Jan 29 1971
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (1MB PDF)
President Nixon in message transmitting FY 1972 budget to Congress said. "Science and technology can make major contributions to the public by developing creative solutions to a wide range of national problems.... I am proposing in this budget a substantial expansion in outlays for federally supported research and development." President recommended increased funding to "make greater use of our scientific and engineering capabilities and resources to cope with ...pollution, crime, health, transportation, and other environmental and social problems; strengthen research essential to the advancement of our technology and economic productivity; and increase our investment in fundamental science which leads to the long-term progress of our society." President recommended increase in NSF budget from $506 million in 1971 to $622 million in 1972. In 1972, defense spending would increase but, even with increase, would "drop from 36% of total spending in 1971 to 34% in 1972." Human resources programs' share would be 42% of total. Budget proposed "sharing Federal revenues with States and communities," "national strategies to improve health care" and to ensure "an income floor for every family," and efforts toward "full- employment in peace-time with relative price stability." (PD, 2/1/71, 130-9)
President Nixon sent $229.2-billion FY 1972 budget request to Congress, including total science R&D budget of $16.7 billion. Total request for NASA new obligational authority (NOA) of $3.271 billion (1.4% of total U.S. budget) was $27 million Is than FY 1971 NOA of $3.298 billion. NASA expenditures were budgeted to decline $216.5 million against decline of $486,4 million in FY 1971. Reduction to $3.152 billion placed proposed NASA FY 1972 funding at lowest level since 1962. Of budget request, $2.518 billion would go for R&D, $56.3 million for construction. of facilities, and $697.4 million for research and program management. Apollo funding decrease of $302.2 million, to $612.2 million- reflecting cancellation of Apollo 18 and 19-would be partially offset by increase from $515.2 million in FY 1971 to $672.8 million in FY 1972 for manned space flight operations. Manned space flight operations would include $535.4 million for Skylab, $100.0 million for space shuttle, and $37.4 million for orbital systems and experiments. Advanced missions would receive $1.5 million, to bring total for manned space flight (including Apollo) to $1.286 billion, down $144.6 million from FY 1971. Funding for space science and applications programs would increase $184.7 million, from $565.7 million in FY 1971 to $740.4 million in FY 1972. Increases would go to physics and astronomy program for solar observatory ($19 million in FY 1972), High Energy Astronomical Observatory ($13.4 million), and space telescope study ($500 000). Funding for lunar and planetary exploration would increase $166.6 million, to $311.5 million, with $38.3 million going toward Mariner-Venus/Mercury 1973, $180.4 million toward Viking project, and $18.8 million toward supporting research and technology advanced studies. Funding for Pioneer program of planetary exploration would decrease from $35.5 million in FY 1971 to $17.6 million. Funding for bioscience program, including Biosatellites, was eliminated from NASA budget for FY 1972. Increase of $15.5 million in space applications programs, to $182.5 million in FY 1972, included $48.5 million for Earth Resources Survey, $13 million for Synchronous Meteorological Satellite, and $60.3 million for ATS. Total for advanced research and technology programs decreased from $264.2 million in FY 1971 to $212.8 million. STOL technology program would receive $15 million, against $1.9 million in FY 1971. NERVA rocket funding would decrease from $32 million in FY 1971 to $9.9 million. Tracking and data acquisition funding would fall $26 million, to $264 million. DOD'S FY 1972 budget of $76 billion for outlays included $1.55- billion space funding, $500 000 less than previous year [see April 2]. Budget also included $370 million for B-1 intercontinental bomber, up from $75 million in FY 1971; $39 million for LAMPS antisubmarine-warfare helicopter, up from $4 million, $145 million for air defense aircraft system (AWACS), up from $87 million, $47 million for USAF AX close-support aircraft, up from $28 million, $409 million for Poseidon missile system, and $926 million for Minuteman III program, up from $720 million in FY 1971. AEC funding for NERVA and space electric power would decrease from $84 million in FY 1971 to $39.7 million. Increase of $437 million in total DOT FY 1972 budget of $7.8 billion would go mostly to expanded aviation and urban mass transit spending. DOT funding for reduction of aircraft noise and study of environmental effects of SST would increase from $27 million in FY 1971 to $54 million. These funds also would be used for pollution reduction from Coast Guard installations. NoA of $235 million was requested for SST prototype program, up from $210 million in FY 1971. (US Budget for FY 1972; BOB Special Analysis; NASA budget briefing transcript; DOD budget briefing transcript; AIAA release 71-2; CR, 1/29/71, H265; DDR&E Dir Foster Testimony, 4/2/71)
NASA released Jan. 28 briefing on FY 1972 budget request, in which Dr. George M. Low, NASA Acting Administrator, said: "For the past several years we have reported ... a further decrease in budget authority. This year we can report a clear halt in this trend; the budget authority for FY 1972 is at the same level as the funds appropriated for FY 1971. The exact figure for FY 1972 is $3.271 billion. NASA would complete Apollo program with four previously planned missions but would delay Apollo 17 five months to ensure that mission carried experiments originally scheduled for canceled Apollo 18 and 19. Skylab missions would be delayed about four months, to follow as soon as practical after last Apollo flight. Plans for unmanned planetary exploration included two Mars orbiters in 1971, Jupiter flybys in 1972 and 1973, launch in 1973 for Venus-Mercury flyby in 1974, and two Viking launches in 1975 to land on Mars in 1976. Dr. Low said NASA had asked for $190 million for space shuttle in FY 1972. "We have included in our budget $100 million. This reduction means essentially that we will move out with the engine development exactly as we had planned; that we are still in a position to make a decision after we have completed the studies on the air frame development, whether to continue with additional design or whether to proceed with the development of the air frames." Near-earth science programs included Orbiting Solar Observatories in 1971, 1973, 1974, and 1975 and last orbiting Astronomical Observatory in 1972. Space applications program would progress as planned, including two ERTS, two Nimbus experimental weather satellites, two Synchronous Weather Satellites, and two advanced communications experiments with ATS-F and ATS-G. New FY 1972 projects would include start of work on High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAD) and program for exploration of outer planets. "To do this we will develop a versatile new spacecraft, and we will plan Grand Tour missions to Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto in 1976-1977; and to Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, in 1979." NASA also would study mission to orbit Jupiter as alternative to first Grand Tour. Major new initiative in aeronautics in FY 1972 would be development of experimental STOL aircraft. Downward trend in aerospace industry employment on NASA pro- grams would be halted during FY 1972. "Although aerospace jobs will continue to decline in FY 1971, we expect employment to start increasing by the middle of FY 1972, with the end-of-year level being about equal to that at the beginning of the year." NASA would reduce civil service work force by 1500 positions by end of FY 1972, bringing total decrease to 6800 since July 1967. Work on NERVA nuclear rocket engine would be limited to "essentially long-lead time items," preserving ability "to move forward .. . when the need arises," without large expenditures in FY 1972. Program included "no plans at this time for a manned Mars landing mission."' (Transcript)
NASA launched two sounding rockets to obtain data on ionosphere. Nike-Apache, launched from Univ. of Michigan's Keweenaw Rocket Launch Site (ruRLS), carried GSFC payload to 121.9-km (76.2-mi) altitude to obtain data during magnetic activity in ionosphere while radiofrequency absorption in 2- and 10-mhz region of spectrum was high. Rocket and instruments functioned satisfactorily, Boosted Areas II, launched from Wallops Station, carried GSFC experiment to 122-km (75.8- mi) altitude to study enhanced ionization of lower ionosphere and its relationship to precipitation of energetic electrons. One telemetry channel with one RF probe was lost; all other instruments functioned satisfactorily. (NASA Rpts SRL)
Lunar landing trainer crashed and exploded at Ellington AFB, Tex. NASA pilot Stuart M. Present parachuted to safety. Trainer was one of two $1.9-million craft used by Apollo 14 commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr., in training. Preliminary investigation indicated cause of crash was loss of electrical power. MSC Deputy Director Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., later said accident should not affect Apollo 14 mission since LLTV electrical system was "totally different from the one in the lunar module." (MSC Release 71-05)
Selected fire departments across U.S. would be testing new fire- resistant outfits developed by MSC for use by NASA rescue crews, NASA announced. Prototype outfit had been displayed at symposium of International Assn. of Fire Fighters. Clothing included thermal underwear, coverall, chaps, two kinds of trousers, two jackets, and two proximity suits that permitted fire fighters to move close to fire or even enter flames. Nonflammable materials in garments had been developed to ensure maximum safety of Apollo crews in oxygen-rich atmosphere. (NASA Release 71-12)
Micrometer-sized silicate grains from all depths in Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 lunar core samples showed unusually high density of nuclear tracks, Univ. of California physicists reported in Science. Densities exceeding 100 billion per sq cm in several percent of grains indicated possibility that grains had been irradiated in space as extralunar dust orbiting sun before being caught by moon to build lunar soil-a possible extralunar origin of part of lunar soil. (Barber, Hutcheon, Price, Science, 1/29/71, 372-4)
Evidence obtained from uv photometers aboard two NRL Aerobee 150 sounding rockets-one launched from White Sands into night sky in August 1967 and one Oct. 13, 1969-had indicated earth was immersed in magnetoglow, NRL scientists reported in Science. Glow, from large volume of glowing helium ions, at 304 A, was similar to geocoronal hydrogen glow "in that it extends to very high altitudes, but it is unique in that it is largely confined to the closed field line portion of the magnetosphere." Because of magnetic containment, radiation had been termed "magnetoglow." Observations. of magneto-glow from inside and outside magnetosphere cavity promised to pro-vide "valuable means of studying the structural dynamics of the magnetosphere." (Johnson, Young, Holmes, Science, 1/29/71, 379-81; NRL PAO )
European Broadcasting Union said in Geneva that it would provide live TV coverage of Apollo 14 for 21 countries in Western Europe and North Africa and coverage for TV stations in U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe. Fourteen multilateral broadcasts would be transmitted via Intelsat-Ill F-6 to earth station at Raisting, West Germany. (NYT, 1/31/71)
NASA and ARPA announced selection of ARC as site for ILLIAC IV computer. ILLIAC iv program was ARPA-sponsored R&D effort to develop, test, and evaluate parallel array processing concept by constructing and operating large-capacity computer. ARC would perform final system integration and testing, operate computer for DOD, and perform NASA research in aeronautic fluid mechanics. Program had started at Univ. of Illinois in 1966 and was approaching manufacturing phase. ILLIAC iv computer was being built by Burroughs Corp. and would be moved to ARC after completion in summer of 1971. (NASA Release 71-14)
Senate adopted S.R. 20, electing minority members to Senate Committees for 92nd Congress. Elected to Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences were Sen. Carl T. Curtis (R- Neb.), Sen. Margaret C. Smith (R-Me.), Sen. Barry M. Goldwater (R-Ariz.), Sen. Lowell P. Weicker (R-Conn. ), and Sen. James L. Buckley (R-N.Y.) . (CR, 1/29/71, S505)
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