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

ASTRONAUTICAL AND AERONAUTICAL EVENTS OF 1962 57
April 1.9: X-15 made its 50th successful flight from Edwards AFB,
Calif., with NASA’s Joseph A. Walker as pilot. The X-15 No. 1,
testing an emergency flight control system, reached a speed of
3,920 mph (mach 5.84) and an altitude of 150,000 ft.
0 NASA announced that FRIENDSHIP 7, the Mercury capsule in which
Astronaut John Glenn orbited the earth three times, would be
lent to USIA for a world tour, with some 20 stops on the itinerary
and touching all continents. In mid-August the capsule would
be displayed at the Century 21 Exhibition in Seattle, Washington,
before being presented to the Smithsonian Institution in Wash-
ington, D.C., for permanent exhibition.
0 USAF Sk bolt missile launched from B-52 bomber over the Atlantic
Miss& Range in first live flight test; considered successful
though second sta e failed to ignite.
0 House Commerce 6 ommittee reported out a commercial com-
munications satellite bill similar to the Senate measure, including
a provision “encouraging)) communications companies to build
and operate their own ground stations.
0 State Department received a visa application from Cosmonaut
Gherman Titov, who would be a part of the Soviet delegation to
the COSPAR International Space Science Symposium to be held
in Washington April 30-May 9. U.S. officials indicated that the
request would be approved.
University of Maryland announced that in September it would
begin a program leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees
in astronomy. NASA has granted the university $192,000, partly
for equipment and expenses and partly for 3-year stipends to 10
graduate students recently chosen from among 60 candidates.
0 A high-level Presidential study group set up in July 1961 to study
the role of nonprofit organizations in rela tion to Government
reported that the U.S. must continue to rely heavily on such
organizations and private industry for directing and carrying
out Federal research. It further recommended that the Govern-
ment strengthen its own research organizations and its research
management capabilities.
0 In opinion poll taken in Ohio Congressional District (23) by Con-
gressman William E. Minshall on whether the US. should enter
into a cooperative space program with Russia, 47% replied
affirmative, 39.6% replied negative, and 13.3% made “no
opinion” replies.
0 Congressman O h Teague submitted H. Con. Resolution 461, to
express the sense of Congress that the US. should not participate
in any program for the exploration of space with foreign nations
or international bodies which would involve the disclosure of any
technical information, unless the Soviet Union by “positive
action” participates in an inspection system for armaments and
informs the world about hitherto-secret information about its
space program. Similar resolutions were introduced by Con-
essmen Young, Kilgore, Purcell, Roberts of Texas, Riehlman,
goudebush, Casey, and Morris.
Italian Space Research Commission announced Italy would attempt
to orbit its first satellite in 1963. The 200-lb. scientific satellite
would be launched from a platform floating in the Indian Ocean
97317-63--6