Jun 25 1973
From The Space Library
Salvage of the Skylab 1-2 mission [see May 14-June 22] had illustrated the need for both men and automated space activities in the same vehicle, NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight Dale D. Myers said in a speech before the National Space Club in Washington, D.C. "To argue that we don't need man in space is like saying we don't need a fork at the table because we have a knife." He praised aerospace industry cooperation in salvaging Skylab: "It has not been very well publicized, but many of the components on the sun shield that saved Skylab were fabricated by contractors at their own plants. The response from everyone was tremendous." Skylab 1-2 had shown that the astronauts went through a rapid learning curve in adjusting to zero g and that "often times one man is fully capable of accomplishing tasks that we had originally planned for two." NASA also had learned "that for a man to perform efficiently in zero gravity he must have adequate, well-designed body restraints, and that this was one area that we probably underdesigned in the Skylab sys-tem," The space shuttle would merge the capabilities of manned and automated space activities in one vehicle "where now they usually complement one another in separate vehicles." The issue of manned versus unmanned space flight had been dubious from the start. "What is really the question is whether we want to develop the full potentials of space flight or only a part of them. Because if you eliminate man from the loop, you significantly reduce our options to explore and use space." (NSC Notice, 6/6/73; NASA Activities, 7/15/73, 114-6)
The dizziness and nausea of Skylab 2 Astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin, and Paul J. Weitz on their return to the earth June 22 were probably due to problems of the inner ear, the Wall Street Journal quoted Dr. Willard R. Hawkins, Johnson Space Center Deputy Director of Life Sciences for Medical Operations, as saying. The symptoms had occurred particularly when the men moved their heads from side to side. Dr. Hawkins had theorized that the fluid in the semicircular canal, whose movement transmitted impulses via tiny hairs in the ear to the brain, was out of action because of the long period of weightless-ness. When the astronauts had come under the sudden influence of gravity, the inner-ear mechanism became unusually sensitive to almost any head movement. Ordinary movements could produce the symptoms of motion sickness. The inner-ear balancing mechanism could adapt to gravity quickly. Dr. Kerwin, the most affected, had returned to normal after 12 hrs. (Bishop, WSJ, 6/25/73)
Dr. George M. Low, NASA Deputy Administrator, accepted for NASA a Silver Plaque presented by the British Interplanetary Society at the opening of the 13th European Space Symposium in London. The plaque was awarded in recognition of the Apollo program's "triumphant achievements" and to acknowledge "the dedicated service of many thousands of scientists and engineers which culminated in this great result." (SF, 10/73, 396)
Apollo 17 Astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt had arrived in Indonesia to present a moon rock to Indonesian President T. N. J. Suharto and lecture at the Indonesian Institute for Outer Space, the Associated Press reported. They were on an 11-country tour of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Pacific. (Birmingham News, 6/25/73)
New York Federal Court Judge Edward Wienfeld dismissed the $2-million libel suit brought by Dr. W. Ross Adey, Univ. of California at Los Angeles brain research specialist, against New York-based animal welfare organization United Action for Animals [see Jan. 22]. The organization's bulletin had criticized Dr. Adey's treatment of Bonny, the instrumented monkey used to measure life functions under weightlessness during the NASA-Air Force Biosatellite 3 experiment (launched June 28, 1969). Judge Wienfeld said that, as a public official, Dr. Adey "must accept harsh criticism, ofttimes unfair and unjustified." (UPI, W Post, 6/27/73, A10)
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