Apr 7 1968

From The Space Library

U.S.S.R. successfully launched Luna XIV unmanned spacecraft toward moon "to conduct further studies of near-lunar space," Tass an­nounced. All systems were functioning normally and spacecraft was traveling close to planned trajectory. [See April 10 and 11.1 (Ander­son, NYT, 4/8/68, 1; AP, W Star, 4/8/68, A3; GSFC SSR, 4/15/68)

Long-nosed USAF C-131 research aircraft was being developed for Air Force Systems Command by Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, Inc., as unique flying simulator to test controls, instruments, and aircraft con­figurations of advanced aircraft such as Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft (AMSA), military C-5A cargo and passenger aircraft, and SST. Total In-Flight Simulator (TIFS) configuration-with nose length vary­ing to simulate advanced aircraft and with second cockpit below and ahead of main cockpit and six independent controls-would realisti- cally reproduce handling conditions of modeled aircraft and enable USAF to determine inexpensively in advance correct design and instru­mentation for advanced aircraft. (AFSC Release 45.68)

In Perception of Space and Time in the Cosmos, published in U.S.S.R., Cosmonaut Aleksey A. Leonov, who made first space walk from Vos­khod II spacecraft March 18, 1965, and Soviet space medicine special­ist Vladimir Lebedev claimed pilots' distorted perceptions of dimen­sions and time were frequent factors in aircraft accidents. In space flights such miscalculation could cause incineration during reentry or, conversely, divert spacecraft into an orbit of no return. Authors di­vided people into three categories: those who suffered no ill effects from weightlessness, those who required time for adjustment, and those who were unable to adjust and should be permanently grounded. They suggested spacecraft of future protect against monotony of unbroken routine by carrying well-stocked libraries, cinema, and discotheque. (Stevens, W Star, 4/7/68, F6)

Washington Sunday Star editorial on Apollo 6 mission: ". . . Saturn 5's latest performance . . - suggests that our astronauts may not be able to carry out their lunar mission until considerably later than opti­mists have suggested-possibly not until 1971, if then. . . . However . . it is better to be safe than sorry. Saturn 5's deficiencies must be eliminated, no matter how long the job takes, before it is used to lift a manned Apollo spacecraft to the moon. Despite loose talk about a So­viet-American 'space race,' there should be no all-out drive, no sense­less rush, to score a first in this field." (W Star, 4/7/68, Fl)

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