Nov 8 1976
From The Space Library
The U.S. Air Force announced it would begin flight tests of anew system called latar (laser-augmented target acquisition/recognition), developed by Northrop Corp. to give pilots of single-seat aircraft enhanced air-to-surface and air-to-air attack capability. The latar pod, mounted in the gun bay of the USAF F-4E, would contain long-range high-resolution electro-optical equipment for target imaging, laser designation, and acquisition and tracking; its field-of-view would be limited only by the fuselage and the externally carried munitions on the aircraft. The system would allow a pilot to acquire a target visually, using either a helmet mounted sight system or a telescopic radar, with the optical turret following his line of sight; the view seen by the latar would appear on a helmet-mounted display built by Minneapolis Honeywell. The system would be suitable for use in all types of aircraft, including helicopters. (OIP Release 203.76)
FAA Administrator John L. McLucas announced that the agency would sponsor a conference in Washington, D.C., 16 Nov. to foster the use of metrics in aviation, in accordance with national policy set forth in the Metric Conversion Act of 1975. The conference would hear presentations by FAA, other federal agencies, aviation users, and the public, and would run into a second day if necessary. Subjects to be discussed would include air-traffic control, operations, and aeronautical charts and navigation aids, as well as design of aviation products and the impact on the aviation community of a transition to the metric system. McLucas noted that FAA had already begun to use metric measurements in areas such as standards for airport design and construction. (FAA Release 76-106)
Federal agencies allocated $4.5 billion to institutions of higher learning in FY 1975, the Natl. Science Foundation reported, a level of support about the same as the previous year's but representing an 8% decline when converted to constant (1972) dollars. HEW allocated the largest amount, $3.2 billion, or 70% of the total; the NSF supplied the second largest, $491 million or 11%. Other sponsoring agencies were the Dept. of Agriculture, DOD, ERDA, and NASA. Of the $2.2 billion earmarked for research and development (about half of all allocations to academic institutions), researchers in life sciences received $1.2 billion, more than half of all federal R&D funds; research in physical sciences received $307 million, about 14%, and engineering and environmental sciences each received about 9%. All other fields together received only about 13%. (NSF Release PR76-91)
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