Weather
Mostly cloudy through Wednesday with a chance
of daytime thunderstorms. High Tuesday and
Wednesday low 90’s, low early Wednesday mid
70’s.
VASA begins
ound! \kylab monitor
United Press International
WASHINGTON —The space ageny ac-
ited its SkylaV) command center
■nday to monitor the final hours of the
^nigi! of the doomed space station, now
jaected to drop out of orbit sometime
Bing a 20-hour period centered on 12:10
EDT Wednesday.
It was still too early to predict where
llab’s debris will fall, but space agency
[cials emphasized the chance of injury
very slight.
tbout 500 pieces capable of causing in-
' are expected to survive the 77-ton
;eship’s fiery plunge through the atmo
sphere and scatter along a 400,000-
mtiare-mile zone,
ik *] (fr* atest re-entry estimate, issued by.
’flu National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
U.ministration at midday Monday, narrowed
the period of uncertainty bv 10 hours, to
U. 1|2|0 a.m. EDT to 10:10 p.m. EDT Wed-
^gsday with 12:10 p.m. EDT the most
sly time. A 95 percent likelihood was
sed on that 20-hour period,
ikylab at midday was circling Earth in a
r-circular orbit about 118 miles high.
Bhe special Skylab center located in the
[headquarters building of the National
®ronautics and Space Administration
:ned at 8 a.m. to receive periodic re-
rts on Skylab s status from the North
American Air Defense Command and the
Johnson Space Center in Houston.
In addition to 11 NASA personnel in the
windowless room, it was stajfifed in the.
opening hours: by representatives from the
Federal Preparedness Agency, the State
Department and the Federad Aviation
Administration.
At 9 a. today, the control! center in
Houston reported that Skylab was on its
34,947th orbit of Earth and had logged
more than 87 million miles around the
globe since it was launched in May 1973.
In a report: Sunday, NORAD’s Space
Defense Center, located in rooms exca
vated from granite in Cheyenne Mountain
in Colorado, said the space station had di
pped to within 119.2 miles of Earth. At
that time NO RAD was estimati ng Skylab s
fall during a 30-hour period centered on
10:28 a.m.
That calculation was 10 hours shorter
than Saturday’s predicted re-entry period.
Spokesmen said the time would be refined
even more; today.
Richard Smith, deputy NASA, associate
administrator, reported that all Skylab
coordination activities were “going very
well.” He said the systems aboaird Skylab
also were wor king well 48 hours, before its
demise.
Smith said that project officials have de
rabs pledge to
i ik.
Ns
ef
United Press International
WASHINGTON — President Carter
id Monday he has obtained a personal
Commitment from Saudi Arabia to sub-
ntially increase crude oil production
'for a significant and specific period of
,, Bine
■Carter did not give the details of the
idlpledge, but a Saudi spokesman said his
tl |B vernmen t increase production by 1
Mjjtjillion barrels a day — up to 9.5 or 9.6
Jill ion — for three months.
MiBCarter made the announcement to a
.St nate-House task force on energy at
■amp David, where he is presiding over a
:»Dmestic summit” at which he is solicit-
Kg ways to beat the twin problems of
energy and inflation.
“The president told members of the Se
nate and House this morning that he has
received a personal commitment from
Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia to in
crease substantially crude oil production
for a significant and specific period of
time,” a White House spokesman said.
Carter told the members of Congress
that the Saudiis will announce the specifics
“in the near future.”
“The personal message made clear that
the Saudi decision is based on their his
toric friendly relationship with the United
States, and their commitment to be a de
pendable supplier of oil to the world,” a
White House spokesman told reporters in
cided to send Skylab into a tumble in orbit
when it falls within 75 miles of Earth.
Skylab was stable in orbit at midday to
day. The plan is to start it tumbling end
over end so engineers will better be able
to predict the final path of Skylab debris.
Once Skylab hits the upper layers of the
atmosphere, it will disintegate.
Debris would not begin falling for
another 4,000 or 5,000 miles, officials said.
Engineers believe two-thirds of Skylab
will be consumed by heat as it decelerates
from 16,000 mph at re-entry. About 500
pieces capable of causing injury are ex
pected to come down intact and land in a
zone 4,000 miles long and 100 miles wide.
But the chance of any specific individual
being hit is 600 billion to one.
increase oil production
Washington.
The message from the Saudis was deliv
ered to Ambassador Robert Strauss and to
John West, U.S. ambassador to Saudi
Arabia — apparently last weekend.
Strauss arrived back in Washington Sun
day night.
Deputy press secretary Rex Granumn
said, “The Saudis will be announcing spe
cific details without delay. The increase
will begin to affect world oil markets and
should have a moderating affect on world
prices.
“In this country, it should help to al
leviate further shortages of gasoline, diesel
and home heating oil,” he added.
Granum said “the president expressed
the appreciation of the American people
for this decision. He wishes to emph.isize,
however, that while the increased produc
tion will be helpful in the short term, it
does not relieve the United States or other
oil consuming nations of the necessity for
firm action to reduce significantly their
dependence on imported oil.”
The United States import 8 million bar
rels of oil a day. It agreed at the Tokyo
Economic Summit to limit imports to 8.5
million barrels a day — meaning it could
import 500,000 barrels more a day.
Asked whether the United States had
made any commitments to Saudi Arabia on
Palestinian autonomy or the status of
Jerusalem in return for the pledge of more
crude, Granum said “absolutely not.”
Saudi Arabia has rejected the Egypt-
Israeli peace treaty, and U.S.-Saudi rela
tions have been strained in recent months.
“Saudi Arabia has been a good friend of
this country or some time,” Granum said.
“They are doing it to be a reliable friend.
We made no commitment.”
Granum said that “this action by no
means relieves this country of the need for
action.” In fact, he added, “it underscores
our vulnerability.”
At Camp David, Carter invited those
members of Congress working on eco
nomic problems and on the possible an
swers to the energy crisis — including a
new standby gasoline rationing proposal.
Bryan
council
OKs loan
program
By LOUIE ARTHUR
Battalion Staff
The Bryan City Council passed a
resolution Monday to instruct city
attorney Charles Bluntzer to draw
up an ordinance prohibiting the
consumption of alcoholic beverages
in city parks.
At present, liquor consumption in
city parks is determined by the in
dividual parks. In most cases, a sign
prohibiting drinking is put up when
complaints are received from people
who live in the surrounding area.
The ordinance will have to be ap
proved at two public hearings be
fore it can go into effect.
The council unanimously passed a
resolution to form a non-profit cor
poration that would sell bonds in
order to acquire student loan notes.
The resolution states the council
recognizes a college education is a
valuable asset and a student’s inabil
ity to meet all of the financial com
mitments should not prevent this
education when it is possible to ob
tain financing.
Four local businessmen were
named as directors of this corpora
tion: Harry Polk, Charles Hart, Roy
Simmons and Sam Nye. They will
review the present student loan
program and establish, re-establish
or reorganize a non-profit corpora
tion with the power to operate and
finance a student loan program.
In other action, the council
named Jim Duckett will replace
Billy Hodge on the newly formed
Board of Equalization.
The board was formed at the June
25 meeting to equalize the values of
all property within the corporate
limits of Bryan for taxation pur
poses.
The council also approved a reso
lution approving the power re
quirement study for the Rural Elec
tric Division of the City of Bryan
concerning financing for the rural
division.
Reactor in
Zachry used
for training
By CAROLYN BLOSSER
Battalion Staff
Riddle for the day.
What’s 10 feet tall, maroon and white, weighs 20,000 pounds,
and sits in the basement of Zachry Engineering Center?
Give up? A nuclear reactor.
The low power AGN-201 reactor was specially built for train
ing and research, said Jim Zgliczynski, the reactor supervisor. It
is licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
to operate at a maximum of five watts.
“The reactor was specially built for training students,” Zglic
zynski said. “There’s no way to get power out of it.”
In NE 405, a required nuclear engineering undergraduate
course, students conduct experiments with the reactor and
learn how to operate it, Zgliczynski said. The reactor’s average
power level of operation is around one watt, he said.
Texas A&M got the reactor in August, 1957. It was originally
set up in the mechanical engineering shops building because
there was no nuclear engineering department then, Zgliczynski
said.
He said the reactor laboratory in the Zachry Engineering
Center was specially designed to house the reactor.
Public concern about nuclear power has been aroused and
has become a political issue. Many citizens question the effect
nuclear power has on the public’s health and safety.
Robert Cochran, head of Texas A&M’s nuclear engineering
department, said he blames much of the fear that nuclear power
is unsafe on the media and others.
“The reason they (the public) feel that way is because of the
misinformation from Ralph Nader and others who become in
stant experts on everything,” he said.
The release of radioactive materials from nuclear power
plants have caused many to fear its impact on human health and
the environment. Cochran calls this fear “a lot of nonsense” and
criticizes the media for “dredging up some of these characters
that say radiation is bad for you, yet we’re subjected to it all the
time.”
Radiation exposure from the nuclear power industry is far less
that the radiation a person receives from the natural environ
ment (soil, water, sun), medical X-rays and other sources,
Cochran said.
Because of its low power level, Cochran said the reactor in
Zachry Engineering Center doesn’t generate any appreciable
amount of radioactive waste. “The product waste stays in the
fuel element and just dies out before we operate it (the reactor)
again, so there’s no problem,” he said.
In the fission process, uranium splits into two new atoms.
This process produces small amounts of radioactive products.
Referring to the low power reactor in Zachry, Cochran said,
“There are microscopic levels of plutonium produced at that
level, but it would be impossible to separate it from the fuel.”
Cochran said he believes nuclear power is the safest and
cleanest way to produce electrical energy. He said the coverage
of the accident at Three Mile Island “absolutely misrepre
sented” the nuclear power industry.
“There hasn’t been a clear, honest report of what did happen
at Three Mile Island,” he said. “The important thing was that no
one was killed, no one was injured and no one was over
radiated.”
Changes in SALT II
treaty could cost
the U.S. $30 billion
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Top administration
officials opened the Senate’s great debate
on arms limitation Monday by warning it
would cost at least $30 billion to match
unrestrained Soviet arms programs if
SALT II fails. They said any attempt to
change the treaty could open pitfalls for
the United States.
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance began
what he called the “fateful” process by
warning the Senate that any attempt to
amend the treaty might jeopardize points
in the treaty which are favorable to the
United States.
Secretary of Defense Harold Brown said
that an unrestrained arms race would re
sult from Senate rejection of the treaty,
and that competiton could cost the United
States an extra $30 billion.
Brown and Vance were the lead-off wit
nesses beginning a month of committee
hearings on the pact which Senate critics
assert is biased in favor of the Russians.
In testimony prepared for the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee’s first day of
hearings on the arms pact. Brown assured
the Senate that U.S. intelligence can
monitor and verify any significant Soviet
cheating. Verifiability of the pact has been
one of the main sticking points cited by
opponents.
“My judgment is that this treaty will
make the people of the United States more
secure militarily than we would be without
it,” Brown said. “For that reason, I rec
ommend the Senate give its approval.”
He said the new treaty “is designed to
assure that we do not need to rely on
trust.”
“It is verifiable. The Soviets cannot gain
a military advantage by concealed actions
that violate the agreement,” he said.
Vance said, “We proceed today with the
second step in a fateful joint responsibil
ity.”
The first stage — the negotiation and
signing of the pact — was done, he said,
with an unprecdented amcStmt of coopera
tion with Congress.
Vance acknowledged that the United
States would have preferred lower levels
arms limitation, but he said, “The issue is
where we are better served with this
treaty or without it.”
He said it is his belief that “we cannot
realistically expect to shift the bargain
more in our favor now through a process of
amendment and reservation.
“Even if it were possible to reopen the
negotiations, certainly they would be
reopened to both sides. This could lead to
the reopening of points that are now re
solved in a manner favorable to our inter
ests.”
The Senate is expected to vote some
time in November on ratification of the
treaty which President Carter and Soviet
President Leonid Brezhnev signed in
Vienna last month.
Senate Democratic leader Robert Byrd
said on a national television show Sunday
that if a Senate vote were taken today, the
treaty probably would not win the needed
two-thirds majority.
A major question looming in the debate
is what would happen if the Senate
amends the treaty text.
Byrd, who returned Saturday from talks
with Brezhnev and other Soviet leaders,
indicated the Russians have softened their
“no amendments” stance and probably
would agree to renegotiate the provisions.
But in that case, he said, the Soviets would
try to win new concessions for themselves.
Brown said SALT II would mean
greater stability and predictability in
strategic challenges, “and so the balance
will be maintainable at a substantially
lower level of destructive power than
would otherwise be the case.”
Registration for
second session
begins July 12
Registration for the second term of the
summer session at Texas A&M University
will be Thursday July 12. Card packets can
be picked up at DeWare Field House and
registration will take place in G. Rollie
White Coliseum. Students with last names
beginning with E-K can pick up their
packets and begin registering from 8:00
a.m. until 9:00 a.m. Students with last
names beginning with L-R register from
9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. S-Z will register
from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. A-D will
register between 11:00 a.m. and noon.
Classes for the second term begin Fri
day July 13.