Mar 4 1963
From The Space Library
NASA's SYNCOM I Project Officer Lt. Col. Robert E. Warren (USAF), reported orbital characteristics Of SYNCOM I, located by Boyden Observatory March 1, were: 19,767-n.m. apogee; 18,500 n.m. perigee; 1,424.8-min. period; 33.3° inclination; and 0.028 eccentricity. SYNCOM I was drifting eastward at 3.8° per day and was expected to disappear over horizon of USNS Kingsport within the next week. Attempts by USNS Kingsport to command the Satellite to turn on its telemetry and communications equipment Since March 1 had been unsuccessful. (NASA SYNCOM I Prog. Rpt. No. 4)
U.S. plans for International Year of the Quiet Sun (IQSY), 1964-65, were announced by National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council (NAS-NRC), charged by President Kennedy in 1962 to correlate IQSY contributions of Federal agencies. A principal objective of IQSY would be to contrast data gathered during period of minimum Solar activity with that gathered during IGY (1957-58), when Solar activity was at highest level Since beginning of systematic observations 200 years ago. Many IGY observations would be repeated and Special experiments made possible by recent Scientific advances would be added. IQSY would concentrate more intensively than IGY on the upper atmosphere and space phenomena directly affected by both the large periodic bursts of charged particles and associated magnetic fields escaping from the Sun, and the continuous background activity known as "Solar wind." (NAS-NRC Release)
Water vapor and carbon dioxide on Mars were detected by Stratoscope II, project scientists announced at Palestine, Tex., press conference. Results of data gathered by balloon-mounted telescope, which observed Mars from vantage point above 98 per cent of earth's atmosphere March 1-2, were based on preliminary analysis of taped infrared-bolometer data; further analysis was expected to provide information on presence of other life-related compounds and on amount of the compounds present in Martian atmosphere. (AP, Chicago Trib., 3/5/63; Wall Street Journal, 3/5/63)
Appointment of Walter L. Lingle, Jr., to newly created position of NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Industrial Affairs was announced by NASA Associate Administrator Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr. Mr. Lingle would continue his present duties as Assistant Administrator for Management Development and, in new position, would assume responsibility for NASA's over-all relationships with industry and for development and review of NASAwide procurement policies and procedures. (NASA Release 63-44)
Hearings on NASA budget authorization for FY 1964 began before House Committee on Science and Astronautics. Administrator James E. Webb repeated President Kennedy's declaration of the national goal of making the U.S. "the world's leading spacefaring nation" and achieving for the U.S. "a position of pre-eminence" in space. Mr. Webb testified "The mastery of space, and its utilization for the benefit of mankind, will not be determined by any single achievement. Superiority in the space environment with its great advantages and benefits will be won and very likely can be held by that nation which first fashions into a usable system all of the scientific knowledge, all of the technology, all of the experience all of the space launch and terminal facilities, and all of the aids to space navigation required for safety and regular services. "These are the capabilities and resources which the United States must have, and this budget is designed to make rapid progress toward acquiring them.... "Moving from our present. position to achieve mastery of space requires that we add substantially to our scientific knowledge and to our utilization of technology. The NASA program is progressing on both of these fronts. In a complex effort such as this, conducted in a new medium about which much is yet unknown, the scientists and the engineer inevitably must work closely together and grow increasingly dependent upon one another.... "The NASA program, therefore, is designed to expand both science and technology. We are moving forward on a broad front. We have avoided becoming trapped in a narrow program-one limited, for example, to developing only the technology needed to reach the moon with state-of-the-art hardware. To do so might well be to find, some years hence, that we had won the battle and lost the war as far as ultimate and enduring superiority in space is concerned...." (Testimony)
Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Administrator, testifying on NASA's international programs fore House Committee on Science and Astronautics, said that the "first substantial fruits of these programs were realized in 1962 and further significant programs were laid down for future years. During 1962, "-the first two international satellites, Ariel and Alouette, were successfully placed in orbit, "launchings of sounding rockets bearing scientific payloads were carried out in cooperation with eight countries, "-37 countries engaged in special projects in support of our weather and communications satellite programs, "-foreign participation continued to grow in the operation of our global tracking and data acquisition network overseas, -and, a new NASA international fellowship program was successfully established in our own universities." Discussing studies of follow-on projects to manned lunar landing, Dr. Dryden listed as "obvious candidates . . . establishment of a station on the moon permitting prolonged occupancy, a manned laboratory orbiting the earth as a satellite, and manned reconnaissance of the planets . . . . "It seems to us that an orbiting laboratory is a necessary preliminary to manned planetary expeditions . . . . "Obviously the capsules presently in the program do not have sufficient space available for experimentation and have only a limited lifetime in orbit. Something larger, of longer duration in orbit, and with resupply capability is required. Many exploratory design studies have been made of the technological feasibility of assembling a large space laboratory in space from multiple launches with one or another of the available launch vehicles. We believe however that technical feasibility alone does not justify a project of this magnitude and cost. We are attempting to grasp the problem from the other end, that is to ask what one can and would do in a space laboratory in specific fields of science and technology with a view to establishing a realistic and useful concept. We hope that such studies will provide the information necessary to justify and support a decision to be made in time for the fiscal year 1965 budget. The program must be designed to fulfill national needs . . . ." (Testimony)
Republican study group of House Appropriations Committee said projects costing $10-$15 billion should be cut from FY 1964 budget appropriations request of $107.9 billion. Although they did not specify where the cuts should be made, Rep. Frank T. Bow (Ohio) suggested in press conference that cuts could be made in the space program and in foreign aid. (Wash. Post, 3/5/63 ; Wall Street Journal, 3/5/63)
Seventh semiannual Report of NASA (July 1-December 31, 1962) submitted by President Kennedy to the Congress. (CR, 3/4/63, 3192)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
