Feb 20 1972
From The Space Library
Tenth anniversary of Friendship 7 mission, first U.S. manned orbital space flight. Piloted by Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., Friendship 7 had circled earth three times during 4-hr 55-min mission. Since Glenn's flight-which was third U.S. manned space flight and sixth flight in Project Mercury - 30 U.S. astronauts had flown in space total of 7700 hrs, 51 min-nearly 46 wks. Anniversary was observed at Kennedy Space Center Feb. 22, with 3000 guests and dignitaries invited to attend ceremony at Launch Complex 14, where commemorative plaque was unveiled, Glenn said space flight was "not a pleasure cruise for an individual. It's research at the highest level and it is difficult to tell where it will go from here." (xsc Release 37-72; B Sun, 2/23/72)
Proposals for Skylab experiments and demonstrations had been submitted by 3409 U.S. secondary school students to date, NASA announced. Response to Skylab student project had been among largest encountered by National Science Teachers' Assn, in 20 yrs of sponsoring student science projects. (NASA Release 72-35)
Air Force HC-130H piloted by L/c Ed Allison established world record for nonstop, unrefueled flight by turboprop aircraft of 14 052.94 km (8732.09 mi) in flight from Ching Chuan Kang Air Base on Taiwan to Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (Airman, 7/72, 2-8)
Dr. Maria G. Mayer-professor of physics at Univ. of California at San Diego, originator of "shell model" of atom nucleus, and winner of 1963 Nobel Prize in physics-died of heart failure at age 65. (AP, B Sun, 2/22/72, A8)
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