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

24 ASTRONAUTICAL AND AERONAUTICAL EVENTS OF 1 9 6 2
February 67: Second Saturn flight vehicle (SA-2) arrived at Cape
Canaveral aboard the barge Promise.
In testimony before closed session of the House Appropriations
Committee, Prof. James A. Van Allen stated that man-in-space
programs were not necessary €or scientific space exploration.
“For the same investment of‘ effort we learn much more without the
man. . . . A monkey made the first orbital trip and he made
out alright.” In testifying on behalf of the National Science
Foundation appropriation, Van Allen said that the US. should
not rush into a cooperative space .program with Russia; failures
would worsen relations since Russia has more to gain from such
a program. The US., he said, had surpassed Russia “in nearly
all areas of purely scientific investigation of outer space” but,
some American scientists have “an uneasy, creeping feeling that
Russia is about to launch a manned flight around the moon.”
Testimony was released on May 14.
0 USAF witnesses before the Senate Military Appropriations Sub-
committee testified under questioning that DOD budget was not
adequate in all areas. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, USAF Chief of
Staff, said that funds should be provided for “at least 100 more
Minuteman ICBM’S” than in present budget, and that he favored
a “little more e~izpliasis” in the military space program on early-
warning systems. Secretary Eugene Zuckert indicated that he
favored development of the RS-70 as a full-fledged weapon
system.
Dr. Nancy Roman, Chief of Astronomy and Solar Physics in NASA’s
Office of Space Sciences, was one of six receiving the Federal
Women’s Award.
February 68: Mercury astronauts Shepard, Grissom, and Glenn
appeared before both the House Science and Astronautics Com-
mittee and the Senate Aeronautics and Space Committee,
answering a variety of questions on future manned space flight.
Dr. Robert Seamans, NASA Associate Administrator, summarized
specific NASA program, manpower, and money requirements
before the House Committee.
0 USAF Atlas-E ICBM launched from Vandenberg AFB, the first such
launch from this base.
0 NASA announced that it would acquire launch facility at the Pacific
Missile Range to be used for all NASA Thor-Agena B launches
requiring a polar orbit (e.g. Echo 11). The basic Thor pad
structure is being provided by the USAF in addition to manage-
ment for certain pad modifications, while the Army provided
a surplus Redstone Service Tower and the Navy operates the
Pacific Missile Range. NASA field responsibility on the West
Coast is provided by the NASA Launch Operations Directorate
Test Support Office, Point Mugu, headed by Simon J. Burttschell.
0 H. Douglas Garner and Henry J. E. Reid, Jr., aerospace tech-
nologists at NASA Langley Research Center, awarded $1,000 for
invention of Horizon Scanning Active Attitude Orientation of Sta-
bilized Space Vehicles. James S. Albus, engineer at NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center, awarded $1,000 for his invention of a Digital
Solar Aspect Sensor. Invention awards of less than $1,000 were
made to following NASA employees: William H. Kinard and