Oct 14 1965
From The Space Library
OGO II Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO-C) was launched by NASA from Vandenberg AFB with Thrust-Augmented Thor-Agena D booster. Because of a slight malfunction in the launch vehicle's primary guidance system, orbit achieved had the following parameters: apogee, 939 mi. (1,511 km.) ; perigee, 250 mi. (403.1 km.) ; period, one hour 45 min.; inclination, 87°. Planned orbit had been somewhat lower: 575-mi. (925-km.) apogee, 207-mi. (333,3-km,) perigee, one-hour 37-min. period, and 86° inclination. Most of the 20 onboard experiments were not expected to be affected by the malfunction; OGO II's solar panels and instrumented booms deployed as planned and the spacecraft achieved three-axis stabilization, Second of the seven spacecraft programed for NASA's OGO program, OGO II weighed 1,150 lb, and contained more than 100,000 parts, including a communications system capable of transmitting 64,000 bits per second in real time and 128,000 bits of information per second from tape playback. Its mission was to concentrate on near-earth space phenomena with emphasis on global mapping of the geomagnetic field, measurements of the neutral, ionic, and electronic composition of the earth's atmosphere. Data would be correlated with solar ultraviolet and x-ray emissions, and such events as particle dumping in the auroral zones and airglow. Although it returned good experiment data, OGO II was to be considered a failure (see Oct, 24). (NASA Proj. Off,; NASA Releases 65-314, 65-368; AP; NYT, 10/15/65, 14; AP, Wash. Eve, Star, 10/15/65, A8; AP, Wash. Post, 10/15/65, A4)
Capt. Joseph H. Engle (USAF) flew X-15 No, 1 to 266,500-ft, altitude at 3,580 mph (mach 5.08). The flight carried a slightly modified horizon scanner and device for measuring microscopic atmospheric pressure. (NASA X-15 Proj. Off,; X-15 Flight Log)
A second MOLNIYA I communications satellite was launched by U.S.S.R. into a high elliptical orbit with the following parameters: apogee, 40,000 km. (24,800 mi.) ; perigee, 500 km. (310 mi.) ; period, 11 hrs, 59 min.; inclination, 65°, Tass said: "With the launching of the second MOLNIYA I satellite, verification will begin of the possibility of organizing a communications system with the simultaneous use of several Sputniks. . . "The main purpose of the launching ... is to further develop the system of two-way long-distance television and telephone-telegraph radio communication, and its experimental operation. The entire equipment ... is functioning normally. "The second MOLNIYA-I has already been used for telephone calls and an exchange of television programs between Moscow and Vladivostok." (Tass, 10/14/65; Wash, Post, 10/15/65, A4)
Italy's Order of Merit was awarded former Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr. (Col. USMC, Ret.), during his visit to Rome, He and his wife were also received by Prime Minister Aldo Moro. (Reuters, NYT, 10/16/65, 54)
Saturn V launch vehicle was under consideration by NASA for its Voyager program of unmanned planetary exploration, beginning with a 1971 Mars mission. NASA had considered developing a Saturn IB/Centaur launch vehicle, but the greater thrust of the three-stage 7.5-million-lb. thrust Saturn V would give more flexibility to planning early Voyager missions and would also provide the launch vehicle capability at the beginning of the Voyager program necessary for future missions, Saturn V. being developed by MSFC, would undergo its first flight test in 1967. (NASA Release 65-328)
NASA would negotiate $60,000 contracts with Consolidated Systems Corp, and Perkin-Elmer Corp, for design studies of an instrument to analyze and control a two-gas atmosphere system for use on manned spacecraft conducting missions of 45 days or more. Manned spacecraft flown to date had used a single gas system-oxygen. After a comparative evaluation of concepts derived from the two four-month studies, NASA might award a second-phase contract leading to construction of one or more prototype atmosphere sensor systems. (NASA Release 65-326)
NASA was negotiating with General Electric Co, to provide 50-w. isotopic power generator for Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Packages (ALSEP) program. The thermoelectric nuclear power unit, designated Snap-27, would use plutonium-238 as the heat source. The packages would transmit selected measurements back to earth, AEC would manage detailed design and development of the unit based on studies of prototypes by NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. (AEC-NASA Release H-226)
NASA Wallops Station conducted flag-raising ceremony to dedicate its new international court which would fly the flags of foreign countries with personnel visiting Wallops on any given day. The court was constructed in recognition of the important role that Wallops Station plays in NASA's international program for cooperation in space research. (NASA Release 65-329)
Soviet astronomers at the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy predicted that the Ikeya-Seki comet, discovered Sept, 18 by two Japanese astronomers, would collide with the sun Oct, 21, U.S. astronomers predicted that the comet would pass about 300,000 mi. from the sun on Oct. 20. (Bishop, WSJ, 10/14/65, 1)
Writing about Surveyor lunar probe in the Washington Evening Star, William Hines said: "Surveyor will give science a view of the moon that will be different not just in degree but in kind. A 'soft' landing, with the spacecraft braked by automatic rockets, should enable scientists to learn-rather than infer-much about the lunar surface, "Even the first Surveyor should tell a lot and this one will lack most of the cleverly designed scientific instruments of later probes. Equipped with television, the initial Surveyor may settle many points of contention over surface conditions ... "Assuming success with Surveyor 1, scientists are hoping that its findings won't evoke a repetition of the short-sighted clamor for 'economy' that followed the successful flight of Ranger VII in July 1964 ... owing to the mistaken impression that when you've seen one moon picture you've seen them all, "To suggest that photographic and physical evidence obtained by one Surveyor in one isolated spot could yield results characteristic of the whole moon is senseless. . . "Since the safety of astronauts reaching the moon a few years from now may well depend on the wise selection of their landing site, it would be advisable to get as much first-hand Surveyor-type data as possible and let the nation's best qualified scientists study this information as thoroughly as they know how." (Hines, Wash, Eve. Star, 10/14/65, Al2)
The Duke of Windsor toured NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. (NASA Off, Int, Aff,)
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