Mar 1 1963
From The Space Library
Delta Day at Cape Canaveral, the NASA Group Achievement Award presented to Delta Project Group of Goddard Space Flight Center, manager of Delta space vehicle for NASA. At Delta Day ceremony, NASA Director of Space Sciences Dr. Homer E. Newell remarked that the "Delta Team has had 16 times at bat, and a hitting streak of 15 in a row, for a batting average of .937. That is good hitting .... We would wish that all launch vehicles could boast of records equal to that of Delta. The scientific community would, I am sure, wish me to express its appreciation with a hearty 'Well done!"' Directing additional remarks to Delta Launch Team at Cape Canaveral, Dr. Newell said: "You have turned out the most cost effective launch vehicle in the NASA stable. It has given us the highest return on the investment of any vehicle we have, and that is of fundamental interest to us. "About 26% of all NASA attempts to place a satellite of any kind in orbit have been made with Delta., and 45% of our successful earth satellites placed in orbit have been put there by Delta. At this point in time, as new as we are in our space effort, that is an impressive record .. ." (NASA Release 63-39; Text)
At Delta Day ceremony, Cape Canaveral, NASA Associate Administrator Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., announced NASA had ordered 14 more Delta space vehicles from prime contractor Douglas Aircraft Co., most of which were expected to be used in launching additional NASA communications satellites and meteorological satellites as well as new scientific satellites. (NASA Release 63-39)
MARS I interplanetary probe was 78,843,000 km. (48,980,675 mi.) from earth, Soviet newspaper Izvestia reported. From Feb. 20 to March 1, scheduled radio contacts were made; "a series of control commands were transmitted to the station." Tass said that on March 1 "a number of corrective guidance commands were transmitted to the spacecraft. The strength of radio signals, which are being received from the interplanetary station, decreased some what . . " (Izvestia, 3/3/63, 5, AFSS-T Trans.; Pravda, 2/2/63, EOS Trans.)
Stratoscope II tandem balloon system was launched from National Scientific Balloon Flight Station near Palestine, Tex., carrying 36-in. telescope to 15-mi. altitude to focus on planet Mars. Stratoscope II Project Manager, Dr. Martin Schwarzchild. called it "a beautiful launch." First attempt to detect life-related substances on Mars from above earth's atmosphere, project was conducted jointly by Princeton Univ. and Univ. of Calif. with Vitro Laboratories in charge of flight operations; it was sponsored by NASA, NSF, and ONR. (AP, Wash. Post, 3/2/63)
Patent for Mercury Spacecraft parachute recovery system was awarded to its inventor, Andre J. Meyer, Jr., of NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. (NYT [West. Ed.], 3/2/63)
Skylark rocket launched at Woomera, Australia, reached 123-mi. altitude with experiment to measure electron densities in upper atmosphere. Secondary experiments were measurement of distribution of positive ions, x-ray spectrum of the Sun and distribution of atomic hydrogen in upper atmosphere. (M&R, 3/11/63, 9)
NASA announced Ames Research Center had requested industry proposals for six-week study contracts to determine feasibility of using earth Satellites as orbital, recoverable biological laboratories. Such a biosatellite project would provide means of studying animal and plant responses to periods of prolonged weightlessness. Studies would consider Spacecraft systems that could be used in series of six biosatellites with flight durations of from three to 30 days. Decision on flight programs would be made after evaluation of study contracts; NASA already had received, and was evaluating, suggestions of biological experiments that could be performed. (NASA Release 63-46; Ames Release 63-9)
U.S. Weather Bureau announced it was purchasing 11 ground stations capable of receiving cloud pictures directly from Nimbus meteorological satellites, to be launched by NASA beginning late this year. The Stations would receive cloud pictures of their local areas taken by automatic picture transmission (APT) subsystem in the weather satellite. APT device would take and transmit cloud picture automatically every 208 Sec., each photograph showing area of about 1,000-mi.-by-1,000-mi. Meteorologists expected to make immediate use of Nimbus cloud pictures. (Dept, of Commerce Release WB 63-3)
Lt. Gen. James Ferguson (USAF DCS/R&D) told House Committee on Science and Astronautics that an independent USAF capability in -USAF Space is essential to future Security of the Nation and called for establishment of a "military patrol . . . to determine at all times what is happening in near Space, whether there is a threat present, and to deal with it if necessary." (Wash. Eve. Star, 3/2/63, A2) U.S. Senate paid tributes to the late Senator Robert S. Kerr (D.Okla.) who had been Chairman of the Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. (CR, 3/1/63, 3156-79)
Resignation of Thomas F. Dixon, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator since 1961, announced by Associate Administrator Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr. Mr. Dixon had joined NASA Sept. 1961, when he was named Director of Office of Launch Vehicles. Before that, he had been Vice President for Research and Engineering of North American Aviation's Rocketdyne Div. He was resigning to return to North American as assistant to the president. (NASA Release 63-42; NAA S&IS Skywriter, 3/8/63,1)
NASA Manned Spacecraft Center proposal to establish manned orbital Space Station which Stressed that Such a Station and associated shipment could be established using rockets, equipment, and materials under development now for Project Apollo. Plan called for (1) orbiting Space station with capacity for 18 crewmen; (2) sending six men in adapted Apollo-type spacecraft to board the orbiting station; and (3) sending two more such crews within a month of each other to staff the station, docking the shuttle spacecraft at the station's three arms. Report said space station would be a national laboratory for study of space. (AP, Balt. Sun, 3/2/63)
USAF launched Atlas ICBM in 5,000-mi. flight down AMR, first of 20 flight-tests in Project Abres (advanced ballistic re-entry systems), purpose of which was to develop smaller nuclear war heads capable of eluding enemy radar and of reaching targets as swiftly as possible with largest possible nuclear yield. Attached to Atlas airframe was pickaback pod carrying "space laboratory" in which were scientific experiments designed to gain information on performance of algae in space. (M&R, 3/11/63, 10; Space Bus. Daily, 3/5/63, 273)
March 1-2: The Space Vehicle Panel of the President's Scientific Advisory Committee met at MSC for briefings and presentations on the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. (Space News Roundup, 1/8/64, 2)
