Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 - NASA's History Office

November 28 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1967
long and. 10 ft wide. The full-scale demonstration mockup, constructed
in 1966, had recently been dismantled to make room for a dimensionally
accurate engineering mackup to be constructed at Boeing Co. (Boeing
Release)
* Dr. Jerome B. WieSner-MIT Provost, longtime member of President’s
Science Advisory Committee, and in 19614 Special Assistant to the
President-expressed “The Case Against an Anti-Ballistic-Missile Sys-
tem” in Look. He believed arguments were “overwhelmingly against
building” an anti-Chinese ABM system. “I do not believe that a really
effective antimissile system is remotely possible for either the US. or the
Russians. And even if the Russians could develop one, and a truly effec-
tive defense against our SAC bombers as well, our installing an ABM sys-
tem would not restore our powers of deterrence. Only improvements in
our own offensive-missile force . . . could achieve this.” Nor did he
believe ABM system would give “either complete or lasting protection
against Chinese missiles.” He was Lcconvinced . . . we must rely on our
known ability to retaliate devastatingly in case of nuclear attack” and
must “accept and live with a ‘deterrent balance.’ ” (Wiesner, Look,
11/28/67, 25-7)
* NASA announced closing of its Western Support office, Santa Monica, Calif.,
reduction in size of its Pasadena Office, and plans to determine man-
power requirements for continuing functions in Los Angeles area. NASA
centers or NASA Hq. would perform functions eliminated from the two
west coast offices. Work at the offices had included contract administra-
tion, financial management and disbursement, public affairs, personnel
services, procurement, and administration of NASA contract with CIT for
JPL’S operation. (NASA Release 67-292)
JPL Director Dr. William H. Pickering appointed William H. Bayley, General
Manager of Deep Space Network (DSN) , as Assistant Laboratory
Director for Tracking and Data Acquisition. In new post, Bayley would
direct worldwide DSN which JPL had operated for NASA. Bayley suc-
ceeded Dr. Eberhardt Rechtin, who had taken leave of absence from JPL
to accept post of Director of DOD’S Advanced Research Projects Agency.
( JPL Release 461/11-67)
* Gen. James Ferguson, AFSC Commander, presented Distinguished Service
Medal for outstanding service to M/G John L. Zoeckler, his Deputy C/S
Systems. Ferguson cited Zoeckler’s “strategic use of management tech-
niques to eliminate serious scheduling problems inherent in the F-111
program.” Zoeckler had managed System Program for F-111 aircraft
system at ASD, Wright-Patterson AFB, from Oct. 14, 1963, until Sept. 1,
1967. ( AFSC Release 209.67)
November 29: Australia launched her first satellite, Wresat I (Weapons Re-
search Establishment Satellite) , from Woomera Rocket Range, becoming
seventh nation to place a satellite in space. Satellite-lO7-lb, 5-ft-long
cone 2?4 ft in dia at its base-went into elliptical orbit with 1,249-km
(776-mi) apogee, 170-km (106-mi) perigee, 98.9-min period, and 83.3”
inclination. US. had provided three-stage Redstone launch vehicle. First
attempt, on previous day, had aborted because failure of air conditioner
to eject had prevented ignition.
Wresnt I, joint project of Australia’s Adelaide Univ. Physics Dept. and
the Dept. of Weapons Research at Salisbury, was sending back data on
interaction of solar radiation, particularly x-rays and ultraviolet, with
earth’s outer atmosphere. NASA provided satellite acquisition and data
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