Astronautical and Aeronautical Events of 1962 - NASA's History Office

11 6 ASTRONAUTICAL AND AERONAUTICAL EVENTS OF 1 9 6 2
“I don’t know what will come of it. Maybe better communi-
cations between the stock markets of the world.”
July 6: Civil Service Commission ruled that NASA was authorized to
hire an “aerospace engineer and pilot,” one whom NASA would
designate an astronaut, at maximum salaries for Government
service grades GS 13, 14, and 15.
0 Last of 4 solid-fuel Arcas rockets fired at White Sands in NASA
Langley Research Center photographic study of deployment
characteristics of 15-ft.-diameter parachute for use in measuring
atmospheric winds at altitudes from 100,000 to 240,000 ft.
Other 40-nii.-high Arcas shots were on June 30, July 2, and July 5,
1962.
July 7: U.S. detonated a low-yield nuclear device in the first aerial
test within continental U.S. since 1958. AEC and DOD said the
purpose of the explosion, which occurred a few feet above ground
at the Nevada test site, was to test the effects of nuclear wea-
pons.
Bell Telephone Laboratories (BTL) announced that Telstar, first
privately owned communications satellite, would be launched
July 10 from Cape Canaveral. BTL built the satellite, purchased
the Thor-Delta launch vehicle from NASA, and would reimburse
NASA for launching and tracking costs.
Ryan project engineer Willis F. Everest was slightly injured in
crash of Ryan Flexwing aircraft undergoing flight-test research
at Langley Research Center (Lam). 40-ft.-wingspan aircraft
based on the Rogallo concept had completed aerodynamic tests
in Langley Research Center’s full-scale wind tunnel and was to
be flight tested by L aw and the Army Transportation Research
and Engineering Command.
DOD released a report indicating that underground nuclear explosions
were more easily detected than had been known previously. This
new knowledge was based on seismic studies of current US.
underground tests in Nevada.
Soviet E-166 aircraft was flown an average speed of near 1,660
mph in a two-way flight at 47,000 ft. over a 15-to-25-km. course
near Moscow, by Lt. Col. Georgy Mosolov according to Tass.
If confirmed by FAI, the flight would break record set in Nov-
ember 1961 by McDonnell F4H of 1,606.342 mph flown by Lt.
Col. Robert G. Robinson (USMC).
July 8: Megaton-plus hydrogen device exploded at more than 200-mi.
altitude, lofted by carrier Thor rocket from Johnston Island in
the Pacific as a part of Operation Dominic. It was the highest
thermonuclear blast ever achieved and lighted up the Pacific
sky from Wake Island to New Zealand, causing some communi-
cation disruption but less than predicted. Success followed
two previous attempts on June 4 and June 19. It was expected
that TRAAC satellite launched in November 1961 would be in
a position to measure the influence of the blast upon the Van
Allen belt.
July 9: TIROS v stopped transmitting pictures from the Tegea-lens,
medium-angle camera. The Tegea camera system transmitted
4,701 pictures of which 70% were considered excellent quality.
The wide-angle Elgeet-lens camera, which is still functioning,
had transmitted 5,100 pictures to date, some of which aided in
the analysis of Typhoon Joan over the Western Pacitic.