Blowing up Skylab ’would only increase danger’

Press, 21 December 1978, Page 9

Blowing up Skylab ’would only increase danger’

NZJPA-Reuter Washington

ISlowing up the giant United States Skylab satellite* in space would only increase the danger from debris on Earth when it reenters the atmosphere, an

American official has said. Defending the National Aeronautics and Space Administration against criticis tn over the danger involved in the 85-tonne space station, a spokesman said it was foolish for anyone to accuse them of negligence. “It is just the state of the art; We do everything we can,” he said. A West German scientist, Dr Heinz Kaminski of the Boclhum Space Observatory, has accused the United States of gross negligence and asked why explosives were not buiL into the spaicecraft to blow it up at the end of its mission.

The N.A.S.A. spokesman saicl that, even if the Skylab could be blown up “it would onliy spread the debris over a sender area and increase the risk.”

American officials sav thait danger from Skylab debris is minimal, because meet of the craft will burn up .in the atmosphere and 75 per cent of its flight path on re-entry would be over the seat

Biit it is expected that some of the heavier pieces of tfee craft will not burn up and may weigh two tonnes or more when they crash on to> the Earth’s surface — either sea or land. N.A.S.A. announced on Monday that it was abandoning efforts to prolong the life (if the space station, wl iah. has been in orbit round the Earth since 1973. Scientists now predict that lit could re-enter the atmosphere* as early as raid-1979 or at the latest early 1983. Originally scientists had predicted the craft would remain in orbit until about 1983. well within the time necessary for plans to send up th< > United States space shuttle 1 ., now undergoing tests, Ho boost it into a higher orb id. However scientists erred in understating sunspot activity, which had the effect of. heating up the atmosphere, causing it to thicke n and create additional drag on the station, causing its or bit to “decay.”

Some N.A.S.A. officials criticised the space agency last }’ear, saying that scientists .knew about their error long before they started to attempt to regain control over S kylab.

The spokesman said that two gyroscopes out of three con tian led to operate aboard the space station, “and if they continue operating the station could stay up until summer of 1980.” How ever, he added that one of the gyroscopes was weak and it was necessary for controllers to try to keep it towards the Sun to charge it up.

The gyroscopes are used to keep the craft aimed in the righit direction and keep ; it from going into a tumbling miotfion that would furI ther increase drag and thus 'its rate of descent.