Aug 26 1974
From The Space Library
Charles A. Lindbergh the first man to fly solo nonstop from New York to Paris, in 1927-died of cancer on Maui, Hawaii, at the age of 72. He was buried three hours later in a simple funeral near the Kipahulu church on Maui. In Washington, President Ford said: "Nearly half a century has passed since his courageous solo flight . . . but the courage and daring of his feat will never be forgotten. For years to come, we will also remember the selfless, sincere man himself . , one of America's all time heroes and a great pioneer of the air age that changed the world."
For the transatlantic flight, airmail pilot and barnstormer Lindbergh had helped design a Ryan monoplane, calculating every ounce. When the Spirit of St. Louis landed at Le Bourget airfield, Paris, at 10:22 pm 21 May 1927 after a 33-hr 29-min flight, Lindbergh was greeted by 25 000 wildly cheering persons. British, French, and Belgian governments awarded the flyer their highest decorations for valor. He received the first U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross and the Medal of Honor and was promoted from lieutenant to colonel in the Army Air Corps Reserve.
Following goodwill flights throughout the U.S. and Latin America, sponsored by the Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics, Lindbergh served as adviser to Pan American World Airways and to the predecessor of Trans World Airlines, helping to lay out transatlantic, transcontinental, and Caribbean air routes for commercial aviation. He served as a member of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 1931-1939, heading the special committee that recommended to Congress expansion of U.S. aircraft research facilities and establishment of what became the Ames and Lewis Research Centers.
After the kidnapping and murder of his first son and the subsequent publicity, Lindbergh moved to Europe in 1935, where he studied the military forces of the European countries. His conclusion that the German Luftwaffe would be superior to the combined forces of the Allies, his acceptance of the Service Cross of the German Eagle from the German government, and his opposition to U.S. participation in World War II provoked the U.S. public to question his patriotism and he resigned his commission in the Army Air Corps. During the war he was a consultant to bomber aircraft manufacturers Ford Motor Co. and United Aircraft Corp. He traveled to the Pacific war area in 1944 to study the Navy's Corsair F-4U under flying conditions and there, as a civilian, flew 50 missions against the Japanese.
Following the war, his commission restored and promoted to the rank of brigadier general, Lindbergh was a technical consultant for Government and private industry in missile and space flight programs. As a consultant for Pan Am he worked on design specifications for the Boeing 747. Lindbergh devoted the later years of his life to writing and speaking on world conservation policies. (NYT, 27 Aug 74, 1; 18; Crawford, W Post, 27 Aug 74, C3; PD, 2 Sept 74, 1068-9; James, NYT, 22 May 27, 1; Affidavit Exec Apptmt, 6 Nov 31; letter, NACA Chm Bush to Lindbergh, 7 Feb 40)
Dr. Alan M. Lovelace, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Research and Development, had been appointed NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Space Technology effective 1 Sept., NASA announced. Dr. Lovelace would replace Gen. Bruce K. Holloway (USAF, Ret.) , who would retire from NASA 30 Aug. after serving as Acting Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Space Technology and Assistant Administrator for DOD and Interagency Affairs. Dr. Lovelace had been Director of the Air Force Materials Laboratory in 1967 and had become Director of Science and Technology, Air Force Systems Command, in 1972. He had received numerous awards, including the AFML Charles J. Cleary and Arthur S. Flemming awards for his work in fluorine and polymer chemistry, the National Civil Service League Career Service Award, and the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Service. (NASA Release 74-236)
John M. Thole had been appointed Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Science effective 1 Sept., NASA announced. Thole would succeed Vincent L. Johnson, who had retired. Former project manager for the Applications Technology Satellite at Goddard Space Flight Center, Thole had joined GSFC in 1960 and had held a variety of project management positions since that time. (NASA Ann, 26 Aug 74)
26 August-20 September: Thirty NASA engineers and technicians met with U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences counterparts in Moscow as joint preparations for the Apollo Soyuz Test Project's July 1975 flight continued.
On 8 Sept. another group of 47 specialists and engineers headed by U.S. ASTP Technical Director Glynn S. Lunney arrived in Moscow for 2 weeks of meetings with the Soviet group headed by U.S.S.R. Technical Director Konstantin D. Bushuyev. The project directors announced plans for joint prelaunch tests at the U.S. launch site 1-8 Feb. 1975 and at the U.S.S.R. launch area 5-13 May 1975. Flight crews and technical specialists from both countries would participate. Soviet specialists also announced plans to fly a manned Soyuz mission to test ASTP-related systems. NASA would be informed of further details before the flight to permit tracking.
Thirteen U.S. flight controllers were also spending two weeks in Moscow beginning 15 Sept. meeting with Soviet controllers for familiarization and training, including briefings on Soviet Mission Control Center operations, Soyuz spacecraft systems, and the mission flight plan. (JSC ASTP Press Communique, 20 Sept 74; JSC Roundup, 13 Sept 74; JSC Release 74-250)
26-29 August: The U.S.S.R. launched Soyuz 15, carrying crew members Lt. Col. Gennady V. Sarafanov and Col. Lev S. Demin, from Baykonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam at 12:58 pm local time (3:58 pm EDT) 26 Aug. in an attempt to dock with the orbiting Salyut 3 research station (launched 25 June) . Soyuz 15 entered orbit with a 239-km apogee, 175-km perigee, 88.5-min period, and 51.7° inclination. Tass reported the purpose of the mission was "to continue scientific research and experiments in space started July 3 .. . during the flight of the transport ship Soyuz 14 and the station Salyut 3. "
Tass reported 28 Aug. that on the second working day the cosmonauts felt well and had made "experiments to perfect the technique of piloting the ship in different flight regimes." During maneuvering Soyuz 15 approached the Salyut 3 space station many times, the cosmonauts controlling spaceship functions, observing the approach, and inspecting the station. Tass then reported the crew was "concluding the flight and . . . preparing the spacecraft for the return to the earth."
After a 48-hr 12-min mission, Soyuz 15 softlanded safely at 1:10 am 29 Aug. Baykonur time (4:10 pm EDT 28 Aug.) -the first Soviet night landing-48 km southwest of Tselinograd in Kazakhstan despite a "difficult meteorological situation." On-the-spot medical examinations showed the cosmonauts to be in "good health."
Early press reports quoted Western experts as saying the flight probably ended early because of a failure in the docking mechanism of the spacecraft, damage to or failure of the spacecraft during the attempted linkup, or a serious deterioration of the Salyut orbital station. In response to questions about the impact of the Soyuz 15 mission on the planned July 1975 U.S.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz mission, Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, said in a 29 Aug. statement, "NASA personnel engaged in the Apollo Soyuz Test Project . . . were informed in advance by Soviet personnel of the 'Soyuz 15' flight and its approximate timing." Dr. Fletcher said that neither Soyuz 14 (launched 3 July) nor Soyuz 15 "carried the ASTP docking mechanism. We have no reason to doubt this information."
At a 9 Sept. press briefing at Johnson Space Center, Maj. Gen. Vladimir A. Shatalov, Soviet chief of cosmonaut training, confirmed through his translator that a hard dock had been one objective of the Soyuz 15 mission and that there were problems with the docking system. "In our previous flights . . . we had worked out the automatic rendezvous and docking, but it worked only up to 150 meters. . . . From that point, it was purely manual." At an 11 Sept. JSC press briefing, Shatalov said that during the Soyuz 15 flight the automatic system "worked well" up to 30 to 50 m. "But when going beyond 50 40, the range rate exceeded the necessary or the intended parameters." He also said the approaches had been repeated "a number of times and each time the automatic system worked up to 30-40 meters. . . . At no time in these approaches was it intended to use manual docking." He emphasized that they were satisfied with the automatic system to the point it had worked. He also said the second major objective of the mission was "to perfect this night landing."
Soyuz 15 was the second spacecraft to visit Salyut 3, the Soviet's third orbiting station. A two-man crew, launched 3 July aboard Soyuz 14, had spent nearly 16 days aboard the station performing scientific experiments. (Tass, FBIS-Sov, 27-29 Aug 74, Ul ; NASA Release 74-242; Wren, NYT, 29 Aug 74, 1; W Post, 30 Aug 74, A32; SF, Dec 74, 470; Transcripts, 9, 11 Sept 74)
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