May 18 1977
From The Space Library
NASA announced it would launch on or about May 26 the third INTELSAT IV-A commercial comsat from KSC on an Atlas Centaur for service over the Atlantic Ocean, initially as a backup for INTELSATs IV-A F-l and F-2 offering communications services to countries from Central America to Iran. The IV-A spacecraft built by Hughes Aircraft Co. had communications capability almost two-thirds greater than the INTELSAT IV series now operating: it had a 7yr design life and capacity to relay more than 6 000 simultaneous telephone calls and two TV programs. (NASA Release 77-99; MOR E-491-633-77-05 [prelaunch] May 20/77; INTELSAT Release 77-10-M)
NASA reported that its research and technology advisory council (RTAC) panel on general aviation technology had named stalls and spins as the greatest safety problem for designers of light aircraft, accounting for 30% of all fatalities in those planes. LaRC had established a program in response to requests for additional research on the problem, including definition of the aerodynamic characteristics of aircraft at high angles of attack; ways to avoid stalling; ways to recover from spin; and ways to ensure satisfactory spin characteristics. The program would also cover development of test methods such as use of radio-controlled models, and consultation services to industry. LaRC had been a leader in such studies since the 1930s when it began operating a 15ft spin tunnel, enlarged in 1941 to 20ft and used since then in testing more than 400 aircraft designs; this was still the only operating spin tunnel in the U.S. (NASA Release 77-100; LaRC Release 77-21)
NASA reported that its data-analysis facility at KSC had been using a GE multispectral image analyzer developed for screening Landsat imagery to detect early stages of breast cancer, where diagnosis would normally be difficult and rapid multiplication of cancerous tissue would require massive surgery. The only solution previously available had been repeated diagnoses by 'x-ray, itself a health hazard.
Radiological examinations of x-rays had been limited by the range of intensity detectable by the human eye, which was unable to distinguish more than 32 shades of gray, meaning that much of the data would be effectively invisible. However, the microdensitometer on the GE analyzer was able to differentiate 256 shades of gray with great accuracy. The computerized output of the densitometer would enter the analyzer with orders for enhancement, so that data previously invisible to a doctor's eye could be available for earlier diagnosis.
Robert L. Butterfield, electronics engineer at the KSC data-analysis facility, had worked with radiologist Dr. William L. Walls of Titusville, Fla., for 2yr on a process for automatic enhancement of mammograms to detect early stages of breast cancer before radical surgery would become necessary. The aim of the study had been to differentiate women at low risk of breast cancer from those at high risk, based on the rate of change in the gray shades of the enhanced images, to reduce the need for repeated x-ray diagnoses. (NASA Release 77-102; KSC Release 105-77)
The Intl. Academy of Astronautics announced that the 28th congress of the Intl. Astronautical Federation would take place from Sept. 25 to Oct. 1, 1977, in Prague, in conjunction with the 11th symposium on contributions to the history of rocketry. Theme of the congress would be "Using Space-Today and Tomorrow." Dr. Charles Stark Draper was IAA president. (IAA anno)
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