Apr 9 1969
From The Space Library
Cosmos CCLXXVIII was launched from Baikonur by USSR into orbit with 318-km (197.6-mi) apogee, 203-km (126.1-mi) perigee, 89.6-min period, and 65.4° inclination. Satellite reentered April 17. (GSFC SSR, 4/15/69; 4/30/69; SBD, 4/10/69, 190)
British Aircraft Corp. chief test pilot Brian Trubshaw flew Anglo-French Concorde 002 supersonic airliner on successful 24-min maiden flight from Filton Airfield, near Bristol. Aircraft, built to reach 1,400-mph speed, flew at 300 mph during flight, which copilot John Cochran termed "marvelous." French version Concorde 001 made maiden flight March 2. (W Star, 4/10/69, A13; AP, W Post, 4/10/69, Al2)
MSFC announced issuance of RFP'S for 10-mo study to establish design concepts and development requirements for nuclear rocket stage to replace Saturn V 3rd stage for advanced missions in late 1970s and 1980s and payload design concepts and development requirements for flight test and early operational applications of stage using NASA-AEC NERVA. Study, for which proposals were due April 17, also would investigate payloads for nuclear-stage test flights including interplanetary meteoroid experiment (IME) and barium cloud experiment (BCE). IME would gather information on meteoroid environment in interplanetary space, particularly in asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. BCE would create artificial plasma cloud in space to simulate comet's tail and to study motions of ionized particles in earth's magnetosphere. Work would be done at MSFC. (MSFC Release 69-105)
Astronaut R. Walter Cunningham was named a director of American Systems Inc." Los Angeles electronics firm. Cunningham, LM pilot on Oct. 11-22 Apollo 7 mission, would continue duties as astronaut. (Reuters, W Post, 4/10/69)
MSFC shipped 20,000-lb, 20-ft-tall F--1 and 225,000-lb-thrust J-2 Saturn V rocket engines from New Orleans to France as part of NASA exhibit at Paris Air Show, May 29-June 8. Other items in display would include Apollo 8 spacecraft and an Apollo lunar module. (MSFC Release 69-106; MSFC PIO)
April 9-11: NASA and National Science Teachers Assn. sponsored Youth Science Congress at LaRC to encourage original scientific research by outstanding high school students. (Langley Researcher, 4/18/69, 1)
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