Planetary Discoveries (1980)

[Music] l [Music] hello I'm Lyn band and welcome once again to our series about America's civilian efforts in air in space during a quarter Century during this program we cover 1979 and 1980 to put 1979 into historical perspective that is the year the first man-powered airplane called the gossamer Albatross crosses the English Channel NASA makes progress too during 1979 Jupiter largest of the sun's nine planets was fed gra close up by the voyagers 1 and 2 spacecraft what their camera eyes recorded as they passed by the giant planets churning clouds were ribbonlike streaks of red and brown and yellow the wealth of data and photographs left behind by the voyagers are providing scientists a valuable source of raw material to be studied from Jupiter's newly discovered ring to the active volcanoes of IO one of its 14 surrounding moons the Voyager discovered have surprised and delighted NASA scientists information that may one day help us better understand our own Earth and the Voyager Mission did not end at Jupiter the two spacecraft are now speeding toward a Rendevous with Saturn in 1980 and 1981 acting as Pathfinder for the voyagers Pioneer 11 the 570 lb spacecraft climaxed 6 and A2 years and a 2 billion mile Voyage in deep space as it swept by Saturn at 71,200 mph scientists watched anxiously as Pioneer made its 2-hour passage of Saturn's rings four times the spacecraft was hit by small pieces of debris but emerged safely despite the collisions Pioneer had a closer look at Saturn than all the observations that have been made in the last 400 years photographs show what appeared to be jet stream swirling around Saturn at 300 mph a new ring circling the planet's equator and radiation belts that are more like Earth's in their intensity and energy levels the Pioneer 11 spacecraft dwarfed by the objects it was sent to observe is speeding out of the solar system in an endless Journey this is hoo3 high energy astronomy Observatory the last of a series of spacecraft designed to study deep regions of the universe where enormous amounts of energy are generated launched from Cape canabo po3 is now scanning the Galaxies for gamma and cosmic rays in an effort to find clues about radiation from exploding stars and black holes high energy astronomy is helping us better understand the universe around us a new tool for the80s will be the Space Telescope weighing 5 tons and measuring 43 ft long by 14 ft in diameter the Space Telescope will give astronomers unprecedented views of space unobstructed by the veil of the Earth's atmosphere the 94in primary mirror largest astronomical instrument ever to be placed in space is shown here undergoing initial grinding and polishing operations at the Perkin Elmer Corporation in Danbury Connecticut about 300 lb of glass will be removed during the lengthy grinding and polishing process the new telescope Observatory is scheduled to be placed in orbit by the space shuttle in the 1980s and will circle the Earth at an altitude of 310 [Music] Mi this is what NASA's Space Shuttle will look like prior to launch shown here during a test rollout is the shuttle Orbiter Enterprise sitting on top of its large external fuel tank and between two solid rocket boosters the two solid Rockets will be parachuted back to an ocean Landing where they'll be picked up and made ready for another mission preparations for the first shuttle launch continued this year including a water Deluge test 300,000 gallons of water will be dumped on the spacecraft's mobile platform at the time of launch to counteract damaging noise vibrations of the engines at liftoff the 16 Seconds of waterfall has a sound deadening effect as the engines fire the three main engines that will power the space shuttle Columbia into orbit were tested at the National Space technology laboratory in Bay St Louis Mississippi the main engines are designed to produce up to 470,000 lb of thrust gulping a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen problems in testing the shuttle engines continue to cause delays small rocket engines called thrusters that make it possible to maneuver the shuttle Once In Space were also successfully fired at NASA's White Sands test facility in New Mexico the 154 ft external propellant tank that will hold 1, 550,000 lb of fuel for the shuttle's three main engines was rolled out and shipped to the Kennedy Space Center Florida the external tank was manufactured at NASA's Mishu assembly Facility by the Martin Marietta company this is space shuttle orbitor 102 christened Colombia it was named for the seagoing Columbia out of Boston that entered and explored the mouth of the Columbia River in 1792 Captain Robert gray named the river after his ship it will be the space shuttle Colombia that makes the first trip into orbit around the Earth the 122t long spaceship which looks like and lands like an airplane is being molded into existence by a government industry team of Engineers and technicians 31,000 specially made silica tiles are being mounted on the surface of Colombia making it possible for the shuttle to withstand repeated Heating and Cooling good for 100 or more round trips into space without replacement problems encountered in installing the protective tiles have contributed to pushing back the first shuttle launch by several months astronauts John Young and Bob krippin will pilot Columbia on its maiden voyage into space they are ready and despite some Troublesome delays along the way all the parts and pieces of the new space transportation system are coming together and approaching launch Readiness there were several major events that occurred during the year including adding 35 men and women to the astronaut roster the 35 completed a 12-month training program and will be the pilots and Mission Specialists as the space shuttle becomes operational much attention was given during the year to the re-entry of Skylab launched in May 1973 Skylab was manned by three different three-man Crews for periods of 28 59 and 84 days during which many scientific experiments were conducted since early 1974 the uninhabited Sky laab had been slowly descending early in the year it became apparent that the 77 ton space station would re-enter the atmosphere in the summer skillful manipulation of skylab's small amount of maneuvering capability combined with Good Fortune resulted in debris reaching the surface in the Indian Ocean and in sparsely populated areas of Australia causing no damage or injuries in space applications remote sensing from satellites like LSAT are being considered more as operational tools by the Departments of Agriculture and interior remote sensing makes it possible to inventory and predict food crops for instance consider these pictures taken by lanat as it track the Mexican Gulf oil spill large area views like this have been very useful to the US Geological Survey and the Mexican Government using computers and the goes one weather satellite NASA is working with the University of Florida and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a system to warn Citrus Growers when freezing temperatures are about to occur this time type information alerts Growers when they should fire up their oil heaters to save their crops from freezing NASA's Marshall space flight center has taken technology needed to design highly efficient pumps for Rocket engines to develop new lightweight firefighting water cannons for the Coast Guard these portable units can easily be transported where they're needed and can draw water from anywhere including the sea with a pumping rate of 1,000 Gall per minute to study the ozone layer and effects of aerosols on that region a stratospheric aerosol and gas experiment satellite called sage was launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Center off Virginia's Eastern Shore to compare the information received from satellites like Sage scientists and Engineers from five countries also launched 20 small rocket born experiments from wup Island changes in aerosol concentration may cause changes in climate with import an implications for agriculture energy related research is continuing to be part of NASA's overall effort a wind energy program supporting the department of energy is just one example the third in a series of 200,000 watt wind generators began operating on Block Island Rhode Island it can Electrify up to 250 homes there during the winter that's half the permanent residence on the island a much larger wind turban able to produce 2 million watts of electricity began operating at top of mountain in Boon North Carolina residents in the Papago Indian village of stuik Arizona are enjoying electrical power provided by solar energy the 3500 watt photovoltaic Village power project was funded by the department of energy the Papago tribe Public Health Service and the Four Corners Regional Commission it is managed by NASA's Research Center in Cleveland NASA's jet propulsion laboratory in Pasadena took delivery of a new electric test vehicle developed by General Electric and Chrysler for the Department of energy the Sleek electric car is scheduled to undergo extensive testing etv1 can range from between 75 and 120 M before recharging and has a top speed of 65 mph at an estimated operating cost of 18 cents a mile the car uses 18 lead acid batteries good for 30,000 to 50,000 M and can be recharged by plugging into an ordinary household outlet for 8 hours engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center are studying aircraft structural design including improved seat and restraint systems that could increase the probability of Passenger survival and also reduce injuries when a general aviation airplane crashes they do this by intentionally crashing planes into the ground at varying angles and speeds this rocket assisted crash allowed the researchers to impact the plane at 90 mph onboard cameras and instruments give precise information that can be used to improve the crashworthiness of future aircraft 1979 is a year of advancement for NASA to put the following year 1980 into perspective that's the year a new disease called toxic shock syndrome attacks young women and in 1980 the Supreme Court rules that forms of life made by Jean splicing may be patented 1980 is the year scientists announced life is discovered to have been on Earth for three and a half billion years NASA continues to progress in 1980 as well these people here in Mission Control were responsible for guiding NASA's 1800 lb unmanned Voyager 1 spacecraft some billion miles through space on November 12th after a 3year journey Voyager 1 made its closest encounter with the planet Saturn Voyager has returned more than 18,000 photographs photographs that are giving scientists excellent close-up views and new information about the huge planet and its many moons with the help of computer animation you can take a ride on Voyager to Saturn and its major moons voyager's 11 scientific instruments probed deep into the atmosphere of Saturn and gave us an unprecedented view of those incredible Rings we now know there are six major ring systems made up of possibly as many as a thousand Rings the Rings are sun reflecting icy objects ranging from Boulders sized to small particles that whirl around the planet at very high speeds and those moons or satellites like out rers they encircle Saturn generating as much scientific interest as the great ringed planet itself mimus tees dioni Rea t and a host of smaller ones next August Voyager 2 will approach Saturn pass by the ringed spectacle of gas and ice from a different angle and then fly on to Uranus arriving there in 1986 it may also travel to Neptune before leaving our solar [Music] system from Earth it appears as a warm friendly ball an integral part of everything living but up close it's a churning solar furnace that spouts solar flares in an atmosphere that's constantly changing and explosive Little Wonder that our star the sun has been the focal point of scientific investigation for centuries to relay sophisticated pictures and data about the Sun and its energy Cycles NASA launched the solar Max in 1980 short for solar maximum mission being returned are the first true close-up views of the mysterious spots and solar flares that energize the sun's surface all this part of an effort to learn how we can channel the sun into an even more effective energy SCE closer to Earth sounding Rockets probe below where satellites orbit and balloons carry heavy instruments that need a longer flight time than sounding Rockets provide both play an important role in the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere everything from measuring the amount of ozone to gamma ray [Music] radiation work on NASA's reusable space transportation system continued at many levels in preparation for the upcoming first launch practice recovery runs were made to retrieve the two solid rocket boosters that will be used to help launch the space shuttle just before going into orbit the big rocket boosters parachute back to an ocean Landing where they are picked up and made ready for another launch the shuttle Orbiter main engines have successfully passed firing tests singly and clustered in a group of three they too are ready for launch installation of thermal tiles that protect the spacecraft from heat buildup during re-entry are now in place and ready for the [Music] flight this is how the entire space transportation system will look the airplane likee Orbiter is attached to the main fuel tank with the two solid rocket boosters on each side a new type space suit has been developed to provide an earthlike environment as well as thermal protection from the Sun the advanced space suits have three basic parts a body cooling undergarment a puncture resistant pressure suit and a life support backpack which contains 7 hours of oxygen and controls the suit temperature this is astronaut Bob krippin it is he and John Young Who will pilot the first shuttle [Music] flight since the shuttle Orbiter Glides back to Earth to an unpowered Landing it's important for the astronauts to have practiced these types of Landings in advance they do just that with a specially modified Jet Plane designed to handle and feel the way the shuttle does during Final Approach and Landing crews are also training on this vertical motion simulator it reproduces the motion an astronaut at the controls of the shuttle Orbiter would feel during approach flare and Landing without leaving the ground preparing for a busy shuttle flight in the years ahead NASA selected an additional 19 men and women to begin training as astronauts and that training is well underway many of the astronauts recruited earlier are learning to fly the man maneuvering unit a compressed gas backpack that will enable the wearer to move around outside the shuttle in space on future flights at another facility Engineers are working to develop procedures and Hardware that will be needed for astronauts to build large structures in space and they do it underwater more than a million gallons of water to simulate weightlessness in space applications the goes for weather satellite was checked out and launched from the Kennedy Space Center Florida weather forecasters and other scientists are using the satellite to study severe storms flash floods and tornadoes this goes east satellite picture taken last summer shows both hurricane Allen over the Gulf of Mexico and hurricane Isis in the Pacific Ocean ever since the spectacular eruption of Mount St Helens NASA has been working closely with other scientists to assess the [Music] impact one of NASA's high altitude U2 aircraft sampled the air within 100 miles of the volcano recently a plane from the langle research center in Virginia flew a group of scientists and their instruments near the mountain among other things they attempted to find out how much and what kind of gases come out of volcanoes worldwide there's very little volcano data [Music] available energy from sunlight to power spacecraft is very important now technology is being studied as a way to harvest thermal energy energ from the Sun here on Earth this is a researched version of a solar farm the dish shaped concentrators are covered with mirrors which reflect and focus the sun's Rays to a point where the intense heat is converted to electricity row of these collectors May one day help provide electric power for a small City or factory it's part of a joint National effort by government and Industry sponsored by the US Department of energy NASA's Lewis Research Center also worked with the energy Department to develop this 200,000 watt wind turbine Genera Hawaii's strong trade WIS blow year round making it an ideal location for electricity producing wind machines this one which began operation last July is located 45 M north of Honolulu 1980 was a busy year for NASA's various Aeronautics programs consider this rot systems research aircraft these unique craft can be flown not only as helicopters but also with wings and jet engines the studies will investigate promising new helicopter Technologies to improve performance reliability and safety this strange looking plane is the qsr which means quiet short Hall research aircraft it can land at speeds slower than many light airplanes about 75 mph and can break to a stop in 600 ft in a Cooperative test with the Navy last July the ussra made 37 touch andgo Landings and 16 full stop Landings without the help of AR resting gear or catapults aboard the carrier USS Kitty HW this was the first time a 4 engine jet transport ever operated from an aircraft carrier at se in the future the technology from the quiet qsr may also help improve transportation services to many airports with very short runways the xv15 Tilt rotor is another research aircraft that shows promise for both military and civil applications including inter city transportation and for moving people and equipment to offshore oil rigs it crafts helicopter-like rotors allow the xv15 to take off and land vertically once airborne the rotors tilt forward for cruise flight at over 300 mph the Tilt rotor concept achieves twice the range of a helicopter using the same [Music] fuel Bridging the Gap between wind tunnel models and fulls scale aircraft is haat highly maneuverable aircraft technology after being carried aoft by a B-52 himat drops away however the pilot never leaves the ground from here he can fly the remotely piloted vehicle through any number of complex Maneuvers and highspeed turns this is proved to be an excellent technique for doing high-risk flight testing less expensively and with no danger to the pilot this small jet powered research plane takes off and lands like most aircraft but in Flight it's unlike anything flying the pilot of the scissor Wing concept plane can pivot the wing up to 60° decreasing the Air drag and making it possible to fly faster and farther without increasing fuel consumption the ad1 scissor Wing has made several successful flights at Manasses airport in Northern Virginia Pilots have always landed with no help from air traffic controllers but now something new is in the air it's an experimental automated pilot advisory system apass NASA's wups flight center developed apass and has successfully demonstrated it at the Manasses airport in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration as Pilots approach the airport they can turn their radios to a designated VHF Channel and a computerized voice tells them the location of all planes in the landing panle the FAA will now determine the merits of this and a similar autom system for possible use at many small airports around the country adding a greater margin of safety for general aviation pilots and those are some of NASA's 1980 highlights please join us for our next episode of 25 years of progress when we look at Nasa during 1981 and 1982 I'm Lyn bandant [Music] okay looking good Roger Clubby on [Music] Roll Columbia Houston you're go at 40 go 40 [Music] e