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

ASTRONAUTICAL AND AERONAUTICAL EVENTS OF 1963 199
They may be produced from leaks of gas from the capsule or from
as trapped in various portions of the vehicle. . . .” Dr.
&erz field presented his evaluation in report to American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science.
September 23: Soviet Academician Nikolai N. Semenov, Nobel
Prize-winning chemist, was quoted as suggesting the moon be
made into a major power source for earth. If the moon were
covered with semiconductors and photo-elements of high efficiency
solar energy falling on the moon could be converted to electrical
power far exceeding that produced on earth. He also proposed the
moon be made the site for all atomic and thermonuclear power
stations, to avoid overheating and irradiating the earth. Research
may find a way, he continued, to transmit the power to earth-
perhaps by lasers or masers.
September 63-29: Thirteenth International Astronautical Congress
was held in Varna, Bulgaria, sponsored by the International
Astronautical Federation (IAF). Opening session was marked
with pleas by western delegates that U.S.S.R. remove veils of
secrecy surrounding her space program.
September 24: Six-engine S-IV stage for Saturn space vehicle was suc-
cessfully static-fired in 60-sec. test at Douglas Missile and Space
Systems, Sacramento, Calif.
Announced that Astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Jr., would study
owerful light sources in Australia and South Africa, during his
LA-8 orbital flight. NASA said experiment was to determine
how well a space traveler could see light sources of known density
on earth. Three high-intensity flares would burn at Woomera,
Australia, and electric lamps at Durban, So. Africa. Schirra
would try to determine effects of atmosphere on light observed
from orbital altitude and to establish which light source was more
readily visible. Other scientific experiments of the MA-8 flight
would be studies of cosmic radiation, search for rare particles in
space, and effects of re-entry heating on new materials.
Reported that, if Astronaut Schirra’s six-orbit flight (MA-8) is fully
successful, NASA would conclude Project Mercury with one 18-
orbit, 24-hour flight. Present plans called for four %-hour flights
with the one-man Mercury capsule; new plan under considera-
tion would cancel three of these and assign their mission to two-
man Gemini capsule.
FCC Chairman Newton N. Minow invited U.S.S.R. to cooperate in
an international television system using high-altitude communica-
tions satellites. A high-altitude s stem would have advantages
over low-altitude system such as $elstar, he said in Look maga-
zine, but “we now lack the launching power to make it go.” He
proposed that Soviet rockets be used to launch U.S. communica-
tions satellites into high-altitude orbits, and added that “this
would be a very dramatic area of cooperation for peaceful pur-
poses in space.”
Congressman John E. MOSS, Chairman of the Government Infor-
mation Subcommittee, wrote to Secretary of Defense Robert 5.
McNamara asking why 1959 Army report “Project Horizon”
was not yet declassified. Originally classified “Secret,” the
study proposing manned lunar program culminating in 1965
lunar landing had 10 separate security reviews by 4 agencies,