Nov 13 1963
From The Space Library
Senate Appropriations Committee completed action on NASA'S FY 1964 appropriation by approving a $5.19 billion NASA budget. This was only $90 million more than approved by the House of Representatives. It had been thought that the Senate would raise the House figure to about $5.3 billion. The Senate Committee also retained its version of the Pelly amendment, forbidding a joint lunar program without consent of Congress. (Finney, NYT, 11/14/63, 21)
NASA'S Mississippi Test Operations (MTO) had a work force of nearly 900 as of this date, of which nearly 700 were contractor employees, 81 were Army Corps of Engineers personnel, and 34 were NASA employees. Active contracts at MTO now stood at some $28 million, with another $10 million out on bids. (Marshall Star, 11/13/63, 1)
Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner, retiring scientific adviser to the President, was named Dean of the School of Science, MIT, succeeding Dr. George R. Harrison. (AP, NYT, 11/14/63, 31)
MSC announced new system of procurement actions, designed to give the Government a better product at lower prices and to save industry time and money in competing for contracts. Under the new Two-Step Formal Advertising system, companies would submit only technical proposals in the first stage, instead of both technical and business management aspects as was formerly done. MSC would evaluate the technical proposals, notify those companies whose proposals were acceptable, and invite them to submit a formal bid. This system was thought to provide all the advantages of competition while retaining the Government's right to pick the company with the best solution to the problem. (MSC Release 63-236)
DOD announced that Army solid-fuel Pershing missiles would be sent to Europe early in 1964 to begin replacing the Redstone missiles now in the field. Advantages of the Pershing were cited as being greater mobility and reliability and an all-weather capability. (DOD Release 1474-63; UPI, NYT, 11/14/63, 6)
Dr. Vannevar Bush, honorary chairman of the corporation of MIT. long-time scientific adviser to the Government, and Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development from 1941-46, wrote a letter to the New York Times on the manned lunar program. Noting that Premier Khrushchev said recently that a manned lunar landing would not be worth the cost in money or in lives, Dr. Bush stated : "This is an aspect of the space program which the American public has by no means faced." That lives would be lost in the program was inevitable, he asserted, and would occur with the whole world watching. "What will happen when the tragedy occurs ? The public is now in doubt on the program. They will be impatient as it proceeds very slowly, with little of popular appeal to report. When a grim tragedy occurs they may throw the whole experiment out the window. "I have just as much enthusiasm as the next man for the parts of the program which make sense: the communications and weather satellites, for example. But the whole program has been blown up to absurd dimensions. Instruments on the moon would gather scientific information, nearly as much as a man would, and the information would not be worth the cost. "To put a man on the moon is folly, engendered by childish enthusiasm. It will backfire on those who drive it ahead." (NYT, 11/17/63, 8E)
Titan II launch from AMR on Nov. 1, 1963, testing the effectiveness of new damping devices installed to reduce surges of propellant and oxidizer that created vibration levels unacceptable to Project Gemini manned space flight, was termed successful by Space Business Daily. Vibration level had dropped to a level acceptable to NASA, although USAF wanted further tests to confirm reliability. (Space Bus. Daily, 11/14/63, 251)
MSC officials said the Apollo Pad Abort Test No. 1, conducted at WSMR on Nov. 7, 1963, appeared from data to have been successful in all respects and showed the aerodynamics of the Apollo escape system "to be just what, we expected." Liftoff and subsequent flight sequencing were within one second of program. (MSC Space News Roundup, 11/ 13/ 63,)
USAF launched a Minuteman missile from AMR in a successful 5,000-mi. flight. Missile had an advanced second stage intended to extend the range of the solid-fuel ICBM. (NYT, 11/14/63, 13)
USAF launched an Atlas D ICBM from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. (M&R, 11/18/63, 11)
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