Aug 2 1962
From The Space Library
Joseph A. Walker (NASA) flew X-15 No. 3 in test of the research aircraft's ability to automatically correct undesired yaw. In nine-minute flight, the X-15 reached maximum altitude of 147,000 ft. and speed of 3,445 mph (mach 4.99).
First full-scale research model of an inflatable space station was displayed at NASA Lewis Research Center. Developed by Goodyear Aircraft Corp. for NASA, the doughnut-shaped, three-story-high structure was made of rubberized fabric and equipped to accommodate three to ten astronauts.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Sen. John J. Sparkman of Alabama as acting chairman) announced plans for hearings on international aspects of the communications satellite bill. Plans called for testimony by Secretary of State Dean Rusk, other State Department officials, and representatives of Defense Department, Commerce Department, and Justice Department, as well as NASA.
British Parliamentary Secretary for Science, Denzil Freeth, said that ARIEL I had produced interesting and valuable information about the ionosphere and the higher atmosphere. He added: "ARIEL at first behaved almost perfectly but recently transmission of data has been interrupted irregularly. The reason is not known but is being investigated." U.K. Defense Minister Peter Thorneycroft announced that Thor missile bases in Britain would be abolished by October 1963. British long-range defense would be assumed by U.S. fleet of Polaris-firing submarines and, later, by Skybolt air-to-surface missiles carried on British bombers.
When questioned at press conference regarding the British decision to discontinue Thor missile bases, President Kennedy stated: "Our ability to meet our commitments to the defense of Western Europe in the conventional and in the nuclear field remain unchanged . . ., and the United States' commitment remains unchanged." Aerojet-General Corp. proposed a booster two to three times larger than Nova, to be launched from the sea. Two-stage Sea Dragon with takeoff weight of 20 to 100 million pounds would be assembled in existing drydocks, towed to point of launch, and launched from the water without gantry cranes or launch pads. Both stages would be recovered in the water by hydrodynamic deceleration.
FAA announced its airport aid program for FY 1963, a record $74.2 million to be spent on improvement or construction of 419 airfields.
French physicist Duke Armand de Gramont, founder of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Optics and president of Optique et Precision de Levallois, died in his chateau near Paris. He had helped develop the electronic microscope.
August 2-3: In meeting at NASA Langley Research Center, Langley and MSC personnel presented reports on space station studies to officials from NASA Hq. and other interested agencies.
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