May 30 1966
From The Space Library
May 30-June 1: NASA’s SURVEYOR I was successfully launched from ETR by Atlas-Centaur (AC-10) booster on 63-hr. direct ascent lunar transfer trajectory. Spacecraft-carrying survey television system and instrumentation to measure lunar surface bearing strength, temperatures, and radar reflectivity-was first in series of seven designed to prove out design, develop technology of lunar soft-landing, and provide basic scientific and engineering data in support of Project Apollo. It would soft-land on the moon June 2. After SURVEYOR I separated from Atlas, spacecraft pointed its solar panels toward the sun to power its equipment; at five hours GET, sensing devices fixed on the star Canopus for cruise attitude stabilization. SURVEYOR I spacecraft successfully completed mid-course correction of flight path on electronic commands relayed from antenna near JPL. Only flaw in launching occurred within one hour GET, when radio signals indicated that one of two antennas on spacecraft might have failed to deploy. JPL’s Surveyor project manager Robert J. Parks said the problem was “not going to preclude a possibility of getting full success out of this mission since one antenna is sufficient to receive radioed commands unless the spacecraft gets in a position where the working antenna is out of range of earth.” The other antenna was properly deployed and working perfectly. Surveyor program was under direction of OSSA Lunar and Planetary Program Div.; project management was assigned to JPL; prime contractor for spacecraft development and design was Hughes Aircraft Co. Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle was under direction of LRC. (NASA Release 66-127; Wilford, NYT, 5/31/66, 1, 33; Simons, Wash. Post, 5/31/66, A1)
Planned expansion of the global communications satellite network of the 50-nation Intelsat was being postponed two years as a result of pressure by the FCC on ComSatCorp. ComSatCorp was majority shareholder and served as manager for Intelsat. Basic question raised by FCC was whether the expansion was too ambitious for the traffic that would be available. Threatened with FCC veto or modification of its application to construct six 1,500-channel satellites for launch in 1968, ComSatCorp notified FCC that deployment of the follow-on 6,000channel multipurpose satellite had been postponed from 1969-70 to 1972 or later. (Av. Wk., 5/30/66, 31)
U.S.S.R.’s LUNA X spacecraft, which entered selenocentric orbit April 3, had stopped sending signals after 219 transmissions, Tass announced. (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 6/2/66, A1)
The “breakthrough” in the air cargo business was discussed by Robert Hotz in Aviation Week: “There is no doubt that air cargo is on the move. Airline cargo performance in 1965 surpassed forecasts by astonishing margins. Domestic cargo soared 25% last year in contrast to the airline predictions of 16%. International cargo rocketed 46% with at least one carrier recording a 65% gain-compared with forecasts of a 25% increase. Many airlines are now watching their projected cargo goals for 1970 become a reality in 1966. “Stuart Tipton, president of the Air Transport Assn. and always a conservative spokesman for the airline industry, cited figures in a recent speech that forecast 5.2 billion freight ton miles annually by 1970 and 15.3 billion by 1975. Mr. Tipton noted that, although these levels compared with 1.7 billion freight ton miles flown in 1965, the forecasts for a decade hence might well ‘be very conservative.’ ” (Hotz, Av. Wk., 5/30/66, 21)
May 30: Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan, the GEMINI IX-A crew, practiced space rendezvous procedures at KSC in preparation for their scheduled June 1 mission. (NYT, 5/31/66, 33)
“The First Soft Step,” program discussing Project Surveyor and showing fight operations facilities, was broadcast on six Alabama Educational Television Network stations. Program, hosted by MIT science reporter John Fitch, was first in 13-week “Science Reporter” series which had been taped on location at four NASA centers and nine contractor plants. Second program, to be telecast June 6, would be titled “Landing on the Moon” and would concern NASA’s Lunar Excursion Module. (MSFC Release 66-117)
Dr. Donald P. Burcham, JPL Voyager program manager, told Aviation Week in an interview that heavy funding for the Voyager Mars program was anticipated with FY 1968 funds if the Vietnam war did not create new funding problems. (Av. Wk., 5/30/66, 40)
Adm. William F. Boone (USN, Ret.), Assistant NASA Administrator for Defense Affairs, told Missiles and Rockets that under new agreement between DOD and NASA-expected to be signed in about two months LRC would modify a liquid hydrogen J-85 jet engine with 200,000 -500,000 lbs. thrust for use in air-breathing technology development. As its contribution to the joint program, USAF would provide F-106 aircraft for flight tests of engine. (M&R, 5/30/66, 31)
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