Oct 4 1964
From The Space Library
NASA EXPLORER XXI scientific earth satellite (IMP B) was launched into orbit from Cape Kennedy with a Thor-Delta rocket booster. On-board instrumentation was working excellently, but the satellite's orbit (59,400-mi. apogee; 120-mi. perigee; 34-hr., 57-min. period; 33°53' inclination to the equator) fell far short of the intended deep-space path which would have enabled the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform to measure magnetic fields, cosmic rays, and solar winds in interplanetary space. Planned apogee was 161,000 mi. Robert H. Gray, Director of Goddard Launch Operations, said minimum apogee required for mission success was about 97,750 mi. As in launch of EXPLORER XVIII (IMF A), the Delta rocket used higher-thrust third-stage motor, the X-258, to give the satellite its final boost into orbital injection. Preliminary tracking data indicated this stage had not provided the required thrust. Designed and built by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, EXPLORER XXI contained nine experiments. Five of these were provided by GSFC researchers and four by experimenters at Univ. of Chicago, Univ. of California, NASA Ames Research Center, and MIT respectively. (NASA Release 64-242; AP, Balt. Sun, 10/5/64; UPI, Chic. Trib., 10/5/64; M&R, 10/12/64, 24) 340
Seventh anniversary of the Space Age-orbiting of SPUTNIK I by the U.S.S.R. on Oct. 4, 1957. Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin said in Trud interview that USSR was preparing a manned space flight: "We are working and making studies and are preparing for a new launching. It is not our custom to advertise, but I'll tell you that new and more complicated research work is in store for us." (UPI, Chic. Trib., 10/5/64)
In recent interview Sir Bernard Lovell, Director of Jodrell Bank Experimental Station, had complained: "American military radar is seriously interfering with our studies of the universe." In the 406-410 megacycle band, he said, radar signals were interfering with Jodrell Bank radiotelescope's listening to radio waves from distant points in the universe. The interference had 'been occurring over the past 9-12 months, and "we've had to stop one program because of it" Sir Bernard and other astronomers indicated the 406-410 megacycle band was "the only relevant band" for studying quasi-stellar objects ("quasars"). U.S. Government officials acknowledged receiving similar complaints from astronomers at Cambridge Univ. However, according to William E. Plummer acting chief of frequency management in U.S. telecommunications coordinating office, "No radar of any kind is authorized to oper-ate on that band." (Toth, L.A. Times, 10/4/64)
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