Jun 4 1962
From The Space Library
High-altitude nuclear test over Johnston Island in the Pacific failed when Thor rocket and the thermonuclear device were destroyed by the safety officer "because the tracking system was malfunctioning." Debris fell into the ocean well within the 520mile-radius safety area around Johnston Island.
Polaris missile launched from AMR was destroyed 90 seconds after launch when it veered off course.
U.S.S.R. charged in newspapers and radio broadcasts that purpose of U.S. high-altitude nuclear tests over the Pacific was to prepare for a surprise nuclear attack against the Communist bloc, contended the tests were designed to perfect ways of blacking out radio and radar communication, thereby preventing a retaliatory strike at the U.S.
Boeing-Vertol was selected by the Air Force to build long-range helicopter capable of carrying a payload of at least 5,000 lbs. for 200 nautical miles or 2,400 lbs. for 700 miles. Modification of Vertol 107 helicopter, now in production for civil use, would satisfy USAF's Specific Operational Requirement 190.
Army fired Pershing missile from AMR. The 200-mile flight was a severe test of the missile's guidance, with the launch made in the teeth of 50-mph winds; the missile rose with a "definite tilt" before the guidance corrected its attitude.
House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R. 10018) granting the consent of Congress to the Southern Interstate Nuclear Compact, which would establish a regional cooperative effort to acquire nuclear resources and facilities. NASA is one of the Federal agencies authorized under the bill to cooperate with the Compact.
June 4-5: Thirty-fifth anniversary of the second nonstop transatlantic flight, by Clarence C. Chamberlin and Charles A. Levine. Taking off from Roosevelt Field, L.I., on June 4, 1927, they followed much the same route taken in May of the same year by Charles A. Lindbergh, but flew on to Eisleben, Germany, for a nonstop distance record of 3,911 miles. Mr. Chamberlin, now 68, recalled in an interview that they ran into bad weather over England, climbed their single-engine Wright-Bellanca to over 20,000 ft., although "now they tell you you must have oxygen above 10,000 feet."
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
