Jul 31 1969
From The Space Library
USAF launched unidentified satellite from Vandenberg AFB by Thor-Agena booster into orbit with 333.1-mi (536-km) apogee, 288.9-mi (464.8-km) perigee, 94.6-min period, and 75.0° inclination. (GSFC SSR, 7/31/69; Pres Rpt 70 [69] )
At state dinner in New Delhi, India, Acting President Mohammed Hidayatullah exchanged toasts with President Nixon and congratulated him: "The epic flight to the moon and back by three of your countrymen has amazed the world and marks a new stage in science and technology. On behalf of the Government and people of India, and myself, I congratulate you, and through you, the people of your country on this historic occasion. . . We are glad to know that you are sharing the knowledge you have gained with the rest of the world." PD, 8/4/69, 1056-9)
Sequence of five color photos of Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., performing extravehicular activities on lunar surface were released by NASA. Vivid sequence showed Aldrin descending ladder to surface, walking near LM, posing near U.S. flag, deploying seismometer, and walking with Armstrong's reflection visible in his visor. NASA also released two-part 16-mm film which showed moon fading away as LM ascended and LM's rendezvous with CSM in lunar orbit It also showed astronaut Michael Collins shaving inside CSM. (W Post, 8/1/69, A7; Witkin, NYT, 8/1/69, 16)
Hans H. Maus, Director of Executive Staff at MSFC, and Dr. George N. Constan, Director of Michoud Assembly Facility, retired after combined total of 51 yrs Government service. Maus, expert in rocket development and production engineering, had received USA's Exceptional Civilian Service Award and number of citations for development of manufacturing methods, process automation, assembly, and tooling concept development. Dr. Constan had served with USA at Milan, Joliet, and Redstone Arsenals before his appointment to Michoud in 1961. (MSFC Release 69-167)
Soviet Academician, Dr. Anatoly A. Blagonravov, conceded that competition with U.S.S.R. might have been major factor in U.S. determination to reach moon and said that in space there was no way to declare a winner, Space Business Daily reported. "I don't preclude the idea that such a boosted preparation of the Apollo project was in some measure the result of competition with us. Basically a healthy competition is no obstacle to success. . . Science is boundless in its development and it cannot be compared to a horse race-there is no finishing line. The interests of science are bound to win anyway. . . ." U.S.S.R. would continue research in "several major scientific areas," make "extensive use of automatic devices for exploring outer space," and pay "due attention" to moon and to both manned and unmanned missions. Cosmos, Zond, and Proton spacecraft would continue to be used for research and Soyuz spacecraft would be converted into "modules of orbital space laboratories designed for research in lengthy flight." (SBD, 7/31/69, 79)
Man's knowledge of Venus, Mars, and moon had been enormously enhanced by unmanned Mariner missions, New York Times editorial said. They were relatively inexpensive and did not risk human lives. "Nevertheless, American political leadership has been so obsessed with sending a man to the moon that unmanned probes of the planets became the stepchildren of the national space program. There were times when even the continued existence of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory -the center for these unmanned flights-seemed in doubt. Now, in the new phase of American space exploration begun in the wake of Apollo 11's historic achievement, the major cost-benefit advantages of Mariner type unmanned flights need to be more fully appreciated by Washington policy makers, and even more intensively exploited than in the past, even as the manned exploration of the moon continues." (NYT, 7/31/69, 32)
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