Nov 26 1962
From The Space Library
NASA Flight Research Center announced investigation of X-15 No. 2 accident on Nov. 9 had revealed probable cause was succession of equipment failures coupled with landing gear collapse. Inability of rocket engine to attain full power was attributed to faulty governor actuator which prevented engine's receiving sufficient amount of propellant. Failure in engine's receiving mechanism did Dot allow landing flaps to come down and resulted in high load on aircraft's landing gear. Unusually high landing-load caused collapse of main lauding gear soon after the X-15 touched down at Mud Lake, Nev. Pilot John McKay sustained severe bruises, a back injury, and shock; but he had keen released from hospital and had returned to work at NASA Flight Research Center. Accident was under continuing investigation by NASA and USAF engineers, with plans calling for mechanical improvement in flap-lowering mechanism before another X-15 flight.
Dr. Harold Urey, Nobel prize-winning chemist, predicted U.S. would land a man on the moon in 1969.
Bell Telephone Laboratories reported TELSTAR communications satellite's refusal to respond to transmitter cut-off commands had been followed by the satellite's turning off its command receiver. Bell scientists expected to correct TELSTAR communications system by remote control.
Closed-door sessions of the 13 directors of Communications Satellite Corp. were reported in Drew Pearson's column, discussions on the revolution in communications made by satellites and the international complications involved.
J. G. Morse of Martin-Marietta Corp. told Atomic Industrial Forum in Washington that the Government should begin immediately to develop nuclear power systems for communications satellites. Morse suggested that only nuclear power in form of radioactive chemical or isotopic generators could satisfy communications satellite needs—systems in power range of 60 to 300 watts, with operational lifetimes of more than 10 years.
Soviet scientist Nikolai Semyonov, writing in Pravda, noted that many U.S. corporations had applied-science laboratories and U.S. universities had laboratories devoted to pure science. ". . . This is profitable for them inasmuch as it is university science which gives them, in the main, those fundamental scientific results which supply the laboratories of corporations, and through them, production." Mr. Semyonov's article was in support of Premier Khrushchev's order that Soviet research institutions be developed on an industry basis.
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