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

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198 ASTRONAUTICAL AND AERONAUTICAL EVENTS OF 1962
satellite to be both designed and built by a nation other than U.S.
or U.S.S.R. The launching would mark NASA’s first orbiting
attempt from Point Arguello and its first use of a Thor-Agena B
launch vehicle.
September 22: Unnamed NASA official said that a four-stage rocket
probe would be launched in October or November to check the
strength of the radiation belt created by U.S. high-altitude
nuclear explosion over the Pacific on July 9, 1962.
NASA announced award of facilities grants to five universities, first
such grants awarded by NASA. Worth a total of $6,410,000, the
grants were to provide research facilities for activities in space-
related sciences and technology to universities making “substantial
contributions” to the U.S. space program: University of Cali-
fornia, Berkeley ; University of Chicago ; Rensselaer Polytechnic
I Institute; State University of Iowa; and Stanford University.
According to the Washington Post, USAF second attempt to orbit
belt of copper filaments in Project West Ford experiment was
apparently inadvertently revealed by Eugene C. Fubini, Deputy
Director of Defense Research and Engineering, testifying before
the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. The
attempted orbiting was inferred to have been made sometime
this summer, failed because of launch vehicle malfunction (first
failure and only attempt publicized had been niade on Oct. 21,
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1961). Of this report, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public
Affairs, Arthur Sylvester, said to the press: “The facts are that
only one attempt has been made [to orbit tiny metal filaments]
and the U.S. Air Force will coordinate with the National Academy
of Sciences on any future attempt.” Confusion had arisen
I when the Washington Post had reported that the USAF had made
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an unsuccessful attempt to orbit such a payload during the
summer.
Review in Red Star by General Pave1 Kurochkin, commenting on
new Soviet textbook on strategy, stated: “The Soviet people are
engaged in the peaceful conquest of space. But it is perfectly
clear that if the imperialists continue to conduct research for means
of using cosmic space for military goals, then the interests of
guaranteeing the security of the Soviet state demand definite
measures from our side.’’ Doctrinal textbook was written by
several of Russia’s top military leaders under the direction of
Marshal V. D. Sokolovsky, and was said to be the first serious
work on military strategy published in Russia since 1926.
Israel Finance Minister, Levi Eshkol, speaking in Washington, D.C.,
said that the “missile race has entered the Middle East’’ and
Israel must be prepared to defend itself “no matter what the cost.”
He said: “When Colonel Nasser stands by Egyptian rocket
launchers and boasts they are trained in our direction, we dare
not mistake this for an idle propaganda boast.”
September 23: Dr. Charles M. Herzfield, Washington physicist,
reported that the luminous particles sighted in space by both
Col. John Glenn and Maj. Scott Carpenter probably were
particles of solid nitrogen trapped in the extreme upper atmosere.
“As the temperature rises, the luminosity disappears.
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o other s stems seem to have all the requisite properties.
These partic es may exist independently at the altitudes involved.
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