Oct 4 1962
From The Space Library
Fifth anniversary of the Space Age, inaugurated with the orbiting of first manmade satellite, SPUTNIK by the U.S.S.R. According to the Goddard Satellite Situation Report of October 10, 1962, the first half decade of the Space Age saw the orbiting of 134 satellites, lunar probes, and space probes. U.S.S.R. orbited 26 (6 still in orbit), the U.S. 108 (48 still in orbit). Of U.S. total, NASA orbited 36 (24 still in orbit), DOD 72 (24 still in orbit). Two of the NASA launches must also be credited to the nations contributing the experiments or the payload—U.K. for ARIEL and Canada for ALOUETTE. Of the U.S. total, three were manned orbital spacecraft, as were four of the U.S.S.R.'s. Totals for manned space flight—U.S.: 12 orbits, with 19 hrs., 3 min. flight time; U.S.S.R.: 130 orbits, with 192 hrs., 41 min. flight time.
Maj. Robert A. Rushworth (USAF) flew X-15 No. 3 to altitude of 106,000 ft. and speed of 3,375 mph (mach 4.91), in 10-min. flight to check out the craft's adaptive control system. A secondary objective was to further evaluate X-15 performance with ventral fin removed. All flight objectives were achieved.
Astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Jr., on board aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kearsarge, began debriefing and medical check. Schirra would arrive in Honolulu Oct. 6 and then fly to NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston.
President Kennedy nominated 13 men to form satellite communications corporation, under terms of communications satellite law passed in August. The names of the nominees, who would serve only until establishment of corporation's operating procedures and arrangement for stock sale, were sent to the Senate for confirmation.
International Association of Machinists reached preliminary agreement with Aerojet-General Corp., ending strike which began Oct. 2 at the Sacramento and Azusa plants in California and extended to Cape Canaveral this morning.
Speaking on Radio Moscow, Prof. N. P. Arabashov said: "All the magnificent achievements of Soviet science convince us that flights by men to the moon and the planets are not only possible, but arc also near. It is now clear that automatic interplanetary space ships, at first unmanned, will be sent to the moon and then to Venus and Mars."
October 4-5: Seventh NASA Management Conference held at Langley Research Center.
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