I
Battalion
Serving the Texas A&M University community
M 74 No. 53
14 Pages
Friday, November 13, 1981
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Today
High 73
Low 48
Chance of rain 10%
Tomorrow
High 74
Low 50
Chance of rain 10%
Fate of shuttle
to be decided
this afternoon
3
United Press International
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The
W-luck pilots of the space shuttle Col
umbia entered their second day in orbit
today faced with the likelihood they
would be ordered home early because
oftbe failure of a new generator.
Astronauts Joe Engle and Richard
Truly were prepared, however, to make
tkmost of what time they have left in
space by cramming as many top-priority
light tests as possible into today s work.
Much of the time was allocated to
testing the new Canadian-built 50-foot
cherrypicker arm that will be used on
future missions to unload satellites in
orbit.
Flight director Neil Hutchinson said
project officials would decide late this
afternoon on the fate of shuttle mission 2
-the first flight of a spaceship that has
flown before.
Mission control in Houston
announced at first that Engle and Truly
would definitely be landing Saturday at
Edwards Air Force Base in California’s
Mojave Desert. Spokesman John
McLeaish said mission rules required
an early end to a mission that had en
countered one generator failure.
But Hutchinson said later such rules
were made to be bent. He said control
lers would evaluate the situation on a
day by-day basis to see when the risk of
slaying in orbit exceeds the benefits.
He said, however, that what had
started out as a five-day endurance test
for the flagship of America’s shuttle fleet
had turned into a “minimum mission’
situation in which key objectives would
be crammed into 54 hours of flight.
An early return would be particularly
costly to the scientists responsible for an
S11.6 million package of Earthwatching
instruments in Columbia’s cargo hold.
The instruments are designed to scan
the globe for hidden resources and pol
lution sources. An early return would
reduce their yield.
Although the Columbia is a veteran
of a 54-hour mission last April, the
generator problem involved a brand
new “improved” unit installed for this
mission. The generator is a fuel cell, one
of three suitcase-sized units stashed in
the Columbia’s lower fuselage.
The fuel cells use the reaction of
hydrogen and oxygen to generate elec
tricity and produce drinking water as a
byproduct. Such units have been used
since the Gemini program of the 1960s.
Specialist Bill Reilly said an impurity
of some sort — possibly caused by a
manufacturing fault — in the device
apparently blocked small water hyd
rogen passages, allowing water to build
up in the unit.
If allowed to continue, the water
buildup would have produced a reverse
reaction — the water would have been
broken down into oxygen and hyd
rogen, producing a potentially explo
sive mixture.
So controllers decided without hesi
tation to shut it down, drain it of its
gases and rely on the two good fuel cells
to meet the Columbia’s electricity
needs.
What worried controllers, however,
was the possibility that another unit
would quit. There was no indication this
would happen, but a second fuel cell
failure would mean Columbia would
have to return to Earth as soon as pos
sible.
The ship can land with only one fuel
cell operating, although Hutchinson
said it would be a “pretty tough” opera
tion. But if all three were out, the spa
ceship would be unable to function.
Commandant
issues duty memo
\ A new memo outlining the duties of
; the Texas A&M Officers of the Day has
been issued by Commandant James R.
Woodall in preparation for the Texas
A&M-Arkansas game Saturday.
' The memo was prepared in the after
math of the saber incident at the Texas
A&M-Southern Methodist University
game Oct. 31. Cadet Greg Hood was
suspended Monday for brandishing his
O.D. ceremonial saber at an SMU
; cheerleader.
Hood drew his saber and chased the
I cheerleaders as they began a routine on
Kyle Field following an SMU touch
down. After the incident, the cadet
: maintained that he thought it his re-
i. sponsibility to uphold a tradition of
< beeping cheerleaders off the field.
Woodall has confirmed that Hood
i had not been told his specific responsi
bilities as O.D. prior to the incident
with the SMU cheerleader.
However, O.D. briefings now will
| become a standard practice before foot
ball games, the commandant said, and
the unit commander who will lead the
O.D.’s Saturday has been briefed.
A memo was issued last year con
cerning the specific duties of the O.D.
but that memo was not distributed this
year, Woodall said.
The memo includes a condition that
sabers are to be drawn only to salute the
United States flag.
It also specifies that O.D’s are re
sponsible for controlling the Texas
A&M student body; University Police
are responsible for controlling the visit
ing student body.
Furthermore, O.D.’s are to remain
south of the 50-yard line, in front of the
Texas A&M student section. Their
duties also include helping to organize
the senior boot line at halftime and pre
venting pranks during the game.
Because Saturday’s game will be
televised regionally on ABC-TV, kick
off has been postponed until 2:50 p.m.
and the traditional Corps of Cadets
march-in has been scheduled for 11:45
p.m.
State Rep. Dan Kubiak
State
plugs
legisla tor
gasohol
By NANCY WEATHERLEY
Battalion Staff
The state representative of District
36 urged support Thursday for gasohol
production and consumption to coun
teract dependence on foreign oil sup
plies and to help out the farming in
dustry.
Sponsored by the MSC Political
Forum Committee, Dan Kubiak said
the government will be dealing more
with alternative energy sources, such as
gasohol and exotics — solar, wind and
other sources — to make the country
energy self-sufficient.
Kubiak passed a bill through the
Legislative Special Session promoting
the sale and manufacture of gasohol
through tax credits and return of money
to distributors who sell gasohol.
Gasohol is a blend of 10 percent alco
hol and 90 percent gasoline. The ethyl
alcohol in gasohol is produced from tbe
grain products farmers produce and the
process gives off a by-product of pro
tein.
Kubiak told the Rudder Tower audi
ence that one reason he became in
terested in gasohol was because of the
present plight of farmers.
“The farmers are falling flat on their
faces,” he said. “The price of the farm
products the farmer receives today is 14
percent less than it was just one year ago
in this country.”
Gasohol would give the farmers a new
market for their products, he said.
The protein can be utilized, not only
for swine and livestock, but also in pro
tein bars for human consumption, he
said.
“It (the protein by-product) allows
this product to go one step closer to the
marketplace, thus benefitting the con
sumer as well as the producer, ” he said,
“and by the same token, producing the
only renewable source of energy that we
have for the transportation field.”
Kubiak also said that with current
grain surpluses, America’s marketing
procedures are not being utilized cor
rectly: by exhorting grain which could
be used for ethyl alcohol production.
“We have failed in our marketing sys
tem,” Kubiak said. “And I think it is a
grave sin for the American people,
us to be able to produce so much
then people in some parts of the
starve.
“Something has to be wrong with
system when we cannot deliver thq/is
products to the people who desperately
need them.”
With a current surplus in gasoline
and high interest rates — which Kubiak
likened to cancer — gasohol production
hasn’t caught on in America except in
the midwest, where there is a lot of
grain, production, he said.
Also, he said, high production costs
involved in the mass production of ethyl
alcohol has slowed acceptance of gaso
hol.
Second incident involves mystery car
;>
Security tightened for diplomats
United Press International
PARIS — Security against feared Li
byan attacks on U. S. diplomats has been
tightened today following the attemp
ted assassination of the American
ambassador and news that another di
plomat was followed by a car without
license plates.
The American diplomatic commun
ity was badly shaken by the Thursday
attack on U.S. Ambassador Christian
Chapman, who escaped by ducking be
hind his limousine as a bearded man
fired six bullets at him.
In Washington, President Reagan
“deplored” another incident of interna
tional terrorism and Secretary of State
Alexander Haig hinted Libyan leader
Moammar Khadafy was seeking to
avenge the shooting down of two Libyan
MiGs in a dogfight in August.
“We do have repeated reports com
ing to us from reliable sources that Kha
dafy has been funding, sponsoring,
training and harboring terrorist groups
who conduct activities against the lives
and well-being of American diplomats
and facilities,” Haig said.
Security had been increased even be
fore the shooting and an official U-S.
source said at least one suspicious inci
dent was reported in recent weeks.
The U. S. ambassador to the 24-nation
Organization of Economic Cooperation
and Development, Abe Katz, was fol
lowed in his limousine by a car without
license plates, his wife confirmed
Thursday night.
“After we arrived home, our chauf
feur told us he suspected he had been
followed by a car with no license
plates,” Mrs. Katz said. “The police
who always accompany us had the same
impression.”
American sources said U.S. Marines
who guard the embassy recently were
warned by embassy officials about the
alleged Libyan threats. Those entering
the embassy off the Place de la Con
corde have been searched and ques
tioned.
When Chapman called a news confer
ence to describe the shooting, embassy
guards searched all handbags and
camera cases. A Marine stood next to
Chapman with his hand on his pistol in
its holster.
Chapman, smiling and calm, told
journalists he had left his flat near the
Eiffel Tower at 8:50 a. m. to get into his
chauffeur-driven car when he noticed “a
man at the corner wearing black trous
ers and a black leather jacket.”
He walked forward, with his hand
inside his jacket, said Chapman. “I
turned around and he was pointing a
gun at me and I heard shots. I ran
around the back of the car and threw
myself down. ”
The gunman fired six quick shots and
two bullets pierced the car.
Two weeka ago, U.S. Ambassador to
Italy Maxwell Rabb was called home,
then given an around-the-clock guard
when he returned to Italy. The ambas
sador to Vienna has been given similar
protection.
■ r
Balloon lands after trans-Pacific record
United Press International
RED BLUFF, Calif. — The Double
Eagle V balloon, flying through heavy
rain and poor visibility, crasb-landed
safely on a rugged mountain top late
Thursday and successfully completed a
historic 3 '/2-day trans-Pacific flight from
Japan.
Minutes after the 270-foot-high
helium balloon landed on a ridge 50
miles southwest of Red Bluff in north
ern California, the four-man crew
radioed that it was okay and stayed with
the craft until daybreak.
The balloonists, headed by Ben
Abruzzo of Albuquerque, N.M., had
planned to continue flying across the
country if conditions were favorable,
but the Double Eagle became iced over
the Pacific and the crew decided to set
down after reaching the California
coastline.
Federal Aviation Administration
spokesman Bob Baird said the balloon
set down at 9:36 p.m., about an hour
after it floated over the California coast
near the fishing town of Bodega Bay,
and began looking for a safe landing site
after covering nearly 6,000 miles.
The previous distance mark of 3,314
miles was held by Maxie Anderson of
Albuquerque and his son, Kris, on the
first balloon crossing of North America
last year.
The area where the balloon went
down was rugged timber country almost
inaccessible except by foot, the Tehama
County Sheriffs office said.
“We have no idea exactly where
they’re at,” a sheriffs deputy said,
adding that a search and rescue team
could head for the site after sunrise once
the balloon is pinpointed.
With Abruzzo on the historic voyage
were Larry Newman and Ron Clark,
both of Albuquerque, and Japanese
businessman Rocky Aoki, who owns a
nationwide restaurant chain.
During their trip, the balloonists
faced temperatures of 40 to 60 degrees
below zero and had to breathe oxygen
nearly the whole time-
Courses with evening exams
named for spring semester
By BARBIE WOELFEL
Battalion Staff
While students are contemplating
which courses to take next semester,
one consideration could be whether a
course requires evening examinations.
The colleges of business administra
tion and engineering have scheduled a
number of night exams during the
spring semester for larger classes that
have multiple sections, said Associate
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Charles E. McCandless.
However, the 1982 spring class sche
dule booklet does not list which courses
will have the scheduled evening exams.
The following is a schedule of the
courses that have been authorized by
the University to give night examina
tions during the spring of 1982:
College of Business Administration
— Acct. 229 — Feb. 17; March 24;
April 14; 7-9 p.m.
— Acct. 230 — Feb. 18; March 25;
April 15; 7-9 p.m.
— Acct. 327 -— Feb. 24; April 8; 6-8
p.m.
— Acct. 328 — Feb. 23; April 6; 6-8
p.m.
— B.Ana. 217 — Feb. 10; March 10;
April 7; 7-9 p.m.
— Fin. 341 — Feb. 16; March 23; April
20; 7-9 p.m.
College of Engineering
— Ch.E. 205 — Feb. 11; March 11;
April 15; 7-9 p.m.
— Ch.E. 304 — Feb. 11; March 11;
April 15; 7-9 p.m.
— Ch.E. 323 — Feb. 15; March 22;
April 19; 7-9 p.m.
— Ch.E. 354 — Feb. 16; March 10;
April 20; 7-9 p.m.
— M.E. 212 — Feb. 17; March 24;
April 14; 7-9 p.m.
— M.E. 213 — Feb. 18; March 31;
April 20; 7-9 p.m.
— M.E. 327 — Feb. 11; March 25;
April 29; 7-9 p.m.
— Pet.E. 310 — Feb. 10; March 11;
April 27; 7-9 p.m.
— Pet.E. 402 — March 2; April 14; 7-9
p.m.
— Pt.E. 409 — March 10; April 15; 7-9
p.m.
— Pet.E. 413 —Feb. 18; April 1; April
29; 7-9 p.m.
— Pet.E. 414 — Feb. 18; April 1; April
27; 7-9 p.m.
— Pet.E. 417 — Feb. 10; March 3;
March 31; April 28; 7-9 p.m.
— Pet.E. 458 — Feb. 22; March 29;
April 26; 7-9 p.m.
A course list will be distributed to all
student advisers prior to pre
registration next week, McCandless
said. A number of copies also will be
placed in appropriate places for stu
dents to pick up at the time of registra
tion.
Pre-registration begins Monday.
Students should begin the process by
reporting to their academic advisers in
the appropriate departmental offices.
Once again, it is Friday the 13th. Today is the one Friday the 13th is on next year’s calendar,
third of three such dates in 1981. Luckily, only