Oct 12 1965
From The Space Library
X-15 No. 3 was flown by Capt. William J. Knight (USAF) 3,136 mph (mach 4,62) to 94,400-ft. altitude for pilot checkout. (NASA X-15 Proj. Off.; X-15 Flight Log)
Four were honored with AIAA awards for achievements in manned flight at the AIAA 4th Manned Space Flight Meeting in St. Louis: the 1965 Astronautics Award to B/G Joseph S. Bleymaier (USAF), Commander of the Western Test Range, for "exceptional direction to Titan space booster R&D program"; the Octave Chanute Award to Alvin S. White, Chief Engineering Test Pilot/XB-70 Project Pilot, North American Aviation, for "continued significant contributions to the aerospace sciences in the development of flying skills and techniques necessary to flight of an advanced aircraft at unprecedented speeds, altitudes, and weights"; the John Jeffries Award to Col. William K. Douglas ( USAF ) , Director of Bioastronautics, USAF National Range Div., for "outstanding contributions to the advancement of aeronautics and astronautics, his writings, lectures, and research, and his continued dedication to the study of medical problems relating to the aeronaut and astronaut"; and the Robert M. Losey Award to George P. Cressman, Director of the Office of National Meteorological Services, Weather Bureau, for "his rapid and effective application of numerical weather analysis and forecasting techniques to aeronautical operations." (A&A, 11/65)
"The United States has gone into space for many compelling reasons," NASA Administrator James E. Webb told the National Association of Retail Druggists meeting in Washington, D.C. "It is imperative that the U.S. be first in space for reasons of nation- al achievement, for the pride that goes with such achievement, and for the international prestige that accompanies both. "We must go into space to reap the benefits of scientific discovery, to stimulate our economic and social progress, to advance our technological advancement, including the civilian application and use of the products of space-oriented research, and to fulfill what has been called the compelling urge to explore and discover. ..." (Text)
Within five years aquanauts could conduct systematic explorations of the ocean's floor at depths up to 1,700 ft, Capt. George Bond (USN), chief scientific investigator for the Sealab II project, predicted at a news briefing in La Jolla, Calif. Bond said that the Sealab II aquanauts had performed their tasks so satisfactorily that he could envisage a time when men could live indefinitely in underwater capsules while performing extended work on the ocean floor. Bond said that within a year, another capsule would be placed at a depth of between 400 ft. and 450 ft, for further experimentation. (Bart, NYT, 10/13/65, 16)
Discussing the problems of organizing and consolidating the vast amounts of technical and scientific data at the Congress of the International Federation for Documentation in Washington, D.C., Dr. Eugene B. Konecci, National Aeronautics and Space Council, said: "It is felt by many that the most highly advanced information system in the Federal Government has been and remains the program of the Nation- al Aeronautics and Space Administration. This program has been a pace-setter for information advances, both on the part of the Government and private sectors of our economy. The NASA contractors and grantees get the benefit of the most widely-diversified and promptest information service rendered by any government agency. The NASA attempts to cover world space literature, STAR [Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports] is reproduced semi-monthly and through arrangement with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the world's open literature is covered in the international aerospace abstracts. A total of more than 50,000 items a year are indexed in depth on magnetic tape for use in the NASA computer base literature research system. Tapes are updated monthly and distributed to the NASA Research Centers, a dozen major NASA contractors, and three university research centers that use them in dissemination of technological information to industry... " (Text)
At a background briefing at NASA Hq, on Advanced Chemical Propulsion, Adelbert O. Tischler, Director, Chemical Propulsion Div, NASA Office of Advanced Research and Technology, revealed that NASA would probably be "confined to the Saturn IB and V for the next decade," A maneuvering vehicle would be developed sometime around 1970 but would not be available for manned use until 1975. Tischler said that an ion propulsion system would never be applicable for deep manned space flight because of "its abhorrent thrust-to-weight ratio . . ; it is going to take a long time to accelerate the vehicle out of Earth orbit to arrive then later at the planetary orbit, and to decelerate in the planetary orbit, and vice versa. . . ." Ion propulsion systems would be suitable for unmanned missions, however, because unmanned systems generally were small and ion systems were small; also, time was not a factor, In addition, they might be practicable as auxiliary devices for midcourse corrections 'on manned interplanetary trips. After agreeing that present planning limited the application of nuclear systems to interplanetary trips, Tischler said: "There has been, during the last two years, a real marked decline of interest . , about exploring Venus, I don't think that is a correct viewpoint at all. I think there is a great deal . . . to learn about Venus. "We shouldn't eliminate the possibility of some other planets. We could easily ... visit the asteroid belt. There are some good-sized asteroids. Ceres is one of them. We could ultimately ... land on the Moon of Jupiter with such a system. I doubt if we will undertake a landing on Jupiter until we know how to fight gravity... . "All of these possibilities exist. In fact, I would even mention Mars has a couple of moons that we might use to land on in preference to Mars itself." (Transcript)
Philadelphia's Mayor James H. J. Tate, presenting a bronze medal to Astronaut Charles Conrad, Jr. (Cdr., USN) , said: "I cannot imagine a more appropriate time to honor a space explorer than on the anniversary of the day back in 1492 when an Italian explorer named Christopher Columbus first set eyes on the New World and made a similar enormous contribution to history." (NYT, 10/13/65, 47)
USA-USAF project to test plastic covering for assault airlift airstrips had been completed at Ft. Campbell, Ky, Armed Forces News Service spokesman said the plastic covering, held in place by special anchoring pins, might prove a practical, all-weather landing-zone surfacing. (NYT, 10/12/65 )
USAF Athena missile fired from Green River, Utah, impacted on target at White Sands Missile Range, N. Mex. It was the 25th successful firing in 30 attempts of a 78-shot series to study how warheads behaved during reentry. (AP, Wash, Post, 10/13/65, A19)
Tass announced conclusion of U.S.S.R. launchings in the Pacific Ocean basin of new types of rockets carrying space objects, "The flights of the rockets and the functioning of all their stages proceeded normally. The mockups of the last but one stage of the carrier rockets reached the water surface in the present area with high precision," the announcement said. The test area-80-n.mi.-dia, circle centering on 37°39' N and 173°25' E-was now free for navigation and aircraft flights. (Tass, 10/12/65)
$10-million seismometer post was dedicated in Billings, Mont, at ceremonies attended by more than 60 scientists from 30 nations who would tour the 525 seismometer sites in Montana, President Johnson, in Washington, D.C, said: "This new Department of Defense installation, the first of its kind, will help detect and identify earthquakes. It brings us closer to the day when science can distinguish with certainty between underground nuclear explosions and other forms of seismic disturbances," Scientific data would be made available to the world, Johnson added. (AP, NYT, 10/14/65, 3)
Soviet Cosmonauts Pavel I. Belyayev and Aleksei Leonov fled West Berlin to East Berlin under police escort after demonstrators splattered their limousine with red paint The cosmonauts had visited West Berlin to attend a rally at the invitation of the West Berlin German-Soviet Friendship Society. (AP, NYT, 10/13/65, 1, 3; Wash, Post, 10/13/ 65, A27)
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