Mar 20 1974
From The Space Library
Pioneer 11, launched 5 April 1973 toward Jupiter, completed the second passage of a spacecraft through the Asteroid Belt. The spacecraft had completed 70%, or 700 million km, of its 1-billion-km flight path to Jupiter and was traveling at 50 000 km per hr toward a December encounter. Pioneer 11 and its predecessor Pioneer 10, which had successfully completed its crossing of the Asteroid Belt 15 Feb. 1973 and had gone on to a 3 Dec. 1973 encounter with Jupiter, found no danger from small high-speed particles in the belt. Particles in the center of the belt were found to orbit the sun at 61 200 km per hr-fast enough for a meteoroid with a mass of 0.001 g to penetrate 1 cm of aluminum. However, most particles detected by the two spacecraft were smaller and far fewer than predicted. Traveling out from the earth's orbit the smallest particles-0.001 mm-appeared to decline in number while larger particles-0.01 to 0.1 mm-were evenly distributed throughout the belt. The number of particles 0.1 to 1.0 mm was three times greater in the center of the belt than near the earth. Particles larger than 1.0 mm appeared to be very thinly spread. (ARC Release 74-9)
President Nixon was briefed on the space shuttle and the Apollo Soyuz Test Project at Johnson Space Center. Following a tour, the President and Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, presented the Skylab 4 astronauts with NASA'S Distinguished Service Medal. Nixon praised the efforts of the "great American scientific, mechanical, and clerical communities" for their contributions to the space program. "You have contributed to . . . the spirit of a great country, which means always look out toward the unknown, go there, take any risk, make any sacrifice, and never be discouraged because sometimes you may fail." Of the ASTP, President Nixon said that although systems of government were different, the U.S. wanted "to cooperate with the Russian people and with all the people on the earth in anything that will advance the cause of science, the cause of health, the cause of a better life for all our children, as well, of course, as the cause of peace." (JSC Roundup, 29 March 74, 1 ; PD, 25 March 74, 345-347)
NASA officials testified on the proposal to lease a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System and on the closing of Plum Brook Station, during FY 1975 authorization hearings before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics' Subcommittee on Aeronautics and Space Technology.
Associate Deputy Administrator Willis H. Shapley said NASA recommended lease instead of Government ownership and operation for four reasons. First, contracting for services would be as cost-effective as a conventional network of ground stations. Second, expenditures would be deferred to years when resulting savings could be realized. Funding required to procure a NASA-owned TDRSS would reduce the resources that could be applied to important mainline programs. Third, industrial technology was ready to provide the needed services. Fourth, the proposed arrangement was consistent with long-standing policies and practice of the Government to rely on industry for communications services.
Acting Associate Administrator Edwin C. Kilgore of NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology testified that Lewis Research Center's Plum Brook Station, which was to be .closed by June 1974 be-cause of FY 1974 Civil Service work force cuts, would keep its Space Power Facility on standby. The Air Force, Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Atomic Energy Commission, and other agencies were considering using the facility-the world's largest space environment facility, which included a unique solar simulation system Also, NASA's cooperative program with the National Science Foundation to study wind-driven energy devices was based at Plum Brook. LeRC Director Bruce T. Lundin reported that reduction-in-force notices had been sent to 177 Civil Service employees 11 March, following 180 in the past year, out of LeRC's 400 separations. Dr. Kilgore said 50 engineers and technicians would be retained for the Space Power Facility at Plum Brook, which once employed 600 workers. (Transcript)
Dr. Malcolm R. Currie, Dept. of Defense Director of Defense Research and Engineering, testified on DOD space programs before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences during FY 1975 NASA authorization hearings: DOD would provide an interim, upper, orbit-to-orbit stage (OOs) for initial use with NASA's space shuttle until NASA could develop a permanent space tug. The OOS, which would provide the high orbits necessary for about 60% of military payloads, would be a low-cost modification of an existing upper stage and would be phased to coincide with the first operation of the shuttle orbiter in 1980. About $3.0 mil-lion would be spent in FY 1975 to select stage configuration and initiate detailed specifications. The OOS would have no payload retrieval capability and might not be reusable but could be used by NASA or any other shuttle user during early shuttle operations. DOD would install facilities to provide initial shuttle capability at Vandenberg Air Force Base in December 1982. Shuttle hardware, software, operating procedures, and ground equipment would be common and interchangeable to the maxi-mum extent possible between KSC and Vandenberg.
During FY 1974 DOD had initiated the development and validation plan for the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System, using satellites to provide worldwide precise positioning and navigation, accurate to tens of meters. The system, usable for civilian purposes as well as military, would halt the proliferation of specialized systems.
The Navy's Fleet Satellite Communications System (FLTSATCOM), to provide reliable beyond-the-horizon communications for command and control of mobile DOD forces, was "well into development." Terminal equipment for the fleet would be installed in FY 1975 and FY 1976 and would be operated through minimal leased transponders in Communication Satellite Corp.'s Maritime Communications Satellite System pending full operation of FLTSATCOM in 1976.
Three operational early warning satellites were in geostationary orbit. DOD would seek to improve coverage and mission duration and continue development of a simplified processing station. Two Lincoln Experi-mental Satellites, comsats LES 8 and 9 scheduled for 1975 launch, would use radioisotope thermoelectric generators instead of solar cell arrays.
The Space Detection and Tracking System (SPADATS), which could cover up to 5600 km, would be expanded. DOD was working on detectors, target discrimination, data processing, and other critical optical and radar components, to reach a near-real-time ground-based capability by FY 1978 to detect, track, and identify all objects up to 36000-km altitude. (Transcript; Av Wk, 1 April 74, 20)
The European Space Research Organization marked the 10th anniversary of the convention which established ESRO. The organization-which included member countries Belgium, Denmark, West Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom-had successfully launched 7 satellites and 180 sounding rockets. In the 10 yrs of ESRO's` existence, the budget had increased from $10L4 million for 1964-1966 to $405.6 million for 1972--1974. Employment had risen from 450 in 1964 to 1200 in 1974. The anniversary would be the last for ESRO, which was to be incorporated within the new European Space Organization.
Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, wrote Dr. Alexander Hocker, ESRO Director General: "We on the 'working level' of NASA who are now working very closely with this organization add our congratulations to those officially transmitted and look forward with pleasure to the continued association in bringing Spacelab into being." (ESRO news-letter, 74-3; ESRO Release).
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