Mar 11 1965
From The Space Library
NASA announced that MARINER IV, scheduled to reach the vicinity of Mars July 14, had traveled over 168 million mi.-more than half way. ( NASA Release 65-80)
USAF launched Thor-Able-Star]] booster from Western Test Range, placing in orbit an unidentified satellite and U.S. Army's SECOR H geodetic satellite. SECOR II "failed to deploy properly from its piggyback container." (U.S. Aeron. & Space Act., 1965, 136; M&R, 4/5/65, 12)
Dr. C. O. Bostrom and Dr. D. J. Williams of the Space Research Div. of Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory said danger of radiation damage to satellites from the artificial radiation belt created in July 1962, following the nuclear detonation over Johnston Island, was "now significantly less severe." Results of measurements by instruments aboard Navy research satellite 1963 38C showed that the number of high-energy electrons in the artificial radiation belt decreased by 50% in from three months to one year in different parts of the belt. The decrease in intensity as time passed would continue until natural levels of intensity were reached. Dr. Bostrom said, ". . . the observed time decay does show that the satellite radiation damage problems have been reduced by a factor of ten from what they were two years ago." (Balt. Sun, 3/11/65)
Despite U.S. Federal Court's issuance of two temporary restraining orders, building trade employees halted construction on Saturn IB Launch Complex 34 at Cape Kennedy, for second straight day. Dispute involved general contractor's use of non-union subcontractor. NASA claimed work on Launch Complex 34 was "critical" to the nation's space effort. (Cocoa Tribune, 3/11/65)
NASA Kennedy Space Center had extended for the second year two of the major contracts under which the NASA Merritt Island Launch Area was being operated. Extensions were negotiated with Trans-World Airlines, for base support services, and Ling-Temco-Vought, information services. (KSC Release 58-65)
Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Administrator, speaking in Minneapolis, Minn., before the Twin Cities Section of AIAA, said: "We believe that activities in the exploration of space, a modern social need recognizable from the passage of the National Aeronautics and Space Act and the appropriation of large sums of money by the Congress, provide the essential environment to accelerate greatly the growth of theoretical and experimental science in many areas. It is true that this accelerated growth in science and technology is essential to the on-going development of space capability, but of deeper significance is the complex dynamic interaction between science, technology, and space exploration, which is essential to the growth of science, technology, and space exploration. In this case, as in the cases previously cited, to use an analogy from bacteriology, there has to be a nutrient solution (money and employment opportunities) to feed the scientific and technological effort, and as soon as this environment is provided, many latent efforts in science and technology begin to assert themselves and move forward. "I believe that this interpretation of certain aspects of the space program is more significant and meaningful than the current concepts of technology utilization and technological spinoff as incidental or serendipitous benefits of space exploration." (Text)
Gerald L. Smith, NASA Ames Research Center, had been awarded $1,000 special service award for his computer analysis which resulted in decision to give ground-based navigation a primary role during Apollo lunar missions, Smith explained that, although radar tracking from earth and visual tracking onboard spacecraft were almost equally reliable, earth-based system could be maintained more easily and was not restricted by weight and size considerations. ( ARC Release 65-8)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded its Rumford Prize to Dr. William D. McElroy for his analysis and isolation of chemicals that cause bioluminescence in the firefly and other organisms. He identified luciferin, luciferase, and adenosine-5-triphosphate (ATP). From his research he concluded that bioluminescence had evolved "as an accidental consequence of chemical reactions" in the organisms as they adapted to changing conditions in the environment. Dr. McElroy was head of the McCollum-Pratt Institute of Johns Hopkins Univ. and a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee. (SR, 4/3/65, 45-47)
Victor D. Lebedev, U.S.S.R. Council of the National Economy, announced plan to convert 119 major industrial plants to electronic computer system of production management within two years. Aimed at ensuring fast access to detailed operating information, the systems would be introduced in heavy industry and consumer-goods production. For the future: computers serving individual plants or groups of plants would process detailed data and transmit generalized information to central agencies to aid in planning economy. (Shabad, NYT, 3/12/65, 8)
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