SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS IN THE 1970'S 



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When Representative Don Fuqua (Democrat of Florida), center, became Chairman of 

 the Manned Space Flight Subcommittee, he worked closely with Representatives Larry 

 Winn, Jr. (Republican of Kansas) and Louis Frey, Jr. (Republican of Florida), right. Here 

 they are shown (right) at NASA's Ames Research Center, California. At left is Martin A. 

 Knutson of Ames and, second from left, Thomas N. Tate, committee staff. 



At the close of the hearing where the first Skylab crew testified, 

 Congressman Esch brought general agreement with his statement: 



More than anything else, your flight demonstrates the need to have man in space. 

 But for the last 12, 13 or 14 years, we have had a strange dichotomy in this com- 

 mittee and in NASA between manned and unmanned flights. Isn't it about time we 

 get over that dichotomy, admit we need both * * * an integrated system of manned 

 and unmanned? 



It fell to the Manned Space Flight Subcommittee to hold a public 

 hearing on the investigation report on what had gone wrong with the 

 shield and solar arrays in the first Skylab workshop. On August 1, 1973, 

 Chairman Fuqua opened the hearing by noting that despite the criti- 

 cisms contained in the investigative report by NASA "it is important, 

 however, that we not forget the overwhelming success of the first 

 Skylab mission, accomplished by the dedication and outstanding work 

 of the Skylab astronauts and the ground team to turn a potential 

 failure into an outstanding success." The subcommittee concentrated 

 on the reasons why the meteoroid shield had not been designed to fit 

 tighter to the tank of the workshop so that aerodynamic pressures 



