Jun 17 1980
From The Space Library
ESA reported the complete engine D that malfunctioned May 23 during the launch of Ariane L02 had been located the morning of June 16 about 5 kilometers south of the Iles du Salut off French Guiana, and brought to the surface early in the afternoon. It was in good condition, capable of being subjected to a thorough inspection. Engineers from CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) and SEP (Societe Europeenne de Propulsion) dismantled it at the Ariane launch site and would send it to SEP's facility at Vernon, France, with propulsion elements of the other engines that had been recovered, B entirely and A and C partially (servomotors and turbopumps). Working groups studying launch data would report their results at the end of June; a schedule of further test flights would not be set up until then. (ESA Info 16)
The Washington Post reported that demonstrators trying to keep Howard Hughes's Spruce Goose from being carved up rallied at its hanger Saturday, June 14, to voice concern about sending parts of the plane to museums. Summa Corporation, the Hughes holding company, said that it would go ahead with plans to dismantle the plane in two weeks. A spokesman for the Committee to Save the Hughes Flying Boat said the group had received no replies from corporations it asked to donate the $750,000 needed to keep the plane in one piece. (W Post, June 17/80, B-3)
MSFC reported selection of two firms, Grumman Aerospace and the Harris Corporation, to negotiate parallel contracts for concept-definition studies of a deployable space antenna [see April 15]. MSFC would demonstrate use of such an antenna flown in low Earth orbit until completion of definition studies by the two firms. (MSFC Release 80-87)
The Washington Post reported that Great Britain's postal service June 17 became the first international public service to send letters by satellite. Intelpost, the new system, used a satellite 25,000 miles above Earth to send documents and letters by facsimile, an electronic means of transmitting the written word from one place to another. The first letter using the new system took just over 1 minute to get from Great Britain's Post Office chairman designate Ron Dearing to a receiving center in Toronto. (W Post, June 18/80, C-2)
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