Jan 14 1969
From The Space Library
January 14-18: Soyuz IV, carrying Cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov, was successfully launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome into orbit with 224-km (139.2-mi) apogee, 213-km (132.4-mi) perigee, 88.8- min period, and 51.7° inclination. Soviet news media reported launch quickly and in detail and within one hour video recording of launch was shown on Moscow TV. Soon afterward viewers received live TV coverage from spacecraft and description of flight by Cosmonaut Shatalov. Western speculation, later confirmed, was that Soyuz IV would rendezvous with another spacecraft Soyuz V, carrying Cosmonauts Yevegeny Khrunov, Boris Volynov, and Aleksey Yeliseyev, was launched Jan. 15 into orbit with 212-km (131.7-mi) apogee, 196-km (121.8-mi) perigee, 88.6-min period, and 51.7° inclination. Tass said spacecraft would conduct joint experiments with Soyuz IV. Spacecraft established radio contact, coordinated scientific programs, transmitted TV pictures to earth, photographed earth's surface, and conducted midcourse maneuvers. On Jan. 16 the two spacecraft automatically approached to within 110 yds of each other and Soyuz IV was then steered manually until it docked with Soyuz V. Tass announcement said: "After the docking there was a mutual mechanical coupling of the ships, they were rigidly tightened up and their electrical circuits were connected. Thus, the world's first experimental cosmic station with four compartments for the crew was assembled and began functioning as an artificial earth satellite." Moscow TV viewers watched as Soyuz V crew members Khrunov and Yeliseyev put on special spacesuits with new regenerative life-support systems and went out into space through service compartment hatch. Cosmonauts remained in space for one hour, conducting observations and experiments, and then entered service compartment of other spacecraft, Soyuz IV, to join Shatalov. After 4 hrs 35 min of docked flight in low, nearly circular orbit, spacecraft were uncoupled and continued their flights separately. Soyuz IV, with three-man crew, landed Jan. 17 and Soyuz V, Jan. 18. (UPI, W Star, 1/14-19/69; Shub, W Post, 1/15-19/69; Winters, B Sun, 1/15-18/69; Moscow News, 1/25-2/1/69, 3; 2/1-8/69, Supplement; GSFC SSR, 1/15/69; 1/31/69)
In his last State of the Union message, President Johnson told Joint Session of Congress: ". . . if the Nation's problems are continuing, so are this Nation's assets. Our economy, the democratic system, our sense of exploration, symbolized most recently by the wonderful flight of the Apollo 8, in which all Americans took great pride, the good common sense and sound judgment of the American people, and their essential love of justice." Quest for durable peace "has absorbed every Administration since the end of World War II. It has required us to seek a limitation of arms races not only among the superpowers, but among the smaller nations as well. We have joined in the test ban treaty of 1963, the outer space treaty of 1967, and the treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons in 1968." (PD, 1/20/69, 60-8)
In fourth big city welcome within one week, Apollo 8 Astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr." and William A. Anders received tribute from estimated 1.5 million persons in Chicago reception at which they were made honorary citizens of city. (UPI, NYT, 1/15/69, 1)
MSFC announced Dr. Arthur Rudolph, special assistant to MSFC Director, Dr. Wernher von Braun, and formerly manager of Saturn V rocket program, would retire Jan. 31. Dr. Rudolph had been awarded NASA Distinguished Service Medal Jan. 13 and on Nov. 15, 1968, had received NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal "for distinguishing himself by meritorious achievement" as manager of Saturn V program from August 1963 to May 1968. Starting career in rocketry in Germany in 1930, he later received patents for liquid-fuel rocket engines and demonstrated operation of liquid-fuel rocket. He came to U.S. with more than 100 other rocket experts in "Operation Paperclip " in December 1945. (MSFC Release 69-10)
Secretary of the Air Force-designate, Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr." thought space activity should be major part of USAF, Christian Science Monitor said. He had said, "My prime objective will be to develop equipment for national defense, and my emphasis will be on whatever kind of equipment will be most Suitable for the mission at hand." (CSM, 1/14/69, 5)
Senate adopted S.R. 13 establishing numerical size of Senate standing committees for 91st Congress and adopted S.R. 14 and S.R. 15 electing majority and minority standing committee membership. Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences was reduced from 16 to 15 members, with Republican Sens. Len B. Jordan (R-Idaho) and Charles E. Goodell (R-N.Y.) dropping off. Senate also approved appointment of Sens. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), Charles McC. Mathias, Jr. (R-Md.), and William B. Saxbe (R-Ohio) to committee. Democratic assignments on committee remained unchanged. (CR, 1/14/69, S152-87)
USN announced it had selected Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. as prime contractor for new F-14A supersonic carrier-based fighter. F-14A was expected to make maiden flight in early 1971 and to be operational with fleet in 1973. (DOD Release 33-69)
Anglo-French Concorde supersonic airliner was undergoing final ground trials at Toulouse-Blagnac airfield in southwest France in preparation for inaugural flight expected toward end of January or early February, Reuters reported. Aircraft was expected to enter commercial service in 1972 and to halve London-New York flight time, to 3 hrs 32 min. It had five-year lead over U.S. SST, which was still in blueprint stage. (NYT, 1/15/69, 77)
NASA announced it had signed $2,919,000 supplemental agreement with Div. of Sponsored Research of MIT for fabrication and delivery of 40 inertial reference integrating gyros (IRIGs) for Apollo guidance and navigation system, bringing total contract to $81,000,000, (NASA Release 69-11)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. received $1,000,000 initial increment to $3,900,000 fixed-price USAF contract for development, fabrication, and testing of Titan IIIC payload fairing subsystem. Contract was managed by USAF Space and Missile Systems Organization. (DOD Release 34-69)
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