Jan 18 1965
From The Space Library
USAF launched an unidentified satellite on a Thor-Altair booster from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Altair was normally the solid-fuel fourth stage of the Scout booster. (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 1/19/65)
In an editorial in Aviation Week and Space Technology, Editor Robert Hotz said: "This is a year in which we will hear much about the growing pains of Apollo. It would be most amazing if we didn't. For Apollo is now in the midst of that difficult period when the problems of creating this incredibly intricate and complex technical system are being hammered the hardest toward solutions. It is also the period when the effectiveness of the management structure in welding all of the complex subsystems into a successfully functioning overall system within the time and money boundaries already established becomes most vital." (Av. Wk, 1/18/65, 17)
In his defense message to Congress, President Johnson cited major new developments in strategic weapon systems slated to begin this year: "A new missile system, the Poseidon [new name for Polaris B-3], to increase the striking power of our missile-carrying nuclear submarines. The Poseidon missile will have double the payload of the highly successful Polaris A-3. The increased accuracy and flexibility of the Poseidon will permit its use effectively against a broader range of penetration of enemy defenses, "A new Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM) that can, if needed, be deployed operationally with the B-52 or other bombers. This aerodynamic missile-a vast improvement over existing systems-would permit the bomber to attack a far larger number of targets and to do so from beyond the range of their local defenses. "A series of remarkable new payloads for strategic missiles. These include: penetration aids, to assure that the missile reaches its target through any defense; guidance and re-entry vehicle designs, to increase many-fold the effectiveness of our missiles against various kinds of targets; and methods of reporting the arrival of our missiles on target, up to and even including the time of explosion." In addition, he said that development of the C-5A (formerly the CX ) cargo transport and procurement of the Air Force F-111 fighter-bomber and new A-7 Navy attack aircraft would begin. Finally, regarding the role of science and technology in the Nation's security, the President said: "We are currently investing more than $6 billion per year for military research and development. . . . About $2 billion a year of this program is invested in innovations in technology and in experimental programs. Thus, we provide full play for the ingenuity and inventiveness of the best scientific and technical talent in our Nation and the Free World. "American science, industry, and technology are foremost in the world. Their resources represent a prime asset to our national security." (Text, Wash. Post, 1/19/65; AP, NYT, 1/19/65, 16; Norris, Wash. Post, 1/22/65)
The new SRAM (short-range attack missile), cited by President Johnson in his defense message to Congress, would be expected to travel 150 mi. from the launching plane to its target. The SRAM would be designed for launching initially from a B-52, but later from smaller aircraft such as the F-4C or the F-111. It would be launched toward the rear after the aircraft had passed its target, would climb to 100,000-ft. altitude, powered by its own solid-propellant motor, then plunge vertically toward its target having allowed the launch plane time to escape its nuclear warhead detonation. (Watson, Balt. Sun, 1/19/65; Miles, Wash. Post, 1/20/65)
Alfred Gessow, Chief of Fluid Physics Research, NASA, discussed before the Compressed Gas Association in New York City the problems of spacecraft deceleration and heating involved in return through the earth's atmosphere. He explained why the blunt shape solved deceleration and much of the heat problem in returning Mercury spacecraft from orbit through the atmosphere to earth. Looking beyond the satellite return speed (Mercury and Gemini) and lunar return speed (Apollo), return from interplanetary flight poses the problem of much higher spacecraft speed (and thus heating). Research indicates "that the more pointed shape, although it doesn't show up too well at the lower re-entry speeds, is better than the blunt nose at the higher speeds because the bow shock is weaker, thus producing lower radiant heating losses. Thus, in a very short time scale, but taking a big leap forward in the velocity-temperature scale, we find ourselves going into another phase of the blunt vs. pointed nose cycle. ". . . The switching between slender and blunt shapes is not new in the race for higher speeds at all times of history. Going through history, compact rocks were replaced by slender arrows; the concept of powder guns created round cannonballs; the rocket age produced slender forms again, which ironically, finally got blunt noses. It is interesting to see how long it took to make such changes empirically and how rapidly these variations have been made by following scientific principles. . . ." (Text)
Japan expected to orbit a satellite within the next three years, New York Times reported. Although Japan's progress in the missile field had been slowed by the limited annual budget allocations of the Defense Forces, scientific advances, particularly in the field of electronics, plus stimulus to Japanese industry provided by the Korean War, had brought marked advances in rocketry and missiles. (NYT, 1/18/65)
The Communist New China News Agency (NCNA) said in a broadcast that Indonesia had successfully launched a two-stage scientific rocket Jan. 5 from somewhere in West Java. The rocket was reportedly made by the Indonesian air force. There were no other details. (UPI, Miami Her., 1/18/65)
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