Sep 5 1963
From The Space Library
NASA announced SYNCOM II communications satellite achieved perfection of orbit probably unparalleled by any other previous satellite. At more than 22,000-mi. altitude, orbit varies from absolute circle by no more than 4.5 mi. Orbital period-23 hrs., 55 min., 54 sec.-is only 10.09 sec. shorter than mean sidereal day. Virtually stationary over 55th meridian of west longitude, SYNCOM II is drifting. eastward so slowly that it would take nearly a month to move a single degree. Drifting will be corrected periodically, and the communications satellite can be expected to remain on station and operating for more than two years. (Wash. Eve. Star, 9/5/63)
At NASA Hq., D. Brainerd Holmes, former Director of NASA Manned Space Flight, was presented NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership by NASA Administrator James E. Webb. (NASA Release 63-199)
Dr. Edward Teller, Univ. of Calif. physicist, declared at symposium on "open space and peace" held at Stanford Univ. that surveillance from space of every part of the world should be made legal. Noting that "open skies" policy was first proposed in 1955, he stressed that today the security of U.S. and Free World depend in "a most vital fashion on information obtained from Russia." Surveillance from space should be conducted "publicly, freely and in the interest of the peace of our nation." (Davies, NYT, 9/6/63, 10)
Boeing Co. announced rendezvous and docking in space can be achieved by pilot with little, if any, assistance from instruments. Findings were based on three months of experiments with rendezvous-docking simulator in preparation for Project Gemini. (Macomber, San Diego Union, 9/5/63)
During this week Hermann Koelle, head of MSFC Advanced Projects office had meetings with the Propulsion and Vehicle Engineering (P&VE) department to discuss space station strategy. In a three hour meeting Koelle reported, "...that a spinning space station (3 man, 4-month) is marginal even if 2 Saturn IB's are used. There is a preference for a space station transported by a Saturn V into orbit, which can house 6 people, has a growth to 12, can spin and despin and is supplied by a six-man Apollo spacecraft. This solution is non-marginal, as far as weight is concerned, and permits quite some leeway in solving development problems by adding weight." P&VE team was headed by Mr Cash, and MSFC project engineers were Jim Carter and Lou Ball.
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