Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 - NASA's History Office

January 14 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1967
on ABC’S “Issues and Answers” Tv program that Government expendi-
tures on the space program be cut to avoid a tax increase. “I’ve been
looking at that space program, I don’t mind telling you. Does it really
make a difference whether we get to the moon this year or next year, or
the following year?
“I doubt very much whether it makes a great deal of difference. And if
we reconcile ourselves to that thesis, then of course there is a place where
you can make a very substantial budget cut.” (W Star, 1/16/67, A5)
* Prolonged pause in Soviet manned space flights had been causing con-
siderable speculation in US. political and scientific circles, Stephen s.
Rosenfeld wrote in the Washington Post. Speculation ranged from pre-
dictions that the Soviets were moving on to a new “family” of larger
spacecraft to suggestions they had paused to solve serious problems en-
countered in prolonged weightlessness. (Rosenfeld, W Post, 1/15/67,
E3 1
0 Laser applications in industry and space were rapidly increasing, William
Smith noted in the New York Times. A solar-powered laser was being
developed for communication across the 50 million mi between earth
and Mars, and Dr. Henry Lewis, director of RCA’S David Sarnoff Re-
search Center, predicted the laser would also play a very important
role in tracking space vehicles. Said Dr. Lewis: “The laser fits the bill
with greater accuracy than radar is capable of obtaining.” (Smith, NYT,
1/15/67, F1)
January 16: GSFC engineers had successfully used an electric “screwdriver”
to restore power to Explorer XXXIII satellite, in orbit 252,900 mi from
earth, saving the spacecraft from an almost certain power blackout.
Emergency repair-believed to be the most distant satellite “fix” ever
accomplished-was conducted via Rosman, N.C., tracking station. En-
gineers turned off the spacecraft transmitter so that an increased power
surge through the other electronic systems eliminated the suspected
short circuit. (NASA Release 67-5)
0 Undulating, banana-shaped barium cloud, released from a Nike-Iroquois
sounding rocket launched from Eglin AFB in USAF experiment on air
currents, touched off dozens of reports of UFO’s throughout southeastern
U.S. (UPI, NYT, 1/18/67, 48)
U.S. could have a permanent manned space station in orbit by 1970,.pre-
dicted Charles W. Mathews, Director of Saturn/Apollo Applications,
NASA Hq. OMSF, in Space Business Daily interview. Mathews said that
by clustering various modules, instrument packages, and spacecraft in
orbit for reuse and utilizing resupply of expendables and crew replace-
ment, it would be possible to extend capabilities of hardware currently
under development to the point where such a space station could be
permanently manned in about three years. (SBD, 1/16/67,63)
* This New Ocean: a History of Project Mercury (SP4201) by Loyd S.
Swenson, Jr., James M. Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander was published
by NASA. It was NASA’s first major program history published and
was available to public from Superintendent of Documents, GPO. (NASA
Release 67-1)
0 MSFC awarded Sanders Associates, Inc., $2,149,548 contract for logistic
support of Saturn V operational display systems used to present infor-
mation on vehicle’s status during simulated and actual launch prepara-
tions. ( MSFC Release 67-8)
V/Adm. Hyman G. Rickover ( USN) received Printing Industries of Metro-
10