Apr 21 1972
From The Space Library
Cosmos 487 was launched by U.S.S.R. from Plesetsk into orbit with 504-km (313.2-mi) apogee, 267-km (165.9-mi) perigee, 92.2-min period, and 70.9° inclination. Satellite reentered Sept. 24. (GSFC SSR, 4/30/72; 9/30/72; SBD, 4/25/72, 301)
Plaque placed in auditorium of National Academy of Sciences bore inscription: "The National Academy of Sciences Auditorium is dedicated to all individuals who through the Academy have devoted their talents and knowledge to the service of the Nation and mankind. It perpetuates the memory of Hugh L. Dryden whose friends, by establishing the Dryden Memorial Fund, helped to make this auditorium possible." Dr. Dryden was NASA Deputy Administrator 1958-1965, former Director of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and former Associate Director of National Bureau of Standards. (NAS Pres Off; NASA Mist Off)
Washington Daily News editorial urged space shuttle funding by Congress: Shuttle was "gamble worth taking-not just because it will provide 50,000 new jobs in the depressed aerospace industry, but because it offers a window on the universe at a relatively modest cost." To retreat from space "after so many billions have been spent and so many men have risked their lives" would be "small credit to a nation that prides itself on perseverance, a pioneering spirit and common sense." (W News, 4/21/72)
Continuation of space program was urged by Edwin McDowell in Wall Street Journal editorial: "For our periodic thrusts aimed at solving the age-old mysteries of the cosmos are not just an expensive plaything of the Silent Majority, but a quest whose revelations probably will benefit all mankind." Perhaps "temporary moratorium the administration has placed on space flights is advisable, even though each moon mission is far more productive and scientifically rewarding than each of its predecessors. But abandonment of America's space venture ...would be disastrous." (WSJ, 4/21/72, 8)
NASA launched Aerobee 150 sounding rocket from White Sands Missile Range, N. Mex., carrying National Center for Atmospheric Research aeronomy experiment. Rocket performed satisfactorily. Scientific objectives were not satisfied. (SR list)
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