Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 - NASA's History Office

September 4
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1967
plan and a failure to appreciate what it would contribute to the economy
and security of this country, reported columnist L/G Ira C. Eaker ( USAF,
Ret.). He had presented estimates of the sales volume and financial
aspect of the SST programs which had been developed, checked, and
rechecked by civil advisory groups, the airlines, and individual experts
in transportation, industry, and finance. He said no Federal program
since World War I1 had had the thorough analysis, careful examination,
and close scrutiny accorded the present SST plan. He emphasized that the
SST was not competitive in any way with social reform programs. On the
other hand, it would stimulate continued growth of the economy, create
employment, and provide a higher standard of living for thousands.
(Eaker, Detroit News, 9/4/67)
* Michael E. Gluhareff, Russian-born engineer and associate of helicopter
pioneer Igor I. Sikorsky, died in Bridgeport, Conn., at 74. GluharefE was
engineering manager of Sikorsky Aircraft, a division of United Aircraft.
His many patents had included a dart-shaped plane, sailplane (glider) ,
tail-less airplane with rear-mounted propeller, and device to use exhaust
gases of engines to increase the speed and load of the plane (co-inven-
tor) . (AP, W Post, 9/6/67, B8)
September 5: ATS Hydrolic Communications Experiment system, designed to
report river height and rainfall measurements automatically via satellite
was the object of a cooperative program by the Weather Bureau’s Office
of Hydrology and NASA, ESSA announced. The synchronous satellite, Ats I,
would be the communications link between automatic measurement
devices at three locations in the US. and the Office of Hydrology in
Washington, D.C. Purpose was the development of a fast, reliable,
operational system by which potential flood conditions would be relayed
instantly so public warnings could be issued. Sites chosen were Benton,
Ark., which started transmitting data to the satellite on Aug. 1; Salem,
Ore., which began operating Aug. 4; and Sacramento, Calif. (ESSA
Release 67-68)
Trained monkeys completed a two-month simulated space flight which
indicated that astronauts could return their spacecraft to earth even
after a near-fatal dose of solar radiation. Sixteen rhesus monkeys, trained
to operate an instrument panel, were used in a test at Los Alamos Scien-
tific Laboratory. Some of the animals were exposed over a 10-day period
to from 500 to 1,000 roentgens of gamma radiation. Three of the
monkeys in the high-dose group died but the others survived. This
evidence of monkey vitality was of great importance to man because
the US. target date for moon landings would come at a peak of the
sun’s 11-year-cycle for emitting deadly radiation. (C Trib, 9/5/67)
September 6: Early Bird I communications satellite passed its test as a device
for expediting clearance of passengers and cargo through airports when
jet aircraft would be put in service in 1970. Moments after an airline
flight took off from Frankfurt, Germany, for Dulles International Airport,
data on passengers and cargo were sent via satellite to Government
officials at Dulles so they could process the data in advance of the plane’s
arrival. OEcials in Frankfurt relayed facsimiles of the cargo manifest,
health certificates, and Customs declaration forms of the 120 passengers.
(NYT, 9/7/67)
* NASA Nike-Apache sounding rocket, launched from Puerto Rico in Univ.
of Illinois experiment to probe lower regions of ionosphere up to about
125 mi (200 km), achieved satisfactory results. In first of three such
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