NASA SP-4019 

ASTRONAUTICS AND 

AERONAUTICS, 1974 

A Chronology 

by 

Nancy L. Brun 

The NASA History Series 

Scientific and Technical Information Ofice 1977 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

Wmhington, D.C. 
For sale bjr the Superintendent of Documents, 

US. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 

Price (paper cover) $4.90 

Stock Number 033-000-00661-6 

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 65-60308 
Foreword 

New technology in a rapidly advancing space age remains a challenge, but 

this chronological collection of aeronautical and space events of 1974 shows 

that the emphasis in technology has shifted from the problems of how to 

operate in air and space to the practical use of those environments to meet 

human needs. 

Of NASA’s 16 payloads launched during the year, 7 were operational 

satellites, expected to produce profits for their owners. Three of the nine 

experimental spacecraft were launched to develop technology for applications. Although the immediate use of technology was emphasized in 1974,’ 

NASA also looked to the future. A little more than a third-six spacecraftwere launched for scientific investigations, an investment in tomorrow. 

Other nations and commercial interests increasingly joined us in efforts 

to explore and use space. In NASA’s 1974 total, 11 spacecraft were paid for 

by non-NASA users; 10 were international. In addition, two Italian launches 

used NASA launch vehicles. 

Operational satellites-all of whose costs, including launch costs, were paid 

for by others-included six for comunications, two of them the first US. 

domestic communications satellites and four for other nations or international 

groups. And a new operational weather satellite joined the network that 

reports data from pole to pole. Meanwhile, new technology for improved 

services was pursued : NASA launched the first Synchronous Meteorological 

Satellite, for continuous day-and-night weather monitoring, and orbited an 

experimental communications satellite for France and West Germany. 

NASA’s Ats 6 Applications Technology Satellite demonstrated a new use 

for powerful communications satellites, transmitting educational courses 

and health services to small low-cost receivers in remote areas. And remote 

sensing by satellite and aircraft, though still experimental, found increasing 

use around the globe for monitoring the earth‘s geology, ecology, resources, 

and pollution. 

NASA continued the systematic exdoration of the solar system and the 

observation of the universe in 1974. Studies of the sun, the planets, and the 

stars added to knowledge of atmospheric processes, geological formations, 

energy sources, azd physical laws that affect the earth. The German-American 

Helws I probed interplanetary space to within 45 million kilometers of the 

sun, closer than any previous spacecraft had flown. Three planetary probes 

launched in previous years gave us the first close look at Mercury, new clues 

to the origin and evolution of Venus, and new information on the weather, 

atmosphere, and radiation belts of Jupiter. Juoiter was found to be a ball 

of liquid hydrogen, its great red spot a gigantic cluster of storms at least 

400 years old. These Mariner and Pioneer probes were sweeping on toward 

further planetary investigations even as preparations continued for future 

probes to softland on Mars and to fly past Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus. Scientific satellites of the earth, sounding rockets, balloons, and aircraft were used 

to study spectra of the stars, celestial x-ray and gammh ray sources, and the 

iii 
iv FOREWORD 

earth’s own atmosphere and magnetic field and interaction with the solar 

wind. 

Manned space flight continued to demonstrate man’s capability to live and 

work in space. Skylab 4, man’s longest mission to date, extended into 1974, 

gathering data fox 84 days on his ability to work in space, his physiology, 

the sun, and the earth. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project neared readiness for its 

mid-1975 US.-U.S.S.R. flight to test compatible docking systems and conduct 

joint experiments in space. Development of the first true space transportation 

system moved nearer its goal of a reusable space shuttle and reusable space 

laboratory, as the shuttle reached test and fabrication stages and the European 

Space Research Organization awarded the prime contract for its contribution, Spacelab, to be carried into orbit and back in the shuttle. 

Aeronautical research was reoriented, with more emphasis placed on reducing both the amount of energy required for transportation and the pollution produced by transportation. NASA sought new solutions for the problem 

of noise, pollution, and safety, while experimenting with alternate fuels and 

composite materials. Flight tests began on a new general-aviation wing, the 

GAW-1, and the X-24B lifting body tested maneuverability and landing abilities of a vehicle designed for reentry from space. 

NASA made advances toward low-cost production of solar cells to convert 

sunlight into electricity and demonstrated the use of solar energy to cool and 

heat houses. Wind-driven electric generators and ways to reduce fuel consumption and pollution by cars were other targets of research during the year. 

Thus this nation, in cooperation with others, turned capabilities that man 

has never before possessed toward solution of today’s problems, while investing significant resources to increase our knowledge and technology so that in 

future decades we will be in a better position to help meet humanity’s cultural 

and economic needs. 

August 1976 John E. Naugle 

Associate Administrator 
Contents 

Foreword ............................................... 

Preface ................................................... 

January ................................................... 

John E . Naugle. Associate Administrator 

February .................................................. 

March .................................................... 

April ...................................................... 

May ...................................................... 

June ...................................................... 

July ...................................................... 

September ................................................. 

August .................................................... 

October ................................................... 

November ................................................. 

December ................................................. 

1974 in Summary ........................................... 

Appendix A: Satellites, Space Probes, and Manned Space Flights, 

1974 .................................................... 

Appendix B: Major NASA Launches, 1974 .................... 

Appendix C: Manned Space Flights, 

Appendix D: NASA Sounding Rocket Launches, 1974 ........... 

Appendix E: X-24B Lifting-Body Flights, 1974 ................ 

Appendix F: Abbreviations of References ...................... 

Index and List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ................ 

1974 .................... 

Errata in Earlier Volumes ................................... 

PAGE 111 

Vii 

1 

19 

51 

75 

97 

111 

129 

143 

163 

181 

197 

207 

221 

227 

257 

261 

263 

273 

275 

279 

317 

V 

Preface 

The 14th volume in the NASA series of day-by-day records of aeronautical 

and space events has somewhat narrowed its scope and selectivity in its brief 

accounts from immediately available, open sources. This year the emphasis 

is even more directly focused on concrete air and space activities. More 

coverage has, perforce, always been given the national space agency’s own 

activities, plans, and achievements, and that is true of this volume, but the 

text continues to reflect some events in other agencies and countries. 

The 1974 Chronology includes fewer examples of public comment and 

reaction and less technical detail in more condensed summaries. New technological advances in other fields-such as medicine and ground and sea 

transportation, except when related to NASA’s programs-have been dropped, 

as have most death notices. Air and space highlights of the President’s budget 

are given in tables in the text. The more routine notices of satellite launches, 

when little information is available beyond the fact of launch, are now given 

in Appendix A only, not in the text. Most sounding rocket launches and 

lifting-body test flights also have been dropped from the text; two new 

appendixes, Appendixes D and E, present the data in table format. Routine 

missile and nuclear tests, defense contracts, and disarmament items are no 

longer covered. 

Corrections for errors found in previous volumes of this series are carried 

on Errata pages following the index. This innovation will be continued in 

later volumes. 

The sources, identified by abbreviations that are explained in Appendix F, 

were those immediately available in NASA and other Government agencies, the 

Congress, and the professional societies, as well as the press. Contradictory 

accounts have been resolved and doubtful ones verified whenever possible by 

querying participants. Cross-references are given in the text, and the detailed 

index will aid in tracing related events through the year. The index also 

serves as a glossary of acronyms and abbreviations. 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1974 was written by Nancy L. Brun of the 

NASA History Office, with contributions from other staff members and the 

History Office Summer Seminar. General editor of the volume was Frank W. 

Anderson, Jr., Prtblications Manager of the Office, and technical editor was 

Carrie E. Karegeannes. Archivist Lee D. Saegesser collected and verified 

documentation and provided research assistance. 

The assistance of many persons throughout NASA and other Federal agencies 

has contributed to reliability and comprehensiveness of the volume. Comments, additions, and corrections are always welcomed by the NASA History 

Office. 

Monte D. Wright 

Director, NASA Hzktory Ofie 

vii 
January 1974 

1 January: Appointment of Gerald J. Mossinghoff as Assistant General Counsel of NASA became effective. Mossinghoff had been Deputy Assistant 

Administrator for Legislative Affairs since 1971, after earlier serving 

as Director of Legislative Liaison. He would continue to serve as Acting 

Deputy Assistant until a successor was appointed. (NASA Ann, 3 Jan 74; 

NASA Release 74-1) 

Josef Boehm, rocket pioneer from Peenemuende, Germany, and Chief of 

Marshall Space Flight Center’s Electromechanical Engineering Div., 

died at the age of 65. An associate professor of kinematics before joining Dr. Wernher von Braun in 1939 at the Rocket Research Center in 

Peenemuende, Boehm came to the United States in November 1945 with 

Dr. von Braun under US. contract. He was instrumental in designing 

and engineering the first US. spacecraft for the Army Ballistic Missile 

Agency, beginning with Explorer 1 (launched 31 Jan. 1958) , and continued with MSFC after it was formed in 1960. He had a major role in 

developing the Skylab Workshop’s Apollo Telescope Mount. (Marshall 

Star, 9 Jan 74,4; Huntsville Times, 1 Jan 74) 

2 January: Skylab 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and 

William R. Pogue, launched 16 Nov. 1973, discussed their changed 

attitudes during an inflight press conference held on their 48th day 

aboard the Orbital Workshop. Science Pilot Gibson said that from space 

“you see the Earth as one unit, you see the Sun as a star, and you can see 

all the other stars out there . . . and just the number of possible combinations . . . which could create life, . . . makes [life elsewhere in 

the universe] seem very much more likely.” Pogue said that the mission 

had had a great spiritual impact on him. “At the beginning of the mission, I tried to operate like a machine. . . . Now I’m trying to operate 

as a human being within the limitations I possess.” Now he would “feel 

much more inclined toward humanistic feeling toward other people.” 

(Transcript) 

* The Air Force announced award of a $75 318 000 fixed-price-incentive, 

firm contract to Martin Marietta Corp. for Titan I11 launch services 

at Waterton, Colo.; Vandenberg, Calif.; and Cape Canaveral, Fla. (DOD 

Release 2-74) 

3 January: Johnson Space Center announced extension of two contracts for 

program support to the US.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. 

A $695 077 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract extension covering 1 Jan. 

1974 through 30 Sept. 1975 had been given General Electric Co. to continue support of all Apollo hardware-related programs including automatic checkout equipment. 

A $2 424 250 cost-plus-fixed-fee extension for 1 Jan. 1974 through 

September 1975 had been made in a Boeing Co. contract to provide 

systems and project engineering support to the ASTP and Skylab program 

offices. ( JSC Release 74-001) 

1 
4 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

4 January: Twenty-seven spacecraft on twenty-six vehicles-eleven for NASA 

and fifteen cost-reimbursable launches for other organizations-were 

scheduled for launch by NASA during 1974. For the first time, NASA 

would launch more spacecraft for other organizations than for itself. 

Included in the NASA launches were two Synchronous Meteorological 

Satellites (SMS) to be launched in cooperation with the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration; a proof flight of the Titamcentaur 

booster carrying a mass model of Viking spacecraft and a Space Plasma 

High Voltage Interaction Experiment (SPHINX) ; Helios-A, a NASA and 

West German cooperative satellite to study the solar environment; 

GEOS-C Geodetic Explorer ; Nimbus-F experimental weather satellite; 

San Marco C2, a NASA-Italian cooperative satellite; UK-5, a NASA and 

United Kingdom cooperative satellite; ATS-F Applications Technology 

Satellite; a Hawkeye Explorer scientific satellite; and ANS-A, a NASANetherIands astronomical satellite. 

The 15 NASA launches that would be paid for by domestic and foreign 

corporations and governments included 2 Skynet communications satellites, the UK-X4 scientific satellite for the United Kingdom, 3 InteIsat 

and 2 Marisat comsats for Communications Satellite Corp., the first 3 

Westar domestic comsats for Western Union Telegraph Co., Aeros-B 

scientific satellite for West Germany, ITOS-G operational weather satellite and GOES-A (SMS-C) meteorological satellite for NOAA; and Symphonie A experimental communications satellite for a West German and 

French consortium. (NASA Release 74-2; NASA Gen Mgt Rev Rpts, 14 

Jan 74, A66 ; 11 Feb 74, AM) 

* Goddard Space Flight Center launched an Aerobee 200 sounding rocket 

from White Sands Missile Range to study Comet Kohoutek’s ultraviolet 

rays. The rocket carried cameras, spectrometers, and other instruments 

to 232.6-km altitude to determine amounts of oxygen, hydrogen, and 

carbon dioxide in the comet. The flight was “highly successful,” Dr. 

Stephen P. Maran, GSFC Manager of Operation Kohoutek, said. 

The comet, discovered 5 May 1973 by Czechoslovak astronomer Dr. 

Lubos Kohoutek, was once predicted to be the “comet of the century” 

as it passed near the earth on its 75 000-yr journey around the sun. It 

was only twice as bright as nearby stars but reflected enough light to 

permit instruments to be aimed at it precisely. (Maran, interview, July 

74; Watson, W Post, 5 Jan 74; Dilts, B Sun, 5 Jan 74, Al) 

*-Pioneer 10, launched 2 March 1972, was 26 070 000 km beyond Jupiter‘ 

after passing within 130 000 km of the giant planet 3 Dec. 1973 on a 

course that would carry it past Pluto and out of the solar system in 1987. 

Pioneer 11, launched 5 April 1973, had been in flight across the Asteroid 

Belt since August 1973, on its way toward a Jupiter encounter in December 1974. (KSC ReIease 2-74) 

e The Shuttle Avionic Integration Laboratory (SAIL) was being established 

at Johnson Space Center to provide a central facility for testing and 

evaluating avionics, flight software, flight procedures, and ground equipment for the space shuttle. Testing in SAIL would provide information 

on system operation before each major step in the shuttle flight tests. 

( JSC Roundup, 4 Jan 74) 

?e North American Air Defense Command’s count of objects in orbit 

around the earth totaled 624 payloads and 2349 pieces of debris, left 

from 7038 objects placed in space by man since the beginning of the 

space age in 1957. Space debris was falling back into the atmosphere at a 

2 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 4 January 

rate of one piece a day, but NORAD’S tracking and impact prediction program analyzed the decay trajectory of each satellite that might survive 

reentry and predicted the time and area of impact, issuing warnings if 

any were deemed hazardous. Most returning objects were burned up by 

friction heat on reentry and most of the rest fell into oceans and seas. To 

date, the only fatality caused by space debris was a cow killed nearly 

13 yrs ago when an 88-kg chunk of metal from a US. space probe struck 

the earth near a Cuban village. 

Eventually, however, increasing space debris and reentries might 

require traffic control assistance for supersonic aircraft and spacecraft. 

Short of sending up some sort of a celestial vacuum cleaner . . . the best 

approach . . . appears to be tracking and impact prediction,” NORAD 

spokesmen said. (Miles, LA Times, 7 Jan 74) 

8 Marquis Childs commented on Pioneer 10-which had passed within 

130 000 km of the planet Jupiter on 3 Dec. 1973-in the Baltimore Sun: 

The scientific brains that have gone into the Pioneer project are one of 

America’s greatest resources. They underwrite the technologicalscientific lead that is perhaps this country’s greatest asset. The momentum must be maintained if our rivals-the Russians, the Germans, the 

Japanese-are not to pass us.’’ (B Sun, 4 Jan 74) 

6 January: The Aerospace Industries Assn. of America, Inc., predicted “a 

slight decline” in sales in 1974 after a jump of more than 10% in 1973, 

the New York Times reported. Industry sales were expected to total $24.7 

billion in 1974, 1% lower than the 1973 boom that had pulled the 

industry out of a five-year slump. AIA President Karl G. Harr, Jr., had 

said, however, that the energy crisis could bring a greater decline. Fuel 

shortages already had softened markets for commercial aircraft, and 

jet transport orders could taper off, although the Department of Defense 

was beginning a new generation of tactical and strategic weapons. 

Aerospace industry business with the space program was expected to 

continue its five-year decline, dropping by about 2.7% to sales of $2.3 

billion in 1974. 

Profits of the industry had risen in 1973, to an average of 2.7% of 

sales after taxes, but employment dropped 1% to 935000 persons in 

1973, and was expected to fall to 915 000 in 1974. (Finney, NYT, 6 Jan 

74) 7 January: A 5-million-km hydrogen cloud surrounding Comet Kohoutek 

was photographed by a Naval Research Laboratory camera aboard a 

NASA Aerobee 200 sounding rocket. The rocket, launched from White 

Sands Missile Range, reached an altitude of 193.1 km. The image of the 

cloud, invisible from the earth because it glowed at an ultraviolet wavelength that. did not penetrate the atmosphere, was obtained by photographing the comet in the light of the Lyman-alpha line of atomic hydrogen using a special electronic w camera. Scientists believed the comet 

consisted largely of water ice which evaporated as it neared the sun, 

breaking up into component hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The lighter 

hydrogen atoms escaped rapidly, producing the cloud. (Naval Research 

Reviews, Jan 74,29) 

0 ,Communications Satellite Corp., on behalf of itself and other joint ownersincluding American Telephone & Telegraph Co., ITT World Communications, Inc., RCA Global Communications, Inc., and Western Union 

International Gorp.-announced intention to award a $3.16-million 

contract to GSystems Inc. for construction of two 32-m-dia antennas 

<< 

66 

3 
7 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

for international satellite communications on the existing earth station 

sites of Andover, Me., and Etam, W. Va. (ComSatCorp Release 74-2) 

8 January: The first domestic communications satellite service, connecting East and West Coasts, was officially inaugurated by RCA Corp. from 

New York City at 2:40 pm EDT. Within minutes, conversations were 

relayed by Canada’s Anik 2 satellite (launched by NASA 20 April 1973) 

on a circuit leased from Telesat Canada. Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R-N.Y.) 

in New York, Federal Communications Chairman Dean Burch in Washington, D.C., Alaska Gov. William A. Egan in Juneau, Sen. Mike Gravel 

(%Alaska) in Anchorage, and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) in Nome 

exchanged congratulations. 

Operated by RCA Global Communications, Inc., and RCA Alaska Communications, Inc., for the parent RCA Corp., the system used earth relay 

stations near New York, San Francisco, Juneau, and Anchorage. These 

were to be joined by others in 1976, when RCA hoped to have three satellites of its own. Transmission charges for coast-to-coast messages were 

less via satellite than by earthbound systems; a telephone circuit rented 

for $1700 a month rather than the $2298 charged by American Telephone & Telegraph Co. for a similar land-based private circuit. Quality 

also was better because a connection could be completed with fewer relay 

points, one relay to the satellite and another from the satellite to the 

ground. (RCA Release, 8 Jan 74; W Star-News, 9 Jan 74; WSJ, 9 

Jan 74,34) 

The Library of Congress Congressional Research Service published United 

States and Soviet Progress in Space: Summary Data through 1972 and 

a Forward Look (74--35SP), prepared by DT. Charles S. Sheldon 11, 

Chief of the Science Policy Research Div. In its manned program the 

U.S.S.R. had launched a Salyut 2 space station 3 April 1973 but a 

failure-possibly a wildly firing thruster-had damaged the station, 

which reentered the earth’s atmosphere May 28. Other later attempts 

to launch and man a space station also appeared to have failed. Two 

manned launches, Soyuz 12 and Soyuz 13, had been successful in September and December, the second spacecraft remaining in space eight 

days to conduct astrophysical, biological, and earth resources experiments. 

By 30 June 1974 the United States expected to have spent $75 biIlion 

on combined military and civilian space programs since the beginning 

of the space program, spending about $4.7 billion in FY 1974. The 

Soviet Union did not publish space budget data, but its program was 

thought to be “at least of the same magnitude as that of the United States 

at its former peak” of $7.7 billion a year. 

The U.S. had several major space research and development centers 

operated by the military and private industry as well as NASA. There was 

no reason to believe the Soviet aerospace industry was as fully equipped 

but missiles of similar capabilities and different design philosophies 

which had appeared in Moscow parades “suggest the existence of more 

than one design and development team for space work.” 

The US. had launch vehicles scaled to lift payloads weighing from 

9 kg to 136000 kg. The Soviet Union had started to use in 1957 its 

original intercontinental ballistic missile and still used the same basic 

vehicle with stages added to improve performance. The very large Soviet 

vehicle predicted by NASA officials had not been seen. 

4 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 8 January 

A Soviet lunar landing did not seem imminent but was still expected, 

as part of Soviet long-range plans, as soon as the problems of unreliable 

hardware were solved. US.-U.S.S.R. cooperation in space efforts was 

“the hope of well-intentioned people everywhere.” Two motives for 

cooperation were to lessen tension and to save money. Although there 

was already exchange of information between scientists and engineers, 

no assessment of the overall prospects can be made successfully without 

forecasting the future political climate.” (Text) 

8-31 January: NASA’s Mariner 10 probe, launched 3 Nov. 1973, met a number of problems but continued its flight miIIions of kilometers from the 

earth toward a 5 Feb. flyby of Venus and 29 March flyby of Mercury. 

Despite the loss of the prime power chain, causing automatic transfer 

to the backup system, Mariner 10’s instruments continued scientific 

studies. Comet Kohoutek’s taiI was observed in the extreme ultraviolet 

range. On 13 Jan. hydrogen Lyman-alpha intensity, beginning 20” from 

the comet’s nucleus, climbed rapidly as the nucleus region drifted toward 

the uv airglow spectrometer’s field of view. The nucleus was scanned 

16 Jan. 

On 17 Jan., while the spacecraft was powered down for its second 

trajectory correction maneuver, shutting off several instrument heaters 

allowed the TV optics heaters, which had failed to function earlier, to 

turn on. Scientists had feared that below-freezing temperature might prevent camera operation during the Venus encounter. On 21 Jan., instruments for Comet Kohoutek and solar wind experiments were turned on. 

On 22 Jan. the uv spectrometer measured hydrogen Lyman-alpha intensities out to 17” to map the comet’s hydrogen cloud. Comet Kohoutek 

was scanned seven hours 24 Jan. by the UY spectrometer-the only instrument of its kind to observe the comet from outside the earth’s own 

hydrogen cloud. 

During the seventh and final roll calibration maneuver 28 Jan., telemetry indicated a rapid increase in the use of attitude control gas, the 

nitrogen gas supply dropping from 2.7 to 2.1 kg. The gyros were turned 

off and the spacecraft put into celestial control, with the SUR and the star 

Canopus as references. Nitrogen-gas-use rate returned to normal and 

estimates of the supply indicated a comfortable margin for reaching 

Mercury and executing experiments. The backup electric power system 

was still in use, as studies of that problem continued. 

On 31 Jan. Mariner 10 was 3 200 000 km from Venus and 38 800 000 

km from the earth, traveling at 30 238 km per hr. ( JPL Mariner Venus/ 

Mercury 1973 Bull Nos 14, 15 ; NASA PAO press briefing transcript, 31 

Jan 74; IT Post, 10 Jan 74, A5) 

9 January: Lockheed Propulsion Go. asked the General Accounting Office to 

set aside NASA’s 20 Nov. 1973 selection of Thiokol Chemical Corp. for 

negotiation of a $lO€i-rnillion contract to design and develop the space 

shuttle’s solid-fueled rocket motor. Lockheed charged that it had an edge 

in technical evaluation of the engine and that it had been the low bidder 

before NASA had made “improper adjustments” in its bid. Lockheed also 

maintained Thiokol’s trans ortation costs from Utah to Florida would 

be higher and that Thiokofs proposed design would not meet program 

objectives without major revision. (LATNS, Today, 10 Jan 74; NASA 

Release 76130) 

A photograph of the U.S.S.R.’s space launching complex at Baykonur 

Cosmodrome taken by NASA’s Erts 1 Earth Resources Technology Satel5 

66 
9 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

lite (launched 23 July 1972) from 900 km altitude was published in the 

Washington newsletter Defense/Space Business Daily. The photo, taken 

16 March 1973, showed that the complex stretched 60 km east and west, 

24 km north of Tyuratam. The newsletter published a closer, 5 Oct. 1972 

photo on 17 Jan. (SBD, 9,10,17 Jan 74, 4142,49-50,89; NASA photos 

74-H-6,7&H-l1, 74-H-12,7&H-13) 

10 January: All spacecraft and experiment checks on Explorer 51 (Amosphere Explorer-C) , launched 15 Dec. 1973, were completed. Spacecraft 

systems and all 14 experiments were operational. Spacecraft performance 

was nominal except for Programmer 2, which had experienced some 

degraded load capability. The orbital-adjust propulsion Bystem had 

lowered the perigee to 152 km in two stages. The first “excursion” to a 

lower altitude-125 km-was planned for February. (NASA MOR, 10 Jan 

* Ames Research Center’s (2-141 AIRO (Airborne Infrared Observatory) aircraft was officially transferred to operational status for research development. A total of 26 research programs had been approved for C-141 

participation, using its 91-cm IR telescope-18 from universities, 5 from 

NASA or other Government agencies, and 3 from foreign countries. 

AIRO also was to participate in studies of Comet Kohoutek. (ARC Astro11 January: Solar energy would be used by Marshall Space Flight Center 

engineers to heat and cool three house trailers parked together to simulate 

a residence. The system would take from the sun three fourths of the 

thermal energy needed for the simulated living quarters and furnish 

2.7 metric tons of air conditioning in the summer and 20.5 kw of heat 

during winter, with surplus energy in storage for operation at night 

and through three cloudy days. A conventional system would still be 

necessary to make up for undercapacity and provide energy during extended cloudy periods. 

The system, a project sponsored by the NASA Office of Applications 

to develop solar energy technology, would use a 120-sq-m solar-collector 

roof, a storage tank, pumps, coils, a modified air conditioner, plumbing, 

an auxiliary heater, and automatic controls. (MSFC Release 74-6) 

The National Science Foundation was spending more than $1 million in 

FY 1974 on wind research programs and to build a large windmill, the 

Wall Street Journal reported. Wmdmills, for thousands of years one 

of man’s basic machines, were again being taken very seriously in 

the worldwide energy crisis. Researchers believed windmills could be 

grouped to form power stations and provide a significant portion of 

U.S. energy needs, becoming com etitive with other energy sources. The 

$200000 NSF windmill would 8, built by NASA at Lewis Research 

Center’s Plum Brook Station to capture the maximum possible power 

from the wind with the minimum construction costs. In addition, the 

NASA team would look into methods of storing electricity for periods 

when the wind was not blowing and of generating current at a constant 

60 cps, the rate all large appliances were designed to use. Other researchers were working on windmill complexes based at sea, where 

powerful ocean winds could provide a regular flow of power. (Brand, 

WSJ, 11 Jan 74,l; NASA Release 74-33) 

NASA’s shrinking work force and the relatively few available women and 

minority engineers and scientists were responsible for the agency’s 

admittedly poor record on equal employment, Dr. Dudley G. McConnell, 

74) 

gram, 18 Jan 74,1,4) \ 

6 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 11 January 

NASA Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Programs, told the 

Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Housing and 

Urban Development, Space, Science, and Veterans. The hearing was investigating the October 1973 dismissal of a NASA official, Mrs. Ruth Bates 

Harris, after she and two coauthors asserted in a report that the agency 

was not moving fast enough to hire women and minority workers and 

that NASA’s proportion of minority employees was the lowest in the 

Government. Despite the difficulties, NASA in the past had hired well 

above the agency’s current percentage of minorities: 10.3% in 1971; 

13.2% in 1972; and 16.3% in 1973. 

Associate Deputy Administrator Willis H. Shapley denied the report 

was the reason for the Harris termination but conceded NASA’s poor 

record on minority hiring. Subcommittee Chairman William Proxmire 

(D-Wis.) ordered the agency to report to him quarterly on progress 

toward its own equal opportunity goals. (Transcript) 

The Air Force’s first flight-test B-1 strategic bomber had been successfully 

mated with its wings irrpalmdale, Calif., the Air Force Systems Command announced. The B-1 was being developed by prime contractor 

Rockwell International Corp. to provide a modern supersonic strategic 

manned bomber to replace the aging B-52. The B-1, designed to carry 

twice the payload of the B-52 at three times the speed, was equipped 

with movable fore and aft wings to carry out a variety of missions from 

both normal and short runways, in addition to low-level operation at 

high subsonic speeds and high-altitude supersonic flight. (AFSC Release 

OIP 001.74) 

The US. would sell fighter aircraft to Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Washington Post reported. Iran would buy 30 Grumman Aerospace Corp. 

F-14 Tomcat swing-wing fighters equipped with the advanced, longrange Phoenix missile system, with deliveries to begin January 1976. 

Saudi Arabia would buy 30 new Northrop Corp. F-5E Tiger I1 lightweight fighters and 20 of the earlier two-place F-5B trainers. (Miles, 

W Post, 11 Jan 74, A12) 

14 January: Skylab 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, 

and William R. Pogue (launched 16 Nov. 1973 in the final mission to 

crew the Orbital Workshop) set a new record for the longest manned 

flight time in space, completing 59 days 11 hrs 9 min at 1O:lO pm EDT 

and surpassing the time set by Skylab 3 on its 28 July-25 Sept. 1973 

mission. Skylab 4 had been given a go-ahead 10 Jan. for a seven-day 

extension, with weekly reviews through the end of a planned %-day 

mission. (A&A 73) 

Three US.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project working groups began 

technical meetings at Johnson Space Center on mission plans and 

experiments, communications and tracking, and life support and crew 

transfer. Thirty-five Soviet scientists and engineers would work at JSC 

for periods from 16 to 90 days in preparation for the joint, manned, 

earth-orbital mission in July 1975 to test compatible rendezvous and 

docking systems and techniques. (NASA Release 74-9; NASA OMSF, interview, 9 July 74) 

14-18 Januury: Final reports on six space tug system studies were presented 

to NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center by contractors Grumman Aircraft Corp., Martin Marietta Co., McDonnell Douglas Astronautics CO., 

General Dynamics Corp., and Lockheed Corp. The reports-covering a 

storable propellant version, a cryogenics propellant version, and a growth 

7 
14-18 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

stage version-would become the basis for the completion of Phase A 

studies of the space tug program and recommendations for Phase B 

definition studies. (Marshall Star, 16 Jan 74) 

15 January: A new, portable, battery-powered spotlight, with a peak capability of 1-million candlepower and 50 times brighter than high-beam automobile headlights, had been developed from NASA arc light research, 

NASA announced. The 3-kg spotlight, called the Stream Lite-1 Million 

and marketed by Streamlight, Inc., used a unique xenon lamp with an 

operating lifetime of 200 brs at maximum intensity. (NASA Release 74-6) 

16 January: Plans for an Arab communications satellite network were presented by Arab League engineer Salah ’Amir during a meeting with 

League Secretary General Mahmud Riyad in Cairo. The plans-prepared 

with the assistance of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and 

Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Communications 

Union-had been completed in 1972. The network would establish radio, 

TV, and news agency links among the Arab states to transmit standard 

educational, cultural, and development programs. Fifty ground stations 

would be established with the costs of each-between $500000 and 

$1 000 000-defrayed by the country of its location. The costs of the 

satellites and launch facilities would be paid by member states. (Cairo 

MENA, FBIs-Inter-Arab, 17 Jan 74, A6) 

* The Air Force announced the award of a $1 553 500 cost-plus-incentivefee contract to Avco Corp. for design, development, and testing of a 

space reentry vehicle for the reentry vehicle nosetip test program. (DOD 

Release 18-74) 

* A 12-story addition to the RCA Corp. building in Rockefeller Center in 

New York City would be constructed to use solar energy heat, RCA 

announced. The $6-million addition, a management conference center, 

would use panels on its solid exterior surfaces to capture solar energy 

in the form of radiant heat, which would be stored and substituted for 

other forms of energy. (RCA Release, 16 Jan 74) 

0 A Huntsville Times editorial commented on the “lengthening space-flight 

endurance record” that Skylab 4 (launched 16 Nov. 1973 to man the 

Orbital Workshop) “sets with each successive turn it now makes around 

the old planet,” with a February target splashdown date. “America’s 

heart doubtlessly goes out to them, for that’s an awfully long time for 

anyone to have to be away from earth’s fuel shortages, inflation, rainy 

weather, dishwater-dull Super Bowls, Washington politics, air pollution, 

and traffic bottlenecks.” (Huntsville Times, 16 Jan 74) 

17 January: A NASA plan for energy conservation and management, effective 

immediately, was outlined in a memo from Dr. George M. Low, NASA 

Deputy Administrator, to heads of all program and staff offices and 

Center Directors. NASA expected to exceed by a wide margin the nationwide goal of a 5% reduction in energy cor.aumption for the following 

12-mo period as established in a 29 June 1973 Presidential Memorandum. Management actions included scheduling all energy resources, 

using fewer cars and aircraft, encouraging employee carpools, and 

exaniining alternative power sources in large energy consumers such as 

wind tunnels. NASA would also play a key role in the research, development, and technological application for the longer term solution of 

energy requirements and efficiencies. A Special Task Force on Energy 

Conservation, activated 10 Dec. 1973, would review and recommend 

. policies and guidelines on energy conservation, consider NASA’s response 

8 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 17 January 

to external energy directives, develop suggestions for conserving energy, 

and review NASA’s progress in conservation. (Text) 

* Johnson Space Center had issued requests to 11 interested aerospace companies to submit contract proposals for computing and data processing 

for space program software systems, JSC announced. Primary objective 

of the contract would be to define, design, .develop, and maintain software systems (for space shuttle, earth resources, and other science programs) that had maximum flexibility for supporting a wide variety of 

missions and future requirements. The cost-plus-award-fee contract 

would run from 1 July 1974 through 31 Dec. 1979. ( JSC Release 7630) 

* A $70-million to $lOO-million cutback in development of the complex $4.4- 

billion surface-to-air ( SAM-D) air defense missile system had been 

ordered by Dr. James R. Schlesinger, Secretary of Defense, the Washington Post reported. The cutback had been ordered to speed efforts to 

develop a lower cost, highly mobile SAM missile in addition to the production of an already developed foreign-designed missile effective against 

low-flying aircraft over a battlefield. (Getler, W Post, 17 Jan 74, A3) 

* President Nixon issued Executive Order 11760 designating the European 

Space Research Organization ( ESRO ) a public international organization entitled to privileges, exemptions, and immunities provided for by 

the International Organizations Immunities Act. (PD, 21 Jan 74, 40) 

18-27 January: NASA launched Skynet IZA , first of two second-generation 

United Kingdom communications satellites on the 100th Thor-Deltaa three-stage, thrust-augmented booster-from Kennedy Space Center 

Launch Complex 17 at 9:38 pm EDT. The satellite was placed in an 

extremely eccentric orbit when the attitude control system of the rocket’s 

‘2nd stage failed. The apogee was 3406 km, perigee 95 km, period 121.6 

min., and inclination 37.6’. Tracking stations were unable to pick up. 

signals from the spacecraft. 

On 23 Jan. the satellite was found by the Air Force Satellite Control 

Facility and attempts were made 24 Jan. to raise the orbit by firing the 

spacecraft’s onboard thrusters. Although the firing was succcessful, the 

orbital attitude was not raised enough to extend the life of the satellite. 

Skymt IIA reentered the earth’s atmosphere and burned up 25 Jan. over 

the southwestern Pacific Ocean. 

The Skynet I1 communications satellite program was being carried out 

under a U.K.-US. agreement signed 1 April 1970 and a USAF-NASA 

agreement 1 May 1972 to provide the U.K. in-orbit, X-band military 

communications between designated earth stations and replace Skynet A 

and B, launched by NASA 21 Nov. 1969 and 18 Aug. 1970. NASA responsibilities included integration of the U.K.-built spacecraft with the launch 

vehicle and provision of the vehicle and related services including network tracking communications and telemetry during ascent and transfer 

orbit phase. Another Skynet I1 satellite was to be launched in the fall. 

(NASA MORS, 8 Jan 74, 4 Sept 74; AP, NYT, 30 Jan 74; AP, W StarNews, 19 Jan 74, A4) 

18 January: First evidence of water molecules in a comet had been identified 

in the tail of Comet Kohoutek by Canadian scientists Dr. Gerhard Herzberg and Dr. Hin Lew, both of Canada’s National Research Council, 

NASA announced. Dr. Herzberg and Dr. Lew identified the molecules by 

analyzing emissions of light at five wavelengths in the red region of the 

comet’s spectrum, where the positively charged molecules, ionized by 

9 
18 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

solar radiation, were pushed by the solar wind. Data had been collected 

by telescopes at Asiago Astrophysical Observatory in Italy and Univ. 

of California’s Lick Observatory in October and November 1973. 

The discovery of hydrogen in the comet supported the “dirty snowball” theory that comets might be composed of an icy nucleus, various 

other frozen gases, and tiny dust particles as proposed by Dr. Fred L. 

Whipple, retired Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 

and principal consultant to NASA on comets. (NASA Release 73 [74]-13) 

* Hazard analyses and quality control techniques developed by NASA in the 

Apollo program would improve the reliability of safety and antipollution equipment used in the offshore drilling of oil wells, NASA announced. 

At the request of the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA teams at Marshall 

Space Flight Center, the Mississippi Test Facility, and the Michoud 

Assembly Facility had recommended development of subsurface safety 

valves, activated either automatically after sensing increased velocity in 

the oil line or by remote control from a surface location, to protect the 

marine and coastal environment. (NASA Release 7610) 

* Development of a two-man version of the F-5E International Fighter had 

been initiated by the Air Force, the Air Force Systems Command announced. Designated the F-5F and to be built by Northrop Corp., the 

two-seater would have the same performance and weapon capability as 

the single-seat F-5E but was to provide the capability of training fighter 

pilots in all aspects of fighter aircraft operations. The first test aircraft 

was expected to fly in September 1974. (AFSC Release OIP 002.74) 

21 January: An all-time record number of helicopters-413-had been exported by US. manufacturers in 1973, Aerospace Industries Association 

of America, Inc., announced. The exports totaled $84 775 500, up from 

$73 797 500 in 1972, when 260 helicopters had been exported. (AIA Release 74-1) 

Lockheed Aircraft Corp. would need a maximum of $75 million to overcome the threat that it would run out of cash, the New York Times News 

Service quoted Lockheed’s Chairman of the Board Daniel J. Haughton 

as saying in a London news conference. Haughton had expressed confidence that Lockheed’s bankers would provide the necessary funds. In 

addition he had expected that a long-term solution-possibly a mergerwould be found by June. Lockheed’s financial problems had begun with 

severe technical setbacks during development of the L-loll TriStar 

airliner in 1971. Disaster had been averted by congressiopal approval 

of a Government guarantee of up to $250 million in loans. (W Star-News, 

21 Jan 74, A13) 

22 January: The U.S.S.R. proposed that the United Nations establish a center 

for collection and distribution of data from earth-orbiting satellites. The 

proposal was made in response to a U.S. offer to supply the U.N. with a 

master copy of all information obtained from Erts I Earth Resources 

Technology Satellite, launched 23 July 1972, if a facility would be available to process the data. The Soviet proposal suggested a single international center, under the U.N. or another international organization and 

financed by voluntary contributions. The U.S.S.R. previously had been 

unwilling to bring in any international authority. U.S. space experts 

later suggested the new proposal was a significant development in closer 

Soviet-US. cooperation, reached by the scientific exchanges between the 

two countries. Another view was that the U.S.S.R. was trying to head off 

10 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 22 January 

a possibility that the US. might turn over its expertise to private enterprise. 

Brazil had earlier proposed a treaty that would obligate space powers 

to obtain consent of governments for remote-sensing activities over their 

countries and for release of the data obtained. (UN Doc A/AC.lO5/C.I/ 

WG.4/L.G/Add 3; NYT, 10 Feb 7420) 

23 Janzmy: President Nixon transmitted a message to Congress outlining 

legislative proposals and executive actions to deal with the energy crisis. 

Proposals to meet the short-term emergency included a special act to permit restrictions on public consumption of energy and temporarily relax 

pollution control requirements for power plants and automotive emissions, a windfall profits tax to prevent private profiteering at public 

expense, unemployment insurance to help those who lost their jobs 

because of the energy crisis, and establishment of a Federal Energy Administration. To meet the long-range goal of energy self-sufficiency, proposals would allow market pricing of new natural gas, permit surface 

mining of coal in an environmentally safe manner, permit development 

of deepwater port facilities off shore, eliminate depletion allowances for 

foreign oil and gas production, and accelerate licensing of construction 

of nuclear facilities. 

The President concluded that, although shortages had been long in 

appearing, the oil embargo-imposed on the US. by the Arab oil producing countries because of American support of Israel during the October 1973 war-“opened our eyes to the short-sighted policy we had 

been pursuing.” The US. must never again allow itself to be overly 

dependent on foreign supplies of a vital good. “By 1980. . . I believe we 

can . . . be essentially independent of foreign energy producers.” (PD, 

28 Jan 74,72437) 

The Air Force announced the award of a $1 348 414 contract to General 

Electric Co. for the design, development, and testing of a space reentry 

vehicle for the reentry vehicle nosetip test program. (DOD Release 31-74) 

24 Janmry: Ames Research Center scientists had found more evidence that 

life on primitive earth might have been triggered by chemical evolution 

of nonliving matter, NASA announced. Seventeen varieties of fatty acids, 

similar to those used by plants and animals to produce more complex 

biological molecules, had been discovered in two meteorites. The family 

of simple carbon-hydrogen acid molecules found in the meteorites had 

counterparts in biologically formed earth materials, but had not been 

found in nonorganic sources before. (NASA Release 74-16) 

9 NASA’s equal employment opportunity program was reviewed during a 

hearing before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. Dr. George M. Low, NASA Deputy Administrator, said that during 

the 1970s NASA faced the challenge of catching up in a most important 

area of human need. The challenge would be diflicult because the NASA 

work force had decreased by nearly one third. In addition, 47% of the 

NASA work force were scientists and engineers. Of these, 3.4% were 

minorities, while the nationwide percentage of minorities in this category was 3.596, and these persons were in high demand in private 

industry, where starting salaries were $1200 to $1700 per year higher. 

Dr. Dudley G. McConnell, NASA Assistant Administrator for Equal 

Opportunity Programs, said NASA would during 1974 achieve a minority 

complement of 6.1% of the total permanent work force, hiring 80 

11 
24 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

minority members and 80 women into professional positions. In addition NASA would help increase the availability of technically trained 

women and minority members by NASA’s cooperative education program 

and by initiating an aerospace fellowship program. 

Mrs. Ruth Bates Harris, former NASA Deputy Assistant Administrator 

for Equal Opportunity Programs, testified that NASA had turned away 

qualified women and minority applicants. She said NASA ranked 22 out 

of 26 agencies in percentage of female attorneys. Also, although NASA 

had a 47% scientific and engineering work force, in the 53% nonscientific and technical category NASA had a 3.7% minority participation, not significantly better than the 3.6% in the scientific and engineering category. (Transcript) 

* A space shuttle launch processing system (LPS) was being developed at 

Kennedy Space Center to provide a flexible, reliable, and cost-effective 

method of testing systems, controlling launch operations, and monitoring status of vehicle, ground support equipment and facilities during 

ground operations. A single automatic system, replacing the multiplicity 

of systems used in previous programs, would support every technical 

and management activity required to process the launch vehicles, their 

payloads, and all ground support equipment. (KSC Spaceport News, 24 

Jan 74,45) 

* Jet aircraft pollution would be measured under a $1.1-million NASA contract awarded to United Air Lines, Inc., NASA announced. Under the 

cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, United would design, develop, test, and fly 

a Boeing 747-equipped to measure dust particles and gases-to determine the effects of jet exhaust on the natural environment, weather, and 

human health and to measure changes in the level of the ozone shielding 

people on the earth from solar ultraviolet radiation. Flights would be 

made over the continental U.S. and Hawaii in addition to internationaI 

flights by another 747 under a subcontract with Pan American World 

Airways, Inc. The instruments were expected to be installed by the end 

of 1975. NASA would work closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to correlate study results. ( NASA Release 

7620 ) 

* The Anglo-French Concorde supersonic transport would not go into transatlantic service until 1975 and would not fly commercially until 1976, 

French Minister of the Armed Forces Robert Galley said in Paris. The 

press reported sources in the French aviation industry as saying that 

increased fuel prices and possible shortages were responsible for the 

delay. (UPI, NYT, 25 Jan 74, 53) 

* A new Air Force air-traffic-control radar system that could track aircraft 

approaching a runway in heavy rain would be put into full production, 

the Air Force Systems Command announced. The AN/TPN-~~, to be 

produced by Raytheon Co., consisted of an operational shelter, an airport surveillance radar to detect aircraft within 97 km and direct them 

to final approach entry positions, and a precision-approach radar to guide 

aircraft along the 32-km final approach. The all-weather, $2 617 000 

syst‘em could be transported anywhere in the world and be opefitional 

within two hours. (AFSC Release OIP 181.73) 

25 January: Results from NASA’s Pioneer 10 mission (launched 2 March 1972 

toward a 3 Dec. 1973 encounter with Jupiter) were published in a series 

of articles in Science. Plasma analyzer data had indicated that Jupiter 

had a detached bow shock and magnetopause similar to the earth’s but 

12 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 25 January 

with a much larger spatial extent and with the size highly responsive to 

changes in solar wind dynamic pressure. The thermal structure of Jupiter 

was found to be closely related to the visual appearance of the planet, with 

illuminated and nonilluminated sides having the same brightness temperatures. The net thermal energy of the planet was twice the solar 

energy input. 

Magnetic field measurements showed a very strong magnetic field and 

implied the dipole was inclined at about 15” to Jupiter’s axis of rotation. 

The satellite Io was found to have an ionosphere extending from near 

the surface to about 1000 km. A new density of 3.5 g per cc--close to the 

density of the moon and Mars-was established for Io. Densities of the 

other satellites of Jupiter were progressively lower in proportion to their 

distance from the planet. 

More comprehensive reports of Pioneer 10 experiments were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research of 1 Sept. (Opp, Wolfe, 

et al., Smith et al., Kliore et al., Science, 25 Jan 74, 302-324; Journ 

Geophysical Research, Pioneer 10 issue, 1 Sept 74) 0 A Science editorial commented on Pioneer 10’s 3 Dec. 1973 flyby of 

Jupiter: “One of the impressive features of the Pioneer 10 mission was 

the performance of the spacecraft and its scientific equipment. . . . .The craft, with its transmitter of only eight watts, has been storing and 

sending tremendous quantities of data to Earth. Even after their radiation exposure during flyby, the electronics components continue to function well as Pioneer 10 proceeds on its way out of the solar system.” 

(Abelson, Science, 25 Jan 74,261) 0 A new medical device, the mobile automatic metabolic analyzer (MAMA) 

developed from Apollo and Skylab technology to measure energy expended by ambulatory patients, was presented to the Univ. of Alabama 

Medical School by Dr. Rocco A. Petrone, Director of Marshall Space 

might Center. The instrument-primarily a mass spectrometer-would 

accurately measure metabolic activity, recording oxygen consumed, carbon dioxide produced, and nitrogen and moisture exchanged to gauge 

the progress of severely disabled persons through phases of rehabilitation. MAMA was developed and manufactured at MSFC under NASA’s technology utilization program. ( NASA Release 74-18) 

Fraudulent transmissions to Johnson Space Center purporting to be from 

Skylab 4 astronauts, working in the Orbital Workshop since their 

16 Nov. 1973 launch, were heard during a telephone call to New York 

City from Unifi, Inc., in North Carolina. The supposed astronauts described “an approximat,ely 10-megaton explosion” on the spacecraft as 

they took military photos of silos over Moscow. After the “astronauts” 

said they were sending scrambled messages “on channeI 5 and channel Byyy they were heard supposedly speaking to President Nixon at the 

White House. They acknowledged that their wives had been notified and 

were being flown to Houston. The voices then reported that their “seeret 

documents and equipment” had been jettisoned. The transmissions then 

abruptly ended. The press later reported that 12 other persons had heard 

similar “space messages.” A Houston area telephone company employee 

was latertaken into custody. (Anderson et al., W Post, 19 Feb 74, B17; 

JSC Hist Off, interview, 9 Dec 75) 

Julian Nott and Felix Pole broke the world altitude record for a hot-air 

balloon larger than 4000 cu m, ascending to 13 961 m in the 10 620-cu-m 

Daffodil II. The crew-which lifted off from Bhopal, India-was pro13 
25 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

tected by a pressurized cabin and special suits from the United Kingdom 

Royal Air Force. (NAA News, Aug 74; NAA Record Book) 

* A. Ernest Fitzgerald, a financial analyst who had been fired from the Air 

Force after he exposed a $2-billion cost overrun in the development of 

the C-5A jet transport, filed a $3.5-million damage suit against Dept. 

of Defense and Air Force officials. The Civil Service Commission had 

ordered the Air Force to rehire Fitzgerald 19 Sept. 1973. ( W Star-News, 

26 Jan 74, A3) 

* A Soviet civil aviation magazine, apparently alarmed at an estimated 10 

crashes of Soviet-built aircraft in 16 mos, with a death toll of about 600 

persons, had implored aviation workers to be more attentive to their 

work, United Press International reported. (NYT, 25 Jan 74, 47) 

25-26 January: The U.S.S.R. conducted the first long-range tests of its new 

27 

28 

28 

SS-19 intercontinental missile with multiple irdepeidently targetable 

reentry vehicle (MIRV) warheads. Two missiles were test-fired 7200 km 

from the Soviet missile research center at Tyuratam to a target area in the 

Pacific Ocean 1370 km northwest of Midway Island. Chief Pentagon 

spokesman Jerry W. Friedheim later described the tests to the press as a 

“significant milestone” in the Soviet program to develop MIRVS but said 

that the U.S.S.R. would not have a missile force with MIRV warheads in 

operation before 1976. (Finney, NYT, 29 Jan 74,l) 

January: Hills 1000 m high on the planet Mercury, as well as valleys 700 

m deep and craterlike surface features 50 km across, had been found by 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory radar astronomers during high-resolution 

scans, NASA announced. The features were charted by directing highpowered beams at Mercury in 14 probes between 15 July and 8 Dec. 1972 

from Goldstone Deep Space Station’s 64-m dish antenna. Months of 

computer work had analyzed the data and formulated a map of radar 

findings, wliich might be verified 29 March when Mariner 10 (launched 

3 Nov. 1973) was scheduled to fly past and take the first closeup photos 

of Mercury. (NASA Release 74-12) 

January: Three Intelsat IV communications satellites transmitted the 

Muhammad Ali-Joe. Frazier boxing match in New York City to 17 

countries. The three-hour match, won by Ali by a decision, was transmitted to Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, 

Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, Puerto 

Rico, Thailand, United Kingdom, Venezuela, and Zaire. (ComSatCorp 

Release 746; W Star-News Library) 

January-1 February: The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics held its 10th Annual Meeting and Technical Display 28-30 

Jan. 2nd 12th Aerospace Sciences Meeting 30 Jan.-1 Feb. in Washington, D.C. “Spaceship Earth-A New Perspective” was the theme of the 

meeting, chaired by Dr. Wernher von Braun, Vice President of Fairchild 

Industries, Inc., and former Marshall Space Flight Center Director and 

NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning. 

At the honors banquet 30 Jan. Dr. Kurt H. Debus, Director of Kennedy 

Space Center, received the Louis W. Hill Space Transportation Award 

for 1973 for scientific, engineering, and organizational contributions to 

manned and unmanned space missions, beginning with the first U.S. 

satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. Dr. John H. Wolfe, Chief of Ames Research 

Center’s Space Physics Branch, was given the AIAA Space Science Award 

for 1973 for his leading role in the Pioneer missions and his contribution to man’s understanding of interplanetary space. 

14 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 28 January-1 February 

The Goddard Award was shared by Paul D. Castenholtz, Rockwell 

International Corp. ; Richard C. Mulready, United Aircraft Corp. ; and 

John L. Sloop, former NASA Assistant Associate Administrator for Advanced Research and Technology-for significant contributions to the 

development of the practical liquid oxygen and hydrogen rocket engine. 

Winner of the AIAA History Manuscript Award for 1973 was Dr. William M. Leary, Jr., Univ. of Georgia historian, for “The Dragon’s 

Wings : The China National Aviation Corporation and the Development of Commercial Aviation in China.” Carroll H. Woodling, Chief of 

Johnson Space Center Crew Training and Simulation Div., received the 

de Florez Training Award for advancing development of space flight 

simulators and for flight training programs. 

The G. Edward Pendray Award was awarded to Frederick I. Ordway 111, Univ. of Alabama, for his contributions to the literature recording the history and benefits of the space program. Willis H. Hawkins, 

Lockheed Aircraft Corp., was awarded the Sylvanus Albert Reed Award 

for contributions to the design and development of aerospace vehiclesincluding vertical take-off, transport, interceptor, and supersonic 

fighter aircraft-and to missile and space programs including ramjet 

and reentry test vehicles. The Lawrence Sperry Award went to Din0 

A. Lorenzini, Air Force Academy, for developing a modern inertial 

guidance test facility incorporating computer-control, data-acquisition, 

sensor-excitation, and seismic-isolation technology. 

Dr. Harold A. Rosen, Hughes Aircraft Co., received the Spacecraft 

Design Award for contributions to the development of satellite communication systems, including the spin-stabilized synchronous-orbit 

spacecraft concept and commercial systems. 

Dr. Alan M. Lovelace of the Air Force Systems Command delivered 

the von KBrm6n Lecture, “Advanced Composites,” pointing to a need 

for competitive cost and innovative design to realize the advantages 

of composites in material, fabrication, and configuration. The Dryden 

Research Lecture was delivered by Herbert F. Hardrath, Langley Research Center, who reviewed the use of fracture mechanics to choose 

materials, configure safe and efficient structures, specify inspection 

procedures, predict lives of flawed structures, and develop the reliability 

ofvcurrent and future airframes. 

Daniel J. Fink, Vice President of General Electric Co. and General 

Manager of the GE Space Div., was installed as 12th president of AIAA. 

The 19 new Fellows elected included Dr. Rocco A. Petrone, MSFC Director; John P. Campbell and John P. Reeder, LaRc; and Astronaut 

Charles Comad, Jr. Inducted as Honorary Members were Sen. Frank E. 

Moss (D-Utah) and Rep. Olin E. Teague (D-Tex.) . (A&A, Mar 74; 

AIAA Bull, Jan 74; AIAA Releases, 21 Dec 73; AIAA History Newsletter, 

24 May 74; KSC Release 14-74; ARC Astrogram, 18 Jan 74,l; Marshall 

Star, 30 Jan 74,l) 

29 lanuury: Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, Chief of the Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center and Apollo 17 astronaut, began a 90-day assignment 

as special assistant to the NASA Administrator to coordinate NASA’s effort 

in energy research and development and facilitate NASA aid to other 

agencies working on energy research. (NASA Release 7637; Off Energy 

Prog, interview, Aug 74) 

30 lunuary: Lockheed Aircraft Corp. had signed a protocol agreement in 

Moscow with the U.S.S.R. on possible future cooperation, including 

15 
30 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

development of civilian transports and helicopters, air traffic control, 

and navigation and communications systems, Lockheed announced. The 

protocol was one of 20 agreements the U.S.S.R. signed with U.S. companies. (Lockheed Release, 30 Jan 74) 

30 January4 February: Two representatives of the 10-nation European 

Space Research Organization that would develop and build Spacelab 

for use with NASA’s space shuttle accompanied U.S. scientists on the 

Ames Research Center’s Gdileo ZZ Convair 990 aircraft on flights evaluating electronic instruments designed to measure sea conditions. 

Dr. D. J. Shapland of the United Kingdom and J. De Waard of The 

Netherlands observed the flying laboratory, which would serve as a 

pattern for shuttle sortie missions carrying Spacelab. Spacelab was to 

have two elements : a manned laboratory module permitting scientists 

and engineers to work in a shirt-sleeve environment and an instrument 

platform, or pallet, for telescopes, antenna, and other equipment requiring space exposure. (NASA Release 74-31 ; ARC Aerospace Sci Div, interview, 17 July 74) 

31 January: A background science press briefing on Mariner 10’s approaching 5 Feb. encounter with the planet Venus was held at NASA Hq. 

Launched by NASA 3 Nov. 1973 toward Venus and Mercury, Mariner 10 

would be the first two-planet mission, the first spacecraft to use gravityassist from one planet to reach another, and the first to take closeup 

photos of Venus. 

Dr. S. Ichtiaque Rasool, NASA Deputy Director for Planetary Programs, said Venus was the planet most similar to the earth in size, 

density, and distance from the sun. If its atmosphere were like the 

earth’s, Venus should also have similar temperature, but the temperature 

had been found to be very high, 755 K (900OF). And the atmosphere 

was 100 times denser than the earth’s, in one theory acting as a blanket, 

absorbing the radiation that tried to leave the surface and giving a 

greenhouse effect.” Further, the Venus atmosphere had been determined by measurements from the earth and by U.S.S.R. spacecraft to 

be mostly carbon dioxide. 

Chief questions were: Why such a high temperature? Why such a 

heavy atmosphere? Why did the earth get all the liquid water and on 

Venus everything stayed in the atmosphere? The earth had life because 

it had oceans. Why did it happen on earth and why did it not happen 

on Venus? And what could happen to the earth if pollution or other 

causes should increase its temperature? “How much increase in temperature do you need to have the whole thing go this way, and you 

become like Venus, not next week, but [in] millions of years. Is a 

process like that feasible at all on the earth?” (Transcript) 

* Chairman Don Fuqua (D-ma.) and members of the Subcommittee on 

Manned Space Flight of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics received an annual program review at Kennedy Space Center, 

preliminary to IT 1975 congressional space budget hearings. The Subcommittee was briefed on preparations for the space shuttle, manpower, 

and plans for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Center personnel would be‘ 

further reduced in the next five months, with the closeout of the Skylab 

program. Runway construction was to begin in the spring for the 

shuttle. (KSC Release 18-74) 

9 Kennedy Space Center had extended its contract with Chrysler COT. Space 

Division for the period 1 Jan. 1974 through 31 July 1975, KSC 

<< 

16 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 31 January 

announced. The $7 092 547 extension, which brought total value of the 

contract to $36 467 389, provided for prelaunch, launch, and postlaunch 

support of the Saturn IB 1st stage for a Skylab rescue vehicle, if required, 

and for the launch of an Apollo spacecraft in the 1975 US.-U.S.S.R. 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. ( KSC Release 17-74) 

During January: A 65% noise reduction during lpding had been demonstrated by 38 United Air Lines, Inc., flight crews in an in-service evaluation of a NASA-developed landing technique under visual and instrument 

flight conditions, NASA announced. Using the NASA technique, a Boeing 

727 aircraft approaching on a two-segment path exposed only a 50-sq-km 

area to greater than 90 effective perceived decibels of noise. The program 

was closely coordinated with the Department of Transportation, the 

Federal Aviation Administration, and the Environmental Protection 

Agency. Program guidance was provided by a Panel on Noise Abatement Flight Procedures with members from FAA, DOT, aircraft and avionics manufacturers, airlines, and pilots’ associations. (NASA Aeronautics 

Update, Jan 74) 

Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, said in his article “Are Skylab 

and the Space Shuttle Worth the Investment?” in Government Executive 

that everything done in the Skylab program-with total runout costs 

of $2.6 billion through FY 1974chad been necessary for future progress 

in space. He believed the Skylab team had “taken another giant leap 

for mankind comparable to the first step upon the Moon or the first 

satellite in Earth orbit.” 

And even if the shuttle were not expected to save $1 billion a year in 

launch and payload costs, as it was-after an $S-billion 1972-1991 

investment-the US. “should still build it. We cannot run Spaceship 

Earth without it.” We could not “begin to think of obtaining solar power 

from collectors in space without the Shuttle; we cannot hope to unlock 

the still hidden energy secrets of the Sun and stars without improved 

space observatories launched by the Shuttle; we cannot hope to develop 

the tools for management of natural resources and protection of our 

environment on a global scale without manned and unmanned Earth 

observatories launched and serviced by the advantages of a ‘hydrogen 

economy’ in the future unless we are willing to support such important 

steps toward that future as a hydrogen-fueled Shuttle. In short, there is 

no new frontier in space for America and mankind without the Shuttle.” 

(Gout Exec, Jan 74,38-42) 

17 

February 1974 

1 February: Selection of Hughes Aircraft co. for negotiation of a cost-plusaward-fee contract for continuing design of the Pioneer Venus spacecraft 

system was announced by NASA. Proposed cost of design work was $3 

million, with an option for final design, development, fabrication, and 

testing of two flight spacecraft and launch support at $55 million. Two 

Pioneer Venus missions, planned for 1978, would launch one spacecraft 

to orbit Venus, transmitting data for nearly eight months, and another 

to explore the planet’s atmosphere down to the surface by ejecting four 

probes transmitting data during their hour-long descent. (NASA Release 

74-34) 

* A $24 475 000 cost-plus-award-fee contract extension awarded to Boeing 

Co. for support services at Kennedy Space Center became effective. Services included test support management, plant engineering and maintenance, supply and transportation operations, security services, and fire 

protection and rescue through 31 Jan. 1975, bringing the total contract 

amount to an estimated $98 952 758. ( KSC Release 21-74) 

1-2 February: Congressmen and staff of the House Committee on Science and 

Astronautics were briefed at Marshall Space FIight Center and Michoud 

Assembly Facility in preparation fo; hearings on NASA’s FY 1975 budget. 

Committee members were briefed on Skylab, space shuttle, tug, Spacelab, 

concept verification test, and use of space transportation systems at MSFC. 

On 2 Feb. they were briefed on the space shuttle external tank at Michoud. 

(Murshall Star, 6 Feb 74,2) 

2 February: The US. exported a record $5.125 billion worth of aerospace 

equipment during 1973 according to Dept. of Commerce figures, the 

Aerospace Industries Associati9n of America announced. Aerospace exports were 6.4% of total US. exports and had increased 34.1% over 

1972. Much of the increase was from exports of complete aircraft, which 

totaled $3.096 billion in 1973, up from $2.028 billion in 1972. (MA 

Release 74-3) 

* Four US. schools would be heated by solar power in a National Science 

Foundation project, the Washington Post reported. The project would 

evaluate solar energy systems in practical situations. All four systemsin Osseo, Minn.; Boston, Mass.; Baltimore, Md.; and Warrenton, Va.- 

would augment rather than replace the existing heating systems. The 

system in the Warrenton school was expected to cut heating costs in the 

five affected classrooms from $1600 to $10 a year. Built by InterTechnology Corp. under a $173 000 NSF contract, the Warrenton system consisted of a 230-sq-m glass, plastic, and coated metal solar collector through 

which ran 1-cm pipes. Water heated in the pipes was pumped from the 

collector into underground storage tanks and from there into conventional hot water radiators. The tanks would provide heat through five 

straight sunless days. The only outside energy required would be electricity to run the pumps, less than 1% of that re-wired to power a baseboard system. (Ringle, W‘ Post, 2 Feb 74, D5) 

19 
4 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

4 February: President Nixon, in his message transmitting the U.S. budget 

for FY 1975 to Congress, said the budget emphasized fiscal balance and 

continued “moderate restraint” on the economy to curb inflation, a strong 

defense force, a comprehensive energy program to “reestablish our ability 

to be self-su5cient in energy,” the “New Federalism philosophy of 

strengthening the role of State and local governments,” and a “more intensive focus on the tangible results that programs achieve.” 

The $304.4-billion budget proposed an increase for defense from $79.5 

billion in N 1974 to $853 billion, “so that we can increase our defense 

preparedness and preserve present force levels in the face of rising costs.” 

Despite dollar increases caused by rising costs and by pay raises accompanying transition to an all-volunteer armed force, the President said, 

the proportion of defense costs to the total budget had fallen from 44% 

in 1969 to an estimated 29% in 1975, after the end of US. combat in 

Vietnam. 

Project Independence, to reestablish US. self-sufficiency in energy, 

would require about $10 billion for accelerated energy research and 

development over the next five years and would encourage an even larger 

private R&D investment. Higher prices would be necessary to stimulate 

development of fuel supplies, but the emergency windfall profits tax 

had been proposed to curb excessive profits. The national energy policy 

included reorganization of Federal administrative machinery, stringent 

energy conservation measures, mandatory allocation of petroleum products, mandatory reporting on oil production and inventories, modernization of railroad regulations, accelerated development of domestic oil 

and gas reserves, increased use of coal reserves, deveIopment of a fastbreeder nuclear reactor, faster approval of energy facility sites, faster 

construction of nuclear power plants, and increased research into advanced energy sources, including fusion power and geothermal and solar 

energy. 

Shortages of clean fuels would mean “some temporary variances from 

air quality plans” would be necessary to meet high-priority energy needs. 

The progress we have made in pollution control in recent years, however, along with reductions in energy consumption, should insure that 

overall air quality will continue to improve.” (CR, 4 Feb 74, H407-14; 

PD, 11 Feb 74,161-70) 

* President Nixon sent a $304A-billion FY 1975 US. budget request to 

Congress, an increase of $29.8 billion over N 1974. With 90% of the 

increase mandatory under existing law, the budget included few new 

programs and few cuts. Federal funds for research and development 

would increase by 9% from N 1974, to $19.8 billion total obligations, 

<C reflecting recognition of the larger potential contribution of science 

and technology to the solution of critical national problem.” A substantial increase was requested for energy R~D, $2.05 billion in N 1975 

from $942 million in FY 1974. 

The N 1975 R~D request proposed investment in priority national 

needs, but included basic research as well as efforts to speed the use of 

federally sponsored R~D. The non-Federal investment in R~D was expected to be $16 billion, 45% of a national total of $36 billion. 

NASA’s total budget request of $3.247 billion was $245 million above 

the FY 1974 appropriation and $96.2 million above the 1974 budget 

plan. If approved, the increase would be NASA’s first since 1965, except 

cc 

20 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 4 February 

for a $100-million FY 1973 increase that the agency had not been 

permitted to spend. Significant budget items are shown in the table. 

The Dept. of Defense FY 1975 budget request of $85.8 billion included 

$9.3 billion for research, development, test, and evaluation, an increase 

NASA FY 1975 Budget Highlights 

(in thousands; items do not add to program totals because only selected 

items are listed) 

Budget Item FY 1974 FY 1975 FY 1975 Authorization Request Difference 

Total budget authority 

Research and deoelopmnt 

Manned space flight Snace shuttle dace flight operations 

Skylab 

ASTP 

Development, test & operations 

Space life scienees 

Physics & astronomy 

Space sciences 

os0 

OAO 

HEAO (suspended 1974) 

Orhiting Explorers 

Large Space Telescope 

Viking 

Mariner Jupiter-Saturn 1977 

Pioneer Venus (new start 1975) Helios 

Lunar sample analysis 

Lunar science operations 

Launch vehicle procurement 

Weathm and climate 

Lunar & planetary 

Space applications 

Nimbus 5 & F 

Tiros-N 

SMS-A & -B 

GARP 

Pollution monitoring 

Earth resourcS survey 

Aircraft survey 

Earth and ocean pbysics SEASAT-A Space processing 

Energy applications 

Communications sateIlit~s Heat Capacity Mapping Mission 

ERTS-B 

Aeronautics & space technology Aerouau tical Space & nuclear 

Tracking & data acquisition 

Technology utilization 

ConsmrefMn of facilities 

Infrared telescope facility, Hawaii 

X-ray telescope facility. MSFC 

Space shuttle facilities 

Resemdt &program management 

$3 054 500 

(3 002 100 

appropriation) 

2 245 500 

(2 194 000 

apprupriatiou) 1 082 000 

475 000 555 500 

233 800 

sn nnn 250 200 21 000 

552 000 63 600 (undistributea) 

311 000 

(undistributed) 

- 

177 400 

$161 000 51 100 (undistributea) 

13 900 

49 600 

(nndistrihnted) 

10 700 

3 100 2 000 22 100 

252 000 180 000 72 000 

244 M)o 

4 500 

112 000 

(101 100 

- 

- 

appropriation) - 

- 

67 200 

707 000 (707 .OOO 

appropnatlon) 

(3 247 129 

2 346 015 

1 124 800 

800 000 

323 300 - 

114 600 

175 200 

18 000 

547 015 

140 515 7 630 

2 380 

40 400 

33 000 6 200 266 000 89 016 69 761 27 100 1 400 

5 798 4 333 140 500 

$177 500 

35 000 7 000 9 000 1 400 7 400 

29 800 

58 600 11 100 

17 300 

18 500 R nnn 3 500 

2 000 8 300 2 600 

241 200 

166 400 74 800 

250 000 

5 500 

151 490 

6 040 

4060 

86 020 

749 624 

$$I92 629 

($245 029) 

$100 515 

($152 015) 

$92 800 

$325 000 -232 200 -233 800 

$24 600 

-45 800 

-3 000 

-4 985 

$76 915 

$6 200 

-45 000 

-36 900 

+$I6 500 

-16 100 

+15 900 

$9 000 

+7 800 

+8 000 

$400 

- 

-13 800 

$2 600 

-10 800 

-13 600 

$2 800 

$6 000 

$1 000 

$39 490 

($50 390) 

$6 040 +4 060 

$18 820 

$42 624 

( $42 624 ) 

21 
4 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

DOT) FY 1975 RDT&E Budget Highlights 

(in thousands; items do not add to program totals because only selected 

items are listed) 

Budget Item N 1974 FY 1975 Fy 1975 

Budget Plan Budget Plan Dflerence 

Researoh, devebpment, test, & evaluation $8 333 009 $9 322 469 +$!)Si, 460 

Military ostronauics 593 926 527 248 -66 678 

1 682 381 1 829 318 +146 937 

449 000 499 000 +50 000 107 000 268 000 +161 000 

Aircraft B-1 advanced strategic bomber 

A-10 close-air-aupport aircraft AF air combat igbter - 36 000 +36 000 USN vvx fighter prototype - 34 000 t-34 OM) 

Tanker/missile-carrier aircraft - 20 000 $20 000 Advanced medium STOL transport (AMST) 25 000 56 000 +31 000 F-14 interceptor aircraft 737 000 756 000 +19 000 F-15 air superiority fighter 1 129 000 1 076 000 -53 000 

Missiles Trident missile Air-launched cruise missile 

2 124 762 2,352 993 $228 231 

528 000 649 000 +121 000 11 000 80 000 4-69 000 Submarine-launched cruiae missile 3 000 45 000 $42 000 

Advanced lrPi technology 4 000 37 000 +33 000 Minuteman-site-defense prototype development 110 000 160 000 +50 000 

- 20 000 $20 000 Terminally guided maneuvering reentry vehicle 

buv) 

of $989.5 million from the FY 1974 budget plan. Increases in military 

astronautics would improve the satellite warning system and the Air 

Force Satellite Communications System ( AFSATCOM) . NAVSTAR Global 

Positioning System development would continue. The planning effort 

toward use of the NASA shuttle for military payloads would increase. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s FY 1975 

budget request of $467.1 million, a $77.8-million increase, included 

space and environmental programs. 

The Federal Aviation Administration requested $845.4 million within 

a Department of Transportation total of $2.2 billion. Although the DOT 

total was a decrease from FY 1974, it included an increase for R&D. 

The Atomic Energy Commission’s $3.06-billion request included a 

30% increase in energy activities and more funds for civilian efforts than 

for defense for the first time. 

NOM N 1975 Budget Highlights 

(in thousands) 

Budget Item PY. 1974 FY 1975 N 1975 Emate Reqnest Difference 

BOAA total budget authority 

~ 

$389 308 6467 096 +$77 788 

Environmental satellite services (including polar orbiting & 

geosynbnous systems; next generation polar-orbiting 

model) 62 356 61 475 -881 Public forecast & warning services 45 620 47 875 $2 255 

Global monitoring of climate 594 1 112 S518 International projects (indnding Global Atmoapberic Researcb 9 723 9 148 -575 Program’s GATE) 

22 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 4 Februaw 

DOT FY 1975 R&D Budget Highlights 

(in thousands) 

Budget Item FY-1974 FY 1975 FY 1975 Estmate Estimate Difference 

DOT total budget authority Research & development $5 520 

390 477 000 

$2 195 

417 656 

000 

-53 324 821 4-27 000 

FM budget authority 1 311 820 845 383 -446 437 

Engineering & development (aircraft safety, enviroument, aviation medicine, noise reduction, STOL, 

VTOL) 11 500 11 241 -259 

AEC FY 1975 Energy and Space Budget Highlights 

(in thousands) 

Budget Item FY.1974 FY 1975 FY 1975 Estimate Estimate Difference 

AEC total budget authority $2 388 914 $3 057 648 $1668 734 

Space nuclear systems 26 100 27 000 $900 

(radioisotope thermoelectric generators for NASA & DOD missions, especially Viking, Mariner, JnpiterSaturn, XES; also technology improvements & ex- tension to energy applications) 

Enriched uranium production 331 615 426 970 4-95 355 

Civilian reactor R&D (including fast-breeder reactor) 290 390 349 750 4-59 360 Fusion research 53 000 82 000 $29 000 

The National Science Foundation’s $672.1-million request included increases in every energy-related category ; national and special research 

program funding decreased slightly. And the Environmental Protection 

Agency’s $695.2 million would increase funding for R&D and pollution 

control. 

NSF FY 1975 R&D Budget Highlights 

(in thousands) 

Budget Item 1974 1975 1975 Estimate Estimate Difference 

NSF total budget anthority $579 260 $672 100 $892 840 

National & special research programs (including troposphere & atmoBpbece research in GARP’ also seience & energy R&D policy support to Presideha1 Adviser) 91 600 82 300 -9 300 Research App!i:.Pd to National Needs (RANN) 75 100 84 000 $8 900 

National research centers (including very-large-array 

radio astronomy facility) 42 500 52 500 4-10 000 

EPA Fy 1975 Budget Highlights 

(in thousands) 

Budget Item 1974 1975 1975 Estimate Estmate Differenee 

EPA total budget authority $4 628 864 $695 200 43 933 664 

Research & development 168 916 171 068 $2 152 

Pollution abatement & control 356 094 407 976 $51 882 

23 
4 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

(NASA Release, FY 75 Budget Briefing, Background Material; NASA, FY 

75 Budget Chronological History; OMB, Budget of US Govt, FY 75; 

OMB Special Analyses, FY 75; NASA, Extracts Budget US Govt, FY 75; 

DOD Release 43-74; Annual DOD Rpt, FY 75; W Post, 5 Feb 74, Al, 

A10-12) 

Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, released the budget statement 

he had given at a 2 Feb. press briefing. The FY 1975 NASA budget plan 

for new authorization of $3.247 billion and spending of $3.273 billion, 

although a “constrained budget,” would carry forward the programs 

planned in N 1974. Goals and major programs were the same, with 

three new projects in space science and applications, but the space shuttle 

had been slipped four to six months. 

NASA’s FY 1974 budget had “reflected a sharp temporary reduction, 

because of Government-wide fiscal problems . . . , below the $3.4 billion level previously planned as the long-term level.” Increases in FY 

1975 and later years were therefore “in order to approach again the 

level required to maintain . . . advances in space and aeronautics 

for the rest of the decade.” The FY 1975 increase of LLabout $100 million,” however, was less than required to return to NASA’s complete program as planned, and adjustments had been necessary. Principally, the 

first manned orbital flight of the shuttle was rescheduled to the second 

quarter of 1979, instead of the end of 1978, but NASA had a “firm commitment now” that there would be no more slips for budgetary reasons, 

and none was expected for technical reasons. NASA Comptroller William E. Lilly said at the briefing the stretchout was expected to increase 

shuttle costs about $50 million “in 1971 dollars.” The $800 million requested for the shuttle was $89 million less than NASA had submitted to 

the Office of Management and Budget. 

In the three new space flight projects, Pioneer Venus had top scientific priority as the next step in planetary exploration. Two missions 

launched in 1978 would study the Venus atmosphere for a better understanding of that planet and of the earth’s atmosphere, meteorology, and 

climatology. 

In the second new start, SEASAT, an experimental applications satellite, would measure ocean characteristics to aid scientific understanding 

of ocean dynamics and determine if a forecasting system could be 

developed. SEASAT-A was to be launched in 1978. The third start, the 

Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM) , would launch an Explorer 

satellite in 1977 to make thermal measurements of the earth’s surface 

to help find mineral resources and potential geothermal energy sources 

and to discriminate rock structures for planning civil works such as 

highways. 

NASA was asking $6 million to build the world’s first large infrared 

telescope, on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, for planetary research to complement 

planetary space flights, especially to provide data for the 1977 launch 

of the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn probe. 

Another new thrust, still in the planning stage, was the Tracking and 

Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) , to return the large amounts of data 

expected from the shuttle in the 1980s and permit phase-out of some 

tracking stations. NASA would not develop the spacecraft for the TDRSS 

but would lease satellite services from a private organization, beginning 

in CY 1979. 

24 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 4 February 

Analysis of data from the Skylab missions that were ending with the 

8 Feb. splashdown of Skylab 4 would continue for many years. ApolloSoyuz Test Project joint engineering and training activities with the 

U.S.S.R. were on schedule. All shuttle hardware prime contractors and 

most subcontractors had been selected, and the Dept. of Defense tentatively planned to modify an existing upper stage for use as an interim 

space tug with the shuttle. Erts 1, launched 23 July 1972, was still working well, exceeding its design life by more than six months. ERTS-B, 

previously planned for 1976 launch, had been moved to 1975. Amumber 

of NASA and 11 commercial applications launches were scheduled during 

the year. A nominal communications satellite research program would be 

continued. In space astronomy, OSO-I was scheduled for 1975 and the 

HEAO series would be resumed, with launches planned for 1977, 1978, 

and 1979. Astronautics programs would continue to develop technology 

to improve fuel economy, reduce noise, and improve performance of 

U.S.-built civil transport aircraft. 

NASA’s Civil Service employment was to be stabilized at the end of. 

FY 1974 levels except for a further reduction of 354 persons at Marshall Space Flight Center following completion of Skylab. NASA’s FY 

1975 total would be 24616, about 2200 less than in FY 1973 and 354 

less than in N 1974. Support service contractors at the Centers had 

reductions planned at about the same level, the 25000 FY 1973 total 

dropping to 24 000 in FY 1974 and to 22 000 in FY 1975. (Text; 

NASA, FY 75 Budget Briefing transcript & background material) 

4-6 February: The U.S.-U.S.S.R. Joint Committee on Cooperation in Atomic 

Energy reached accord in Washington, D.C., on implementation of the 

Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation for the Peaceful 

Uses of Atomic Energy, signed 21 June 1973 by President Nixon and 

Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Leonid I. Brezhnev. A Protocol on Cooperation in Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion and Plasma 

Physics Research was signed by Atomic Energy Commission Commissioner Clarence E. Larson and U.S.S.R. State Committee Chairman 

Andronik M. Petrosyants. Joint coordinating committees were established for fusion and fast-breeder reactor cooperation. A program of 

cooperation in research on fundamental properties of matter also was 

agreed on. (AEC Release, 15 Feb 74) 

* Research into automotive propulsion systems was reviewed by NASA, Dept. 

of Transportation, and Environmental Protection Agency officials in 

hearings before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications. H.R. 10392 had been 

introduced 19 Sept. 1973 to authorize NASA research toward development of economical, energy-conserving systems with clean emissions and 

improved performance. Dr. George M. Low, NASA Deputy Administrator, testified 4 Feb. that Lewis Research Center was testing EPA’S 

experimental engine, under a June 1973 agreement with EPA on work 

toward a low-pollution gas-turbine-powered vehicle. Upgraded engine 

work would be completed by mid-1975 and vehicle performance evaluation before the end of CY 1975. First results of Jet Propulsion Laboratory investigations of hydrogen injection into fuel to improve efficiency and reduce pollution in conventional automobile engines promised 

achievement of 1977 Federal emission standards with 25% improvement in fuel economy. 

25 
46 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

L~RC Director Bruce T. Lundin testified that, in addition to the gas 

turbine engine, a broader, longer range, advanced technology program 

was under way, with 13 industry contracts for such improvements as 

a low-emission combustor, higher-temperature heat exchangers, lowercost turbine discs, turbine wheel cooling, and low-cost fuel controls. 

Dr. William H. Pickering, JPL Director, reported a test automobile using 

bottled gas to inject hydrogen into the fuel had already met the carbon 

monoxide emission standard and had almost met the nitrogen oxide 

standard, although the hydrocarbon emissions remained a problem. 

With engine modifications to produce hydrogen from gasoline, instead 

of using bottled gas, performance per gallon of fuel was expected to 

improve 25% over the conventional engine. (Transcript) 

4-8 February: The first meeting of the International Telecommunications 

Satellite Organization’s Assembly of Parties was held in Washington, 

D.C. Seventy-two of the eighty-four member governments were represented. Raymond J. Waldmann (US.) was elected Chairman and 

Dr. Osama Anani (Jordan) was elected Deputy Chairman. Elected as 

Vice-chairmen were Ambassador Alejandro Orfila (Argentina) , Ambassador Adolfo Alessandrini ( Italy) , Ambassador Leonard 0. Kibinge 

(Kenya), and Ambassador Motoo Ogiso (Japan). 

The Assembly of Parties found that the proposed US. Geostationary 

Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) and maritime satellite system would not interfere with the INTELSAT system. GOES was technically 

compatible with the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and orbital 

space by the existing or planned satellites. The maritime satellite system 

would not prejudice direct satellite telecommunication links. The Assembly refused a United Nations request for free use of INTELSAT 

satellites, although a priority access arrangement, for periods not exceeding 90 days during an emergency, would be worked out. (INTELSAT 

Release 74-12). 

5-22 February: Mariner 10, launched 3 Nov. 1973, passed within 5800 km of 

Venus-within 15 km of the planned aim point-at 1:Ol pm EDT 5 Feb. 

The encounter sequence was accomplished according to plan and data 

were transmitted over the 45 million km between the earth and Venus 

at a rate of 117.6 kilobits per sec. Excellent ultraviolet cloud-structure 

pictures and new data on particle environment and mass, density, and 

shape of the planet were returned. 

Because Mariner 10 approached Venus on the dark side, the TV 

sequence was not begun until shortly before the encounter, at 12:21 pm 

EDT. The spacecraft flew behind Venus at 1:07 pm EDT for 20 min; TV 

signals were stored on tape and recovered without difficulty after Mariner 

10 emerged from the occultation zone. During occultation, the spacecraft’s radio antenna was aimed toward the edge of the planet so that the 

radio signals were bent around Venus by the extremely dense atmosphere 

and sent on to the earth. 

All science instruments functioned normally except the scanning electrostatic analyzer. The TV sequence was completed 13 Feb. after some 

4165 pictures were returned to the earth. During the flyby, the 503-kg 

spacecraft used the gravitational field of Venus to slow its speed and direct 

the flight path toward a 29 March encounter with Mercury. By 22 Feb. 

Mariner IO-its speed increasing as it came nearer the sun-was traveling 3 million km per day toward the planet. 

26 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 5-22 February 

Preliminary science results were presented at a press briefing 7 Feb. 

at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Dr. Herbert S. Bridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist, said the solar wind was interacting with 

the ionosphere of Venus, producing a magnetic tail that could be detected 

as a modified plasma flow as far out from the planet as 500 Venus radii. 

Dr. James A. Dunne, Mariner project scientist, said the magnetic field 

doubled just before radio occultation but that no evidence of an intrinsic 

planetary magnetic field was found. Preliminary radio science results 

indicated that Venus was very round, 100 times less obIate than the 

earth, and confirmed that Venus had a dayside ionosphere. The mass of 

the planet was slightly less than that derived from previous data. Hydrogen was a major element of the Venus cloud deck, ppssibIy present in 

droplets of sulfuric acid as well as water vapor. Marzner 10 found no 

evidence of deuterium on the planet, indicating that the hydrogen had 

originated from the solar wind. Helium, carbon, and atomic oxygen were 

found in the atmosphere, with possible traces of argon and neon. Outer 

atmosphere temperature of 590 K (600’F) was suggested. 

TV data indicated a uniform main cloud deck with three or four layers 

and a stratified haze layer. TV pictures in uv showed a classical “Y” 

feature that originated in the equatorial region and spiraled toward the 

pole. Clear circulation patterns could be seen at the poles, caused by rising 

gas transporting excess solar heat from the equatorial zone by convection. 

The atmosphere was smooth, with no swirling storms. (NASA MOR, 11 

March 74; Briefing transcript; Sullivan, NYT, 5 Feb. 74, 18; 6 Feb. 74, 

1 ; Miles, LA Times, 6 Feb 74) 

5 February: Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, presented NASA’s 

$3.247-biIlion FY 1975 budget request’ and program [see 4 Feb.] to 

the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences to open 

hearings on the NASA authorization bill. In a review of FY 1974 accomplishments, Dr. Fletcher pointed out that as the Skylab program came 

to an end the three crews had traveled some 113 million km and orbited 

the earth 2475 times in a working scientific laboratory-chalking up 

“about 100 miles per gallon of fuel.’’ Skylab had focused on the sun, 

the earth, and man. “Apollo extended man’s reach to the moon; Skylab 

added near-Earth to man’s domain.” 

In answer to questions Dr. Fletcher said the principal difference 

between NASA’s minimum request to the Office of Management and 

Budget and the final figures sent to Congress by the President was the 

$89 million subtracted from the shuttle program, causing a four- to sixmonth delay. Other differences brought a total decrease of $124 million 

below “what we could have gotten by with without any major changes” 

in NASA’s program. The proposed minimum budget would not have 

restored any of the programs NASA had had to drop because of F”Y 1974 

budget cuts and therefore had been “well below the constant level” 

envisaged for NASA in FY 1973. Of $7.9 million cut from aeronautics 

programs, the chief reduction was in the quiet propulsion lift technology 

program, deleting the system integration model effort. Deletion of $1 

million from the requested technology utilization increase canceled 

proposed increases in numbers of dissemination centers and reduced 

buildup of support to state and local governments. A $5.7-million cut. 

in the amount requested for earth observations instruments had deferred 

their development. 

27 
5 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Dr. George M. Low, Deputy Administrator, said there had been ‘%ome 

discussions during the past several months’’ of an OMB proposal to consolidate weather satellite programs under the Department of Defense. 

NASA, DOD, OMB, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had decided ‘%o keep separate systems for the DOD and NASA [with 

NOAA], but we will make maximum use” of hardware commonality in 

building satellites for them. (Transcript) 

Dr. James R. Schlesinger, Secretary of Defense, said in l?Y 1975 budget 

hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee that, although it 

was the first time in more than a decade the budget did not reflect support 

of US. forces in combat, it had to support a minimum peacetime defense 

and deterrence posture. The $85.5-billion budget appeared large because 

of inflation, increased military and civilian pay, and increased retirement benefits. 

An FY 1974 supplemental request of $6.2 billion included $480 

million in increased fuel prices and $231 million for extra costs of arms 

for rsrael during the October 1973 Mid-East war. 

The FY 1975 budget included programs to maintain and improve 

ballistic missile systems; continue strategic systems research; increase 

the active air defense of the US.; and increase the total airlift and sealift 

capability. (Testimony) 

6 February: Skyylab 3 Astronauts Alan L. Bean and Jack R. Lousma, launched 

28 July 1973 to spend 59 days aboard the Orbital Workshop, were 

honored by Secretary of the Navy John W. Warner in a Pentagon 

ceremony. Bean received his second Navy Distinguished Service Medal. 

Lousma received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and Navy astronaut wings. (DOD Release 54-74] 0 The A ollo 16 command module (launched 16 April 1972) went on public 

dispfay at the Alabama Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. The 

CM, called Casper, had carried Astronauts Thomas K. Mattingly 11, 

Charles M. Duke, Jr., and John W. Young to the moon and back during 

the fifth successful lunar Tanding mission. (Marshall Star, 6 Feb 74, 1) 0 Dr. Karl G. Henize, scientist-astronaut, suffered a “‘landing mishap” while 

on instrument flight plan after flying his T-38 trainer aircraft from 

Ellington Air Force Base to Bergstcorn AFB, Tex. Dr. Henize was not injured. A wheel on the T-38 collapsed and the aircraft was damaged. 

( JSC Release 74-50 ; JSC Hist Off, interview) 

7 February: Rep. Olin E. Teague (D-Tex.) praised the Skylab 4 astronauts 

(launched 16 Nov. 1973) on the eve of their splashdown after a record 

84-day mission, concluding the Sylab program. On the floor of the 

precedented.” After damage to the Orbital Worshop during its 14 May 

House of Representatives Rep. Teague called the Skylab record “un1973 launch, the three crews had repaired and altered the systems, exceeded their expected workloads, and returned vast amounts of useful 

information on earth rseources, solar phenomena, physical science, life 

sciences, and technoIogy. The crews had spent 41 hrs in extravehicular 

activity and 171% days in earth orbit, demonstrating that man could live 

indefinitely and work productively in space. 

To date the US. manned space program had amassed 30 flights with 

some 21 850 hrs of active operation in space. “These programsMercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab-have made direct contributions 

to our daily lives as well as new scientific knowledge. . . . Skylab has 

28 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 7 February 

amply demonstrated that space can be used for practical purposes.” (CR, 

7 Feb 74, E533) 

* Prof. Nikolay A. Kozyrev, Soviet astronomer, had obtained convincing 

proof that Mercury had an atmosphere, Tass reported. A glowing halo 

around the planet, indicating the existence of an atmosphere, was seen 

in a spectrogram made while Prof. Kozyrev tracked the planet’s path as it 

crossed the sun’s disc. He calculated the refraction of light in the atmosphere to be 0.002 of the earth’s refraction and the pressure 0.02 of the 

earth’s atmospheric pressure. The thickness of the atmosphere, established from the brightness of the halo, was 600 km. Kozyrev had said the 

thickness indicated the presence of a light gas, probably hydrogen. He 

believed that Mercury’s atmosphere was continuously replenished by the 

Aow of protons from the sun. (Tass, FBIS-SOV, 11 Feb 74, U1) 

* Francis C. Schwenk, Director of the Research Div. in NASA’s Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology, testified on four NASA projects in hearings 

on space nuclear propulsion and power before the House Committee on 

Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Aeronautics and Space 

Technology. Early research had shown that high-temperature thermionic 

converters combined with a compact nuclear reactor could provide an 

efficient power plant for advanced planetary missions. NASA technology 

would now focus on thermionic energy conversion for achieving highly 

efficient operation at lower temperatures. During the ApolIo and Pioneer 

programs, NASA had proved the advantages of a small (40- to 70-w) 

radioisotope-thermoelectric-generator power system, which had operated 

at 6% efficiency at a cost of $20 million per kilowatt. NASA was developing technology for a 0.5- to 2.0-kw gas-turbine conversion system (Brayton energy conversion system) to achieve efficiencies of 25% and reduce 

costs to one fourth. 

Gaseous-core nuclear rocket research had led to plasma-core reactors 

as advanced energy sources for terrestrial as well as space propulsion 

uses; use of uranium hexafluoride as plasma fuel was expected to achieve 

efficiencies of more than 50%. Lewis Research Center research into 

superconducting magnets and plasma confinement and heating in advanced steady-state schemes was expected to show within a year whether 

a superconductive magnetic apparatus (SUMMA) could produce fusionlike plasmas as predicted. (Text) 

* NASA’s report on emergency preparedness and defense mobilization activities for FY 1973 was issued by the Senate in the 23rd annual report of 

activities of the Joint Committee on Defense Production. NASA had 

revised emergency plans at field installations for increased readiness 

for a broader range of emergencies. The agency’s contract policies had 

contributed to maintenance of a broad industrial base of small businesses 

to meet conditions of a national emergency. ,Research and development 

programs contributing to energy solutions included studies of new 

aeronautical technology, solar and wind energy, clean fuel production, 

improved use of coal, and more efficient fuels. Technology utilization 

teams were applying aerospace technology to public problems in medicine, urban construction, law enforcement, mine safety, air and water 

pollution, and transportation. (Sen Rpt 93-683) 

* The New Mexico House of Representatives approved a bill to appropriate 

$1.8 million for a proposed International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo. (UPI, NYT, 8 Feb 74) 

29 
8 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

8 February: President Nixon wired salutations to Skylab 4 Astronauts 

Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue aboard 

the recovery ship U.S.S. New Orleans after their successful splashdown 

at 11:17 am EDT. The astronauts, launched 16 Nov. 1973, had set an aday space flight record in the Orbital Workshop. 

The President said: “On behalf of the American people, I salute 

Skylab’s third crew of astronauts on their safe return to earth. They have 

successfully completed man’s longest space journey and brought to an 

end one of the most scientifically producthe endeavors in the history 

of human exploration. From the Skylab program, we have learned that 

we can live and work in space for long periods of time. And we haw. 

found that the results of these efforts can be of enormous practical 

value to life on earth. 

“Skylab now joins the ranks of the Santa Maria, the H.M.S. Beagle, 

the Spirit of St. Louis, and the Eagle. Each of these great vehicles has 

carried us beyond the contemporary limits of human knowledge into 

a new comprehension of our own possibilities and a new definition of 

our own destiny. We welcome the men of Skylab home, and we salute 

them and all their predecessors who have launched us on this great 

adventure.’’ (PD, 11 Feb 74,193; A&A 1973) 

“Skylab . . . has demonstrated that this nation is capable of conducting 

broader and more useful beneficial activities in space that directly relate 

to our own planet Earth,” Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, 

said at a postrecovery press briefing at Johnson Space Center. It had 

moved the space program from the realm of the spectacular into a new 

phase that can be characterized . . . as almost businesslike if not yet 

quite routine.” The Skylab experience was necessary for the future in 

space and had confirmed that NASA was proceeding in the right direction 

with development of the space shuttle. 

Skylab Program Director William C. Schneider said 30 earth resources 

passes had been lanned and 39 accomplished during the Skylab 4 

mission. There ha I! been 350 hrs of Apollo Telescope Mount observations 

planned and 338 hrs completed. Observations of Comet Kohoutek 

included 13 by the Apollo Telescope Mount and 111 by other instruments. All 28 planned corollary experiments and all major medical and 

student experiments had been completed. Original planning had called 

for 140 days in orbit for the three manned missions; 172 were accomdished. Skylab‘s greatest achievement “was to prove . . . there is no 

limit in our space research”; the limit “is only our resolve, not our 

ability to do work, not the ability of men to work and not our technical 

knowledge.” (Transcript) 

Skylab 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William R. 

Pogue had experienced a harrowing last hour in space when they could 

not get commands to the secondary control system, which pointed the 

spacecraft heat shield at the correct angle during reentry. After discovering a Ieak in the prime reaction control system, the astronauts tried and 

failed to activate the secondary system. “Our hearts fell and our eyeballs 

popped,” Carr said at a 22 Feb. Johnson Space Center press conference. 

Carr, commander of the mission, instead had used a manual procedure to 

bypass the computer controlling the engine’s firing and guided the spacecraft to a safe on-target splashdown. The press later quoted a NASA spokesman as saying that the failure to activate the backup control system was 

just a matter of a switch not being thrown.” (O’Toole, W Post, 15 Feb 

. 

<< 

CC 

30 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 8 February 

74, Al; UPI, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 16 Feb 74; Maloney, H Post, 

23 Feb 74) 

* The Army was issuing a $1 988 000 firm-fixed-price contract to Algernon 

Blair Industrial Contractors, Inc., for modifications to orbiter propulsion 

system test facilities for space shuttle engine testing at NASA’s Mississippi 

Test Facility, the Dept. of Defense announced. (DOD Release 59-74) 

The Dept. of Defense announced the Air Force was issuing a $1 400 000 

fixed-price-incentive contract to General Electric Co. for engine refurbishment and increase in test hours for eight YJ-101 test engines planned for 

use in theYF-17 aircraft. (DOD Release 59-74) 

* Dr. Fritz Zwicky, California Institute of Technology astronomer and a 

leading expert on jet propulsion, died of a heart attack in Pasadena, 

Calif., at the age of 76. Dr. Zwicky’s inventions included the aeropulse, 

hydropulse, hydroturbojet, monopropellants, and eoruscatives. An early 

member of Aerojet Engineering Corp. (forerunner of Aerojet-General 

Corp.), Dr. Zwicky was Director of Research at Aerojet from 1943 to 

1949. Under his leadership the corporation developed JATO ( jet-assisted 

takeoff) for getting heavy-laden bombers into the air and in 1949 he was 

awarded the Medal of Freedom for his work in jet propulsion. In 1934, 

in a report coauthored with Dr. Walter Baade, Dr. Zwicky had drawn 

the first clear-cut professional distinction between common novas and 

supernovas. The report said a Supernova blew off considerable mass and 

could leave a pure neutron core, a theory which had gained increasing 

support. He discovered his 100th supernova in 1973. Only 378 supernovas had been discovered throughout history. (NYT, 11 Feb 74, 36; 

Who’s Who) 

9 Febrmry: Medical tests of SlcyZub 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. 

Edward 6. Gibson, and William R. Pogue-begun after their 8 Feb. 

splashdown-continued on board the U.S.S. New Orleans. All three 

astronauts reached their maximum preflight work rates on the bicycle 

ergometer. Each astronaut completed the full run on a whirling chair, 

reaching a rate of 30 rpm while making 150 head movements with no 

problems. A test of muscle function showed no significant decrease. As 

soon as the men had landed, the pull of gravity had compressed the 

vertebrae of their spinal columns, removing the inch or more of height 

gained in weightlessness. Carr had gained slightly in weight; Pogue had 

lost one kilogram and Dr. Gibson a little more than two. (McElheny, 

NYT, 11 Feb 74, 7) 

A Baltimore Sun editorial commented on NASA’s space program and the 

8 Feb. splashdown of Skylab 4: “The Apollo moon missions and Skylab 

have moved NASA to a point where few if any scientists any longer 

condemn the space program as ‘more circus than science,’ and Skylab, 

especially, has given manned spaceflight an unassailable new reputation 

as a superb scientific instrument. . . . It is unfortunate that the space 

program entered its most useful and significant period in conjunction 

with the loss of interest in space on the part of a public obsessed with 

Watergate and the energy crisis’’ but “there are no indications the 

American people wish to junk the space program.‘’ NASA’s FY 1975 

budget included promising projects. “The evolution of man into spaceman has just begun and there are wondrous things ahead.‘’ (B Sun, 

9 Feb 74) 

10 February: Skylab 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Cam, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, 

and William R. Pogue, who splashed down 8 Feb. after 84 days aboard 

31 
10 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

the Orbital Workshop, completed a third day of post-splashdown tests 

before a brief welcoming ceremony at dockside in San Diego, Calif. 

The astronauts then flew to Ellington Air Force Base, Tex., for a reunion 

with their families. Medical tests would continue throughout the week 

and the three men would continue to eat the precisely controlled diet 

begun three weeks before their 16 Nov. 1973 launch. (McElheny, NYT, 

11 Feb 74,7) e A New York Times editorial noted that the 8 Feb. safe return of the Skylab 4 

astronauts “was considered so certain that the television networks had 

decided well in advance not to broadcast the splashdown.” It “really was 

a public tribute to the high technical achievements of the Skylab program and of previous manned American space projects.” With Skylab’s 

record and dividends, “the case for a permanent manned station in 

space can now be regarded as proved.” (NYT, 10 Feb 74) e The success of the Skylab program had made the idea of continuous occupation of an orbital base more concrete to the directors of the American 

space efforts, a New York: Times article reported. Such a base could be 

assembled by flights of the space shuttle being developed by NASA and 

could be used to observe the sun and the earth and for manufacturing 

special materials under weightless conditions. Skylab Program Director William C. Schneider had said in an interview, ‘‘We have shown 

that there is no man or machine limitation on whatever we want to 

do in space.” The confidence of space scientists had been strengthened 

by the apparent adaptation of the astronauts to space, although the 

Times reported Skylab 2 Astronaut Joseph P. Kerwin and Johnson 

Space Center Director Christopher C. Kraft as cautioning that nine 

men “is a very small statistical sample.” More long test flights would 

have to be made. However, if the medical data held true, the design 

of future space stations could be made much simpler and the number 

of space shuttle flights to establish it would be fewer. Schneider had 

noted that the conflict between the Workshop’s need for power and its 

program for observation was still to be solved. The current design called 

for Workshop solar panels to point toward the sun rather than the 

earth. In a future space station, observatories might be placed on long 

booms which could turn on their own, minimking the station’s need to 

maneuver. (McElheny, NYT, 10 Feb 74,40) 0 Computer enhancement of multispectral photographs from Erts I satellite 

(circling the earth since 23 July 1972) had been proved useful for 

finding mineral and water deposits on the earth. Computer image 

enhancement, first used at Jet Propulsion Laboratory to improve early 

spacecraft pictures of the moon and Mars, had identified surface signs 

of known mineral deposits for JPL and U.S. Geological Survey investigators. Twenty ERTS-identified points had been verified in a test area, 

exploratory drilling had uncovered water-bearing rock 12 m below an 

ERTS-indicated water hole, and fractures indicating other drilling sites 

had Keen revealed. (NASA 7427) 0 Noting the space program’s emphasis had shifted earthward now that space 

flight was an accepted and almost routine part of life, John N. Wilford 

commented in the New York Times that “it is only natural that after 

surveying the canyons of Mars, the clouds and haze of Venus and the 

radiation belts of JuDiter. men turn back and take a new look at the 

earth and, in the words of T. S. Eliot, ‘know the place for the first time.’ ” 

(NYT, 10 Feb 74,7) 

32 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 10-12 February 

10-12 February: Soviet space probes Mars 4 and 5, launched 22 and 25 July 

1973, neared Mars after a journey of 460 million km. Mars 4 approached 

the planet 10 Feb. Because of faulty functioning of one onboard system, 

the braking engine was not fired and the spacecraft flew by Mars at a 

distance of 2200 km. TV pictures were taken during the flyby and transmittal of information on outer space characteristics was to continue. 

Mars 5 was put into orbit around Mars at 6:45 pm Moscow time 

(11:45 am EDT) 12 Feb., with a 32 500-km apogee, 1760-km perigee, 

25-hr period, and 35" inclination. 

Mars 6 and 7, launched 5 and 9 Aug. 1973, would approach Mars in 

March. During a 22 Sept. 1973 interview with Tass, Director Roald 

Sagdeyev of the Space Research Institute of the Soviet Academy of 

Sciences had said one of the four Mars probes would softland near the 

Martian south polar cap to test the physicaI properties of the soil and 

surface rocks and check the possibilities of transmitting TV pictures of 

the surrounding terrain to earth. (Tass, FBIS-SOV, 14 Feb. 74, u1; 

II February: The Titan IIIE-Centaur proof-fiight vehicle (TC-11, launched 

by NASA from Eastern Test Range Complex 41 at 9:48 am EDT carrying a 

Viking spacecraft model and the SPHINX satellite, was destroyed after 

the Centaur engine failed to start. At 8.1 min from launch, after normal 

separation from the Titan booster, the Centaur main-engine start failed 

and the vehicle automatically went into the restart sequence. A second 

attempt to start the engine failed at 9.2 min after liftoff. Since the vehicle 

had not achieved orbital velocity the Range Safety Officer at the Antigua, 

West Indies, tracking station transmitted destruction commands and 

the Centaur was destroyed at 12.5 min after the liftoff. The vehicle fell 

into the Atlantic Ocean 3530 km downrange. Inflight data indicated that 

the liquid-oxygen boost pump had failed to operate during both attempted engine starts. A committee was formed to investigate the failure 

and recommend corrective action. 

Although the primary objective of demonstrating the capability of 

the Titan-Centaur launch vehicle was not accomplished, some objectives 

were fulfilled: demonstration of the capability of the launch facility to 

support a Titan-Centaur launch, structural irntegrity of the vehicle, 

Centaur guidance and control of the Titan, Titan-Centaur separation, 

and Centaur standard shroud capability. 

The Viking Dynamic Simulator had been instrumented to verify flight 

loads for the two planned 1975 missions to Mars. Remaining attached 

to the Centaur stage, the VDS was to have flown a typical Viking launch 

trajectory with a shortened burn to limit the spacecraft to a low earth 

orbit, to test the guidance system, and estimate injection accuracy. 

The SPHINX Space Plasma High Voltage Interaction Experiment spacecraft had been intended for launch into an elliptical orbit to investigate 

the effect of charged particles in space on high-voltage solar cells, insulators, and conductors. 

The launch vehicle combined NASA's versatile high-energy liquidhydrogen and liquid-oxygen Centaur upper stage with the Air Forcedeveloped Titan I11 booster, a two-stage liquid-propellant core rocket 

augmented by two strap-on solid-fueled rocket motors. It was designed to 

fill the performance and cost gap between the Atlas-Centaur and the 

Saturn vehicles and boost NASA's heaviest unmanned payloads into orbit 

or interplanetary trajectories. The first of six scheduled operational misA&A 1973) 

33 
11 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

sions-the U.S. and West German Helios solar probe scheduled for the 

fall-would be configured to a two-burn mission to obtain data lost on 

the proof flight. 

The Titan-Centaur program was managed by NASA’s O5ce of Space 

Science. Lewis Research Center was responsible for the Titan-Centaur 

system. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Organization was responsible for the Titan IIIE booster, including aerospace ground equipment and Launch Complex 41 site activation. Kennedy Space Center directed launch operations at ETR. (NASA MORS, 25 Jan, 24 June 74; NASA 

Release 74-25; UPI, W Post, 12 Feb 74, A2; Robinson, Today, 13 Feb 

* A standardized solar-electric propulsion stage ( SEPS) that could become 

part of a space transportation system for payloads in planetary and earthorbital missions was under study at Marshall Space Flight Center. SEPS, 

one of several concepts under study, would be able to accept modules 

such as a docking subsystem for earth-orbital missions or a science package for planetary missions. Another concept, for an attachable SEP 

module, would provide propulsion only and depend on spacecraft subsystems for all other functions. SEPS would carry a cluster of six to nine 

thrusters, fueled by ionized mercury, and two lightweight 27-m solararray wings to supply 25 kw of power to the thrusters and payloads. It 

was being designed for use with the space shuttle and space tug, and 

application of an attachable SEP module to a Mariner spacecraft was 

being studied. The tug, supplemented by SEPS, would be able to deploy 

and retrieve a 2500-kg geosynchronous equatorial payload in 100 days, 

tripling the amount the unaided tug could deliver. After one delivery, the 

SEPS could continue to operate between the shuttle orbit and intermediate 

orbits, delivering and retrieving 20 more payloads before the thruster 

life was used up. (NASA Release 74-38; NASA OMSF, interview) 

A vertical-axis windmill was under study at Langley Research Center as 

a potential source of nonpolluting energy. The windmill, based on a 

1927 principle, had two four-meter curved blades attached at the top 

and bottom to a five-meter vertical shaft, set on a simple gear system, 

and a generator that converted wind power to electricity. The airfoilshaped blades rotated in almost any wind and were expected to achieve 

enough revolutions per minute to provide the energy requirements of a 

single-family house at an estimated construction and installation cost 

of $500 to $1000. A much larger windmill project at Lewis Research 

Center, for the National Science Foundation, was studying large concentrations of windmills for industrial use [see 11 Jan.]. ( NASA Release 

74-33) 

* Dr. Harriet G. Jenkins assumed her duties as Deputy Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Programs at NASA Hq. Dr. Jenkins would 

assist Dr. Dudley G. McConnell, Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Programs, in agency-wide direction of both employee and 

contractor aspects of NASA equal opportunity programs. She had been an 

educational consultant for the Response to Educational Needs project of 

the Anacostia District of Washington, D.C., public schools and had served 

in the Berkeley, Calif., school system 20 yrs. (NASA Release 74-40) 

* Dr. Charles A. Berry, NASA Director of Life Sciences, was quoted as saying 

in an interview: “From what we know today, there is no medical reason 

to bar a two-year mission to Mars. . . . We still need more data, but I 

don’t think the medical findings from a six-month or a year-long mission 

74) 

34 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 11 February 

would differ appreciably from the experience with our three Skylab missions.,, On a two-year mission to Mars (not likely to be considered before 

the early 1990s) , “we’re going to have a hard time keeping people compIetely bu~y,~’ leaving astronauts more time to think of their isolation. 

“That’s another problem we’ll have to deal with.” Meanwhile, all the 

data indicate “that man is really adapting to the zero-gravity environment 

of space. He does that in a way that causes some very large fluctuations 

initially in various body systems” but, “with time, it appears that these 

fluctuations settle down.” (US News, 11 Feb 74,62-64+) 

An Aviation Week & Space Technology editorial said the FY 1975 aerospace budget request offered the aerospace industry “its best prospect 

in a decade.” The dollar increases were “significant because they were 

aimed at alleviating problems caused by a decade of neglect in basic 

weapon system development and diplomatic euphoria” and recognized 

that aerospace was an “important sinew of national power and economic 

strength.” It was the first budget in many years that had no major 

program cancellations or cuts. The worst cut, $89 million, meant a 

six-month delay in the first shuttle Bight but was accompanied by a 

written guarantee of future support-€or full funding of the program. 

The military budget was well balanced between research, development, 

and procurement. While the NASA program would not satisfy the space 

buffs, it was a strong continuing effort supplemented by $500 million 

in military space activities and the growing communications and applications space activity in other agencies. The aerospace industry must 

now spend extra effort in delivering the hardware and performance 

to meet the chalIenge required by this budget. (Holz, Av Wk, 11 Feb 

74,7) 0 The TV film “Houston, We Have a Problem” was criticized by former 

astronaut James A. Lovell, commander of the aborted ApoZZo 13 moonlanding mission (launched 11 April 1970) , in a letter to the NASA Administrator, Dr. James C. Fletcher. The fictitious film focused on the 

personal livBs of the Mission Control team that brought the crippled 

ApoZZo 13 spacecraft back to earth. Love11 said the film was “in poor 

taste”; the safe return of ApoZlo 13 was one of NASA’s finest hours and 

it is not necessary to resort to soap opera plots to enliven the . . . story.” 

(Carmody, W Post, 1 March 74, C7) 0 Economy moves left Kennedy Space Center dangerously short on fire protection, according to Jack N. Anderson and Les WhitteQ in a Washington Post article. The Center was being protected between 3:OO pm 

and 7:OO am by eight on-duty fire fighters, not enough to man the 

$750000 worth of fire equipment or fight a conflagration, they said. 

The 3 237 500-sq-km facility contained 3747 cu m of liquid oxygen, 

3028 cu m of liquid hydrogen, and rocket fuel “to stoke a flash fire.” 

Boeing Co., which held the ~tsc fire protection contract, planned to lay 

off 21 firemen and shift others to lower paying jobs. A Boeing spokesman 

had said no manned missions were planned until 1975 and the bpse 

was adequately protected. The Post quoted a NASA spokesman as sayxng 

that the cuts were necessary and that additional fire fighting help was 

only five minutes away. (W Post, 11 Feb 74, B13) 

12 February: With the 8 Feb. splashdown of the Skylab 4 astronauts, 1816 

employees at Kennedy Space Center saw their jobs come to an end, 

the Baltimore Sun reported. The Sun quoted a NASA spokesman as saying that by 30 June the contractor and Civil Service work force at 

66 

35 
12 February ASTONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

IGC would be 9450. The latest group to be laid off included mostly 

contract employees for Boeing Go., General Electric Co., and International Business Machines, Inc. (AP, B Sun, 12 Feb 74, A9) 0 Tass commentator Georgy Sergeyev commented on the US.-U.S.S.R. 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: The success of Skylab and the first flight 

of Yuri A. Gagarin, the space walk of Aleksey A. Leonov, and the 

exploration of the moon by American astronauts, were only “milestones 

along the road of exploration of outer space.” ASTP would be another 

step. The joint Soviet-American mission had become possible, not only 

because of the efforts of scientists, but also because of the “conditions 

of a favorable political climate established in Soviet-American relations 

as a result of the fruitful . . . summit meetings.” The main task was 

to see that “these changes become irreversible.” ASTP would go a long 

way toward “making space exploration really internationalist.” (Tass, 

FBIS-SOV, 14 Feb 74, B6) 

13 February: The Air Force launched an unidentified satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a Titan IIIB-Agena vehicle. The satellite entered 

orbit with a 404-km apogee, 128-km perigee, 89.8-rnin period, and 

110.4’ inclination. The press later reported the satellite would support 

the Navy’s surface surveillance program. It reentered 17 March. (Pres 

Rpt 74; Av Wk, 4 March 74,24) 

* The House of Representatives by a 25340-2 vote passed H.R. 11864, the 

Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act of 1974. The bill would 

authorize $50 million over five years for the early commercial demonstration of solar heating technology by NASA and the Dept. of Housing 

and Urban Development, in cooperation with the National Bureau of 

Standards, the National Science Foundation, the General Services Administration, and other Federal agencies, and early development and 

commercial demonstration of technology for combined solar heating 

and cooling. H.R. 11864 was the clean bill that resulted from the 19 Dec. 

1973 recommendation of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Subcommittee on Energy to revise, amend, ad combine H.R. 

10952, introduced 16 Oct. 1973, and 18 similar bills. The bill was sent to 

the Senate. (CR, 13 Feb 74, H774; Background I& Legis Hist, Com 

Print, Feb 74) 

Marshall Space Flight Center awarded a 90-day $950 000 cost-plus-fixed-fee 

contract to Thiokol Chemical Corp. for studies, analysis, planning, and 

design required to define the interface and performance relationships 

of the solid-fueled rocket motor to the solid-fueled rocket boosters, 

external tank, and orbiter of the mace shuttle. Award of the 90-day 

contract was necessary to continue the overall development schedule of 

the total space shuttle system. A contract award to Thiokol in November 1973 to develop the motors for the shuttle had been delayed pending 

the resolution of a protest filed by Lockheed Propulsion Co. (NASA 

Release 74-130; Huntsville Times, 17 Feb 74) 

NASA and European Space Research Organization officials met in Paris 

to discuss future cooperative missions to the planets. Joint mission 

possibilities included an out-of-the-ecliptic flight to study the sun, missions to Jupiter and Mercury, and experiments on missions to Venus and 

Mars. NASA would receive suggestions for the 1980s from European 

nations during the next few months. NASA Director of Planetary Programs Robert S. Kraemer had said that international cooperation would 

36 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 13 February 

be necessary for one third to one fourth of the payloads the agency 

envisioned for the next 15 yrs. (NASA, Spec Asst to Deputy Assoc Admin, 

interviews, 20-21 Jan 75; Couvault, Av Wk, 1 April 74,3&9) 

Concorde 202, the second production Anglo-French supersonic transport, 

made its maiden flight from British Aircraft Corp.’s airfield at Filton, 

England. The aircraft, developed jointly by BAC and ABrospatiale France, 

was airborne 1 hr 16 min, including 30 min of supersonic flight, reaching a speed of mach 1.4 and an altitude of 12800 m. On arrival at 

Fairford, the Concorde made two low-level passes over the runway for 

instrument calibration tests before making a perfect touchdown, piloted 

by BAC’S Director of Flight Testing M. Brian Trubshaw. (BAC-ABrospatiale Release 2c/74) 

0 A New York Times editorial commented on Mariner 10’s 5 Feb. encounter 

with Venus: In less than 15 yrs since a Soviet spacecraft had radioed 

back to earth the first pictures of the far side of the moon, American and 

Soviet spacecraft had provided picture coverage of the moon, Mars, 

and Jupiter. “Now Venus . . . and, if all goes well, Mercury,” too, 

would be photographed. “Man’s understanding of the solar system, its 

nature, origin, and history has been profoundly transformed by these 

remarkable feats, all carried out in so brief a period . . . at a rather 

small cost. . . . What are in effect telescopes in space rockets have now 

realized achievements that can surpass the possjbilities of even the largest 

earth-space telescopes in giving us information about our neighbors 

in the solar system.” (NYT, 13 Feb 74, 36) 

14 February: Tentative NASA plans for launching 810 payloads into space 

in the next two decades were outlined by Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA 

Administrator, in an address before the National Space Club in Washington, D.C. The total, for late 1973 to 1991, included non-NASA payloads for Government agencies (other than the Dept. of Defense), foreign agencies, and private industry. The tentative payload model-presented to Congress in October 1973 to show “what could be done in the 

1980s” when the space shuttle was in use-included as many as 10 

missions to the outer planets Uranus, Neptune, Jupiter, and Saturn. 

In 1990 and 1991 two very heavy payloads might be sent to orbit one 

of Jupiter’s moons and land an instrument package. Tentative missions 

to the inner planets included five missions to Venus, one of them with 

a lander, and two spacecraft to orbit Mercury. Tentative Mars missions 

included one spacecraft to orbit the planet, two landers, and two to return 

samples from the two moons of Mars. Lunar missions under consideration included a lunar polar orbiter in 1979, two other orbiters in the 

1980s, two lunar rovers in the 1980s, a lunar halo satellite to ensure 

communications with the hidden side of the moon, and two lunar rovers 

in 1990 and 1991 that could return samples to the earth from any point 

on the moon. Other plans under consideration were a flyby and rendezvous with Comet Encke and a landing on the nucleus, a flyby of 

Haley’s Comet in 1985, and two missions to asteroids in 1986. 

Of the 810 total payloads, 57 were designated for planetary exploration and 753 for earth orbit. Scientific satellites for earth orbit were 

Large Space Telescopes, High Energy Astronomical Observatories, Large 

Solar Observatories, Large Radio Astronomy Observatories, and x-ray 

telescopes. The large spacecraft would be unmanned but visited regularly 

by space shuttle crews and brought back to earth for refurbishing. In the 

37 
14 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

applications field were large Earth Observatory Satellites. And NASA 

expected to orbit 120 communications and navigation satellites for other 

agencies or private industry through 1991, not including those for DOD. 

Of some 300 payloads to be flown in the Spacelab, most would be 

NASA payloads in the fields of astronomy, physics, earth observations, 

earth and ocean physics, communication and navigation, life science, 

and space technology. Of non-NASA payloads, 10 would be for private 

industry space processing, beginning in 1985. Some 10% were expected 

to be flown for foreign users. 

The large number of contemplated missions, even with the increasing 

number of U.S.S.R. launches, was expected to have very little impact 

on the environment. Effects of the major constituents of the solid-fueled 

rocket booster exhaust-water vapor, carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride, 

and aluminum oxide-would be negligible. (Text) 

France reluctantly decided to cut back construction of the Anglo-French 

Concorde supersonic airliner and to scrap production of the Mercure 

short-range twin-jet airliner, at a special meeting of Premier Pierre 

Messmer and five ministers. France had been demanding production of 

eight Concorde aircraft but would now accept as few as six in the 

knowledge that, with a Labor Party victory in the 28 Feb. British 

elections, the U.K. might be willing to scrap the entire project. The 

press said the French decision came after a report from France’s rocket 

testing center suggesting a $9O-million fuel-tank modification to boost 

range at the expense of reduced transatlantic loads. A suggested 10% 

increase in engine thrust, requiring 8% more wing area at a cost of 

as much as $400 million, was believed rejected at the meeting. 

The decision to scrap the 120-seat, 1200-km range Mercure was taken 

after an initial production run of 10 aircraft and writeoff costs reported 

by the press at $120 million. Competition from the already established 

DC-9s and Boeing 727s and 737s was too great for the Mercure, whose 

one buyer was Air Inter, the internal French airline. (Randal, W Post, 

17 Feb 74, AI) 

* NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Applications Leonard Jaffe--US. 

Representative to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of 

Outer Space Working Group and Task Forre on Remote Sensingreviewed U.S. environmental and earth resources programs before the 

Working Group and Task Force. The U.S. had designed tape recorders 

and studies on Erts 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite (launched 

23 July 1972) for foreign use of the data, but the “extent and vigor of 

foreign interest was perhaps greater than we expected.” Brazil and Canada 

had built ground stations to receive data directly and, by agreement with 

the U.S., were disseminating data. Italy also would establish a ground 

station, and nine other countries had expressed interest. 

Erts 1 performance had shown that data collection with a spatial resolution of 100 m was economical and adequate for a wide range of significant applications. Although total discontinuance of photographic imagery was not planned, the speed, reliability, and flexibility found in 

computer analysis indicated that future systems would increasingly use 

automated methods. 

The mapping accuracy of the satellite’s instruments was adequate for 

1 :IO00 000 and even 1 :250 000 scale when system errors were removed 

by computer processing. Processing and disseminating data was a key 

factor in the cost of an earth observation program. No one data-processing 

38 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 14 February 

and dissemination facility would ever be able to meet the needs of the 

world efficiently. Estimates put the cost of an additional system similar 

to the Erts 1 data-collection system-aside from spacecraft costsat $11 

million for the facility and $9.9 million for five years of data processing. 

A minimal system with only multispectral scanner and real-time observations would cost $2.5 million for the facility and $3.6 million for five 

years of data processing. (Text; NASA OA, interview) 

French, Canadian, and U.S. scientists were participating in projects to expand Univ. of Hawaii facilities on top of 5000-m Mauna Kea into one 

of the world’s greatest centers for celestial observations. In addition to 

NASA’s planned 3-m infrared telescope announced 4 Feb., Hawaii had 

recently concluded an agreement with the National Research Council of 

France and the National Research Council of Canada for a $2O-million 

enterprise to operate a new 3.8-m telescope for general astronomical observations. The university already had three telescopes on Mauna Kea. 

(Durdin, NYT, 14 Feb 74, 33; NASA Release 74-23) 

* A Washington Star-News editorial commented on the triumph of the Skylab 

program: Although a “fellow wondering where his next tank of gas is 

coming from has difficulty getting excited about the COS~OS,~~ the country 

“could take much encouragement from the successful completion of the 

$2.6-billion Skylab program.” We could expect that this had been well 

worth the effort and that a similar crash program on energy could meet 

with the same success. Americans would not venture into space again 

until the space shuttle project at the end of the decade, except for the 

1975 linkup of U.S. and Soviet spacecraft. If all went well, that “could 

be the most fascinating and heartening adventure since that first landing 

on the moon.” ( W Star-News, 14 Feb 74, A18) 

15 February: NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight DaIe 

D. Myers had resigned effective 15 March to return to private industry, 

NASA announced. Myers would rejoin Rockwell International Gorp. as 

president of a new aircraft group with headquarters in Los Angeles. 

Myers, who had headed all NASA manned space flight programs since 

January 1970, had received the NASA Certificate of Appreciation in 1969 

for his contributions to the Apollo 8 moon-orbiting mission, the NASA 

Public Service Award in 1969 for his contributions to the Apollo 11 

landing mission, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1971 for 

his contributions to the continued success of the Apollo program. 

Skylab Program Director William C. Schneider had been named Acting Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight. (NASA Release 

74-42) 0 A one-Uth scale model of a large portion of the Air Force B-1 swing-wing 

strategic bomber had been tested in transonic and supersonic wind 

tunnels at the Air Force Systems Command’s Arnold Engineering Development Center, AFSC announced. The tests verified inputs to the computer control system that adjusted the B-1’s double inlets for an adequate air supply to the engines during flight maneuvers. Test data also 

would be used to optimize the inlets’ boundary-layer control. (AFSC Release OIP 196.73) 

16 February: Japan successfully launched Tansei 2 experimental MS-T2 

satellite from Kagoshima Space Center, Uchinoura, on a three-stage 

MU-3C booster at 2:OO pm local time (1:OO am EDT) after a two-day 

postponement because of bad weather. A thrust-vector-control system 

had been installed on the 2nd stage of the booster to stabilize its flight. 

39 
16 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

The improved version of the four-stage MU4S was the first guided 

booster Japan had used. The satellite entered orbit with a 3229-km 

apogee, 283-km perigee, 121.7-min period, and 31.2” inclination. KYODO 

news service reported the objective was “to test the control devices and 

not for scientific observation.” 

Tansei 2, named “Light Blue” for the Univ. of Tokyo colors, was 

Japan’s fifth satellite and third test satellite. Ohsurni (launched 11 Feb. 

1970) and Tansei 1 (launched 16 Feb. 1971) were test satellites returning performance data. Shinsei (launched 28 Sept. 1971) had carried 

instruments to study cosmic rays and electric waves, and Denpa (Radio 

Explorer Satellite launched 19 Aug. 1972) had carried instruments to 

probe the ionosphere. (CSFG SSR, 28 Feb 74; FBIs-Japan, 22 Feb 74, 

13-14; A&A 1971) 

18-26 February: The cooperative Italian-NASA Sun Marco 4 (San Marco c2:1 

Explorer satellite was successfully launched by an Italian crew from the 

San Marco launch pIatform off the coast of Kenya on a NASA Scout 

booster. Liftoff was at 1:05 pm local time (6:05 am EDT) , 2 hrs 50 min 

late because of low cloud cover. The satellite entered orbit with a 930.5- 

km apogee, 234.5-km perigee, 96-min period, and 2.9’ inclination to 

measure diurnal variations of the equatorial neutral atmosphere’s density, composition, and temperature. The data would be correlated with 

data from Explorer 51 (launched 15 Dec. 1973) for studies of the physics 

and dynamics of the thermosphere. The launch had been delayed from 

6 Feb. to allow NASA’s Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) 

to give better support for the 8 Feb. Shylab 4 splashdown. 

The Italian-built 170-kg Sun Marco 4 carried three experiments: an 

Ttalian density-drag accelerometer to measure atmospheric drag, a US. 

omegatqon to measure the temperature and density of thermosphere 

molecular nitrogen, and a US. neutral mass spectrometer to measure 

primary constituents of the neutral atmosphere. Data gathered by Sun 

Marco 4 in the equatorial zone and Explorer 51 in the auroral zone would 

provide a good picture of the effects of magnetic storms on the thermosphere and differences in the thermosphere’s response to energy coming 

from the sun to the poles and the equator. 

The omegatron experiment was activated 19 Teb. and the neutral mass 

spectrometer 22 Feb. By 26 Feb. both instruments were acquiring worthwhile scientific data. The Italian density-drag accelerometer, activated 

shortly after launch but not performing properly, was being investigated. All spacecraft systems were functioning as planned. 

Sun Marco 4 was the fourth satellite launched under cooperative 

agreements between NASA and the Italian Space Commission. Sun 

Marco 1 was launched 15 Dec. 1964; Sun Marco 2,26 April 1967; and 

Sun Marco 3, 24 April 1971. Under the latest agreement, signed 6 Aug. 

1973, Italy had designed and built the spacecraft, provided one experiment, and conducted launch operations. The US. provided the Scout 

booster, two experiments, technical consultation, launch crew training, 

and spacecraft tracking and data acquisition. (NASA MORS, 15,26 Feb 74; 

NASA Releases 74-30,7639) 

18 February4 March: Thomas L. Gatch ‘was lost at sea while attempting 

the first transatlantic balloon flight. Gatch lifted off from Harrisburg, Pa., 

18 Feb. in a two-meter sealed gondola, the Light Heart, suspended from 

10 helium-filled balloons. He hoped to reach 12 000-m altitude and ride 

4.43 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 18 February4 March 

the jet-stream winds across the Atlantic to Europe, but changes in air 

currents pushed him south of his planned course. Radio contact was 

made with Gatch 19 Feb. by an airliner 1600 km east northeast of 

Puerto Rico. He was spotted at 305-m altitude 21 Feb. by a Liberian ship 

1670 km off the coast of Africa. Further inconsistent and unconfirmed 

radio contacts and sightings made tracking Gatch‘s balloon difEcult. 

After reports of a sighting on the Spanish Sahara, the Spanish Foreign 

Legion searched the 480-km Moroccan-Spanish Sahara border for two 

days, while US. military Aircraft and ships were put on lookout. The 

Dept. of Defense ordered an intensive visual radar and radio search 

1 March of the Atlantic Ocean 1530 km west of Africa, but the search 

was given up 6 March after exploration of 578000 sq km of ocean. 

(W Star-News, 18, 22, 26 Feb. 74; W Post, 25 Feb, 2, 7 March 74; 

B Sun, 21,25 Feb 74) 

19 February: NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight Dale D. 

Myers testified on the manned space program before the House Committee 

on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Manned Space Flight 

during FY 1975 authorization hearings. Myers said NASA’s ability to_ 

hold close to the original cost target for the space shuttle in spite of 

schedule adjustments in the last two years was “due to bringing on our 

contractors below our cost estimates” and the ability bf the management 

structure to remain dynamic and react to changes and “surprise problems.’, He was confident that the average-cost-per-flight commitment of 

$10.5 million in 1971 dollars would be maintained. However, resolution 

of the protested selection of Thiokol Corp. for the solid-fueled rocket 

motor contract was necessary before work on the motor could begin; “a 

timely start of this . . . activity is very important to orderly progress in 

the shuttle development schedule.” 

In the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the ASTP spacecraft was to be delivered to Kennedy Space Center in the fall, joint docking system qualification testing and preflight docking system compatibility tests were to 

be completed during the winter, experiment hardware was to be qualified 

by early spring, and flight readiness activities were to be comdeted by 

spring, leading to the July launch. NASA had allocated $13 million for 

experiments for ASTP. More than 140 proposals from the scientific community had been evaluated by eminent scientists and medica1 doctors. 

The final, “first-rate” experiment package had been given final approval 

by the Administrator. 

Following ASTP, two Saturn Vs, two Saturn IBs, one complete and one 

partially complete command and service module, the unused Skylab 

backup Workshop cluster, and one ASTP docking module and system 

would remain unused. Acquisition cost of the hardware was $870 million. 

With the conclusion of the programs, the hardware would be stored. Total 

storage costs per year would be $100 000. After FY 1975, disposition of 

the hardware wouId have to be considered. (Transcript) 

A nine-month, $321 394 study contract to provide NASA with engineering 

concepts, requirements, and design trade-offs for a zero-gravity atmospheric-cloud-physics-experiment laboratory to fly on the space shuttle had 

been awarded to McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., Marshall Space 

Flight Center announced. The proposed laboratory would permit study 

of “trigger” actions in clouds, such as the formation of ice crystals or 

water droplets, electrical charges on droplets, and water-droplet-ice41 
19 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

crystal interactions to aid in the ultimate control and modification of 

hazardous weather conditions. The laboratory could be reused on at least 

20 Spacelab missions. ( MSFC Release 74-27; MSFC PAO) 

Jean-Pierre Causse, Head of the European Space Research Organization’s 

Spacelab Program, announced his resignation effective in early April. 

He would join the French company Saint-Gobain-Pont-i-Mousson as 

Director of Research. (Spacelab Newsletter, 74-2; NASA prog off, interview) 

* Communications Satellite Corp. reported 1973 earnings of $36 299 000, 

equal to $3.63 per share, an increase from $24 967 000, or $2.50 per 

share, for 1972. Net operating income for 1973 totaled $29 424 000 and 

19 

% 

20 

revenues $119 291 006, up frGm income of $21 428 000 and revenues of 

$105 965 000 for 1972. Leased full-time half circuits had totaled 3583 

on 31 Dec. 1973, 21% more than the 2971 at the end of 1972. (ComSatCorp Release 74-ll) 

February-1 March: The U.S.S.R. launched a series of test missiles into 

the north Pacific Ocean, the tests coinciding with resumption of the 

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in Geneva. Pentagon spokesman Jerry 

W. Friedheim said an SSX-18 carrying several multiple independently 

targetable reentry vehicles ( MIRVS) was launched from Tyuratam 19 

Feb., and the press reported 5550-km flight tests of the SSX-19 and 

SSX-16 missiles were made before the conclusion of the tests. (Tass, 

FBIS-SOV, 19 Feb 74, V1; 1 March 74, V7; Hoffman, W Post, 21 Feb 74 

A3 1 

February: Pioneer 10, launched by NASA 2 March 1972 toward a 3 Dec. 

1973 encounter with Jupiter, was 60 million km beyond Jupiter and 913 

million km from the earth, traveling at 80000 km per hr on its flight 

path out of the solar system. Communications with the spacecraft, which 

took 1 hr 42 min, indicated Pioneer lo’s operational systems were 

functioning well. Minor changes in operational systems during passage 

through Jupiter’s intense radiation belts had disappeared or had no 

effect on spacecraft performance, but the cosmic ray experiment had 

suffered some loss of function. Experimenters were assessing the problem. 

Pioneer 11, launched 5 April 1973, was 660 million km from the 

earth and traveling through the Asteroid Belt ai 58 000 km per hr toward 

a December 1974 encounter with Jupiter. Its meteoroid detector had 

recorded eight hits in the belt, about the same rate of penetrations as for 

Pioneer IO when taking into account design differences in the meteoroid ” 

detectors. (NASA Releaie 74-43) 

Skylab Program Director William C. Schneider testified before the House 

Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Manned 

Space Flight in NASA’s FY 1975 authorization hearings on early results 

from Skylab’s earth resources data. Perhaps the most interesting so 

far was the unconfirmed indication of mineral deposits near Ely, Nev. 

The Skylab earth resources experiment package had also identified 

several areas of citrus fruit fly infestation on the Mexican side of the 

Rio Grande, demonstrated the use of remote sensing for snow mapping, 

identified new urbanization patterns in Phoenix, Ariz., and inventoried 

vegetetion patterns in California test sites. A Baltimore-Washington area 

photo and similar imagery for 12 other cities were being used by the 

Dept. of Interior to test their use for updating the 1970 census. 

Dr. Joseph P. Kenvin, astronaut on the 25 May-22 June 1973 mission to me the Orbital Workshop, testified that Skylab astronauts were 

42 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 20 February 

healthy, happy, and not under significant stress during their long flights. 

After initial decreased appetite, an astronaut had a feeling of welI-being 

with normal thirst and appetite, although he had a continued feeling 

of fullness in the head and tended to assume a peculiar posture with 

neck extended and moving backwards and elbows, hips, and knees 

flexed at 20° to 30”. He tended to become sleepy and required frequent 

exercise to restore vigor and alertness. His voice had a peculiar nasal 

quality. After the third day he was virtually immune to motion sickness.. 

Without gravity, there was no automatic sensation of up and down 

and without vision he could quickly get lost. 

Dr. Harry C. Gatos, Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist 

and Skylab materials processing investigator, testified Skylab experiments had shown that segments of crystals partially regrown in space 

exhibited none of the inhomogeneities from dopants (electronically 

active chemical elements) that characterized earth-grown crystals and 

inhibited their efficiency. In addition to preparation of special materials 

for electronic and medical uses, materials processing studies in space 

would provide an understanding of the structures of materials and permit preparation of materials to perform closer to their theoretical limits. 

Crystal-growing technology was developing new means to create and 

store power and could, within five years, provide a practical economic 

basis for using solar power. (Transcript) 

The first two Lockheed S-3A Viking carrier-based jet aircraft were delivered to the Pacific fleet in San Diego. The $10-million swept-wing submarine-hunters carried 60 acoustic listening devices that could be 

dropped to the sea within 10 sec to transmit underwater sounds to the 

Viking. The Viking, which could fly 800 km per hr and drop from a 

cruising altitude of 12 000 m to sea level in two minutes, would replace 

the S-2, the mainstay of the Navy’s antisubmarine defenses for 20 yrs. 

The Navy wanted delivery of 187 Vikings through 1975. (Holles, NYT, 

21 Feb 74,13) 

* Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, said in a speech at Utah State 

Univ. that he was “certain there is intelligent life somewhere in this 

universe, but probably not in this solar system.” Primary life would 

probably be found in our solar system, with Mars as the most likely 

candidate. The U.S.S.R. was expected to land a spacecraft on Mars 

within the next few weeks, but in an area not likely to have any life 

form. A NASA spacecraft would land on Mars in 1976 in the area most 

likely to have water. NASA intended to continue systematic exploration 

of the solar system and to search for extraterrestrial life. (Bean, Logan 

[Utah] Herald Journal, 20 Feb 74) 

21 February: Dr. Goetz K. Oertel, NASA Chief of Solar Physics, testified 

during NASA FY 1975 authorization hearings before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Manned Space 

Flight that Skylab data had changed the understanding of the solar 

wind. Scientists had thought the solar wind reached the earth because 

of an expansion of the sun’s corona, but Skylab data indicated the sun’s 

magnetic fields confined the corona material and pulled it inward. The 

corona expanded and escaped in a significant amount only through 

coronal holes in the magnetic field. 

Dr. Charles A. Berry, Director of Life Sciences, testified that the 

Skylab 2 and Skylab 3 crews (launched 25 May and 28 July 1973) 

had experienced similar reductions in their blood cell mass, with a red 

43 
21 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

blood cell reduction. However, after the 59-day Skytab 3 mission the 

compensating response of the blood-forming elements was faster, returning the mass almost to the preflight level within two weeks after 

splashdown-rather than the six weeks required after the 28-day Skylab 2 mission. The Skylab 4 crew (which splashed down Feb. 8 after 

16 Nov. 1973 launch) showed much less red blood cell loss and a much 

faster return to preflight levels after the 84-day mission, indicating 

adaptive changes to the space environment. The space life sciences program sought to understand the mechanisms of adaptive changes and 

would “undoubtedly assist our understanding of basic body physiology 

of man here on earth.” 

Capt. Chester M. Lee, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Program Director, 

said that during Skylab missions the orbital altitude and the limited 

number of ground stations had permitted communications coverage 

only 38% of the time. The lower orbital altitude for ASTP would reduce 

communications coverage to 17%. To alleviate the problem, the Apollo 

command module was being modified for communications via the ATS-F 

Applications Technology Satellite, scheduled for 1974 launch. Communications would move from a manned spacecraft through an unmanned communications satellite to the ground for the first time. 

Coverage would be increased to 50%. The present configuration of the 

communications network would furnish minimum real-time data to meet 

experimental requirements. (Transcript) 

Preliminary results of the 18-26 Dec. 1973 Soyuz 13 mission were published in Izwestiya. The two crew members of the “orbiting astrophysical 

observatory’’ had made 10 000 spectrograms with the Orion 2 telescope, 

recording emissions of stars in ultraviolet. Remote luminaries up to 

12th stellar magnitude had been recorded. The biomass of the microbe 

culture in the Oasis 2 experimental closed-cycle biological system had 

increased more than 35 times during the mission. (Zzwestiya, FBIS-SOV, 5 

March 74, UI) 0 Sen. Sam J. Ervin, Jr. (D-N.C.) , introduced S. 3034, a bill to prohibit the 

reservation of appropriated funds except to provide for contingencies 

or to effect savings. (CR, 21 Feb 74,9955) 

22 February: NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Programs George W. 

Cherry testified in hearings on technology for subsonic aircraft before 

the House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on 

Aeronautics and Space Technology. NASA aeronautical programs were 

structured to provide the airframe industry and its airline customers 

an efficient and environmentally benign technology base for a newgeneration subsonic aircraft. The supercritical aerodynamics program 

included studies to improve structural efficiency without increasing 

drag, thrust, or fuel consumption. F-8 and F-111 aircraft flight tests 

with the supercritical wing had shown that using supercritical aerodynamics on passenger transports would increase profits 2.5% over 

those of conventional aircraft, or $78 million a year, on a fleet of 280 

two-hundred-passenger aircraft. 

Advanced transport technology studies showed that aircraft extensively employing composite materials would show a yearly profit of 

2.70/0, or $100 million, on a fleet of 280 two-hundred-passenger aircraft. 

NASA propulsion technology had initiated an advanced multistage 

axial-flow experimental compressor weighing 60% less than conventional coppressors. This, with technology advances in other compo44 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 22 February 

nents, could reduce gross aircraft weights and fuel consumption 10%. 

(Transcript) * Large underwater oscillations, called “internal waves’’ and usually invisible 

at the surface, had been detected by National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration scientists Dr. John R. Ape1 and Robert Charnell, using 

images from NASA’s Erts 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite 

(launched 23 July 1972), NOAA announced. The scientists speculated that 

internal-wave formation by lunar and solar tides and their subsequent 

‘breaking and dissipation of energy were important processes in the 

gradual lengthening of the day over millions of years. The waves also 

affected the propagation of sound in the ocean and contributed to the 

mixing processes in its upper layers. Internal waves changed the way 

sunlight was reflected from the ocean surface overlying them, and the 

change was detected in the satellite images. (NOM Release 74-32) 

25 February: The US. Postal Service announced the design of a 10-cent 

stamp to commemorate the Skylab program. To be issued 14 May on the 

first anniversary of the launch of the Skylab 1 Orbital Workshop, the 

stamp would depict the 7 June 1973 two-man spacewalk that freed the 

jammed solar panel during the Skylab 2 mission (25 May to 22 June 

1973). The horizontal stamp was designed by Robert T. McCall of 

Arizona. (USPS Release 11) 

A Washington Post editorial commented on solar heating legislation: There 

was “enough sunshine in this country . . . to supply twice the energy 

needed to heat and cool all our buildings.” Technically, solar heating 

was simple. Solar cooling was more complicated, but within the grasp 

of a determined engineering effort. The probem was psycho-economic 

rather than technical. Industry did not want to produce hardware because 

they were not sure people would buy it. A bill [H.R. 118641 passed in 

the House by a 25340-2 vote [see 13 Feb.] would make $50 million 

available for a national demonstration of solar heating in 4000 homes 

in various parts of the country. The Senate would begin hearings on a 

similar measure [ S. 26581, and companion measures would encourage 

solar heating and cooling with tax incentives and mortgage rule changes. 

We need “a wide-open, long-range determined public energy policy . . . and we need it in all areas that promise to help free UD, of our dependence 

on shrinking oil resources. The new solar-heating legislation is a welcome 

step in this direction.” ( W Post, 23 Feb 74, A16) 

* Dr. George A. Van Biesbroeck, Univ. of Arizona astronomer noted for his 

work with twin stars, asteroids, and comets, died in Arizona at the age 

of 94. Dr. Van Biesbroeck had charted the orbit of Neptune’s second 

satellite, published catalogs of double stars, and discovered 11 asteroids 

and 2 comets. In the 1930s he had been instrumental in establishing 

the McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, Tex. Dr. Van Biesbroeck 

had won the Franklin L. Burr Award from the National Geographic 

Society in 1952 for finding new proof of the bending of light from stars 

in support of the Einstein theory of relativity. ( AP, NYT, 26 Feb 74,36) 

24 February-1 March: This would be the age we could contact other civilizations, Dr. Frank D. Drake, Cornell Univ. astronomer, told the annual 

meeting of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science in San 

Francisco. The problem was finding ways to detect them. Analysis of 

data from a 1973 search of 500 stars by Univ. of Maryland and Univ. 

of Chicago scientists had failed to reveal radio emissions suggestive of 

other technological civilizations. Possibly “no one is seeking to make 
24 February-1 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

radio transmissions” and eavesdropping would be the only method of 

detection. Project cyclops, a NASA-supported study proposing construction 

of a 16-km-wide field of 1400,91-m antennas, would have a high probability of success if civilization existed within 200 light years. The 

ultimate $5-billion cost would be less than the Apollo moon landings 

and would give man a chance to contact the “galactic community.” 

(NYT, 14 March 74, 15; Salisbury, CSM, 7 March 74) 

25 February: NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Applications Leonard 

Jaffe-U.S. Representative to the United States Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Working Group and Task Force on Remote 

Sensing-told a session of the Working Group and Task Force the U.S. 

believed its policy of openness and benefit-sharing in earth resources and 

environmental remote-sensing programs was consistent with the Outer 

Space Act of 1967, which called for use of outer space for the benefit of 

all countries. The U.S. could see no justification in the suggestion that 

sovereignty over natural resources included control over all information 

about these resources. The U.S. would regret any setback to the principle 

of open and unimpeded international exchange of information and 

would continue its open distribution policy. A restrictive policy would 

slow the development of remote-sensing systems and cut off developing 

countries from beneficial data. Limiting data to conform to national 

boundaries would require costly techniques and would destroy the most 

useful functions of remote sensing; most ecological systems had to be 

studied globally. (Text) 

0 Hearings on S. 2658 and H.R. 11864, to enact the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act of 1974, were held by the Senate Committee on 

Aeronautical and Space Sciences. Rep. Mike McCormack (D-Wash.) 

said the legislation--which called for NASA, with other agencies, to 

develop and demonstrate solar technology-would set up a program that 

the National Science Foundation was not authorized to do and therefore 

would create no conflict with NSF’S ongoing research and development 

program in solar energy. 

Dr. H. Guyford Stever, NSF Director, said that the bill should be 

considered in the context of the “intensive and coordinated R&D effort” 

already under way in the Executive Branch. The NSF Act had authorized 

NSF as lead agency in basic and applied solar research and, with interagency cooperation, NSF could bring “practical solar energy systems into 

widespread use.” Dr. Stever expressed the Nixon Administration view 

that the Energy Research and Development Administration ( ERDA) , proposed in other legislation, would be the preferred agency to accelerate 

applied solar technology when programs reached the stage of large demonstration and development. However, if that legislation were not approved, the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development would be preferable over NASA as lead agency, because of HUD’s experience with the 

local groups that would carry out the projects. 

Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, also expressed the Administration’s support of ERDA and of continuing NSF as the lead agency 

until ERDA was established. Dr. Fletcher suggested as an alternative plan, 

if ERD.4 were not established, that NASA serve as lead agency in phase one, 

the development of the technology and construction of solar units. 

Phase two, building the houses and installing the units, could be best 

handled by HUD. There would be “no big problem” in transferring the 

responsibility to ERDA should it be established. (Transcript) 

46 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 25 February 

0 John H. Disher, Skylab Program Deputy Director since August 1965, had 

been named Director of Advanced Programs in NASA’s Office of Manned 

Space Flight, NASA announced. Skylab had concluded operations with 

the 8 Feb. splashdown of its third manned mission to visit the Nation’s 

first experimental space station. In the Advanced Program Office, Disher 

would head evaluations of concepts for manned space activities within 

changing national needs and priorities, to guide transition from present 

to future programs. From 1959 to 1961 Disher had headed advanced 

manned missions. He had also served as Apollo Test Director and Assistant Director for Apollo Spacecraft Development. ( NASA Release 7M8) 

Marshall Space Flight Center had requested quotations from industry on a 

contract to study a two-way data link using laser beams and operating 

between ground and payloads in low earth orbit, MSFC announced. The 

study, which could lead to a flight systetn on the space shuttle, would 

indicate the most effective lasers and frequencies and analyze effects of 

orbital dynamics on acquisition, tracking, and pointing systems. ( MSFC 

Release 74-28) 

26 February: NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight Dale D. 

Myers testified during the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space 

Sciences hearings on the FY 1975 NASA authorization that space shuttle 

subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers had been selected in 32 states. Of 

the major subcontractors, 30 had already begun work. By June 1974 

the total major subcontractor team would be at almost 100% of the 

required level. Shuttle employment was 16 000 and would reach 27 000 

by June 1974 and 37 000 by June 1975. The first major subsystem test 

of the shuttle main engine would be made before the end of June 1974. 

Fabrication of Orbiter 1 would begin by the end of 1974, with the first 

horizontal flight test scheduled for the second quarter of 1977, the first 

manned orbital flight for the second quarter of 1979, and initial operational shuttle capability for 1980. (Transcript) 

Dr. Philip E. Culbertson, Director of Mission and Payload Integration in 

NASA’s Office of Manned Space Flight, testified on manned space systems in development, before the House Committee on Science and 

Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Manned Space Flight during FY 1975 

authorization hearings. Dr. Culbertson said 986 paylozds were projected 

for the 12-yr period beginning in 1980, with one third each for applications, science, and the Dept. of Defense. Duplication of the accomplishments expected from the space shuttle sortie (Spacelab) program would 

require automated spacecraft, sounding rockets, a manned space station, 

and a system for manned transport. The shuttle, with effective integation of payloads and the ability to service in-orbit spacecraft, offered a 

potential savings of $14 billion over expendable systems from 1980 to 

1991. Studies had shown that 725 flights were required to fly the projected 986 payloads, an average of 60 flights a year. At a 10% rate of 

discount and a 10% rate of return, the space transportation system 

would break even if the shuttle were flown only 25 times a year. 

(Transcript) 

26-28 Febwary : NASA Associate Administrator for Applications Charles 

W. Math?ws-testifying during the House Committee on Science and 

Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications hearings on NASA’s Ey 1975 authorization-said the 1974 decision to phase 

out NASA communications activity had been reconsidered because of 

47 
26-28 February ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

industry unwiIlingness to risk capital on advanced communications research and development. Private industry could meet short-term eommercial needs but LLcontinued NASA activity is essential to identify and 

meet long term national needs.” The investment level in advanced communications R&D would increase from $1.0 million in FY 1974 to $1.4. 

million in FY 1975. R&D included investigations into advanced antenna 

techniques to define radiation pattern contours to fit geographical 

boundaries and eliminate unwanted spillover ; technology to open nearand far-infrared wavelengths for communications; new techniques in 

solid-state, high-power devices to replace traveling wave tubes; and use 

of millimeter-wave regions to expand the spectrum for satellite 

communications. 

The ATS-F Applications Technology Satellite scheduled for 1974 

launch would conduct health and education telecommunications and 

radio beacon experiments and measure charged partides and magnetic 

fields over the US. for one year. The satellite would then be moved 

over India to beam educational TV to 4000 villages. ATS-F (to be 

Ats 6 after launch) also would be used to extend coverage during the 

1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project docking mission. Following completion of the Indian experiments, ATS-F would be moved back over to 

the US. to continue experiments there. (Transcript) 

27 February: The House of Representatives approved the conference report on the Energy Emergency Act, S. 2589, clearing it for the White 

House. The act would declare a nationwide emergency and authorize 

special Presidential actions to conserve fuels and increase supply. 

(NASA LAR, XII1/20; CR, 22 Jan 74, H63) 

28 February: NASA’s Acting Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and 

Space Technology Edwin C. Kilgore-testifying during the Senate Committee on Aeronautics and Space Sciences hearings on NASA’s N 1975 

authorization-said that NASA aeronautics and space technology activities, budgeted at $241.2 million, were designed to be highly responsive 

to national needs. To provide organizational focus, a Research Division had been reestablished, to which the OAST Research Council would 

report its evaluation of NASA’s basic research. New research included an 

acoustic composite nacelle program to reduce noise and fuel consumption and a program to develop new higher performance materials 

for advanced turbine engines. New starts in long-haul technology, including the active control aircraft program and a remotely piloted 

research vehicle, would help increase productivity and efficiency, environmental acceptability, and reduced fuel consumption. 

A new Office of General Aviation Technology had been organized in 

FY 1974 to improve aircraft and increase safety. Research using a 

new low-speed airfoil, a derivative of NASA’s supercritical wing research, showed a 30% increase in maximum lift and a 50% increase in the lift-to-drag ratio over conventional airfoils. New programs 

in advanced avionics technology, including microelectronics and digital 

circuitry, would provide practical low-cost systems for genera1 aviation. (Transcript) 

The number of Federal scientists and engineers had increased to 166 700 

by October 1972, an increase of 6% from 1967 and 1% from 1971, the 

National Science Foundation reported. The Depts. of Defense and Agriculture had continued to employ the largest number, although both agencies had. decreased since October 1971, by less than 0.05% and by 2%. 

48 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 28 February 

NASA’s scientists and engineers decreased 3% from 1971. Nonprofessional 

scientific and technical personnel grew 1% Government-wide from 1967 

to 1972. The yearly rate of salary increase for Federal scientists and 

engineers decreased from 9% for 1967-1970 to 5% for 1970-1972. 

(NSF Highlights, 28 Feb 74) 

During February: The European Space Research Organization awarded study 

and advance procurement contracts totaling $2.8 million for its maritime satellite MAROTS. GEc/Marconi of the United Kingdom received a 

six-month $1.16-million contract for Phase B detailed design and definition work on the communications payload. Thomson-csF of France 

was awarded $100 000 to continue critical development of an L-band 

transistor amplifier. Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Ltd., aIso of U.K., was 

awarded a six-month $1.13-million contract for a Phase B detailed 

design study to adapt the Orbital Test Satellite platform to a maritime 

mission and for associated advance procurement. MAROTS would be 

launched into geostationary orbit in August 1977 to acquire experimental 

data and preoperational experience. ( ESRO Newsletter, June 74, 4) 

49 

March 1974 

I March: The refanned JTSD jet engine successfully completed its first 

test at full power, at Lewis Research Center. The engine, part of NASA’s 

program to reduce jet engine noise, was run through its complete 

operating speed range and achieved a thrust value above takeoff thrust. 

Built by United Aircraft Corp. Pratt & Whitney Div., the JTSD was 

used in a major portion of the US. narrow-body commercial air fleet. 

Modified by replacing the two-stage fan with a larger, single-stage fan, 

the engine could reduce the noise footprint areas of these aircraft by 

75%. (NASA Release 7457; LeRc PIO, interview, Oct 75) 

9 The YCH-53E helicopter, Iargest and most powerful helicopter in the 

Western world, made its first flight, lifting off from the Stratford, Conn., 

plant of United Aircraft Corp. Sikorsky Aircraft Div. The three-engine 

helicopter had a rotor blade assembly 24 m in dia and fuselage 23 m 

long and could carry a 14 500-kg external payload. ( W Post, 12 March 

74, D7) 

2 March: American Broadcasting Co. Science Editor Jules Bergman recalled 

tales of astronauts in a TV Guide article and noted that, with the splashdown of Skylab 4, an incred2ble era of space flight had come to an end. 

In 30 manned flights the US. had moved from the first 15-min subodbital flight to 12 Americans walking on the moon and then finally to 

the near-routine Skylab endurance missions. It would be a long while 

before someone set out for the planets, a trip which would require far 

more advanced propulsion systems than now available. But “we will go 

to the planets. . . . We wili go beyond Jupiter. We will go beyond 

this solar system and eventually build starcraft to go so far that man’s 

only limit will be his imagination and ingenuity. But the mission clearly 

for the next decade is this Earth: it is the only home man has at the 

moment.” (TV Guide, 2 March 74) 

3 March: A Turkish Airlines, Inc., DC-10 jumbo jet airliner carrying 335 

passengers and 11 crew members crashed in the Forest of Ermenonville 

42 km northeast of Paris, France, killing all aboard in the worst air 

disaster in history. The crash-the second by a jumbo jet-occurred 

shortIy after takeoff for London from the Paris Orly Airport. Aviation 

experts from the Federal Aviation Administration, National T ansportagovernment were sent to the scene to help French officials determine the 

cause. Eyewitness reports were conflicting but initial evidence pointed 

to a mid-air explosion; six bodies and one section of seats were found 

10 km from the main point of impact. Later findings indicated that the 

rear cargo door had flown off. The sudden loss of pressure in the cargo 

hold had collapsed the cabin floor, severing the aircraft control cables, 

and sucked out the six passengers before the plane plunged steeply 

earthward. (Rohertson, NYT, 4 March 741 ; 6 March 74,5; AI’, B Sun, 

7 March 74, A2; Randal, W Post, 4 March 74, Al) 

tion Safety Board, manufacturer McDonnell Douglas Corp., an ’;r Turkish 

51 
4 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

4 March: Dr. James B. SchIesinger, Secretary of Defense, said in his annual 

Defense Posture Statement submitted to Congress that the U.S. would 

not insist on strict numerical missile equality with the U.S.S.R. in a 

future arms agreement. Rather, he wanted an “essential equivalence” 

in a diversified strategic force “to make avaiIable to the President a 

reasonable range of strategic options as USSR and PRC capabilities 

evolve.” The US. might be willing to agree to a reduction of its landbased missile force within an overall balance. 

Dr. Schlesinger also said he had directed the Navy to concentrate on 

smaller aircraft carriers rather than the large, $1-billion, nuclear-powered 

ships. He argued that four nuclear-powered carriers-one already in 

operation and three under construction-would meet “high-threat” 

needs but were not needed for the usual “low-threat situations.” The 

carrier fleet was to remain at15 ships through FY 1975 and be reduced 

by 1980 to 12 large carriers including the 4 nuclear vessels. (Text; 

Finney, NYT, 4 March 74,14; 5 March 74,7) 8 Selection of the official emblem of the joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz 

Test Project mission, scheduled for July 1975, was announced by NASA 

and the Soviet Academy of Sciences. The circular emblem displayed the 

English word “Apollo” and the Russian “Soyuz” around a center disc 

depicting the two spacecraft docked in earth orbit. (NASA Release 74-49) 

8 Widespread material and component shortages-increased by the oil embargo imposed by oil producing countries during the October 19’72 

Middle East war-were causing severe probIems for the aerospace industry, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported. Suppliers found it 

easier and more profitable to supply material such as aluminum to nonaerospace industry, which placed quantity orders without specific deadlines and rigid specifications. Government price controls had encouraged 

some suppliers to halt production or divert supplies to export markets, 

where profits could be two to three times above the domestic. 

A Hughes Aircraft Co. survey showed that reasons for shortages 

incIuded a diminished supply of petrochemicals, which were the basis 

of most pIastics and synthetic rubbers, and the curtailed production of 

materials requiring Iarge amounts of energy for fabrication. (Av Wk, 

4 March 74,12-13) 8 Prof. Mikhail Tikhonravov, Soviet rocket pioneer, died in Moscow at the 

age of 73. Prof. Tikhonravov had worked on the development of the 

first man-made satellites, pilot-operated spacecraft, and automatic space 

stations. With Sergey P. Korolev, he had worked on development of 

early liquidrfuel rockets in the 1930s. He had been an early expert in 

glider and aircraft engineering. Tikhonravov had been awarded the 

Ordfrs of Lenin and the Red Banner of Labor, the title of Hero of 

Socialist Labor, and the Lenin Prize. (NYT, 7 March 74, 40; AV Wk, 

11 March 74) 

5 March: The U.S.S.R. launched Meteor 16 meteorological satellite from 

Plesetsk to collect information for weather forecasts. Orbital parameters 

were 892-km apogee, 830-km perigee, 102.2-min period, and 81.2” 

indination. The satellite carried instruments to photograph the clouds 

and snow cover on day and night sides of the globe and to collect data 

on the heat reflected by the earth and its atmosphere. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 

28 Feb-6 March 74; Tass. FBIS-SOV, 6 March 74, Ul; SF, Sept 74, 355) 

The X-24B lifting body successfully completed its first supersonic flight 

near Flight Research Center, in the joint NASA-& Force program to 

52 
5 March 

develop a hypersonic vehicle for reentry from space and technology for 

future aircraft capable of sustained cruise at hypersonic speeds. Piloted 

by John A. Manke and launched from a B-52 aircraft at 13 700 m, the 

research vehicle reached an altitude of 18400 m and speed of mach 

1.09. The powered flight satisfied the primary objectives of obtaining 

stability and control data at mach 1.1 for power-off and power-on conditions, performance and longitudinal trim data at mach 0.8 and 0.9, and 

pressure data on both fins for identification of asymmetric flow. (NASA, 

X-24B Flash Rpt, 5 March 74; NASA Release 73-130; Dryden FRC 

Release, “NASA Facts,” March 1976) 9 Major reorganizations were announced at NASA Hq. and Marshall Space 

Flight Center by Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, and Dr. 

Rocco A. Petrone, MSFC Director. 

Dr. Fletcher said the Headquarters reorganization and key personnel 

appointments would consolidate planning and direction of research and 

development programs under the Associate Administrator and overall 

planning and direction of the field center operations under the newly 

created position of Associate Administrator for Center Operations. Dr. 

Petrone was named Associate Administrator. He would remain as MSFC 

Director until early summer when he would be replaced by Dr. William 

R. Lncas, MSFC Deputy Director. Dr. John E. Naugle, Associate Administrator for Space Science, was appointed Deputy Associate Administrator. He would also continue as Acting Associate Administrator for 

Space Science until a successor was named. Dr. George M. Low, in 

addition to his duties as Deputy Administrator, would serve as Acting 

Associate Administrator for Center Operations until the new position 

was filled. He would be assisted by Edwin C. Kilgore, Deputy Associate 

Administrator for Management in the Office of Aeronautics and Space 

Technology. Gen. Bruce K. Holloway (USAF, Ret.) , who would also 

continue as the Assistant Administrator for Dept. of Defense and Interagency Affairs, was named Acting Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Space Technology. Bernard Moritz was appointed Associate 

Administrator for Organization and Management. 

The reorganization, effective 15 March, followed completion of the 

Apollo and Skylab programs and would provide mychanisms for the 

phaseover from conventional launch vehicles to the space shuttle and 

new programs, Dr. Fletcher said. 

At MSFC, Dr. Petrone said that the reorganization, effective 30 May, 

would enable the Center to fulfill requirements of its varied assigned 

programs and improve its competitive position to obtain new assignments. The major changes were in the Science and Engineering Directorate. A Deputy for Operations and a Deputy for Bystems had been 

established. Business operations and control of all resources had been 

consolidated into a centralized office at the directorate level. Elements 

under the S&E Directorate included two associate directors, an Associate 

Director of Engineering and an Associate Director of Management; two 

offices, Reliability and Quality Assurance and Research and Technology; 

and eight laboratories. The laboratories were being restructured to 

emphasize system engineering and integration, analysis, design, and 

testing. The in-house capability to manufacture, inspect, and check out 

major hardware projects had been eliminated, with the associated supply, warehousing, and procurement capability. 

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

53 
5 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Reorganization in MSFC’S Administration and Program Support Directorate included consolidation of Center-wide automatic data-processing functions within ASS. Offices under AA&PS would include Technology 

Utilization, Manpower, Financial Management, Facilities, Procurement, 

Management, Services, Logistics, and Computer Services. (NASA Ann, 

5 March 74; NASA Release 74-76; MSFC Release 74-31) 

* Edward Z. Gray, NASA Assistant Administrator for Industry Affairs and 

Technology Utilization, and a number of users of NASA technology testified in FY 1975 NASA authorization hearings before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Aeronautics and 

Space Technology: In the past year NASA had developed programs with 

the Environmental Protection Agency in instrument development and 

testing, with the Dept. of Interior’s Bureau of Mines in mine safety, with 

the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development in fire and lead-paint 

detection, and with the Dept. of Transportation in highway and rail 

safety. 

Medical applications of NASA-developed technology included a stethoscope for diagnosing respiratory diseases, developed from technology 

used to analyze aircraft and rocket engine sounds; a low-friction replacement for arthritic human ball-and-socket joints; magnetometers to 

analyze orthopedic diseases, a method to measure heart action with the 

computer technology used to enhance Mariner spacecraft TV pictures of 

Mars: - and an isolation garment to protect patients from infection. 

(’l’ranscript ) 

5-6 March: NASA Spacelab Program Director Douglas R. Lord testified 

5 March during-FY 1975 NASA authorization heaFings before the House 

Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Manned 

Space Flight that, with the European commitment to develop Spacelab, 

the program had become international. Two parallel structures, the NASA 

Spacelab Program Office headed by Lord and a European Space Research 

Organization Spacelab Program Office under Jean-Pierre Causse, directed the program on either side of the Atlantic. Activities were coordinated by the Joint Spacelab Working Group, which met monthly, 

cochaired by Lord and Causse. 

Causse testified that the ESRO Spacelab employment level was at 60 

and would reach 100 by December 1974. ESRO member countries, except 

Sweden, had committed $369.6 million to the Spacelab effort, in the 

following proportions: West Germany, 54.1% ; Italy, 18% ; France, 

10%; United Kingdom, 6.3%; Belgium, 4.2%; Spain, 2.8%; The 

Netherlands, 2.1% ; Denmark, 1.5% ; and Switzerland, 1%. ESRO would 

attempt to spend in each country an amount proportional to that country’s contribution. Phase B studies-to provide a data base for program 

commitment and the find go-ahead-had been completed and one of 

the two competing firms, Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm and ERNO 

Raumfahrttechnik GmbH, would be seIected as prime contractor in June. 

M/G Robert H. Curtin (USAF, Ret.), Director of the Office of Facilities, 

testified 6 March that shuttle construction projects totaled $86 020 000 

and included $71 950 000 for launch and landing facilities, $7 480 000 

for ground-test facilities, and $6 590 000 for solid-fueled rocket booster 

production and test facilities. (Transcript) 

The House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on 

Space Science and Applications held hearings on the FY 1975 NASA 

authorization. Dr. William Nordberg, Chief of Goddard Space Flight 

Center’s laboratory for Meteorology and Earth Sciences, said data from 

54 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 5-6 March 

Ertf 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite (launched 23 July 1972) 

had demonstrated savings in land use planning and regulation of 10 to 

100 times conventional costs in both dollars and personnel. Every 

cloud-free photo taken by the satellite had been sold to the general public 

at least once. One photo of an Alaskan naval petroleum reserve showed 

a striking alignment of lakes indicating that the deposits might extend 

the known petroleum area. 

Dr. Warren A. Hovis, GSFC scientist, testified that the Heat Capacity 

Mapping Mission (HCMM) satellite to be launched in 1977 would use a 

thermal mapper, with a resolution of 0.5 km in optimum orbit, to determine maximum daily temperature variations and thermal inertia of 

surface material, identify mineral resources, map natural and man-made 

thermal effluent, and investigate geothermal source location by remote 

sensing. 

Data from the SEASAT-A satellite ti be launched in 1978L-or from one 

of its follow-on systems-would provide optimum, minimum-time ship 

routing around storms and away from adverse wind, waves, currents, 

and ice conditions, Dr. John R. Apel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration meteorologist, testified 6 March. The savings from a oneday decrease in transatlantic crossing time could amount to millions 

of dollars each year for shipping interests. (Transcript) 

6 March: Explorer 51 Atmosphere Explorer, launched into orbit 15 Dec. 

1973, was moved in a series of maneuvers down to 139.8 km above the 

earth, its lowest perigee to date and its first successful excursion into 

the lower thermosphere. Thirteen of the fourteen experiments aboard 

the spacecraft performed as expected and worthwhile data were acquired, 

but both filaments of the closed-source neutral mass spectrometer had 

failed and that instrument could no longer provide data. Evidence indicated that oxidation, compounded by thermal stress, had weakened the 

filaments in the oxygen-rich environment. A failure review committee 

would study the anomaly and also evidence of further filament degradation in two other spectrometers. (NASA MOR, 19 March 74) 

* The Federal Aviation Administration issued an airworthiness directive 

ordering all DC-10 jumbo jet aircraft operators to make certain that 

cargo holds were locked and pressurized before the aircraft left the 

ground. Evidence had increased speculation that the 3 March crash 

of a DC-10 Turkish airliner had been caused by a faulty rear cargo 

door. In addition, operators were required to observe normal pressurization of aircraft during the initial flight period. If pressurization problems 

did occur, the aircraft was to be depressurized and brought down at the 

nearest suitable airport. (AP, B Sun, 7 March 74, A2) 

Wind-tunnel tests of almost all supersonic portions of a typical NASA space 

shuttle flight were completed at Arnold Engineering Development Center. 

The simulated flight profile included separation of the orbiter and its 

fuel tank from the two large solid-fueled rocket motors, orbiter flight 

with and without fuel tank, and orbiter reentry into the earth’s atmosphere. The tests, begun September 1973, showed orbiter flight characteristics and the heat levels segments of the system could be expected 

to experience while traveling 41h to 20 times the speed of sound. (AFSC 

Newsreview, June 74,8-9; AEDC proj off, interview, 27 March 75) 

6-7, 12-13 March: NASA Acting Associate Administrator for Aeronautics 

and Space Technology Edwin C. Kilgore and other NASA officials testified 

on the FY 1975 .NASA OAST budget in hearings before the House Corn55 
6-7, 12-13 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

mittee on Science and Astroaautics’ Subcommittee on Aeronautics and 

Space Technology. Kilgore testified 6 March that in FY 1975 OAST would 

modify its “program again to meet the changing needs of the Nation.” 

Energy conservation “is an inherent part of our aeronautics and space 

research and I believe we have the capability also to provide significant 

support to civil needs for energy technology. At the same time, we must 

continue our effective response to the Nation’s need for a quiet, clean, 

economical air transportation system, for support to military aviation, and 

for a viable program to exploit and explore space.” Much of the aeronautics program [see 26 Feb.] already was “contributing to aircraft 

fuel conservation.” Advanced avionics systems to relieve terminal congestion, more highly maneuverable aircraft and operational procedures, 

more efficient engines, composite materials for weight reduction, and 

aerodynamic drag reduction techniques-“all contribute to fuel 

economy.” And the program was being examined to increase emphasis 

in areas related to the national energy problem, both in conservation and 

in long-term technology. 

For space exploration, propellants with more powerful liquified-gas 

oxidizers-storable in cold space conditions-offered up to 30% increase 

in payloads over those permitted by earth-storable propellants. Nuclear 

energy studies included investigation of low-temperature thermionic oonverters, gaseous uranium reactor concepts, and use of heat from hightemperature reactor sources for industry use. In stationary power, NASA 

was working with the Dept. of Interior’s Office of Coal Research to increase power produced from coal 40%. [See also During March.] 

George W. Cherry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Programs, 

OAST, said 12 March that research and development on shuttle systems 

had contributed to substantial improvements in both high- and lowtemperature reusable insulations, coatings, bearings, seals, and hydraulic 

fluids, all applicable on the earth. The requirement that a reusable space 

tug return to the shuttle for return to the earth had doubled the 

velocity requirement of the vehicle, speeding the development of a highperformance propulsion system. (Transcript) 

7 March: A proposal to tap energy from tiny black holes, superdense 

dbjects in space, was presented by Dr. Lowell Wood, member of a threeman team from the Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, at a conference of 

international physicists organized by the New York Academy of Sciences. 

Some black holes within the orbit of the moon might be so tiny that 

their effects would not be evident beyond a few hundred meters. A tiny 

power plant could be placed in orbit to accompany the moving hole but 

remain at a discreet distance. Fusion fuel would then be fired from 

the power plant to the hole, and the hole’s extremely powerful gravity 

would squeeze the fuel toward the vanishing point. The fuel would fuse, 

releasing vast amounts of energy, which could be collected and beamed 

to the earth by microwave frequencies. (Sullivan, NYT, 9 March 74,12) 

The House of Representatives passed the Federal Energy Administration 

bill, H.R. 11793, which would reorganize and consolidate certain functions of the Federal Government in a new Federal Energy Administration to promote more efficient management of energy. (NASA LAR, 

XIII/26) 

The first system to use solar energy to heat a US. school began operation 

in Timonium, Md. The $568000 project, jointly sponsored by the 

National Science Foundation and AAI Corp. [see 2 Feb.], was rushed 

56 
ASTRONAIJTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 7 March 

into operation in six weeks to use the remainder of the winter’s chilly 

days to gather experimental data for future solar heating systems. 

(Richards, V Post, 8 March 74, c2) 

7, 12-14 March: Dr. John E. Naugle, Associate Administrator for Space 

Science, testified on NASA’s space science program before the House 

Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications during FY 1975 authorization hearings: A Solar 

Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite was proposed for FY 1975 design 

study and launch in the next period of maximum solar activity, 1978- 

1979. SMM would investigate solar flares and related phenomena and 

their effects on the solar-terrestrial system, making, for the first time, 

simultaneous measurements of flares across the electromagnetic 

spectrum-within a national program of satellite, sounding rocket, and 

ground-based observations of the sun during maximum activity. The 

spacecraft would be shuttle-retrievable for refurbishment and reflight 

with advanced solar physics experiments in the 1980s. 

Requested funding for the Large Space Telescope (LsY) for FY 1975 

was $6.2 million, to proceed with design of telescope optics, detectors, 

and support systems. NASA had originally planned to spend about $10 

million in FY 1975 on the LST-to be launched on the space shuttle 

in 1980-but reduced the request to reflect the four- to six-month delay 

in shuttle development. 

NASA-~~ cooperation with the Naval Research Laboratory, Sandia 

Laboratories, and West Germany-was developing an Aries sounding 

rocket to support the physics and astronomy program. Aries, which 

used the 2nd stage of surplus Minuteman intercontinental ballistic 

missiles, would provide a greater lift and longer flight time than possible at the price of rockets now in use. 

Cost overruns on the 1975 two-spacecraft Viking mission to Mars 

could total 10% of the original $838-million estimate for the program 

because of hardware development problems. Major problems with the 

biology instrument included packing the sophisticated instruments into 

a small volume, development of very small valves to inject SUfFiciently 

small amounts of nutrients into Martian samples, and thermal control. 

The instrument was running $21.2 million over the budgeted cost. Difficulties also had been encountered in producing enough 0.005-cm 

plated magnetic wire of uniform characteristics for the onboard computer. Dr. Naugle said that, although the overall corripexity of the 

spacecraft had been underestimated, “we expect these problems to 

be solved and to launch both Viking spacecraft on schedule in 1975.” 

(Transcript) 

8-19 March: NASA launched the United Kingdom’s Mirunda (UK-X4) experimental satellite from Western Test Range at 7:22 pm PDT on a fourstage Scout D booster, after the launch had been twice delayed by a malfunctioning pitch rate gyro. The spacecraft carried five experiments 

into orbit with a 926.8-km apogee, 727.7-km perigee, l01.1-min period, 

and 97.8’ inclination. 

Experiments were designed to demonstrate an attitude control accuracy of better than three arc minutes using a gas jet system, meas- 

.ure the performance in orbit of operational infrared sensor componpts, demonstrate an inexpensive Canopus sensor of high reliability, 

measure the density of sun-reflecting particles near the spacecraft, 

determine interference generated by the propane gas control system, 

57 
8-19 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

demonstrate a basic sensing element with application in digital sun 

and earth albedo sensors, and measure degradation of silicone solar 

cells in orbit. 

NASA’s objective of placing the satellite in an earth orbit that would 

permit achievement of the scientific objectives was met, and the mission 

was adjudged a success 19 March. Under a December 1972 Memorandum of Understanding between NASA and the U.K.’s Dept. of Trade 

and Industry, NASA would be reimbursed for launch vehicle and services. 

Developed for the U.K. by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Ltd., the 83.5- 

by 66.5-cmY 92-kg spacecraft was powered by a four-panel 250-cm-long 

solar array of 1800 solar cells. Mirundu was deployed in a fully sunlit 

polar orbit with a yo-yo despin system and its attitude control system 

acquired the sun through three sun sensors. 

The eighth NASA launch of a U.K. satellite and the fourth on a Scout 

vehicle-Nirunda carried the names of 80000 Boy Scouts from nine 

U.S. states on a microdot. (NASA MOR, 21 March 74; NASA Releases 

74-36, 74-53; UN Reg; Newport News, Va, Daily Press, 22 Feb 74; 

SBD, 12 March 74,59) 

8 Murch: Preliminary reports for Skylab principal investigators indicated 

that large-scale zero-g production facilities in space could manufacture 

alloys, composites, and crystals of a homogeneity and perfection far 

greater than that obtainable on the earth, Marshall Space Flight Center 

announced. A sample from a Skylab brazing experiment demonstrated 

an almost perfect brazed joint, suggesting that it would be possible 

to assemble large facilities in space using welding and brazing techniques. Two ends of 2.5-cm tubes of nickel or steel joined with a sleeve 

by brazing with a silver-copper alloy showed a metallic structure that 

could not form under gravity conditions. 

Crystals of germanium selenide, typically 2 to 3 mm on the earth, 

were grown in zero g to a length of 25 mm with straight edges and no 

surface structure defects. A mixture of metals that would not form 

alloys under gravity conditions showed at least some alloying under 

zero g. A strengthening fiber of silicon carbide whiskers introduced 

into composite materials was uniformly distributed, suggesting a potential for space production of materials of greater strength and lighter 

weight. ( MSFC Release 74-33) 

0 The 1974 Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy was presented to Rep. 

Qlin E. Teague (D-Tex) at the National Space Club’s 17th Annual 

Goddard Memorial Dinner in Washington, D.C. Rep. Teague was 

honored for his leadership as charter member of the House Committee 

on Science and Astronautics and Chairman of the Subcommittee on 

Manned Space Flight since its 1963 formation, leading to a “much 

higher level of congressional understanding in support of the National 

Space Program.” 

The Astronautics Engineer Award was presented to Skylab Program 

Director William C. Schneider, NASA Acting Associates Administrator 

for Manned Space Flight, for “his exceptional personal leadership 

of the Skylab Space Station Program.” The Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Award was presented to the NASA Ames-mw Systems Group 

Pioneer 10 team for its “historic achievement in obtaining close-up 

photographs and measurements of the Planet Jupiter, after a 600 million 

mile [970 million km] journey from Earth, in the process of becoming 

58 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 8 March 

the first spacecraft to fly beyond the orbit of Mars, the first to penetrate the asteriod belt, and, eventually, the first man-made object to 

escape the solar system.” 

Winners of the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Historical Essay Award were 

Dr. Norriss S. Hetherington of Kansas Univ. for “Winning the Initiative: NASA and the US. Space Science Program, 1958-60” and Dr. 

James A. Malloy, Jr., of American Univ. for “The Dryden-Blagonrarov 

Era of Space Cooperation, 1962-65.’’ The National Space Club Press 

Award went to John N. Wilford of the New York Times for “his superlative chronicle of the Space Age from Houston to Zvezdny Gorodok; 

from the first Gemini rendezvous to the last Skylab Space Station.” 

The Dr. Hugh L. Dryden Memorial Fellowship was awarded to John 

W. Edwards of Flight Research Center for his ability to apply new 

techniques to practical flight research, and the Dr. Robert H. Goddard 

Scholarship went to Miss Rosemarie Szostak of Georgetown Univ. for 

her research in inorganic chemistry. (Program) 

* Analyses of light flashes seen by crew members of the last Apollo missions, 

tentatively attributed to cosmic ray nuclei penetrating the head and eyes, 

were reported by Univ. of Houston and Johnson Space Center scientists 

in Science magazine. Three kinds of flashes-the spot or star-like flash, 

the streak, and the cloud-had occurred randomly, with no apparent 

preference for one eye over the other. Astronauts saw many more flashes 

during translunar coast experiment sessions than in transearth coast, 

although the cosmic ray flux appeared to be the same inside the spacecraft during both coasts. No physiological explanation was found for this 

difference in frequency of flashes. (Pinsky, et d., Science, 8 March 74, 

* NASA was presented the Principality of Monaco’s gold and diamond-studded 

Silver Jubilee plaque at the Annual Awards Luncheon of the American 

Astronautical Society in Washington, D.C., for its contribution to worldwide television. The award was presented to Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA 

Administrator, by U.S. Information Agency Deputy Director Eugene P. 

Kopp on behalf of Prince Ranier I11 of Monaco, who had said that NASA’s 

live telecasts from the moon deserved recognition as “one of the most 

dramatic television events of the past quarter century.” (JSC Roundup, 

29 March 74, 1) 

9-12 March: Soviet space probes Mars 6 and 7 launched 5 and 9 Aug. 1973, 

flew past the planet Mars but failed to achieve their objectives. Mars 7 

approached the planet 9 March. A descent module was separated from 

the spacecraft but, because of a malfunction in an onboard system, it 

passed by the planet a distance of 1300 km. Mars 6 neared Mars on 

12 March. Its descent module was separated at 48 000 km and Mars 6 

continued past Mars within 16 000 km of the surface and into heliocentric 

orbit. The descent module transmitted data to Mars 6 for 148 sec as it 

descended, but radio contact was lost just before landing. The Western 

press later reported that high winds might have destroyed the spacecraft. 

Data received reportedly indicated several times more water vapor in the 

Martian atmosphere over some areas than had been thought, traces of 

ozone, broad oscillations in atmospheric pressure, identification of a hydrogen corona reaching to 19 300-km altitude, confirmation of erosion 

and formation of what appeared to be river beds, and a magnetic field 

7 to 10 times greater in the planet’s immediate environment than in 

planetary space. 

957-958) 

59 
9-12 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Mars 6 and 7-continuing to transmit data on solar wind and radiation from heliocentric orbit-were part of a series of four automatic 

stations launched to explore the Martian atmosphere and surface. Mars 

4 and 5, launched 22 and 25 July 1973, had approached the planet 10 

and 12 Feb. Mars 4 flew by Mars when its braking engine failed to fire. 

Mars 5 went into a successful orbit and continued to transmit data to 

the earth. Earlier, Mars 3 had softlanded a capsule on Mars 2 Dec. 1971 

during a windstorm; the capsule had transmitted 20 sec before falling 

silent. (Tass, FBISSOV, 15 March 74, U1; 21 March 74, U1; Pravda, 

FBIS-Sov, 27 March 74, U1; W Post, 15 March 74, A29; GSFC SSR, 31 

March 74; Av Wk, 25 March 74,17; 1 April, 11) 

9 March: The small tactical aerial mobility platform (STAMP) -a wheelless 

“flying jeep”-was undergoing tests at the Marine Corps Air Station in 

El Toro, Calif. The two-man 300-kg vehicle, produced under a $500 000 

Marine contract to the Garrett Cop, could hover as well as fly 120 km 

per hr at any altitude between 2.5 cm and 1500 m for 30 min at a time. 

The marines were testing the vehicle for possible reconnaissance, target 

spotting, courier work, mine detection, and rescue. (AP, B Sun, 9 March 

74, A3) 

11 March: Explorer 46 Meteoroid Technology Satellite, launched 13 Aug. 

1972, was officially adjudged a success. The primary objective of measuring meteoroid penetration rates on a bumper-protected target in the 

near-earth environment was achieved despite the failure of half of the 

bumper panels to deploy fully. Because of the anomaly, the spacecraft 

batteries had overheated and data collection from the main telemetry 

system had been discontinued; since 22 Aug. 1972, data from the primary 

experiment had been transmitted through the backup system, which operated on solar cells only. Flight data showed that the bumper concept 

was six times more effective than a single-wall structure, twice the anticipated effectiveness. 

Because the secondary experiments had been powered only by the 

spacecraft batteries, no data were received from these experiments after 

22 Aug. 1972. One secondary experiment-to measure impact flux of 

small mass meteoroids-had recorded 1850 penetrations, however, 

enough to show conclusively that the micrbphone meteoroid sensors 

flown on early Explorer and Discoverer satellites had greatly overestimated the population of small meteoroids. ( NASA MOR, 11 March 74) 

A General Accounting Office report disclosed by Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton 

(D-Mo.) had questioned Pentagon plans to begin production of 34 

radar-carrying aircraft, part of the Airborne Warning and Control System, the Washington Post reported. The GAO report said the radar planes’ 

mission, defense against bomber attack, had changed and the project 

should be delayed until it was certain the system would work in its new 

role. There had been no demonstration that the aircraft could work 

effectively in a massive air battle. In addition, GAO questioned whether 

the aircraft’s large radar would be susceptible to enemy jamming from 

distances as great as 320 km and whether the planes would become highpriority targets. Sen. Eagleton therefore had requested the Senate Armed 

Services Committee to deny AWACS production in 1974. (Getler, W Post, 

11 March 74, A2) 

11, 21 March: Joint hearings on the Technology Resources Survey and 

Applications Act, S. 2495, were held by the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences and the Committee on Commerce. Dr. James 

60 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 11, 21 March 

C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, said NASA supported the broad objectives of the bill, which would amend the National Aeronautics and 

Space Act of 1958 to establish within NASA an Office of Technology 

Applications to support the proposed National Resources Council. However, NASA already had an effective technology utilization program and 

did not require additional authority to ensure that its technological capabilities were effectively used. Dr. Fletcher said he could give more support 

to the bill if the responsibility for a proposed survey of technological 

resources were given to the existing Domestic Council. 

Dr. H. Guyford Stever, National Science Foundation Director, said 

technology coordination and planning analysis could be more effectively 

done by an augmented Federal Council for Science and Technology than 

by the proposed Council. In addition, although NASA had great technological resources, it was essential that mission agencies should be held 

to their originally defined responsibility. 

Dr. Philip Handler, President of the National Academy of Sciences, 

said the- bill unduly emphasized technological resources of NASA and 

the aerospace industry, when the real issue was how to use the entire 

Federal science and technology effort in combination with private industry resources within coherent national programs and plans. Instead of 

direct authorization to NASA, a similar amount should be made available 

to the President or a council, such as the Council of Economic Advisors 

or the Council on Environmental Quality, to allocate and coordinate. 

Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., President of the National Academy of 

Engineering and former NASA Deputy Administrator, favored a compact 

organizational structure with leadership appointed by the President and 

a research staff independent of all agencies and industry. NASA-developed 

technology could be used with that in other agencies and private industry. NASA laboratories should be used whenever appropriate. Employees 

and facilities of Lewis Research Center, which was preeminent in the 

fields of air-breathing and space-propulsion systems, could be applied 

effectively to energy research and development. (Transcript) 

13 March: The Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences reported out H.R. 11864, Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act 

of 1974. The Committee amended the bill, which had Seen passed by the 

House 13 Feb., to delineate agency responsibility more specifically. NASA 

would have responsibility for the necessary system research, development, hardware procurement, and delivery. The Dept. of Housing and 

Urban Development would develop dwelling and system performance 

criteria, construct the dwellings, and install the solar heating and cooling 

systems. Transfer of responsibility to the Energy Research and Development Administration, should it be established, was authorized but not 

mandatory. (S Rpt 93-734) 

The Senate passed H.R. 11793, a bill to establish the Federal Energy 

Administration, after amendment to substitute the language of the Senatepassed s. 2776. The Senate appointed conferees to settle differences from 

the version passed’by the House 7 March. (CRY 13 March 74, S3706) 

NASA Associate Administrator for Applications Charles W. Mathews testified on applications programs before the Senate Committee on Aeronautics and Space Sciences during NASA N 1975 authorization hearings. 

In NASA’s weather and climate program, satellites were providing increasingly valuable information for short-range forecasting : day and 

night cloud-cover images around the globe, temperature profiles (al61 
13 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

though still cloud-limited) and surface temperature maps, gross moisture 

profiles, and sea ice mapping. NASA had begun microwave sounding 

experiments to overcome the cloud problem. Still needed were improved 

sounding accuracy and coverage, refined moisture profies, and simpler 

and less expensive random-access data-collection systems. 

For one- to two-week prediction, space capabilities were contributing 

to progress but lacked complete coverage of critical wind and temperature 

areas around the globe. New measurement approaches and improved 

cloud tracking were planned. For severe storm and disaster warningswhich contained “the greatest potential payof€’’-a long-term effort was 

studying advances in computer technology and display devices to assimilate and convey the mass of data produced. NASA had begun to develop 

primitive climate models for farmers that would have “high utility value 

to the agriculture section of our economy.” Remote sensing from space 

and research in a laboratory carried on the space shuttle could give data 

on weather modification possibilities and results. (Transcript) 

0 Johnson Space Center and the Mexican National Commission for Outer 

Space had begun a remote-sensing test project to assist in eradicating the 

screwworm from Mexico, NASA announced. The experimental phase vas 

under way and was expected to continue for a year. Sensor data provided 

by Erts 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite (launched 23 July 1972) 

and orbiting meteorological satellites including Nom 2 and 3 (launched 

15 Oct. 1972 and 6 Nov. 1973) would be combined with data from a 

Mexican remote-sensing aircraft on soil temperature, moisture, and 

vegetation-all of which affected breeding patterns of the screwworm 

fly. Sterile flies could then be distributed to potential breeding grounds 

of the fly, which frequently caused $200 million annual losses to cattle, 

poultry, and wildlife. (NASA Release 744)) 

Sen. Frank E. Moss (D-Utah) and Sen. Barry M. Goldwater (R-Ariz.) 

introduced S. 3175 to amend the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 

1958 to authorize NASA to contract for tracking and data reply satellite 

services. (CR, 13 March 74, S3548; NASA LAR, VIII[xIII]/30) 

14 March: Gerald M. Truszynski, NASA Associate Administrator for Tracking and Data Acquisition, testified on the proposed Tracking and Data 

Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) in FY 1975 authorization hearings before 

the House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on 

Aeronautics and Space Technology: TDRSS essentially would be two 

tracking network stations in synchronous orbit to support all low-earthorbit satellites, giving real-time control and data with a significant increase in reliability. The system would provide close to six times the 

coverage given by ground networks because supported satellites would be 

visible to the orbital stations during 85% of the orbits rather than the 

15% from ground stations. Close to continuous visibility would also provide greater flexibility in programming satellite use and would simplify 

operations. Number of ground tracking stations could %e reduced from 

the 1974 total of 18, plus one ship and two aircraft, to 8 by 1981. 

(Transcript) 

The U.S.S.R. was developing two new supersonic bomber aircraft and 

another missile-firing submarine, the Baltimore Sun reported. A new 

heavy bomber, the Backfire, was already in production. The Backfire 

was believed to have a top speed of 2100 km per hr and, with inflight 

refueling, a range of 9700 km. The second bomber, a Sukhoi prototype, 

could take off at a weight of 136 OOO kg and reach altitudes of 21 OOO to 

62 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1!374 14 March 

24 000 m traveling at 3400 km per hr. The new submarine was to carry 

16 missiles with ranges of 64100 km and was comparable to a development 

planned by the US. Navy for 1979.- (Corddry, B Sun, 14 March 74, Al) 

15 March: NASA and the National Science Foundation announced an agreement to desigii, construct, and test an experimental 100-kw wind turbine 

generator at Lewis Research Center. The large windmilI would be tested 

to determine performahce and characteristics of systems for future commercial production of electric power [see 11 Jan]. (NASA Release 74-63) 

* The revised estimated cost of the Rockwell International Corp. B-1 bomber 

program-up $1.3 billion, to $15 billion-was sent to Congress in a Dept. 

of Defense letter. New estimates of the cost of the program to produce 

244 aircraft resulted from a decision to build more prototypes and allow 

for an annual inflation rate of 3.3% instead of the previous 2.57%. 

(Reuters, NYT, 19 March 74,17) 

* Aviation pioneer Henri Pequet had died at his home in Vichy, France, at 

age 86, friends reported. Pequet had flown in a free-floating balloon in 

1905 and was licensed as France’s 88th pilot in 1910 after teaching himself to fly. On 18 Feb. 1911 he piloted the world’s first official mail 

flight, between Allahbad and Nani in India. (UPI, W Post, 17 March 74, 

B7) 16 March: The Air Force launched an unidentified satellite from Vandenberg 

Air Force Base by a Thor-Burner I1 booster into an orbit with an 878-km 

apogee, 781-km perigee, 101.4 min period, and 98.9’ inclination. The 

press later identified the satellite as part of the Defense Meteorological 

Satellite Program (DMSP) ~ (Pres Rpt 74; SBD, 26 March 74, 138; AV 

Wk, 25 March 74,22) 

* The velocity of NASA’s Mariner 10 interplanetary space probe, launched 

toward Venus and Mercury 3 Nov. 1973, was successfully changed by 

17.8 m per see along the sunline of the spacecraft by the third trajectory 

correction maneuver. A 51.1-sec burn of the onboard engine at 7:54 

am EDT changed the trajectory from a sun-side flyby of 12 359 km to a 

dark-side flyby of 860 km on 29 March. Mariner 10 had continued to perform satisfactorily since its 5 Feb. encounter with Venus despite anomalies [see 8-31 Jan.]. A down-link transmitted power problem apparently 

corrected itself and the received power levels at DeeD Space Network 

sites were back to normal. The return of power would permit real-time 

TV pictures from Mercury at the 117-kilobit data rate. Spacecraft attitude-control gas, used at an increased rate during a 28 Jan. maneuver, 

was being conserved by rotating the solar panels to maintain roll control. (NASA MOR, 21 March 74) 

* U.S. officials were increasingly concerned by strong pressure from developing countries, backed by the U.S.S.R., to restrict the use of 

satellites to broadcast TV programs from one country directly to the 

home sets of another, the Washington Post reported. Old cultures were 

afraid of being “irremediably debased by the ‘hard sell’ techniques so 

commercially lucrative in the ‘advanced’ societies.” As the world’s 

technolo ‘ea1 giant, the US. was the most suspect and the trend among 

the ‘space-faring’ nations . . . before they gain too great a head start.” 

(Welles, W Post, 16 March 74, A181 

18 March: The F-14 Tomcat, the Navy’s newest and most versatile fighter. 

made its first operational flights from the deck of the nuclear-powered 

aircraft carrier Enterprise. The flights of the $14.8-millionY variablethe deveoping ff countries was “to tie up . . . the use of satellites by 

63 
18 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

sweepwing F-14 began integration of the two Tomcat squadrons into 

the Enterprise’s air wing. Two more squadrons would be assigned to a 

carrier in the Mediterranean or Atlantic. (Middleton, NYT, 21 March 

74,29) 

* NASA announced two Kennedy Space Center contract awards for space 

shuttle facilities. Morrison-Knudsen Co., Inc., had been given a 

$21 812 737 contract to construct a space shuttle runway with overruns, 

apron, taxiway, and access roads. The runway-to be completed within 

850 days after the notice to proceed-was to be built northwest of the 

Vehicle Assembly Building. 

Reynolds, Smith, and Hills received a $1 463 000 fixed-price contract 

to design modifications to Launch Complex 39 and Mobile Launcher 3 

for shuttle operations. Complex 39, Apollo and Skylab launch site, would 

next be used for a manned flight in 1975, for the U.S.-U.S.S.R. ApolloSoyuz Test Project. (NASA Releases 74-66,7&67) 

The British government announced that it was seeking new talks with 

France on the Concorde supersonic airliner after heavy losses were predicted for each airliner built. Official estimates had indicated that 

Britain would Iose $450 million to $517 million in producing 16 aircraft and, even with a selling price of $40.25 million to $47.5 million, 

losses would rise until sales reached 70 or more. (Reuters, B Sun, 19 

March 74, C9) 

18-22 March: The Fifth Annual Lunar Science Conference, at Johnson 

Space Center, was attended by more than 550 lunar scientists from the 

U.S. and several foreign countries. Some 200 papers were presented 

on the lunar regolith, interior, crust, impact effects, mare basins, and 

the interchange of material and energy between the moon and its environment. 

Dr. A. Albee, California Institute of Technology scientist, said that 

analysis of an Apollo 17 lunar rock sample indicated that the sample 

was 4.6 billion yrs old and an example of a very early differentiate. 

The study suggested that the lunar crust formed very early in the 

evolution of the moon by extensive melting associated with differential, 

gravitational separation of various other rock types. 

The donference showed the trend among lunar scientists had been 

shifting away from the initial dating and chemical analysis of rock to 

cross-discipline studies of possible implications of the lunar samples 

to understanding of solar system chronology. (JSC Release, 7 March 

74; JSC Roundrcip, 29 March 74,l) 

I9 March: Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Science Vincent L. 

Johnson testified during N 1975 NASA authorization hearings before 

the House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on 

Space Science and Applications that the Thor-Delta launch vehicle improvement program begun in 1971 was nearing completion. The most 

modern Thor-Delta configuration, the 2914, was expected to fly for 

the first time during the April launch of Westar-A. Final decision for 

the launch was pending recommendation of the Failure Review Board 

set up at Goddard Space Flight Center to investigate the 2nd-stage 

failure of a Thor-Delta during the 18 Jan. Skynet ZZA launch. 

NASA believed that, with the 2914 Delta, the present family of vehicles could launch any mission, but RCA Corp. had determined that a 

30% to 35% increase in the 2914 Thor-Delta capability would permit 

a 24-channel, rather than the usual 12-channel, satellite to be launched 

64 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 19 March 

into synchronous orbit. RCA and McDonnell Douglas Corp. had agreed 

to share the cost of the uprating and McDonnell Douglas would reimburse NASA for technical direction. NASA had not agreed to make the 

new 3914 Thor-Delta a part of its launch family but probably would do 

so following successful proof flight. The first flight was scheduled for 

1975. (Transcript) 

Instrumented aircraft overflights of Volusia County, Fla., to determine 

if soils could be classified by remote-sensing techniques were begun by 

Kennedy Space Center in cooperation with the Dept. of Agriculture. 

USDA was developing soil classification maps of Florida by traditional 

field sampling and laboratory analysis. The overflights, by ICSC’S twin 

Beechcraft and a C46 under contract to Johnson Space Center, would 

use multispectral scanning to attempt to speed the procedure, which 

would otherwise take 40 yrs. (AP, LA Her-Exam, 19 March ‘74) 

* Soviet scientists had offered a theory explaining why Comet Kohoutek 

had not been as bright as expected, an East Berlin newspaper was quoted 

as saying. Leningrad physicists had found in a laboratory test that 

Kohoutek was surrounded by a high-density fluid of cosmic particles; 

this “armor” had not burst and released light, as expected, when the 

sun had heated and expanded the comet’s nucleus. (AP, LA Her-Exam, 

19 March 74) 

19-20 March: NASA launched a record series of 79 sounding rockets from 

eight sites as part of a program to determine daily temperature and 

wind variations in the upper atmosphere during the vernal equinox. 

The launches were made over a 24-hr period from North, Central, 

and South America, the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. Singlestage Loki and Super Loki rockets carried meteorological instruments 

to about 70 km, where the payloads were ejected and returned to the 

earth on parachutes, telemetering data to ground receiving stations. 

(NASA Release 7671 ) 

20 March: 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 61200 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-O.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 769: 

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 

65 
20 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

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,l; PD, 25 March 74,345-347) 0 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 bedosed by June 1974 because of N 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 IRRC’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) 

0 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 

(00s) 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 million 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 

66 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 20 March 

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 maximum extent possible between KSC and Vandenberg. 

During N 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 Experimental 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; Aw Wk, 1 April 74,20) 0 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 

$101.4 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 newsletter, 74-3 ; ESRO Release). 

21 March: The success of Skylab’s Apollo Telescope Mount solar experiment was more than a milestone in space exploration, Dr. John Eddy, 

solar physicist of the Boulder, Colo., High Altitude Observatory, said in 

a New Scientist article. This battery of the world’s most advanced telescopes lofted to the ideal observation site had clarified previous theoretical sketches of the vertical extent of the sun’s chromospheric structures. 

Spicules, which outlined the giant circulation cells of the chromosphere 

and extended through the transition region, disappeared at temperatures 

of 1 million K in the low corona, suggesting that the magnetic field lines 

diverged in the corona. 

67 \ 
21 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

First results from the ATM x-ray observations destroyed the common 

concept of a homogeneous background corona, which had served as a 

basis of modern coronal physics, and revealed that de corona was composed almost entirely of closed loop structures fitting magnetic field lines 

calculated from observed photospheric fields. 

Reasons for the ATM success included the large-scale and highly sophisticated instruments, large data-storage capa’bility, efficiency of instrument operation, operation of the six instruments in concert, extensive 

ground support, and astronaut interest and training. Program results 

would be shared by scientists in many countries and the program appeared a good investment, in scientific yield per dollar spent. (New 

Scientist, 21 March 74,738-741) 0 Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, testified in FY 1975 NASA authorization hearings before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics that NASA supercritical wing technology was “ready now for both 

military and commercial people to pick up and use.” 

Dr. Rocco A. Petrone, Associate Administrator, said demonstration 

tests for solar heating and cooling under way at Marshall Space Flight 

Center [see 11 Jan.] would provide enough baseline data within one 

year to 18 mos to install the system in a significant number of homes. 

(Transcript) * George Cunningham, paralyzed from the neck down in a high school football game, was the first quadriplegic to use a device developed for astronauts disabIed in space, the Baltimore Sun reported. He could place a 

telephone call, control a radio or TV, open the curtains in his hospital 

room, or call the nurses’ station by blowing into a tube. The device, NuLife, made up of two tiny video display screens and a miniature computer, was operated by inhaling and exhaling into a plastic tube or controlled by eye rotation, a turn of the head, or a touch of the tongue. (AP, 

B Sun, 21 March 74, A3) 

23 March-5 April: NASA’s Mariner 10, launched 3 Nov. 1973, became the first 

spacecraft to explore Mercury, during a 12-day flyby of the planetreturning some 1700 TV photos and much new information on its atmosphere, surface, mass, and shape. 

The incoming encounter sequence began 23 March at 5 600 000 km 

from Mercury, transmitting de clearest photos yet taken of the tiny 

planet. Although most of the photos were recorded on tape before transmission, real-time photos with reduced resolution were sent to analyze 

the reflective properties of Mercury at different lighting angles. By 28 

March photos were showing the,planet to be heavily cratered like the 

moon. 

During the incoming near-encounter, from 17 to 31/2 hrs before encounter, 18 frames were transmitted. Mosaics were made for locating 

smaller areas photographed later at higher resolutions. Spacecraft instruments identified an extremely thin atmosphere surrounding the 

planet, containing helium at concentrations above lunar levels and small 

amounts of neon, argon, and possibly zenon. 

Mariner 10 passed within 704 km of Mercury at 4:47 pm EDT 29 

March, within 56 km of the aim point. Data were transmitted without 

interruption over the 150 000 000-km distance until earth occultation 

began at 4:50 pm EDT. Radio signals were recovered following the 12- 

min occultation. Photos of the planet-described by scientists at Jet Propulsion Laboratory as “superb‘-showed details less than 1.6 km in size 

68 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 23 March-5 April 

and covered almost half the planet’s surface, which was pocked with 

craters as deep as 32 km and between 8 and 160 km wide. Giant cracks 

in the surface suggested high heat beneath. Some ancient volcanic activity was seen in a few rille-like ravines that crossed the craters and domelike hills. Absence of halo craters indicated young craters probably had 

been covered by the dust storms that constantly swept the planet. At a 

JPL press briefing following the encounter, Dr. James C. Fletcher said 

onboard instruments showed that Mercury had an unexpected magnetic 

field, estimated to be 1% that of the earth. The magnetic field was measured at 90 to 100 gammas at the ~pacecraft~s closest approach, with an 

extrapolated value at the surface of 100 to 200 gammas. 

As Mariner 10 raced by Mercury on 30 March, photos of the morning 

side of the planet showed a much smoother region than the rugged area 

seen under the afternoon sun. The north pole region appeared much less 

pitted and flatter than the south pole. Instruments found that Mercury 

was two-thirds iron, making its density greater than previously believed 

and probably responsible for the unexpected magnetic field. Concentrations of uranium and thorium were comparable to those on the earth. 

Preliminary results, presented at a 31 March press conference at JPL, 

included a Mercury mass measurement 100 times better than previous 

ones, a detached well-defined bow shock wave, a temperature varying 

from 90 K on the night side to 700 K on the day side ( - 300°F to SOOOF) 

with no thermal anomalies detected, opaque surface soil with the top 

few centimeters 1.0 to 1.5 times as dense as water and 50% as porous, 

and high-energy electrons in the mev range observed from 700 to 5000 

km above the surface. An ultraviolet scanner had detected what appeared 

to be an egg-shaped moon moving in orbit around Mercury, but the Mariner navigational team later identified the object as a dim but very hot 

star, known as 31 Crater in the constellation Corvus. 

Despite a power anomaly, Mariner 10 continued to transmit TV pictures in real-time at 117.6 kilobits per sec and tape-recorded frames at 

‘ 22.05 kbps. TV imagery was discontinued 5 April when tlie resolution 

became equal to that of earth-based telescopes. 

All mission events were accomplished as planned and the mission was 

adjudged successful 22 April. The spacecraft was expected to swing back 

by Mercury in September. (NASA MOR, 24 April 74; JPL Press Kit, 

19 March 74; NYT, 24 March 74, 30 March-1 April.74; W Post, 

29 March-1 April 74; W Star-News, 28 March 74; LA Times, 20 March1 April 74) 

23 March: Key appointments in the space shuttle program at Marshall Space 

Flight Center became effective. Robert E. Lindstrom became Manager 

of the Space Shuttle Office, replacing Roy E. Godfrey, who became Special Assistant to the MSFC Director. Within the Shuttle Office, James R. 

Thompson became Project Manager for the space shuttle main engine. 

John A. Chambers became Deputy Manager of the Shuttle Engine Office 

and Frank M. Stewart became technical assistant to the Manager of the 

Shuttle Projects Office. (MSFC Release 74-41) 

24 March: Manned mace spectaculars were gone, at least until the 21st century, Thomas O’Toole said in the Wmhington Post. The similarfties between the air age when men had begun flying and the space age were 

striking. Aviators had been considered stuntmen until they began to 

carry the mail. The Apollo flights, with their “vaguely circus air,” had 

struck many peQple the same way. The space shuttle promised to change 

69 
24 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

all that. The US. planned to operate five shuttles, each one carrying more 

than 27 000 kg of satellites and space machinery into orbit 12 times a 

year, to “improve the quality of life on earth and to find out if life exists 

elsewhere in the solar system.” By the end of the 1980s the U.S. would 

have visited eight of the solar system’s nine planets; the only exception 

was Pluto. 

While one part of the space agency looked at the other planets, another 

would be looking down to learn more about the earth’s health. The next 

20 yrs would see an unprecedented use of earth orbit to observe and 

communicate with the earth. O’Toole quoted Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA 

Administrator, as saying that the earth orbit might become overcrowded. 

Not that things would bump into each other but “there will not be 

enough radio frequencies to communicate back to earth.” (W Post, 

24 March 74, C1) 

New US. proposals might help lead to a new agreement at the stalemated 

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Leslie H. Gelb said in the Washington 

Post. Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Secretary of State, arriving in MOSCOW, 

would submit to the U.S.S.R. two formulas to establish equivalence between nuclear forces. Formula one would bring overall equality in total 

numbers of land-based missiles, sea-launched missiles, and long-range 

bombers. Within the total, each side would determine its own mix of 

forces. Formula two would deveIop equality in land-based missile throw 

weight, a better way to guard against a Soviet first strike on US. missiles 

than to seek control of multiple independently targetable vehicles. No 

MIRY controls were proposed. Working principles contained no numbers, 

leaving open the question of whether US. missiles were to be increased, 

Soviet missiles decreased, or both lowered. ( W Post, 24 March 74, 3; 

FOnF, 30 March 74) 

25 March: Data from U.S.S.R. space probes Mars 4, 6, and 7 [see 9-12 

March] had indicated that several 3ens percent” of the Martian atmosphere was made up of an inert gas, probably argon, Tass quoted Prof. 

Vasily I. Moroz as reporting in Zzvestiya. The data would substantiate 

Soviet scientists’ belief that several million or even several hundred 

thousand years ago Mars had an atmosphere with a density close to that 

of the earth. In addition, data from Mariner 9 (launched 30 May 1971) 

and Mars 5 had shown that the planet had had surface water and might 

LL acquire it again, for such changes take place during the planet’s geological history . . . with a definite periodicity.” New data was increasing hope of finding the simplest biosphere. “In any case, in the not so 

distant geological past Mars apparently had . . . the conditions necessary for the emergence of life. The reappearance of such periods in the 

future is not ruled out.” 

The Western press later quoted US. scientists as saying that the presence of large amounts of argon would have LLdramatic implications” 

and would tend to support the theory that the Martian climate had been 

going through a series of cycles during which ice ages alternated with 

warmer and wetter conditions. But Dr. Carl E. Sagan of Cornel1 Univ. 

said during a telephone interview that the 90% content of carbon dioxide 

in the Martian atmosphere had been well established, so that “at most 

10% of argon was barely possible.” (FBISSOV, 26 March 74, U1; 

Shabad, NYT, 7 April 74,34) 

* Dr. Edward U. Condon, a leading US. atomic scientist, died at the age of 

72 in Boulder, Colo., of complications from heart disease. In 1941) Dr. 

70 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 25 March 

Condon had become a member of the National Defense Research Council and, in 1941, a member of the Roosevelt Committee on Uranium Research. During the World War I1 he played an important role in the 

development of the atomic bomb. In 1945 Dr. Condon had been appointed Director of the National Bureau of Standards but resigned in 

1951 because of House Un-American Activities Committee investigations 

as il “weak” security link. In 1952 he appeared before the Committee 

and denied charges under oath. 

From 1945 to 1951 Dr. Condon had been a member of the National 

Advisory Committee on Aeronautics. In the 1950s he developed a missile nosecone-later used by US. astronauts-that could withstand the 

high temperatures of reentry into the earth’s atmosphere. In 1954 he returned to teaching and, while on the Univ. of Colorado faculty, he undertook an Air Force study to investigate sightings of unidentified flying 

objects. (Weil, W Post, 27 March 74, C4; Slusser, W Star-News, 27 

March 74, B5; Who’s Who; House Un-Am Activities Com Special 

Subcom Rpt) 

26 March: The U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos 637 from Baykonur Cosmodrome 

near Tyuratam, into orbit with 35 604-km apogee, 35 595-km perigee, 

23-hr 46.6-min period, and 0.2” inclination-the first Soviet satellite in 

geosynchronous orbit. The press later quoted American analysts as suggesting that Cosmos 637, which was stationed above the Indian Ocean, 

might be an engineering test for a full-fledged stationary communications satellite long planned by the Soviets to improve communications 

with the southern part of the U.S.S.R. and the Warsaw Pact countries. 

(GSFC Wkly SSR, 21-27 March 74; Shabad, NYT, 28 March 74, 20; 

SBD, 28 March 74,153 ; Av Wk, 1 April 74) 

0 The Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences’ Subcommittee 

on Aviation held hearings to determine whether the Federal Aviation 

Administration and McDonnell Douglas Corp. had dealt adequately with 

cargo door problems on the DC-IO aircraft. Experts believed that the 

door had caused a 12 June 1972 near crash in Canada and the 3 March 

1974 crash outside Paris that killed all 346 persons aboard. 

Documents had revealed that, following the Canadian incident, the 

FAA had drafted an airworthiness directive requiring three improvements 

in the suspect rear cargo door. McDonnell Douglas appealed to the FAA, 

which then agreed to let the company issue voluntary service bulletins. 

An inspection of all 134 in-service DC-10s after the Paris crash had 

showed that two aircraft, including the Turkish airliner, had not been 

modified despite McDonnell Douglas records to the contrary. 

Seven months after the Canadian incident the FAA, at the suggestion 

of the National Transportation Safety Board, had asked the company 

to consider a redesign of the vital systems, reinforcement of thepassenger 

cabin floor, and more pressure vents. In a 25 Feb. 1974 letter to the FAA, 

McDonnell Douglas said that they did not “have the manpower available at this time to undertake the study, nor are we in a position to accept this burden alone.” (Egan, W Post, 23 March 74, A4; 27 March 74, 

A2; Witkii, NYT, 21 March 74,l; 26 March 74,l) 

0 The Federal Energy Office directed oil refiners to provide airlines with 

sufficient fuel to meet allocations calling for 95% of 1972 supplies for 

trunk carriers and 100% for local service carriers, FEO also proposed 

that international airlines be authorized to draw on domestic fuel supplies 

71 
26 March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

if bonded fuel was not available at prices comparable to domestic costs. 

(FEO Release 74-116) 

29 March: President Nixon wired congratulations to Dr. James C. Fletcher, 

NASA Administrator, on Mariner 10’s successful 5 Feb. flyby of the planet 

Mercury: “The successful flight . . . marks another historic milestone 

in America’s continuing exploration of the solar system. With this mission we will begin to end centuries of speculation aboat our planetary 

neighbor closest to the Sun. On behalf of all Americans, I extend warmest congratulations to NASA and the Mariner 10 team on their outstanding 

performance. The hard work, skill, and ingenuity that contributed to 

the success of Mariner 10 is in keeping with that historical tradition 

which began when men landed at Plymouth Rock and has continued 

through the landing of men on the moon.” (PD, 1 April 74,374) 

President Nixon issued Executive Order 11775 abolishing the Energy Policy Office, which had been established 29 June 1973. The responsibilities 

of the Office would be taken over by the Federal Energy Office, established 4 Dee. 1973. (PD, 1 April 74,356) 

A Black Brant sounding rocket launched from Peru by a team of US. and 

Peruvian scientists found evidence that auroral activity occurred not 

only in the polar regions but in the ionosphere near the earth’s geomagnetic equator. The scientists-from Aerospa-e Gorp., Univ. of Texas, 

U.S. Air Force, Peru’s Geophysical Institute, and the Peruvian government-were studying recurring ionospheric disturbances, known as 

spread F, that had been discovered by Peruvian radar studies. (Miles, 

LA Times, 28 April 74) 

0 Immigration of scientists and enpin’eers into the US. had dropped sharply, 

31 

from the record 10 300-13 30’5 yearly between 1967 and 19’92 to 660‘0 in 

1973, the National Science Foundation reported. The decrease reflected 

the impact of the 4 Feb. 1971 restrictions in immigration regulations. 

(NSF Highlights, 29 Mar 74) 

March: Sen. James G. Abourezk (D-S.D.) asked the Government Accounting Office to investigate the “evidence of solar energy feasibility” 

contained in a report by Atomic Energy Commission scientists. He said 

evidence that solar energy could be developed more quickly and cheaply 

than previously believed had been ignored when the AEC recommended, 

in a repod to the President, that only $200 million out of a total of $10 

billion for energy research should be spent on solar energy for a fiveyear period beginning in 1975. Sen. Abourezk wanted to know “why the 

A.E.C. has been sitting on scientific data Dointing the wav toward solar 

energy while major ii1 companies are qketly koving to take control 

of the means to produce solar power.” (UPI, NYT, 1 April 74, 34) 

During March: Apollo 17: Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-330), dated 

1973, was issued. The Taurus-Littrow landing site for the 7-19 Dec. 

1972 final mission of the lunar landing program had been the most diverse in both geologic features and samples brought back. Seismic traverse experiments had indicated basaltic flows extended to a depth of 1.2 

km. The traverse gravimeter experiment had provided limits to the density of underlying material and permitted development of models to help 

interpret mascons. Analysis of mare basalts from the ApoEo 11,12,15, 

and 17 missions and from the U.S.S.R.’s Luna 16 indicated that the filling of the mare basins took place mostly between 3.2 billion and 3.8 

billion yrs ago. Formation of more than 90% of the cratering was believed to be 4 billion yrs earlier. Highland material collected on ApoUo 

72 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 During March 

14,16, and 17 missions showed a widespread occurrence of breccias with 

an apparent age of 3.8 billion to 4.1 billion yrs, with strong evidence 

that rocks as old as 4.5 billion to 4.6 billion yrs existed on the moon. 

Dark mare regions were thought to be underlain by lava, but craters had 

been mostly caused by impacting projectiles. The moon was once active 

volcanically but was now quiet, with any activity since 3 billion yrs ago 

highly restricted or nonexistent. It had a crust more than 60 km thick 

and a negligibIe overall magnetic field. 

Two theories of lunar evolution had come from mission data. The 

first was that the planet was chemically layered during its formation, 

with a low interior temperature gradualIy increasing, perhaps reaching 

the melting point in the last billion years, while the initial heat of the 

exterior gradually decreased. The second theory assumed that the moon, 

chemically homogeneous and molten during formation, underwent 

extensive chemical differentiation resulting in surface concentration of 

radioactivity very shortly after formation. None of the three theories 

of origin of the moon-separation from the earth, capture from a solar 

orbit, or formation from a dust cloud--could be absolutely eliminated 

by data collected to date, but chemical differences made it unlikely that 

the moon was torn from the earth. (Text) 

* Experiments carried out during the U.S.S.R.'s eight-day Soyuz 13 mission 

launched 18 Dec. 1973 were further evidence that the U.S.S.R. was continuing manned space station efforts, a Spaceflight article said. The 

flight had included the Oasis 2 experiment, part of a plan to demonstrate 

that biological closed-cycle life support systems could be used for large 

space stations and other long-duration manned missions. Observation 

of stars in the ultraviolet range with the Orion 2 telescope was also a 

continuing program related to space station activity. Cosmonaut Konstantin P. Feoktistov had said in a statement to the British Interplanetary Society that, in the years between the Soyuz 11 tragedy in June 

1971 and the Soyuz 12 mission in September 1973, design engineers 

had been analyzing the performance of all spacecraft systems and making modification and improvements. He stressed that work on manned 

space stations was continuing because of the importance of these stations 

in the exploration of natural resources. Soyuz 12 and Soyuz 13 crews had 

made multispectral photos of the earth's surface. (SF, March 74, 110) 

NASA submitted its report NASA Energy-Related Research and Development to the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, at 

the request of its chairman, Sen. Frank E. Moss (D-Utah) . NASA's F"Y 

1974 budget had included a $2-million authorization for energy R&D 

for projects in solar energy utilization ; energy conversion, transmission, 

and storage; transportation and propulsion systems; and energy and 

environmental conservation. Long-range research included studies of 

satellite systems to collect solar energy, convert it to electricity, and 

transmit it to the earth by microwave beams. In one study the use of 

solar cells would be considered, while in another the possibility of a 

turbogenerator in space would be explored. 

Near-term projects included demonstration of residential solar heating 

and cooIing at Marshall Space FIight Center, office building fats at 

Langley Research Center, and component studies at Lewis Research 

Center. LeRC was also sponsoring a study of crops that could be converted into clean fuels, and a NAsA-National Science Foundation study 

73 
During March ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

was testing wind-electric generating devices. Projects at Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory and LeRC sought to design low-polluting but higher efficiency automobile engines, and Flight Research Center was testing 

configuration changes to reduce aerodynamic drag for trucks. 

Energy conversion research included an LeRC study, in cooperation 

with the Dept. of Interior, of technical and economic advantages of a 

potassium topping cycle to permit higher peak cycle temperatures and 

produce 40% more electrical power for a given quantity of fuel than 

could conventional steam systems. (Com Print) * US. trunkline air traffic rose to unexpected heights, but industry officials 

were hesitant to interpret gains during the first quarter of 1974 as a 

positive trend for the year. United Air Lines, Inc., revenuspassengermiles rose 13.6% in March over March 1973; Delta Air Lines, Inc., 

10.1%; and Eastern Airlines, Inc., 7.4%. Local service carriers also 

reported near-record traffic improvements for March, with many showing load factors above the 55% level, rather than the normal monthly 

4%. High fuel costs, however, were forcing the load-factor level required for airlines to break even to all-time highs. 

International operations were an exception to the general rise: Pan 

American World Airways, Inc., reported a revenue-passenger-mile 

decline of 6.1% in system-wide scheduled operations for March; Trans 

World Airlines, Inc., a 10.9% dip. (Av Wk, 14 April 74, 29-30) 

74 
April 1974 

1 April: Construction of the $22-million runway for the space shuttle was 

begun at Kennedy Space Center after a brief ground-breaking ceremoqy 

at the construction site northwest of the Vehicle Assembly Building. 

Dr. Debus, KSC Director, said the shuttle would lead to a “new era of 

international transportation to and from space” and the “boom and 

bust of the 1960s of this community and the activities of the government will be changed to a more steady-more reliable-situation.” 

The 90-m wide, 4600-m long, 40-cm thick runway would accommodate 

a 75 000-kg spacecraft returning from space at a 15” to 20° angle and 

at a speed of nearly 295 km per hr. More than 8000 km of grooves in 

the surface would permit drainage and prevent hydroplaning while 

landing in the rain. To reduce the speed of the returning shuttle, astronauts would have the help of brakes, parachutes, and a net at the end 

of the runway. The runway was scheduled for July 1976 completion. 

(Spaceport News, 4 April 74, 1, 5; McElheny, NYT, 2 April 74, 22) 0 Marshall Space Flight Center began a six-month study of the feasibility 

of adapting the backup Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount to fly on the 

space shuttle for solar observations. NASA anticipated that modified ATM 

instruments positioned in the shuttle payload bay could provide low-cost 

scientific returns on early shuttle flights. (MSFC Skylab Off, interview, 

Jan 75; Covault, Av Wk, 15 April 74,24-5) 

* A New Yorlc Times editorial noted that, within a matter of hours, instrument readings from Mariner 10’s 29 March close flyby of Mercury 

had “made all previous scientific writing and theorizing about Mercury 

obsolete. Where nearly complete ignorance had existed earlier, there 

is now a large, diverse and important body of hard information. . . . Even if the crippled spacecraft is unable to continue LO transmit data it 

will have earned an indelible place in the history of space exploration.” 

(NYT, 1 April 74,30) 

The U.S.S.R.’s three-week Cosmos 605 mission-launched 31 Oct. 1973 

with several dozen mammal, reptile, insect, fungal, and bacterial life 

forms aboard-had yielded major data on organism reaction to prolonged weightlessness, Soviet Academy of Sciences member Oleg G. 

Gazenko was quoted as reporting. Although the rats had remained active 

in space, their food intake had been lower than that of an earth-based 

control group. After the flight the space rats’ oxygen requirements had 

declined 10% to 20%. Evidence also indicated that, although the level 

of salts in the organisms had remained unchanged, they had redistributed. The space animals were sluggish immediately following spacecraft recovery but their memory and coordination remained unimpaired. 

Capillary blood showed major changes in content, and bone marrow 

cells were markedly reduced in number. Organs taken from a group of 

rats that had undergone autepsy within 24 hrs of spacecraft’ recovery 

showed no major pathological changes except for a marked weight reduc75 
1 April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

tion in the Iymphoid glands and a small increase in the adrenal glands. 

The changes were viewed as stress reaction to flight conditions. A degree 

of atrophy had been noted in the hind muscles. Most of the disorders 

disappeared in a second group of rats during a 25-day observation 

period before autopsy. Mushrooms grown aboard Cosmos 605 were 

greatly deformed, with long twisted stems and large root systems. (Aw 

Wk, 1 April 74,40) 

Available geosynchronous orbit “parking space” for communications satellites to serve the continental US. was fast approaching saturation with 

authorized and applied-for comsat systems operating in the 4- to 6- 

gigacycle band, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported. This 

saturation was expected to provide added incentive for second-generation domestic comsats to shift to the new 11- to 14-gc band, permitting 

spacecraft to orbit closer to the existing comsats. (Av Wk, 1 April 74,59) 0 Transformation of the European Space Research Organization into the 

European Space Agency, originally scheduled for 1 April, had been 

postponed, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported. The delay 

would allow representatives of member governments additional time to 

resolve the remaining areas of disagreement and decide on a DirectorGeneral. The postponement was not expected to affect ESRO’S Spacelab 

program. Legal actions taken by ESRO would be equally binding under 

the new agency’s charter. (Av Wk, 1 April 74,21; 22 April 74,191 

0 Analysis by Hale Observatories astronomers of light from the diffuse halo 

around the nearest quasar, known as BL Lacertae, indicated that it was 

an ancient galaxy whose core was undergoing a series of catastrophic 

explosions, the New York Times reported. The implication was that all 

quasars, the brightest and most distant visible objects in the universe, 

represented some explosive phase in the later history of a galaxy. Before 

the study, BL Lacertae had been thought to be a variable star in the 

constellation Lacerta, part of the Milky Way. Instead the study had 

showed it to be a massive object 1 billion light years from the earth 

with visible light whose brilliance ffuctuated radically. (NYT, 1 April 

74,21) 

0 The Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory had awarded contracts to three 

companies to make configuration studies for an advanced fighter technology integration (AFTI) aircraft, Aviation Week & Space Technology 

reported: $750 000 to McDonnell Douglas Corp., $608 000 to Rockwell International Corp., and $597000 to Fairchild Republic Co. The 

studies were the first step in designing a small, low-cost, high-technology 

demonstration aircraft in the initial phase of the USAF’S AFTI program. 

(Aw Wk, 1 April 74,22) 

1-5 April: Data from Pioneer 10 taken during its 3 Dec. 1973 encounter with 

Jupiter had indicated that the upper atmosphere of the planet was MO K 

(260°F) , about 480 K ( 520° F) hotter than previously calculated. Dr. 

Arvydas J. Kliore, Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist, said at a meeting 

of the American Astronomical Society. Temperatures deeper down in 

the atmosphere rose to as much as 700 K (800°F) , the highest temperature found so far on any planet in the solar system. The findings suggested that the surface temperature could reach 5800 K (io 000°F) , the 

surface temperature of the sun. The surprising heat might be explained 

by heavy dust layers in the upper levels of the atmosphere that absorbed 

solar radiation or absorbed heat radiating away from the surface of the 

planet. 

76 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 1-5 April 

Dr. Fred L. Whipple, retired Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, said that methyl cyanide and hydrogen cyanide, 

two compounds always identified with interstellar dust, had been found 

in abundance in Comet Kohoutek. The discovery marked the first time 

the chemicals had been identified with a comet and the first time they had 

been seen in space inside the solar system. “It . . . increases the suspicion that comets were formed . . . out at about 30 trillion km or 

halfway to the nearest star.” ( W Post, 5 April 74, A29; 7 April 74, A3) 0 The second Meeting of Signatories of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) was held in Acapulco, Mexico. 

The delegates determined that a 1.106226% investment share would 

entitle a signatory or group of signatories to representation on the Board 

of Governors. ( INTELSAT Release 74-17; INTELSAT PAO, interview) 

2 April: Dr. John E. Naugle, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science, 

testified in FY 1975 authorization hearings before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences that Orbiting Solar Observatory OSO-I, scheduled for 1975 launch into orbit, was expected to acquire 

ultraviolet solar spectra of the most detailed resolution ever obtained. 

Spacecraft and experiment assembly was to be complete by mid-1974. 

A cooperative program with the European Space Research Organization, 

called International Sun-Earth Explorers ( ISEE) , planned three satellites to make simultaneous measurements. Two spacecraft, “Mother” 

built by the US. and “Daughter” built by ESRO, would travel close together in the same highly elliptical orbit, measuring magnetic and electric fields, energetic particles, and plasma properties. The third spacecraft, called “Heliocentric” and built by the US., would be placed near 

one of the unique points in space where the earth’s and sun’s gravity 

balance each other. The spacecraft would travel around the sun and 

close to the earth to learn what radiation was impinging on the earth’s 

magnetosphere. Data from the three satellites would help to untangle 

spatial from temporal changes in radiation fields around the earth. A 

cooperative effort with ESRO and the United Kingdom would be the 

hternational Ultraviolet Explorer ( IUE) scheduled for launch into 

geosynchronous orbit in 1976 to observe high-resolution spectra in the 

w with a telescope controllable from the ground in real time. Techniques 

gained would be applied later to NASA’s Large Space Telescope. 

Associate Administrator for Tracking and Data Acquisition Gerald M. 

Truszynski reported deactivation of NASA’s transportable tracking station in Newfoundland and closing of Spaceflight Tracking and Data 

Network stations at Corpus Christi, Tex., and Carnarvon, Australia. The 

Newfoundland station, placed in caretaker status after the Skylab missions, would be reactivated for the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission and then permanently closed. The Deep Space Network portion of 

the Johannesburg station was being phased out beginning June 1974; 

the STDN facility would be phased out following the near-earth phase of 

the Viking mission. The closings would leave 15 stations, adequate to 

handle the projected workload for the next five years and consistent with 

long-range planning. (Transcript) 

The House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Transportation 

approved a Federal Aviation Administration budget request of 43 million to begin the Aeronautical Satellite (Aerosat) system. The twosatellite system, to be built in cooperation with the European Space 

Research Organization and Canada, would provide over-the-ocean com77 
2 April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

munications for aircraft. In Subcommittee hearings FAA Administrator 

Alexander P. Butterfield said recent changes in the program had eliminated airline opposition. The changes would limit the size and cost of 

the program, preclude the imposition of user charges on aircraft operators for recovery cif R&D costs, eliminate any commitment for a follow-on 

operational system, include a very-high-frequency capability for evaluation against L-band, and limit the number of earth terminals. Signing 

of a. Memorandum of Understanding by the participants was pending 

Senate approval of the FAA budget request. (Subcom Staff Off, interview; Av Wk, 8 April 74,21; SBD, 3 April 74,190) 

0 NASA announced selection of General Electric Co., Grumman Aerospace 

Corp., and TRW Systems Group to negotiate three six-month, $600 000, 

fixed-price contracts to make parallel system definition studies for the 

Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS) mission. The studies were to design 

a low-cost modularized spacecraft with a space platform for testing 

sensors and collecting remotely sensed data for a variety of applications 

missions. EOS would be designed for launch by both conventional 

boosters and the space shuttle. (NASA Release 74-80) 0 Federal Aviation Administrator Alexander P. Butterfield said in a 

written statement to the Senate Committee on Commerce's Subcommittee on Aviation that he had directed FAA offices to issue airworthiness 

directives to correct all safety-related aircraft design changes. Such 

directives carried the force of law and required FAA inspection. In addition, all safety-related functions of the FAA were being centralized under 

one official. The FAA was also studying ways to prevent rapid decompressurization on jumbo jets after accidents. The actions followed investigations of the 3 March Turkish Airlines, Inc., DG-10 crash outside 

Paris that had killed all 346 persons aboard. By 14 May, 43 airworthiness 

directives and 7 telegrams had been issued, nearly double the usual rate. 

(Egan, W Post, 3 April 74, A3 ; Av Wk, 20 May 74,lS) 

* The U.S.S.R. had requested permission, during the February visit of a 

Soviet science delegation to Australia, to establish a jointly controlled 

satellite tracking station in Australia, the New York Times reported. The 

US. bad expressed concern that the Soviet Union might use the scientific 

station to monitor US. messages to bases ii Australia and reportedly 

believed the proposal would be rejected. (NYT, 2 April 74,4) 

3 April: The U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos 638 from Baykonur Cosmodrome 

into orbit with a 30-km apogee, 189-km perigee, 89.5-min period, and 

51.8" inclination. The spacecraft was identified by Maj. Gen. Vladimir 

A. Shatalov, chief of cosmonaut training for the USSR, at a 9 Sept. 

ceremony at Johnson Space Center as an unmanned test of docking systems and rendezvous for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission. The 

spacecraft reentered 13 April. (GSFC SSR, 30 June 74; Transcript; SF, 

Sept 74,394) 

Rep. Olin E. Teague (D-Tex.) introduced H.R. 13961 to amend the 

National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to authorize NASA to contract for Tracking and Data Relay Satellite services. (CR, 3 April 74, 

H2584; NASA LAR, XIII/4+3) 

0 Indonesia would build a domestic communications satehite system including two satellites and 50 earth stations, the Indonesian Post and 

Telecommunications Directorate General announced to the press. Each 

satellite could serve as backup for the other and would have 12 trans78 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 3 April 

ponders. Each transponder would be able to serve 12 telephone lines or 

1 color TV channel. 

The press later reported that Malaysia and the Philippines were planning to join the Indonesian system. The satellites would be put into 

orbits that would allow point-to-point telephoke connections within each 

country and among the three countries. Construction of the system was 

expected to cost $90 million and take two years. (Jakarta Domestic 

Service and Hong Kong UP, FBIsIndonesia, 18 April 74, N1-2) 

* Pan American World Airways, Inc., and Trans World Airlines, Inc., each 

petitioned the Civil Aeronautics Board for subsidies. Pan Am sought 

a $195-million-a-year mail subsidy because of a pending financial crisis 

following six years of losses, including an expected net loss of $65 

million in 1974. In addition to a huge debt, Pan Am had been hit by 

foreign competition, sharp drops in traffic, overcapacity (half-empty 

Boeing 747 transports), and soaring costs, including a $200-million 

annual increase in fuel costs. TWA asked a temporary subsidy to offset 

fuel costs, estimating 1974 international losses would be $47 miIIionin contrast to a 1973 profit of $19.5 million. 

On 2 April the Dept. of Justice and Dept. of Transportation had discouraged Pan Am and TWA discussions of pooling transatlantic operations as an economy measure, telling CAB that discussions were premature. (O’Hanlon, Fortune, Oct 74, 123-7,212-6; CAB Doc Section, Docs 

26560 & 26563; W Sear-News, 3 April 74, B9) 

Johnson Space Center had awarded a $6 598 000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., for Apollo-Soyuz Test 

Project and space shuttle orbiter software development, JSC announced. 

( JSC Release 74-62) 

4 April: The YF-17 prototype lightweight fighter aircraft was rolled out 

at the Northrop Corp. plant in Hawthorne, Calif. The YF-17 and the 

YF-16 being built by General Dynamics Corp. marked the first Air 

Force effort to place more emphasis on hardware performance and less 

on paper studies by using an advance prototyping concept. The USAF 

would evaluate the YF-16 and YF-17 in a 12-mo flight-test program 

before making a commitment to production. (DOD Release 131-74) 

Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, ApoZZo 27 astronaut and now Special Assistant 

to the NASA Administrator for Energy Research and Development, 

testified in Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences hearings on FY 1975 authorizations: One of the most important contributions NASA could make to energy research and development was the application of managerial techniques developed in the space program, 

permitting programs, schedules, and budgets to be defined and then 

adhered to without major degradation of the original goals. “This 

mission-oriented approach to research and development and its broad 

integration of the great capabilities and imagination of industry 

will . . . be applied just as successfully to the critical problems that face 

the Nation and the world in energy.” (Transcript) 

The Federal Aviation Administration announced a proposed new regulation requiring fuel tanks and fuel venting spaces on turbine-powered 

transports over 5670 kg to be equipped with explosion-prevention 

systems. Under the proposal, aircraft operators and manufacturers could 

use a system that maintained a continuous nonflammable atmosphere, 

such as nitrogen, or a system that arrested a fire or explosion once 

79 
4 April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

initiated. All turbine aircraft manufactured two years after the effective 

date of the final rule would be required to be fitted with this equipment 

within three years. (FAA Release 7447) 

5 April: Experiments had been approved for the first High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO) mission, to make an x-ray survey of the sky 

from low earth orbit in 1977, NASA announced. Contracts totaling 

$23 349 266 had been let for a large-area x-ray survey experiment to 

map the celestial sphere for x-ray sources; a cosmic x-ray experiment 

to measure emissions and absorptions of diffuse x-rays and correlate 

results with radio and visible-light-ray emission ; a scanning modulation collimator experiment to determine precisely the celestial position, 

size, and structure of selected cosmic x-ray sources; and a hard x-ray 

and low-energy gamma ray experiment to determine the intensity and 

other properties of certain x-rays and gamma rays. (NASA Release 74- 

79) * The U.S.S.R.’s Aeroflot Soviet Air Lines made its inaugural flight from 

Washington’s Dulles International Airport to MOSCOW~S Sheremetyevo 

Airport, with a stopover in Paris, initiating regular weekly Washington-Moscow service. Under a US.--U.S.S.R. protocol signed 23 June 

1973, Aeroflot also served the Soviet capital from New York with two 

flights weekly during peak periods and one flight per week at other times. 

(DOT Release 29-74) 

Large numbers of scientists and engineers trained in a variety of traditional and interdisciplinary fields would be required over the next several years by increased energy research and development efforts, a 

Science editorial said. Numbers of graduating scientists and engineers 

were dropping each year and some signs of a shortage were appearing 

already. Top-level representatives from RP~D agencies-including NASA, 

the Federal Energy Office, Office of Management and Budget, National 

Science Foundation, and the Atomic Energy Commission-should examine manpower needs and set up or fund a program for continuing assessment over the coming decade. “Dollar budgets can be changed quickly. 

Manpower budgets require longer planning time if both dollars and 

manpower are to be used wisely.” (Vetter, Science, 5 April 74, 11) 

6 April: The backup Skylab Orbital Workshop was Ioaded for shipment by 

sea to Marshall Space Flight Center for long-term storage. (MSFG Release 

74-56) 

8 April: President Nixon transmitted to Congress the Aeronautics and Space 

Report of the President: 1973 Activities. In his transmission message 

the President said: “This year has been particularly significant in that 

many past efforts to apply the benefits of space technology . . . to 

proiblems on Earth are now coming to fruition.” Data from Skylab and 

Earth Resources Technology Satellite Erts 1 were being used for applications including resource discovery and management, environmental 

information, and land use planning. Communications satellites had become a principal method of international communication and important 

in meeting national defense needs. Skylab had provided new information on the energy characteristics of the sun that could aid understanding of thermonuclear processes and contrzbute to devdopment of new 

energy sources. Skylab had proved that man could effectively live and 

work in space for extended periods of time. Advances in aeronautics had 

contributed to defense of the Nation and helped reduce aircraft congestion and provide quieter, safer, more economical and efficient aircraft. 

80 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1W4 8 April 

The report said that in previous years NASA’s emphasis in space had 

been to expand human knowledge of phenomena, develop and operate 

space vehicles, and preserve US. leadership in aeronautics and space 

technology. But 1973 had been the year of “cashing in” on the technology development and knowledge obtained from lunar and space exploration programs. (CR, 8 April 74, H2677; Text) 

NASA announced selection of McDonnell Douglas COT. to negotiate a twoyear, $13.2-millionY cost-plus-award fee contract to support the space 

shuttle program in system analysis; avionics system engineering; mission planning, analysis, and software formulation ; computer systems and 

software; and crew procedures and flight planning. (NASA Release 

74-83) e The U.S.S.R. was continuing plans to build an earth station in the Ukraine 

to operate with the International Telecommunications Satellite Organizaion’s comsat system. The project-the second planned Soviet INTELSAT 

link-had been unofficially reported by Russians in discussions with 

US. Government and private representatives over the past few months. 

(The first station, near MOSCOW, had been initiated to provide a bilateral 

communications capability for the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Hot Line, via a 

Molniya and an Intelsat satellite). U.S.S.R. participation in the INTELSAT 

system as a coinmercial user would fill in a major link in the U.S. goal 

of a single global comsat system, as stated in the 1962 Communications 

Satellite Act, Aviation Week & Space Technology commented. (Off 

US Rep to INTELSAT, ComSatCorp, interview, 23 Jan 75; Jobnsen, 

Av Wk, 8 April 74,24) 

* An omnidirectional wheel that could change a vehicle’s direction of movement without changing the direction it was facing had been developed 

by Marshall Space Flight Center engineer Josef F. Blumrich, MSFC announced. The rim of the wheel consisted of several barrel-shaped segments that rotated independently when in contact with the ground. The 

wheel, which would be strong enough to negotiate rough terrain, could 

be used on a planetary explorer vehicle or on wheelchairs. (MSFC Release 

7453) 

* The French aerospace industry was reported as recording $1.07 billion 

worth of exports delivered in 1973. About 15%--$170 million-was in 

cooperative European aircraft programs. Missiles and space deliveries 

amounted to $79 million. New missile and space orders totaled $169 

million. 

British aerospace exports were later reported at almost $1.3 billion for 

1973, a 25% increase over 1972 and nearly twice 1970 exports. The 

Ieading British market was the US., with $360 million worth of 

deliveries. (Av Wk, 8 April 74, 23; Interavia, April 74, 275) 

The Navy had selected International Business Machines Corp. Electronic 

Systems Center as prime contractor for the light airborne multipurpose 

system (LAMPS) helicopter, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported. Under a $13.8-million contract, IBM would develop and test a 

prototype antisubmarine warfare and avionics and weapon control system for installation and integration in a helicopter furnished by the Navy. 

(Aw Wk, 8 April 74, 24) 

8 April-3 May: Some 75 Soviet aerospace specialists-including U.S.S.R. 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Technical Director Konstantin D. Bushuyev, 

prime crewmen Aleksey A. Leonov and Valery N. Kubasov, Flight Director Aleksey S. Yeliseyev, and training officer for ASTP crews Valery F. 

81 
8 April4 May ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Bykovsky-joined U.S. ASTP astronauts and specialists at Johnson Space 

Center to continue technical discussions and planning for the July 1975 

joint ASTP mission. Agreement was reached that specialists and flight 

crews would visit the US. launch site in February 1975 and the U.S.S.R. 

launch site in May 1975, for familiarization with the spacecraft and to 

test compatible equipment. NASA had. defined no technical need for US. 

representatives at the Soviet launch site during actual liftoff; U.S. 

specialists would be in the control center. 

Apollo docking module and Soyuz life-support-system tests were 

reviewed, in addition to safety assessment reports on control systems and 

spacecraft manufacturing test and checkout. Schedules for each of the 

five joint experiments-ultraviolet absorption, biological interaction, 

microbial exchange, multipurpose furnace, and artificial solar eclipsewere approved. Agreement was also reached on the basic approach and 

content of the joint flight readiness review, to be held in May 1975. The 

U.S.S.R. crew and U.S. ASTP Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. 

Brand, and Donald K. Slayton walked through hundreds of procedures 

for the first time as crews, to verify the integrity of the docking module 

that would connect the Soyuz and Apollo command and service modules. 

At a 26 April press conference Stafford demonstrated his proficiency 

in the Russian language by answering newsmen’s questions in Russian. 

Cosmonauts and astronauts agreed that “weYve no problem in language.” 

One cosmonaut said, “Our work is considerably better when the American crew speaks Russian and our crew speaks English.” 

Glynn S. Lunney, ASTP Technical Director for the US., said during 

a 3 May press briefing that the work in the U.S. and jointly was on 

schedule. The progress “has been good and . . . gratifying.” Prof. 

Bushuyev said that “there can be no longer any doubt that we will be 

successful in preparing for and achieving our joint flight in July 1975.” 

(JSC Roundup, 12 April 74, 1; ASTP Communiquh; Press briefing 

transcripts, 26 April 74,3 May 74) 

8-12 April: Mariner 10 closeup photos of Mercury taken 23 March-5 April 

showed that many large basinlike features on the planet appeared to be 

flooded by lava, Dr. Bruce C. Murray-California rnstitute of Technology 

scientist and head of the Mariner 10 photo inierpretation team-reported 

to the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting in Washington, 

D.C. The apparent volcanic outpourings indicated that Mercury like 

the earth had a massive iron-rich core, hidden beneath a battered, heavily 

cratered, moonlike crust, making Mercury “a unique planet in the solar 

system” and serving as important evidence in deciphering the primordial 

history of the solar system. The latest results from Mariner 10’s encounter with the planet showed the outer portions of Mercury to be made of 

silicate-rich rocks, suggesting the planet had undergone considerable 

melting in its history, with heavier materials sinking to the center of the 

planet and lighter silicates rising to the surface. Analysis also showed that 

craters might have existed from the time the planet was formed by a 

great influx of cosmic debris 4 billion to 4.5 billion years ago, with no 

great internal surface-shaping processes since then. (UPI, NYT, 13 April 

74, 9; AP, W Star-News, 12 April 74, A5; NASA MOR, 24+ April 74) 

9 April: Analysis of Pioneer 10 photographs taken during the spacecraft’s 

3 Dec. 1973 encounter with Jupiter indicated that the planet’s great red 

spot was probably a towering mass of clouds rising from discrete thermal 

sourceg, Dr. Tom Gehrels, Univ. of Arizopa scientist, said at a NASA 

82 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 9 April 

Jupiter science press briefing in Washington, D.C. The heat sources 

caused the atmospheric gases to rise locally to lower pressures. As the 

altitude increased the gases condensed, forming the aerosols that colored 

the clouds. The aerosols then sank and were again evaporated by the 

higher pressures and temperatures, creating an up-and-down circular 

motion within the red spot. Dr. Gehrels said that the spot “is not a unique 

feature.” Pioneer 10 photos showed other areas of rising clouds. “We see 

quite a few of these that occur in equatorial regions.” 

Dr. James A. Van Allen, Univ. of Iowa scientist, said that Jupiter had 

been identified for the first time as a source of energetic particle emissions. The earth had been known to be a feeble emitter but Jupiter emitted particles at a strength detectable from fractions of an astronomical 

unit up to four or five AU from Jupiter. The discovery had dramatically 

changed interplanetary science from its traditional hypothesis that 

energetic particles observed in spztce had come only from the sun or from 

local acceleration. (Transcript) 

* NASA announced the Delta 100 Failure Review Committee had concluded 

that the failure of the mor-Delta launch vehicle 2nd stage during the 18 

Jan. Skynet IIA launch had been caused by an electronics package short 

circuit induced by a piece of conductive contaminant shaken loose during 

launch. Also, the insulation coating on the printed circuit boards had 

been ineffective at all sharp edges; tests had determined that the contaminant had probably welded across the exposed ends of component 

leads. The committee recommended proper insulation of exposed 

electrical points and an electronics package subjected to higher acceptance test vibration levels. (NASA Release 74-88) 

Award of a $6462OOooO, fixed-price-incentive contract to McDonnell . 

Douglas Corp. for Thor-Delta launch vehicle mission checkout, launchings, engineering support, and modifications through 30 Sept. 1975 was 

announced by NASA. Additional contract options totaled about $2 500 000. 

(NASA Release 74-84; Off Delta Mgr, interview) 

* The Senate Committee on Government Operations’ Subcommittee on 

Reorganization, Research, and International Organizations favorably reported S. 2744 to the full Committee. The bill would split the Atomic 

Energy Commission into two agencies, the Energy Research and Development Adniinistration ( ERDA) and the Nuclear Energy Commission 

(NEC) . (House, Bill Status Off, interview, 24 Jan 75) 

9-10 April: Passengers aboard two Delta Air Lines, Inc., flights on 5 and 6 

April might have been exposed to radiation from an improperly shielded 

shipment of 32 curies of solid radioactive iridium 192 transported in the 

aircraft cargo compartments from Washington, D.C., to Baton Rouge, 

La., the Atomic Energy Commission announced. The highest exposure 

for any one passenger would have been about 8 roentgens on one flight 

and 51h roentgens on the other, and these exposures would have 

occurred at only one seat location. The AEC also announced 10 April that 

it had ordered Value Engineering Co., the AEC licensee that had originated the shipment, to suspend further shipments of radioactive materials pending investigation. (AEC Releases T-161; T-162) 

10 April: NASA FY 1975 authorization bill H.R. 13998, a clean bill- introduced 4 April to replace H.R. 12689, was reported out of the House 

Committee on Science and Astronautics. The revised bill would authorize $3.253 billion in FY 1975 funding, an increase of $6 million over 

the original request. Authorizations for research and development ina3 
10 April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

creased $11 million to $2.357 billion, and construction of facilities decreased $5 million, to $146.5 million. Funding for research and program 

management remained the same. 

Iscluded in the R&D increases was a $20-million addition, to a total 

$112.3 million, for the space shuttle main engine, which had encountered 

technical problems during early development. The increase was proposed 

to add confidence in meeting schedules and hold total program costs at 

the current projection. A $4.3-million increase, to $170.7 million, was 

added for aeronautical research and technology. A $1.8-million increase 

brought the total for space and nuclear research and technology to $76.6 

million. Manned space flight operations funding was decreased $15 million, to $308.3 million, including a $5-miIIion decrease (to $109.6 rnillion) for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and a $10-million decrease (to 

$165.2 million) in development, test, and mission operations. 

Changes in facility construction authorizations included an increase 

of $4 million, to $10.04 million for construction of the infrared telescope 

facility in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. 

The Committee also requested that NASA make a scientific and technological inventory of its capability to contribute to such critical national needs as energy, transportation, and environmental control. NASA 

was to report to the Committee by 1 Aug. (H Rpt 93-983) 

II ApriE: Communications Satellite Corp. Laboratories and Telesat Canada 

had recently completed ioint field tests of the transmission of digital data 

through Canada’; Anih I communications satellite (launchedu 9 Nov. 

1972) , ComSatCorp announced. Data were transmitted at 67.2 megabits 

per sec, believed to be the highest rate ever transmitted by satellite. The 

high rate allowed two digital TV communications system color channels 

to be carried through a single transponder. The tests confirmed previous 

system analyses and proved the ability of satellites to transmit the equivalent of 100 newspaper pages in one minute. (ComSatCorp Release 

7622) 

Communications Satellite Corp. filed proposed rates with the Federal Communications Commission for a new medium-speed digital-data satellite 

service called DIGISAT, to provide digital data channels between the U.S. 

mainland and Hawaii. The proposed monthly rate to international common carriers would be $2700 for 2.4 kilobits per sec, $3000 for 4.8 kbps, 

and $3900 for 9.6 kbps. Expansion to European points was expected 

later in the year. (ComSatCorp Release 74-21 ; ComSatCorp PAO, interview) 

I2 April: Two A-9 twin turbofan aircraft, Northrop Corp.’s unsuccessful 

contenders for the Air Force close air support aircraft, had been transferred to Flight Research Center, the FRC X-Press reported. One of the 

aircraft wouId be used in three research programs: as a support aircraft 

in the trailing vortices research program; as a mother ship to air-launch 

supersonic Firebee drones in the remotely piloted research vehicle program; and as a test-bed aircraft in the Center’s nonpropulsive aircraft 

noise program. The second A-9 would be used for spare parts. (FRC 

X-Press, 12 April 74,Z; FRC proj off, interview, 21 Feb 75) 

0 The economic return from the US. space program amoubted to 33% per 

year, exceeding the typical yield from investments in stocks, bonds, and 

real estate, Dr. Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Johnson Space Center Director, said in a speech at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ. 

at Blacksburg, Va. Among returns not immediately visible to the public 

84l 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 12 April 

were some 30000 inventions available by the end of the Apollo program. The price of Erts 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite-surveying the earth since its launch 23 July 1972-was less than 50 cents 

per American. “Given its potential for aiding us in the coming years, 

who would not support a program that costs less than a . . . half-pound 

[one fourth kilogram] of ground beef?” Dr. Kraft estimated that the 

space shuttle, at an annual cost of $5 for each American, was an investment that would “pay, perhaps, the greatest return to future generations.” With such a vehicle we could not only perform a variety of scientific studies with immediate application to life on earth but build 

permanent space stations and launch planetary vehicles and eventually 

starships. The space shuttle program, with its international cooperation, 

would unite “many nations for the benefit of all.’, (Text) 

* The U.S.S.R.’s Cosmonautics Day and 13th anniversary of the first manned 

space flight, made by Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin in 1961, was marked 

by articles in the Soviet press. 

Cosmonautics is one of the most important testing ranges of science 

in which many directions of science and technology are being synthesized into a single constantly perfecting system,” Soviet Academician 

VaIentin Glushko wrote in Pravda. The successes of cosmonautics in the 

preceding 15 to 20 yrs had given a powerful impetus to various 

branches of knowledge. The initial accumulation of facts by spacecraft 

had been completed. On the agenda now was the detailed study of 

dynamic processes, the interconnection of phenomena, and the verification of hypotheses and models. 

Maj. Gen. Vladimir A. Shatalov, chief of cosmonaut training, acknowledged in an interview with Sovietskaya Rossiya the importance of 

orbital stations for future space experiments. He also acknowledged 

that Soviet designers had not yet been able to develop a satisfactory 

space shuttle. He said the U.S.S.R. had no plans for a manned landing 

on the moon. His impassioned defense of the Soviet space program 

suggested that it, like the U.3. program, was under fire by domestic 

critics; “many millions of rubles” had been saved because of the use of 

meteorological satellites. 

In Trud, Academician Boris N. Petrov, head of the Council of International Cooperation in Space Exploration and Use under the Soviet 

Academy of Sciences, said that manned flights “must become more 

frequent and more extended” to produce “really creative work for 

specialists of many branches of science.” (Tass, FBIS-SOV, 16 April 

74, U1-2; Wren, NYT, 13 April 74) 

23-23 April: NASA launched Westar 1 (Westar-A) , the first US. commercial 

domestic communications satellite, for Western Union Telegraph Co. 

from Eastern Test Range at 7:33 pm EDT on a Thor-Delta launch vehicle, the first with the TR-201 2nd-stage propulsion unit. One of the 

nine Castor motors strapped onto the booster failed to jettison until 

main engine cutoff, decreasing vehicle velocity. Propellant reserves in 

the 2nd stage provided sdlicient additional velocity, however, to put the 

satellite in the planned transfer orbit with a 36 238-km apogee, 230-km 

perigee, and 24.7” inclination. Nonmission-related 2nd-stage mveuvering experiments, which were to use the propellant reserves, were not 

performed. NASA’s mission objectiveto place the satellite in a transfer orbit that would allow onboard propulsion to pIace it in a stationary 

synchronous orbit while retaining sufficient stationkeeping propulsion 

GC 

85 
13-23 April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

to meet mission lifetime requirements-was met and the mission was 

adjudged successful 23 April. 

Westar 1 was acquired by a mobile ground station at 9:38 pm EDT 

and control was turned over to Western Union. The satellite apogee 

motor was successfully fired at 5:21 pm EDT 16 April and Westar 1 was 

placed in geosynchronous orbit with a 35 592-km apogee, 35 166-km 

perigee, 23-hr 35-min period, and 0.6' inclination. An onboard hydrazine reaction control system was moving the satellite toward its final 

position above the equator at 99' W longitude. 

Each of 12 pawponders aboard Westar 1 could relay 1200 voice 

circuits, 1 color TV channel with program audio, or data at 50 megabits 

per sec. The Westar system-including one satellite to be launched in 

June, one satellite to be held in reserve, and five earth stations-would 

greatly increase Western Union's capacity for commercial and personal 

communications. Expected to be operational in August, the system would 

be the first to interconnect, under one company, satellites and an existing continent-wide, computer-switched, multipurpose terrestrial network. 

(NASA MORS, 19 March 74,24 April 74; GSFC Wkly SSR, 11-17 April 74; 

NASA Release 74-77; McElheny, NYT, 15 April 74, 1; AP, CSM, 18 

April 74; SBD, 26 April 74, 322; GSFC proj off, interview, 7 Nov 75) 

14 April: Stratospheric contamination from supersonic aircraft engines such 

as those fitted to the Anglo-French Concorde and the Soviet Tu-144 

might lower the earth's mean temperatures, with a catastrophic effect 

on agriculture, and increase the incidence of skin cancer from overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, according to a Dept. of Transportation 

study cited by the Washington Post. In a telephone interview with the 

Post Dr. Alan Grobecker, manager of DOT'S climatic impact assessment 

program, confirmed the existence of the study, which was based on data 

collected by satellites, balloons, and instrumented aircraft. He emphasized that the pollution by the emission of nitrogen oxide and sulfur 

dioxide would have a worldwide impact because of the capacity of the 

stratosphere to retain the pollutants for nearly a year. A separate Agricultural Research Service study showed that stratospheric contamination 

could cut temperate climate crops by 60%. The DOT paper would be 

considered by committees of the National Academy of Sciences and the 

National Academy of Engineering at a special meeting in July. (Wilson, 

W Post, 14 April 74, AS) 

Appointment of Stephen E. Doyle as NASA$ Deputy Assistant Administrator 

for International Affairs became effective. Before joining NASA Doyle 

had been Manager for International Organization Affairs, Office of Telecommunications Policy in the Executive Office of the President. (NASA 

Release 74-101) 

15 Aprd: Marshall Space Flight Center had begun a 20-mo investigation 

of the vibration characteristics of railroad freight cars as part of an 

extensive study of train dynamics, with the Federal Railroad Administration and the American Association of Railroads, NASA announced. 

Martin Marietta Corp.-under a $329 000 contract from MsFc-would 

make a mathematical model of truck-car dynamics for comparison with 

data from laboratory and operational tests of a freight car and components. (NASA Release 7486) 

* The European Space Research Organization was investigating systems 

for all-weather earth resources obServations, Aviation We& & Space 

Technology reported. Thomson-csF and British Aircraft Corp. had com86 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 15 April 

pleted a nine-month study of a synthetic-aperture radar satellite with a 

50-m-resolution imaging sensor. (Av Wk, 15 April 74, 11) 

“Skylab was an achievement that will ultimately benefit every inhabitant 

of this planet,” Robert Hotz wrote in an Aviation Week & Space Technology editorial. Further, “in addition to their constant work as space 

mechanics, the Skylab crews demonstrated that man is a valuable addition to the loop of scientific experiments and activities that can be performed uniquely from space. . . . There is no doubt that man must be 

an integral part of any future space reconnaissance system. . . . “But perhaps the real essence of Skylab‘s performance and its significance for future space operations were in its tremendous flexibility.” 

Besides design, planning, and extra equipment, “it was a spirit developed 

between the ground crews with their considerable array of resources and 

the flight crews who were able to focus these resources on solving their 

problems aloft.” One astronaut had said, “Skylab worked better broken 

than anybody had hoped for if it was perfect.” (Av Wk, 15 April 74,9) 

* Radioactive material like that which had leaked from an improperly 

shielded container on two 5 and 6 April Delta Air Lines, Inc., flights, and 

germs, bacteria, and nerve gas were shipped routinely on commercial 

aircraft, the Washington Post reported. The Post quoted an Atomic 

Energy Commission investigation as saying that 1 million shipments of 

radioactive material had been made during 1973. Medical isotopes had 

accounted for 95% of the total. On 20 March the Air Line Pilots Association had asked the Federal Aviation Administration to ban the ship 

ment of radioactive material by air temporarily. (Conlan, W Post, 15 

April 74, A6) 

16 April: “I am sure life will move out from the Earth, probably first to the 

Moon and then to Mars,” Dr. John E. Naugle, NASA Deputy Associate 

Administrator, said in a speech reviewing NASA’s planetary program 

before the National Space Club. Just what form of life would be transplanted, whether man or some simple organism, would be the subject of 

debate. Four planets- Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Mercury-had already 

been visited. The next major event would be the Viking landings on 

Mars in 1976. Historically, two significant events in 1965 had determined 

the direction of the planetary program. The first was c study at Woods 

Hole, Mass., which had recommended that the space program, following 

Apollo, should search for life on the planets and give first priority to 

the study of Mars-while also maintaining a wide-ranging program of 

general planetary exploration-because Mars most closely resembled the 

earth and was the most likely to support life. The second event, the 

14 July 1965 flight of Mariner 4 past Mars, supported the recommendations when it found evidence of water in the Martian atmosphere. 

“In retrospect, I think the decision . . . has been sound.” But a major 

decision that faced NASA this summer, one year before the launch of 

Viking, was whether there should be follow-on Viking missions. “Should 

Mars continue to have first priority in planetary exploration? . . . Clearly, if we find evidence of life on Mars, . . . Mars will have first 

priority.” (Text) 

17 April: Soviet scientists had determined that weightlessness might diange 

heredity, Tass reported. Mustard seeds flown in space had reproduced 

brown instead of green seeds. Nikolay Dubinin, Director of the General 

Genetics Institute at the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, was quoted as 

87 
17 April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

saying that the more complex the organism, the greater the change. 

( UPI, W Post, 18 April 74) 

Marshall Space Flight Center had awarded a $3 850 000 contract modification to Rockwell International Corp. for architectural and engineering 

services and construction of test and industrial facilities for the space 

shuttle main engine, NASA announced. (NASA Release 7497) 

President Nixon announced he would appoint John C. Sawhill Administrator of the Federal Energy Office. He would succeed William E. Simon, 

who would be nominated Secretary of the Treasury. Sawhill had been 

Deputy Administrator of EEO since 4 Dec. 1973. (PD, 22 April 74,413) 

18 April: American Telephone & Telegraph Co. and GTE Satellite Corp. filed 

a proposal with the Federal Communications Commission to operate a 

joint domestic satellite system. The system would serve the contiguous 48 

states and Hawaii and could serve Alaska and Puerto Rico through earth 

stations owned by other companies. A joint system would improve network efficiency and reduce the number of earth stations to 7, from the 

10 required for two separate systems. Three satellites operated by COMSAT 

General Corp. and provided to AT&T would serve the joint system and 

could handle 28 800 simultaneous telephone conversations. The FCC had 

approved separate domestic satellite systems for the two companies 12 

Sept. 1973, directing them to work together to integrate the systems and 

negotiate agreements for handling communications traffic and equitable 

division of revenues from jointly rendered services. (Smith, NYT, 19 

April 7449) 

18-19 April: Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, qresented the NASA 

Distinguished Service Medal to Dale D. Myers, President of Rockwell 

International Corp. North American Aircraft Operations Group and 

former NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, for his 

contributions to the Skylab program in a Skylab Honor Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. Nine Headquarters employees and three from 

Goddard Space Flight Center received the Exceptional Service Medal. 

Twenty-six individuals and four groups received awards in ceremonies at Johnson Space Center. Twenty-six individuals and five groups 

at Kennedy Space Center and thirty-four individuals and six groups at 

Marshall Space Flight Center received awaids in ceremonies 19 April. 

(NASA Ann ; NASA Release 7490 ; Program) 

19 April: Piom& 11, launched 5 April 1973 toward a December 1974 encounter with Jupiter, was retargeted to pass within 42 000 km of Jupiter 

and then, with a gravity assist from the planet, fly on to Saturn in 1979. 

Ground controllers at Ames Research Center commanded the spacecraft's 

onboard thrusters to fire for 42 min 36 sec, increasing velocity 230 km 

per hr. On its new course, Pioneer 11 would pass Jupiter nearer the 

south polar region, intersecting the planet's equatorial plane at 55", and 

come three times closer than Pioneer 10 had during its 3 Dec. 1973 

encounter. (NASA MOR, 5 Nov 74; NASA Release 7494; ARC Release 

7410) 

* The Saturn IB 1st stage for the U.S.S.R.-US. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project 

launch in 1975 left Michoud Assembly Facility for Kennedy Space Center 

on the ocean-going barge Orion. The stage would be storsd in the Vehicle 

Assembly Building until December, when the launch vehicle would be 

assembled on its mobile launcher. (KSC Release 70-74) 

20 April: The U.S.S.R. launched Molniya 1-27 communications satellite 

from Plesetsk into orbit with a 40 705-km apogee, 623-km perigee, 12-hr 

88 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 20 Apd 

17.6-min period, and 62.9” inclination. The satellite would help provide 

a system of: long-range telephone and telegraph radio communications 

in the U.S.S.R. and would transmit Soviet central TV programs to the 

Orbita network. (GSFC Whdy SSR, 18-24 April 74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 

22 April 74, U1; SF, Sept 74, 394) 

Japan and the People’s Republic of China signed a civil aviation agreement in Peking setting up commercial flights between the two countries. 

Japan Air Lines Co., Ltd., would be &le to fly to Peking and Shanghai. 

Civil Aviation Administration of China flights to Tokyo would be the 

P.R.C.’s first service to a non-Communist country. The P.R.C. had purchased 10 Boeing 707s for its expanded international service, including 

possible future service to Canada, the U.S., and Latin America. In addition to ratification by Japan’s Diet, technical details would have to be 

worked out before regular service could begin. Within hours after the 

agreement was announced the Foreign Minister of the Republic of China 

(Nationalist) announced termination of service by JAL and Taiwan’s 

China Air Lines between Taiwan and Japan and a ban on JAL flights over 

Taiwan. (Mackenzie, W Post, 21 April 74, Al; Butterfield, NYT, 21 

April 74, 1) 

21 April: Design work on the primary rescue system for space shuttle passengers proceeded at Johnson Space Center. A prototype “beach ball” 

large enough for a person to crawl into, zip up, and pressurize had been 

demonstrated and given a go-ahead at NASA Hq. in December 1973. Assistant Chief for Shuttle Larry E. Bell in JSC’S Crew Systems Div. had 

told a news interviewer the balls could be packaged into cylinders to 

accompany each passenger aboard the shuttle in the 1980~~ “almost like 

a parachute.” Simplicity, size, light weight, structural strength of the 

ball shape, and low cost had won approval over expensive and complicated spacesuits for nonastronauts on flights and eliminated the requirement for a rescue docking module. 

In an emergency, passengers could enter the balls-each with its own 

window-an hour or two before rescue by a second shuttle. Oxygen 

containers connected to the shuttle supply system would be used until 

just before rescue; a device would remove carbon dioxide. Once disconnected, each container would last an hour ; transfer through space 

to the rescue shuttle was expected to take 30 min. (Bell interview, 

4 March 75; Hill, H Chron, 21 April74) 

Aerospace companies that had succeeded in using the system approach to 

develop advanced technology for use in space were encountering difficulties in the field of urban mass transportation, a New York Times 

article said. Boeing Co. Aerospace Div. faced losses of up to $6 million 

on an automated “people mover” shuttle system in Morgantown, W. Va. 

Cost of the project, chosen four years ago as a pilot application of aerospace management techniques, had jumped from the original estimate 

of $13.4 million to $115 million. Rohr Industries, Inc., had lost more 

than $10 million on a project to build 450 commuter cars for the San 

Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System, which had threatened to 

sue Rohr over late deliveries and alleged unreliability of same cars. 

Observers had noted that aerospace technologists tended to “overengineer” transit systems, increasing costs, aggravating maintenar.ce, and 

marring reliability. In addition there were problems in converting prototypes to hardware that could withstand the rigors of carrying throngs 

of people. But, despite the frustrations, more companies were entering 

89 
21 April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

the competition. A significant test of how the aerospace industry would 

fare in the next era of transit development would be the performance 

of Boeing’s Vert01 Div. in two projects to produce 230 streetcars for 

Boston and San Francisco and 100 cars for Chicago’s rapid transit 

system. (Lindsey, NYT, 21 April 74,3:1) 

21-25 April: Observations of Comet Kohoutek in December and January and 

sudden changes in brightness of the more recent Comet Bradfield had led 

to the theory that comets were layered like onions, Dr. Edward P. Ney, 

Univ. of Minnesota scientist, reported at a joint meeting of the American 

Physical Society and the Optical Society of America. When some layers 

were exposed, they shone brilliantly; when a layer wore off, the comet 

might abruptly become dim. The onion model would explain why predictions of Kohoutek’s brilliance were so inaccurate and why Bradfield had 

suddenly dimmed to 100th its previous brilliance. 

Dr. Alastair G. W. Cameron, Harvard College Observatory scientist, 

said that an enormous spherical cloud of comets with a combined mass 

20 times that of Jupiter might lie beyond the planets and form a far more 

massive part of the universe than the planets. This cloud, the Oort cloud, 

might be a repository for heavy elements formed since the infancy of the 

Milky Way. 

Dr. R. W. Klebesadel of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory said 

that satellites, placed in a 100000-km orbit as part of the Air Force 

Vela series developed to monitor the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, has 

monitored 27 high-intensity explosions in space over four years. The 

explosions, which had produced unusually large amounts of gamma 

and x-ray energy, might be in the Orion arm of the galaxy, where the 

earth was. Dr. Philip Morrison of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said nine current theories of the origin of the explosions included 

exploding stars, or supernovae; objects falling into neutron stars; and 

unusually large solar flares or sunstorms on distant stars. (Sullivan, 

NYT, 24 April 74, 13; Shurkin, P Inq, 26 April 74, 12) 

22 April: An Erts 1 photo map of the contiguous 48 states of the U.S., the first 

ever assembled from satellite images, had been completed for NASA by the 

Dept. of Agriculture’s Soil Cartographic Division, NASA announced. The 

three- by five-meter map was composed froni 595 cloud-free black and 

white images taken 25 July-31 Oct 1972 from an altitude of 912 km by 

the multispectral scanner on Erts I (launched by NASA 23 July 1972). 

The mosaic would provide a base for regional compilation of investigation results, provide the first synoptic look at the U.S. for scientists 

examining subcontinental lineaments and faults, permit construction of 

a national surface water inventory, provide a base for a national-vegetation-cover and continuous-land-classification inventory, provide an 

accurate assessment of the national water drainage network, and document 1972 national land use. 

The mosaic would be displayed publicly for the first time in ceremonies 

at NASA Hq. 26 April. (NASA Release 74431) 0 Reduction-in-force notices were delivered to 397 employees at Marshall 

Space Flight Center. Another 250 employees received notices that they 

would be reduced in grade. Earlier, MSFC officials had projectd a personnel reduction of about 500 employees, but retirements and attrition 

since then had reduced the number required. (MSFC Release 7668) 

NASA had applied for a patent on a special absorptive coating developed by 

a Marshall Space Flight Center engineer. It would be applied to aluminum 

90 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 22 April 

panels used in the construction of the solar heating and cooling system 

being demonstrated at MSFC. The coating absorbed 93% of the total solar 

heat, which was transferred to water circulated through flow passages to 

a storage tank for use in heating or cooling; it reradiated only 6% of the 

infrared heat. (NASA Release 74-96) 

* The Air Force was making additional efforts in the application of boron 

and graphite composites in 1974-40 take advantage of weight savings, 

higher performance, and lower costs-the Air Force Systems Command 

announced. Tests would include a full-sized composite wing for the 

YF-16 prototype lightweight fighter, a composite speedbrake for the 

F-15 air superiority fighter, and a composite outer wing for the A-7 

attack fighter aircraft. The composite maneuver augmentation program 

called for the design, manufacture, and evaluation of an advanced composite wing on a remotely piloted test vehicle. (AFSC Release OIP 029.74) 

23 April: The U.S.S.R. launched eight Cosmos satellites on a single booster 

from Plesetsk. Orbital parameters were: 

Cosmos 641--1483-km apogee, 1387-km perigee, 114.6-min period, 

Cosmos 642-1481-km apogee, 1319-km perigee, 113.8-min period, 

Cosmos 643-1482-km apogee, 1353-km perigee, 114.2-min period, 

Cosmos 644-1483-km apogee, 1335-km perigee, 114.0-min period, 

Cosmos 645-1483-km apogee, 1369-km perigee, 114.4-min period, 

Cosmos 646-1486-km apogee, 1403-km perigee, 114.8-mins period, 

Cosmos 647-1484-km apogee, 1423-km perigee, 115.0-min period, 

Cosmos 648-1480-km apogee, 1439-km perigee, 115.2-min period, 

The press reported observers believed the satellites would operate in 

support of Soviet naval communications. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 18-24 April 

74; SBD, 25 April 74, 313) 

* Skylab 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William R. 

Pogue briefed members of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics on the Skylab program: Carr said that, in space, material 

samples such as paper, teflon, nylon, and neoprene-covered nylon were 

self-extinguishing when ignited, because of a lack of convection. Polyurethane, however, burned "like something soaked in gasoline. . . . I 

am very certain that we will never ever see polyurethane foam in a 

spacecraft." Dr. Gibson said that a leg muscle problem that had hindered 

previous Skylab crews in their ability to walk and run upon return to 

earth had been solved by a very crude treadmill device used to simulate 

walking and running. "We worked at it every day, and the condition we 

came back in was good testimony to the utility of that device." 

Pogue narrated a dramatic presentation of slides taken from tb Skylab Workshop-of mountainsides eroded by stripmining, forests denuded 

by the clearcutting of timber, cities obscured by smog, and rivers and 

lakes muddied by pollution and silt. He said that the astronauts had 

been constantly amazed how clearly such effects could be seen from 

and 74.0" inclination. 

and 74.0" inclination., 

and 74.0" inclination. 

and 74.0" inclination. 

and 74.0" inclination. 

and 74.0" inclination. 

and 74.0" inclination. 

and 74.0" inclination. 

91 
23 April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

their perch in space. “It has an emotional feedback.” Carr said that it 

had become “very, very clear . . . that we don’t have a whole lot of 

places to live comfortably on this Earth and we must take care of it.” 

Dr. Gibson said that the crew would like to see future missions make 

more use of man’s capability to use his own judgment in data collection. 

“We would like to see instruments with high-data capability which could 

be pointed and selectively operated.” Carr said that, “if you are going 

to use man in space, he is going to be happy if he can use his own judgment and . . . is productive. If he is nothing but a switch twiddler working against the clock, he is going to become very bored, and he is going 

to have psychological problems.” (Transcript) 

Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, former Johnson Space Center Director and retired 

24 

NASA Director of Key Personnel Devdopment, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences during its 111th Annual Meeting. In addition to Dr. Gilruth, 95 other scientists and engineers, one posthumously, 

were elected in recognition of their achievements in original research. 

(NAS Release, 23 April 74) 

April: The U.S.S.R. launched Meteor 17 meteorological satellite from 

Plesetsk into orbit with a 892-km apogee, 863-km perigee, 102.5-min 

period, and 81.2’ inclination. The satellite carried equipment to obtain 

cloud- and snow-cover images on the sunward and shadow sides of the 

globe as well as data on thermal energy reflected and emitted by the 

earth and the atmosphere. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 18-24 April 74; Tass, FBISSOV, 25 April 74, U1: SF, Sept 74,395) 

NASA’s‘Plum- Brook Station had tested an experimental hypersonic ramjet 

engine in a hypersonic wind tunnel with simulated flight conditions of 

mach 5, 6, and 7, Lewis Research Center announced. The water-cooled 

raajet engine, a cooperative effort of LeRC and Garrett Corp., was designed to operate eEciently from mach 4 to mach 8 by using hydrogen 

fuel, a translating spike inlet, and both subsonic and supersonic combustion modes. The tests had yielded valuable basic information for possible future aircraft development. (LeRC Release 74-14) 

25 April: The House passed the NASA authorization bill, H.R. 13998, by a 

vote of 341 to 37. The total authorization was $3.259 billion, $6 million 

over the $3.253 billion suggested by the House Committee on Science 

and Astronautics 10 April and $12 million above the Administration 

request of $3.247 billion. On the floor, the House had approved an additional $3.9 million for research in coal extraction, coal energy conversion, and mine safety. An additional $2 million was authorized for research in hydrogen production and use. (CR, 25 April 74, H3201-31) 

Quasars-celestial objects thought to be among the oldest, most distant, 

and most radiant bodies observable from the earth-ould also be manifestations of black holes, Dr. Elden c. Whipple, Jr., National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration scientist, and Dr. Thomas E. Holzer of 

the National Center for Atmospheric Research reported in a paper at the 

joint meeting of the American Physical Society-Optical Society of 

America. Material falling into a massive black hole could produce the 

visible effects of a quasar without requiring the magnitudes of distance, 

velocity, age, and radiating power usually attributed fo these objects. 

(NOAA Release 74-63) 

* The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a new safety regulation that 

would require all shipments of radioactive material on passenger and 

cargo aircraft to be inspected for leakage and scanned with radiation 

92 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 25 April 

monitoring instruments before flight. On passenger flights, radiation 

monitors would check the cabin floor above the cargo hold before departure and the cargo compartment after the aircraft had landed. The 

FAA proposal had been prompted by incidents of improper packaging 

that had exposed passengers and crew members to higher-than-normal 

radiation levels [see 9-10 April]. (FAA Release 74-59) 

26 April: The U.S.S.R. launched Molniyu 11-9 communications satellite 

from Plesetsk into orbit with a do 700-km apogee, 599-km perigee, 12-hr 

17.0-min period, and 62.9" inclination. The satellite would help provide 

a system of long-range telephone and telegraph radio communications in 

the U.S.S.R. and would transmit Soviet central TV programs to the 

Orbita network. (GSFC WMy SSR, 25 April-1 May 74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 

30 April 74; U1; SF, Sept. 74,395) 

* Data from Pioneer 10, launched 2 March 1972 toward a 3 Dec. 1973 encounter with Jupiter, had indicated that sulfur was one possible element in the surface composition of Jupiter's moon Io, Marshall Space 

Flight Center announced. Scientists at MSFC had studied the reflective 

properties of Io and concluded that sulfur was one of the few materials 

that could have the high reflectivity and strong absorption features observed. The theory would be tested by measuring the changes in reflectivity of sulfur at different wavelengths and temperatures and observing 

the reflectivity change of Io in the fall when Jupiter would be in the 

evening sky. ( MSFC Release 74-72) 

* Wallops Station, Wallops Island, Va., was renamed Wallops Flight Center 

to describe its mission and operations more accurately. The Center had 

responsibility for development and launch of scientific payloads, using 

boosters ranging from the small Arcas to the four-stage, solid-propellant 

Scout. The installation had been established in 1945 as the Pilotless Aircraft Research Station of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and had served as a base for launching small rockets. After NASA 

had been established in 1958, it became known as Wallops Station and 

assumed an expanded mission in support of space flight programs. 

(NASA Ann, 25 April 74) 0 NASA had awarded the Planning Research Corp., Huntsville, Ala.; a oneyear $6-million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, with an 3dditional one-year 

$10-million option, to provide design engineering support services for 

development, test, and mission operations primarily in support of the 

space shuttle at Kennedy Space Center, KSC announced. (KSC Release 

* NASA had selected International Business Machines Corp. Federal Systems 

Div. for a $636 000 one-year contract, with options for renewal, to provide system engineering and software development support to the Design 

Engineering Directorate at Kennedy Space Center for space shuttle 

launch processing systems. IBM would help provide a flexible, reliable, 

and cost-effective means of system-testing, launch operations control, 

and status monitoring of the space shuttle, ground support equipment, 

and facilities during ground operations. (NASA Release 74-104) 

0 The U.S.S.R. was believed to have orbited between 8 and 10 radar-carrying 

satellites in the last four years that could monitor surface ship traffic 

around the globe, Thomas O'Toole said in a Washington Post article. 

Intelligence sources believed the satellites were still experimental and 

part of an effort to monitor submerged Polaris submarines. One radar 

satellite, Cosmos 626, launched 27 Dec. 1973 into an orbit 264-km high, 

75-74) 

93 
26 April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

separated into two parts 11 Feb. One part moved to a higher 382-km orbit 

and was thought to be the power supply for the orbital radar, using 

polonium 210, a “hot” source of radioactive heat that could generate as 

much as 2000 kw of electricity by thermoelectricity. ( W Post, 26 April 

74, Al) 

27 ApriZ-5 May: Two full-scale models of the Spacelab manned orbital laboratory, to be developed by the European Space Research Organization 

for use with the shuttle, were shown to the international press and public 

for the first time at the 1974 German Aerospace Show in Hanover, West 

Germany. Visitors were able to see interior as well as the exterior equi - 

space shuttle was also on display. (ESRO Release, 22 April 74) 

29 April: Bacteria found frozen in Antarctic ice and soil for a possible 1 million years had grown and reproduced in the laboratory when put into 

nutrient fluids, the National Science Foundation announced. If the estimate of the age proved correct, the bacteria would be the oldest examples of life ever found on the earth. Results of the project, spdnsored 

by NSF and NASA’s extraterrestrial life detection program, would add 

weight to the theory that some forms of life might be frozen into the 

permafrost of planets such as Mars. The bacteria had been found at a 

depth of about 130 m near the main US. base on Ross Island. Later samples also had been found in Taylor Valley 95 km away. A senior scientist 

in the project, Dr. Roy E. Cameron of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said 

in a telephone interview with the New York Times that rod-shaped, 

club-shaped, and spherical specimens grew and reproduced, but one 

type, particularly interesting because it had been capable of spontaneous 

movement, could not be made to reproduce. (NSF Release 74-155; 

Schmeck, NYT, 30 April 74) 

* Dr. James R. Schlesinger, Secretary of Defense, announced plans to consider full-scale development of an air combat fighter (ACF) as an alternative to costly tactical aircraft. The best option, he said, would be to follow the Air Force lightweight fighter prototype program-including 

the YF-16 and YF-17-with an ACF decelopment program. Advocates 

later said the ACF could defend bases from fighter attack while larger 

aircraft such as the F-4 and F-15 carried the battle to an enemy hundreds 

of kilometers away. (DOD Release 171-74; AP, W Post, 30 April 74, A6) 

* Total employment in the aerospace industry was expected to drop back 

to 948 000 positions in June 1974 after a temporary increase during the 

last quarter of 1973, according to the semiannual forecast released by 

the Aerospace Industries Assobiation. September 1973 payrolls had 

been up 4000 positions over the June 1973 level of 949 000; December 

employment had added another 9000 positions; end of the year employment totaled 962 000 workers, the highest level since 1970. (MU Release, 29 April 74) 

* The airline industry could not count on “quantum jumps” in technology 

to ease inflation woes, Aviation Week & Space Technology quoted 

former astronaut Frank Borman, Senior Vice President of Operations 

for Eastern Airlines, Inc., as saying in Washington, D.C. Eastern’s furlough of more than 4000 employees over the past several months was 

a “sign of the austerity the industry must accept to offset inflation.” He 

said service might have to be more spartan and less frequent. (Aw Wk, 

29 April 74, 15) 

ment of the pallet and pressurized laboratory. A 1 :50 scale model of t l! e94 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 30 April 

30 April: Johnson Space Center announced two personnel changes: Astronaut John W. Young, veteran of four space flights, had been named Acting Chief of the Astronaut Office in the Flight Operations Directorate. He 

was replacing former Astronaut Office Chief Alan B. Shepard, Jr., who 

would serve as senior adviser to Young. 

Astronaut Russell L. Schweickart had been named Director of User 

Affairs at NASA Hq., effective 1 May, replacing Albert T. Christensen, 

who would return to private industry. The User Affairs Office maintained 

close ties with users of NASA’s applications program and ensured a flow of 

information and that the programs were responsive to user needs. (JSC 

Releases 74-71 ; 74-72) 

The House of Representatives passed the special energy research and development appropriations bill, H.R. 14434, by a vote of 392 to 4. The 

bill appropriated funds to various agencies, including $8.9 million to 

NASA, for energy R&D in N 1975. Of the NASA total, $4.5 million would 

be to implement the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act if 

enacted. An amendment to appropriate an additional $1 million to NASA 

was defeated by voice vote. (CR, 30 April 74, H3350-84) 

* A portable, remote, patient-monitoring device called the Vitasign Attendant 

Monitor had ben developed by a NASA Biomedical Application Team at 

Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Tex., using monitoring techniques developed for manned space flight, NASA announced. The monitor, 

commercially available at a moderate cost, operated by three electrodes 

placed on the patient’s chest. A sudden change in the electrocardiogram 

signal or the respiration rate automatically alerted medical attendants. 

(NASA Release 74-64) 

NASA had selected Computer Sciences Corp., Falls Church, Va., to negotiate a three-year $6.2-million cost-plus-award-fee contract for central 

computing support at Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA announced. 

csc would provide software support for manned and unmanned missions 

in real-time mission programs, network scheduling, and acquisition-data 

generation and transmission and would monitor and control display 

programs. (NASA Release 74-113) 

During Apri2: Skylab Program Director William C. Schneider and the three 

Skylab crews had been selected as recipients of the 1973 Robert J. Collier 

Trophy for “proving beyond question the value of man in future explorations of space and the production of data of benefit to all the 

people on earth,” the National Aeronautic Association announced. The 

Collier Committee-while recognizing contributions to the Skylab program by the more than 26000 engineers, scientists, flight controllers, 

and technicians-also had unanimously agreed that the trophy should 

be presented to Schneider on behalf of the crews for his leadership in this LC exceedingly complex enterprise.’’ The trophy was presented by Vice 

President Gerald R. Ford in Washington, D.C., ceremonies 4 June. 

(NAA News, April 74) 0 The report For the Benefit of All Mankind: The Practical Returns from 

Space was released by the House Committee on Science and Astronautics: America’s space program could stand on its own feet as a 

heroic manifestation of the evolutionary progress of humanity- toward 

a higher and better life.” During 1973 more than 2000 new examples 

of space-developed innovations and techniques had been reported under 

NASA’s technology utilization program. Since the proqram’s inception 11 

yrs ago, more than 30000 items had been reported. Hundreds of new 

L6 

95 
During April ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

products and applications had become a part of daily life. Under liberalized licensing procedures, NASA had granted five exclusive patent licenses 

during the year, the largest since the inception of the program. In 

addition to publications announcing innovations, NASA’s seven Regional 

Dissemination Centers worked directly with 2000 companies each year. 

In 1973 more than 57000 industrial inquiries had been handled. 

(Com Print) 

* Aircraft stalls and spins, greatest cause of fatal general-aviation accidents, 

had been intensively studied for the past 18 mos, NASA said in a report 

on its general-aviation technology program. More than 1000 spin tests 

had been made in Langley Research Center’s spin tunnel; designs for 

test aircraft were nearly complete. Airport traffic flow and pilot approach-and-landing performance also were under study, and a program 

offering more precise flight path control and reduced pilot workload 

had significantly improved pilot landing ability. A five-year program 

was developing better training methodology to reduce pilot errors. 

(NASA Fact Sheet) 

96 
May 1974 

1 May: Kennedy Space Center had awarded a $1 228 000 contract to Seelye 

Stevenson Value and Knecht, Inc., for the design of an orbiter processing 

facility and modifications to the Vehicle Assembly Building to support 

assembly and integrated checkout of the space shuttle, KSC announced. 

VAB modifications would include redesigning high bays 3 and 4 to accommodate complete shuttles and widening the north door to permit 

orbiter entry. The design work was to be completed within 30 days of 

notice of the award. (KSC Release 77-74) 

2 May: A full-scale simulated crash of an aircraft with a crew of four lifelike 

dummies was successfully completed at Langley Research Center as part 

of five years of tests in a program to study the crash-worthiness of light, 

general-aviation aircraft. The aircraft, a surplus twin-engine Piper 

Navajo, was suspended from the top of the test facility and swung by 

cables into the ground at 97 km per hr. An umbilical cable fed data on 

structural response back to a computer. The program was a cooperative 

effort with the Federal Aviation Administration and private industry to 

develop structural design techniques to improve the capability of light 

aircraft to withstand crash conditions and to increase the likelihood of 

passenger survival. (NASA Release 74-107 ; Newport News, Va., Times 

Herald, 9 May 74) 

* NASA announced the appointment of Dr. David L. Winter as Director of 

Life Sciences succeeding Dr. Charles A. Berry, who had announced his 

retirement 21 Dec. 1973 but remained with NASA until April. Dr. Winter 

would manage programs in biomedical and bioscience research, medical 

aspects of manned space flight operations, man-machine integration, life 

science applications, aeronautical life sciences, extraterrestrial life research, and occupational medicine. He had been Deputy Director of Life 

Sciences at Ames Research Center. (NASA Release 74-118) 0 Controversy over the parking position of Western Union Telegraph CO.'S 

second satellite-Westar-B, scheduled for June launch-was growing, 

the Wall Street Journal reported. Western Union had requested that the 

Federal Communications Commission assign the satellite a 119" west 

longitude position, but American Telephone 81 Telegraph Co. had petitioned the FCC to deny the request. AT&T would like to use that position 

for one of three comsats it planned to have in operation by early 1976. 

Positions were limited ; communications satellites occupied orbits 

35 500-35 900 km above the equator, and positions between 119" and 

138" west longitude served the continental US., Hawaii, and Alaska 

best. In addition, comsats had to be spaced about 5" apart to avoid interference with each other. (Jacobs, WSJ, 2 May 74) 

Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., former NASA Deputy Administrator ad Secretary of the Air Force, had been reelected to a four-year term as President 

of the National Academy of Engineering, NAE announced. He was first 

elected to the office in May 1973 for a one-year term. (NAE Release, 2 

May 74) 

97 
3 May ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

3 May: Kennedy Space Center had awarded a $382 000 contract to General 

Electric Co. for a multispectral-image-analysis system for data from the 

Erts I Earth Resources Technology Satellite (in orbit since 23 July 

1972) , from Skylab’s earth resources experiment package (carried on 

the Orbital Workshop in 1973), and from remote-sensing aircraft. (KSC 

Release 80-74) 

4-5 May: The Lower Atmosphere Composition and Temperature Experiment (LACATE) balloon was launched at 12:00 midnight EDT by a joint 

Government-industry team from White Sands Missile Range in a Langley 

Research Center project. An onboard 10-band infrared radiometer, 

being tested for use on the planned Nimbus-G satellite, measured vertical profiles of radiance emitted by the earth’s atmospheric limb. The 

profiles would provide basic data on temperature, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, water vapor, nitric acid, nitrous oxide, methane, and particles in 

the upper atmosphere and lower stratosphere, where high-flying jet aircraft operated. The 183-m-long, 137-m-wideY helium-filled balloon-the 

largest ever launched from wSMR-reached its maximum stable altitude 

of 50 km three hours after launch. Measurements were made before, 

during, and after sunrise so that both day and night atmospheric effects 

could be studied. At flight termination the gondola and its parachute 

were released from the balloon and returned to the earth. (Langley Researcher, 26 April 74,l; LaRC PIO, interview, 20 Jan 75) 

6 May: NASA FY 1975 authorization bill H.R. 13998 was reported to the Senate by the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. The 

Committee authorization of $3.267 billion was $8.145 million higher 

than that passed by the House 25 April. It was equal to 1% of the total 

FY 1975 Federal budget and was $0.5 billion below the constant-level 

NASA budget endorsed by Congress two years earlier. The Committee 

had added $16 million to NASA’s 4 Feb. budget request, to fund procurement and launch of a third Earth Resources Technology Satellite 

(ERTS-C) for continuity of remote-sensing data. The Committee also 

had added $6 million tQ support activities under way and the initiation 

and application of new ideas in energy and environmental areas. It refused to concur in $20 million added by the House to the space shuttle 

program. (S Rpt 93-818) 

6-10 May: The possibility of self-sufficient colonies of men in space was discussed at a conference of physicists, astronauts, and space flight technologists at Princeton Univ. Dr. Gerald K. O’Neill, Princeton professor 

of physics, suggested that a colony for.2000 persons could be constructed on a space station at the point in the moon’s orbit where the 

gravitational fields of the earth and the moon balanced. The cylindrical 

station could be built within 15 to 20 yrs using the space shuttle to 

transport the 9000 metric tons of necessary building materials from the 

earth. The abundant materials available on the moon could be transferred by a cargo-launching system. Dr. O’Neill pointed out that “virtually unlimited” resources existed in space, including a continuous 

source of energy from the sun and great chunks of almost pure uickeliron from the Asteroid Belt. Increasingly large and cor,:plex stations 

could ensure that most “dirty” industry could be operating off the earth 

by the middle of the 21st century. Space colonies could also ensure the 

continuity of the human race. (Sullivan, NYT, 13 May 74, 1 ; OMSF, 

interview,.Feb 75) 

98 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 6-21 May 

6-21 May: Fifteen nations, including the U.S., signed an international convention for the protection of copyrighted signals transmitted by satellite, 

following a week-long international conference in Brussels, Belgium. 

Each contracting country undertook to prevent any earth station in its 

territory from picking up and redistributing satellite signals without authority. Representatives of 60 nations had established the text of the convention at the conference sponsored by the United Nations Educational, 

Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization. The convention would remain open for 

signatures until March 1975. It would come into force three months after 

ratification by five signatory states. (Rpt to House Com on Sci & Astro, 

Com Print, July 74) 

7 May: President Nixon signed H.R. 11793, the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974, into Public Law 19-275, creating the Federal 

Energy Administration to replace the Federal Energy Office. In signing 

the bill President Nixon said that the FEA would provide a more firmly 

based organization to carry out the responsibilities of the FEO through 

30 June 1976, including fuel allocation and pricing regulation, energy 

data collection and analysis, and broad energy planning, with particular emphasis on conservation and expansion of energy supplies. (PD, 

13 May 74,4984991 * New synthetic materials developed from advanced aircraft research at Ames 

Research Center could be applied to civil aircraft tires and automobile 

brakes to improve wear and performance, NASA announced. A new 

polymer, resistant to heat buildup and the consequent frictional deterioration, promised up to 10 times the normal wear for braking systems. 

And another new polymer, with unique molecular properties, might 

provide aircraft tires that could make as many as 200 landings, instead 

of the customary 100, before retreading was necessary. The new materials would be tested in fleets of hard-use Government trucks and in 

commercial airline service using Boeing ‘727 aircraft. (NASA Release 

74-117; ARC Chem Research Proi Off, interview, 12 March 74) 

* Former astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., defeated Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum in the Ohio Democratic primary in his third try for nomination 

to the U.S. Senate. Glenn’s first try for a Senate seat in 19M had ended 

when injuries from a fall forced him out of the primary. In 1970 

Metzenbaum defeated Glenn in the primary. Glenn became the first U.S. 

astqnaut to orbit the earth 20 Feb. 1962. (Farrell, NYT, 9 May 74, 

2: A&A 1964; Hope, W Star, 6 May 70, Al) 

8 May: Siegbert B. Poritzky, Special Assistant for Systems and Research for 

the Air Transport Association, presented U.S. scheduled airlines’ views 

on NASA’s role and responsibility to the aircraft industry, before a House 

Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on HUD-Space-ScienceVeterans hearing on FY 1975 appropriations. Poritzky said it was NASA’s 

responsibility to build a technology base for aeronautics through innovative independent research in addition to undertaking directed research 

in response to specific problems. Also vitally important was NASA’s responsiveness to the needs of other agencies. Airlines recommended a 

$24.5-million increase in funding for NASA’s aeronautical programsfor propulsion environment-impact minimization, aircraft operzltions, 

alternative fuels, wake-vortex minimization, and noise research. 

James J. Hartford, Executive Secretary of the American Institute of 

Aeronautics and Astronautics, testified that some cuts in the NASA budget 

99 
8 May ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

were “penny wise and pound foolish.” Additional but “relatively modest” 

funding would prevent the High Energy Astronomical Observatory 

( HEAO) program-which was to investigate the scientifically exciting 

black holes in space-from “limping along.” Scientists had been skeptical of the usefulness of the space shuttle to science, but the SkyIab 

Apollo Telescope Mount discoveries had so far exceeded expectations 

that astronomers ‘‘could hardly wait” for the Large Space Telescope, 

planned for launch on the shuttle. “That project unified the space science 

community” as “nothing ever did in the past.” 

Other “logical follow-ons” to the approved program were urged: 

Mariner Jupiter-Uranus 1979 mission, Jupiter orbiter, Venus atmospheric probe, and a follow-on to the Viking Mars 1975 with a rover 

capability. 

Hartford also suggested that NASA and other Government agencies 

were not doing enough work in space applications. Cuts in NASA’s communications satellite research and development program had been based 

on the incorrect assumption that private industry could take on full 

comsat R&D with no further Government stimulus. Early commercial 

expIoitation of communications RC?D had been rapid only because Government research had reduced risks to an acceptable level. Competition 

was now coming from Canadian, Japanese, and European organizations 

with “a lot of government backing” who had developed a technical 

capability approaching that of the US. and were willing to take high 

risks. (Transcript) 

Skyrocketing fuel prices had added almost $1.5 billion to the cost of producing aluminum, titanium, and magnesium, threatening serious inff ation for military aircraft programs and NASA’s space shuttle, the Vmhington Post reported. The price of aluminum had jumped from 6.5 

cents for a half kilogram to 31.5 cents in the preceding six months. 

One aerospace company was quoted as telling the Pentagon and NASA 

that the rising aluminum prices would increase its program costs 16%. 

Grumman Aircraft Corp. had said it was paying 25% more for titanium 

and aluminum than one year ago. Grumman manufactured six models 

of aircraft, including the Navy’s F-14, which used more titanium than 

any other aircraft. Rockwell International Corp. had raised the estimated delivery cost of each of its B-1 bombers from $45 million to 

$61.5 million, at least partly because of soaring aluminum and titanium 

prices. Each B-1 required 12 000 kg of titanium and 24 000 kg of 

aluminum. (O’Toole, W Post, 8 May 74) 0 Methods developed to analyze images of the earth taken by the Erts 1 

Earth Resources Technology Satellite (launched 23 July 1972) had 

been adapted to enhance x-rays for medical use, NASA announced. The 

new technique, developed by a NASA cooperative student at Kennedy 

Space Center, included a microdensitometer that scanned the film and 

separated the grey shades into various densities. The untrained eye 

could detect 8 to 10 shades and the trained eye 32, but the microdensitometer could pick out 256 shades. Breaking down the image into more 

grey ievels showed detail not perceived by the human eye. (KSC Release 

0 Pan American World Airways, Inc., ordered a cockpit ground-proximity 

warning system installed on its entire 140-aircraft fleet. The device, designed by Sundstrand Data Control, Inc., would sound a loud “Whoop! 

Whoop! Pull up!” and flash a red light reading “terrain” if an aircraft 

81-?4) 

100 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 8 May 

was heading for a mountain slope or was too low on takeoff or landing. 

The decision to install the equipment had been hastened by recent air. 

craft accidents, including the 22 April crash of a Pan Am aircraft into 

a Bali, Indonesia, mountaintop, which had killed 107 persons. (Witkin, 

NYT, 9 May 74) 

0 9 May: NASA announced the appointment of John F. Yardley as Associate 

Administrator for Manned Space Flight. Yardley-who had been Vice 

President and General Manager of McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. 

Eastern Div. since 1972-would replace Dale D. Myers, who had returned to private industry. At McDonnell Douglas, Yardley had served 

as project engineer for Mercury spacecraft design 1958-1960, Launch 

Operations Manager for Mercury and Gemini Spacecraft 1960-1964, 

Gemini Technical Director 1964-1967, and as Corporate-wide Gem 

era1 Manager for the Skylab project. (NASA Ann, 9 May 74) 

0 Federal Aviation Administrator Alexander P. Butterfield signed in London 

a Memorandum of Understanding for a joint program to test, evaluate, 

and demonstrate the Aeronautical Satellite (Aerosat) system, for improved communications and air traffic services over the North Atlantic. 

Other participants included Canada and European Space Research Organization members Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Great 

Britain, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The 

space segment would include two synchronous-orbit satellites to be 

launched in late 1977 or early 1978 and would be jointly owned by 

ESRO, Canada, and a US. private sector coowner to be named later. FAA 

would lease use of the satellites from the US. coowner. (FAA Release 

74-70) 

The Senate passed by voice vote the 9g3.267-billion FY 1975 NASA authorization bill H.R. 13998, as reported out by the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences 6 May. The Senate agreed on 22 May to a 

conference with the House on their differences. (CR, 9 May 74, 57461; 

NASA LAR, XIII/66) 

9-10 May: Two Mariner 10 trajectory correction maneuvers were made by 

an onboard propulsion system to take the epacecraft within 48 000 km 

of Mercury, for a second encounter in September. The correction would 

dlow Mariner 10’s TV cameras to photograph the full planet from the 

sun side at a resolution of about 1 km. (NASA MOR, 3 Oct 74; NASA Release 76121) 

10 May: NASA’s newest space communications facility was dedicated in a 

ceremony at the station site at Robledo de Chavela, Spain. The facility, 

equipped with a 64-m antenna-one of the world’s largest and most sensitive-joined two other Deep Space Network facilities of the Madrid 

Space Communications Complex. Construction of the installation had 

begun in 1969 and became operational in the fall of 1973. The Madrid 

stations were operated for NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory by the 

Instituto Nacional de Thcnica Aerospacial under continuing agreements 

between SDain and the US. (NASA Release 74-119: NASA OTDA. interview. 

17 March’75) 

11-12 Mar: More than 500 weather balloons were launched from 55 stations 

in Marshall Space Flight Center’s Atmospheric Variability Experiment 

(AVE-2) to provide data for comparison with data collected by NASA and 

Air Force weather satellites. The balloons-released by NASA, National 

Weather Service, National Severe Storms Laboratory in Oklahoma, and 

Eglin Air Force Base-flew as high as 30 km while measuring atmos101 
11-12 May ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

pheric pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed and direction. 

(MSFC Release 74-76; MSFC proj mgr, interview, March 75) 

12-17 May: Scientists from the US. and U.S.S.R., participating in a Leningrad symposium on final results of the 17 Feb.4 March 1973 joint 

Bering Sea experiment, concluded that satellite data could be used for 

accurate assessment of sea surface and related atmospheric conditions. 

Two research groups had independently surveyed the sea surface under 

identical atmospheric conditions, using microwave radiometry equipment aboard US. and U.S.S.R. research aircraft. Results had been compared with data obtained by ships sailing below. Findings offered convincing proof that scientists could use microwave measurements from 

satellites to assess sea ice distribution, motion, and stress and that multispectral observations could determine the content of liquid water and 

water vapor in the atmosphere above the sea surface. (NASA Release 

76139) 

13 May: Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt became NASA Assistant Administrator for 

Energy Programs. He headed NASA’s new Office of Energy Programs, 

supporting Federal agencies responsible for energy research and development. The office consolidated functions previously performed by other 

Headquarters offices. Dr. Schmitt, science pilot on the ApoZZo 17 lunar 

landing mission, had been Chief of the Science and Applications Directorate in the Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center. He had been on 

temporary assignment at Headquarters as Special Assistant to the Administrator for Energy Research and Development since 29 Jan. (NASA 

Ann, 16 May 74) e An experimental scanning laser doppler system, originally developed at 

Marshall Space Flight Center to measure atmospheric winds and turbulence, was being tested at MSFC to determine the system’s reliability 

in detecting and monitoring aircraft wake vortices. Flyby tests had been 

conducted by MSFC and the Federal Aviation Administration at Redstone Arsenal using a Boeing Co. 720 aircraft and two laser doppler 

units. Early results indicated that, in addition to detecting the vortices, 

the laser doppler system provided data on the air speeds within them. 

Two experimental systems would be used in field tests at Kennedy International Airport in New York after checkout of the units was completed. 

(NASA Release 74-127) e Johnson Space Center had awarded a $2 104 900 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to Westinghouse Electric Corp. to refurbish and modify 10 color 

TV cameras from the Skylab program, for use in the Apollo-Soyuz Test 

Project. Westinghouse would also provide two new cameras and equipment. ( JSC Release 74-101) 9 NASA announced the appointment of Judith A. Cole as Deputy Assistant Administrator for Legislative Affairs effective 19 May. She succeeded Gerald J. Mossinghoff, who had been appointed Assistant General Counsel 

1 Jan. Miss Cole had been Staff Assistant in the Office of the Director 

at the US. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. (NASA Ann, 13 May 

NASA had begun a national aerospace fellowship program to encourage 

women and members of minority groups to seek careers ir, engineering 

and certain scientific fields. NASA had completed arrangements with seven 

colleges and universities to award 20, $2500 fellowships to students in 

the top third of the junior or senior class who had demonstrated a potential and interest in these fields of study. Recipients would also be 

74) 

102 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 13 May 

invited to work at NASA following graduation if appropriate job vacancies 

existed. (NASA Release 74-112) 8 A New Orleans Times-Picayune editorial advocated international cooperation in space: The US. was committed to a reusable space shuttle for 

possible use in the future with a permanent manned space station. The 

U.S.S.R. would probably embark on its own space shuttle and space station program. “The cost of establishing a space station . . . is such that it 

would be foolish for each nation to assume the full burden when a common station could provide everything a separate one could-even a 

‘secure section’ for each side for passive military uses.” (T-Picayune, 

13 May 74,23) 

14 May: The US. Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating the Skylab 

program on the first anniversary of the launching of the Skylab 1 Orbital 

Workshop. The yellow, red, blue, and black stamp depicted the Workshop and Astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., and Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin as 

they worked in space to repair the spacecraft, which had been damaged 

during launch. (Tower, NYT, 28 April 1974, 30) 8 President Nixon announced his intention to nominate Gen. George S. 

Brown, Air Force Chief of Staff, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 

Staff succeeding Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, who was retiring. The President would nominate Gen. David C. Jones to replace Gen. Brown as 

Air Force Chief of Staff. The nominations were submitted to the Senate 

15 May. (PD, 20 May 74,527,529) 

15 May: Marshall Space Flight Center had requested proposals for two space 

tug studies, MSFC announced. The first study was to develop schedules, 

controls, and planning data for the space tug program from initial flight 

readiness to long-term mission operations. The second study was to recommend a space tug avionics system, with emphasis on rendezvous and 

docking avionics and data-management-subsystem requirements and configuration. (MSFC Release 74-79) 9 The papers of Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Administrator from 1958 

until his death in 1965, were opened to the public in ceremonies at 

Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md. The papers would be housed in the 

university’s Milton S. Eisenhower Library. (NASA Release 76120; NASA 

Hist Off) 

* Dr. William 0. Davis, Chief of the Upper Atmosphere and Space Services 

Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a 

leading rocket and space expert, died in Washington, D.C., at the age 

of 54. Dr. Davis was a member of the interagency team that planned 

and coordinated NASA’s Earth Resources satellite program. As Assistant 

Director of Laboratories at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base 1957-1958, 

he had directed Project Far Side, the earliest attempt to obtain radiation 

and magnetic data from outer space by launching a multistage rocket 

from a high-altitude balloon. ( W Post, 15 May 74) 

16 May: A new method using tiny electronic body sensors, developed by 

Arnes Research Center for remotely recording physical responses during 

space flight training and research programs, was being used to measure 

the precise walking patterns of children with cerebral palsy, NASA announced. Patients could be free of cumbersome equipment that had 

hindered obtaining accurate gait measurements. (NASA Release 74-131) 

17-24 May: Sms 1 ( SMS-A Synchronous Meteorological Satellite) -first 

meteorological satellite in synchronous orbit-was launched by NASA 

for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from East103 
17-24 May ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

ern Test Range at 5:31 am EDT. The 1st-stage propulsion of the threestage Thor-Delta'launch vehicle was less than normal. The 2nd stage 

burned to near propellant completion, compensating for the deficiency 

but leaving insufficient propellant to complete the planned second burn. 

The spacecraft entered a lower-than-pjanned transfer orbit with a 32 895- 

km apogee, 180-km perigee, 9-hr 37-min period, and 24.5' inclination. 

The apogee boost motor boosted the spacecraft into a near-geostationary 

orbit with a 32 828.3-km apogee, 30 747-km perigee, 20-hr 39-min period, 

and 2.0" inclination, with an eastward drift of approximately 56" 

per day. 

The auxiliary propulsion system was fired at 3:OO am EDT 19 May to 

place the spacecraft in operationaI attitude. A planned series of APS 

firings between 19 and 24 May increased the orbit to geosynchronous 

altitude, eliminated orbital drift, and stopped the satellite at 45" west 

longitude. An early post-launch review of flight data revealed no spacecraft anomalies, and the first photos were transmitted 24 May. 

NASA objectives-to launch the spacecraft into a geosynchronous 

orbit of sufficient accuracy to accomplish operational mission require 

ments and evaluate and check out the spacecraft-were met and the mission was adjudged successful 17 Dec. Operational control was turned 

over to NOAA 10 Dec. after checkout. 

The 272-kg saiellite (628 kg at launch) would, for the first time, provide continuous day and night images of cloud cover over the U.S. and 

Atlantic Ocean. Its data-collection systems would be key elements in 

the Global Atmospheric Research Program's Atlantic Tropical Experiment to be conducted during the summer, collecting meteorological, 

hydrological, oceanographic, seismic, and tsunami data. In addition, 

Sms 1 would monitor solar flare activity for future manned spacecraft 

and supersonic aircraft flights. 

Sms 1 was the first in a series which would include two operational 

prototypes and one operational spacecraft (SMS-C, to become Goes I on 

launch) , developed and funded by NASA to meet the requirements of the 

Dept. of Commerce for its Geostationary Operational Environmental 

Satellite (GOES) system. The SMS project was managed by Goddard 

Space Flight Center under the direction of the Office of Applications. 

GSFC also had responsibility for the Thor-Delta launch vehicle. (NASA 

MORS, 10 May, 20 May, 18 Dec. 74; NASA, Mgr Small Launch Vehicles & 

Intl Prog, interview, 31 Jan. 75; GSFC, SMS Proj Mgr, interview, 4 

Feb 75) 

17 May: The U.S.S.R., with the cooperation of East Germany and Czechoslovakia, launched Intercosmos 11 from Baykonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam, U.S.S.R., into orbit with a 511-km apogee, 483-km perigee, 94.6- 

min period, and 50.6" inclination. The spacecraft, launched on the 250th 

anniversary of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, would study shortwave 

ultraviolet and x-ray radiation of the sun and the upper atmosphere. 

(GSFC Whly SSR, 16-22 May 74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 21 May 74, U2) 

* A prototype direct-readout ground station, designed by Goddard Space 

Flight Center to receive high-resolution weather photos from satellites, 

left GSFC for Dakar, Senegal. It was to play a key role in &e Global Atmospheric Research Program's Atlantic Tropical Experiment ( GATE) 

to study tropical weather patterns. Using the ground station, planners 

could quickly advise scientists aboard participating ships to focus attention on specific weather conditions and could route aircraft into regions 

106 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 17 May 

where cloud development was detected. The prototype unit, which produced real-time images as large negative or positive transparencies with 

a resolution four to eight times greater than units already in use, consisted of four vans weighing a total of 12 000 kg. Future models would 

weigh 270 kg and could be built at modest cost by other countries. (NASA 

Kelease 74-129) 

NASA announced selection of International Business Machines Corp. for an 

$11-million, two-year, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to design, develop, and 

implement a ground-based computing and data-processing system for 

the space shuttle and other programs. (NASA Release 76132) 

Science and technology might be stepping into a more important role in 

the conduct of foreign policy, a Science article said. During an April 

speech before the United Nations Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Secretary of 

State, had urged that we “now apply science to the problems which science 

has helped to create.” He proposed international action in four areas: 

agricultural technology, birth control, energy, and weather. The Science 

article noted that access to US. technology had been a major inducement toward d6tente for the U.S.S.R. and the People’s Republic of China. 

Although the speech had made no specific commitments, the proposals, 

announced by the Secretary of State, became US. Government policy. 

By calling on science to help solve the world’s problems, “Kissinger 

clearly has the monster in his sights . . . but whether a coherent science 

policy will emerge is not yet evident.” (Wade, Science, 17 May 74,780- 

781) 

18 May: A new low-cost method of making solar cells could make solar energy 

available to individual homes and businesses within a few years, the 

Washington Post reported. The Post quoted Dr. A. I. Mlavsky, Director 

of Research at Tyco Laboratories, Inc., and R. Bruce Chalmers, professor of metallurgy at IIarvard Univ., as saying the new processdeveloped by a university-industry team funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation--could cut solar cell production costs by 

95%. With the new cells, a system that could produce 1 kw of electricity 

would cost $350; a system using conventional silicon-crystal cells cost 

between $20 000 and $100 000. In the new process, molten silicon material was pulled into long thin ribbons and cut into various lengths. 

(Leary, W Post, 18 May 74) 

India set off its first nuclear blast, an underground explosion equivalent to 

10 000-15 000 tons of TNT, to become the world’s sixth nuclear power. 

At a press briefing, the Chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission, 

H. N. Sethna, said the blast was an experiment to determine the cratering 

effect of the earth and the cracking effect of rocks under the soil. (AP, 

W Star-News, 19 May 74, Al) 

* The Soviet Union’s first 1-million-kw nuclear reactor had begun operation 

near Leningrad and had generated its first billion kilowatts of electricity, 

Pravda reported. (Shabad, NYT, 30 May 74,Sl) 

20 May: Dr. James C. Ffetcher, NASA Administrator, and Dr. Alexander 

Hocker, European Space Research Organization Director General, held 

a Spacelab program review in Paris to assess the proposed ESRO design, 

appraise an ESRO presentation of contractor evaluation and findings, and 

discuss follow-on production. The review indicated that size, *volume, 

su’bsystems, transportability, and operational turnaround met or exceeded design requirements. The design payload weight had been reduced from phase B results. An ESRO team with NASA support would 

105 
20 May ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

further assess the weight, and the common payload support equipment 

and instrument pointing system would be studied for nine months. NASA 

would give a letter of commitment to buy one flight unit with follow-on 

production commitment scheduled after critical design review. (NASA 

Gen Mgmt Rev Rpt, 17 June 74; NASA Spacelab Newsletter 74-5; 3 

July 74) * Edwin C. Kilgore had been appointed Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Center Operations, NASA announced. He had assisted Dr. George M. Low, 

Deputy Administrator and Acting Associate Administrator for Center 

Operations, in organizing and managing the new office since its establishment 15 March. Before March, Kilgore had served as Acting Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Space Technology. (NASA Ann, 

20 May 74) 

* NASA announced a 45-day $500 000 continuation of a 13 Feb. contract with 

Thiokol Chemical Corp. for the space shuttle solid-fueled rocket motor 

design study. In addition to original contract requirements, the continuation contract required that Thiokol assist NASA in idenifying materials, 

independent of the specific final motor design, that had long-lead-time 

supply times. (NASA Release 74-130) 

21 May: The Senate by voice vote passed H.R. 11864, the Solar Heating and 

Cooling Demonstration Act of 1974, as amended by the Committee on 

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Labor and 

Public Welfare 14 May. The Senate bill would authorize $5 million to 

NASA and $5 million to the Department of Housing and Urban Development in FY 1975 for development of new or existing solar technology 

and $40 million to HUD over the next four years to carry out the demonstration. The development and demonstration were to be carried out 

within five years. NASA functions and funds could be transferred to the 

Energy Research and Development Administration if ERDA was established. (CR, 21 May 74,58761-77) 

21-23 May: Some 120 scientists and engineers from industry, Government, 

and universities attended the Outer Planet Probe Technology Workshop 

at Ames Research Center to study effective and economical methods of 

probing the outer planets and their moons. Participants considered 

spacecraft to fly past a planet while sending a probe vehicle into its 

atmosphere to report on composition, clouds, pressure variation, and 

other characteristics; the possibility of visiting such planet-sized moons 

as Saturn’s Titan; and the cost of combined outer planet missions, such 

as the addition of an atmosphere probe to a Uranus flyby, the use of a 

similar design for a Saturn atmosphere probe, and the combination of 

a Jupiter orbiter and probe mission. (ARC Release 72-21; ARC Astrogram, 23 May 74; ARC, Proceedings, Aug. 74) 

22 May: ATS-F Applications Technology Satellite, scheduled for a 30 May 

launch, was “a very unusual NASA satellite,” Dr. James C. Fletcher, 

NASA Administrator, said at an ATS-F press briefing in Washington, D.C. 

It was an advanced satellite with a huge transmitting antenna and “the 

first step towards . . . a satellite that can broadcast TV directly to 

your homes.” 

Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Caspar W. Weinberger 

said that HEW would be using the satellite for career counseling, teacher 

training, education of medical students, health eduaation, and transmission of medical records to remote areas of Alaska, Appalachia, and the 

Rocky Mountains. The practical civilian application “justifies fully a 

106 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 19’74 22 May 

continuance of . . . both the space program in its inner-space aspects 

as well as . . . bringing it down to earth and using it in our own daily 

lives.” President Henry Loomis of the Corp. for Public Broadcasting 

said that, for the “first time, we will have current TV programming 

available in Alaska.” TV videotapes now were sent to Alaska by mail 

and reaching the most remote 10% of the people cost as much as reaching the remaining 90%. ATS-F would greatly reduce that cost. NASA 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Applications Leonard Jaffe said 

that the ATS-F was “a major step forward” in the amount of radio 

frequency power that a satellite muld generate to earth and focus very 

precisely on a small area. Because of this capability, very small, simple 

receiving stations would be adequate. (Transcript) 

23 May: The first phase of the Pioneer direct-mode command system, which 

would permit Ames Research Center to control its spacecraft directly, 

became operational. The Pioneer command (PCOM) system would permit direct control without depending on Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

computer systems. Committed operational use of PCOM would begin on 

Pioneer 10 (launched 2 March 1972) on 1 Sept., followed by Pioneer 11 

(launched 5 April 1973) on 15 Jan. 1975. (ARC Astrogram, 6 June 74,l) 

* The European-built A-300B wide-body transport began commercial service on Air France routes between Paris and London. The airbus was 

the world’s fourth wide-bodied aircraft-the first for use exclusively on 

the internal European route network and the first powered by only two 

engines and built outside the US. The current configuration of the 

A-300B carried 251 passengers but an alternate one would accommodate 

331. The aircraft was built by Airbus Industries, a Paris-based consortium formed to build the A-300B with participation by West Germany, 

Great Britain, The Netherlands, Spain, and France. Noteworthy achievements included aircraft delivery within days of the schedule originally 

set in May 1969 and development costs that had remained within expectations. (Av Wk., 20 May 74, 30; WSI, 29 April 74, 6; Air France, 

NYC PIO, interview, 7 March 75) 

A New York Times editorial commented on the Atomic Energy Commission report The Nation’s Energy Future, submitted December 1973 to 

President Nixon: The report, which was the basis €or Administration 

policy, would allocate more than half the proposed energy research and 

development budget to nuclear projects. More than 25% of nuclear 

funds would be spent on the fast-breeder reactor. Three critical questions 

were in need of answers: risk of accident, security against theft, and the 

relative merit of alternative forms of energy. An AEC environmental impact statement issued in response to a court order in a 1971 suit by a 

group of scientists failed, the Times said, to weigh objectively the 

possible alternatives that might be environmentally less damaging, particularly solar energy. “But in making the choice between nuclear fission 

and solar energy, Congress and the public have to weigh the alternatives 

carefully. The A.E.C. can contribute to that decision by offering the nation 

a more careful and disinterested impact statement.” (NYT, 23 May 74, 

38) 

24 May: Johnson Space Center had requested proposals from 21 hrms to 

design, develop, fabricate, install, and check out one orbiter aeroflight 

simulator to support crew training during Orbiter 1 development flights 

in the space shuttle program, JSC announced. (JSC Release 84[74]-150) 

107 
24 May ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

* President Nixon announced his intention to nominate John C. Sawhill to 

be Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration. He had served 

as Deputy Administrator of the Federal Energy Office from 4 Dec. 1973 

to 8 May 1974, when he became Acting Administrator. The nomination 

was sent to the Senate 28 May and confirmed 18 June. (PD, 27 May 74, 

541-542; 3 June 74, 570; NASA LAR, XIII/82) 

The Navy announced that Texas Instruments Inc. had been awarded a 

$1 400 000, incrementally funded cost-reimbursement contract for preliminary design of the high-speed antiradiation mbsile (HARM). The 

contract contained an option for engineering development including 

weapon system integration, prototype, and pilot production at a total 

estimated cost of $aoOOOOOO. (DOD Release 221-74) 

25 May: Dr. Paul E. Hemke, a pioneer in aeronautical engineering, died at 

the age of 84. In 1910 he had assisted in designing one of the Nation's 

first aircraft, which flew to a height of 0.6 m. Dr. Hemke, an analyst at 

the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory 1924-1927, was responsible for establishing aeronautical engineering departments at Case 

Institute of Applied Science in 1931 and at Rensselaer Polytechnic 

Institute in 1936, where he headed the department until 1949. During 

World War I1 Dr. Hemke served on a Government team of scientists 

sent to Europe to persuade European scientists, especially rocket experts, to emigrate to the US. ( W Star-News, 29 May 74) 

27 May: The U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos 656 from Baykonur Cosmodrome 

into orbit with a 322-km apogee, 185-km perigee, 89.6-min period, and 

51.8" inclination. The press reported that Cosmos 656 was probably a 

test Aight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The spacecraft reentered 29 May. (GSFC 

SSR, 30 June 74; Tass, FBIS-Sov, 29 May 74, U1; O'Toole, W Post, 

30 May 74, A181 

29 May-19 June: The U.S.S.R. launched Luna 22 unmanned lunar probe 

from Baykonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam at 157 pm local time 

(4:57 am EDT) . The automatic station was separated from a platform 

rocket system in earth orbit and put into a close-to-planned trajectory for 

the moon. A flight-path correction maneuver 30 May aimed the spacecraft toward a selected area of near-moon space. 

Luna 22 went into circular orbit of the moon 2 June, with a 220-km 

apogee, 220-km perigee, 130.0-min period, and 19.6" inclination. The 

Soviet press reported 3 June that all instruments aboard the spacecraft 

were functioning normally and scientific investigation of the moon had 

begun. Luna 22 was transferred into an elliptical orbit with a 244-km 

apogee and 25-km perigee 9 June to take detaiIed TV photos of the 

lunar surface and to study surface relief using an onboard altimeter. 

Chemical composition of rocks was obtained by determining the gamma 

radiation. After completion of the photography program the spacecraft 

was moved to an orbit with a 299-km apogee and 181-km perigee. By 19 

June Luna 22 had completed 187 orbits of the moon; all equipment 

continued to function normally. ( GSFC SSR, 30 June 74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 

30 May 74, U1; 4 June 74, U1; 20 June 74, U1; SF, Nov 74, 434) 

30 May-28 June: NASA launched Ats 6 Applications Technology Satellite 

from Eastern Test Range at 9:00 am EDT on a Titan 2IIC launch vehicle. The booster ejected the transtage and spacecraft into an elliptical 

parking orbit with a 626-km apogee and 152-km perigee. At the second 

equatorial crossing the first burn of the transtage placed the spacecraft 

in a trahsfer orbit. Launch, parking orbit, and transfer orbit were close 

108 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 30 May-28 June 

to the program plan. At 3:29 pm EDT, Ats 6 was injected into geosynchronous orbit with a 35 %5.6-km apogee, 35 774.1-km perigee, 23-hr 

57-min period, and 1.8" inclination. The near-perfect orbit eliminated 

need for corrections, leaving nine kilograms of fuel for operational contingencies. The spacecraft separated from the transtage at 333 pm EDT. 

An orbital correction 7 June changed the 0.27"-per-day westward 

drift to a 0.05" eastward drift. Checkout of spacecraft systems and onboard experiments was completed 28 June with no significant anomalies. 

The mission was adjudged a success 26 Sept. 

Primary objectives of the mission were to inject the spacecraft into 

near-geostationary orbit, erect and evaluate a nine-meter antenna to 

provide a good-quality signal to small inexpensive ground receivers, 

stabilize the spacecraft using a three-axis control system, and support 

user-oriented applications experiments. Secondary objectives were to 

demonstrate new technology in aircraft and maritime traffic control and 

infrared earth observations; acquire system data for communications 

applications in space, including spacecraft-to-spacecraft relay ; test spacecraft control; and measure particles and radiation. The 20 experiments 

included a health-education telecommunications experiment to broadcast programs in several languages simultaneously to citizens in remote 

areas of the country. The satellite also would aid in remote medical 

telediagnosis and teleconsultation, transmitting patients' medical records to faraway hospital centers for emergency assistance. 

One year after launch Ats 6 would be moved over Lake Victoria in 

Central Africa. India would then use the satellite to broadcast programs 

teaching agricultural techniques, family planning and hygiene, school 

courses and teacher education, and occupational skills to 5000 villages. 

The $600 ground receiving terminals each consisted of a receiver, converter, and three-meter chicken-wire antenna. 

Ats 6 was the sixth in a series of ATS satellites developed to advance 

technology in design, propulsion, and stabilization systems; meteorological concepts; applications ; space environmental studies and measurement systems; and communications. Ats I (launched 6 Dec. 19661, Ats 3 

(5 Nov. 19671, and Ats 5 (12 Aug. 1969) were still transmitting useful 

data. The ATS program was managed by Goddard Space Flight Center 

under the direction of the Office of Applications. (NASA MORS, 24 May, 

3 June, 8 July, 2 Oct. 74; NASA prog off, interview, 5 Feb. 74; NASA Release 74-111) 

30 May: The Senate approved the House-Senate Conference report on H.R. 

13998 recommending a $3.267-billion FY 1975 NASA authorization. The 

compromise between the 9 May Senate bill and the 25 April House bill 

would authorize $805 million for the space shuttle, a $5-million increase 

over the President's requested funding instead of the $20-million increase voted by the House. An 4g18.8-million increase in space applications, instead of the Senate's $23-million increase, dropped specific 

designation of $13 million for the ERTS-c spacecraft, but the Conference 

report recommended that the project be promptly initiated and it retained the Senate's $3-miIlion addition for a Thor-Delta to launch ERTS-C. 

The Conference bill would decrease manned space flight operations funding by $10 million, instead of the Senate's $5-million cut and the House 

bill's $15-million cut. It would retain the Senate's $5.1-miUion addition 

for aeronautical research and add 4.9 million for energy research, as 

well as the House-and-Senate-voted $2 million for research in short109 
30 May ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

term weather phenomena and the House-added $1 million for ground 

propulsion research. (CR, 30 May 74, S9349-52) 

31 May: Dr. John F. Clark, Goddard Space Flight Center Director, announced 

appointment of a committee to review all aspects of the Thor-Delta launch 

vehicle program, including all anomalies in recent Thor-Delta launches. 

Pending completion of the review, the 10 June launch of Westar-B-the 

second of Western Union’s domestic communications satellites-had 

been postponed. (NASA Release 74147) 0 The US. Army Electronics Command was awarding a $1 689 116 cost-plusfixed-fee contract to Cincinnati Electronics, Inc., to develop, fabricate, 

and test ultrahigh-frequency satellite-line-of-sight manpack transceiver 

models. (DOD Release 231-74) 

During May: Preliminary discussions aimed at an eventual global system of 

second-generation meteorological satellites were held in Geneva, sponsored by the 139-member World Meteorological Organization. Delegates 

considered establishment of a worldwide forum for presentation of data 

requirements by users, creation of a mechanism for filing launch plans 

and distributing advance information on capabilities to potential users 

of planned satellites, and prospects for training users to interpret and 

apply data from advanced satellites. Talks were held concurrently on 

technical standardization of systems, including preliminary standards 

for ground stations, coordination of transmission times and frequencies, 

and standardization of automatic-picture-transmission installations. 

Agreements made at the informal sessions would be taken back to the 

technical agencies of the various countries and implemented, without 

the necessity of official review. One result was agreement on L-band frequencies, with US. satellites to transmit on 1690 mc. 

Soviet sources revealed that the U.S.S.R.’s first synchronous meteorological satellite would be launched in 1977 or 1978 and placed over 

the Indian Ocean at 70’ E. The press reported that it was expected to 

be technically compatible with US., European Space Research Organization, and Japanese satellites in its class. (Av Wk, 20 May 74, 21) 

110 
June 1974 

3-20 May: NASA launched Hawkeye 1 (Explorer 52) scientific satellite from 

Western Test Range at 4:09 pm PDT on a five-stage Scout E launch vehicle. The 4th and 5th stages separated in parking orbit and the 5th-stage 

burn placed Hawkeye 1 in polar orbit with a 124477-km apogee, 469. 

lun perigee, 49-hr 59-min period, and 89.8” inclination. The launch was 

the first on the five-stage Scout E configuration, incorporating an 

Alcyone 1A motor with a 5th-stage transition section. 

Primary mission objective was to investigate the interaction between 

the solar wind and the earth’s magnetic field. Secondary objectives included locating magnetic neutral points or lines during both quiet and 

disturbed solar wind conditions and studying magnetic field topology 

at large radial distances over the polar caps. 

By 20 June all booms and electric antennas had been extended and 

the spacecraft had despun to the planned five to six revolutions per minute. The transmitters and all experiments were operating satisfactorily. 

Hawkeye 1 was the sixth of the Univ. of Iowa’s Injun series, which 

had begun with the 29 June 1961 launch of Injun 1 and provided a comprehensive study of charged particles trapped in the earth’s magnetosphere. The Hawkeye program was managed by Langley Research Center 

under the direction of the NASA Office of Space Science. LaRC also had 

responsibility for the Scout launch vehicle. (MORS, 13 May 74, 20 June 

74; NASA Release 74-138K) 

3 June: Italy would build a ground station to receive data from NASA’s Earth 

Resources Technology Satellites, NASA announced. Under a Memorandum of Understanding between NASA and Italy’s communications satellite 

organization Societa per Azioni per le Comunicazioni Spaziali (Telespazio) , the station, at Fucino, would complement existing stations in 

Fairbanks, Alaska; Goldstone, Calif. ; Greenbelt, Md. ; Prince Albert, 

Canada; and Cuiaba, Brazil. NASA’s Erts 1 had been transmitting data 

since 23 July 1972 launch; ERTS-B was scheduled for spring 1975 launch. 

(NASA Release 74-142) 

9 Operation of a demonstration solar heating and cooling unit was begun at 

Marshall Space Flight Center, using three house trailers to simulate a 

residence. Continuing studies would combine NASA and industry capabilities to improve efficiency and minimize cost. Efforts included development of a computer-simulation procedure for technical and economic 

evaluation of the systems, studies to explore mass-production effects 

on solar-collector costs, definition of a commercially practical absorption-cycle air conditioner that could be operated with water at 353 K 

(176OF) to 357 K (183°F) , verification of the absorptive coating 

stability and application of coatings to lower-cost materials, and evaluation of other thermal storage techniques, such as melting and freezing 

waxes, as used in spacecraft. (MSFC Release 74-77) 

Directors of Lockheed Aircraft Corp. and Textron Inc. announced tentative agreement on a management reorganization to aid the financially 

, 

111 
3 June ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

troubled Lockheed. Textron would invest $85 million in Lockheed shares 

and stock. Textron’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer G. William 

Miller would also become Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for 

Lockheed; Lockheed’s Chairman Daniel J. Haughton would become 

Vice Chairman. Lockheed was to remain a separate corporation. The 

arrangement provided for the release of the Federal Government from its 

1971 guarantee of up to $250 million in bank loans to Lockheed. The 

agreement was subject to several conditions, including requirements for 

Lockheed to bring firm production commitments of its L-loll TriStar 

aircraft to a total of 180 and to change accounting procedures. (Textron 

Release, 3 June 74; Witkin, NYT, 4 June 74, 1) 

4 June: Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, presented Dr. Richard T. 

Whitcomb, Head of the Transonic Aerodynamics Branch at Langley 

Research Center, a $25 000 cash award for his invention of the supercritical wing. The cash award, made in a NASA Hq. ceremony, was the 

largest ever made by NASA to an individual. An improved airfoil design, 

the supercritical wing would permit significant increases in the speed 

and range of supersonic aircraft without increased fuel consumption. 

(NASA Release 74,148; NASA photo 74H422) 0 Boeing Co. and the U.S.S.R. State Committee on Science and Technology 

signed an agreement on aviation cooperation, including exchange of 

information and technology and eventual commercial exchange. ( FBISSov, 11 June 74, B8) 

Dr. H. Guyford Stever, Director of the National Science Foundation and 

Chairman of the President’s Advisory Committee on Energy Research 

and Development, predicted that solar heating and cooling systems would 

be commercially available in five years. Following a speech at the Edison 

Electric Institute’s annual convention in New York, Dr. Stever said the 

technology would be ready before “society is ready to solve the economic 

issues surrounding it.” A choice would have to be made between “building a lower priced house with added cost for a solar heating-cooling system, or spending more on higher fuel prices in a conventional house.” 

(Smith, WSJ, 5 June 74,65) 

4-78 June: A team of 15 scientists led by Dr. Thomas A. Mutch of Brown 

Univ. tested the Viking lander camera in an area of Colorado with geologic conditions similar to those expected on Mars. With photo-diodes 

in the focal plane instead of film, the camera used a nodding mirror to 

reflect the image through the lenses onto the diode one line at a time. 

The entire camera was then rotated to scan the next line. Because the 

image was sequentially acquired, at five lines per second, several minutes 

were needed to obtain a complete photograph. The lander’s two-camera 

system would provide color, black-and-white, infrared, and stereoscopic 

views of the Martian surface and photometric information to help determine sizes and composition of Martian soil samples, monitor the opacity 

of the Martian atmosphere, and record the position of the sun and 

brighter planets for precise location of the lander on Mars. (NASA Release 74,257; LaRc proj off, interview, 9 June 75) 

5‘June: The space shuttle would introduce a new mode of, space research in 

the 1980s, Dr. John E. Naugle, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator, 

said at a space transportation system press briefing in Washington, D.C. 

Sounding rockets gave the scientist an immediate return of data but only 

for a very short-duration flight. Satellites provided longer mission times 

but it’might be five to seven years from the initiation of the project until 

112 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 5 June 

data were received. Experiments flown on the shuttle could remain in 

orbit from 7 to 30 days and then be returned immediately for evaluation. 

This capability would be a powerful tool in the development of new 

Dr. Myron S. Malkin, Space Shuttle Program Director, said NASA’s 

commitment to Congress called for a total development cost of $5.15 

billion in 1971 dollars for two operational shuttle vehicles plus $10.5 

million for each of 725 missions projected for 1980-1990. Mission costs 

would be shared by participating experimenters, and estimates were now 

running at $9.05 million per flight because of reduced estimates for external tank development. Cost for a shuttle flight, which could take 

29 500 kg into orbit, contrasted with $18 million for a 4500-kg payload 

launched on an expendable Atlas booster and up to $58 million to orbit 

14 000-18 000 kg on a Saturn IB. 

Shuttle development was on schedule; the first approach and landing 

tests were to be in the second quarter of 1977 and the first manned orbital flight in 1979. Orbiter manufacture was under way. The main engine 

oxygen burner had been tested 14 April and the first big engine firing 

was scheduled for the end of 1975. NASA would need a fleet of seven orbiters at $250 million each if the projected missions were flown. Elwood W. 

Land, Jr., of the Space Shuttle Systems Office said a 25-astronaut flight 

corps probably would be maintained to fly missions averaging more 

than one a week. 

LeRoy E. Day, Space Shuttle Program Deputy Director, reported the 

main engine was being designed to make 55 starts before refurbishment was necessary. Engine lifetime would be much longer. The solid 

boosters were being designed for 20 flights. Phillip E. Culbertson, Director of Mission and Payload Integration, said that all but the smallest expendable launch vehicles would be phased out about three years 

after the shuttle became operational. (Transcript) 

* The European Space Research Organization decided to award a 8226-million, six-year contract to VFw-Fokker/ERNo Raumfahrttechnik GmbH 

as prime contractor heading a European team to design and develop 

Spacelab, the reusable, manned laboratory to be carried into orbit on 

NASA’s space shuttle in the 1980s. The unanimous decision, made at a 

Paris meeting of ESRO’S Administrttive and Finance Committee, followed six weeks’ evaluation of two industrial proposals. The second 

proposal had been submitted by Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm. The 

contract provided for delivery of one Spacelab flight unit, fully qualified and ready for installation of experiments, by April 1979. Two engineering models and three sets of ground support equipment and initial 

spares would also be delivered. 

Spacelab, to be reusable for 50 missions of 7 to 30 days each, would 

permit scientists and engineers to work in earth orbit in shirtsleeve comfort and without extensive astronaut training. The first launch was 

scheduled for 1980. (ESRO Release, 5 June 74) 

The Federal Communications Commission authorized Western Union Telegraph Co. to launch its second domestic communications satellite. 

Western Union had requested that Westar-B be assigned a 119: west 

longitude position [see 2 May], a position the FCC reserved for systems 

authorized to serve Alaska and Hawaii. However, the FCC took into account petitions filed by Western Union’s competitors, also requesting 

the location, and assigned the satellite a temporary station at 90” west 

technology. 

113 
5 June ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

longitude. The satellite was to be moved to 91" within 30 days after 

NASA% Ats 6 was moved from 94". If Western Union was later authorized to serve Alaska and Hawaii, the FCC could authorize a move to 

a more appropriate location. (FCC Memorandum Opinionj Order and 

Authorization, FCC 74-584) 

Satellite observations had been used by National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration scientists to map the fading-or "recovery phase"-of 

the mammoth, layered ring of hot charged particles that encircled the 

earth during magnetic storms and temporarily canceled the earth's magnetic field, NOAA announced. Explorer 45, launched 15 Nov. 1971 into an 

elliptical orbit with a good view of the ring current, had measured the 

distribution of protons before, during, and after a major magnetic storm 

17 Dec. 1971. The NOM study found that interactions of hot and cold 

plasmas in the ring changed the pitch angle of the protons in relation to 

the magnetic lines of force, permitting some to escape. By mapping distributions of proton pitch angles, researchers could predict what would 

happen during the recovery phase of a magnetic storm. (NOAA Release 

74-436) * Air traffic activity during 1973 had increased 6% over 1972 activity at 

Federal Aviation Administration airport control towers, air route traffic 

control centers, and flight service stations, the FAA reported. The increase was the largest recorded by towers since 1968 and followed three 

years of declining activity. Takeoffs and landings at the 386 FAA-operated 

control towers during 1973 totaled 56 533 953, up from 53 255 919 in 

1972. (FAA Release 74-86) 

54 June: Results of five years of aerodynamic loads research were presented 

at a YF-12 Flight Loads Symposium at Flight Research Center. Windtunnel tests and flight measurements of loads and deflections for the 

3200-km-per-hr research aircraft were shown to be in excellent agreement, and deflection due to loads and thermal effects could be predicted 

by ground calibrations. Recommendations included development of more 

accurate aerodynamic theories in the transonic range and thermal stress 

analysis and prediction methods for supersonic cruise aircraft with much 

larger transient temperature gradients from the skin to the primary 

structure than those experienced on the YF-12. (NASA Gen Mgt Rev Rpt, 

17 June 74,52) 

6 June: A solar energy recorder to evaluate the solar energy available in any 

area of the world with an ambient temperature range of 233 K ( -40" 

F) to 325 K (125O F) was being developed by International Business 

Machines Corp. Federal Systems Div. under contract to Marshall Space 

Flight Center, MSFC announced. The recorder would measure and store 

sunfall data while simultaneously measuring direct and total (direct 

plus diffuse) solar radiation. MSFC engineers said the measurements 

were vital to efficient development of solar energy converters before any 

large-scale construction. ( MSFC Release 74-98) 

* COMSAT General Corp. announced the award of a cohtract to ScientificAtlanta, Inc., for 100 shipboard antennas and associated terminal equipment as part of the maritime communications satellite (Marisat) system 

to provide improved communications to commercial "ships at sea. The 

contract was expected to exceed $2 million and included options to purchase up to 300 additional terminals. ( COMSAT Gen Corp Release 7431) 

6, 11 June: Hearings on converting solar energy into electricity by photovoltaic devices were held by the House Committee on Science and Astro114 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 6, 11 June 

nautics’ Subcommittee on Energy as part of a continuing series of 

hearings on solar energy. John V. Goldsmith, Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist, said the total annual U.S. production of photovoltaic solar 

cells was 50 to 75 kw, mostly for spacecraft systems. In space, solarcell systems were without parallel but large-scale applications on the 

earth could not be achieved until systems could be produced in adequate 

volume at commercially competitive prices. Goldsmith recommended a 

large-scale photovoltaic technology development program and said that 

a terrestrial photovoltaic system, with advantages of an inexhaustible 

energy source and minimal environmenal impact, could be reduced in 

cost from its current $30 per watt to an economically feasible $0.50 per 

watt by 1985 but would require Federal funding of more than $250 

million. 

Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, NASA Assistant Administrator for Energy 

Programs, said NASA was continuing investigations of orbiting satellite 

power stations. A microwave energy project was studying problems of 

processing large amounts of power. However, an orbiting power station 

would weigh 11 million kg and require a second-generation shuttle in 

addition ,- to a nuclear-powered shuttle to put it into synchronous orbit. 

( ‘lranscript ) 

7 June: Images sensed 1 Jan. 1973 bv NASA’s Erts 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite, launched 23 Jdy 1972, had dramatically recorded a 

Santa Ana wind condition in Southern California, Univ. of California 

scientists reported in Science. The Santa Ana, rarely recorded by satellite, increased the danger of brush fires, crop and structural damage, and 

wind erosion in the open desert. The Erts 1 images provided scientists 

their first view of the entire dynamics in progress at one time. Monitoring 

such environmental conditions might aid resource management decisions. (Bowder et al., Science, 7 June 74, 1077-8) 

* Evidence revealed during US.-U.S.S.R. planning for the joint 1975 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project had indicated the Soviet Union was never 

in the race to the moon, the Associated Press reported. US. officials had 

learned the Soyuz capsule was designed for relatively brief earth 

orbital flights and for ferrying cosmonauts to and from a space station, 

but it could not make a journey to the moon. AP quoted Astronaut 

Eugene A. Cernan, a member of the ASTP planning team, as saying, 

Our Apollo spacecraft is far, far more sophisticated and has got 

a greater capability than their Soyuz. That doesn’t say the Soyuz is no 

good. It was just built for a different job.” In addition, Soyuz was 

designed to be controlled from the ground or by preautomated devices. 

“Their spacecraft . . . is designed around a philosophy that it doesn’t 

need a man to fly.” Cernan said that the U.S.S.R. “had no major over-all 

goal like landing on the moon. Their goals were all to be first. Get the 

first iron ball in orbit. Get the first man there . . . the first woman . . . the first multiman spacecraft.” By proceeding in this way, politically 

they “gained some significant firsts.” (Benedict, H Chron, 7 June 74) 

0 The Nation’s scheduled airlines, despite the energy crisis, had set service 

records in 1973 by carrying more than 200 million passengers and taking 

in more than $1 billion in freight revenues, the Air Transport Association announced. The airlines, with more than 12 000 daily flights, had 

accounted for almost 80% of the intercity public passenger-kilometers 

and 95% of all passenger travel between the US. and foreign countries. 

The industry had earned $223 million in 1973 on revenues of $12.4 

billion, up from‘ the $215 million earned in 1972 on revenues of $11.2 

<C 

115 
7 June ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

billion. Revenue passenger-kilometers were up 6.3% from 1972, while 

freight-ton-kilometers had risen 12.3%. (ATA Release, 7 June 74) 

* US. District Court Judge Joseph C. Waddy denied a request by the American Federation of Government Employees for a preliminary injunction 

that would have blocked NASA plans to lay off or reduce in grade 657 

employees at Marshall Space Flight Center. The denial followed a 30 

May temporary restraining order issued by Judge Waddy in response to 

an amendment to a 1967 suit filed by the AFGE against NASA and the Civil 

Service Commission. The suit challenged NASA’s alleged hiring of private contractors for vacated civil service jobs. In a November 1973 decision, the Federal District Court judge had ordered csc to review contract jobs at MSFC to determine whether they met standards set forth 

in the Pellerzi rule, which guided csc in evaluating contracts for personal services. (NASA Off Gen Counsel, interview, 23 Jan 76; Casebolt, 

HuntsviLle Times, 31 May 74; Cramer, W Star-News, 1 June 74) 

S June: An Economist article, “No Voice in Space,” commented on Europe’s 

role in the future of educational satellites: The US., with its 30 May 

launch of the Ats 6 Applications Technology Satellite? was fast gaining 

the technology to transmit uncensored TV broadcasts directly into homes 

in foreign countries, “commanding the eyes of the uncommitted? undeveloped world.” Europe could develop comparable satellite equipment 

but had given up attempts to develop a launch vehicle. “The Americans 

can hardly be asked to launch Europe’s propaganda for it”; perhaps 

European launch vehicle development should he continued. “The ATS 

satellite may not look like much of a menace now, but before a decade 

is out the earth is liable to be girdled with its offspring. . . . To say 

that Britain should not be up there claiming . . . attention is equivalent 

to saying , . . Europe has nothing to contribute. It would be a more 

rewarding venture than some of the follies European countries waste 

their resources on now.” (Economist, 8 June 1974) 

9 June: Northrop Corp.’s YF-17 lightweight tactical fighter prototype aircraft made its first flight, from Edwards Air Force Base. The mach 2 

twin-engine jet remained aloft for 1 hr 5 min, reaching an altitude of 

5500 m and a maximum speed of 740 km per hr. All flight objectives 

were met. The YF-17 joined the General Dynamics Corp. YF-16, which 

had made its first flight 2 Feb., in the lightweight fighter flight-test 

program. The two designs were being evaluated by the Air Force for 

possible full-scale development as the new air combat fighter. (AFSC 

Newsreview, July 74? 4) 

* Development of a new generation of communications satellites-such as 

Westar I (launched 13 April), Ats 6 (Applications Technology Satellite 

launched 30 May), and three others scheduled for launch in 1974 and 

1975-would bring the fifth revolution in human communications, Dr. 

Robert Jastrow, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 

said in a New Yurk Times article. The satellites would provide a “quantum jump in the capacity of Americans to talk to and see one another.” 

The most immediate effect would be to reduce cost of long-distance communications and increase number of words and pictures sxchanged. Overseas calls originating in the US. had jumped from about 10 million a 

year in 1965 to 60 million in 1973. Dr. Jastrow predicted that by 1982 

the US. would originate 1 billion overseas calls and a call halfway 

around the world would cost the same as a call next door. 

. 

116 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 9 June 

Other consequences might be a world language and the ability of 

people to live where they pleased. With an inexpensive satellite-transmitted dial-up conversation by color TV, people would not have to live 

in cities; “every house can be transformed into an office, a theater, or a 

classroom by pressing a few buttons.” Long-term effects might knit mankind into a global society, enriched by freer exchange of ideas and reduced fear between nations. A unified global society, however, would be 

an organism of great collective power in which the individual would be 

restricted to one role. “The prospect is not pleasant. But the transformation . . . will take place slowly . . . and most of our descendants will be 

conditioned to accept their more restricted options.” (NYT, 9 June 74, 

4:6) 

11 June: A giant nylon parachute was demonstrated at Kennedy Space Center 

as a possible design for the recovery of the space shuttle solid-fueled 

rocket booster casings. The parachute-built by Goodyear Aerospace 

Corp. to provide knowledge of handling heavy parachutes-had a base 

diameter of 40 m, base canopy circumference of 120 m, and total weight 

of 940 kg. Plans called for the use of three or four chutes of this kind 

in addition to a drogue chute to land the shuttle’s two 73 000-kg booster 

casings in the Atlantic, where boosters and parachutes could be retrieved 

by ships. (Spaceport News, 27 June 74,5) 

0 Kennedy Space Center awarded two contract extensions. A one-year $13- 

257 787 cost-plus-award fee extension was awarded to Federal Electric 

Corp. for support services, including launch instrumentation and communications support, for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The new award 

brought the total contract amount to $144 962 628. Bendix Corp. Launch 

Support Div. was awarded a $20 640 874, 16-1110 extension to continue 

launch support services at KSC, including operation and maintenance of 

Launch Complex 39. The extension brought the total contract amount to 

$261 498 038. (KSC Releases 93-74; 94-74) 

11, 12,13,18 June: Hearings on H.R. 10392, a bill authorizing NASA to conduct research on ground propulsion systems, were held by the House 

Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Space Science 

and Applications. Rep. Charles A. Vanik (D-Ohio) said that he was 

becoming impatient waiting “for an energy efficient” American automobile which can meet our pollution standards.” It was “time we truly involved NASA-On a massive scale-in solving our earth-bound problems.” 

Carl E. Nash of the Public Interest Research Group suggested that serious consideration be given the Dept. of Transportation or the Environmental Protection Agency, rather than NASA, when giving authority for 

ground propulsion research and development, because these agencies had 

had more experience in the field. 

Sydney L. Terry, Vice President for PuTlic Responsibility and Consumer Affairs at Chrysler Corp., said many had questioned whether the 

Federal Government had a legitimate role in automotive propulsion technoloky, but Chrysler would “welcome NASA’s interest in the automobile 

with enthusiasm and hope.” NASA’s skill and experience in long-range 

basic research and in the fields of thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid 

mechanics, and aerodynamics could contribute substantially to tlie development of efficient transportation. The way to proceed was by a “thoughtful division of research and development work between Government and 

industry.” (Transcript) 

117 
12 June ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

12 June: Effects of the shapes of trucks on air drag and fuel consumption were 

being studied by NASA and the Department of Transportation, NASA announced. Trucks traveling 80 km per hr used more than half their engine 

horsepower to overcome drag. Preliminary tests had shown that a rectangular vehicle with rounded corners had 30% less air drag at 90 to 

95 km per hr and used 15% less fuel. Other configurations would be 

tested at Flight Research Center and DOT’S Transportation Systems Center using technology and instrumentation developed in FRC’S aeronautics 

flight-test program. (NASA Release 74-152) 

The House approved by voice vote the House-Senate conference report on 

H.R. 13998, recommending a $3.267-billion FY 1975 NASA authorization. The action cleared the bill for the President’s signature. (CRY 12 

June 74, H5057) 

* Marshall Space Flight Center announced the award of a $5 986 930 contract 

modification to Chrysler Corp.’~ Space Div. for stage and system engineering for the 1st stage of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Saturn IB 

launch vehicle. The modification, effective 1 May 1974 through 31 July 

1975, brought the existing cost-plus-award-fee contract total to 

$64 455 696. ( MSFC Release 74-104) 

* No one was arguing against using the sun as an unlimited energy source 

but few saw it as an energy panacea, a Christian Science Monitor article 

said. With a firm commitment from the Government the sun could provide as much as one fifth of U.S. energy needs before the end of the century. But solar energy faced high capital costs for development; inefficient solar-collecting devices; unsolved corrosion and freezing problems for collectors; interfering building codes; lack of trained maintenance personnel; scarcity of solar technology designers, architects, and 

engineers; and insufficient mortgage money available. Solar energy also 

competed for funding with a Government “bias” toward nuclear energy. 

Government research dollars ran “25 to 1 in favor of nuclear energy.” 

(Hop, CSM, 12 June 74) 

13 June: The Anglo-French Concorde supersonic transport set a new speed 

record for a transatlantic flight of a commercial aircraft, flying from 

Paris to Boston in 3 hrs 9 min. The press quoted pilot Andre Turcat as 

saying the Concorde, which had been invited for the dedication of a 

new terminal at Boston’s Logan International Airport, had cruised from 

Paris at an altitude between 15 000 and 17 000 m. (AP, B Sun, 14 June 

74, All) * Glynn S. Lunney, Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager, received the 

Arthur S. Flemming Award-given each year to 10 outstanding young 

Federal employees by the Washington, D.C., Jaycees-during a ceremony in Washington. Lunney’s selection was based on his work as US. 

Technical Director of tbe Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The award cited 

his leadership and technical ability as important elements in the cooperation and progress achieved in the project by the two participating 

countries. (JSC Release 76110; JSC Roundup, 21 June 74, 1) 

13-14 June: A complex molecule called methyl cyanide had been discovered 

in Comet Kohoutek in December 1973 by scientists at the National Radio 

Astronomical Observatory, supporting the theory that eomets and possibly planets were born out in space between the stars, a NASA spokesman 

said at a Comet Kohoutek Workshop at Marshall Space Flight Center. 

Twenty-two papers were. presented by U.S. and European scientists on 

early results from observational programs including Skylab, ground 

118 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 13-14 June 

observatories, rockets, and aircraft. Dr. Charles R. @Dell, project 

scientist for NASA’s Large Space Telescope program, said Kohoutek had 

been a landmark in the study of the solar system. “We found large numbers of heavy molecules that we had never seen before. We always thought 

they were there but now we have proof of it.” (NASA Release 7&109; 

Michelini, Birmingham Post-Herald, 14 June 74) 

14 June: Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, announced that NASA’s 

Mississippi Test Facility had been renamed the National Space Technology Laboratories ( NSTL) , effective immediately, and would become a 

permanent field installation reporting directly to NASA Hq. MTF, whose 

activities now included developmental testing of the main engine for the 

space shuttle and an earth resources laboratory, had been established 

in 1961 as part of Marshall Space Flight Center, to perform static tests 

of Saturn V launch vehicle stages used in the Apollo program. (NASA 

Release 76159) 

* Kennedy Space Center’s Earth Resources Office was studying the use of 

radar imagery for land use planning, water resources management, and 

detection of pools of water under canopies of dense vegetation, KSC announced. Three Brevard County, Fla., sites had been surveyed by a 

C46 Curtis Commando aircraft equipped with a two-wavelength, multiplex, synthetic aperture, sidelooking radar. Results indicated that radar 

was promising for rural and urban land use applications and water 

resources management, but water detection experimepts were less encouraging. The study was being conducted because photographic and TV 

sensors on spacecraft were limited to the visual or near-infrared wavelengths. They were unable to photograph in darkness or through clouds. 

(KSC Release 97-74) 0 Overall US. aerospace exports during the first three months of 1974 had 

totaled $1713 million, up from $1245 for the same period in 1973, the 

Aerospace Industries Association of America announced. (AIA Release 

74-6) 

President Nixon established the Committee on Energy. The Cabinet-level 

advisory body would coordinate development of energy policy within 

the Executive Branch. (PD, 17 June 74,607-8) 

15 June-23 September: The Global Atmospheric Research Program’s Atlantic Tropical Experiment ( GATE) was conducted over a 51-million-sqkm area of tropical land and sea to collect data on the behavior of the 

tropical atmosphere and its ultimate effects on global weather. Sponsored by the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization, more 

than 4000 scientists, technicians, and support personnel from 72 countries-including the US., Brazil, France, East and West Germany, 

Mexico, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and USSR.-used 38 ships, 

65 instrumented buoys, 13 aircraft, 6 kinds of satellites, and nearly 1000 

land stations to observe and record phenomena from the top of the 

atmosphere to 1500 m below the sea surface. Objectives of GATE were to 

extend the time range and scope of weather predictions, develop means 

to assess pollution, determine feasibility of large-scale weather modification, and establish new bonds of international cooperation. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration coordkated 

US. participation, which included NASA, Dept. of Defense, Dept. of 

State, Dept. of Transportation, National Academy of Sciences, National 

Science Foundation, and National Center for Atmospheric Research, as 

well as the private sector of the scientific community. 

119 
15 June-23 September ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Instrumented aircraft, including NASA’s Convair 990, flew at altitudes 

between 90 and 9150 m to probe the cores of tropical cloud clusters and 

investigate the intertropical convergence zone, ocean waves and surface 

temperatures, radiation, tropical disturbances and dust layers moving off 

the African continent, and day-night weather changes in the coastal areas. 

Ships from 10 countries, including NASA’s vanguard tracking ship ‘and 

eight other US. vessels, investigated tropical cumulus cloud clusters, 

uppermost layers of ocean affected by local atmospheric conditions, and 

the broad systems of ocean currents near the equator. Satellites-including Sms 1, Ats 3, Noaa 2 and 3, Nimbus 5, and DMSP Defense Meteorological Satellites from the US. and polar orbiting Meteor-class satellites 

from the U.S.S.R.-furnished day and night information on cloudtop 

heights and temperatures, cloud liquid-water content, wind speed and 

direction, temperature and moisture in the atmosphere, and sea surface 

temperatures. Land stations provided surface and upper-air data; instrumented buoys collected data from the sea surface to 10-m altitude. 

Each nation contributing vehicles would process and validate the collected data. By March 1976 all data would be sent to two World Data 

Centers, operated by the US. and U.S.S.R., where they would become 

available to scientists. (NOAA, GATE News Press Kit, 9 May 74; GATE 

Release NI 74A5; FBIs-Poland, 25 June 74, G6; NOAA Release 761541 

16 June: The Air Force Air Weather Service began operational testing of 

the Airborne Weather Reconnaissance System ( AWRS) aircraft over the 

Gulf and East Coasts. The modified -WC-130 aircraft-using the most 

advanced meteorological and atmospheric sensors to provide continuous 

accurate measurements of wind speed and direction, temperature, pressure, and dewpoint-humidity at flight levels-would study the structure 

and internal forces of hurricanes, storms, and other atmospheric phenomena. The aircraft also carried the first airborne, integrated Omegainertial navigation system for positional accuracies of about 2 km on a 

6000-km overwater mission. ( AFSC Release OIP 116.74) 

17 June: A Boeing 747 aircraft had been chosen to transport the space 

shuttle orbiter and related hardware from the West Coast to Kennedy 

Space Center, NASA announced. The 747 would also be used in approach 

and landing tests of the reusable orbiter. Bought from American Airlines, a used 747 would be modified and equipped with fittings to permit 

quick installation of the orbiter or hardware on top of the aircraft. 

Flight profile tests would begin immediately; modifications were to begin after November. Ground and flight tests would begin in late 1976. 

Takeoff weight with the orbiter was estimated as 35 000 kg. (NASA Release 74-160) 9 Dr. William R. Lucas assumed duties as Director of Marshall Space Flight 

Center succeeding Dr. Rocco A. Petrone, who had been transferred to 

NASA Hq. as Associate Administrator [see 5 March]. Dr. Lucas, who 

had been with MSFC and predecessor organizations for 22 yrs in scientific 

and management positions, had been part of the group transferred from 

the Army in 1960 to form the nucleus of MSFC. He had served as Deputy 

Director since 1971. (MSFC Release 76109; MurshaZZStar, 17 Feb 71,l) 

17-18 June: The international Mission Definition Group, sponsored by NASA 

and the European Space Research Organization at Ames Research Center, concluded that backup hardware from the Pioneer 10 and 11 missions (launched 2 March 1972 and 5 April 1973) could be used for an 

orbital mission to Jupiter in the 1980s. The US. and European scientists 

120 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 17-18 June 

brought together to discuss the possible mission found the Pioneer-class 

spacecraft best suited for a study of Jupiter’s unusual magnetic field. 

The group recommended that 70% of a 40-kg payload be designed to 

study energetic particles and magnetic fields, with the remainder for 

visual, ultraviolet, and infrared images. The spacecraft might also carry 

a probe to explore Jupiter’s atmosphere. 

The possible mission to Jupiter was one of eight potential areas of 

space cooperation identified by NASA and ESRO during a joint review of 

space science program planning in February. After studying the Group’s 

report, NASA and ESRO would decide whether further consideration should 

be given a future international mission to Jupiter. (NASA Release 74-168; 

NASA proj mgr, interview, 5 May 75) 

17-28 June: A nine-man NASA delegation participated in joint tests with Soviet representatives in Star City, near MOSCOW, to evaluate lighting and 

facilities for TV and photography in the Soyuz spacecraft. Tests were 

made in a mockup of the Soyuz spacecraft. The US.-U.S.S.R. ApolloSoyuz Test Project mission, scheduled for July 1975, would include TV 

coverage from both spacecraft transmitted to the U.S. and U.S.S.R. 

simultaneously. (JSC Release 76114; NASA prog off, interview, 30 

April 75) 

18 June: Marshall Space Flight Center announced the award of a $69316 

six-month contract to International Telephone & Telegraph Corp. ITT 

Gilfillan Div. to analyze a two-way optical data link, using laser beams 

and operating between the ground and payloads in low earth orbit. The 

study, which could lead to a laser communications system for the space 

shuttle, was expected to provide information on the most effective lasers 

and frequencies and the effects of orbital dynamics. (MSFC Release 

74-105) 

21 June: The Air Force awarded a $42.8-million fixed-price-incentive firmaward-fee contract to Rockwell International Corp. to design, develop, 

fabricate, launch, and operate three prototype satellites in the NAVSTAR 

Global Positioning System. Included in the contract were associated 

hardware, qualification model, and computer programming and services. 

In addition, two navigation subsystems would be delivered for use 

aboard a NAVSTAR satellite to be developed by the Nwal Research Laboratory. When completed, the 24 satellites in the NAVSTAR system would 

provide worldwide precise positioning and navigation, day or night, 

and under all weather conditions. (DOD Release 268-74) 

22 June: President Nixon signed NASA’s authorization bill, H.R. 13998, into 

Public Law 93-316. The $3.267-billion act authorized $2.37 billion for 

research and development, $144 million for construction of facilities, 

and $750 million for research and program management. (PD, 1 July 74, 

726) 

23 June: NASA announced selection of 39 scientists to provide experiments 

for the 1978 Pioneer twin missions to Venus. The selection, made from 

162 scientists who had submitted proposals to NASA, included one scientist each from Germany and France. The scientists would participate 

in a detailed study of the planet, including composition, structure, and 

radiation field of its atmosphere; nature of the clouds; and magnetic and 

radiation environment of the planet. (NASA Release 74-155) 

24 Jum-12 July: Eight U.S. astronauts-Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand, 

Donald K. Slayton, Alan L. Bean, Ronald E. Evans, Jack R. Lousma, RObert F. Overmyer, and Karol J. Bobko-took part in training in Star City, 

121 
24 June12 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

near Moscow, for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. A ninth, Eugene A. 

Cernan, took part in the first two weeks of training, representing the 

Johnson Space Center Apollo Spacecraft Program O5ce. In addition to 

studying Soyuz spacecraft systems, the astronauts trained with the Soviet 

flight crews in simulators and mockups. They also continued planning 

procedures and checklists for the joint mission. (JSC Release 74,121; 

JSC Roundup, 30 Aug 74) 

25 June-19 July: The Salyut 3 research station and-nine days later-the 

Soyuz 14 spacecraft carrying a two-man crew were launched into nearearth orbit to establish a U.S.S.R. manned orbital workshop. 

Salyut 3 was launched at 4:55 am local time 25 June (7:55 pm EDT 

24 June) from Baykonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam into orbit with 

252-km apogee, 213-km perigee, 89.2-min period, and 51.6” inclination. 

Tass announced the purpose of the mission was to improve the station’s 

design, onboard systems, and equipment and to perform scientific research during space flight. By 30 June Salyut 3, which consisted of two 

cylinders more than 21 m in length and weighing some 18 500 kg, had 

been raised to a near-circular orbit with a 268-km apogee and 265-km 

perigee. 

Soyuz I4 was launched 3 July at 11:51 pm local time (2:51 pm EDT) 

from Baykonur Cosmodrome carrying Cosmonauts Pave1 R. Popovich, 

commander and veteran of the 12 Aug. 1962 Vostok 4 mission, and Yuri 

P. Artyukhin, flight engineer, to rendezvous with Salyut 3. The launch 

was seen by Soviet citizens by delayed broadcast on Moscow TV. The 

spacecraft entered orbit with a 338-km apogee, 201-km perigee, 89.9- 

min period, and 51.5” inclination. Maj. Gen. Vladimir A. Shatalov, chief 

of cosmonaut training, said during a 4 July Tass interview that the main 

objectives of the mission were “testing methods and systems of controlling the craft, improvement in the life-sustaining complex, [and] 

exploration of new possibilities of using both separate craft and groups 

of space objects to zccompIish scientific and applied tasks in a nearearth orbit.” Tass also reported that a 4 July trajectory correction placed 

the spacecraft in an orbit with a 277-km apogee, 255-km perigee, 89.7- 

min period, and 51.6” inclination. All spacecraft systems were successfully checked out and the crew was reported to be in good health. 

The Soyuz 14 cosmonauts rendezvoused and docked with Sdyut 3 on 

5 July during their 17th orbit, successfully demonstrating techniques the 

Soviets would use during the July 1975 U.S.4.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz 

Test Project maneuvers. After docking, Popovich and Artyukhin checked 

the station’s onboard systems and microclimate and entered the 99-cu-m 

three-room laboratory. 

During their 15-day mission the cosmonauts studied geologicalmorphological objects on the earth‘s surface, atmospheric formations 

and phenomena, physical characteristics of outer space, and manufacturing techniques, as well as testing the Salyut space station’s improved design and solar-panel energy system. The crew aIso studied the influences 

of space on the human organism and exercised to prevent loss of muscle 

tone, using an onboard comprehensive trainer to siwulate running, 

jumping, and weight lifting. . Tass reported 15 July that some Soviet scientists considered terminating the mission because unexpected, intense solar flares 4-8 Jdy 

dramatically increased the radiation exposure. However, because the 

122 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 25 June-19 July 

flares subsided and the space station’s orbit prevented excessive exposure, the crew’s work was not disrupted. 

While the cosmonauts worked in space, two Soviet researchers lived 

in a duplicate station on the ground, simultaneously performing the same 

work. All commands relayed to the orbiting Sulyut 3 were first checked 

on the ground and alternate versions of decisions for unforeseen situations were calculated. On 8 July the U.S. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project crew, 

in training at Star City for the joint US.-U.S.S.R. mission in 1975, 

telegraphed congratulations to the Salyut 3 cosmonauts on their “great 

success.” They said they looked forward to meeting the two after their 

By 18 July the crew completed most experiments and began transferring ec&ipment to Soyuz 14. After checking out spacecraft systems, 

the cosmonauts undocked 19 July. Retrorockets were fired, parachutes 

deployed, and Soyuz 14 softlanded at 5:21 pm Baykonur time (8:21 

am EDT) 140 km southeast of Dzhezkazgan 2000 m from the planned 

target after 15 days 17 hours 30 min in space. The crew left the spacecraft unaided, and on-the-spot medical checks showed the cosmonauts’ 

health was All mission tests were reported completed. For the 

first time, a U.S.S.R. orbital mission had been in touch with mission 

control continuously because of maritime tracking. 

Sulyut 3 was the third space station orbited by the U.S.S.R. Sulyut 1 

had been launched 19 April 1971. A three-man crew on Soyuz 10 docked 

with the station 24 April but returned to earth without entering. A second crew, launched 6 June 1971 aboard Soyuz 11, entered the orbiting 

station and conducted scientific experiments for 24 days. The three died 

during reentry when an open valve evacuated air from the spacecraft. 

Salyut 2 was launched into orbit 3 April 1973 but apparently an explosion 

or wildly firing thrusters sent the station out of control, tearing off the 

solar panels and making the station uninhabitable. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 

20-26 June, 3-10 July 74; GSFC SSR, 30 June, 31 Aug 74; Tass, FBI+ 

Sov, 25 June23 July 74; UPI, JF Star-News, 14 July 74; Browne, NYT, 

9,20 July 74; SBD, 9,27 July 74; AM 1973) 

25 June: A new flight research program, the NASA terminal-configured vehicle (TCV) program studying problems in aircraft opeyations near airports, was under way at Langley Research Center. A modified Boeing 

737 flying laboratory with its advanced digital electronics equipment 

would be used to study present and future terminal-area operating environments, precision four-dimensional [longitude, latitude, altitude, 

time] flight paths, aircraft performance requirements, automatic systems, displays, and pilot workload. Particular emphasis would be given 

to the human factors and the interaction of crew members. Research 

tasks would include close-in, minimum noise, curved approaches to 

touchdown on a runway with zero visibility. Rollout after touchdown and 

&&-speed turnoffs would also be investigated. (NASA Release 74-163) 

25 June-3 July: President Nixon traveled to Brussels (25-26 June) to meet 

with the government heads of most of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries and then to Moscow (27 June-3 July) for a summit 

meeting with General Secretary Leonid L. Brezhnev of the Soviet Communist Party’s Central Committee. During the Moscow summit meeting, 

agreements were signed 28-29 June outlining US.-U.S.S.R. cooperation-including exchange of information and scientists-in the fields of 

happy return.” <I 

123 
25 June3 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

energy, huusing and other construction, heart research, economics, industry, and technology. In addition, two treaties were signed 3 July 

limiting antiballistic missile systems and underground nuclear weapon 

testing. Under the treaties, both countries agreed to one antiballistic missile site each rather than the two originally agreed on in the US-U.S.S.R. 

treaty signed 26 May 1972, to prohibition of underground nuclear explosions above 150 kt, and to discussions on the dangers of environmental warfare. The treaties were sent to the Senate for ratification 19 Sept. 

During a 2 July televised address to the Soviet people President Nixon 

said the joint Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, scheduled for July 

1975, was “symbolic of the new relationship we are building between our 

two nations” for several reasons. First, the rocket technology built for 

war was being used for peace. Second, during the mission the astronauts and cosmonauts would “join with one another-just as we are 

doing and must continue to do.” Third, the newly standardized docking 

technology, making international space rescues possible, would make 

space travel safer “just as our new relationship can make life on earth 

safer for the people of both our countries.” And, finally, because the 

process of “working and building together . . . is the way that together 

we can build a . . . peace that will last.” (PD, 8 July 74, 727-763; 

23 Sept 74, 1170) 

26 June: The House passed, by a roll call vote of 407 to 7, H.R. 15572, the 

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development-Space-Science-Veterans FY 

1975 appropriations bill. The bill--passed as recommended to the House 

by its Committee on Appropriations 21 June-appropriated $3.203 

billion to NASA, $U.l million below the FY 1975 budget request and 

$63.9 million below the FY 1975 authorization. 

Research and development funds totaled $2.327 billion, construction 

of facilities $135.67 million, and research and program management 

$740 million. An additional $4.435 million had been provided in the 

Special Energy Bill. 

The House cut $6.2 million authorized as planning funds for the Large 

Space Telescope, noting that the LST was not among the top four priority 

telescope projects selected by the National Academy of Sciences. Also 

the House deferred the $8.0 million requested to initiate SEASAT and 

recommended that the satellite be configured to fly on an early mission 

of the space shuttle. The Committee urged NASA to reprogram funds to 

begin work on ERTS-c as soon as possible but directed the agency not 

to reprogram any funds for cost overruns on the Viking project without 

requesting additional funds from Congress. C?ther cuts from the authorization included $15.8 million for the construction of facilities and $9.6 

million for research and program management. (CR, 26 June 74, H5746- 

73; Com Rpt 93-1139) 9 Dr. Noel W. Hinners’ appointment as NASA Associate Administrator for 

Space Science became effective. He succeeded Dr. John E. Naugle, who 

had become Deputy Associate Administrator. Dr. Hinners, Director of 

Lunar Programs in the Office of Space Science before his appointment, 

had joined NASA in 1972 as Deputy Director and Chief Scientist of Apollo 

Lunar Exploration in the O5ce of Manned Space Right. (NASA Ann, 

26 June 74) 9 A National Academy of Sciences panel report to President Nixon recommended that the White House create a Council for Science and Technology. The Council would recommend how science and technology could 

1% 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 26 June 

be most effectively incorporated into the policy-making process. Three 

full-time members-drawn from the sciences, engineering, and related 

fields-would be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. A Chairman, who would‘also serve as a member of 

the Domestic Council, would report to the President, and a staff of 25-30 

experts would attack special problems. NAS also recommended that the 

Council actively participate in the work of the National Security Council 

and play a role in areas of foreign policy affected by science and technology. (Dr. H. Guyford Stever, National Science Foundation Director, 

had been assigned the role of Science Adviser to the President following 

the abolishment of the Office of Science and Technology by President 

Nixon in mid-1973.) (Sullivan, NYT, 27 June 74) 

27 June: Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, announced his decision 

to award Thiokol Corp. immediately a 5.5-million7 180-day letter contract to develop the space shuttle solid-fueled rocket motors. The definitive 

contract would be awarded later. Lockheed Propulsion Co. had protested to the General Accounting Office the original, 20 Nov. 1973 contract award to Thiokol. GAO validated NASA’s selection procedures 24 

June 1974. GAO stated, however, that the NASA cost analysis had contained 

an overstatement of the cost differential favoring Thiokol’s proposal 

over Lockheed’s and recommended the NASA Administrator determine 

whether the award should be reconsidered. Dr. Fletcher advised the 

Comptroller General that the decision to proceed with Thiokol was based 

on the conclusion that the rationale used for the initial selection remained 

valid. (NASA Release 74-178; 74-180; A&A 1973) 

* NASA announced plans for a joint mission with Great Britain in June 1975 to 

launch an x-ray telescope on a British Skylark sounding rocket to study 

the Puppis A supernova remnant. NASA would design, fabricate, and assemble the flight telescope; the British would integrate the payload into 

the sounding rocket and provide the high-resolution position-sensitive 

detector, launch facilities, and operations. The combination of the 

Wolter Type I glancing incidence telescope and the detector would permit the structural details of the regions responsible for the supernova’s 

soft x-ray emission to be studied with unprecedented resolution. (NASA 

Release 7P-179) 

Dr. Vannevar Bush, who directed the development of the atomic bomb and 

mobilized US. scientific and technical resources during World War 11, 

died in Belmont, Mass., at the age of 84 following a cerebral hemorrhage. 

Dr. Bush was Dean of Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the 

1930s, when he developed the Bush differential analyzer, which led to 

development of the modern computer. He had been President of Carnegie 

Institution in Washington 1938-1955 and while there had served as 

Science Adviser to President Roosevelt. In 1938 he was elected Vice 

Chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and was 

NACA Chairman 1939-1941. President Roosevelt appointed him Chairman of the National Defense Research Committee in 1940 and Director 

of the Office of Scientific Research and Development in 1941. In that 

capacity, Dr. Bush organized an unprecedented team of engineers, scientists, industrialists, and military men and oversaw the develdpment 

of the atomic bomb, radar, proximity fuse, rocketry, and problems of 

technical warfare. (Washington, W Post, 30 June 74, B8; NAE Release, 

19 April 66; 24th, 25th, 27th Ann Rpt of the NACA, 1938,1939,1941) 

125 
28 June-1 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

28 June4 July: NASA and the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory, in 

participation with more than 100 U.S. and foreign experimenters, 

launched 54 sounding rockets from Wallops Flight Center as part of the 

Atmospheric Layering and Density Distribution of Ions and Neutrals 

(Project ALADDIN, ’74) program. In addition to the 54 rockets launched 

during a 24-hr period beginning at 1:oo pm EDT 29 June, a pie-ALADDIN 

chemical experiment was launched aboard a Nike-Iroquois 28 June and 

four post-ALADDIN meteorological rockets were launched 1 July. Chemical releases made yellow to yellowish green fluorescent aurora-like vapor 

trails visible over the East Coast. 

The program was studying dynamic and structural conditions of the 

atmosphere 48-137 km above the earth. Using small meteorological 

probes, chemical releases, falling spheres, and more sophisticated spectrometer payloads, the rockets tracked and measured winds, wind shears, 

temperature and diffusion parameters, upper-atmosphere patterns and 

dynamics, and structure and composition. Data received from the rockets 

would be compared with data obtained by Explorer 51 (launched 15 Dec. 

1973). The data would be used for predicting communications problems 

and satellite orbits as well as for weather forecasting and pollution 

studies. (WFC Releases 744, 74-5; AFSC Release OIP 065.74; AP, W 

Post, 30 June 74, B3) 

30 June: Permanent NASA employment had decreased 4.2% during FY 1974, 

dropping from 25 955 to 24 854 employees, NASA’S Office of Personnel 

reported. Despite a numerical decrease of 470, employment in professional occupations had risen to 61.4% of the NASA total. The minority 

component increased to 676. The increase in average age slowed to 0.2 

year, reaching 42.7 years, while the average GS grade remained the 

same at 11.0. The 2358 separations were almost twice as many as the 1246 

accessions, with most of the reduction-in-force separations occurring in 

technical support, wage grade, and clerical occupations. (NASA, “The 

In-house Work Force,’’ FY 1974) 

During June: NASA began “‘Outlook for Space,” a comprehensive planning 

study to identify potential roles for space exploration and expIoitation 

1980-2000. The year-long study, headed by Deputy Director Donald P. 

Hearth of Goddard Space Flight Center, would seek to relate goals of 

potential civilian space activities to national interests, to develop a list 

of desirable and practical US. civilian space activities, to group activities with specific sets of goals, to define research and development tasks 

required for potential commercial and operational uses of space, and to 

identify social and economic challenges that could benefit from the use 

of space. NASA would consult representatives from universities, other 

Government agencies, and industry. The study would supplement “The 

1973 NASA Payload Model” planning effort, which had evaluated potential uses of the space shuttle, space tug, and Spacelab and which had 

been completed in ‘October 1973. The new study would continue through 

June 1975. (NASA Activities, 15 Sept 74, 2-6; GSFC proj off, interview, 

17 July 74) 

* The National Academy of Sciences issued Scientific Uses of the Space 

Shuttle, report of a July 1973 conference in Woods Hole, Mass., sponsored by the NAS Space Science Board. The conference, attended by 61 

US. and European scientists from seven scientific disciplines, concluded 

the shuttle could be an important asset to scientific research. Increased 

size, weight, and simplicity permitted for payloads would be of chief im126 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 During June 

portance. But many potential advantages dephded on innovative management and clear-cut, efficient, and flexible procedures for flying multipurpose missions. Small experiments could be flown cost-effectively on 

small standardized pallets with integrated experiments, put on standby 

and flown when space was available. The projected 28-day sortie mission 

would be valuable for most disciplines but major programs requiring 

longer observation times should be carried ou! on free-flying automated 

spacecraft launched from a pallet in the shuttle’s payload bay. 

Cost-effectiveness of recovering and refurbishing payloads in orbit 

required additional study. A sophisticated Large Space Telescope-proposed for launch on the shuttle-might be worth the cost to revisit and 

service or return to earth. But visits to less expensive spacecraft in inconvenient orbits might prove too costly. Limits on recoverable payload 

weight might also restrict recovery. 

Scientists expressed concern that weight requirements for men in 

addition to a crew might limit scientific payloads. A manned Spacelab 

module was considered essential for biomedical research but other disciplines could often use a smaller module housing a payload specialist 

and his console. Because of weight penalties, real-time control and 

evaluation might be best supplied by a ground-based control using a 

shuttle-to-ground communications system, such as the proposed Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) , giving continuous global 

coverage with a high rate of data interchange. (Text) 

127 

July 1974 

I July: The Assembly of Engineering was established as part of the National 

Research Council, to advance efforts of the National Academy of Sciences 

and the National Academy of Engineering in applying engineering resources toward solving national problems. Initially Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., NAE President, would serve as Chairman of the Assembly and 

Dr. J. H. Mulligan, Jr., NAE Secretary and Executive Officer, would be 

Executive Director. First study areas would include alternative aircraft 

fuels, uses and limits of technology assessment, operational safety in 

marine mining, and outer continental shelf oil and gas safety. (NAE, 

Bridge, July 74) 

A Washington Post editorial urged the importance of scientific advice to 

the White House: Although drought, famine, continuing energy crisis, 

overpopulation, and meteorological change had been byproducts of the 

sudden advancement of science and technology in the past century, it 

had become increasingly clear that only more progress could provide the 

knowledge needed to keep this planet reasonably habitable. “We also 

need a great deal more political wisdom to apply this knowledge effectively and cooperatively. . . . The President needs to be informed and 

forewarned to help avert . . . potential disasters by the wise and humane use of technology.” To this end, a committee sponsored by the 

National Academy of Sciences had recommended establishment of a 

Council for Science and Technology as a staff agency in the White House 

[see 26 June]. Although President Nixon might remain hostile to the 

idea and a given President might choose some other method, “some 

orderly way of assuring science’s service to government cannot be long 

delayed. We cannot arrest rapidly advancing scientific and technological 

developments. The question is whether these developments carry with 

them side effects . . . that are destructive or benign. No President can 

know this without the best continuing analysis and advice, close at 

hand.” ( W Post, 1 July 74) 

2 July: Ats 6 Applications Technology Satellite, launched 30 May, transmitted the first instructional TV course broadcast directly by satellite. 

The course, on career education for elementary school children, originated at the Univ. of Kentucky and traveled by land wires to NASA’s 

Rosman, N.C., antenna for transmittal to the satellite. The spacecraft rebroadcast the program to more than 300 graduate education students 

throughout eight Appalachian states. Signals came through strongly in 

all the receiving areas. Students would receive university credit for 

successful completion of the course, which included taped lessons, programmed instruction, laboratory sessions, and live seminars. Seminars 

would use Ats 3, launched 5 Nov. 1967. The course was part of the Dept. 

of Health, Education, and Welfare’s Health Education Teleconimunications ( HET) experiment to determine the effectiveness of satellitetransmitted educational TV. ( NASA Release 76172 ; McElheny, NYT, 

3 July 74, 37) 

129 
2 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

* A Mariner 10 trajectory correction maneuver was made to ensure that the 

spacecraft would pass within 48 300 km of Mercury for its second encounter 21 Sept. The spacecraft would pass at a greater distance from the 

planet than it had during the 29 March encounter, to photo-map the 

entire sunlit side of the planet as well as the south polar area. (NASA 

MOR, 3 Oct 74; Pasadena Star-News, 3 July 74) 

Erts 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite, launched 23 July 1972, stopped 

transmitting useful stored global data, following continued degradation 

of its tape recorder. After two years of operation, Erts 1 was providing 

only real-time imagery, making world-wide coverage no longer possible. 

Good continuous U.S. coverage was being maintained by ground stations in Canada, Alaska, California, Maryland, and Brazil. The satellite 

had been designed for one-year operational lifetime. (GSFC proj off, 

interview, 30 July 75; Au Wk, 19 Aug 74, 17; NASA Release 73-62; 

NASA, ERTS-A Fact Sheet, 12 July 72) 

During the third quarter of the Federal energy conservation program, energy savings in the nondefense agencies had been 19% of anticipated 

energy use, and savings by the Dept. of Defense had been 31%, President Nixon said in a statement following receipt of a report from Federal Energy Administrator John C. Sawhill. Total savings for the first 

nine months of the Federal program had equaled 75 million barrels of 

oil, or $600 million in reduced costs. Secretary of Commerce Frederick 

B. Dent had reported that industrial energy consumption had been reduced by 5% per unit of output October 1973-January 19'74. This rate, 

which was expected to be maintained or exceeded in 1974 by all of commerce and industry, would bring annual savings equal to 425 million 

barrels of oil. (PD, 8 July 74, 788) 

3 July: The U.S.S.R. launched Soyuz 14 from Baykonur Cosmodrome near 

Tyuratam, carrying Cosmonauts Pave1 R. Popovich and Yuri P. 

Artyukhin to work in the orbiting Salyut 3 research station launched 

25 June [see 25 June-19 July]. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 3-10 July 74; Tass, 

FBIS-SOV, 5 July 74, Ul) 

* International Business Machines Corp. and Communications Satellite Corp. 

announced plans to enter the domestic satellite communications field. 

Subject to Federal Communicatitons Commission approval, IBM and 

ComSatCorp subsidiary COMSAT General Corp. would acquire two-thirds 

interest in CML Satellite Corp. from Lockheed Aircraft Corp. and MCI 

Communications Corp. for $5 million. COMSAT General already owned 

the remaining one third. IBM would own 55% of the joint organization 

and COMSAT General 45% ; shares would be offered to the public. CMLdeveloping plans for a domestic satellite system to relay specialized 

voice, image, and data communications-was expected to operate its 

first satellite system in the late 1970s. (IBM & ComSatCorp Release, 3 

July 74) 

* NASA announced the appointment of J. Lloyd Jones as Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Technology in the Office of Aeronautics and 

Space Technology. Jones had been Director of the Aerodynamics and 

Vehicle Systems Div. in OAST since 1972, when he had come to NASA Hq. 

from Ames Research Center. He had been at ARC since 1954. 

In an OAST reorganization providing for two deputies instead of one, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Technology Robert E. Smylie became Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Technology. ( NASA Release 76187) 

130 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 5 July 

5 July: Photographs from the Skylab missions, Erts I Earth Resources Technology Satellite, and a NASA U-2 aircraft had helped end a legal confrontation between land developers and the State of Florida, Kennedy 

Space Center reported. Proposed heavy development of a section of the 

Green Swamp had threatened to endanger a subsurface rock formation, 

the Florida Acquifer, which provided 90% of the state’s water. In 

conflict were the rights of owners to develop their property and the public’s right to protect vital water resources. The NASA photos demonstrated 

the effects of land development and led to a settlement beneficial to both 

parties, permitting development in large tracts with carefully planned 

drainage and without chemical control of aquatic weeds. (KSC Release 

90-74) 

Three Johnson Space Center nutrition scientists-Dr. Malcolm C. Smith, 

Jr., Chief of the Food and Nutrition Branch; Dr. Norman D. Heidelbaugh, Chief of Food Science; and Dr. Paul C. Rambaut, Chief of Nutrition-would receive the 1974 Underwood-Prescott Memorial Award for 

“their contributions to the field of food science through their research 

in space feeding and nutrition . . . for space missions to the Moon and 

in Skylab.” The scientists were also responsible for food systems on the 

space shuttle and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The award, presented 

annually by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, would be made at 

an MIT luncheon 1 Oct. (JSC Roundup, 5 July 74, 1) 

7 July: Aleksander Y. Bereznyak, Soviet pioneer in jet aircraft development, 

died in Moscow at the age of 61. Bereznyak, one of a group of design 

engineers who worked on rocket and jet engines during World War 11, 

had helped design a rocket-powered aircraft flight-tested in May 1942. 

(NYT, 14 Aug 74,26) 

8 July: An optical memory system that would increase computer memory 

storage capability by 30% had been developed by scientists under NASA 

contract, NASA announced. The new technique used organic compounds 

whose chemical reactions could be manipulated by low-power lasers to 

produce phase holograms (optical image-storing units) that could hold 

100 million pieces of information per square centimeter. The new system 

also would be more economical, more compact, and more reliable and 

would require less energy and fewer moving parts. Advanced computer 

memory capability, required for future NASA missions, also could be 

useful for amlications in business. industrv. government. and education. ,,” 

(NASA Rele&e 74-185) 

* Dr. Kurt H. Debus, Kennedv Space Center Director, and Univ. of Florida 

officials signed an agreement Zo permit the University to operate a coastal 

and oceanographic engineering laboratory at KSC. Telemetric monitoring of the Atlantic Ocean environment would be augmented by visual 

observation of ocean climate and beach erosion. (KSC Release 113-74) 

The space shuttle had no imaginable use which could not be met more 

cheaply and expeditiously by rockets already in existence, columnist 

Nicholas von Hoffman charged in the Washington Post. Of the justifications for the space shuttle program, one of “the most persuasive is the 

large amounts of money that will be pumped” into an ailing economy. 

However, “it would be difficult to think up a more inflationaryway to 

provide jobs for people.” ( W Post, 8 July 74) 

9 July: The U.S.S.R. launched Meteor 18 meteorological satellite from 

Plesetsk into orbit with an 891-km apogee, 863-km perigee, 102.5-min 

period, and 81.2” Inclination. The satellite would photograph clouds and 

’ 

131 
9 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

their underlying surface and study the distribution of precipitation and 

ice zones and the influence of corpuscular flows on upper layers of the 

atmosphere for rapid weather data supply. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 3-10 July 

74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 11 July 74, U1; SF, 1 Jan 75,35) 

10 July: Australian and Japanese astronomers had identified the chemical 

signature of methylamine in the dense interstellar cloud Sagittarius B, 

which was 30 000 light years from the earth near the center of the Milky 

Way, the Washington Post reported. Methylamine was an organic chemical that mixed freely with formic acid to create glycine, the simplest of 

the amino acid building blocks of life. Identification of methylamine 

brought to 29 the number of chemical footprints identified in interstellar 

space and brought scientists one step closer to understanding the processes creating life. (O’Toole, W Post, 10 July 74, A3) 

11 July: NASA announced the award of a $483 000 000, cost-plus-fixed-andaward-fee supplemental contract and 11-mo contract extension to Rockwell International Corp. Space Div. for development of the space shuttle 

orbiter and integration of all elements of the shuttle system. The supplement brought the total value of the contract, which would continue 

through 30 June 1975, to $943 248 000. Rockwell was to subcontract 

more than 50% of the dollar value of the contract. (NASA Release 74-195) 

12 July: Ninety-three research teams in the US. and foreign countries had 

been selected for Earth Resources Technology Satellite follow-on investigations, NASA announced. The studies, selected from 669 proposals, 

included work in agriculture, forestry, environment, interpretive techniques, land use, marine resources, meteorology, mineral resources, oil, 

civil works, hazards, and water resources. The investigators would use 

data from Erts 1, launched 23 July 1972, and Erts-B, scheduled for early 

1975 launch. NASA would fund the domestic studies at a cost of nearly 

$5.9 million. (NASA Release 74-193) 

* President Nixon signed into Public Law 93-344 the Congressional Budget 

and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, H.R. 7130, which strengthened 

congressional control over the budgetary process. Major provisions of 

the legislation would establish House and Senate Budget Committees and 

a Congressional Budget Office, establish a tight timetable for congressional action on authorization and appropriations bills, change the fiscal 

year from 1 July to 1 Oct. beginning in FY 1976 (with a transitional 

three-month period from 1 July 1976 through 30 Sept. 1976), provide 

for a congressional process to bring appropriation bills into conformance with overall budget totals, increase the flow of budgetary information from the Executive Branch to the Congress, and require congressional agreement on deferred use of funds and reductions in funding 

levels. (CR, 16 July, 512585; PD, 15 July 74,799401) 

13 July: President Nixon signed Proclamation 4303 declaring the week of 

16-24 July United States Space Week. In signing, President Nixon 

said: “Just five years ago, two Americans thrilled the world when they 

took man’s first steps on the moon. . . . In that single journey five 

years ago, man’s knowledge of our universe, diligently gathered over the 

centuries, resulted in a spectacular leap from the ear?. . . . In time 

man may take for granted such wonders as we cannot imagine. . . . But we know that a beginning has heen made that will affect the course of 

human life forever.” (PD, 22 July 74, 805) 

14 July: The Air Force launched Nts 1 Navigation Technology Satellite on 

an Atlas F booster from Vandenberg Air Force Base into orbit with a 

132 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 14 July 

13 762-km apogee, 13 440-km perigee, 7-hr 48-min period, and 125.1’ 

inclination. The spacecraft, designed and built by the Naval Research 

Laboratory and originally called Timation 3A, would test techniques 

under consideration for the Dept. of Defense’s NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) . Nts 1 carried receivers and transmitters to broadcast 

its exact position continuously and an atomic clock to transmit ultraprecise time signals. NAVSTAR, when completed in the mid-1980s, would 

be a system of 24 satellites providing worldwide, accurate, and instantaneous three-dimensional positions of air, sea, and surface vehicles 

equipped with a GPS receiver. (Pres Rpt 74; Av Wh, 22 July 74,14; AFSC 

Release OIP 274.74) 

Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, first Air Force Chief of Staff, died in Washington, 

D.C., of congestive heart failure at the age of 83. Gen. Spaatz had been 

one of the first 25 Americans to earn “wings” as the Army’s First Aero 

Squadron in 1916. In 1929 Gen. Spaatz, with Gen. Ira S. Eaker, set a 

refueling endurance flight record by staying aloft 151 hrs over Los 

Angeles. For this feat he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. During World War I1 Gen. Spaatz commanded the largest armada of aircraft and airmen ever assembled under the control of a single commander. President Truman appointed him Chief of Staff when the Air 

Force became a separate branch of the military service in 1947. After 

his retirement in 1948 he served as chairman of the Civil Air Patrol. 

(Johnston, NYT, 15 July 74, 1) 

15 July: Evidence of a possible second black hole, from observations by x-ray 

astronomy satellite Uhuru (Explorer 42, launched 12 Dec. 1970) between January 1971 and February 1973, was reported by Center for 

Astrophysics astronomers in the Astrophysical Journal. Black holes were 

believed to be superdense collapsed stars with gravity so great that even 

light could not escape. Uhuru had detected radiation from the x-ray 

source Circinus X-1 with characteristics similar to those detected in 

1972 by Uhuru and in 1973 by Oao 3 for the suspected black hole 

Cygnus X-1. Varying periods of x-ray intensity had indicated that 

Circinus X-1 was possibly binary; the x-ray energy spectrum had 

showed changes from 2 to 20 kev. No optical counterpart for the x-ray 

source had been found. 

Black holes might be an answer to two basic problems in cosmology, 

Walter S. Sullivan had written in the New York: Times Magazine 14 July. 

All visible material accounted for only 2% of the matter necessary to 

prevent the universe from flying apart in a continuing expansion; some 

scientists thought black holes might well make up the deficit. Also, black 

holes might provide the “glue,” the necessary gravity, to keep clusters 

of galaxies from flying apart. Not all scientists were convinced of the 

existence of black holes, but the holes’ strange effects-such as the slowing of time, the tight curvature of space, and the influence of gravity on 

light-had been anticipated by Einstein7s theory of relativity. 

One major dilemma was what happened within a black hole. Some 

scientists had proposed that a star drawn into a black hole by its gravity 

might emerge in some other time and place as a quasar and that quasarsexceptionally bright objects of relatively small volume and high density-might be “white holes” into which energy was pouring from somewhere else, perhaps even another universe. (Jones et al., Astro Journ, 

15 July 74, L714; NYT Magazine, 14 July 74,ll-35; A&A 1971,1972, 

1973) 

133 
15 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

0 The Air Force was developing a new series of global meteorological satellites for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) , Aviation 

Week & Space Technology reported. The new Block 5D spacecraft would 

be twice the weight of its predecessors, have a payload capacity about 

four times greater, and carry a broader mix of meteorological sensors to 

provide uniformly high-resolution photos. Block 5D satellites would 

employ “selective redundancy”-redundancy in certain critical, rather 

than all, spacecraft systems. This redundancy would increase probable 

mission lifetime to two years, more than twice the 9- or 10-mo lifetime 

of most earlier USAF weather satellites. Rather than choosing a single 

contractor, the USAF had awarded a series of fked-price contracts: to 

RCA Corp. for the spacecraft, Westinghouse Electric Corp. for the primary 

sensor, Barnes Engineering Co. for the supplementary sensors, and 

Radiation, Inc., for ground terminals. (Av Wk, 15 July 74, 4147) 

* McDonnell Douglas Corp. had been awarded a $13-milEon contract by 

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. to produce 100000 heat pipes for the 

trans-Alaska pipeline, the Seattle Journal of Commerce and Northwest 

Construction Record reported. The heat pipes, called cryo-anchor soil 

stabilizers, were developed by McDonnell Douglas for thermal control of 

Skylab Orbital Workshop (launched 15 May 1973) and unmanned 

satellites. They would prevent thawing of permafrost around the pipe 

supports of elevated portions of the 1285-km pipeline by removing heat 

from the ground and transmitting it to an above-ground radiator, where 

it would be dispersed into the atmosphere. (Seattle Journ Commerce & 

NW Constr Record, 15 July 74) 

* Federal support to universities and colleges had declined 7%, to $3823 

million, during FY 1973 in the first decline since 1970, the National 

Science Foundation reported. The drop had been largely the result of a 

g267-million decrease in funds from the Dept. of Health, Education, and 

Welfare but other significant decreases were posted by NSF, down $40 

million; Dept. of Defense, down $11 million; and NASA, down $8 million. 

Federal funds for academic science activities totaled $2463 million, 5% 

below 1972. Two science fields had shown an increase in Federal R&D 

support between 1972 and 1973. Life sciences’ $934 million was a 4% 

increase; engineering’s $204 million was up 6%. (NSF Highlights, 15 

July 74) 

15-16 July: Western Union Telegraph Co.’s Westar I-first US. domestic 

communications satellite, launched by NASA 13 April-began operations 

during inaugural ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles. Russell W. 

McFall, Chairman of the Board and President of Western Union COT. 

transmitted the first message, from New York to Los Angeles, using the 

original Morse key to tap “What hath God wrought!” It was the same 

message sent by inventor Samuel F. B. Morse 24 May 184 over the first 

experimental telegraph, a 65-km line between the Capitol in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md. 

Regular commercial operations began 16 July, providing services for 

Westar 1’s first two commercial customers, American Can Co. and Bank 

of America. (Westar Inaugural Transmission press kit, 15 July 74) 

16-29 July: NASA launched Aeros 2 (Aeros-B) aeronomy sctellite for West 

Germany from Western Test Range at 4:51 am PDT on a four-stage 

Scout launch vehicle into polar orbit with an 879.0-km apogee, 221.3- 

km perigee, 95.65-min period, and 97.44’ inclination. The NASA mission 

objectiv-to place the Aeros 2 satellite in an earth orbit permitting 

134 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 16-29 July 

successful achievement of the scientific objectives-was met and the mission was adjudged successful 26 July. The scientific objective was to 

measure the main aeronomic parameters of the upper atmosphere and the 

solar ultraviolet radiation in the wavelength band of the main absorption. The long-range objective of the satellite, which carried one Goddard 

Space Flight Center and four West German experiments, was to provide 

a model of the ionosphere from which upper atmospheric conditions 

could be predicted. By 29 July the vehicle and experiments were performing satisfactorily and the West Germans were initiating spacecraft 

operations. 

A July 1965 agreement between the US. and West Germany had provided for a series of cooperative satellite projects. The Aeros program, 

the second in the series, was authorized by a 10 June 1969 agreement 

and Aeros 1 was launched 16 Dec. 1972. The 1974 contract between 

NASA and the West Germany Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT) for the Aeros 2 launch provided for reimbursement of 

NASA for launch vehicle and services. NASA would also provide one experiment, tracking, and backup for data acquisition. BMFT was responsible for development of spacecraft and instrumentation operation 

and control of the satellite after launch, and data reduction and analysis 

except for the GSFC experiment. The spacecraft reentered 25 Sept. 1975. 

(NASA MORS, 30 Nov 72, 8 & 29 July 74; NASA Releases 69-91, 74-183; 

GSFC SSR, 31 Oct 75) 

16-24 July: U.S. Space Week marked the fifth anniversary of the first manned 

landing on the moon. 

The 1969 launch of ApoZZo 11 was commemorated 16 July by ceremonies at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, Pad A. At 9:32 

am EDT, the moment of launch, ApoZZo 11 Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, 

Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., unveiled a plaque designating 

the site a National Historical Landmark. Dr. George M. Low, NASA 

Deputy Administrator, told the thousands of guests: “No matter our 

achievements, . . . we cannot relax our pursuit of knowledge, for we 

must face the coming crises of our time. Every effort must be made to 

see that the opportunity which our technology presents is not lost. We 

may be sure that the opportunity will not occur saan again, if ever. 

To fail now would mean a ravaged environment and depleted resourcesa plunge into a new and terrible Dark Age from which there would be no 

return.” Unless “we continuously restore the fund of basic knowledge, 

we shall ultimately exhaust it. . . . Some day we will establish scientific outposts on the Moon, and 

even tap its mineral resources. And in the not-too-distant future astronauts may tread the surface of Mars and the glaciers of the moons of 

Jupiter in search of extraterrestrial life. . . . The future began here 

at 9:32 am. on July 16, 1969. At that moment on July 16 in the year 

2069, launch windows to Mars, Neptune, and Pluto will be open. Will 

we fly through those windows? I think we will.” 

In 19 July ceremonies at the San Clemente, Calif., Western White 

House, Armstrong presented President Nixon a plaque bearing the names 

of each astronaut who had represented “this country in a flight above 

the surface oi the Earth.” President Nixon told Armstrong the greatest 

contribution to the space program was not the exploration or technology but the “spirit you and your colleagues . . . have had the opportunity to demonstrate.” 

<< 

135 
16-24 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

The Smithsonian Ihstitution hosted 20 July activities marking the day 

of the landing. Speaking on the Mall in Washington, D.C., Smithsonian 

Under Secretary Robert A. Brooks said Apollo 11 had been a “dramatic 

demonstration . . . that progress in human affairs does not spring full 

blown from the efforts of one man or group of men. What we saw was 

the culmination of the efforts of hundreds of scientists and engineers 

from Leonard0 da Vinci . . . to the Apollo 11 astronauts. Each built 

on what his predecessors had accomplished until the accumulation of 

knowledge made possible the kind of quantum leap forward represented 

by the Apollo Program.” 

Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, called the day of the 

landing “the day man ended an era of one-planet civilization and began 

a new age as traveler and colonizer of the universe.” Despite difficulties, 

men would “make more of these steps into the vast but exciting reaches 

of the solar system.” 

A 21 July service at the Washington Cathedral in Washington, D.C., 

dedicated the Space Window donated by Dr. Thomas 0. Paine, NASA 

Administrator at the time of the landing. The window, designed by Rodney Winfield, depicted whirling orange, red, and white stars and orbiting 

planets on a deep blue and green field. A thin white trajectory, representing a manned spacecraft, emphasized man’s minuteness in God’s universe. 

During the ceremony, Armstrong presented a 7.18-g, 3.6-billion-yr-old 

lunar rock, brought from the moon by ApoZZo 11, to the Cathedral. 

The rock would be inserted into a hydrogen-filled plexiglass container 

embedded as the centerpiece of the window. (PD, 22 July 74,815; NASA 

Activities, 15 Aug 74, 5-14; transcript; program) 

17 July: Dr. Raymond L. Bisplinghoff, Deputy Director of the National 

Science Foundation since 1970, announced his resignation effective 30 

Sept. Dr. Bisplinghoff had served as Director of NASA’s Office of Advanced Research and Technology 1962-1963 and as NASA Associate 

Administrator for Advanced Research and Technology 1963-1965 and 

held NASA’S Distinguished Service Medal. He would become Chancellor 

of the Univ. of Missouri at Rolla 1 Oct. (NSF Release 74r188) 

19 JuZy: Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., the first US. man in space and the 

fifth man to walk on the moon, announced hk retirement from NASA and 

the Navy effective 1 Aug. During his 5 May 1961, 14.8-min MercuryRedstone 2 mission, Shepard flew his Freedom 7 spacecraft to a 186.2-km 

altitude and initiated the US. manned space program. He commanded 

the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission 31 Jan.-9 Feb. 1971. Shepard would 

join the Marathon Construction Co. of Houston, Tex., as a partner and 

Chairman. (NASA Release 74-203; A&A 1961) 

NASA announced the appointment of William C. Schneider as NASA Deputy 

Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, effective 21 July. 

Schneider had served as both Acting Associate and Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight from 18 March to 17 May 

and had been Skylab Program Director from December 1968 until the 

end of the Skylab program. (NASA Ann, 19 July 74; NASA Release 76 

207) 

British Prime Minister Harold S. Wilson and French President Valery 

Giscard d’Estaing decided at a Paris summit meeting to limit construction of the Concorde supersonic jet airliner to 16 aircraft. The decision, 

which would end the joint project by 1977, was a compromise between 

the British Labor Party’s desire to cut off state funds entirely and the 

136 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 19 July 

French demand that the program be expanded to 19 aircraft. Since many 

parts had already been manufactured, the decision meant that many 

of the 30 000 employees of manufacturers Agrospatiale France and 

British Aircraft Corp. Ltd. might lose their jobs. There were firm orders 

for only nine of the $400-million aircraft, with options on several others. 

US. airlines had refrained from ordering any of the aircraft because of 

doubts about its operating economy. ( @‘SI7 22 July 74’6; UK Embassy 

PIO, Wash, D.C.) 

* Dr. Floyd L. Thompson, former Langley Research Center Director, had 

been selected to receive the Society of Automotive Engineers’ 1974 

Daniel Guggenheim Medal, the Langley Researcher reported. He would 

receive the award for his “farsighted development of men and facilities, 

and for decisive leadership of research that provided technological 

foundations for manned flight beyond the speed of sound, safe reentry 

of spacecraft, and successful exploration of space.” (Langley Researcher, 

19 July 74,l; A&A, Dec 74,72) * President Nixon announced his intention to nominate James E. Dow to be 

Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, succeeding Kenneth M. Smith, who had resigned. Dow had been Associate Administrator of FAA since August 1972. The nomination was submitted to 

the Senate 22 July and confirmed 8 Aug. (PD, 22 July 74,517; 29 July 

74,995 ; FonF, 7 Sept 74) 

* Communications Satellite Corp. reported a net income of $21 013 000, or 

$2.10 a share, for the first six months of 1976up from $15 223 000, 

or $1.52 a share, for the same period in 1973. Operating revenues for 

the period were $63322000, up from $55902000 in 1973. The increased revenues had resulted from a gain in the number of half-circuits 

leased by ComSatCorp to its carrier customers for overseas satellite communications. (ComSatCorp Release 74-41) 

Columbia Broadcasting System newsman Walter Cronkite recalled the two 

most exalting moments in his years of TV space coverage, during an 

interview with the Christian Science Monitor. The first was “Alan 

Shepard’s little 15-minute plop-down into the Atlantic. Rocketry itself 

was so uncertain . . . I just didn’t know whether or not I was going 

to be. able to watch.” The second was the first lunar :anding. “That was 

a highly emotional moment for me. The actual touchdown, not so much 

Neil Armstrong’s walk.” Cronkite, preparing for the TV documentary 

“Space: A Report to the Stockholders,” said he still believed the major 

achievement of the moon landing was that “it proves that we truly have 

the capability at this stage of man’s civilization to do any darn thing we 

want-the most outlandish or the most practical things.” 

Of course there were important spinoff values. “Probably one of the 

most important industrial spinoffs . . . is the command that US. industry had gotten in the computer business. . . . I attribute that almost 

solely to the space program.” Cronkite said that recent cutbacks in the 

manned program were proper. “It is just about where it ought to bemost of the concentration now is in unmanned satellites” and a deliberate, but not crash, program toward the reusable space shuttle. If newsmen were allowed to travel on the space shuttle, he’d go “on any flight 

they offered me.” When asked if he wouldn’t be missed by American 

TV viewers at blastoff, he said, “What do you mean. . . ? I hope to be 

broadcasting all the time from inside!” (CSM, 19 July 74) 

137 
20 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

20 July: A New York Times editorial commented on the fifth anniversary of 

the Apollo 11 lunar landing: “On 20 July 1969, millions of people all 

over the globe watched . , . as [Apollo 11 Astronaut] Neil Armstrong’s 

great left boot groped for the lunar surface and he made his ‘one small 

step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.’” Today, just five years 

later, many Americans would be hard put to name all three participants 

of the original mission. “The attention of the world . . . has turned to 

problems closer to home. Yet when those future centuries look back on 

this one, the first time that men landed on another celestial body will 

loom large and they will be rememhered long after those in today’s 

headlines have passed beyond recall.” (NYT, 20 July 74, 30) 

21 July: The leadership of “NASA’s other hero,” former Administrator James 

E. Webb, was recalled by Julian Scheer, former NASA Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, in the Washington Post: The fifth anniversary of the 20 July 1969 Apdo 11 lunar landing would bring toasts 

to former astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and 

Michael Collins and others. But it had been Webb’s “incredible leadership” which had maGhe event posdble. Webb had “fought the Bureau 

of the Budget for every nickel” and usuaIIy got his way. In Congress, 

few ‘believed he was not a scientist or engineer. He dazzled them with 

his knowledge of the technical as well as his management of the vast 

NASA program structure. “But it was in the internal workings of NASA 

where his strength lay.” He had an uncanny knack for “standing back 

and looking at the big picture.” He never took on a problem without 

coming up with as many as four options and, for Webb, every option 

was an opportunity. Abruptly in 1968, Webb resigned. Most of the major 

Apollo decisions had been made. “Almost shockingly, it was less than 

a year away from the first manned lunar landing. Had he . . . waited 

just a while longer, he could have basked in the moment of tremendous 

glory.” ( W Post, 21 July 74, C6) 

* A multibillion dollar competition between the U.S. and France was being 

waged over which country would produce the new generation of fighter 

aircraft for the Western European allies, the New Yo& Times reported. 

To the victor would go one of the largest aircraft export sales in history, 

the possibility of producing 2000 or more aircraft worth between $10 

billion and $15 billion. To replace their 10-yr-old, U.S.-built F-104 Starfighter, the Europeans would like a low-cost, high-performance fighter 

that could meet military requirements through the 1990s. The U.S. was 

offering versions of the lightweight fighter-the General Dynamics Corp. 

YF-16 and the Northrop Corp. YF-17, now in competition for an Air 

Force production contract [see 9 June]-while the French were offering 

an improved version of the F-1 Mirage. Pentagon officials claimed both 

the YF-16 and YF-17 were superior to the Mirage in acceleration and 

maneuverability despite the more powerful engine in the French aircraft. 

The competition would probably be decided as much on economic and 

political grounds as by military considerations. The French argued that 

the North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies shouId “buy European” 

and maintain European solidarity. The US. emphasized standardization 

of weapons within NATO and the future willingness of the U.S. to maintain forces in Western Europe. Although the immediate potential CUStomers-Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark-would 

need about 300 aircraft, American officials were envisaging even larger 

138 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 21 July 

markets in other West European countries and the world market. 

(Finney, NYT, 21 July 74, 3) 

23 July: The U.S.S.R. launched Molniya 11-10 communications satellite from 

Plesetsk into orbit with a 40 724-km apogee, 603-km perigee, 12-hr 18- 

min period, and 62.9” inclination. The comsat would help provide longdistance telephone and telegraph radio communications and transmit 

U.S.S.R. TV programs to stations of the Orbita network. (GSFC Wkly 

SSR, 18-24 July 74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 23 July 74, U1; SF, 1 Jan 75,35) 0 The Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences held hearings 

on s. 3542, a bill introduced 29 May to authorize $41 700 000 for NASA 

to launch a seventh Applications Technology Satellite. Sen. Frank E. 

Moss (D-Utah) said experimenters using Ats 6, launched 30 May, had 

urged another launch because more than the planned one year of operation over the US. was needed to complete experiments. Two satellites in 

orbit at the same time would “greatly improve the experimental information necessary for further decisions on the use of advanced communications satellites.” Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) said that ATS satellites 

held “the promise of improved health care at reduced costsyy for people 

in remote regions of the US. 

Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, testified that Ats 6 was 

in excellent condition and had a life expectancy of three additional years 

over the US. following its return from the planned year of operation 

over India. In addition, use of the U.S.-Canada Communications Technology Satellite scheduled for a mid-December launch could provide 

experimenters additional experiment time and continuity. Dr. Fletcher 

expressed NASA opposition to the bill, saying it would cost $4 million 

more than the bill provided, to cover the cost of the Titan IIIC launch 

vehicle. To avoid further costs, a decision to launch another spacecraft 

would have to be made by September, when the NASA and industry ATS 

team were to be disbanded. A seventh ATS satellite could be considered a 

potential operational vehicle and the user community might consider 

bearing the costs. (Transcript) 

* Marshall Space Flight Center announced the award of two contracts for 

studies of Skylab results. American Science and Engineering, Inc., received $2 044 860 and the Smithsonian Institution’s Astrophysical Observatory received $264684 to study jointly results from the Apollo 

Telescope Mount x-ray spectrographic telescope experiment. The telescope had been used during the three Skylab missions (25 May-22 June 

1973,28 July-25 Sept. 1973, and 16 Nov. 1973-8 Feb. 1974) to photograph x-ray producing solar events. ( MSFC 74-132) 

25 July: The 3-19 July Soyuz 14 mission had prompted concern among US. 

specialists that the U.S.S.R. might be developing a manned spacecraft 

for military reconnaissance, the Washington Post reported. Soyuz 14 

cosmonauts, who had linked up with the Salyut 3 orbiting space laboratory, had used a special coded channel .of communications with Soviet 

ground stations, surprising US. stations that usually monitored Soviet 

flights. In addition, the Soyuz 14 flight carried the first all-military crew 

since the U.S.S.R. began flying multiple-man crews in 1969. All previous 

flights had at least one civilian aboard. Also, sources reported that at 

the time of the flight a series of optical sighting targets was la% out on 

the ground not far from the launch site. The targets were believed to be 

much larger than the targets usually laid out to check spaceborne optics, 

prompting speculation that the U.S.S.R. might by trying to learn what 

139 
25 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

man, rather than cameras, could see from space. (Getler, W Post, 25 

July 74, Al) 

The Navy Sea Systems Div. awarded a contract with a target value of 

$285 400 000 to General Dynamics Corp. Electric Boat Div. for construction of the lead submarine in the planned 10-submarine Trident 

(undersea long-range missile system) program. The submarine, which 

would carry 16 Trident I missiles with multiple independently targeted 

vehicle (MIRV) warheads, would be faster, quieter, and better equipped 

than the Poseidon-class submarine. And the Trident I would have far 

greater range than the Poseidon missile. (DOD Releases 33574,336-74; 

AP, W Post, A4) 

* Preliminary studies of the use of laser beams to monitor water temperature, turbidity, salinity, and other factors affecting quality were 

under way at the University of Miami under Kennedy Space Center contract. No method had been known for remote sensing of vertical temperature profiles in bodies of water, but now high-energy, coherent laser 

beams could penetrate deep into the water. Measuring the return radiation was expected to yieId data on a number of factors, offering a potential ecology tool. (KSC Release 121-74) 

* John W. Crowley, Jr., NASA Director of Aeronautical and Space Research 

from the agency’s establishment in 1958 until his retirement in 1959, died 

in Denver, Colo., at the age of 75. Crowley had joined NASA’s predecessor, 

the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, at Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in 1921, becoming Chief of the Aeronautics Div. in 

1940 and Head of the Research Dept. in 1943. He came to NACA Hq. in 

1945 as Acting Director of Aeronautical Research and was appointed 

Associate Director for Research in 1947. Crowley received NASA’s first 

Distinguished Service Medal in 1959. (W Post, 1 Aug 74, c7) 

26 July: Marshall Space Flight Center announced the award of six contracts, 

totaling $1.8 million, for development studies of the interim upper stage 

(IUS) and space tug. The Ius-a predecessor to the space tug, to be used 

with the space shuttle by both the Dept. of Defense and NASA until the 

more sophisticated and capable tug was ready for use in 1983-was being 

developed as the orbit-to-orbit stage (00s) by the Air Force. 

General Dynamics Corp. Convair Div. was awarded a $290 000 contract to study space shuttle and tug compatibility and develop detailed 

interface requirements. A second contract to General Dynamics, totaling $268 000, was awarded for a definition study of space tug avionics systems with emphasis on areas where transition from the IUS to the tug 

would require significant hardware or operational changes. United Aircraft Corp. Pratt & Whitney Div. received a $375 371 contract to evaluate 

and verify the RL-10 high-area-ratio nozzle engine performance for 

space tug application. Under a $246 000 contract, Martin Marietta Corp. 

would develop concepts, techniques, and tools for tug fleet and ground 

operations, mission assignments, payload and orbiter integration, tug 

scheduling, and physical status. MSFC awarded McDonnell Douglas Corp. 

a $293 277 contract to study Ius-tug payload requirements compatibility 

and International Business Machines Corp. a $337 250 contract to study 

Ius-tug orbital operations. (MSFC Release 74-135) 

* NASA announced the selection of four U.S. scientists-Dr. David J. 

Anderson, Kresge Hearing Research Institute at the Univ. of Michigan; 

Dr. Joseph Bragin, California State Univ.; Dr. John Oro, Univ. of 

Houston; and Dr. Alfred R. Potvin, Univ. of Texas-for its 1974 life 

* 

140 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 26 July 

sciences research rogram. Each scientist would spend a year at a NASA 

had been recommended by the National Academy of Sciences to increase participation in space- and aeronautics-related research by the 

scientific community. (NASA Release 74-197) 

28 July: The economy of Florida’s Brevard County was recovering from the 

impact of Kennedy Space Center layoffs that had followed the end of 

NASA’s Apollo and Skylab programs, the Washington Post reported. 

Employment at the launch facilities bad formed the basis for Brevard 

County’s economy and when manpower at KSC was cut in half “the 

bottom dropped out.” Construction came to a near halt, small businesses 

closed, and personal bankruptcies soared. By March 1971 the Federal 

Housing Administration held title to 986 repossessed Brevard County 

homes and the total tripled in the next three years. However, an advertising campaign, begun in 1971 to attract retired persons to the area 

and its vacant bargain real estate, started an upswing in the economy. 

Also contributing to the upswing were a pledge that NASA would not let 

its KSC manpower fall below the current 9500-employee (Civil Service 

and contractor) level, assurances that the Air Force would maintain its 

13300-man work force at Eastern Test Range for the next five years, 

construction of a new regional shopping center, and the advent of Disney 

World 95 km away. (Myers, W Post, 28 July 74, E101 

29 July: The U.S.S.R. launched Molniya I-S-the first Molniya communications satellite in synchronous orbit-from Baykonur Cosmodrome near 

Tyuratam into transfer orbit and then into synchronous orbit with a 

35 790-km apogee, 35 787-km perigee, 23-hr 56-min period, and 0.0’ 

inclination. Molniya I-S was the second Soviet satellite in synchronous 

orbit. The first, Cosmos 637, was launched 29 March. Tass announced 

the purpose of the satellite as “further perfection of communication 

systems with the use of artificial earth satellites.” (GSFC SSR, 31 Aug 74; 

Tass, FBIS-SOV, 31 July 74, U1; SF, 1 Jan 75,35; SBD, 5 Aug 74,100) 

30 Jdy: Ames Research Center awarded a $400 000 contract to Hughes Aircraft Co. for a design study of an infrared telescope to be carried on the 

space shuttle above the impeding effects of the atmosphere. The telescope, to operate in orbit attached to the shuttle orbiter, was to have a 

one-arc-sec pointing accuracy, a 1- to 1.5-m aperture, and cooled optics 

and sensors. The study would include the telescope facility concept, interfaces with the shuttle orbiter and Spacelab, operating requirements for 

shuttle and telescope, and ground station requirements including data 

transfer from the telescope to the ground and control of the telescope 

from the ground if necessary. (ARC proj off, interview, 29 July 75; 

Av Wk, 19 Aug 74, 18) 

NASA announced the award of a $1.7-million contract to John A. Blume &i 

Associates to study design modifications for the 40- by 804% wind 

tunnel at Ames Research Center. The modifications, which would permit 

full-scale testing for future aircraft, included repowering the facility 

from 26.9 mw to 100.7 mw. The new test section under consideration 

would measure 24.4 by 36.6 m (80 by 120 ft) and increase the speed 

capability from the present 370 to 555 km per hr. (NASA Release. 74-212) 

31 July: Deputy Secretary of Defense William P. Clements, Jr., approved Air 

Force plans for initial production of the A-10 close air support aircraft, 

The Dept. of Defense would release $39 million in FY 1975 funds for 

Iong-lead-time items. Approval was granted to buy 52 aircraft from the 

Center studying li F e sciences related to space exploration. The program 

141 
31 July ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

manufacturer with the provision that contract options to procure a 

smaller quantity be kept open. Selection of the A-10 for full development followed a competitive prototype flyoff in 1972. Since that time two 

A-10 prototypes had flown almost 500 hrs in test flights. (DOD Release 

346-74) 

During Jdy: Dramatic changes in a star, altering its chemistry and foretelling 

its death, had been observed for the first time, Dr. Robert F. Kraft, 

California Lick Observatory astronomer, reported in Sky and Telescope. 

FG Sagittae, a superstar 8000 light years away in the constellation 

Sagitta, was undergoing a sudden cooling, abrupt changes in color and 

brightness, and increases in the number and amounts of heavy elements 

in its atmosphere. The changes, which occurred in every star that was 

exhausting its nuclear fuel, might also take place in our own sun, possibly 

in 10 billion yrs. (Sky and Telescope, July 74, 18-22; O'Toole, W Post, 

10 July 74, A3) 

0 Industrial research and development spending had totaled $19.4 billion 

in 1972, an increase of 6% over 1971, National Science Foundation report Research and Development in Industry 1972 (NSF 7&312) revealed. 

Company R&D funds had increased 7% and Federal R&D support registered a 6% gain after three years of decreases. The full-time-equivalent 

number of R&D scientists in industry had increased to nearly 360000 

between January 1971 and January 1972, the first increase since January 

1969, when the total was 386 000. Dept. of Defense and NASA had provided 87% of the.Federa1 R&D funds to industry in 1972 and supported 

88% of the industrial R&D scientists and engineers working on Federal 

programs. (Text) 

142 
August 1974 

1 August: President Nixon transmitted World Weather Program, Plan for 

Fiscal Year 1975 to Congress. The plan outlined 1975 U.S. participation 

in the program seeking to give man “the understanding, tools and teohniques necessary to cope with his atmosphere.” Goals were to extend the 

time, range, and scope of weather predictions; assess the impact of 

atmospheric pollution on environment; study the feasibility and consequences of weather modification; and encourage international cooperation in meeting meteorological needs. He said the U.S. would soon begin 

continuous viewing of storms over much of the earth’s surface with two 

geostationary satellites and that five more such satellites would be made 

operational in cooperation with other nations. (PD, 5 Aug 74, 1001) 

A 6.4cm underwater borehole TV camera to provide geologists views of 

the earth’s interior layers had been developed from Skylab technology, 

Marshall Space Flight Center announced. The camera, designed for MSFC 

by Sperry Support Services of Alabama, would permit geologists to 

study geological formations from the interior of a 7.6-cm-dia survey 

borehole drilled to a depth of 490 m. Images received by the remotely 

controlled camera would be transmitted along an armored cable to a 

standard vidicon receiving tube on the surface. (MSFC Release 74-138) 

A digital computing cardiotachometer developed for monitoring beat-tobeat heart rates of astronauts training underwater was being used in two 

Birmingham, Ala., hospitals, Marshall Space Flight Center announced. 

The device, designed to operate with a standard electrocardiographic 

unit, employed an electronic digital system to use the time between two 

consecutive heart beats to calculate the patient’s pulse rate. A numerical 

display showed the subject’s pulse rate 0.3 sec after detecting his second 

heart beat. ( MSFC Release 74-140) 

0 “Magnetic domain bubbles” being tested as computer memory devices 

could do mass memory jobs faster, cheaper, and more reliably than conventional devices and could store information for many years for long 

space journeys, the Air Force Systems Command reported. Dr. Millar 

Mier of AFSC believed the minute bubbles-densely packed in very thin, 

magnetic garnet material-would replace tape recorders and computer 

disc and drum memories in aircraft and spacecraft within a few years. 

The solid-state bubble bits of information were resistant to radiation 

and would remain stable during vehicle reentry into the atmosphere or 

operation in the Van Allen belts. A 10 000-bit test module delivered to 

the Air Force Avionics Laboratory in May was undergoing tests. (AFSC 

Release OIP 138.74) 

2 August: Dr. Dudley G. McConnell was appointed Assistant Associate Administrator for Applications by Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator. Dr. Fletcher also announced the promotion of Dr. Harriett G. 

Jenkins to succeed Dr. McConnell as Assistant Administrator for Equal 
2 August ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Opportunity. Dr. Jenkins had been Dr. McConnell’s deputy since February. The appointments would be effective 12 Aug. 

Dr. McConnell had spent 12 yrs in laboratory research at Lewis 

Research Center before coming to NASA Hq. in 1969. In his new position, 

he would be responsible for deveIoping a coordinated planning capability 

and a system analysis function for the agency’s space applications 

program. 

Before joining NASA in Feb., Dr. Jenkins had been educational consultant for the Response to Educational Needs Project of the Anacostia 

District of Columbia schools. (NASA Release 74-217) 

0 The Aeronautical Satellite ( Aerosat ) Memorandum of Understanding 

was signed in Paris by Acting Director General Roy Gibson of the 

European Space Research Organization and Canadian Ambassador Leo 

Cadieux. US. Federal Aviation Administrator Alexander P. Butterfield 

had signed the Memorandum 9 May. The joint Aerosat program would 

test, evaluate, and demonstrate the system in preparation for a worldwide operational system of air traffic control in the mid-1980s. The first 

of two geostationary satellites over the Atlantic Ocean was to be launched 

in 1977. (ESRO ReIease, 1 Aug 74; FAA Satellite Div, interview, 21 July 

75) * The last of 130 new solid-state instrument landing systems were being 

delivered to Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration facilities 

worldwide. The Air Force Systems Command said the new ILS, “one of 

the most significant improvements to aircraft landing equipment in 20 

years,” would become the primary landing approach system at Air Force 

bases in two years, permitting instrument landings under weather conditions of 30-m vertical and 365-m horizontal visibility. (AFSC Release OIP 

136.74) 

4 August: The Expbrer 51 Atmosphere Explorer, launched by NASA 15 Dec. 

1973, had achieved its prelaunch objective of investigating the photochemical processes accompanying the absorption of solar radiation in 

the earth’s atmosphere and was adjudged successful. All 14 onboard 

scientific instruments were acquiring worthwhile data and, except for 

minor problems, all spacecraft systems were performing normally. The 

onboard propulsion system had been used on numerous occasions for 

perigee altitude adjustment and apogee altitude restoration. The lowest 

perigee excursion into the lower thermosphere to date had been to an 

altitude of 130 km. (NASA MOR, 6 Aug 74) 

-5 August: NASA and the Office of Naval Research launched the world’s 

largest unmanned balloon from Fort Churchill, Canada, carrying a 363-kg 

payload to 47 000-m altitude. The experiment, designed by Goddard 

Space Flight Center scientist Dr. Robert C. Hartman, measured position 

and electron spectra between 20 and 800 mev at the 1.2-millibar level. 

The helium-filled balloon, constructed of half-mil polyethylene, weighed 

1360 kg and had a volume of 1.4 cu m and a 0.25-km dia. Launched and 

tracked with facilities of the Navy’s Skyhook program, the balloon rose 

over Hudson Bay and moved westward 805 km. After 18 hrs, it 

descended to 30 km, where the payload was separated by radio command and parachuted to the ground. (Naval Research l?eviews, Nov 74, 

6 August: An automated blood pressure monitoring system developed for the 

NASA integrated medical and behavioral laboratory measurement system (IMBLMS) program was being evaluated for use in studies on con13) 

144 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 6 August 

trol of high blood pressure, Johnson Space Center announced. Using 

Skylab technology, the system combined a blood pressure cuff with a 

pressure ramp programer for continuous monitoring and a numerical display. Dr. Ted Andrechuk of Texas Tech Univ. was evaluating the 

system, which was providing hypertensive subjects with biosensory data 

for a biofeedback conditioning program. The conditioning would allow 

the patient to lower his blood pressure permanently. ( JSC Release 74- 

184) 

6,8, 9 August: The Senate Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee conducted hearings on s. 2350 and S. 3484, bills to establish an Office of 

Earth Resources Survey Systems within NASA and an Earth Resources 

Observation Administration within the Dept. of the Interior. Both proposals were designed to move the Earth Resources Technology Satellite system from an experimental to an operational phase. Dr. James C. 

Fletcher, NASA Administrator, opposed the organizational changes proposed by the bills. He argued that s. 2350 would erect barriers in NASA 

between the ERTS system and related programs in NASA’s Office of 

Applications; keeping these programs together would facilitate hardware development and data reduction and handling. S. 3484 would limit 

NASA’s research and development in earth resources to activities supported and funded by the Dept. of the Interior. 

Citing the need for more spectral channels, more rapid handling of 

data, and more frequent repetitive coverage with ERTS-class atellites, 

Dr. Fletcher stated that there was no clear-cut distinction between experimental and operational phases in the earth resources program. What 

was needed was “a continuous evolutionary approach, in which operationally useful data from space are provided to users for research, for 

experimental demonstrations, and for routine operations when they are 

ready, while at the same time and with the same satellites necessary improvements to the system can be developed and used.” Proponents of 

the bills argued that ERTS data would be exploited fully only when 

users could be guaranteed the continuously available data offered by an 

operational system. Hearings would be continued 18 Sept. (Transcript) 

7 August: The Air Force Systems Command announced that it would launch 

an S3-1 satellite late in 1974 as part of a three-launch series to measure 

atmospheric effects on satellites. The first satellite would be placed in 

polar orbit with a 4000-km apogee and a 140-km perigee. It would be 

equipped with ionization gauges and accelerometers to measure air 

density and to provide data on space vehicle trajectory, slowdown, and 

decay, Other devices would measure atmospheric heating sources, solar 

radiation, and atmospheric parameters. With a mass spectrometer in addition, to gather neutral and ion composition data, the experiments would 

help researchers understand physical and chemical processes in interactions of the sun’s radiation with the upper atmosphere, as well as neutral 

atmospheric effects on the ionosphere. The low-altitude measurements 

would be used to predict the occurrence and duration of radio blackouts 

and of atmospheric effects on orbits. (AFSC Release OIP 137.74) 

8 August: Lewis Research Center awarded an $800 000 cost-sharing contract, 

of which the Government would supply $500 000, to Pratt & Whitney 

Aircraft Div. of United Aircraft Corp. in NASA’s experimental clean 

combustor program. Pratt & Whitney was io maintain the already low 

smoke emissions of its JT8D (Class T4) aircraft engine, while reduc145 
8 August ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

ing other pollutants, and was to demonstrate the combustor in an engine 

in 1976. 

LeRC was also negotiating a contract with Garrett Corp. AiResearch 

Aviation Co. for refining Class T1 engines, gas turbine engines with a 

thrust of less than 35 000 newtons (8000 lbs) . A third contract was being 

negotiated with Detroit Diesel Allison Div. of General Motors Corp. 

to reduce pollutants from Class P2 turboprop engines. Both companies 

would be awarded cost-sharing contracts for about $500 000. ( WRC 

proj off, interview, 30 July 75; Yaffee, Av Why 26 Aug 74, 56-59) 

* The Air Force announced the Aeronautical Systems Div. was awarding a 

$4 000 000 firm fixed-price contract to Northrop Corp. Aircraft Div. 

for the YF-17 lightweight fighter aircraft transition program. ASD was 

also awarding $4 000 000 to General Dynamics Corp. Convair Aerospace 

Div. for the YF-16 transition program. ( DOD Release 368-74) 

9 August: President Nixon resigned as 37th President of the United States. 

Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the Nation’s 38th President. President Nixon had been facing possible impeachment after two 

years of bitter public debate over his conduct following the 17 June 1972 

break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the 

Watergate compound in Washington, D.C., by agents of the Committee 

for the Reelection of the President. (Kilpatrick, W Post, 9 Aug 74, 1; 

Montgomery, NYT, 9 Aug 74, 13; PD, 12 Aug 74, 1014-1017) 

* NASA announced it had awarded RCA Astro Electronics Div. a fixed-price 

$15 282 143 NASA contract, with an additional incentive amount of 

$692 638 for performance in orbit, to provide two operational meteorological spacecraft-Improved Tiros Operational Satellite H and I-and 

parts for ITOS-J. The woik, to be performed in Hightstown, N.J., would 

extend through 15 Feb. 1977. The satellites would support the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Operational Meteorological Satellite System through 1978. The noncompetitive procurement was a follow-on to an existing contract. (NASA Release 74-218) 

The Federal Plan for Meteorological Services and Supporting ResearchFiscal Year 1975, published for presentation to Congress, called for programs totaling $576.7 million, an increase of $5.7 million over 1974. 

Published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

and including proposed activities of all Federal agencies with meteorological programs, the 1975 plan proposed an improved NOAA severe 

weather warning system; use of new technology for more efficient observation, recording, analysis, and warning in the Dept. of Defense and 

other agencies; and expanded Federal Aviation Administration weather 

services to aviation. NASA proposed increases for research with the Nimbus satellite series. (NOAA Release 76128) 

Thiokol Corp. had been awarded an $8900000 contract for strap-on 

motors for the Thor-Delta launch vehicle, NASA announced. Delivery 

would run from May 1975 through May 1976. The contract called for 

124, TX-3545 (Castro 11) rocket motors, 41 upper-burn nozzle closure 

plugs, and documentation for the Thor-Delta, which was managed by 

Goddard Space Flight Center. The Castro I1 strap-ons had a thrust of 

about 270 000 newtons (60 000 lbs) . (NASA Release 74-219) 

* Communications Satellite Corp. submitted its 11th annual report to the 

President and Congress. N 1974 had included the launch of Intelsat-ZV 

F-7 (23 Aug. 1973) and the COMSAT General Corp. award of a 

$65 900 000 contract to Hughes Aircraft Co. for four high-capacity 

146 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 9 August 

satellites to be used by American Telephone & Telegraph Co. for domestic 

communications early in 1976. By 30 June, the number of communications satellite pathways had increased by about 60 to a total of 325, with 

earth stations in 55 countries. With the addition of 10 more users, the 

number of countries, territories, and possessions leasing satellite services 

had exceeded 100. Half circuits leased full time in the global satellite 

system bad increased from 8434 in 1973 to 9627 by 30 June 1974, a 

gain of about 14%. This voice and record traffic had accounted for the 

majority of all intercontinental long-distance communications. Net income had risen to $36.3 million, a 45% increase over FY 1973. 

(ComSatCorp, 1974 Report to the President and the Congress) 

11 August: “No other person who has flown in space has captured the experience so vividly,” Henry S. F. Cooper said in a review of Carrying the 

Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys by Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins. 

Although the book was “long and rambling,” touching a great many 

bases in Collins’ career from Air Force test pilot through Gemini 10 and 

Apollo, “it is something new under the sun to find an astronaut who 

isn’t afraid to express his feelings.” Collins was best at single impressions, . “little snapshots,” still sharp and clear five years after the lunar landing. 

Two days out on the mission, “ ‘The moon I have known all my life, that 

two-dimensional, small yellow disk in the sky, has gone somewhere to be 

replaced by the most awesome sphere I have ever seen. . . . This cool, 

magnificent sphere hangs there ominously, a formidable presence without sound or motion, issuing us no invitation to invade its domain.”’ 

Collins had cast off the “diffidence astronauts normally wear like 

spacesuits to protect themselves from prying earthlings. . . . ‘I have 

been places and done things you simply would not believe. I have dangled 

from a cord a hundred miles up; I have seen the earth eclipsed by the 

moon, and enjoyed it. I have seen the sun’s true light, unfiltered by any 

planet’s atmosphere. I have seen the ultimate black of infinity in a stillness undisturbed by any living thing. . . . I do have this secret, this 

precious thing that I will always carry with me.’ ” (NYT Book Review, 

11 Aug 74,l) 

12 August: The U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos 672-an unmanned Soyuz spacecraft testing docking systems for the July 1975 Apollc-Soyuz Test Project 

mission-from Baykonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam. The satellite 

entered an orbit with 277-km apogee, 142-km perigee, 88.7-min period, 

and 51.8O inclination. Maj. Gen. Vladimir A. Shatalov, Soviet chief of 

cosmonaut training, identified the mission and that of Cosmos 638 

(launched 3 April) at a 9 Sept. Johnson Space Center ASTP press briefing, 

saying that both had successfully tested the systems. Cosmos 672 reentered 18 Aug. (GSFC SSR, 31 Aug 74; JSC briefing transcript, 9 Sept 

74; SF, Feb 75,76) 

* Operational utility of satellite communications for maritime service had 

been demonstrated with Ats I and 3 (Applications Technology Satellites 

launched 6 Dec. 1966 and 5 Nov. 1967), Aviation Week & Space Technology reported. Tests had been made by Exxon Corp. in cooperation 

with NASA from mid-1973 to early 1974 from an Exxon tanker, using a 

small General Electric Co. ship terminal and GE earth statios. Exxon 

had reported at a Minneapolis communications conference that the 

satellites had transmitted voice, teletypewriter, facsimile, and slow-scan 

TV rapidly, without the delay often caused on high-frequency radio by 

spectrum congestion. (Klass, Av Wk, 12 Aug 74,564) 

, 

147 
12 August ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

* Raymond A. Kline was appointed Assistant Associate Administrator for 

Center Operations. Formerly Assistant Associate Administrator for 

Organization and Management, Kline would continue to perform management studies and would also oversee the activities of the Automatic 

Data Processing Management Office. (NASA Ann, 12 Aug 74) 

12-13 August: Dr. Richard T. Whitcomb, Chief of the Transonic Aerodynamics Branch of the High Speed Aircraft Division at Langley Research Center, received the Aircraft Design Award of the American 

Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 12 Aug. at its 6th Aircraft 

Design, Flight Test, and Operations Meeting, held in Los Angeles. Dr. 

Whitcomb received the award for “innovative experimental research 

resulting in the development of the supercritical wing which permits significant increases in speed and range as well as improved maneuverability of subsonic aircraft without increases in power or fuel 

consumption.” 

The Air Transport Assn.’s Octave Chanute Award went to Charles A. 

Sewell, Grumman Aerospace Corp. chief test pilot, for promoting and 

flight-testing the concept of spin prevention in a tactical aircraft. A. M. 0. 

Smith, Chief of Aerodynamics Engineering Research at Douglas Aircraft 

Co., was selected to present the 37th annual Wright Brothers Lecture, on 

high-lift aerodynamics. (AIM News, 17 July 74; AIM PIO, interview, 16 

July 75) 

13 August: NASA began “Outlook for Aeronautics,” a comprehensive 10-mo 

planning study to assess aeronautical challenges and opportunities for 

1980-2000. Under the leadership of Dr. Leonard Roberts, Director of 

Aeronautics and Flight Systems at Ames Research Center, representatives 

of NASA, Federal Aviation Administration, and Dept. of Defense would 

survey NASA, industry, and Government to determine probable directions 

of civil and military aviation, technological advances needed, and the 

role of NASA. 

In a 4 Oct. letter to NASA employees Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, said, “We want to produce a study that will assist NASA in 

presenting the best possible aeronautics program relevant to national 

needs, for the remainder of this century, to the Administration, the 

Congress, and the people.” In the aeronaukical world market, the US. 

had sold more than $235 billion worth of products-not including space 

products-over the past 25 yrs, maintaining a favorable balance of trade 

for a nation that might otherwise have been in the red. In preparing 

this long-range study, “we have the great responsibility of indicating 

how America’s pre-eminent position in areonautics can be maintained 

and enhanced. The stakes are too high for any other approach.” (NASA 

Activities, 15 Oct 74, 2-3, 11-13; NASA OAST, Civil Aircraft Progs Off, 

interview, 13 Nov 75) 

14 August: The NASA Delta Project Review Committee, established31 May to 

review Thor-Delta launch vehicle project management and launch vehicle 

performance abnormalities, had completed its investigation, NASA 

announced. The committee recommended several design and hardware 

changes, more stringent quality control, strengthening of project management by additional staffing, and more rigorous mancgement and contractual procedures. 

The committee endorsed the ongoing redesign of the 1st-stage liquidoxygen pressurization system and 2nd-stage fuel and oxidizer shutoff 

valves,, revision of the redundant attitude-control-system manufacturing 

148 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 14 August 

sequence and inspection processes, revision of installation and inspection 

procedures for the solid-fueled-rocket strap-om, and a complete investigation of the start-induced forces on the the 1st-stage engine. The schedule for the next Delta launching would be established upon NASA Hq. 

acceptance of the plan for corrective actions in response to the committee’s recommendations. (NASA Release 74-220) 

* NASA objectives for Explorer 50 (IMP-J, launched 25 Oct. 1973)-to make 

detailed and nearly continuous studies of the interplanetary environment for orbital periods comparable to several rotations of active solar 

regions and to study particle and field interactions in the distant magnetotail-had been met and the mission was adjudged successful. All 

12 instruments were performing well with the exception of an electronic 

field antenna. Loss of this antenna reduced scientific data 10% for two 

investigators. All spacecraft housekeeping systems were functioning 

properly. (NASA MOR, 15 Aug 74) 

15 August: Elmer S. “Todd” Groo had been appointed Associate Administrator for Center Operations at NASA Hq., effective 4 Sept., NASA announced. Groo, the first to hold the position created in the reorganization 

announced 5 March, would be responsible for agency-wide planning and 

direction of institutional resources and operational activities at NASA 

field installations. Groo had retired in 1973 from IBM World Trade Corp., 

where he had served as vice president since 1959. (NASA Release 72-221 ; 

MSFC Release 74-146) 

Dr. Robert A. R. Parker, scientist-astronaut and program scientist for the 

Skylab mission, had been named Chief of the Astronaut Office, Science 

and Applications Directorate, Johnson Space Center announced. Dr. 

Parker succeeded Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, who had been named Assistant Administrator for Energy Programs at NASA Hq. in May. The 

S&AD would serve as an interface between eventual space shuttle payload 

users and NASA and participate in the shuttle flight research program. 

Dr. Parker had been named a NASA scientist-astronaut in 1967 and had 

been a member of the support crews for the Apollo 15 and 17 missions. 

( JSC Release 74-186) 

* Air Force Systems Command announced plans for a global Radio Solar 

Telescope .Network ( RSTN) , a four-site space-surveillance linkup for 

24-hr operation. Solar and space environmental data would be gathered 

by RSTN parabolic antennas monitoring frequencies between 245 and 

15400 mhz. Data would be used to forecast atmospheric responses to 

solar activity, to compensate for communications blackouts of satellite 

and warning systems, and to provide real-time solar-alert and analysis 

data. Operational testing would begin early in 1976, with the network 

to become fully operational over a three-year period. (AFSC Release OIP 

132.74) 

16 August: The Senate passed, by a unanimous vote of 60, H.R. 15572, the 

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development-Space-Science-Veterans FY 

1975 appropriations bill. The bill was passed as reported out by the 

Senate Committee on Appropriations 15 Aug. plus an amendment to 

permit NASA to transfer up to OS% of its funds between research and 

development and research and program management programs. The bill 

appropriated $3.207 billion to NASA, $36 million below the PY 197s 

budget request and $60.2 million below the FY 1975 authorization signed 

22 June. An additional $4.435 million was appropriated in a Special 

Energy Bill. 

149 
16 August ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

NASA R&D funds totaled $2.327 billion, construction of facilities $140.2 

million, and R&PM $74$0 million. The Senate approved all budgeted R&D 

items, including $6.2 million for the Large Space Telescope and $8.0 

million for SEASAT, both of which had been cut from the House appropriation 26 June. A reduction of $15 million from R&D funds was not 

directed to any specific program because the Committee suggested that 

NASA was better able to apply this reduction with a minimum disruption 

in its priorities. Agreeing with the House, the Committee had urged 

NASA to reprogram funds to begin work on ERTS-c and said that further 

reprogramming of funds for Viking would be considered only with the 

greatest reluctance. 

Funds for construction of facilities were up $4.5 million from the 

House appropriation and down $4.3 million from the authorization. The 

$9740 million for R&PM equaled the House appropriation and was down 

$9.6 million from the authorization. 

H.R. 15572 had been reported out of the Senate Committee on Appropriations for a first time 1 Aug. with a total NASA appropriation of 

$3.243 billion. It was returned to the Committee 5 Aug. by the full 

Senate for additional cuts. 

The Senate requested a conference with the House to resolve differences 

in the passed versions. (Sen Com Rpts 93-1056, 93-1091; CR, 5 Aug 

Static test firings of a 6.4%-scale model of the space shuttle to gather 

acoustical data for design and development activities began at Marshall 

Space Flight Center. A series of 24 acoustic test firings would continue, 

through November, with 7 additional tests later to study possible soundsuppression methods. 

The test model’s two solid-propellant engines, representing the shuttle vehicle’s solid-fueled-rocket boosters, were being tested first, to be 

followed by full system firings, including the three model liquid-propellant engines representing the main engines, which would use liquid 

hydrogen and liquid oxygen. On each firing, 60 acoustic measurements 

were taken by specialized microphones to monitor areas potentially sensitive to high sound-pressure levels: vehicle skin panels, thermal protection 

devices, electronic guidance components, and ground support and related 

structures. (MSFC Release 74-154; MSFC PIO, interview, 15 July 75) 

Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, announced that Mrs. Ruth 

Bates Harris, who had been dismissed as NASA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity 26 Oct. 1973, had accepted an appointment as Deputy Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs for 

Community and Human Relations effective 19 Aug. In a memorandum 

to NASA employees, Dr. Fletcher stated that he was firmly convinced 

of Mrs. Harris’s “pride in NASA7s program accomplishments in aeronautics and space, her belief that they are relevant to all Americans, and 

her enthusiasm in conveying this pride and conviction to others.” Mrs. 

Harris would serve as the point of contact between NASA and community groups and between NASA and state and local governments. (NASA 

Release 74-223 ; Fletcher memo, 16 Aug 74) 

0 Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, presented awards at an Ames 

Research Center ceremony to 50 members of the Pioneer 10 team for 

their contributions to the 3 Dec. 1973 flyby of Jupiter. Charles F. Hall, 

Manager of the Pioneer Project at ARC, received NASA’s Distinguished 

74,5143134; 16 Au~. 74, S15161-5) 

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ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 16 August 

Service Medal for his “outstanding leadership and dedicated 

performance.” 

At another awards ceremony, Dr. Fletcher presented 28 NASA awards 

to personnel of Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other organizations for 

contributions to the Mariner 10 flyby of Venus (5 Feb. 1974) and Mercury (29 March 1974). Project Manager Walker E. Giberson received the 

Distinguished Service Medal for “diitinguished leadership in the conception, organization, and management” of the mission. ( ARC Release 

74-35; ARC PIO, interview, 18 July 75; JPL Release 711) 

* The Navy awarded $1.3-billion contract to Lockheed Aircraft Corp. for 

the initial production of the submarine-launched Trident I missile and 

the development of a maneuverable nuclear warhead. The warhead, 

called the Mark 500, would not be limited to targets on a missile’s orbital trajectory and it would be able to evade enemy defensive missiles. 

(Reuters, W Post, 17 Aug 74, A5; WSJ, 19 Aug. 74,5) 

17 August: The first test flight of an Air Force remotely piloted vehicle was 

successfully completed, operated from a ground console at Edwards Air 

Force Base. The Rpv-built by Teledyne, Inc., Ryan Aeronautical Div. 

and incorporating a 25-m wingspan and a single jet engine mounted on 

an 11-rn fuselage-was in the air 1 hr 50 min and reached an altitude 

of 7770 m. One of two kinds of high-altitude, long-range reconnaissance 

aircraft produced under the Compass Cope program, the aircraft could 

carry a 3200-kg payload at a cruising altitude of 20 000 m for 30 hrs. 

(Miles, LA Times, 22 Aug 74, 31; AP, W Post, 23 Aug 74,ll) 

19 August: The prototype Mini-Sniffer, a small 55-kg radio-controlled aircraft equipped to test pollution in the upper atmosphere, made the first of 

a series of eight flights from Flight Research Center. The vehicle, powered 

by a 9-kw gasoline engine, maintained an altitude of 15-30 m and performed well at 55-87 km per hr. The purpose of the flight was to test 

airworthiness at lower altitudes and speeds. Another series of flights 

would check out the auto-pilot system at low altitude and then the aircraft would be taken to 6100 m, using radar and a long-range radiocontrol system. The Mini-Sniffer would eventually be fitted with an 11- 

kw engine which would carry it up to 21 000 m. (FRC X-Press, 2 Aug 74, 

30 Aug 74; FRC proj off, interview, 24 July 75) 

* Naval Weapons Center scientists had discovered that nitrogen lasers could 

be used to locate downed flyers, Aviation Week & Space Technology 

reported. The sea dye marker routinely included in Navy life vests and 

rafts was found to fluoresce when illuminated by a nitrogen laser from 

an aircraft. (Av Wk, 19 Aug 74, 47; Sullivan, NYT, 14 Sept 74, 26) 

19-29 August: The backup command and service module, launch escape 

system, and Saturn IB 1st stage in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project were 

subjected to simulated lightning strikes at Kennedy Space Center to 

determine effects of lightning during launch preparations. Test results 

would be used in shuttle planning; the shuttle would not be surrounded 

by a protective mobile service structure on the launch pad. (KSC PIO, 

interview, 17 June 75; Spaceport News, 6 Sept 74) 

20 August: President Ford nominated Nelson A. Rockefeller, former Governor of New York, as 41st Vice President of the United States. (PD, 26 

The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization marked its 

10th anniversary. Membership, originally at 14, had grown to 86 contries, which jointly owned the four Intelsat IV satellites and three spare 

Aug 74,1050-1 ; 1063,1064) 

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20 August ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Intelsat I11 satellites in the global communications system, The system 

provided more than 5000 international telephone circuits plus telegraph, 

telex, data, and TV services; charges had progressively dropped from 

the initial $32 000 per year for a half circuit to $9000. The permanent 

INTELSAT Organization had come into being 12 Feb 1973, replacing the 

interim Consortium that had operated since 20 Aug. 1964. (INTELSAT 

Release 74-2) 0 Dr. Edward G. Gibson, science pilot on the 84day Skylab 4 mission (16 

Nov. 1973-8 Feb. 1974) , announced he would leave the NASA astronaut 

corps 30 Nov. 1974. Dr. Gibson, a scientist-astronaut since 1965, would 

join Aerospace Corp. of Los Angeles as a senior staff scientist, specializing in the interpretation of solar data gathered during the 171 days of 

manned operation in the Skylab program. He had held primary responsibility for the 338 hrs of Apollo Telescope Mount operation on Skylab 4, 

making extensive observations of solar processes. ( JSC Release 74-246) 

20-22 August: More than 70 papers on the Skylab program were presented 

at the 20th annual meeting of the American Astronautical Society, held 

at the University of Southern California. Billed as the definitive report 

on Skylab, the conference addressed Skylab evolution, accomplishments, 

and applications to future NASA missions. Eight NASA representatives 

were presented at the 22 Aug. session of the conference as newly elected 

Fellows of the AAS. (MSFC PIO, interview, 11 July 75; MSFC Release 74- 

136; WFC Release 74-8; JSC Releases 74-163,74-246) 

21 August: A House-Senate Conference Committee favorably reported a compromise version of H.R. 15572, the FY 1975 Dept. of Housing and 

Urban Development-Space-Science-Veterans appropriations bill that included a $3.207-billion NASA appropriation. NASA funds were $40.394 

million below the budget request and $60.194 million less than the FY 

1975 authorization. An additional $4.435 million for energy research 

and development was appropriated separately. The compromise appropriation was close to the one passed by the Senate 16 Aug. and $3.685 

million above the $3.203 billion approved by the House 26 June. (NASA 

Off Budget Ops, Chron History; CR, 21 Aug 74, H8787-90; H Rpt 

0 The U.S.S.R. cosmonaut corps was being built up at same time the 

US. astronaut force was dwindling, a Miami Herald article said. The 

Herald quoted Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, who had visited the 

U.S.S.R. during training for the 1975 ApolloSoyuz Test Project mission, as saying : “Star City (where most of the cosmonauts live and 

train) looks like a boom town. There’s no doubt the Soviets have a 

vigorous ongoing manned space effort planned for the next five or six 

years.” He said that the number of buildings in Star City had tripled 

in the previous two years, with more under construction. The total of 

75 to 80 cosmonauts was a sharp increase over the estimated 55 of five 

years ago. In contrast the US. astronaut corps had fallen to 34 from a 

peak of 60 during the Apollo program, with only three trainidg for a 

flight. Stafford said he did not believe the U.S.S.R. had any new spacecraft under development but rather planned for the continued use of the 

Soyuz as a workhorse. (M Her, 21 Aug 74) 

22 August: NASA reactivated the main telemetry system on Explorer 46 

Meteoroid Technology Satellite (launched 13 Aug. 1972) , to gain additional data on the impact flux of small meteoroids. The telemetry system 

had been shut down 22 Aug. 1972 after the spacecraft battery had over93-1310) 

152 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 22 August 

heated, and a solar-powered backup had since transmitted only primary 

experiment data. Data received before shutdown had indicated that 

sensors flown on previous missions had overestimated the micrometeoroid population, but variation in the impact flux necessitated additional data. Data transmission would continue through February 1975. 

(NASA Release 74-321; NASA OAST PIO, interview, 3 Sept 75) 

0 The House and Senate, in separate floor actions, agreed to the 21 Aug. 

conference report on H.R. 15572, the Dept. of Housing and Urban 

Development-Space-Science-Veterans Appropriations Bill for FY 1975, 

clearing the measure for the White House. The bill included a NASA 

appropriation of $3.207 billion. (CR, 22 Aug 74, H8892-9, S15776-8) 

23 August: Ames Research Center controllers of Pioneer 11-launched 5 

April 1973 and now 85 000 000 km from Jupiter-increased the spacecraft’s spin rate to improve measurements of Jupiter’s radiation belts 

during the flyby, scheduled for December. (ARC Release 7441) 

0 Photographs and visual observations made by astronauts aboard the Skylab Orbital Workshop had revealed eddies embedded in warm-water currents flowing poleward from equatorial oceans, Robert E. Stevenson of 

the Office of Naval Research reported in a Nature article. Observations 

from Skylab 4 (16 Nov. 1973-8 Feb. 1974) over four ocean areas had 

confirmed initial evidence from Caribbean photographs taken on Skylab 2 and 3 (25 May-22 June, 28 July-25 Sept. 1973) that eddies with 

vortices of 5500- to 37 000-m dia were present wherever other conditions 

were suitable, regardless of water temperature. Findings were also confirmed by the Navy’s Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Four with 

bathythermographs. 

Formerly, turbulence had been difficult to document because of limited 

oceanographic techniques, insufficient information about such features, 

and the lack of photos from orbital platforms which enhanced the ocean 

and atmosphere manifestations of the eddies. (Nature, 23 Aug 74, 

638-40) 

A Science editorial commented On the Nixon Administration and science: 

During his terms in office President Nixon, who had resigned 9 Aug., 

had been preoccupied by foreign policy and Watergate reaction. Science 

was “at most an afterthought.” Because he thought that science should 

advance the cause of national security and prestige, “grand technology 

seemed to have had a special fascination for Nixon,” most evident in 

his enthusiasm for the Apollo program and the supersonic transport. 

He had made a dramatic declaration of war on cancer and set the Nation 

toward Project Independence, under which the U.S. was to “achieve 

energy self-sufficiency by 1980.” There was “little evidence that Nixon 

was hostile to science but rather that, except for the technological 

extravaganzas, he was simply not interested.” He lacked rapport with 

scientists, allying himself instead with proponents and practitioners of 

the quasi-science of modern management. 

The Presidential tapes (tape recordings made secretly of conversations 

in the Oval Office) showed a President “badly informed, even indifferent,,, helping to explain why the White House science advisory 

machinery was deemed expendable. “But in the present situation it takes 

no special wisdom to see how RL+D decisions will affect how the government deals with serious energy and food problems and how important 

these actions will be in future economic developments. The Nixon tapes 

illustrate why good presidential advisers and good mechanisms to trans153 
23 August ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

mit their advice are necessary in every sphere of policy; this should not 

be overlooked ammg the lessons of Watergate for the new Administration.” (Science, 23 Aug 74, 675-8) 

24 August: A probe into the next 50 yrs was the subject of a series of articles 

in Saturday Review/World. Soviet atomic scientist Andrei D. Sakharov 

envisioned flying cities---artificial earth satellites with important industrial functions. The satellites would hold nuclear and thermonuclear 

installations with radiant cooling of heat exchangers, to avoid heating 

the earth, and would also serve as cosmic research laboratories and way 

stations for long-distance flights. Sakharov also foresaw greater attempts 

to establish communication with other civilizations by searching for and 

transmitting interplanetary signals on all known wavelengths and searching outer space for space stations of extraterrestrial civilizations. Powerful telescopes set up on the moon would permit scientists to see planets 

orbiting the nearest stars. 

Apollo 11 Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong said that in 50 yrs every 

interesting crater and cranny of the moon would have been visited and 

revisited and lunar exploration would be replaced by lunar exploitation. 

Underground lunar colonies, protected from extreme temperatures, 

would consist of pressurized compartments connected by tunnels. One 

day man might want to build an atmosphere on the moon to avoid the 

inconveniences of living in a near vacuum, but in the nearer future the 

use of the moon’s vacuum for activities such as materials processing 

was a major reason for being there. Craters on the dark side of the moon, 

always facing away from the earth, could hold radio and x-ray telescopes 

for transmissions, unadulterated by earth noise, to and from outer space. 

Deep craters, which received no sunlight and had temperatures nearing 

absolute zero, would be ideal for low-temperature laboratories where 

scientists could investigate the point where moleoular motion nearly 

stops. Lunar agriculture would be underground under lights in modified lunar soil fed with a nutrient solution. Although by 2024 the only 

extraterrestrial colonies would be on the moon, men probably would 

have visited Mars and a few selected celestial bodies. Men exploring space 

might well use a miniaturized heart-lung machine, circumventing the 

need for breathing and spacesuits. 

Dr. Wernher von Braun, former Marshall Space Flight Center Director, predicted a worldwide satellite search would be started for additional deposits of metal ore, coal, oil, shale, and natural gas. Satellite 

data would also provide key data for a badly needed worldwide food 

supply management system. Von Braun predicted nuclear lasers in geosynchronous orbit would handle millions of TIr channels simultaneously 

and billions of telephone conversations and would lead to worldwide 

video-telephone service. Advanced meteorological satellites would provide accurate two-week weather forecasts and disaster warnings, saving 

million’s of dollars in property damage. (Saturday Review/World, 24 

Aug 74) 

Maj. Alexander P. de Seversky (U.S. Army Air Corps), aviation pioneer, 

died of a respiratory ailment in New York at the age of 80. Maj. de 

Seversky had begun his career as a pilot in the Czarist air force in Russia 

during World War I. After coming to the U.S. in 191% he contributed 

to military and commercial aviation, helping to develop the first fully 

automatic synchronous bombsight, gyroscopically stabilized flight instruments, inflight fueling techniques, and a variety of landing gear for 

154 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 24 August 

seaplanes and aircraft. He also led the effort to design, build, and test 

an all-metal fighter aircraft, the P-35, the first aircraft to fly faster than 

480 km per hr. In 1931 he founded the Seversky Aircraft Corp., the forerunner of Republic Aircraft Corp. 

During World War I1 de Seversky became one of the country’s leading advocates of strategic air power, saying that the U.S. could not win 

a “limited war fought with traditional forces.” He argued that “the 

whole military philosophy must be changed or we shall forever trail the 

rest of the world not only in conventional aircraft, but in intercontinental 

ballistic missiles and even in man-made earth satellite development.” 

(Fraser, NYT, 26 Aug 74, 32; AP, Orlando, Florida, Sentinal Star, 26 

Aug 74, B4) 

26-29 August: The U.S.S.R. launched Soyuz 15, carrying crew members 

Lt. Col. Gennady V. Sarafanov and Col. Lev S. Demin, from Baykonur 

Cosmodrome near Tyuratam at 12:58 pm local time (3:58 pm EDT) 

26 Aug. in an attempt to dock with the orbiting Salyut 3 research station 

(launched 25 June). Soyuz 15 entered orbit with a 239-km apogee, 

175-km perigee, 88.5-min period, and 51.7” inclination. Tass reported 

the purpose of the mission was “to continue scientific research and 

experiments in space started July 3 . . . during the flight of the transport ship ‘Soyuz 14’ and the station ‘Salyut 3.’ ” 

Tass reported 28 Aug. that on the second working day the cosmonauts felt well and had made “experiments to perfect the technique of 

piloting the ship in different flight regimes.” During maneuvering 

SOYUZ 15 approached the Salyut 3 space station many times, the cosmonauts controlling spaceship functions, observing the approach, and inspecting the station. Tass then reported the crew was “concluding the 

flight and . . . preparing the spacecraft for the return to the earth.” 

After a 48hr 12-min mission, Soyuz 15 softlanded safely at 1 :10 am 

29 Aug. Baykonur time (4:lO pm EDT 28 Aug.)-the first Soviet night 

landing48 km southwest of Tselinograd in Kazakhstan despite a 

“difficult meteorological situation.” On-the-spot medical examinations 

showed the cosmonauts to be in “good health.” 

Early press reports quoted Western experts as saying the flight probably ended early because of a failure in the docking mechanism of the 

spacecraft, damage to or failure of the spacecraft durlng the attempted 

linkup, or a serious deterioration of the Salyut orbital station. In response 

to questions about the impact of the Soyuz 15 mission on the planned 

July 1975 U.S.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz mission, Dr. James C. Fletcher, 

NASA Administrator, said in a 29 Aug. statement, “NASA personnel engaged in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project . . . were informed in advance by 

Soviet personnel of the ‘Soyuz 15’ flight and its approximate timing.” Dr. 

Fletcher said that neither Soyuz 14 (launched 3 July) nor SOYUZ 1.5 

“carried the ASTP docking mechanism. We have no reason to doubt this 

information.” 

At a 9 Sept. press briefing at Johnson Space Center, Maj. Gen. 

Vladimir A. Shatalov, Soviet chief of cosmonaut training, confirmed 

through his translator that a hard dock had been one objective of the 

Soyuz 15 mission and that there were problems with the docking system. 

“In our previous flights . . . we had worked out the aqtomatic rendezvous and docking, but it worked only up to 150 meters. . . . From that 

point, it was purely manual.” At an 11 Sept. JSC press briefing, Shatalov 

said that during the Soyvx 15 flight the automatic system “worked well” 

155 
26-29 August ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

up to 30 to 50 m. “But when going beyond 50-40, the range rate exceeded 

the necessary or the intended parameters.” He also said the approaches 

had been repeated “a number of times and each time the automatic system worked up to 30-41) meters. . . . At no time in these approaches 

was it intended to use manual docking.” He emphasized that they were 

satisfied with the automatic system to the point it had worked. He also 

said the second major objective of the mission was “to perfect this night 

landing.” 

Soyuz 15 was the second spacecraft to visit Salyut 3, the Soviet’s third 

orbiting station. A two-man crew, launched 3 July aboard Soyuz 14, 

had spent nearly 16 days dboard the station performing scientific experiments. (Tass, FBIS-SOV, 27-29 Aug 74, u1; NASA Release 74-242; Wren, 

NYT, 29 Aug 74, 1; W Post, 30 Aug 74, A32; SF, Dec 74, 470; Transcripts, 9,11 sept 74) 

26 August: Charles A. Lindbergh-the first man to fly solo nonstop from 

New York to Paris, in 1927-died of cancer on Maui, Hawaii, at the age 

of 72. He was buried three hours later in a simple funeral near the 

Kipahulu church on Maui. In Washington, President Ford said: “Nearly 

half a century has passed since his courageous solo flight . . . but the 

courage and daring of his feat will never be forgotten. For years to 

come, we will also remember the selfless, sincere man himself. . . , one of 

America’s alltime heroes and a great pioneer of the air age that changed 

the world.” 

For the transatlantic flight, airmail pilot and barnstormer Lindbergh 

had helped design a Ryan monoplane, calculating every ounce. When 

the Spirit of St. Louis landed at Le Bourget airfield, Paris, at 10:22 pm 

21 May 1927 after a 33-hr 29-min flight, Lindbergh was greeted by 

25 000 wildly cheering persons. British, French, and Belgian governments awarded the flyer their highest decorations for valor. He received 

the first US. Distinguished Flying Cross and the Medal of Honor and 

was promoted from lieutenant to colonel in the Army Air Corps Reserve. 

Following goodwill flights throughout the US. and Latin America, 

sponsored by the Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics, 

Lindbergh served as adviser to Pan American World Airways and to the 

predecessor of Trans World Airlines, helping to lay out transatlantic, 

transcontinental, and Caribbean air routes for commercial aviation. He 

served as a member of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 

1931-1939, heading the special committee that recommended to Congress expansion of U.S. aircraft research facilities and establishment of 

what became the Ames and Lewis Research Centers. 

After the kidnaping and murder of his first son and the subsequent 

publicity, Lindbergh moved to Europe in 1935, where he studied the 

military forces of the European countries. His conclusion that the German Luftwaffe would be superior to the combined forces of the Allies, 

his acceptance of the Service Cross of the German Eagle from the German 

government, and his opposition to U.S. participation in World War I1 

provoked the U.S. public to question his patriotism and he resigned 

his commission in the Army Air Corps. During the yar he was a consultant to bomber aircraft manufacturers Ford Motor Co. and United 

Aircraft Corp. He traveled to the Pacific war area in 1944 to study the 

Navy’s Corsair F4U under flying conditions and there, as a civilian, flew 

50 missions against the Japanese. 

156 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 26 August 

Following the war, his commission restored and promoted to the rank 

of brigadier general, Lindbergh was a technical consultant for Government and private industry in missile and space flight programs. As a consultant for Pan Am he worked on design specifications for the Boeing 

747. Lindbergh devoted the later years of his life to writing and speaking 

on world conservation policies. (NYT, 27 Aug 74, 1; 18; Crawford, W 

Post, 27 Aug 74, C3; PD, 2 Sept 74, 1068-9; James, NYT, 22 May 27, 

1; Affidavit Exec Apptmt, 6 Nov 31; letter, NACA Chm Bush to Lindbergh, 

7 Feb 40) 

Dr. Alan M. Lovelace, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force 

for Research and Development, had been appointed NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Space Technology effective 1 Sept., NASA 

announced. Dr. Lovelace would replace Gen. Bruce K. Holloway (WAF, 

Ret.) , who would retire from NASA 30 Aug. after serving as Acting Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Space Technology and Assistant 

Administrator for DOD and Interagency Affairs. Dr. Lovelace had been 

Director of the Air Force Materials Laboratory in 1967 and had become 

Director of Science and Technology, Air Force Systems Command, in 

1972. He had received numerous awards, including the AFML Charles 3. 

Cleary and Arthur S. Flemming awards for his work in fluorine and 

polymer chemistry, the National Civil Service League Career Service 

Award, and the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Service. (NASA 

Release 74.-236) 

John M. Thole had been appointed Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Space Science effective 1 Sept., NASA announced. Thole would succeed 

Vincent L. Johnson, who had retired. Former project manager for the 

Applications Technology Satellite at Goddard Space Flight Center, Thole 

had joined GSFC in 1960 and had held a variety of project management 

positions since that time. (NASA Ann, 26 Aug 74) 

26 August-20 September: Thirty NASA engineers and technicians met with 

U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences counterparts in Moscow as joint preparations for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project’s July 1975 flight continued. 

On 8 Sept. another group of 47 specialists and engineers headed by 

U.S. ASTP Technical Director Glynn S. Lunney arrived in Moscow for 

2 weeks of meetings with the Soviet group headed by U.S.S.R. Technical Director Konstantin D. Bushuyev. The project directors announced 

plans for joint prelaunch tests at the US. launch site 1-8 Feb. 1975 and 

at the U.S.S.R. launch area 5-13 May 1975. Flight crews and technical 

specialists from both countries would participate. Soviet specialists also 

announced plans to fly a manned Soyuz mission to test ASTP-related systems. NASA would be informed of further details before the flight to permit tracking. 

Thirteen U.S. flight controllers were also spending two weeks in MosCOW beginning 15 Sept., meeting with Soviet controllers for familiarization and training, including briefings on Soviet Mission Control Center 

operations, Soyuz spacecraft systems, and the mission flight plan. (JSC 

ASTP Press Communiquh, 20 Sept 74; JSC Roundup, 13 Sept 74; JSC 

Release 76250) 

27-29 August: A Skylab Life Sciences Symposium at Johnson Space Cqnter 

reported medical results of the three Skylab missions. Conference Chairman Richard s. Johnston, Director of Life Sciences at JSC, said that 

nothing in-the medical results would preclude man from spending up to a 

157 
27-29 August ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

year in space. Dr. G. D. Whedon of the National Institutes of Health 

stated that weightlessness could threaten capable musculo-skeletal functions during space flights lasting up to three years unless measures could 

be developed to prevent significant losses of calcium, phosphorus, and 

nitrogen. Continued loss of calcium could cause astronauts to break their 

backs or legs and could promote formation of kidney stones. 

Dr. William E. Thornton, life scientist in the JSC Astronaut Office, 

reported that by Mission Day 3 all Skylab crewmen had lost more than 

2000 cc (2 qts) of extravascular fluid from calf and thigh; at recovery, 

a sharp reversal was noted. The Thornton team suggested that the reason 

for the shift was the intrinsic and unopposed lower limb elasticity, which 

forced venous blood and other fluids toward the head. Other investigators 

reported that such cardiovascular changes as the heart’s decreased ventricular size and the suppression of red blood cell production was the 

body’s accommodation to weightlessness. These physiological changes 

had been the expected response to a lack of exertion; they reversed after 

the astronauts’ return to earth. ( JSC Roundup, 30 Aug 74, 1-2; JSC proj 

off, interview, 12 Aug 75; Altman, NYT, 1 Sept 74,14) 

28 August: Marshall Space Flight Center had negotiated a restructured contract with TRW Inc. for the first of three High Energy Astronomy Observatory spacecraft to be launched between 1977 and 1979, NASA announced. Modifications had increased the original contract value by 

$9 451 139, to a new total of $86 397 579. The contract covered design, 

development, manufacture, test, checkout, and delivery of the spacecraft. 

Period of performance was from 1 July 1974 through 15 April 1980. 

The original HEAO program, approved in 1971 and suspended in 

1973 because of budget cuts, had called for two large unmanned observatories. The new contract called for a series of smaller scale missions 

using three satellites in circular orbits at an altitude of 416 km to obtain 

data on high-energy radiation from space-celestial x-rays, gamma-rays, 

and cosmic rays. 

Contracts totaling $23 332 700 had also been signed for five experiments to be carried by the second spacecraft, HEAO-B. The awards included $1 350 000 to American Science and Engineering, Inc., to design 

and build the x-ray telescope. (NASA Release 74240; MSFC Release 74 

179) 

* NASA adjudged the mission of Skynet ZZA communications satellite, launched 

18 Jan. for the United Kingdom, unsuccessful. NASA’s primary objective 

of launching the comsat into orbit for transfer into a synchronous equatorial orbit permitting the spacecraft to accomplish its operational mission had not been achieved. Skynet IIA had been placed in an extremely 

eccentric orbit when the Thor-Delta launch vehicle’s 2nd-stage attitude 

control system failed; preliminary analysis had isolated the problem to 

a failure in the regulator board of the DC-to-DC converter in the 2ndstage electronics package. (NASA MOR, 4 Sept 74) 

Martin Marietta Corp. had been awarded a $26 453 600 NASA contract for 

support of the external tank effort of the space shuttle program, NASA 

announced. The consolidated facilities contract, which would run through 

31 -4ug. 1978, provided for acquisition of plant equipment at Michoud 

Assembly Facility, rehabilitation of existing facilities, and construction, 

modification, maintenance, and repair of facilities. (NASA Release 74- 

239) 

158 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 29 August 

29 August: The NASA Aircraft Office was established under the Associate Administrator for Center Operations to provide a focal point for aircraft 

operations and management activities. The Flight Activities Office, Flight 

Research Center, was abolished, and the Administrative Standardization Office at Langley Research Center would report directly to the NASA 

Aircraft Office. Robert W. Sommer, former Director of the Flight Activities Office, was appointed Acting Director of the new office. (NASA Ann, 

29 Aug 74) 0 Communications Satellite Corp. announced it had signed a contract to provide technical and operational management for the global commercial 

satellite system owned by the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization. Under the contract, to run through 11 Feb. 1979, 

ComSatCorp would recommend and implement research and development 

programs; advise on procuring space segment facilities; negotiate, place, 

and administer all contracts for space segments; arrange for satellite 

launch services and support; prepare and coordinate system operations 

plans; and prepare and coordinate frequency plans for earth stations. 

(ComSatCorp Release 7M4) 

30 August-14 September: NASA launched Ans 1 Netherlands Astronomical 

Satellite from Western Test Range on a four-stage Scout launch vehicle 

at 7:08 am PDT (10:OS am EDT) . The satellite entered an elliptical polar 

orbit with a 1167-km apogee, 254-km perigee, 99.0-min period, and 

98.1" inclination-significantly different from the planned circular 

orbit-because of a malfunction in the 1st stage of the Scout. Changes in 

the spacecraft program and scientific instrument operations program 

were made to accommodate to the actual orbit. Although the orbit 

hindered the observation program, the primary objective-to increase 

the scientific knowledge of stellar ultraviolet and x-ray sources-could 

be achieved. 

The spacecraft was pointed at the sun, the solar panels were deployed, 

and fine pointing in a three-axis stabilized condition was established. All 

three experiments-a hard x-ray experiment provided by the US. and 

a uv telescope and soft x-ray experiment provided by The Netherlandswere turned on by 8 Sept. In-orbit checkout of experiments and spacecraft was completed 13 Sept. and the operational phase of the mission 

began 14 Sept. 

Principal effect of the orbit on the scientific program was the loss of 

observing time. The higher apogee placed the spacecraft in the Van Allen 

radiation belts longer than planned, creating a more intense radiation 

backdround than anticipated. The uv telescope could operate effectively 

for 70% of each orbit and observe 10th-magnitude stars only when the 

spacecraft was below 500 km. Only 5th-magnitude or brighter stars were 

observable most of the time. 

The US. x-ray experiment could make effective observations about 

25% of the total possible observing time; the experiment could operate 

below 700 km but not over the poles or the South Atlantic Anomaly. The 

soft x-ray experiment consisted of a large-area detector, which was 

operating similarly to the US. experiment, and a grazing-incidence telescope, which was seriously affected by the' radiation background. AIthough much of the acquired data was not usable, most future data 

might be recovered through improved analysis techniques. 

159 
30 August-14 September ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Despite the problems, the orbit would provide nine months of full sunlight, rather than the six months expected, permitting reobservations of 

objects observed during the first three months. In addition, aerodynamic 

drag would lower the apogee over a period of time, decreasing the passage 

time through the Van Allen belts. 

Am 1 was launched under a Memorandum of Understanding signed 

5 June 1970 by NASA and the Astronomical Netherlands Satellite Program 

Authority (ANSPA). NASA provided the x-ray experiment, spacecraft technical support, the Scout launch vehicle and services, and limited tracking 

and data acquisition. The Netherlands was responsible for the spacecraft 

design, fabrication, and testing; two experiments ; and primary spacecraft command, control, and tracking and data acquisition. Ans 1 was the 

first satellite to be controlled completely from the European Space Research organization’s operations center at Darmstadt, Germany. The ANS 

program was managed for NASA by Goddard Space Flight Center under 

the direction of the Office of Space Science. Langley Research Center had 

responsibility for the Scout launch vehicle. (NASA MORS, 21 Aug, 6 NOV 

74; GSFC SSR, 31 Aug 74; GSFC proj mgr, interview, 15 July 75; ESRO 

Release, 23 Aug 74) 

31 August: A galaxy six times larger than any previously known in the 

universe had been discovered by an international team of astronomers 

using The Netherlands’ Westerbork radio telescope, the Washington Post 

reported. Named 3C 268, the galaxy was 18 million light years in length 

and 1.8 billion light years from the earth. It was composed of an optical 

galaxy-a group of stars emitting visible light-at the center, with enormous gaseous radio components spreading like giant propeller blades 

on either side. (AP, W Post, 31 Aug 74, A13) 

During August: Flight Research Center began wake vortex studies with a 

Boeing 747 to test different configurations and mechanical devices for 

suppressing the formation or reducing the strength of vortices. Windtunnel and water-channel tests had indicated that engine-induced turbulence and span-load tailoring by flap modification would permit reduction of standard separation distances between aircraft. Removing the 

outboard flap on a model of a Boeing 747 and adding a trailing spline 

reduced the wing-tip vortex so that the separation between a Boeing 747 

and a following Learjet or DC-9 could be reduced from 8 to less than 

3 km. During inflight tests, lowering the inboard flap 30’ dissipated 

the normal wing-tip vortex as a second vortex flowing in a counter 

direction formed. Flight testing would continue into September. (FRC 

X-Press, 13,27 Sept 74; NASA Release 74230) 

* The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) awarded 

a $42 847 797 contract to Rockwell International Corp. Space Div. to 

design, develop, fabricate, launch, and operate three prototype satellites 

in the Navigation System Using Time and Ranging (NAVSTAR) Global 

Positioning System (GPS) . With a Naval Research Laboratory NAVSTAR 

technology satellite, the prototypes would provide positioning signals to 

support development and test of user equipment for all military services. 

Plans called for refurbished Atlas F space boosters to launch the spacecraft into 20 200-km orbits in 1977. (ASFC Newsreview, Aug 74, 16) 

* Federal research and development support of space programs had declined 

steadily in proportion to civil projects from 1969 to 1975, the National 

Science Foundation reported in its Analysis of Federal R&D Funding 

160 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 During August 

by Function, Fiscal Years 1969-1975. Energy and environment programs 

had outpaced other major civil programs, while space programs had 

been reduced more than any other R&D function in the period. In 

FY 1975, the space budget was 13% of the planned $19.6-billion Federal R&D funding, a decline from 23.9% in 1969. Manned space flight, 

including the space shuttle, would account for more than half the 1975 

total. (NSF Report 74-313) 

The combined calculated weight at launch of the U.S.S.R.’s Soyuz 4 

(launched 14 Jan. 1969) and Soyuz 5 (launched 15 Jan. 1969) had 

indicated that the spacecraft had carried propulsion systems far in excess 

of requirements for an earth orbital mission, David Woods reported in 

Spaceflight. The 1.97-km-per-sec velocity requirement of such active 

docking vehicles as Soyuz 4 had matched the total velocity requirement 

of 1.94 km per sec of Apollo 11 (launched to the moon 16 July 1969), 

indicating that these early Soyuz spacecraft had been capable of manned 

lunar missions, Woods deduced. (SF, Aug 74,300-302) 

161 

September 1974 

I September: In an effort toward accurate earthquake prediction, antennas 

at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goldstone Tracking Station-200 km 

apart and on either side of the San Andreas Fault-were receiving radio 

signals from quasars outside the galaxy. As part of JPL’S Astronomical 

Radio Interferometric Earth Surveying (ARIES) project, techniques developed for spacecraft navigation could measure the precise distance 

between the antennas by monitoring the arrival times of identical radio 

signals, accurate to one tenth of a billionth of a second. Changes in the 

times could indicate three-dimensional shifts in the earth’s crust up to an 

initial accuracy of 10 cm, with an eventual accuracy goal of 2 cm. 

Scientists hoped that ARIES techniques would help prove the theory that 

earthquakes were preceded by a swelling of the earth’s surface up to 

one meter over hundreds of square kilometers and provide a major new 

tool in earthquake research and prediction. (JPL Release 710; JPL proj 

off, interview, 3 Dec 75) 

1-13 September: The Air Force SR-71 Blackbird aircraft sped from New 

York to London in a record 1 hr 56 min on 1 Sept., piloted by Capt. 

Harold B. Adam. Flown to England for display at the Farnborough 

International 74 air show through 8 Sept., the strategic reconnaissance 

aircraft built by Lockheed Aircraft Corp. could survey more than 260 000 

sq km of the earth’s surface an hour from above 24 400 m. On 13 Sept., 

the SR-71 set another record, flying from London to Los Angeles in 3 hrs 

47 min. (DOD Release 410-74; AP, W Post, 14 Sept 74, All) 

3 September: First wind-tunnel tests of a third-generation X-24 lifting body 

had been completed by Arnold Engineering Development Center, the Air 

Force Systems Command announced. A model of the proposed X-24C 

equipped with phase-change paint was expbsed to a mach 6 airflow in a 

wind tunnel. By photographing the progression of the melt line formed 

by the paint, engineers determined where heat built up and how quickly, 

around a new canopy designed for flights up to six times the speed of 

sound. 

The X-24A lifting body had flown test flights from 1969 to 1971 and 

the X-24B was continuing flights from Edwards Air Force Base in a 

NASA-USAF research program into concepts for future hypersonic aircraft 

and returning spacecraft. The X-24C was similar to the B model with 

the exception of the new canopy and omission of one vertical stabilizer. 

(AFSC Release OIP 158.74) 

President Ford signed H.R. 11864, the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act of 1974, into P.L. 93409 and signed H.R. 14920, the Geothermal Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1974, 

into P.L. 93410. 

P.L. 93- provided for demonstration within three years of the 

practical uses of solar heating technology and for development and 

demonstration within five years of the practical use of combined heating 

163 
3 September ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

and cooling technology. It amended the National Aeronautics and Space 

Act of 1958 to direct NASA to carry out solar heating and cooling research 

but provided that, within 60 days of a law creating the Energy Research 

and Development Administration or other energy R&D agency, functions 

given to NASA and the National Science Foundation could be transferred 

to the new agency. 

P.L. 93410 authorized guaranteed loans to finance commercial 

ventures in geothermal energy and provided for coordination of Federal 

activities in the development of geothermal energy. (PD, 9 Sept 74, 

1099; texts) 

4-5 September: Plans for the Laser Geodynamic Satellite (LAGEOS) were 

completed at a two-day Preliminary Design Review by officials of NASA 

and the Smithsonian Institution, at Marsha11 Space Flight Center. LAGEOS, 

to be launched in 1976, would provide information on earthquakeproducing motions and strain in the surface of the earth. (MSFC Release 

74165 ; NASA Release 73-261 ; MSFC PIO, interview, 6 June 75) 

5 September: The European Space Research Organization announced selection of Communications Satellite Corp. as its US. partner in the Aeronautical Satellite (Aerosat) program [see 9 May]. Aerosat was to deploy 

two satellites over the Atlantic Ocean for communications between aircraft in transatlantic flight and the ground. (ESRO Release, 5 Sept 74) 

Maj. Gen. Vladimir A. Shatalov, U.S.S.R. chief of cosmonaut training, 

stated that experiments conducted during the Salyut 3 (launched 25 

June) , Soyuz 14 (3 July) , and Soyuz 15 (26 Aug.) flights had no bearing on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project’s scheduled July 1975 flight. In 

a Tass interview before leaving Moscow for Johnson Space Center for 

joint training of ASTP crews, Shatalov announced that the U.S.S.R. would 

launch a manned spacecraft a few months before the Apollo-Soyuz 

launch, to test hardware in Aight. (Pravda, FBIS-SOV, 11 Sept 74, U1-2) 

6 September: Western Union Telegraph Co.’s Westar 1 (launched 13 April) 

made America’s first mail delivery via satellite, sending a “mailgram,” 

combination telegram and letter, from New York to Los Angeles. A 

60-word mailgram to the West Coast cost $1.35, rather than the $6.00 

for a telegram. Regular, one-business-day transmission of mailgrams by 

satellite from New York to Los Angeles wwild begin in late September, 

with mailgram traffic from the East Coast to Texas and parts of the 

West Coast beginning late in the year. (NASA Hq WB, 7 Oct 74; AP, 

B Sun, 6 Sept 74, A3) 

0 President Ford signed H.R. 15572 into Public Law 93414, making appropriations for Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, space, science, 

and veterans activities for FY 1975. The bill included a $3.206-billion 

NASA appropriation and $666.3 million for the National Science Foundation. [See 21 and 22 Aug.] (P.L. 93-414) 

7-27 September: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project cosmonauts arrived in the US. 

7 Sept. for training with American crews at Johnson Space Center 

8-27 Sept. President Ford received the US. and U.S.S.R. crews at the 

White House before taking them to visit an Alexandria, Va., picnic. 

At the picnic the President said the planned July 1975 joint mission was 

not only a “technological achievement” but was “far broader in its 

implications and ramifications as far as the world is concerned.” 

The joint session at JSC included flight simulations, training in communications and docking procedures, and study of spacecraft systems. 

i 

164 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 7-27 September 

(PD, 16 Sept 74,1101-02,1146; NASA OMSF PAO, interview, 21 Aug 75; 

JSC Roundup, 13 Sept 74,l) 

8 September: The Apollo command and service module for the Apollo-Soyuz 

Test Project, which had been delivered to Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station by a C5A transport, arrived at Kennedy Space Center. The 

spacecraft completed the ASTP flight hardware with exception of the 

docking module, which would arrive at KSC in late October after thermal 

and vacuum tests at Johnson Space Center. ( KSC Release 132-74) 

0 President Ford as a Congressman had been a “staunch defender of space 

spending” whenever critics suggested cuts in NASA’s budget, the San 

Diego Union reported. As minority leader, Ford had declared that the 

space program could be justified by its spinoffs. In April 1972, Ford 

had defended a $200-million space shuttle appropriation because he had 

believed that its loss would end the space program. (Macomber, SD 

Union, 8 Sept 74,19) 

8-12 September: Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, visited the 

U.S.S.R. at the invitation of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Interviewed 

by a Tass correspondent, Dr. Fletcher compared implementing the 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project with scaling a high mountain from which 

new vistas of Soviet-American scientific and technical cooperation would 

open. 

With President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences Mstislav V. Keldysh, 

Dr. Fletcher visited the space flight control center near Moscow, from 

which the ASTP mission would be controlled in July 1975. Dr. Fletcher 

also visited the cosmonaut training center and the Apollo-Soyuz laboratory center with the head of the Intercosmos Council, Academician Boris 

N. Petrov, and discussed Soviet-American cooperation in exploration and 

peaceful uses of outer space with Deputy Chairman of the U.S.S.R. 

Council of Ministers Vladimir A. Kirillin. (NASA Off of Admin, Daily 

Appointments Calendar; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 12 Sept 74, U1; 13 Sept 74, U1) 

9 September: NASA and the Maritime Administration demonstrated that 

satellites could be used for high-quality ship-to-shore communications in 

L-band frequencies. Test transmissions from the National Maritime Research Center in New York were relayed by NASA’s Ats 6 Applications 

Technology Satellite (launched 30 May) to a commercial container ship 

en route from Virginia to France. Ats 6 could provide two-way communications between ground stations and mobile units operating in a 1080- 

km-wide area and would permit transmittal of cargo manifests and 

documentation before ship arrival in port, transmittal of payroll data 

for shore processing, and remote monitoring of ship machinery performance. (NASA Release 74-255; GSFC PIO, interview, 24 June 75) 

Johnson Space Center announced award of a 12-mo, $300 000 contract to 

Martin Marietta Corp. Denver Div. to study technical and operational 

concepts for manned and automated assembly of space systems from the 

space shuttle orbiter. Martin was asked to consider use of manipulative 

devices, an astronaut maneuvering unit, and simple docking systems. 

( JSC Release 74-251) 

e NHK Technical Research Laboratory of Japan had developed a TV receiving 

system that could bring satellite-to-home transmission within five years, 

Broadcasting journal reported. With General Electric co., NHK was 

constructing an experimental 12-ghz broadcast satellite desiqed to 

transmit signals within the FM band. An AM-FM converter attached to a 

standard receiver would transform the image into a standard TV signal. 

165 
9 September ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

The experimental satellite was scheduled for launch in early 1977. 

(Broadcmting, 9 Sept 74,68) 

9-13 September: A Lighter-than-Air Workshop sponsored by NASA, the Dept. 

of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the US. 

Navy attracted 200 persons from nine nations to Monterey, Calif., to 

explore the technical and economic feasibility of LTA vehicles. The workshop was conducted by the Flight Transportation Laboratory of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Among the speakers, Ames Research 

Center representatives argued that LTA vehicles would be economically 

competitive with aircraft on established freight routes and would be 

suitable for heavy-load low-level transportation. Nuclear power units, 

agricultural products, and ore could be transported to and from underdeveloped countries. (MIT, FTL Report R75-2 ; NASA Release 76229 ; 

ARC PIO, interview, 24 June 75; Ozone, Av Wk, 30 Sept 74,4246) 

9-14 September: A review of “Technology in the Service of Man” at Lewis 

Research Center featured a ferrofluid separator for recycling scrap 

metals. Based on the magnetized fluid concept devised for taking showers 

in space, the recycling process could separate nonmagnetic solids of 

different densities-like copper, brass, and zinc-by magnetically controlling the apparent density of the ferrofluid. The method could also 

detect metals in waste materials at incinerators and retrieve titanium 

used in aircraft construction and weaponry. 

The review, attended by 11 000 persons, included presentations on 

technology for safer aircraft, supersonic and hypersonic aircraft, energyefficient flight, low-speed aircraft, quieter airport communities, protection of the marine environment, preservation of the earth’s atmosphere, 

exploration of the planetary environment, and energy sources and use. 

(NASA Tech Brief B73-10463 ; LeRC PIO, interviews, 24 June, 24 July 75 ; 

Biggins, Newport News, Va, Times-Herald, 11 Sept 74; NASA Activities, 

Oct 74,ll-12) 

10 September: Pioneer 10 data returned from the 3 Dec. 1973 encounter 

with the planet Jupiter appeared to support the theory that Jupiter was 

a spinning ball of liquid hydrogen without a detectable solid surface, 

NASA reported. At most, the planet probably had only a small rocky core 

deep below the heavily clouded atmosphere. Jupiter’s great red spot 

probably was the vortex of a gigantic storm that had raged along a 

40 000-km front for 700 yrs. 

Analyses by NASA experimenters and other scientists had shown that 

the Pioneer 10 information, the first measurements made from closer 

than the earth, contradicted some previous theories and verified others. 

As early Pioneer 10 reports had indicated [see 25 Jan., 2 and 9 April], 

Jupiter’s turbulent interior was much hotter than expected, its magnetic 

field much larger than some predictions, and its radiation belts far more 

intense. The planet was a source of high-energy particle radiation, the 

only one in the solar system besides the sun. In its atmospheric circulation patterns, cyclones and anticyclones (ascending and descending) 

were stretched around the planet, rather than being circular as on the 

earth. This “weather-stretching,” probably caused by heat radiation 

from the planet’s interior and its 35 200-km-per-hr rotation speed, accounted for Jupiter’s planet-girdling, alternating brown-red and graywhite cloud bands. 

Density of the four largest moons decreased from the density of rock 

for the innermost Io and Europa to the density of a water-ice and rock 

166 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 10 September 

mixture for the outer Ganymede and Callisto. Io had a tenuous atmosphere. Ganymede was known to have an atmosphere and the other two 

large moons probably had also. 

Meanwhile Pioneer 11, the sister spacecraft launched 5 April 1973, 

was drawing toward Jupiter for its December flyby, before going on to 

Saturn. (NASA Release 74-238) 

Safety was of prime importance to NASA management and NASA-Soviet joint 

working groups planning the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, Dr. 

James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, said in a letter to Sen. William 

Proxmire (D-Wis.) . The response to a Sen. Proxmire letter expressing 

concern for ASTP crew safety in light of past failures of the Soyuz and 

Salyut spacecraft explained that NASA had requested and received from 

the Soviets a detailed explanation of the Soyuz 11 (6-30 June 1971) failure, in which three cosmonauts were killed, and of the test program to 

correct the problem. NASA officials had also asked for information on 

the 26-29 Aug. Soyuz 15 mission, which ASTP technical personnel were 

expected to discuss during joint meetings 9-23 Sept. (Letter, Proxmire to 

Fletcher, 3 Sept 74; letter, Fletcher to Proxmire, 10 Sept 74) 

The Air Force Systems Command’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) announced that it had refined computerized wind-tunnel techniques for predicting aircraft loss-of-control characteristics. AEDC correlated wind-tunnel data from a model F-15 aircraft mounted on a computer-controlled support with NASA drop-test data of a remotely controlled model. The computer predicted model response, such as stalls, to 

forces acting on it; activated the high-pitch rig to place the model in the 

appropriate position; and checked the prediction. This use of the computerized mounting system was the first without a human in the control 

cycle. (ASFC Release OIP 174.74) 

10-12 Sqtember: California Institute of Technology scientist Charles T. 

Kowal discovered a possible 13th moon of Jupiter. In photos taken with 

the Hale Observatories’ 122-cm Schmidt telescope at Mount Palomar, 

Calif., Kowal detected a 10- to 16-km moon as a pinpoint of reflected 

light 11 million km from the planet. 

Photos taken 22 Sept. from the Univ. of Arizona’s Steward Observatory and again 15 and 16 Oct. from Mount Palomar supported Kowal’s 

findings. Dr. Kaare Aksnes of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory determined the object belonged to the intermediate group of moons 

orbiting Jupiter at a distance of about 11 million km. (Alexander, LA 

Times, 20 Sept 74; Sullivan, NYT, 23 Oct 74,19) 

11 September: A declassified feasibility study by Goodyear Aerospace Corp. 

had indicated that reflector satellites 200-900 m in diameter could illuminate ground areas continuously at night, the Huntsville Times reported. 

Pointing out commercial uses, an official from Marshall Space Flight 

Center, which had managed the Project Able study, told the Times that 

potential applications included reflecting microwaves from space for 

conversion to electrical power, beaming rays on Florida’s orange groves 

should frost threaten the fruit crop, and lighting Alaska during its extended darkness. Launched on a Saturn V booster or on the space shuttle, 

a 640-mdiaY 20000-kg reflector satellite could provide twice the light 

of the full moon and raise the temperature of the area covered by several 

degrees. (Casebolt, Huntsville Times, 11 Sept 74) 

* A new artificial limb had been developed by Kennedy Space Center and 

Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in California, ICSC announced. The strap167 
11 September ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

less device was attached directly to the amputee’s bone through a carbon 

collar that remained at skin level. Originally developed for rocket motors, 

the high-purity carbon material would not cause infection in patients. 

Previously, the body’s rejection of foreign materials and the failure of 

the skin to form a hygienic seal had prevented direct attachment to the 

bone. A quick-release ball connector for the limb was based on a device 

that held rocket umbilical attachments in place until liftoff. (KSC Release 

0 Pages of the Wall Street Journal were being printed via satellite in a joint 

test program, Dow Jones & Co., Inc., and Communications Satellite Corp. 

announced. A Dow Jones composition plant in Massachusats transmitted high-resolution facsimile pages to Zntelsat-IV F-7 communications satellite in synchronous orbit 35 900 km above the Atlantic Ocean. 

The satellite relayed the data to the Dow Jones production facility in 

New Jersey for production of press plates. The test program was the 

first time the entire process from composition to printing had been 

conducted via satellite transmission. (Dow Jones-ComSatCorp Joint 

Release 7445 ; ComSatCorp PIO, interview, 1 Aug 75) 

Trace materials in Cleveland’s airborne particulate matter were not present 

in dangerous levels, but lead might approach these levels, scientists from 

Lewis Research Center reported at the Earth Environment and Resources 

Conference in Philadelphia. With the City of Cleveland’s Air Pollution 

Control Division, LeRc had conducted a two-year study using neutron 

activation and gas chromatography to determine levels of 60 trace materials. Processed by computer, levels of trace materials were related to 

wind direction in the form of maps. Sources of pollution could then be 

established by knowing which industry produced which elements and 

compounds and in what ratios. (LeRC Release 74-54) 0 Lockheed-California Co. had received a $25-million letter contract from 

Rockwell International Corp. for structural testing of the space shuttle 

orbiter, the Huntsville Times reported. (Huntsville Times, 12 Sept 74) 

13 September: Albert P. Loening, developer and manufacturer of the first 

successful amphibian plane-the Loening amphibian-in 1923, died at 

the age of 88. He had been a founding stockholder and director of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., now Grumman Corp. (NYT, 15 Sept 74, 

59) 

14 September: A Federal grand jury had charged Charles R. Riser of Maryland with mail fraud in setting up Andromeda Space Covers, a mail-order 

firm selling fake space exploration items, the Baltimore Sun reported. 

Fifteen persons had paid for golf balls driven across the moon by Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., during the January 1971 Apollo 14 mission, 

but he had used only two balls and these were still on the moon. The assistant US. attorney on the case said that astronauts might be called to 

state whether signatures on other souvenirs were authentic. (Erlandson, 

B Sun, 14 Sept 74, B20) 

15 September: Five embryonic stars in the nebula of Orion had been 

discovered by astronomers using infrared detectors attached to the Hale 

Observatories’ 254-cm telescope on Mount Wilson, the Chicago Sun-Times 

announced. California Institute of Technology and Hale scientists had 

reported that the stars, probably less than 10000 yi-s old, were about 

1600 light years from earth. (UPI, Chicago Sun-Times, 15 Sept 741 

Space engineers in India were testing subsystems for their first satellite 

launch vehicle, in preparation for eventual launch of a 40-kg satellite into 

13 4-74,) 

168 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 15 September 

near-earth orbit. All instruments and payload had been developed at 

Vikram Sarabhai space center. (Delhi Overseas Service, FBIs-India, 

17 Sept 74, U4) 

15-22 September: Arab League telecommunications representatives voted 

to establish a satellite communications system, at a meeting in Beirut, 

Lebanon. Three proposals were under consideration : Hawker Siddeley 

Group Ltd. had proposed a spacecraft similar to the Orbiting Test 

Satellite ( OTS) being developed by the European Space Research Organization. Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm had recommended a three-axis 

stabilized spacecraft. A consortium of Hughes Aircraft Co., Nippon 

Electric Co. of Japan, and Thomson-csF of France had proposed a spacecraft similar to Telesat Canada’s spin-stabilized 12-transponder Anik 

satellites. 

Meanwhile a number of nations also were moving toward domestic 

satellite systems. Algeria had begun installation of the first of 14 earth 

terminals for its domestic satellite system following award of a $9.6- 

million contract to GTE International, a subsidiary of General Telephone 

& Electronics Corp. The system would begin operations soon after 1 Jan. 

1975, when Algeria would lease one transponder from the International 

Telecommunications Satellite Organization. Brazil would begin leasing 

an Intelsat transponder for its domestic service 1 June 1975. Indonesia 

had begun development of two satellites of its own; initial terminals in a 

25-station system would be easily convertible from operation with an 

Intelsat satellite to later operation with an Indonesian comsat. Malaysia 

was purchasing three ground terminals to use Intelsat comsats. The 

Phillippine government was considering a similar plan and, with 

Malaysia, possibility of switching from an Intelsat to Indonesia’s planned 

satellite. 

Saudi Arabia had installed two terminals with 11-m-dia antennas for 

domestic service, which, with the completion of two larger stations in 

mid-1975, would be moved to remote locations for use with an Intelsat 

or the planned Arab League satellite. (Av Wk, 23 Sept 74, 23; Johnsen, 

Av Wk, 30 Sept 74, 22; Hughes contract officer, interview, 27 June 75) 

16 September: Two scientists had predicted that in 1982 a rare alignment of 

all nine planets on the same side of the sun would produce major earthquakes, Newsweek reported. In their book The Jupiter Eflect, John 

Gribbin of the British magazine Nature and Stephen Plagemann of 

Goddard Space Flight Center warned that increased solar activity caused 

by the alignment, which occurred every 179 yrs, would alter wind directions in the upper atmosphere. The frictional effect exerted on the solid 

earth by atmospheric circulation would change with the winds. The consequent braking of the earth’s rotation rate would trigger earthquakes in 

areas, like California, under geological stress. (Newsweek, 16 Sept 

Dr. John E. Naugle, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator, would receive 

the National Civil Service League’s Career Service Award for Sustained 

Excellence, NASA announced. Dr. Naugle had ioined NASA in 1959 as head 

of the Nuclear Emulsion Section at Goddard Space Flight Center and, in 

1967, had become Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Science 

at Headquarters. Under his leadership, scientists had mapped the entire 

surface of Mars, collected the first detailed information about Jupiter and 

its moons, and advanced the use of unmanned spacecraft as astronomical 

observatories. Dr. Naugle would receive the award, given to Federal 

officials with at least 10 yrs outstanding public service, on 9 Oct. 

74,57) 

169 
16 September ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Dr. Carolyn Huntoon, Johnson Space Center, would receive the 

League’s Special Achievement Award for her design of a Skylab experiment that had measured biochemical reactions to weightlessness. (NASA 

Release 741252) 

* L/G Duward L. Crow (USAF, Ret.) became NASA Assistant Administrator 

for DOD and Interagency Affairs and Special Assistant to Dr. James C. 

Fletcher, NASA Administrator. Succeding Gen. Bruce K. Hollc way ( USAF, 

Ret.), who had retired from the agency, Gen. Crow had been Assistant 

Vice Chief of Staff for the Air Force before coming to NASA. (NASA 

Release 741258) 

17 September: The channeled scabland of eastern Washington had been 

formed 20000 yrs ago by the greatest flood known to have occurred, 

the New York Times quoted U.S. Geological Survey as reporting. From 

ground scars and photographs from Erts I Earth Resources Technology 

Satellite (launched 23 July 1972), scientists had traced the flood for 

885 krn. An ice dam blocking drainage of western Montana into Idaho 

had collapsed, pouring 2000 cubic km of water down the valley of the 

Spokane River. Scars visible in satellite photographs were formed by 

erosion of surface soil and underlying basalt. As water drained, gravel 

ridges 6 to 9 m high and 3 km long had been formed. The largest channel 

was the Grand Coulee, 80 km long and 270 m deep. (Sullivan, NYT, 

17 Sept. 74; USGS PIO, interview, 12 June 75) 

NASA authorized two flight kits for Apollo-Soyuz astronauts: an official 

flight kit, containing selective items for memorabilia, and an astronaut 

preference kit, containing 20 personal items selected individually. Special 

flight items having particular significance for the mission would be 

suggested by the Director, Johnson Space Center, and approved by the 

Administrator. (NASA NMI 8020.19B) 

The congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy issued the panel 

report Transportation of Radioactive Material by Passenger Aircraft. 

The panel recommended that the transport index (the level of radiation 

in millirem per hour one meter from the surface of packages of radioactive material) be reduced from 10 to 1 and that the maximum permissible radiation at the package surface be lowered by one fourth to one 

half. Total maximum permissible quantities of curies of radionuclides 

per package should be at least 10 times lower. Improved packaging, 

installation of high-level radiation monitors in baggage compartments, 

and Federal monitoring of packages in transit from supplier to loading 

were also recommended. (Joint Com Print) 

17-18 September: The second irJ a series of balloon flights carrying development instruments for NASA’s planned High Energy Astronomy Observatory satellites reached an altitude of 38 000 m, descending 56 hrs after 

launch from Sioux City, Iowa. The balloon carried a French-Danish 

experiment to study isotopic composition of primary cosmic rays. The 

first flight, carrying the same instrument from Sioux City 27 Aug., had 

reached 31 OOO m and descended 160 km west of the launch site after 

12 hrs aloft. A third would be launched from Palestine, Tex., 17 Dec., 

carrying a Univ. of San Diego x-ray experiment; a fourth was scheduled 

for spring 1975. The flights were being coordinated by Marshall Space 

Flight Center. 

Three HEAO satellites were scheduled for Iaunch into earth orbit 

1977-1979 to study celestial x-rays, gamma rays, and cosmic rays. 

(NASA Release 74-271; MSFC proj off, interview, 12 Nov 75) 

170 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 17-20 September 

17-20 September: Telephone communications via satellite to remote areas 

of Mexico were demonstrated during the International Congress of 

Electrical and Electronic Communications. Westus 1 (launched 13 April) 

and a portable antenna-earth station developed by Hughes Aircraft Co. 

relayed signals from Isla de Cedros through Westur 1 to Western Union 

Telegraph Co.’s earth station in Texas; signals were then transmitted 

by terrestrial facilities to Mexico City. The experiment showed satellites 

could span terrain where conventional communications were difficult to 

construct and uneconomical to operate. (Western Union Release, 17 

Sept 74; Western Union PIO, interview, 6 June 75) 

18 September: Dr. Kurt H. Debus, Director of Kennedy Space Center since 

its establishment in 1962, annwnced his retirement. Born in Germany, 

Dr. Debus had begun his career in US. military and NASA space programs 

in 1945, when with Dr. Wernher von Braun he had joined the Army’s 

ballistic missile program. He had supervised the launch of the first Redstone ballistic missile in 1953 and the flight-testing of Jupiter and 

Pershing missiles and Jupiter C and Juno launch vehicles until the Army 

team was transferred to NASA in 1960. He had directed the launch of the 

first US. satellite, Explorer 1, on 31 Jan. 1958, and NASA launch programs from the flight of Alan B. Shepard, Jr., in 1961 to preparations for 

space shuttle operations. Dr. Debus had received the Louis W. Hill Space 

Transportation Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and 

Astronautics as well as the Army’s highest civilian decoration, the Exceptional Civilian Service Medal, and NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal. 

( KSC Release 135-74; Debus letter to KSC employees) 

The Senate Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee continued hearings 

on S. 2350 and S. 3484, bills to develop an operational Earth Resources 

Technology Satellite (ERTS) system and to establish an Office of Earth 

Resources Survey Systems within NASA and an Earth Resources Observation Administration within the Dept. of the Interior [see 6, 8, 9 Aug.]. 

Frank G. Zarb, Office of Management and Budget Associate Director for 

Material Resources, Energy and Science, warned against immediate development of an operational ERTS system, citing budgeting restraints and 

marginal value of current ERTS data. Since an advanced satellite offering 

higher spatial resolution would increase the usefulness of ERTS data, Zarb 

contended that the third satellite, ERTS-C, should be experimental. His 

view was supported by S. Benedict Levin, Executive Vice President of 

Earth Satellite Corp., and by John V. Granger, Acting Director of the 

Bureau of International Scientific and Technological Affairs for the State 

Dept. (Transcript) 

0 Soviet astronomers had detected a black hole several light years away in 

the center of the globular cluster Omega in the constellation Centaurus, 

Tass reported. Using the interaction effect between gravitation fields of 

globular clusters and stars, Soviet astronomer Kiriol Ogorodnikov and 

his assistant Yelena Naumova of the Univ. of Leningrad had determined 

the value of the mass of the cluster Omega Centauri to be one trillion 

times that of the sun. Since this value far exceeded the admissible density 

of all luminaries in the cluster, the scientists concluded that a black hole 

existed within the cluster. (Tass, FBIS-SOV, 19 Sept. 74, Ul) 

* West German scientist Gisbert Winnewisser announced discovery of the 

organic molecule vinyl cyanide in outer space, a possible link to the 

chemistry of living organisms. The discovery had been made with Australian Frank Gardner, using the Australian Commonwealth Science and 

171 
18 September ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Industrial Research Organization ( CSIRO) telescope. A member of the 

Max Planck Institute of Radioastronomy, Winnewisser announced the 

find at a meeting of astronomers in Wurzburg, West Germany. (Agence 

France Presse, W Post, 20 Sept. 74; Turner, Nat’l Radio Astron Obs, 

W Va, interview, 6 Aug 75) 

* Grigory Khozin of the Soviet Academy of Sciences’ Institute of US. Studies 

expressed resentment of criticism by some US. press members and others 

of Soviet motives and technical ability in the cooperative Apollo-Soyuz 

Test Project. Writing in the weekly Literaturnuya Gazeta, Khozin particularly censured suggestions of early Soviet reluctance to cooperate in 

space and of Soviet spacecraft docking difficulties, made in the recent 

book i7.S.-Soviet Cooperation in Space by former US. Ambassador to the 

U.S.S.R., Foy D. Kohler. He accused “certain US. circles” of being “glad 

to cast a shadow” on ASTP and to “smear the forthcoming joint experiment precisely because it is a joint one [and] promotes the establishment of normal relations between countries.” Khozin declared that the 

U.S.S.R., as well as US. space program leaders and “ordinary Americans,” favored further close cooperation in space. (FBIS-SOV, Sept 74, 

B2-3; Smith, NYT, 19 Sept 74) 

18 September-21 October, 24 November-14 December: Two sets of critical 

19 

surface-simulation tests were successfully conducted on the Viking lander 

proof-fl ight vehicle in a Martin Marietta Corp. thermal vacuum chamber 

under Martian temperature and pressure conditions. The tests verified 

the ability of Viking systems to withstand Martian temperatures and 

verified lander operations and ground support systems from the acquisition of a simulated Martian soil sample to analysis, interpretation, and 

reporting of data by Viking science teams. The spacecraft performed 

tasks-usjng the surface sampler, imaging system, meteorological sensors, x-ray spectrometer, seismometer, and thermal control systems-in 

temperatures ranging from 178 to 308 K (-135” to 95°F). (NASA prog 

off, interview, 21 Oct 75 ; Av Wk, 4 Nov 74,44-45) 

September: The U.S.S.R. launched eight Cosmos satellites on a single 

booster from Plesetsk, in its second eight-satellite launch of the year 

[see 23 April]. Orbital parameters were: 

Cosmos 677-1466-km apogee, 1398-km perigee, 114.5-min period, 

Cosmos 678-1533-km apogee, 1466-km perigee, 116.0-min period, 

Cosmos 679-1511-km apogee, 1466-km perigee, 115.8-min period, 

Cosmos 680-1492-km apogee, 1466-km perigee. 115.5-min period, 

Cosmos 681-1472-km apogee, 1466-km perigee, 115.3-min period, 

Cosmos 682-1466-km apogee, 1453-km perigee, 115.1-min period, 

Cosmos 683-1467-km apogee, 1434-km perigee, 114.9-min period, 

Cosmos 6861467-km apogee, 1416-km perigee, 114.7-mjn period, 

The U.S. press speculated that the satellites were part of an operational system for worldwide naval communications. ( GSFC Wkly SSR, 

and 74.0” inclination. 

74.0” inclination. 

74.0” inclination. 

74.0” inclination. 

74.0” inclination. 

74.0” inclination. 

74.0” inclination. 

74.0” inclination. 

172 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 19 September 

19-25 Sept 74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 20 Sept 74, U1; SBD, 23 Sept 74,101; 

21 Oct 74.52 

* Dr. Richard T. 'Whitcomb, Head of Langley Research Center's Transonic 

Aerodynamics Branch, had been selected to receive the 1974 Wright 

Brothers Memorial Trophy for development of the area-rule concept of 

aircraft design and invention of the supercritical wing, the National 

Aeronautic Assn. announced. Dr. Whitcomb would receive the award 

13 Dec. (NAA Release, 19 Sept 74) 

A high-temperature metal alloy and a self-lubricating. bearing material, 

both developed at Lewis Research Center, had been chosen by Industrial 

Research magazine as 2 of the 100 most significant products of the year, 

NASA announced. Composed principally of tungsten, nickel, and aluminum, the alloy was three times stronger at 1480 K (2200°F) than any 

existing commercial cast-nickel-base alloy. The bearing material-a 

product of glass, metal, and calcium fluoride-functioned at temperatures up to 1170 K (1650°F). Both products would be used for more 

efficient and cleaner turbine engines, electric-power generating systems, 

and other high-temperature devices. (LeRC Release 7451 ; Industrial 

Research, Oct 74) 

20-23 September: Mariner 10 (launched 3 Nov. 1973) encountered the 

planet Mercury a second time, with its closest approach on 21 Sept. at 

48 069 km. The objective of the second flyby was to extend photographic 

coverage of the sun side of Mercury. The spacecraft obtained some 500 

TV science photos of Mercury, with 350 additional TV pictures to support 

an optical navigation experiment. Encounter TV pictures were transmitted in real time at the rate of 117.6 kilobits per second. New photo 

mosaics would correlate incoming and outgoing portions of Mercury 

photographed during the first encounter (25 March-5 April) and provide additional views of the south polar area. In the two encounters, 

Mariner I0 had photographed 45% of Mercury's surface. Ultraviolet 

airglow scans were also made to obtain more information about Mercury's atmosphere. 

The spacecraft did not pass through either sun or earth occultation, 

and communications with the Deep Space Network stations were uninterrupted. The second flyby was adjudged successful 3 Oct. A third flyby 

was planned for March 1975. 

Preliminary results, presented at a 23 Sept. press briefing at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, indicated that scarps and evidence of volcanism observed on the first flyby were pervasive and not localized. The scabby 

hills detected on the first encounter in an area opposite the Caloris Basin 

did not reappear, suggesting that such terrain was peculiar to that site. 

(NASA MOR, 3 Oct 74; NASA Release 74248; NASA proj off, interview, 

30 June 75; Sullivan, NYT, 24 Sept 74) 

21 September: The prototype West German, British, and Italian multirole 

combat aircraft (MRCA) made its first public flight, lifting off from 

Manching, West Germany. The aircraft-product of three nations' combining technological and avionic resources to develop one model to 

fulfill six combat roles, from low-level attack to high-altitude air superiority-demonstrated its variable-geometry wing in the short flight. Fully 

extended, the wing made short takeoff and landing possible. Moved back 

at a 25" angle to the fuselage, it provided top speed of more than mach 2. 

Final decision on whether to produce the MRCA would follow 12 mos 

of testing. (Morris, LA Times, 22 Sept 74,lA) 

173 
22 September ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

22 September: The North American Air Defense Command had predicted 

more than 10 000 pieces of space clutter would be circling the earth by the 

year 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported. More than 3200 man-made 

objects were already orbiting the earth, with one object falling back to 

earth daily. More than 77% of the total had resulted from explosions of 

satellites already in orbit, NORAD said. Space exploration by countries 

other than the US. contributed to increasing space clutter. (UPI, LA 

Times, 22 Sept 74) 

23 September: A four-engine DC-8 transport using a NASA-developed twosegment approach had reduced the area impacted by noise above desirable tolerances by 53% in a normal landing approach, NASA announced. Being evaluated in service by United Air Lines, the aircraft 

was the second in regular airline service to use a steeper glide path, 

inclined 5.5" to the ground instead of 3". When the aircraft intersected 

the normal flight path, the glide path angle was decreased, with the 

landing made as usual. Both higher altitudes of the glide path and 

reduced engine power setting contributed to noise reduction. (NASA 

Release 74-226) 

Japan Rocket Development Assn., an industry group, had proposed a 

three-phase, t9-billion Japanese program to launch 65 satellites between 

1978 and 1987, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported. Nineteen 

satellites. each weighing under 300 kg, would be launched in the $3.3- 

billion Phase 1 for engineering, meteorological, geographical survey, 

communications, navigation, and ionospheric research missions. Of 25 

spacecraft in the $2.8-billion Phase 2, some would have earth resources 

survey missions. Weighing up to 600 kg, they would be launched by 

N-2 rockets incorporating McDonnell Douglas Delta 1st stages and 

two 4500-kg, Japanese-built upper stages. The first prototype N-2 was 

scheduled for summer 1975. The 21 Phase 3 satellites, some weighing 

1000 kg, would be orbited at a cost of $2.6 billion, and many would 

be launched by a Japanese 0-model launch vehicle still being designed. 

The program also called for launch trials for Japanese M-X boosters. 

(Aw Wk, 23 Sept 74,21) 

Personnel from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

operator of the solar observatory at Johnson Space Center since 1970, 

would move to Marshall Space Flight Center, JSC announced. NOAA would 

continue at MSFC as co-investigator in an experiment conducted with 

the Apollo Telescope Mount on the Skylab Workshop during its 1973- 

1974 mission. The experiment had gathered solar radiation data in the 

x-ray region of the solar spectrum. The JSC-NOAA solar observatory . would reopen for space shuttle operations. (JSC Release 74-253) 

A mainshaft seal for turbine engines was being developed at Lewis Research Center to reduce wear, maintenance, and fuel consumption. By 

creating a thin gas film, the self-acting lift-pad seal eliminated contact 

between the seal bore and the rotating shaft shoulder except at startup 

and shutdown. The seal functioned at higher pressures, speeds, and 

temperatures than conventional contact seals and, with its low wear 

and leak rate, would be used in the NASA space shuttle liquid-oxygen 

pump. ( L~RC Release 74-55) 

* Westinghouse Gorp. subsidiary TCom Tnc. (for Tethered Communications) was testing the aerostat, an inexpensive alternative to earthorbiting satellites, Time reported. Developed from signal-relay balloons 

174 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 23 September 

used for reaching isolated US. outposts in Vietnam, the aerostat was a 

helium-filled balloon anchored at altitudes of 3000-5000 m. In the Bahamas, an aerostat at a 3500-m altitude picked up signals from Miami 

180 km away, trebling the range of Florida stations. With its 1800 kg 

of electronic equipment, the aerostat could receive and broadcast up to 

4 TV channels, 2 command radio stations, and data from 5000 to 10 000 

microwave circuits. (Time, 23 Sept 74) 

President Ford outlined “Project Interdependence,” a global approach to 

the energy problem, in his address to the ninth annual World Energy 

Conference in Detroit. The President proposed that all nations increase 

production, reduce consumption, and eliminate waste of energy; that 

a cooperative spirit exist; that poor nations receive special attention; 

and that fuel prices reach a level providing strong incentives to producers without disrupting consumer economics. 

Describing US. mobilization to achieve long-term goals, the President 

said the energy program would require “a commitment in excess of the 

successful one made by John F. Kennedy to put a man on the Moon in 

the last decade.” (PD, 30 Sept 74,1181-6) 

* The Global Atmospheric Research Program Atlantic Tropical Experiment 

(GATE) ended its operations off the coast of Senegal [see 15 June23 Sept.]. ( NOAA Release 74-154) 

24 September: Flight Research Center’s highly instrumented F-111 aircraft, 

to be used to test the integrated propulsion control system (IPCS) , made 

its first baseline flight to gather data on the engine’s inlets and exhaust 

controls. Data would be used by NASA in support of the program and by 

Boeing Co., which would build the system. (FRC X-Press, 27 Sept 74, 

2; FRC PIO, interview, 17 June 75) 

* NASA had designated Marshall Space Flight Center as lead Center for NASA 

activities under the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act signed 

into law 3 Sept., MSFC announced. The Center would work under the 

direction of the NASA Hq. Office of Energy Programs. (MSFC Release 

74-175) 

25 September: A helical rotary-screw expander that could be used to tap 

geothermal energy of hot aquifers under deserts for low-cost energy was 

described at a National Science Foundation conference at California 

Institute of Technology. The invention of Pasadena engineer Roger S. 

Sprankle was the first electrical power-generating system to use the 

entire amount of energy available in geothermally heated water and 

might reduce production costs 50%. Tested by Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

and Hydrothermal Power Co., the Sprankle system’s rotary screws 

filtered impurities to make maximum use of the steady flow of pumped 

water. Once the geothermally heated water flowed through the screw 

expanders, the liquid dropped in pressure and temperature as water 

vaporized. The increasing mass flow of vapor turned rotors with an 

output shaft linked to an electric generator. (Caltech-JPL Release, 25 

Sept 74) 

26 September: The U.S.S.R. announced the mission of the Salyut 3 space station (launched 25 June) had been “completely fulfilled.” The ‘‘main 

program of work” had ended 23 Sept. and the recoverable module containing research materials and experiments had separated from Salyut 3. 

Engines were discarded before entry into the atmosphere, and the 

parachute system was activated at an altitude of 8.4 km to land the 

module in a preset area of the U.S.S.R. Salyut 3 plans had been for a 

175 
26 September ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

90-day mission but the station would continue in orbit €or more 

experimentation. 

Equipment tested during the 90-day flight included power supply 

systems with revolving panels of solar batteries, an electromechanical 

stabilizing system, a high-precision control system, an autonomous 

navigation system, thermoregulating life-support and radio communication systems, and engine systems. 

A two-man crew aboard Soyuz 14 (launched 3 July) had successfully 

docked with the orbiting station 5 July for 15 days of scientific experimentation. However, the press reported Western observers doubted that 

Salyut 3 had accomplished its entire mission, since the Soyuz 15 cosmonauts (launched 26 Aug.) had failed to dock with the station. (Tass 

FBIS-SOV, 27 Sept 74, U1-2; W Post, 27 Sept 74, A22; SBD, 21 Sept 

74,132) 

The House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on 

Aeronautics and Space Technology, reporting on almost a year’s investigation of NASA’s tracking and data acquisition program, said the program 

was effective and efficient and that planned consolidation was progressing 

well. The consolidation, to be completed by 1976 with a reduction of 

stations from 25 to 15, would combine the Manned Space Flight Network 

and the Space Tracking and Data Acquisition Network into one Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network ( STDN) . The Subcommittee recommended that the FY 1976 NASA Authorization request include a detailed 

analysis of the need for an additional subnet of three 64-m antennas for 

the Deep Space Network and report on the status of relations and 

agreements with the U.S.S.R. The Subcommittee warned that NASA’S T&DA 

capabilities were not designed for the workload that future operational 

systems would require; solutions should be studied by the President’s 

Science Adviser. NASA was asked to furnish an analysis of lease versus 

purchase of satellites for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System 

( TDRSS) in its FY 1975 authorization request. (Com Print) 

27 September: Ats 6 Applications Technology Satellite (launched 30 May) 

and Sms 1 Synchronous Meteorological Satellite (launched 17 May) 

had caused substantial interference for radio telescopes in the US., 

Canada, and Great Britain, the Vashington Post reported. Stars in the 

southwest sky with radio frequencies near those of the satellites could 

not be studied. Dr. Frank Kerr, spokesman for the National Academy of 

Sciences Committee on Radio Frequencies, described failed communications between NASA and radio astronomers. The astronomers had learned 

that Ats 6 would interfere with study of the sun, pulsars, and quasars 

only when it was too late to change the satellite’s transmitter and that 

Sms 1 would overlap radio telescope signals only after the satellite had 

begun sending back weather pictures 17 May. (O’Toole, W Post, 27 

Sept 74) 0 DeElroy E. Beeler, Flight Research Center Director for Center Development, 

left NASA to join private industry after 28 yrs of service. Beeler had 

joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1941, 

specializing in high-speed aeronautics. He was appointed project engineer for the X-1, the world’s first aircraft to reach supersonic speeds, 

and transferred in 1946 to what was to become FRC. There he was 

instrumental in research planning, design, and flight investigations of 

advanced research aircraft projects through X-15 and XB-70. In 1954 

176 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 27 September 

Beeler was named FRC’s first Director of Research and in 1958 he became 

Deputy Director, a position he held until 1973. ( FRC X-Press, 27 Sept 74, 

2; NASA biog, 25 July 63) 

Facilities at Marshall Space Flight Center were being modified to consolidate Concept Verification Test ( CTV) simulation in a central location. 

The CTV project would determine by testing in simulators whether concepts generated during definition studies for space activities, especially 

Spacelab experiments, were valid, before’ commitments to proceed 

with final design and hardware fabrication. ( MSFC Release 76178) 

29 September: A robot with an artificial intelligence for making independent 

decisions in environments hostile to man was being developed at Jet 

Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology to prove 

the feasibility of using robots for planetary exploration. The planned 

rover would be equipped with metal arms and hands, a visual system 

of two TV cameras and a laser, wheels for legs, and thousands of instructions programmed into its computer brain. It would be able to 

analyze a scene, extract information from it, make some choices, and 

move around obstacles. (NASA Release 74-260) 

30 September: NASA’s Explorer 45 ( SSS-A Small Scientific Satellite launched 

15 Nov. 1971) was turned off. The spacecraft had been investigating the 

causes of worldwide magnetic disturbances associated with large solar 

flares. Major accomplishments of Explorer 45 included the first measurement by satellite of man-made stimulated electromagnetic emissions in 

the magnetosphere; first measurements of alpha particles in the equatorial region of the magnetosphere, where they were 100 times more 

numerous than expected; first detailed analysis of the interaction of 

electromagnetic waves with charged particles ; measurement of the 

earth’s ring current, which produced the magnetic storm main phase; and 

measurement of the closest approach to the earth of the boundary of the 

magnetosphere at about 25 000-km altitude. (Goddard News, Nov 74) 

30 September4 October: The fourth simulated Spacelab mission of the airborne science-shuttle experiment system simulation ( ASSESS) program 

was conducted at Marshall Ssace Flight Center wine: an Ames Research 

30 

Center Learjet. The Lear 4 mission was the first in Ghich substitute experiment operators were trained as crewmen. Their performance would 

be compared with that of the principal investigator and his team during 

previous missions. During 10 nighttime flights into the base of the 

stratosphere, the crew measured infrared radiation at selected wavelengths from targets believed to be forming new stars. (MSFC Release 

76185) 

September-5 October: A seminar to predict the probable state of the 

world in the year 2000 was held by the Smithsonian Institution for NASA 

as part of NASA’s “Outlook for Space” study begun during June. Experts 

from various fields discussed a new age-oriented global culture, the probability of widespread famine, the prolonged disruption of technological 

economies by high oil prices, and the spread of nuclear power beyond 

control of the great powers. Seminar participants concluded that the 

intensification of nationalism would continue, particularly in response 

to economic stresses. Speakers from the high-technology sector, however, stressed that the US. would not have to suffer from scarcity of 

resources, although resource extraction would be more expensive and 

would require new technology. 

177 
30 September-5 October ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

SateIIite reconnaissance to find mineral resources and to monitor 

threats to the global environment would still be necessary. The group 

also proposed surveillance to track all asteroids crossing the earth’s 

orbit so that the impact of an asteroid might not be mistaken for a 

nuclear attack. Communications satellites were considered both useful 

for uniting countries and dangerous in their potential to increase threats 

of demagoguery. Many participants agreed that the time for uncontrolled 

free enterprise was passing and that we would require independent agencies for both planning and technology assessment, exempt from the 

special interests of particular government departments. Specialists also 

proposed that NASA’s planning and analytical abilities be applied to 

nationaI concerns in their full complexity, taking into account world 

economic, political, and social problems. (Sullivan, NYT, 8 oct 74, 

16; GSFC proj off, interview, 13 Aug 75) 

The International Aeronautical Federation held its 25th Congress in 

Amsterdam with the theme “Space Stations, Present and Future.” Among 

speakers, Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford and Cosmonaut Aleksey A. 

Leonov, US. and Soviet commanders in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 

stressed how well joint work and understanding had advanced. A paper 

by Daniel J. Shramo of Lewis Research Center, with B. R. Foushee and 

P. J. O’Leary of General Dynamics Corp. Convair Div., described the 

Centaur primary upper stage for solar system exploration and its potential adaptation as an upper stage for the space shuttle. 

A Ukranian Academy of Sciences research team reported on experiments in the formation of melts in weightlessness with radiant heating 

and on prospects of using solar energy for space engineering. Comparative studies of metal solidification had suggested that a more uniform 

distribution of short-grained structures under weightlessness might become the basis of space technology, with the added attraction of using 

the sun as an energy source. The team had built a prototype solar plant 

that could be mounted on a spacecraft or used in a vacuum chamber on 

the earth. 

Soviet medical investigations during the flights of Soyuz 12 (launched 

27 Sept. 1973), Soyuz 13 (18 Dee. 1973), and Soyuz 14 (3 July) were 

reported by Dr. Oleg G. Gazenko and others. Findings indicated that 

prolonged exercises, full and partial spacesuits, and gravity-simulating 

fittings had reduced effects of weightlessness during the space flight and 

after the crew’s return. Although reports of initial adaptation symptoms 

were similar to American findings, the Soviet paper also noted that cosmonauts had reduced vestibular symptoms by deliberately slowing down 

movements, especially head movements. 

Prof. Hilding A. Bjurstedt, Head of the Dept. of Aviation Medicine 

at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, received the 1974 Daniel and 

Florence Guggenheim International Astronautics Award of the International Academy of Astronautics €or studies of physiological responses 

to environmental stress. 

Leonard Jaffe, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Applications, 

was elected IAF President (IAA Ann Rpt, 28 Aug 74; Parks, SF, Feb 75, 

4SO; Program, 25th IAF Congress; NASA Activities, 15 Dec 74, 21) 

During September: Large-scale verification tests of the “rectenna” receiving 

system for microwave energy transmission were run at Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory for NASA. A microwave energy transmission system was 

178 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 During September 

being developed to determine the possibility of transmitting energy 

through space. The tests established a new record for microwave power 

transmission, delivering one kilowatt over a 1.6-km range. The 10-yr 

program had increased DC-to-DC efficiency of transmissions from 17% to 

50% and efficiency of the rectenna in converting radio frequency to 

DC from 25% to 78%. (NASA Gen Mgt Rev Rpt, 15 Oct 74, 57-60) 

* Interstellar space flight appeared possible, British Interplanetary Society 

engineers and scientists concluded after the first 15 mos of a study to establish the feasibility of flight outside the solar system. Costs would be 

high, but so far none of the engineering difficulties seemed insoluble. 

The chief limitation that might delay such a project was the low natural 

abundance of helium 3 for the nuclear microbombs proposed for propulsion. 

The Project Daedalus study had taken the star Barnard, six light 

years away, as a theoretical target. The journey was to be limited to 30- 

40 yrs, a working lifetime. To achieve the necessary 51 000-km-per-sec 

velocity, BIS scientists proposed a starship driven by a series of controlled nuclear explosions-each equivalent to 90 tons of TNT-occurring 

at the rate of 250 per sec. Microbombs, small pellets of nuclear fuel, 

would be compressed and heated to detonation point by electron beams. 

The rocket-powered boost phase would last 5 yrs, followed by a 35-yr 

coast. During flyby of Barnard, 10-20 probes would be released to 

search for inner planets and moons, sending back information to the 

mother ship for transmission to the earth. 

NASA had studied the nuclear-pulse propulsion concept for interplanetary exploration through a General Dynamics Corp. contract in 1963, 

but had suspended the study because of costs and the Nuclear Test Ban 

Treaty. (Gatland, SF, Sept 74, 356-358; A&A 1963,1964,1965) 

179 

October 1974 

I October: U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet Presidium Chairman Nikolay V. Podgorny presented the highest Soviet award, the Order of Lenin, to Cosmonauts Pave1 R. Popovich, Yury P. Artyukhin, Gennady V. Sarafanov, 

and Lev S. Demin. Popovich and Artyukhin were honored for their 15- 

day mission in the Salyut 3 orbital scientific station and Soyuz 14 transport craft (launched 3 July to join the Salyut 3, launched 25 June). 

Sarafanov and Demin were recognized for their Soyuz 15 flight (launched 

26 Aug.) , during which they experimented in maneuvering and docking 

with Salyut 3 before landing on land at night. Popovich, already a Hero of 

the Soviet Union, was also awarded the Second Gold Star Medal. Artyukhin, Sarafanov, and Demin were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet 

Union, Gold Star Medals, and Badges of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the U.S.S.R. 

(FBIS-SOV, 2Oct 74, Ul) 

1-7 October: Astronaut-physician Dr. F. Story Musgrave and Dr. Dennis R. 

Morrison of Johnson Space Center’s Bioscience Payloads Office spent one 

week in a mockup Spacelab at JSC in a shakedown’test of operational 

procedures and experiments. Spacelab, a scientific space laboratory, was 

being developed and built by the European Space Research Organization for orbital missions aboard NASA’s space shuttle. A rehearsal for future tests and a means of perfecting operational procedures, this first 

test also evaluated proposed space shuttle ground support and flight crew 

operational procedures, data-handling techniques, man-machine integration, and biomedical demonstrations representative of Spacelab medical 

experiments. (JSC Release 74-255; JSC Roundup, 11 Oct 74, 1) 

2 October: Roy E. Anderson, General Electric Co. Research and Development 

Center engineer, demonstrated the potential of geostationary satellites 

for search-and-rescue missions. Standing on the NASA Hq. steps in Washington, D.C., and using an ordinary walkie-talkie aided by an antenna 

built on the frame of a golfer’s umbrella, Anderson beamed a message to 

GE’s Radio-Optical Observatory in Schenectady, N.Y., via NASA’s Ats 3 

Applications Technology Satellite. The inexpensive, 1.4-kg antenna increased the normal eight-kilometer range of the walkie-talkie more than 

10 000 times. Anderson suggested that a global search-and-rescue system, covering all but the polar regions, would require only six geostationary satellites. The necessary transponder could be attached to any communications satellite and would draw only a small portion of the satellite’s 

power. (GE Release, 2 Oct 74; AP, B Sun, 3 Oct 74, A3) 

Rockwell International Corp. Space Division, prime contractor for the 

space shuttle orbiter, signed a $16.5-million supplemental agreement with 

NASA. This 27th supplemental agreement since the contract was awarded 

9 Aug. 1972 brought the estimated contract value to ~$995 million. It 

incorporated authorization for sneak circuit analysis, vertical flight-test 

support, midfuselage mockups, integration of all shuttle elements, and 

other changes. ( JSC Release 74-258) 

181 
2 October ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Skynet IIB, United Kingdom military communications satellite, arrived at 

Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for November launch by NASA on a 

Thor-Delta launch vehicle. NASA had launched Shynet A and B in 1970. 

Skynet IIA, launched 18 Jan. 1974 into too low an orbit, had reentered 

the atmosphere. (Spaceport News, 18 Oct 74) 

3 October: A spherical object from Cosmos 654 satellite was reported recovered in Ohio. Cosmos 654, launched 17 May 1974, had been reported 

by the press as a Soviet ocean surveillance satellite. The debris was 

believed to have been a portion of the staging system used to move the 

craft from its initial low, near-circular orbit into a higher, longer life 

orbit with a 1022-km apogee and 915-km perigee. There the nuclear 

systems required for ocean surveillance radar equipment and sensors 

could decay naturally before the orbit decayed years in the future. 

(SBD, 3 oct 74, 164-5; GSFC SSR, 31 oct 74) 

3, 4, 9 October: The House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications held hearings on H.R. 

14978 and H.R. 15781, bills to establish offices in the Dept. of the Interior 

and NASA to operate an Earth Resources Survey System. Hugh T. Loweth, 

Deputy Associate Director for Energy and Science of the Office of Management and Budget, testified that more experimentation was needed 

before the Earth Resources Technology Satellite program entered the 

operational phase, but witnesses from industry and other agencies of 

Government recommended accelerating the program immediately. Dr. 

Rocco A. Petrone, NASA Associate Administrator, and Charles A. 

Mathews, Associate Administrator for Applications, opposed adoption 

of the bills, stressing NASA’s desire for “an evolutionary approach” that 

minimized an artifical distinction between experimental and operational 

satellites and concentrated instead on immediate dissemination of data 

and simultaneous improvement of the system [see 6, 8, 9 Aug. and 

18 Sept.] . (Testimony) 

4 October: Dr. Lowell J. Paige was named Acting Deputy Director of the 

National Science Foundation by NSF Director H. Guyford Stever. He 

would succeed Dr. Raymond L. Bisplinghoff, who had announced his 

resignation 17 July. ( NSF Release 74-206) 

5 October: Scientists using the 305-m dish antenna at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico had discovered a pulsar-a pulsating radio 

source-orbiting a companion celestial object in the constellation Aquila, 

the New Yorh Times reported. Both pulsar and the object weighed as 

much as the sun but were only a few kilometers in diameter. It was the 

first pulsar discovered circling another object, a phenomenon which made 

it possible for scientists to estimate its mass. Its orbit had been calculated from the slight variations in its pulse rate. While it was possible 

that the companion was a black hole, scientists thought it more likely 

that both were neutron stars and a search was continuing to find out 

if the companion was a very weak pulsar. (Sullivan, NYT, 5 Oct 74, 50) 

5-13 October: Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, visited Japan to 

discuss U.S. and Japanese space programs and evaluate opportunities 

for cooperation. He met with representatives of government agencies, 

the scientific community, and Japan’s Federation of Economic Organizations and visited Tanegashima Space Center and the Uchinoura Space 

Center at Kagoshima. (NASA Release 74c276; NASA Activities, 15 

Nov 74, 23-4) 

182 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 7 October 

7 October: NASA adjudged the mission of Nom 3 (ITOS-F, launched 6 Nov. 

1973) successful. NASA mission objectives-to launch the spacecraft 

into sun-synchronous orbit of sufEcient accuracy for the operational 

mission, to evaluate and check out the spacecraft in orbit, and to turn 

operational control over to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-had been accomplished. (NASA MOR, 8 Oct 74) 

* Robert Hotz, in an Aviation Week editorial, praised the “stabilizing and 

peace-keeping functions” of the large US. military space program. 

Scoring the “official government hypocrisy about our non-military space 

program,” Hotz argued the Eisenhower Administration’s attempt to 

separate civilian and military roles in space had “persisted to this day 

and badly impaired and obscured the truly peaceful role played by 

military space vehicles.” Air Force boosters and military-trained astronauts and managers had played key roles in NASA programs. Military 

reconnaissance satellites and early warning satellites added up to “one 

of the biggest forces in deterring major aggression and keeping as 

much peace as there is left in the world.” In contrast, claimed Hotz, the 

Soviet Union “never made any pretense of separating its military and 

scientific space activities” and had gone beyond reconnaissance satellites into “offensive space weapons.” (Av Wk, 7 Oct 74,ll) 

8 October: Astronaut Henry W. Hartsfield was presented the Gen. Thomas 

D. White Space Trophy for 1973 by Secretary of the Air Force John L. 

Mctucas in a ceremony at National Geographic Society Headquarters. 

Hartsfield received the trophy-presented annually to the Air Force 

employee who made the most significant contribution to US. progress 

in spacsfor his part in saving the $2.5-billion Skylab program. Hartsfield, serving as capsule communicator during the Skylab 2 mission 

(25 May-22 June 1973), played a key role in preparing and evaluating 

crew procedures and equipment for transporting, installing, and deploying the parasol sunshade to protect the Skylab Orbital Workshop after 

it had been damaged during its 14 May 1973 launch. Hartsfield also 

had been instrumental in developing procedures for installation by the 

Skylab 3 crew (launched 28 July 1973) of a compact, lightweight replacement package for the failing gyroscopes in the Skylab attitude control 

system. (NGS Release, 8 Oct 74) 

The House agreed to H. Res. 988, the Committee Reform Amendments of 

1974, by a 35940-7 vote, reorganizing House committee jurisdictions 

and procedures. The name of the Committee on Science and Astronautics 

was changed to Committee on Science and Technology effective 3 Jan. 

1975, and the Committee’s jurisdiction was broadened to include all 

research and development in non-nuclear energy, environment, weather, 

and aviation, with special oversight over all nonmilitary Federal R&D. 

Legislative responsibility fgr the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration would be shared with the Committee on Merchant 

Marine and Fisheries. Responsibility for Federal Aviation Administration civil aviation =D programs would be added to that for NASA% 

aeronautical R&D. Major emphasis on the civilian national space program would continue. (CR, 8 Oct 74, D1210-11, H10146-69; 17 Feb 

75, 534-53 House Corn Staff interview, 24 March 76) 

* President Ford @ped an $82.1-billion FY 1975 Dept. of Defense appropriation bill, almost $5 billion below the Administration request. The 

183 
8 October ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

conference committee bill had been approved by the House 23 Sept. and 

the Senate 24 Sept. Research, development, test, and evaluation funds 

included $445 million for the €3-1 advanced strategic bomber, clearing 

the way for construction of a fourth developmental prototype during 

FY 1975. The Navy VFAX fighter program was allocated $20 million for 

adaptation of the air combat fighter to be selected by the Air Forceeither the General Dynamics Corp. YF-16 or the Northrop Corp. YF-17. 

Other funds included $81.4 million for six A-10 close-air-support R&D 

aircraft (in addition to $138 million for purchase uf 25 production 

aircraft) ; $175 million for F-15 air superiority fighter R&D, and $8.6 

million for Navy V/STOL development. (PD, 14 Oct 74, 1250; CR, 23 

Sept 74, D1125; 24 Sept 74, D1130; Av Wk, 23 Sept 74,174) 

8-9 October: Marshall Space Flight Center hosted its Second Annual Research and Technology Review. Dr. William J. Patterson of MSFC’S 

Materials and Processes Laboratory reported the development of polyimide laminates to replace epoxy printed wiring boards for high-reliability electronic circuits. The polyimides could overcome cracking that 

had caused Saturn and Skylab electronic problems. A contract has been 

negotiated to demonstrate the practicability of commercial production. 

Lewis L; Lacey and Iva C. Yates, Jr., of MSFC’S Space Sciences Laboratory reported Skylab experiments had demonstrated that dispersed immiscible liquid emulsions were much more stable in the low-gravity 

environment of space than on the earth and that processing immiscible 

metals in low g could lead to new alloys with unique electrical properties. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project experiments were planned to develop 

techniques for future alloy-processing experiments on Spacelab. 

Donald Stone of MSFC’S Electronics and Control Laboratory reported a scanning laser radar for automatic rendezvous and docking had been 

tested for possible use on the space shuttle, space tug, and solar electric 

propulsion stage. Plans called for delivery of the radar to a simulator 

of the space tug flight system for evaluation under conditions similar 

to actual use. (Proceedings ; MSFC Release 74-182) 

8-10 October: The Spacelab Operations Working Group held its first meeting, at Marshall Space Flight Center. Representatives of four NASA Centers, NASA Hq., and the European Space Research Organization began 

planning technical documentation, requirements review, operations, and 

safety for the European pressurized laboratory that would be carried 

on the space shuttle. (NASA, spacelab Newsletter 74-7) 

9 October: The House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Aeronautics and Space Technology reported on prospects for 

Advanced Nuclear Research in the wake of the February 1972 termination of the NERVA nuclear rocket program and the FY 1974 reductions 

in nuclear power and propulsion research brought by NASA budget cuts. 

Concerned lest the $1.5 billion invested in these programs since NASA 

took charge of them in 1958 be entirely lost, the Subcommittee had held 

hearings 7 Feb. 1974 to determine how to maintain a research capability 

and to ensure that results of the previous R&D would be used toward solving critical energy problems. The Subcommittee was “disappointed” 

that the AEC-NASA Space Nuclear Systems Office had been abolished. 

Witnesses from industry, NASA, and AEC described work being done in 

thermionic technology, plasma-core reactor research, high-temperature 

gas-cooled reactors, and medium-power reactor systems. The Subcom 

mittee concluded that, though funding in these fields was modest, “the 

184 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 9 October 

potential benefits [were] enormous in scope and magnitude." While the 

traditional R&D areas were becoming less well defined for the various 

agencies, the Subcommittee found the greater portion of the funds for the 

programs should go to AEC rather than to NASA. 

The Subcommittee recommended: (1) NASA should continue, and 

expand as its budget permitted, its advanced nuclear research in 

potential energy applications. (2) NASA should continue complementary 

arrangements with other Federal agencies, especially AEC. (3) The 

Joint Committee on Atomic Energy should evaluate the Subcommittee 

findings. (4) NASA and AEC should jointly investigate and report how 

nuclear power and propulsion R&D had been used and how data was 

stored. And (5) NASA and AEC should expand industrial participation. 

(Com Print) 

* Marshall Space Flight Center held a final review of the Zero-Gravity 

Atmospheric Cloud Physics Project Phase A Definition Study. The study 

established the feasibility of atmospheric cloud physics research on 

Spacelab and recommended preparation of a Phase B study. (MSFC 

Orbital & Space Environmental Br, interview, 6 Aug 75; MSFC Release 

7&181) 

9-10 October: The fourth flight of the balloon-borne ultraviolet stellar spectrometer (BUSS) provided the best test results yet of the candidate telescope experiment for the space shuttle. The National Scientific Balloon 

Facility of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) at 

Palestine, Tex., launched the 91-m tall, 440 000-cum, heliumfilled 

balloon, which carried a telescope, Ebert-Fastie spectrometer, detector, 

star-pointing-and-control system, and telemetry and command system to 

40 000-m altitude. During five hours at that altitude the instruments observed seven stars in uv wavelengths. The stars included one giant 

star and three super giants. Dr. Yoji Kondo of Johnson Space Center's 

Astrophysics Section, principal investigator for the experiment, said 

the flight was free of environment and hardware problems and its 

success marked a new stage in balloon-borne astronomical observation 

after past high failure rates. Data would be combined with other observations for better information on the structure, atmosphere, and 

evolution of a variety of stars. The mission also evaluated state-ofthe-art detector and tracking performance, flexibility of attaching instrumentation to a general-purpose telescope platform, and developing 

real-time, man-in-the-loop data acquisition, evaluation, and ground 

operations. (Kondo interview, 1 Oct 75; JSC Release 74-254; Bulban, 

Av Wk, 2 Dec 74,435) 

9-25 October: Johnson Space Center Flight Operations Aircraft Div. completed the first mission of Project Airstream, gathering high-altitude 

gaseous and particulate samples from the upper atmosphere in the Western Hemisphere with the NASA high-altitude WB-57F aircraft. Sampling 

@ssions, flown for the Atomic Energy Commission and the Dept. of 

Transportation, allowed AEC to determine the global distribution of 

atmospheric nuclear weapon test debris, both gaseous and particulate. 

Nine NASA crewmen alternated in the 14 flights of the first mission, logging 51 500 km in all. ( JSC Release 74c269) 

10-30 October: NASA launched Westar 2 (Westar-B) , the second U.S. commercial domestic communications satellite, for Western Union Telegraph Co. from Eastern Test Range at 6:53 pm EDT on a Thor-Delta 

launch vehicle. me satellite was placed in a close-to-planned transfer 

185 
10-30 October ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

orbit with a 36 107-km apogee, 231-Ign perigee, and 24.76” inclination. 

The apogee kick motor, fired 13 Oct., circularized the orbit with 35 766- 

km apogee, 35 24d&m perigee, 23-hr 42-min period, and 0.5” inclination. By 25 Nov. the comsat was operating normally at its station at about 

90” W longitude above the equator. 

The launch had been twice delayed, once for investigation of the 

entire Delta program and once for a last minute check of a connector 

pin. When launched, the vehicle performed as planned with two minor 

exceptions (both due to human error) : the 2ndstage cold-gas redundant altitude-control system switched from primary to backup nozzles 

because the guidance system had been programmed with too low a 

moment threshold and the umbilical end fitting was damaged becanse 

a tether had been improperly installed. Neither problem compromised the 

NASA mission objective: to place the satellite in an orbit of su5cient 

accuracy for transfer into a stationary synchronous orbit while retaining sufficient stationkeeping propulsion to meet the mission lifetime 

requirements. The objective was met, and the mission was adjudged 

successful 30 Oct. 

Westar 2 joined Westar 1, launched 13 April 1974 and later placed in 

geosynchronous orbit at 99” W longitude. The Westar Satellite Communications System-consisting of Westar 1 and 2, a third satellite for 

later launch, and five ground stations-had the potential for generalpurpose telecommunications throughout the continental US., Alaska, 

Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Western Union planned to make the system 

available to all users, largely through leasing the voice, TV, and data 

transmitting services. NASA would be reimbursed for the launch. (NASA 

MORS, 1, 25 Nov 74; NASA Releases 74147,74265; Westar Release, 12 

Sept 74; SBD, 11 Oct 74, 214) 

10 October: An electric rocket engine that short-circuited aboard Sert ZZ 

Space Electric Rocket Test satellite in 1970 had been restarted in space 

and successfully operated for six weeks, scientists at Lewis Research 

Center reported. Launched 3 Feb. 1970 to demonstrate that electric 

propulsion could be used for future space missions, Sert ZZ was to have 

operated an ion engine for six months in space. Engine thruster 2 

shut down after less than three months of operation; thruster 1 performed 

for five months. Both failures were attributed to a small chip apparently 

eroded from a molybdenum grid and lodged between two grids at the 

back of the engine. William R. Kerslake, Sert U experiment manager, 

believed the chip was jarred loose in summer 1974 when the spacecraft 

was spun up by its cold-gas thruster system to obtain a better sun angle 

for solar arrays. Since then, the thruster had been operated successfully 

on 17 occasions for short periods, obtaining up to 80% of its maximum 

thrust. Electrical Propulsion Branch Chief Robert C. Finke said operation 

after 41/2 years proved “the long term storability of this thruster design” 

and indicated that the system could be “confidently incorporated into 

future missions requiring several years of thruster operation.” (LeRC 

Release 74-60) 

NASA had deleted a backup Viking lander spacecraft and would substitute 

the proof test orbiter for one of two flight orbiters to help offset significant cost increases and meet target dates for the two 1975 missions to 

explore the planet Mars, NASA reported to Speaker of the House Carl AIbert. Technical problems in the guidance-and-control computer, biology 

instruinent, and lander proof-test capsule qualification had delayed com186 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 10 October 

pletion of the landers, made the schedule “extremely tight,” and increased 

costs an estimated $48.8 million over the $89 million in the FY 1975 

budget. NASA notified the House that it planned to use for Viking 

$48.8 million available from the Skylab program after its succe~sful 

completion. (Text in Viking Proj Hearings, House Subcom on Space 

Science, 21-2 Nov 74) 

NASA was negotiating two 11-mo study contracts for assessing methods of 

producing electric power from coal. Funded by the National Science 

Foundation, Dept. of Interior, and NASA, the program would compare 

costs and impact on the environment of such energy systems as a 

potassium Rankine topping cycle, advanced steam plants, open and 

closed cycle gas turbine systems, supercritical carbon dioxide systems, 

magnetohydrodynamic systems, and fuel cells. Westinghouse Corp. 

and General Electric Co. had been selected to make the studies, to 

provide data for a Lewis Research Center energy systems model for 

evaluating variables. (NASA Release 74-273) 

11 October: A modified Piper Seneca aircraft completed the first test flight 

of a new general-aviation wing, the GAW-1 developed at Langley Research Center. A derivative of the supercritical airfoil, also developed 

at L~RC, the new wing showed potential for lift increases up to 30%. 

The lift-to-drag ratio was increased about 50%. In addition to the lowspeed airfoil, the new wing design had a 25% reduction in area, tapered 

planform, full-span Fowler flaps, and spoilers for roll control instead 

of conventional ailerons. (Mgr, NASA Gen Aviation Tech Off, interview, 

25 July 74; NASA Release 74-227) 

A NASA design study for the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development’s 

modular integrated utility system ( MIUS) program had revealed the 

MIUS design could save 3376 over conventional practices in providing 

utility services to a 648-living-unit garden apartment complex in Houston,’Johnson Space Center reported. JSC had reported this result and 

similar savings from other studies at a recent two-day conference on 

technology transfer in Houston. (JSC Roundup, 11 Oct 74) 

0 President Ford signed into law the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 

(P.L. 93-438) , abolishing the Atomic Energy Commission and establishing in its place three new Federal entities: the Energy Research and 

Development Administration, the Energy Resources Council, and the 

*Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The President also signed Executive 

Order 11841, activating the Energy Resources Council and appointing 

the Secretary of the Interior its Chairman. P.L. 93438 was to become 

effective not later than 120 days after signature. (PD, 14 Oct 74,1271-3; 

CRY 8 Oct 74, H10134) 

15-30 October: The United Kingdom’s Ariel 5 (UK-5) satellite was launched 

on a NASA Scout vehicle at 10:47 am local time (3:47 am EDT) by a 

team of Italian engineers at the San Marco launch facility off the coast 

of Kenya. Orbital parameters were 569.5-km apogee, 502.0-km perigee, 

95.4-min period, and 2.86” inclination. After completion of checkout, 

routine experiment and spacecraft operations began 30 Oct. 

Ariel 5-a 132-kg, solar-powered, 16-sided polygon designed by the 

U.K.-was the fifth satellite launched in a cooperative program between 

NASA and the U.K. Science Research Council. The mission of its oneyear operating life was to study x-ray sources both within and beyond 

our galaxy, using five experiments from U.K. and one from Goddard 

Space Flight Center. Instruments were designed to follow up findings of 

187 
15-30 October ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Uhuru (Explorer 42), launched 12 Dec. 1970, and Oao 3, launched 

21 Aug. 1971. Uhuru had extended the number of known celestial x-ray 

sources from about 30 to 200 and found evidence of a black hole companion to Cygnus X-1, later supported by Oao 3, sounding rocket, and 

ground-based observations. Four Ariel 5 pointing experiments focused 

on specific x-ray sources, and two scanning experiments swept the entire 

galaxy with every revolution. The GSFC scanning experiment-first of 

its kind to fly on an orbiting scientific satellite-consisted of two x-ray 

pinhole cameras, each with a 90’ field of view, providing together a 

sweep of the entire sky. After evaluation, Ariel 5 results would be available to the world scientific community. 

Though all experiments obtained data during initial tests, two were 

drawing excessive current. The problem was resolved by outgassing. A 

slight delay in shutter closing on Experiment A, a star sensor, had little 

or no effect on the mission. 

The U.K.-U.S. cooperative satellite series had begun with Ariel I 

in 1962 and continued through Ariel 4, launched 11 Dec. 1971. Ariel 5 

was launched under a 2 Nov. 1970 SRC-NASA Memorandum of Understanding, with a 27 Dec. 1973 Ietter modification shifting the launch 

site from Wallops Flight Center to San Marco to enhance scientific data 

return. The Memorandum tasked SRC with spacecraft design, fabrication, 

and testing, five experiments, primary command and control, and data 

reduction and analysis. NASA was responsible for one experiment, spacecraft technical support, the Scout launch vehicle, and tracking, command, and data acquisition. SRC financed all aspects of the Ariel program. The launch by members of the Univ. of Rome’s Aerospace 

Research Center was the seventh from San Marco, but the first payload 

for a country other than the US. or Italy (NASA MORS, 11 Oct 6, 

Nov 74; NASA Release 76274) 

15 October: Capt. Jaques-Yves Cousteau’s research vessel Calypso left Galveston, Tex., on a nine-month voyage to carry out oceanographic and 

weather experiments for KASA in cooperation with Texas A~M Univ. 

Researchers would measure chemical content of seawater, temperature, 

depth factors, water colors, and pautants in different regions for 

correlation with weather and water appraisals collected by Ats 3 and 

Nimbus 5 satellites (launched 5 Nov. 1967 and 10 Dec. 1972), by 

Nimbus-F after launch in 1975, and by high-flying U-2 aircraft equipped 

with a coastal zone color sensor being developed for launch on Nimbus-G 

in 1978. 

One of NASA’s Lockheed U-2 earth resources survey aircraft was 

based at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, during October for stratospheric sampling in a semiglobal Ames Research Center study of the 

effect of ozone, nitric oxide, and pollutants on the climate. (NASA Release 

74-283 ; ARC Release 7U7) 

The Nobel Prize in physics would be shared by two radio astronomers, 

the Swedish Academy of Sciences announced in Stockholm, marking 

the first recognition by the Nobel committee of achievements in astronomy. Sir Martin J. Ryle, Astronomer Royal of Britain and professor at 

Cambridge Univ. Cavendish Laboratory, was cited for development of a 

way to use several small radio telescopes to achieve resuIts which 

would otherwise require an antenna several kilometers in diameter. 

Dr. Ryles’s system accumulated data over a period of days and correlated 

it through computers to piece together larger pictures. Dr. Antony 

188 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 15 October 

Hewish, professor of radioastronomy at the Cavendish Laboratory and 

leader of the research group that discovered pulsars in 1967, would 

share the prize. (Rensberger, NYT, 16 Oct 74,l) 

16 October: General Aviation Programs, forwarded to the House Committee 

on Science and Astronautics by the Suhommittee on Aeronautics and 

Space Technology, reported on an oversight review based on hearings 

14 and 15 May and a visit to general-aviation manufacturers in Kansas 

31 May and 1 June. Noting that general aviation made up about 97% 

of the civil aircraft fleet, flew 79% of the hours and 71% of the miles, 

and carried up to one third of all intercity passengers-the Subcommittee 

recommended : continued close NASA-industry cooperation, NASA assistance to Federal agencies to ensure realistic regulations, individual 

attention to special general-aviation needs, NASA noise and emission 

research, concerted industry effort to use new technology, NASA effort 

to increase public visibility of its program, NASA-industry measures 

toward better understanding of respective roles in research and development, and an annual General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. evaluation 

of the NASA program. (Com Print) 

* Aerospace industry employment would reach 968 000 by December-the 

highest level since May 1971-but then drop by 8000 by June 1975, the 

Aerospace Industries Assn. of America predicted in its semiannual survey. The increase over previous estimates was attributed to an unexpected rise in production and delivery of aircraft, while the missile 

and space sectors of the industry remained essentially constant. Commercial transport deliveries were expected to slow down in the first half 

of 1975. (AIA Release 74-16) 

17 October: Marshall Space Flight Center requested bids on constructing an 

x-ray telescope test facility for NASA’s High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO) program. Bid opening was scheduled for 27 Nov. and contract award by 9 Dec. The facility was to be used for x-ray verification 

testing and calibration of x-ray mirrors, telescope systems, and instruments. (MSFC Release 74-211) 

18 October: The first few space shuttle flights would land at Flight Research 

Center, Or. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, announced in a talk 

before the Antelope Valley Board of Trade, Lancaster, Calif. First horizontal test flights would be made from FRC and first orbital test flights 

would return there because of added safety margins and good weather 

conditions. FRC would also be a secondary landing site for operational 

shuttle flights when weather or other conditions made it desirable. 

(NASA Release 74-279) 

Plans almost to double spending for the European Space Research Organization’s Axiane launch vehicle program in 1975 were made at an Ariane 

Program Board meeting in Paris. Spending authority would exceed $71 

million, up from 1974’s $37-million budget, and obligational authority 

was proposed at about $110 million instead of $71 million proposed 

earlier, in authorizations expected to be approved at the 26 Nov. Board 

meeting. 

The Board-made up of officials from ESRO and 10 European countries financing Ariane development-met to review budget and development following France’s confirmation that she would continue to contribute 62.5% of the financing. The development schedule would still call 

for flight trials of the launcher in 1979 and 1980. 

189 
18 October ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

The Board also was informed that the Soci6th Europhene de Propulsion 

(SEP) had sold a production license for the Ariane’s Viking rocket 

motors to the Indian Space Research Organization for ISRO’s SLV-3 

vehicle, under development for launching future educational broadcast 

satellites. (Av Wk, 28 Oct 74,19) 

9 Federal scientists and engineers decreased by three percent in 1973, reducing employment in that category to the 10-west level since 1968, the National Science Foundation reported. Nonprofessional scientific and technical personnel declined by six percent, reducing the number below even 

the 1968 level. The 1973 drop was the second decrease in Federal civilian 

scientists and engineers since comparable figures were first kept in 1954. 

Within NASA, total scientific and technical personnel decreased by 

almost five per cent. While the number of scientists increased marginally, the number of engineers decreased by more than five percent and 

the nonprofessionals decreased by more than seven percent. (NSF Highlights, 18 Oct 74) 

The Dept. of Defense announced award of a $29 509 671 cost-plus-award-fee 

contract to General Dynamics Corp. Electronics Div. to develop, produce, 

and operate the Phase I control and user system segments of the NAVSTAR 

Global Positioning System [see During August]. (DOD Release 793-74) 

22 October-12 November: The U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos 690 biological 

satellite from Plesetsk into an orbit with 366-km apogee, 216-km perigee, 

90.3-min period, and 68.8O inclination. The satellite carried white laboratory rats, steppe tortoises, insects, and fungi in a test of the combined 

effects of weightlessness and radiation. A cesium-137 gamma radiation 

source within the spacecraft provided an average radiation dose of 32 

rads per hr on command from the earth. Beginning on the 10th day of 

the flight, the rats were exposed to doses of gamma-quantums ranging 

between 200 and 1000 rads over 24 hrs. After return to the earth 12 

Nov., the rats were found to be more pathological and less active than 

after corresponding control experiments. The change in the hemopoietic 

and lymphoid organs was more sharply pronounced than in the Cosmos 

605 experiments (31 0ct.-22 Nov. 1973). While experiment results were 

processed, research was continuing on methods of antiradiation protection by deflecting particles with an electric fieId. CzechosIovak and 

Romanian specialists cooperated with the U.S.S.R. on the Cosmos 690 

project as part of the Intercosmos program. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 17-23, 

Oct 74; Pruvdu, FBISSOV, 3 Jan75, Ul4) 

22 October: Dr. George M. Low, NASA Deputy Administrator, signed a NASA 

and Soviet Academy of Sciences agreement on news coverage of the 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project flight, scheduled for July 1975. The agreement brought a protest from Associated Press President and General 

Manager J. Wes Gallagher because it excluded American newsmen from 

the Soviet launching. In a 23 Oct. letter to Gallagher, Dr. James C. 

Fletcher, NASA Administrator, stated that, while the Soviets were 

adamant on this question, they had otherwise agreed to provide “the 

most complete, dmprehensive release ever to the U.S. news media of 

real-time information related to a Soviet space mission.” The agreement, 

Dr. Fletcher noted, covered joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. activities while recognizing the right of each nation to establish policies for their respective 

independent activities. The U.S. would not exclude Soviet newsmen from 

the U.S. liftoff. 

190 
22 October 

The Public Affairs Agreement provided that, beginning with the 

Soy launch and ending with the ApUo recovery, onboard information from both spacecraft, voice communications between the spacecraft, 

and ground communications with both spacecraft, as well as groundbased and onboard TV, would be exchanged immediately. The first 

real-time TV coverage of a Soviet launch would be released to the West. 

Factual information on joint activities would be released immediately. 

Lines from the U.S. public affairs center in Moscow would communicate 

with technical specialists in the Soviet mission control center. For the 

first time, Soviet commentators would be at the Soviet control center 

and launch site during mission operations to describe countdown, launch, 

and mission events as they occurred, for immediate release. (NASA Int 

Aff, interview, 30 Sept 75; AP, NYT, 12 Oct 74, 2; 24 oct 74, 9; NASA 

press conf transcript, 12 Nov 74) 

23 October: An eight-week series of joint tests on the actual flight docking 

system to be used in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project began in Moscow. 

Specialists from the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. confirmed that the docking 

units sealed hermetically. ( ASTP Press Communiqu6, JSC Release, 20 

Dec 74; Moscow Domestic News Service, FBIS-SOV, 22 NOV 74, U2; 

31 Dec 74, U4) 0 The satellite relay system planned for the July 1975 Apollo-Soyuz space 

mission was tested by Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight 

Center communications engineers. Ats 6 Applications Technology Satellite (launched 30 May) and the Apollo S-band, steerable, high-gain 

antenna were tested together for the transmission of voice, television, 

and simulated telemettry data in preparation for the first spacecraft-tosatellite-to-ground routing employed in the manned space flight program. Signals were transmitted between JSC and the ground station in 

Rosman, N.C., via the Ats 6 in a simulation of mission conditions. (JSC 

Release 74264; JSC Roundup, 8 Nov 74) 0 Detection of a “plasma mantle” by the European Space Research Organization’s Heos 2 Highly Eccentric Orbit Satellite (launched by NASA 31 Jan 

1972) was announced by West German space scientists at the Max Flanck 

Institutt for Extraterrestrial Physics in Munich. Scientists had become 

aware of the new belt of electrically charged particles circling the earth 

while assessing data collected by a specially developed “plasma analysator” in the satellite. The belt of particles emitted from the sun and 

trapped in the earth’s magnetic field was said to be between 10 060 and 

20 100 km thick. (B SUR, 24 Oct 74, A3 ; A & A 1972) 

“The fact that fewer and fewer young people are entering the field of aeronautics” was endangering the US. aeronautical position, Dr. James C. 

Fletcher, NASA Administrator, said in a speech before the NASA-University 

Conference on Aeronautics at the Univ. of Kansas. The number of college students in junior classes in aerospace engineering had dropped 75% 

during 1968-1973, although civil aeronautics export business had increased fivefold in the past 10 yrs. Total civil and military aerospace 

exports were expected to reach $7 billion in 1974, with a “self-evident” 

importance to the US. balance of payments. US.-designed and -produced transport aircraft formed 80% of the non-Communist world’s 

transport fleets. 

Because of the increasing system complexity, costs, foreign competition, 

and complex environmental and economic problems, it was “clear that the 

support of the research and technology critical to the future health of 

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 19’74 

191 
23 October ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

civil aeronautics will depend on heavier government involvement.” NASA 

was “prepared to support a stronger aeronautics research and technology 

effort” and had organized a long-range study group to evaluate the “Outlook for Aeronautics” in the 1980-2000 period. A report was due in the 

summer of 1975. 

Among possible technology goals, Dr. Fletcher was convinced that 

aircraft fuel savings of 50% within the next 20 yrs could be reached, 

through weight reductions by composite structures and fly-by-wire and 

active controls and through supercritical aerodynamics, advanced engine techniques, and operational methods. NASA would also give special 

attention to technology for alternative fuels, such as hydrogen. (Text) 

The first of two C-130 transport aircraft with experimental boron-epoxy 

composite reinforced wing midsections was delivered to the Air Force to 

begin three years of tests. The joint NASA-USAF flight evaluation program 

was to demonstrate the fatigue resistance and weight reductions possible 

when the metal wing structures were reinforced with a composite of boron 

filaments embedded in an epoxy resin. Lockheed Aircraft Corp. would 

make periodic inspections and report to NASA and the Air Force. (NASA 

Release 7k290) 

24 Ocnober: The U.S.S.R. launched Molniya I-28 communications satellite 

from Plesetsk into orbit with 39 707-km apogee, 645-km perigee, 717.7- 

min period, and 62.8’ inclination. Tass reported that the satellite carried 

equipment to relay TV programs and to establish remote multichannel 

radio communications. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 2430 Oct 74; Av Wk, 4 Nov 

74,13; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 25 Oct 74, U1) 

U.S.S.R. ff ight controllers for the ApolIo-Soyuz Test Project began two 

weeks training at Johnson Space Center in preparation for the July 

1975 mission. Some 20 Soviet controllers attended sessions on Apollo 

trajectory, spacecraft systems and communications, docking module, 

Mission Control Center operations, and contingency flight planning. 

(JSC Release 7k2a; NASA Release 742%; JSC Roundup, 8 Nov 74) 

The Air Force successfully test-fired an intercontinental Minuteman I missile dropped from a C-5A transport aircraft flying 6100 m above the 

Pacific Ocean. The first successful air-drop firing followed drops of 

two inert missiles in a step toward development of an ICBM with mobility 

in the air and on land. (Finney, NYT, 26 Oct 74; Aerospace Daily, 29 

25 October: Marshall Space Flight Center announced it had awarded a 

$169 000 contract for the study of hydrogen as a possible energy source, 

to the Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Ill. The 10-mo study was 

to evaluate methods of producing large quantities of hydrogen and 

select a few of the most promising for follow-on studies. It was also 

to identify industrial and residential uses and estimate costs of developing technology. ( MSFC Release 74207) 

26 October: President Ford signed the Solar Energy Research, Development, 

and Demonstration Act of 1974 (P.L. 93473) establishing the Solar 

Energy Coordination and Management Project. A NASA Associate Administrator would be one of six members of the project, which was 

tasked with determining and evaluating the resource base and conducting research, development, and demonstration of solar energies and 

technologies. NASA would cooperate with other Federal agencies in the 

project by providing management capability and development of techOct 74) 

192 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1979 26 October 

nologies. NASA was further authorized to carry out programs assigned 

it by the project. (P.L. 93473) 

* The first prototype B-1 intercontinental strategic bomber was unveiled at 

Palmdale, Calif., by the Air Force and Rockwell International Corp. 

Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger told on-lookers that the new 

aircraft was needed to complement the US. arsenal of land-based 

and submarine-based missiles. Although smaller and lighter than the 

B-52 it was meant to replace, the B-1 could fly farther and faster, carry 

almost twice the payload, and use a shorter runway. Powered by four 

133.4-kilonewton-thrust (30 000-lb) turbofan engines and lifted by 

variable geometry, or “swing” wings, the bomber could fly efficiently at 

speeds in excess of mach 2. The projected cost of production models- 

$76.4 million each-made the future of the aircraft controversial and 

uncertain. (DOD Release 505-74; Getler, W Post, 27 Oct 74, A6; Wright, 

NYT, 27 Oct 74,43) 

26 October4 November: An agreement for NASA to submit life sciences 

experiments for flight aboard the next available Soviet biological satellite was negotiated during the fifth joint US.-U.S.S.R. Working Group 

on Space Biology and Medicine in Tashkent, U.S.S.R. The first US. 

experiments would be passive specimen modules, completely autonomous 

from spacecraft power, life support, and data-recording systems, and 

would require no operational commands from the ground during flight. 

NASA would prepare descriptions of the proposed experiments in December and deliver flight hardware by 15 Aug. 1975. US. investigators would 

also participate in pre- and postflight studies of blood and tissue samples 

from animals flown aboard the next Soviet biological satellite. 

The protocol was confirmed by NASA and the Soviet Academy of 

Sciences 4 Dec. 

Representatives also discussed preparations for the joint July 1975 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission ; exchanged results from Apolln, 

Skylab, Cosmos, Salyut, and Soyuz programs; and discussed pre- and 

postflight examinations, vestibular training, and crew reaction to flight. 

(NASA Gen Mgt Rev Rpt, 16 Dec 74, 42-3; NASA Release 74237; NASA 

Int Aff, interview, 17 Oct 75 ; Moscow Domestic News Service, FBIS-SOV, 

29 Oct 74, B10; 8 Nov 74, U1) 

27 October-2 November: The 67th Annual General Conference of the 

Mderation Aeronautique Internationale ( FAI) convened in Sidney, 

Australia. Astronaut Charles Conrad, Jr., was presented the 1973 FAI 

Gold Space Medal for his role as Skylab 2 commander, and Astronaut 

Alan L. Bean was presented the Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal for his 

role as Skylab 3 mission commander. Both men also received the 

De la Vaulx Medal for their successive space duration records. 

(NAA News. Oct 74, Dec 74,l) 

28 October-9 November: Luna 23, second Soviet lunar mission of 1974, was 

launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome near Tvuratam into a parking 

orbit with 246-km apogee, 183-km perigee, 88.7-min period, and 51.5” 

inclination, where the “automatic station” was separated and launched 

on a near-to-planned trajectory to the moon. After a 31 Oct. flight 

path correction, the spacecraft on 2 Nov. entered a, lunar orbit with 

104-km apogee, 94-km perigee, 117-min period, and 138O inclination. 

On 4 and 5 Nov. the orbit was changed to 105-km apogee and 17-km 

perigee. 

193 
28 October-9 November ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

The spacecraft landed in the southern part of the moon’s Sea of 

Crisis 6 Nov., but rugged terrain damaged a device designed to take 

rock samples from a 2.5-m depth. The planned drilling and collection 

of lunar soil had to be abandoned for a reduced equipment-testing program. Work with the station was discontinued 9 Nov. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 

24-30 Oct 74; Domestic News Service, FBIS-SOV, 29 Oct 74, U1-2; 

10 Nov 74, U1; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 4 Nov 74, U1; Av Wk, 4 Nov 74, 13; 

SF, April 75,152) 

28 October: The U.S.S.R. launched Meteor 19 weather satellite from 

Plesetsk into orbit with 904-km apogee, 842-km perigee, 102.4-min 

period, and 81.2’ inclination. Tass reported that the spacecraft carried 

meteorological equipment to photograph cloud formations and snow 

cover and to obtain data on the thermal energy reflected and radiated 

by the earth and the atmosphere. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 24-30 Oct 74; Tass, 

FBIS-SOV, 29 Oct 74, U1; Av Wk, 4 Nov 74,13) 

29 October: The Air Force launched three satellites on a single Titan IIID 

booster from Vandenberg Air Force Base-including S3-1 , launched 

to measure air density, obtain upper-atmosphere composition data, and 

provide information on atmospheric effects on spacecraft orbits [see 

7 Aug.]. The first satellite entered orbit with a 279-km apogee, 152-km 

perigee, 88.8-min period, and 96.7’ inclination and reentered 19 March 

1975. The second entered orbit with a 542-km apogee, 540-km perigee, 

95.3-min period, and 96.1’ inclination. The third entered orbit with a 

3711-km apogee, 147-km perigee, 125.4-min period, and 97.0’ inclination; it reentered 26 May 1975. (Pres Rpt 74; AFSC PAO, interview, 23 

March 76; AFSC Release OIP 137.74) 

0 The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project docking module arrived at Kennedy Space 

Center aboard a C-141 transport aircraft, from the Space Division 

of Rockwell International Corp., Downey, Calif. The module virtually 

completed the array of hardware being processed at KSC for the July 

1975 launch. (ICSC Release 154-74) 

0 lntention to nominate Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., as Administrator of 

the new Energy Research and Development Administration was announced by President Ford as part of a major reshuffling of key energy 

posts. Dr. Seamans-former NASA Deputy Administrator. Secretary of 

the Air Force, and President of the National Academy of Engineeringwas reported by the press as selected over former NASA Administrator 

Thomas 0. Paine and two other candidates to head the new agency 

replacing the Atomic Energy Commission. Former astronaut and Atomic 

Energy Commissioner William A. Anders was to be nominated Chairman of the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the former AEC 

Chairman, Dr. Dixy Lee Ray, to the new position of Assistant Secretary 

of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 

Affairs. Dr. Seaman’s nomination was sent to the Senate 2 Dec. and 

cmfirmed 12 Dec. Anders’ and Dr. Ray’s were sent to the Senate 4 Dec.; 

Anders’ was confirmed 12 Dec. and Dr. Ray’s 13 Dec. (PD, 4 Nov 74, 

1382-3; 9 Dec 74, 1546; CR, 4 Dec 74, 520620; 12 Dec 74, S21317; 

13 Dec 74, S21497; O’Toole, W Post, 16 Oct 74, A10; 30 Oct 74, Al) 

Iran signed an agreement to build a ground station to receive data 

directly from NASA’s experimental earth resources satellites. Under 

the Memorandum of Understanding signed with NASA in Tehran, the 

new site would join six others already in the system-three in the 

194 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 29 October 

US. andone each in Canada, Brazil, and Italy. Iran would bear the 

full cost of building the facility and would make its data and tapes 

available to NASA in return for free access to the first two Earth 

Resources Technology Satellites. Thereafter, NASA had the option to 

establish a cost-sharing arrangement. (NASA Release 74289) 

0 NASA’s 16th Annual Awards Ceremony was held in Washington, D.C. 

Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, presented NASA’s highest 

award, the Distinguished Service Medal, to Robert L. Krieger, Director, 

Wallops Flight Center ; Norman Pozinsky, Hq. Director, Network 

Development and Engineering; Martin L. Raines, Johnson Space Center 

Director of Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance; Lee R. Sherer, 

Director, Flight Research Center; and John M. Thole, Deputy Associate 

Administrator for Space Science. 

The NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the agency’s highest 

award to non-Government personnel, was presented to Jack M. 

Campbell, President of the Federation of Rocky Mountain States and 

former Governor of New Mexico; Harry Dornbrand, Executive Vice 

President, Fairchild Space and Electronics Co. ; and Jesse L. Greenstein, 

California Institute of Technology astrophysicist. 

The Group Achievement Award went to 12 teams at Centers 

and Headquarters, the Exceptional Service Medal to 51 persons, and 

the Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal to 16. (Program; NASA 

Activities, 15 Nov 74,20) 

30 October: The first Skylab crew-Charles Conrad, Jr., Dr. Joseph P. 

Kerwin, and Paul J. Weitz-who flew on Skylab 2, 25 May-22 June 

1973-was awarded the Haley Astronautics Award at the Conference 

on Scientific Experiments of Skylab, Huntsville, Ala. The annual award 

was given by the America11 Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 

for outstanding contributions by test personnel who undergo personal 

risk in the advancement of space flight.” The three-day conference, 30 

0ct.-1 Nov., was sponsored jointly by the AIAA and the American Geophysical Union. ( MSFC Release 74-205 ; MSFC PAO, interview) 

31 October: The U.S.S.R. launched Zntercosmos 12 from Plesetsk into an 

orbit with 697-km apogee, 241-km perigee, 94.0-min period, and 74.0° 

inclination. Tass reported that the satellite, intended to study the earth’s 

atmosphere and ionosphere and the flow of micrometeorites, carried 

equipment made by specialists from Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, 

Romania, and Czechoslovakia, as well as the U.S.S.R. The spacecraft 

reentered 11 July 1975. (LC Science Policv Research Div., interview, 6 

cc 

Aug 75; GSFC Wkly SSR, 31 Oct-6 Nov 74, 10-16 July 75; Tass, FBISSOV, 1 Nov 74, Ul) 

During October: The Space Shuttle Operational Management Assessment 

Team was formed to make “an appraisal of the technical aspects of the 

program and an assessment of the ability of management to complete 

the development of the shuttle within the cost and performance targets.” 

Composed primarily of industry representatives and named for its chairman, Willis M. Hawkins of Lockheed Aircraft Corp., the Hawkins Committee was to prepare a formal briefing no later than 1 Nov. Inflation 

levels of %9%, well over the 5% on which FY 1975 funding was based, 

had increased costs throughout the shuttle program and compromised the 

ability of NASA and the prime contractors to reach their program milestones. (Team charter; Covault, Aw W‘k, 23 Sept 74, 20-2) 

195 
During October ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

The European Space Research Organization qejected a plan to install a 

launch pad for the McDonnell Douglas Thor-Delta launch vehicle at the 

Kourou Space Center in French Guiana. The ESRO decision, which followed a four-month feasibility study, cited the high cost of installing the 

pad-set at approximately $50 million-as the reason for the rejection. 

The press speculated that, although p-oponents of the proposal contended the Thor-Delta launch capability would complement the European 

Ariane launcher under development, the plan might have run into opposition from Ariane supporters who feared competition. 

NASA, when queried by ESRO officials, had voiced no objections to the 

plan even though the equatorial launch site would have increased the vehicle’s orbital weight capacity by about 20% over launches from the 

U.S., making the site an economical alternative for commercial customers. (Av Wk, 4 Nov 74, 21; CSFC Delta Proj Off, interview, 5 Dec 75) 

David Baker’s annual review of the NASA budget in Spaceflight concluded 

that the FY 1975 NASA budget marked “a significant turning point,” because the cuts were not as drastic as they had been in recent years, and, 

most important, there was a major increase for new programs-from 

$10.5 million in 1974 to $37.7 million. This led Baker to label “a trifle 

premature” his prediction of a year earlier that NASA might be relegated 

indefinitely to the role of serving “as a launch vehicle for satellites and 

space probes of other agencies, organizations, and nations.” (SF, Oct 

74, 362-5) 

196 
November 1974 

1 November: Project da Vinci-oft-delayed manned-atmospheric-research 

balloon Right-was terminated after one third of its projected 36-hr 

duration, because of threatening weather. The joint project of the Atomic 

Energy Commission, National Geographic Society, and the Army’s Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory was intended primarily to investigate 

atmospheric behavior at 12004300 rn, where less scientific research had 

been done than at very high and very low altitudes. Floating free and 

staying with a single parcel of air as long as possible, the four crewmen studied atmospheric behavior over mountains, plains, forests, and 

cities. They had hoped to travel in their 21-m helium balloon from the 

launch site at Las Cruces, N. Ma., to a landing near Lubbock, Tex. The 

project safety officer terminated the flight over Wagon Mound, N. Mex., 

but not before enough data had been gathered to plan future flights. 

(EF~DA PIO, interview, 4 Aug 75; AEC Release T425; AP, NYT, 3 Nov 

74,87) 

2 November-3 January 1975: NASA’s Pioneer I1 interplanetary probe, 

launched 5 April 1973, flew past Jupiter three times closer than Pioneer 

10 had a year earlier and sent back the first polar images of the planet. 

The spacecraft then headed on toward a September 1979 encounter with 

Saturn. 

Pioneer 10, launched 2 March 1972, had been the first spacecraft to 

reach Jupiter-3 Nov. 1973-9 Jan. 1974. The success of that mission 

permitted NASA scientists to attempt a somewhat riskier approach with 

the backup Pioneer 11, a clockwise trajectory by the south polar region 

and then straight up through the intense inner radiation belt by the 

equator and back out over the north pole. Although the spacecraft went 

within 42 000 km of the planet at 12:22 am EST 3 Dec., its peak speed 

of 171 000 km per hr and the trajectory’s high latitude prevented serious 

radiation damage. 

The Jupiter mission of Pioneer 11 was to map the magnetic field; measure distributions of high-energy electrons and protons in the radiation 

belts and look for auroras; find a basis for interpreting radio emissions 

from Jupiter; detect and measure the bow shock and magnetospheric 

boundary and their interactions with the solar wind; verify the thermal 

balance and determine temperature distribution of the outer atmosphere; measure the hydrogen-helium ratio in the atmosphere; measure 

the structure of the ionosphere and atmosphere; measure the brightness, 

color, and polarization of Jupiter’s reflected light; perform two-color 

visible-light imaging ; and increase the accuracy of orbit predictions and 

masses of Jupiter and its moons. 

The interplanetary mission was to map the interplanetary magnetic 

field; study the radial gradient of the solar wind and its fluctuations and 

structure; study the radial and transverse gradients and arrival directions of high-energy charged particles (solar and galactic cosmic rays) : 

investigate relationships between the solar wind, magnetic field, and 

197 
2 November-3 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

cosmic rays; search for the boundary and extent of the heliosphere (solar 

atmosphere) ; determine the density of neutral hydrogen; and determine 

the properties of interplanetary dust. 

Hurtling toward and then away from Jupiter, Pioneer 11 sent data back 

to the earth at 2048 bits per sec throughout most of the month before 

and after encounter. Picture-taking of Jupiter began 18 Nov., at 

14 800 000 km out from the planet. From 25 Nov. through 8 Dec., imaging and polarimetry observations were made 23 hrs a day. 

On 26 Nov. Pioneer 11 crossed the detached bow shock wave 

(7 772 OOO km out) at the juncture of the solar wind and Jupiter’s magnetic field and entered the magnetosphere (6 923 000 km out). In five 

hours the spacecraft passed undamaged through this first field of intense 

radiation. On 1 Dec. it crossed the orbit of Callisto-outermost of the 

five inner moons-and began returning its best pictures of Jupiter. On 

2 Dec. Pioneer 11 crossed the orbits of Jupiter’s four closest moons and 

entered the inner radiation belt. During this last leg of the approach to 

the south polar region, the spacecraft continued the imaging and sensing 

of the planet and moons and made a closeup, two-hour scan that included the red spot portion of the surface. 

Less than 12 hrs before the spacecraft passed behind Jupiter, an intense peak of electron radiation built up a 4000-v electric charge within 

the spacecraft. The charge created an electric arc that signaled heater 

lines to turn on-drawing spacecraft power and weakening the signal to 

earth. In about three hours the problem was identified and override commands from earth switched the heaters back off. 

At midnight on 3 Dec. Pioneer I1 entered Jupiter radio occultationa blackout that lasted 42 min while the spacecraft swung behind the 

142 744-km-dia planet-moving from the south pole straight up over the 

north pole. Since Pioneer 11 radio signals required 46 min to cross the 

737 million km separating the earth and Jupiter at the time of encounter, 

the spacecraft had already circumscribed the planet before the earth lost 

contact with its signal. During occultation the spacecraft passed through 

the most intense radiation (up to 40 000 times as much in the earth’s radiation belts) , reached its greatest speed (171 000 km per hr) and came 

closest to the planet (within 42 O00 km of the cloudtops). At 1:24 am 

EST--62 min after periapsis-the signal reached earth, indicating that the 

spacecraft had emerged from behind the planet and that all systems had 

survived the most critical phase of the mission. Temporary failures had 

lost some data, but no permanent damage was sustained. 

Following the Jupiter encounter, Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, renamed the spacecraft Pioneer-Saturn as it headed toward the 

planet Saturn. The exact target point had not been selected but scientists 

considered an interesting possibility was to target the spacecraft to pass 

between Saturn and its rings and then close by Titan, one of Saturn’s 

moons and a possible location of life. The five-year, 2.4-billion-km trip 

to Saturn would carry PioneerSaturn about 160 000 000 km above the 

orbit planes of most planets. 

Pioneer 11 was the first spacecraft to use the gravity of an outer planet 

to throw it to another planet farther out, came the closest to Jupiter, was 

the fastest spacecraft yet launched, and was the first spacecraft to photograph Jupiter’s polar regions. PioneerSaturn was expected to become 

the first spacecraft to pass far from the ecliptic plane and the first to 

reach Saturn. 

198 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1W4 2 November3 January 

Pioneer 11 confirmed, but somewhat modified, the findings of Pioneer 

10. The model of a relatively flat, disclike magnetosphere was challenged 

by new evidence suggesting a large, blunt magnetosphere of irregular and 

fluctuating shape. Temperature measurements of about 125 K at cloudtops supported Pioneer 10 readings, which were lower than those indicated by earth-based observations. Imaging revealed a decrease in the 

banding structure of the planet with increased latitude and a more 

mottled structure across the poles. (NASA Releases 76292,74-300; Hall, 

Opp, et d., Science, 2 May 75, 445-77; NASA Pioneer Mgr, interview, 

12 Nov 75; NASA press conference transcript, 19 Nov 74; Perlman, SF 

Chon, 3 Dec 74; O’Toole, W Post, 3 Dec 74, Al; Sullivan, NYT, 4 Dee 

74, 27; Mead, San Jose Mercury, 5 Dec 74; NYT, 9 Dec 74) 

4 November: President Ford accepted a segment of crystal grown in the 

orbiting Skylab Workshop during January, from Dr. James C. Fletcher, 

NASA Administrator, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chairman Howard W. Johnson. Johnson said the indium-antimonide crystal, 

produced in an MIT experiment, was the purest crystal with the longest 

life yet produced by man. Using it to carry power current, a computer 

could be the size of a postage stamp. (NASA Activities, 15 Nov 74, 17; 

PD, 11 Nov 74,1428; UPI, W Post, 5 Nov 74,l) 

4-15 Ivovember: The formal phase of the Spacelab Preliminary Requirements 

Review-first major milestone in the Spacelab program-was completed 

in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, and Bremen, West Germany. Representatives of NASA and the European Space Research Organization approved 1077 review items, withdrew 56, and marked 100 for more study. 

Avionics and mechanical interfaces with the space shuttle were selected 

for particular attention before the next major milestone-the Systems 

Requirements Review. (Spacelab Newsletter 768; Spacelab/cvT Program Approval Document, Attach A, 1) 

5 November: Former Mercury astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., the first American to orbit the earth, was elected U.S. Senator from Ohio by a wide 

margin over his Republican opponent, Ralph J. Perk. Glenn had withdrawn from a 1964 senatorial bid after a fall affected his inner ear. In 

1970 Le lost the Democratic primary to Howard M. Metzenbaum, who 

in turn lost the general election to Robert Taft, Jr. Metzenbaum, appointed to fill the vacated seat of William B. Saxbe in September 1973, 

lost to Glenn in the 1974 Democratic primary. (Farrell, NYT, 6 Nov 74, 

37) 

7 November: The appointment of Richard G. Smith as Deputy Director of 

Marshall Space Flight Center, effective 18 Nov., was announced by Center 

Director William R. Lucas. Smith would also continue as acting director 

of MSFC’S Science and Engineering Directorate. Since 1960, Smith had 

held positions of increasing responsibility in the Science and Engineering Directorate, including Saturn Program Manager from 1970 to 1973. 

( MSFC Release 74-218) 

Aircraft designer Clarence L. (Kelly) Johnson announced his retirement 

as Senior Vice President of Lockheed Aircraft Corp., effective in midJanuary 1975. During his 43 yrs with Lockheed, Johnson had contributed 

to the design of some 40 aircraft-about half of them his original designs-including the P-38 “Lightning” fighter of World War 11, the P-80 

jet fighter, the Constellation series of airliners, the F-104 mach 2 fichter, 

the u-2 reconnaissance plane and its successor SR-71, and the C-130 

transport. In 1964 President Johnson awarded Johnson the National 

199 
7 November ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Medal of Science, citing his achievements and products “as both incomparable and virtually incredible.” (Getler, W Post, 8 Nov 74, A12) 

11 November: A shortage of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) 

rocket fuel was being strictly managed to prevent delays in military and 

NASA launches. The fuel was produced from raw materials found to have 

an agent that could cause cancer in humans. Methods had been devised 

to produce the fuel by removing humans from the step endangering 

health, but adequate supplies could not be produced before the end of 

the year. Stopgap measures taken by the Air Force, including strict 

control and allocation of existing supplies, was preventing the shortage 

from interfering with any critical launches. (NASA Dir Launch Vehicle 

& Propulsion Prog, interview, 2 Oct 75; Av Wh, 11 Nov 74,14) 

12 November: The U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space 

adopted a draft convention that would make compulsory the registration of all spacecraft. The treaty required approval by the General ASsembly and signing by member nations before taking effect. (Dept of 

State, Off Treaty Affairs, interview, 11 Aug 75; SBD, 16 Oct 74,20) 

NASA contract awards to small business during FY 1974 totaled 

$181 247 000--8.60/, of all contracts---NASA announced. This percentage was the highest since 1962. (NASA Release 74-293) 

13 November: “The only way to face the crisis of our times is through the 

advancement of science and technology,” Dr. George M. Low, NASA 

Deputy Administrator, said in an address to the Cal Tech Management 

Club. “The space program is at the forefront of the search for knowledge, . . . of producing knowledge, . . . of developing the technological 

capability which comes from this knowledge.” Yet, “among even the 

higher echelons of the American business community, lack of understanding rather than comprehension of space ventures is the prevailing 

frame of mind.” Dr. Low called for communication to the American 

people of how the space program increased understanding of the universe and man’s place in it, improved life on earth, and kept the country secure through scientific, technological, and economic strength, as 

well as international cooperation. (Text) 

15 November: NASA launched three satellites-Noaa 4 (ITOS-G) meteorological satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

Intasat ionospheric satellite for Spain, and Amsat Oscar 7 amateur 

radio communications satellite-from Western Test Range at 9 :11 am 

PST on one Thor-Delta launch vehicle. The three spacecraft entered 

dmost identical, near-to-planned, polar orbits. It was the first triple 

launch for a Thor-Delta. 

Noaa 4 entered orbit with a 1458-km apogee, 1444-km perigee, 115- 

min period, and 101.7’ inclination, as the fourth operational Improved 

Tiros Operational Satellite in the joint NASA and Dept. of Commerce 

program to provide global cloud-cover observations. Delayed 29 Oct. 

by faulty electrical connectors on the Thor-Delta and again 13 Nov. 

when a 2nd-stage hydraulic pump posed a problem, the launch went 

smoothly on 15 Nov. Nom 4 joined Noaa 2, launched 15 Oct. 1972, and 

Noaa 3, launched 6 Nov. 1973. 

The 345-kg, three-axis-stabilized, earth-oriented satellite moved in a 

circular, near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit. Day and night coverage of 

the earth’s cloud cover was provided by two very-high-resolution radiometer instruments and by two scanning radiometer sensors. Two verticaltemperature-profile radiometers made continuous radiance measurements 

200 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 15 November 

for determination of the atmospheric vertical temperature profile over 

every part of the earth’s surface at least twice daily. One secondary 

sensor, the solar proton monitor, studied solar activity and its effects 

on the earth’s environment. Goddard Space Flight Center was responsible 

for design, development, launch, and in-orbit checkout of the spacecraft. NOAA’S National Environmental Satellite Service ( NESS) would 

take over operation of the satellite after checkout. NASA mission objectives-to launch the spacecraft into sun-synchronous orbit of sufficient 

accuracy for operational mission requirements and to conduct an in-orbit 

evaluation and checkout of the spacecraft-were accomplished and the 

mission was adjudged successful % Jan. 1976. 

Zntasat, the first Spanish satellite, separated from the Delta 2nd 

stage 24 min after launch and entered orbit with a 1468-km apogee and 

perigee, 115-min period, and 101.7O inclination. The 20-kg, 12-sided, 

magnetically oriented, spin-stabilized spacecraft would measure ionospheric electron content, irregularities, and scintillations in a joint 

space research program of NASA and the Instituto Nacional de T6cnica 

Aeroespacial. INTA provided the spacecraft and would acquire experiment data. NASA provided pickaback launch and tracking. 

Amsat Oscar 7-the Radio Amateur Satellite Corp.’s Orbiting Satellite 

Carrying Amateur Radio-separated from the Delta 2nd stage 77 min 

after liftoff and entered orbit with a 1458-km apogee, 1454-km perigee, 

115-min period, and 101.7’ inclination. The seventh in a series begun 

with Oscar 1 in 1961, the solar-powered, octahedral, 29.5-kg Oscar 7 

joined Oscar 6, launched 15 Oct. 1972, to serve as a space communications relay station for radio amateurs and as a teaching aid, giving firsthand experience in space science for US. schools. Oscar 7 was built and 

prepared for launch by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corp. (NASA MORS, 

18 Oct 74; 19, 20, 29 Nov 74; 26 Jan 76; NASA Release 74322; 

Goddard News, Dec 74; SBD, 30 Oct 74, 301; 14 Nov 74,79) 

NASA announced selection of Boeing Aerospace Co., Lockheed Missiles 

& Space Co., and Martin Marietta Corp. for negotiation of parallel contracts of about $300 000 each for preliminary design and program definition studies for the support systems module (SSM), a major element of 

the Large Space Telescope (LST) . The LST was scheduled for launch into 

orbit on the space shuttle in the 1980s. The SSM, attached to the structure 

housing the telescope, would provide electric power, data storage, communications, and automated attitude sensing, pointing, and control. The 

unit would also contain some of the elements for orbital servicing and 

retrieval of the telescope by the space shuttle. (NASA Release 74308) 

16 November: In an attempt to communicate with another civilization in the 

universe, a powerful three-minute radio signal was beamed from the 

Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico toward Messier 13, a globular 

cluster of stars at the edge of the Milky Way, 25 000 light years from 

the earth. The transmission-devised by the staff of the National 

Astronomy and Atmosphere Center, which included the Observatory 

and was operated by Cornel1 Univ. for the National Science Foundation-was a coded message representing life on the earth. The Observatory’s new 450-kw radar transmitter, sponsored by NASA and completed 

in October, had increased the planetary ranging and surface mapping 

capabilities a thousandfold. When focused by the Observatory’s newly 

resurfaced 305-m dish the energy was multiplied, sending a beam to 

Messier 13 brighter than any other source in the Milky Way. (Sullivan, 

201 
16 November ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

NYT, 20 Nov ?4,77; O’Toole, V Post, 17 Nov 74, Al; Pres Rpt 74,86; 

NASA Release 74-309; NASA, Chief Plan Astron, interview, 15 Dec 75) 

19 November: Wind-tunnel tests of 4% scale models of the space shuttle 

orbiter had begun at Air Force Systems Command’s Arnold Engineering 

Development Center, the Air Force announced. The tests of heat buildup 

on the forward half of the orbiter during the critical period of reentry 

and at other points in the flight trajectory were scheduled to continue 

through the remainder of the year. The 4% model, the fourth size to be 

tested in the AEDC tunnels, reflected the latest design details on the 

forward half of the orbiter. (AFSC Release OIP 207.74) 

20 November: NASA and the Federal GovernEent as a whole were charged 

with race and sex discrimination in a class action suit filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) 

Legal Defense Fund in US. District Court in Washington, D.C. The 

suit was initiated by two employees at Johnson Space Center. The NAACP 

Legal Defense Fund labeled as “lame excuses” NASA’s claims that work 

forces were dropping throughout the agency and that it was difficult to 

find qualified blacks and women in its specialized areas of work. (AP, 

NYT, 21 Nov 74; Robinson, W Post, 21 Nov 74) 

21 November-20 December: NASA launched Intelsat-IV F-8 for the Communications Satellite Corp. on behalf of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization. The 1387-kg satellite was launched from 

Eastern Test Range at 6:U pm EST on an Atlas-Centaur vehicle into a 

transfer orbit with a 35 899.2-km apogee, 536.5-km perigee, 10-hr 

39.8-min period, and 26.0’ inclination. 

NASA’s primary objectives were to conduct design, performance, and 

flight readiness reviews for the Federal Communications Commission, 

to ensure compittibility of Intelsat spacecraft with NASA launch vehicles and launch environmental conditions, and to launch Intelsat-IV 

F-8 into a transfer orbit that would permit the spacecraft apogee motor 

to inject the spacecraft into a synchronous orbit for communications 

service. 

The apogee kick motor was fired by ComSatCorp at 6:48 pm EST 

on 23 Nov., placing IntelsatdV F-8 in a near-circular prbit with a 

35 780-km apogee, 35 630-km perigee, 23-hr 51.9-min period, and 1.8” 

inclination. The spacecraft then drifted to its station at 174’ E longitude 

over the Pacific Ocean, arriving 12 Dec. NASA adjudged the mission a 

success 20 Dec. 

Intelsat-IV F-8 joined five operational Intelsat IV commercial comsats : three over the Atlantic-F-2 launched 25 Jan 1971, F-3 launched 

19 Dec. 1971, and F-7 launched 23 Aug. 1973; one over the PacificFA launched 22 Jan. 1972; and one over the Indian Ocean-F-5 

launched 13 June 1972. F-8 replaced FA, which became a spare, orbiting over 178” E longitude. F-8 was designed to operate seven years 

and could provide multiple access and simultaneous transmission. It 

had a capacity for 3000 circuits with transponders in earth mode and 

9000 circuits with transponders in spot-beam-coverage mode, or 12 

TV channels, or certain combinations. (NASA MORS, 22 Nov, 24 Dec 74; 

GSYC Wkly SSR, 21-26 Nov 74; NASA Release 76305; INTELSAT Re 

leases 7462,7670; NASA Atlas-Centaur Mgr, interview, 30 July 75) 

21 November: The U.S.S.R. launched Molniya III-1 communications satellite from Plesetsk into orbit with a 40 683-km apogee, 628-km perigee, 

12-hr 17.3-min period, and 62.8’ inclination. The spacecraft was in202 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 21 November 

tended for long-distance telephone and cable radio communications in 

the Soviet Union, for transmission of color TV programs within the 

Orbita network, and for international cooperation. (Tass, FLUS-Sov, 22 

Nov 74, U1; GSFC Wkly SSR, 21-26 Nov 74; LC Science Policy Research 

Div, interview, 9 Sept 75) 

In a Skylab awards ceremony at Marshall Space Flight Center, Dr. James 

C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, presented Group Achievement Awards 

to the Skylab Program Offices at MSFC, Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, and NASA Hq. and to special Skylab teams. Dr. Robert 

A. Parker, NASA astronaut and Skylab program scientist at JSC, received an Outstanding Leadership Medal. Dr. Fletcher also presented 

28 individual Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medals to principal 

investigators for Skylab experiments and to Comet Kohoutek scientific 

investigators. (MSFC Release 74-227; Marshall Star, 27 Nov 74) 

21-22 November: New cost increases in the Viking program had raised the 

total cost of the mission to-more than $1 billion, NASA officials told the 

House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Space 

and Science and Applications. Dr. Rocco A. Petrone, NASA Associate 

Administrator, testified that the preliminary cost estimate of $364 million, presented to the Committee in 1969, had been nearly trebled by 

delay in the mission from 1973 to 195, inflation, and technical problems in “developing the most advanced automated space equipment this 

country has ever attempted.” The new total included a $930-million 

cost target, a $20-million contingency fund, and the cost of the TitanCentaur launch vehicles. One orbiter and one lander spacecraft had 

been deleted from the program [see 10 Oct.], manpower had been reduced, and a number of tests had been eliminated. Dr. Petrone expressed 

confidence in our present technical approach and our ability to meet cost 

goals.” Dr. Edgar M. Coriright, Langley Research Center Director, attributed the “$120 million in unanticipated problems” experienced by 

mid-1973 to an underestimation of the complexity of the project at the 

outset: “We have been p1ayir.g catch up ever since because of the low 

estimate to start with.” 

Questioned about a newspaper article saying the Viking lander might 

sink deep into Martian surface dust, Dr. Petrone said that tests mentioned in the article had been made some years earlier, not “two weeks 

ago” as reported. Dr. Noel W. Hinners, Associate Administrator for 

Space Science, testified that the lander’s footpad area had been increased 

since the earlier tests and that radar observations had indicated the 

proposed landing sites for the first mission appeared “well within the 

capability” of the lander. Sites for the second mission were still being 

studied. (Transcript; O’Toole, W Post, 20 Nov 74, A3) 

22 November4 January 1975: NASA launched Skynet IIB, a U.K. military 

communications satellite, for the US. Air Force Space and Missile 

Systems Office as agents for the U.K. Ministry of Defense. The satellite 

was launched on a three-stage Thor-Delta launch vehicle from Eastern 

Test Range at 7:28 pm EST into an orbit with a 36 965-km apogee, 185- 

km perigee, and 24.6’ inclination. The apogee kick motor, fired at 8:lO 

pm EST on 24 Nov., circularized the orbit with an apogee of 36 595 km, 

perigee of 35 896 km, period of 24 hrs 19.4 min, and inclination of 

2.2’. The spacecraft then drifted to its geosynchronous station at 50’ E 

longitude over the Indian Ocean. NASA adjudged the launch a success 

6 Jan. 1975. 

L6 

203 
22 November4 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

The first-generation Skynet A and B had been developed for the U.K. 

in the WAF’S Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program (IDCSP) 

and launched by NASA 21 Nov. 1969 and 18 Aug. 1970. Skynet IIA failed 

to achieve a satisfactory orbit when launched 18 Jan. 1974 and reentered 

25 Jan. The launch of Skynet IIB had been delayed from 19 Nov. by a 

defective component in the Delta 2nd-stage attitude control system. 

(NASA MORS, 7 Nov, 5 Dec 74; 6 Jan 75; GSFC Wkly SSR, 21-26 Nov 74; 

NASA Release 74-303; AP, W Post, 12 Nov 74, c5) 

22 November: NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) had signed 

a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration in research on terrestial uses of solar energy, NASA announced. NSF, the lead Federal 

agency in solar energy research, chaired the 20-member Interagency 

Panel for Terrestrial Applications of Solar Energy. NASA’s role in the 

National Solar Energy Program would be directed to projects in which 

NAS.4 had special capabilities, although this participation was expected 

to touch the full range of solar energy research. (NASA Release 74-302) 

23-24 November: President Ford and General Secretarv Leonid I. Brezhnev 

25 

26 

of the Soviet Communist Party’s Central Committee, meeting in 

Vladivostok, drew up the framework of a new, 10-yr strategic arms 

agreement, with a goal of completing the accord in 1975. The agreement would put a ceiling of 2400 for each country on the total of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles, and heavy 

bombers. Wthin that total, the number of missiles armed with multiple 

warheads would be limited to 1320. (PD, 2 Dec 74, 1489-97; 9 Dec 74, 

1514-7) 

November: Sen. Frank E. Moss (D-Utah) introduced an amendment to 

S. 2350 that would continue experimentation with earth resources remote-sensing satellite systems through 1 Jan. 1980 unless a permanent 

system was established before that date. The amendment was a substitute for S. 2350, the earth resources survey bill to develop an operational ERTS system and to establish an Office of Earth Resources Survey 

Systems within NASA and an Earth Resources Observation Administration 

within the Dept. of the Interior [see 18 Sept.]. Other provisions of the 

amendment would require the President, through NASA and DOI, to ensure 

continuity of satellite data during the experimental period and furnish 

Congress with any necessary budget amendments. (CR, 25 Nov 74, 

S19948) 

November: Deferral of $72 million in NASA FY 1975 R~D funding was 

proposed by President Ford in a message to Congress. Aeronautical research and space support activities wouId be deferred by $36 million, 

affecting advanced systems for space exploration and aeronautics, 

analysis of data in the space science program, and maintenance and 

upgrading of equipment for the tracking and data-acquisition program. 

In manned space flight, $20 million in ASTP funds would be deferred. 

And in space science and applications, deferral of $16 million in no-year 

(not designated for a specific year) funds would delay the rate of buildup of Pioneer-Venus, SEASAT-A, Nimbus-G, Tiros-N, and the Heat Capacity Mapping Mission. These deferrals were parts of a $4.6-billion budget 

outlay reduction asked by the President. (PD, 2 Dec 74,1500-1; CR, 26 

Nov 74,520096-7: Federal Rehter. 5 Dec 74.42519-667’) 

9 NASA and the National Science Foundation announced the‘ award of two 

contracts of about $500 000 each to General Electric Co. Space Div. and 

Kaman Aerospace Corp. for preliminary design of very large wind sys204 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 26 November 

tems for generating electricity. Windmills from 100 to 3000 kw would 

be examined by each company in a project managed by Lewis Research 

Center for NSF as part of the program for Research Applied to National 

Needs (RANN). A 100-kw system with vanes more than 37 m in dia, 

already under design and construction, would be erected at IRRC’S Plum 

Brook test area. (IRRC Release 74-73) 

During November: Marshall Space Flight Center awarded McDonnell Douglas 

Corp. a $299 454 contract for the Spacelab Payload Utilization and Planning Study for the space transportation system. (MSFC Release 74-243) 

205 

December 1974 

2-8 December: The U.S.S.R. launched Soyuz 16, carrying cosmonauts 

Col. Anatoly V. Filipchenko and Nikolay N. Rukavishnikov, from Baykonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam at 2:40 pm local time (4:40 am EST) 

in preparation for the July 1975 US.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project 

mission. The spacecraft, identical to the one that would fly during the 

ASTP mission, entered orbit with a 280-km apogee, 194-km perigee, 89.3- 

min period, and 51.8” inclination. Tass reported the purpose of the 

mission was to test the spacecraft’s onboard systems, which had been 

“modernized to meet the demands of the joint flight”; make scientific 

and technical investigations; and observe and photograph sections of 

the earth’s surface for the solution of economic problems. 

In a prelaunch Tass interview, Filipchenko said that the mission was 

to last several days. “This would be enough for us to test carefully all the 

ship’s systems, above all its docking gear.” Using a passive simulator 

docking ring, Soyuz 16 would make docking and separation maneuvers 

in almost all the ASTP modes. In addition, U.S.S.R. ASTP Technical Director Konstanin D. Bushuyev said in a launch-day Tass interview, the crew 

would check out the Soyuz life support system, which had been redesigned for better compatibility with Apollo. Soyuz normally had a 

cabin pressure of 10 newtons per sq cm (14.7 psi) and an atmosphere 

similar in oxygen content to terrestrial atmosphere. Apollo maintained 

its pure oxygen atmosphere at 3.5 newtons per sq cm (5 psi). To reduce 

the acclimation period for the crews’ transition between the two atmospheres, the U.S.S.R. had agreed to reduce the pressure and increase the 

percentage of oxygen in the Soyuz atmosphere. The system’s capacity 

also had been increased to accommodate four persons. 

On 3 Dec. NASA, which had been tracking Soyuz 16 since shortly 

after launch, began a 15-day joint tracking rehearsal with the U.S.S.R. 

After the mission, information gathered by nine US. tracking stations 

would be compared with data from Soviet tracking stations. Meanwhile 

the crew reduced the spacecraft’s cabin pressure to 7.2 newtons per 

sq cm (10.4 psi) and doubled the oxygen content, from 20% to LEO%, 

with no adverse effect. Color TV broadcasts from the spacecraft showed 

all was well. A trajectory correction 4 Dec. placed Soyuz 16 in a circular 

orbit with a 225-km altitude, 88.9-min period, and 51.8” inclination, 

an orbit similar to ASTP requirements. Simulated docking and separation maneuvers “passed off without a hitch” 5-7 Dec., Tass reported. 

Medical, biological, earth resources, and astronomy experiments 

also were carried out during the six-day mission. At 1 :a pm Baykonur 

time (3:04 am ZST) 8 Dec., Soyuz 16 softlanded in the U.S.S.R. 300 km 

north of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakstan. Tass reported the cosmonauts 

were in good health. 

Following the successful landing, US. ASTP Technical Director Glynn 

S. Lunney conveyed his congratulations “for the brilliant rehearsal 

before the Soviet-US. flight.” In a Tass interview Bushuyev said, 

207 
2-8 December ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

“We have succeeded in checking in real space flight the whole 

package of the new system and units responsible for the success of the 

future linkup of the Soviet and U.S. spaceships.” Soyuz 16 was the 

third manned U.S.S.R. launch in 1974, following Soyuz 14 (launched 

3 July) and Soyuz 15 (26 Aug.) . (GSFC SSR, 31 Dec. 74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 

2-11 Dec 74; Wren, NYT, 3 Dec 74, 16; 4 Dec 74 26; JSC Release 

74-272) 

2, 12 December : American astronauts and technicians, although denied 

access to Soviet spacecraft factories, would be permitted to inspect 

the Soyuz spacecraft for the joint Apollo-Soyuz Test Project at the Baykonur Cosmodrome launch site in May 1975, NASA officials said at a 

Johnson Space Center news conference. US. ASTP Technical Director 

Glynn S. Lunney said the arrangement would satisfy U.S. technical 

needs. 

In a 12 Dec. press conference at Star City, Maj. Gen. Vladimir A. 

Shatalov, U.S.S.R. chief of cosmonaut training, said American crews 

would be permitted to view only facilities directly connected with 

the flight itself. “Everything that American astronauts need to be 

acquainted with on the Soyuz that will fly will be shown them beforehand.” In the meantime astronauts would train with mockups and 

simulators. (JSC PIO, interview, 15 Sept 75; Keefer, Today, 5 Dec 74; 

Chriss, LA Times, 3 Dec 74; Toth, LA Times, 13 Dec 74; FBIS-SOV, 13 

Dec 74, Ul) 

2 December: The surface of Jupiter’s moon Io might be composed of evaporite salt deposits, rich in sodium and sulfur, NASA reported. A year-long 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory study had indicated that deposits had resulted 

from migration of salt-saturated aqueous solutions to Io’s surface from 

a warm or hot interior followed by loss of the water to space. Salt-rich 

materials could have been produced by the leaching of carbonaceous 

meteorites. According to Dr. Fraser P. Fanale, JPL team leader, the deposits could account for Io’s high reflective power, the absence of ice 

bands, and the dark reddish poles. 

Sodium vapor emissions from Io had been first reported in February 

1973 by Dr. Robert Brown of Harvard Univ. Subsequently, the cloud 

of sodium was observed to extend more than 320 000 km from Io. 

In August Dr. Fanale with two other astronomers had proposed 

explanations for the sodium emissions. Proton bombardment experiments had indicated that sodium and other atoms had been blasted from 

Io’s surface by the impact of Jupiter’s magnetospheric protons, electrons, 

and ions and had formed a cloud around Io. Io’s glow, according to 

intensive spectral studies, resulted from scattering of sunlight by the 

sodium cloud. (NASA Release 74-315; Fanale et al., Science, 6 Dec 74, 

922-5; Matson et ab., Astro Journ, 15 Aug 74, L43-6; JPL proj off, interview, 24 Sept 75, NSF Release 74-199) 

The first Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) , placed on 

the moon by Apollo 12 astronauts in November 1969, had far exceeded 

its one-year life expectancy and was still functioning, along with instruments in ALSEP packages from Apollo 14 through 17, NASA announced. 

From ALSEP magnetometers, Dr. Palmer Dyal, Ames Research Center 

lunar investigator, had calculated that the moon had a magnetic field 

1000 times weaker than the earth’s, with an iron content about 9% by 

weight, in contrast to the earth’s 30%. The heat flow measured by ALSEP 

instruments was half the earth‘s, indicating differentiation and upward 

208 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 2 December 

concentrations of radioactivity early in the moon’s history, Seismometers had uncovered a new class of moonquakes originating at depths 

of 100 km or less below the lunar surface. Dr. M. Nafi Toksoz of Massachusetts Institute of Technology earlier had reported that preliminary 

information indicated the moon had a small core less than 800 km 

across, lying inside a molten shell 600-1000 km down from the surface, 

where deep moonquakes had been detected. Seismic, magnetic, and heatflow data had also suggested that the moon was further along than the 

earth in its evolutionary history. (NASA Release 74c313; NASA prog off, 

interview, 17 Nov 75; McElheny, NYT, 18 Nov 74) 

An agreement to establish an Aerosat (Aeronautical Satellite) Space Segment Program was signed in Washington by the European Space Research organization, COMSAT General Corp., and the Government of 

Canada. Under the agreement-provided for in the Memorandum of 

Understanding signed 2 Aug.-ESRo, COMSAT General, and Canada would 

furnish the space segment capability for the intergovernmental program. 

COMSAT General would lease its share of the space segment capability 

to the Federal Aviation Administration. (ESRO Release, 3 Dec 74) 

* The Dept. of Defense had officially approved development of the NAVSTAR 

Glohal Positioning System (GPS) , the Air Force announced. The first 

phase of the three-phase joint armed services program called for five 

Rockwell International Corp. spacecraft to join a Navy Navigational 

Technology Satellite ( NTS) in two-plane orbital constallations in 1977 

to test the system. The five-meter, 635-kg spacecraft would be launched on Atlas F boosters by the Air Force Systems Command’s Space Missile 

Test Center. Phase two would bring the number of satellites to nine in 

three orbital planes. The operational third phase-with 24 satellites 

orbiting at an 18 520-km altitude, providing three-dimensional location 

to air, sea, and surface vehicles in all kinds of weather-would be complete in the mid-1980s. (AFSC Release OIP 274.74) 

Inflation would force even more extensive cuts in NASA operations if funding did not increase in the next few fiscal years, Aviation Week & Space 

Technology reported in a survey of NASA belt-tightening. The magazine 

quoted ,VASA Comptroller William E. Lilly as saying cost contracts for 

major spacecraft programs had a %12% inflation rate. The overall 

effective impact of inflation was 7-7.576 at NASA, but these averages 

were much lower than for many specific areas. Although materials 

increases were averaging 15-20%, particular increases ranged from 

&loo%. The 7% inflation rate in Center supplies was being absorbed 

by using inventories and by decreasing the use of supplies. Utility cost 

increases of 20-30% at NASA Centers had been countered by lower usea 30% cut-but Centers were still paying l0-15% more. Overall wage 

rates could increase 20-30% over the next three years, Lilly had said, 

because of a trend-setting agreement between the Boeing Co. and the 

International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Support service contracts were showing a 7-976 yearly inflationary increase. 

NASA Centers were seeking new solutions. At Goddard Space Flight 

Center, more fixed-price contracts were being issued, but predicting 

economic changes was problematic, according to William R. Mecca, 

GSFC Deputy Director for Administration and Management. GSFC had 

begun limiting data acquisition from spacecraft and drawing up contingency plans for many unmanned programs-like the International 

209 
2 December ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Sun-Earth Explorer Spacecraft program and the International Ultraviolet Explorer program-to save costs if primary plans began to exceed 

spending limits. 

Marshall Space Flight Center had reduced its work force by 850- 

about 15%-since June 1973 and had closed 47 structures. Lewis Research Center had cut its power needs 776, using a transient data-recording system to reduce operating hours. Johnson Space Center, along with 

others, had been hiring young persons rather than high-salaried experienced persons. JSC electric costs were still increasing even though the 

Center had reduced its exterior lighting by 75% and its interior lighting 

by 33%. Kennedy Space Center was phasing construction for shuttle 

and other programs, outfitting facilities to meet minimum initial operational requirements rather than for long-range mission models. Consideration was being given to advance procurement for lower costs and 

for preventing slowdowns from shortages. (Covault, Aw Wk, 2 Dec 74, 

3W2 ; Lilly, interview, 19 Sept 75) 

3 December: NASA’s Pioneer 11, traveling toward Jupiter since 5 April 1973 

launch, flew within 42 000 km of the planet’s cloud tops and sent back the 

first polar images-as well as magnetospheric, temperature, and other 

measurement-before swinging on toward Saturn [see 2 Nov.3 Jan. 

19751. (NASA Pioneer Mgr, interview, 12 Nov 75; Hall, Opp, et al., 

Science, 2 May 75,445-8) 

The European Space Research Organization announced the award of three 

contracts totaling nearly $66 million for design and development of two 

spacecraft and one satellite communications payload : $25.2 million to 

GEC-Marconi (United Kingdom) as the prime contractor for the MAROTS 

maritime communications satellite payload to be launched in 1977 ; 

$20.76 million plus launch and postlaunch support to Hawker Siddeley 

Dynamics Ltd. (U.K.) as prime contractor for the MESH consortium, 

for the MAROTS spacecraft platform and satellite integration md support; 

and $19.56 million to Dornier-System GMBh (Germany) as prime contractor for the STAR consortium, for the ISEE-B International Sun-Earth 

Explorer, to be launched with ISEE-A in 1977 in a cboperative NASA-ESRO 

program. 

Norway, the first nonmember country to participate in an ESRO project, had agreed to contribute 1.5% to the MAROTS development budget of 

about $97 million and to share in fixed common costs. (ESRO Release, 

3 Dec 74; Av Wk, 2 Dec 74,38) 

4 December: The NASA Space Shuttle Cost and aeview Committee recommended program changes to Dr. James C. Fletcher, Administrator, to 

reduce rising costs. It also reported design changes made necessary by 

thermal weight constraints. The committee, headed by NASA Associate 

Administrator for Manned Space Flight John F. Yardley, recommended 

delaying the second shuttle orbiter flight, refurbishing the first test 

orbiter earlier than planned instead. Deferrals of three months to two 

years were recommended for components of the second shuttle launch 

complex at Kennedy Space Center, which had originally been scheduled 

for completion about the time of the first shuttle flights. Also recommended was a delay in the development of improved spacesuits and portable life support systems for extravehicular activities from the space 

shuttle. Instead, EVAS would use Apollo-style hardware. Emergency barriers on shuttle runways and a building at KSC for installing fairings 

210 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 4 December 

and parachutes on solid-fueled rocket motors were judged unnecessary. 

Some tests were recommended for cancellation. 

Design changes to accommodate thermal and weight constraints included payload doors of a graphite epoxy composite that expanded less 

when heated and weighed 400 kg less than the aluminum composite 

originally planned for use. Solid-fueled-rocket separation motors that 

would provide a higher thrust level for a shorter time when separating 

the large solid-propellant boosters from the orbiter after launch were 

found to cause no orbiter darnage-solving a possible problem anticipated with the original separation motors. The committee also recommended switching to a new thermal coating material for the external 

liquid-hydrogen and liquid-oxygen tank to prevent tank overheating 

during launch. (NASA prog off, interview, 22 Sept 75; Av Wk, 9 Sept 74, 

9-10; NASA Off of Admin, Daily Appointments Calendar) 

Dr. George M. Low, NASA Deputy Administrator, was presented the 1974 

Rockefeller Public Service Award for Administration by President Ford 

at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. As Deputy Associate 

Administrator for Manned Space Flight at NASA Hq., Deputy Director of 

Manned Space Flight Center, and then MSC Manager of the Apollo 

Spacecraft Program before becoming NASA Deputy Administrator in 

1969, Dr. Low had been responsible for development of the Mercury 

and Gemini programs, an original planner of the Apollo program, and 

negotiator for the US.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. He had 

joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1949 and 

moved to NASA when it was established in 1958. 

Dr. Robert M. White, Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, also received one of the five $10 000 

awards, for physical resource development and protection. Established 

by John D. Rockefeller I1 in 1952 to honor excellence in the career 

Civil Service, the awards were administered by the Princeton Univ. 

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. (PD, 9 Dec 

74, 1528-9; Marshall Star, 11 Dec 74; NASA Activities, 15 Dec 74, 8; 

NASA Biog) 

5 December: Dr. James 6. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in energy research and development with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) . Dr. Chauncey 

Starr, President of EPRI, had signed the agreement 24 Nov. The agencies 

would cooperate in applying safety, reliability, and quality assurance 

techniques developed for the space program to electric power generating 

plants and in research and technology development for advanced energy 

systems. (NASA OAST pro, interview, 3 Sept 75; NASA Release 74-325) 

6 December: The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization 

announced it had contracted with Hughes Aircraft Co. for three Intelsat 

IVA satellites in addition to three ordered in 1973. The amendment to 

the 1973 contract totaled more than $40 million, including launch 

support services but not possible performance incentive payments. The - 

first of the additional satellites, with twice the communications capability 

of the Intelsat IV series, was to be delivered in 1977. (INTELSAT Release 

74-67) 

9 December: Wind-tunnel tests at Ames Research Center had indicated that 

NASA’s swing-wing aircraft configuration could provide a practical design 

for an advanced commercial jet transport, NASA announced. The aircraft’s straight wing, mounted above the body, could be turned to various 

211 
9 December ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

oblique angles for different flight speeds and was proposed for slow 

and fast design versions. Operating at speeds of 800 to 1400 km per hr, 

the needle-nosed fast version would maintain relatively economical fuel 

consumption-13 000 to 17 000 km per cu m per passenger-about twice 

the fuel economy of supersonic transports like the Concorde or the 

Russian Tu-144. For slower flight, the wing would be fixed at right angles 

to the fuselage, for landings and takeoffs with minimum power and noise. 

The design's flexibility would permit shorter flight times with little 

increase in overall fuel consumption. (NASA Release 76318) 

* A breathing system developed by Johnson Space Center using technology 

for solid-propellant rocket-motor cases was being evaluated in the field 

by Houston firemen. New air tanks were built of spiral-wound glass fiber 

over an aluminum liner to provide a lighter and more durable system. 

(NASA Release 76320) 

10 December-I6 January 1975: NASA launched West German-built Helios I 

solar probe at 2:11 am EST from Eastern Test Range on a Titan IIIE 

Centaur vehicle, putting it on a path that would take it closer to the sun 

than any spacecraft had yet traveled. The spacecraft first entered a 

parking orbit and then an elliptical orbit of the sun with a 0.985-~~ 

aphelion, 0.3095-~u perihelion, 190.15-day period, and 0.02" inclination to the ecliptic. All vehicle systems performed normally during 

launch. 

The Titan-Centaur carried a Delta solid-fueled rocket-motor kick 

stage as a 4th stage and required seven interdependent ignition systems. 

Following separation from the 1st stage, the Centaur, with 2300 kg 

of propellants remaining, began maneuvers to provide data for the 

1977 Mariner Jupiter-Saturn mission, future synchronous orbit missions, 

and continued development of the launch vehicle. Maneuvers included 

a one-hour coast and restart, three-hour coast with thermal maneuvers, 

boost-pump operation experiment with igniter on, and zero-g boostpump dead-head operation. 

Helios 1 was to investigate the fundamental solar processes and solarterredrial relations by studying the solar wind, magnetic and electric 

fields, cosmic rays, and cosmic dust from launch to the first perihelion, 

0.31 AU from the sun. The 370-kg spool-shaped spacecraft carried 10 

instruments-7 West German and 3 U.S.-to measure the solar wind, 

magnetic field, and related shock waves; study radio waves and oscillations in the electron plasma; measure the spatial gradient of solar and 

galactic cosmic rays; observe composition and dynamics of interplanetary dust; and monitor x-ray activity of the solar disc. 

By 16 Jan. orientation and spin-rate maneuvers had been conducted 

and the high-gain antenna despun and pointed toward the earth. Control 

of the spacecraft had been passed to Germany. Fnstruments had been 

turned on and were operating normally with two exceptions: One of 

two antennas in the U.S. plasma-wave experiment had jammed during 

extension and unrolled inside the drive enclosure, producing an electrical 

ground and degrading all low-frequency data. Rewinding the antenna 

had not eliminated the ground. In addition, operation of the high-gain 

antenna for the West German plasma experiment produced a space 

charge near the spacecraft, preventing detection of electrons with energies 

less than 100 ev. The medium-gain antenna would be used during selected 

periods. 

ID 

212 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 10 December-16 January 

To prepare for its demanding mission, Helios 1, designed to withstand 

the highest temperatures ever demanded of a spacecraft, had been 

successfully subjected to six days at 644 K (700"F), the highest heat 

load expected at 0.3 AU, during spring 1974 tests at Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory. The spacecraft had also withstood radiation 11 times the 

solar intensity at the outer edge of the earth's atmosphere. Independent 

payload components, louver systems, optical surface reflectors and 

mirrors, and several layers of insulation dissipated spacecraft heat. In 

addition the spacecraft spun at one revolution per second to distribute 

evenly the heat coming from the sun. Temperatures within the experiment 

area were kept between 263 and 303 K (14" and 86'F). 

A second Helios spacecraft would be launched in 12 to 18 mos wd 

information from the two spacecraft would be received simultaneously 

from widely differing locations, for comparison with each other and 

with data from Pioneer- and IMP-class spacecraft. 

Helios, the third cooperative US. and West German project, was 

agreed on during 1966 talks. Following technical discussions and mission dfinition, a Memorandum of understanding was signed 10 June 

1969. NASA provided three scientific instruments, spacecraft technical 

support, launch vehicle and operations, and initial tracking and data 

acquisition and flight operations. The German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT) designed, built, and tested the spacecraft and provided seven scientific instruments, data acquisition and 

analysis, and spacecraft control. 

Goddard Space Flight Center was responsible for NAS-4 project management; Lewis Research Center had responsibility for the launch vehicle. (NASA MORS, 6 Dec 74, 16 Jan 75; NASA PAO, interview, 10 Dec 74; 

NASA Releases 74-314,75-68; UPI, NYT, 9 Dec 74, 45) 

10 December: A Memorandum of Understanding on space cooperation was 

signed at NASA Hq. by Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator; Dr. 

Robert M. White, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ; and Prof. Maurice Levy, President of France's 

Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales. France agreed to design and build 

a data-collection system for Tiros-N meteorological satellite scheduled 

for launch in late 1977 and for the seven NOAA operational satellites to 

follow. (NASA Photo No. 74-H-1170) 

9 A United Air Lines, Inc., 747 airliner carrying instruments to monitor 

pollution in the upper atmosphere for NASA's Global Air Sampling Program completed flight testing and was certified as airworthy. Managed 

by Lewis Research Center, GASP would eventually use four 747 jets 

measuring dust particles and gases at altitudes of 6000 to 12 000 m to 

study the effects of emissions from jet aircraft and other pollution 

sources on the earth's atmosphere and weather. (LeRC Release 74-80; 

Lewis News, 27 Dec 74) 

11 December: Edwin C. Kilgore, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Center Operations, had been named Director for Management Operations, Langley Research Center, effective 1 March 1975, NASA announced. 

Kilgore would assume the functions of LaRC Director for Administration 

Raymond G. Romatowski and most of the functions of Director for 

Center Development and External Affairs T. Melvin Butler. While at 

NASA Hq., Kilgore had served as Acting Associate Administrator for 

Aeronautics and Space Technology and also as Deputy Associate Admin213 
11 December ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

istrator (Management) in the same office. In 1973 Kilgore had been 

awarded NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal for developing an improved system for managing advanced technology programs. 

Romatowski had accepted the position at NASA Hq. of Assistant Administrator for Personnel Programs. Butler would retire in December. 

(NASA Release 74-324A) 

* The universe was 16 billion yrs old, 6 billion yrs older than earlier estimates, according to California Institute of Technology astronomer Dr. 

Allen R Sandage, the Washington Post reported after an interview. 

After 10 yrs of observing 50 galaxies, Dr. Sandage had dated the 

galaxies from 14 billion yrs ago, meaning that 2 billion yrs were required 

for the primordial gas cloud to cool enough for stars to begin forming. 

Working with Swiss astronomer Gustav Tamman, Dr. Sandage had arrived at his new date when his observations had led him to recalculate 

the Hubble Constant, the rate of speed for the expansion of the universe. He had checked his figures by dating stars in globular clusters 

in the Milky Way and by measuring the amounts of metal still burning 

in their atmospheres. (O’Toole, W Post, 11 Dec 74, Al) 

13 December: A golden age of planetary exploration was a realistic possibility, Science quoted Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, as 

saying in an interview. Dr. Fletcher believed space science was likely 

to be a major thrust of the space program in the 198Os, although NASA’s 

budget was vulnerable to cuts in the present political climate. He ruled 

out manned programs otlier than the space shuttle, but NASA would 

not become an all-purpose technology development agency for energy, 

ground transportation, and similar nonspace systems. Applications and 

materials processing would be important. Dr. Fletcher believed NASA’s 

program was acceptable to Congress and to the White House and that its 

future problem would not be wholesale cancellation of the space program 

but surviving annual budget cuts. 

Increased competition for money and staff attention in congressional 

space-related committees could aggravate NASA’s budgetary problems, 

according to Science. Observers had predicted that Congress would be 

faced with a choice between the shuttle and continuation of the space 

science and applications program. The decision could rest on the support 

of the shuttle program by organized labor, as it had in a 1972 Senate 

attempt to kill the shuttle. Some scientists had suggested that a $1-billion 

NASA budget cut would be better for science than a $lOO-million cut 

because the former would entail canceling the shuttle, in theory freeing 

money for space science. Dr. Fletcher had maintained, however, that a 

balance between programs would be kept. (Hammond, Science, 13 Dec 

74, 1011-3) 

Three Kitt Peak National Observatory astronomers announced they had 

photographed large-scale structures, hot and cold regions, that were 

probably convection currents in the atmosphere of Alpha Orionis (the 

star Betelguese in the Constellation Orion), 500 light years from the 

earth. The announcement, made in Florida at the American Astronomical 

Society’s annual meeting, was based on photos made 28 March using 

the four-meter Mayall Telescope. A new technique of interferometry 

analysis had permitted reconstruction of the star’s image. In resolving 

the disc of Betelguese, the Kitt Peak astronomers became the first observers to distinguish actual forms on a star other than the sun. (NSF 

Release 76229) 

214 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 15 December 

15 December: NASA% Erts 1 Earth Resources Technology Satelliteroutinely 

surveying crops, forests, watersheds, and mineral deposits on the earth 

since its 23 July 1972 launch-had transmitted photos of seven major 

Soviet antiballistic missile launch and radar installations at the Sary 

Shagan development site in southern Russia, the Sun Diego Union reported. The newspaper pointed out the ERTS satellites might be used to 

discover whether the Soviets were violating arms limitation agreements. 

(Macomber, Sun Diego Union, 15 Dec 75) 

16 December: The first map of gravity forces on the moon’s far side indicated 

that the strong gravitational tug of mascons (mass concentrations) on 

the lunar face was caused by lava flooding rather than by buried meteorites as previously thought, California Institute of Technology planetary 

scientist Dr. Alfred J. Ferrari reported in a press release based on a 

paper to be published in Science. The map was developed from measurements of the orbits of two small subsatellites left orbiting the moon by 

Apollo 15 and 16 in July 1971 and April 1972 and of Lunar Orbiter 5 

(launched 1 Aug. 1967). Basins on the moon’s far side, not lava-filled, 

exerted only weak gravitational forces on orbiting spacecraft, while lavaflooded basins on the front side exerted a strong pull. (Miles, LA Times, 

17 Dec 74; Ferrari interview, 20 Nov 75; Ferrari, Science, 27 June 75, 

17 December: The U.S.S.R. launched Meteor 20 meteorological satellite from 

Plesetsk into orbit with an 896-km apogee, 841-km perigee, 102.3-min 

period, and 81.2’ inclination. The satellite carried instruments to photograph clouds and snow cover on the day and night sides of the earth and 

collect data on thermal energy reflected and emitted by the earth and its 

atmosphere, for day-to-day weather service. (GSFC Wk2y SSR, 12-18 Dec 

74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 19 Dec 74, U1; SBD, 19 Dec 74,270) 

17-19 December: A major review of the first Viking lander spacecraft was 

held at Langley Research Center. The lander was approved for shipment 

to Kennedy Space Center in January 1975. The review followed successful completion of critical surface simulation testing [see 18 Sept.-21 Oct., 

24 Nov.-14 Dec.] . (Langley Researcher, 20 Dec 74) 

18 Decembei-6 January 1975: NASA launched Symphonie I, French and West 

German experimental communications satellite, at 9 :39 pm EST from 

Eastern Test Range on a three-stage, thrust-augmented Thor-Delta launch 

vehicle. The 402-kg satellite entered a transfer orbit with a 38 071-km 

apogee, 402-km perigee, 688.2-min period, and 13.2’ inclination. 

Nine seconds after the Thor-Delta’s 3rd stage separated from the 2nd 

stage, the inertial measurement unit (the altitude-sensing portion in the 

2nd-stage guidance system) stopped functioning, but the failure did not 

affect the path of the already separated 3rd stage. In addition, the main 

engine cutoff was achieved by fuel depletion with 430 kg liquid oxygen 

remaining instead of with the planned depletion. The anomalies, which 

did not affect the mission, were under investigation. 

Ground controllers in West Germany activated the apogee kick motor, 

the first using liquid propellant, at 6:OO pm EST 21 Dec., putting the 

spacecraft in circular geosynchronous orbit with 35 810-km apogee, 

35 767-km perigee, 23-hr 56-min period, and 0.3O inclination. The spacecraft was despun and three-axis-stabilized and its large solar panels were 

successfully deployed 24 Dec. Symphonie 1 drifted eastward to its final 

station at 115O W longitude over the west coast of Africa and began 

operations 2 Jan. 1975. 

1927-1 300) 

215 
18 December4 January ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

The NASA mission objectiveto launch the spacecraft into a transfer 

orbit that would permit the onboard propulsion system to place it in 

an accurate synchronous orbit-was satisfied and the mission was adjudged successful 6 Jan. Symphonie I would provide 1200 telephone 

circuits, 8 voice channels, and 2 color TV channels for experimental communications between Europe, Africa, and South America. 

The first of two Symphonie satellites, provided for by a French-West 

Germany agreement signed June 1967, the satellite was developed by 

a French-German industrial consortium under the direction of the French 

Centre National d’gtudes Spatiales ( CNES) and the West German Gesellschaft fur Weltraumforschung (Gfw). In October 1973 NASA agreed to 

provide the launch vehicle and services on a cost-reimbursable basis and 

in June 1974 signed a launch services contract with CNES-GfW. Goddard 

Space Flight Center in cooperation with French and West German ground 

stations was responsible for tracking the spacecraft during launch and 

transfer orbit operations. GSFC was also responsible for the launch vehicle. 

(NASA MORS, 13 Dec 74, 6 Jan 75; NASA prog off, interview, 29 Aug 75; 

NASA Release 74-316) 

18 December : Post-storage checkout was proceeding at Marshall Space 

Flight Center on the first propulsive stage and instrument unit of the 

Saturn IB launch vehicle (SA-210) for the July 1975 Apollo-Soyuz 

Test Project mission. Fin-mounting brackets on the stage, taken out of 

storage 27 Nov., had been rod-peened (pounded with a small bundle of 

rods to place compressive stresses in the surface of the material) to 

avoid the stress-corrosion problems that had delayed the Skylab 4 

launch in November 1973. Bolt holes for the fins had been rounded 

to eliminate stress points. The complete Saturn vehicle was to be stacked 

in January 1975. (MSFC Release 74-241; Spaceport News, 12 Dec 74) e Ames Research Center scientist Dr. Theodore Wydeven, Jr., had developed 

a new technique for coating salt lenses, NASA announced. Lenses made 

from large salt crystals had long been used in scientific applications 

because they were transparent to infrared light, but they were susceptible to fogging from even slight moisture. Using a method from his 

water purification experiments, Dr. Wydeven had prepared a Teflon-like 

membrane in an electric discharge to coat a salt lens, at a few cents 

a coating. The coating increased resistance to moisture and enhanced 

optical quality of the lens because of the film’s antireflection properties. 

(NASA Release 74-319) 

18-20 December : An experimental communications linkup between Mission 

Control Center at Johnson Space Center and the Soviet mission control 

near Moscow was made by U.S. and Soviet flight controllers rehearsing 

for the July 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission. Procedures for 

interfacing voice, video, teletype, and telex facsimile between the two 

control centers through the tracking networks were checked out. A 

10-hr procedural simulation of the launches of the Apollo and SOYUZ 

spacecraft, with exchange of status reports and data on spacecraft position, was held at JSC the third day. The first JSC Mission Control 

Center simulation with Apollo crewmen was scheduled for mid-February 

1975, with the first all-up simulation with both control centers and both 

Apollo and Soyuz crews in late March 1975. (JSC Release 74-275; 

Chriss, LA Times, 24 Dec 74,8; JSC PIO, interview, 15 Sept 75) 

216 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1W4 19 December 

19 December: Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as Vice President of 

the United States after the House confirmed his nomination. The 

Senate had confirmed the nomination 10 Dec. (CRY 10 Dec 74, D1343; 

19 Dec 74, D1413, D1416) 

2Q December: Johnson Space Center announced selection of Singer Co. 

Simulated Products Div. for an $8-million cost-plus-award fee contract 

to develop a space shuttle orbiter aeroflight simulator for crew training. Singer would design, manufacture, and test a simulator that would 

include a high-fidelity crew station, out-of-the-window color visual 

scene, motion base, and flight computer and simulator interface to 

simulate vehicle flight dynamics and motion during the atmospheric 

phase of missions. ( JSC Release 7&276) 

21 December; The U.S.S.R. launched Mohiya ZZ-11 from Plesetsk into orbit 

with a 40 630-km apogee, 656-km perigee, 12-hr 16.8-min period, and 

62.9” inclination. The comsat would help provide long-distance telephone and telegraph radio communications and transmit U.S.S.R. TV 

programs to stations of the Orbita network. (GSFC Wkly SSR, 19-25 

Dec 74; Tass, FBIS-SOV, 24 Dec 74, U1; SBD, 27 Dec 74,290) 

23 December: Capt. Lee R. Scherer (USN, Ret.), Flight Research Center 

Director, had been named Director of Kennedy Space Center effective 

in mid-January 1975, NASA announced. He would succeed Dr. Kurt H. 

Debus, who retired 9 Oct. Before going to FRC in 1971, Capt. Scherer 

had been Lunar Exploration Director in the NASA Hq. Apollo Program 

Office, directing the scientific exploration of the first five manned landings on the moon. He had been Manager of the Lunar Orbiter Program 

1963-1967. (NASA Ann, 23 Dec 74) 

0 Marshall Space Flight Center announced the award of a two-phase planning study contract for the space transportation system (STS) to McDonne11 Douglas Astronautics Co. Phase 1, funded at $116 214 for six 

months, would define a master scheduling concept for effective use of 

the space shuttle, interim upper stage, space tug, and Spacelab. Phase 2, 

funded at $183 240 for an additional nine months, would validate a 

master planning technique and establish specifications for scheduling. 

(MSFC Release 74242) 

25 December: Tass announced that the flight of the U.S.S.R.’s Salyut 3 

orbiting space station, launched 25 June, would soon end, after completion of a six-month program that doubled the flight duration originally planned. During its six months operation the spacecraft had performed more than 400 scientific and technical experiments, received 

more than 8000 control commands from the earth, conducted more 

than 200 “dynamic operaiions,” conducted 70 TV transmission and 2500 

telemetric sessions, fired its thrusters more than 500 000 times, and 

generated 5000 kw of electricity with its solar panels. A two-man crew, 

launched 3 July on Soyuz 14, boarded the space station and spent 15 

days living and working in space. A second crew, launched 26 Aug. on 

SOYUZ 15, failed in several attempts to dock with the station and returned 

to the earth after 48 hrs in space. Since that time Salyut 3 had operated 

in an unmanned automatic mode. The Western press later speculated 

that the mission was being ended to prevent any interference with the 

mission of Salyut 4% [see 26 Dec.-9 Feb. 19751. The retrorockets were 

fired 24 Jan. 1975 and the station reentered the atmosphere over the 

217 
25 December ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Pacific Ocean after 213 days in space. (TASS, FBIS-SOV, 26 Dec 74, U1-2; 

24 Jan 75, U1; GSFC SSR, 28 Feb 75; Soviet Aero, 6 Jan 75,l) 

26 December-9 February 1975: The U.S.S.R. launched Salyut 4 space station 

into earth orbit and 16 days later launched Soyw 17 with a two-man 

crew to join the Salyut and establish a manned orbital laboratory. 

Salyut 4 was launched 26 Dec. from Baykonur Cosmodrome near 

Tyuratam into orbit with a 252-km apogee, 214km perigee, 89.2-min 

period, and 51.6” inclination. Tass announced the purpose of the mission 

was to test the design, onboard systems, and equipment and to conduct 

scientific studies and experiments in space. The news agency also reported that onboard systems and equipment were operating normally. 

The Western press reported that major maneuvers 29 and 30 Dee. 

put the station at a record high altitude for a Salyut space station, 

reaching an orbit with a 350-km apogee and 337-km perigee by 31 Dec. 

Soyuz 17, launched at 2:43 am 11 Jan. 1975 local time (4:4$3 pm EST 

10 Jan.) from Baykonur Cosmodrome, carried cosmonauts Lt. Col. 

Aleksey A. Gubarev and Georgy M. Grechko into orbit with a 249-km 

apogee, 186-km perigee, 88.9-min period, and 51.6” inclination. Tass 

announced the mission would carry out joint experiments with Salyut 4, 

including a comprehensive checkup of the spacecraft’s onboard systems 

in various flight conditions. In a launch-day interview with Tass, Maj. 

Gen. Georgy T. Beregovoy, head of the Soviet cosmonaut training center, said that Soyuz 17.wa.s in “no way connected with additional 

checkups of ‘Soyuz’ systems before its rendezvous with ‘Apollo.’ ” 

An orbital correction raised the spacecraft to an orbit with a 354- 

km apogee, 293-km perigee, 90.7-min period, and 51.6” inclination, 

permitting Soyuz 17 to dock with Salyut 4 on 12 Jan. The spacecraft was moved automatically to a distance of 10 m from the station and 

then the cosmonauts completed docking by manual control. The crew 

entered the space stztion, switched on the power and radio transmitters, 

and inspected the scientific equipment. 

In a 14 Jan. interview with Tass, Dr. Konstantin P. Feoktistov, cosmonaut who had helped design the space station, said that Salyut 4 

improvements included three panels of solar batteries that were positioned like the tail of an aircraft and could be individually oriented 

toward the sun. The panels permitted the energy supply in the station to 

be replenished without using fuel for spacecraft orientation. Other improvements had been introduced in the flight control systems. 

During a broadcast from the spacecraft over Moscow Radio 15 Jan., 

Gubarev and Grechko said they had set up the first Soviet space-based 

teletype communications station. The teletype could receive and copy 

communications from the earth while the cosmonauts were busy at 

other tasks. Tass reported 17 Jan. that the cosmonauts, neither of whom 

had been in space before, had become accustomed to weightlessness 

about the fifth or sixth day of flight. 

During nearly 30 days aboard Salyut 4, Gubarev and Grechko used a 

newly developed high-resolution solar telescope to study solar phenomena, x-ray telescopes and sensors to study the flux of x-radiation from 

celestial bodies, and an infrared spectrometer to examine the earth’s 

radiation. The cosmonauts also studied effects of weightlessness on the 

human vestibular function, cardiovascular system, and blood ; made 

earth resources observations; and studied the earth’s upp$r atmosphere. 

They resprayed two telescope mirrors dulled by exposure to space; 

218 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 26 December-9 February 

carried out biological “Oasisy’ experiments using insects, microorganisms, tissue cultures, and plants; and tried recycling water, condensed from the cabin atmosphere, for drinking and food preparation. 

The crew began preparations for their return to earth 9 Feb., transferring equipment to Soyuz 17. The cosmonauts boarded Soyuz 17 and 

undocked from the space station at 11 :08 am Baykonur time (1 :08 am 

EST). Soyuz 17 softlanded in the U.S.S.R. 110 km northeast of Tselinograd, Kazakhstan, “in complex meteorological conditions” after 29 days 

13 hrs 20 min in space. The Soyuz 17 cosmonauts had broken the previous 

23-day 18-hr 22-min Soviet record for time in space set by the Soyuz 11 

crew on Salyut 1 (6-30 June 1971) before they were killed during reentry. On-the-spot and later medical checks showed that the Soyuz 17 

cosmonauts had “withstood well the long space flight.” 

Salyut 4 was the fourth space station orbited by the U.S.S.R. Salyut 1 

had been launched 19 April 1971. A three-man crew, launched on 

Soyuz 10, docked with the station 24 April but returned to earth without entering. The Soyuz 11 crew, launched 6 June 1971, boarded the 

station and conducted scientific experiments for 24 days before their 

reentry tragedy. 

Salyut 2 was launched into orbit 3 April 1973, but an explosion or 

wildly firing thrusters sent the statlon out of control, tearing off the 

solar panels and making the station uninhabitable. Salyut 3 was orbited 

25 June 1974 [see 25 Dec.] . (GSFC Wkly SSR, 19-25 Dec 74; GSFC SSR, 

31 Dec 74; 28 Feb 75; Tass, FBISSOV, 31 Dec 74-13 Feb 75; SF, June 

75, 235; April 75, 144-5; O’Toole, W Post, 31 Dee 74, A7; UPI, NYT, 

16 Jan 75,14; SBD, 14 Jan 75,62; LC, S&T News Alert 2645) 

30 December: Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, and Housing and 

Urban Development Secretary James T. Lynn signed and sent to the 

President and Congress their agencies’ joint plan for implementing the 

Solar Heating and CooIing Demonstration Act of 1974. Under the Act, 

signed 3 Sept., NASA was responsible for development and procurement 

of solar equipment. HUD would coordinate the demonstration, including 

installation of solar equipment in residential structures, and collecting 

and disseminating information about solar energy. ( MSFC Release 74- 

2w 0 Dr. John F. Victory, former Executive Secretary of the National Advisory 

Committee for Aeronautics, died in Tucson, Ariz., at the age of 82. 

Dr. Victory, NACA’S first employee when it was established in 1915, 

had been appointed Secretary of NACA in 1921 and in 1948 had been 

named its Executive Secretary, responsible for NACA’S functioning as an 

independent research agency. When NASA succeeded NACA in 1958, he 

served as special assistant to Dr. T. Keith Glennan, NASA Administrator, 

and he remained with NASA until retirement in 1960. Dr. Victory, who 

had been known as “Mr. Aviation” in the industry, had received numerous awards, including a Presidential Medal for Merit, the first Air Foundation Certificate of Recognition, the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, 

and NACA’S Distinguished Service Medal. (NASA Activities, Feb 75, 18) 

31 December: A Soviet earth station to provide US.-U.S.S.R. Hot Line communications via Intelsat and Molniya satellites went into operation. The 

comsat station, near Moscow, was constructed under a bilateral agreement signed in Washington 30 Sept. 1971 to improve the WashingtonMOSCOW direct communications link in an effort to reduce risk of war. 

219 
31 December ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

(ComSatCorp Off Internat’l Affairs, interview, 23 Jan 75; A&A 1971, 

1972) 0 President Ford signed S. 1283 into P.L. 93-577, the Federal Nonnuclear 

Energy Research and Development Act of 1974, to establish and conduct a national program of basic and applied research and development, 

including but not limited to demonstrations of practical applications, of 

all potentially beneficial energy sources and utilization technologies, 

within the Energy Research and Development Administration. (Text; 

PD, 6 Jan 75,14) 

During December: A total of 34$9 NASA Civil Service employees, including 

Associate Deputy Administrator Willis H. Shapley, retired under an 

“early outy7 retirement plan authorized by the Civil Service Commission. 

Under the plan employees could retire if they were at least 50 yrs of age 

and had 20 yrs of service or if they had 25 yrs of service, regardless of 

age. NASA had requested the retirement authority, which would extend 

through 28 Feb. 1975, to minimize effects of a reduction in force scheduled for February at Marshall Space Flight Center and of end of FY 

1975 ceilings at Headquarters and elsewhere. NASA also announced a 

plan to reassign some Headquarters employees to Centers. 

Retirees included 50 at Headquarters, 50 at Goddard Space Flight 

Center, 78 at Langley Research Center, 68 at MSFC, 28 at Lewis Research 

Center, 26 at Ames Research Center, 16 at Kennedy Space Flight Center, 

14 at Johnson Space Flight Center, 10 at Flight Research Center, and 8 

at Wallops Flight Center. By 31 Dec. NASA’s permanent Civil Service 

strength totaled 24 619-303 over its end of FY 1975 ceiling. (NASA 

Gen Mgt Rev Rpt, 20 Jan 75,ll-12; NASA Ann, 12 Dec 74; NASA Deputy 

Admin memo to Hq employees, 23 Dec 74) 

Marshall Space Flight Center awarded more than $28.2 million in contracts 

of $25000 or more. Among awards were $2253300 to Inscho’s Mechanical Contractors, Inc., for construction of the X-Ray Telescope Facility at MSFC; also $695 000 to Lockheed Aircraft Corp. and $687 201 

to Martin Marietta Corp., for Large Space Telescope support system 

module studies. (MSFC Release 75-18) 

220 
1974 in Summary 

Launches 

The US. orbited 28 payloads in 22 launches during the year. The U.S.S.R. 

orbited 95 payloads in 81 launches; Italy launched 2 payloads, using NASA 

launch vehicles; and Japan launched 1. US. launches included 16 payloads 

in 14 NASA launches and 12 spacecraft in 8 Dept. of Defense launches. 

For the first year since 1967 the US. launched no men into space, although 

Skylab 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William 

R. Pogue completed the longest mission yet accomplished by man when 

they splashed down in the Pacific Ocean 8 Feb. after 84 days in space. The 

U.S.S.R. orbited three two-man crews during the year, including two crews 

to dock with the Salyut 3 space station. The Soyuz 14 crew docked and worked 

aboard the laboratory for nearly 16 days, but Soyuz 15 failed to dock and it 

returned to earth after 48 hrs in space. Soyuz 16 tested the Apollo-Soyuz Test 

Project configuration in December. The U.S.S.R. also launched the Salyut 4 

orbiting space station, to be joined by a two-man crew in January 1975. 

The 16 NASA-launched payloads-11 paid for by domestic and foreign corporations or foreign governments-included 7 communications, 1 applications technology, 2 meteorological, and 6 scientific satellites. These were in 

addition to 2 Italian-launched cooperative scientific satellites. Comsats included two spacecraft launched for United Kingdom military communications 

-Skynet ZZA into too low an orbit, followed later by the successful Skynet ZZB, 

Westar 1 and 2, launched for Western Union Telegraph Co., were the firljt 

US. commercial domestic communications satellites. The most complex and 

versatile of the Applications Technology Satellites, Ats 6, went into orbit in 

May. The spacecraft was transmitting medical and educational telecommunications to small inexpensive ground stations in remote areas of the US. and 

would, in 1975, be positioned to broadcast educational programs to 5000 

villages in India. Symphonie 1 was launched for France and West Germany 

as the first of two experimental communications satellites. In‘ntelsat-ZV F-8 

was launched for Communications Satellite Corp. on behalf of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, and Amsat Oscar 7 for 

Radio Amateur Satellite Corp. as a secondary payload on the Noua 4 launch. 

The two meteorological satellites included Synchronous Meteorological 

Satellite Sms I, launched for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide continuous day and night images of cloud cover over 

the U.S. and Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Sms 1 was the first meteorological satellite in synchronous orbit. Noaa 4 was launched as part of NOM’S 

global weather watch program. 

All but one of NASA’s six scientific payloads were cooperative efforts with 

foreign countries. Miranda (UK-X4) was launched for U.K. to measure the 

density of sun-reflecting particles near the spacecraft as well as test spacecraft systems. Spain’s first satellite-Intasat, put into polar orbit as a secondary payload with Nom &began studies of the ionosphere. Two spacecraft 

were launched in cooperation with West Germany: Aeros 2 to measure aero221 
During 1974 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

nomic parameters of the upper atmosphere and solar ultraviolet radiation, 

Helios I into solar orbit to investigate interstellar space closer to the sun than 

any previous spacecraft had and to gather extensive new data on the sun. 

NASA and The Netherlands joined to orbit The Netherlands Astronomical 

Satellite Am 1 to study stellar w and x-ray sources. NASA’s only all-U.S. 

scientific payload, Hawkeye 1 (Explorer 52), was launched into polar orbit to 

study plasma properties of the magnetosphere over the north polar cap. 

A Titan-Centaw proof-flight vehicle carrying a Viking spacecraft model 

and a SPHINX satellite failed to achieve orbit and was destroyed during launch 

operations. The new NASA launch vehicle later successfully launched Helios 1. 

Italian launch crews, using NASA launch vehicles, launched two satellites into 

earth orbit from the San Marco launch platform in the Indian Ocean off the 

East African coast. Sun Marc0 4 in February carried two U.S. and one Italian 

experiment into orbit to measure diurnal variations in the equatorial neutral 

atmosphere. Ariel 5 was launched in October for U.K., to study galactic and 

extragalactic x-ray sources, in the first Italian launch for a country other than 

the US. or Italy. 

Japan launched its fifth satellite, Tansei 2-Japan’s first on a guided 

booster. 

In addition to the three manned Soyuz missions, the U.S.S.R. launched 2 

Salyut space stations; 3 unmanned Soyuz spacecraft identified as Cosmos 638, 

656, and 672; 7 Molniya comsats; 5 Meteor meteorological satellites; 2 cooperative Intercosmos; 2 Luna lunar probes; and 71 spacecraft under the 

Cosmos designation. 

Space Science and Exploration 

Besides the new scientific satellites, NASA continued systematic exploration 

of the solar system as Pioneer 11, launched in April 1973, sped to within 

42 000 km of Jupiter 3 Dec. The spacecraft photographed the giant planet and 

its moons, transmitting new information on the planet’s weather patterns, 

atmosphere, and radiation belts. Data from Pioneer 11 and its predecessor 

Piorzeer 10, which had encountered Jupiter in December 1973 revealed that 

Jupiter was hotter than previously estimated and composed largely of liquid 

hydrogen. Cyclones and anticyclones stretched completely around the planet 

with rising grey-white cloud ridges extending 20 km above Jupiter’s distinctive 

orange-brown belts. Jupiter’s great red spot was probably the vortex of a great 

storm that had-raged along a 400 000-km front for centuries. At year’s end 

Pioneer 11 was speeding toward rendezvous with Saturn to give man his 

closest look at that planet while Pioneer 10 raced to CTOSS the orbits of Saturn, 

Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto and become the first spacecraft to leave the solar 

system. 

Meanwhile Mariner 10-after passing within 5800 km of Venus and sending back new information on particle environment, mass, and density of that 

planet-made two successful flybys of Mercury in March and September. 

The spacecraft transmitted data that gave scientists mass measurements 100 

times better than previous ones, described a detached, well-defined bow 

shock wave, and showed temperatures varying from 90 K on the night side 

to 700 K on the day side (-300OF to 800OF). During the two encounters 

the spacecraft photographed 4576 of the planet’s surface. By the end of the 

year Mariner 10 was headed for a third Mercury encounter in March 1975. 

Preparations for the two 1975 Viking missions to Mars continued with 

the qualification-testing of Viking science instruments, engineering subsys222 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 During 1974 

tems, and entire orbiter and lander spacecraft. During the last quarter of 

the year the lander successfully completed critical surface simulation tests 

that included subjecting the spacecraft to temperatures approximatkg Martian conditions and dropping it from 0.6 m to determine the effects of landing 

shocks on the integrated Viking equipment. 

A detailed spacecraft design for the 1977 Mariner mission to Jupiter and 

Saturn was completed while a major effort to find a satisfactory way to protect 

the spacecraft from Jupiter’s strong radiation continued. 

A major new space science start, approved in NASA’s FY 1975 budget, was 

the 1978 dual Pioneer-Venus mission to obtain detailed measurements of the 

Venus atmosphere with an orbiter and four atmospheric entry probes. Hughes 

Aircraft Co. was chosen in February for spacecraft design, with an option 

for spacecraft development, and experimenters and scientific instrumentation 

were selected in June. 

NASA continued preparations to place the Large Space Telescope in earth 

orbit to make detailed astronomical observations 10 times deeper into space 

than possible before. During 1974, preliminary system definitions and 

advanced technological development were carried out on selected elements 

of the LST. 

Besides preparing for future missions, scientists continued analysis of 

data accumulated from previous missions. A Lunar Data Analysis and Synthesis program began to correlate existing data and data still being collected 

by the five Apollo lunar surface-experiment packages (ALSEP) left on the 

moon during the lunar landing program. With the conclusion of the Skylab 

flight program, large volumes of new data on the sun and the earth and the 

most comprehensive inflight data yet on man’s adaptation to space flight became available. 

During the year sounding rockets, balloons, telescopes, and instrumented 

aircraft continued to increase knowledge of the universe. NASA launched 

nearly 80 sounding rockets from sites around the world. A significant accomplishment was the launch of 54 sounding rockets within 24 hrs to support 

the Joint NASA-& Force Atmospheric Layering and Density Distribution of 

Ions and Neutrals (ALADDIN) program. 

During 1974 scientists in programs outside NASA as well as in, using data 

from both orbital and suborbital programs, discovered a 13th moon of 

Jupiter, observed a pulsar that was a member of a double star system, obtained 

new data on the size and shape of the Crab Nebula, discovered a galaxy six 

times larger than any previously known in the universe, and made the 

greatest advance yet in cometary research with the study of the Comet 

Kohoutek, including first-time identification of water molecules in a comet. 

The U.S.S.R. continued a program of space exploration with the launch 

of lunar probes Luna 22 in May and Luna 23 in October. Luna 22 studied 

the lunar surface and atmosphere from lunar orbit. Luna 23 was damaged 

while landing on the moon’s surface and its work was discontinued after three 

days of equipment testing. 

Space Transportation and Technology 

The space shuttle program accelerated, with funding increasing from 

$475 million in FY 1974 to $800 million in M 1975. But this total 

reflected an $89-million cut by the Office of Management and Budget from 

planned space shuttle funding, delaying the program four to six months. 

The final major contract was awarded and design work neared completion; 

223 
During 1974 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

by year’s end the program moved into hardware test and fabrication stages. 

Construction of the shuttle runway at Kennedy Space Center began in April 

and throughout the year contracts were awarded for additional space shuttle 

facilities. The European Space Research Organization selected VFW-Fokker/ 

ERNO Raumfahrttechnik GmbH as prime contractor to design and build 

Spacelab for missions on the shuttle. Primary efforts were directed toward 

planning early shuttle missions and making analyses for a NASA mission 

model. 

In solid propulsion technology, the final motor-the first with a restart 

capability-in a series of high-efficiency solid-fueled motors was successfully 

static-fired. The October firing marked the first time a spacecraft solidfueled motor had been fired, quenched, reignited, and requenched. Another 

significant step was the static-firing of a thermally sterilized solid-fueled 

motor. Electric propulsion-attractive as auxiliary propulsion for long-life 

station-keeping and attitude control-took a stride forward with the tests of 

a 4.5-millinewton (0.001-lb-thrust) ion engine aboard Ats 6. In spacecraft 

energy system technology, solar cells were made from a silicon ribbon grown 

directly from the liquid state, a critical first step in low-cost manufacture of 

solar cells. Other advances were made in laser, nuclear, atmosphere-entry, 

material-and-structures, guidance, and control-and-information technology. 

Aeronautics 

The X-24B lifting body completed 15 flights in the NASA and Air Force 

program to develop a safe piloted vehicle for reentry from space flight and to 

develop hypersonic technology. Following the first supersonic flight in 

March, the vehicle’s performance and handling qualities were evaluated in 

the speed range between mach 1.6 and landing. 

NASA’s aeronautics research and development program to reduce fuel 

consumption, reduce undesirable environmental effects, improve safety, and 

advance technology continued during the year. Flight tests of an F-111 

equipped with the NASA-developed supercritical wing demonstrated a 15% 

reduction in fuel consumption. Other tests using flexible aircraft skin concepts, composite materials, active-control technology, and alternative fuels 

also demonstrated reduced drag and potential fuel savings. 

In NASA’s refan program-an effort to reduce noise of the JT8D engine 

that powered most of the Nation’s narrow-body commercial fleet-three 

refanned engines demonstrated in ground tests that the ground area affected 

by objectionable noise from commercial aircraft could be reduced by 75%. 

In another technique, a DC-8 using a NASA-developed two-segment landing 

approach reduced the ground area affected by excessive noise 53%. 

Efforts to measure and reduce aircraft engine exhaust in the atmosphere 

continued with the Global Air Sampling Program. A United Air Lines, Inc., 

Boeing 747 equipped with an atmospheric sampling instrument began measuring aircraft pollution on commercial air routes, while the clean combuster 

technology program was expanded to reduce engine emissions. 

Programs to improve aircraft safety continued to make progress. Techniques to reduce hazardous trailing vortices were flight-tested. A NASAdeveloped prototype system to track aircraft wakes near airports, allowing 

traffic controllers to adjust aircraft spacing more closely, was being operationally evaluated at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. 

The Dept. .of Defense A-10 close-air-support program moved into produc2% 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 During 1974 

tion stage, with the first of six aircraft in final assembly and checkout. Production of an initial increment of 22 aircraft was approved in December, 

with a full production decision expected late in 1975. 

DOD’S B-1 advanced strategic bomber moved through engine preliminary 

flight-readiness tests in April, rollout in October, and first flight in December. 

Following flight testing, a production decision would be made in 1976. The 

first operational F-15 advanced tactical fighter was delivered in November. 

At year’s end 20 test aircraft had accumulated more than 300 flight hrs. 

International Cooperation 

Aerospace activities continued to become more international. Of the 16 

NASA-launched payloads, 10 were cooperative efforts with foreign organizations. In addition, the 2 Italian-launched payloads carried US. experiments. 

During the year negotiations were completed on an agreement for NASA to 

furnish reimbursable launches for three future synchronous-orbit Japanese 

satellites. NASA-ESRO Spacelab working groups met throughout the year on 

experimental objectives and user requirements. Investigators from 42 countries and 5 international organizations were selected for Earth Resources 

Technology Satellite follow-on investigations, and Italy and Iran signed 

agreements with NASA to build earth stations to receive ERTS data directly. 

The 1975 US-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project neared flight readiness. 

Joint compatibility tests of communications and docking systems were carried out and intensive joint flight-crew and flight-controller training was 

begun. Apollo hardware was completed. The USSR launched two unmanned 

and one manned Soyuz spacecraft (Cosmos 638 and 672 and Soyuz 16) to 

check out new systems and equipment for the joint mission. NASA and the 

Soviet Academy of Sciences approved public information plans and plans 

for prelaunch testing at the US. and U.S.S.R. launch sites. 

US. and Soviet specialists exchanged information about the moon, planets, 

environmental problems, and biomedical results from US. and U.S.S.R. 

space flights. US. and Soviet scientists preparing a joint experiment using 

Ats 6 data met in the US. in October for technical coordination. And plans 

were formulated in October for a US. life science experiment to fly on the 

next available Soviet biological satellite. 

For 101 days, June-September, the US. and 69 other countries participating in the Global Atmospheric Research Program’s Atlantic Tropical Experiment monitored nearly every known meteorological factor along a 52-millionsq-km tropical area of land and sea from the eastern Pacific Ocean across 

Latin America, the Atlantic Ocean, and Africa to the western Indian Ocean. 

More than 4000 persons using 41 ships, 40 instrumented buoys, 12 aircraft, 

and 6 satellites probed from 1.6 km below the sea surface to the top of the 

atmosphere to improve weather predictions, assess pollution, determine the 

feasibility of large-scale weather modification, and establish new bonds of 

international cooperation. 

Applications and Energy 

During 1974 space technology continued to make significant contributions 

to the quality of life. In addition to 1974-launched Ats 6, Sms 1, Westar 1 

and 2, Intelstat-IV F-8, and Noaa 4 to improve weather predictions and communications on the earth-Erts 1, launched in July 1972, completed 29 mos 

in operation. Erts 1 had transmitted more than 100000 photos covering 

225 
During 1974 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

three fourths of the world’s land masses and coastal areas. ERTS data-used 

to monitor urban and agricultural development, locate air and water pollution, update maps, and find new water and mineral resources-had been provided to more than 300 U.S. and foreign investigators in government, 

universities, and industry. ERTS-E development continued on schedule. 

NASA’s pollution monitoring program-to develop and demonstrate technology to monitor atmospheric and water pollution-completed its second 

year. Procurement for design and construction of the Nimbus-G Oceanographic and Air Pollution Observing Satellite, planned for 1978 launch, 

was under way. The Lower Atmospheric Composition and Temperature Experiment (LACATE) was demonstrated in May and a test in the advanced applications flight experiment program-using balloons, sounding rockets, and 

aircraft as well as ground-based experiments-successfully gathered atmospheric data over a five-hour period. 

DOD expanded and improved its Defense Satellite Communications System 

and let contracts for Phase 1 NAVSTAR global positioning satellites. The 

Defense Meteorological Satellite program continued to furnish weather 

data for military and civilian use. 

Space technology continued to be applied to medicine. A digital computing 

cardiotachometer to monitor heart rates, an automated blood pressure monitoring system, and a new method of attaching artificial limbs were among the 

NASA-developed contributions demonstrated in 1974. 

An Office of Energy Programs was established in NASA to focus the application of its aerospace technology to energy needs. In addition to programs to 

reduce aircraft air pollution and energy consumption and develop new fuels, 

NASA, under the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act of 1974 

and in cooperation with the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development and 

other Federal agencies, was investigating the use of solar energy for heating 

and cooling buildings. An experimental solar house at Marshall Space Flight 

Center would ultimately derive up to 85% of its heating and cooling energy 

from the sun. Solar heating and cooling were being demonstrated in school. 

NASA continued research on wind energy systems, with the construction 

of a 100-kw wind-powered generator at Lewis Research Center ; low-pollution, 

low-fuel-consumption automotive engines ; aerodynamically designed vehicles 

to increase fuel economy ; energy conversion systems. 

NASA distributed some 300 new Tech Briefs and 30 special compilations 

oi new technology items to 15 000 subscribers in business and industry. Use of 

Regional Dissemination Centers for space technology applicable to other uses 

increased 3476, to 4000 clients. 

Tracking and Data Acquisition 

The Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) supported some 40 

flight projects during 1974, including all NASA’s earth-orbital missions as 

well as space projects of foreign governments and private industry. Congress 

authorized funds for procurement activities for a Tracking and Data Relay 

satellite System (TDRSS) -two earth-orbiting satellites leased by NASA to 

relay data between low-altitude spacecraft and a single ground station. The 

authority to proceed further was subject to additional congressional review 

of a NASA-owned versus a leased. system. (Pres Rpt 74; NASA Release 74-330: 

NASA Activities, 15 Dec 74; A&A 74) 

226 
Appendix A 

SATELLITES, SPACE PROBES, AND MANNED 

SPACE FLIGHTS, 1974 

The following table includes all payloads that have (a) orbited; (b) as 

probes, ascended to at least the 6500-kilometer altitude that traditionally has 

distinguished probes from sounding rockets; or (c) conveyed one or more 

human beings into space whether orbit was attained or not. Date of launch is 

referenced to local time at the launch site. An asterisk follows dates that are 

one day later by Greenwich Mean Time. A double asterisk follows dates 

one day earlier by GMT. 

The data were compiled from open sources including the United Nations 

Public Registry; the Satellite Situation Report, compiled by the Operations 

Control Center at Goddard Space Flight Center; and public information 

releases of NASA, Department of Defense, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, and other agencies, as well as Communications Satellite 

Corporation. Soviet data are from the U.N. Public Registry, the Satellite 

Situation Rqort, translations from the Tass News Agency, statements in the 

Soviet press, and international news service reports. New sources of information for 1974 were speeches and press briefings given by Soviet officials in 

the United States to prepare for the US.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project’s 

1975 mission. Data on satellites of other foreign nations are from the U.N. 

Public Registry, the Satellite Situation Report, governmental announcements, 

and international news service reports. 

World space activity in 1974 decreased slightly. Total launches, 106, were 

down from the 109 launches in 1973, as were total payloads orbited-126 in 

1974, down from 133 in 1973. The 5 multiple-payload launches-2, 8-satellite launches for the U.S.S.R.; 2, 3-satellite launches for DOD, and a 3-satellite launch for NASA-account for the difference between launches and payloads. 

Of the 1974 world total, the United States launched 22 boosters carrying 

28 payloads, a slight decline from 1973, when 23 US. boosters carried 26 

payloads into space. Of these 1974 totals, DOD was responsible for 8 launches 

and 12 payloads. Of the 16 NASA-launched payloads, 11 were launched for 

domestic and foreign corporations or foreign governments: Skynet ZZA and 

ZZI? and Miradu (UK-X4) for the United Kingdom, Zntasat for Spain, 

Symphonie 1 for France and West Germany, Aeros 2 for West Germany, 

Zntelsat-ZV F-8 for ComSatCorp on behalf of the Tnternational Telecommunications Satellite Organization, Westar 1 and 2 for Western Union Telegraph Company, Noaa 4 for NOAA, and Amsut Oscar 7 for the Radio Amateur 

Satellite Corporation. Two satellites were cooperative programs with foreign 

governments: Ans 1 with The Netherlands and Helios I with West Germany. 

Three IvA.S-4-sponsored payloads-Ats 6, Sms 1, and Hawkeye 1 (Explorer 

52) -were launched for applications and scientific missions. 

227 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

The Soviet Union once again far exceeded U.S. space totals, launching 95 

payloads in 81 launches, with activity decreasing slightly from 1973’s 107 

payloads in 86 launches. 

For the United States the year was the first since 1967 marked by an 

absence of manned launches. The last of three Skylab crews, already orbiting 

as the year began, reentered 8 Feb. on Skylab 4 after 84 days in space. NASA 

launches included 8 communications, 2 meteorological, and 6 scientific satellites. Highlights of the year came with the launches of Ats 6, the most complex 

and powerful of the Applications Technology Satellites, to transmit medical 

and educational telecommunications to small inexpensive ground stations 

in remote areas of the United States and of Helios 1 to investigate interstellar 

space closer to the sun than any previous spacecraft. The 12 DOD payloads 

included Nts 1 Navigation Technology Satellite to perfect technology for use 

in the NAVSTAR program and S3-1 to measure air density and upper atmospheric composition and to provide data on atmospheric efforts on spacecraft 

orbits. 

The Soviet Union launched 2 space stations and 3 two-man crews during 

1974, besides unmanned scientific, lunar, and applications spacecraft. Following the launch of the Salyut 3 space station, a crew in Soyuz 14 docked 

with the station and worked on board for 16 days before returning to the 

earth. A second crew, in Soyuz 15, failed to dock after several attempts and 

returned to earth after two days in space. A second station, Salyut 4, was 

launched in December to be joined in January 1975 by a crew aboard 

Soyuz 17. Soyuz 16, carrying two cosmonauts, was launched to check out 

docking and life support systems in preparation for the 1975 ASTP mission. 

In addition, the U.S.S.R. launched 3 unmanned Soyuz spacecraft, 7 Molniya 

comsats, 5 Meteor meteorological satellites, 2 cooperative Intercosmos, 2 

Luna lunar probes, and 71 Cosmos spacecraft. 

Italian crews launched 2 satellites on NASA launch vehicles: Sun Marco 4 

carried one Italian and two US. experiments into orbit to collect atmospheric 

data. The U.K.-built Ariel 5 carried one NASA and five U.K experiments to 

study x-ray sources. 

Japan launched its fifth satellite, Tansei 2, to test spacecraft control devices. 

As we have cautioned in previous years, the “Remarks” column of these 

appendixes is never complete, because of printing time and the inescapable 

lag between each flight and the analysis and interpretation of results. Also, 

some missions are still continuing. The information in this table was compiled 

in February 1976. 

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26 Dm. Sal7U4 Total weight: 18 500 kg? 252 214 89.2 

U.S.S.R. Objective: Test station desigo, onboard 

19741.WA eystems, and equipment; conduct scienUnavadable &c and technical experiment0 in outer 

BaykonurTyuratam 

Gbcre electron activity was etrongeat, newly developed photometer to observe 

atomic oxygen in ionosphere, and new high-reeo1ution solar telescope. Three 

panels of solar hattetiee automatically and individually oriented themselves toward sun. 

space. Description- Siar to Saiyuc 3 launched 

25 June 1674, but with modified scientific 

equipment and ay~tcms. Instruments m- cluded set of spcettometere-oode-named 

"Emiseion"-mounted in rear part of 

station to scan earth's horizon m spot8 

26 Dec. Cosmos 700 Total weight: Unavailable. 998 965 104.7 

U.S.S.R. Objective: "Investigation of upper atrnon- 1974-105A phere and outer space." Unavailable Description: Unavailable. 

Plesetsk 

27 Dee. Cosmos 701 Total weight: Unavaiiablc. 335 170 89.6 

U.S.S.R. Objective: "Investigation of upper atmos- 1974-1068 phac and outer s ace." 

Unavailable Description: unavahle. 

Plesetsk 

After launch, Salyzu 4 orbit

station was maneuvered to re

altitude for Salyut, reachin

apogee and 337-1- perigee b

Station was joined by Aleksey A

and Georgy M. Greehko launch

1975 aboard Son= 17, &r mad

of scientific cxpaimeuts and 

Salyrrc 4's onboard systems. Cre

to earth 9 Feb. 1975. Second cr

G. Laearev and Oleg G. Mak

launched 5 April 1975 but m

aborted when booster 3rd etag

tioned. Cosmonants were aafel

to earth in emer ency landing 

mountains. ~hir! crew, Pyotr 

and =taly 1. Sevastyanov la

*uz I8 24 May 1975, do

Sabut 4 on 26 May. Cosmona

aboard orbiting laboratory f

manned space flight record o

landing 26 3uly 1975 in centra

stan, On 19 Nov. 1975 unman

20, launched 17 Nov. 1975, do

Salyu 4 to test technology for 

space station. Sopz 20 cacsied 

test systems to p~vide data fo

new cosmonaut life suppor

Soyuz 20 separated and returne

land in Kazakhstan 16 Feb. 

3 moe docked in orbit. 

82.9 Still in orbit. 

71.4 Reentered 9 Jan. 1975. 

* Time at launch site; 1 day later by Greenwich Mean Time. .* Time at launch site; 1 day earlier by Greenwich Mean Time. 

Appendix B 

MAJOR NASA LAUNCHES, 1974 

The chronological table of major NASA launches in 1974 is intended to 

provide an accurate historical record, compiling information gathered from 

open sources and scattered elsewhere in this volume. Itincludes payloads carried by all rocket vehicles larger than sounding rockets launched by NASA 

or under NASA direction. 

In 1974 NASA successfully launched 3 payloads for NASA programs out 

of a total of 16 payloads launched: Sms 1 operational prototype meteorological satellite, Ats 6 experimental communications satellite, and Hawkeye 1 

(Explorer 52) scientific sateIIite. Of the rest, 11-Shynet ZZA and IIB, Miranda (UK-X4), Intasat, Symphonie l, Aeros 2, Intelsat-IV F-8, Westar l 

and 2, Noaa 4, and Amsat Oscar 7-were launched for other organizations or 

governments. Ans 1 and Helios 1 were launched as cooperative scientific programs with foreign governments. A Titan IIIE-Centaur proof flight was 

aborted by NASA range safety officers when the second-stage engine failed 

to ignite. 

In addition to the 16 NASA-launched payloads, Italian crews launched 

two payloads on NASA launch vehicles: San Marco 4, carrying US. and 

Italian experiments, and Ariel 5, a cooperative United States-United Kingdom scientific satellite. 

An attempt has been made to classify vehicle and payload performance, 

using three categories for evaluation: successful (S) , partially successful 

(P) , and unsuccessful (U) . A fourth category, unknown (Unk) , has been 

added for payloads when vehicle failures did not give the payload a chance 

to operate. These classifications are unofficial and necessarily arbitrary; many 

of the results cannot be neatly categorized. Some ignore the fact that much 

may be learned from missions that have been classified as unsuccessful. 

Others do not account for payloads with a design lifetime of long duration 

which might later fail to meet that design requirement end be officially adjudged unsuccessful after this publication goes to press. 

Launch dates are referenced to local time at the launch site. Open sources 

were used, verified when in doubt with program offices in NASA Headquarters and with NASA Centers. For further information on each item, see Appendix A of this volume and the entries in the main chronology as referenced 

in the index. Information in the table is as of February 1976. 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

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260 
Appendix C 

MANNED SPACE FLIGHTS, 1974 

This chronology contains basic information on all manned space flights 

begun during 1974 and-taken with Appendix C to the 1965-1973 volumes 

of this publication-provides a summary record of manned exploration of 

the space environment through 1974. 

For the first year since 1967 the United States launched no men into space, 

although the three-man Skylab 4 crew ended its 84-day mission during the 

year, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean 8 Feb. The United States has no 

-s 

manned flights scheduled until the July 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project with 

the USSR: ~. 

The Soviet Union launched three two-man missions into space in 1974. 

Soyuz 14 was launched in July to rendezvous with the Salyut 3 space station, 

orbiting since 25 June. The crew rendezvoused and docked and then performed scientific experiments aboard the station for nearly 16 days before 

softlanding in the U.S.S.R. 19 July. The August Soyuz 15 mission failed to 

dock with Salyut 3 after several attempts. It landed at night after 48 hours 

in space. The Sopz 16 mission, in December, orbited for five days, successfully testing spacecraft and life support systems redesigned for ASTP. 

By the end of 1974 the United States had conducted a total of 30 manned 

space flights-2 suborbital, 19 in earth orbit, 3 in lunar orbit, and 6 lunai 

landing-with a total of 41 different crewmen. Of the 41 American astronauts, 

10 had participated in two flights each, 4 had flown three times, and 3 had 

flown four times. The Soviet Union had made 23 manned flights, all in earth 

orbit, with 32 cosmonauts. Six had participated in two flights each and two 

had flown three times. Cumulative totals for manned spacecraft hours in flight 

were 7643 hours 42 minutes for the United States and 2901 hours 33 minutes 

for the Soviet Union. Cumulative total man-hours in space were 21 851 hours 

15 minutes for the United States and 6011 hours 46 minutes for the U.S.S.R. 

This chronology was compiled in February 1976 using the latest data 

available within NASA at that date. The information may be subject to modification as data are refined. 

261 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

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Appendix D 

NASA SOUNDING ROCKET LAUNCHES, 1974 

Following is a chronological table of the 77 sounding rockets of the Arcas 

class and above launched by NASA in 1974. Rockets were launched from 

sites in six foreign countries as well as the United States and carried payloads 

for 3 government agencies including NASA, 18 US. universities, 3 US. companies, and 4 European organizations. Onboard experiments probed near 

space, providing scientists with new data in aeronomy; galactic, radio, and 

x-ray astronomy ; and solar, magnetospheric, and ionospheric physics. Five 

flight tests continued development of new sounding rocket capability. 

Principal sources of information for the table were the “Quick Look Sounding Rocket Data” reports issued after launches and the twice yearly “NASA 

Sounding Rocket Compendium,” both compiled by the Sounding Rocket Division’s Office of Operations at Goddard Space Flight Center, and the NASA 

“Report of Sounding Rocket Launching” series. 

Missions listed were successful unless otherwise noted in the Remarks. 

The date of the launch is referenced to local time at the launch site, with an 

asterisk following dates that are one day later by Greenwich Mean Time. 

. 

263 
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270 


Appendix E 

X-24B LIFTINGBODY FLIGHTS, 1974 

Lifting bodies--wingless vehicles that receive aerodynamic lift from their 

body shape alone-were being flown to develop concepts for a maneuverable 

manned vehicle that could reenter the atmosphere from space, as well as to 

provide technology for possible future hypersonic cmise aircraft. The program began in the early 1950s when NASA scientists and engineers at the 

Ames and Langley Research Centers studied the concept of the lifting body. 

Since 1963, Flight Research Center has flight-tested three versions of the 

ARC-designed M2 configuration, LaRC’s HL-10, and, in joint programs with 

the Air Force, the X-24A and X-24B lifting bodies. 

Following a joint program flight-testing the Air Force X-24A, NASA and 

the Air Force in 1971 signed a memorandum of understanding to incorporate 

test programs of the new double-delta-shaped X-24B, with its improved liftto-drag ratio, and NASA’s HGlO and M2-F3. The HL-10, which had completed its first flight series in 1970, was held in storage. The M2-F3 made 

its final flight in December 1972. Beginning with a captive flight 19 July 1973, 

NASA and Air Force pilots tested X-24B performance at low supersonic, 

transonic, and subsonic speeds, with emphasis on landing. NASA was responsible for vehicle maintemnce, instrumentation, and ground support. The 

Air Force supplied the X-24B vehicle, base services, fuel, B-52 operations, 

and XLR-11 engine and maintenance. NASA and the Air Force shared pilot, 

mission planning, and data analysis responsibilities. 

The X-24B was launched from a B-52 aircraft, usually at 13 700-m altitude. In captive flights, the vehicle remained attached to the B-52. Unpowered 

free flights glided through maneuvers to landings on a dry lake bed. Powered 

flights ignited the rocket engine, to reach higher altitudes and speeds before 

landing. 

The following table includes all X-24B missions leaving the ground in 

1974, even those eventually aborted because of weather or mechanical problems. The flight numbering system included vehicle designation (“B” for 

X-24B vehicles) -free-flight number-B-52 carry number. For example, 

“B-9-16” was the 9th free flight of the X-24B and the 16th time the vehicle 

was carried by the B-52. A “C” or an “A” replacing the free-flight number 

indicated a captive or an aborted flight. 

Information for the tables was compiled from “Post Launch Flight Reports” issued at FRC, “Flash Reports” issued by the NASA Headquarters 

Office .Of Aeronautics and Spacr: Technology, and the “Manned Lifting Body 

Flight Log,” a NASA Facts issuance released in March 1976 by Dryden Flight 

Research Center (named Flight Research Center until January 1976). 

273 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

X-24B LIFTING-BODY FLIGHTS, 1974 

Flight Date Pilot and Maximum htitude, 

Number Maximum Speed Remarks 

15 Feb. 74 Maj. Michael V. Love (B-8-15) 13 700 m Mach 0.68 

5 Mar. 74 John A. Manke 

Mach 1.09 (B-9-16) 18 400 m 

19 Mar. 74 Maj. Michael V. Love 

Maj. Michael V. Love 

Maj. Michael V. Love 

Maj. Michael V. Love 

(B-A-17) 

22 Apr. 74 

23 Apr. 74 

25 Apr. 74 

(B-A-18) 

(B-A-19) 

(B-C-20) Not applicable Not applicable 

30 Apr. 74 Maj. Michael V. Love (B-10-21) 15 900 m Mach 0.88 

24 May 74 John A. Manke 

Mach 1.14 (B-11-22) 17 100 m 

14 June 74 Maj. Michael V. Love (B-12-23) 20 000 m Mach 1.23 

John A. Manke 

Mach 1.39 

28 June 74 

(B-13-24) 20 800 m 

8 Aug. 74 Maj. Michael V. Love (B-14-25) 22 400 m Mach 1.54 

John A. Manke 

Mach 1.10 

29 Aug. 74 

(B-15-26) 22 100 m 

25 Oct. 74 Maj. Michael V. Love (B-16-27) 22 000 m Mach 1.76 

15 Nor. 74 John A. Manke 

Mach 1.62 (B-17- 28) 22 000 m 

17 Dee. 74 Maj. Michael V. Love (B-18-29) 21 000 m Mach 1.59 

Glide flight to investigate longitudinel stability, make tuft studies, investigate fin pressure, and train pilot. 

First supersonic flight. Objectives were to fly at mach 1.1, obtain stability end control data at mach 1.1 for power-on and power-off 

conditions, obtain performance and longitudinal trim data at mach 0.8 and 0.9 and investigate fin pressure to identify asym- metric flow. 

Flight aborted because of poor weather conditions. 

Flight aborted when fire erupted in B-52's TV monitor system. 

Flight aborted when liquid-oxygen feed lines in B-52 failed. 

Captive flight to determine if left-aileron dead-band problem encountered in previous powered flights had been eliminated. Problem solved. 

First powered flight for pilot; training mission. 

-z 

Fifth powered flight. Primary objectives were to fly at mach 1.25, evaluate stability and control at speed greater than mach 1, 

investigate buffet at mach 0.65 with 20' upper flap, check out engine at 207 newtons per sq cm chamber pressure, investigate 

fin and rudder pressure, and study boundary-layer noise and vibration. Because only 3 of 4 engines ignited, vehicle reached only mach 1.14. All otber objectives were achieved. 

Objectives-to fly at mach 1.25; evaluate stability and control at speed over mach 1; perform boundary layer noise and vibration 

experiment; and survey fin, rudder, and tlap pressurewere successfully completed. 

Objective-to fly at maeh 1.4; evaluate stability and control at speed over mach 1: perform boundary-layer noise and vibration 

experiment; and survey fin, rudder, and flap pressurewere successfully completed. 

Objective-to fly at mach 1.55; evaluate stability and eonuol at speed over mach 1 with 5O and 8' angles of attack; survey fin, 

rudder, and flap pressure; and performed boundary-layer noise and vibration experiment-were successfully completed. 

Objectives-to evaluate stability and control at speed over maeh 1 and to make body pressure survey-were completed. 

Objective of flying at mach 1.68 was not achieved because of premature engine shutdown at 108 sec into flight. 

Fastest X-24B flight tu date. Objectives-to fly atmach 1.72: 

evaluate stability and coutrol at mach 1 with 5', So, and 12' 

angles of attack; evaluate supersonic performance and longi- tudinal trim; make body pressure survey; and perform boundarylayer noise and vibration experiment-were successfully 

completed. 

Objective-to fly at mach 1.66, evaluate stability and control at ma& 1 with 8O and 12" angles of attack, make approach and 

landing tests with upper flaps at -24O, make body pressure survey, and perform boundary-layer noise and vibration exper- imenvwere successfully completed. 

Objectives-to evaluate longitudinal stability and control; 

approach and land with upper flap at -24'; and survey fin, 

rudder, and flap pressurewere successfully completed8 

274 
Appendix F 

ABBREVIATIONS OF REFERENCES 

Listed here are the abbreviations used for citing sources in the text. Not 

all the sources are listed, only those that are abbreviated. 

AAAS Bull American Association for the Advancement of Seience’s AAAS Bulletin + 

A&A American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 

magazine, Astronautics & Aeronautics 

A&A 1974 NASA’s Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1974: A Chro-. 

nology (this publication) ABC American Broadcasting Company AEC Release 

Aero Daily Aerospace Daily newsletter 

Aero Med Aerospace Medicine magazine 

AF Mag 

AFHF Newsletter 

AFJ Armed Forces Journal magazine AFSC Newsreview AFSC Release AIA Release 

AIAA Facts 

Atomic Energy Commission News Release 

Air Force Association’s Air Force Magazine 

Air Force Historical Foundation Newsletter 

Air Force Systems Command’s Newsreview 

Air Force Systems Command News Release 

Aerospace Industries Association of America News 

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 

Release 

AIAA Release 

AIP Newsletter 

AP 

ARC Astrogram 

Astro Journ 

Atlanta JC 

Av Wk 

B News 

B Sun 

Bull Atom Sci 

Bus Wk 

C Daily News 

C Trib 

Can Press 

C&E News 

C1 PD 

Cl Press 

Columbia J Rev 

ComSatCorp Release 

CQ 

CR 

CSM 

D News 

D Post 

CBS 

CTNS 

Facts 

News Release 

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 

American Institute of Physics Newsletter 

Associated Press news service NASA Ames Research Center’s Astrogram 

American Astronomical Society’s Astrophysical JourAtlanta Journal Constitution newspaper 

Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine 

Birmingham News newspaper 

Baltimore Sun newspaper 

Education Foundation for Nuclear Science’s Bulletin 

of the Atomic Scientists 

Business Week magazine Chicago Daily News newspaper 

Chicago Tribune newspaper 

Canadian Press news service 

Columbia Broadcasting System 

Chemical & Engineering News magazine 

Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper 

Cleveland Press newspaper 

Columbia Journalism Review magazine 

Communications Satellite Corporation News Release 

Congressional Quarterly 

Congressional Record 

Christian Science Monitor newspaper 

Chicago Tribune News Service 

Detroit News newspaper 

Denver Post newspaper 

nal 

275 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

DASA Release 

DJ 

DOD Release DOT Release 

EOP Release FAA Release FBIS-SOV 

FonF 

FRC Release 

DFRC 

DOC PI0 

FRC X-Press 

GE Forum 

Goddard News 

GSFC Release GSFC SSR 

GT&E Release 

H Chron 

H Post 

JA 

JPL Lab-Oratory JPL Release JPRS 

Jsc Release 

JSC Roundup 

ISR 

KC Star 

KC Times KSC Release LA Her-Exam 

LA Times 

Langley Researcher 

LARC Release 

LERC Release 

Lewis News 

M Her 

M News 

M Trib 

Marshall Star 

MJ 

MSFC Release 

N Hav Reg 

N News 

N Vu Sun 

NAA News 

NAA Record Book 

NAC Release 

NAE Release 

NAS Release 

NAS-NRC Release 

LATNS 

NANA 

Defense Atomic Support Agency News Release 

Dow Jones news service 

Department of Commerce Public Information Office 

Department of Defense News Release 

Department of Transportation News Release 

Exeoutive Office of the President News Release 

Federal Aviation Administration News Release 

Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Soviet number 

SFXI FRC. 

Facts-on File 

Flight Research Center News Release (after 8 Jan. 

1976, became Dryden Flight Research Center News 

Release) 

NASA Flight Research Center’s X-Press 

General Electric Forum magazine 

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Goddard News 

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center News Release 

NASA Goddard Spaoe Flight Center’s Satellite SituaGeneral Telephone & Electronics News Release 

Houston Chronicle newspaper 

Houston Post newspaper 

Journal of Aircraft magazine 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Lab-Oratory 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory News Release 

Department of Commerce Joint Publications Research 

Service 

NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (Manned 

Spacecraft Center until 17 Feb. 1973) News ReIease 

NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center’s Space News 

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets magazine 

Kansas City Star newspaper 

Kansas City Times newspaper 

NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center News Release 

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner newspaper Los Angeles Times newspaper 

NASA Langley Researah Center’s Langley Researcher 

NASA Langley Research Center News Release 

Los Angeles Times News Service 

NASA Lewis Research Center News Release 

NASA Lewis Research Center’s Lewis News 

Miami Herald newspaper 

Miami News newspaper 

Minneapolis Tribune newspaper 

NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center’s MarMilwaukee Journal newspaper 

NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center News 

New Haven Register newspaper 

Newark News newspaper 

Northern Virginia Sun newspaper 

National Aeronautic Association News 

National Aeronautic Association’s World and U.S.A. 

National Aviation Club News Release 

National Academy of Engineering News Release 

North American Newspaper Alliance 

National Aoademy of Sciences News Release 

National Academy of Sciences-National Research 

tion Report% 

Roundup 

shall Star 

Release 

National World Auiation-Space Records 

Council News Release 

276 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

NAS-NRC-NAE News Rpt 

NASA Ann NASA Gen Mgmt Rev Rpt 

NASA HHR-39 

NASA Hist Off NASA Hq WB 

NASA LAR, XIII/8 NASA Leg Off 

NASA ht Aff 

NASA MOR 

NASA prog off NASA proj off NASA Release NASA Rpt SRL NASA spa19 

Natl Obs 

Nature 

NGS Release NBC 

NMI 

NN 

NOAA Release 

NRL Release NSC Release NSC News NSC Letter NSF Highlights 

NSF Release NSTL Release 

NY News 

NYT, 5:4 NYTNS 

0 Sen Star 

Oakland Trib 

Omaha W-H ONR Rev 

P Bull 

P Znq 

PD 

PA0 

PI0 

PMR Missile PMR Release 

Pres Rpt 74 

SAO Release 

Sci Amer 

Sci & Gout Rpt 

SciServ 

SBD 

SD 

SD Union 

SET Manpower Comments 

National Academy of SciencesNational Research 

Council-National Academy of Engineering News 

Report NASA Announcement NASA Headquarters “General Management Review 

Report” 

NASA Historical Report No. 39 

NASA History Office NASA Headquarters Weekly Bulletin NASA Office of International Affairs NASA Legislative Activities Report, Vol. XIII, No. 8 NASA Office of Legislative Affairs NASA Headquarters Mission Operations Report, preliinary prelaunch and postlaunch report series; 

information may be revised and refined before pub. 

lication 

NASA program office (for the program reported) 

NASA project office (for the project reported) NASA Headquarters News Release NASA report of sounding r&ket launching NASA Special Publication No. 4019 

National Observer magazine Nature Physical Science magazine 

National Broadcasting Company 

National Geographic Society News Release NASA Management Instruction NASA Notice 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

Naval Research Laboratory Release ‘ 

National Space Club News Release 

National Space Club News 

National Space Club Letter 

National Science Foundation’s Science Resources 

Nations1 Science Foundation News Release NASA National Space Technology Laboratories News 

New York Daily News newspaper New York Times newspaper, section 5, page 4 

New York Times News Service 

Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper 

Oakland Tribune newspaper 

Omaha World-Herald newspaper 

Navy’s Office of Naval Research Reviews 

Philadelphia Evening and Sunday Bulletin newspaper Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper 

Public Affairs Office 

National Archives and Records Service’s Weekly 

Public Information Office 

USN Pacific Missile Range’s Missile USN Pacific Missile Range News Release 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President: 1974 

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory News Release 

Defense/Space Business Daily newspaper 

Scientific American magazine 

Science & Government Report, independent bulletin 

Science Service News service 

Space Digest magazine 

San Diego Union newspaper 

Scientific Manpower Commission’s Scientific, EngiNews Release 

Studies Highlights 

Re 1 e as e 

Compilation oj Presidential Documents 

Activities 

of science policy 

neering, Technical Manpower Comments 

277 
SF 

SF Chron 

SF Exam 

Sou Aero 

Sou Rpt 

SP 

Spaceport News 

Spacewarn 

SR list 

SSN 

St Louis GD 

T-Picayune 

Tech Rev 

St Louis P-D 

Testimony 

Text 

Transcript 

UN Reg 

USGS Release USPS Release 

w Post 

W Star-News WFC Release 

UP1 

WH Release 

WIT 

WS Release 

WSJ 

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

British Interplanetary Society’s Spaceflight magazine 

Sun Francisco Chronicle newspaper Sal2 Examiner newspaper 

Sovi ce newsletter 

Center for Foreign Technology’s Soviet Report 

Space Propulsion newsletter NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center’s Spaceport News IUWDS World Data Center A for Rockets and Satellites’ Spacewarn Bulletin NASA compendium of sounding rocket launches 

Soviet Sciences in the News, publication of ElectroSt. Louis Globe-Democrat newspaper 

St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper 

New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Technology 

Congressional htimony, prepared statement 

Prepared report or speech text 

Official transcript of news conference or congressional 

United Nations Public Registry of Space Flight 

United Press International news service 

U.S. Geological Survey News Release 

U.S. Postal Service News Release 

Washington Post newspaper 

Washington Star-News newspaper NASA Wallops Flight Center News Release (after 26 

April 1974; formerly Wallops Station News Release) 

(translations) 

Optical Systems, Inc. 

Review 

hearing 

White House News Release 

World Journal Tribune newspaper NASA Wallops Station News Release (see also WFC) 

Wall Street Journal newspaper 

278 
INDEX AND LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 

AND ACRONYMS 

A 

A-7 (attack fighter aircraft), 91 

A-9 (research aircraft), 84 

A-10 (close-air-support aircraft), 22, 141- 

A-300B (European airbus), 107 

AAAS (American Assn. for the Advancement of Science), 45-46 

AAS. See American Astronautical Society 

and American Astronomical Society. 

ABM (Antiballistic missile system), 123-124, 

215 ABMA (Army Ballistic Missile Agency), 1 

Abourezk, Sen. James G., 72 

Academy of Sciences, New York. See New 

York Academy of Science. 

Academy of Sciences, Sweden. See Swedish Academy of Sciences. 

Academy of Sciences, U.S.S.R. See Soviet 

Academy of Sciences. 

Acapulco, Mexico, 77 

Accelerometer, 40, 145 

Accident, aircraft, 14, 28, 51, 55, 71, 78, 

96, 97, 100-101, 123 ACF. %e Air combat fighter. 

Acoustic composite nacelle program, 48 ACS. .%e Attitude control system. 

Active control aircraft program, 48 

Adams, Capt. Harold B. (USAF), 163 

“Advanced Composites” (AIAA presenta142, 183-184, 225 

AAI COT., 56-57 

tion), 15 

(AFTI) aircraft, 76 

Advanced fighter technology integration 

Advanced medium STOL transport (AMST), 

Advanced Nude& Research (congressional 

AE (Atmosphere Explorer). See Explorer 

AEC. %e Atomic Energy Commission. AEC-NASA Space Nuclear Systems Office, 

AEDC. See Arnold Engineering DevelopAerobee (sounding rocket) 

22 

report), 184 

51. 

184 

ment Center. 

170. 269. 270 

17oA: 2%27 1 

I70A-HE, 270 

200, 2, 3, 264, 265, 267, 269, 270, 271 

200A, 264-265, 266,*267, 268, 270-271 

350, 266267 

Aeroflight simulator, 107 

Aeroflot (U.S.S.R. airline), 80 

Aeronautical Satellite (Aerosat) system, 

Aeronautics (see also individual aircraft), 

aerodynamics, 44-45, 73-74, 114, 117, 

budget, 21-25, 27, 48, 84, 109 

energy conservation, 25, 29, 44-45, 48, 

research and technology, 44-45, 48, 84, 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the PresAeronomy satellite. See Aeros, I and Aeros 

Aeros program (West German-U.S. satelAeros I (West German aeronomy satellite), 

77-78, 101, 144, 164, 209 

140-141, 150 

160,204, 

55-56, 192, 211-212, 224 

97, 99-100, 123, 148-149, 154155, 

156, 183, 224-225 

ident: 1973 Activities, 80 

2. 

lite project), 135 

135 

Aeros 2 (Aeros-B), 2, 134-135, 221-222, 

227, 242, 257, 259 

Aerosat. See Aeronautical Satellite system. 

Aerosat Space Segment Program. See 

Aeronautical Satellite system. 

Aerosols, 82-83 

Aerospace Gorp., 72, 152, 264-265 

Aerospace Industries Assn. of America, 

Inc. (AIA), 3, 10, 19, 94, 119, 189 

Aerospace industry, 4-5, 9, 35, 61 

employment, 94, 189 

energy crisis impact, 3, 52, 100 

research, 89-90 

sales, 3, 19, 81, 119, 191 

Aerospace Research Center, Italy, 188 

Adrospatiale (Sociiti Nationale 

Industrielle Abrospatiale), 37, 136-137 

Aerostat (tethered balloon), 174-175 

AFCRL (Air Force Cambridge Research 

AFGE (American Federation of GovernAFML (Air Force Materials Laboratory), 

Africa, 4041, 119, 215-216, 254 

AFSATCOM (Air Force satellite CommunicaAFSC. !See Air Force. Systems Command. 

AFTI. See Advanced fighter technology 

Laboratories), 126 

ment Employees), 115-1 16 

157 

tions System), 21-22 

integration aircraft. 

279 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Agreement. See International cooperation; 

International cooperation, space; Memorandum of Understanding; and Treaty. Agreement on Scientific and Technical 

Cooperation for the Peaceful Uses of 

Atomic Energy (US-U.S.S.R.), 25 

Agricultural Research Service, 86 

Agriculture, 62, 86, 105, 109, 132 

Agriculture, Dept. of (USDA), 4849, 65, 

AIA. See Aerospace Industries Assn. of 

AIAA. See American Institute of Aeronau90 

America, Inc. 

tics and Astronautics. 

Air combat fighter (ACF; see also YF-16 

and YF-17), 22, 94, 116, 183-184 

Air Force. See U.S. Air Force. 

Air Force Air Weather Service, 120 

Air Force Avionics Laboratory, 143 

Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL), 126 

Air Force Decoration for Exceptional 

Service, 157 

Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory, 

76 

Air Force Materials Laboratory (AFML), 

157 

Air Force Satellite Communications 

(AFSATCOM) System, 21-22 

Air Force Systems Command (AFSC; see also Arnold Engineering Development 

Center and Space Missile Test Center), 

7, 10, 12, 91, 143, 144, 145, 149 

Air Foundation Certificate of Recognition, 

219 

Air France, 107 

Air Inter (French domestic airline), 38 

Air-launched cruise missile, 22 

Air Line Pilots Assn. (ALPA), 87 

Air pollution (see also Global Air Sampling 

Program), 12, 29, 38, 86, 91-92, 98, 

Air Pollution Control Div., Cleveland, 

Ohio. 168 

143, 145-146, 151, 168, 188, 225-226 

Air traffic control (ATC), 12, 15-16, 96, 

Air Transport Assn. of America (ATA), 

Airborne Infrared Observatory (AIRO; 

Airborne science-shuttle experiment Sys-, - tern simulation (ASSESS) program, 

Airborne warning and control system 

Airborne weather reconnaissance system 

Airbus. See A-300B. 

Airbus Industries, 107 

Aircraft (see also individual aircraft and 

kinds of aircraft; Accident, aircraft; 

Noise, aircraft; and Safety), 9, 19, 60, 

98, 108, 151, 158-159, 166 

air pollution effects, 12, 213 

budget, 21-22 

101, 109, 114, 123, 144, 238 

99-100, 115-116, 148 

C-141 aircraft), 6, 194 

177 

(AWACS), 60 

(AWRS), I20 

energy crisis impact, 100 

scientific applications, 62, 65, 98, 104- 

technology. See Aeronautics. 

testing, 141 

105, 118-119 

Aircraft Design Award, 148 

Aircraft industry, 12,44, 119, 138-139, 148, 

Aircraft survey program, 21 

Airlines (see also individual airlines), 44, 

189 

5 1, 68, 7 1-72, 74, 77-78, 87, 89, 94, 

99-100, 115-116, 118, 119, 154155, 156, 

157 

C-141 aircraft), 6, 194 AIRO (Airborne Infrared Observatory; 

Airport (see also individual airports), 96 

Aksnes, Dr. Kaare, 167 

Al&ama Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Ala., 28 

Alabama, Univ. of, 13 ALADDIN. See Atmospheric Layering and 

Density Distribution of Ions and Neutrals program. 

Alaska, 88,97, 106-107, 113-1 14, 130, 167, 

186 

Albee, Dr. A., 64 

Albert, Rep. Carl B., 186187 

Alcyone 1A (rocket motor), 11 1 

Aldrin, Col. Edwin E., Jr. (USAF, Ret.), 

135, 138 

Alexandria, Va., 164-165 

Algeria, 169 

A kernon Blair Industrial Contractors, 

Ali, Muhammad, 14 

Allahbad, India, 63 

Alloys, 58, 173, 184 

ALPA (Air Line Pilots Assn.), 87 

Alpha Orionis. See Betelgeuse. 

ALSEP (Apollo lunar surface experiment 

Aluminum, 52, 90-91, 100, 173, 210-211, 

Aluminum oxide, 38 

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., 134 

American Airlines, Inc., 74, 120 

American Assn. for the Advancement of 

America Assn. of Railroads, 86 

American Astronautical Society (AAS), 59, 

American Astronomical Society (AAS), 76, 

American Can Co., 134 

American Federation of Government 

American Geophysical Union, 82, 195 

American Institute of Aeronautics and 

Astronautics (AIAA), 1415, 99-100, 148, 

171, 195 

Inc., 31 

package), 208-209, 223 

212 

Science (AAAS), 4546 

152 

214 

Employees (AFGE), 115-1 16 

American Physical Society, 90, 92 

American Science and Engineering, Inc., 

139, 158, 264, 268 

American Telephone & Telegraph Co. 

(AT &T), 34, 88, 97, 146147 

280 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

28 1 

Ames Research Center (ARC, NASA) 

aeronautics, 6, 99, 148, 166, 211-212, 

27 3 

applications research, 103 

awards ceremony, 150-15 1 

biological research, 11 

employment, 220 

establishment, 156 

planetary exploration project, 58-59, 88, 

space shuttle support, 16, 141, 177 

106, 107, 120-121, 153 

Amino acid, 132 

Amir, Salah, 8 

Amphibian aircraft, 168 

Amsat Oscar 7 (Orbiting Satellite Carrying 

Amateur Radio), 200, 201, 221, 227, 250, 

257. 259 AMST iAdvanced medium STOL transport), ?? LL 

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 178 

Analysis of Federal R&D Funding by 

Function. Fiscal Years 1969-1975 (NSF 

report 72-313). 160-161 

Anani, Dr. Osama, 26 

Anchorage, Alaska, 4 

Anders, L/C William A. (USAF, Pet.), 194 

Anderson, Dr. David J., 140-141 

Anderson, Roy E., 181 

Andoeya, Norway, 265, 271 

Andover, Me., 34 

Andrechuk, Dr. Ted, 144-145 

Andromeda Space Covers, 168 

Anik (Canadian comsat), 169 

Anik I (Telesat A), 84 

Anik 2 (Telesat B), 4 

Anniversary 

67 

Ap0110 II, 135-136, 138 

European Space Research Organization, 

first manned space flight, 85 

International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, 151-152 ' Skylab 1, 45, 103 

Soviet Academy of Sciences, 104 

Ans I (ANS-A; Netherlands Astronomical 

Satellite), 2, 159-160, 221-222, 227, 244, 

759 

AN~PA (Astronomical Netherlands Satellite 

Antarctica, 94 

Antelope Valley Board of Trade, Calif., 

Program Authority), 160 

189 

Antenna, 181 

astronomical research, 14, 45-46, 182 

communications systems, 34, 106, 109, 

114, 169, 171 

manned spacecraft, 16, 191 

seismology, 163 

solar research, 111, 149, 212 

technology, 47-48 

tracking, 101, 106, 109, 176 

Antiballistic missile (ABM), 123-124, 215 

Anticyclones, 166-167, 222 

Antigua, West Indies, 33, 265 

AN/TPN-19 (air traffic control radar system), 12 

Apel, Dr. John R., 45, 55 

Apollo (program), 4546, 87, 152, 21 1 

achievements, 27, 28-29, 136 

completion, 21, 53, 141 

information exchange, 193 

press comment, 31, 69-70, 138, 153 

technology utilization, 10, 13, 191 

216. 218 

Apollo (spacecraft), 16-17, 115, 191, 207, 

Apollo 11, 72-73, 135-136, 138, 147, 161 

APOIIO IZ, 72-73, 208-209 

Apoffo 14, 72-73, 168, 208-209 

APOIIO 15, 72-73, 149, 215 

Ap0110 16, 28, 72-73, 215 

Ap0110 17, 15, 59, 64, 72-73, 102, 149, 

Apollo 13, 35 

208-209 

Apollo 17: Preliminary Science Report 

Apollo lunar surface experiment package 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), 16, 25, 

115, 118, 131, 152, 155, 170, 178, 211, 

227, 261 

(NASA SP-SO), 72-73 

(ALSEP), 208-209, 223 

budget. 21. 41. 84. 204 

comkunications, 7, 44, 48, 77, 123, 191, 

contract, 1, 16, 64, 118, 192 

docking, 147, 164, 172, 1.31, 232, 243, 

238, 258 

252. 262 

emblem selection, 52 

media coverage, 121, 190 

mission preparations, 7, 81-82, 122, 123, 

presidential briefing, 65-66 

press comment, 36, 39, 172 

press conference, 82, 147, 208 

safety, 167 

significance, 124 

space manufacturing, 184 

systems development, 1, 79, 88, 102, 

164165, 192, 193, 207-208, 216 

1 94 

testing, 41, 78, 151, 157, 164, 191, 221, 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Working 

Group, US-U.S.S.R., 7 

Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), 1, 30, 68, 

Appalachia, 106-107, 129 

Applications Technology Satellite (ATS; see also Ats I through 6), 109, 116, 139 

Aquifer, 175-176 

Aquila (constellation), 182 

Arab-Israeli war, 11, 28, 52 

Arab League, 8, 169 

ARC. See Ames Research Center. 

Arcas (sounding rocket), 93, 265 

Super Arcas, 264, 266267, 268, 269 

Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico, 182, 

20 1-202 

Argentina, 14 

Argon, 26, 68, 70 

Ariane (launch vehicle), 189, 196 

Ariane Program Board, 189-190 

Ariel I (U.K. satellite), 188 

Ariel 4, 188 

228, 232, 243 

75, 99-100, 139, 152, 174, 264 
Ariel 5 (UK-5), 2, 187-188, 228, 247, 

257, 259 

ARIES (Astronomical Radio Interferometric 

Aries (sounding rocket), 57 

Arizona, 45 

Arizona, Univ. of, 167 

Armstrong, Neil A., 135-136, 137, 138, 

Earth Surveying project), 163 

154 

Army. See U.S. Army. 

Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), 1 

Army Electronics Command, 110 

Arnold Engineering Development Center 

(AEDC), 39, 55, 163, 167, 202 

Artyukhin, Lt. Col. Yuri P. (cosmonaut), 

Asiago Astrophysical Observatory, Italy, 

122, 130, 239-240, 241, 262 

9-10 

Assembly of Engineering, 129 

Assembly of Parties (INTELSAT), 26 

ASSESS (Airborne science-shuttle experiment system simulation program), 177 

Asteroid, 37, 45, 177-178 

Asteroid Belt, 2, 42, 58-59, 65, 98 

ASTP. see Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. 

Astrobee (sounding rocket) 

Astronaut, 7Ch71, 98, 99, 127, 143, 183 

Astrobee D, 270 

Astrobee F, 261 

accident, 28 

accomplishments, 7, 99 

awards, 6546 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 82, 115, 123, 

force reduction, 152 

press comment, 51 

press conference, 1, 82 

Skylab, 1, 7, 30, 32, 42-44, 51, 65-66, 

space flight response, 1, 32, 42-44 

space shuttle, 113 

59 

APoIIo, 15, 59, 135-136, 138, 208-209 

124, 164-165, 170, 178, 208 

67, 153, 157-158, 193, 195 

Astronautics Engineer Award (NSC), 58- 

Astronomical Netherlands Satellite ProAstronomical Radio Interferometric Earth 

Astronomy (see also individual celestial 

bodies, observatories, and probes; 

Telescope; and X-ray telescope), 21, 

25, 38, 39, 73, 83, 160, 168, 185, 207, 

252, 266 

galactic, 264, 265, 267, 268, 269, 270- 

27 1 

gram Authority (ANSPA), 160 

Surveying (ARIES) project, 163 

interstellar clouds, 132 

radio, 23, 176, 188-189 

solar, 2, 28-29, 32, 57, 67 

x-ray, 125, 133, 159, 160 

Astrophysics, 4 

AT&T. See American Telephone & Telegraph Co. ATA. See Air Transport Assn. of America. ATC. See Air traffic control. 

Atlantic Ocean. 33. 4M1. 63-64. 65. -, 101. --- 

104, 117, 131, i37, 144, 164, '168, 202: 

236, 258 

Atlas F. 132-133. 160, 209. 241-242 

Atlas (launch vehicle), 113 

Atlantic Ocean, 33, 4M1, 63-64, 65, 101, 

104, 117, 131, 137, 144, 164, 168, 202, 

236, 258 

Atlas (launch vehicle), 113 

Atlas F. 132-133. 160, 209. 241-242 

Atlas-Centaur, 33-34, 202, 251, 259 Am. See Apollo Telescope Mount. 

Atmosphere (see also individual planets), 

16, 23, 24, 102, 149, 153, 166 

balloon observation, 98, 101-102, 185, 

197 

chromosphere, 67 

magnetosphere, 77, 11 1, 177 

pollution, 12, 143, 224 

satellite research, 40, 102, 144, 145, 

sounding rocket research, 126, 263-271 

smtosphere, 86, 98, 188 

thermosphere, 40, 55, 144 

troposphere, 23 

upper atmosphere, 65, 98, 104, 134-135, 

145, 151, 169, 185, 194, 213, 218-219 

U.S.S.R. study (see also Appendix A), 

Atmosphere Explorer (AE). See Explorer 

51. 

Atmospheric Layering and Density Distribution of Ions and Neutrals 

(ALADDIN) project, 126, 223, 268 

Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory (USA), 

228, 229-231, 242, 248, 249, 253, 258 

52, 122, 131-132, 194, 195, 215 

197 

__, 

Atmospheric Variability Experiment 

Atomic bomb, 70-71, 125 

Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), 22, 23, 

66, 72, 80, 83, 87, 107, 184-185, 187, 

197 

(AVE-2), 101-102. 

Atrophy, 75-76 ATs (Applications Technology Satellite), 

109, 116, 139 

Ats I, 109, 147 

Ats 3, 109, 120, 129, 147, 181, 188 

Ats 5, 109 

Ais 6 (ATS-F), 2, 44, 113-114, 139, 176, 

225 

ASTP support, 44, 191 

communications, 116, 165, 221, 225- 

226 

launch, .108-109, 227, 228, 238, 257, 

258 

mission profile, 48, 258 . 

propulsion technology, 224 

television broadcasting, 48, 106- 107, 

116, 129 

Attitude control system (ACS), 148-149, 

158. 183 

AU: astronomical unit. 

Aurora, 72, 197 

Australia, 14, 78, 132, 250 

Automotive research, 25-26, 73, 86, 99, 

117. 118 

Auto-pilot system, 151 

Avco Corp., 8 

AVE-2 (Atmospheric Variability Experiment), 101-102 

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

282 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 

Aviation. See Aeronautics, Aircraft, 

Airlines, Civil aviation, and General 

aviation. 

Avionics, 48, 56, 81, 103, 199 

AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control 

Awards 

System), 60 

aeronautics, 1415, 59, 148 

foreign, 52, 59, 181, 188-189 

government, 157, 219 

NASA, 39,65-66,88,112, I5&151,171, 

195, 203, 213-214 

military, 28, 133, 156, 157, 171 

society, 14-15, 45, 58-59, 95, 118, 137, 

university, 131, 211 

System), 60 

148, 157, 169-170, 171, 178, 193, 195, 

219 

AWRS (Airborne Weather Reconnaissance 

B 

B-1 (advanced strategic bomber), 7, 22, 

B-52 (stratofortress), 7, 52-53, 193, 273- 

Baade, Dr. Walter, 31 BAC. See British Aircraft Corp. 

Backfire (U.S.S.R. bomber aircraft), 62- 

39, 63, 100, 183-184, 193, 225 

274 

63 

Bacteria, 87, 94 

Badge of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the U.S.S.R., 

Bahamas, 174175 

Bali, Indonesia, 1W101 

Ballistic missile system, 28 

Balloon (see also Lower Atmosphere 

Composition and Temperature Experiment, and Project da Vinci), 13-14, 

174175, 185, 226 

Balloon-borne ultraviolet stellar spectrometer (BUSS), 185 

Baltimore, Md., 19, 42, 134 

Bank of America, 134 

Barbados, 14 

Barking Sands, Hawaii, 270 

Barnard (star), 179, 270 

Barnes Engineering Co., 134 BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit System), 

Basalt, 170 

Bathythermographs, 153 

Baton Rouge, Ca., 83 

Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART), 

Baykonur Cosmodrome, Tyuratam, 

U.S.S.R., launch (see also Appendix 

A and Appendix C), 5-6 

181 

4W1, 63, 86, 101-102, 103, 144, 170, 

89-90 

89-90 

Cosmos satellites, 71, 78, 108, 147 

Intercosmos 11, 104, 237 

Luna 22, 108 

Luna 23, 193 

Molniya I-S, 141 

Salyut 3, 122 

1974 

Salyut 4, 218 

Soyuz 14, 122, 130 

Soyuz IS, 155 

SOYUZ 16, 207-208 

Soyuz 17, 218 

193 

Bean, Capt. Alan L. (USN), 28, 121-122, 

Beechcraft (aircraft), 65 

Beeler, DeElroy E., 176177 

Beirut, Lebanon, 169 

Belgium, 54, 67, 101, 138-139, 156 

Bell, Larry E., 89 

Bendix Corp., 117 

Beregovoy, Maj. Gen. Georgy T. (cosmoBereznyak, Aleksander Y., 131 

Bergman, Jules, 51 

Bergstrom AFB, Tex., 28 

Bering Sea, 109- 

Berry, Dr. Charles A., 3435, 43-44, 97 

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis; star), 214 

bev: billion electron volts. 

Bhopal, India, 13-14 

Bicycle ergometer, 3 1 

Biofeedback, 144-145 

Biomedical Application Team (NASA), 95 

Birmingham, Ala., 143 

Birth control, 105, 109 

BIS (British Interplanetary Society), 73, 

Bisplinghoff, Dr. Raymond L., 136, 182 

Bjurstedt, Hilding A., 178 

BL Lacertae (quasar), 76 

Black Brant (sounding rocket), 72 

naut), 218 

179 

Black Brant VC, 264, 265-267, 268, 

270-27 1 

Black hole (space phenomenon), 56, 92, 

Blackbird (SR-7 1; reconnaisance aircraft), 

99-100, 133, 171, 182, 187 

163, 199-200 

145, 226 

Blood pressure monitoring system, 144- 

Blume, John A. & Associates, 141 

Blumrick, Josef F., 81 BMF~ (German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology), 135, 213 

Bobko, L/C Karol J. (USAF), 121-122 

Boehm, Josef, 1 

Boeing 707 (iet passenger transport), 89 

Boeing 720, 102 

Boeing 727, 17, 38, 99 , Boeing 737, 38, 123 

Boeing 747, 12, 79, 120, 157, 160, 213, 

Boeing Co., 1, 19, 35-36, 89-90, 112, 175, 

Bomber aircraft (see also B-1, &52, 

Bombsight, 154155 

Bonn, Univ. of, 268 

Booster. See Launch vehicle. 

Borman, Col. Frank (USAF, Ret.), 94 

Boron, 91 

Boron-epoxy composite, 192 

Boston, Mass., 19, 89-90, 118 

224 

201, 209-210 

Backfire, and Sukhoi), 70, 156, 204 

BOW shock, 12-13, 197, 198 

283 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Boy Scouts of America, 58 

bps: bits per second. 

Bradfield (comet), 90 

Bragin, Dr. Joseph, 140-141 

Brakes, 99 

Brand, Vance D., 82, 121-122 

Brayton energy conversion system, 29 

Brazil, 11, 14, 38, 119, 130, 169, 195, 

236-237 

Breccia, 72-73 

Bremen, West Germany, 199 

Brevard County, Fla., 119, 141 

Brezhnev, Leonid I., Gen. Sec. Communist 

Party Central Committee (U.S.S.R.), 25, 

123-124, 204 

Bridge, Dr. Herbert S., 27 

British Aircraft Corp. (BAC), 37, 8687, 

British Interplanetary Society (BIS), 73, 

British Labor Party, 136137 

Brooks, Robert A., 136 

Brown, Gen. George S. (USAF), 103 

Brown, Dr. Robert, 208 

Brown Univ., 112 

Brussels, Belgium, 99, 123-124 

Budget, NASA, 16, 31, 152 

bills introduced, 83-84, 139 

bills passed, 92, 101, 109-110, 118, 124, 

bills signed. 121. 164 

136-137 

179 

149-150, 153 

congrekonal hearings, 19, 27, 41, 42- 

44, 46, 47, 48, 54, 55-57, 61-62, 64, 

6667, 68 

press comment, 31, 35, 165, 196 mess conference. 24-25 

reduction, 27, 109-110, 124, 134, 204, 

request, 2&25, 27, 73, 176 

214 

Bulgaria, 249 

Buoys, 119, 120 

Burch, Dean, 4 

Bureau of Mines, U.S., 54 

Burr, Franklin L., Award, 45 

Bush, Dr. Vannevar, 125 

Bush differential analyzer, 125 

Bushuyev, Konstantin D., 81-82, 157, 

BUSS (balloon-borne ultraviolet stellar 

Butler, T. Melvin, 213-214 

Butterfield, Alexander P., 77-78, 101, 144 

Bykovsky, Col. Valery F. (cosmonaut), 

207-208 

spectrometer), 185 

81-82 

C 

Cairo, U.A.R., 8 

Cal Tech Management Club, 200 

Calcium, 157-158 

Calcium fluoride, 173 

California, 9, 42, 130, 163, 167-168, 169 

California Institute of Technology (Cal 

California, Univ. of (see also Lick ObCallisto (Jovian moon), 166167, 198 

Caloris Basin (Mercury), 173 

Calypso (oceanographic research vessel), 

188 

Camera (see also Television; Videotelephone; and Vidicon receiving tube), 

2, 3, 102, 112, 143, 187 

Cameron, Dr. Alastair G. W., 90 

Cameron, Dr. Roy E., 94 

Campbell, Jack M., 194-195 

Campbell, John P., 15 

Canada (see also Anik 2 and Communications Technology Satellite), 4, 38, 39, 

195, 209, 250 

Cancer, 86, 153, 200 

Canopus (star), 5 

Canopus sensor, 231 

Cape Canaveral, Fla., 1 

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 165 

Carbon, 27, 167-168 

Carbon dioxide, 2, 13, 16, 38, 70, 89, 187 

Carbon monoxide, 26 

Cardiology, 54, 123-124, 143, 154, 158 

Cardiotachometer, 143, 226 

Caribbean Sea, 65, 153, 156 

Carnarvon Tracking Station, Australia, 

Tech), 168, 175-176, 177 

servatory), 115, 267, 270-271 

71, 77-78, 89, 99-100, 101, 130, 176, 

77 

Carr, Col. Gerald P. (usMC), 1, 7, 30, 

Carryinz the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys 

31-32, 91, 92, 221 

(book), 147 

Case Institute of Applied Sciences, 108 

Casper (Apollo 16 command module), 28 

Castenholtz, Paul D., 15 

Castor (rocket engine), 85 

Castor I1 (TX-354-5 rocket motor), 146 

Causse, Jean-Pierre, 42, 54 

Census, 42 

Centaur (launch vehicle upper stage), 178 

Centaurus (constellation), 17 1 

Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, 

Central America, 65 

Centre National d’btudes Spatiales (CNES), 

Cerebral palsy, 103 e 

Cerna;, Capt. Eugene A. (USN), 115, 

Mass., 133 

France, 216 

12 1-1 22 

Cesium-137, 190, 247 

Chalmers, R. Bruce, 105 

Chambers, John A., 69 

Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., 

C-5A (Galaxy; military cargo aircraft), 14, 

C-46 (Commando aircraft), 65, 119 

C-130 (Hercules; military transport), 192, Chanute* Octave, 148 

165, 192 

199-200 

C-141 (research aircraft), 6, 194 79 

CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board), 79 

Cadieux, Ambassador Leo (Canada), 144 

Charnell, Robert, 45 

Chemistry, 59, 157 

284 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

285 

Cherry, George W., 44, 56 

Chicago, Ill., 89-90, 192 

Chicago, Univ. of, 4546 

Childs, Marquis, 3 

Chile, 14 

China Airlines-Taiwan, 89 

China, People’s Republic of (P.R.C.), 

China, Republic of (Nationalist), 89 

Christensen, Albert F., 95 

Chromatography, 168 

Chromosphere (earth), 67 

Chrysler Corp., 16-17, 117, 118 

CIAP (climatic impact assessment program), 

51-52, 89, 105 

86, 265 

Cincinnati Electronics, Inc., 110 

Circinus X-l (x-ray source), 133 

Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), 79 

Civil aviation, 146, 148, 154155, 183 

Civil Aviation Administration (P.R .C.), 

Civil Service, 211, 220 

Civil Service Commission (csc), 14, 66, 

Clark, Dr. John C., 110 

Clean combustor program, 145-146, 224 

Cleary, Charles J., Award (USAF), 157 

Clements, William P., Jr., Secretary of 

Defense, 141-142 

Cleveland, Ohio, 168 

Climatic impact assessment program 

Climatology. See Meteorology. 

Cloud study (see also Interstellar clouds 

meteorology, 42, 52, 61-62, 104, 119, 

planetary, 26, 27,4142, 82-83, 168,208, 

’ 

89 

115-116, 220 

(CIAP), 86, 265 

and Oort cloud), 185, 2W201 

249, 253, 258 

-.*-. 

LLL 

U.S.S.R., 92, 131-132, 194, 215, 241 CM (command module; see also Command 

CML Satellite Corp., 130 , 

CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales), 

Coal, 11, 20, 29, 92, 154, 187 

Cockpit ground-proximity warning system, 

and service module), 28, 44 

France, 216 

10&101 

Cole, Judith A., 102 

Collier, Robert J., Trophy, 95 

Collins, B/G Michael (USAF, R.), 135, 138, 

147 

Colombia, 14 

Colorado, 70-71, 112 

Colorado, Univ. of, 264, 265-266, 270- I- * LI1 

Columbia Univ., 265, 270, 271 

Comet (see also Bradfield; Encke; Halley’s; 

and Kohoutek), 9-10, 45, 118-119 

Comet Kohoutek WorkshoD. 118-1 19 

Command and service module (CSM), 41, 

Command module (cM), 28, 44 

Commerce, Dept. of (DOC), 19, 104, 200 

Commercial aviation. See Airlines. 

82, 151, 165 

Committee for the Reelection of the 

President, 146 

Committee on Energy, 119 

Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer 

Space (U.N.), 46, 200 

Commonwealth Science and Industrial 

Research Organization (csr~o), 17 1- I ?? 

1IL 

Communications, 7, 15-16, 70, 101, 109, _. 238 .

Communications satellite (see also individual programs, satellites, and systems, 

such as Aeronautical Satellite program, Aerosat, Air Force Satellite 

Communications System, Arnsar Os- car 7, Anik I, Ats I, Communications 

Technology Satellite, Fleet Satellite 

Communications System, Intelsat, 

Maritime -Communications Satellite 

System, Molniya I-S, Oscar I, Skynet, 

Syrnphonie I, and Wesrar I), 181, 710 

LLO 

benefits, 80, 116-1 17 

budget, 21, 25 

domestic, 4, 37-38, 4748, 76, 99-100, 

foreign, 8.78-79, 165-166, 169, 174,232, 

130, 146-147 

234. 247 

international agreement, 99 

Communications Satellite Act of 1962, 81 

Communications Satellite Corp. (ComSatCorp; see also individual Intelsat 

satellites and Marisat), 34, 4142, 

84, 137, 159, 164, 227 COMSAT General Corp., 88, 114, 130, 

146-147, 209 

Communications Technology Satellite 

Compass Cope program, 151 

Composite, 58 

Compressor, 44-45 

Comptroller General, 126 

Computer, 199 

aeronautic applications, 39, 97, 167 

energy research, 11 1 

medical applications, 54, 68 

pollution research, 168 

spacecraft utilization, 30, 32, 38-39, 57, 

81, 105, 186-187 

technology, 62, 131, 143, 177 

Computer industry, 137 

Computer Sciences Corp. (csc), 95 

ComSatCorp. See Communications Satellite Corp. 

Concept verification test (CVT), 19, 177 

Concorde (Anglo-French supersonic transport), 12, 38, 64, 86, 118, 136-137, 

211-212 

(CTS), 139 

Concorde 202, 37 

Condon, Dr. Edward U., 7&71 

Conference on Scientific Experiments of 

Skylab (AIAA and American Geophysical 

Union), 195 

Congress, 10, 37, 63, 107, 113, 148, 156, 

214, 219 

bills passed, 132, 183-184 
AST 'RONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

I 

Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, 170, 

Joint Committee on Defense Production, 

joint conference, 101, 109, 152 

Presidential messages, 11, 20-22, 27, 80, 

report submitted, 51-52, 146-147 

185 

29 

204 

Zongress, House of Representatives, 28- 

29, 150 

bills introduced, 78, 83-84 

bills passed, 36, 45, 48, 56, 92, 95, 98, 

Budget Committee, 132 

Committee on Appropriations, 124 

Subcommittee on HUD-SpaceScience-Veterans, 99-100 

Subcom mittee on Transportation, 

Committee on Merchant Marine and 

Fisheries, 183 

Committee on Science and Astronautics, 

Subcommittee on Aeronautics and 

118, 124, 153 

77-78 

19, 68, 83-84, 91, 92, 95-96, 183 

Space Technology, 29,44,54,55-56, 

62, 66, 176, 184, 189 

Subcommittee on Energy, 36, 114 

115 

Subcommittee on Manned Space 

Flight, 16, 41, 4244, 47, 54, 58 

Subcommittee on Space Science and 

Applications, 25, 47-48, 5455, 57, 

64-65, 117, 182, 203 

Committee on Science and Technology, 

183 

committee Reform Amendments of 

Committee on Un-American Activities, 

1974, 183 

70-7 1 

nominations approved and confirmed, 

report approved, 48, 118, 153 

resolutions passed, 183 

Zongress, Senate, 36, 77-78, 99, 124-125, 

bills introduced, 44, 62, 139 

bills passed, 61, 101, 106, 149-150, 152, 

Budget Committee, 132 

Committee on Aeronautical and Soace 

217 

204, 214 

153 

Sciences, 11, 27-28, 46, 48, 6d-61, 

145. 171 

6M7, 73-74, 77, 79, 98, 101, 139, . . . , . . - Subcommittee on Aviation, 71 

150 

Committee on Appropriations, 67, 149, 

Committee on Armed Services, 28, 60 

Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs, 106 

Committee on Commerce 

Subcommittee on Aviation, 78 

Committee on Government Operations 

Subcommittee on Reorganization, 

Research and International Organizations, 83 

Committee on Labor and Public Welnominations submitted, 108, 137 

nominations approved and confirmed, 

report, 29, 109, 152, 153 

treaty ratification, 123-124 

103, 193, 195 

fare, 106 

194, 217 

Conrad, Capt. Charles, Jr. (USN, Ret.), 15, 

Constellation (aircraft series), 199-200 

Constellation. See Corvus and Lacerta. 

Construction of facilities, NASA 

budget, 21, 83-84, 121, 144, 150 

earth station, 101 

inflation effects, 209 

simulation facility, 177 

space shuttle, 64, 88, 97, 158, 210-211 

~indmill, 6 

x-ray telescope facility, 189, 220 

aeronautics, 141, 145-146 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 1, 1617, 79, 

automotive research, 26, 86 

computer system, 86 

construction of facilities, 64, 97, 189, 

energy research,. 187, 192, 204-205 

fire protection, 35 

inflation impact, 209-210 

Large Space Telescope, 201, 220 

launch vehicles, 1617, 83, 146 

materials research, 184 

satellite, 78, 80, 98, 135, 146, 158 

Skylab, 121 mace orobe. 19 

Contract, NASA, 12, 29, 35-36, 80, 200 

102, 117, 118 

220 

space 'shuttle, 5, 9, 25, 36, 41-42, 47, 

79, 81, 88, 105, 106, 126, 140, 141, 

158, 181, 217 

space tug, 140 

studv. 12. 121. 165. 205. 217 

support services, 1; 19,' 35-36, 62, 78, 

Convair 990 (Galileu; NASA research air93, 95, 115-116, 117, 216 

craft), 16, 119 

Cooper, Henry S. F., 147 

Cupernicus (Oau 3), 133, 187 

Copper, 58, 166 

Cornell Univ., 201-202 

Corpcs Christi Tracking Station, Tex., 77 

Corsair (F-4U; fighter aircraft), 156 

Cortright, Dr. Edgar M., 203 

Corvus (constellation), 69 

Cosmic dust, 212, 253 

Cosmic ray, 39-40, 42, 59, 65, 80, 158, 

Cosmic research laboratory, 154 

Cosmonaut, 73, 115, 165, 261 

197-198, 212, 253 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 82, 164-165, 

awards, 181 

corps increase, 152 

Soyuz missions, 44, 73, 122-124, 139- 

179, 207-208 

140, 155, 176, 207, 218, 219, 252 

Cosmonautics Day (U.S.S.R.), 85 

Cosmos (U.S.S.R. satellite), 193, 222, 228 

286 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

287 

Cosmos 605, 75-76, 190 

Cosmos 626, 93-94 

Cosmos 628, 229 

Cosmos 629432, 229-230 

Cosmos 633, 23 1 

Cosmos 634, 231 

Cosmos 635, 232 

Cosmos 636, 232 

Cosmos 637, 71, 141, 232 

Cosmos 638, 78, 147, 222, 225, 232 

Cosmos 639, 232 

Cosmos 640, 233 

Cosmos 641648, 91, 234-235 

Cosmos 649-651, 235 

Cosmos 652, 236 

Cosmos 653, 236 

Cosmos 654, 182, 236 

Cosmos 655, 237 

Cosmos 656, 108, 237 

Cosmos 657, 237 

Cosmos 658661, 239 

Cosmos 662465, 240-241 

Cosmos 666, 241 

Cosmos 667, 242 

Cosmos 668, 242 

Cosmos 669, 242 

Cosmos 670, 243 

Cosmos 671, 243 

Cosmos 672, 147, 222, 225, 243 

Cosmos 673, 243 

Cosmos 674, 244 

Cosmor 675 244 

Cosmo; 6%: 245 

Cosmos 677484, 172-173. 245-246 

Cosmos 685, 246 

Cosmos 686, 246 

Cosmos 687, 246 

Cosmos 688, 247 

Cosmos 689, 247 

Cosmos 690, 190, 247 

Cosmos 691, 248 

Cosmos 692, 249 

Cosmos 693, 249 

Cosmos 694, 251 

Cosmos 695, 25 1 

Cosmos 696, 252 

Cosmos 697, 253 

Cosmos 698, 254 

Cosmos 699, 254 

Cosmos 700, 255 

Cosmos 701, 255 

Council for Science and Technology (proposed), 124-125, 129 

Council of Economic Advisors, 61 

Council of International Cooperation in 

Space Exploration and Use (U.S.S.R.), 

85 

Council on Environmental Quality, 61 

Cousteau, Jacques-Yves, 188 

Crab Nebula, 223, 270, 271 

Crater. See Moon. 

Cronkite, Walter, 137 

Crop damage, 115 

Crow, L/G Duward L. (USAF, Ret.), 170 

Crowley, John W., 140 

Cryo-anchor soil stabilizer, 134 

Crystals (see also Silicon), 43, 58, 199, 

216 CSC. See Civil Service Commission. 

CSIRO (Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization), 171-172 

CSM. See Command and service module. CTS (Communications Technology Satellite), 139 

Cuba, 2-3 

Cuiba Tracking Station, Brazil, 11 1 

Culbertson, Dr. Phillip E., 47, 113 

Cunningham, George, 68 

Currie, Dr. Malcolm R., 66-67 

Curtin, M/G Robert H. (WAF, Ret.), 54 CVT (Concept verification test), 19, 177 

Cyclones, 166167, 222 

Cygnus X-1 (x-ray source), 133, 187, 244, 

259 

Cyprus, 243 -t 

Czechoslovakia, 104, 190, 195, 237, 249 

D 

da Vinci, Leonardo, 136 

Daffodii I1 (balloon), 13-14 

Dakar, Senegal, 104-105 

Danish Meteorological Institute, 268-269 

Darmstadt, West Germany, 160 

Data processing, 9, 38-39, 95, 105, 111, 

120. 131 

Dais: Dr. William O., 103 

Day, LeRoy E., 113 

DC-8 (jet transport), 174, 224 

de Florez Training Award, 15 

De la Vaulx Medal, 193 

de Seversky, Maj. Alexander P. (U.S. Army 

Air Corps, Ret.), 154-155 

De Waard, J., 16 

Debus, Dr. Kurt H., 14, 75, 131, 171, 

DC-9, 38, 160 

DC-10, 51, 55, 71, 78 

217 

Deep Space Network (DSN), 63, 77, 101, 

Defense, Dept. of (DOD; see also Launch, 

DOD), 3, 14, 28, 37-38, 41, 100, 130, 

163, 173, 176 

132-133, 146, 209 

aeronautics, 148 

budget, 20, 21-22, 183-184 

contract, 31, 19G 

employment, 4849 

environmental research, 119, 264 

funding, 134, 141-142, 143 

space programs, 22, 25, 31, 47, 66-67, 

140, 241-242 

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program 

Defense Posture Statement, 51-52 

Defense Satellite Communications System 

Delta (launch vehicle upper stage; see also 

Delta 100 Failure Review Committee, 83 

Delta Air Lines, Inc., 74, 83, 87 

Delta Project Review Committee, 148 

(DMSP), 63, 120, 134, 226, 232, 243 

(DSCS), 226 

Thor-Delta), 186, 212 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS. 1974 

Demin, Col. Lev S. (cosmonaut), 155, 181, 

Democratic National Committee, 146 

Denmark, 54, 67, 101, 138-139 

Denpa (Japanese Radio Explorer satellite), 

394 

Dent, Frederick B., Secretary of Commerce, 130 

Desert, 175-176 

Detroit, Mich., 175 

Deuterium, 27 

Digital albedo horizon sensor, 23 1 

Digital circuitry, 48 

Digital data satellite service (DIGISAT), 84 

Dirty snowball theory, 9 

Disarmament (see also Strategic Arms 

Discoverer (satellite), 60 

Disher, John H., 47 

Disney World, Fla., 141 

Distinguished Flying Cross (USAF), 133, 

Distinguished Service Medal (NACA), 219 

Distinguished Service Medal (NASA), 39, 

Distinguished Service Medal (USN), 28 DMSP. See Defense Meteorological Satellite 

Program. 

Doc. See Commerce, Dept. of. 

Docking (see also Apollo-Soyuz Test 

Project, Soyuz 14, and Soyuz 151, 85, 

DOD. See Defense, Dept. of. DOL See Interior, Dept. of 

Domestic communications satellite (see 

also Anik and Westar), 4 

Domestic Council, 124-125 

Dopant (electronically active chemical 

Dornbrand, Harry, 194-195 

Dornier System GmbH, 210 DOT. See Transportation, Dept. of. 

Dow, James E., 137 

Dow Jones & Co., Inc., 168 

Doyle, Stephen E., 86 

“The Dragon’s Wings: The China National 

Aviation Corporation and the Development of Commercial Aviation in China” 

(history manuscript), 15 

Drake, Dr. Frank D., 4546 

Drogue chute, 117 

Drone aircraft. See Firebee. 

Dryden, Dr. Hugh L., 103 

Dryden, Dr. Hugh L., Memorial Fel- 

“The Dryden-Blagonrarov Era of Space 

Dryden Research Lecture, 15 DSCS (Defense Satellite Communications 

DSN. See Deep Space Network. 

Dubinin, Nikolay, 87-88 

Dudley Observatory, 269 

Duke, Col. Charles M., Jr. (USAF), 28 

Dulles International Airport, Va., 80 

239-240, 244, 262 

DIGISAT, 84 

Limitation Talks), 123-124, 215 

156 

65-66, 88, 150-151, 171, 194-195 

123, 139-140, 161, 184 

element), 43 

lowship, 59 

Cooperation, 196245” (essay), 59 

System), 226 

Dunne, Dr. James, A., 27 

Dyal, Dr. Palmer, 208-209 

Dzhezkazgan, U.S.S.R., 123,207,241,252, 

E 

262 

E-Systems, Inc., 34 

Eagle (ApoNo 11 lunar module), 30 

Eagleton, Sen. ’Thomas F., 60 

Eaker, Gen. Ira S., 133 

Early warning satellite system, 67, 183 

Earth 

gravitational field, 98 

radiation, 83, 194, 248 

solar effects, 43-14, 191 s acecraft observations, 32, 38, 70, 77, 

991-92, 100, 109, 114, 122, 126 

Earth and ocean physics applications 

program (EOPAP), 21, 25, 38 

Earth Environment and Resources Conference, 168 

Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS), 37-38, 

78 

Earth resources, 4, 9, 28, 32, 42, 46, 55, 

Earth resources experiment package 

Earth Resources Observation AdministraEarth resources satellite program, 103, 

Earth resources survey program, 21, 204 

Earth Resources Survey System (proposed), 182 

Earth Resources Technology Satellite 

(ERTS; see also individual satellites such as Efts I), 38-39, 111, 132, 145, 171, 

182, 194, 215, 225 

Earth station (see also individual stations), 

80, 86-87, 145, 154, 174, 177-178, 207, 

215, 218-219, 225-226, 252 

(EREP), 42, 98 

tion (Dol; proposed), 145, 171 

204 

9, 44, 45, 62, 66, 130, 207 

communications applications, 4, 8, 

147, 159, 171, 186 

construction, 8, 38, 194 

foreign, 8, 78-79, 81, 111, 139-140, 141 

meteorological applications, 65, 104 

reduction, 24 

77-79, 81, 86, 88, 99, 106-107, 146- 

105, 110 

Earthquake, 163, 164, 169 

East Germany. See Germany, East. 

Eastern Airlines, Inc., 74, 94 

Eastern Test Range (ETR), Patrick AFB, Fla. 

(see also Ats 6. Helios I. Intelsat-IV F8, 

Skynet IIA. Skynet IIB, SMS, Symphonie 

I, Titan-Centaur, Westar I, and Westar 

2). 164 

Ebert-Fastie spectrometer, 185 

Eddy, Dr. John, 67 

Edison Electric Institute, 112 

Education, 8, 48, 102-103, 106107, 109, 

129, 131, 228, 238, 258 

Edwards, John W., 59 

Edwards AFB, Calif., 116, 151, 163 

288 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

289 

EEO. See Equal Employment OpportuEgan, Gov. William A., 4 

Eglin AFB, Fla., 101-102 

Einstein, Albert, 133 

Eisenhower, President Dwight D., 183 

Eisenhower, Milton S., Library, 103 

El Toro, Calif., 60 

Electric field, 77, 190 

Electric generator, 173, 175-176 

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), 

nity. 

21 1 

Electric waves, 3940 

Electricity (see also Thermoelectricity), 34, 

204-205, 211 

Electrocardiograph, 143 

Electrodes, 103 

Electromagnetic spectrum, 57 

Electronic Systems Center. See InterElectronics, 43, 184 

Electrons, 217, 208 

Eliot, T. S., 32 

Ellington AFB, Tex., 28, 31-32 EME (environmental measurements experiment). 238 

63,73-74,93-94, 105, 114-1 15, 186, 187, 

national Business Machines Corp. 

Emploiment, NASA, 6-7, 11, 16, 25, 35-36, 

47, 4849, 66, 102-103, 115-116, 126, 

141, 190, 202, 210, 220 

Employment, U.S., 131, 141 

Encke (comet), 37 

Energy. See Electricity, Geothermal 

energy, Microwave energy, Nuclear 

energy, Solar energy, Thermal energy, 

and Wind energy. 

Energy conservation 

aeronautics, 25, 29, 4445, 48, 55-56, 

automotive, 25-26, 73-74, 118 NASA plan, 8-9, 73 

national Dolicv. 20. 99. 119 

192, 211-212, 224 

Energy conversion,’ 73-74, 90-91, 92, 

Energy crisis, 3, 6, 11, 31, 39, 48, 52, 79, 

114-115, 130, 167, 187, 192 

100, 153-154, 175. 177 

Energy Emergency Act, 48 

Energy Policy Office, 72 

Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, 187 

Energy research and development (ER &D; 

see also Solar energy research), 6, 8-9, 

166. 184-185. 211. 220. 226 

29, 34, 61, 99, 105, 160-161, 163-164, 

budget, 20-21, 23, 13-74, 95, 98, 107, 

109. 152 

congressional hearings, 25, 46, 79, 84 

personnel, 15, 194 

press comment, 39, 45, 80, 107 

Energy Research and Development 

Administration (ERDA), 46, 61, 83, 106, 

Energy Resources Council, 187 

Engine (see also JTBD, Space shuttle main 

aircraft, 31, 48, 51, 92, 145-146, 193 

rocket, 15, 111, 140, 146 

163-164, 187, 194, 220 

engine) 

Engineering, 23, 4142, 45, 102-103, 108, 

134 

Engineers, 72, 95, 106, 113, 114, 125, 131, 

136, 143, 157, 168-169, 179, 187, 191, 

212 

awards, 92 

employment, 6-7, 11, 4849, 66, 190 

energy research, 6, 80 

international cooperation, 7, 16 

England. See United Kingdom. 

Environment, 17, 23, 38, 48, 73, 84, 98, 

160-161, 183, 187 

Environmental measurements experiment 

(EME), 238 

Environmental monitoring. 115. 131 

Environmental Protection’ Agency (EPA), 

Environmental warfare, 123-1 24 

17, 23, 25-26, 54, 117 

EOPAP. See Earth and ocean physics 

EOS (Earth Observatory Satellite), 37-38, 

applications program. 

78 

EPA. See Environmental Protection 

epndb: effective perceived noise in deciEpoxy, 184, 192 

EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute), 

Equal employment opportunity (EEO), 6-7, 

Agency. 

bels. 

211 

11-12, 34 

Equator, 40, 72, 97, 119, 185-186 

Equinox, vernal, 65 

ER &D. See Energy research and developERDA. See Energy Research and DevelopEREP (earth resources experiment package), 

ment. 

ment Administration. 

42. 98 

Ermenonville Forest, France, 5 1 

ERNO Raumfahrttechnik, GmbH, 54 

ERTS. See Earth Resources Technology 

Erts 1 (ERTS-A), 25, 98, 111, 115, 132, 

Satellite. 

225-226 

agricultural applications, 62 

benefits, 32, 80 

international cooperation, 10-1 1, 38-39, 

62, 111, 132, 225-226 

land management, 54, 80, 90, 131 

oceanography, 45 

photographs, 5-6, 32, 90, 100, 130-131, 

170, 215 

ERTS-B, 21, 25, 111, 132, 225-226 

ERTSSC, 98, 109, 124, 150, 171 

Ervin, Sen. Sam J., Jr., 44 

ESRO. See European Space Research 

Organization. 

Etam, W. Va., 34 

ETR. See Eastern Test Range. 

Europa (Jovian moon), 166-167 

Europe, 40-41, 84, 99-100, 108, 116, 

European Space Agency, 76 

118-119, 138-139, 156, 216, 254 
European Space Research Organization 

(ESRO; se also Maritime Orbital Test 

Satellitef, 9, 160, 169, 210 

anniversary, 67 

comsat program, 77-78, 101, 144, 164, 

209 

earth studies, 77, 86-87, 191 

employment, 67 

launch vehicle program, 189-190, 196 

meteorology, 110 

personnel, 42 

planetary exploration, 36-37, 120-121 

reorganization, 76 

Spacelab, 16, 54, 67, 94, 105-106, 113, 

EUV (extreme ultraviolet). See Ultraviolet 

headings. 

EUV spectrometer, 242 

ev: electron volt. 

EVA. &e Extravehicular activity. 

Evans, Capt. Ronald E. (USN), 121-122 

Exceptional Civilian Service Medal (USA), 

181, 199, 223-224, 225 

171 

Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal 

(NASA), 194-195, 203 

Exceptional Service Medal (NASA), 88, 

194-195 

Exhibit, 163 

Explorer (scientific satellite), 21, 24 

Explorer I, I, 14, 171 

Explorer 42 (Uhuru; Small Astronomy 

Satellite), 133, 187 

Explorer 45 (SSS-A), 114, 177 

Explorer 46 (Meteoroid Technology Satellite), 60, 152-153 

Explorer 50 (IMP-J; Interplanetary Monitoring Platform), 149 

Explorer 51 (AE-C; Atmosphere Explorer), 

27 1 

Explorer 52. See Hawkeye 1. 

External tank (ET), 19, 36, 158, 210-211 

Extraterrestrial colonies, 98, 154 

Extraterrestial life, 1, 44, 69-70, 94, 97, 

Extravehicular activity (EVA), 28-29, 45, 

5-6, 40, 55, 126, 144, 230-231, 266, 

135, 201-202 

210-211 

Exxon Corp., 147 

F 

F-1 (Mirage 3; French fighter aircraft), 

F-4 (Phantom fighter-bomber aircraft), 

138- 139 

94 

F-4U (Corsair fighter aircraft), 156 

F-5B (fighter-trainer aircraft), 7 

F-5E (Tiger I1 fighter aircraft), 7, 10 

F-5F (fighter-trainer aircraft), 10 

F-8 (carrier fighter aircraft), 44 

F-14 (Tomcat fighter aircraft), 7, 22, 

F-15 (Eagle advanced tactical fighter 

aircraft), 22, 91, 94, 167, 183-184, 225 

63-64, 100 

F-104 (mach 2 fighter aircraft), 138, 

F-11 1 (fighter aircraft), 44, 175, 224 FAA. See Federal Aviation Administra199-200 

tion. 

FAI (Fkdbration Aironautique Internationale), 193 FAI Gold Space Medal, 193 

Fairbanks Tracking Station. Alaska. 11 1 

Fairchild RepublicCo., 76 

Fairford, U.K., 37 

Falls Church, Va., 95 

Fanale, Dr. Fraser P., 208 

Farnborough International '74, 163 FCC. See Federal Communications ComFEA. See Federal Energy Administration. 

FedeJal Aviation Administration (FAA), 87, 

101, 114, 137, 146, 183, 209 

accident research, 51, 55, 71, 97 

aircraft research, 17, 97, 102, 144, 148, 

mission. 

166 

budget, 22-23, 77-78 

regulations, 78, 79-80, 92-93, 97 

Federal Communications Commission 

(FCC), 84, 88, 113-114, 130, 202, 251 

Federal Council for Science and Technology, 60-61 

Federal Electric Corp., 117 

Federal Energy Administration (FEA), 1 I, 

56, 61, 99, 108 

Federal Energy Administration Act of 

1974, 99 

Federal Energy Office (FEO; see also 

Federal Energy Administration), 71-72, 

80, 88 

Federal Housing Administration (FHA), 

14 1 

Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and 

Development Act of 1974, 220 

Federal Plan for Meteorological Services 

and Supporting Research FY 1975, 

(NOAA proposal), 146 

Federal Railroad Administration, 86 

Fidiration Aironautique Internationale (FAI), 193 FEO. See Federal Enerev Office. 

Feoktistov, Dr. KonsTintin P. (cosmoFerrari, Dr. Alfred J., 215 

naut), 73, 218 

Ferrofluid separator, 166 

FG Sagittae (superstar), 143 

FHA (Federal Housing Administration), 

141 

Fifth Annual Lunar Science Conference, 

64 

Fighter aircraft. See individual aircraft 

and programs, such as A-7, Air combat 

fighter, F-4, Mirage 3, P-35, Sukhoi, 

Filipchenko, Col. Anatoly V. (cosmonaut), 

207, 252, 262 

Filton, U.K., 37 

Fink, Daniel J., 15 

Finke, Robert C., 186 

Fire protection, 19, 35, 54, 79-80 

VFAX, VFX, and YF-16. 

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

290 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Firebee (drone aircraft), 84 

Fitzgerald, A. Ernest, 14 

Fleet Satellite Communications 

Fleming, Arthur S., Award, 118, 157 

Fletcher, Dr. James C., 17, 35, 53-54, 67, 

70, 72, 119, 148, 155, 167, 170, 191, 

198, 210, 214 

(FLTSATCOM) System, 67 

agreements, 211, 213, 219 

awards, 59 

ceremonies, 65-66,88, 112, 136, 15&151, 

congressional testimony, 27, 46, 60-61, 

contract award, 126 

foreign visit, 165, 182 

meeting, 105, 

personnel appointment, 143-144, 150 

press conference, 24-25, 30, 68, 106 

speech, 37, 43, 189, 191-192 

aeronautics, 52-53, 84, 151, 160, 175, 

automotive research, 73, 118 

Flight Activities Office, 158-159 

“Manned Lifting Body Flight Log,” 

name change (January 1976), 273 

personnel, 176-177, 217, 220 

space shuttle, 189 

symposium, 114 

166 

195, 199, 203 

68, 139, 145 

Flight Research Center (FRC, NASA) 

273-274 

273 

Flight Transportation Laboratory (MIT), 

Flood, 170 

Florida, 5, 131, 167, 214 

Florida Acquifer, 131 

Florida, Univ. of, 131 FLTSATCOM (Fleet Satellite Communications System), 67 

Fluorine, 157 

Food supply management, 153-154 

For the Benefit of All Mankind: The 

Practical Returns from Space (congressional report), 95-96 

Ford, President Gerald R., 146, 156, 199 

agreement, 204 

appointments and nominations, 151, 

award, 211 

bills signed, 163-164, 183-184, 187, 

ceremony, 95 

message to Congress, 204 

press comment, 165 

speech, 175 

Ford Motor Co., 156 

Forestry, 132 

Fort Churchill, Canada, 144, 265-269 

Foushee, B. R., 178 

France (see also National Research Counaeronautics, 12, 38,64,81, 107, 136137. 

agreements, 101, 213 

space activities, 54, 67, 101, 119, 121, 

194 

192-193, 220 

cil and Symphonie I), 156, 165 

138- 139 

189-190, 242 

Frazier, Joe, 14 FRC. See Flight Research Center. 

Friedheim, Jerry W., 14, 42 

Fruit fly, 42 

Fucino, Italy, 11 1 

Fuel. See individual kinds of fuel, Energy 

Fuel cells, 187 

Fuel conservation. See Energy conservaFuqua, Rep. Don, 16 

crisis, and Energy conservation. 

tion. 

G 

Gagarin, Col. Yuri A. (cosmonaut), 36, 

Gagarin, Yuri, Gold Medal, 193 

Galapagos Islands, 238 

Galaxy. See C~A. 

Galaxy (see also Milky Way), 76, 133, 160, 

Galileo. See Convair 990. 

Gallagher, J. Wes, 190 

Galley, Robert, 12 

Galveston, Tex., 188 

Gamma ray, 68, 80, 90, 108, 158, 190 

Ganymede (Jovian moon), 166-167 GAO. See General Accounting Office. 

Gardner, Frank, 171-172 

Garnet (silicate mineral), 143 GARP. See Global Atmospheric Research 

85 

214, 223 

Proeram. 

GARP xtlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE), 

22, 104-105, 119, 175, 225, 236-237 

Garrett Corp.. 60, 92 

AiResearih Aviation Co., 145-146 

Gas. See Natural gas. 

Gas turbine, 25-26, 145-146, 187 

Gaseous-core nuclear rocket, 29 

Gasoline, 26 GASP (Global Air Sampling Program), 

213 

Catch, Thomas L., W1 GATE. !%e GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment. 

Gatos, Dr. Harry C., 42 

CAW-1 (general aviation wing), 187 

Gazenko, Dr. Oleg G., 75-76, 178 

GE. See General Electric Co. 

GEc-Marconi (U.K.), 49, 210 

Gehrels, Dr. Tom, 82-83 

Gemini (program), 28-29, 59, 211 

Gemini IO, 147 

General Accounting Office (GAO), 5, 60, 

72, 126 

General aviation, 23, 48, 63, 69-70, 96, 

General Aviation Manufacturers Assn., 

General A viation Programs (congressional 

General aviation wing. See CAW-1. 

General Dynamics Corp., 7-8, 116, 138, 

97, 99, 183, 189 

189 

report), 189 

140, 179, 18S184, 190 

Convair Div., 140, 146 

29 1 
General Electric Co. (GE; see also Radio 

Optical Observatory), 1, 11, 31, 35-36, 

General Genetics institute (U.S.S.R.), 

78, 141, 165-166, 187, 204-205 

87-88 

General Motors Corp., 145-146 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

36 

General Telephone & Electronics Corp. 

(GTE), 88, 169 

Genetics, 87-88 

Geneva, Switzerland, 110 

Geodetic Explorer. See GEos-c. 

Geology, 122, 143, 170, 241 

Geophysical institute, Peru, 72 

GEOS-c (Geodetic Explorer satellite), 2 

Geostationary Operational Environmental 

Satellite (see also Goes I), 26, 236 

Geothermal energy, 13, 24, 175-176 

Geothermal Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Act of 1974, 

163-164 

German Aerospace Show (1974), 94 

German Federal Ministry for Research and 

Germanium selenide, 58 

Germany, East, 104, 119, 120, 195, 237, 

Technology (BMFT), 135, 213 

249 

Germany, West (see also Aeros 2, Helios 

I, Rocket Research Center, and Symphonie I), 3, 54, 57, 67, 101, 107, 119, 

Gesellschaft fur Weltraumforschung (cfw), 

216 

120, 121, 191, 249-250 

GET: ground elapsed time. 

ghz: gigahertz (1 billion cycles per sec- ond). 

Giberson. Walker E.. 151 

Gibson, Dr. Edward~ G., 1, 7, 30, 31-32, 

Gibson, Roy, 144 

Gilruth, Dr. Robert R.. 92 

91-92, 152 

Giscard d’Estaing, President Valery 

Glass, 173, 212 

Glenn, Col. John H., Jr. (USMC, Ret.), 99, 

(France), 136137 

199 

Gldnnan, Dr. T. Keith, 219 

Global Air Sampling Program (GASP), 213, 

224 

Global A trnospheric Research Program 

(CARP; see also CARP Atlantic Tropical 

Experiment), 21, 23, 224 

Glushko, Valentin P., 85 

Goddard Award, 15 

Goddard, Robert H., Historical Essay 

Goddard, Robert H., Memorial Dinner, 

Award, 59 

58 

Goddard, Robert H., Memorial Trophy, 

58 

Goddard, Robert H., Scholarship, 59 

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC, 

NASA), 64, 88, 126, 169-170, 227 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project support, 19 1 

earth station design, 104-105 

employment, 220 

inflation impact, 209-210 

project management, 104, 146, 160, 

200-201, 213 

sounding rocket research, 2, 263, 

264-267, 268, 269, 270 

space experimentation, 134-135, 144, 

187, 242 

support services, 95 

tracking, 216 

Environmental Satellite), 26, 236 

258 

Godfrey, Roy E., 69 

GOES (Geostationary Operational 

Goes I (GOES-A; SMS-c), 2, 104, 236237, 

Gold Star Medal (U.S.S.R. award), 181 

Goldsmith, John V., 114115 

Goldstone Tracking Station, Calif., 14, 

111, 163 

Goldwater, Sen. Barry M., 62, 139 

Goodyear Aerospace Corp., 117, 167 GPS. See NAVSTAR Global Positioning 

System. 

Grand Coulee Canyon, 170 

Granger. John V., 171 

Grapkte, 91 

Graphite epoxy composite, 210-21 1 

Gravel, Sen. Mike, 4 

Gravitational field (earth; see also 

Gravity (see also Weightlessness), 133 

Gray, Edward Z., 54 

Grazing-incidence telescope, 159 

Great Britain. See United Kingdom. 

Great red spot (Eye of Jupiter), 82-83, 

individual planets), 98 

166, 222 

Grechko, Georgy M. (cosmonaut), 

Green Swamp, Fla., 131 

Greenbelt Tracking Station, Md., 11 1 

Greenstein, Jesse L., 194-195 

Gribbin, John, 169 

Grobecker, Dr. Alan J., 86 

Groo, Elmer S., 149 

Ground station. See Earth station. 

Group Achievement Award (NASA), 

194-195, 203 

Grumman Corp. 

Grumman Aerospace Corp., 7 

Grumman Aircraft Corp., 7-8, 100, 

218-219, 255 

168 

GSA (General Services Administration), 

36 

GSFC. See Goddard Space Flight Center. 

GTE (General Telephone & Electronics 

Gubarev, Lt. Col. Aleskey A. (cosmonaut), 

Guggenheim, Daniel, Medal, 137 

Guggenheim, Daniel and Florence, 

international Astronautics Award 

(1973), 178 

Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of 

Aeronautics, 156 

Guidance and control (see also 

Navigation), 201 

Corp.), 88, 169 

218-219, 255 

ASTRONAUTlCS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

292 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

293 

Gyroscope, 5, 183 

H 

Hale Observatories, 76, 167, 168 

Haley Astronautics Award (AIAA), 195 

Hall, Charles F., 15C151 

Halley’s Comet, 37 

Handler, Dr. Philip, 61 

Hanover, West Germany, 94 

Hardrath, Herbert F., 15 

HARM (High-speed antiradiation missile), 

108 

Harr, Dr. Karl G., Jr., 3 

Harris, Mrs. Ruth Bates, 6-7, 11, 150 

Harrisburg, Pa., 4W1 

Hartford, James J., 99-100 

Hartman, Dr. Robert C., 144 

Hartsfield, Henry W., 183 

Harvard College Observatory, 267, 269 

Haughton, Daniel J., 10, 111-112 

Hawaii, 12, 21-22, 24, 39, 84, 88, 97, 

113-114, 186 

Hawaii, Univ. of, 39, 267 

Hawk (sounding rocket), 267, 270 

Hawker Siddeley Dynamics, Ltd., 49, 58, 

210 

Hawker Siddeley Group, Ltd., 169 

Hawkeye I (Explorer 52; scientific satellite), 

Hawkins, Willis M., 15, 195 

Hawthorne, Calif., 79 HCMM. See Heat-Capacity Mapping 

Health, Education, and Welfare, Dept. of 

Health Education Telecommunications 

HEAO. See High Energy Astronomy 

HEAO-B, 158 

Heart-lung machine, 154 

Hearth, Donald P., 126 

Heat-Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM), 

Heat exchangers, 26, 154 

Heidelbaugh, Dr. Norman D., 131 

Helicopter, 10, 15-16, 51, 81 

Helios (solar probe), 21, 33-34, 213, 253, 

Helios I (Helios-A), 2, 212-213, 221-222, 

Heliosphere (earth), 197-198 

Helium, 27, 68, 144 

Helium 3, 179, 185, 197 

Hematology, 43-44 

Hemke, Dr. Paul E., 108 

Henize, Dr. Karl G. (astronaut), 28 

Heos 2 (Highly Eccentric Orbit Satellite), 

2, 11 1, 221-222, 227, 238-239, 257, 259 

Mission. 

(HEW), 106-107, 134 

(HET) experiment, 129 

Observatory. 

21, 24, 55, 204 

257, 260 

227, 228, 253 

191 ., - 

Hercules. See C-130. 

Hero of Socialist Labor, 52 

Hero of the Soviet Union, 181 

Herzberg, Dr. Gerhard, .9 

HET (Health Education TelecommunicaHetherington, Dr. Norris S., 59 HEW. See Health, Education, and Welfare, 

Hewish, Dr. Antony, 188-189 

Hickam AFB, Hawaii, 188 

High Energy Astronomy Observatory 

(HEAO), 21, 25, 37-38, 80, 99-100, 158, 

170, 189 

High-speed antiradiation missile (HARM), 

108 

tions experiment), 129 

Dept. of. 

Highly Eccentric Orbit Satellite (HEOS), 

Hightstown, N.J., 146 

Hill, Louis W., Space Transportation 

Hinners, Dr. Noel W., 124, 203 

History Manuscript Award (AIAA), 15 

HL-10 (lifting body), 273 

H.M.S. Beagle, 30 

Hocker, Dr. Alexander, 67, 105, 

Holloway, Gen. Bruce K. (USAF, Ret.), 53, 

191 

Award, 14, 171 

157 170 

Hoiz&,-Dr. Thomas E., 92 

Hospitals, 109 

Hot Line (U.S.-U.S.S.R.), 81 

Hotz, Robert, 183 

Housing and Urban Development, Dept. 

of (HUD), 36, 46, 54, 61, 106, 187, 219, 

226 

Housing and Urban Development-SpaceScience-Veterans Appropriations bill, 

149, 152, 153, 164 

Houston, Tex., 13, 187, 212 

Houston, Univ. of, 59, 269 

“Houston, We Have a Problem” (TV film), 

35 

Hovis, Dr. Warren A., 55 

Hubble Constant, 214 

HUD. 

ment, Dept. of. 

Hudson Bay, 144 

Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center. 

See Flight Research Center. 

Hughes Aircraft Co., 19, 52, 146-147, 169, 

171, 211, 223 

Hungary, 195, 249 

Huntoon, Dr. Carolyn, 169-170 

Huntsville, Ala., 93, 195 

Hurricane, 120 

Hydraulic pump, 200 

Hydrazine, 86 

Hydrocarbon, 26 

Hydrogen, 2, 3, 5, 9-10, 17, 27, 29, 33-34, 

Hydrogen chloride, 38 

Hydrogen cyanide, 77 

Hydrogen injection technology, 25-26 

Hydrology, 104 

Hydroplaning, 75 

Hydrothermal Power Co., 175-176 

Hypersonic aircraft, 163, 166 

Hypersonic technology, 224 

See Housing and Urban Develop35, 92, 150, 166, 192, 197-198 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

I 

IAA (International Academy of AstroIAF. See International Astronautical 

IBM. See International Business Machines 

Corp. 

ICBM. See Intercontinental ballistic missile. 

Ice distribution studies, 61-62, 102, 131- 

132, 170 

Idaho, 170 

IDCSP (Initial Defense Communications 

Illinois, Univ. of, 264, 267, 268-269 

ILS (instrument landing system), 144 

IMBLMS (integrated medical and behavioral 

laboratory measurement system), 14 

145 

IMP-J (Explorer 50, Interplanetary Monitoring Platform), 149 

Impeachment, 146 

Improved Tiros Operational Satellite 

(ITOS). See individual satellites, such as ITOs-H and Noaa 2. 

India, 48, 109, 139, 168-169, 221, 238, 

258 

Indian Ocean, 71-72, 110, 202, 252 

Indian Space Research Organization 

(ISRO), 189-190, 238 

Indium-antimonide, 199 

Indonesia, 78-79, 169 

Inflation, 209 

Infrared detectors, 168, 231 

Infrared photography, 120-121 

Infrared radiation, 91, 109, 177, 216 

Infrared radiometer, 98 

Infrared spectrometer, 2 18-2 19 

Infrared telescope, 6, 21, 24, 39, 84, 141 

Infrared wavelength, 47-48 

Initial Defense Communications Satellite 

Program (IDCSP), 204 

Injun (scientific satellite series; see also 

Hawkeye I), 111 

nautics), 170 

Federation. 

Satellite Program), 204 

Injun 1. 111 

Inscho’s Mechanical Contractors, Inc., I?n 

LLU 

Institute of Gas Technology, 192 

Instituto Nacional de Thica Ahespacial 

(INTA), Spain, 101, 201 

Instrument landing system (ILS), 144 INTA (Instituto Nacional de T6cnica 

Aeroespacial, Spain), 101, 201 

Intasat (Spanish satellite), 200, 201, 221- 

222, 250-251, 257, 259 

Integrated medical and behavioral laboratory measurement system (IMBLMS), 

144-145 

Integrated propulsion control system 

(IPCS), 175 

INTELSAT. See International Telecommunications Satellite Organization. 

Intelsat (comsat series), 2, 3-4, 81, 169. 

219-220 , 

Intelsat 111, 151-152 

Intelsat IV, 14, 151-152 

Intelsat IVA, 211 

Intelsat-IV F-2, 202 

Intelsat-IV F-3, 202 

Intelsat-IV F-4, 202 

Intelsat-IV F-5, 202 

Intelsat-IV F-7, 146-147, 168, 202 

Intelsat-IV F-8, 202, 221, 225-226, 227, 

Interagency cooperation, 38, 126 

251, 257, 259 

AEC 

NASA 

-DOD, 23 

-AEC, 23, 185 

-AEC-DOT, 185 

-AEC-National Geographic Society- 

-American Assn. of RailroadsFederal 

- USA, 197 

Railroad Admin., 86 

-DOC, 200 

-DOD, 9, 21-22, 6647 

-DOD-DOT-NAS-NCAR-NOAA-NSF-~ttlte 

-DOD-FAA, 148 

-DOI, 54, 7>74 

-DOI-NSF, 187 

-DOT, 54, 118 

-DOT-EPA-FAA, 17, 25 

-DOT-FAA-USN, 166 

-EPA, 25, 54 

-FCC, 202 

-HEW, 129 

-HUE’, 54, 187, 219, 226 

-NOAA, 2, 12, 174, 200, 227, 236 

-NOAA-NESS, 236-231 

-NSF, 6, 73, 94, 105, 204-205 

Dept., 119 

-GSA-HUD-NBS-NSF, 36 

-Maritime Admin., 165 

-Office of Naval Research, 144 

-Smithsonian Institution. 164. 177 

-WAF, 52-53, 126, 163, i67, i92, 223, 

224, 252, 273-274 

-USDA, 65 

Interagency Panel for Terrestrial Applications of Solar Energy, 204 

Intercontinental ballis& missile (ICBM; see I also Minuteman and SS-19), 45, 14, 

22, 155, 192, 204 

Intercosmos (U.S.S.R. satellite series), 190, 

Intercosmos 11, 104, 237 

Intercosmos 12, 195, 249 

Intercosmos Council. See Soviet Academy 

Interferometry, 214 

Interim upper stage (IUS), 25, 6U7, 140, 

178, 217 

Interior, Dept. of (DOI; see also Earth 

Resources Observation Administration), 42-43, 54, 73-74, 145, 182, 187 

222, 228 

of Sciences. 

International Academy of Astronautics 

International Aeronautical Federation 

(IAA), 178 

(IAF), 178 

294 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

295 

International Assn. of Machinists and 

Aerospace Workers, 209 

International Business Machines Corp. 

(IBM), 35-36, 81, 93, 105, 114, 140 

International Communications Union, 8 

International Congress of Electrical and 

Electronic Communications, 171 

International cooperation (see also Disarmament, GARP Atlantic Tropical 

Experiment, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Summit Meeting, and 

Treaty), 6, 71-72, 105, 126, 132, 143, 

-Denmark, 170 

-Netherlands - Spain - U.K. - West 

200, 202-203, 227-228 

France 

Germany, 107 

-U.K., 64, 136137 

-P.R.C., 89 

Japan 

U.S. 

-Brazil - East Germany - France - 

Mexico - Netherlands - U.K. - U.S.S.R. - West Germany, 119, 

120 

-Canada, 101 

-Mexico, 62 

International cooperation, space (see also 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, ESRO, GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment, 

Memorandum of Understanding, and 

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks), 8, 

38, 46, 64, 99, 103, 110, 118-119, 225, 

227, 228 

-U.S.S.R., 25, 80, 102, 123-124 

Canada 

-ESRO, 209 NASA 

-Canada, 4 

-Canada-France, 39 

-ESRO-U.K., 77 

-France, 2, 213 

-France-West Germany, 121,215-216, 

-ESRO, 16,3637, 54,77, 120-121, 184, 

199, 210, 223-224, 225 

117 

LL I 

-India, 48, 139, 238 

-Iran, 194-195, 225 

-Italy, 2, 40, 111, 187-188, 225, 228, 

Japan, 225 

-Netherlands, 2, 159-160, 227, 244, 

230-231, 247, 258, 259 

259 

-Norway, 265, 271 

-Spain, 101, 200, 201, 

257, 259 

-Sweden, 265 

-U.K., 2, 57-58, 125, 

227, 228, 231-232, 

259 

227, 

187, 

247, 

250 

188, 

257, 

-251, 

203, 

258, 

-U.S.S.R., 4-5, 193, 225 

-West Germany, 2,33-34,57,134-135, 

212-213, 227, 242, 253, 259, 260 

U.S. 

-Brazil, 38 

-Canada, 38, 139 

-Canada-EsRo, 77-78, 144 

-Denmark, 268-269 

-Europe, 126127 

-Peru, 72 

-Suain. 101 

-Italy, 247 

-d.K.,’9, 229, 257 

-U.S.S.R., 4-5, 10-11, 118, 121-122, 

157, 191, 207-208, 216, 219-220, LLJ 

-West Germany, 134-135 

-Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia - East 

Germany - Hungary - Poland - 

Romania, 249 

-Bulgaria - Czechoslovakia - East 

Germany - Hungary - Romania, 

195 

-Czechoslovakia - East Germany, 104, 

237 

U.S.S.R. 

-Czechoslovakia - Romania, 190 

International Organizations Immunities 

Act, 9 

International Space Hall of Fame, Alamogordo, N. Mex. (proposed), 29 

International Sun-Earth Explorers program (ISEE; see also ISEE-A and ISEE-B), 

77. 210 

-INTITELSAT, 81 

International Telecommunications Satellite 

Organization (INTELSAT; seealso Intelsat 

satellites), 26, 77, 81, 151-152, 159, 

169, 202 

International Telephorie -& Telegraph 

Corp. (ITT), M, 121 

International Ultraviolet Explorer (IU E), 

77, 209-210 

Interplanetary dust, 198, 212 

Interstellar clouds, 132 

InterTechnology Corp., 19 

Io (Jovian moon), 13, 93, 166-167, 208 

Ion, 208, 264, 267 

Ionization gauge, 145 

Ionosphere (earth), 39-40, 72, 134-135, 

145, 174, 195, 201, 242, 255, 259, 264, 

267, 268-269 

Iowa, Univ. of, 111, 238-239, 259 

IPCS (integrated propulsion control sysIR. See Infrared headings. 

Iran, 7, 194-195, 225 

Iridium, 83 

Irop, 68, 82, 208-209 

ISEE (International Sun-Earth Explorers 

program), 77, 210 

tem), 175 

ISEEyA, 210 

ISEE-B, 210 

Isla de Cedros, Mexico, 171 

Isolation garment, 54 

Isotope, 87 

Israel, 11, 28 

lSR0 (Indian Space Research OrganizaItalian Space Commission, 40 

tion), 189-190, 238 
Italy (see also San Marco), 2, 26, 38, 54, 

67, 101, 111, 173, 187, 194-195, 225, 

258 

ITos-G (Improved Tiros Operational 

Satellite). See Noaa 4. 

ITOS-H, 146 

ITOS-I, 146 

ITOS-J, 146 

~TT (International Telephone & Telegraph 

IUE (International Ultraviolet Explorer), 

IUS. See Interim upper stage. 

Corp.), 3-4, 121 

77, 209-210 

J 

Jackson, Nelson P., Aerospace Award, 

Jaffe, Leonard, 38, 46, 106-107, 178 

JAL (Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.), 89 

Jamaica, 14 

Japan, (see also Denpa, MU3C, MU4C, 

Ohsumi, Shinsei. and Tansei), 3, 14, 26, 

89, 9S100, 110, 132, 156, 174, 182, 

225 

58-59 

Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (JAL), 89 

Japan Rocket Development Assn., 174 

Jastrow, Dr. Robert, 116 JATO (Jet-assisted takeoff), 3 1 

Javits, Sen. Jacob K., 4 

Jaycees (Washington, D.C.), 118 

Jenkins, Dr. Harriet G., 34, 143-144 

Jet-assisted takeoff (JATO), 3 1 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL, Cal Tech), 

applications research, 25, 32, 73, 175- 

68, 101, 151 

176. 177 

space'projects, 5, 14, 27, 107, 163, 173, 

Johannesburg Tracking Station, South 

Africa, 77 

Johns Hopkins Univ., 2, 264 

Johnson, Clarence L., 199-200 

Johnson, Howard W., 199 

Johnson, President Lyndon B., 199-200 

Johnson, Vincent L., 64, 157 

Johnson Space Center (JSC, NASA; see also 

Shuttle Avionic Integration Laboratory), 13, 15, 59, 65-66, 144-145, 

I74 

178-179, 208, 213 

Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, 

applications research, 62, 65, 187, 212 

awards, 88, 131 

Bioscience Payloads Office, 181 

conference, 64, 157-158 

employment, 210 

Flight Operations Aircraft Div., 185 

personnel, 95, 202, 220 

press conference, 30, 147, 155-156, 208 

Skylab Program Office, 203 

space shuttle support, 2, 9, 79, 89, 107, 

121-122 

ASTP support, 1, 7, 78, 79, 81-82, 102, 

164, 165-170, 191, 192, 216 

165-166, 217 

Johnston, Richard S., 157-158 

Joint Committee on Cooperation in Atomic Energy (US.-U.S.S.R.), 25 

Joint Spacelab Working Group 

(NASA-ESRO), 54 

Jones, Gen. David C. (USAF), 103 

Jones, J. Lloyd, 130 

Jordan, 26 JPL. See Jet Propulsion Laboratory. JSC. See Johnson Space Center. 

JT8D (turbofan engine), 51, 145-146, 224 

Juneau, Alaska, 4 

Juno (launch vehicle), 171 

Jupiter (missile), 171 

Jupiter (planet; see also Callisto, Great red 

spot, Io, Mariner Jupiter-Saturn, Pioneer 

10, and Pioneer ll), 13, 14, 32, 36-37, 

51, 83, 87, 106, 12&121, 135, 150-151, 

153, 169-170, 197-199, 208, 222, 223 

Jupiter C (launch vehicle), 171 

7'he Jupiter Effect (book), 169 

Jupiter orbiter, 99-100 

Justice, Dept. of, 169 

K 

Kagoshima Space Center, Uchinoura, 

Kaman Aerospace Corp., 204-205 

Kansas. 189 

Japan, 3940, 182, 230 

Kansas: Univ. of, 59, 191 

Kazakstan, U.S.S.R., 207, 255 

Keldysh, Prof. Mstislav V., 165 

Kennedy, President John F., 175 

Kennedy International Airport, N.Y., 102, 

Kennedy Space Center (KSC, NASA), 16, 

agriculture research, 65 ASTP support, 41, 88, 117, 151, 165, 

ceremonies, 88, 135 

construction of facilities, 64,97,21&211, 

Design Engineering Directorate, 93 

Earth Resources Office, 119 

employment, 35-36, 141, 220 

environmental research, 86, 140 

launch operations, 9, 33-34 

personnei, 171, 217 

Skylab Program Office, 203 

space shuttle support, 12, 64, 66-67, 75, 

224 

35, 98, 120, 182 

194 

223-224 

93 

support services, 16-17, 19, 117 

technology utilization, 100, 167-168 

Kentucky, Univ. of, 129 

Kenya, 26,40, 187, 258 

Kerr, Dr. Frank, 176 

Kerslake, William R., 186 

Kerwin, Cdr. Joseph P. (USN), 32,42, 103, 

195 

Khozin, Grigory, 172 

KIAS: knots indicated air speed. 

Kibinge, Ambassador Leonard O., 

(Kenya), 26 

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

296 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Kidney disease, 157-158 

Kilgore, Edwin C., 48, 53, 55-56, 66, 106, 

Kirillin, Vladimir A., 165 

Kiruna, Sweden, 265 

Kissinger, Dr. Henry A., Secretary of State, 

Kitt Peak National Observatory, 214 

Klebesadel, Dr. R. W., 90 

Klimuk, Lt. Col. Pyotr I. (cosmonaut), 

Kline, Raymond A., 148 

Kliore, Dr. Arvydas J., 76 

Kohler, Foy D., 172 

Kohoutek, Dr. Lubos, 2 

Kohoutek (comet), 2, 3, 5, 6, 9-10, 30, 

Kondo, Dr. Yoji, 185 

Kopp, Eugene P., 59 

Korea, 14 

Korolev, Sergey P., 52 

Kourou Space Center, French Guiana, 196, 

Kowal, Charles T., 167 

Kozyrev, Nikolay A., 28, 

Kraemer, Robert S., 3637 

Kraft, Dr. Christopher C., Jr., 32, 84-85 

Kraft, Dr. Robert F., 143 

Krieger, Robert L., 195 KSC. See Kennedy Space Center. 

Kubasov, Valery N. (cosmonaut), 81-82 

L 

2 13-2 14 

70, 105 

255 

65, 77, 90, 119, 203, 223, 264 

267 

L-1011 (TriStar, jet transport), 10, 111- 

L-band frequency, 77-78, 110, 165 

L-band tranistor amplifier, 49 LACATE. See Lower Atmospheric Composition and Temperature Experiment. 

Lacerta (constellation), 76 

Lacey, Lewis L., 184 LAGEOS (Laser Geodynamic Satellite), 164 

Lake Victoria, 109, 238 

Laminates, 184 LAMPS (Light airborne multipurpose system 

Lancaster, Calif., 189 

Land, Elwood W., Jr., 113 

Land management, 119, 131, 132 

Langley Research Center (LBRC, NASA) 

Administrative Standardization Office, 

aeronautics, 96, 97, 123, 187, 273 

atmospheric research, 98 

employment, 220 

energy research, 34, 73 

launch vehicle management, 11 1, 160 

personnel, 213-214 

satellite, 11 1 

112 

helicopter), 8 1 

158-159 

LPRC. See Langley Research Center. 

Large Radio Astronomy Observatory, 

Large Solar Observatory, 37-38 

37-38 

Large Space Telescope (LST), 21, 37-38, 

77,99-100, 118-119, 124, 127, 150, 201, 

220, 223 

Larson, Clarence E., 25 

Las Cruces, N. Mex., 197 

Laser, 47, 102, 121, 131, 140, 151, 154, 

Laser Geodynamic Sateltitew(LAcEos), 164 

Launch, DOD (see also Appendix A), 221, 

177, 184 

227, 228 

N~s 1, 132-133, 241-242 

Redstone missile, 171 

S3-1 satellite, 145, 194, 228, 248 

unidentified satellite, 36, 63, 194 

Aeros 2, 134-135, 242, 257, 259 

Amsat Oscar 7, 200, 250, 257, 259 

Ans 1, 159, 244, 257, 259 

Ats 6, 108-109, 238, 257, 258 

failure, 33-34, 222, 229, 257, 258 

Hawkeve I. 2. 11 1. 238-239. 251. 259 

Launch, NASA, 2, 221-222, 227, 228 

Helios.1, 2i2,’ 213,. 253, 257: 260’--. 

Intasat, 200-201, 250-251, 257, 259 

Intelsat-IV F-8, 202. 251. 251. 259 

Miranda, 57-58, 231-232, 257, 258 

Noaa 4, 200-201, 249-250, 257, 259 

Sun Marc0 4, 40, 230-231, 257, 258 

Skynet IIA, 9, 229, 257, 258 

Skynet IIB, 203, 252, 257, 260 

Sms I, 103-104, 236-237, 257, 258 

sounding rockets (see also names of 

individual sounding rockets), 263- 

27 1 

Symphonie I, 215-216, 254, 257, 260 

Westar I, 85-86, 233, 257, 258 

Westar 2, 185-186, 246, 257, 259 

Launch processing system (LPS), 12 

Launch vehicle (see also individual launch 

vehicles), 4-5, 12, 21, 53, W5, 78, 113, 

Lava, 82, 215 

Law enforcement, 29 

Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, 56 

Lazarev, Lt. Col. Vasiliy G. (cosmonaut), 

Lead, 168 

Lear 4 mission, 177 

Learjet (executive transport aircraft), 160, 

177 

Leary, Dr. William M., 15 

Le Bourget Airfield, 156 

Lee, Chester M., 44 

Lenin Prize (U.S.S.R.), 52 

Leningrad, U.S.S.R., 65, 102, 105-106 

Leonov, Lt. Col. Aleksey A. (cosmonaut), 

LeRC. See Lewis Research Center. 

LES (Lincoln Experimental Satellite), 23 

LES 8, 67 

LES 9, 67 

Levin, S. Benedict, 171 

Levy, Maurice M., 213 

Lew, Dr. Hin, 9 

Lewis Research Center (L~RC, NASA; see 

116, 135, 168-169 

255 

36, 81-82, 178 

also Plum Brook Station), 210 

aeronautics, 51, 92, 145-146 

297 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

automotive research, 25 

conference, 166 

employment, 66, 220 

energy research, 29, 34, 61, 73-74, 187, 

204-205, 226 

environmental research, 168, 213 

establishment, 156 

launch vehicle management, 33-34, 213 

materials research, 173, 174 

propulsion technology, 186 

Library of Congress, 4 

Lick Observatory, %lo 

Life, origin of, 11, 132 

Life raft, 151 

Life sciences (see also Space biology and 

medicine), 2 1, 28-29, 37, 43-44, 97, 13 1, 

134, 140-141 

Life support system, 176, 210 

Life vest, 151 

Lifting body. See HL-10, M2-F3, X-24A, 

and X-24B. 

Light airborne multipurpose system 

(LAMPS) helicopter, 81 

“Light Blue.” See Tansei 2. 

Light Heart (balloon), W1 

Lighter-than-air vehicles, 166 

Lighter-than-Air Workshop, 166 

Lightning. See P-38. 

Lightning, 15 1 

Lightweight fighter prototype program, 31, 

79, 91, 94, 116 

Lilly, William E., 24, 209 

Lincoln Experimental Satellite (LES), 23, 

67 

Lindbergh,B/cCharles A. (U.S. Army Air 

Corps, Ret.), 156-157 

Lindstrom, Robert E., 69 

Liquid-fueled rocket, 52 

Liquid-oxygen pressurization system, 148- 

Liquid oxygen and hydrogen rocket engine, 

149 

15 

Lockheed Aircraft Corp., 7-8, 10, 15-16, 

Lockheed-California Co., 168 

Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., 201, 

111-112, 130, 151, 163, 192, 220 

266-267 

Lockheed Propulsion Co., 5, 36, 126 

Loening, Albert P., 168 

Loening amphibian aircraft, 168 

Logan International Airport, Boston, 

Loki (sounding rocket), 65 

London, England, 10, 51, 101, 107, 163 

Long-haul technology, 48 

Long-range radio-control system, 15 1 

Loomis, Henry, 106107 

Lord, Douglas R., 54 

Lorenzini, Dino A., 15 

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 270 

Los Angeles, Calif., 134, 148, 163, 164, 

Lousma, L/C Jack R. (USMC), 28, 121- 

Love, Maj. Michael V., 274 

Lovelace, DL Alan M., 15, 157 

Mass., 118 

259 

122 

Lovell, Capt. James A., Jr. (USN, Ret.), 

35 

Low, Dr. George M., 8-9, 11, 25, 28, 53, 

135, 190, 200, 211 

Low-emission combustor, 26 

Lower Atmospheric Composition and 

Temperature Experiment (LACATE), 98, 

226 

Lower mesosphere (earth), 266 

Loweth, Hugh T., 182 

Lox (liquid oxygen). See Oxygen. 

LPS (launch processing system), 12 LRV (lunar roving vehicle), 37 LST. See Large space Telescope.. 

Lubbock, Tex., 197 

Lucas, Dr. William R., 53, 120, 199 

Luftwaffe, 156 

Luna (U.S.S.R. lunar probe), 222, 228 

Luna 16, 72-73 

Luna 22, 108, 223, 237 

Luna 23, 193-194, 223, 248 

Lunar agriculture, 154 

Lunar data analysis and synthesis program, 

223 

Lunar exploration (see also individual 

manned missions. such as ADOIIO 11 

and Luna 16), 21,’ 32, 36, 37,‘ 81, 85, 

132, 135-136, 154, 161 

Lunar Orbiter 5, 215 

Lunar orbiter program, 217 

Lunar roving vehicle (LRV), 37 

Lunar sample analysis, 21 

Lunar Science Conference, Fifth Annual, 

Lunar tide, 45 

Lundin, Bruce T., 26, 66 

Lunney, Glynn S., 82, 118, 157, 207-208 

L‘vov, Ukraine, 81 

Lyman-alpha radiation, 3, 5 

Lynn, James T., Secretary of Housing and 

Urban Development, 219 

64 

M 

M2-F3 (lifting body), 273 

M-X (Japanese launch vehicle), 174 

McCall, Robert T., 45 

McConnell, Dr. Dudley G., 6-7, 11-12, 

McCormack, Rep. Mike, 46 

MacDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, 

McDonnell Douglas Corp., 51, 64, 71, 76, 

McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., 

34, 143-144 

Tex., 45 

81, 83, 134, 140, 196, 205 

7-8, 4142, 217 

McFall, Russell W., 134 

McLucas, John L., Secretary of the Air 

Force, 183 

Madrid Space Communications Complex, 

Spain, 101 

MAF. See Michoud Assembly Facility. 

Magnesium, 100 

Magnet, 29 

“Magnetic domain bubbles,” 143 

298 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

299 

Magnetic field (earth), 48, 77, 103, 111, 

114 

Magnetic storm, 40, 114 

Magnetohydrodynamics, 187 

Magnetometer, 54, 208-209, 253 

Magnetopause, 12-13 

Magnetosphere (earth). See Atmosphere. 

Magnetotail, 149 

Makarov, Oleg G. (cosmonaut), 255 

Malaysia, 78-79, 169 

Malkin, Dr. Myron S., 113 

Malloy, Dr. James A., Jr., 59 

MAMA (Mobile automatic metabolic analyManching, West Germany, 173 

Manke, John A., 52-53, 274 

Manned space flight (see also Apollo, 

Apollo-SoyuR Test Project, Appendix 

A, Appendix C, Astronaut, Cosmonaut, Gemini, Mercury, Salyut, Skylab, Soyuz, Space biology and 

medicine, Space shuttle, and Spacelab), 137, 221, 228 

anniversary, 85, 137-138 

award, 137 

budget, 21, 24, 27, 84, 109, 160-161 

congressional consideration, 28, 41, 

man-hours in space, 261 

medical aspects, 34-35, 42, 43-44, 97 

press comment, 31, 32, 51, 69-70, 85 

technology utilization, 95 

U.S.S.R., 152, 161 

176 

zer), 13 

4244, 47 

Manned Space Flight Network (MSFN), 

Mapping, 38-39, 42, 55, 61-62, 65, 114, 

Maran, Dr. Stephen P., 2 

Marathon Construction Co., 136 

Marine Corps Air Station, Calif., 60 

Marine resources, 131-132 

Mariner (spacecraft), 23, 34, 54 

Mariner 4, 87 

Mariner 9, 70 

Mariner 10 (Venus-Mercury probe), 14,72, 

130, 168, 169-170, 215 

130. 151 

data &ansmission, 5, 68, 71-72, 82, 173 

mission profile, 5, 2627, 63, 222-223 

press comment, 37, 75 

press conference, 16, 27, 69 

Mariner Jupiter-Saturn 1977 (MJS '77) 

mission, 21, 23, 25, 212, 223 

Mariner Jupiter-Uranus 1979 mission, 

Marisat (maritime comsat), 2, 67, 114 

Maritime Administration, 165 

Maritime communications satellite (Marisat) system, 2, 67, 114 

Maritime industry, 147, 238 

Maritime Orbital Test Satellite (MAROTS), 

Mark 500 (nuclear warhead), 151 MAROTS. See Maritime Orbital Test 

99-100 

49, 210 

Satellite. 

Mars (planet; see also individual probes, 

such as Mars 3, and Viking program), 

13, 32, 33, 34-35, 36-37, 43, 70, 87, 

94, 112, 135, 154, 169-170 

Mars 3. (U.S.S.R. Mars probe). . k0 ,. Mars 4: 33. 60. 70 

Mars 5; 33; 60: 70 

Mars 6, 33, 59, 60, 70 

Mars 7. 33. 59-60, 70 

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC, 

aeronautics, 102 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project support, 118, 

NASA), 19, 41-42, 88, 119, 174 

716 -_- 

astronomy, 93, 158, 170 

conference. 118-119. 164. 184 

construction of facilities, 21, 176177, 

employment, 25, 90-91. 115-116, 210, 

189, 220 

220 

energy research, 6, 73, 9 I, 11 1, 1 14, 175, 

meteorology, 101-102 

personnel, 1, 53-54, 69, 120, 199 

Skylab, 58, 80, 139, 203 

space shuttle support, 36, 121, 140, 150, 

192, 226 

184 

space transportation system, 7-8, 34,47, 

Spacelab support, 177, 184, 185, 205 

technoloev utilization. 10. 13. 143. 167 

75, 88, 103, 217 

,, 

transpo&ion research, 86 

Martin Marietta Corp., 1, 7-8, 86, 140, 

158, 165, 172, 201, 220 

Maryland, 130 

Maryland, Univ. of, 45-46 

Mascon, 72-73, 215 

Mass spectrometer, 13, 145, 231, 242 

Massachusetts, 168 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

(MIT; see also Flight Transportation 

Laboratory), 126, 199, 270-271 

Materials research, 58, 91, 214 

adhesives, 184 

aircraft, 48, 91, 99, 192 

alloys, 173, 184 

coatings, 111, 216 

crystals, 43, 115, 199 

solar energy research, 90-91, 105, 178 

Mathews, Charles W., 47-48, 61-62, 182 

Mattingly, Cdr. Thomas K. 11, (USN), 28 

Mama Kea, Hawaii, 24, 39, 84 

Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial 

Physics, West Germany, 191 

Mayall Telescope, 214 

Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., 21 1 

MCI Communications Corp., 130 

Mecca, William R., 209-210 

Medal of Freedom, 31 

Medal of Honor, 156 

Medicine (see also Space biology and 

medicine) 

aviation, 22 

space manufacturing, 43 

technology utilization, 29, 54, 68, 95, 

100, 143, 144-145, 226 
telecommunications, 48, 106107, 109, 

139, 228, 238, 258 

Mediterranean Sea, 63-64 

Memorandum of Understanding, 58, 77- 

78, 101, 111, 144, 160, 188, 194195, 

204, 209, 211, 213 

Mercure (European short-range transport), 

38 

Mercury (metal), 34 

Mercury (planet; see also Mariner IO), 14, 

26, 29, 3637, 87, 222 

Mercury (program), 28, 21 1 

Mercury Redstone 2, 136 

MESH consortium, 210 

Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm GmbH, 54, 

113, 169 

Messier 13 (star cluster), 201-202 

Messmer, Premier Pierre (France), 38 

Meteor, 237 

Meteor (U.S.S.R. meteorological satellite), 

120, 222, 228 

Meteor 16, 52, 231 

Meteor 17, 92, 235 

Meteor 18, 131-132, 241 

Meteor 19, 194, 248 

Meteor 20, 215, 253 

Meteorite, 11, 208, 215 

Meteoroid, 60, 65, 152-153 

Meteoroid detector, 42, 60 

Meteoroid Technology Satellite (MTS). See 

Meteorological satellite (see also individual 

satellites, systems, and programs, such as Defense Meteorological Satellite 

Program, Goes I, ITOS-H, Meteor Ib, 

National Operational Meteorological 

Satellite System, Nimbus, Noaa 2, 

SEASAT, Sms I, and Tiros-N), 28, 85, 

Meteorology (see also Atmospheric Layering and Density Distribution of Ions 

and Neutrals project, Climatic Impact 

Assessment Program, Global Atmospheric Research Program, GARP 

Atlantic Tropical Experiment, and 

Weather and Climate program), 24, 

109, 132, 183, 266267 

Explorer 46. 

101-102, 110, 154, 174, 228 

budget. 21. 109 

inteFnationa1 cooperation, 105 

observation studies, 65, 101-102, 188, 

213, 236237, 253 

program proposal, 146 

weather forecasting, 22, 154, 215, 231, 

235. 248 

weather modification, 4142, 143 

Methane, 98 

Methyl cyanide, 77, 118-1 19 

Methvlamine. 132 

Metzinbaum, Sen. Howard M., 99, 199 mev: million electron volts. 

Mexican National Commission for Outer 

Mexico, 14, 42, 62, 119 

Mexico City, 171 

mhz: megahertz (1 million cycles per 

second). . 

Space, 62 

Miami, Fla., 174-175 

Miami, Univ. of, 140 

Michiean. Univ. of. 266. 268-269 

Michgud 'Assembly Fa&lity (MAF, NASA), 

Microdensitometer, 100 

10, 19, 88, 158 

Microdot, 58 

Microelectronics, 48 

Micrometeorite, 195, 249 

Microphone, 150 

Microphone meteoroid sensors, 60 

Microwave energy, 115, 178-179 

Microwave frequency, 56, 61-62, 73 

Microwave radiometry, 102 

Middle East War. See Arab-Israeli War. 

Midway Island, 14 

Milky Way (galaxy), 76, 90, 132, 201-202, 

214 

Miller, G. William, 11 1-1 12 

Mini-Sniffer (radio-controlled aircraft), 

Mining, 129 

Ministry of Defence, U.K., 203 

Minneapolis, Minn., 147 

Minnesota, Univ. of, 266267 

Minorities, 67, 11, 102, 126, 202 

Minuteman (intercontinental ballistic 

missile), 22, 57 

Minuteman 1, 192 

Mirage 3, (F-1; French supersonic fighter 

aircraft), 138-139 

Miranda (UK-X4; U.K. satellite), 2, 57-58, 

Mirror, 189 MIRV. See Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles. 

Missile (see also individual missiles, kinds 

of missiles, and missile systems), 4-5, 

157, 163, 193 

Missile Definition Group, 12&121 

Mississippi Test Facility (MTF, NASA; see also National Space Technology Laboratories), 10, 31 

Missouri, Univ. at Rolla, 136 MIT. See Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

MIUS (modular integrated utility system), 

187 

151 

221-222, 227, 231-232, 251, 259 

22, 28, 51-52, 6263, 70, 81, 151, 155, 

MJS'77. See Mariner Jupiter- Saturn 1977 

mission. 

Mlavsky, Dr. A. I., 105 

Mobile automatic metabolic analyzer 

(MAMA), 13 

187 

Modular integrated utility system (MIUS), 

Molecular science, 118-1 19, 154 

Molniya (U.S.S.R. comsat series), 81, 

219-220, 222, 228 

Molniya 1-27, 88-89, 233-234 

Molniya 1-28, 192, 247 

Molniya I-S, 141, 243 

Mo!niya 11-9, 93, 235 

Molniya 11-10, 139, 242 

Molniya 11-11, 217, 254 

Molniya 111-1 , 202-203, 25 1 

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

300 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Monaco, 59 

Monopropellant, 31 

Montana, 170 

Monterey, Calif., 166 

Moon (see also lunar headings, individual. 

lunar missions, Sea of Crisis, and Taurus-Littrow), 13, 32, 36, 87, 98, 208-209, 

212, 215 

Moonquakes, 208-209 

Moorer, Adm. Thomas H. (USN), 103 

Morgantown, W.Va., 89-90 

Moritz, Bernard, 53 

Morocco, 41 

Moroz, Vasily I., 70 

Morrison, Dr. Dennis R., 181 

Morrison, Dr. Phillip, 90 

Morse, Samuel F. B., 134 

Mosaic, 90 

Moscow, U.S.S.R., 45, 14, 70, 80, 81, 

Moss, Sen. Frank E., 15, 62, 73, 139, 204 

Mossinghoff, Gerald J., 1, 102 

Motion sickness, 42, 

Mount Palomar, Calif., 167 

Mount Wilson, Calif., 168 MRCA (multirole combat aircraft), 173 MSFC. See Marshall Space Flight Center. MSFN (Manned Space Flight Network), 

176 

122, 123-124, 157, 

220 

164, 165, 191, 219- 

MS-TI (Tansei I), 3940 

MST2. See Tansei 2. 

MTF (Mississippi Test Facility), IO, 31, 

119 

MTs-(Meteoroid Technology Satellite). See 

Exolorer 46. 

MUL3C (Japanese launch vehicle), 3940 

MU-IS, 3940 

Mulligan, Dr. J. H., Jr., 129 

Mulreadv. Richard C.. 15 

Multipl; independently targetable reentry 

vehicle (MIRV), 14, 22, 42, 70, 140 

Multirole combat aircraft (MRCA), 173 

Multispectral-image-analysis system, 98 

Multispectral scanner, 38-39, 65, 90 

Munich, West Germany, 191 

Murray, Dr. Bruce C., 82 

Musgrave, Dr. Franklin Story, 181 

Mutch, Dr. Thomas A., 112 

Myers, Dale D., 39, 41, 47, 88, 101 

N 

N-2 (Japanese launch vehicle), 174 NAA (National Aeronautic Assn.), 95, 173 NAACP (National Assn. for the AdNACA. See National Advisory Committee 

NAE. See National Academy of EngineerNani, India, 63 

NAS. See National Academy of Sciences. NASA. See National Aeronautics and Space 

vancement of Colored People), 202 

for Aeronautics. 

ing. 

Administration. 

NASA Aircraft Office, 158-159 

NASA Astronaut Office, 149 

NASA Energy-Related Research and Development (report), 73-74 

NASA Headquarters, 89, 90, 119, 120, 

148-149, 181, 184, 211, 213, 220 

Apollo Program Office, 217 

personnel, 95, 149, 213-214 

Skylab Program Office, 203 

NASA Office for Center Operations, 53, 106, 

148, 158-159 

NASA Office of Aeronautics and Space 

Technology (OAST), 48, 53, 56, 66, 106, 

130, 157, 213-214 

NASA Office of Applications (OA), 6, 104, 

143-144, 145 

NASA Office of Automatic Data Processing 

Management, 148 

NASA Office of DOD and Interagency 

Affairs, 157, 170 

NASA Office of Earth Resources Survey 

Systems (proposed), 145, 171 

NASA Office of Energy Programs, 102, 175, 

226 

NASA Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, 6-7, 11-12, 34, 143-144, 150 

NASA Office of General Council, 1 

NASA Office of Legislative Affairs, 1, 102 

NASA Office of Manned Space Flight 

(OMSF), 39, 47, 101, 136, 211 

NASA Office of Personnel, 126 

NASA Office of Planetary Programs, 36- 

NASA office of Public Affairs for ComNASA Office of Space Science (oss), 33-34, 

NASA Office of Technology Applications 

NASA Office of Tracking and Data AcquisiNASA Office of User Affairs, 95 

NASA Spacelab Program Office, 54 

NASA-University Conference on AeronauNash, Carl E., 117 

NATE (neutral-atmosphere temperature 

experiment), 242 

37 

munity and Human Relations, 150 

57, 111, 124, 157, 160, 169-170 

(proposed), 6061 

tion (OTDA), 62 

tics, 191 

Natibnal Academy of Engineering (NAE), 

86, 97, 129 

National Academy of Sciences (NAS), 86, 

92, 119, 124-125, 126-127, 129, 140-141, 

176 

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), 70-71, 93, 156, 176177, 

211, 219 

National Aeronautic Assn. (NAA), 95, 173 

National Aeronautics and Space Act of 

1958, 6061, 62, 78, 163-164 

30 1 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

National Aeronautics and Space solar energy research, 19, 36, 46, 56-57, 

Administration (NASA; see also 105, 163-164, 187, 204-205 

individual Centers, offices, and wind energy research, 6, 34, 63, 66, 73 

programs; Awards; Budget, NASA; National Scientific Balloon Facility, 185 

Construction of facilities, NASA; National Security Council, 124-125 

Contract, NASA; Employment, NASA; National Severe Storms Laboratory, 101- 

cooperation; International cooperation, National Solar Energy Program, 204 

space; Launch, NASA; and Personnel, National Space Club (NSC), 37, 58, 87 

NASA), 8-9, 177-178, 227 National Space Week, 132, 135-136 

National aerospace fellowship program, National Space Technology Laboratories 

102-103 (NSTL, NASA), 119 

National Assn. for the Advancement of National Transportation Safety Board, 51, 

Colored People (NAACP), 202 71 

National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, 201-202 Nationalist China. See China, Republic 

of. National Bureau of Standards (NBS), 36, ‘&The Nation,s Energy Future,, (AEC 

report), 107 70-7 1 

National Center for Atmospheric Research NATO. ~~~~h ~~l~~~i~ T~~~~~ organi- 

(NCAR), 119, 185 zation. 

National Civil Service League Career Natural gas, 11, 20, 129, 154 

Service Award, 157, 169-170 Naugle, Dr. John E., 53, 57, 77, 87, 

Achievement Asward, 169-170 Naumova, Yelena, 171 

Navajo (Piper aircraft), 97 

Mexico, 62 Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), 3, 57, 

71 270 

Naval Weapons Center, 15 1 

(NESS, NOAA), 2W201, 249, 259 Navigation, 38, 55, 63, 67, 109, 121, 176, 

Navigation satellite (see also NAVSTAR 

Global Positioning System), 21-22, 37, 197 

209 

Navigation system Using Time and RangInteragency cooperation; International 102 

Weather Service, 101-102 

National Civil Service League Special 112-1 13, 124, 169-170 

National Commission for Outer Space, 

National Defense Research Council, 7s 121, 132-133, 160, 241-242, 264, 269, 

National Environmental Satellite Service 

National Geographic Society, 45, 183, 249-251, 253 

National Maritime Research Center, 165 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA; see also National 

Environmental Satellite Service, National Operational Meteorological Positioning System. 

Satellite System, and Noua series) 

ing (NAVSTAR). See NAVSTAR Global 

Navigational Technology Satellite (NTS), 

209 

Positioning System (GPS), 

21-22, 67, 121, 132-133, 160, 190, 209, 

226, 228, 241-242 

budget, 22 

cooperation, 2, 12, 28, 66, 119, 146, NAVSTAR 

200, 213, 249 

1975, 146 

Meteorological Services Research for 

research, 45, 114, 213 

solar observatory, 174 

National Operational Meteorological 

Satellite System (NOMSS), 146, 236-237, 

249 Nebula. See Orion. 

National Radio Astronomical Observa- NEC (Nuclear Energy Commission), 83 

tory, 118-119 Neon, 27, 68 

National Research Council, Canada, 9-10, N~~~~~~~, 9 1 

Neptune (planet), 37, 45, 135, 222 39 

National Research Council, U.S., 129 

National Resources Council (proposed), 

National Science Foundation (NSF), 119, 

Navy. See u.s. Navy. 

Navy Astronaut Wings, 28 

NBS (National Bureau of Standards), 36, 

NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric 

satellites, 103-104, 114, 146, 183, 200, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, 28 

70-7 1 

Research), 119, 185 

249, 258 

Research 39 NERVA (nuclear engine for rocket vehicle 

program)* 184 

NESS. !%e National Environmental Satellite 

Netherlands (see also Ans I), 16, 54, 67, 

conference, 175-176 Netherlands Astronomical Satellite (ANS). 

interagency cooperation, 6, 94, 204 

personnel, 136, 182 Neutral-atmosphere temperature experireport, 48-49, 72, 143, 160-161, 190 

Service. 60-61 

134, 201-202 

budget, 6, 23, 164 101, 107, 119, 138-139, 159-160, 244 

See Ans 1. 

ment (NATE), 242 

302 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Neutral mass spectrometer experiment, 

Neutron, 168 

Neutron star, 182 

New Jersey, 168 

New Mexico, 29 

New York Academy of Sciences, 56 

New York, N.Y., 4, 8, 13, 80, 134, 156, 

Newfoundland Tracking Station, Canada, 

Ney, Dr. Edward P., 90 

NHK Technical Research Laboratory, 

23 1 

163, 164, 165 

77 

165-166 

Nicaragua, 14 

Nickel, 58, 173 

Nickel-cadmium battery, 250-251 

Nickel-iron, 98 

Nike-Apache (sounding rocket), 264, 265, 

Nike-Cajun, 266 

Nike-Iroquois, 126 

Nike-Malemute, 267, 270 

Nike-Tomahawk, 264-265, 267, 268-269, 

Nimbus (meteorological satellite), 146 

Nimbus 5, 21, 120, 188 

Nimbus-F, 2, 21, 188 

Nimbus-G, 98, 188, 204, 226 

“The 1973 NASA Payload Model” (study), 

Nippon Electric Co., 169 

Nitric acid, 98 

Nitric oxide, 188, 265, 271 

Nitrogen, 5, 13, 40, 79-80, 151, 157-158 

Nitrogen dioxide, 98, 266 

Nitrogen oxide, 26, 86 

Nitrous oxide, 98 

Nixon, President Richard M., 9, 65-66, 

72, 130 136, 143 

agreements, 25 

appointments and nominations by, 88, 

103, 108, 137 

bills signed, 99, 121, 132 

budget request, 20 

committee establishment, 119 

messages and statements, 11, 20, 30, 72, 

press comment, 129, 153-154 

reports, 72, 107, 124-125, 146-147 

resignation, 146 

resolutions, 132 

speeches, 65-66 

summit meeting, 123-124, 241 NOA: new obligational authority. NOAA. See National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Noaa 2 (ITOS-D; rnetebrological satellite), 

62, 120, 200 

Noaa 3 (ITOS-F), 62, 120, 183, 200 

Noaa 4 (170s-e), 2,200,221-222.225-226, 

227, 249-251, 257, 259 

Nobel Prize, 188-189 

Noise, aircraft, 17, 23, 25, 48, 51, 84, 

Noise reduction, 150 

266, 267, 268-269 

270-27 1 

126 

80 

99-100, 123, 174, 189, 224 

Nome, Alaska, 4 NOMSS. See National Operational MeteNoordwijk, The Netherlands, 199 NORAD. See North American Air Defense 

orological Satellite System. 

Command. 

Nordberg, Dr. William, 54 

North America. 65 

North American Air Defense Command 

North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

North Carolina, 13 

Northrop Corp., 7, 10, 79, 84, 116, 138, 

Norway, 138-139, 210, 265, 271 

Nott, Julian, 13-14 

Nova, 31 NRL. See Naval Research Laboratory. NSC. See National Space Club. NSF. See National Science Foundation. 

NSTL (National Space Technology LaboraNTS (Navigational Technology Satellite), ~ 209 

Nts I (Timation 3A), 132-133, 228, 

Nu-life (medical device), 68 

Nuclear energy, 11, 14, 20, 21, 23, 25, 29, 

56, 84, 107, 118, 143, 154, 182, 184- 

185 

Nuclear Energy Commission (NEC), 83 

Nuclear engine for rocket vehicle application (NERVA program), 184 

Nuclear microbomb, 179 

Nuclear-Dowered shuttle. 115 

(NORAD), 2-3, 174 

(NATO), 123-124, 138-139 

146, 183-184 

tories), 119 

241-242 

Nuclear ieactor, 20,23,25,29,56, 105-106, 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 187, 

107, 184-185 

194 

N&ar Test Ban Treatv (1963). 90. 179 

Nuclear weapons, 103,- 1231124, 151, 

Nutrition, 131 

177-178, 185 

Nylon, 91 

0 

@model (Japanese launch vehicle), 174 

OA. See NASA Office of Applications. 

OAO (Orbiting Astronomical Observatory), 

Oao 3 (Copernicus), 133, 187 

Oasis experiments, 44, 218-219 

OAST. See NASA Office of Aeronautics and 

Observatory (see also individual obOceanography, 38, 188 

21 

Space Technology. 

servatories), 169-170, 174 

ocean dynamics, 24, 45, 119, 131, 153 

satellite applications, 102, 104, 182 

Oceans and International Environmental 

and Scientific Affairs (State Dept.), 194 

O’Dell, Dr. Charles R., 118-1 19 

Oertel, Dr. Goetz K., 43-44 

303 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 

Office of Naval Research (ONR), 144 

Office of Science and Technology (OST, 

Office of Telecommunications Policy 

Ogiso, Ambassador Motoo (Japan), 26 

Ogorodnikov, Kiriol, 171 

Ohio, 182, 199 

Ohsumi (Japanese satellite), 3940 

Oil, 10, 54, 129, 130, 132, 154 

Oil shortage, 20, 45 

OLeary, P. J., 178 OMB. 

Omega Centauri (star cluster), 171 

Omega-inertial navigation system, 120 

Omegatron, 40 

Omnidirectional wheel, 81 OMSF. See NASA Office of Manned Space 

O’Neill, Dr. Gerald K., 98 ONR (Office of Naval Research), 144 - 

Oort cloud, 90 

00s (orbit-toorbit stage). See Interim 

upper stage. 

Operation Kohoutek. See Kohoutek. 

Optical Society of America, 90, 92 

Orbit-to-orbit stage (00s). See Interim 

Orbita network (U.S.S.R. comsat system), 

Orbital Workshop (OWS). See Skylab I. 

Orbiter, shuttle, 47, 79, 107 

Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO; 

see also Oao 31, 21 

Orbiting Explorers, 21 

Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio 

(OSCAR). See Amsat Oscar 7, Oscar I, 

and Oscar 6. 

Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO; see also 

OSQ-I), 21 

Orbiting Test Satellite (OTS), 49, 169 

Order of Lenin (U.S.S.R.), 52, 181 

Order of the Red Banner of Labor 

Ordway, Frederick, I., 111, 15 

Orfila, Ambassador Alejandro (Argentina), 

Orion (constellation), 90, 168-169, 214, 

Orion (NASA barge), 88 

Orion 2 (space station telescope), 44, 73, 

Orly Airport, France, 51 

Oro, Dr. John, 140-141 

Oscar I (Orbiting Satellite Carrying AmaOscar 6, 201 

Oscar 7. See Amsat Oscar 7. 

os0 (Orbiting Solar Observatory), 21 

oso-I, 25, 77 oss. See NASA Office of Space Science. 

Osseo, Minn., 19 

24, 27, 28, 80 

President’s), 125 

(White House), 86 

See Office of Management and 

Budget. 

Flight. 

upper stage. 

235, 242, 247, 254 

88-89, 93, 139, 202-203, 217, 233-234, 

(U.S. S.R.), 52 

26 

247, 270 

239-240 

teur Radio), 201 

OST (Office of Science and Technology, 

OTDA. See NASA Office of Tracking and 

OTS (Orbiting Test Satellite), 49, 169 

Outer Planet Probe Technology Workshop, 

Outer Space Act of 1967, 46 

“Outlook for Aeronautics” (study), 148, 

“Outlook for Space” (study), 126, 177- 

President’s), 125 

Data Acquisition. 

106 

191-192 

178 

Outstanding Leadership Medal (NASA), 

Overmyer, L/c Robert F. (USMC), 121- 

203, 213-214 

t 33 ILL 

ows (Orbital Workshop). See Skylab 1. 

Oxygen, 2, 3, 13, 15, 27, 33-34, 35, 75-76, 

Ozone, 12, 59, 98, 188, 265, 266 

89, 148-149, 150 

P 

P-35 (fighter aircraft), 154-155 

P-38 (Lightning; fighter aircraft), 199-200 

P-80 (jet fighter), 199-200 

Pacific Ocean, 9, 14, 42, 202, 217-218, 

236-237, 251, 258 

Paige, Dr. Lowell J., 182 

Paine, Dr. Thomas O., 136, 194 

Palestine, Tex., 185 

Palmdale, Calif., 7, 193 

Pan American World Airways, Inc., 12. 

74. 79. 100-101. 157 

Parachuie, 65, llj, 176, 210 

Paris, France, 12, 36-37, 51, 71, 78, 80, 

105-106, 107. 113, 118, 136-137. 144. 

156, 189 

Parker, Dr. Robert A,, 149, 203 

Patent, 91, 95-96 

Patterson, Dr. William J., 184 

PCOM (Pioneer command system), 107 

Peenemuende, West Germany, 1 

Peking, P.R.C., 89 

Pendray, G. Edward, Award, 15 

Pennsylvania State Univ., 264, 267, 268, 

Pentagon, 28 

270 

People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.), 

51-52, 89, 105 

Pequet, Henri, 63 

Permafrost, 94, 134 

Pershing (missile), 171 

Personnel, NASA 

appointment, 1, 15, 34, 47, 53-54, 69, 

95, 97, 101, 102, 106, 120, 124, 130, 

136, 143-144, 148, 150, 157, 158-159, 

170, 199, 213-214, 217 

awards and honors, 14, 15, 28, 39, 59, 

dismissal, 6-7 

resignation, 39, 176-177 

retirement, 136, 157, 228, 170, 171, 

213-214, 217, 220 

6546, 88,95, 112, 148, 169-170, 171, 

193, 195, 203, 211, 213-214 

304 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Peru, 72 

Petrone, Dr. Rocco A., 13, 15, 53-54, 68, 

Petrosyants, Andronik M., 25 

Petrov, Dr. Boris N., 85, 165 

PKantom fighter bomber aircraft. See 

Philadelphia, Pa., 168 

Philippines, 14, 78-79, 169 

Phoenix (air-to-air missile), 7 

Phoenix, Ariz., 42 

Phosphorus, 157-158 

Photography (see also Infrared photography and Ultraviolet photography), 5-6, 

32, 38, 68, 69, 100, 101, 104105, 119, 

121, 173 

120, 182, 203 

F-4. 

Photospheric field, 67 

Photovoltaic technology, 1141 15 

Physical therapy, 103 

Physics, 21, 38 

Physiology, 43-44, 178 

Pickering, Dr. William H., 26 

Pilot, 52-53, 63, 96, 118, 148, 151, 152, 

154-155, 156-157 

Pilotless Aircraft Research Center. See 

Wallops Flight Center. 

Pioneer (program), 14, 21, 24, 29, 121 

Pioneer (spacecraft), 13, 19, 120-121 

Pioneer 10 (Pioneer-F; interplanetary 

probe), 58-59, 88, 107, 120-121, 150- 

151 

mission status, 2, 42, 65, 197 

DhotoaraDhs. 82-83 

press Eomment, 3, 13 

results, 12-13, 76, 82-83, 93, 166167, 

Pioneer 11 (Pioneer-Saturn; Pioneer-G), 2, 

Pioneer command (PCOM) system, 107 

Pioneer-Saturn. See Pioneer 11. 

Pioneer-Venus mission, 19, 21, 24, 204, 

Piper Seneca (research aircraft), 187 

Pittsburgh, Univ. of, 265-266, 268 

Plagemann, Stephen, 169 

Planetary evolution, 118-1 19 

Planetary exploration (see also individual 

planets and probes), 21, 24, 32, 34, 

36-38, 44, 87, 106, 154, 179, 214, 222- 

223 

Planning Research Corp., 93 

Plasma study, 27, 29, 77, 114, 191, 238- 

199, 222 

42, 65, 88, 107, 153, 166167, 197-199, 

210, 222 

223 

239 

Plesetsk, U.S.S.R., launch (see also ApCosmos satellites, 91, 147, 172-173, 

pendix A) 

190 

Intercosmos 12, 195, 249 

Meteor 16, 7, 231 

Meteor 17, 92, 235 

Meteor 18, 241 

Meteor 19, 194, 248 

Meteor 20, 215, 253 

Molniya 1-27, 88-89, 233, 234 

Molniya 1-28, 192, 247 

Molniya 11-9, 93, 235 

Molniya 11-10, 139 

Molniya 11-11, 217, 254 

Molniya 111-1, 202-203, 251 

92, 204-205 

135, 222 

KJ.S.S.R.L 181 

Plum Brook Station, Ohio (QRc), 6, 66, 

Pluto (planet; see also Pioneer lo), 2,69-70, 

pndb: perceived noise in decibels. 

Podgorny, Presidium Chairman Nikolay V. 

iaska, 264-265, 266-267 

Polarim&. 198 

Polaris (sibmarine), 93-94 

Pole, Felix, 93-94 

Pollution (see also Air Dollution: Atmosphere, pollution; Noise, aircraft; 

and Water pollution), 91-92, 117, 119, 

126 

Pollution control (see also Air pollution; Climatic impact assssment program; 

and Water pollution), 10, 11, 20, 21, 

23, 25-26, 226 

Polonium 210, 93-94 

Polyethylene, 144 

Polymer, 99 

Polyurethane, 91 

Popovich, Col. Pave1 R. (cosmonaut), 122, 

Poritzky, Siegbert B., 99-100 

Poseidon (missile), 140 

Postal Service. See U.S. Postal Service. 

Potassium, 73-74, 187 

Pozinsky, Norman, 195 

Pratt & Whitney Div. See United Aircraft 

P.R.C. See China, People’s Republic of. 

Presidential Medal for Merit, 219 

Press comment 

130, 181, 239-240, 241, 262 

Corp. 

Apollo program, 31, 69-70, 138, 153 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 36, 39, 172 

Ats 6 (ATS-F), 116 

energy research and development, 39,45, 

international cooperation, space, 103, 

manned space flight, 31, 32, 51, 69-70, 

Mariner 10, 37, 75 

NASA budget, 31, 35, 165, 196 

Pioneer 10, 3, 13 

80, 107 

105 

85, 115 

science and technology, 85, 105, 129, 

Skylab program, 8, 31, 32, 34-36, 39, 

space program, national, 31-32, 51, 

153-154 

87 

69-70, 165, 183 

Press conference 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 147, 208 

AIS 6, 106107 

Lockheed Aircraft Co., 10 

DOD, 14 

305 
Mariner 10, 16, 27, 69 

NASA budget, 24-25 

Skylab program, 1, 30 

space shuttle, 24, 112-1 13 

SOYUZ IS, 155-156 

111 

Prince Albert Tracking Station, Canada, 

Prince Ranier III (Monaco), 59 

Princeton Univ. (see also Woodrow Wilson 

School of Public and International 

Affairs), 98 

Probe (see also individual probes such as Helios I, Luna 16, Mariner IO, Mars 

3, and Pioneer IO), 14, 126 

Project Able, 167 

Project Airstream, 185 

Project ALADDIN. See Atmospheric Layering and Density Distribution of Ions and 

Neutrals. 

Project Cyclops, 45-46 

Project da Vinci (atmospheric research 

balloon flight), 197 

Project Daedalus, 179 

Project Far Side, 103 

Project Independence, 20, 153 

Project Interdependence (proposed), 175 

Propane, 58 

Propulsion technology (see also Nuclear 

energy), 25, 34, 4445, 51, 56, 61, 73, 

186, 224 

99-100, 109, 117, 161, 179, 184, 185, 

Prosthetics, 226 

Protocol on Cooperation in Controlled 

Thermonuclear Fusion and Plasma 

Physics Research, 25 

Protons, 197, 208 

Proximity fuse, 125 

Proxmire, Sen. William, 6-7, 167 

Public Affairs Agreement, US.-U.S.S.R., 

191 

Public Service Award (NASA), 39 

Puerto Rico, 11-12, 14, 4&41, 88, 186, 

Pulsar, 176, 182, 188-189, 223 

Puppis A (supernova remnant), 125 

20 1-202 

Q 

Quasars (see also individual quasars, such as BL lacertae), 76, 93, 133, 163, 176 

QYizt propulsive lift technology program, LI 

R 

Radar (see also Scanning laser radar), 12, 

14,41, 60, 67, 72, 93-94, 119, 125, 151, 

182, 215 

Radar satellite, 86-87, 93-94 

Radiation (see also Cosmic ray, Gamma 

ray, Infrared radiation, Lyman-alpha 

radiation, Solar radiation, Ultraviolet 

radiation and X-ray), 16, 42, 60, 77, 83, 

98, 103, 109, 119, 121, 122-123, 140, 

143, 153, 159, 166-167, 213 

Radiation, Inc., 134 

Radio, 27, 41, 70, 77, 147, 178-179 

astronomical probe, 80, 201-202 

balloon transmission, 174-175 

interference, 145, 198 

planetary emission, 45-46, 197 

satellite transmission, 48, 59, 68, 106- 

- 

107, 139, 192, 202-203, 217, 243, 247, 

254 

stellar emission, 163, 182 

Arnsat Oscar 7), 201, 250 

149 

Radio Amateur Satellite Corp. (see also 

Radio-Optical Observatory, 181 

Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN), 

Radio waves, 160, 212 

Radioactive material, 170 

Radioactivity, 87, 92-93, 208-209 

Radioastronomy, 23, 176, 188-189 

Radioisotope thermoelectric generator 

(RTG), 23, 29, 67 

Radiometer, 98, 200-201, 249-250 

Radionuclides, 170 

Radiotelescope, 154, 160, 176, 188-189 

Railroad (see also Federal Railroad Administration), 20 

Raines, Martin L., 195 

Rambaut, Dr. Paul G., 131 

Ramjet engine, 92 

Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, Downey, 

Calif., 167-168 R&D. See Research and development. R &PM. See Research and program manageRankine topping cycle, 187 RANN. See Research Applied to National 

Rasool, Dr. S. Ichtiaque, 16 

Ray, Dr. Dixy Lee, 194 

Raytheon Corp., 12 RCA COrp., 8, 64, 134 

ment. 

Needs. 

RCA Alaska Communications, Inc., 4 RCA Astro Electronics Div., 146 RCA Global Communications, Inc., 3-4 RDT &E. See Research, development, test, 

and evaluation. 

Reconnaissance aircraft (see also SR-7 1 

and U-2), 151 

Reconnaissance satellite, 183, 243 

Rectenna receiving system, 178-179 

Redstone (missile), 171 

Redstone Arsenal, Ala., 102 

Reed, Sylvanus Albert, Award, 15 

Reeder, John P., 15 

Reentry vehicle nosetip test program 

Refanned engine program, 224 

Reflector satellites, 167 

Regional Dissemination Centers (NASA), 

(USAF), 8, 11 

95-96, 226 

t ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

306 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

307 

Relativity, theory of, 45, 133 

Remote sensing (see also Sensor), 11, 42, 

Remotely piloted research vehicle (RPRV), 

Remotely piloted vehicle (RPV), 151 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 108 

Republic Aircraft Corp., 156155 

Research aircraft. See individual aircraft, 

such as A-9, C-141, Convair 990, Piper Seneca, WB-57F, and x-1. 

Research and development (RLD; see also 

Energy research and development), 

budget, FY 1975, 20-21, 23,83-84, 121, 

Research and Development in Industry 

1972 (NSF 76312), 143 

Research and program management 

(RLPM), 21, 83-84, 121, 124, 149-150 

Research Applied to National Needs 

(RANN), 23, 204-205 

Research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT &E), 21-22 

Reynolds, Smith and Hills, 64 

Rice Univ., 266 

Rio Grande River, 42 

Riser, Charles R., 168 

Riyad, Mahud, 8 

RL-10 (engine), 140 

Roberts, Dr. Leonard, 148 

Robledo de Chavela Tracking Station, 

Spain, 101 

Robotics, 177 

Rockefeller, John D., 11, 211 

Rockefeller, Vice President Nelson A., 151, 

46, 55, 62, 65, 98, 111, 115, 140 

48, 91 

65, 23, 47-48, 126, 153-154, 183 

124, 134, 143, 149-150, 160-161 

217 

Rockefeller Center, N.Y., 8 

Rockefeller Public Services Award for 

Rocket Research Center, West Germany, 

Administration, 21 1 

1 

Rocket technology, 52, 103, 124, 125 

Rockwell International Corp., 7, 39, 63, 

76, 88, 100, 121, 160, 168, 181, 193, 194, 

209 

Rocky Mountains, 106107 

Rohr Industries Inc., 89-90 

Romania, 190, 195, 249 

Romatowski, Raymond G., 213-214 

Rome, Univ. of. See Aerospace Research 

Center. 

Roosevelt Committee on Uranium Research, 7W7 1 

Rosen, Dr. Harold A., 15 

Rosman, N.C., 129, 191 

Ross Island, Antarctica, 94 

Royal Air Force (U.K.), 1S14 

Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific 

RPRV (remotely piloted research vehicle), 

and Industrial Research, 265, 271 

151 RPV (remotely piloted vehicle), 151 RSTN (Radio Solar Telescope Network), 

149 

RTG. See Radioisotope thermoelectric 

Rukavishnikov, Nikolay N. (cosmonaut), 

Russia. See U.S.S.R. 

Ryan Aeronautical Div. See Teledyne, 

Ryan monoplane, 156 

Ryle, Sir Martin J., 188-189 

generator. 

207, 252, 262 

Inc. 

S 

S.2 (antisubmarine aircraft), 43 

S.3A (Viking antisubmarine aircraft), 43 

53-1 (USAF atmospheric research satellite), 

Safetv 

145, 194, 228, 248 

aikraft, 23, 48, 78, 79-80, 92-93, 1W 

mine, 29, 54, 92 

101, 160, 166, 224 

Safety valves, 10 

Sagan, Dr. Carl E., 70 

Sagdeyev, Roald, 33 

Sagitta (constellation), 143 

Sagittarius B (interstellar cloud), 132 

Sahara Desert, 41 SAIL (Shuttle Avionic Integration LaboraSaint-Gobain-Pont&Moussan, 42 

Sakharov, Andrei D., 154 SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks), 

42, 70, 204 

Salt, 208 

Salt lenses, 216 

Salyut (U.S.S.R. scientific space station), 

Salyut I, 123, 219 

Salyut 2, 4, 123, 219 

tory), 2 

193, 222 

Saryut 3, 122-123, 130, 139-140, 155, 156, 

164, 176, 181, 217-218, 219, 221, 228, 

239-240, 241, 244, 255, 261, 262 

Salyut 4, 217-218, 219, 221, 228, 255 

SAM-D (surface-to-air missile), 9 

SAMSO (Space and Missile Systems Organization), 34, 160, 203 

San Andreas Fault, 163 

San Antonio, Tex., 95 

San Clemente, Calif., 136 

San Diego, Calif., 31-32 

San Francisco, Calif., 4, 45-46, 89-90 

San Marco (Italian launch facility), 187, 

188, 222, 230-231, 247, 259 

Sun Marco 1 (NASA-Italy cooperative 

satellite), 40 

San Marco 2, 40 

Sun Marco 3, 40 

Sun Marco 4 (San Marco C2), 2, 40, 222, 

228, 230-231, 257, 258 

S &AD (Science and Applications DirectorSandage, Dr. Allen R., 214 

Sandia Laboratories, 57 

Santa Ana, Calif., 115 

Santa Maria (ship), 30 

ate). See NASA Astronaut Office. 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

SA0 (Smithsonian Astrophysical ObSarafanov, Lt. Col. Gennady V. (cosmoSary Shagan, U.S.S.R., 215 

SAS (Small Astronomy Satellite). See 

Satellite power stations, 115 

Satellite Tracking and Data Acqu 

Network. See Space Tracking and 

Data Acquisition Network. 

Satellite warning system, 21-22 

Saturn (launch vehicle), 33-34, 184 

servatory), 139 

naut), 155, 181, 239-240, 244, 262 

Explorer 42. 

Saturn IB, 1617, 41, 88, 113, 118, 151, 

Saturn V, 41, 119, 167 

Saturn (planet; see also Mariner JupiterSaturn 77 Mission, Pioneer 10, Pioneer 

11, and Titan), 37, 88, 106, 166167, 

198, 222 

216 

Saudia Arabia, 7, 169 

Sawhill, John C., 88, 108, 130 

Saxbe, William B., 199 

Scanning electrostatic analyzer, 26 

Scanning laser doppler system, 102 

Scanning laser radar, 184 

Scanning radiometer, 249-250 

Scheer, Julian, 138 

Schenectady, N.Y., 181 

Scherer, Capt. Lee R. (uSN, Ret.), 195, 

Schlesinger, Dr. James R., Secretary of 

Schmidt telescope, 167 

Schmitt, Dr. Harrison H., 15, 79, 102, 

217 

Defense, 9, 28, 51-52, 94, 193 

115 

Schneider, William C., 30, 32, 39, 42, 

Schweickart. Russell L.. 95 

58-59, 95 

Schwenk. Francis C.. 29 

Science, 20, 23, 47, 85, 105, 124-125, 129, 

Science Adviser (President’s), 23, 125, 

153-154, 200 

176 

Science Research Council (U.K.), 187, 

188 

Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., 114 

Scientists, 119, 122-124, 126127, 140-141, 

151, 153, 169, 214. 225 

astronomy, 3, 59, 65, 76, 118-119, 132, 

182, 208, 214, 223 

awards, 92, 95, 188-189, 203 

conference, 64, 98, 102 

death, 125 

earth study, 11, 104-105, 114-115, 119, 

employment, 67, 11, 4849, 80, 190 

energy research, 114-1 15 

foreign, 4-5, 72, 87-88, 108, 225 

manned space flight, 7, 16, 31, 32, 41, 

133, 143, 160, 169-170, 171-172, 176, 

168, 170, 191 

113 

planetary exploration, 14, 68, 106, 112, 

120-121, 154, 166, 179 

propulsion technology, 186 

Scientist-astronaut, 121-122, 149, 152 

Scout (launch vehicle), 40, 93, 134-135, 

159, 160, 188, 213, 23&231, 244, 247, 

258. 259 

Scout D, 57-58, 231, 242, 258, 259 

Scout E, 111, 238-239, 259 

Screwworm, 62 

Sea of Crisis (Mare Crisium), 194, 248 

Seamans, Dr. Robert C., Jr., 61, 97, 129, 

194 

Seaplane, 154-155 SEASAT (Specialized Experimental ApplicaSeelye Stevenson Value and Knecht Co., 

Seismography, 104 

Seismometer, 208-209 

Senegal, 175 

Sensor, 57-58, 60, 103, 119, 120, 134, 141, 

SEP (SociCtL EuropCenne de Propulsion), 

SEPS (Solar-electric propulsion stage), 34, 

Sergeyev, Georgy, 36 

Serf 2 (Space Electric Rocket Test satellite), 

Service Cross of the German Eagle, 156 

Sethna, H. N., 105 

Sevastyanov, Vitaly I. (cosmonaut), 255 

Seversky Aircraft Corp. See Republic 

Aircraft Corp. 

Sewell, Charles A., 155 

Shale, 154 

Shanehai. P.R.C.. 89 

tions Satellite), 24, 124, 150 

97 

SEASAT-A, 21, 24, 55, 204 

152-153, 182, 188, 231 

189- 190 

184 

186 

Shaprand: Dr. D.’J., 16 

Shapley, Willis H., 67, 220 

Shatalov, Mai. Gen. Vladimir A. (cosmonaut), 78, g5, 122, 147, 155-156; 208 

Sheldon, Dr. Charles S., 11, 4-5 

Shepard, RIA Alan B., Jr. (C‘SN, Ret.), 95, 

136, 137, 168, 171 

Sheremetyevo Airport, Moscow, 80 

Shinsei (Japanese satellite), 3940 

Ships, 30, 4W1, 52, 102, 104-105, 114, 

Short takeoff and landing aircraft (STOL), 

Shramo, Daniel, J., 178 

Shuttle Avionic Integration Laboratory 

(SAIL), 2 

Sidney, Australia, 193 

Silicates, 82 

Silicon, 28 

Silicon carbide whiskers, 58 

Silver, 58 

Simon, William E., 88 

Singer Co., 217 

Sinus (star), 244, 259 

6th Aircraft Design, Flight Test, and 

Skyhook program, 144 

Skylab (program), 13, 1617, 21, 34-35, 

119, 147, 165 

23 

Operations Meeting, 99-100, 148 

41, 47, 53, 64, 98, 118-119, 149, 152, 

184, 223 

308 
achievements, 13, 17, 27, 42-44, 58, 67, 

awards, 59, 88, 95, 131, 169-170, 183, 

80, 87, 221 

203 

budget, 21, 186-187 

commemoration, 45, 103 

conference, 152, 157-158 

congressional consideration, 19, 91-92 

contract, 1, 139 

employment, 25, 141 

information exchange, 193 

photographs, 131 

press comment, 31, 32, 36, 39, 87 

significance, 17, 28-29, 30, 32 

technology utilization, 134, 143, 144 

tracking and data acquisition, 24, 44, 

Skylab I (Orbital Workshop; see also 

Apollo Telescope Mount), I, 8, 28-29, 

183. 199 

145 

77, 102 

32, 4243, 45, 80, 91-92, 98, 103, 153, 

-7 --- 

Skylab 2 (first manned mission), 32,4344, 

Skvlab 3 (second manned mission). 7. 

45, 153, 183, 193, 195 

,~ . 43-44, 153, 183, 193 

Skylab 4 (third manned mission; see also 

Apollo Telescope Mount), 14, 25, 

achievements, 7, 8, 28-29, 30, 153, 221 

awards, 65-66 

medical aspects, 31, 32, 43-44 

press comment, 8, 31, 32, 51 

press conference, 1, 30 

tracking and data acquisition, 40 

158 

35-36, 152, 216, 228, 264 

Skylab Life Sciences Symposium, 157- 

Skylark (U.K. sounding rocket), 125 

Skynet (U.K. comsat), 2 

Skynet A, 9. 182, 204 

Skvnet B. 9. 182. 204 

Skynet I1 comsat program. 9 

Skynet IIA, 9, 64 83 158 

Skynet IIB, 182, 

227, 229, 252, 2 

260 

SL-I. See Skylab 1. 

SL-2. See Skylab 2. 

SL-3. See Skylab 3. 

SL-4. See Skylab 4. 

Slayton, Maj. Donald K. (USAF, Ret.), 82, 

12 1-122 

Sloop, John L., 15 

SLV-3 (launch vehicle), 189-190 

SM (service module). See Command and 

service module. 

Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS). See 

Explorer 42. 

Small tactical aerial mobility platform 

(STAMP), 60 

Smith, A. M. O., 148 

Smith, Dr. Malcolm C., Jr., 131 

Smith. Richard G.. 199 

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 

Smithsonian Institution, 136, 164, 177 

(SAO), 139 

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

309 

SMM (Solar Maximum Mission), 57 

SMS (Synchronous Meteorological Satellite), 2 

Sms I (SMS-A; Synchronous Meterorological Satellite), 21, 103-104, 119, 176, 221, 

225-226, 227, 236-237, 257, 258 

SMS-B, 21 SMS-C. See Goes I. 

Smylie, Robert E., 130 

Snow, 92, 194, 215, 253 

Sociiti Nationale Industrielle Airospatiale 

Sociita per Azioni per 16 Communicazioni 

Soci6t6 Europienne de Propulsion (SEP), 

Society of Automotive Engineers, 137 

Sodium, 208 

Soendre Stroemfjord, Greenland, 268-269 

Soil Cartographic Division (Agriculture, 

Dept. of), 90 

Soil studies, 62, 65 

Solar astronomy (see also Helios), 2,28-29, 

32, 57, 67 

(Airospatiale), 37, 136137 

Spaziali (Telespazio), 11 1 

1 89- 1 90 

Solar conversion devices 

array, 34, 58, 67, 186, 249-250, 253 

battery, 176, 218 

cell, 33-34,57-58,73, 105, 114-115,224, 

23 1, 25%25 1 

panel, 8, 32, 45, 63, 122, 217-218 

Solar electric propulsion stage (SEPS), 34, 

184 

Solar energy (see also Solar heating and 

cooling), 8, 12-13, 72, 83, 105, 118 

applications, 43,5&57,98, 11 1, 114-1 15, 

environmental effects, 40, 107 

research and development, 6, 17, 20, 29, 

36, 45, 46, 73, 106, 114, 149, 152, 

Solar Energy Coordination and Management Project, 192-193 

Solar Energy Research, Development, and 

Demonstration Act of 1974. 192-193 

152-153, 201 

192-193, 204, 219 

Solar heating and cooling, 6, 8, 19, 45, 

56-57, 68, 73, 91, 111, 112, 114-115, 

118, 226 

Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration 

Act of 1974, 36, 45, 46, 61, 95, 106, 

Solar Maximum Mission (SMM satellite), 

163-164, 175, 219, 226 

57 

Solar phenomena, 28 

corona, 43-44, 67 

flares, 57, 90, 104, 115, 177 

tide, 45 

wind, 5, 9-10, 13, 27, 43-44, 60, 111, 

Solar physics, 57, 212, 253, 260, 264-265, 

267, 269, 270, 271 

Solar proton monitor, 200-201, 249-250 

Solar radiation, 9-10, 12, 60, 76, 77, 104, 

114, 134-135, 139, 144, 145, 174, 212, 

237, 242 

Solar simulation system, 66 

197-198, 212, 253 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS. 1974 

Solar system, 2, 13, 37, 42, 43, 51, 58-59, 

64, 70, 72, 82, 118-119, 136, 166-167, 

169. 179. 222 

Solar ielescope; 218-219, 255 

Solid-fueled rocket booster (SRB), 36, 38, 

Solid-fueled rocket motor (SRM), 5, 33-34, 

Solid-state technology, 47-48, 143, 144 

Sommer, Robert W., 158-159 

Sounding rocket (see also Aerobee, Aries, 

Black Brant, Loki, Nike-Iroquois, 

Skylark, and Super Loki), 47, 57, 67, 

263-27 1 

South America, 65, 89, 156, 216, 238, 

254 

South Atlantic Anomaly, 159 

Southern California, Univ. of (USC), 152, 

27 1 

Southwest Research Institute, San 

Antonio, Tex., 95 

Soviet Academy of Sciences (see also 

Council of International Cooperation in 

Space Exploration and Use, and General 

Genetics Institute), 52, 104, 157, 165, 

190, 193, 225 

150, 210-211, 212 

36, 41, 55, 106, 210-211, 212 

103, 112-113, 118-119, 126, 223, 226, 

Soviet Mission Control Center, 157, 191 

Soviet Union. See U.S.S.R. 

Soyuz (U.S.S.R. spacecraft; see also 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project), 108, 115, 

121, 157, 167, 191, 193, 208, 216, 218, 

222, 228 

Soyuz4, 161 

Soyuz 5, 161 

Soyuz 10, 123, 219 

Soyuz I], 73, 123, 167, 219 

Soyuz 12, 4, 73, 178 

Soyuz 13, 4, 44, 73, 178 

SOYUZ 14, 122-123, 130, 139-140, 155, 156, 

164, 176, 178, 181, 207-208, 217-218, 

SOYUZ 15, 155-156, 164, 167, 176, 181, 

207-208, 217-218, 221, 228, 239-240, 

SOYUZ 16, 207-208,221,225,228,252,261, 

SOYUZ 17, 218-219, 228, 255 

221, 228, 241, 261, 262 

244, 261, 262 

262 

Sovuz 18. 255 

Shuz 20; 255 

Spaatz, Gen. Carl A.. 133 

“Space: A Report to the Stockholders” 

Space and Missiles Systems Organization 

Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Ala., 

Space biology and medicine, 4, 28-29, 30, 

animal experiments, 44, 75-76, 190, 193, 

flight simulation. 181 

(TV documentary), 137 

(SAMSO, USAF), 34, 160, 203 

28 

41, 73, 97, 154, 207, 239-240, 252 

247 

human research, 31-32, 34-35, 42-44, 

103, 122, 123, 155, 157-158, 178, 

218-219, 241, 252 

Space debris, 2-3, 82, 174 

Space Detection and Tracking System 

(SPADATS), 67 

Space Electric Rocket Test Satellite (Serf 

2), 186 

Space manufacturing, 21, 32, 38, 43, 58, 

122, 154, 178, 184, 199, 241 

Space Missile Test Center, 209 

Space Plasma Hiih Voltage Interaction 

Experiment (SPHINX) spacecraft, 2, 

space Power Facility (SPF), 66 

Space program, national (see also Budget, 

NASA), 37-38, 87, 126, 165, 227, 228 

applications technology, 81, 95-96, 

106107, 137, 200 

benefits. 84-85 

33-34, 222, 258 

press comment, 31, 32, 35, 51, 69-70, 

Space science, 21, 24, 57, 214, 222-223, 

24 1 

103, 165, 183 

Space Science Award (AIAA), 14 

Space shuttle (see also External tank, 

Interim upper stage, Solid-fueled 

rocket booster and motor, Space 

shuttle main engine, Space shuttle 

orbiter, Space tug, and Spacelab), 16, 

131, 149, 171, 173 

19, 30, 53, 57, 65-67, 99-100, 115, 

aircraft use, 120 

budget, 17, 21, 24, 27, 35, 41, 47, 98, 

capabilities, 21-22, 32, 37-38, 57, 62, 

construction of facilities, 21, 31, 64, 97, 

development status, 47, 223-224 

fuel crisis impact, 100 

international cooperation, 37, 38, 181, 

landing site, 189 

press comment, 39, 69-70, 103, 131 

study, 121, 126, 140, 217 

system development, 9, 12, 41-42, 56, 

81, 89, 93, 105, 113, 117, 141, 174, 

184, 185, 199, 201, 210 

testing, 55, 119, 120, 150, 151 

tracking and data acquisition, 24, 47 

use, 21-22, 37-38, 47, 48, 66-67 

Space Shuttle Cost and Review Committee, 

210 

109, 113, 160-161, 165, 195, 214 

78, 98, 112-113, 124, 126127, 167 

210 

184 

Space shuttle main engine (SSME), 31, 47, 

84, 88, 150 

Space Shuttle Operational Management 

Space shuttle orbiter, 36, 47, 55, 79, 107, 

Space station (see also Salyut, and Skylab), 

“Space Stations, Present and Future” 

Space Tracking and Data Acquisition 

Space transportation system (STS), 19, 34, 

Space tug, 7-8, 19, 25, 34, 56, 66-67, 103, 

Assessement Team, 195 

120, 141, 165, 168, 181, 210, 217 

32, 47, 73, 85, 98, 103 

(IAF conference), 178 

Network (STADAN), 176 

47, 205, 217 

126, 140, 178, 184, 217 

3 10 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

31 1 

Space weapons, 183 

Space Week (National Space Week), 132, 

135-136 

Spacecraft Design Award (AIAA), 15 

Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network 

(STDN), 40, 77, 176, 226 

Spacelab, 42, 47, 126, 185 

budget, 19, 54 

capabilities, 38, 127, 184 

contract, 113, 141, 217 

development status, 223-224 

international cooperation. See European 

Space Research Organization, 

Spacelab. 

laboratory, 16, 41-42, 94 

testing, 176177, 181 

184 

Spacelab Operations Working Group, 

Spacelab Payload Utilization and Planning 

Spacelab Preliminary Requirements ReStudy, 205 

view, 199 

~AIAA conference). 14 

“Spaceship Earth-A New Perspective” 

,I 

Spacesuit, 154 SPADATS (Space Detection and Tracking 

System), 67 

107. 200. 201 

Spain (see also Intasut), 41, 54, 67, 101, 

Span-load tailoring, 160 

Spanish Foreign Legion, 41 

Special Energy Bill, 149 

Special Task Force on Energy Conservation, 8-9 

Specialized Experimental Applications 

Satellite (SEASAT), 24, 124, 150 

Spectrogram, 29, 44 

Spectrometer (see also Balloon-borne 

ultraviolet stellar spectrometer, EbertFastie Spectrometer, EUV spectrometer, 

Infrared spectrometer, Mass spectrometer, Ultraviolet spectrometer, and X-ray 

spectrometer), 2, 40, 126, 145, 172, 255 

Sperry, Lawrence, Award, 15 

Sperry Support Services, 143 SPF (Space Power Facility), 66 SPHINX. See Space Plasma High Voltage 

Spicules, 67 

Spin tunnel, 96 

Spirit of St. Louis (aircraft), 30 

Spokane River, 170 

Sprankle, Roger S., 175-176 

Spread F (ionospheric disturbance), 72 

SR-7 1 (Blackbird; reconnaissance aircraft), 

SRB. See Solid-fueled rocket booster. 

SRC (Science Research Council, U.K.), 187, 

Interaction Experiment spacecraft. 

163, 199-200 

188 SRM. See Solid-fueled rocket motor. 

SS19 (U.S.S.R. ICBM), 14 SSM (Support systems module), 201 SSME. See Space shuttle main engine. sss (Small Scientific Satellite). 

SST (supersonic transport), 153 

See Explorer 45. 

SSX-16 (U.S.S.R. missile), 42 

STADAN (Space Tracking and Data AcquisiStafford, B/G Thomas P. (USAF), 82, 

STAMP (Small tactical aerial mobility 

platform), 60 

Star (see also Barnard, Betelgeuse, Canopus, Neutron star, Omega Centauri, 

Pulsar, Quasar, Supernova, and 31 

Crater), 44, 45, 73, 90, 118-119, 133, 

143, 159, 160, 168, 176, 177, 185, 214 

Star City. See Zvezdny Gorodok, 

U.S.S.R. 

Star-pointing-and-control system, 185 

Starr, Dr. Chauncey, 211 

State, Dept. of, 119, 194 STDN. See Spaceflight Tracking and Data 

Steam, 73-74, 187 

Steel, 58 

Stethoscope, 54 

Stevens, Sen. Ted, 4 

Stevenson, Robert E., 153 

Stever, Dr. H. Guyford, 46, 6M1, 112, 

Steward Observatory, 167 

Stewart, Frank M., 69 

Stockholm, Sweden, 188-189 STOL (short takeoff and landing) aircraft, 

Stone. Donald. 184 

SSX-18,42 

SSX-19, 42 

tion Network), 176 

121-122, 152, 178 

STAR COnSOrtiUm, 210 

Network. 

125, 182 

22, 23 

Storms, 62, 120 

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), 

42, 70, 204 

Stratford, Conn., 51 

Stratofortress. See E52. 

Stratosphere (earth), 86, 98, 188, 266 

Stream Lite-1 Million (spotlight), 8 

Streamlight, Inc., 8 

Strip mining, 91-92 

STS. See Space transportation system. 

Submarine. 43. 62-63. 140 

Submarinellaunched cruise missile, 22 

Subsonic aircraft, 148 

Sukhoi (U.S.S.R. fighter-bomber aircraft), 

62-63 

Sulfur, 93, 208 

Sulfur dioxide, 86 

Sulfuric acid, 27 

SUMMA (superconductive magnetic apparatus), 29 

Summit meeting, 123-124, 136137, 241 

Sun (see also solar headings), 28-29,3637, 

4344, 67, 118, 143, 166-167, 169, 176 

Sundstrand Data Control, Inc., 100-101 

Super Arcas (sounding rocket), 264, 266- 

Super Loki (sounding rocket), 65 

Superconductive magnetic apparatus 

Supercritical wing, 44, 48, 68, 112, 148, 

267, 268, 269 

(SUMMA), 29 

173, 187, 224 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Supernova, 31, 90, 125 

Supersonic aircraft (see also names of 

individual aircraft), 2-3, 104, 112, 114, 

166, 167, 175, 176-177 

Supersonic transport (SST; see also ConSupport systems module (SSM), 201 

Surface surveillance program, 36, 230 

Sweden, 54, 67, 101 

Swedish Academy of Sciences, 188-189 

Swedish Space Corp., 265 

Swing wing, 7, 39, 193, 211-212 

Switzerland, 54, 67, 101 

corde and Tu-la), 153 

Symphonie I (Symph onie-A; French- West 

German comsat), 2, 215-216, 221, 227, 

254, 257, 260 

Synchronous Meteorological Satellite 

(SMS; see also Goes 1, Sms I, and 

SMS-B), 2 

Systems Requirements Review, 203 

Szostak, Rosemarie, 59 

T 

T-38 (trainer aircraft), 28 

Tactical fighter aircraft. See F-5E, F-15, 

Taft, Robert, Jr., 199 

Taiwan. See China, Republic of (NationalTamman, Gustav, 214 

Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, 182 

Tanker/missile carrier aircraft, 22 

Tunsei I (MS-T1, Japanese satellite), 

etc. 

ist). 

3940 

Tunsei 2 (“Light Blue”; MS-TZ), 39-40, 

Tape recorder. 38. 143. 259 

222, 228, 230 

Taihkent, U.S.S.R., 193 

Task Force on Remote Sensing (U.N.), 

Taurus-Littrow region (lunar landing site), 

Taylor Valley, Antarctica, 94 

TC-1. See Titan-Centaur. TCV (Terminal-configured vehicle), 123 TDRSS. 

Teague. Reo. Olin E.. 15. 28-29. 58. 78 

46 

72-73 

See Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. 

Techolog< 20-21, 23, ’25, 28-29, 38, 

47-48, 105, 112-113, 123-125, 129, 135, 

146, 153, 177-178, 200 

“Technology in the Service of Man” 

Technology Resources Survey and AppliTechnology utilization, space, IO, 24, 56, 

(~RC review), 166 

cations Act, 60-61 

budget. FY 1975. 21. 27 

95-96, 99-100, 134, 143, 166, 187 

medycine, 13, 54,‘ 68,’ 95, 143, 144-145, 

167-168, 212, 226 

Teflon, 91 

Tehran, Iran, 194195 

Teledyne, Inc., 151 

Telegraph, 88-89, 93, 139, 151-152, 254 

Telemetrv. 131. 152-153. 185 

TelemetG transmitter, 103 

Telephone, 78-79,88-89,93, 116-1 17, 139, 

Telesat Canada, 4. 84. 169 

151-152, 171, 216, 251, 254 

Telescope (see also Apollo Telescope 

Mount, G razing-incidence telescope, 

Infrared telescope, Large Space Telescope, Mayall telescope, Orion 2, Radio 

telescope, Schmidt telescope, Solar 

telescope, Ultraviolet telescope, Wolter 

Type 1 Telescope, and X-ray telescope), 

9-10, 16, 37, 39, 69, 77, 154, 168, 

171-172, 185 

Telespazio (Sociita per Azioni per 

Teletype, 216, 218 

Teletypewriter, 147 

Television, 32, 48, 59, 102, 116, 117, 119, 

satellite transmission, 54, 63, 68, 69, 

16 Communicazioni Spaziali), 11 I 

122, 137, 143, 174175, 191 

78-79, 84, 86, 10&107, 129, 139, 147, 

151-152, 154, 165-166, 186, 192, 

202-203, 215, 217 

space exploration, 5, 27, 59, 101, 108, 

Telex, 151-152 

Terminal-configured vehicle (TCV) program, 123 

Terry, Sydney L., 117 

Tethered Communications (TCom. Inc.). 

See Westinghouse Corp. 

Texas, 164, 171 

Texas, Univ. of, 268-269 

Texas A&M Univ., 188 

Texas Instruments, Inc., 108 

Textron, Inc., 11 1-1 12 

Thailand, 14 

Thermal energy, 92, 194, 215, 231, 235 

Thermal mapper, 55 

Thermal stress analysis, 114 

Thermionic converter, 29, 56 

Thermionic technology, 186185 

Thermodynamics, 117 

Thermoelectricity, 93-94 

Thermonuclear energy, 154 

Thermosphere (earth), 40, 55, 144, 230- 

Thiokol Corp., 5, 36, 41, 106, 126, 146, 

31 Crater (star), 69 

Thole, John M., 157, 195 

Thompson, Dr. Floyd L., 137 

Thompson, James R., 69 

Thomson-CSF, 49, 86-87, 169 

Thor-Burner I1 (launch vehicle), 63, 232, 

Thor-Delta (launch vehicle), 9, 64, 83, 

204, 229, 233, 236, 246, 249, 252, 254, 

258, 259, 260 

121, 173, 201, 237 

23 1 

229 

243 

85-86, 103-104, 109, 146, 148-149, 158, 

174, 182, 185-186, 196, 200, 201, 203, 

Thorium, 68 

Thornton, Dr. W. E., 158 

3C 268 (galaxy), 160 

Thrust-vector-control system (i-vc), 3940 

3 12 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Tiger I1 (F-5E). 7, 10 

Tikhonravov, Prof. Mikhail, 52 

Timation 3A. See Nts 1. 

Timonium, Md., 56-57 

Tires, 99 

TirosN (meteorological satellite), 21, 204, 

213 

Titan I11 (launch vehicle), 1 

Titan IIIB, 239 

Titan IIIEAgena, 36, 230, 243 

Titan IIIC, 108-109, 139, 238, 258 

Titan IIID, 233, 248 

Titan IIIE, 33-34 

Titan IIIE-Centaur, 212, 253, 257, 258, 

Titan (Saturn moon), 106, 198 

Titan-Centaur (launch vehicle), 2, 33, 203, 

Titanium, 99, 166 

Toksoz, Dr. M. Nafi, 208-209 

Tokyo, Japan, 89 

Tokyo, Univ. of, 39-40 

Tomcat. See F-14 aircraft. 

Tracking and data acquisition (see also 

Earth station, Spaceflight Tracking 

and Data Network, and Tracking and 

Data Relay Satellite System), 144, 157, 

160, 173, 176, 185, 188, 204, 213, 223, 

226, 242 

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 7, 207, 216 

budget, 21 

international cooperation, 135 

space shuttle, 21, 40, 47 

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System 

(TDRSS), 24, 62, 66, 78, 127, 176, 226 

Tracking station. See Earth station and 

individual tracking stations. 

Trainer aircraft. See F-5B, F-5F, and 

Trans World Airlines, Inc. (TWA), 74, 79, 

260 

222 

T-38. 

156 

Transceiver, 110 

Transponder, 7&79, 84, 86, 169, 181, 202, -IC 1 L-J 1 

Transport aircraft (see also Supersonic 

transport aircraft), 25 

Transportation, 29, 73, 84 

Transportation, Dept. of (DOT; see also 

Transportation Systems Center), 17, 

185 

Transportation of Radioactive Material by 

Passenger Aircraft (report), 170 

Transportation Systems Center (DOT), 

118 

Traveling wave tube, 4748 

Treaty, 11, 123-124, 200 

Trident (undersea long-range missile 

system; ULMS), 22, 140 

Trident I (missile), 140, 151 

TriStar (jet transport). See L-1011. 

Troposphere (earth), 23 

Trubshaw, Brian, 37 

22-23, 25, 54, 79, 86, 117, 118, 119, 166, 

Trucks, 99 

Truman, President Harry S., 133 

Truszynski, Gerald M., 62, 77 

TRW he., 58-59, 78, 158 

Tselinograd, Kazakhstan, U.S.S.R., 219, 

262 

Tsunamic data, 104 

Tu-144 (U.S.S.R. supersonic transport), 

Tucson, Ariz., 219 

Tungsten, 173 

Turbine discs, 26 

Turbine engine, 26, 48 

Turbine wheel cooling, 26 

Turbofan engine (see also JTSD), 193 

Turbogenerator, 63, 73 

Turboprop engines, 145-146 

Turcat, And& 118 

Turkey, 243 

Turkish Airlines, Inc., 51, 55, 71, 78 TVC (thrust-vector-control system), 3940 TWA. See Trans World Airlines, Inc. 

Tx-3545 (Castor I1 rocket motor), 146 

Tyuratam, U.S.S.R. See Baykonur CosU 

86, 211-212 

modrome. 

U-2 (reconnaissance aircraft), 131, 188, 

UAL. See United Air Lines. 

Uchinoura Space Center, Japan, 182 UDMH (unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine 

rocket fuel), 200 

UFO (unidentified flying object), 70-71 

Uhuru (Small Astronomy Satellite; Explorer 42), 133, 187 

U.K. See United Kingdom. 

UK-5. See Ariel 5. 

UK-XI. See Miranda. 

Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, 178 ULMS (undersea long-range missile system; 

Ultraviolet photography, 3, 26, 27, 44, 

Ultraviolet radiation, 2, 12, 77, 86, 104, 

Ultraviolet scanner, 69 

Ultraviolet spectrometer, 5 

Ultraviolet telescope, 159 

Ultraviolet wavelength, 185 

U.N. See United Nations. 

Undersea long-range missile system 

(ULMS; Trident), 22, 140 

Underwood-Prescott Memorial Award, 

131 

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, 

Scientific, and Cultural Organization), 

8, 99 

Unidentified flying object (UFO), 70-71 

199-200 

Trident), 22, 140 

120-121, 266267 

134135, 159, 173, 242, 265-266, 270 

Unidentified satellite, GOD, 36,63, 194,230, 

Unifi, Inc., 13 

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. See 

U.S.S.R. 

United Air Lines, Inc. (UAL), 12, 17, 74, 

174, 213, 224 

United Aircraft Corp., 156 

232, 233, 239, 243, 248-249 

313 
Pratt & Whitney Div., 51, 140, 145- 

Sikorsky Aircraft Div., 51 

United Kingdom (U.K.; see also Ariel 5, 

Concorde, Miranda, Royal Air Force, 

Skylark, and Skynet), 14, 16, 38, 54, 

58, 67, 77, 81, 101, 107, 119, 136137, 

156, 173, 176 

United Nations (U.N.; see also Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, 

Task Force on Remote Sensing, and 

World Meteorological Organization), 

10-11, 26, 105 

United Nations Educational, Scientific, 

and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 8, 

99 

146 

United States (U.S.; see also Aerospace 

industry; Hot line; International coop- e ration; International cooperation, 

space; Space program, national; and 

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks), 

12, 97, 104, 116, 118, 139, 156, 176, 

177, 186, 195, 236 

defense, 28, 51-52, 138-139, 155, 204 

foreign policy, 63, 105 

trade, 7, 11, 28, 81 

United States and Soviet Progress in Space: 

Summary Data through 1972 and a Forward Look (74-35SP), 4 

Universe, 132, 136, 141, 160, 214 

Universities (see also individual universities), 6, 102-103, 105, 126, 134 

Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) 

rocket fuel, 200 

Upper atmosphere (earth), 65, 98, 104, 

136135, 145, 151, 169, 185, 194, 213, 

27 1 

218-219, 264, 265-267, 268-269, 270- 

Uranium, 23, 56, 68 

Uranium hexafluoride, 29 

Uranus (planet; see also Pioneer IO), 37, 

U.S. Air Force (USAF; see also individual 

bases, centers, and commands; Air 

Force Air Weather Service; Air Force 

Avionics Laboratory; Air Force 

Cambridge Research La bora tories; 

Air Force Materials Laboratory; 

Atmospheric Layering and Density 

Distribution of Ions and Neutrals 

program; Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program; Launch, 

DOD.; and Space and Missiles Systems 

Office), 9,66,70-71,72, 101-102, 138, 

163, 192, 200, 209, 224 

Aeronautical Systems Div., 146 

aeronautics (see also X-24 and individual aircraft, such as YF-12 and El), 

budget, 21-22 

employment, 131, 141 

personnel, 13, 170 

space program participation, 1, 8, 11, 

33-34, 90, 121, 134, 140, 183, 229, 

252, 273. 

106, 222 

31, 52-53, 144, 151, 273 

U.S. Army (USA; see also Army Ballistic 

Missile Agency, Army Electronics Command, and Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory), 31 

U.S. Army Air Corps, 156 

U.S. Bureau of Mines, 54 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 10, 32, 

170 

US. Information Agency, 59 

U.S. Marine Corps (USMC; see also Marine 

U.S. Navy (uSN; see also individual aircraft; LAMPS helicopter; and Launch, 

DOD), 22, 28, 36, 43, 52, 62-63, 66, 

108, 136, 151, 166 ocean surveillance program, 36, 230 

Sea Systems Div., 140 

Weather Reconnaissance Squadron 

U.S. Postal Service, 45, 103, 233 

U.S.-Soviet Cooperation in Space (book), 

Corps Air Station), 60 

Four, 153 

172 USA. See U.S. Army. USAF. See U.S. Air Force. USC. See Southern California, Univ. of. USDA See Agriculture, Dept. of. USGS. See U.S. Geological Survey. USMC. See U.S. Marine Corps. USN. See U.S. Navy. USNS Vanguard, 119 

U.S.S. Enterprise, 63-64 

U.S.S. New Orleans, 30, 31 

U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist 

Republics; see also Aeroflot Soviet Air 

Lines; Apollo-Soyuz Test Project; 

International cooperation; International cooperation, space; Orbita 

network; Soviet headings; and 

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks), 

10-11, 14, 15-16, 63, 105-106, 165 

communications, 172-173 

disarmament, 204, 215, 241 

missile (see also individual missiles, such as SS-19 and SSX-16), 65, 51 

satellites and spacecraft (see also 

individual satellites and spacecraft, 

such as Cosmos, Intercosmos, Luna, 

Mars, Meteor, Molniya, Salyut, and 

space program, 65, 16, 36, 38, 43, 78, 

SOYUZ), 110, 227-228 

85,93-94, 103, 115, 139-140, 152, 183, 

221, 227 

U.S.S.R. State Committee on Science and 

Technology, 112 

Utah, 5 

Utah State Univ., 43 

UV. See Ultraviolet headings. 

V 

VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building). See 

Kennedy Space Center. 

Valve Engineering Co., 83 

Van Allen, Dr. James A., 83 

Van Allen radiation belts, 143, 159-160 

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

3 14 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Van Biesbroeck, Dr. George A., 45 

Vandenberg AFB, Calif. (see also Western 

Test Range), 1, 36, 63, 66-67, 127, 

132-133, 194 

Vanik, Rep. Charles A., 117 

Variable-geometry wing, 173 

VDS (Viking Dynamic Simulator), 33 

Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). See 

Vela (nuclear detection satellite), 90 

Venezuela, 14 

Venus (planet; see also Mariner IO, and 

Pioneer-Venus), 5, 16, 32, 36-37, 87, 

Vertical or short takeoff and landing 

aircraft. See V/STOL. 

Vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. See VTOL. 

Vertical-temperature-profile radiometer 

(VTPR), 200-201, 249-250 

Very-high-resolution radiometer (VH RR), 

VFAX fighter program, 183-184 

VFW-Fokker/ERNO Raumfahrttechnik, 

GmbH ,I 113, 223-224 VFX (fighter aircraft), 22 VHRR (Very-high-resolution radiometer), 

Victory, Dr. John F. 219 

Video-telephone, 154 

Videotape, 106-107 

Vidicon receiving tube, 143 

Vietnam, 20, 174175 

Viking (program), 21, 57, 77, 87, 99-100, 

Viking (spacecraft), 23, 33, 57, 172, 222 

lander, 112, 186187, 203, 222-223 

orbiter, 186187, 203, 222-223 

Viking (S3-A antisubmarine aircraft), 43 

Viking Dynamic Simulator (VDS), 33 

Viking rocket, 189-190 

Vikram Sarabhi, India, 168-169 

Vinyl cyanide, 171-172 

Virginia, 165 

Vitasign Attendant Monitor, 95 

Vladivostok, U.S.S.R., 204 

Volcano. 68. 82 

Kennedy Space Center. 

99-100 

2W20 1, 249-250 

200-20 1 

124, 150, 203, 222-223 

Volusia County, Fla., 65 von Braun, Dr. Wernher, 1, 14, 154, 171 von Kirmin, Theodore, Memorial 

Lecture, 15 

122 

landing) aircraft, 183-184 

aircraft, 23 

meter), 200-201, 249-250 

Vostok 4 (U.S.S.R. manned spacecraft), 

V/STOL (vertical or short takeoff and 

VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) 

VTPR (vertical-temperature-profile radioW 

Waddy, Joseph C., 115-116 

Wagon Mound, N. Mex., 197 

Wake vortex, 99-100, 102, 160 

Waldmann, Raymond J., 26 

Wallops Flight Center (wFC, NASA), 93, 

126, 188, 220, 264, 267, 268-269, 270, 

27 1 

Warner, John W., Secretary of the Navy, 

28 

Warning system, 149 

Warrenton, Va., 19 

Warsaw Pact countries, 71 

Washington, 170 

Washington Cathedral, Washington, D.C., 

Washington, D.C., 4, 14, 25, 26, 37, 42, 

Water pollution, IO, 29, 91-92, 188, 225- 

Water quality monitoring, 140 

Water resources management, 32, 119, 131, 

Water vapor, 38, 98, 102 

Watergate controversy, 3 1, 146, 153-154 

Waterton, Colo., 1 

WE57F (research aircraft), 185 

WC-130 (research aircraft), 120 

Weather. See Meteorology. 

Weather and climate program, 21, 61-62 

Webb, James E., 138 

Weightlessness, 169-170 

136 

58, 59, 82, 83, 88, 94, 95, 106, 112-1 13, 

118, 136, 146, 156, 181, 195, 202 

226 

132 

animal and plant experiments, 75-76, 

87-88. 190. 247 

human response, 31, 32, 34-35, 42-44, 

space manufacturing, 43, 178, 184 

Weinberger, Casper W., Secretary of 

Health, Education, and Welfare, 106- 

107 

Weitz, Capt. Paul J. (USN), 195 

West Germany. See Germany, West. 

Westar (Western Union comsat), 2 

Westar I (Westar-A), 64, 85-86, 116, 164, 

91, 157-158, 178, 218-219 

171, 186, 221, 225-226, 227-228, 233, 

257. 258 

Westir-2 (Westar-B), 97, 110, 113-1 14, 

Westar Satellite Communications System, 

185-186, 221, 225-226, 227, 246, 257, 

259 

186 

Westir-2 (Westar-B), 97, 110, 113-1 14, 

185-186, 221, 225-226, 227, 246, 257, 

259 

Westar Satellite Communications System, 

186 

Westerbork, The Netherlands, 160 

Western Test Range (WTR; see also Vandenberg AFB, Calif.), launch 

Aeros 2, 135, 242, 260 

Ans I, 159, 244 

Hawkeye I, 111, 238-239, 259 

Miranda, 57-58, 231, 258 

Nts I, 24 1-242 

Noaa 4, 200, 249, 259 

unidentified satellite, DOD, 230, 232,233, 

239, 243, 248-249 

Western Union International Corp., 3-4 

Western Union Telegraph Co. See 

Westinghouse Electric Corp., 102, 134, 

WFC. See Wallops Flight Center. 

Whedon. Dr. G. D., 157-158 

Westar satellites. 

174-175, 187 

315 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

Wheelchair, 81 

Whipple, Dr. Eldon C., Jr., 92 

Whipple, Dr. Fred L., 9-10, 77 

Whirling chair, 31 

Whitcomb, Dr. Richard T., 112, 148, 173 

White, Dr. Robert M., 211, 213 

White, Gen. Thomas D., Space Trophy, 

White hole, 133 

White House (see also Office of Science 

and Technology, and Office of Telecommunications Policy), 48, 153-154, 164- 

165, 214 

White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), N. 

Mex., 2, 3, 98, 264-265, 266267, 268, 

269. 270. 271-257 

183 

Wilford, John N., 59 

Wilson, Prime Minister Harold S. (U.K.), 

136137 

126, 168, 169, 226 

Wind energy, 6, 29, 34, 66, 73, 115, 120, 

Wind tunnel, 8-9, 39, 55, 92, 114, 141, 

Windmills, 6, 34, 63, 204-205 

160, 163, 167, 202, 211-212 

Winfield, Rodney, 136 

Wing, aircraft (see also. GAW-I, Supercritical wing, Swing wing, and Variablegeometry wing), 7, 48, 91, 112, 160, 192, 

211-212 

Winnewisser, Gisbert, 171-172 

“Winning the Initiative: NASA and the U.S. 

Space Science Program, 1958-60” (esWinter, Dr. David L., 97 

Wisconsin, Univ. of, 269, 27Ck271 

Wolfe, Dr. John H., 14 

Wolter Type I telescope, 125 

Women, 67, 11-12, 102-103, 169-170, 

Wood, Dr. Lowell, 56 

Woodling, Carroll, H., 15 

Woods, David, 161 

Woods Hole, Mass., 87, 126-127 

Working group. See Apollo-Soyuz Test 

Project and Committee on the Peaceful 

Uses of Outer Space. 

Working Group on Space Biology and 

Medicine, US.-U.S.S.R., 193 

World Data Center, 120 

World Energy Conference, 174 

World Intellectual Property Organization, 

World language, 117 

World Meteorological Organization, U.N., 

110, 119 

World War 11, 70-71, 125, 133, 154-155, 

156 

World Weather Progrom, Plan for Fisc01 

Year 1975, 143 

Wright Brothers Lecture, 148 

Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, 173, 

219 

WSMR. See White Sands Missile Range. WTR. See Western Test Range. 

Wurzburg, Germany, 171-172 

Wydeven, D!. Theodore, Jr., 216 

say), 59 

171, 202 

99 

X 

X-1 (rocket research aircraft), 176177 

X-15, 176177 

X-24A (lifting body), 163, 273 

X-24C, 163 

X-ray, 67, 80, 90, 100, 104, 133, 139, 158, 

174, 187, 212, 228, 237, 244, 269, 271 

X-ray astronomy, 125, 133, 159-160, 259, 

266-267, 270 

X-ray spectrometer, 172 

X-ray telescope, 21, 37-38, 125, 154, 158, 

XB-70 (experimental mach 3 aircraft), 

176177 

Xenon, 8, 68 

X-24B, 52-53, 163, 224, 273-274 

189, 218-219 

Y 

Yardley, John F., 101, 210 

Yates, Iva C., 184 

YCH-53E (helicopter), 5 1 

Yeliseyev, Dr. Aleksey S., 81-82 

YF-12 (research aircraft), 114 

YF-12 Flight Loads Symposium, 114 

YF-16 (lightweight fighter aircraft), 79,91, 

YF-17, 31, 79, 94, 116, 138, 146, 183- 

YJ-101 (aircraft engine), 31 

Young, Capt. John W. (USN), 28, 95 

94, 116, 138, 146, 183-184 

184 

Z 

Zaire, 14 

Zarb, Frank G., 171 

Zero-gravi t y at m osp heric-cloud-physics 

Zinc. 166 

experiment laboratory, 41-42, 185 

Zveidny Gorodok (Star City), U.S.S.R., 

Zwicky, Dr. Fritz, 31 

121-122, 123,. 152, 208 

3 16 
ERRATA 

In Earlier Volumes of Astronautics and Aeronautics 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1963 

p. 189: Delete second item from bottom (USAF unidentified satellite launch). Insert 

“from Point Arguello, Calif.,” after “back” in third line from bottom of page. 

p. 389: In second item from the top, October I6 (twin Vela launch), substitute identification “Tetrahedral Research Satellite (TRS 11) ” and weight of “3 Ibs.” 

for “Pygmy” and “2% Ibs.” Add “Pres. Rpt. on Space, 1963, 1/27/64” to sources at the end of the item. (See correction for p. 391.) 

p. 391: Delete third item from top, DOD launch. (See information added to p. 389, 

above. The launch from Cape Canaveral was late on Oct. 16 by Eastern 

Standard Time and was on Oct. 17 by Greenwich Mean Time.) 

p. 509, Appendix A, launch table: In Launch Date column, change “Oct. 17” to “Oct. 

16.” For that date, also change first “DOD Spacecraft” to “Vela I” and second “DOD Spacecraft” to “Vela II.” 

p. 560, Index, left column: After “M-2,” change “291” to “292.” 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1964 

p. 457: Appendix A, launch table: In Launch Date column, change last entry from 

p. 487, Index, right column: After “Fire 1,” change “483” to “466.” 

p. 500, Index, left column: After “Mars, unmanned,” delete “470-471, 474-475” and 

p. 502, Index, left column: After “Moon, photographs,” change “460” to “360.” 

“Oct. 10” to “Oct. 9*” (with an asterisk). 

substitute “443, 444.” 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1965 

p. 591, Appendix A, launch table: In Aug. 13 entry, insert new name: Spasurad I, 

1965-65G, with 736-mi apogee, 680-mi perigee, 90.0” inclination, and 108.1- 

min period; still in orbit. 

For last SURCAL, substitute international designation “1965K” for “1965L” and 

substitute orbital parameters 736-mi apogee, 680-mi perigee, 90.0” inclination, 

and 108.1-min period. Still in orbit. 

P. 654, Index, left column: After “Moon, mapping,” change “495” to “496.” 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1966 

p. 257: In 11th line from top of page (third item), change “Space Tracking and 

p. 354: In 13th line from top of page, correct the last name of M/G Vincent G. 

Data . . .” to “Satellite Tracking and Data. . . .’’ 

“Houston” to “Huston.” 

317 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

p. 455, Index, left column: Correct “Maxwell, B/G Jewell 6. (USAF, Ret.)” to read: 

“Maxwell, M/G Jewell C. (USAF).” Gen. Maxwell was promoted in August 

1966. He was not retired. 

p. 468, Index, right column: Change “Space Tracking and Data Acquisition Network” to “Satellite Tracking and,” etc., and move to p. 465, bottom of left 

column. 

p. 469, Index, left column: After “STADAN” change “Space” to “Satellite.” 

, p. 470, Index, left column: After “SURVEYOR I, launch,” change “197-198” to “196-197.” 

After “SYNCOM 11” change “133-134” to “134-135.” 

p. 474, Index, left column: In top line, after “Venus (planet),” change “142” to 

“141.” 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 

p. 154: In third paragraph, correct “B/G J. C. Maxwell” to read, “M/G J. C. Maxwell 

(WAF) .” 

p. 169: In May 31 USAF launch, third item from bottom, change first sentence to begin: 

“USAF launched 9 satellites. . . .” 

p. 196: In first June 29 item, change first sentence to read: “USAF launched two satellites, EGRS-9 and Aurora I, on one Thor-Burner I1 booster from WTR.” 

p. 203: In last item, change “B/G J. C. Maxwell (USAF, Ret.)” to read: “M/G J. C. 

Maxwell (USAF) .” 

p. 293: In next to last item, make second sentence read: “. . . Williams was eighth 

astronaut to be killed in an accident and fourth [instead of third1 to die in a 

T38 crash. . . .” Delete “one other has died in an air mash.” (This was the 

third T-38 crash, but the fourth death.) 

p. 299: In top item, substitute the following orbital parameters: 308-km (214-mi) 

apogee, 1%-km (124mi) perigee, 89.7-min period, and 65.6” inclination. 

p. 332: In sixth line from top, delete “first.” (See July 25 item.) 

p. 404, Appendix A, launch table: For Surveyor III, change international designation to “1967-35A.” 

p. 410, Appendix A, launch table: For May 31 DOD spacecraft, change first word in 

Remarks column to “Nine.” 

p. 419, Appendix A, launch table: For Surveyor V, change international designation 

to “1967-84A.” In last line of Remarks column, change date to “12/16/67.” 

p. 422, Appendix A, launch table: In first entry, Oct. 11, substitute the 214-mi apogee, 

214-mi perigee, 89.7-min period, and 65.6” inclination. 

p. 425, Appendix A: Change Surveyor VI launch vehicle to “Atlas-Centaur.’’ 

p. 434, Appendix B: Change Surveyor VI launch vehicle to “Atlas-Centaur.” 

p. 446, Index, right column: Change Cernan’s middle initial to “A.” 

p. 448, Index, right column: After “Conrad, LCdr. Charles” delete the “E.” 

p. 449, Index, left column: After “Cooper, Maj.” transpose name and initial to read 

“L. Gordon.” 

p. 453, Index, right column: In top line, insert a “t” to make the surname “Feoktistov.” 

p. 458, Index, left column: After “Jaffe, Dr. Leonard D.,” ohange “307” to “377.” 

318 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

P. 460, 

p. 463, 

p. 471, 

P. 484, 

P. 435, 

Index, left column: Substitute the following for the two entries below “Launch 

Complex 34”: 

Launch Complex 37,81 

Launch Complex 39,338,339 

Index, left column: After “Maxwell, M/G,” delete “Ret.” 

Index, left column: After “President’s Science Advisory Committee,” change <‘&jm to ‘‘434&,, 

Index, right column: After “Webb-Continued, space program,” change “301” 

to “300.” 

Index, right column: After “X-15 . . . , record,” change “344” to “345.” 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1968 

p. 15: In second item (AIAA’S Goddard Award), second line, change “Warsham” to 

“Worsham.” 

p. 317: 

p. 381, 

p. 391, 

p. 392, 

P. a9, 

p. 412, 

p. 425, 

In last item (X-15 flight), third line, change date to “1959.” 

Index, left column: Change Aldrin’s rank to “Col.” 

Index, left column: After “Disarmament,” change “160” to “159, 161.” 

Index, left column: After “Electronics Research Center,” change “164” to 

“165.” 

Index, left column: Delete “Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) , 184.” 

In right column: Insert “184” in page numbers for top item. 

Index, left column: After “Paine, Dr. Thomas O.,” change “366” to “336.” 

Also insert “245.” 

Index, left column: Change, “Warsham” to “Worsham” and move to alphabetical position on p. 426, right column. 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1969 

p. 21: In third paragraph of Jan. 21 item, delete the second “n” from “Sonnett”- 

p. 93: In photo caption, next to last line, change “Mariner IV” to “Mariner VI” 

p. 106: In last item, second line, delete “near polar.” 

p. 230: In second paragraph, second line, change “(20-30 m)” to “(2-3 m) .” 

p. 247: In third paragraph, fourth line, change “5 million” to “50 million.” 

p. 261: In fourth item (Lick Observatory), make note that fourth lige from this item 

p. 318: In third paragraph, third line, insert omitted words after “our little 8,000- 

to read “Dr. Charles P. Sonett.” 

(transposition). 

should be inserted after second line of third item. 

mile-diameter” : 

earth throughout our vast 8-billion-mile-diameter 

and pick up again with “Solar System.” 

to “NACA.” And in fifth paragraph, first line, insert “NACA and 

(Mariner IY was launched in 1964 but reached Mars in 1965.) 

to “Schweickart.” 

p. 349: In second item (Silverstein), second paragraph, fourth line,,,change “NASA” 

after “served.” 

p. 421: In During 1969, third paragraph of item, third line, change date to “1965.” 

p. 466, Appendix C: In March 3 entry, Crew column, change spelling of “Schweikart” 

319 
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1974 

p. 469, Index, right column: In Oct. 12 entry, Crew column, change spelling of 

p. 494, Index, right column: Delete “FOBS” entry, top two lines. 

p. 522, Index, left column: Change “Sonnett” to “Sonett.’’ 

p. 524, Index, left column: After “Space Shuttle, reusable,” change “23” to “25-26.” 

p. 533, Index, right column: After “Zahringer,” change “Joseph” to “Josef.” 

“Garbatko” to “Gorbatko.” 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1970 

p. 

p. 199: In June 11 item (HL-10 flight), fifth line, change “mach 0.07” to “mach 0.7.” 

p. 262: In top item, ninth line, change “7.6-cm” to “76-cm.” 

p- 348: In top item, ninth line, insert “Space” before “Nuclear Systems Office.” 

p. 351: In third item, change dateline from “October 29” to “October 28” (item should 

be combined with October 28 item on p. 349). Put October 28 date on fourth 

item on p. 251 (Frutkin briefing). 

95: In top line, change “12 200-km” to “12 200-m.” 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1971 

p. 202: In second paragraph from bottom, fifth,line of paragraph, change “British 

Astronautical ” to “British Interplanetary. 

p. 250: In fifth paragraph from the top, first line, change “Space Nuclear Propulsion 

Office” to “Space Nuclear Systems Office.” (Office name had been changed.) 

p. 419, Index, left column: Change “AEC-NASA Space Nuclear Propulsion Office” to “AEC-NASA Space Nuclear Systems Office.” 

p. 427, Index, left column: Delete “British Astronomical Society” and add “202” to 

page numbers for “British Interplanetary Society” below. 

p. 467, Index, right column : Change “Technology unitization” to “Technology utilization.” 

Astronaatics and Aeronautics, 1972 

p. 207: In May 29 item, first line, change “Secretary General” to “General Secretary.” 

p. 555, Index, left column: After “Powell, Cecil,” change “379” to “380.” 

Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1973 

p. 

p. 285: In last item (X-24B flight), first line, change “fifth captive” to “fifth glide.” 

p. 416, Index, right column: Change Bobko’s rank to “L/c.” 

p. 437, Index, right column: After “ITOS-E,” delete 9e.e Nom 3” and add page num- bers “1, 209, 212.” Insert new entry: “ITOS-F. See Noaa 3.” (ITOS-E was intended to become Noaa 3, but failed to reach orbit; it was replaced by ITOS-F.) 

35 : In second item, end of third line, change “350” to “3.5.” 

In second line, change “attached to” to “launched from” a B-52 aircraft. 

p. 453, Index, right column: Change the Noaa 3 item to read: “Noaa 3 (ITOS-F; see also ITOS-E) , 312, 352,358.” 

320 
NASA HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS 

HISTORIES 

Frank W. Anderson, Jr., Orders of Magnitude: A History of NACA and NASA, 

William R. Corliss, NASA Sounding Rockets, 1958-1968: A Historical Summary, 

Constance McL. Green and Milton Lomask, Vanguard-A History, NASA SPBarton C. Hacker and James M. Grimwood, On the Shoulders of Titans: A History 

0 Edwin P. Hartman, Adventures in Research: A History of the Ames Research 

0 Mae Mills Link, Space Medicine in Project Mercury, NASA SP-4003, 1965, NTIS. 0 Alfred Rosenthal, Venture into Space: Early Years of Goddard Space Flight Cen0 Robert L. Rosholt, An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963, NASA SP0 Loyd S. Swenson, James M. Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander, This New 

1915-1976, NASA SP-4403,1976, GPO.* 

NASA SP-4401, 1971, NTIS.** 

4202, 1970, GPO; also Washington: Smitbsonian Institution Press, 1971. 

of Project Gemini, NASA SP4303, in press. 

Center, 1940-1965, NASA SP-4302,1970, NTIS. 

ter, NASA SP-4301,1968, NTIS. 

4101,1966, NTIS. 

Ocean: A History of Project Mercury, NASA SP-4201, 1966, NTIS. 

REFERENCE WORKS 

The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology, NASA SP409: Volume I, 1969, NTIS. 

* Astronautics and Aeronautics: A Chronology of Science, Technology, and Policy, 

Volume 11, 1973, GPO. Volume 111, 1976, GPO. Volume IV, in press. 

annual volumes from 1961, with an earfier summary volume, A&onautics and 

Astronautics, 1915-1960. Early volumes available from NTIS ; recent volumes 

from GPO. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1973, NASA SP-401, 1975. 0 Katherine M. Diukson (Library of Congress), History of Aeronautics and Astronautics: A Preliminary Bibliography, NASA HHR-29, NTIS. 

* Documents in the History of NASA: An Anthology, NASA HHR-43, August 1975, 

NASA History Office. 0 Project Gemini Technology and Operations: A Chronology, NASA SP-4002, 1969, 

NTIS. 0 Project Mercury: A Chronology, NASA SP-4001,1963, NTIS. 0 Project Ranger: A Chronology, JPL/HR-2,1971, NTIS. * Skylab: Preliminary Chronology, NASA HHN-130, May 1973, NTIS. 

Jane Van Nimmen and Leonard C. Bruno, NASA Historical Data Book, 1958-1968, 

Vol. I, NASA Resources, NASA SP-41)12,1976, NTIS. * Helen T. Wells, Susan H. Whiteley, and Carrie E. Karegeannes, Origins of NASA 

Names, NASA SP-4402,1976, GPO. 

*GPO : Available from Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 

* *NTIS : Available from National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 

Washington, D.C. 20402. 

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