Feb 21 1974
From The Space Library
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 blood cell reduction. However, after the 59-day Skylab 3 mission the compensating response of the blood-forming elements was faster, re-turning 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 pro-gram 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 Izvestiya. 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. (Izvestiya, FBIS-Sov, 5 March 74, U1)
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, S1955)
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