Oct 16 1963

From The Space Library

Twin Vela Hotel satellites were launched by DOD from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas-Agena vehicle, according to newspa­per reports. The two satellites, designed to detect nuclear explosions in space to a distance of 100,000,000 mi., were launched into an elliptical orbit of 57,000-mi. apogee, 230-mi. perigee. Some 18 hours after launch, one of the two satellites received a signal from Vandenberg AFB which activated a rocket motor at apogee to kick the satellite into circular orbit at 57,000 mi. On Oct. 19, the same was done for the second satellite, so that both would orbit at 57,000 mi. but always be on opposite sides of the earth. Reports also indicated that a third satellite, known as "Pygmy" and weighing 21/2 lbs., was included in the launch, would remain in elliptical orbit returning radiation readings across the depth of the Van Allen Belt. This function was said to be completely in­ dependent of the purpose of the twin Vela Hotel satellites. (Wit­kin, NYT, 10/18/63, 13; Wash. Post, 10/18/63; N.Y. Herald Tribune, 10/18/63; DOD Release 1396-63)

B-58 with USAF crew flew nonstop from Tokyo to London, complet­ing the 8,028-mi. flight in 8 hrs. 35 min. for an average speed of 938 mph. The B-58 was refueled in midair five times. Previous record of 17 hrs. 42 min. was set in 1957 by U.K.'s W. Hoy, who flew a Canberra at an average speed of 335.7 mph. Crew mem­bers on the B-58 were Maj. Sidney G. Kubesch, Capt. Gerald R. Williamson, and Maj. John O. Barrett. (Av. Wk., 10/21/63; NYT, 10/22/63,8)

Political Committee of the United Nations General Assembly unanimously approved a 17-nation resolution to prohibit the orbiting of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in space. Committee chairman, Carl W. A. Schurmann of the Netherlands, said: "We are all so happy about this resolution that it will not be necessary to take a formal vote." Previously, only the United States and the Soviet Union, under the limited test ban treaty, had agreed to such a matter in principle. Resolution would o to the General Assembly next day. (Brewer, NYT, 10/1/63; Wash. Post, 10/17/63)

U.S.S.R. Ambasador Anatoli Dobrynin told the U.N. that his coun­try had a plan for manned lunar flight prior to 1970. This was said to be the first official acknowledgment on a political level that such a plan existed. (Space Bus. Daily, 10/21/63, 116; Chic. Trib., 11/27/63)

Maj. Donald K. Slayton (USAF) one of the original seven Mercury astronauts and the only one of them who was grounded during the course of the project, submitted his letter of resignation to the USAF and would join NASA as a civilian pilot qualified for space flights. (Finney, NYT, 10/17/63)

Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner, the President's Scientific Ad­viser, testified before House Science and Astronautics subcom­mittee on the Federal role in science and technology. He indicated that the tremendous surge in development of military weapon systems that had been the principal cause of the 15-to-20 per cent increase in the Federal science and technology budget each year for the last several years would level off. Now the effort would shift from military systems to bringing technology "to bear on serving the collective needs of our people." He was concerned lest without the defense motive the Nation slip back into indiffer­ence toward support of science, particularly the basic research that provided the new ideas for further advances. He also said that he not only supported the U.S.-U.S.S.R. cooperative lunar land­ing proposal but that he had often commended the idea to the President. (NYT, 10/17/63; Space Bus. Daily, 10/17/63, 98) )

FAA Administrator Najeeb E. Halaby and Civil Aeronautics Board Chairman Alan S. Boyd testified before the Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Aviation on the U.S. plans for de­velopment of a supersonic transport (SST). They agreed that the U.S. must and would win the competition with the U.K.­ France Concorde. Airlines were even now holding back on pur­chase commitments of the Concorde because the U.S. entry promised to be faster, carry more passengers, and have more range, even though it would be a year or more later in schedule. Halaby said three problems were still unsolved: the sonic boom level, materials to withstand the heat of mach 2.5 flight, and producing a better aircraft at a price competitive with the Con­corde. (Wash Post, 10/17/63)

Soviet Cosmonauts Lt. Col. Yuri A. Gagarin and Junior Lt. Valen­tina Tereshkova visited the U.N. in New York. After a standing ovation by the General Assembly, Col. Gagarin listed five areas in which U.S.-U.S.S.R. space cooperation was possible: exchange of scientific knowledge, tracking, rescue of downed spacemen, global weather study, and an international radio communications system. Manned space flight cooperation required "certain clari­fication," he said. (NYT,10/17/63)

AFOAR announced that its scientists at AFCRL had developed a pre­cision pressure gauge that would greatly improve accuracy of measuring altitude in high-altitude flight. Called the hypsometer, the new device senses altitude by measuring the bailing point of a liquid (butylbenzene). Testing in a series of balloon flights, hypsometer proved 10 times as accurate at 120.000 ft. as previous altimeters (240 ft. error as opposed to 2,600 ft.). (OAR Release 10-63-2)

Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the AEC,, was named recipient of the 1963 Franklin Medal for the advancement of knowledge in the physical sciences. The medal is presented annually by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia. Dr. Seaborg was co-winner of the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1953. (NYT, 10/17/63)

NASA said it was investigating "possible improprieties" in reports that cars leased to NASA by a contractor, Management Services, Inc., at Cape Canaveral were being sold after two or three years use for as little as $50. Some of them had been sold to NASA employees, the reports said. (NYT,10/17/63)

• October

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