Jul 25 1967
From The Space Library
USAF launched unidentified satellite from WTR using Thor-Agena D booster. (Pres Rep 1967)
First color photos of the full earth (full disc) had been taken by DOD satellite Dodge, launched July 1 and designed to use 10 extendable booms for stabilizing satellite by earth's gravitational force. The Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Laboratory, under contract to Navy's Air System Command, used a gravity gradient stabilization method and near-synchronous orbit to point Dodge always in right direction and to keep it within line of sight of northeastern US. 5 days out of every 12. Slow-scan TV systems aboard Dodge obtained TV images which were transmitted to earth station; color images were obtained by successive exposure of vidicon tube through blue, green, and red filters. The two TV cameras also observed fluctuations of satellite from vertical and studied solar pressure effect on satellite's booms. (DOD Fact Sheet)
NASA personnel changes: (1) Dr. Joseph F. Shea, Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, resigned effective Aug. 1 to become a vice president of Polaroid Corp.; (2) B/G Carroll H. Bolender (USAF) , OMSF, was named manager for the Lunar Module (LM) at MSC's Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, replacing Dr. William A. Lee, who resigned for personal reasons. Bolender would be responsible for management of the LM program including design, development, and fabrication of the vehicle by Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., LM prime contractor; (3) Col. Maynard E. White (USAF, Ret.), former Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, USAF Hq. in Europe, became Director of Program Control, OMSF, replacing William E. Lilly, who was appointed Assistant Administrator for Administration March 8. White would be responsible for the total financial, administrative, and business management support services for OMSF and the administration and direction of approved facility projects in support of the manned flight program. (NASA Releases 67-196, 67-198; O'Toole, W Post, 7/26/67, A10; AP, W Star, 7/26/67)
U.K., France, and West Germany would develop a short-to-medium-distance aircraft designed to reduce cost of air travel by the early 1970s, John Stonehouse of the British Ministry of Technology told a London news conference. Known as the European Airbus Project, plan called for a 300-passenger twin-engine aircraft with a 1,931-km (1,200-mi) to 2,253-km (1400-mi) range to begin commercial service by 1973. Expected to cost $532 million, Airbus would be designed jointly by Sud-Aviation of France, Hawker Siddeley of U.K., and Arbeitsgemeinschaft Airbus of West Germany. (NYT, 7/26/67,61M)
France and U.K. did not believe Concorde supersonic aircraft, scheduled to enter commercial service in 1971, would be forced out of the world market by US. SST in 1974, Sir George Edwards, chairman of an Anglo-French management organization for the Concorde, told the Washington, D.C., Aero Club. One distinct selling advantage for the Concorde was its price-about $16,000,000, compared to an estimated $40,00,00 for SST. He predicted 150 Concordes would be sold by 1975 and about 4.0-50 per year after that date. (Sehlstadt, B Sun, 7/26/67)
AFSC announced it would purchase eight production models of Titan III-C Standard Space Launch Vehicle. New boosters, along with four of the 17 original R&D vehicles which had not yet been flown, were expected to "support mission requirements through the 1969-1971 period." (AFSC Release 126.67)
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