Oct 1 1964
From The Space Library
Sixth anniversary of NASA. In Headquarters ceremony honoring the first NASA Administrator, President T. Keith Glennan of Case Institute of Technology (Aug. 1958-Jan- 1961) , and the first Deputy Administrator, Dr- Hugh L Dryden (Aug. 1958-present) , official portraits were unveiled. Administrator James E. Webb made informal remarks on the role of NASA in fulfillment of the American concept of power and purpose in human affairs. He read a letter from President Lyndon B. Johnson which said, in part: "We must be first in space and in aeronautics to maintain first place on earth. The accomplishments of this past year show clearly that we are making rapid progress to achieve and maintain that position. "Significant as our success has been, it is but indicative of the far greater advances that mankind can expect from our aeronautical and space efforts in the coming years- We have reached a new threshold of competence in the air and beyond it in space which opens to us the widest possibilities for the future." Associate Administrator Dr- Robert Seamans (1960-present) re-viewed the personal contributions of Drs. Glennan and Dryden in the initiation and progress of the U.S. civilian space program. Friends and relatives of those honored and official NASA guests attended the cere-mony. (Program; Letter)
NASA successfully launched Aerobee 150 sounding rocket to 89-mi. altitude from White Sands, N. Mex- Purpose was to map photon-emitting night-sky sources. Gas-filled proportional counters were used to detect and measure energy of the x-rays. The rocket performed well and experimental results were good, but 10-20% of desired data were lost because yo-yo despin mechanism failed to deploy. (NASA Rpt. SRL)
NASA and DOD began implementing agreement on a single new system to improve communication and coordination of research and technology information between the two agencies. The agreement abolished certain forms and procedures which the two agencies had used independently for reporting on research and technology data, and instituted a new standard reporting form for common use. After the changeover is completed (July 1,1965), all research and technology work of NASA and DOD will be covered on the new form, and any scientist or staff member from NASA or DOD will be able to obtain full information by fast machine processing on any given type of work. Signed by NASA Associate Administrator Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr-, and Director of Defense Research and Engineering Dr. Harold Brown, the agreement was worked out in a series of conferences over a period of more than one year. It was sponsored by and would be continued under the Sup-porting Space Research and Technology Panel of the Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board (AACB) (NASA Release 64-258)
Dr- Gerard P. Kuiper told MIT conference on earth sciences that continuing research had verified Mars' atmosphere was too thin to allow spacecraft to land by parachute. Density of Martian atmosphere, ac-cording to Dr. Kuiper, had been found to be less than two per cent of that at sea level on earth- The new measurement was made by spectrographic studies. (Abraham, Phil. Eve. Bull-, 10/1/64)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center announced selection of Reeves Instrument Co. for negotiations of $2.5 million contract for three 30-ft. Unified S-Band Antenna Systems- The antenna systems would be in-stalled in tracking ships for Project Apollo. (GSFC Release G-64-29)
NASA announced award of three-year contract to Bendix Field Engineering Corp. for launch support services at John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA. Contract was expected to cost about $2-8 million for the first year but could amount to as much as $17 million for the three-year period. (NASA Release 64-256)
NASA announced appointment of Gilbert W. Ousley as NASA European Representative for NASA Office of International Programs- With GSFC since 1959, Ousley would be stationed within U.S. Embassy at Paris, where he would handle NASA relations with European organizations. (NASA Announcement 64-225; NASA Release 64-252)
After examining Col. John H. Glenn, Jr. (SMC), U.S- Air Force doctors at San Antonio said the former astronaut was on the way to "virtually complete recovery" from his inner-ear injury resulting from accidental fall last February. (AP, NYT, 10/2/64, 62)
Press reported that U.S. tracking network had "detected two important Soviet space failures within a month," according to "authoritative sources in Washington." (L.A. Herald Examiner, 10/1/64)
FAA Administrator Najeeb E Halaby discussed "aviation in 1975" before National Aviation System Symposium in Washington. He referred to "the coming revolution in aviation technology," a technology "just now on the threshold of developments. . . . Innovations in aerodynamics, improved propulsion systems and fuel properties and the development of new metals and other materials will produce performance characteristics and operating economies which will allow aviation solutions to entire ranges of problems where aviation has never been a factor be-fore. - . (Text)
Fifteen years ago Eastern Test Range was activated at Long Range Proving Ground. Hq. were established at Patrick AFB, then still the Banana River NAS, some 18 mi. south of Cape Kennedy (then Cape Canaveral) rocket launch site. (A&A, 1915-60; AP, Tulsa Daily World, 10/1/64)
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