Mar 30 1967
From The Space Library
President Johnson, signing Executive Order 1134.0 establishing the Department of Transportation effective April 1, headed by Alan Boyd, said the new department would "consolidate 35 programs previously dispersed through 7 departments and independent agencies. It will bring together nearly 100,000 employees, and annual expenditures of more than $6 billion." Tasks of the department, President Johnson said, would be to "modernize and unify our national transportation policy"; "bring greater safety to the travels of all American citizens"; "apply the best of an expanding technology to every mode of transportation"; "strengthen our partnership with private enterprise and State and local governments in meeting America's urgent transportation needs"; and "improve our transportation links with the rest of the world." (PD, 4/3/67, 559-60)
NASA successfully launched three artificial cloud experiments from NASA Wallops Station. In first experiment Nike-Tomahawk sounding rocket ejected multicolored barium vapor clouds over eastern US. at altitudes of 142 and 200 mi (246 and 322 km) to measure electric fields and wind motions in the upper atmosphere by photographing and tracking ionized clouds. Experiment had been scheduled for March 28 but was postponed because of overcast skies. In second and third experiments Nike-Apache sounding rockets carried separate triethylborane (Teb) experiments to 100-mi (161-km) altitude to investigate distribution of, and radiation from, atomic oxygen. Teb, a new test material for measuring upper atmosphere wind profiles, was ejected at 90-to 50-mi (145-to 81-km) altitudes and photographed by special photometer as it dispersed. Launches were followed by reported sighting of bright UFO's. (NASA Release 67-74; WS Release 67-12; AP, W Star, 3/31/67, A l1 )
NASA Nike-Cajun sounding rocket launched from NASA Wallops Station carried GSFC-instrumented payload to 71.1-mi (114.4-km) altitude to obtain data on temperature, pressure, density, and wind between 35 to 95 km at the transition from wintertime westerly to summertime easterly circulation. Rocket and instrumentation performed satisfactorily. (NASA Rpt SRL; Tech Wk, 4/10/67,15)
NASA Nike-Tomahawk sounding rocket launched from NASA Wallops Station carried instrumented payload to 149.5-mi (237-km) altitude in a Univ. of Maryland-Geophysics Corp. of America experiment to evaluate capabilities and accuracies of pulse and thermal equalization probes, investigate electron energy distribution in a normal daytime ionosphere, and investigate the use of wing-slope techniques with Langmuir probes. One door covering GCA antennas prematurely ejected causing a complete loss of experimental data and a rocket apogee 4 mi lower than predicted. (NASA Rpt SRL)
NASA Nike-Tomahawk sounding rocket launched from Wallops Station carried 180-lb Univ. of Maryland payload to 158-mi (254-km) altitude in mission that was coordinated with the overpass of Canadian satellite Alouette II. Payload impacted 143 mi downrange in the Atlantic. Primary objective of flight was to evaluate techniques for studying the ionosphere. (WS Release 67-14)
USAF launched an unidentified satellite from Vandenberg AFB employing a Thor-Agena D booster. (UPI, W Post, 3/31/67, A3)
Rep. Olin E. Teague (D-Tex.) , Chairman of House Committee on Science and Astronautics' Subcommittee on NASA Oversight, told AP he did not think "we will ever know what caused that fire" in which three Apollo astronauts died. Thousands of NASA and industry technicians responsible for Apollo 1 spacecraft would always wonder whether they contributed to the accident, Teague suggested. Asked if he believed NASA officials had taken unnecessary risks to land a man on the moon by 1970, Teague said: "Maybe we were a little bit careless." He said some of the safety checks probably should have been more thorough, but did not elaborate. (AP, W Star, 3/30/67)
FRC had awarded 15-mo, $8.9-million contract to North American Aviation, Inc. (NAA), for maintenance and support of XB-70 supersonic research aircraft. As under previous support contracts, NAA would provide manpower, facilities, material, and equipment to support flight operations and would conduct data reduction. Overall management of XB-70 program was assigned to FRC under March 15 NASA-USAF agreement. (NASA Release 67-75)
Weather photos taken by NASA's ATS I satellite in near-synchronous orbit over the Pacific would be relayed to World Meteorological Organization (WMO) conference in Geneva April 3-28 to demonstrate new meteorological capabilities. Transmitted by satellite to Mojave, Calif., photos were traveling by land line to National Environmental Satellite Center in Suitland, Md., where they were being recorded for later transmission by ESSA surface facilities to Geneva. (NASA Release 67-77)
Small opaque diamonds, formed when graphite-bearing meteorites impacted on earth, had been identified by three General Electric Co. scientists at Schenectady, N.Y., AP reported. Similar to man-made diamonds manufactured by using intense pressure and high temperatures, these diamonds had hexagonal crystal structure, thus differing from cubic structure of diamonds used in rings. Scientists predicted hexagonal diamonds would also be found in meteorites on the lunar surface. (AP, NYT, 3/30/67)
March 30-31 : NASA's Space Science Steering Committee's Space Biology Subcommittee met at MSFC. Agenda included, in addition to discussion of subcommittee business, a review of AA program by Leland F. Belew, manager of MSFC Saturn/Apollo Applications program Office; a presentation on S-IVB space station module study; and a tour of AA payload mockup and simulation facilities. (MSFC Release 67-65)
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