Aug 7 1979
From The Space Library
NASA reported that the Viking 2 lander cameras had photographed a new layer of frost on the Utopia Planitia site, creating "a scientific puzzle" for researchers. In September 1977, the lander recorded frost on the surface of Mars during its northern winter (one Mars year and almost two Earth years ago); scientists had explained the frost as the result of a major dust storm, during which atmospheric particles picked up moisture that wound up as frost on the surface. However, latest observations of Mars showed the atmosphere clearer than it had been since the Vikings arrived in 1976, so that the frost could not be explained as before. (NASA Release 79-107; JPL Universe Aug 17/79, 1)
MSFC reported that it had delivered most of the hardware that would be needed by the first Shuttle mission: main engines, external tank, and solid-fuel rocket boosters. All three main engines had arrived at KSC; two had been installed, and the third was scheduled for next week. The first external propellant tank had been barged to KSC and installed in the VAB to await arrival of Columbia from the processing facility nearby. Flight hardware for two solid-fuel rocket boosters, except for the loaded motor segments, had been delivered to KSC, and the loaded parts were to arrive about September 20. (MSFC Release 79-82)
The Washington Star reported that faulty aluminum might have been built into the Space Shuttle and newly constructed military and civilian aircraft. A German aircraft firm, Fokker, had discovered the problem in May; Reynolds Aluminum Company, the manufacturer, told a high-level team of officials from NASA, DOD, and FAA that the plates might have "soft spots" because they were not cooled properly during fabrication.
Walter Williams, NASA chief engineer, said that, until records of the disposition of the faulty aluminum were located, "we have to worry about everything." The agency suspected that the large external tank (which would carry the Shuttle during blastoff) might contain some of the metal, as might the Shuttle itself, as well as its solid-fuel rocket engines. External-tank strength was crucial because it bore the weight of the liquid-oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel under high pressure, as well as the solid-fuel rockets during liftoff. Spokesmen for Reynolds and the Pentagon were "vague about the amount of aluminum involved," the Star said, but an internal NASA memo said it was about 15 million pounds of aluminum plates. (W Star, Aug 7179, 1)
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