Jul 7 1969
From The Space Library
Click here to listen to Phil Shaffer Interview Flight Dynamics Officer for Apollo July 7th 1969
Click here to listen to Apollo 11 Preflight Press Conference July 7th 1969
U.S. News & World Report published interview with Dr. Thomas O. Paine, NASA Administrator. Apollo 11 lunar landing would be "culmination of America's satisfying everyone that it is indeed the leading technological nation that it thought it was before Sputnik blazed across the skies." U.S.S.R. would continue to put great stress on space and move ahead steadily. ". . there's always the danger that we may feel we can relax now-having attained the lunar goal-and perhaps slack off. ... if we were not to start new programs now, I think the situation might well reverse and the Soviets might once again develop superior technological capabilities in space." Space technology could affect future defense posture. In the past, "wherever man has flown farther and higher and faster, wherever he has developed new capability to observe from higher areas, to carry out operations in new media, this has had a major effect on the equations of international power. We're quite confident that this will probably be true again in space." Application of space to defense area was DOD's job. "We do not consider Apollo applications as any kind of substitute for MOL." Journey of man to another solar system was "completely out of the realm of possibility" for next generation, "but in the more distant future, if it were ever possible . . . to control the energy of nuclear fusion and adapt it in some efficient way to the propulsion of spacecraft, it might be possible to think in terms of longer voyages to another star." Fundamental breakthrough would have to be made. Chance that life existed in other solar systems seemed "absolutely 100 per cent." (US News, 7/7/69)
Bonny, pig-tailed monkey launched on board NASA'S Biosatellite III June 29, was showing marked decrease in interest and efficiency. Although he was still in satisfactory physical condition, Bonny was becoming much less energetic and was consuming less food and water. (AP, W Star, 7/5/69, A3; W Post, 7/5/69, A6)
Apollo 10 commander Thomas P. Stafford received Flying Tiger Pilot Trophy, presented every two years by Flying Tigers, group of World War II veterans. Trophy was presented during 27th reunion in Ojai, Calif. (AP, W Star, 7/7/69, A2)
White House announced President Nixon had canceled plans to dine with Apollo 11 astronauts July 15, eve of launch. MSC Director of Research and Medical Operations, Dr. Charles A. Berry, had expressed concern that crew might catch earthly illness from President, which could complicate lunar landing mission. (AP, B Sun, 7/8/69)
Apollo 11 lunar samples would not be first moon material to reach earth and to undergo scientific examination, Los Angeles Times quoted Dr. Dean R. Chapman, Chief of ARC Thermo- and Gas-Dynamics Div." as saying in interview. Tektites-molten pieces of lunar surface in form of chunks of black glass-had fallen to earth when meteorites struck moon with tremendous force. Most recent tektite shower had occurred 700,000 yrs ago. While tektites' origin was matter of scientific dispute, Dr. Chapman believed most commonly held theory-lunar origin. In working out shower's trajectory, he had determined tektites came from Tycho crater on moon's southern hemisphere. He believed Tycho to be 700,000 yrs old and that crusts of earth and of moon were intimately related. (Getze, LA Times, 7/7/69)
Newsweek's 42nd space age cover story since October 1957 contained comments from "opinion makers" on Apollo 11 mission. Dr. Robert Jastrow, Director of NASA'S Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said scientific basis for mission was to discover secret of earth's past through study of lunar rocks. Resolution of "cold moon" versus "hot moon" theory controversy-whether moon was formed cold, or cooled off shortly after its birth, or whether it was like earth molten or partly molten inside with volcanic surface-"may ride with Apollo 11." Southern Christian Leadership Conference President, the Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, said: "A society that can resolve to conquer space; to put man in a place where in ages past it was considered only God could reach; to appropriate vast billions; to systematically set about to discover the necessary scientific knowledge; that society deserves both acclaim and our contempt ... acclaim for achievement and contempt for bizarre social values. For though it has the capacity to meet extraordinary challenges, it has failed to use its ability to rid itself of the scourges of racism, poverty and war, all of which were brutally scarring the nation even as it mobilized for the assault on the solar system." Anthropologist Dr. Margaret Mead said: "This can be a first step, not into space alone, but into the disciplined and courageous use of enhanced human powers for man, ennobled as he is today, as the first men step on the moon." Philosopher Lewis Mumford said: "Space exploration . . . is strictly a military by-product; and without pressure from the Pentagon and the Kremlin it would never have found a place in any national budget." Best hope was "that this colossal perversion of energy, thought and other precious human resources may awaken a spontaneous collective reaction sufficient to bring us down to earth again. Any square mile of inhabited earth has more significance for man's future than all the planets in our solar system." (Newsweek, 6/7/69, 3, 60-1)
Original equipment of field-sequential color TV system which would be used by Apollo 11 to transmit pictures from moon [see April 5] was presented to Smithsonian Institution by inventor Dr. Peter C. Goldmark, President of CBS Laboratories. Apollo 11 would carry three-pound miniaturization of system in Westinghouse camera. (Schaden, W Star, 7/8/69, B1)
DOD announced award of $356,713,045 fixed-price contract to McDonnell Douglas Corp. for F-4 Phantom II high-performance jet fighter aircraft for USN and USAF use. (DOD Release 568-69)
July 7-8: NASA terminated Biosatellite III mission to determine long-term effects of weightlessness on living organisms when Bonny, pig-tailed monkey on board, registered extremely low metabolic state and refused to drink water after receiving 10 emergency water commands. Spacecraft had been scheduled to remain in orbit 30 days after launch June 29, but monkey's condition-as indicated by steadily lowering body temperature, reduced heart rate, shallow breathing, substantial periods of sleep during day, and general sluggishness-had declined steadily for several days. Spacecraft separated and parachute deployed successfully, but recovery aircraft was unable to retrieve spacecraft in midair as planned because of clouds and rainstorms. Capsule was recovered from Pacific off coast of Kauai at 7:36 pm EDT, minutes after splashdown, and flown to Hickam AFB, Hawaii, laboratories, where monkey was removed from capsule immediately and given intensive care. Without prior warning from changes in physiological parameters being recorded, Bonny died suddenly at 6:04 am EDT July 8. Detailed analyses of data would be made during next six months and formal report would be issued after Jam 1, 1970. Despite curtailed mission, experimenters expected significant information. (NASA Proj Off; ARC Astro-gram, 7/17/69, 1)
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