Sep 29 1965
From The Space Library
ALOUETTE I, Canadian scientific satellite launched by NASA on September 29, 1962, had completed its third year in space and was still operating normally, Satellite was using the swept-frequency topside sounding technique to gather information about ionospheric electron density and distribution during the four-to-six hours daily it Was activated by command from the ground. (NASA Release 65-312)
Bureau of Naval Weapons announced it had placed two more navigation satellites in orbit. The two 135-lb, spacecraft, launched June 24 and Aug 13, were intended "to augment the now operational all-weather satellite navigation system and to allow for more frequent position fixes by ships at sea." (AP, Balt. Sun. 9/29/65)
XB-70A research aircraft No. 2 made its sixth flight, reaching a speed of mach 2,23 (about 1,460 mph) and altitude of 54,000 ft. During the one-hour-and 44-minute flight (32 min, of which were at supersonic speeds), several studies were conducted: runway noise-levels were studied, sonic-boom tests conducted, experiments related to supersonic transport program made, and aircraft's air-inlet control system was operated. Pilots were Al White, chief test pilot, and Van Shepard, co-pilot. (NAA S&ID Skywriter, 10/1/65, 1)
Thiokol Chemical Corp, would receive from USAF a $1,562,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for work on a solid-fuel rocket program. (DOD Release 659-65)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had awarded Baxter Construction Co, a $1,224,271 firm fixed-price contract for construction of the Atmospheric Reentry Materials and Structures Evaluation Facility at MSC. (DOD Release 659-65)
A rocket-driven sled that would reach a speed of about 2,300 mph was being built for USN, Thomas Henry reported in the Washington Evening Star. Designed to carry a simulated nose cone, the sled would run into a high-energy blast about halfway along its course. Measurements of the shockwaves would help determine hardening required to protect a missile nose cone. (Henry, Wash. Eve. Star, 9/29/65, 30)
Aviatrix Jerrie Mock broke the speed record for single-engine aircraft over a 500-km. (304-mi,) course. She established an average speed of 203,858 mph on her flight, which lasted one hour, 31 min., and 27 sec, Former world record of 178 mph was set in 1956 by Czech pilot Lubos Stastny. (UPI, Wash. Post, 9/30/65, D6)
Tribute to Secretary of the Air Force Eugene M. Zuckert by Sen. Howard W. Cannon (D-Nev.) was read on the floor of the Senate: "It is no surprise that Eugene Zuckert served in the office of the Secretary for longer than any other man, His leadership spans nearly 20 years, dating almost from the time that the Air Force became an independent service while Mr. Zuckert served as special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of War for Air. He served for a time on the Atomic Energy Commission and brought a high degree of competence and ability to this important operation. "After more than 4½ years as Secretary, Eugene Zuckert has established an enviable record, and I suggest that his devotion to the service and his unique skills will make his absence from Government of very short duration, No man who has done what he has for the Air Force in the critical years when that service entered the space age can be forgotten or easily replaced." (CR, 9/29/65, 24571)
H. Z. Hopkins, Jr., chief of North American Aviation, Inc., flight test operations at Edwards AFB, Calif, was named president of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP). Also honored by SETP during its annual meeting in Los Angeles was Al White, NAA'S chief test pilot, who was recipient of the Ivan C. Kincheloe Award. White was cited for his role in development and testing of XB-70A research aircraft. (NAA Release NL-19; NAA S&ID Skywriter, 10/1/65,2)
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