Aug 28 1975
From The Space Library
The Air Force announced successful test flight of an F- 111D equipped with a turbofan jet engine having all-composite third-stage fan blades 40% lighter than conventional titanium blades. This was the first military operational evaluation of a rotating structural engine component made of composite materials. (AFSC Release 01P 214.75) A red-tide detection program had been approved by Goddard Space Flight Center and the Florida Department of Natural Resources (FDNR). Caused by an ocean-borne phytoplankton, Gymnodinium breve, "red tide" had left thousands of dead fish rotting on beaches in coastal estuaries. Ocean-color scanners-mounted on Landsat-1 and 2 (launched 23 July 1972 and 22 Jan. 1975) and on NASA's U-2 research aircraft-could detect subtle color variations in coastal waters, to warn of changes in concentration and species of marine phytoplankton populations and indicate possible red-tide invasions. Research vessels would verify the findings by on-site sampling. Program managers hoped the data would lead to the development of an early warning system that would allow crews to combat effects of the red tide. (NASA Release 75-242)
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