Jul 19 1964
From The Space Library
The second of two DOD satellites, reported by press sources to be one of two Nuclear Radiation Detection Satellites, maneuvered into station 65,000 mi. above the earth. On signal from the ground a rocket motor aboard the satellite fired, moving it from an eccentric orbit with an apogee of 65,000 mi. into a circular orbit at that altitude. The motor aboard the companion satellite, boosted by the same launch vehicle, was fired successfully on July 17. (AP, NYT, 7/20/64; Wash. Post, 7/20/64)
NASA announced it had begun a pilot program designed to help scientists and engineers cope with the greatly increased amount of literature on new discoveries and developments. The program, called Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) was being developed for NASA under a contract to the Advanced Systems Development Division of IBM, Yorktown, N.Y. The SDI system was designed to notify those enrolled in the program of fresh information within their respective fields. ( NASA Release 64-174)
Leo D. Welch, Chairman of the Communications Satellite Corp., reported that Soviet officials had refused to answer a question as to whether they were developing their own system of communications by satellite. Welch said that the Soviets would say only that they were conducting experiments in the space technology. The questions were asked when the Soviets attended a meeting in Geneva in June at which they received a briefing on the formation of the 18-nation communications satellite network. ( Wash. Post, 7/20/64)
Preliminary findings from a six-year study by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. found that many top students who as college freshmen wanted to work as engineers frequently changed their minds by the time they were seniors. The report also stated: "The interest of able students in physical sciences and engineering has been decreasing during the period covered by this study and interest in the social sciences and humanities has been correspondingly increasing." For both sexes biology, history, and mathematics had become more popular. At the start of the study 13% of the males and 27% of the females said they expected to major in the social sciences, history, English, and foreign languages. In 1963, students desiring majors in these fields rose to 19% for males and 34% for females. (Janssen, Phil. Inquirer, 7/19/64)
In editorial New York Times applauded the agreement between U.S- and U.S.S.R. aimed at improving methods for desalination of sea water. The Times lauded the agreement both because of the seriousness of the increasing shortage of fresh water on earth, and also as a step in the "trend toward wider common efforts by Soviet and American scientists in areas where progress will bring mutual benefits." The editorial continued, ". . as Americans and Russians get accustomed to cooperation for common benefit in scientific fields, they may generate habits and attitudes that could ultimately spread to the political field, again with mutual gains." (NYT, 7/19/64, E8)
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