Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 - NASA's History Office

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1967 December 20
guished US. scientists to serve on an advisory committee to evaluate
how widespread sonic booms expected from SST might destroy the na-
tional resource of tranquility, David Hoffman reported in the Washing-
ton Post. Discussions would include effect of sonic boom on wildlife,
national parks, and Indian adobe structures in the Southwest. (Hoff-
man, W Post, 12/20/67, Al)
December 21: USAF launched an experimental reentry vehicle by Atlas-F
booster from Vandenberg AFB as part of Advanced Ballistic Reentry
Systems (ABRES) program. (Aero Tech, 1/1/68, 13)
* Communications with NASA’s Mariner Zv Mars probe, launched Nov. 28,
1964, were terminated because of greatly reduced telemetry availability.
Spacecraft had responded to series of commands Oct. 25-27 and had
continued operating satisfactorily until it exhausted its gas supply in
the attitude control system Dec. 7 and began to pitch, roll, and yaw. On
Dee. 10 and 11 Mariner ZV recorded 83 micrometeoroid hits which
apparently induced severe perturbations in pitch and yaw causing de-
graded signal strength. During its 3.06-yr lifetime, Mariner ZV had
traveled more than 1.5 billion mi in heliocentric orbit, taken world’s
first closeup photos of Mars from 5,500-mi altitude, and returned ex-
cellent data. (NASA Proj Off; AI?, B Sun, 12/23/67; W Post, 12/23/67,
A5)
FAA proposed that all civil turbojet aircraft be required to carry altitude
warning devices to signal pilots visually and aurally when they were
approaching or deviating from a preselected altitude. Signals were preset
when device was installed and activated at a point within a prescribed
band as aircraft approached a preset altitude. Device was
aimed primarily at alerting pilots’ sense of altitude awareness, particularly
during high-speed climb and descent nianeuvers. (FAA Release
67-87)
* Hughes Aircraft Go. had completed negotiations with the government of
Brazil on a $3.8-million contract for construction of a comsat earth
station at Itaborai, near Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian Telecommunications
Co. (EMBRATEL) would spend an additional $1 million or more for site
preparation and buildings. Station, which would initially handle TV
and 120 two-way telephone conversations via INTELSAT satellites over the
Atlantic, would *be completed within one year. (Hughes Release; Montgomery,
NYT, 12/22/67,63)
* Aerospace industry sales in 1967 would total $27.3 billion-a 13% increase
over 1966 sales-and in 1968 would reach $29.2 billion, Aerospace Industries
Assn. (MA) predicted. Commercial transport aircraft production
and DOD procurement had increased significantly in 1967, while
NASA sales had declined from $4.9 billion to $4.1 billion. (AIA Release
67-55)
* Existence of a secret three-station system which would have enabled SAC
to broadcast final messages to its surviving bomber and missile forces
in event of a general nuclear attack on US. was revealed by Howard
Silber in the Omaha World-Herald. System, operational since July 1963,
had completed its mission and was being superseded by newer devices.
Located near West Point, Wisner, and Tekamah, Neb., each constantly
manned station had consisted of a guard house and three trailer-vehicles
housing launch control e uipment, electronics equipment, and a Blue
Scout Junior rocket. The %re-stage rockets were to have been launched
in sequence so their messages could be sounded at specific prearranged
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