Nov 12 1968

From The Space Library

NASA Acting Administrator, Dr. Thomas 0. Paine, an­nounced at NASA Hq. news briefing that Apollo 8-carrying com­mander Frank Borman, CM pilot James A. Lovell, Jr., and LM pilot William A. Anders-would be launched from ETR Dec. 21 on open-ended lunar orbital mission of at least six days. Spacecraft would cir­cle moon 10 times at 70-mi altitude before returning to earth. Dr. Paine explained: "After a careful and thorough examination of all of the systems and risks involved, we have concluded that we are now ready to fly the most advanced mission for our Apollo 8 launch in De­cember, the orbit around the moon. . . . "We have reached this conclusion after a long series of intensive in­vestigations of the status of our program, the flight hardware, ground support equipment, status of our training." L/G Samuel C. Phillips, Apollo Program Director, cited two catego­ries of new risks with a lunar orbital mission: "In the one . . . the spacecraft propulsion system must operate properly in order to propel the spacecraft back out of lunar orbit and on its way back to earth. And the other category of risks are those that are inherent in being some three days away from the earth as opposed to . . . between a half an hour and three hours which the crew is away from the earth in a low earth orbital mission." Although increased reliance would have to be placed on dependability of life support and electric power systems and mission would have to take on additional risks, Gen. Phillips said, "The progression of risk between the Apollo 7 mission which we have flown and the Apollo 8 mission which we have designed is a normal progression of risks in a logically stepped development, flight test pro­gram." (Transcript; NASA Release 68-199; Schmeck, NYT, 11/13/68, 1; O'Toole, W Post, 11/13/68, 1; Sehlstedt, B Sun, 11/13/68, 1)

Engineer Michael O'Hagan, manager of space and military systems in government contracts dept. of U.K.'s Standard Telephone & Cables Co., told Conservative Party seminar in London U.S. was "actually buying land with mineral rights" in other countries after using satel­lites to discover its location. Hawker Siddeley Group Ltd. scientist K. C. C Pardoe said countries could use satellites to spy on rival na­tions' crops and decide best time for marketing. (Reuters, W Post, 11/13/68, A25)

FAA issued 1968 edition of National Airport Plan, annual assessment of civil airport needs for commercial and private flying. U.S. would re­quire 808 new airports-including 22 for airline traffic and 748 for gen­eral aviation-during next five years, to relieve congestion and accom­modate growth. Plan included recommendation for 25 STOLports in heavily congested areas. (FAA Release 68-74)

Office of Secretary of Defense issued list of 100 companies and subsidi­aries awarded largest dollar volume of military prime contracts of $10,000 or more in FY 1968. Total of these was $26.2 billion, 1.9% above FY 1967. U.S. companies received $38.8 billion, 1% less than in FY 1967. No. 1 on list was General Dynamics Corp., F-111 manufac­turer, with $2.24 billion in contracts; No. 2, Lockheed Aircraft Corp., $1.87, billion; No. 3, General Electric Co., $1.49 billion. McDonnell Douglas Corp. fell from first place in 1967 to fifth with $1.1 billion. (Text; Wilson, W Post, 11/19/68, D7; WSJ, 11/19/68, 27)

New York State Supreme Court Justice Abraham N. Geller issued tem­porary order blocking sale of Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory to EDP Technology, Inc., Washington, D.C. for $25 million. Order had been requested by State Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz, who alleged alteration of Laboratory from public purposes to profit-making organi­zation would be a "major change detrimental to the national interest, to the quality and effectiveness of the laboratory and to the .. . public." New York State had sought to purchase facility but was re­portedly unable to match EDP Technology, Inc., offer. (AP, NYT, 11/13/68, 11)

November 12-14: Twelve nations attending Third European Space Confer­ence in Bonn decided to work toward creation of single European Space Authority, in effort to end dependence on U.S. space research. Committee was appointed to draft convention for new body encompass­ing 6-nation ELDO, 10-nation ESRO, and 12-nation CETS and functioning somewhat like NASA. Member nations would be free to choose programs they would support-which could mean small group would work on launchers as well as working with number of other nations on space applications and research. Day preceding conference, ELDO meeting had resolved, with U.K. ab­staining, to proceed with launcher development on scale designed to hold down costs. U.K. had proposed European nations abandon proj­ect, rely on U.S. boosters, and concentrate on space applications, par­ticularly communications. U.K. agreed, however, to fulfill commitment to support launcher program until 1971. (W Post, 11/15/68, A20; Greenberg, Science, 12/6/68, 1108-9)

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