Nov 10 1978
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (1MB PDF)
After each Space Shuttle flight, parachutes used to slow the descent of the Shuttle's solid-fuel rocket booster (SRBs) would have to be washed, dried, and repaired before reuse; and KSC had modified for this purpose a facility formerly used as a news center and to refurbish Gemini parachutes, Spaceport News reported. Recovery vessels at sea would pull the parachutes from the water and wind them like fishing line on large deck reels for delivery to the facility, where they would be unwound, Befouled, and hosed down. A chute arranged on hooks on an overhead monorail would proceed through the world's largest automatic washer and dryer [see March 8] to remove any traces of corrosive sea water. Next the chute would be inspected for damage, with rips mended on special sewing machines. The chute then would be stretched on a worktable almost the length of the 220-ft building, and each individual panel would be systematically folded into place resulting in a tubular shape. A monorail would guide the bundle to a wedge-shaped packing canister. Depending on conditions, one parachute could move through the entire operation in less than 50hr. (Spaceport News, Nov 10/78, 3)
Despite the wealth of data on Mars provided by Mariner 9 and the Viking missions, some mysteries remained, including the "White Rock," a unique topographic feature nestling inside a crater not far from the Martian equator, JPL Universe reported. White Rock's discovery by Mariner 9 had intrigued scientists at Jet Propulsion Laboratory because of the reflectivity of its unknown basic material, and the fact that no other formation on Mars resembled it.
At first glance White Rock looked like the paw-print of some many toed animal, as it was rounded on two-thirds of its perimeter and on the remaining sides had great serrated formations like claws, referred to as "reentrants" and "dunes," reaching into the floor of the surrounding Martian crater. Scientists believed the ridged area had been eroded by ever-present Martian surface winds. The possibility of ice cover on its surface had been rejected early on because of its proximity to the equator. Speculation on its mineral composition had included salt and/or sand theories.
Roughly 18km across, White Rock appeared to rise from the floor of an impact crater some 93km in diameter. Very small impact craters on the floor of the larger crater and on the feature itself might suggest the age of the formation in relation to its surroundings. Although labelled "white," general opinion was that the feature had a very light orange or pink tint. After Mariner 9 discovered the unique feature, Viking had been programmed for a closer look; Viking's more sophisticated vidicon would offer five times better resolution at a similar altitude. Computer processing of Viking data could produce information to help solve the mystery of White Rock. (JPL Universe, Nov 10/78, 2)
Disagreement about the age of the newly discovered rings around Uranus was expressed at the Nov. 9 meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, Calif., the Pasadena Star-News reported. Discovered by astronomer Jim Elliot of Cornell Univ. in March 1977, the rings had sparked many scientific theories. Elliot originally had observed five rings; subsequent observations had disclosed four additional rings. Uranus's rings did not spread into broad bands circling the planet like those of Saturn, but were narrow and confined to tight belts.
Attracting most attention was the fifth ring, Epsilon, which was thicker and wider than the other rings, although its width varied from 20 to 100km. The inner edge of the Epsilon ring did not move around the planet at a rate different from that of the outer edge, contrary to what might have been expected. Dr. Richard Goldreich of CalTech theorized that the Epsilon ring was bound together by its own gravity, which, in turn, meant it had substantial mass (possibly as much as 25grams per cm3, extremely dense by ring standards), causing him to conclude the rings around Uranus were very old. However, Judd Boynton, director of Geophysics Labs and Research in Berkeley, who had predicted that rings would be found around Uranus, had concluded the rings were of relatively recent origin, perhaps as young as 10 million yr. (JPL newsclips, Nov 10/78)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
