Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 - NASA's History Office

March 6 ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS, 1967
(AFRPL) by Lockheed Propulsion Co. under two-year, $%million R&D
program. Motor had been selected to power USAF’S short-range attack
missile ( SRAM) . ( AFRPL Release)
DC-8 Super 63, world’s largest commercial jet aircraft, was displayed by
Douglas Aircraft Co. in Long Beach, Calif. Scheduled to fly withii 30
days, aircraft had 187.4-ft-long fuselage, 1423.4-ft wingspan, 251-pas-
senger seating capacity, and 4,600-mi range. (DAC Release 67-36)
* Milwaukee Journal editorial on space law treaty signed Jan. 27: “What’s
left unsaid in the new space treaty may be as important to world peace
as what the treaty says. The treaty . . . prohibits stationing nuclear or
other weapons of mass destruction in space . . . [but] makes no reference
to use of spacecraft for military reconnaissance.
GG
Spy satellites already in orbit can detect activity on earth in unbelieving
detail. Even more sophisticated satellites are (being developed. . . .
Ground inspection, a barrier to nuclear control agreements, is therefore
less important and airplane reconnaissance, which has strained Soviet-
American relations, is unnecessary. . . .
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Reconnaissance satellites orbiting above may thus reduce the chance
of war below.” (MI, 3/6/67,10)
Washington Evening Star commented on Senate Committee on Aeronautical
and Space Sciences’ open hearing Feb. 27 on the Apollo fire: “The
nation’s space officials evidently have managed to keep their heads in
the midst of the emotional chaos that followed the tragic accident at
Cape Kennedy. They have resisted pressures from semi-informed sources
condemning the pure oxygen environment that supported all Mercury
and Gemini astronauts in space. And there is mounting evidence that
the arbitrary 1970 goal for a manned lunar landing is no longer a major
consideration in the space program . . . [and] that the space planners
are determined that they will no longer be prompted to act because of
any arbitrary timetable or out of a competitive desire to beat the Soviets
to the moon,
“This is as it should be. This nation should move outward into space
with all deliberate speed. And right now, the emphasis should be heavy
on that qualifying word.’’ (W Star, 3/6/67, All)
* New York Univ. 5hool of Engineering and Science announced establishment
of a new chair in aerospace science endowed by $500,000 grant
from the Vineent Astor Foundation. Dr. Antonio Ferri, Director of New
York Univ.’s Guggenheim Aerospace Laboratories, was named to the
chair. (NYT, 3/7/67,29 j
Australia might agree to operate first joint tracking station with U.S.S.R.
in Western Australia if US. approved, Newsweek speculated. US.
currently operated three stations in Australia, and two more were under
construction; U.S.S.R. had to maintain contact with its satellites via
picket ships in the Pacific. (Newsweek, 3/6/67,18)
* 238,154 airmen certificates-a new annual record and a 32% increase
over 1965 total-were issued by FAA in 1966. (FAA Release 67-18)
March 6-7: Merits of nuclear rocket propulsion were discussed by William
Hines in series of two articles in Washington Evening Star: “If Con-
gress approves the [Nerva] project . . . the nation’s space horizons
will be broadened considerably in the 1980’s. Manned flights to Mars
and Venus and unmanned missions to even more distant planets could
be a reality 15 years hence.” Although US. had not adopted a manned
planetary landing program, Hines explained another advantage of a
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