Jul 31 1971
From The Space Library
President Nixon, at ceremonies marking dedication of Rathbun Dam in Centerville, Iowa, referred to Apollo 15 astronauts: "At this very hour, if you were watching television you could see that fantastic ride in a golf cart on the moon." Apollo 15 astronauts "look down on earth. What does it look like? Well, we've had descriptions from other astronauts and often they have remarked about the fact that from far out there the earth looks like a very peaceful planet." (PD, 8/9/71, 112-5)
New York Times editorial commented on Apollo 15 lunar landing: "Today, tomorrow and Monday will come the payoff for the years of work by the astronauts and thousands of others who made possible last night's success. The trek across the moon's surface these next three days will be the longest both in time and in distance to date, partly because of the availability of the lunar rover to permit moon rides as well as moon walks. The vast variety of geological conditions in the neighborhood of the Falcon's landing site suggests that these excursions may be extremely fruitful." (NYT, 7/31/71)
NASA launched two Nike-Apache sounding rockets from ESRANCE, Kiruna, Sweden, to sample noctilucent clouds and particulate matter in upper atmosphere. First payload was launched to altitude of 114 km (70.8 mi) and recovered within 2 hrs 15 min after launch in good condition. Mission was considered 100% successful. Second payload attained 106 km (65.9 mi) and was recovered within 2 hrs of launch. Two of eight collector doors opened prematurely and caused slightly reduced apogee, but experiment results were not affected and mission was judged 100% successful. (NASA Rpts SRL)
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