Nov 14 1962
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (2MB PDF)
NASA announced Maj. L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. (USAF), had been selected for 18-orbit Project Mercury flight MA-9. The day-long space flight would be made no earlier than April 1963. Astronaut Cooper, youngest of original seven astronauts, was back-up pilot and technical adviser for Astronaut Walter M. Schirra m flight MA-8. Back-up pilot for MA-9 would be Cdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., who made first U.S. manned space flight (suborbital flight, MR-3) on May 5, 1961.
In news conference at MIT, Dr. James A. Van Allen said the radiation caused by U.S. atmospheric nuclear test in July would be "undetectable" by July 1963. Dr. Van Allen reported signals from INJUN, TELSTAR, EXPLORERS XIV and XV showed the electronic Stream had disappeared within a few days of U.S. explosion and that the electrons at 600-mi. altitude were now undetectable. Electrons at 900-mi. altitude were still creating radioastronomy interference, he acknowledged, but this would be gone by next July.
Speaking at New England Regional Conference on Science, Technology, and Space held at MIT, Dr. Van Allen reviewed suggestions made by panel of scientists which met last July–August under National Academy of Sciences auspices at Iowa City. Panel reviewed NASA program and recommended that NASA (1) send scientists with astronaut training along with test-pilot astronauts on early lunar and planetary flights; (2) establish an academy within a year to train scientist-astronaut volunteers, located at Houston, Tex.; (3) work harder to develop new instruments needed for lunar exploration; (4) ensure that planet Mars is not contaminated with terrestrial organisms until question of existence of Martian life is resolved; (5) make more use of university facilities; and (6) reduce time lag between concept of a space experiment and its execution. Spokesman in Washington said complete report of the panel would be issued by early January.
West Side Association of Commerce (N.Y.C.) presented National West Side Award to NASA. In accepting the award, NASA Administrator James E. Webb said: "Except in war time, no large national effort has had such a rapid buildup as the space program over the past five years. The end of the buildup is not in sight, but the rate is slowing down and is keyed to the policy . . . that this is a fast paced, driving, prudently managed and efficiently conducted program, but is not a crash program. . . .
"In my view, we are entering a period when our national decisions and the debates which accompany them will not so much relate to whether and when we can achieve pre-eminence m space, but the rate at which we should proceed beyond the time when this pre-eminence is achieved—beyond the time when we have begun manned exploration of the moon.
"It is the contribution of all the forces, in industry, government., and the universities, under the leadership which President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson have given the program, that gives us the basis for the pre-eminence we have in most fields in space and the pre-eminence we will shortly have in all."
Soviet interplanetary probe MARS I was 2,725,337.592 mi. away from earth at 4 AM EST, Tass reported.
USAF advanced Atlas missile, Atlas F, was successfully test-fired more than 4,000 mi. down the Pacific Missile Range (PMR).
Albert R. Hibbs, chief of JPL Arms Control and Disarmament, told American Rocket Society convening in Los Angeles: "Most people on both sides don't feel that space weapons will be too important . . .," but military neglect of space could be dangerous pending ratification of a treaty.
N. E. Halaby, FAA Administrator, said in speech to Bond Club of New York that recommendations on Federal development of supersonic, airliner would be submitted to President Kennedy in about two weeks. He emphasized that U.S. was interested in transport of mach 3 capability (2,000 mph or more).
Plan for joint British-French development and construction of supersonic airliner was approved by French Cabinet. Under plan, British and French aviation industries would be subsidized by respective governments and would work together on airplane capable of carrying 90 passengers across the Atlantic at. mach 2.2 speed (about 1,450 mph)—more than twice as fast as current jet transports.
Lt. Col. Charles N. Barnes (USAF) of AEC Reactor Development Div. told annual meeting of Association of Military Surgeons of the United States that first attempt to orbit nuclear reactor in joint AEC-USAF Project Snapshot would be made next year. Snap-10A would be launched with Atlas-Agena vehicle, the Agena stage to be orbited with the 950-lb. Snap-10A which would furnish auxiliary electric power for instruments. Intended orbit would be several hundred mi. high. Reactor would be turned off after a year and the accumulated radioactive fission products allowed to decay over period of several hundred years; it would be designed to disintegrate during re-entry into earth's atmosphere.
Monetary awards for patentable inventions were made to NASA employees under provisions of the Incentive Awards Act of 1954 as follows: George A. Smith of NASA. Ames Research Center; Arlen F. Carter, George P. Wood, and Adolf Busemann of NASA Langley Research Center; David G. Evans, Warner L. Stewart, Edward F. Baehr, H. Allen, Jr., C. C. Ciepluch, E. A. Fletcher, Samuel Stein, David M. Straight, and John W. Gregory of NASA Lewis Research ('enter; William J. D. Escher and Thomas L. Greenwood of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
Soviet AF Maj. Yevgeny M. Andreyev dropped 15-mi. in free fall from balloon before opening his parachute, feat believed to have set new record for free fall without stabilizing devices.
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