Nov 1 1962
From The Space Library
U.S.S.R. announced it had launched MARS 1, a 1,970-lb. space probe on seven-month flight to Mars. Launched with an "improved booster" into parking orbit around the earth, MARS 1 was hurled into escape trajectory when vehicle engines re-ignited. Tass reported MARS 1 was flying as planned on its course toward Mars. "All systems are functioning normally and orders sent to the station [i.e., probe] are well received and obeyed." Main tasks of the probe were interplanetary exploration, establishment of interplanetary space radio communications, photographing the Martian surface and relaying the photographs back to earth by radio. "Telemetric, measuring, and scientific instrumentation will be automatically activated in conformity with the flight program by radio commands from the earth," Tass said.
 Mars 1 |
The flight had been preceded by an unsuccessful launch attempt the previous week, unidentified DOD sources said. (NASA Administrator James E. Webb stated in September that two Soviet attempts to launch Mars probes hbad failed in October 1960.)
NASA reported radiation satellite EXPLORER XV, launched Oct. 27, was spinning at rate of 73 rpm instead of desired 10 rpm because of failure of despin weights to deploy. Preliminary data indicated all experiments were functioning and that all received data were of good quality. Effect of high spin rate on experimental results was under analysis.
High-altitude nuclear test in U.S. Operation Dominic was made in Pacific test area, the sub-megaton device carried by Thor rocket to estimated altitude of 30 to 40 miles. AEC reported two Soviet nuclear explosions also occurred, one a high-altitude test over central Asia and the other an atmospheric test over Soviet Arctic.
Development of new type of laser by General Electric and International Business Machine researchers was reported in American Physical Society's Physical Review Letters and American Institute of Physics' Applied Physics Letters. Called "injection laser," new crystal laser was powered by electrical current; previous solid lasers used strong flash lamps as energy source. At least 10 times more efficient than existing lasers, injection laser was expected to enable engineers to broadcast audio messages on the beams of light and to modulate the brightness of the light according to voice, television, or other pattern. Researchers anticipated that single laser beam could transmit a million telephone messages or a thousand television channels.
Ten years ago the U.S. exploded a hydrogen device (fusion) at the Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific, the first full-scale thermonuclear explosion in history and the dawn of the so-called "H–bomb era." Dr. Lev Davidovich Landau, member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for having developed pioneering theories for liquid helium's fluidity at low temperatures.
November 1-3: First NASA-University Conference on the Science and Technology of Space Exploration held in Chicago, with 1,181 educators and scientists representing NASA Headquarters, NASA field installations, and other Government agencies, as well as more than 300 colleges and universities.
Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Administrator, speaking at NASA-University Conference in Chicago, said NASA needed help from universities in four main areas: space sciences, manned space flight, applications of earth satellites to communications and meteorology, and advanced research and technology. "Our educational institutions bear a major responsibility for the success of our national effort to explore space. Our universities and colleges are called upon to produce a body of scientists and engineers of unexcelled competence. Some of these graduates will enter governmental service with NASA and other agencies participating in the space program; some will join private research organizations and industrial corporations.
"But some must remain at the universities where they continue to advance knowledge and produce new talent. This last function should receive high priority. The government laboratory, industry, and research foundation all are users of creative and talented men without reproducing this vital national resource. The university alone is the producer of new engineers and scientists." Dr. Homer E. Newell, NASA Director of Space Sciences, addressed NASA-University Conference on the Science and Technology of Space Exploration, Chicago: "During the first four years of the existence of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 157 sounding rockets, 55 satellites, and 9 space probes have been launched and have yielded a tremendous amount of information in all of the areas of interest. Many hundreds of research papers have appeared in the open scientific literature and a considerable portion of the scientific community, both national and international, has become involved in the effort to make the most of the opportunities afforded by the space program for the conduct of important research. It is hoped that the university community will continue to find new and challenging opportunities and will continue to increase and strengthen its participation which has already become a major element in the success of the program so far." Dr. T. L. K. Smull, Director of NASA Grants and Research Contracts, addressed NASA-University Conference on policies and procedures of NASA-University grants and research contracts: "The basic principle of all NASA policy regarding its relationships with universities is that NASA wishes to work within the structure of the universities in a way that will strengthen the university and at the same time make it possible for NASA to accomplish its mission. . . . NASA hopes to conduct its joint activities in a manner that will preserve and strengthen the universities' educational role. This basic policy is interwoven in the policies and procedures of NASA support of research, facilities, and training.
". . . NASA support of activities in the universities has approximately doubled each year since NASA was organized. During Fiscal Year 1962 some $40 million were committed for these activities. Of this $40 million, $2 million was utilized to initiate the training grant program; $6½ million was used to initiate the facilities grant program; and some $3½ million was utilized for the special purpose research grants. The rest of the funds supported project type research. . .
"It is expected that the university involvement in NASA activities during the current fiscal year will be more than double that of FY 1962. . . ."
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