Aug 25 1965
From The Space Library
President Johnson announced he had approved DOD development of a Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) at a cost of $1.5 billion. At a White House news conference, the President said: "This program will bring us new knowledge about what man is able to do in space. It will enable us to relate that ability to the defense of America. It will develop technology and equipment which will help advance manned and unmanned space flight and it will make it possible to perform very new and rewarding experiments with that technology and equipment... . "Unmanned flights to test launching, recovery and other basic parts of the system will begin late next year or early 1967. The initial unmanned launch of a fully equipped laboratory is scheduled for 1968. This will be followed later that year by the first of five flights with two-man crews. "The Air Force has selected the Douglas Aircraft Company to design and to build the spacecraft in which the crew of the laboratory will live and operate. The General Electric Company will plan and develop the space experiments, "The Titan IIIC booster will launch the laboratory into space and a modified version of the NASA Gemini capsule will be the vehicle in which the astronauts return to earth." President Johnson emphasized that the U.S. would "live up to our agreement not to orbit weapons of mass destruction and we will continue to hold to all nations, including the Soviet Union, the hand of cooperation in the exciting years of space exploration which lie ahead for all of us. ..." He directed NASA Administrator James E. Webb "to invite the Soviet Academy of Sciences to send a very high level representative next month here to observe the launching of GEMINI VI." (Transcript, Pres, Doc, 8/30/65, 142; DOD Release 551-65)
OSO-C was launched from Eastern Test Range, with a Delta booster, fell into the south Atlantic Ocean after failing to achieve orbit, First two stages of the launch vehicle performed perfectly: following second stage cutoff and an approximate 7-min, coast period, small rockets mounted on a table between the second and third stage ignited and spun the table up to 120 rpm; second stage separated, but the third stage ignited about 5½ sec, prematurely, was not properly aimed, and did not attain orbital speed, OSO-C was third in a series of eight orbiting solar observatories planned by NASA. First two satellites were launched from Kennedy Space Center, NASA, March 7, 1962, and February 3, 1965, OSO-C had provided more than 2,000 hrs, of scientific information during its lifetime; OSO II was still operating. The Orbiting Solar Observatory program was designed to advance understanding of the sun's structure and behavior and to determine the physical processes by which the sun influences the earth. Next OSO launch would occur in mid-1966. (NASA Release 65-261; Wash. Post, 8/26/65. A 4; N.Y. Her. Trib., 8/26/65)
COSMOS LXXIX was orbited by U.S.S.R., Tass announced. The satellite contained instrumentation "to continue space research under the program announced by Tass on March 16, 1962." Orbital data: apogee, 359 km. (223 mi,) ; perigee, 211 km. (131 mi.) ; period, 89.7 min,; inclination, 64.9°. (AP, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/26/65; GSFC SSR, 9/1/65; U.N. Registry/INF, 117)
X-15 No. 1, piloted by Milton O. Thompson (NASA), attained maximum velocity of 3,511 mph (mach 5.11) and maximum altitude of 214,100 ft. The purpose of the flight was to obtain data for the MIT horizon scanner program, basic stability and control, and the Pace transducer. (NASA X-15 Proj. Off,; X-15 Flight Log)
Argo D-4 Javelin sounding rocket was successfully launched with 80-lb, instrumented payload from NASA Wallops Station to peak altitude of 549 mi. (883.9 km.). Furnished by the Univ. of Pittsburg under contract to NASA, the experiment measured the quantity of helium and hydrogen gases and the ionization of helium in the exosphere, Impact occurred 653 mi. (1,051.3 km,) downrange in the Atlantic. (Wallops Release 65-52; NASA Rpt, SRL)
Rep. Roman C. Pucinski (D-Ill,), speaking on the floor of the House, commented on President Johnson's decision to develop a manned orbital laboratory : "I believe the most significant and important aspect of this latest development is the peaceful aspect of this program. This indeed, can provide mankind with the open sky policies that we have been working for in order to let people know that we have no intentions for any aggressive moves and to let them know that we certainly know what is going on in the rest of the world." (CR, 8/25/65, 21024)
Gemini V mission director Christopher C. Kraft, asked at a press conference at NASA Manned Spacecraft Center if he would welcome a Soviet observer at the GEMINI VI launching, said "yes." Kraft said he felt he might learn something about the way the Russians handled their flights, "If you're going to ask if I'd like to go over there [to observe a Russian flight], you bet your sweet life I would." (Sehlstedt, Jr., Balt. Sun., 8/26/65, 2; NYT, 8/27/65, 2)
Three members of the NAS-NRC Space Science Board, Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner, Dr. Harry H. Hess, and Dr. Gordon J. F. MacDonald, appeared before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences in its hearings on post-Apollo goals of the U.S. space program. They repeated the recommendation of NAS in its 1964 National Goals in Space 1971-1985 that emphasis be placed on unmanned exploration of the planets, especially Mars, and added that supplementary data would be forthcoming with the release of reports on the Space Research Summer Study-1965 (June 21-July 16). Dr. Hess noted that the 1964 study recommended highest priority be given to search for life on a neighboring planet. He said the only difference in the 1965 recommendation was to "give a somewhat higher priority to Venus but leaving Mars the number one objective." (NAS-NRC News Report, 9/65, 5)
NASA had awarded Douglas Aircraft Co, $16,200,000 fixed-price, incentive-fee contract for 15 Improved Delta launch vehicle upper stages and associated equipment. The Improved Deltas would have larger fuel tanks which would extend the burning time to 400 sec, from 160 sec, for the standard 2nd stage of the Delta. ( NASA Release 65-280)
Preparation for landing a man on the moon by 1970 was not the main purpose of the Gemini program as the U.S. contended, according to Krasnaya Zvezda, official newspaper of the Soviet Defense Ministry: "The main purpose is testing the capability of intercepting artificial satellites and conducting reconnaissance from space." The newspaper said long-range cameras aboard could provide detailed photographs of cities, railroads, posts, and ships, and that the astronauts were also equipped to "carry out visual intelligence," It noted that GEMINI V was scheduled to pass above Cuba 11 times, North Vietnam 16 times, and China 40 times. (Shabad, NYT, 8/26/65, 15)
DOD would initiate a demonstration program of a high-performance cryogenic engine in FY 1966, which could provide up to 50% payload increase in the future, Dr. Harold Brown, Director of DOD Research and Engineering, told a closed session of the Senate Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee, Brown said that the program, which would be closely coordinated with NASA, would provide the design data necessary to initiate a high-performance engine development program in the future. Dr. Brown suggested that the 1975-1985 time period might include operational reusable spacecraft, possibly growing out of an MOL program requirement for data return or logistic resupply, He foresaw an evolution of "reentry spacecraft shapes which will provide greater flexibility of operations, enjoy higher reusability, and possess close to the same volumetric efficiency of current reentry spacecraft. These high performance maneuverable reentry spacecraft should be capable of performing missions calling for fast tactical response and greater option in the selection of landing sites. " (Text)
Distinction between "orbit" and "revolution" was discussed by John A. Osmundsen in a New York Times article: "An orbit is simply the completion of a circuit in space. "A revolution, on the other hand, is two consecutive passages of a satellite over a particular meridian on earth. "The switch in terminology from orbits to revolutions was desirable for practical reasons involving ground tracking, ground-to-satellite communications and the execution of satellite experiments geared to terrestrial features, such as volcanoes and clouds. "It is important to make the distinction between orbits and revolutions because a satellite moving east completes an orbit in less time than it takes to complete a revolution, Hence, it will make fewer revolutions than orbits." (Osmundsen, NYT, 8/26/65, C17)
Plans for the exploration of Mars called for an engineering test shot in 1969 and an unmanned landing in 1971, Robert F. Fellows, NASA program chief for planetary atmospheres, said at Fifth Annual Space Conference at VPI. Additional unmanned Mars landings were scheduled for 1973 and 1975: larger capsules-up to three tons-were expected to land in the early 1980's. Fellows said that the 1971 mission would require two pieces of hardware: an orbiter that would circle Mars for up to 50 yrs, and a capsule that would be lowered to the surface of the planet. The orbiter would have a scientific payload up to 300 lbs, to realy information to earth for about a year. The capsule would penetrate the thin Martian atmosphere protected by a heat shield and, after landing, deploy its instruments, take soil samples, and relay the data to earth. Fellows confirmed that the interplanetary mission after Mars would be to Venus, with Jupiter next. (AP, Wash. Post, 8/26/65, A10)
Representatives of 27 firms interested in providing computer services to support NASA Michoud Assembly Facility and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Mississippi Test Facility attended a pre-proposal conference at the New Orleans installation. The computer services contract, which would cover a one-year period with three one-year renewal options, would include operation or maintenance of about 20 digital and analog computers, a data transmission system, a data reduction system, and related electronic equipment. (MSFC Release 65-211)
X-19 experimental V/Stol aircraft crashed and burned during its initial flight test at National Aviation Experimental Facilities Center, Pomona, N.J. Both pilots parachuted safely from the aircraft, which had been designed by Curtiss-Wright Corp, for DOD. (NYT, 8/26/65, 24; WSJ, 8/26/65, 1)
Wendell F. Moore of Textron's Bell Aerosystems Co, was recipient of The Franklin Institute's John Price Wetherill Medal for his invention of small rocket lift device, Franklin Institute announced. (Av. Wk., 9/13/65, 23; Franklin Institute)
A speech by Rep. John Brademas (D-Ind.) that had been made at Purdue Univ. on the role science and technology would play in economic development of the Midwest was inserted in the Congressional Record: "Based on ... studies one might put forth the following hypothesis: The Midwest is exceedingly successful in obtaining non-mission-oriented basic research funds; holds its own in general university research, basic and applied; does very poorly in industrial development related to Federal research and development problems; and does very well as a supplier of production items in support of Federal research and development projects. ... "A recent study by the National Academy of Sciences . . . shows that the great universities of the Midwest-I still refer to the five states of the east northcentral region-were the source of well over one-fourth of all the doctorates produced in the United States during the 1920's, a figure above that of any other statistical region of the country, In the 1960-1961 period, our region is still producing over one-fourth of the Nation's doctorates and continues to surpass any other region." (CR, 8/25/65, 2083-84)
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