Mar 4 1964
From The Space Library
NASA Administrator James E. Webb, appearing before Senate Committee on Astronautical and Space Sciences, said: "It is apparent to most persons who are concerned with the national space effort that we have reached what you described recently, Mr. Chairman, as a "critical mid-point" in our effort to achieve space preeminence for the United States. We have moved from a circumstance in which the Soviet Union held clear superiority in space to one in which, as a result of the driving effort put forth in the past five years, we have achieved a degree of parity with the Russians in our ability to penetrate and operate in the space environment. "As a consequence of this significant progress, the nation is in a position to consider not merely what it is able to do in space, but also what it is wise to do in view of our greatly increased scientific and technical ability. We have, in short, moved from a period in which we did everything we could in space, and regretted our inability to do more, to one in which we have a very large capability and are increasingly confronted with hard decisions in the selection of the programs which we will undertake. "This is the position in which NASA found itself in preparing the program which is the basis for the FY 1965 authorization request. We have deferred or eliminated many projects which were worthy contenders for a place in the program and which, I believe, when budgetary limitations are less restrictive, the nation will decide to undertake. The activities which are proposed for FY 1965 will, in my judgment and that of my associates, produce the greatest benefits for the country within the limitations of the national resources which the President has decided are available and can prudently be spent for the NASA program. . . ." Mr. Webb cited mounting evidence that NASA'S need for scientists and engineers was not adversely affecting other areas: "At the beginning of this calendar year, approximately 74,000 scientists and engineers were employed in the NASA program-about 12,000 within NASA, and 62,000 under NASA contracts and grants. This amounted to approximately 4.9 percent of the 1.5 million scientists and engineers in the nation's work force. "By next January, it is estimated that about 82,000 scientists and engineers will be working on the NASA program; about 5.2 percent of the available national supply. If the space effort were to continue at the present level of funding for the remainder of the decade, NASA's program is not expected to require more than 5.5 percent of the national supply of scientists and engineers. "Of particular interest, however, is the fact that NASA'S requirement for additional engineers has peaked at an earlier period than had been anticipated. Current statistics indicate that the number employed on NASA work increased by about 30,000 during the last calendar year, rather than 20,000 as had been anticipated. As a consequence, our requirement for the current year will be only about 8,000 instead of 18,000 as had been projected. We will thus require a much smaller share than had been anticipated of the 45,000 engineers who will complete their education this year. . . ." (Testimony)
NASA and French National Center for Space Studies (CNES) agreed to proceed with cooperative space project of launching satellite to investigate characteristics of VLF electromagnetic wave propagation in the ionosphere. The French satellite would be launched from PMR using a Scout vehicle provided by NASA. This would be Phase II of two-phase CNES-NASA program for VLF investigations, pursuant to Memorandum of Understanding dated Feb. 18, 1963. Phase I consisted of two sub-orbital launches of French experiments with U.S. Aerobee sounding rockets, to demonstrate the feasibility of scientific experiments to be performed by the satellite. (NASA Release 64-61)
NASA announced signing preliminary $800,000 contract with Ball Brothers Research Corp. for construction of five additional OSO (Orbiting Solar Observatory) satellites. Ball Brothers already had built two OSO's- one of which was orbited in 1962 and the other scheduled for orbit this year-and was in the process of building a third. The five additional Oso's would study solar cycle through periods of increased activity during the late 1960's. (NASA Release 64-51)
NASA Administrator Webb submitted a report on long-range studies in space exploration to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics' Sub-committee on Advanced Research and Tracking. Emphasizing that "all decisions on future missions must be national, not solely NASA, decisions," the report outlined "the areas of space mastery that require serious attention by the Nation," surveying all categories of space exploration-including scientific, weather, and navigational satellites, manned and unmanned flights to the moon and the planets. The report said that "development and operation of manned space stations in earth orbit will be a necessary preliminary to extension of manned operations in space," described feasibility and design studies being made for manned lunar bases. (Text, 1965 NASA Auth. Hearings, Part 4, 2729--2804)
NASA announced granting 28 waivers of U.S. commercial rights to inventions resulting from work performed under NASA contracts, bringing total of NASA's patent waivers to 71 Under policy "designed to encourage prompt public and industrial benefit from the scientific byproducts of its research and development activities," NASA granted the patent rights to 12 companies, one university, one research organization, and two individuals (jointly). NASA retained royalty-free license for any governmental use of the inventions. (NASA Release 64.-52)
Rep. Bob Wilson (R.-Calif.) said in the House: "Atlas has more scheduled launches during the 1960's than ever before for missions of the Air Force Systems Command and NASA, a demand so great that a new standardized Atlas space launch vehicle called SLV-3 or Atlas-3 has been designed. This standardized vehicle will produce lower long-term costs while increasing flexibility and flight reliability. Development of this standardized vehicle is an excellent example of how existing space systems can be improved to satisfy new requirements. Improvement of a flight proven system such as Atlas is inherently more efficient and economical than designing new vehicles for new missions. Research and development costs are already expended and Atlas has certainly proven its reliability. . . ." (CR, 3/4/64, A1115)
ComSatCorp applied to FCC for authority to construct and orbit over the mid-Atlantic a synchronous-orbit communications satellite to provide commercial service on an "experimental-operational" basis between North America and Europe. The satellite was described by ComSatCorp as an "initial step in the development of a global communications system.' It would provide 24-hour communications service capable of relaying TV broadcasts or up to 240 telephone calls. Plans called for the satellite to be orbited in spring of 1965 with a TAT-Delta booster supplied by NASA on a reimbursable basis. (ComSatCorp Release)
USAF planned to launch six manned orbiting laboratories (MOL) over an 18-month period, beginning in late 1967 or early 1968, unnamed sources revealed in Washington. (UPI, Omaha Eve. World-Herald, 3/4/64)
FAA announced Lufthansa-German Airlines had reserved three delivery positions for U.S. supersonic transport aircraft, bringing total of reserved positions to 75 by 14 airlines. (FAA Release 64-20)
DOD announced establishing fundamental policies for application and conduct of Project Definition Phase (PDP) . The technique would be applied to all proposed engineering or operational system development projects with development, test, and evaluation costs amounting to $25 million or more or with production costs amounting to $100 million or more. Major benefits were expected to include reduction of technical changes during development-production cycle, decreased cost, improved operational effectiveness or early cancellation of projects. (DOD Release 186-64)
Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, touring Copenhagen, predicted that U.S.S.R. would conduct another manned space flight sometime this year. (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 3/4/64)
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