Dec 6 1965
From The Space Library
FR-I (FR-1A) , second French satellite to be launched within two weeks, was successfully injected into near-polar orbit from the Western Test Range by a NASA Scout booster. Orbital parameters: apogee, 480 mi. (773 km,) ; perigee, 462 mi. (743.8 km.) ; period, 100 min.; inclination, 75.9°, NASA provided the four-stage launch vehicle and launch service as part of its cooperative agreement with the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) , which designed, built, and tested the 135-lb, satellite, FR-I would study propagation of very low frequency (VII) radio waves and measure electron densities. Telemetry reports indicated all systems were operating nominally and were returning useful data. (NASA Release 65-366; Wash, Post, 12/7/65, A6; UPI, NYT, 12/8/65, 13)
Funeral in Washington for late Deputy Administrator of NASA, Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, attended by hundreds of friends and high Federal officials. Pallbearers were Gen. James H. Doolittle (Chairman of the NACA, 1956-58), Dr. T. Keith Glennan (NASA Administrator, 1958-1961), and Astronauts Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, James A. McDivitt, and John Glenn. (EPH)
Results of an experiment to be performed on Gemini VII to measure amount of bone demineralization brought on by 14 days of weightlessness in space could lead to a preventive that would protect aged persons suffering from brittle bones, said Dr. George P. Vose, professor of radiographic research at Texas Women's Univ. (Lee, Houston Post, 12/6/65)
Course of Soviet spacecraft LUNA VIII was successfully corrected and it was now on a trajectory toward the moon close to the calculated one, Tass announced. (Tass, 12/6/65)
Test of the Apollo command module and launch escape system, scheduled for Dec, 8 at White Sands Missile Range, was postponed due to a malfunction in the Little Joe II booster rocket guidance system. Malfunction was caused by bad soldering connections. (C Info. Proj. Off.; Las Cruces Sun News, 12/6/65)
The $2-billion Rover nuclear-propelled rocket program was approaching a decision whether to move forward and prepare for early post-Apollo missions or let the technology dwindle, Harold B. Finger, Director of NASA-AEC Space Nuclear Propulsion Office, told Aviation Week & Space Technology. The two-part decision was (1) whether to move forward with a flight-type engine of 200,000-300,000-lb, thrust-an advanced Nerva (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application), and (2) whether to start a $50-million construction program in Nevada for testing in the vicinity of the Nuclear Rocket Development Station near Las Vegas, Unless these decisions were made soon, "there will be a tail-off of technology," Finger said. (Av. Wk., 12/6/65, 57)
Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey urged establishment of research and experimental institutions in underdeveloped nations that Would enable young scientists and technologists there to develop their own countries, "To train people without giving them the opportunity to put their training to full use can only result in frustration at home or migration abroad," he said. The Vice President, speaking at a dinner given in New York by the American Committee for the Weizman Institute of Science, emphasized that measures must be taken "to make these talented people actually want to work in their own countries, by opening up to them careers which are genuinely and deeply rewarding in professional advancement and service to their people." (NYT, 12/7/65, 10)
Scientists and broadcasting executives from 20 countries began a four-day conference in Paris, sponsored by UNESCO, on communications satellites and their probable effect on press and radio. (Reuters, NYT, 12/6/65, 3)
NASA would sponsor six 10-week summer programs of study and advanced research for almost 150 young university engineering and science faculty members in 1966, Recipients of the summer fellowships could participate in an ongoing space research project at a NASA center and at the same time carry on related seminars at nearby universities. 11 schools were participating in the program with the NASA centers, Primary objectives of the program were to stimulate and enrich university activities and to encourage exchange of ideas between NASA and university personnel. (NASA Release 65-374; Proj. Off.)
USAF announced that first firing of an operationally configured Minuteman II ICBM from an operational silo was "100 percent successful with all research and development objectives achieved" and that Minuteman II performed with "accuracy and reliability," impacting more than 5,000 mi, downrange from the launch site at Vandenberg AFB. ( AFSC Release)
USAF was considering using obsolete Boeing Minuteman missiles as space launch vehicles with the United Technology Center FW-4s solid-propellant motor as a fourth stage, Aviation Week and Space Technology reported. Studies by Boeing and DOD had indicated such a vehicle would be cheaper than a new Ling-Temco-Vought Scout. (Av, Wk., 12/6/65, 23)
The Soviet Union could upset the U.S.'s military superiority by scientific breakthroughs in any one of four military areas, reported Ray Cromley in the New York World Telegram: (1) ability to disrupt U.S. communications completely just before or during a war; (2) effective defense against Polaris-type submarines; (3) adequate system of defense against ICBMs; (4) ICBMs so accurate that hardened silos would not be adequate protection for unfired Minutemen . (Cromley, N.Y. World Telegram, 12/6/65, 7)
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