Mar 1 1966
From The Space Library
U.S.S.R. VENUS III spacecraft ‘‘reached” the surface of Venus at 1:56 a.m. EST to become man’s first space probe to land on another planet, Tass announced. Observers believed the 2,116-lb. spacecraft, launched Nov. 16, 1965, had crash-landed. “Regular radio communications, had been maintained with VENUS III throughout the flight but were lost as the probe approached the planet; no telemetric data were received in final moments before impact. Announcement said companion spacecraft VENUS II, launched Nov. 12, 1965, had passed within 14,900 mi. of Venus Feb. 27, and was continuing in solar orbit. (Later, on March 5, U.S.S.R. revealed that communications with VENUS II were lost as the spacecraft approached Venus.) 2,123-1b. VENUS II had flown its entire course without a corrective maneuver ‘‘insured only by its correct launching on an interplanetary trajectory,” but the course of VENUS III had been adjusted in Dec. 27, 1965, midcourse maneuver to make possible precise rendezvous with planet. “The experiment conducted through the work of the automatic stations Venus 2 and 3 allowed the solution of a number of absolutely new tasks of interplanetary flights and the obtaining of new scientific data,” Tass said. Man’s closest previous contact with Venus had occurred Dec. 14, 1962, when NASA’s MARINER II (launched Aug. 27, 1962) had passed 21,648 mi. from its surface and had relayed back scientific data. The brief Tass statement said VENUS III carried pennant bearing Soviet coat of arms to the Venusian surface. Further details of the spacecraft’s instrumentation were to be revealed later [see March 5]. Sir Bernard Lovell, director of Jodrell Bank Experimental Station, called the landing “a vivid technical feat” but regretted that “the Russians should have endangered the future biological assessment of Venus by contaminating the planet.” ‘‘(Pravda, 3/2/66, 1, 4; Grose, NYT, 3/2/66, 1; Wash. Eve. Star, 3/1/66, Al; Simons, Wash. Post, 3/2/66, A1)’’
U.S.S.R. launched COSMOS CXI unmanned satellite with scientific equipment to continue space investigations, Tass announced. Orbital data: apogee, 226 km. (140 mi.); perigee, 191 km. (119 mi.); period, 88.6 min.; inclination, 51°. ‘‘(Tass, 3/1/66)’’
Edgar M. Cortright, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications, testifying before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics’ Subcommittee on Space Sciences and Applications in support of NASA’s FY 1967 authorization, discussed the merits of the Apollo and Surveyor programs: “The scientific advantages of having Surveyors in the program along with Apollo is the ability to sample more sites and to determine what areas of the moon are worth visiting by man, for example, in addition to going to sites that man is not likely to for the next decade or more-up near the poles and certain of the mountain regions. “We would like to help develop this total strategy of exploration of the Moon in a sensible way. We think automated equipment continues to have a role to play. . . . “I think there is nothing we can fly on Surveyor that would improve or even come close to equaling what can be done by the Apollo once it gets there. In other words, bringing a sample back is so much better than doing analyses on the lunar surface.” ‘‘(Transcript)’’
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., headed six-man panel of investigators that began attempt to reconstruct St. Louis crash of T-38 jet plane in which Astronauts Elliot M. See, Jr., and Charles A. Bassett II died Feb. 28. MSC Public Affairs Officer Paul Haney told UPI that full report would not be completed for “at least six weeks.” The tragedy prompted Rep. Thomas M. Pelly (R-Wash.) to urge the House Committee on Science and Astronautics to investigate flight training of astronauts, particularly the number of hours of flying time required and the justification for such requirements. ‘‘(UPI, NYT, 3/2/66,22; NASA LAR V/36)’’
The Feb. 28 deaths of Astronauts Elliot M. See, Jr., and Charles A. Bassett II received editorial comment. Washington Evening Star: “Yesterday’s tragedy is all the more shocking in that it needn’t have happened at all. . . . It is assumed that Bassett was ‘logging flying time’ . . . See, a civilian, was not eligible for flight pay but as an astronaut was encouraged to keep his hand as an airplane jockey, “It is difficult to see why it is necessary for military men on astronaut duty to fly airplanes to qualify for ‘hazardous duty’ pay. . . Let’s save our spacemen for space, and let’s make it a bit easier for them by amending the military pay act to give uniformed astronauts those few hundred extra dollars a month just for being astronauts.” ‘‘(Wash. Eve. Star, 3/1/66, A6)’’
Houston Post: “There is . . . an element of irony in the fact that two men preparing for a highly hazardous space mission should die in this prosaic manner, but actually, under the procedures that are followed in space flights, there are just as great risks on the surface of the earth and in its atmosphere as in space, and they probably are much more numerous. If air travel is safer than land travel today, space travel is probably even safer . . .” ‘‘(Houston Post, 3/2/66)’’
Missiles and Rockets: “By emphasizing the everyday risk taken by all the astronauts in the course of training, the deaths of Capt. Freeman, Mr. See and Maj. Bassett have almost certainly lessened the outcry against the space program in the event of similar losses during space operations. “Each time an astronaut steps into a military jet aircraft, he is running a risk perceptibly greater than that he takes in space. . . . [NASA] takes the greatest of care to assure that manned spacecraft launches are as safe as the best engineering talent in the nation can make them. A launch atop a Titan II, hazardous as it may be, cannot compare with the danger inherent in groping through low fog for an elusive runway in a jet aircraft.” ‘‘(Coughlin, M&R, 3/14/66, 54)’’
NASA had selected Fairchild Hiller, General Electric Co., and Lockheed Aircraft Corp. for negotiation of contracts totaling $450,000 for parallel six-month feasibility studies of missions for five possible second-generation Applications Technology Satellites (ATS) . Spacecraft would contribute information useful for orbiting data-relay satellites, deep-space tracking, navigation satellites, data collection, galactic probes, and communication with aircraft, other satellites, ships and ground vehicles, and broadcast satellites. ‘‘(NASA Release 66-45)’’
Establishment of National Natural Disaster Warning System to provide warnings of hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves, floods, and other natural hazards was announced by the White House in response to proposal by Secretary of Commerce John T. Connor. Warning System would “make effective use of present technology and existing facilities for the distribution of all warnings over a single authentic channel between the warning agency and the public”; it would eventually provide around-the-clock weather intelligence reaching hundreds of communities which had not previously had adequate warning service. ‘‘(Pres. Doc., 3/7/66, 303)’’
The advancement of military technology contributed greatly to the civilian economy with “higher reliability, new management techniques, new materials, improved manufacturing methods, better instrumentation, and the expansion of technical fields such as cryogenics and microelectronics,” AFSC Commander Gen. Bernard A. Schriever told a Rotary Club meeting in Honolulu. He cited in particular the development of long range air transportation “which clearly has both military and commercial value” and discussed the progress that had been made in some key technical areas: “. . . current experiments with oxide-dispersed metals for strength at high temperatures show a 40 percent improvement over the findings of two years ago. Boron fibers for composite materials have already been produced with a 20 percent greater aver strength than they were predicted to attain by 1970. Their month y production is more than 20 times the total supply that existed three years ago. . . . “When we turn to the propulsion area, we find that a new aircraft engine is presently under test, which surpasses the gains predicted for 1970 in bypass ratio, high temperature capability, and reduced specific fuel consumption. The supersonic combustion ramjet, or SCRAMJET, is showing great promise for air breathing vehicles at speeds of mach 6 or greater. Supersonic combustion has already been repeatedly demonstrated at simulated speeds of mach 6 in test facilities.. . .” ‘‘(Text)’’
Dr. Jocelyn R. Gill, Chief of In-Flight Sciences for NASA OSSA’s Manned Space Science Div., was one of six government career women who received the Federal Woman’s Award at a banquet sponsored by Woodward and Lothrop, Inc., department store. ‘‘(Wash. Post, 2/7/66, C2)’’
British Royal Society had been quietly conducting exchange of scientists with Chinese Communist Academy of Sciences for last three years, Royal Society spokesman told the press in London. About 15 British scientists had visited China during three-year period and varying numbers of Chinese had visited U.K. for periods ranging from several months to two years. At present 25 Chinese were studying wide range of scientific subjects at British institutions. ‘‘(Schmidt, NYT, 3/2/66, 13)’’
March 1-3: “Space Maintenance and Extravehicular Activities” meeting sponsored by USAF Aero Propulsion Laboratory and Martin Co. was held in Orlando. Goodyear Aerospace Corp. engineer Charles Brownell, together with three USAF space engineers, told the meeting that construction in space would cost approximately $100,000 per hour, but added: “These costs will be reduced drastically in the next few years.” Brownell said that because space labor would be so expensive, efforts were being made to automate as much repair work as possible. ‘‘(Hines, Wash. Eve. Star, 3/1/66, A4)’’
Man must learn how to rescue orbiting astronauts stranded in a disabled spacecraft because “it is a problem we all know will one day confront us,” Col. Emil G. Beaudry, vice commander of USAF Air Rescue Service, told the conference. He said one expert had concluded there was a 62 per cent probability of at least seven emergency situations in space involving 22 men in the next 20 yrs., and a 58 per cent probability of two or three emergencies within 10 yrs. Beaudry continued: “There is no reason today-or certainly in the near future-why an operational rescue spacecraft could not be ready and standing by in the event of distress or tragedy during manned flights. “For example, a launch vehicle such as the Titan III with its great weight-lifting capability and mission versatility could easily carry a rescue crew, medical facilities, and technicians aloft to assist in any way required. . . .” ‘‘(AP, New Haven Register, 3/7/66)’’
NASA engineer David F. Thomas reported on his “jet shoes” to aid astronauts during extravehicular activity: “This device may be thought of as a pair of shoes with jets attached to the shoe soles in such a manner as to produce a thrust vector along the subject’s leg when the jets are activated.” Projecting from the front of each shoe would be hinged toe-plate which astronaut could depress or release at will to operate an electrical switch which controlled gas jets. Thomas said shoes, which would be slipped on over space boots, had been tested successfully on counterbalanced harness device at LaRC. ‘‘(Wash. Eve. Star, 3/2/66, A18)’’
Douglas Aircraft Co. engineers Thorne L. Runyan and John M. Dick reported that intensity of sunlight and blackness of shadows would Cause astronauts working in space to “confuse spheres with points of light, cones with wedges, and pipes with strange shapes that appear and disappear.” To counteract these distortions, they recommended a bracket of strong lights “looking over the shoulder” of a working astronaut to fill in shadows and lessen contrast with sunlight. ‘‘(Wash. Eve. Star, 3/3/66, A5)’’
Bell Aerosystems Co. test pilot Robert F. Courter reported that Bell had developed a rocket propellant “flying pogo stick” for transporting men and equipment on earth or over the surface of the moon. Pogo stick would be powered by hydrogen peroxide jets and its two rocket nozzles would be controlled directly by pilot’s hand, arm, and shoulder movements. ‘‘(UPI, Miami Her., 3/3/66)’’
The space tool kit to be used by Astronaut David R. Scott during Gemini VIII mission was exhibited for the first time. Developed by Martin Co. and Black & Decker Tool Co. at a cost of $124,000, kit’s power tool used impact instead of torque as its motive principle because man in space, with neither friction nor gravity to give him a firm footing, would be sent spinning counterclockwise by the action of a handheld tool that rotated clockwise. ‘‘(Hines, Wash. Eve. Star, 3/3/66, A1)’’
In a luncheon address, Dr. Eugene B. Konecci, NASC staff, warned that U.S.S.R. might soon recapture the lead in manned spaceflight: “They don’t lead now in manned spaceflight. They may again in the near future, but they don’t now.” Konecci said space experts expected Russia to launch a “major manned program in the near future,” possibly a manned laboratory. ‘‘(UPI, Miami Her., 3/3/66)’’
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