Apr 29 1965
From The Space Library
NASA's EXPLORER XXVII (BE-C ) satellite was successfully launched into orbit from Wallops Island aboard a four-stage Scout rocket, Orbital parameters were: apogee, 796.5 mi. (1,162.4 km,) ; perigee, 579.7 mi. (921.3 km.) ; period, 108 min,; inclination to the equator, 41°, Primary mission of the 132-lb, windmill-shaped satellite was geodetic measurement: irregularities in the earth's gravitational field would be mapped by analysis of the Doppler shift of radio signals from the spacecraft. As a secondary mission, EXPLORER XXVII would provide data related to ionospheric studies and would evaluate further the use of laser techniques in deriving orbital and geodetic information and for deep space communication. All systems were operating as planned. (Wallops Release 65-24; NASA Release 65-147; NASA Proj. Off,)
MARINER IV set world space communications distance record shortly after 3:00 a.m. EST when it reached a straight-line distance from earth of 66 million mi. Soviet scientists reported two years ago that they lost radio contact with their MARS I spacecraft March 21, 1963, after 149 days of flight at more than 65 million mi. (NASA Release 65141)
USAF launched Thor-Agena D from Vandenberg AFB with unidentified satellite payload. (U.S. Aeron, & Space Act, 1965, 141)
Second successful Biosatellite nose cone test at White Sands Missile Range was conducted by AFCRL, which was assisting NASA in evaluating reentry of the spacecraft after being released by balloons at altitudes of from 88,000 ft, to 100,000 ft. First such test had been conducted March 24. (O AR Research Review, 7/65, 30)
An accelerated reservoir light-gas gun had set a world speed record of 25,300 mph for controlled flight of a visible object, of known mass and shape, and over a known distance in a ground facility in tests at NASA Ames Research Center, Ames announced. The shot was 3,200 mph faster than the previous record. In the light-gas gun used, an explosive charge was set off in a cylinder behind a plastic piston. The explosion pushed the piston into a chamber of hydrogen gas, compressing it, and the gas in turn pushed the projectile out of the firing tube. A light gas must be used because it has low mass and would expand at the highest speed after compression, With the ability to move objects this fast, researchers could extend their knowledge of space flight problems. (ARC Release 65-13; ARC Astrograin, 4/29/65, 1, 2)
DOD announced interagency agreement whereby Defense Supply Agency would furnish NASA about $500,000 worth of electronic items annually on a reimbursable basis. The agreement would involve approximately 12,000 centrally-managed items at DSA's Defense Electronics Supply Center in Dayton, Ohio. (DOD Release 272-65)
At the Spring Meeting of the American Physical Society, Dr. Homer E. Newell, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications, attempted to answer the question "What can the space program do for experimental sciences like physics": "... the impact that space techniques are having and have already had on geophysics , , is three-fold in character. First, the geophysicist finds in the space program powerful tools to use in a new approach to solving old problems, Secondly, the application of space techniques to geophysics has already turned up a number of exciting new problems, greatly broadening the scope of the discipline. Thirdly, as space probes, and eventually men, reach other bodies of the solar system such as the moon and planets, the domain of geophysics grows beyond the confines of a single body of the solar system. Let us consider each of these extensions to geophysics a little further," . . space techniques have provided new tools for studying old problems of geophysics. Geodesy, meteorology, upper atmospheric physics, ionospheric research, and sun-earth relationships have all benefited from the application of space techniques. In the case of geodesy, the influence of the earth upon the orbits of various artificial satellites has been measured by careful radio, radar, and optical tracking and used to obtain quantitative measures of the various harmonics in the expansion of the earth's gravitational potential. As a consequence of such measurements it has been found that the earth's equatorial bulge is some 70 meters greater than one would expect... Other departures of the geoid from the figure of hydrostatic equilibrium have also been determined from these satellite measurements. . . These measurements in turn have important implications for the distribution of matter within the earth, and for the internal strength of the earth's mantle." (Text)
At a news conference in Washington, D.C., Dr. George E. Mueller, NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, said that although "extravehicular activity" was not planned for Gemini astronauts until GT-5, "we are working hard at trying to qualify the space suit and the hatch itself to see whether we can accelerate that date," If their spacesuits and the spacecraft's hatch passed tests in time. Astronaut Edward H. White (Maj., USAF) would lean halfway out of the capsule for perhaps 15 min. on flight GT-4, scheduled for early June, He and Astronaut James A. McDivitt would attempt to orbit the earth 63 times in 98 hours, taking off from Cape Kennedy and landing in the Atlantic near Grand Turk Island. Maj. White and Maj. McDivitt appeared at the news conference with their backup crew-Lt, Cdr, James A. Lovell, Jr. (USN), and Maj. Frank Borman ( USAF ) . (Transcript)
Dr. Winston E. Kock, Director of NASA Electronics Research Center, was guest of Dr. Robert R Gilruth, Director of NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, on a tour of MSC facilities, While in Houston, Dr. Kock addressed the annual banquet of the Institute of Navigation, In his speech he revealed ERC would investigate possibilities of new guidance techniques for future ion-propelled (or other low-thrust) spacecraft, employing Mossbauer radiation as an accelerometer to monitor systems performance on the spacecraft. He termed Mossbauer radiation "the most precise electromagnetic frequency yet known" in guidance applications. (MSC Roundup, 5/14/65, 7)
National Academy of Engineering's first award, the Charles Proteus Steinmetz Centennial Medal, was presented to RCA President Elmer W. Engstrom, for his outstanding leadership in electrical engineering for more than 30 years. (NAS-NRC News Report, 4/65, 4)
Dr. Charles H. Townes, provost of MIT, reported at the meeting of the American Physical Society in Washington, D.C., that a laser beam had been used to produce sound waves more than a million times higher in pitch than those audible to the human ear. Dr. Townes explained that the laser beams at MIT had been used to produce oscillations constituting sound waves in solids and liquids. Sound had been produced by means of the laser at 3,000 mc in a fluid and 60,000 mc in a solid. It should be possible, Dr. Townes said, to generate sound at 300,000 mc in diamond. (Sullivan, NYT, 4/30/65)
John G. Lee, pioneer aircraft designer and former director of research for United Aircraft Corp., had joined NASA as a part-time consultant to NASA Administrator James E. Webb on aeronautical research. (NASA Release 65-143)
A full-size model of the Soviet Union's Vostok spacecraft was placed on public view for the first time. The spherical, silvery capsule, mounted on a model of the last stage of its launch vehicle, was on display in Moscow's permanent Exhibition of National Economic Achievement. The 4,6-ton Vostok had a diameter of 7½ ft. (NYT, 4/30/65, 8)
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