May 8 1967
From The Space Library
Maj. William J. Knight (USAF) flew X-15 No. 2 to 96,000-ft altitude and 3,239 mph (mach 4.8) in flight at Edwards AFB to check stabilization and control with dummy ramjet and check out thermal-couple system. Flight was successful except for break of dummy ramjet chute cable during landing sequence. (X-15 Proj. Off)
NASA turned over ESSA V meteorological satellite to ESSA for operation in accordance with NASA-Dept. of Commerce agreement. ESSA V was launched from WTR by NASA April 20. (NASA Release 67-114)
ARC-sponsored study of Direct Lift Control (DLC) -system to help reduce aircraft noise and improve handling-began at Oakland International Airport with specially-equipped Boeing 707 aircraft. System consisted of applying various methods, such as retracting spoilers, modifying main flaps, and controlling boundary layer, to increase aircraft's lift directly. Tests would continue through July 1. (ARC Release 67-9)
Newsweek reported that Soviet diplomats in Washington, D.C., admitted to East European colleagues that Soyuz I mission had been launched one week early in an attempt to offset the impact of Svetlana Alliluyeva's press conference. Mrs. Alliluyeva, daughter of the late Joseph Stalin, defected to the U.S: in April. U.S.S.R. reportedly denied, however, that rescheduling had any effect on the April 24 crash-landing which resulted in Cosmonaut Komarov's death. (Newsweek, 5/8/67)
U.S.S.R. was completing construction of several ground stations for use with second-generation Molniya comsats, Aviation Week reported. First Molniya II, expected to be launched in late 1967, would be capable of transmitting to several stations simultaneously; Molniya I's could reach only one at a time. (Av Wk, 5/8/67,13)
"Despite the high cost and dangers in exploring space, tragically dramatized by the deaths of three US. astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut in recent months, Americans overwhelmingly approve of the U.S. effort to land men on the moon," the National Observer reported. Survey in 12 metropolitan areas showed that 77% of people questioned supported the lunar landing program; 17% opposed it; and 6% were undecided. There was less enthusiasm, however, for manned planetary exploration programs: 57% favored manned planetary expeditions; 31% opposed them; and 12% were undecided. (Natl Obs, 5/8/67)
Earth had been cooling off rapidly since 1950 because of accumulation of atmospheric dust, Univ. of Wisconsin meteorologist Reid A. Bryson told UPI. Solid particles clogging paths of sun's warming rays had caused earth to experience an average loss in temperature from 2/3° to 1/2°, he said. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/9/67)
May 8-June 1: NASA's Lunar Orbiter IV became fourth U.S. spacecraft to circle moon when it entered lunar orbit following successful deboost maneuver which reduced its speed by 1,475 mph, permitting lunar capture. Orbital parameters: apolune, 3,797 mi (6,111 km); perilune, 1,681 mi (2,706 km); period, 72 hr 1 min; and inclination, 85.5°. Launched from ETR May 4, spacecraft performed 670 attitude changes, responded to 7,067 commands, and recorded two micrometeoroid hits. Spacecraft performed normally except for five-day period when camera thermal door operated improperly, causing overexposure and fogging. Problem was solved, however, and 193 medium-and high-resolution photos-including coverage of 99% of moon's front face-were taken with almost a hundredfold increase in discernible detail for most of the area covered. Final readout, underway since mission's photo-acquisition phase was terminated May 26 because of an encoder failure, was completed June 1. By its telephoto coverage of eastern limb areas, Lunar Orbiter IV provided the basis for extending the cartographic grid system established for front-face mapping around to the hidden side, so that features there could be precisely located for future mission planning and operations. Initial photos, taken at 2,176-mi altitude, showed broad panorama of moon's South Pole region-which had never before been photographed-with typical rugged terrain of craters and ridges. Closer, wide-angle pictures of this area revealed a 200-by 10-mi crevice which scientists speculated had been formed by volcanic action. Other photos transmitted included excellent pictures of the Alpine Valley and Mare Orientale, a large and relatively young impact crater whose center lay beyond the western rim of the visible face of the moon. (NASA Proj Off; NASA Releases 67-127, 67-143; w Post, 5/12/67, A10; 5/13/67; AP, NYT, 5/28/67,50)
During week of May 8: A sandbox full of hundreds of thousands of bullet holes accurately simulates the crater-pocked lunar surface, US. Geological Survey reported. Dr. Henry J. Moore, one of Survey's astrogeologists who fired projectiles of differing calibers into a sand table at ARC, told UPI that results of experiment supported theory that moon's craters were, for the most part, created by the impact of meteorites. (UPI, NYT, 5/14/67,29)
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