Jun 3 1963
From The Space Library
NASA requested proposals for a broad range of experiments applicable to life-support stems for men and equipment in space. Experiments would conducted by NASA on spacecraft in orbit and on aircraft with from 15 sec. to 5 min. of zero gravity. NASA Office of Advanced Research and Technology would evaluate industry and university proposals. (NASA Release 63-117)
In commencement address at Univ. of Pittsburgh, NASA Administrator James E. Webb said: "In the world you enter today, man is no longer rooted to terra firma, to his native land, or even to his city block, either in the literal sense or in his understanding of the powerful forces of the universe, of which he is such a minuscule part. Increasingly man comprehends that the new understanding and knowledge that are being unleashed by science and technology will alter his existence in more ways and more rapidly than he can possibly foresee . . . . "Forty years elapsed between the Wright brothers and the first supersonic flight. Only 10 years were required to reach 4,000 miles per hour in the X-15. Applying this knowledge, we now see a shrunken and bipolarized world, within which we can travel anywhere in a few hours, but cannot solve without force and violence man's relation to man. And all of this was achieved using the atmosphere up to twice the height of mountains. "By the end of this decade, man will have stood on the moon and looked outward to the vast universe and beyond, and learned in the process vastly more about the earth itself . . . ." (Text, CR, 6/12/63, A3792)
In Wells College (Aurora, N.Y.) commencement address, NASA Director of Manned Space Flight D. Brainerd Holmes said: "How about women in space? The answer is yes, but not immediately. At the moment, however, all of the qualified pilots are men. "In a larger sense, of course, women are already in space. The astronaut does not fly alone. He relies on the thousands of people in his supporting team on the ground. These include women as well as men. On the staff of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, there are about 150 women scientists and engineers. Many more are employed by the contractors throughout the country who perform the bulk of our work. In this rapidly growing program, there are many interesting career opportunities for those of you who complete the necessary preparation .... " (Text)
Students in Washington, D.C., area began helping Weather Bureau in Project Skywatch-drawing cloud formations, recording wind speed and direction, temperature and relative humidity and precipitation, in project to identify specific cloud formations photographed by TIROS meteorological satellites. About 50 students were participating in project. (Commerce Dept. Release WB-63-6)
NASA Director of Advanced Research and Technology Dr. Raymond L. Bisplinghoff said in address before Society of Aerospace Material and Process Engineers in Philadelphia: "There is no area of technology more important to our space effort than materials and their processing. Virtually every device that is employed in space is limited in either performance or efficiency by its constituent materials. The space program is literally paced by our ability to use and process materials . . . ." (Text)
In Aviation Week and Space Technology editorial, Robert Hotz said: "The current debate has done much to explain to the public and Congress the real aims of the space program, which are the development of a broad capability in space technology that eventually can be applied to whatever national purpose or need that may arise in the future. Gradually, the point that the manned lunar landing Apollo program is simply the best possible focal point for this effort in its present, phase is emerging from the verbal pyrotechnics of the current debate. It is becoming more readily apparent that Apollo is not just an `over-Niagara Falls-in-a-barrel' type of dare-devil stunt, but a well-conceived program of broad exploration across the whole spectrum of space technology as we know it today. "The solid technical success of the Mercury program, particularly in the six- and 22-orbit flights of Cdr. Schirra and Maj. Cooper, has done much to make this point clear. It should be obvious now that Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft are really the Nina, Pinta and Santa Marias of space exploration, and are simply paving the way for whatever useful purposes this nation eventually decides to utilize space. . . ." (Av. Wk., 6/3/63, 17)
Maj. Robert M. White (USAF) received 1962 General Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy from Secretary of Air Force Eugene M. Zuckert for his outstanding contributions to U.S. aerospace re search through piloting X-15 rocket research aircraft. USAF Space Trophy is presented annually by National Geographic Society. (DOD Release 789-63)
June 3-11: Sixth annual meeting of 18-nation COSPAR (Committee or. Space Research, International Council of Scientific Unions) held in Warsaw. U.S. scientists, headed by Dr. Richard W. Porter and participating through NAS Space Science Board, delivered 70 papers at Fourth International Space Science Symposium held in conjunction with COSPAR meeting. (NAS Release)
Dr. Richard W. Porter, head of U.S. delegation, summarized U.S. space activities from approximately Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1962 more than 100 high-altitude research balloons; approximately' 846 synoptic rockets (by Meteorological Rocket Network from six North American sites) ; and more than 100 scientific sounding rockets. U.S. had announced launching of 19 scientific and scientific-applications satellites and space probes. (Porter, Report to COSPAR)
Head of Soviet delegation A. A. Blagonravov summarized Soviet space activities of 1962: launching of interplanetary probe mum I; 71 geophysical and meteorological sounding rockets; 12 unmanned (Cosmos) satellites; and two manned spacecraft. Elaborating on MARS I, he said that at 106,000,000 kilometers from the earth "a defect in the probe's orientation system resulted in a violation of the directionality of the probe's antenna to earth, making it impossible to maintain further radio contact with the probe." (NYT, 6/4,/63, 10)
Soviet scientist S. V. Vernov reported on June 4 that cosmic ray bombardment of earth from outside the solar system had doubled in last five years. Findings were based on more than 4,000 Soviet scientific balloon flights since 1957. (Underwood, NYT, 6/5/63)
On June 5, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center offered world scientists the design of small rocket payload and ground telemetry station suitable for ionospheric research. GSFC scientists Siegfried J. Bauer and John E. Jackson said payload's "versatility, simplicity and relatively low cost should make it an ideal tool for the investigation of the many problems of the ionosphere by the international scientific community, especially during the IQSY [International Year of the Quiet Sun]." (GSFC Release)
Prof. Anatoli Blagonravov, head of Soviet delegation, announced U.S.S.R. would conduct unspecified number of manned space flights in 1963, would launch two unmanned probes toward Venus and Mars, and would continue orbiting satellites in Cosmos series. (UPI, Wash. Post, 6/6/63)
Dr. Wilmot N. Hess, Chief of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Theoretical Div., said that U.S. high-altitude nuclear explosion July 9, 1962, as well as Soviet high-altitude nuclear explosions Oct. 22, Oct. 28, and Nov. 1, added temporarily to radiation particles in Van Allen belts. Lifetime of electrons and protons trapped by earth's magnetic field had been "one of the most important and perplexing problems in radiation belt work for several years ... [and for the first time, this past year we have obtained definite information on trapped electron lifetimes . . . ." (GSFC Release; AP, Wash. Eve Star, 6/6/63)
U.S. and U.S.S.R. delegations on June 6 announced readiness of their countries to cooperate in IQSY s ace experiments. Also at COSPAR, Japanese scientists reported pans to use U.S. Relay communications satellites for television broadcasts of Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964. (UPI, Wash,. Post, 6/7/63)
Dr. W. R. Adey of UCLA Brain Research Institute on June 7 challenged Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper's report that he sighted smoke rising from individual houses in Tibet during his MA-9 orbital space flight. Dr. Adey asserted weightlessness produces feeling of euphoria: "Under such conditions one is inclined to make judgments that are not critical, because normal controls on judgment are not operative . . . . Unrecognized disorders of visual perception and of judgments arising therefrom may be of considerable importance in space research." Dr. George T. Hauty of FAA Civil Aeronautics Research Institute reported on experiments showing that marked reduction of sensory stimuli could induce slowing of subject's thought processes and even hallucinations. (NYT, 6/8/63, 26; Electronic News, 6/10/63)
B. E. Welch of USAF School of Aerospace Medicine reported that results of six experiments showed oxygen toxicity would not be problem with pure-oxygen atmosphere in 17-day manned space flights. (NAS Release)
Dr. William F. Neumann of Univ. of Rochester Medical Center said astronauts under weightlessness up to two weeks could be expected to lose some calcium from their bones, probably equivalent to calcium loss of bedridden patient over 6-7 weeks: "For flights longer than two weeks, particularly space-capsule flights of indefinite length, grave questions of the continued normalcy of bone structure and bone development arise" (NYT, 6/8/63, 26)
Soviet scientist V. V. Sharnov reported that moon was covered with slag-like material, confirmed by Soviet radioastronomical observations. Speculating on surfaces of Mercury and Mars, he said former should resemble that of moon and latter was "mostly covered with dust. The fact that this material remains uncemented is a result of humidity." Radar contact with planet Mercury was made at distance of 54 million mi. Radar contact with planet Venus permitted refinement of value of astronomical unit obtained in 1961 and estimate of Venus rotational period. (Underwood, NYT, 7/9/63,81; Av. Wk., 6/10/63, 31)
Dr. D. E. Graveline of USAF School of Aerospace Medicine reported provision of artificial gravity in manned spacecraft was being considered for prolonged manned space flights. Artificial gravity may be required because re-entry after a month or more of weightlessness could be dangerous to human beings-in prolonged weightlessness, natural processes which attune the circulatory system to gravity forces would decay, and body could not make necessary readjustment to g forces encountered in re-entry (NYT, 6/8/63,26; AP, Balt. Sun, 6/9/63)
R. S. Young of NASA Ames Research Center reported June 8 on experiments providing evidence that certain earth organisms survive and grow under simulated Martian environment. Experiment simulated equatorial summer day-night cycle on Mars with presence of water; further experiments were being conducted to determine minimum water and nutritional requirements for these organisms and to find their shortest growing period. If experiments show terrestrial organisms can survive under the most rigorous laboratory simulation" of Martian environment, there would be "decisive evidence" of need for spacecraft sterilization. (NAS Release)
Dr. Carl Sagan of Harvard Univ. Observatory said June 9 that astronomer on Mars, using most advanced equipment known today, would probably be unable to prove existence of life on earth. Of 80,000 photographs of earth taken from "an American TIROS satellite, Only one could be interpreted as showing biological life On earth." (AP, NYT, 6/10/63)
June 3-6: NASA 16 astronauts received jungle survival training at USAF Caribbean Air Command Tropic Survival School, Albrook AFB, Canal Zone, including classroom instruction and three-day field practice in local jungle. (MSC Release 63-96)
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