Sep 28 1962
From The Space Library
Canadian satellite ALOUETTE was placed in polar orbit by Thor-Agena B vehicle launched by NASA from Vandenberg AFB. Initial orbital data: apogee, 619.2 mi.; perigee, 597 mi.; inclination, 80.84° to the equator; period, 105.4 min. Named for Canadian high-flying songbird, ALOUETTE was first satellite both designed and built by a nation other than U.S. or U.S.S.R. Launching was NASA’s first into polar orbit, first from PMR, and first use of Thor-Agena B combination. To sustain its experiments in study of the ionosphere, the 320-lb. ALOUETTE had two crossed antennae, one 150 ft. long and_ the other 75 ft. long.
X-15 No. 2 was flown by NASA pilot John B. McKay in longest engine run to date (127 sec.), the craft reaching 67,000-ft. altitude and 2,693-mph speed (mach 4,08) in successful 9-min. flight near Edwards AFB, Calif. Flight tested heat transfer rates over X-15's skin, craft's stability without its ventral fin, and newly designed windshield's resistance to heat.
Astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Jr., made 6½-hr. simulated flight in Sigma 7 spacecraft for Project Mercury flight MA-8. Worldwide tracking network of 21 ground stations and ships also participated in exercise, in which Cdr. Schirra and the tracking stations practiced solving emergency situations that could arise in actual orbital flight.
First successful firing of a Centaur flight stage at full thrust of 30,000 lbs. for ten seconds was achieved by General Dynamics/ Astronautics at Sycamore Canyon, Calif.
NASA announced plans to launch two Project Echo balloons during October. To be filled with helium while on the ground near White Sands Missile Range, N.M., one balloon would be Echo I -type measuring 100 ft. in diameter and the other would be Advanced Echo type measuring 135-ft. in diameter. They would reach respective altitudes of approximately 128,000 ft. and 115,000 ft. in short flights over the range. Purpose of launches was to determine skin smoothness for the Advanced Echo balloon satellite, to be orbited in 1963.
USAF Minuteman ICBM fired in combat-ready test from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., range safety officer destroying missile shortly after launch.
Spokesman for American Telephone and Telegraph Co. (AT&T) said TELSTAR communications satellite was still operating despite almost three months of intense radiation exposure.
Cdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (USN), the first U.S. astronaut, and Lt. Col. R. G. Robinson (USMC) were awarded the FAI DeLaVaulx Medal—Shepard for achieving 615,300-ft. altitude in his suborbital Mercury flight (MR-3) and Robinson for setting closed-course speed mark of 1,606.5 mph in McDonnell F4C aircraft.
Congressman George P. Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, summarized the year's activities of the committee in speech on House floor: "It has been another busy year for the committee, highlighted by action on the fourth annual budget of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, now rapidly approaching the 54 billion mark. In addition to the intensive study the space budget underwent, the committee also conducted 26 investigations, issued 16 reports, held 124 days of hearings, and heard 236 witnesses.
"Indicative of the committee's activity is the more than 2,175,000 words of testimony taken this year incorporated into approximately 3,560 pages of printed hearings. . . ."
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