Feb 7 1964
From The Space Library
NASA announced it would join with Norwegian Space Research Committee and the Ionospheric Research Laboratory of the Royal Technical Univ. of Denmark in three sounding rocket launches from Andoeya, Norway, during February and March. The Nike-Apache sounding rockets would carry experiments to test theories of how D-region of the ionosphere is formed. Norwegian Committee was providing launch site and associated facilities; Norwegian Committee and Danish Ionospheric Laboratory together were purchasing sounding rockets and contributing scientific payloads. NASA was furnishing certain experiments for the payload, already had assisted Danish and Norwegian scientists by providing training in rocket handling and data acquisition. (NASA Release 64-27)
NASA issued its first exclusive patent license to Satellite Div. of Union Carbide Corp. for commercial development of a nickel alloy invented by John C. Freche, metallurgist at NASA Lewis Research Center. For as long as it develops the alloy for commercial use, Union Carbide agreed to spend at least $20,000 a year for not more than three years. After fully developing it, Union Carbide would hold exclusive marketing rights for not more than four years, at which time exclusive license would expire and product would be made fully available to the public. (NASA Release 64-30)
Australian scientist Victor Albert Bailey speculated that moon may possess far-reaching electrostatic field, which could have been responsible for RANGER VI camera failure by interfering with switches for the cameras. (SBD, 2/7/64, 207)
Two balloons with instrumented payloads to make upper-atmosphere measurements were released at Palestine, Tex., and recovered. Balloon carrying 550 lbs. of instruments to study cosmic rays, designed by Case Institute researchers, was recovered later near Roanoke, Ala.; balloon carrying 405 lbs. of instruments to take oxygen specimens at varying altitudes, designed by MIT, Was recovered near Derry, La. (UPI, Phil. Eve. Bull., 2/7/64)
Life science researchers in North American Aviation's Space and Information Systems Div. were studying effects of weightlessness and increased gravity on boa constrictors, NAA reported. The eyes of the boas were of special interest, for they offered easily observable reactions to the conditions. Normally a slit that remains vertical, the pupil of the boa's eye tilted some 15 degrees after the snakes were subjected to centrifuge. The snakes were "grossly disoriented" and, in striking at objects, they missed widely. (NAA S&ID Skywriter, 2/7/64, 2)
Sen. J. Howard Edmondson (D.-Okla.) , member of Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, and Sen. Kenneth Keating (RNX.) were appointed as advisers to U.S. representatives on U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, replacing Senators Margaret Chase Smith and Howard Cannon. (Tulsa Daily World, 2/8/64)
FAA announced Air France and British Overseas Airways Corp. had reserved six delivery positions apiece for the U.S. supersonic transport aircraft, bringing total reserved positions to 63 and number of airlines holding positions to 10. (FAA Release 64-12)
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
