Aug 28 1974
From The Space Library
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 74-240; MSFC Release 74-179)
NASA adjudged the mission of Skynet II A 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 II A 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 2nd-stage 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 Aug. 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)
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