Sep 3 1976
From The Space Library
Viking 2 apparently touched down at about 6:39 EDT in a field of windswept sand dunes on the Utopian plains of Mars at the edge of its northern polar cap, after a communications breakdown that left JPL scientists without contact during the last 3 hr of the spacecraft's journey of more than 650 million km through space. The stabilization system on the orbiter, which served as a relay fink between the lander and the deep space tracking network on earth, lost power 26 sec after separation of the lander at 3:40 pm EDT, and the high-power antenna on the orbiter no longer pointed at the earth. The blackout lasted nearly an hr, while mission personnel tried to reestablish communications. A low-power transmitter on the orbiter, installed to provide limited 2-way communications with earth, finally sent engineering data at 6:59 pm indicating that the lander had touched down. Lander signals were strong for 17 min until the orbiting relay link passed out of range.
First pictures from the lander would be relayed about 3 am EDT on 4 Sept. as the first step in a "recovery plan" to put the experiments and systems back on schedule. All pictures and data taken by the lander were being stored on tape in the orbiter for later playback. Except for the orbiter malfunction, the pictures would have been available within 2 hr of the touchdown.
The landing date of Viking 1, originally 4 July, had been postponed for 2 wk in order to ensure a safe site; the spot for Viking 2 was chosen because indications of frost or fog in the area made it likely to encourage the presence of life, scientists said. Results from Viking 1 suggested either that chemical processes never observed in earth laboratories occurred on Mars, or that life forms existed on Mars that were unknown on earth. Life search by Viking 2 would not begin for a wk; the 2 landing craft were about 7400 km apart on the surface of Mars, Viking 1 at Chryse near the equator (at a latitude comparable to that of Mexico City) and Viking 2 in a warmer area (at a latitude comparable to that of Montreal) more than 1600 km northeast of the Viking 1 site. (W Star, 4 Sept 76, A-l; B Sun, 4 Sept 76, A-1; NYT, 4 Sept 76, 1; W Post, 4 Sept 76, A-1)
Newest international organization created to exploit space technology "for the benefit of mankind," the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT) was chartered in London after 4 yr of study and negotiation. A 1958 United Nations subgroup called IMCO-the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization-had been responsible for nautical matters of common concern to seafaring nations. The UN Secretariat first report on space activities and resources in 1972 noted IMCO's interest in space for maritime purposes, particularly distress systems, safety of navigation and position determination, operation of maritime mobile services beyond the scope of existing methods, and improved maritime communications. IMCO proposed a new international maritime satellite system for exchange of telephone, telegraph, and facsimile messages and improvement of navigation. IMCO's Maritime Safety Committee in March 1972 had formed a panel of experts to study and recommend a program of experiments and development work that would be necessary to form a new organization.
The panel examined the financial, legal, technical, and operational problems of creating a new entity, reporting yearly to the safety committee. As the consensus favored formation of a new organization, the IMCO assembly resolved in November 1973 to convene an international conference early in 1975 to set up an international maritime satellite system. IMCO's secretary general was to invite all UN member states and interested intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations.
The international conference, 23 April to 9 May 1975, was attended by delegates from 45 nations and observers from 15 international agencies and other organizations. The conference set up two working committees, one to discuss relationships between governments and their telecommunications and maritime entities and the distribution of powers between the member states and the INMARSAT council; the second working group would consider procurement and financial policy. The conference concluded that an international intergovernmental organization was needed to administer a worldwide maritime satellite system. It agreed to reconvene early in 1976, appointing an intersessional group to draft recommendations on four points: relationships between governments and designated entities, distribution of powers between assembly and council, type and number of appropriate international instruments, and procurement policies. The first conference concluded with a recommendation that all countries permit operation of ship stations (onboard terminals) in certain radio-frequency bands within harbor limits and other waters within national jurisdictions.
As the first session ended, representatives of 13 Western European countries and the United States agreed on major elements of the organizational arrangements that would form the proposed system. The arrangements envisioned the designation by a government of an entity to assume its responsibilities with INMARSAT, vesting of management in a strong governing body with investors making policy in proportion to their use of the system, and a procurement policy awarding contracts on the basis of price, quality, and most favorable delivery time. These issues had been debated during the organization of INTELSAT. INMARSAT differed, however, because of the maritime interests involved (ship owners, maritime unions, national maritime ministries and regulatory bodies) and the presence of the USSR historically had favored international organizations composed of governments only, having been reluctant to enter "mixed" organizations involving states and private enterprises, such as INTELSAT.
The working group's first session in London in August 1975 included representatives of 37 countries and 8 international organizations. The U.S. and the USSR reached an agreement on the basic roles of governments and operational entities, adopted by the session, which also developed a procurement policy. At the second session in October 1975, 31 countries and 6 international organizations were represented; this session discussed membership rules, investments, and information policy. The third session, held in December 1975 at Noordwijk, The Netherlands, was attended by representatives of 26 countries and 4 international organizations. It set up two committees, one to deal with financial, the other with nonfinancial matters. The U.S. representative commented on "the cooperative spirit" shown at the three sessions.
The international conference resumed in London in February 1976 with representatives from 47 countries and 16 intergovernmental agencies and international organizations. Texts of two documents-a convention to be signed by governments, and an operating agreement to be signed by signatories (governments, or their designated entities)-were adopted in large measure, with some revisions. Three articles of the convention not decided were the maximum voting power of each council member, the question of permitting reservations to the convention, and the official and working languages to be used. The conference agreed to a third session to resolve these points, setting up a preparatory committee for the formal establishment of INMARSAT.
The third session of the conference, called on Sept. 1, 1976, was attended by delegates from 47 countries and observers from Yugoslavia, as well as delegates from 23 international agencies. The delegates agreed that no reservations would be made to the convention or the operating agreement, and decided to omit the matter of language from the convention. Preconference negotiations had led to a consensus on the ceiling permissible on a council member's vote, setting 25% of total voting participation as an upper limit; this wording was accepted by the conference. Observers noted significance in the languages in which the new convention was printed: English, French, Spanish, and Russian. (Stephen E. Doyle, INMARSAT . . . Origins and Structure, 13 April 77)
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