Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 - NASA's History Office

March 29 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1967
and relayed to Mojave Desert antenna, reached Kennedy International
Airport by telephone to fix aircraft’s exact position. Experiment was
part of a series using satellites to develop more reliable long-range communications
and tracking contact with commercial aircraft on transoceanic
flights. It was first test of aircraft antenna designed specially for
transmitting satellite messages. Pan American officials predicted datalink
svstem could be fullv operational bv late 1969 and could lead to
instah automatic and cdntiAuous plotti& of flights across vast ocean
areas. (Wilford, NYT, 3/30/67,53)
report expressing confidence in NASA’s management of the Apollo pro-
gram was released by House Committee on Science and Astronautics’
Subcommittee on NASA Oversight. Report was prepared before Jan. 27
Apollo fire, but Sdbcommittee Chairman Rep. Olin E. Teague (D-Tex.)
said the findings of the study were “essentially unchanged. . . . The
public may look with confidence to the management, engineers, scien-
tists and technicians of NASA and industry as the Apollo program
progresses.” Report praised the ability of the NASA-industry team to
identify and solve the administrative, technical, and engineering prob-
lems “inherent in performing a program contributing major technologi-
cal progress. . . .” It identified the major Apollo pacing items as the
Saturn V 2nd stage, the Lunar Module (LM) for the Saturn I and V,
and the Command and Service Module (CSM) for the Saturn I and V.
“Any significant delays in attainment of flight capability of these items
could affect both program shcedule and cost adversely.” Report said
that an additional $300 million in NASA’s FY 1967 budget would have
provided: “( 1) increased confidence in meeting unforeseen development
problems when encountered; (2) Broader latitude in providing system
alternatives when engineering difficulties are identified; and (3) an
increased assurance of meeting the national goal of a lunar landing in
this deoade.” (Text: Sehlstedt, B Sun. 3/20/67)
0 JPL had selected’Avco-Space Systems Div. for negotiations on a six-month,
$240,000 contract to study feasibility of launching a flyby spacecraft
and atmospheric entry capsule to Venus in 1972. NASA had approved
selection of the firm, which would head a team effort with Northrop
Systems Laboratories. Study, expected to begin in May, would investigate
all aspects of launching by an Atlas-Centaur booster a Mariner-clas
spacecraft weighing about 1,200 lbs. Near Venus, 100-lb capsule system
would separate from flyby portion of spacecraft and enter Venusian
atmosphere to take direct measurements during descent to surface.
Capsule would not be designed to survive impact on Venus. (NASA Release
67-72)
0 United Air Lines 720 jet aircraft dropped 8,000 ft in clear air turbulence
near Cheyenne, Wyo., before pilot could bring aircraft under control for
an unscheduled landing. One passenger was killed when he released his
seat belt and reached for his month-old grandson; other passengers were
slightly injured but no one was hospitalized. (UPI, NYT, 3/30/67, 41)
French President Charles de Gaulle launched France’s first nuclear-pow-
ered submarine, Le Redoubtable. The 7,900-ton submarine, which would
become fully operational in 1970, would carry 16 missiles that could be
fired from submerged positions toward targets up to 1,800 mi away.
( WSI, 3/30/67,1; UPI, W Star, 3/29/67,1)
Murch 30: President Johnson, signing Executive Order 1134.0 establishing
the Department of Transportation effective April 1, headed by Alan
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