Mar 24 1969
From The Space Library
U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos CCLXXIV into orbit with 300-km (186.4-mi) apogee, 208-km (129.3-mi) perigee, 89.5-min period, and 64.9° inclination. Satellite reentered April 1. (GSFC SSR, 3/31/69; 4/15/69)
JPL astronomer Dr. Ronald Schorn announced "definite and conclusive" evidence of water on Mars had been found in five-year study with Stephen Little of Univ. of Texas and JPL scientist Dr. C. B. Farmer at McDonald Observatory in Ft. Davis, Tex. Noting Mars generally should be compared with driest deserts of earth, he said: "If you took all the water we found and laid it out over the whole planet, it would be only 1,000th of an inch thick. Mars may still not be a great place to live, but there's a chance of life there." Photos to be taken by Mariner VI and Mariner VII spacecraft, Dr. Schorn said, would help solve question of whether enough water existed to sustain life on Mars. New spectra, superior to any previously available, were made possible by NASA-supported improvements in McDonald 82-in Struve reflecting telescope and its large spectrograph. Observations of Mars were beginning with more powerful, 107-in reflecting telescope at McDonald, constructed with funds from NASA, NSF, and Univ. of Texas. (NASA Release 69-48; AP, W Post, 3/25/69, A5)
Apollo 10 mission would be launched from ETR May 18 carrying Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (commander), John W. Young (CM pilot), and Eugene A. Cernan (LM pilot), on eight-day lunar orbital mission. Final decision to fly mission as previously planned followed review of technical and operational data from Apollo 9 (March 3-13). Mission would provide additional experience in combined system operation and, with exception of actual landing on lunar surface, was same as for lunar landing mission. While spacecraft circled moon at 69-mi (111.0-km) altitude, Stafford and Cernan would separate LM from , pilot LM twice to within 10 mi (16.1 km) of preselected landing site, and return to . Crew would then make landmark sightings, take photos, and transmit live TV views of moon, earth, and spacecraft interior before returning to earth. (NASA Release 69-46)
Gas from solar flare wiped out much of earth's outer radiation belt and caused auroral displays-normally seen only over subpolar regions-to move to lower latitudes. Residents of metropolitan New York area flooded weather bureau and newspapers with inquiries. Radiation belts' discoverer, Dr. James A. Van Allen, said display might have been caused by class 2-B flare on sun. ESSA's space disturbance warning center, Boulder, Colo., said several smaller flares had occurred March 21 and 22. Auroras were to be expected, Walter Sullivan said in New York Times, because sun was near maximum of its 11-yr cycle of sunspot and eruptive activity. (NYT, 3/25/69, 30)
MSFC contract awards: $1,521,500 supplemental agreement with IBM for design improvement of control signal processors for Apollo/Saturn V guidance instrument units; and $1,334,931 contract modification to McDonnell Douglas Corp. to develop, design, manufacture, and test restarting oxygen/hydrogen burner. (MSFC Releases 69-88, 69-89)
USN announced award of $28,161,681 modification to contract with LTV Aerospace Corp. for improvement changes on F-8B and F-8C aircraft, (DOD Release 212-69)
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