Apr 13 1967
From The Space Library
NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., and Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight Dr. George E. Mueller, testifying before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, absolved North American Aviation, Inc., of direct blame for the Jan. 27 Apollo fire but criticized contractor workmanship. NAA "has not always been sufficiently dedicated to engineering design or workmanship" in the Apollo program and "did not address itself properly to the training and supervision of its personnel and the adequate inspection of the work that was done," Dr. Seamans charged. As a result of NASA's demand for numerous management reforms in late 1965, NAA had made "marked improvement . . . in the last year and a half," Dr. Seamans noted, but he stressed that "it should not have been necessary for the Government to take this kind of strenuous action." Dr. Seamans told the Committee that NASA would implement Apollo 204 Review Board's recommendations and build stronger discipline into technical requirements, schedules and management while placing the Apollo program "back on a firm operating schedule." He asserted that nothing in the Board's report suggested that the fundamental design or management structure was faulty. Basic revelation of the accident was fallibility, he stated. Dr. Mueller pointed out that the flammability and placement of cabin materials had been misjudged and compared this flaw in engineering judgment to those which resulted in catastrophic accidents in the course of aircraft development. (Testimony; Wilford, NYT, 4/14/67,10; Abramson, W Post, 4/l4/67, A2; W Star, 4/14/67, A7)
President Johnson called for more Inter-American cooperation at conference of Latin American leaders in Punta del Este, Uruguay. US., he said, would aid Latin American development by (1) helping to develop a new common market; (2) contributing additional funds to Inter-American Bank for "special operations" such as construction of comsat earth stations; (3) exploring possibility of temporary preferential tariff; (4) offering agricultural and educational assistance; (5) increasing food program for preschool and school-age children and operating a nutrition demonstration project; (6) establishing Alliance for Progress centers at US. colleges and universities; and (7) aiding development of science and technology, especially in areas of educational broadcasting, marine science, and atomic energy. (PD, 4/24/67,636)
USAF launched unidentified satellite from WTR using Scout booster. (Pres Rep 1967)
Japan's third attempt to orbit a satellite was unsuccessful when 3rd stage of Lambda 4S-3 failed to ignite at Uchinoura Range. In first attempt, Sept. 26, 1966, rocket went off course and missed orbital trajectory. Second attempt, Dec. 21, 1966, was unsuccessful because of 4th-stage ignition failure. (W Post, 4/13/67, A17; SBD, 4/14/67, 264)
Second of three phases of tests to evaluate use of heavy-lift helicopters for Apollo crew and spacecraft recovery in KSC launch areas was being conducted by NASA and DOD at Eglin AFB. Tests would develop operational equipment, techniques, and procedures to be used at KSC where standard recovery equipment would be ineffective in case of a launch escape system abort during liftoff because of the surrounding marsh, beach, and surf. (MSC Release 67-16)
USAF and USN issued statements supporting development of F-111 fighter aircraft as an all-purpose military aircraft. Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown: "The F-111A is designed to provide an all-weather strike potential superior to that of any tactical aircraft in the world today. It will fly faster, farther and carry a greater payload, nuclear or conventional, with an unexcelled capability to penetrate sophisticated enemy defenses. . . . We are confident from the level of performance already displayed in the very extensive flight tests performed on development aircraft that the operational F-111A will provide these vitally needed capabilities, and will meet the military requirements established for the aircraft at the inception of the program." Secretary of the Navy Paul H. Nitze: ". . . development of a system as complex as the F-111B/Phoenix has produced sizeable engineering problems. I continue to be impressed with the manner in which they have been met and overcome. I have confidence that changes proposed by the Navy, approved by the Secretary of Defense and now being implemented, will make the F-111B suitable for operation from our first-line attack carriers and will give it the capabilities to perform its mission." (CR, 4/17/67, S5300)
U.S. bombers were being guided to targets in North Vietnam by daily meteorological photos received from ESSA and Nimbus satellites, USAF announced. Detailed photos, monitored by USAF's weather stations in Saigon and Ugon, Thailand, permitted USAF to divert aircraft to areas that were unexpectedly free from clouds. Since equipment for reception was relatively inexpensive, USAF officials speculated that North Vietnamese might also be receiving the photos and using them for defense planning. (AP, NYT, 4/14/67,3)
A 2,000-mph USAF SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft on routine training flight from Beale AFB, Calif., crashed and burned near Las Vegas, N. Mex.-60 mi from site of Jan. 25, 1966, crash of another SR-71. Crew escaped major injury. Aircraft had been built for USAF by Lockheed as successor to the U-2 and had been undergoing tests since December 1964. (UPI, NYT, 4/15/67,13; AP, W Post, 4/14/67,9)
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