Oct 23 1968
From The Space Library
USAF launched unidentified satellite from Vandenberg AFB by Thor-Burner II booster into orbit with 529-mi (838.3-km) apogee, 497-mi (799.8-km) perigee, 101.3-min period, and 99.0° inclination. (Pres Rpt 68)
NASA successfully deployed 40-ft-dia parachute with predicted 10-lb-percubic-ft dynamic pressure at mach 3.5. Parachute was ejected from five-foot-long canister which had been propelled to 33-mi altitude by three-stage rocket launched from WSMR. Test was to determine possible use of parachute for aerodynamic deceleration in planetary entry missions. Another test in Project SHAPE (Supersonic High Altitude Parachute Experiments) was scheduled for November. (NASA Release 68-185; AP, NYT, 10/27/68, 66)
Ats IV mission (launched Aug. 10 and reentered Oct. 17) was adjudged a failure by NASA. Satellite had remained in elliptical parking orbit instead of entering planned synchronous orbit when Centaur engines failed to reignite for second burn. Resulting highly elliptical orbit precluded meaningful return of gravity gradient data. Day-night camera operated, but attitude dynamics precluded reception other than smeared unintelligible pictures. Electrical operation of ion engines, microwave multiple access, and microwave wide band was verified. Boom camera returned good photos, including some of earth. (NASA Proj Off)
NASA's HL-10 lifting-body vehicle, piloted by Maj. Jerauld R. Gentry (USAF) , failed to climb to desired 45,000-ft altitude after air-launch from B-52 aircraft, apparently because of rocket engine malfunction. Vehicle glided to smooth 225-mph emergency landing on Rosamond Dry Lake. Flight from Edwards AFB was to have been HL-10's first powered flight. (NASA Proj Off; LA Times, 10/24/68)
Apollo 7 editorial comment: Washington Post: ". . . as the men in the space program go over the data on Apollo 7 and consider the alternatives of manned or unmanned flight on Apollo 8, they must not allow anyone's desire to beat the Russians, or to get around the moon by the end of 1968, or to fan public interest in the future of space exploration to enter into their calculations. Only if they are convinced that our knowledge is sufficient, our spacecraft is totally adequate, and our men are ready should they give the go to Astronauts Borman, Lovell and Anders for a Christmas trip into space." (W Post, 0/23/68, A24)
Washington Evening Star: "To those who have made a close study of the space program, [Walter M.] Schirra is the astronaut's astro- naut; the man whose ability stands out in that company of the superable. To those in the know, Schirra is the mischievous perfectionist, the naval officer who lives by the book when he isn't too busy carrying out an elaborate practical joke. But Schirra will surely be remembered by the public as the astronaut who caught cold, who growled when the alarm clock rang, and who blew up when he was pushed too far. And it may be that Schirra's greatest contribution to the space program is that he, the most superlative of the supermen, forcefully demonstrated to the world that his is completely and refreshingly human." (W Star, 10/23/68, A20)
Baltimore Sun: "The toting up and analysis of all the information brought home this time must be left to the teams of experts. So must the decisions as to what comes next, and the planning such decisions call for. The public is content to know that three men in a spaceship have added another brave and brilliant chapter to a history of which all of us are unreservedly proud." (B Sun, 10/23/68, A6)
MSFC issued McDonnell Douglas Corp. $2,395,955-supplemental-contract agreement for qualification test program to verify capability of maintaining S-IVB stage auxiliary-propulsion-system modules for up to 90 days with propellants loaded. Award brought total value of contract to $965,568,493. (MSFC Release 68-252)
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory dedicated multipurpose astronomical station at Mount Hopkins, Ariz. Station, supported by NASA Office of Tracking and Data Acquisition and Office of Advanced Research and Technology, would be site of experimental series on laser communications to be conducted by NASA and Smithsonian. (Smithson. ian PAO)
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