This 1973 NASA report covers the organization’s accomplishments and highlights from that year which range from manned spaceflight, advancement in space research and applications of that research. The film features footage of Skylab, an American space station launched in 1973. Several astronaut crews traveled to the station and stayed on it for varying periods of time, demonstrating that humans could survive in space. Also seen is Mariner 10, an unmanned spacecraft that eventually reached Mercury’s orbit in 1974. It contains video of the preparations for the launch of Viking 1, which landed on Mars in 1976.
(00:49) The launch of Skylab during which a heat-deflecting micrometeoroid shield was ripped off during launch, causing mechanical issues while in orbit.
(01:07) They designed an umbrella-like sun shade replacement
(01:26) Three separate astronaut crews lived in Skylab, proving man’s ability to withstand travel in space, expanding knowledge of solar astronomy, and taking photos of the earth’s surface.
(02:25) Footage of a spider web, part of an experiment testing whether a spider can spin a web without gravity (the answer is yes)
(02:55) American and Soviet astronauts train for a joint mission
(03:21) Drawings of a reusable space shuttle
(03:42) Recoverable booster rockets are tested. They are designed to be retrieved after launch.
(03:57) Testing the X-24B lifting body
(04:15) Artistic rendering of the asteroid belt. Pioneer 10, a scientific spacecraft, was the first spacecraft to pass through the asteroid belt and it passed close to Jupiter in November 1973. Images of Jupiter were broadcast in real-time to American viewers.
(05:04) Mariner 10 journeyed to Venus in 1973 and then used the planet’s gravity to assist its journey towards Mercury
(05:30) Technicians work on the Radio Astronomy Explorer at Kennedy Space Center.
(05:39) Its launch into orbit around the moon
(05:54) Preparation of Viking 1, the spacecraft scheduled to land on Mars in 1976
(06:23) Launch of a sounding rocket. 80 sounding rockets were launched in 1973.
(06:41) Image of Comet Kohoutek which was discovered in 1973 and passed by the sun in December of that year.
(07:41) Satellite images of American cities
(08:31) A remote sensing station that helps predict forest fires
(08:40) California Forestry responds to the information given by the station
(08:55) A NASA U-2 high-altitude earth survey plane takes off. The U-2 flies at 60,000 feet and provides high-quality photos that help spot smoke from forest fires and measure environmental trends over a large geographic area.
(09:22) The Lewis Research Center in Cleveland is the location of a program designed to improve year-round navigation of the Great Lakes through the use of ice maps gathered by images taken from planes. Radars can measure ice thickness and samples are taken to verify the data. This could help extend the shipping season for the region.
(11:06) Footage of wake turbulence
(11:18) Scientists in a laboratory conduct tests to help reduce wake turbulence
(11:38) An on-ground flight simulator in Langley, Virginia that measures passenger response to inflight movement such as those caused by turbulence
(12:54) A pilot in a simulated cockpit remotely controls a large-scale model of a new aircraft. This allows the pilot to safely perform high-risk maneuvers.
(13:46) Footage of the Air Force YF-12 which cruised at three times the speed of sound.
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