Dec 28 1965
From The Space Library
PIONEER VI interplanetary probe, launched by NASA Dec. 16, had completed shakedown operations and was encountering fair space weather as it began its long cruise around the sun, NASA announced. Scientific data telemetered to earth indicated that the solar wind was blowing at relatively slow speeds of about 670,000 mph compared with 2 million an hour registered in periods of high solar activity; magnetic fields were fairly unfluctuating; and comparatively few charged particles were being encountered. Information being received from all six experiments was reported to be of excellent quality. (NASA Release 65392)
U.S.S.R. successfully launched COSMOS CII and COSMOS CIII unmanned satellites to continue space investigations, Tass announced. Orbital parameters for COSMOS CII: apogee, 172 mi. (278 km.) ; perigee, 135 mi. (218 km.) ; period, 89,24 min.; inclination, 65°, COSMOS CIII had been placed in near-circular orbit at 372-mi. (600-km.) altitude, with a period of 97 min. It was not specified whether the two spacecraft were launched simultaneously or whether there was an interval between launchings. All onboard systems were functioning normally. (Pravda, 12/29/65, 1)
LES IV communications satellite, released into an unplanned orbit Dec. 21 by Titan III-C, had been activated and was operating well, Lincoln Laboratory reported. Tumbling had prevented restart of Titan for intended orbit. (AP, NYT, 12/30/65, 11)
Formation of Institute for Oceanography, part of the Environmental Science Services Administration, was announced by Dept. of Commerce. Interaction between ocean, earth, and atmosphere would be studied in programs designed to gain new knowledge of the ocean, Headed by Dr. Harris B. Stewart, Jr, formerly chief oceanographer of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Institute had headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Dept. of Commerce PIO; NYT, 12/30/65, 42)
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 31
