Jun 12 1963
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (2MB PDF)
Testifying before Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, NASA Administrator James E. Webb announced NASA had decided not to conduct another Project Mercury flight: "We will proceed at once to a very careful, thoughtful but vigorous reorientation and realignment of the NASA organization, to move on with Gemini and with Apollo . . " (Transcript)
Project Mercury officially ended. Initiated in autumn of 1958, Mercury had achieved its goal of placing manned spacecraft in orbital flight around earth, investigating man's survival ability and performance capabilities in space, and recovering man and spacecraft. Mercury-Redstone suborbital flights paved the way toward ultimate goal, with Astronaut Alan B. Shepard becoming first U.S. man in space in FREEDOM 7 (May 5, 1961), followed by Astronaut Virgil I. Grissom in LIBERTY BELL 7 (July 21, 1961). First U.S. manned orbital space flight was achieved with Mercury-Atlas MA-6 flight, Astronaut John H. Glenn in FRIENDSHIP 7 (Feb. 20, 1962). This three-orbit space flight was followed by: MA-7, three-orbit flight of Astronaut M. Scott Carpenter in AURORA 7 (May 24, 1962) ; MA-8, six-orbit flight of Astronaut Walter Schirra in SIGMA 7 (Oct. 3, 1962) ; and MA-9, 22-orbit space flight of Astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper in FAITH 7 (May 15-16, 1963). Project Mercury logged 34 orbits of manned space flight with 52 hrs. 23 min. of flight time.
NASA Manned Spacecraft Center announced award of six month study contract to Hamilton Standard Div. of United Aircraft Corp. for establishment of environmental control and life support requirements for manned earth-orbiting space station. Duration of 24-man station would be from one to five years. (MSC Release 63-100)
D. Brainerd Holmes announced his resignation as NASA Deputy Associate Administrator and Director of Manned Space Flight, effective some time next autumn. Holmes had joined NASA autumn of 1961, would return to industry "within the period of two years which was understood to constitute his obligation for government service at the time of his appointment." (NASA Release 63-133)
Ford Motor Co.'s Aeronutronic Div. was selected by NASA Manned Spacecraft Center to investigate requirement for Mars excursion module (MEM)-unit designed to ferry astronauts between orbiting spacecraft and surface of Mars. (MSC Release 63-98)
Appointment of Robert H. Charles as Special Assistant to NASA Administrator was announced. Consultant to Administrator since September 1962, Mr. Charles would work closely, with NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Industry Affairs m development and negotiation of NASA-industry contractual relationships. (NASA Release 63-134)
At breakfast meeting of Republican Congressmen in Washington, Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower said that anyone who would be willing to spend $40 billion to get to the moon was "nuts." (Finney, NYT, 6/13/63)
Rep: Roman C. Pucinski (D.-Ill.), speaking on House floor about his proposed bill (H.R. 1946) to establish National Research Data.-Processing and Information Retrieval Center, said: "I firmly believe that the related activities in data storage and retrieval ... must be carried on very much as it is today by the many scientific societies, abstracting societies, and universities. But the finished product of this widely dispersed effort must ultimately find its way to a central center if we are to recapture the full contribution of the world's technological explosion . . . ." (CR, 6/12/63,10127)
Atlas-Agena B launch vehicle exploded shortly after launch from Pt. Arguello, Calif. (AP, Wash. Post, 6/13/63; M&R, 6/24/63, 10)
USAF launched Thor-Agena D space vehicle with unidentified payload from PMR; launch occurred several hours after another booster exploded. (Pres. Rpt. on Space, 1963, 1/27/64; NYT, 6/12/63)
USAF conducted routine training launching of Atlas D ICBM from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. (DOD Release 844-63)
President's Award for Distinguished Civilian Service presented to Dr. Alain C. Enthoven, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis; David D. Thomas, Director of FAA Air Traffic Service; and Dr. Fred L. Whipple, Director of Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory. (Av. Wk., 6/10/ 63,36)
Friends and associates of the late Dr. Edward R. Sharp, former director of Lewis, dedicated the Edward R. Sharp Medical Library at Southwest Community Hospital, Berea, Ohio. (LRC Release 63-39, Lewis Chronology, 5)
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