Aug 17 1965
From The Space Library
The large "crawler-transporter" scheduled to move the 500,000-lb, Saturn V booster and an 11-million-lb. launching tower from the assembly area at Kennedy Space Center, NASA, to the launching site three and a half miles away, had been crippled by repeated failure of roller bearings. Eight tractor trucks equipped with treads and rollers like those of a bulldozer would propel the crawler. It was the bearings in 88 rollers that had caused the problem. Tests of the $6-million vehicle, manufactured by Marion Power Shovel Co, had been suspended until a solution could be found. A NASA spokesman stated that neither tests nor launchings of the Saturn V boosters should be delayed. (Clark, NYT, 8/18/65, C13)
ComSatCorp requested industry proposals for an advanced satellite for a worldwide commercial communications system. The Corporation requested a satellite for use in a phased system at altitudes between 6,000 and 12,000 mi, or in a synchronous system at an altitude of 22,300 mi,; that had 1,000 two-way voice channels; that weighed approximately 240 lbs,; that could be launched alone or in groups of up to six satellites; that measured not more than 56-in,-dia. and 40-in. high; and that had a five-year lifetime. ComSatCorp stipulated the proposal should cover construction of six to 24 satellites, the number depending on the type of system, with the first six to be delivered within 24 months after the contract award. Proposals would be opened on October 25. (ComSatCorp Release)
The Gold Hodgkins Medal for pioneer work in space age science, plus a cash award, was presented to three scientists during the second week of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's 75th anniversary observance in Cambridge, Mass,: Prof. Marcel Nicolet, National Center for Space Research, Brussels; Dr. Joseph Kaplan, UCLA; and Dr. Sydney Chapman, Geophysical Institute, Univ. of Alaska. (AP, Houston, Chron, 8/18/65)
Dr. Winston E. Kock, Director of NASA Electronics Research Center, announced that NASA had authorized architects to proceed with detailed designs for a 26-story tower building, a three-story microwave laboratory, and an auditorium-cafeteria building at ERC. Construction would begin next spring, provided approval were given for urban renewal proceedings in the Kendall Square-Cambridge site. The buildings would be built with $15 million already approved by Congress. (ERC Release 65-31)
Final approval for the Aug, 19 launch of Gemini V on an eight-day orbital mission was given by Mission Director E. E. Christensen, Astronauts Leroy Gordon Cooper (L/Col., USAF) and Charles Conrad (LCdr. USN) passed a final physical examination, weather conditions were favorable, and the tracking network was in good operating condition. The astronauts and their backup pilots, Neil A. Armstrong and Elliot See, Jr, went through a complete review of the mission. (AP, NYT, 8/18/65, 12C)
JPL Director Dr. William H. Pickering, speaking to the National Space Club in Washington, D.C., on "Exploring the Planets," said, "Scientists interested in the solar system point out that all of the planets of the solar system present interesting challenges to the explorers. A study group at Woods Hole in Massachusetts this summer has set priorities on the exploration of the planets in the order of Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, We hope to make exploratory flights to all of these planets." (Text)
The New York Times commented on the success of the U.S.S.R. ZOND mission: "Like the Ranger and Mariner feats before it, Zond III has again shown what enormous gains in man's knowledge can be obtained by using instruments alone, a technique much cheaper and less hazardous than sending men to the moon or the planets. There is every reason to suppose that a United States satellite could have gotten similar photographs of the other side of the moon even earlier than Zond III had a sustained effort to this end been made, "The restraining element has been the limitations imposed on this country's exploration of space with instrument-carrying rockets by the overriding priority given to the enormously expensive Apollo project for landing a man on the moon by 1970. The Soviet propaganda and prestige gains that will result from the current accomplishment represent one of the costs of the decision to put so much emphasis upon a manned voyage to the moon." (NYT, 8/17/65, 30)
Aviaexport Chairman B. I. Kharchenko said in an interview with Sovetskaya Rossiya that Soviet aircraft were greatly valued in the world market. At present, more than 1,500 Soviet airplanes and helicopters were being exported to about 40 countries. This year, Soviet aviation equipment was being sent to 16 countries, Last year, 400 pilots and technicians from various countries were trained. (Souetskaya Rossiya, 8/17/65, 4)
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