Nov 7 1969
From The Space Library
West Germany's 157-lb Azur (GRS-A) research satellite was successfully launched by NASA from WTR by four-stage Scout booster. Orbital parameters: apogee, 3,145.4 km (1,954.5 mi) ; perigee, 383.8 km (238.5 mi) ; period, 121.9 min; and inclination, 103°. Primary NASA objective was to insert spacecraft into quasi-polar orbit in which it could study Van Allen belt, Northern Hemisphere auroral zones, and spectral variation of solar particles versus time during solar flares. The 48-in-high, 30-in-dia cylindrical satellite carried seven experiments from five German research institutes to continue studies conducted by NASA Explorer and OGO satellites. Data would be available exclusively to German principal investigators for one year. Launch was first in series of cooperative missions between NASA and German Ministry for Scientific Research (BMWF) under July 1965 agreement. BMwF was responsible for design, development, fabrication, and testing of spacecraft and experiments and for ground-support equipment and data-reduction facilities. NASA was responsible for Scout booster, launch, and tracking and data acquisition support. (NASA Release 69-146; NASA Proj Off; GSFC SSR, 11/15/69; AP, C Trib, 11/10/69)
Apollo 12 countdown began at KSC at 12:00 pm EST for launch toward moon at 11:22 am EST Nov. 14. Countdown, originally scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm EST Nov. 8, had been started early to reduce costs by eliminating overtime that would have been paid to launch crews. (UPI, NYT, 11/8/69, 20)
Senate adopted conference report on H.R. 11271, FY 1970 NASA authorization bill [see Nov. 6], thus clearing bill for White House. (CR, 11/7/69, S13918-9)
Number of eminent selenologists had confirmed dating of Apollo 11 moon rocks at 4.5 billion yrs or more, to presumed formation of solar system, indicating lunar surface was far older than any material originating on earth's surface, John Lannan said in Washington Evening Star. Same lunar scientists had "lashed out" at what they claimed were NASA's "restrictions on the free flow of scientific information." Lunar investigators would present findings at January symposium but many felt "information of such significance should be published immediately through normal scientific channels." Counter argument was "that all the investigators get an even break this way." (W Star, 11/7/69, Al)
Analysis of organic combustion products generated by LM descent engine, deemed major and least controllable source of organic and inorganic contamination in lunar sample collection procedure, was reported in Science by B. R. Simoneit and A. L. Burlingame of Univ. of California at Berkeley, D. A. Flory of MSC, and I. D. Smith of MSC's White Sands Test Facility. Major gaseous combustion products found in model engine's exhaust were ammonia, water, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitric oxide. Minor products were acetylene, hydrogen cyanide, ethylene, formaldehyde, propadiene, ketene, cyanous acid, hydrazoic acid, various methylamines, acetaldehyde, methylnitrite, formic acid, nitrous acid, butadiene, nitrilohydrazines, nitromethane, and nitrosohydrazines with other oxidized derivatives of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and hydrazine. Ion intensities of species in all mass spectras were estimated as: gases, 87.7%; compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, 6.0%; and compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen (with traces of oxygen), 5.8%. (Science, 11/7/69, 733-8)
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