Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 - NASA's History Office

April 18 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1967
bC . . . in each of . . . [the] problem areas we identified in December
1965, we found . . . improvement in the situation in April 1966. I do
not intend, however, to leave the impression that we were completely
satisfied with North American’s performance. We did determine . . .
that the corrective actions already taken and those in the process of being
implemented in April 1966 were appropriate ones that reflected a respon-
sive reaction by NAA to the criticism we had expressed during our review
and provided some measure of confidence for improved future
performance. . . .”
Testifying in support of NASA’s FY 1968 budget, Webb warned against
permitting the Jan. 27 Apollo accident to deter US. space efforts. It
should not, he said, “lead us to lose sight of the continued progress
and vigorous efforts the Soviets are making. . . . With the world
situation what it is, and with clear indications that the Soviets are going
ahead with a large-scale, long-term program in space, it is especially
important this year for the United States to let the world know that we
cannot and will not surrender our hard-won position, even though we will
not mount the larger effort required to catch up with them.” Describing
the proposed budget as “forward looking,” Webb conceded that it would
not “enable us [NASA] to move toward important go& with as much
assurance as we would like.” He outlined NASA’s planned program and
urged support for all future projects: “If we fail to make these decisions
in our consideration of the 1968 budget, they will go by default. . . .
Later when we find we do not have the capabilities we could have had and
that others are accomplishing what we might have achieved, it will be too
late.” (Wood, W Post, 4/19/67, A9; Sehistedt, B Sun, 4/19/67, 1)
NASA Nike-Cajun sounding rocket launched from Point Barrow, Alaska,
carried c;sFc-instrumented grenade payload to obtain data on tempera-
ture,.pressure, density, and wind between 22-59 mi (35-95 km) at
transition from winter-time westerly to summer-time easterly circulation.
Rocket and instrumentation performed satisfactorily. (NASA Rpt SRL)
* Informed sources reported that U.S.S.R.’s Tu-144 supersonic transport
would not be ready for the Paris International Air Show in May as UPI
reported March 7 but would still fly before the Anglo-French Concorde
and US. SST, according to AP. First test flight of Tu-144 would be in
late 1967. (AP, NYT, 4/19/67,73)
April 19: First manned Apollo flight had been delayed at least one year by
Jan. 27 fire at KSC, Dr. George E. Mueller, NASA Associate Administrator
for Manned Space Flight, told Senate Committee on Aeronautical and
Space Sciences. He said he believed men could still land on the moon
by the original 1970 deadline “although the probability is lowered.”
Dr. Mueller told the Committee that the replacement spacecraft for the
first manned Apollo mission, which incorporated “all changes resulting
from the findings of the Apollo accident investigation,” was on the
assembly line at North American Aviation, Inc.’s plant in Downey,
Calif. (AP, B Sun, 4/20/67)
* USAF SV-5D lifting body vehicle was successfully launched from WTR by
Atlas booster on reentry mission and telemetered excellent performance
data. Vehicl-third of four in USAF’S Precision Recovery Including
Maneuvering Entry (Prime) program-was second to perform pre-
programmed crossrange maneuvers and first to be successfully recov-
ered. First SV-5D vehicle was launched Dec. 21, 1%6, and lost when
parachute malfunctioned during reentry; second, launched March 5, sank
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