Jun 16 1970
From The Space Library
Edgar M. Cortright, LaRC Director and Chairman of Apollo 13 Review Board, summarized report of Review Board before House Committee on Science and Astronautics and commented: "Total Apollo system of ground complexes, launch Vehicle, and spacecraft constitutes the most ambitious and demanding engineering development ever undertaken by man. For these missions to succeed, both men and equipment must perform to near perfection. That this system has already resulted in two successful lunar surface explorations is a tribute to those men and women who conceived, designed, built, and flew it. Perfection is not only difficult to achieve, but difficult to maintain. The imperfections in Apollo 13 constituted a near disaster, averted only by outstanding; performance on the part of the crew and the ground control team which supported them. The Board feels that the Apollo accident holds important lessons which, when applied to future missions, will contribute to the safety and effectiveness of manned space flight." (Testimony)
Sensor developed primarily for V/STOL aircraft by ERC's Aircraft Hazard Avoidance Programs Office was being considered by Dept. of Interior's Bureau of Mines for use as mine safety instrument, NASA announced. Intended to measure airspeed during hovering, sensor would provide accurate reading of slow air flow within mine. (NASA Release 70-90)
Discovery of hydrogen cyanide in radio emissions from space was described by Dr. David Buhl of National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Kitt Peak, Ariz., during interview with New York Times. Dr. Buhl, with Dr. Lewis E. Snyder of Univ. of Virginia, had used 11-m-dia (36-ft-dia) dish antenna at Kitt Peak to locate second organic substance identified in radio emissions. They had discovered existence of formaldehyde in same well-defined clouds of dust and gas in 1969 and believed both substances might have been key ingredients in early evolution of life. (Sullivan, NYT, 6/17/70, 30)
British geophysicist Dr. Sydney Chapman died in Boulder, Colo., at age 82, after heart attack and stroke. Author of classic theory to explain how eruptions on sun caused magnetic storms and auroral displays on earth, Dr. Chapman had been President of Comite Speciale de l'Annee Geophysique Internationale (CSAGI) which manage International Geophysical Year of 1957-58. (Sullivan, NYT,6/
Astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Edgar D. Mitchell tested Apollo LM in vacuum chamber at KSC in preparation for Apollo 14 lunar landing mission. Mission was scheduled for Dec. 3 pending evaluation of Apollo 13 Review Board Report. (UPI, NYT, 6/18/70, 9)
June 16-17: Final critical-design review of manned lunar roving vehicle was held at MSFC to decide on final design configuration leading to hardware manufacture and testing. First of four flight-model lunar rovers was scheduled to fly aboard Apollo 16 LM, set for 1971 launch. (MSFC Release 70-112; MSFC FAO)
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