Dec 22 1962
From The Space Library
COSMOS XII satellite placed in orbit by U.S.S.R. Reported orbital data: 270-mi. apogee, 126.6-mi. perigee, 90.45-min. period, 65° inclination to the equator.
Revealed that world's first attempt to flight-test an ion rocket engine was made on USAF Scout launching from PMR during the past week (perhaps 12/18/62), according to the Washington Post. Malfunction limited value of the test but launching marked beginning of new phase of space flight. Electric propulsion, with low thrust over long periods of time and of light weight, can propel large payloads, once boosted into space, for long distances at greater speeds than heavier chemical rockets with heavy fuels.
President Kennedy's approval of $5.7 billion budget for NASA in FY 1964 was reported. Of the total nearly $4.5 billion would be for manned flight.
Soviet Ambassador to India Ivan A. Benediktov announced in Bombay that U.S.S.R. would soon launch a manned spaceship weighing "several dozen tons." No further details were announced.
Soviet government organ Izvestia stated that the Anglo-American agreement concluded at Nassau "turns out that they [U.S. and U.K.] want to drag atomic weapons into NATO in the form of Polaris rockets . . ." U.S.S.R. detonated atmospheric nuclear explosion in Novaya Zemlya area, the 36th reported by AEC in current test series. Force of the explosion was in intermediate range.
Air-launched Skybolt missile was successfully test-flown near Cape Canaveral, only successful flight in six attempts and last test scheduled in Skybolt program. Acting Secretary of Defense Roswell F. Gilpatric stated that the successful test of Skybolt had not changed DOD decision to discontinue the program: "Today's single test did not conclusively demonstrate the capacity of the missile to achieve the target accuracy for which the Skybolt system was designed . . ." USAF announced "routine training launch" of Atlas ICBM from Vandenberg AFB by the 576th Strategic Missile Squadron.
U.S. Army's Nike-Zeus successfully intercepted ICBM target in first test involving decoys, non announced. Atlas ICBM with its decoys was launched from Vandenberg AFB toward Kwajalein Island in the Pacific, from which two Nike-Zeus were launched; one of the antimissile missiles had to be destroyed after launching, but the other successfully completed the mission.
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