Jun 15 1965
From The Space Library
U.S.S.R. launched COSMOS LXVIII containing scientific equipment for the investigation of outer space. Orbital parameters: apogee, 334 km. (207 mi.) ; perigee, 205 km. (127 mi.) ; inclination to earth, 65°, On board equipment was said to be functioning normally. (Pravda, 6/16/65, 1; Izvestia, 6/17/65, 4, ATSS-T Trans,)
High-speed transmission of weather data between the U.S. and France was provided by EARLY BIRD I communications satellite, Information gathered by TIROS IX weather satellite during a 24-hr. period and assembled on a chart at the World Weather Center in Maryland, was relayed to the Andover, Me., ground station; then, via EARLY BIRD I, it was transmitted to the French ground station at Pleumeur-Bodou and on to the French National Weather Center in Paris, Conducted jointly by the Weather Bureau and ComSatCorp, in conjunction with Press Wireless, Inc., and Alden Electronics Corp., the demonstration illustrated a new and advanced forecast method which would include transmissions of facsimile charts and data at eight times the speed of present networks. (ComSatCorp Release; AP, Balt, Sun, 6/16/65)
CBS became the first U.S. network to issue a formal statement about commercial rates proposed May 28, 1965, by ComSatCorp for EARLY BIRD I transmission: "We shall have to make future determinations as to the use of Early Bird on a case by case basis, depending on the importance or urgency of the news to be transmitted. Certainly, the cost structure proposed for the use of Early Bird militates against its use on a routine basis, Unless urgency requires transmission by Early Bird, we shall have to continue to rely upon air shipments of film and taped coverage of European news." (CBS News Div.; Adams, NYT, 6/16/65, 87)
NASA announced completed negotiations with Aerojet-General Corp. for two-phase $11,163,051 contract to design, develop, and deliver three exhaust nozzles for use in testing the 5,000-mw Phoebus nuclear rocket reactor. Phase I would be a $1,837,971 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract and would include four-month preliminary design study of the nozzle, and evaluation of fabrication and testing methods as well as a joint design effort involving Aerojet, LASL and American Car and Foundry, Inc. Phase II would be a $9,325,080 incentive contract and, relying on the results of Phase I, Aerojet would be required to design, develop, test and deliver three nozzles to the Nuclear Rocket Development Stand, Jackass Flats, Nev., by the end of 1967. The contract would be under management of the joint AEC-NASA Space Nuclear Propulsion Office. (NASA Release 65-196)
Dr. George E. Mueller, NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, said at the National Space Club in Washington, D.C., that it would take "a great deal of effort over a number of years" for the United States to achieve first place in space and warned it would be "a mistake to believe" that the successful GEMINI IV spaceflight had "overcome a lead of several years" held by the Soviet Union, He said "the most important result" of the GEMINI IV flight might be the condition of the astronauts upon their return, based on the preliminary medical examinations of Astronauts McDivitt and White. The final medical report on the flight and their postflight condition would take about two months. (Text; Clark, NYT, 6/16/65, 13)
Defense Communications Agency had awarded contracts to six firms to conduct parallel systems design studies for the Advanced Defense Communications Satellite Project: ComSatCorp, General Electric Co., Hughes Aircraft Co., Philco Corp., RCA, Defense Electronic Products, and Space Technology Lab. The fixed price contracts ranged from $135,000 to $196,000. The studies, to be completed in three or four months, would be used as a basis for design of any advanced operational satellite communications system. (DOD Release 402-65)
Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Administrator, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Princeton Univ. (Off. of Deputy Administrator)
Honorary Doctor of Astronautical Science degrees were conferred on Astronauts James A. McDivitt (Maj., USAF) and Edward H. White II (Maj. USAF) by their alma mater, the Univ. of Michigan where Maj. White received his BS degree in 1959 and Maj. McDivitt, his MS degree in 1959. The astronauts then attended a ceremony dedicating the University's new $17 million space research building and rode in a motorcade through downtown Ann Arbor. NASA's official representative at the festivities was Dr. Floyd L. Thompson, Director of the NASA Langley Research Center, also a Michigan alumnus. (LaRC Release; AP, Balt, Sun, 6/16/65)
G, Mervin Ault, Associate Chief of Material and Structures Div, NASA Lewis Research Center, discussed refractory metals in an honors lecture before American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) meeting at Purdue Univ. Refractory metals-such as tungsten, tantalum, molybdenum, columbium-have strength at high temperatures and corrosion resistance to alkali metals. "The past decade has resulted in greater progress in refractory metals than ever before achieved for any one class of structural materials," Ault said. The lecture commemorated metallurgist Horace W. Gillett and was sponsored jointly by ASTM and Battelle Memorial Institute. (LRC Release 65-44)
In surprise move, U.S.S.R. landed the world's largest plane at the International Air Show, Le Bourget, France. Designated An-22, the aircraft could carry 720 passengers or 80 tons of cargo and would weight 250 tons with maximum cargo, Powered by four turboprop engines, each with twin propellers rotating in opposite directions, the aircraft, with maximum load, would have a range of 3,100 mi, at cruising speed of 420 mph. Maximum speed would be 460 mph; maximum altitude 36,000 ft. An-22 would require 4,300 ft. for takeoff but only 2,600 ft. for landing. It was designed by Oleg Antonov and was called "Antaeus" for the mythical Libryan giant wrestler who drew new strength every time he touched the ground. USAF supersonic B-58 Hustler jet bomber crashed on landing at Le Bourget, killing the pilot, Lt. Col. Charles Q. Hubbs (USAF) , and injuring the two crew members. The aircraft was arriving from Torrejon Air Base, Spain, to take part in the air show. A U.S. B-58 had crashed at the International Air Show in 1961. (AP, Wash, Post, 6/16/65, A3; Kamm, NYT, 6/16/65, 1, 9; WSJ, 6/16/65, 1; Av. Wk., 6/21/65, 24)
Referring to the "real success of Luna 6," an article in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin said: "This is not the first Russian failure in space, But it is the first open admission of failure. Americans, who have had their own failures, can't help but warm up a little in the glow of such non-Marxist honesty." (Phil, Eve. Bull., 6/15/65)
Carl L. Norden, inventor of the famous bombsight, died. Mr. Norden's device developed for USN was used by AAF B-17's and other bombers during World War (AP, NYT, 6/16/65, 43)
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