Oct 9 1969
From The Space Library
Joseph P. Loftus, Jr." Manager of MSC Program Engineering Office, described plans for future Apollo lunar exploration at MSC press conference. Technological objectives were to increase scientific payload to lunar orbit and to lunar surface, permit high flexibility in landing site selection, increase lunar orbit and lunar surface stay time, increase lunar surface mobility with self-propelled lunar roving vehicle, develop and demonstrate advanced techniques and hardware for expanded manned space mission capabilities, develop techniques for achieving point landings, and demonstrate closed-loop onboard navigation capability as applicable to advanced missions. Scientific objectives were to investigate major classes of lunar surface features, surface processes, and regional problems; collect samples at each site for analyses on earth; establish network of surface instrumentation to measure seismic activity, heat flow, and disturbance in moon's axis of rotation; survey and measure lunar surface from lunar orbit with high-resolution photography and remote sensing; investigate near-moon environment and interaction of moon with solar wind; map lunar gravitational field and internally produced magnetic field; and detect atmospheric components resulting from neutralized solar wind and micrometeoroid impacts. Achievement of scientific objectives would be facilitated by addition of scientific instrument module (SIM) under service module sector door. SIM would consist of scientific instruments mounted on shelves behind door, which would be deployed pyrotechnically after crew left lunar surface. Spacecraft would also use new modular equipment storage assembly (MESA) . "Unlike the existing MESA it is modular and people, instead of having to take many things out of compartments and stick them into a bag : . . here you simply take hold of a handle .. . and lift out an entire shelf. On that shelf are all the things required for the next EVA period. So, it is one movement instead of a dozen." One tank of hydrogen and one tank of oxygen would be added to extend mission capability to 161/2 days. Since each EVA period would increase up to 5 hrs and total lunar stay time would increase up to 200 hrs, lithium hydroxide would be increased for portable life-support system and for spacecraft, and insulation would be increased on top of spacecraft around docking tunnel. Minor changes would be made to interior garments so crew would have more suitable environment and crew would remove spacesuits and sleep in hammocks during rest periods on lunar surface. (Transcript)
Boosted Arcas II sounding rocket launched by NASA from Resolute Bay, Canada, carried GSFC payload to 68.4-mi (110-km) altitude to obtain electron-density and collision-frequency profiles of high-latitude quiet D region and positive ion-density measurements. Rocket and instruments performed satisfactorily. (NASA Rpt SRL)
Lunar scientist Dr. Harold C. Urey said in lecture at Univ. of California at San Diego that new evidence had been uncovered during Apollo 11 mission that moon had been formed by collision process begun about 4.5 billion yrs ago. Water might have been present on moon temporarily and might still be beneath lunar surface. Information was to be made public by NASA in January 1970. ( W Post, 10/10/69, A5)
Apollo 11 astronauts, welcomed by crowds in Amsterdam during world tour, presented Queen Juliana with plaque similar to one they left on lunar surface. In Brussels later in day they were decorated by King Baudouin with insignia of the Order of Leopold, nation's highest honor. (AP, Huntsville Times, 10/9/69; UPI, W Star, 10/10/69, A9)
ARC Director, Dr. Hans Mark, had announced appointment of Executive Assistant Director Loren G. Bright as Director of newly established Directorate of Research Support, ARC Astrogram reported. Divisions in new directorate included computation, research facilities and equipment, and technical services. (ARC Astrogram, 10/9/69, 1)
Sen. Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass.) delivered Landon Lecture at Kansas State Univ.: "With this new generation of weapons [MIRVs] about to sprout from the arsenals of the Soviet Union and the United States, I have been joined by almost half the Senate and a sizable number of House members in calling for a joint moratorium on flight tests of the so-called MIRY systems." (Text)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
