Feb 24 1964
From The Space Library
House Committee on Science and Astronautics, meeting in executive session, approved the NASA Electronics Research Center report selecting the Boston area for the center. (NASA LAR 1I1/32)
NASA's Group Achievement Award was presented to Paul F. Bikle, Flight Research Center Director, and Brig. Gen. Irving L Branch, AFFTC Commander, on behalf of all Government personnel connected with the X-15 program. Dr. Hugh L Dryden, NASA Deputy Administrator, made the presentation at FRC ceremony, and said in his remarks: "Earlier this month the Research Airplane Committee approved nine additional test-bed experiments for the X-15 Program. With the 19 experiments approved before and the flights required to complete the original research program, these additional experiments will require X-15 flight tests until the end of 1968. "The X-15 flight-test program has been eminently successful during the last four years. The Research Airplane Committee, by its action this month in approving these new experiments for the program, has given concrete evidence of its faith in the future program.. ." (FRC X-Press; Speech Text)
NASA announced the nine new experiments for X-15 aircraft would be: ramjet propulsion, structures research, advanced flight data system, star tracker, horizon scanner, ionization gage, and other missions involving evaluation of advanced vehicle systems and structural materials. (NASA Release 64. 42)
NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight Dr. George E. Mueller said in Space Business Daily interview that the "major problem" in Project Apollo "is not technical or environmental," but, rather, "proper funding." Attainment of lunar landing goal before 1970 depended "more on funding than anything else," he said. The hiring freeze imposed on Apollo contractors had been eased on a "selected basis," with the only companies not receiving the easement being Pratt & Whitney and General Dynamics. (SBD, 2/24/64, 289)
Col. Clarence J. George was sworn in as NASA Executive Secretary, newly established position in Office of the Administrator. A former executive officer for the late General George C. Marshall, Col. George had more than 28 years of military service including eight years as aide to three former Secretaries of the Army, as well as General Marshall's tours as Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State. (NASA Photo)
Atlas engine using flox (30% fluorine, 70% liquid oxygen) oxidizer with its normal RP-1 kerosene fuel was static-fired last month by General Dynamics, Associated Press reported, and successful results of the test had prompted NASA to request FY 1965 funds to accelerate development. NASA requested $17.5 million in FY 1965 for flox development, which preliminary experiments indicated would increase Atlas payload capability from 30 to 90%. (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 2/24/64)
Analysis of NASA FY 1965 budget request revealed that NASA construction had passed its peak. FY 1964 funding for construction was $637.5 million, and FY 1965 request was for $281 million. Accentuating the trend was the fact that funding of major new facilities for Project Apollo-at Cape Kennedy, MSC, MSFC, and Mississippi Test Facility-would be completed in FY 1965. (M&R, 2/24/64, 18)
Sen. Mike Monroney (D.-Okla.) told American Fighter Aces Association, Washington chapter, that aviation was "short-changed" in research and development. He urged that more NASA effort go into aeronautical R&D, particularly on the supersonic transport. "NASA means National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I'm worried about What's happening to the A-for-Aeronautics." (Wash. Eve. Star, 2/25/64)
Lewis Research Center announced awarding of three contracts: $3,117,387 contract for continued development of Centaur launch vehicle stage and $1,800,000 contract for Oao shroud system and Pt. Loma test program, both to General Dynamics/Astronautics; and $2,110,000 contract to Aerojet-General Corp. for continued development of M-1 rocket engine. ( WSJ, 2/24/64)
NASA signed contract with Reaction Motors Div. of Thiokol Chemical Corp. for research on oxygen difluoride propellants. (SBD, 2/26/64, 304)
USAF planned 71 Atlas-Agena firings during 1964-66 period and NASA planned 26 Atlas-Agena and five Atlas launches, Aviation Week reported. Initial launch rate planned for Titan III with unmanned payloads would be less than 10 a year. (Av. Wk., 2/24/64, 23)
USAF predicted reddish spots on the moon-observed last October and November-would reappear June 4 and 5. USAF astronomers at Lowell Observatory planned to take color photographs of the recurrence as well as scan Aristarchus area of moon with sensitive photoelectric spectrograph to determine nature of the "spots." (Finney, NYT, 2/25/64, 14)
Missiles and Rockets published interview made last summer with Dr. Eugen Saenger, who died earlier this month. Dr. Saenger, whose World War II concept of rocket sled-launched orbital bomber was later influential in design of X-20 (Dyna Soar), had said: "I am assisting a German group within Eurospace in looking into the economics of space transportation. We are considering reusable vehicles. Dyna-Soar is assumed to be the necessary first step. . . . We consider it essential to develop an aerospace plane able to lift off from Earth, go up to orbit in the form of an airplane with wings, return like the Dyna-Soar along a glide path to Earth and land like an airplane so it can be reused." He said he had modified his chemical rocket-sled idea into steam-rocket sled and had developed such a rocket. "It develops 30 tons of thrust. We ran hundreds of tests on it. We would use it to accelerate a stage to subsonic or perhaps supersonic velocity." Dr. Saenger described Egyptian rocket development, which he had assisted until late 1961 when West German government asked him to stop: "I was asked in the spring of 1960 by the Egyptian government to give lectures at Cairo University and help the country by doing consulting work on meteorological sounding rockets.. . "It's a rocket only for vertical launching and liquid fuel. There is no guidance. Although in principle the rocket could be launched into an inclined flight, there is no way of knowing with accuracy Where it will impact. So I can't imagine how it would be used for military purposes." (M&R, 2/24/64, 35-38)
Minuteman ICBM fired from Vandenberg AFB after sundown left spectacular trail across the sky seen from San Francisco to San Bernardino and caused Redding and Chico areas to call civil defense alerts. Cross winds distorted the exhaust trail and it was lighted by rays from the sun below the horizon. (AP, NYT, 2/27/64, 17)
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