Feb 28 1965
From The Space Library
The first industry-produced Saturn I first stage (S-I-8) arrived at Cape Kennedy aboard the NASA barge Promise after a six-day trip from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The stage, which was 80 ft. long and 21.5 ft. in diameter, had been built by the Chrysler Corp. (MSFC Release 65-46; AP, NYT, 3/1/65, 12)
Louis Walter, GSFC geochemist, told AP reporter his research with tektites indicated lunar surface may be sand-like. The key to this conclusion lay in Walter's discovery of the presence of coesite in tektites, believed to be particles of the moon sent into space when meteorites impact the lunar surface. Coesite, also found around the world at known meteorite craters and sites believed to have sustained meteoritic impacts, is a form of silicon dioxide-a major constituent of sand-produced under high pressure. "If we accept the lunar origin of tektites, this would prove or indicate that the parent material on the moon is something like the welded tuft that we find in Yellowstone Park, Iceland, New Zealand, and elsewhere," according to Walter. Welded tuft was said to have some of the qualities of beach sand. (AP, Chic. Trib., 3/1/65)
Three Univ. of California (Berkeley) scientists concluded on the basis of their laboratory studies that Dr. William M. Sinton's spectroscopic evidence of organic matter on Mars was not valid. Dr. Sinton of Lowell Observatory had made spectroscopic studies of Mars in 1959 that suggested infrared radiation from dark portions of Mars was comparable to that produced by some terrestrial plant life. The California chemists-James S. Shirk, William A. Haseltine, and George C. Pimentel-concluded Dr. Sinton had detected vaporized "deuterated water" (H2O plus heavy hydrogen-deuterium) rather than plant-produced molecules. (UPI, S.F. Chron., 2/28/65)
NATO officials were examining preliminary bids for a $310 million NATO Air Defense Ground Environment (Nadge) system that would be used to protect continental Europe from enemy aircraft. Nadge was expected to be an improved version of the Sage system that had been used to defend the United States. At last December's NATO ministerial meeting, it was agreed that each country be guaranteed Nadge subcontracts equal to the amount the country was contributing to the program. The cost sharing formula for Nadge was based on the contributive capacity of the member countries; the advantage accruing to the user country: and the economic benefit to the countries in which the installations would be placed. Under this formula the U.S. was expected to contribute 30.85% of the cost of the program. (Smith, NYT, 2/28/65, 12F)
Prospecting for high-grade silver could be done, according to Thor H. Kiilsgaard, Chief of the Resources Research Branch of the U.S. Geological Survey, by using an infrared system mounted on aircraft. He explained that deposits of silver in the earth were associated with hot water and that areas of heat flow could be detected by the infrared devices. If the heat zones conformed with mineral zones or faults, silver might be present. (Sci. Serv., NYT, 2/28/65, 64)
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