NASA SP-4004
A S T R O N A U T I C S A N D A E R O N A U T I C S , 1 9 6 3
Chronology o n Science,Technology, a n d Policy
Prepared by the NASA Historical Staff,
Office of Policy Planning
Scirntrfic and Tccbnrcal Informatron Drsrsron 1964 N A T I O N A L AERONAUTICS A N D SPACE ADMINISTRATION Washington, D . C .
FOREWORD
The National Aoronautics and Space Act defined the national effort in the exploration of s p a c e t h e largest, most complex research and development effort ever undertaken. It also provided for the continu- ation of the long tradition of research in aeronautics begun under the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
During the past five years, an immense effort has been set in motion.
That this effort has borne fruit is evidenced by the events of the years since the passage of the Act, some of which are recorded in the pages that follow. These events constitute at least a partial record of the raw material which is giving shape to the space effort. I n some in- stances, they represent the growth of space technology and equipment : improvement in the percentage of successful launches; the develop- ment of large boosters capable of supporting larger payloads in more complex missions. The overall increases in reliabdity, sensitivity, and accuracy of equipment are all signs of the increasjng breadth and depth of our knowledge of the requirements for space fight. In othw instances, these events portray our increasing capacity to explore both the near and far reaches of spaca and to benefit from knowledge gained by exploration. Though our knowledge has increased at a dramatic rate, the demand for new information-which has become such a pressing demand for practical reasons, for defense urposes, and as
The wide range of events recorded here portray the wide scope of this tremendous scientific undertaking. But perhaps even more indic- ative than the variety of events, is the broad social, economic, and political impact of the many projects and programs. For instance, Professor Frederic Seitz, President of the National Academy of Sci- ences, said recently that there was no part of university activity re- lated to science and technolog "which is not involved in a funda- mental way in the space effort. Or, in another field, we note that by the end of 1963, some 65 political entities were cooperating in our international space program.
These are developments, perhaps trends, which are emerging as the S ace Age becomes more and more a part of the Nation's daily life.
TEeir parts are recurded here as past, but, more importantly, they are also prologue.
part and parcel of the persistent human drive to in ow-threatens
~~~sc._n_~~n kc --+&r;ln p thn "*I" c*innl-. ""PY'J
HUQH L. DRYDEN, Deputy Administrator.
m
C O N T E N T S
P W i11 vi1
1 33 76 118 174 224 262 293 331 364 4 3 456 501 513 515
PREFACE
This chronology of the sixth -par of the space age was prepared from open public sources. Like its annual ancestors, it was intended to rovide a compilation of known events related to the scientific, and exploitation. Although its index is a ready vehicle for informa- tI;olra+i.entryit w a s not conceived as historical assessment. It pro- vides a comprehensive listing of the growing welter of events in their own date and place. The pace and complexity of the challenging and sometimes dramatic endeavor as man learns and masters nature beyond planet Earth is a t least chronicled in a useful form. Hope- fully, it provides some of the much-needed perspective for most readers, many of whom are undoubtedly as breathless as contempo- rary historians.
re aration of Astrmautks and Aermutics, 1963, Mrs.
Helen T. b e i s carried major responsibilities for drafting and edit- ing. The entire NASA Historical Staff read? screened, and digested available source materials and comments, including Dr. Frank W.
Anderson, Jr., Miss Molly Holme, and Miss Sara Corbett. The index w&s drafted by Miss Nanc Ebert (ATBP). Indispensible contribu- tions were made by the LTedicated overtime work of Mrs. Dema Nappier (AFEE-I) as well as Center Historians and monitors, in particular David A. Akens (MSFC), James Grimwood (MSC), Robert iviuiac (LaRcj, an4 Aifreci Eosenthai jasmj. Lioyci Iiobbins and Creston Whiting (ATBB-T) were unfailingly helpful in translation of Russian materials. Many busy scientific and managerial personnel were generous in their comments on preliminary drafts.
“Satellites, Space Probes, and Manned S ace Flights-1963,” A p
pendix A of this volume, was prepared by 5 r. Frank W. Anderson,
Jr., Assistant NASA Historian, carrying on the annual operational log compiled for previous years. Appendix B, “Major NASA Launchings, 1963,” adds another year to the NAEA Historical Report which now tec R nological, organization and policy aspects of space exploration
In the
EUGENE M. Emm,
NASA Eistorian ( A T P H ) Office of Technology Uti2ization and Policy Planning.
VII
Janumy I: Effective this date, the International Code would desig- nate all orbiting artificial satellites and s ace robes with Arablc numerals (1963-1, 1963-2, etc.) rather t R 6 an reek letters (1963 Alpha, 1963 Beta., etc.) , National Academy of Sciences announced.
New system had been agreed upon by all national members of
COBPAR in May 1962. ( NAS Release)
NASA Ames Research Center was assigned direction of future Pie neer space probes, first of which would be launched in 1964.
Newly created Space Sciences Div. would direct scientific aspects of the project. (San Jose News, 1/1/63)
Walter C. Williams and J. C. Elms assumed duties as deputy direc- tors of NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, under M ~ C Director, Dr. Robert R. Gilruth. Williams, formerly M ~ C Associate Di- rector, became Deputy Director for Mission Requirements and Flight Operations; concurrently he was named Director of Flight Operations in NASA OfEce of Manned Space Flight. Elms was appointed MSC Deputy Director for Development and Programs, with primary management responsibility for spacecraft develop- ment. ( M S G Roundup, 11/28/62,1)
Sen. Robert S. Kerr (D.-Okla.) died of heart attack in Wash- ington. H e had been Chairman of Senate Committee on Aero- nautical and Space Sciences since January 1961. (Wash. Post, 1/2/63, Al)
January 2: Washington Post quoted informed DOD oFciais as saying
USAF was considering converting Skybolt development program into project for exploring antisatellite problems or for use in space probes.
Contract awarded to RCA Services Company to create the sun's inten- sity in two space environmental chambers. The largest chamber would measure 120 ft. high and 85 ft. in diameter; it would house the Apollo vehicle, consistin of command, service, and lunar excursion modules. The sma fi er chamber, measuring 85 ft. high and 65 ft. in diameter, would house the Apollo command module and provide the space environment for astronaut training. (Fact Sheet #96, MMJ)
January 3: Both U.S. communicationssatellites, TEMTAR I and RELAY I,
came to life. TELSTAR I, silent since Nov. 23, responded to signals sent by Bell Telephone Laboratories; later in the day, RELAY I,
silent since first being orbited Dec. 13, responded twice to television test patterns sent from New Jersey and Maine.
(Wash. Post, 1/4/63, Al)
to extend one-day MA-9 flight of Astronaut Leroy Gordon &ope! (Maj., USAF) from 18 to 22 orbits (27 to 34 hours), John Fmney of iVem Yo& Times re-
(Wash. Post, 1/3/63, a 9 )
. NASA was tentatively plannin
1
2 ASTRONAUTICS AND AEHONAUTICS, 19 6 3
ported. Scheduled for April 1963, MA-9 would be last flight in Project Mercury. (NYT Co., Atlanta Constitution, 1/3/63) January 3: Rep. Bob Wilson (R.-Calif.) speaking for Republican
Party’s Advisory Committee for Space and Aeronautics, charged Kennedy Administration had failed to build a strong military space program and recommended USAF be given authority to un- dertake an immediate military .space program with priority over NASA’s manned lunar landin program : “Very little of the hard- Administration tends to lead the public to believe that the oppo- site is true . . . . [NASA projects such as Mercury and Apollo]
could no more be converted to competitive militwy space systems than could a Liberty ship into an aircraft carrier or a truck into a tank . . . .” (AP, Boston Herald, 1/4/63)
British sources reported U S . would disclose details of its space launch vehicles to European Launcher Development Organiza- tion (ELDO) in exchange for cooperative work on joint space projects.
January 4.: TELSTAR I communications satellite transmitted 10-min.
television pictures across. the Atlantic, the satellite’s first trans- atlantic transmission since Nov. 23 when radiation damaged on- board circuits. Eugene S. O’Neill, director of satellite communi- cations for Bell Tele hone Laboratories, said BTL scientists ing the command signals slightly. Remote-control repair mas performed after BTL constructed laboratory model of TEWTAR I
with its faulty circuits and experimented with it to devise cor- rective signals. ( UPI, Wash. Post, 1/5/63 ; AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 1/5/63, A1, A3)
MARINER 11 ceased transmitting scientific data to earth. The space- craft was 5.7 million mi. beyond planet Venus and 54.3 million mi. from earth. This was new commuiiications record, previous record having been set by PIONEER v n-hich in 1960 stopped trans- mitting scientific data a t 17.7 million mi. and position signal at 22.5 million mi. (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 1/5/63, A3)
U.S.S.R. unannounced launching (1963 1-A, 1-C), with fragments re-entering from Jan. 5 through Jan. 11. Launch re orted by
GSFC in Satellite Sittiation Report, June 15, 1963. ~ S F C Sat.
Sit. R t., dune 15 1963)
Soviet ifkdemy o? Sciences announced that Soviet scientists had successfully bounced first radar signals off planet Mercury. Per- formed last summer when Mercury was 52-54 million mi. from earth, experiment was credited with confirming value of the Astronomical Unit calculated in 1961 by US., U.K., and U.S.S.R.
using Venus as radar target. Eberhardt Rechtin of JPL called Soviet Mercur achievement “another significant step in radar exploration 0; the solar system.” (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 1/5/63, A3 ; S u n Francisco Chronicle, 1/5/63)
President Kenneth S. Pitzer of Rice Univ. announced establishment of a Dept. of Space Science, first of its type. Headed by Dr.
Alexander J . Dessler, new department would offer study in eo- magnet ism, dynamic characteristics of interplanetary space, f a n ware developed by NASA can % e used militarily. But the Kennedy
(Manchester Guardian, Wash. Post, 1/3/63)
“tricked TELSTAR’S deco i ers into receiving commands” by chang-
3
Allen radiation belts, auroras, atmospheric structure and dynam- ics, planetary structure, and meteoritics. (Houston Post, 1/5/63;
AP, Newport News Daily Press, 1/5/63)
January 4: Astronaut M. Scott Carpenter said in Palo Alto, Calif., press conference: “People who do the spectacular things in s
ition-scientists, k h n i - m n e s who are not
Alto Thn&8,1/5/63)
Soviet news aper Krasnaya Zvezda (Rea? Star) quoted Edward Teller (2s. nuclear physicist), Gen. L. Lemnitzer ( U ~ A ) , and other Americans regarding U.S. plans to “militarize the moon, including the delivery of an ‘absolute’ weapon there for the con- duct of interplanetary nuclear war.” (Krasnuya Zveada, 1/4/63,3)
Januaiy 5 : RELAY I communications satellite made two successful intercontinental television test transmissions between Andover, Me., and Goonhilly, England, one for 23 min. and the other for an hour ; teletype tests were also successfully made from Nutley, N.J., to Fucino, Italy. NASA said m 4 y 1’6 power difficulty had apparently corrected itself, but “project officials have ex rienced difficulties with RELAY responding properly to c o m m a n g Tests during the past three days were possible by employing special operational procedures and altering command sequences to the satellite. Experiments will continue to evaluate the satellite’s communications and command systems.” (AP, Wash... Post, 1/6/63, A8)
A Russian Embassy official in Washin n quietly collected from the US. State Depamment the f? ussian satellite fra,g-
ment that fell in Manitowoc, Wis., on September 5, 1962.
U.S.S.R. had previously ignored U.S. offer; made a t U.N. last Gov. Nelson Rockefeller was preparing his proposal for establish- ment of New York science and technolo institution, it was aduate and graduate study in science and technology. Rocke-
%ler and state university trustees were expected to a p int com- (Orlando Sentinel, 1/5/63)
AEC expenditure for military .nuclear-reactor =D was reported:
$1,355,700,000 through start of current fiscal year. (A-N-AP J w d & Reg., 1/5/63,6)
President of MIT, Julius A. Stratton, announced plans for new Cen- ter for Space m r c h on MIT campus. NAEA would provide $3 million of the total $4 million cost. (Boston Sun. Advertiser, 1/6/63 )
January 6 : Review of s p a c e Research, report of eight-week Space Science Summer Study sponsored by National Academy of Sci- snces in support of NASA, was transmitted to NASA Administrator James E. Webb. Consensus of the more than 100 U.S. scientists from Government, universities, and industry: “Of all the dis- coveries that have come from or can now be anticipated from
are few-they owe their success to many, many people behin rm the
cians, industrial wor f ers-people m n proper m -T d walks of life . . . .” (Palo
fa!!, tc rztsr:: the ;--entered frzs@ieili. ( W a h . n&,.i 1/8/63, 2 )
reported. Proposed state institution wou T d offer both under- mittee of educators and scientists to develop detai .p” ed plans.
4 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1 9 6 3
man’s eff orts in space sciences, none more easily captures the im- agination nor is more likely to focus interest and acclaim than the empirical proof that there is in this universe a biota other than our own.
“On solid scientific grounds, on the basis of popular appeal, and in the interests of our prestige as a peace-loving nation capable of grea.t scientific enterprise . . finding and exploring extra- terrestrial life should be acclaimed as the top-priority scientific goal of our space program . . . .
“What is at stake is an opportunity to gain a new level of dis- cussion of the meaning and nature of life.’’ Even without “defin- itive evidence” of extraterrestrial life, report said there was no basis for rulin out possibility of life on Mars, Venus, or the tary s acecraft to prevent contamination of possible extraterres- The report also recommended th& kra.ined scientist-observers be assigned important roles in future U.S. space missions. “By his presence, man will contribute critical capacities for scientific judgment, discrimination, and analysis ( ecially of a W l sit- uation) which can never be accomplish3 by his instrumenk, however complex and sophisticated they become.
“Hence manned exploration of space is science in space, for man will go with the instruments that he has designed to supplement his capacitieslto observe what is there, and to measure and de- scribe the phenomena in terms that his scientific colleagues will clearly understand. A scientifically trained and oriented man will be essential for this purpose.” Report asked NASA to take immediate stsps to train scientists for space investi titions so that :
(lunar mission) crew; meteorologists could ~ o - p i l ~ t future manned orbiting space observatories, beginning with two-man Gemini flights in 1964; biologists would be available for first manned flights to Mars; astronomers would be prepared for ad- vent of space observatories and for maintenance and modification of these facilities.
Urging “maximum possible participation of scientists in all space missions,” report outlined iour specific levels of training:
scientist-astronauts (men combining experience and resouxeful- ne8s of trained scientist and trained astronaut) ; scientist-passen- gem (experienced, maiture scientists with adequate training in critical and emergency spacecraft operakions) ; ground scientists (leading scientists in pertinent fields collaborating with space- craft personnel in accomplishment of scientific mission) ; astro- naut observers (astronauts with varying degrees of special erain- ing in making scientific observations). (NAB, Review of Xpace Sciences; NAS Releases)
Janullary 6: AFSC announced 13-month Asset program would begin with first launch of six unmanned, non-orbiting vehicles from Ca e Ca- naveral in mid-1963. Asset ( Aerothermodynamic/elastic !$true-
tural Systeans Environmental Tests) re-entry tests would provide data on environmental control, guidance and control, instrumenta- moon ; it strong 4 y endorsed NASA policy of sterilizing interplane- trial P ife.
a “scientist-astronaut” would be member of each F roject Apollo
tion, recovery techniques and equipment, structural cooling, and radar tracking under ion-sheath conditions. Recovery of the delta-wing vehicles was planned. (AFSC Release 31-R-2; UPI,
Wash. Post, 1/6/63)
January 7: U.K. sent television signals across the Atlantic for first time via LAY I communications satellite. Si als sent from Coonhilly Downs to Nutley, N.J., were dmri be? as “very good”
and “extreme1 clear”; they were a.lso clearly received at grqund station of Italian s ace communications agency Telespazio in Fucino. (Reuters, 8hicago Trib., 1/8/63)
USAF launched Thor-A ena D space vehicle from Vandenberg AFB
Nhsi2es and Rockets reported NASA Goddard Space Flight Center was studying Mariner B and Voyager projects to determine if the center could acquire’management responsibility for all or part of them planetary projects, study having been initiated a t request of NASA Hq. Unnamed Hq. spokesman pointed out that J-PL is now responsible for all NASA unmanned lunar and planeta pro- grams and has heavy workload with Ranger, Surveyor, an?Mar- iner R projects; Goddard may be asked to perform major sub- sy*m work in Mariner B and Voyager, perhaps leading to even- tual overall direction of the projects.
Moscow Radio said U.S. astronauts “become bourgeois exploiters [of the people] in their own right,” but the Russian people had
“profound respect” for U.S. spacemen, who needed “no little brav- ery” It0 let themselves be launched in rockets “whose reliability is highl dubious” (Reuters, Bdt. Sun, 1/8/63)
hief Malshal of Aviation Konstantin Vershinin was quoted that, air-launched missiles had become basic form of weapon or Sovieh aircraft, replacing bombs. (Av. Wk., 1/7/63,
Cape Canaveral, and USAF was conducting study to &ermine cause of the advanced Minuteman‘s malfunction. This was second flight of new, more powerful Minuteman model. (DOD Release 25-63 ; AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 1/8/63)
Center made first U.S. test-firing of cluster of large segment eYsolid rocket motors. Four rocket motors consisting of six segments each were fired for 14 sec., producing 140,000 lbs. of thrust. Test was to demonstrate tech- niques for ignition of clusters “which appear applicable to the simultaneous i ition of clusters of solid booster rockets produc- AV. Wk., 1/14/63,33)
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center awarded preliminary, 90-day contract for development of variable-thrust RL lO rocket engine to Pratt and Whitney Aircraft. The hydrogen-powered en ine rated thrust and be capable of restarting in space. Throttleable RL-10 engines had been test-fired in feasibility studies a t Pratt and Whitney plant and NASA Lewis Research Center. (Hunts- ville Times, 1/8/63)
with undisclosed pay 7 oad. ( UPI, Wash. Post, 1/8/63, A l )
(M&R, 1/7/63,14)
Soviet F
as ”Yy
25)
VSaF Mir?llteZ?... :cmz f a sh:=rt cf its p!wa& i%.Ege f,; ht fEiE
E a d y January: United Technolo
ing millions o !? pounds of thrust.” (Wash. Eve. Star, 1/14/63;
would be capable of operating at as little as 12.5 per cent o f its
6 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1 9 6 3
Early January: Dr. Wernher m n Rraun, Director of NASA MSFC,
visiting West Berlin’s Technical University to receive hon- orary doctorate, said: “I am convinced personally that the Russians will not succeed in making a manned space flight to the moon and back before the Americans. The Russians now could send a man to the moon but that would be a one-way trip.” (New- port News Times-Herald, 1/12/63)
danuary 8: NASA reported RELAY I communications satellite’s low bat- tery voltage had been result of faulty voltage regulator in one of its twin transponders. Continued tests by RCA and NASA en i-
regulator fails to function roperly when it becomes too hot or television transmission via RELAY I by sendin special command transponder. (Wash. Post, 1/9/63, C8)
Task force from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center sent to Rocket- dyne, Canoga Park, Calif., where F-1 engine had developed “com- bustion instability,” William Hines reported in Washington Evening Stw. Five-engine cluster of 1.5-million-lb. thrust, F-1’s would power first stage of Advanced Saturn ( G - 5 ) . (Hines, Wash. Eve. Star, 1/9/63)
Results of recent radarastronomy and radioastronomy studies of planet Venus were reported by Howard Simons in Wash- ington Post. Studies conducted a t NRL, Washington, con- centrated on detecting water in atmosphere of Venus; NRL radar- astronomers and radioastronomers concluded that Venutian atmosphere contains very little, if any, water. Their research suggests surface temperature of Venus may be 600” F, as previ- ously reported. Meanwhile, radioastronomy studies at JPL,
Pasadena, indicated Venutian surface was characteristically desert; that Venus appears to rotate very slowly, perhaps only once every 250 earth days; and that Venus a pears to rotate in those from MARINER 11 Venus probe, provided evidence that Venus is swept by winds at hundreds of mph, which in turn constantly churn UD hiEh sandstorms. JPL’S Eberhardt Recht.in mid. Wash.
neem pinpointed the difficulty and also discovered that t 8‘ e
too cold. Despite the di P culty engineers would attempt live signals to the satellite and concentrating on t a e remaining good
direction opposite that of earth. These resu Y ts combined with Post, lf8/6g, 1)
World’s largest radiotelescope, developed by National Science Foundation. was now oDerationa1. Thomas R. Henrv rewrted in Washington Evenin S’tar. Locaied on Papago Indiankeserva- tion in Arizona, raiiotelescope has antenna of 300-ft. diameter.
Among first objects of study were radio waves emitted from planet Jupiter; later study would be devoted to outer planets Uranus and Neptune and to distribution of neutral h drogen in Milk Way Galaxy and nemby galaxies. (Wash. de. Star, 1/8/637
Charles H. Zimmerman, NASA Director of Aeronautical Research addressed Aero-Space Luncheon Club in Washington on short- range, intermediate-range, and long-range aircraft. Short-range :
“I think there is a tremendous future in the helicopter and the
V/STOL aircraft in the short range and feeder line application.
However, in order to take full advantage of the capabilities of
these aircraft, we have to find some better way of utilizing the air space and the airport space that is available. I think we will do it. It is a matter of time and effort . . . . 99
Intermediate range : “I am speaking of 2,000 miles and up . . . .
We are working closely with the FAA and with the DOD in steps leading-we sincerely hope-to the development of a supersonic commercial transport . . . .
“I might point out that NASA today is opening the proposals that were submitted on feasibility studies which are a part of the overall FAA-DOD-NASA program. This is one of the steps that
Long range : “At this stage of history, we can send ‘a man from the C.S. to Australia in about an hour in a Mercury c a p s u l e . . . .
“Now, conceivably in the future we will be able to put a number of people in some sort of hypersonic aircraft and send them to Australia in an hour. This is looking out into the blue.
But I really think that mankind will not quit in this develop- ment of transportation through the air till they have made this a practical possibility . . . .” (Text)
January 8: Opening of Technical CTniversity of Berlin’s Institute for Elements of Space Travel was attended by Prof. Eugen Saenger, Dr. Wernher von Braun, Prof. Hermann Oberth, and other dignitaries of West Berlin and Unir. of Berlin. Prof. Saenger, former head of Research Institute for Physics of Jet Propulsion at Stuttgart, has been nominated as director of the new in- stitute.
Jn;n?mm~ 9: RELAY I communications satellite transmitted its first trans- atlantic television programs, sending British and French viewers clear pictures of ceremonial unveiling of Mona Lisa in Wash- ington and 10 min. of network program ‘‘Today.” ( UPI, Wmh.
Post, 1/10/63,A3)
Dr. Abe Silverstein, Director of NASA Lewis Research Center, told Chicago press conference that trouble in Centaur launch vehicle had been corrected. Centaur was proceeding at Lewis under highest national priority ( D X ) and would be developed on schedule to launch Surreyor lunar spacecraft and Mariner inter- planetary spacecmft in 1965. Dr. Silverstein pointed out new testing philosophy for Centaur called for more extensive and qualitative p o u n d test before flights. (Chicago Sun-Tims.
1/10/63 ; Chicago Daily News, 1/10/63)
Enea Bossi, international aviation pioneer, died in Dayton, Ohio.
Native of Milan, Bossi built and flew his ovn airplane in 1908;
he designed first, Italian seaplane. ,4fter coming to U.S. in 1919, Bo& designed first US. stainless steel plane, most successful manpowered aircraft, and an ewly helicopter. He also invented racuum fuel-intake system used in U.S. automobiles during 1920%.
(AP, W a ~ h . Pmt, 1/12/63)
January 10: EXPLORER XIV energetic particles satellite developed radio transmission dijEculty, not repairable by remote control. Exact cause of difficulty, apparently in one of the binary counters of satellite’s encoder system, was not determined. (NASA EXPLORER XTV
Program. Rpt. No. 4; NASA Release 63-6)
we are taking to help this program along . . . . 9,
(Bild [Hamburg], 1/8/63, in MSM: S I N , 3/63, 5 )
8 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1 9 6 3
Jnnuary 10: NASA announced MARINER 11 Venus probe had been so successful that repeat flight scheduled for 1964 had been can- celed. Interplanetary efforts would be concentrated instead on such projects as sending probe toward Mars in 1964 and later flight to Venus with advanced Mariner probe in 1965. (NASA
Release 63-3 ; JPL Release)
Dr. Robert C. Seamans, NASA Associate Administrator, told Wash- ington Representatives Chapter of National Security Industrial Asmciation : “The goals of this [accelerated national space]
program and of our nation in space are to achieve a position of pre-eminence in every aspect of space science and technology for the benefit of all mankind . . . . Four main reasons underlie the tremendous effort we must make to achieve the goals stated by the President. Our position as leader of the Free World requires it. Our national security requires it. The fact that we are a practical people, dedicated to the improvement of life on earth for ourselves and our world neighbors, requires it. And man’s age-old urge to explore and our national traditions of pio- neering require it . . . .”
Dr. Seamans also discussed the Pioneer space probe program :
‘L. . . We are initiating a competition for a new probe, PIONEER, to develop a better understanding of solar flares. These probes will be used, commencing in 1964 (the International Year of the Quiet Sun), to measure the characteristics of the inter- planetary medium such as magnetic field, solar plasma, solar and galactic cosmic radiation, and micrometeorites. The probe will provide information of intrinsic scientific value in addition to measurements in direct support of the manned lunar landing. . . .”
(Text)
French Scientific Research Minister Gaston Palewski told French Natioii:il Assembly :L satellite launching site would be established in Eastern Pyrenees Department near the Spanish border.
France‘s first satellite W R S scheduled for launching in 1965 ; other European sitellites may also be launched from the site. (Reuters, Finnish Foreign Ministry announced Finland had obtained per- mission from U.S.S.R., C.K., and other Western allies to obtain defensive missiles, forbidden since signing of Paris peace treaty in 1947. Finland would bu air-to-air missiles and squadron of MiG-21 fighters from U.ZS.R., antitank missiles from U.K.
( UPI, Wosh. Post. 1/10/63)
White House published report by President’s Science Advisory Com- mittee, Scienw, Government, and Information. The Committee found communication of technical information to be a necessity to a healthy scientific and technical community. T o this end it made a series of s ecific recommendations to both the technical community and to P Tovernment agencies involved in technical pro- grams, following the general principle that technical informa- tion must be an area of major commitment on the part of the U.S. Government but not in such as to stifle independent efforts of the technical communityf. ”;;i cience, Government, and
I n f ormatiwn) Wmh. Post. 1/12/63)
Junwz7-y 10: Titan I1 ICBM launched from Cape Canaveral fell short culties. of its intended 6,300-mi. range after developing second-s UBAF said many of the flight’s objectives were T ac ieved. di5-
(M&R, 1/21/63,. 10)
Jamuary I1 : Anal sis of radar observations of lmet Venus indicatad waa remrtd. Observations were made Nov. 2 9 - k . 7. 1962. bv Venutian sur 9 ace is smoother than that o P earth or the moon, it
NatioGal Bureau of Standards’ radartellescope at J i c k c a , Pk&.
( Wmh. Post, 1/11/63,65)
Univ. of Pittsburgh’s Chancellor Edward H. LiWMeld announced plans for $3O-&illion p e a research and cx>ordination center.
Center would be used for study in natural and social sciences and engineering and health areas connected with aerospace activities.
(KJPI, Wash. Post, 1/12/63,1)
Dr. Knox Millsaps resigned as chief scientist of USAF OD and execu- tive director of AFOSR. ( A v . Wk., 12/17/62,25)
Thor missiles being returned to U S . from U.K. would be madified for use as space vehicles, UBAF announced. Three of U.K.’s 60 operational Thorn already had been returned to Douglas Aircraft
Co. for conversion, so that they could be used in space assignments similar to those of conventional Thor space hostem (Waah.
Post,. 1/12/63)
USAF announced Titan I1 missile had been test-fired While locked in its 155-ft.-deep silo a t Vandenberg AFB. Firing of “brief” dura- tion was to test the missile’s resistance to noise and vibration.
(AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 1/11/63)
Translation of article on Soviet VOSTOK III and IV by H. A. Vilter, East German engineer, was quoted. Of the Soviet vehicle used to place Vostok capsules in orbit, Vilter said: “The power of the six rockets of the initid stage was roughly 20 million horsepower”
(or 880,000-lb. thrust)-abut 2/s power of first two Saturn vehi- cies, whose eight clustered engines developed 1.32-million-lb.
thrust (30 million horsepower). Vilter’s article appeared in East Berlin ublication Die Technik; abstract af his report was pub-
(Wash. Eve. Star, 1/11/63)
Lockheed Aircraft Corp. and IAM broke off contract negotiations indefinitely; still unresolved was dispute over “union shop.”
’ (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 1/12/63)
Jnnuury 19: Houston Chr&Ze reported NASA Manned Spacecraft Center was planning 30-man space station that could stay in orbit for five years; MBC had solicited contractors’ proposals for elec- trical power system capable of producing 40,OOO watts. (Houston (7hrm. in UPI. Boston S d y Advmtiser, 1/13/63)
US. De t. of Commerce translation of article, “How to Fly to
“The ‘ ars-1’ interplanetary station was launched from a heavy satellite in a circular earkh satellite orbit; the velocity of the satellite was 4.9 miles a second. “he rocket was launched fmm this mtellite at a velocity of 3.1 miles a second, but the rocket left the orbit at 8 mil- a second.
lished E y Dept. of Commerce’s Office of Technical Semcer;.
Mars, ,P b h Soviet scientist Prof. G. Ohebotarev, was reported.
10 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1963
“It headed toward Mars in a hyperbolic trajectory and left the earth’s sphere of attraction at 4 miles a second. For it to assume an orbital path around Mars the station would have to be braked to a velocity of 3.2 miles a second . . . .” (Wash. Eve. Star, 1/12/63, A5)
Janmry 12: David Sarnoff, k i t i n g in Saturday Review, said : “The technology of electronics is reaching toda for summits of na- tional, global, and space communications teyond anything con- ceived s n c e the invention of movable type.
“The year 1962 brought conclusive proof of the utility of orbit- ing satellites to relay across ocean or wilderness the immensely high-capacity signals in the upper reaches of the radio frequency spectrum.
“The way is thus opened technically for the establishment over the next few decades of a communications system by which gov- ernments, organizations, or individuals may establish contact with anyone, anywhere, at any time b voice, sight, or document, sepa- rately or in combination . . . .
He predicted development of satellite communications in three phases: “Phase I , between 1965 and 1970, should see a global sys- tem of low- wer synchronous satellites, each with a capacity of
“Phnse ZZ, between 1970 and 1980, may mark the beginnin of through centralized national terminal facilities . . .
“Phase ZII, beyond 1980, envisages an all-embracing satellite communications system : direct personal transmission of voice and sight through satellites without intermediate routing . . .” ( S a t . Review, 1/12/63,88)
Frederick R. Kappel, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of ATBET, was cited by Saturday Revieto as “Businessman of the Year” (1962). Mr. Kappel spearheaded A T ~ T ’ S $50-million commitment to Telstar ever since it was envisioned by Bell Labs scientist, Dr. John R. Pierce, in 1954. Xaturday Review called Telstar “more than a triumph of the modern technolo
communications. It was also n symbol wise men coul approve, of a new era in human communications, a work of peace that sought only to bring men together, not to destroy them. Finally, it was the product of a promising new teamwork in space between government and industry, in this case the largest private enter- prise venture in the world . . . .”
USN launched its 16th Polaris-carrying submarine, Nothan Hale, equipped to fire Polaris &3 now being developed. (AP, Wash.
Eve. Star, 1/12/63)
Jonuary 1<3: I n his State of the Union message to Congress, President Kenned w i d :
military superiority of freedom. We have doubled our efforts in space, to assure us of being first, in the future. We have under- taken the most far-reaching defense improvements in the peace- time history of this country. And we have maintained the
A
2,000 voice c r annels or two television channels . . . .
international satellite communications between cities rather t a an
7 Of space
( S a t . Review, 1/12/63, 46)
“In t a ese past months, we have reaffirmed the scientific and
