Jan 22 1965
From The Space Library
NASA's TIROS IX successfully injected into a polar orbit by a three-stage Delta rocket launched from Cape Kennedy. The spacecraft was to have gone into a circular orbit about 460 mi. above the earth but the second stage of Delta burned 11 sec. too long and pushed TIROS IX into an elliptical orbit with apogee 1,602 mi., perigee 426 mi., inclination 81.6°, and period 119 min. First NASA attempt to place a satellite in near-polar sun-synchronous orbit from Cape Kennedy involved three dog-leg maneuvers. In a sun-synchronous orbit the precession (westward drift) of the satellite would be about 1° daily, the same rate and direction as the earth moves around the sun. A hat-box shaped structure, TIROS IX was an 18-sided polygon, 22-in. high, 42-in. in dia., weighing 305 lbs., with one of its flat sides facing earth when initially injected into orbit. Ground signals to the control system tipped the craft up 90° so that it assumed the appearance of a fat wheel rolling on a track around the earth. Two cameras were placed on the perimeter opposite each other so that as the wheel rolled at 10 rpm, each camera, in turn, would roll into position and snap a picture, triggered by an infrared horizon sensor. The combination of TIROS IX's polar orbit (83.4°) and rolling wheel was expected to provide 100% photographic coverage of the earth's cloud cover during daylight hours. Primary purpose of the TIROS IX launching was to test the new cartwheel concept as a forerunner of a joint NASA-Weather Bureau Tiros Operational System (TOS) of weather satellites. (NASA Release 65-7; Goddard News, 1/25/65; AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 1/22/65; UPI, Wash. Daily News, 1/22/65; AP, Balt. Sun, 1/23/65; Appel, NYT, 1/23/65, 9; Hixson, N.Y. Her. Trib., 1/23/65)
A $5,178,000 contract was awarded to a joint venture of Blount Brothers Corp., Montgomery, Ala., and Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Oak Park, Ill., for a large space chamber to be built at NASA Lewis Research Center's Plum Brook Station, Facility would be used for evaluation and developmental testing of complete spacecraft, as well as nuclear electric power generation and propulsion systems. It would be one of the world's largest space environment chambers (cylindrical chamber 100 ft. in diameter and 122 ft. to the top of its hemispherical dome). (Lewis News, 1/22/65, 1)
On the Les Crane Show (ABC-TV), Dr. Charles S. Sheldon of the National Aeronautics and Space Council staff said in his opening debate statement: , . what is the space program? "It is a program in general science which seeks answers to the most fundamental processes of nature, and will support a great jump forward in our mastery of these forces for human betterment. "The space program is one of practical applications. . . . "The space program is one of exploration, opening the whole solar system to the coming generation. ... "Space science is neither good nor evil. It is what men choose to do with such knowledge. This country's intent is to develop space for the benefit of all mankind, and space offers us new opportunities for international cooperation. Our hope is space can become a substitute for war by diverting man's restless energies into a supreme challenge of a constructive nature," (Text)
Maj. Gen. Samuel C. Phillips, Apollo program director in NASA's Office of Manned Space Flight, said that 1965 would be a year of "heavy ground testing" in NASA’s lunar program. Among the major events he anticipated were completion of testing of the Apollo spacecraft for the first manned flight; qualification of all elements of the Saturn IB launch vehicle and delivery of first flight stages to Cape Kennedy; and initial testing of Saturn V elements. (NAA S&ID Skywriter, 1/22/65, 4)
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