Dec 20 1963

From The Space Library

NASA selected Boeing Co. for negotiation of incentive-type contract to build Lunar Orbiter spacecraft, contract ex­pected to exceed $60 million. One of the five bidding firms, Boeing would provide probes that are three-axis stabilized, use Eastman Kodak-developed camera system, and RCA power and communication subsystems. Five Lunar Orbiter spacecraft would be launched to take close-range photographs of lunar surface, as well as to measure such conditions as radiation and micrometeoroid density. Lunar Orbiter complements Ranger and Surveyor lu­nar probe projects, providing scientific data about the moon in preparation for Project Apollo manned lunar landing. (NASA Release 63-280)

NASA Manned Spacecraft Center announced Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., prime contractor for development of Apollo - lunar excursion module (LEM) had awarded $8,370,000 contract to Hamilton Standard Div. for design, development, and produc­tion of environmental control system for LEM. (MSC Release 63-257 )

25th Minuteman ICBM fired by USAF from Vandenberg AFB made rou­tine training flight down PMR. (M&R, 12/6/63, 10)

Gordon M. Bain, FAA Deputy Administrator for Supersonic Trans­port, suggested at meeting of Society of American Travel Writers in New York that he believed the U.S. supersonic transport air­craft could be economically used on routes as short as "perhaps 1,200 miles." Maximum range of the U.S. SST would be around 4,000 mi. (Clark, NYT, 12/21/63)

• December

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