Dec 17 1967
From The Space Library
First flight of USAF RF-111A reconnaissance aircraft was successfully conducted at Fort Worth, Tex. Reconnaissance equipment and flight-test instruments were checked out during three-hour flight. RF-111 A was fourth F-111 model to be flight tested; other versions-F-111A tactical fighter, FB-111A strategic bomber, and USN's ,F-111B-had logged more than 5,500 flying hrs. Of 1,016 supersonic flights made by F-111 models, 213 had exceeded mach 2. (AFSC Release 210.67; DOD Release 1182-67)
The 64th anniversary of first powered flights by Orville and Wilbur Wright from Kitty Hawk, N.C. Proclamation issued by President Johnson to commemorate their achievements cited "their inventive genius [which] revolutionized transportation, and gave rise to great new industries that have strengthened America's defense and economy." Igor I. Sikorsky, consulting engineer at United Aircraft Corp.'s Sikorsky Aircraft Div., received the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy at Aero Club's annual Wright Brothers Memorial Dinner in Washington, D.C. (NAA Release)
Walter Sullivan, writing in the New York Times, listed proposed projects to use atomic explosions for commercial applications being considered by AEC. Project Sloop, a 20-kiloton, $13,175,000 explosion at 1,200-ft depth, would shatter a large body of copper ore in southeastern Arizona. Highly diluted acid would then be pumped into the broken rock to convert the copper into a soluble compound which could be pumped out. Project Bronco would shatter a northeastern Colorado shale oil deposit beyond reach of conventional extraction methods. Heat from the blast would liquefy the oil so that it would flow into the central cavity for extraction. Projects Dragon Trail and Ruleson would use nuclear explosion to carve a huge gas storage area beneath a Renovo, Pa., site. Other proposals included use of explosions to break through impermeable rock formations in Arizona so that rain water could sink in and be stored underground and to dig canals, harbors, and mountain passes. According to AEC price list, charge for 10-kiloton explosion would be $350,000 and for a two-megaton explosion, $600,000, excluding charges for safety studies, site preparation, transportation and emplacement of the devices, and support services. (Sullivan, NYT, 12/12/67, E7; Plowshare)
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