Sep 19 1962
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (2MB PDF)
President Kennedy announced labor agreements had been reached with two aerospace industry companies, North American Aviation and General Dynamics/Convair, ending threat of strike. Agreement was based on recommendations of the President's Aerospace Board.
Mercury capsule for orbital space flight MA-8 was named "Sigma 7" by Astronaut Walter M. Schirra. Sigma, the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet and an engineering symbol for "many," symbolized the teamwork involved in the manned space flight; "7" referred to the seven-man Project Mercury astronaut team.
Third Saturn launch vehicle (SA-3) arrived at Cape Canaveral after 10-day trip by barge from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Flight test was scheduled for November.
Leonard Jaffe, NASA Director of Communications Systems, told House subcommittee of Committee on Science and Astronautics that NASA was "endeavoring to assist in determining as rapidly as possible which of the various system designs . . . should be used in the establishment of operational communications satellite systems." He described various "orbital configurations proposed for communications satellites" and reviewed passive satellites (Echo) and active-repeater satellites (Telstar, Relay, Syncom). "From these experiments and others winch will follow, we will obtain engineering data upon which to base operational system designs. . . .
"Satellites of the near future must be designed to exhibit reliability and dependability, unattended in the space environment for many years, if we are to have economically viable communications systems." Senate began consideration of conference report of H.R. 12711, FY 1963 Independent Offices Appropriations bill. NASA appropriations items were not in dispute.
Reported in New York Times that U.S. had notified the U.S.S.R. of its willingness to sign an agreement to cooperate in the peaceful exploration and utilization of space. Within the past 3 weeks, U.S. State Department had sent note to Moscow calling for formal signature of a bilateral agreement on joint weather and communications satellites and study of the earth's magnetic fields.
USAF Atlas missile was successfully flown 5,000 mi. downrange from Cape Canaveral. As the Atlas rose, two cameras attached to provide pictures of blast-off were ejected and landed on the Cape. Two additional camera capsules were ejected and recovered near Grand Turk Island. This was the 100th Atlas missile launching at Cape Canaveral.
USAF Minuteman ICBM successfully fired from silo at Cape Canaveral, the second such firing in as many days.
Air Force Association (AFA) convention in Las Vegas unanimously adopted resolution calling for immediate clarification of U.S. policy on the military uses of space. AFA policy statement said: "Soviet space achievements, with their military implications, make it clear that we cannot satisfy the national security requirement in space with by-products from our civilian space program. . . . Space must be used to press our deterrent capability, to protect the future against the agonies and miseries of war, and thus to provide the climate required for the growth of freedom." USAF named six men selected to pilot X-20 (Dyna-Soar) orbital spacecraft. The pilots, all from Edwards AFB, included five Air Force officers and one NASA civilian: Capt. Albert H. Crews, Jr.; Maj. Russell L. Rogers; Maj. James W. Wood; Maj. Henry C. Gordon; Capt. William J. Knight; and Milton O. Thompson (NASA). USAF also displayed full-scale mock-up of X-20 at Air Force Association convention, first public showing of the space glider.
14,000 International Association of Machinists (IAM) workers at Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. plants threatened walkout effective September 24.
Announced that the opening ceremony of the Roman Catholic Church ecumenical council on October 11 would be televised in the Vatican and relayed to the U.S. via TELSTAR satellite.
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