Feb 29 1964
From The Space Library
ECHO II passive communications satellite was used for transmission of two radiophotos between Britain's Jodrell Bank Experimental Station at Manchester and Gorki University's radioastronomy observatory at Zimenki. A third space telegram was sent from Jodrell Bank to Zimenki via the moon, and its quality was comparable to those received via ECHO II The U.S. satellite was termed by Tass commentator "the Friendship Sputnik." (UPI, Wash. Post, 3/1/64; NYT, 3/2/64, 9; Krasnaya Zvezda, 3/1/64, 4, ATSS-T Trans.)
At White House news conference, President Johnson announced: "The United States has successfully developed an advance experimental jet aircraft, now the A-11, which has been tested in sustained flight at more than 2,000 miles an hour and at altitudes in excess of 70,000 feet. "The performance of the A-11 far exceeds that of any other aircraft in the world today. The development of this aircraft has been made possible by major advances in aircraft technology of great significance to both military and commercial application. Several A-11 aircraft are now being flight-tested at Edwards Air Force Base in California. . . . "The development of supersonic commercial transport aircraft will also be greatly assisted by the lessons learned from this A-11 program. For example, one of the most important technological achievements in this project has been the mastery of the metallurgy and fabrication of titanium metal which is required for the high temperatures experienced by aircraft traveling at more than three times the speed of sound. "Arrangements are being made to make this and other important technical developments available under appropriate safeguards to those directly engaged in the supersonic transport program. "This program was first started in 1959. Appropriate members of the Senate and the House have been kept fully informed on the program since the day of its inception. The Lockheed Aircraft Corporation at Burbank, Calif., is the manufacturer of the aircraft. The aircraft engine, the J-58, Was designed and built by the Pratt & Whitney Division, United Aircraft Corporation. The experimental fire control and air-to-air missile system for the A-11 was developed by the Hughes Aircraft Company. "In view of the continuing importance of these developments to our national security, the detailed performance of the A-11 will remain strictly classified and all individuals have been directed to refrain from making any further disclosure concerning this program. . . The President also announced he would release on March 2 Eugene Black's supersonic transport study. (Transcript, Wash. Post, 3/1/64, A20)
Distribution of space and military contracts was of growing concern for the Administration, John Finney reported in New York Times article. "Space contracts have tended to accentuate the existing research concentration on the East and West Coasts." 90% of space contracts and 83% of defense -research contracts were awarded to only 10 states, and in FY 1963 50% of space contracts and 41.4% of military R&D contracts were awarded in California. Finney pointed out that NASA was "attempting to broaden the economic and industrial impact of its rapidly expanding program. . . . Working through universities, the agency is attempting to enlist new regions in its program and to apply the technological developments of its research to the civilian economy. . . . In fact, James E. Webb, the agency head, has become a salesman . . . to enlist new regions, new universities, new industries. . . ." (Finney, NYT, 3/1/64, 1)
In article on "The Politics of the Space Age" in the Saturday Evening Post, President Lyndon B. Johnson essayed his views on the manner in which space exploration may bring an end to hostilities among nations on earth. In this abridgement of forthcoming volume edited by Lillian Levy entitled Space: Its Impact on Man and Society, President Johnson said:" . . Any discussion of the "politics' of the space age is, necessarily, a discussion of politics in the classical sense, not the convention-and- campaign sense. If the space age has not eliminated the smoke-filled room, it has at least opened a window and given air to fundamental and sometimes obscured values. "The fate of the free society-and the human values it upholds-is unalterably tied to what happens in outer space, as humankind's ultimate dimension. While the response of our technology is important, no less important is the response and the role of our political institutions-both to the challenge of the present and to the opportunities of the future. "The vital role of politics in the space age has been evident since October 4, 1957, when the Soviet's Sputnik I was launched. The orbiting of that first unmanned earth satellite was a feat of science. But the Worldwide impact and importance were essentially political. Sputnik I was proclaimed by the Soviets as validation of Communist prophecies about the superiority of their political system. Such conclusions have been proved premature "Why did this occur? Self-examination is imperative. In retrospect, the answers seem to be these:
- "1. Despite two decades of intensive scientific advance we had failed to establish adequate relationships between the scientific community and the political community-to the blame of each and the disservice of both.
- "2. Inherent in the political miscalculation toward space exploration was the influence of the unfortunate anti-intellectualism of the early 1950's. . . . The open contempt with which the Sputnik I success was greeted by some in positions of political trust betrayed a degeneration of the respect for intellect which is indispensable to the governing of a free and open society.
- "3. Perhaps the greatest failure of all was devaluation of the first-and the hardest-responsibility of elected representatives of the people in our system: the responsibility to lead. . . . "In the years since 1957 the American political system and its politicians have acquitted themselves well, as have our scientists. An orderly program of space exploration has been devised and financed without unbalancing the values of our free society...
"Our most important achievement politically in the space age has been this retention of basic national character, purpose and political values in our space program. It is reflected by a primary objective of our program, clearly stated at the outset, to gather knowledge for the benefit of all nations and to join with all nations in this endeavor.. . "Thus far the space age has been characterized as a period of competition. It is important, however, that we keep in mind the fact that the competitiveness is between political systems, not between national scientific communities. In the world of science the logical instinct is toward cooperation without regard to political boundaries. This impulse we must preserve. The real challenge of the space age is for the politician to tear down the walls between men which have been erected by his predecessors and contemporaries in the political field, rather than to raise its barriers higher into the free and peaceful vastness of space. If the potentials of the age of space are fully realized, this period will someday be known-and blessed by all people on earth-as the Golden Age of Political Science." (Sat. Eve. Post, 2/29/64, 22, 24)
Former astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr. (Lt. Col. USMC), hospitalized with minor concussion suffered in accidental fall, announced he would remain on active duty in USMC until April 1; after this retirement date, he would be free to campaign for Democratic senatorial nomination in Ohio. (UPI, Wash. Post, 3/1/64, A2)
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