Oct 3 1971
From The Space Library
Poorly designed drive system controlling tilt of "world's largest movable" antenna, 100 m (330 ft) in diameter-operated by Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, West Germany- had set dish oscillating at rate of once every second, New York Times reported. Oscillations endangered antenna's structure and made observations "virtually impossible." Antenna, at Effelsberg, West Germany, had been cited by astronomers as demonstration of why massive and costly radio astronomy engineering enterprises should be under professional management rather than scientific direction, Times said. (Sullivan, NYT, 10/3/71, 82)
October 3-6 OSO 7, launched Sept. 29, made the first x-ray observations from spacecraft of beginning solar flare and solar "streamers" (long, tapered structures observed in solar corona). Observations would lead to new understanding of flares not possible before. Flares had many effects on earth's environment, weather, and communications. Streamers had been photographed before only during solar eclipses and occasionally by short sounding rocket flights. OSO 7 experiment created own "eclipse" by using occulting disc. By Oct. 6 all six scientific experiments had been turned on. NRL coronographs obtained first observations of corona in white light and EUV. Wheel section experiments obtained scanning data continuously. Only one of two tape recorders was operating but would be sufficient to achieve mission objectives, (NASA Release 71-193; Goddard News, 10/71, 2; NASA Proj Off)
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