his visit to KSC in New York Times article: Visit had provided "whole new point of reference, more understanding of the complex drama you see on TV and read about in the newspapers, and a better appreciation of the U.S. role in space." Those opposed to space funding might be unimpressed by "avalanche of facts and figures" but it was doubtful that they could "walk away from this 2-hour and 15- minute bus tour without a strong feeling of pride." (NYT, 12/5/71, 1)
Contract with NR that was expected to set pattern for aerospace industry settlements under negotiation was approved by Long Beach, Calif., Local 887 of United Automobile Workers. Proposed contract called for increases of 30% in salary over 34-mo period. (Wright, NYT, 12/6/71, 25)
December 5-6: NASA launched series of eight sounding rockets from Point Barrow, Alaska, to obtain temperature, pressure, density, and wind data in upper atmosphere. Eight payloads consisted of four Nike-Apache pitot density probes, two Nike-Cajun grenade payloads, one Nike-Cajun pitot atomic oxygen, and one Nike- Cajun ozone experiment. All launches were successful except one; first Nike-Apache failed when rocket motor apparently malfunctioned and payload broke off. (NASA Rpts SRL; Proj engineer)
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