Apr 23 1963

From The Space Library

Aerobee sounding rocket launched from NASA Wallops Sta­tion carried 195-lb. instrumented payload to 125-mi. altitude in 71/2-min. flight. Conducted by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, experiment was designed to measure electron densities in ionosphere by several methods and to yield information neces­sary to further development of direct measurement techniques. ''(Wallops Release 63-42)

Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Administrator, was elected to third four-year term as Home Secretary of National Academy of Sciences. (NAS Release)

Illinois Governor Kerner said in address before Rotary Club in Chicago: "With a greater share in the research efforts of the space age, Illinois and its taxpaying citizens would cease to be the underwriters for the doctors of philosophy other states recruit to advance their programs." (Chic. Trib., 4/24/63)

United Arab Republic announced it planned to orbit a weather satellite this year. (Wash. Daily News, 4/23/63)

At AIAA Second Manned Space Flight Meeting, Dallas, presentation by Warren J. North of NASA Manned Spacecraft Center and William B. Cassidy of Ling-Temco-Vought described Gemini launch escape system, and said: "A manual abort system will provide added operational flexibility by enabling the flight crew to choose an abort time which may reduce the possibility of aborts at high dynamic pressure; to choose optimum abort times compatible with contingency recovery areas; and to reduce the probability and the risk involved with an inadvertent abort .... " (Text)

Dr. Joseph F. Shea, Deputy Director of NASA Office of Manned Space Flight, said at AIAA Second Manned Space Flight Meet­ing in Dallas that aerospace industry must improve quality of rocket and spacecraft components to ensure successful com­pletion of Project Apollo. "Developing reliability of thousands of components so they all work together without. error is the one main area where we need a big jump in the state of the art in the Apollo lunar landing program." (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 4/23/63)

Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Chairman of National Aero­nautics and Space Council, said in address before AIAA Second Manned Space Flight Meeting in Dallas: "The age of space is, for all regions of America, a second industrial revolution, a revolution that is bringing a new future, a new degree of partici­pation, a new scope of contribution for every region of our coun­try, and for every segment of our society." Regarding Project Apollo, he said that "to reach for the moon is a risk, but it is a risk we must take." Failure to do so would be "even riskier." (UPI, NYT, 4/24/63)

John W. Stone, Advanced Studies Manager of Launch Vehicles and Propulsion Directorate, NASA Office of Manned Space Flight., said at AIAA Manned Space Flight Meeting that projected Nova launch vehicle would so costly that it would require national policy ruling-such as President Kennedy's decision to award high priority to manned lunar landing program. There would be no need for such a decision on Nova until 1968 at the earliest, he said. (M&R, 4/29/63,16)

Saturn project engineers James B. Bramlet and Robert E. Lind­strom, of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Saturn Systems Office, said at AIAA Second Manned Space Flight Meeting in Dallas that NASA heavy launch Vehicle programs are on tight schedules but are "within the bounds of our capabilities .... [and can meet requirement for a] manned lunar landing in this decade." (Huntsville Times, 4/23/63)

Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center, said he doubted that Russia has developed any new booster capa­bility despite rumors that the Soviets are about ready to launch another "space spectacular." (Dallas Morning News, 4/24/63) Report on laser research presented at meeting of American Physical Society by Robert W. Terhune, Ford Motor Co. physicist. Ford scientists had succeeded in altering laser's ultraviolet-ray fre­quency to other frequencies, an achievement hailed as break­through toward using lasers for communications. (NYT, 4/24/63,18)

Apr 24 1963