August 1962
From The Space Library
First full-scale model of 3-man Apollo spacecraft underwent preliminary ocean drop-testing off California coast and was shipped to NASA Manned Spacecraft Center for further testing. J. Thomas Markley, Apollo project engineer for NASA, described all spacecraft structural tests thus far as "successful." Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, Director of NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, presented details of Apollo spacecraft at Institute of the Aerospace Sciences (IAS) meeting in Seattle. During launch and re-entry, 3-man crew would be seated in adjacent couches; during other phases of flight, center couch would be stowed to permit more freedom of movement. Apollo command module cabin would have 365-cu. ft. volume, with 22-cu. ft. free area available to crew. "The small end of the command module may contain an airlock; when the lunar excursion module is not attached, the airlock would permit a pressure-suited crewman to exit to free space without decompressing the cabin. Crew ingress and egress while on Earth will be through a hatch in the side of the command module."
Under Secretary of the Air Force Joseph V. Charyk told Seventh Symposium on Ballistic Missile and Space Technology that USAF had flight-tested two Agena D upper-stage vehicles, the first firing occurring in June. Agena D would accommodate a variety of payloads, whereas earlier models Agena A and B had integrated payloads.
Congressman Bob Wilson of House Armed Services Committee, addressing the Institute of World Affairs, recommended establishment of a U.S. Military Space Academy. He said he was "deeply concerned over the tendency of our space program to emphasize the experimental and scientific and de-emphasize the military aspects of space. . . . The Air Force has started a limited program to train spacemen for the future. It should be expanded into a full-fledged space manpower program. Perhaps a 'fourth service' should be set up to train men in astronautics, hypersonic aerodynamics, the physiological and psychological aspects of flight." American Rocket Society gave Congressman George Miller of House Committee for Science and Astronautics a special award for his "outstanding leadership in space."
- August
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