would make the first exploratory stud ies of that planet as well." The rea son these plans are not projected in the fiscal 1969 budget, he explains, is because initial funding will not be re quired until fiscal 1970. Dr. Naugle agrees with Rep. Karth that Jupiter, with its intense magnetic fields and strong radiation belts, is "an extremely interesting planet from a physical science standpoint." He points out that Jupiter offers an "addi tional incentive" as a planetary target because its immense mass can be used to deflect the trajectory of a space craft so that it will go out farther to explore the outer regions of the solar system. "Unique opportunities exist in 1977 and 1978 to use this swing-by technique to continue past Jupiter to Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune." But apparently Dr. Naugle's expla nation of the rationale behind the new planetary exploration program before the full committee did not satisfy most scientific critics. Thus the stage ap pears set for a thorough airing of short- and long-term U.S. planetary objectives at the Karth subcommittee hearings this week.
AEC reacts calmly to shelving NERVA II If AEC officials are upset because budget restrictions force them to dump the 200,000-pound-thrust nu clear rocket program (NERVA II) in favor of the once-rejected 75,000pound-thrust rocket (NERVA I ) , they don't show it—at least not in public. At authorization hearings before the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Milton Klein, director of the Atomic Energy Commission's division of space nuclear systems, said: "We are a bit bullish on NERVA I, but the program is not finished; there is still work to be done." Lack of money—Mr. Klein calls it "fiscal constraint"—put a lower pri ority on high-powered NERVA II; in effect, put it on the shelf for the time being. Lower-powered NERVA I would cost less than the other nuclear rocket principally because of the ad vanced state of development of the hardware for this rocket. According to Mr. Klein, the nuclear space pro gram is so important in providing a power source for exploration beyond the practical limits of chemical pro pulsion that it is worth-while to com plete the development of NERVA I. With one exception, NERVA I will do everything that NERVA II was scheduled to do, Mr. Klein says. The exception: It is not sufficiently high powered to fly a manned planetary exploration mission. For unmanned
planetary explorations and deep space missions, he says, the two rockets have equal capabilities. In other capabil ities, both rockets are about equal, and NERVA I even has a better payload capability when used with the Saturn V launch vehicle. Mr. Klein points out that because NERVA I weighs less, it can carry a payload of 23,000 pounds compared to 10,000 pounds for NERVA II. He was subjected to a rigorous cross-examination by Sen. Clinton Anderson (D.-N.M.) on the capabili ties of NERVA I vs. NERVA II. At the conclusion of the quiz, Sen. Ander son said that he just wanted to be ab solutely sure that NERVA I would do everything that was planned for NERVA II except power a manned mission to Mars. "And," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "we never authorized that one anyhow." The nuclear space program is com ing along just about as expected and is reasonably on schedule, Mr. Klein told the committee. The NRX series of tests, which are designed to extend the life of graphite reactors, was con cluded late last year. In December the experimental NRX-A6 reactor op erated for 60 minutes at the design power of 1100 M w ( t ) . Attention now shifts in 1968 to the Phoebus experiments. These are de signed to scale up the technology demonstrated in previous tests, such as the NRX series, to conditions con sistent with reactor operations at 5000 Mw(t). Phoebus-IB reached a power level of 1250 M w ( t ) . early in 1967. Phoebus-2A is scheduled to get under way in the second quarter of this year. It is expected to hit the target power of 5000 M w ( t ) . The XE series will be a large part of the program in 1968. These experi ments will test engine design under a number of projected operating condi tions. These include intermittent starts and stops, operation at various simulated altitude conditions, and re mote maintenance. For space propulsion systems (the nuclear rocket and related programs) AEC's budget for fiscal 1969 calls for $72 million. For space electric power development (the SNAP program) $52.7 million is requested. From the lack of attendance at the hearings by JCAE members and with the desultory questioning by those present, it's likely the committee will approve the au thorization automatically. When the authorization bill is de bated, chances are that Congress will approve it routinely. After all, an authorization is only the promise of money. The economy crunch will come in approving AEC's appropria tion. Cold cash is always harder to come by than promises.
HOCH CH CH CH OH 1,4-butanediol
Butanediol This saturated four-carbon glycol acts as • plasticizer for paper products; polyesters • chain extender for urethane resins • intermediate for polyester resins • printing ink solvent Used as an intermediate, Butanediol undergoes re actions typical of dihydric alcohols to form open-chain derivatives (dihalides, polyhalides, polyurethanes), cyclic products. Typical uses of the end products include: PRINTING INKS PLASTICIZED RAYON URETHANE COATINGS POLYESTER FIBER For full technical information use the coupon. cjciF
GENERAL ANILINE fi FILM CORPORATION
ΛΑΌ W E S T 5 1 S T R E E T •
N E W Y O R K 1002C
[ Dyestuff & Chemical Division Please send me Butanediol I literature Π and sample Π I Intended application j Name I Title Company I Address__ I City |
| State,
Zip
j
CEN-219
FEB. 19, 1968 C&EN
33
