Jan 30 1965
From The Space Library
COSMOS LIII, an unmanned satellite containing scientific equipment for outer space research, was orbited by the Soviet Union, Preliminary orbital data: period, 98.7 min.; apogee, 741 mi. (1,192 km.) ; perigee, 141 mi. (227 km.) ; inclination, 48.8°. Equipment on board was operating normally. (Tass, Pravda, 1/31/65, 4, ATSS-T Trans.)
Funeral services for Sir Winston Churchill were televised live and by delayed transmission from London via TELSTAR II communications satellite. Churchill died on Jan, 24. Earlier in the week, pictures of Sir Winston's body lying in state in Westminster Hall had also been transmitted live via TELSTAR II. (NBC; CBS; Wash. Post, 1/27/65)
NASA Ames Research Center was conducting tests on a Douglas P5D aircraft with a specially designed planform wing that might minimize landing speeds for the proposed supersonic transport. A tornado-like flow, called "vortex airflow," and resulting from the sharp difference between the low pressure on the top of the wing and the high pressure on the underside, was generated along the leading edges of the "S"-shaped wing. Engineers said use of the sharply angled wings with tornado effect on top had these advantages: (1) the tornadoes affected air flow over the entire aircraft and eliminated turbulence that would make other aircraft directionally unstable when coming in nose high for a landing; (2) the tornadoes made it almost impossible for the wings to lose their lift completely. Also, it was felt this wing shape took maximum advantage of the cushioning effect produced in compressing air between the underside of the wings and the ground which would make it necessary to level off sharply at the last moment before touching down. Existence of this tornado-like flow along the leading edges of the wing encouraged the belief that a supersonic airliner might be built without resorting to variable-sweep wings. In current design competition for supersonic transport under Government auspices, the Lockheed Aircraft Corp. had taken the first approach. The Boeing Co. had a design with movable wings. (ARC Release 65-3; Witkin, NYT, 1/30/65)
An article published in The New Scientist reported that experts at the Royal Radar Establishment at Malvern, England, believed that the U.S. communications satellite ECHO II-launched Jan. 25, 1964, and still in orbit-had been pierced by its own launching canister shortly after injection into orbit. According to The New Scientist, the shape of ECHO II after launching was flabby and elongated rather than the perfect sphere wanted for some of its communication experiments. Analysis of Malvern's radar tracks on ECHO II revealed writhing echoes that, according to their theory, arose when the very short radar pulses entered a hole and rebounded from the aluminum-coated interior of the balloon. The Malvern team thought the balloon had a puncture about 18 in. long and 27 in. wide in one side. NASA spokesmen said they did not believe ECHO II had been punctured by either its launching canister or its launching vehicle and that sightings from more than a dozen radar stations had contradicted the Malvern theory. They added that ECHO II's ability to reflect radio signals had not been seriously impaired and many messages had been bounced off in the last year. (Hillaby, NYT, 1/31/65, 29)
Soviet Union launched a "new type" space booster that spanned more than 8,000 mi. of the Pacific, according to Tass. The firing was said to have been so successful that a second planned shot was canceled. (M&R, 1/8/65, 8)
Dr. Joseph Charyk, president of Communications Satellite Corporation, speaking in Kaanapali, Hawaii, said the geographic location of Hawaii ensured that the impact of Early Bird comsat would be "more profound there than in any of the other states of the union." Hawaii, he noted, would not have to wait, as it does now, to see mainland television programs. Dr. Charyk envisioned a full global communications system by 1967. He predicted Hawaii would become a center for communications traffic of all types. (NYT, 1/31/65, 13)
Columnist James J. Haggerty, Jr., said: "It is all but incredible that after seven years of space research no manned military project has reached the hardware stage. . . ." (Haggerty, J/Armed Forces, 1/30/65, 9)
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