Nov 2 1963

From The Space Library

The international communications conference convened in Geneva by the International Telecommunications Union had been in session a month. Representatives from 170 countries and territories had been working out positions on a number of technical problems in committees and working groups. During the fifth and last week, these findings would be submitted to the plenary sessions for approval. (Reuters, NYT, 11/3/63, 12F)

European interest in a cooperative communications satellite effort was continuing. The U.K. and 12 other European countries met on the subject in Paris in May 1963 and in London in July. Vari­ous committees were formed to study the technical, economic, and political problems involved and these committees were to report to a meeting to be held in Rome on Nov. 27. The general direction of the discussions has been toward some sort of partnership between the European countries and the U.S. ComSatCorp. (Farnsworth, NYT, 11/3/63, 12F)

Humorous columnist Arthur Hoppe commented on Premier Khru­shchev's statement of Oct. 26 that Russia was not competing to land a man on the moon, said this marked the beginning of a new weapon in Soviet diplomacy-"Competitive unresistance." "Oh, it strikes at the one weakness in the American character. For while we are imbued with the will to win, we can't stand lick­ing somebody who isn't trying. Competitive unresistance, let me warn you, will sap our will to resist. . . Of course we could do some things for other reasons. Like maybe feeding people because they're hungry. Or reaching for the moon because we believe the future of our race lies in the stars. But would Congress buy that? Nonsense. It's unrealistic. "So I say we must meet this new Soviet threat head-on. We must abolish our moon program, knock off foreign aid and do our utmost, fellow Americans, to make our Nation a second-rate power. But cheer up. I'm certain we can count on Congress." (Hoppe, Wash. Eve. Star, 11/2/63, 5)

USAF launched Minuteman ICBM from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. the 20th of the solid-fueled missiles launched from the West Coast base. (AP, Wash. Sun. Star. 11/3/63)

Soviet reported POLET I had gone into fixed elliptical earth orbit after flying through several orbits and orbital planes and had increased its maximum distance from 368 to 892 mi. from earth while keeping a minimum distance of about 210 mi. (At A, Jan. 1964, p. 5)

November 3: Cosmonauts Capt. Valentina V. Tereshkova and Maj. Andrian G. Nikolayev were married in a civil ceremony in Mos­cow, followed by an emotional four-hour reception for 300 guests. Premier Nikita Khrushchev acted as toastmaster at the reception, and relatives and friends were crowded into the background by Soviet dignitaries. A crowd of 1,000 stood outside the state wed­ding palace prior to the marriage and watched guests arrive. Moscow Radio announced the ceremony 90 min. after it had taken place and interrupted its program frequently for recorded bul­letins from the reception. Fellow cosmonauts were in attendance and signed the marriage register as witnesses. (Shabad, NYT, 11/4/63, 1)

U.S.S.R. was designing a supersonic transport aircraft from the start, not modifying a bomber design as they had done with the TU- 104 and were rumored to be doing again, according to FAA Deputy Administrator Gordon Bain. (NYT, 11/4/63, 1)

ComSatCorp was planning its initial offering of stock in the spring of 1964, probably on the order of $200 million. Half of this stock would by law have to be made available to the general public at no more than $100 per share, the remaining half being taken by the communications industry. Wall Street predicted that the stock would meet with unprecedented enthusiasm for a large issue by a new and speculative corporation. Meanwhile the ComSatCorp technical staff was still studying the technical and economic fac­tors involved in establishing a global communications net "at the earliest practicable date" that Congress directed. The goal was for an operating satellite system by 1966-67 employing either medium-altitude or synchronous-orbit satellites. (NYT 11/3/63, 1F)

A roundup of world press opinion on the manned lunar landing race, following Premier Khrushchev's statement of Oct. 26 that Russia was not presently planning manned lunar flight, indicated that the majority of the newspapers thought Khrushchev had made a sen­sible decision which the U.S. ought to follow. (NYT, 11/3/63, 9E)

U.S.S.R.'s maneuverable spacecraft POLET I, launched Nov. 1, 1963, was put through its maneuvers by radio commands from the ground, according to K. Gilzin, writing in the Soviet armed forces newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda: "Our new maneuverable spaceship, heeding radio commands from earth, obediently turned first to one side, then to the other, soared up and dived, changing its position in space." (NYT, 11/4/63)

Editorial in the Washington Sunday Star commented on U.S.S.R.'s latest space feat, the launching of the maneuverable spacecraft POLET I: "Russia's newest venture in space has come at exactly the right time. Although not so intended, it pulls the rug from under those among us-such as economizing Congressmen and excessively zealous scientists like Linus Pauling-who have been clamoring for an end to our country's program to place Americans on the moon by 1970. "These people, with much naivete (to use a polite word), have attached an extravagant degree of importance to Premier Khru­shchev's recent remarks vaguely suggesting that he may be with­drawing the Soviets from the lunar race . . . . their latest space shot plainly, and disturbingly, indicates that they are well ahead of us with the kind of rendezvous capability that is essential to efforts to place men on the moon and bring them back safely . . . . "Clearly, we must run this race as swiftly as we possibly can." (CB, 11/4/63, A6869)

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