Dec 18 1963
From The Space Library
In press conference, President Johnson discussed preparation of FY 1965 budget : "I am working from a budget of $98.8 billion this year. It appears that we will expend about that amount, and maybe a little under or a little over, but substantially $99 billion will be the expenditures this year. That was the amount of Mr. Kennedy's budget. There are built-in increases of $1,790 million that are mandatory -military pay increase for 9 months, military retired pay, civilian pay, National Aeronautics and Space contracts, the Agency for International Development, Post Office rise, Federal Aviation Agency, urban renewal, and public assistance grants.. .. "In the Roosevelt war years we spent as high as 46 percent of our gross national product for administrative budgets. During the transition period under Mr. Truman we spent 29 percent. In 1954, under Mr. Eisenhower, we spent 18.6 percent. We are hoping that we can come under that figure in our budget next year-in other words, that our budget expenditure as a percentage of our gross national product will be less for the fiscal year 1965 than it has been for any of these periods I mentioned . . . ." To the question, "Mr. President, have you reached a hard decision on changing the space program, including eliminating the Rover project?" the President replied : "No." (Transcript, CR, 12/19/63, 24005-007 )
Flight of X-15, with Maj. Robert Rushworth (USAF) as pilot, canceled minutes before scheduled drop from mother ship because of mechanical troubles in the rocket aircraft. (UPI, Wash. Post, 12/19/63)
Editorializing about possible cuts in Rover project, New York Times said : ". . . The effort to build a nuclear-powered rocket for eventual manned exploration beyond the moon is a longer-term project [than Project Apollo], one which might eventually be accomplished by joint work of Soviet and American scientists, or perhaps even by a broader international team. Any proposal to kill this program in its entirety appears to us unsound; while to continue it at a substantially reduced rate would retain the gains of past research and continue slowly to increase our capabilities in this field. Such a course of action would mean minimum loss for the nation's near- and medium-term space goals, give us bargaining power in negotiations for a joint effort with the Soviet Union and still provide useful savings." (NYT, 12/18/63, 40)
USAF launched three Atlases from Vandenberg AFB : Atlas D fired down the Pacific Missile Range in Abres (advanced ballistic reentry system) test ; Atlas-Agena D booster rocket combination launched an unidentified satellite; and Atlas F fired down the PMR with mock nuclear warhead. (NYT, 12/19/63, 18)
NASA Administrator James E. Webb testified before Senate Select Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Retailing, Distribution, and Marketing Practices' hearings on the role of effects of technology on the nation's economy. Webb said that NASA's "pull on the nation's pool of scientific and technical manpower has been substantially less than many alarmists have stated." Reiterating that NASA is a "management agency," he pointed out that 93% of NASA's space research money goes to private industry, "thus encouraging the growth of research and development under private industry." (Space Bus. Daily, 12/19/63, 425)
NASA-Military Sea Transportation Service agreement signed for ocean transportation of Saturn V's three stages from California and Mississippi production and test sites to Florida launch site. Two ships of the LSD class, USNS Point Barrow and possibly the USNS Taurus, will be modified to carry S-IC stage and the smaller S-II and S-IVB stages. (NASA Release 63-278)
NASA grant of $493,150 to Dept. of Interior's Geological Survey for lunar mapping was reported. (Space Bus. Daily, 12/18/63, 420)
USAF's AFSC/SSD awarded $1,800,000 contract to Aerojet General Corp. for development and fabrication of Titan II propulsion system for Project Gemini. Award was made under existing cost-plusfixed-fee contract. (DOD Release 1581-63)
USAF launched Minuteman ICBM from Cape Kennedy in successful 5,000-mi. flight to target area near Ascension Island. (MAR,12/23/63, 10)
U.S.S.R. has issued new postage stamps showing routes of Soviet space flights, Radio Moscow reported. (UPI, Miami Herald, 12/18/63)
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