Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 - NASA's History Office

December 5 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1967
0 NASA Aerobee 150A sounding rocket launched from NASA Wallops Station
carried 300-lb payload containing two white rats to 85-mi (137-km)
altitude in first of four experiments to study behavior in an artificial
gravity field and determine minimum level of gravity needed by bio-
logical organisms during space flight. Two arms of payload were ex-
tended after rocket burnout, producing a centrifuge with artificial
gravity levels between 0.35 and 1.65 g. During five minutes of free
fall, rats selected their own gravity levels by walking dong tunnel run-
way. Data on their movement and position were telemetered to gomd
stations. Payload impacted 70 mi downrange in the Atlantic; no recovery
was attempted. (WS Release 67-36; NASA Release 67-290; NASA Rpt
SRL)
0 Aerobee 150 sounding rocket launched by NASA from WSMR carried 14-in
telescope with new STRAP 111 stellar pointing control to 96.8-mi (155-km)
altitude in Johns Hopkins Univ. experiment to measure vacuum spectral
emission lines from atmospheres of Venus, Jupiter, and Regulus. STRAP
UI (used for first time) rocket and other instruments performed satis-
factorily. (NASA Rpt SRL)
NASA Nike-Tomahawk sounding rocket was launched from Churchill Re-
search Range, Canada, in experiment on vertical and horizontal varia-
tion of auroral light emissions. Peak altitude was not obtained because
of heavy fog effect on radar tracking. Rocket and experiment perform-
ance was satisfactory. ( NASA Rpt SRL)
* ELDO’S Europa I rocket was launched from Woomera Rocket Range but
was automatically destroyed in mid-air after French Coralie 2nd stage
failed to ignite. U.K.’s Blue Streak 1st stage performed satisfactorily.
Purpose of suborbital flight test was to evaluate performance of the
Coralie and separation of the three stages. (AP, NYT, 12/6/67,16; SBD,
12/7/67,189)
0 MSFC awarded IBM Corp. a $1,292,218 supplemental contract for configura-
tion management of 27 instrument units for Saturn V and Uprated
Satu’rn I. Agreement, effective through June 1970, brought total value
of contract to $20O7W,44J. (MSFC Release 67-236)
0 Gerald J. Mossinghoff, Director of the Office of Legislative Planning at
US. Patent Office, was named director of Congressional Liaison Div.
in NASA’s Office of Legislative Affairs. (NASA, Release 67-297)
December 5-6: New York Academy of Sciences held ceremonies marking
its 150th anniversary.
Dr. Hilliard V. Paige, General Electric Co. Vice President and general
manager of Missile and Space Div., compared role of the space
program in stimulating technological development to that of World
Wars I and 11. World War I, he said, marked real beginning of American-
aviation activities. World War I1 led to current U.S. leadership in
production of jet aircraft. Space program was current counterpart of
this stimulus, he noted, but program was declining because of crippling
budget and program cuts.
Former Astronaut M. Scott Carpenter (Cdr., USN) described his
experiences living in Sealab I1 [see Aug. 28, 19651 and plans for a
larger Sealab I11 in 1968. In addition to Sealab experiment, series of
special vehicles would be tested, he said: Deep Submergence Rescue
Vehicle (DSRV-1) to rescue men from disabled submarines resting
on ocean floor; Deep Submergence Search Vehicles (DSSV) to conduct
research on ocean floor, collecting and surfacing small objects; Nu-
368