Mar 24 1967
From The Space Library
U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos CLI into 630-km (391-mi) altitude circular orbit with 97.1-min period and 56° inclination. Equipment was functioning normally. (W Post, 3/25/67, A4)
Apollo 204 Review Board announced that completion of its final report on Jan. 27 fire would be delayed one week until April 8. Dr. Floyd L. Thompson, Director of LaRC and Chairman of the Board, issued another call for any information that might aid the probe. Board also announced that it had completed piece-by-piece disassembly of Apollo I spacecraft, although testing and analysis of spacecraft systems and parts were continuing. (UPI, W Star, 3/25/67, A5; W Post, 3/25/67, A5)
US. policies for sterilizing planetary spacecraft were needlessly stringent and should be revised to take into account new scientific data and past and continuing Soviet activities, two groups of US. scientists suggested in companion articles in Science. First, by Drs. N. H. Horowitz and R. P. Sharp of Cal Tech and R. W. Davies of JPL, reviewed sterilization standards set in 1964 by COSPAR and agreed to by both US. and U.S.S.R. "In effect the [COSPAR] resolution requires that less than one viable microorganism be contained in each 10,000 spacecraft intended for planetary entry. Attainment of such a goal demands heroic measures, and current US. directives call for dry-beat sterilization of the completely assembled lander stage." The authors asserted that COSPAR requirements were based on the outdated assumption that terrestrial microorganisms could thrive on other planets, particularly Mars; present knowledge, however, indicated that Mars is so dry, lacking in oxygen and soaked with lethal forms of ultraviolet sunlight that proliferation of earth organisms would be unlikely. They suggested that COSPAR-recommended constraints "could be substantially relaxed without compromising to any significant degree the biological condition of Mars." Second article, by Dr. Bruce C. Murray, Cal Tech, Merton E. Davies, RAND Corp., and Dr. Philip K. Eckman, JPL, said US. policy should concentrate on seeing that "US. contribution to planetary contamination will remain significantly less than the Soviet contributions" thereby reducing "significantly the cost and time required to carry out serious scientific investigations of the surfaces of Venus and Mars." The authors suggested that U.S.S.R. had already hit both Mars and Venus with spacecraft not sterilized in accordance with COSPAR standards. Any requirement for US. to apply more stringent restrictions "is illogical in that . . . the US. would be asked to increase greatly the cost and complexity of its planetary program without achieving any significant reduction in the probability of actual contamination." (Science, 3/24/67, 1501-10)
AFSC announced personnel changes. Effective March 27: (1) M/G Harry L. Evans, Vice Director of Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) , would become Assistant to the Commander, AFSC, pending his retirement from USAF May 31; (2) M/G James T. Stewart, Director of Space, Deputy Chief of Staff/Research and Development, USAF Hq., would succeed General Evans; (3) B/G Walter R. Hedrick, Jr., Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff /Systems, AFSC Hq., would succeed General Stewart. Effective summer 1967: (1) B/G Joseph S. Bleymaier, Commander of WTR, would become Deputy Director, MOL, with additional duty as Deputy Commander, Space Systems Div. for MOL; (2) B/G Clifford J. Kronauer, DOD Office of Director of Defense Research and Engineering, would succeed General Bleymaier; (3) M/G Vincent G. Huston, Commander of ETR, would be reassigned to AFSC Hq. as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations; and (4) M/G David M. Jones, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, would replace General Huston. (AFSC Releases 63.67, 64.67)
Life magazine disputed critics who advocated cutting back NASA's Apollo program: "We do not share the attitude that it doesn't matter who gets to the moon first, we or the Russians. It does matter. . . . Remember the astonishment, the embarrassment, the apprehension, the loss of prestige we all felt so keenly when SPUTNIK I went up on Oct. 4, 1957? The prestige we then sought to regain was not mere prestige, an empty abstract symbol of superiority. The superiority at stake was real, not symbolic. . . . "NASA is now engaged in its customary annual defense of its budget requests. We recommend that its expenditures be kept at the $5 to $6 billion level for now. As we continue to compare NASA's budget with other pressing needs, we must be aware of the challenges and opportunities that arise in space. . . ." (Life, 3/24/67)
March 25: U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos CLII, its eighth Cosmos satellite during March, to achieve record month of space launchings. Orbital parameters: apogee, 512 km (318 mi); perigee, 283 km (176 mi); period, 92.2 min; inclination, 71°. Equipment functioned normally. Satellite reentered Aug. 5. (UPI, W Post, 3/26/67, A3; GSFC SSR, 8/15/67)
Capt. Robert F. Freitag (USN, Ret.) , Director of Field Center Development, OMSF, addressed the National Student Conference in Ann Arbor, Mich.. . . the more dramatic aspects of the space program sometimes tend to overshadow the fundamental purposes of the space effort. Just as the moon had influenced the course of young lovers for centuries, so has the excitement of lunar exploration blinded many to the deeper purposes and far reaching benefits of the nation's overall space program, and its deep impact on present and future generations. . . . a dynamic space program will . . . bring rewards in knowledge, wonders, and resources far surpassing the investment it requires in money, materials, and brainpower. We do not know all that we shall learn when we are able to place men, instruments, telescopes, and laboratories beyond the envelope of the earth's atmosphere. But we do know that we shall know a great deal more than we can possibly now know about the reality of which we are a part." (Text)
Soviet scientist Ruvin Garber revealed that U.S.S.R. had developed a thin thread-shaped tungsten crystal which was the "strongest substance" ever made on earth, UPI reported. Strand was reportedly .0002 cm in diameter and could withstand 230 tons of pressure per sq cm. (UPI, NYT, 3/27/67, 67)
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