May 13 1973
From The Space Library
NASA held a Skylab prelaunch press conference at Kennedy Space Center. NASA Skylab Program Director William C. Schneider said that Skylab hardware was "in good shape and ready to go." The countdowns for Skylab 1 and 2 launches were on schedule for May 14 and 15. The power transfer tests and fuel cell pressurization of Skylab 2 had been completed and the crew "is in good shape." Schneider said that he network, operational, and recovery forces were "in place and ready to go" and the weather was satisfactory.
Col. Alan R. Vette, U.S. Air Force recovery forces, said that the training of the recovery forces had been completed and they were "prepared for any type of landing." (Transcript)
Skylab 2 Astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin, and Paul J. Weitz piloted their T-38 jet training aircraft from Johnson Space Center to Patrick Air Force Base near Kennedy Space Center to watch the May 14 launch of Skylab 1. KSC technicians meanwhile tested the onboard batteries and emergency detection system on the Saturn V scheduled to boost the Skylab 1 Workshop into orbit. The Skylab 2 launch crew applied the protective covers that would shield the manned Apollo spacecraft during Saturn IB launch vehicle liftoff May 15. (UPI, W Star & News, 5/13/73, 6; Wilford, NYT, 5/14/73, 24)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory astronomers-using the 610-mm (24-in) telescope and coudé spectrograph at Table Mountain Observatory, Calif.-had found that a 20% fluctuation in carbon dioxide absorption was a recurring four-day phenomenon in the thick Venus cloud bank, NASA announced. The top of the cloud deck might move up and down more than one kilometer (two thirds mile) in a constant wave motion. The astronomers had said the observation was "a fundamental feature of atmospheric dynamics that is not explained by current theories of atmospheric circulation on Venus." (NASA Release 73-97)
The U.S.S.R. had started production of the An-30 reconnaissance aircraft designed especially for aerial photography, the New York Times re-ported. The twin-turboprop aircraft, designed by Oleg Antonov, had possible applications in military reconnaissance and in civilian survey of the environment. (Shabad, NYT, 5/13/73, 8)
A New York Times editorial commented on the cost-benefit ratio of the U.S. Skylab missions. "Is the advantage gained by putting men into space worth the high price that must be paid?" Although bold, imaginative, and potentially useful, Skylab came at a time when Americans were "oppressively aware of the limits of the nation's resources and of the consequent restraints and constraints on national policy." Skylab would be most important "in providing practical evidence in determining the relative value of manned activity in utilizing earth's immediate neighborhood to meet man's needs on this planet." (NYT, 5/13/73, 4:14)
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