Apr 20 1963
From The Space Library
Maj. Robert M. White (USAF) was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his achievements as pilot of X-15 rocket research aircraft. Presentation was made by Secretary of the Air Force Eugene M. Zuckert in ceremony at Edwards AFB, Calif. (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 4/20/63)
Members of International Association of Machinists employed by Boeing Co. voted to reject new labor contract that had been proposed by IAM-Boeing negotiators. Union officials said no strikes would be sanctioned until further talks with management. (NYT, 4/20/63)
Preliminary test of instrumentation to be used in joint Italian-U.S. San Marco Project was made with launching of two stage Shotput sounding rocket from NASA Wallops Station, the rocket carrying 180-lb. instrumented payload to 265-mi. altitude. Flight was first in three-phase project being conducted by Italian Commission for Space Research and NASA, to be followed by further tests of San Marco instrumentation with launching of Shotput vehicle from towable platform in Indian Ocean and to be culminated in launching of scientific satellite into equatorial orbit from the platform. Basic objective of San Marco Project was to obtain high-altitude measurements of atmospheric and ionospheric characteristics in equatorial region. (NASA Release 6376; Wash. Sun. Star, 4/21/63)
President Kennedy said in convocation address at Boston College " . there is indeed an explosion of knowledge, and its outward limits are not yet in sight. In some fields progress seems very fast, in others distressingly slow. It is no tribute to modern science to jump lightly to the conclusion that all its secrets of particle physics, or molecular lift., or heredity, or outer space, are now within miraculously easy reach. The truth is more massive and less magical; it is that wherever we turn, in defense, in space, in medicine, in industry, in agriculture, and, most of all, in basic science itself, the requirement is for better work, deeper understanding, higher education. "And while I have framed this comment in the terms of the natural sciences, I stand squarely with those who insist that at every level of learning there must be an equal concern for history, for letters, and the arts--and for man as a social being, in the widest meaning of Aristotle's phrase. This also is work for the universities . . . ." (Text, in CR, 4/23/63, 6494-95)
D. Brainerd Holmes, speaking before American Society of Newspaper Editors meeting in Washington, said of Project Apollo: "If we do not make these efforts, we will not be first on the moon, we will not be first in space and, one day soon, we will not be the first on earth." (Wash,. Post, 4/21/63)
NASA Administrator James E. Webb, speaking at American Society Newspaper Editors meeting in Washington, said purpose of U.S. space effort was "not to make a Roman holiday or a stunt, but to build a solid base of technology." Replying to charges made by Dr. Philip H. Abelson in Science editorial Mr. Webb said he did not believe Dr. Abelson had given the same careful "scrutiny of facts" about manned lunar program that he would give to scientific experiment in his laboratory. Mr. Webb said he thought Dr. Abelson, in criticizing manned lunar landing effort, had exercised "editorial license" not borne out by the facts. (Wash. Sun. Star, 4/21/63; Wash. Post, 4/21/63)
Dr. Robert Jastrow, Director NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies, speaking at the American Society of Newspaper Editors, attempted to explain the "scientific effort" in the context of the entire space program "I think, personally, that there is also a powerful general stimulus which comes from the need for developing new ideas and technologies to operate in and master a new environment. One must go back to the explorations of the late 15th Century to find a parallel to what we are about to witness in the next 30 to 50 years. Those explorations 450 years ago and their results awakened interest in t e world and an intellectual ferment which were the necessary foundations for the development of a scientific revolution. "The ideas of a scientific revolution could not have flowered in a static society with fixed ideas of what could and could not be done. It took the explorations of the 15th and early 16th centuries to shake established notions enough to permit the birth of modern scientific thought. In a subtle and deep sense, this is one of the reasons for the interest of the scientist m the exploration elements of the space program .... "I think that the history of the last 400 years demonstrates that we need not expect a very long wait before space research will feed back into everyday affairs and play a role in them. "In the 19th century, the lag was rather long. The Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell published a treatise on electromagnetism in 1864, but not until 1901 did Marconi transmit the first wireless signal across the Atlantic. "More recently, in 1932, Chadwick discovered the neutron in England. Fermi set the first atomic pile critical at Stagg Field in Chicago in 1942, only 10 years from the basic discovery to a very formidable application. "Still more recently, Bardeen and Brattain and Shockley at the Bell Labs discovered the transistor in 1948 and only six years later the first transistorized power amplifier appeared on the market . . . ". . . the exploration of the moon has a very special role to play, precisely for the reason that would make one think the moon is uninteresting scientifically-specifically because the moon is a relatively lifeless body. It has no atmosphere, no oceans, nothing to wear away the record of the history of the solar system, and of whatever has occurred to the surface of the moon since its birth. "On the earth, record of even tremendous surface events disappear within 10 to 50 million years, a very short time compared to the age of the planet, and mountains form and are turned over. With the action of weather, everything changes and disappears as the millions of ears go by. That is probably also true on Mars and Venus which resemble the earth in this respect. But the moon has no oceans, no atmosphere, no mountain-building activity that, we can discern. For this reason, the moon is a kind of Rosetta Stone of the solar system from which we can read the past. That is why it is so interesting to the scientist. He has the opportunity to find there the record of the early history of the solar system. "To the student of the origin of the earth, the moon is even more interesting scientifically than Mars or Venus. ". . if the moon and the planets were formed out of gas and dust in the condensation that surrounded the primitive sun, then we can expect such condensation to accompany the birth of every star. There are one hundred billion stars in our galaxy alone. Nearly every one of them we expect to have a planetary system around it. Some small fraction of those planets will be at the right distances from their suns, from their stars, and of the right size to have conditions favorable to the development of physical life as we know it. "If that is the case, it follows that life must be a relatively commonplace thing, physical life in the universe . . . " . . there is one small instrument on the Tiros which has not achieved as much attention as it deserves. The size of a quarter, it is a black disc which detects the infrared energy radiated from the top of the atmosphere. That is the energy which is reflected back into space from the earth. We can accurately estimate the energy coming to the earth from the sun and we can take the difference between the two and calculate the amount of energy remaining in the atmosphere. "This energy deposited in the atmosphere constitutes the driving force that generates weather activity. With the aid of satellites, for the first time we can measure the energy difference and hope to break through from the day-to-day forecasting, which depends on immediately preceding events, to the week-long or two-week forecasts." (Text)
During prelaunch preparations at Holloman AFB. N.M., Project Stargazer balloon broke loose and soared away, finally landing 120-mi. east of Holloman. Balloon was to have carried gondola with two men, Capt. Joseph Kittinger (USAF) and astronomer William White, and their 12.5-in. telescope to study stars from above most of earth's atmosphere. USAF spokesman said sudden wind blew the moored balloon from side to side, creating static electricity which triggered a safety mechanism to release the balloon. Damaged balloon would require repairs by manufacturer before it could be re-used. (AP, Wash. Sun. Star, 4/21/63)
Dr. Michael J. Lipschutz, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center astrochemist, reported at American Geophysical Union meeting in Washington that 2,900-lb. iron meteorite Navititas found in Mexico in 1872 had been on earth for 800,000 years. In addition, meteorite may have traveled through space for 300 million years in asteroid belt before impacting on earth. Age was measured by examination of radioactive age of certain of meteorite's chemical elements. (Goddard Release)
American Geophysical Union, at annual meeting in Washington, adopted resolution urging that FCC protect Channel 37 for radioastronomy uses. FCC had received applications for operation of commercial TV on that channel in Paterson, N.J., and scientists feared that broadcasts from such station would interfere with research being performed with radiotelescope at Danville, Ill. FCC had proposed in March to exclude for five years commercial stations on Channel 37 within 600 mi. of Danville and to limit nighttime hours that stations could broadcast on Channel 37. AGU resolution asserted that the "needs of radio astronomy are not met by the limited protection" provided by FCC proposal and that the proposal "leaves unprotected nearly all of the active radio astronomy observatories in the United States." (NYT, 4/22/63, 24)
In interview during annual meeting of American Geophysical Union; Dr. Lewis B. Kaplan of JPL said MARINER II's discovery of 800° temperatures of Venusian surface indicated possibility that atmosphere of Venus and clouds surrounding that planet contained organic compounds-including formaldehyde, oily hydrocarbons, and certain methyl compounds. Although large quantities of carbon dioxide were present in Venusian atmosphere, carbon dioxide alone would not account for the "greenhouse effect." Other substances-probably organic compounds existed in Venusian atmosphere to absorb heat and radiation from planet and reflect it back to surface. (Carey, AP, Wash. Eve. ,Star, 4/20/63)
Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara said in speech before American Society of Newspaper Editors: ". . . if we were to draft every scientist and engineer in the country into weapons development work, we could still develop only a fraction of the systems that are proposed .... This process of choice must begin with a requirement for solid indications that a proposed system would really add something to our national security .... "Development costs alone on typical major weapons systems today average upward of $4 billion. Over a billion dollars was spent on the atomic airplane, which was little closer to being a useful weapon when we canceled it, shortly after taking office, than it had been half a dozen years earlier, Eighty million was spent on the Goose decoy missile, essentially a pilotless aircraft that the enemy would confuse with our B-52's . . . . "The RS-70 is an example of a weapon which, it seems to me, fails to meet the basic requirement for a major systems development: a solid indication that the weapon, if developed, would add significantly to our national security. It happens to be a particularly expensive weapon: to develop, procure, and operate a modest force of these planes would cost us at least $10 billion. Yet considering the weapons we already have, or will have by the time the RS-70 could be operational, it is very hard to see how this weapon would add to our national security . . . . "As weapons systems grow more complex, more expensive, and more difficult to maintain in a high state of military readiness, it is essential that we limit as far as possible the number of new systems that we bring into operation; for we want to be as sure as possible that we can depend on every system to operate when it is really needed. A basic fact of life is that under the chaotic conditions of combat you do not get anything like the efficiency of weapons systems that you get on a test range. Relative simplicity is a most desirable characteristic of a weapons system, or of a combination of systems . . . ." (Text, in CR, 4/24/63, 6580-83)
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