Word: spacecrafts
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There is far more to Mission Control, however, than the control room. For each console there is a staff support room down the hall manned by a dozen or more experts. Complete telemetry from the spacecraft is received by staff-room consoles, which funnel the most important bits to the control room and store the rest. The space program's major contractors-North American Rockwell for the command and service modules, Grumman for the lunar module-also keep staff members in nearby offices. In case of trouble with spacecraft equipment, the contractors can call major subcontractors on their...
...space-age sealants, developed for caulking seams in spacecraft, now plug the gaps between bathroom tiles. Latex paints, developed as a protection against ultraviolet radiation, are being applied to home walls. Filament-wound plastics enable North American Car Corp. to make railway tank cars that weigh nine tons less than cars made of steel but are just as strong...
...catalogue of spin-offs from space is as wide-ranging as the human imagination. The luminous metallic material that helps in the docking of spacecraft in darkness may eventually free motorists from the need to fumble for their car locks at night. The need for manageable space foods has given impetus to the improvement of freeze-dried fruit, freeze-dried coffee and food concentrates...
Other, more detailed space treaties are currently being developed in Geneva by the U.N.'s outer space legal subcommittee, and a number of earthly analogies may be used for guidance. One such treaty now under discussion deals with the thorny issue of responsibility when there are accidents involving spacecraft or when objects from space plunge to earth. To settle any claims that might arise, lawyers probably will look to the precedents offered by existing aviation law. They may also turn to even older legal guidelines. The laws of the high seas, for example, call for freedom of navigation even...
...with space law is who will be its judge. Some space lawyers believe that eventual disputes over the moon will most likely be resolved through direct negotiations between the states concerned. This will almost certainly be the case for such vital questions as lunar communications and traffic control of spacecraft. Other matters like civil claims and emigration could be turned over to a special court created for the purpose, or to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Contesting parties must agree to accept such a court's jurisdiction, however, and that has proved difficult in the past...