Aug 8 1967
From The Space Library
NASA Aerobee 150 sounding rocket launched from WSMR achieved 180-mi (289-km) altitude in flight to measure: (1) vertical profiles of neutral and ion composition and electron densities; and (2) dissociation of molecular oxygen and atomic nitrogen density using mass spectrometers designed for the POGO satellite. Preliminary data indicated that the rocket and all experiments had performed satisfactorily. (NASA Rpt SRL)
NASA Nike-Apache sounding rocket launched from Wallops Station carried Univ. of Illinois-GCA Corp. experiment to 88-mi (141-km) altitude to determine electron density in lower ionosphere (during period of non-blanketing Sporadic-E) , electron collision frequency, electron temperature, and positive ion densities of species in the 8-to 60-a.m.u. range. Rocket and instrumentation performed satisfactorily, and excellent results were anticipated. (NASA Rpt SRL)
U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos CLXXI into orbit with 220-km (137-mi) apogee, 145-km (90-mi) perigee, and 50° inclination. All equipment was functioning normally. Spacecraft reentered the same day it was launched. (SSR; Aero Tech, 8/14/67,13)
House passed $4.86-billion NASA FY 1968 authorization bill (S. 1296), completing congressional action on the authorization. (CR, 8/8/67, H10054-60)
NASA had modified TRW Systems' $34.7-million contract for Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO) satellites to a $53.7-million fixed-price incentive contract. Revised agreement provided for assembly, test, and launch of OGO-D, OGO-E, and OGO-F, in addition to incorporating previously authorized work. (NASA Release 67-213)
Report by House of Commons Estimates Committee urged U.K. to appoint a space minister and initiate a five-year national space program at a cost of $84-$98 million annually. Program should be directed toward the 1971 launch of a comsat which could be used for both commercial and military operations. Report criticized U.K.'s current space effort for lack of purpose and organization, noting that money "had been poured into international projects without a properly conceived national program." (W Post, 8/9/67, A16; SBD, 8/10/67, 205)
Eastern Airlines named A. Scott Crossfield, NACA test pilot from 1953 to 1961, Systems Director of Research and Development for Flight to help prepare airline for its first Concorde and Boeing 2707 supersonic aircraft. Crossfield in 1953 became the first man to fly at twice the speed of sound when he piloted the rocket-propelled D-558-II aircraft. He was also the first pilot to fly the X-15 to mach 2.97 (Nov. 15, 1960). In 1961, he became division director of test and quality assurance for NAA's Hound Dog Missile, Apollo, Saturn, and Paraglider projects. For his contributions to aviation he was awarded the Harmon International Aviator's Trophy in 1961 and the Robert J. Collier Trophy in 1962. (NYT, 8/9/67,61)
August 8-9: NASA successfully launched five Nike-Apache sounding rockets with chemical cloud experiments and one Arcas sounding rocket with a small live animal payload from NASA Wallops Station between 10.43 p.m. and 7:27 a.m. Five Nike-Apaches ejected vapor trails between 50-and 125-mi altitudes to measure wind velocities and directions at various altitudes in the upper atmosphere. Nike-Apache launched at dawn was sodium experiment which created reddish-orange trail; remaining four were trimethylaluminum (TU) experiments which created bluish-green trails. Data were obtained by photographing continuously the motion of the trails from five ground-based camera sites within 100-mi radius of Wallops. Arcas sounding rocket carried payload with small live white rat to 25-mi altitude; payload descended by parachute and was recovered from the Atlantic by helicopter. Subsequent examination by Wallops scientists indicated rat was in excellent condition. Nike-Apache launches were conducted for GCA Corp., under contract to GSFC. Arcas launch was part of Wallops Station's Bio-Space Technology Training Program to assist biological experimenters in evaluating the engineering and operational aspects of spaceflight research. (WS Release 67-27)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
