Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 - NASA's History Office

October 30 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1967
* Scientific proof that instrumented capsule from U.S.S.R.’s Vem ZV had
impacted on planet Venus Oct. 18 was presented at Moscow news con-
ference by Mstislav Keldysh, President of Soviet Academy of Sciences.
Instrumented-capsule-station’s transmitters, programmed to broadcast
for 100 min, on basis of best previous estimates of pressure in atmos-
phere of Venus, “stopped transmitting after 94 minutes [exact time for
descent]. The station recorded both its own speed and the remaining dis-
tance to the surface throughout the descent [and] also recorded the
changing atmospheric pressure and recalculations on earth. . . .” Thus,
based from this information and other known data, Keldysh confirmed
that station stopped transmitting the instant it landed. The question of
why radio transmission ended after 94 min-power for 100 min having
been provided-was left unanswered.
Press conference presented additional information. Magnetic field near
Venus could not exceed 1/3,000 that of earth’s; low concentration of
pfsitive ions along Venus ZY’s route (much less than that at earth at-
mosphere’s top) ; absence of atomic oxygen in upper Venusian atmos-
phere; probable dense molecular atmosphere of Venus; large per-
centage of carbon dioxide (90-95% ) in Venusian atmosphere; neutral
hydrogen density of 1% of that near earth; nitrogen content of Venu-
sian atmosphere measuring about 7% ; and small amounts of argon and
other inert gases. Water, at 1/10 to 7/10 of l%, was reported to exist
largely in the planet’s cloud layer. Weather was cloudy on Venus, with-
out precipitation. (Shub, W Post, 10/31/67,1; Rausch, Av Wk, 11/6/67,
17)
* Cornell Univ. professor Hans A. Bethe, director of Los Alamos Atomic
Weapons Laboratory’s theoretical physics section during development
of atomic bomb and recipient of AEC’S 1961 Enrico Fermi Award, was
awarded the 1967 Nobel Prize in physics for proving that the sun and
other stars produced energy through synthesis of helium from hydrogen.
He was cited specifically for “his contributions to the theory of nuclear
reaction, especially his discoveries concerning the energy production of
stars.”
Nobel Prize in chemistry was presented jointly to George Porter
and Ronald G. W. Norrish of U.K. and Manfred Eigen of West Ger-
many for their studies of extremely fast chemical reactions occurring
at speeds of one-one-thousandth of a millionth of a second. Nobel Peace
Prize was withheld for second consecutive year. ( UPI, W Star, 10/30/67,
1; Wiskari, NYT, 10/31/67,1)
* AT&T’S letter respondipg to FCC inquiry on need for future communication
facilities in Atlantic basin area nrged construction of $70.4million un-
derwater communication cable to southern Europe by 1970’s end. It
said completion of cable would accommodate rapid growth in transat-
lantic calls and provide balance between satellite and cable links [see
Oct. 41. ComSatCorp and international telegraph carriers also had re-
ceived Oct. 4 FCC inquiry. ( UPI, NYT, 10/31/67,65)
Soviet-French space treaty of June 30, 1966, had produced results during
September when two Soviet MR-12 sounding rockets carrying French
payloads were launched to altitudes of 75 mi and 112 mi over Franz
Josef Land in Soviet arctic. Payloads released sodium clouds to measure
upper-atmosphere temperatures. ( Av Wk, 10/30/67,13)
October 31 : Sprint, launched from underground cell as the high-speed, short-
range missile for ABM system, completed successful test flight a. + WSMR
322