Oct 30 1969
From The Space Library
Dr. Gary V. Latham of Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory said in Washington, D.C." that evidence of vibrations recorded by seismic equipment left on moon by Apollo 11 astronauts "now looks more like volcanoes we see on earth than anything else." Concept of volcanoes caused by isolated pockets of radioactive heating did not conflict with "cold moon" theory but was "new working hypothesis." Among things affecting data received on earth before Apollo 11 seismic equipment failed were gasping, creakings, and groanings of LM lower stage. (Lannan, W Star, 10/31/69, A3)
LeRC announced award of $25,518,000 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to General Dynamics Corp. Convair Div. to design and build first of new series of improved Centaur upper stage rockets. General Dynamics would update and simplify Centaur system and make it compatible with Titan III booster. Centaur, first liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen rocket developed by U.S., had been used with Atlas booster to launch successfully Surveyor, Mariner, OAO, and ATS satellites. (LeRC Release 69-65)
Dr. Murray Gell-Mann of Cal Tech was named winner of 1969 Nobel Prize in physics for "fundamental work in nearly all domains of his field," especially for "discoveries concerning the classification of elementary particles and their interactions." Dr. Gell-Mann, who would receive $72,800 award, had introduced concept of quark-hypothetical particle from which other particles of nucleus of atom were made-and had proposed eight-fold-way theory that many particles might change places and their differences from each other lay in their energy quotient. Dr. Gell-Mann was member of NASA Physics Advisory Committee from 1964 to 1969. Chemistry prize was awarded Prof. Derek H. R. Barton of Imperial College of Science and Technology in London and Prof. Odd Hassell of Univ. of Oslo for work to develop and apply concept of conformation in chemistry. (Getze, LA Times, 10/31/69; AP, W Star, 10/30/69, Al; NASA OSSA)
Dr. Harold Brown, former Secretary of the Air Force, was inaugurated as president of Cal Tech during day-long ceremonies on campus. He succeeded Dr. Lee A. DuBridge, who had become Presidential Science Adviser. (LA Times, 9/4/69)
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