Nov 14 1960
From The Space Library
Capsule of DISCOVERER XVII ejected after 31 orbits and successfully snared at 9,000 feet by USAF C-119 aircraft, the second such recovery in midair of a space object.
IGY Warning Center reported that solar flares were causing "extremely severe" magnetic disturbance of the earth's atmosphere, an event detected by EXPLORER VII and later analyzed as greatest burst of solar radiation in the satellite's 13 months of operation.
DOD announced that NASA, USAF, USA, and USN were jointly building a geodetic satellite to map the earth accurately. USAF reported that printed messages and weather maps had been sent up to 900 miles by bouncing radio signals off meteor trails.
First letter carried by satellite mail (31 orbits and a distance of about a million miles), a letter from USAF Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense carried in capsule recovered from DISCOVERER XVII.
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