Feb 23 1965
From The Space Library
USAF 1,175-lb, Project Asset reentry glider, last in a test series of six, was launched from Cape Kennedy by a Thor-Delta rocket booster on a 13,300 mph suborbital flight; the spacecraft then was lost at sea. The experiment was to test materials for future lifting body reentry designs; it consisted of 2,000 tiny heat-sensitive spots in ten different colors designed to change hue as the glider came back through the atmosphere from an altitude of 40 mi. USAF said that most of the information sought had been radioed to the ground during the 30 min. flight, but that visual examination of the glider was necessary for data on heat distribution, Officials presumed the glider sank into the sea, although intermittent radio signals received had indicated it had been at least partially afloat for some hours. Planes and ships were combing an area in the Atlantic Ocean about 2,750 mi. southeast of Cape Kennedy for the missing craft. (AP, Wash. Post, 2/24/65; U.S. Aeron. & Space Act., 1965, 134)
Addressing the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NASA Administrator James E. Webb said: "I would like to acknowledge the debt that NASA owes to the armed forces for early and continuing work that has contributed to some of our most successful space projects. As you know, NASA works closely with the Air Force in the development of launch vehicles and in the general technology of space flight. . . . "As an example-among many-of cooperative NASA-DOD activities: on January 1, NASA transferred control of its operating SYNCOM II and SYNCOM III communications satellites to the Department of Defense. . . . "When the great DOD missile site construction program-which ran at one time to $2.8 billion a year-subsided, the Corps of Engineers brought its tremendous engineering capability to the construction of NASA facilities. As the Corps moved toward completion of its work for NASA, its abilities will have been enhanced by the experience of building these great new national resources. The Corps, with new skills, will be able to move to new national requirements with assurance that it has performed extraordinarily well in engineering fields never before attempted. "Today there are detailed to NASA 254 active duty military personnel. Five of our astronauts are graduates of this great Academy. Nothing could be more fitting. For the debt modern American science and technology owes to West Point is too large to be repaid. It can visibly be traced back to Sylvanus Thayer who not only is the father of this Academy but who had a tremendous influence for half a century in the field of technical and scientific education throughout the United States." (Text)
Statement of Edmond C. Buckley, NASA Director of Tracking and Data Acquisition, was presented by Gerald M. Truszynski, NASA Deputy Director of Tracking and Data Acquisition, in testimony before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics: "Since 1958, NASA has provided tracking and data acquisition support by means of the NASA Satellite Tracking and Data Acquisition Network for approximately 50 DOD earth satellites. During 1965 we expect to provide continuing telemetry support for as many as 10 DOD earth satellites, and limited tracking support for several more. Also, our station at Carnarvon, Australia, being in an excellent geographical relation to the launch facilities at Cape Kennedy, will be used to support a number of DOD spacecraft, as well as NASA spacecraft, where data and flight control after one-half orbit is required. For example, the DOD Titan III launch vehicle development program is vitally dependent on support by this station. We anticipate support of approximately 15 Titan III operations per year for the next two years. "In a similar fashion, the tracking and data acquisition support which the DOD provides for NASA is extensive. At Cape Kennedy, for example, DOD has supported the launch phase of each NASA space flight mission. The extensive support provided by DOD for the Mercury program is well known. The Gemini program requires continuation of this DOD support." Referring in his testimony to current trends affecting planning for support networks, Mr. Buckley said: ". . . equally significant requirement, is the increase in the number of spacecraft which will have highly elliptical or synchronous orbits. Spacecraft in highly elliptical orbits must be supported by a particular ground station, much in the same way as done for deep space missions, i.e., a particular station is required to provide as much as 8-10 hours per day of its available time for support of one satellite, Spacecraft in synchronous orbits require support of a particular station for 24 hours per day. As a result, tracking and data acquisition links are being committed to longer support periods which means not only that more equipment is required, but additional personnel, ground communications, and other operations expenditures are needed to meet this upcoming satellite support workload." (Testimony; 1966 NASA Auth. Hearings, 187212)
On the floor of the House, Rep. George P. Miller (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, commented on the successful RANGER VIII spacecraft as "yet another major American space achievement. For the second time in less than a year a Ranger spacecraft has successfully taken closeup pictures of the lunar surface and returned them to earth from a distance of a quarter of a million miles. . . ." (NASA LAR iv/33-35)
Rep. John R. Schmidhauser (D-Iowa) commented upon and inserted in the Congressional Record an article which appeared in the Davenport Times-Democrat about the Davenport Alcoa plant and the construction of Pegasus satellites. It said: "A unique arrangement of special equipment that senses infrared energy-thus indicating which part of the satellite is facing earth-enables scientists to determine the direction each meteoroid is traveling when it strikes Pegasus. Such information will tell spacecraft designers the extent of possible damage from hits, enabling them to build manned craft which will be relatively unaffected by meteoroids." (CR, 2/23/65, A77374)
Scientists at MIT's new Center for Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development were screening and testing new items that could potentially help the blind and deaf-blind, it was reported. Scheduled for early testing was an inertial navigation system that could sense movement off a straight line. It was about the size of a cigarette package and would be held flat between the thumb and index finger. If a blind person holding this battery-operated device in his right hand veered off course to the left, a projection would hit him in the thumb; if he veered off to the right he would be hit in the index finger. The system of gyroscopes and accelerometers that would operate this instrument was also found in missile and spacecraft guidance systems. (Sci. Serv., NYT, 2/23/65, 31)
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
