Jan 17 1967
From The Space Library
XB-70 No. 1 research aircraft was piloted by Col. Joseph Cotton (USAF) and NASA test pilot Fitzhugh Fulton to mach 2.54 and 60,200-ft altitude in flight at Edwards AFB for national sonic boom program. (NASA Proj Off)
Feasibility of using nuclear engines on USAF'S C-5A transport so it could stay aloft for several months was being studied by LeRC, Charles Harper, Director of Aeronautics Div., NASA OART, reported in Washington Post interview. NASA was concentrating on the hardware necessary to transfer nuclear reactor heat to the jet engines; if this problem could be solved, Harper said the next question would be "what good does it do the Air Force" to have engines of unlimited endurance. Plans specified that nuclear reactors operate only after takeoff to avoid danger of radiation on the ground. (Wilson, W Post, 1/18/67,1)
Explorer XXXII (Atmosphere Explorer B) aeronomy satellite, launched May 25, 1966, suffered complete depressurization, causing immediate and continuing degradation of unsealed batteries and satellite's demise. NASA surmised that internal pressure loss could have been caused by meteoroid impact or weld rupture of spacecraft shell. Satellite mission objectives had been achieved and the mission declared a success in December 1966. All instruments had been operational until time of depressurization with exception of two neutral particle mass spectrometers; they had provided quality data for the first 100 orbits. (NASA SP4007, 192; NASA Proj Off)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
