Apr 13 1976
From The Space Library
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 13172, authorizing a supplemental $16 800 000 for NASA for the period 1 July 1976 through 30 Sept. 1976 (the so-called "transition period" after which the new government fiscal year would begin on 1 Oct.). The authorization, supplementing NASA's research and program management request, was $3 186 000 less than the original request of $19 986 000. (NASA Ofc. of Budget Operations, Chron. Hist. FY 76, 16 June 76)
Calling the Space Shuttle "clearly ... the, next logical step" in tapping the scientific and commercial possibilities of space, the Baltimore Sun said in an editorial that criticisms of the Shuttle program from an economic point of view should be balanced with the rewards that would come only from experience. The first Shuttle was never 'intended to be self supporting, the editorial said, and the rewards would include increased knowledge to serve as the basis for more sophisticated programs and the increased likelihood of constructing a permanently staffed permanently orbiting space station. Complaints from prospective users-ComSat and DOD-that Shuttle fees would be too high "before NASA even has announced these fees" were an obvious ploy to keep the fees as low as possible, the editorial said. (B Sun, 13 April 76)
A 2-yr comparative study of data on dust storms on Mars and earth revealed that Martian dust storms were much like severe ones on earth, "only more so," the Jet Propulsion Lab. announced. JPL investigator Peter M. Woiceshyn used Lowell Observatory data to conclude that a wall of dust more than 50 km high swept down the slopes of the Hellas area on Mars in July 1971 at speeds greater than 480 km per hr. Mariner 9 occultation data verified that winds of extreme velocity would be required to raise surface dust in the low atmospheric pressure of Mars, where the air density was only 1/100th that on earth. When Mariner 9 arrived at Mars in Nov. 1971, another dust storm had been raging for several weeks, and dust-cloud tops were estimated to be 50 to 70 km above the surface. The JPL report said the two 1971 storms and another detected by astronomers in 1956 began in the same location on the slopes of Hellas, triggered by a cold jet stream from the Martian north pole funneling down a long valley across the planet's equator. Similar storms on earth in Russia, in Iran, and on the U.S. plains east of the Rockies caused great damage from soil erosion, similar to that on Mars revealed by Mariner 9. More storm data from Mars would be sought by the Viking spacecraft scheduled to land there in July and Sept. 76. (JPL release 13 Apr 76)
A celebration in Moscow of the 15th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight into space heard a speech by A.P. Aleksandrov, president of the Academy of Sciences, reviewing Soviet firsts in space: launch of the world's first artificial satellite, first manned flights and walk in open space, first flight to the moon and delivery to earth of lunar soil samples by automatic devices, creation of orbital stations, and unique experiments in the study of solar-system planets. Aleksandrov recalled that the first manned space flight occurred only 3.5 yr after launch of the first artificial satellite, which he said made the Russian word "sputnik" common to all peoples in all languages of the world. He reviewed Soviet progress in space research and applications, especially in communications, mentioning that the number of Orbita network ground stations to reach remote parts of the Soviet Union had now climbed to 68. He referred to the success of the Apollo-Soyuz joint experimental flight as "a significant contribution to the progress of world cosmonautics." (FBIS, Tass report 13 Apr 76)
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