1976 July-September - NASA Ames History Office

Nat~o~qal Aeronauhcs and
Space AdminJstral~on
Ames Research Center
Moffett F~eid. Oalil:orrua
VOLUME XVIII NUMBER 26
What if ?
94035 N/ A
Ames’ first female aircraft mechanic
September 9, 1976
Pkmctar?‘ c~.p[~.lTat[lll] is t}le le.~:.1 undcrsfc~od ?,’el
prn,babI,, the most crucial asp.’ct ol the I;S space
progl’31T~ ~q an cconomi,, age. when space rL.:,carc]~
and lc~lmoh~gy is rllcasured by =ts unnlediale ~aJuc
m thc marketplace, studic~ ol the planet(, ott~n ate
~ollMdere~ Io hu’ litde more than an exercise m
i,lteDJcclua] CL!nOSit~ Nolhingcould be farther From
l]w truth 3t:xpJoralion o~ the plan(is IS ihc basic
research thai pro~Jde~ Ihc motivation arid ~Jlc lo¢l~s
l(i prl)dtlcc the tangible benetils ol tomorro~
[cl rne iihlstrate. Ore’ o~ the most SliT’ritlg and
rewarding space missions e~er underlakcn was
Pioneer ]0"~ ama;qng ~o~agc to Jttpiter From Hw
bc~inning the nliss~on was beset b}~ a series of
tt~nponderable:, [:ol ills~ancc, designers ,,.,,,er,., asked
1o come up with a ligbl’aeigtH s~acecraf! capable ot
auiqciiondlg near perl’ec-II} for up ao sev,:~l }ears in
l]le hosfik’ reaches ol deep spa(,: at dislanccs el
ahnosl 2 hillion miles fronl I artb Ycl. it had to hi/
qtlrdy em~ugh to %iItlgtand the rigors o~ lifloff and
unheard-el speeds around 10().O00, miles per hour.
lilt spacecralCs mstrulnenl package had ~r~ be able
to survive m~pacb, from micrornet¢oroid:,. ’/Cttlperaltlrc.s
Of mere lllaFe _00 dcgree~, below zeru alld
radiation levels thousands ol im~es greater lhan
;~l/}lhillg ex-’cI experienced belnre F~trlhermore. the
spac¢crat’l’s power suppl} ’Aol~[d have alhe experience.
The CSM ¢irframe and Power Planl Mechanics
Program wit} lead one lo a license in Airframe and
Po~er Planl Mechanics lo ~ompletethe program, a
person n~u>t attend an FAA tFederal AviaIion
’tdmmislra~on) approved schooh such asCSM. |or
approxm/ale]$ 30 nlonIhs: one l]ltlS~ then pass a
’an(ten. oral. and praclical test to finallx receive lhe
license.
Other popular "’A arid P" schools in ~h,e area
ollering thi.’, progra!n include (aliforma Slate i_ni-
~ersit?, al San Jose and Pale kite Aduh EdueaUon
(nig}il scho,ol
((~)sl t#lued Im Pdge .71
which is I ~R{~,{ 00 miles a second (;round conh~llers
’aould ha~e to walt am~lher 4{, nllntll.¢s to filed ~.yul
~1 dk. spacecraft responded to li’ic ~ommand Mso, Hispanic Heritage week at Ames
shice all C(}lTinlun.l~.-ation between tht’ }-arlh altd lhe
s]]3cecraIt yeas straigbl-Jinc, Ihat iS. antenlla-~.oantenna,
the eve]-cbaT~gJng orhilat positions of l’arlit
~tnd -Jupiter had to be taken inh~ acclntnt
Well. Pior..,er lO pulled it ofl, Alter a ournev iM
-.- months and 620 million miles, it ~,kimmcd pa,4
Itq)iter’s cloud lops al an altitude el 8.1,0(10 miles,
ICist as l~lanned. And it got there less than one
(’enter Director Dr Ilans Mark has ~lnnounced lhal &n?es will celebraie Hispanic Heritage ’Aeek from
September 20 t:hrc~ugh Scplember 24. lt~"¢; All personnel at Ames are inviled to attend the special e~enls which
are being planned for that week The theme will bc "’Sharing of Culture."
Special Programs ha~e been arranged and will be held m Building 245 .:tuditorkm~ and the Ames Cafeteria. and
are as follows:
Mondak. September 20. from 1:00 3:00p.m, A.tldio-\:isua~ (ulmral Itappening. aitd also a Hispanic
Historical presenlaikm tBldg. 245 A~dJ
Vted esda~%. SepleTlll~ol __. from l 1 :. 0 a.m. to I :O0 p m., a series el filtns observing Hispanic (’tdti~re
tnintHe ml its schedtded arrival lime.
Portieres of tile data sent back by Pio~leet wcle
Fed intlo wailing COl!lputers aBd ct~nverted into cO[Ol
n~3 ge’~ for tiewiog Normally. lilt Jnlagcs -,&roItld b~’
bhlrrt, d because I’,t the spacecral l’S aright, O~
applO~tch I(~ Jupiter and the planers rolMicsn
turtller re data lost in trallSllligsion woldd appeal
as holes or blank spots in ~lle Image. We got arotind
~Bldg 245Augl
I:rida~. September 24, ~r(?m 4:30 to b:30 pro.. there will be a tlapp~ Hour in the Alnes (’afetcria Fesli;Hles
wil~ consist of Mexican folk dancers, a Mariachi group. Mexican hers d’0euvre:,, and drink.
Ill addition, the "week-long celebration will include for your aesthetic en ovment an impressive At1 Exhibii i~
lhc Ames Lihrar~ Also. J.ht’ Amc~ Cat’eteria wdl Dnd its culinary imaginalioi; to enhance the e~ents eI the week
In proclaiming National ttispanic Heritage ’~eek. President Ford said. "We can Iook leeward to discovering
o|het conlributions from tt~e Ifispan/c ci’~ilization so long and well~.’stablished in o~r laird, and from miIlions of
Americans 4>1 l{isl)anic origin wile enrich our sociely ’"
((’o*lthiu