June 1962
From The Space Library
FAA proposed a regulation to restrict firings of the 5,000 amateur rocket clubs in the U.S. Beyond firing safety precautions, FAA is concerned with airline safety. Reportedly some amateur rockets weigh up to 75 lbs. and can reach an altitude of over five miles.
Series of full-scale wind-tunnel tests of VTOL fan-in-wing model vehicle at NASA Ames Research Center for Army lift-fan flight research program. Part of General Electric (Cincinnati) research contract, model and test hardware were fabricated by NASA, while GE fabricated and tested propulsion systems including two lift fans, two diverter valves, and two YJ85 engines. Wind-tunnel tests proved acceptability of inlet temperature, control characteristics, transition capability, and aircraft stability.
Analysis of six photographic emulsion blocks carried aloft by DISCOVERER XVIII on December 7, and recovered on December 10, 1960, revealed that inner Van Allen radiation belt dips as low as 180 miles. According to Herman Yagoda of the USAF Cambridge Research Lab., the production of star tracks and "enders" by energetic protons of the inner belt increased exponentially with altitude from 180 up to 340 miles. Thus manned space operations would probably be restricted to lower latitudes rather than high inclination orbits because it is not feasible to shield against the energetic protons of the inner belt with present payload limitations.
NASA reportedly called a "tempest in a teapot" the U.S.S.R. criticism of U.S. scientists for not crediting Soviets with discovery of the maximum electron flux in the earth's outer radiation belt. U.S. scientists freely credit U.S.S.R. for determining experimentally that maximum flux was 10-8 particles per square centimeter per second, but Soviet conclusion was based on unconfirmed assumption which was not authenticated until U.S. scientists analyzed definitive measurements from EXPLORER XII.
United Technology Corp. experimented with hypergolic ignition system, spraying highly reactive fluid into nozzle end of solid-propellant rocket motor. Fluid immediately ignited the motor, which developed more than 100,000-lbs. thrust in the test.
Bell Aerosystems engineers, John N. Cord and Leonard M. Seale, recommended in paper to the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences meeting in Los Angeles that a U.S. astronaut be landed upon the moon with the means of survival, perhaps for as long as three years, until an Apollo vehicle could be sent to return him to earth. The astronaut could do valuable scientific work and would be on "a very hazardous mission but it would be cheaper, faster, and perhaps the only way to beat Russia." Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) began negotiating a new type of three-year contracts for basic research with Westinghouse Electric, IBM, and RCA in the solid-state field. This was the first time that basic research had been contracted on any other basis than one year at a time, is designed to provide more continuity and certainty of completion of research projects. As under the previous system, OSR and industry each bear roughly half of the costs of the research.
An astronautics ship together with a floating drydock has been proposed as a launching platform for ICBM's and large space boosters, including Saturn. LCdr. Burton Edelson (USN), writing for the Bureau of Ships Journal, contended that a 10,000-ton ship, such as the seaplane tender Curtiss, could be specially outfitted as an integrated astronautics ship and could handle all solid-fuel launchings, including Minuteman. An accompanying floating drydock could handle large liquid-fuel rocket launchings up to and including Saturn.
New camera developed for space use by the National Bureau of Standards can be operated at a rate of more than one million frames per second. Camera was developed to record luminous phenomena of shock waves in the upper atmosphere as they pass through the so-called "plasma" (highly ionized gases). Such plasma, said the report, has been produced at the Bureau of Standards by sending high-velocity shock waves through helium gas.
NASA Wallops Station awarded contracts over $1 million during the month for essential services and construction work.
Cost Reduction Task Force of the National Security Industrial Association concluded that DOD was paying more for its procurement because of "cost-oriented" practices. Undertaken at the request of the Secretary of Defense, the released report recommended that fixed-price contracts be used more often and earlier in the procurement cycle, and that price analysis rather than cost analysis be emphasized in buying.
Twentieth Anniversary of Army aviation was highlighted by a two-week celebration in St. Louis, Mo.
GE's J-93 turbojet engine, being developed for the B-70 aircraft, completed its preliminary flight rating test (PFRT) on schedule. The engine will propel B-70 to speeds greater than 2,000 mph and altitudes higher than 65,000 ft.
“America's First Orbital Space Flight” and “John Glenn Receives the Society's Hubbard Medal” articles appear in National Geographic Magazine
- June
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