June 1964
From The Space Library
Detailed report on global satellite weather prediction system, "Swami" (Stanford Worldwide Acquisition of Meteorological Information), was completed by 31-man team of Stanford Univ. students. Three 1,200-mi. circular polar orbit satellites orbiting 120° apart would receive meteorological data from global network of weather balloons, transmit the stored information after each two-hour orbit to a single ground command station. (M&R, 6/22/64, 25)
NASA-DOD-AEC committee studying space power requirements of U.S. space program through 1975 presented its report to Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board (AACB). (M&R, 6/22/64)
NASA Reliability and Quality Assurance Office published "Quality Assurance Provisions for Government Agencies, June 1964 Edition" (NPC 200-1A), a complete revision, reflecting experience gained by NASA and DOD agencies at supplier operations on behalf of NASA. (NASA Release 64-154; NASA Announcement 64-129)
First of two main experiment units for Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) was delivered to NASA by Univ. of Wisconsin. Designed and built by Cook Electric Co. under contract to the university, the experiment consisted of clustered 16-in. nebular photometer telescope, four 8-in. stellar photometer telescopes, and two scanning spectrometers. (Av. Wk., 6/29/64, 55)
At Institute of Navigation meeting in New York, panel discussion on proposed civilian navigational satellite system reportedly indicated only mild interest by potential users of the system. Unnamed NASA. officials were said to be optimistic that NASA-FAA-Commerce-DOD-Interior representatives would agree "in the near future" on setting up an ad hoc committee to study the requirements of such a system. (M&R, 6/22/64, 17)
A 60-ft. pad was rapidly fabricated at Moffet Field, Calif., for full-scale evaluation using the Bell X-14 vertical take-off aircraft. In this test neither the. 1,500° F temperature nor the wheel-loading adversely affected the rapidly prepared pad, AFSC Research and Technology Div. reported. The instant-landing pad, a ground-hardener of polyester resin, was being developed by Air Force Aero Propulsion Laboratory for rapid preparation of landing sites for future jet vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Operational Vtol aircraft would drop or spray the semi-liquid preparation in forward combat areas, land on it 15 min. later. (AFSC RTD Biennial Rpt., 7/62-7/64, 23)
Douglas Missile & Space Systems Div. concluded in its manned Mars exploration study for NASA Marshall Flight Center that future interplanetary space travelers should be no taller than 5'7" and no heavier than 145 lbs. Six of these "20 percentile" men-smaller than approximately 80 per cent of American men-on a manned Mars flight would require 11/3 lbs. less food per day than larger men, thus saving nearly 500 lbs. of food-cargo weight on a one-year trip. Study said 70,000 lbs. could be saved in gross weight of Mars spacecraft if the six astronauts were 20 percentile men. (DM&SSD Apogee, 6/64)
Dr. George E. Mueller, NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, described in Astronautics & Aeronautics the future space capabilities being developed for the U.S. through Project Apollo. The Saturn IB, Saturn V, and Apollo manned spacecraft would provide capabilities including extended lunar explorations, orbiting laboratory research, manned escape missions, and long-duration operations-including satellite inspection and repair. (A&A, 6/64, 26-29)
Dr. Raymond L. Bisplinghoff, NASA Associate Administrator for Advanced Research and Technology, said in Scientific American article on the supersonic transport that NASA Langley Research Center and Ames Research Center had "devised several aerodynamic designs for what they call a SCAT, which is an acronym for "supersonic commercial air transport." Four of these designs, known as SCAT's 4, 15, 16, and 17, are the products of eight years of research. Each design has characteristics that make it somewhat different from the others.. . - . "NASA engineers conducted extensive wind-tunnel tests of the four SCAT models at the Langley and Ames centers to evaluate and compare their aerodynamic characteristics... It is evident that we must discover how to combine the supersonic L/D [lift-drag ratio] characteristics of SCAT 4 with the subsonic performance of SCAT 16. We are optimistic that this can be done.. . Discussing special structural problems of SST designs, Dr. Bisplinghoff said the metal fatigue would be accelerated under exposure to high temperatures of supersonic flight, but at the same time it was essential that the airframe provide safety and serviceability for more than 10 yrs. or 30,000-50,000 hrs. flying time. "Prolonged screening of materials by NASA's Langley and Lewis laboratories has identified a titanium alloy that appears to meet the unique and stringent requirements for strength, stiffness and high temperatures of an SST. The alloy contains 90 percent titanium, 8 percent aluminum, 1 percent molybdenum and 1 percent vanadium. . ." (Sci. Amer., 6/64)
Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center, was awarded an honorary degree by Iowa Wesleyan College. (Marshall Star, 6/17/64, 1)
Article written by Sen. Barry Goldwater, Republican nominee for President, in which he laid down his views on the form the U.S. space program should take, appeared in Science and Mechanics: "The concept that speeding men to the moon is the same as jockeying trotters over a muddy track must be abandoned, regardless of Kremlin propaganda. The idea that we can cooperate with the Russians to do the job quicker and cheaper is too ludicrous for comment- We are spending entirely too much money on the manned moon program, when a carefully plotted program using unmanned lunar landing equipment could steadily build up a solid body of scientific knowledge about the lunar environment that would increase the safety factor for astronauts much later. Automatic landing equipment could be designed at minimum cost. The program should expand in easy steps, each one leading to the next. The billions of dollars thus saved could be profitably invested in other aspects of space research." Speaking of the military role in space, he said: "All manned space research should be directed by the military, with national security and control of the access to space as primary goals. The threat from space now and in the foreseeable future is from spatial regions within a thousand miles of Earth and not from lunar distances. Routine daily surveillance of these regions must be established, and the additional capabilities of positive identification, interception, and destruction of hostile enemy space vehicles will be necessary. This would be the greatest deterrent to an enemy's military space aspirations. It would also give us the means of developing experienced space pilots, scientific and technological methods, and new scientific knowledge which could be used later in sending men to the moon and the planets. The hardware, on a routinely reliable basis, would be available off-the-shelf. "It might be added that almost every successful NASA launch to date, manned and unmanned, has been made with military support-with missile rocket-boosters, launch facilities, technical know-how, communications (including air transport of boosters) or safety procedures-or with all five. . . . "Finally, I believe that an immediate initial step of any effective military space program must be a manned station in near orbit about the Earth, with necessary support equipment. . . ." Senator Goldwater also stated that in his opinion there was the need for two crash programs in space research. The first would develop the Nike-Zeus antimissile missile, and the second would develop the potentiality of lasers for use as military weapons. (Science and Mechanics, 6/64; Wash. Post, 7/21/64)
France's Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aero-spatiales (ONERA) revealed it had successfully flight-tested hybrid rocket engine in a rocket launched April 25 from Ceres sounding rocket facility on the Ile du Levant in the Mediterranean Sea. Engine employed combination of liquid nitric acid oxidizer and unidentified solid fuel. (Av. Wk., 6/29/64, 24)
Trustees and President of Clark University announced Clark's proposed new library would be named the "Robert Hutchings Goddard Library" in honor of the distinguished rocket pioneer, who was an alumnus and professor of physics at Clark. (Clark Announcement)
Pan American Airways" Guided Missile Range Div. was awarded one-year, $112 million contract from USAF for continued operation of Air Force Eastern Test Range. (Av. Wk., 6/29/64, 25)
Project Taper (Turbulent Air Pilot Environment Research) was conducted by FAA and NASA to study turbulent air hazards for jet aircraft and ways for pilots to deal with them. Project involved flights into light-to-moderate turbulence at high altitudes by FAA Convair 880 flown by FAA and NASA. pilots. Data on motion effects experienced in the cockpit, gathered in the 800 flights, were used in NASA, laboratory tests on motion simulator. In second series of flight tests, using FAA Boeing 720 airliner, instruments recorded pilot control actions and aircraft response in turbulent air, also tested autopilot and yaw damper for their ability to maintain control. (Hudson, NYT, 5/1/64, 58)
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