Oct 7 1980
From The Space Library
Dr. Robert A. Frosch, NASA administrator, told President Carter that he would leave January 20 to become the first president of the American Association of Engineering Societies, a federation created in January of 39 major engineering societies of the United States representing more than a million engineers. In a memorandum headed "Dear Colleagues," Frosch said that he could "no longer ignore the competitive opportunities available to me and to my family in private life... J continue to be devoted to our common interests in aeronautics and space." Frosch was sworn in as NASA administrator June 21, 1977. He had been associate director for applied oceanography at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution since 1975. He had attended Columbia University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1947, a master's in 1949, and a doctorate in theoretical physics in 1952. He had been assistant secretary of the Navy for R&D, assistant executive director of the U.N. environment program, and deputy director of DOD's DARPA. (NASA Release 80-151)
NASA announced award of its largest contract so far to a small business firm. KSC entered a fixed-price contract of $6,689,666 to W&J Construction Company of Cocoa, Fla., for work on Pad B of Launch Complex 39 where the Space Shuttle would be launched in 1982 when it became operational. W&J would put in long-run pipes and cables to pump and monitor fuels, coolant, nitrogen and gaseous helium, compressed. air, and hydraulic fluids, from storage areas to the fixed and the rotating service structures. Connections to the Space Shuttle would be from the two service towers. The contract would be completed in 20 months. (NASA Release 80-152)
NASA announced an MSFC award to Martin Marietta and Aerojet Liquid Rocket Company of contracts to define a liquid-propellant boost module for the Shuttle external tank, to increase its cargo-carrying capacity to 5,400 kilograms (12,000 pounds).
Under the new terms, modifying initial program-definition contracts let earlier in 1980, the two firms would study adapting Titan hardware and systems to the boost module. They had been building Titans for years; the U.S. Air Force had used Titan II in the mid-1960s to launch Gemini and was still using it. Martin Marietta, under a contract valued at $1.18 million, would carry out follow-on studies and design activities on the overall system; Aerojet, under a contract for $782,500, would work on modification of the Titan III stage 1 engine. A modified version of Titan had launched communications satellites and other Earth orbiters as well as deep-space Viking and Voyager payloads. The first use of the augmenting booster would be in 1986. (NASA Release 80454; MSFC Release 80-126)
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