January 1975 4 January: Funding in the FY 1976 budget for a third Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) was in doubt, Walter Sullivan said in a New York Times article. Despite worldwide enthusiasm for continuing the program, which was developing remote-sensing techniques for monitoring and managing earth's resources, doubts about funding approval were appearing within the Office of Management and Budget. Factors that would influence OMB's decision included the reported existence of far more detailed information from secretly launched intelligence satellites. Although scientists would probably prefer a system free from intelligence links, some argued that the information needed by agencies such as the Bureau of Census and Dept. of Agriculture could be extracted from imagery from these satellites. Another reason to delay immediate funding was that a more effective system would eventually become feasible. Scientists argued against this reasoning, saying that the lack of fine detail in ERTS images was not a serious impediment but that lack of continuity would be. (Sullivan, NYT, 4 Jan 75, 17) 8 January: Twenty-five spacecraft on twenty-four vehicles were scheduled for launch by NASA during 1975, NASA announced. The 25 spacecraft included 14 for NASA programs, 10 for other organizations, and 1 as a cooperative program with a foreign government. Highlighting the year would be the 15 July launch of an Apollo spacecraft carrying Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand, and Donald K. Slayton as the U.S. contribution to the joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Apollo would rendezvous and dock with Soyuz 19-launched 7 hr earlier than Apollo and carrying Aleksey A. Leonov and Valery N. Kubasov-allowing both crews to exchange visits and perform joint scientific experiments. The two sets of Viking spacecraft, scheduled for 11 and 21 August launches, would journey through space for a year before arriving in the vicinity of Mars. There each set of spacecraft would separate into an orbiter and a lander to make orbital and surface investigations of the Martian environment. Other NASA spacecraft would include ERTS-B Earth Resources Technology Satellite and SMS-B Synchronous Meteorological Satellite, in January; GOES-C Geodynamic Experimental Ocean Satellite, in March; OSO-I Orbiting Solar Observatory, Nimbus-F experimental meteorological satellite, and Explorer 53 (SAS-C Small Astronomy Satellite), in May; GOES-A Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, in June; Explorers 56 and 57 Dual Air Density Explorers, on a single booster in July or August; Explorer 54 (AE-D Atmospheric Explorer), in September; and Explorer 55 (AE-E), in December. The 10 spacecraft to be launched by NASA for other organizations included 5 comsats for Communications Satellite Corp.: Intelsat IV F-1 in February, Intelsat-IVA F-1 and F-2 in July and October, and Marisat A and B in April and July. Other reimbursable launches would include Telesat-C (Anik 3) for Canada in March, COS-B Celestial Observation Satellite in July for the European Space Agency, Symphonie-B experimental comsat in September for France and West Germany, RCA-A (RCA-Satcom 1, in orbit) comsat in December for RCA Corp., and ITOS E-2 Improved TIROS Operational Satellite in late 1975 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Helios-B would be launched late in 1975 as a cooperative effort with West Germany. The schedule called for 18 of the 24 launches to be made from Kennedy Space Center, 5 from Western Test Range, and 1 from San Marco. For the launches NASA would use a Saturn IB, 3 Titan-Centaurs, 5 Atlas-Centaurs, and 15 Thor-Delta launch vehicles. (NASA Release 75-5; KSC Release 180-74) • The Department of Defense announced the award of a $1 500 000 costplus-incentive-fee contract to General Dynamics Corp. for launch services for the Atlas E and F vehicles at Vandenberg Air Force Base. (DOD Release 8-75) 9 January: Sea Satellite (SEASAT-a new program, approved in the FY 1975 NASA authorization, to monitor the oceans and provide continuous weather and sea condition reports-was announced by NASA. SEASAT-A, a proof-of-concept mission scheduled for 1978 launch, would carry sensors to measure wave heights, current directions, surface wind directions, and surface temperatures. Objectives of the initial mission were to disseminate these data to users concerned about weather predictions; to route shipping to avoid storms, adverse currents, and ice fields; and to provide coastal disaster warnings. SEASAT-A would also accumulate scientific data on the curvature of the oceans; ocean circulation; transport of mass, heat, and nutrients by surface currents; and the interaction between air and sea. SEASAT would be managed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory with Langley Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Flight Center, and JPL each having responsibility for one of the four sensors-off-the-shelf NASA or Air Force spacecraft to which a sensor module would be attached. Existing tracking facilities and support hardware would also be used. Cost of the SEASAT-A mission, as currently planned, was $58.2 million. (NASA Release 75-1) McDonnell Douglas Corp., working under contract to NASA, began flight and static tests of the refanned engine to demonstrate NASAdeveloped noise-reduction techniques. More than 2 yr of work at Lewis Research Center; Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Div. of United Aircraft Corp.; Boeing Co.; United Air Lines, Inc.; and American Airlines, Inc., had been spent in modifying a JT8D engine to reduce irritating high-frequency noise. When installed on the McDonnell DC-9, the new engine was expected to reduce by 60% the ground area exposed to excessive noise levels. Similar results were expected with the engine installed on Boeing's 727 and 737 aircraft. During the initial test phase, McDonnell Douglas would fly for 90 hr a DC-9 outfitted with the modified engine, to evaluate noise characteristics and flight performance. The second phase of testing would begin in mid-January when Boeing would flight-test it in a 727. (NASA Release 75-4; LeRC Release 75-2) |