Aug 22 1965
From The Space Library
New York Times commented on the malfunction of the fuel cell in the GEMINI V spacecraft launched August 21: "Past manned space flights have gone so well in most respects that yesterday's tension-filled hours were a shock and a surprise. It has all seemed too easy to the millions of television viewers who have observed previous man-in-space experiments. It was natural to assume that once Gemini V was so successfully launched, all would once again go more or less as planned, But those intimately involved with these efforts have known all along of the numerous possibilities of trouble. They were not greatly surprised that one of those possibilities for major difficulty-in this case a malfunction of the fuel cell on Gemini V-turned into reality, "There will undoubtedly be future emergencies in space. Yesterday's events are a sobering reminder that the effort to reach the moon during this decade is straining the limits of available technology, and that serious risks are being taken. These hazards are also faced, of course, by the Soviet manned space program. The brave men both countries are sending into space would be the prime beneficiaries of full Soviet-American cooperation that would pool both countries' knowledge and experience to minimize the dangers inherent in these pioneering efforts.' (NYT, 8/22/65, 10E)
Officials at the Milwaukee Public Museum complained that sonic booms from Strategic Air Command supersonic jets had dismembered a 3,000yr.-old Egyptian mummy. (UPI, NYT, 8/22/65, 9)
Dispatch to Moscow from Tass' New York correspondent, Leonid Ponomarev: "The flight of the U.S. spaceship Gemini V proceeded normally for only two hours, although the flight program was calculated for eight days. "The main reason [was] that a new system for providing electric power... was being used in the Gemini V spacecraft for the first time. . . . "It is a noteworthy fact that the new system for providing electrical power has never once been tested in spaceflight conditions. From the test stands on earth, the installation was put directly into working conditions in space. "There are several reasons that explain this haste and a certain degree of risk. The program chiefs were given the task of 'catching up with the Soviet Union' at any price regarding the length of flight in space, However, the present power of U.S. rockets and the size of the astronauts' Capsule are utterly inadequate for lifting and storing reliably tested battery-powered electrical power installations, which would weigh more than the new system, U.S. scientists were compelled to rapidly create a system, new in principle, in order to provide power for the Gemini V spacecraft for eight days so that it could fulfill its tasks." (Tass, 8/22/65
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