Feb 4 1969
From The Space Library
President Nixon sent directive to Dr. Lee A. DuBridge, Science Adviser to the President, asking assessment of proposal to appoint interagency committee to advise President on post-Apollo space program. Directive also asked report on "possibility of significant cost reductions in the launching and boosting operations of the space program," with judgment on "how best to assess future developments in this area." White House announcement from Key Biscayne, Fla." Feb. 8 said directive had asked assessment of recommendations that DOD and NASA be directed to coordinate activities in this area. (PD, 2/17/69, 249; 3/10/69, 349-51)
Aerobee 150 MI sounding rocket launched by NASA from Churchill Research Range carried Univ. of Minnesota Institute of Technology payload to 115.6-mi (186-km) altitude to study neutral composition of polar atmosphere with neutral mass spectrometers. Rocket and instruments performed satisfactorily and experimental data showed "some extremely interesting results." (NASA Rpt SRL)
Nike-Cajun sounding rocket was launched by NASA from Point Barrow, Alaska, carrying GSFC experiment to obtain data on variation of temperature, pressure, and wind profile by detonating grenades at prescribed times and recording sound arrivals on ground. Rocket, last in series of four launched during period of atmospheric warming [see Jan. 30], performed satisfactorily. All 19 grenades ejected and detonated as planned and sound arrivals were recorded. (NASA Rpt SRL)
President Nixon accepted pro forma resignation of Dr. Edward C. Welsh, Executive Secretary of National Aeronautics and Space Council. Appointed by President Kennedy in 1961, Dr. Welsh had been Council's first and only appointed executive secretary. (W Post, 2/5/69, A7; AP, W Star, 2/5/69, 1)
XB-70 supersonic research aircraft was flown from Edwards AFB, Calif." to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to be placed on exhibit at Air Force Museum. Flight had been delayed until turbulent air conditions prevailed so testing could continue until end of aircraft's service. During final flight, crew collected data on aircraft handling and structural response to air turbulence at subsonic flight. NASA had announced end of XB-70 flight research program Jan. 13. (NASA Proj Off; UPI, NYT, 2/5/69, 73; AP, W Star, 2/5/69, A19)
In Look, science writer Arthur C. Clarke, Nobel Prize nuclear physicist Dr. Isidor I. Rabi, novelist C. P. Snow, and Catholic theologian Prof. Leslie Dewart wrote personal reactions to Apollo 8 mission. Clarke said: "The Apollo 8 mission marks one of those rare turning points in human history after which nothing will ever be the same again. The immense technical achievement is already obvious to every one and has been universally praised; yet the psychological impact may be even more important and will take some time to make itself fully felt. We no longer live in the world which existed before Christmas 1968. It has passed away as irrevocably as the earth-centered universe of the Middle Ages." Dr. Rabi said: "It would be misleading to talk of the events that led to the journey of Apollo 8 in terms of the vast sums of money that are involved, even though it cost several times as much as the development of the first atomic bomb. What is more important and more impressive is that Apollo 8 represents the cooperation of hundreds of thousands of people over a period of years in a gigantic effort with no clearly set practical goals, except perhaps the profound desire of mankind to prove to itself that it had the knowledge and the ability to overcome its earthbound limitations." Prof. Dewart said: "Man has taken his first, halting steps into the cosmos beyond that earthly world in which he was born and within which he had always lived. The impact of Apollo 8 in other areas of human experience is obvious; in religion, it is much less immediately evident. And yet, in the end, it may be more significant for the development of man's religious consciousness." (Look, 2/4/69, 72-8)
In letter to Astronaut Frank Borman, Board of Education of Glendale Union High School District No. 205, Glendale, Ariz." said it had named planned high school "Apollo" in "honor and appreciation of the accomplishments of the participating astronauts." It invited Apollo 8 crew to participate in 1970 dedication ceremony. (CR, 2/21/69, E1216)
USN announced award of $40,000,000 contract to Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. for engineering development phase of F-14A supersonic fighter (formerly VFX ) , replacement for F-111 B. Funding during four-year development was expected to total $388,000,000. (DOD Release 92-69)
In letter from Chairman L. Mendel Rivers (D-S.C.) to Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird, House Armed Services Committee informed DOD that, because of uncertainty over ABM, Committee would take no action to approve Sentinel antiballistic missile sites until Nixon Administration positively expressed interest in project. (Sell, W Post, 2/6/69, Al)
In New York Times, Theodere Shabad said Moscow sources indicated Soviet investigators had ruled out possibility of political conspiracy in Jan. 22 shooting during Kremlin ceremonies for Soyuz cosmonauts because of amateurish behavior of gunman identified as "Lt. Ilyin" of Soviet Army. Sources denied earlier reports that gunman had taken poison after shooting and was dead. They said he was undergoing medical and psychological testing to determine his sanity and motives. (NYT, 2/5/69,2)
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