May 4 1962
From The Space Library
Astronaut M. Scott Carpenter and Mercury team went through complete simulated MA-7 mission exercise.
NASA announced appointment of Dr. Raymond L. Bisplinghoff, Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at MIT, as Director of NASA's Office of Advance Research and Technology (OART), effective in July. Dr. Bisplinghoff, who succeeds Ira H. Abbott who retired in January, has been at MIT for 16 years, has served as a consultant to more than a dozen industrial firms, and as a member of numerous DOD and NACA advisory committees.
Optical and radar observations of Project Highwater experiment, 23,000 gallons of water bursted from tipper stages of Saturn test launch at 65-mile altitude on April 25, showed that the burst took 2-3 seconds to expand to about 10 times the size of the moon in a roughly circular pattern, and lasted about 10 seconds. A second fainter trail, about one lunar diameter, followed along the trajectory from the burst and lasted a few minutes, presumably caused by venting out of the incompletely destroyed second stage. Project Highwater was an MSFC responsibility, a bonus experiment to the Saturn test conceived by Dr. Charles Lundquist.
New York Academy of Sciences conference revealed disagreements on evidence presented on extraterrestrial life. Dr. Bartholomew Nagy of Fordham University, Dr. George Claus of NYU Medical ('enter, and Dr. Warren G. Meinchein of Esso Research presented evidence, first reported last year, that they had found "organized elements" in the Orgueil meteorite. Dr. Frank W. Fitch and Dr. Edward Anders of the University of Chicago reported that the Fordham group found "probably nothing more than earthly contaminants such as ragweed pollen and starch grains." Dr. Harold Urey of the University of California (La Jolla) stated that the U.S. is spending $25 billion to go to the moon to answer this and other questions. All agreed that the question of extraterrestrial life was of basic scientific significance.
NASA's MSFC completed negotiations with Aerojet-General Corp. for the design and development of the M-1 engine, two or more of which will power the second stage of the Nova.
"Dynamic model" study on one-fifth-scale Saturn rocket at NASA’s Langley Research Center offered useful concept for testing structural characteristics of the future Nova rocket. As reported by Homer G. Morgan, application of varying frequencies to the "Baby Saturn" while suspended as if in free flight provided clues on structural vibration capable of transmitting false indications into the vehicle's guidance system. The two successful test firings of the Saturn demonstrated value of this research. After test of a "Baby Nova" for structural efficiency, Morgan said, construction of an operational booster could be expedited. A full-scale Saturn model had been similarly tested at MSFC.
Launch of USAF Titan I on 5,000-mile flight down PMR marked the 100th missile fired from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., launchings which included 21 Thor IRBM’s, 32 Atlas ICBM's, five Titan ICBM's, and 42 satellites.
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