Dec 17 1963
From The Space Library
President Johnson addressed U.N. General Assembly, emphasizing continuation of efforts to achieve world peace. ". . . The great transition from colonial rule to independence has been largely accomplished. The decade of development has successfully begun. The world arms race has been slowed. The struggle for human rights has been gaining new force. "And a start has been made in furthering mankind's common interest in outer space, in scientific exploration, in communications, in weather forecasting, in banning the stationing of nuclear weapons, and in establishing principles of law .. . "The greatest of human problems, and the greatest of our common tasks, is to keep the peace and save the future. All that we have built in the wealth of nations, and all that we plan to do toward a better life for all, will be in vain if our feet should slip, or our vision falter, and our hopes ended in another worldwide war. If there is one commitment more than any other that I would like to leave with you today, it is my unswerving strengthening of the peace. Peace is a journey of 1,000 miles, and it must be taken one step at a time . . . ." (Text)
Sen. Leverett Saltonstall (R.-Mass.) speaking on Wright Brothers Day in the Senate, said : ". . . The attention to detail and the years of experimentation were fundamental to the triumph which we commemorate on Wright Brothers Day. "The pioneering spirit, the determination, and the ability exemplified by the Wright brothers are the essence of human progress. They were neither inhibited by the predictions of failures from those who had not tried, nor were they dissuaded by the tragedies of those who had tried. As we recall that historic day, let us draw inspiration from the two men who made this aged dream a reality. In this space age, our efforts must also be a combination of bold design and prudent preparation." (CR, 12/17/63, 23705)
In a letter to NASA Administrator James E. Webb, Rep. Clarence D. Long (D.-Md.) criticized NASA for failure to fulfill Public Law 88-113 whereby 'a detailed study of the geographic location of, the need for, and the nature of, the proposed center' " should be made. Long was referring to the selection of a site for and the building of a $50-million electronics research center. He implied that the NASA "fact finding committee" set up to conduct this study had not given sufficient consideration to all suitable locations-the Baltimore area in particular-and, thereby, had failed to serve the national interest. (CR, 1/22/64, 934)
Dr. Nicholas E. Golovin of the President's Office of Science and Technology told National Space Club in Washington that low reliability of Scout booster (50%) was because of difficulties in four-stage booster technology. A basic difficulty to be overcome in future space systems. he said, was development of long-lifetime components and subsystems. Today's missile system technology requires operational lifetime of less than a half hour; but Apollo would require 400 times that long and Mars fly-by mission, up to 20,000 times that long. The other basic problem for future space systems, he said, was achieving greater reliability with less flight testing. (Space Bus. Daily, 12/18/63, 417)
Wright Brothers Day. Events commemorating the 60th anniversary of powered flight were highlighted by dedication of First Flight Airport at Kitty Hawk, N.C., the 3,000-ft. runway paralleling flight path of Wright Flyer. Airport was built by State of North Carolina, FAA, and National Park Service. Dedication speeches were made by Governor Terry Sanford and Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges. Other participants in ceremony included Sen. A. S. Monroney (D.-Okla.), CAB Chairman Alan Boyd, TAC Commander Gen. Walter C. Sweeney, Jr. (USAF), and Park Service Director Conrad L. Wirth. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, and Coast Guard joined for first time in display of air power, with more than 70 airplanes flying over the site. (NIT, 12/16/63; NYT, 12/18/63, 30)
Luncheon in Wright brothers' hometown, Dayton, 0h., commemorated 60th anniversary of powered flight and 50th anniversary of Air Force Silver Wings. General Mark Bradley, Commander of AFCL, Wright-Patterson AFB, made presentation to Maj. Gen. Benjamin D. Foulois (USA, Ret.) one of first military officers to fly an airplane. National Aviation Hall of Fame president, James Jacobs, announced four selections to Aviation Hall of Fame: Octave Chanute, General Foulois, Frank Purdy Lahm, and Samuel Pierpont Langley. Luncheon was sponsored by Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and National Aviation Hall of Fame, Inc. (CR, 12/17/63, 23666-67)
At Wright Brothers Memorial Banquet in Hollywood, Calif., the Timers Aero Club of NAA awarded "Elder Statesmen of Aviation" awards to John K. Northrop, Floyd B. Odium, and (posthumously) James Kindelberger. Also FAI medals were presented to Paul F. Bikle, glider pilot and Director of NASA's Flight Research Center, and Joseph A. Walker, NASA X-15 pilot. General Curtis E. LeMay, USAF Chief of Staff, said in address to Wright Memorial Dinner: ". . . When Orville and Wilbur Wright made their historic flights, 60 years ago, little did they know that their effort would have such an impact on the nation's strategy and on its military forces. "We should learn a lesson from this. "We cannot in today's world stop our search for new sources of national strength. Further, if this Nation ever finds itself falling behind in the technological race-and lacking men possessing the vision and courage of the Wright Brothers, and the great Aerospace flyers who followed them, then in my opinion our days at a great Nation will be numbered and so will the days of freedom." (Air Force and Space Digest, 1/64, 84; Text, DOD Release 1572-63)
In preface to 1963 edition of Jane's All the World's Aircraft, editor John W. R. Taylor wrote that U.S. had achieved "a measure of equality" with U.S.S.R. in "space race." "This may seem a strange comment to make . . . "But the real measure of achievement in aviation is a day-to-day service, not once-only exploits, and here the Soviet picture looks less self-assured than it did at the end of 1962 .. . . "Nor has Russia's space program gone with its customary smoothness and unsullied success. "The results achieved have been spectacular and highly creditable but there is good reason to believe that the 'space twin' flights of Lt. Col. Bykovsky and Miss Tereshkova failed to achieve all their objectives, which may have included orbital rendezvous, and contact with the Mars probe was lost before it could add to our knowledge of that exciting planet . . . . "By comparison, America's Mercury man-in-space program far exceeded its original-more limited-design objectives with the final 22-orbit flight of Gordon Cooper, while the Mariner 2 space probe sent back invaluable, if depressing, data concerning conditions on the planet Venus ending our hope of finding any form of life known on earth." (UPI, Wash. Post, 12/18/63)
Donald Wills Douglas, founder, board chairman, and chief executive officer of Douglas Aircraft Co., was presented 1963 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy at Aero Club of Washington's annual Wright Brothers Memorial Banquet. (NAA Release)
Speaking at Boston College Seminar, Franklyn W. Phillips, Director of NASA's North Eastern Office, said : "At the request of the Congress, NASA is conducting additional studies on a need for an Electronics Center, the nature of the Center, and its geographical location. The results of these three studies will be presented to Mr. Webb, who after making NASA's decision on the location of the Center will forward these reports to the House and Senate Space Committees for their consideration on or about the first of February. These Committees have 45 days in which to take action on NASA's report. If they take favorable action or for that matter if they take no action in the 45 days after submittal of the report, NASA can proceed with its plans. On the other hand, should these committees take negative action of any kind, it would force a further reconsideration of the proposal. "The proposed Electronics Research Center will employ approximately 2,000 people of which six to seven hundred would be scientists and engineers. Estimates of the investment to be made in constructing the Center amount to 56 million dollars. When the Center is fully operative, it will have an annual operating budget of $20 to $30 million, and will be expected to disburse considerably more than that through a contract research and development program with industry and universities." (Text)
First successful flight of the C-141 Starlighter took place at Dobbins AFB, Ga. Featuring four fan-jet engines, the plane can cross any ocean nonstop at speeds of more than 500 mph. (AF SC Operational Highlights, 13)
U.S. launched an unidentified probe using Blue Scout booster. (Pres. Rpt. on Space, 1963, 1/27/61)
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