Feb 3 1967
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (2MB PDF)
Astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee had died of "asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation" but cause of Jan. 27 flash fire was still unknown, NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., reported in memorandum to NASA Administrator James E. Webb. Dr. Seamans had met Feb. 2 with Apollo 204 Review Board at KSC. ". . . clear identification of the source of ignition or of its possible source will depend upon detailed step-by-step examination of the entire spacecraft and its relative test support equipment. Dr. Seamans said duplicate Apollo spacecraft had been flown to KSC from North American Aviation, Inc.'s Downey, Calif., plant to permit a "parallel step by-step disassembly process. In addition, Board was "defining a series of investigative tasks . . . and assigning these to teams for execution. . . ." Report confirmed that spacecraft had been operating on external power when fire occurred, but there was no evidence "up to this time that the source of power whether simulated internal or external was related to the accident." Dr. Seamans emphasized that his statement was preliminary. NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight Dr. George E. Mueller announced that NASA would proceed with launching of three unmanned Apollo flights scheduled for 1967: AS-206, AS-501, and AS-502. Manned Apollo missions were postponed indefinitely pending the outcome of Apollo 204 Review Board's investigation. (NASA Releases 67-21,67-22)
MSFC awarded Boeing Co. a $120-million contract modification for five Saturn V 1st stages. Modification increased total contract value to $977 million for fabrication and assembly of 15 stages. (NASA Release 67-20)
MSC Apollo Program Manager Dr. Joseph F. Shea briefed major Apollo contractors and subcontractors at MSC about Jan. 27 flash fire, John Wilford reported in New York Times. MSC made no announcement of the meeting. (Wilford, NYT, 2/4/67, 15)
Two-to-six percent weight loss in astronauts returning from space flights might reflect natural readjustment of body water content, not simple dehydration, Paul Webb of Webb Associates reported in Science. He based his theory on similar losses which had occurred during experiments in simulated weightlessness; blood normally pooled in the extremities returned to circulation, increasing central blood volume and causing excretion of water not replaced during space flights. Webb said it was not yet clear whether reduced water content during weightlessness has harmful effects. (Webb, Science, 2/3/67,558-9)
NASA's decision to launch ATS I satellite Dec. 6, 1966, with one of its important experiments purposely rendered inoperative, was praised by G. W. Swenson, Jr., National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and R. N. Bracewell, Stanford Univ. Radio Astronomy Institute, in Science. "The NASA people made a courageous and farsighted decision . . . [when] they disconnected the beacon transmitter" in ATS I which would have operated on the same frequency band as many of the world's most important telescopes. (Science, 2/3/67,518-21)
Lunar Receiving Laboratory, under construction at MSC, would provide scientists with an unparalleled opportunity to examine extraterrestrial materials under controlled conditions, MSC staff members James C. McLane, Jr., Elbert A. King, Jr., Donald A. Flory, Keith A. Richardson, James P. Dawson, Walter W. Kemmerer, and Bennie C. Wooley declared in Science. The laboratory would have four major functions: "(i) distribution of lunar samples to the scientific community for detailed investigations after a period of biologic quarantine; (ii) performance of scientific investigations of samples that are time-critical and must be accomplished within the quarantine period; (iii) permanent storage under vacuum of a portion of each sample; and (iv) quarantining and testing of the lunar samples, spacecraft, and astronauts for unlikely, but potentially harmful, back-contamination (contamination of extraterrestrial origin) ." (Science, 2/3/67,525-9)
Lewis Research Center issued RFP's on system employing 2,000-to 6,000-lb comsats which could broadcast directly to home TV sets from 22,300-mi-altitude synchronous orbits. Successful proposal would receive study contract. (LeRC Release 67-6)
Sixty day Sealab III experiment would be conducted 430 ft below the Pacific off San Clemente Island in winter 1967 as part of USN's "Man-in-the-Sea" program. Underwater laboratory would be staffed by five eight-man diving teams rotating on 12-day shifts. Aquanauts would conduct experimental salvage techniques and oceanographic and marine biology research; and undergo series of physiological and human performance tests. Sealab III's long-range goal was to develop capability for rescue and salvage operations under ocean's surface and to determine how submerged continental shelf could be used militarily. In Sealab I experiment, conducted July 20-30, 1964, four divers were submerged 192 ft beneath the Atlantic; in Sealab II, Aug. 28-0ct. 10, 1965, three teams of 10 divers alternated in spending two-week periods 205 ft beneath the Pacific off La Jolla, Calif. (DOD Release 72-67)
February 34: Mars symposium sponsored by NASA Institute for Space Studies, Yeshiva Univ., and New York Univ. was held in New York. Discoveries reported at meeting were later summarized by Walter Sullivan in New York Times: (1) Martian surface, although free of water-carved valleys, is so heavily eroded that wind alone cannot account for it. It is possible that ground is soaked with liquid water even though air of Mars is too thin and dry to produce rain; (2) new observations seem to confirm that air of Mars contains methane or methane-based gases, presence of which is difficult to explain unless they are generated by living organisms; and (3) evidence that carbon dioxide is predominant component of Martian atmosphere implies that oxygen is being continuously injected into air. Most likely source of oxygen is plant life performing photosynthesis. Sullivan concluded: "Despite the perceptible swing of the pendulum toward the possibility of life on Mars, a wide disparity of views on the nature of the Martian environment was presented at the meeting. It was evident that the information is still insufficient to assess the likelihood of life on Mars or even to design experiments for landings there that would most effectively test for the existence of life. . . ." (Sullivan, NYT, 2/12/67, 12E)
“The Three Astronauts” article about the Apollo 1 fire in Life Magazine
“Astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee” article in Time Magazine
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