United States Aeronautics and Space Activities 

lSt Annual Report to Congress 

(NASA Original Version) 

Published as House Document Number 71, 

86th Congress, 1'' Session, February 2, 1959. 
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I 7 71, ( 

I FOR RELEASE AT 12:OO NOON (EST) February 2, 19 

bAUTION: The following message of the President scheduled for deli 

5;o the Congress February 2, 1959, MUST BE HELD IN STRICT CONFIDENCE 

And no portion, SynopsiB or intimation of its contents mnay..-bwg 

or published UNTIL RELEME TIME. 

commentators and news broadcasters, both in the United States and abroad, 

The same caution applies to all newspapers, radio and televlslan 

PLEASE USE EXTREME CARE To AVOID PREMATURE PUBLICATION OR 

ANNOUNCEMENT. 

Anne W. Wheaton 

Associate Press Secretary to the President 

--- THE WHITE HOUSE 

TO THE CONQRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: 

Transmitted herewith, pursuant to Seceion 206(b) of the 

National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, is the first annual report 

on the Nation's activities and accomplishments in €he aeronautics and 

space fields. This first report covers the year 1958. 

The report provides an impressive accumulation of evidence 

68 to the scope and impetus of our aeronautical and space efforts. 

Equally impressive is the report's description of the variety af fields 

being explored through the ingenuity of American scientists, engineers : 

and technicians. 

skill and the will to move ahead swiftly and surely In these rapidly 

developing areas of technology. 

has been considerably enhanced by the creation and organization of the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

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The report makes clear that the Nation has the knowledge, the 

Our national capability -in this regard 

The report sets forth a record of qolld achievement In a 

most intricate and exacting enterprise. take great pride. 

In this record the Nation can 

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER 

THE WITE HOUSE 

- February 2, 1959 

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UNITED STATES AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ACTIVITIES 

January 1 -- December 31, 1958 

YEAR ONE OF THE SPACE AGE 

SUMMARY 

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The United States entered the age of space exploration on 

January 31, 1958. 

At 11:12 p.m. on that date, the U. S. experimental satellite 

Explorer I, boosted into space by an Army Jupiter-C rocket, swung 

into an e a r t h - o r b i t with an apogee of some 1,600 miles and a perigee 

of about 230 miles. This was seven minutes after lift-off from a 

launching pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Explorer I, first U. S. 

scientific instrument to reach the fringes of deep space, still 

circles the globe 12.8 times a day. 

The past year has seen notable progress in the space effort 

of the United States. Five U.S. satellites have gone into orbit. 

Two space probes, one launched in October and the other in December, 

traveled about 71,300 and 63,580 statute miles, respectively, before 

Earth's gravity reclaimed them. 

With one exception -- the Atlas satellite communications 

experiment in December -- these accomplishments were part of the 

U. S. contribution to the International Geophysical Year (IGY). 

Satellites and probes alike were instrumented. Their telemetry reported a wealth of new data about the distribution of 

matter and of the magnetic fields and radiation encountered in 

space, information vital to the future of space flight -- manned 
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and unmanned. From the continuing scientific program will come the 

data on which to base future 1.ong-range weather forecasting, telecommunications, and many scientific, military, and industrial 

applications. 

devices are being evolved special fuels, materials, components 

and techniques that will find other uses in the nation's economy. 

Out of research and development projects for space 

A key event of the year was the passage of legislation, 

formulated by Congress and the President, that provided for organigation under a new agency, the National Aeronautics and Space 

--Administration (NASA), of all Government aeronautics and space 

programs except "activities peculiar to or primarily associated 

with development of weapons systems, military operations, or the 

defense of the United States." The National Aeronautics and Space 

Act also established a council to advise the President on all 

phases of the national aeronautical and space effort. Within the 

Department of Defense, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) 

was established to direct military space activities. 

Military Liaison Committee was created by the National Aeronautics 

and Space Act as one of the means of coordinating NASA and Department of Defense space and aeronautics work. 

A CivilianNASA is expanding research and development programs that 

were already in progress. 

grams aimed at exploring our solar system: 

by manned deep-space vehicles. Typical examples follow: 

It is planning and undertaking new profirst by unmanned, then 
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With ARPA support, NASA has management and technical direction of Project Mercury, the manned satellite program. Preliminary 

specifications for a space capsule suitable for manned satellite 

flight were issued by NASA in November and a contract for its development was awarded early in 1959. 

On October 15, the X-15, a rocket-propelled research airplane designed to take a human being into nearby space under some 

of the conditions to be encountered in actual interplanetary 

flight, was officially unveiled to the public. The X-15 is scheduled for tests early in 1959. A round-trip venture to the outer 

reaches of the Earthts atmospheric screen will be attempted later 

in this aircraft. 

In mid-December, NASA designated an industrial source to 

design and develop a single-chamber rocket engine that will have a 

thrust of 1.5 million pounds. Development of a clustered booster, 

designed to deliver 1.5 million pounds of' thrust, was begun in 

August under ARPA direction. 

As man-made devices, one after another, have reconnoitered 

the frontiers of space, there is realization that the human race 

has begun its greatest, most daring adventure. The benefits that 

will come ES mants peaceful conquest of space proceeds, should be 

shared with the world. 

The groundwork for cooperation and knowledge-sharing has 

been laid by the 66 nations participating in the International 
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Geophysical Year. 

the United States to make available to the world the scientific 

results of its non-military research into problems of flight within and beyond the Earth's atmosphere. 

In the spirit of the ICY, it is the policy of 

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During the year, the United States had a leading role in 

United Nations efforts to bring about international cooperation 

in peaceful space activities. 

introduced by this country, November 18, in the UN General Assembly, 

was overwhelmingly approved on December 13, 1958. 

A resolution to further this ideal, 

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The succession of satellites, missiles, and experimental 

space probes launched by the United States in 1958 -- sometimes 

with success, sometimes not -- was the outcome of planning carried 

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on for several years. 

States has engaged in various types of space-related research out 

of which some of today's important programs have grown. 

the Navy, the Air Force, and NASA's predecessor, the National 

Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and other agencies have 

participated in studies and experiments with rockets, rocketSince the end of World War 11, the United 

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The Army, 'e 

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1 powered aircraft, special fuels, and novel methods of propulsion 

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i beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Basic research support programs 

of the National Science Foundation have contributed substantially 

to advances in the underlying science upon which our progress in 

space technology depends. 

object is to prepare man for cosmic flight, has been established 

for a decade or more. 

The science of space medicine, whose 

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This work went on at isolated test facilities, little known 

to the public, and in research laboratories scattered over the 

land. The components for the drive into space were there - vehicles 

for different purposea, instruments of various kinds, and knowledge 

accumulated about the environment high above our ocean of air. 

Some of the parts had been put together into specific programs, 

such as the Vanguard Project, but the assortment of detached plans 

and unassimilated ideas had yet to be assembled. 

i' A fundamental achievement of 1958 -- first full year of the 

---Space Age -- was in placing the U. S. effort under coordinated 

direction. 

yet to launch a single true space vehicle, and the various activities working toward this objective were being conducted almost 

entirely independently of one another. At the year's end, our 

achievements in space research were many and substantial, while 

the arrangements established to coordinate them in the future 

were in operation. 

At the beginning of the year, the United States had 

Main events and programs of the first U. S. space year 

follow: 
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LAUNCHINGS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL YEAR 

First Steps 

On July 29, 1955, the United States announced it would 

launch earth satellites during the 18-month International Geophysical Year which ended formally on December 31, 1958. After 

proposals from the three military services had been studied, the 

Government approved a Naval Research Laboratory plan for constructing a three-stage rocket capable of placing a spherical, 21-1/2- 

pound, instrumented satellite in orbit. The program, which came 

to be known as Project Vanguard, also called for establishing a 

worldwide minitrack network to track space vehicles by radio. 

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The Vanguard rocket is tall (72 feet) and slim (4.5 inches 

in diameter at the base) with a gross take-off weight of 22,600 

pounds. It consists of liquid propellant first and second stages 

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. and a solid propellant third stage. The second stage contains 1 the rocket's guidance and control system. 

Three successive test firings of Vanguard's first and third 

stages were successf~l. However, the three stages in combination 

failed when test-fired for the first time on December 6, 1957. 

j Satellites 

On January 31, 1958, the Army Jupiter& - an elongated 

Redstone, topped by two stages composed of scaled-down Sergeant ' 

rockets in clusters, with a single rocket as fourth stage -- was 

fired successfully from the Atlantic Missile Range, Cape Canaveral, 

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Florida. Explorer I, as its scientific payload was christened, is 

a bullet-shaped, steel cylinder 80 inches long and six inches in 

diameter. It weighs 30.8 pounds, 11 pounds of which are scientific 

instruments, including a Geiger-Mueller cosmic ray counting tube, 

two micro-meteor detector experiments, and four gauges to measure 

temperature inside the satellite and on its outer skin. 

Explorer I is credited with what is probably the most important satellite discovery of the IGY, the Great Radiation Belt, 

identified by James A. Van Allen, head of the State University of 

Iowa physics department. 

Great Radiation Belt. Preliminary examination of data from 

Explorer I (and from later Explorer Satellites I11 and IV, as well 

as from the Air Force Pioneer I and the Army Pioneer I11 space 

probes) reveals the existence of a pair of bands or clouds of 

charged particles, protons or electrons, or both. 

Apparently the first radiation belt extends to 3,400 miles 

above the surface of the Earth. The second belt, about 4,000 miles 

thick, extends outward some 8,000 to 12,000 miles. The particles 

composing the pair of belts reach the first peak intensity at an 

altitude of approximately 2,400 miles and peak again at 10,000 miles. 

When these particles, streaming from the sun or other sources 

deep in space, reach the Earth's magnetic field, some are deflected, 

a few filter through and are absorbed in the atmosphere, but a 

great many oscillate in spiral paths along the magnetic field's 

lines of force. 
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i According to Van Allen, there is negligible rad-iation danger 

to man below the first belt -- and between the first and the second 

belts. Similarly, the radiation tapers off to safe levels after 

reaching its second peak of intensity at 10,000 miles. D 

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In each band, electron bombardment at peak is equivalent to 

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S roentgens per hour. Man's permissible radiation dosage per year 

about 10 roentgens per hour and that for protons is about 100 

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is only fiae roentgens, so it can readily be seen that effective, 

lightweight shielding must be devised before human beings can travel 

safely within these bands of radiation. 

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Van Allen concludes that the radiation belts do not extend 

over the Arctic and Antarctic regions; they appear roughly to follow 

the lines of force of the Earth's magnetic field which loop outward and converge about radiation-free voids at the North and South 

magnetic poles. 

an escape into space via the polar regions may be feasible. 

If it proves necessary to shun these belts entirely, 

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Many more experiments will be undertaken in 1959 to determine the nature of this radiation and to gain more information 

about its intensity and range. 

Explorer 11, launched on March 5 under ARPA direction, failed 

to achieve orbit when the fourth stage did not ignite. 

Explorers I11 and IV, fired on May 15 and July 26 under the 

direction of ARPA with the Army as executive agent, yielded valuable 
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I data on the radiation belts discovered by Explorer I as well as 

data on micrometeoric impacts (density of cosmic dust) and on 

internal and external temperatures of the satellite. I 

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According to William H. Pickering, Director of the NASACalifornia Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "We 

have demonstrated an ability to obtain maximum information from 

our relatively small payloads by virtue of miniaturization techniques in electronics. 

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- I our program by adjusting missions to fully exploit discoveries 

And we also have shown a flexibility in 

-- 1 made by earlier satellites, such as'the development of the radia- I 

ion package in Explorer IV to investigate the radiation phenomenon 

found by Explorers I and 111." 

Van Allen summed up the scientific significance of the foregoing launchings this way: 

"We scientists are sornetim&j asked, 'What good is all this 

knowledge?' The data we are receiving from Explorer is, to be 

sure, limited. Cosmic rays, meteoric dust and temperatures of ob- 

.jects in space sound like remote matters in the daily lives of 

people on Earth. But it is only by building our knowledge, fact 

by fact, that we will lay the groundwork for the more practical 

discoveries that lie ahead. 

"Future weather patrol satellites can be expected to provide 

far-reaching benefits. Besides improving day-to-day forecasting, 

meteorologists might be able to predict droughts and rainy spells 
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a year or more in advance. The value of such information to farmers is beyond estimation. Hurricanes and tornadoes could be 

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spotted at birth and their deadly paths predicted." 

On March 17, Vanguard I was fired from Cape Canaveral. 

Everything functioned smoothly. Into orbit went a three-and-onequarter pound test satellite, which, it is estimated, will continue 

circling in space for hundreds of years. 

The satellitefs radio, equipped with solar batteries, is 

still transmitting as it orbits the world every l3& minutes, soaring from a perigee of 409 miles to an apogee of 2,453 miles. e 

The Army Map Service has been making electronic observations 

of the satellite from several Pacific islands to pinpoint the 

islands' locations more exactly. The satellite is also being used 

for more exact determination of the Earthfs shape. 

Three other Vanguard firings in 1958 failed to place satellites into orbit, although they did achieve other test objectives. 

During the year, ARPA authorized three space probes by the Air 

Force, two by the Army. 

aegis of NASA on October 1, along with Project Vanguard and a 

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These IGY projects were placed under the 

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number of other programs which had been under ARPA direction. 

Thrusts Into Deep Space 

The mission of the first space probe, August 17, was to 

place an 85-pound payload -- including an electronic scanning 

device to produce crude images of the far side of the Moon -- in 

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i Thor-Able-I test vehicle consisted of a standard Thor for the first 

1 stage with a liquid-fuel, modified Vanguard second stage, a solid 1 propellant third stage, and a solid propellant terminal or retro1 rocket as its fourth stage. 

the vicinity of the Moon, more than 220,000 miles from Earth. The 

The first attempt ended in failure when the rocket exploded 

1 77 seconds after liftoff. 

The next attempt, with a payload of more advanced instrumentation, had essentially the same mission, and was deemed a qualified 

success despite the fact that it did not reach the Moon. It traveled 71,300 miles into space, about 30 times farther than any manmade device had gone until that time. After a 43-hour flight, the 

82.71-pound probe re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and burned. 

An error of 3.5 degrees in the first stage of the trajectory 

prevented the rocket from attaining the velocity needed to reach 

the vicinity of the Moon. 

On November 8, Pioneer 11, the third attempt -- under NASA, ! 

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i management with the Air Force as agent -- ranged only 7,500 miles 

after its third stage failed to ignite. 

Pioneer 111, NASA with the Army as agent, was considered 

a qualified success. On December 6, Juno 11, a modified 

Jupiter with several solid-fuel upper stages, launched a 12.95- 

pound instrument package into space. The fuel in the first stage 

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cut off 3.7 seconds too soon, robbing the vehicle of its necessary 

escape speed. As a result, the probe failed to reach the vicinity 

of the Moon and pass on to a possible orbit around the Sun. 

however, fly 63,580 miles and its telemetered measurements yielded 

valuable radiation data, as indicated earlier. 

It did, 

Pioneer 111's temperature control method, essentially the 

same as that employed in the Explorer series, was also a success. 

It consisted of coating the payload's exterior with stripes of 

black and white zirconium oxide to control the heat input and outI put. Only by stabilizing the interior temperature between certain 

limits can scientists be certain that the temperature-sensitive 

electronic components will function properly. 

Another NASA space probe, with the Army as agent, is 

scheduled for early 1959. 

Inflatable Satellites 

In late October, NASA, with the Army as executive agent, 

attempted to place in orbit an inflatable satellite, 12 feet in 

diameter and made of highly reflective aluminum foil and microthin plastic film. The experiment was designed to produce data 

on atmospheric density at altitudes up to 400 miles. 

stage of the Jupiter-C launching vehicle did not ignite and the 

experiment was not completed. 

The second 

NASA, which designed and developed the inflatable sphere, 

' plans to launch a 100-foot inflatable satellite and possibly another 

12-foot inflatable satellite. 
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U. S. contributions to the IGY space program also included 

some 200 upper-atmosphere rocket soundings and a number of balloon 

ascents, as well as many other geophysical investigations. 

PROJECT SCORE 

On December 18, ARPA, with the Air Force as agent, fired 

an Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile into orbit. The 150- 

pound payload attached to its 4.5-ton final rocket stage contained 

instrumentation that included radio equipment, tape recorder and 

transmitter. Titled "Project Score," for Signal Communications 

Orbital Relay Experiment, it was a dramatic demonstration of the 

potentialities of communications satellites. 

The missile (85 feet long, 10 feet in diameter) lifted 

off within two minutes after scheduled launch time. Its two 

powerful first-stage engines (approximately 150,000 pounds 

thrust each) dropped after burnout, leaving the central sustainer 

engine to carry on to the end of the powered flight phase. 

At this point, the rocket's guidance system injected it 

into orbit, placing it in proper horizontal position precisely 

on time schedule. 

The orbit of the 8,750-pound last stage with its 150- 

pound payload was at apogee about 625 miles -- at perigee about 

118 miles. Orbital speed was l7,OOO mph, or one circuit of the 

earth every 100 minutes. 
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The satellite's communication equipment -- modified standard 

items, for the most part -- consisted principally of twin packages 

of radio transmitting, recording, and receiving apparatus, each 

weighing 35 pounds. 

converter, a radio beacon, knd a Control unit. 

Other components included a battery, a voltage 

Recorded on tape at liftoff was a goodwill message from the 

President which was transmitted the following day. 

time a human voice had been beamed from outer space. 

It was the first 

The message 

was as follows: I- 

"This is the President of the United States speaking. 

Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to I- f you from a satellite circling in outer space. 

"My message is a simple one. Through this unique means I I 

convey to you and to all mankind America's wish for peace on Earth I and goodwill toward men everywhere." 

Later, the satellite accepted and relayed messages from 

ground stations in Texas, Arizona, and Georgia. 

PREPARING FOR SPACE 

Basic Recommendations and Organization 

The need for central direction and coordination of all phases 

-. of the space effort became apparent late in 1957. U. S. require- 

' ments in space science and technology were studied by the President's 

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Science Advisory Committee, of which James R. Killian is Chairman. 
*' Organization recommended that a civilian agency be formed to direct 

L- non-military space activities. The President recommecded formation 

Y of such an agency in his Special Message to Congress on April 2. 

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?I' Department of Defense - ARPA. Earlier a transitional organieation was formed, February 7, 1958, when military space projects 

.+- were unified under the Advanced Research Projects Agency by direc- r.- 

tion of the Secretary of Defense. In addition, ARPA administered 

all other U. S. space programs from February to October when NASA 

assumed responsibility for non-military programs, 

NASA Established. The National Aeronautics and Space Admin- ,& 

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istration was created as an Executive Agency of the Government, 

The Legislation directed that "the general welfare and security 

of the United States require that adequate provisions be made for 

aeronautical and space activities. The Congress further declares 

that such activities shall be the responsibility of, and shall be 

directed by, a civilian agency exercising control over aeronautical 

and space activities sponsored by the United States, except that 

activities peculiar to or primarily associated with the dev-elopment 

of weapons systems, military operations, or the defense of the 

United States (including the research and development necessary 

to make effective provision for the defense of the United States) 

shall be the responsibility of, and shall be directed by, the 

Department of Defense; and that determination as to which such agency 

has responsibility for and direction of any such activity shall be 

made by the President..." 
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In the President's Special Message to Congress, April 2, in 

- which establishment of NASA was recommended, it had been emphasized 

* that "aeronautical and space science activities sponsored by the 

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United States be conducted under the direction of a civilian agency, 

, except for those projects primarily associated with military requirements. I have reached this conclusion because space exploration 

holds promise of adding importantly to our knowledge of the Earth, 

the solar system, and the universe, and because it is of great 

importance to have the fullest cooperation of the scientific community at home and abroad in moving forward in the fields of space 

science and technology. Moreover, a civilian setting for the administration of space function will. emphasize the concern of our Nation 

that outer space be devoted to peaceful and scientific purposes.n 

1: It is the role of NASA to initiate and support projects to: , ". I -j 

(0) Expand human knowledge of the phenomena in the atmosphere and in space; 

(0) Improve the usefulness, performance, speed, safety and 

efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles; 

(0) Develop and operate space vehicles for a variety of 

purposes ; 

(0) Study potential benefits to be gained for mankind 

through space activities; 

(0) Preserve the role of the U. S. as a leader in aeronautical and space activities for peaceful purposes; 
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(0) Interchange information between the civilian and military agencies to assure maximum effectiveness of discoveries for 

all purposes; 

(0) Cooperate with other nations in such activities and in 

peaceful application of the results; and, 

(0) Seek the most effective utilization of scientific and 

engineering resources of the United States in achieving these goals. 

The ?resident appointed T. Keith Glennai, President-on-Leave 

of Case Institute of Technology, Cleveland, Ohio, as NASA's first 

Administrator. Hugh L. Dryden, NACA's Director for nine years, 

was named Deputy Administrator. 

Aeronautics and Space Council. The nine-member National Aeronautics and Space Council was established by the Act to advine the 

President on nail significant aeronautical and space activities." 

The Act stipulates that the President shall preside over meetings 

of the Council. Statutory members of the Council are: The Secretary of State (John Foster Dulles); the Secretary of Defense (Neil 

H. McElroy); the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (John A. 

McCone); and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration (To Keith Glennan). In addition, the President appointed to the Council: Alan T. Waterman, Director, 

National Science Foundation and Detley W. Bronk, President, National 

Academy of Sciences, To recess appointments, the President name'ci: 

James H. Doolittle, Vice-president, Shell Oil Company and William 

A. M. Burden, General Partner, William A. M, Burden and Company, 
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vestment Bankers, New York City. Organized in October, the 

ouacil met three times during 1958. 

NASA Begins Operating, NASA became effectively operative on 

ctober 1, at which time it absorbed the personnel and facilities 

f the 43-year-old National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, 

onsisting of NACAIs nearly 8,000 scientists, engineers and techical and administrative personnel in a Washington, D. C., head- 

;.: quarters and five field laboratories. The laboratories are: I i-’ 

Langley Research Center, Langley Field, Virginia; Ames 

esearch Center, Moffett Field, California; Lewis Research Center, 

eveland, Ohio; the Pilotless Aircraft Research Station, Wallops 

sland, Virginia; and the High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, 

NASA also has a new space projects center under construction 

t Beltsville, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D, C. It 

hould be ready for occupancy early in 1960. 

In early October, Administrator Glennan announced that 

NASAIs organizational structure would include space flight development on the one hand, and aeronautical and space research on the 

Before passage of the Space Act, the President had called 

upon the Department of Defense and NACA to carry out a joint review 

of aeronautical and space projects which should, appropriately, be 

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placed under direction of the new agency. 

marized earlier in this report, were transferred to NASA on 

October 1 : 

(a) 

These programs, sumProject Vanguard, with more than 160 scientists and 

technologists of the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D. C. 

(0) Five space probes which were under the direction of 

(0) Three satellite projects: 12=foot and 100-foot-diameter 

inflatable spheres and a cosmic ray experiment. 

(0) 

search programs, including their work on nuclear and fluorine rocket 

engines and study and development of a 1.5 million-pound thrust 

A number of ARPA and Air Force engine development re- 

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On December 3, NASA entered into an agreement with the Army 

hereby the Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), Huntsville, Alabama, 

will carry out certain NASA projects. 

President issued Executive Order 10793, transferring the functions 

At the same time, the 

and facilities of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, from the Department of the Army to NASA. The order also 

transferred funds from Defense appropriations to NASA for execution 

of JPL projects. 

In signing the order the President said: 

"This decision is necessary in the national interest. It 

prevents unnecessary duplication and effects economies in space 
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research and development, 

cooperation between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Defense to the end that the peaceful 

use of space will redound to the benefit of all mankind. 

This development will enhance close 

am gratified that the Department of Defense and National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration have reached agreements under 

which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will use 

the unique capabilities of the Army Ordnance Missile Command, including the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, on a fully cooperative 

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Research and Development On Space 

Before any space device is ready for launching, complex preparations are necessary, ranging from investigation of theoretical 

concepts to the design and construction of the operating satellite 

or probe. These preparations often require years of effort, each 

step carefully executed from the research through the development 

stages. 

of demarcation between research and development. 

It is not always possible, however, to draw a precise line 

In the space program, research is essentially exploration 

of the basic laws of the universe to discover new scientific information, while development makes use of existing knowledge to 

design, construct and tes% experimental devices or equipment used 

in support of space activities. Frequently discoveries made in the 

development and operational testing stages are fed back into fundamental research, setting off new cycles of basic investigation. 
one step into the unknown leading to another, sometimes to end in 

blind alleys, sometimes to break through into undreamed-of areas 

of knowledge. It should be remembered that sound research and 

development is time-consuming, that results must be checked and 

rechecked painstakingly before they can be applied. 

Research and development for space cuts across and draws 

upon practically every field of science and engineering. 

ple, on December 13, 1958, when the Armyfs specially conditioned 

squirrel monkey Gordo was rocketed some 300 miles above the Earthfs 

surface in a miniature space capsule, there was scarcely a human 

skill or area of knowledge that somewhere along the line had not 

contributed to the undertaking. 

For examNASA-Department of Defense Coordination. NASA and the Department of Defense are taking care to avoid duplication. One duty of 

the Civilian-Military Liaison Committee is to serve as an information clearing house to prevent duplicate work, where possible. 

Moreover, the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of NASA 

are members of the National Aeronautics and Space Council. 

National Science Foundation Support. Among other arrangements for strengthening the national space program is that between 

the National Science Foundation and NASA. Under law and executive 

order, the Foundation is responsible for the support through 

grants of general purpose basic research, while other agencies 
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undertake basic research related to their missions. In the past, 

the Foundation has awarded grants, based on proposals from research 

scientists, for projects which involve fundamental studies leading 

to new discoveries in aeronautics and space science. Under the 

stimulus of Federal support for space exploration and research, 

a larger number of proposals in these fields will be received by 

the Foundation. 

to support an increasing number of such proposals in the future 

through research grants, chiefly to university scientists and 

engineers. 

It is anticipated that the Foundation will be able 

At the same time, NASA will support basic research more directly related to its own programs. NASA will be responsible als~ 

for scheduling rocket and satellite flights and packaging, recoveryb 

and data receptions, working directly with the scientists and 

organizations concerned. 

will be mutually complementary, and together they will assist in 

raising the level of understanding about basic phenomena in outer 

space. 

Basic research support by the two agencies 

National Academy of Sciences Space Science Board, In coaperation with NASA, the National Science Foundation has undertaken the 

support of a committee of the National Academy of Sciences Research 

Council, This Space Science Board was established to study immediate problems, long-range problems, and the international aspects of 

both, The Board is an advisory and coordinating body, not an operating agency. 
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FEDERAL SPACE PROGRAMS 

Civilian-Oriented 

Several Federal agencies other than NASA conduct research and 

devlopment pertinent to the U. S. aeronautical and space program. 

Chief among these are: The Atomic Energy Commission; the National 

Science Foundation; the U. 8, Weather Bureau; the U. S, Coast and 

Geodetic Survey; and the National Bureau of Standards of the 

Department of Commerce; and the Astrophysical Observatory of the 

Smithsonian Institution, The National Academy of Sciences, with 

support from the NSF, directed the U. 3. part of the IGY program, 

Agency contributions during 1958 ranged from basic research in 

analyzing meteorological conditions and electromagnetic and gravity 

fields, to helping design and test many of the thousands of components needed for satellites and probes. In addition, some of these 

agencies were active in work supporting ground-based facilities 

for launching, tracking, and telemetering. 

NASA 1.5 Million-Pound-Thrust Booster. On December 17, NASA 

selected a contractor to design and develop a single-chamber rocket 

engine in the 1 to 1.5 million-pound-thrust class. Preliminary 

studies were begun on this program in 1957 by the Air Force. In 

June 1958 the Air Force, with ARPA approval, entered upon a preliminary design contract with an industrial source. NASA initiated the final design and development competition three weeks 

after being given responsibility for developing the high-thrust 

engine. 
- 24 - 

The engine is a booster rocket of 1 million pounds nominal 

thrust, capable of being developed to 1.5 million-pounds-thrust. 

It will use liquid oxygen and hydrocarbon propellants but could 

be adapted for other fuels. Special attention will be focused 

on methods of simplifying directional thrust-control and of 

pressurizing propellant tanks. 

On completion, the program will provide a booster of great 

size for payloads and experiments weighing several tons. 

booster will eventually be used to propel manned satellites and 

spacecraft. 

The 

It will also be clustered for larger payloads. 

Manned Satellites - Project Mercury. One of the major, highpriority efforts under NASA management, with the advice and cooperation of ARPA, is Project Mercury, the manned satellite program. 

In November 1958, NASA invited 38 missile and aviation manufacturers 

to Langley Reseerch Center to discuss preliminary specifications 

for a capsule suitable for use in manned space flight. 

companies bid on the project. 

1959. 

including assigned military personnel, were engaged in Project 

Mercury work. 

Twelve 

NASA awarded a contract early in 

By the end of 1958, some 200 NASA scientists and engineers, 

Project Mercuty has a three-fold objective: 

(1) to study man's capabilities for space flight, (2) to 

place a manned satellite in orbit around the Earth, and (3) to 

recover the pilot safely. 

.. . 
The capsule, as presently conceived, willba conical, about 

seven feet in diameter at the base and 10 feet high. The pilot 

will lie in a couchlike frame, his back supported against the 

intense gravity stresses of take-off and re-entry. 

the capsule will be mounted on an Atlas rocket. 

will protect him from the great, friction-induced heat of atmospheric re-entry. 

The base of 

A suitable shield 

The satellite capsule will be launched into a circular orbit 

100 to 150 miles above the surface of the Earth at a speed of 

18,000 mph. During the landing or recovery phase, retro-rockets 

attached to the capsule will fire, slowing it enough to drop out 

of orbit. 

even more. 

capsule will be provided with escape mechanisms for use in case 

of emergency. 

The Earth's atmospheric blanket will brake the capsule 

Finally, parachutes will lower it to a landing. The 

Careful preparation will precede any U, S. attempt to launch 

a manned satellite -- a period of selecting and training personnel 

and testing the vehicle. Until U. S, scientists are convinced that 

they can send a mp.n into space with a high degree of safety, the 

attempt will not be made, 

Nuclear Energy Applications. The Atomic Energy Commission 

has long-range programs for developing nuclear reactors for application in spacecraft. Under development also are small, lightweight nuclear power plants to provide elcctricity over long periods 

for satellite instrumentation and other space applications -- 
Project SNAP (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power). 

to power from reactors, conversion of nuclear energy into electricity is being sought -- for example, the recently demonstrated 

SNAP-1x1 device which produces electricity by means of solidstate converters from the energy released by the radioactive decay 

of polonium or other radioisotopes. SNAP-I11 has no moving parts, 

is extremely light, and has a long, useful life. 

In addition 

Work on Project ROVER, a joint; AEC-NASA endeavor to develop 

nuclear rockets, is centered at the Commission's Los Alamos, New 

Mexteo, Scientific Laboratory and at its Nevada Test Site where 

high-temperature experimental reactors will be operated in ground 

tests only. 

toward designing, developing, and fabricating the initial experimental reactor, christened 'tKiwi-A," after the flightless New 

Zealand bird. 

Site undergoing extensive check-out prior to operation in the 

spring of 19 59. 

During the past year, the major effort was directed 

This experimental device is now at the Nevada Test 

Steppingstone to Space -- The X-15. Latest in a series of 

advanced research vehicles for extremely high-altitude, high-speed 

experiments is the X-15 Rocket-Powered Research Aircraft. A joint 

undertaking of the Air Force, Navy, and NASA, the X-15 is expected 

to fly at speeds of more than 3,600 mph and possibly to reach altitudes of about 100 miles. It had its factory rollout in October 

1958. 

Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, California. Later the X-15 will 

Preliminary flight tests are scheduled for early 1959 a,t 
- 27 - . 

be carried aloft by a B-52 bomber which will drop-launch it for a 

steep power-climb toward the fringes of space, after which it will 

take a long glide back to earth. 

Through flights of the X-15, NASA will investigate: 

severe aerodynamic heating caused by air friction at hypersonic 

(1) 

speeds; (2) airplane stability and new types of aerodynamic control 

surfaces to keep the airplane flying on course at these great 

speeds; (3) rocket reaction control systems when the airplane is 

too high for aerodynamic forces to be sufficient; (4) pilot reaction to flight during short periods of weightlessness; and (5) 

many of the exit, re-entry, and landing problems that spacecraft 

will encounter. Results of flights by the X-15, a transition between aircraft and spacecraft, will have important bearing on 

manned space vehicle projects. 

Planning for Research Activities. 

During 1958, planning for investigations of the near areas 

of space broadened and gained momentun, These investigations will 

include high-altitude soundings, Earth satellites, and probes, 

For convenience, the research program in the physical sciences has 

been divided into: Atmospheres, Ionospheres, Energetic Particles, 

Electric and Magnetic Fields, Gravitational Fields, and Astronomy. 

Atmospheres. This program includes an intensive investigation of the structure and compultion of the Earth's atmosphere, 

using sounding rockets and satellites. Particular emphasis will 

be placed on obtaining and understanding daily, geographic, and 
- 28 - 

seasonal variations, and theix+ relationships between surface meteorology and the structure and dynamics of the upper atmosphere. 

Ionospheres. Here the object is to obtain electron density 

profiles at altitudes above the F-2 region (about 180 miles), 

using both sounding rockets and deep space probes. 

time variations of electron density will be obtained by use of 

the polar-orbiting satellite beaconr 

nique will be used in satellites. 

measurements will be made in polar-orbiting satellites. Ion 

spectrum studies will be extended to the low mass numbers and 

higher altitudes by means of mass spectro-meters in both space 

probes and satellites. 

ion probes, and electric field meters will be made in rockets 

and satellites to define in detail ionospheric structure and to 

Latitude and 

The top-side sounding techVery low frequency propagation 

Direct measurements using antenna probes, 

study interactions between the ionosphere and space vehicles. 

Energetic Particles. In the energetic part icles program, 

the interactions of high energy particles with the Earth's atmosphere and field will be studied intensively, and the types and 

energy of such particles and their special distribution will be 

measured. Specifically planned are measurements of: (1) cosmic 

ray intensity in interplanetary space; (2) time and latitude 

cosmic ray intensity variations; (3) composition and spatial extent of the Great Radiation Belt; (4) the cosmic ray energy and 

charge spectrums; and (5) the nature of the particles producing 

auroras. 
- 29 - 

Electric and Magnetic Fields. The program includes: (1) 

satellite investigations with 

currents above the ionosphere 

storms; (2) numerous sounding 

ionospheric currents; and (3) 

proton magnetometers to study ring 

and their relations to magnetic 

rocket experiments to investigate 

the use of magnetometers in space 

probes to observe electric currents and the form of the Earth's 

magnetic field at great distances, and to investigate whether the 

Moon has a magnetic field. 

Gravitational Fields. In this program, a carefully instrumented satellite will be launched into a very high orbit to obtain 

precise geodetic data over a long period of time. 

a highly accurate clock in a satellite will be launched into orbit 

to test the general theory of relativity. 

In addition, 

Astronomy. The program will continue and be expanded. The 

survey of nebulosities in the far ultraviolet -- a phenomenon discovered during the IGY -- will be extended to the southern sky by 

means of rockets. Particular emphasis will be placed on using 

scanning satellites and rockets to observe the previously unexplored 

infra-red and high-energy gamma ray spectral regions. Such studies 

will lay the groundwork for the satellite observatory program. 

Solar ultraviolet and X-ray spectra will continue to be investigated, including long-term variations, line profiles, distribution 

across the disk of the Sun, and the spectrum of the coronal X-ray 

flux. *Deep space probes will be used to determine the nature and 

extent of the solar nebula and the interplanetary medium. A scanning 
- 30 - 

satellite will be undertaken at an early date to map the emission 

of the high atmosphere which derives from charged-particle interactions and photo-chemical reactions. 

Through these activities NASA is expanding the scientific 

investigations required to provide better understanding of the 

total environment in which man and Earth exist. Many investiga- 

; 

:, 

'& the space environment. For example, radiation and micro-micrometeor 

4- 

tions must be made repeatedly to obtain a continuous picture of '\ 

1 

4 

distribution must be measured again and again to chart their extent 

9 

; and to anticipate cycles of intensity and density, respectively. 

The NASA program will include launchings of some 40 sounding rockets and their scientific payloads during 1959. 

complete satellite systems on order -- some for 1959 launchings 

-- will employ Jupiter, Thor-Able, and Atlas systems. 

Defense-Oriented 

Twelve 

The military space program, administered by ARPA, includes 

a number of classified projects -- for example, very early warning network. Among major unclassified military space activities 

that ARPA directed during 1958 were: 

The Discoverer. This project involves a series of vehicle 

launchings, chiefly from the Pacific Missile Range. Its purpose 

is further to develop new systems and techniques for production 

and operation of military space vehicles. 

be primarily to test the Discoverer vehicle and its subsystems, 

z 

t 

The first launchings will 
- 31 - 

including propulsion and guidance. Later vehicles in the series 

will carry biomedical exgeriments to seek data on environmental 

conditions useful to Profect Mercury. 

Navigation Satellites. The purpose of this project is to 

institute a precise, all-weather system for determining sea or air 

position anywhere on the globe, 

valuable to aircraft, surface vessels, and submarines. The project passed from the planning to the active stage in September 

1958. 

the first six months of 1959. 

battery-powered package, expected to stay aloft about three months. 

Later versions will be larger and longer-lived. 

The navigation satellite will be 

Several s a t e l l i t e t e s t s under this program are planned for 

The first will be a 150-pound, 

Communications Satellites. The first test of the concept 

was the instrumented Atlas rocket placed in orbit on December 18, 

1958. Present military requirements for rapid, accurate, and 

secure communications demand minimum antenna and transmitting 

equipment, least possible interference from daily changes in solar 

conditions, and freedom from jamming. Several experimental communications satellites will be launched in the spring and summer of 

1959. In 1960 or 1961, so-called "fixed" satellites are planned. 

These devices will maintain a fixed position over a given point, 

revolving at the same speed as terrestrial rotation, at a distance 

of 26,000 miles from the center of the Earth. 

satellites could relay radio, television, and teletype messages 

continuously. 

Three of these 
t’ 

- 32 - 

1.5-Million-Pound Clustered Booster. Work on this giant 

propulsion unit began August 15, 1958. Its purpose is to lift far 

greater payloads into orbit than so far have been possible. 

form the booster, existing rocket engines and fuel tanks will be 

To 

assembled in a cluster arrangement. By the end of 1959, present 

schedules call for ground-test firing of the cluster. Four booster 

test flights were ordered as part of the project. E 

High-Energy Upper Stage. In September 1958, ARPA began 

developing a high-energy liquid propellant engine for the upper 

stage of space vehicles powered by XCBM rockets. By the end of 

the year, contracts had been let to major industries in the rocket 

propulsion field to develop the upper stage and the engine. The 

upper stage in conjunction with existing boosters should be able 

to place multi-ton payloads in orbit. Direction of this project 

goes to NASA on July 1, 1959. Flight tests are scheduled for 

late 1960 or early 1961, 

Meteorological Satellite. Reliable weather information is 

needed for military operations and for civilian activities too 

numerous to mention. The meteorological satellite project is 

seeking to fill gaps in present weather station networks by placing in orbit instrumented packages that can transmit rapidly over 

a large portion of the Earthos surface. They will be instrumented 

to detect and report cloud cover and temperature by infra-red 

radiation and other means. 

to the Ballistic Missiles Division of the Air Force and responsibility 

Systems responsibility has been assigned 
- 33 - 

for the payload to the Army Signal Corps. 

analysis has been assigned to the Air Force Cambridge Research 

Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Instruments and data 

Four meteorological satellites are scheduled for delivery 

in 1959. The Meteorological Satellite program is scheduled for 

transfer from ARPA to NASA, July 1,1959,and alaunching is planned 

for fall or early winter. 

oratory and other environmental tests. 

Bureau are already taking part in the program. 

Six more packages will be used in labNASA and the U. s. Weather 

TrackinG. In May 1958, the Army and Navy began developing 

a minitrack-DOPLOC (Doppler) fence across the Southern United 

States to establish a system for detecting non-radiating satellites. The network should begin operating experimentally in 

January 1959. 

at the Air Force's Cambridge Research Center. ARPA is coordinatA computing and filtering center is being developed 

e. ing this entire tracking effort with other Government programs 

to avoid duplicating major activities. 

INTERNATIONAL ACT IVIT IES 

The International Geophysical Year 

The year 1958 comprised the last two-thirds of the most 

intensive worldwide program of scientific investigations of the 

planet Earth and its environment ever undertaken. 

activities contributed heavily to the success of this first 

International Geophysical Year, which opened July 1, 1957, and 

United States 
came to an official close, December 31, 1958. 

probe launchings by the U. S. were summarized early in this report. 

Many other IGY projects carried out by this country added to the 

fund of knowledge about the Earth and its cosmic environmento 

ICY satellite and 

Among participants in ICY space and astronautics investigations were various branches of the Armed Forces, NASA, the National 

Academy of Sciences, the U. S. Weather Bureau of the Department 

of Commerce, and the Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian 

Institution, Cambridge, .Massachusetts. 

Tracking Activities. During the IGY, U. S. scientists 

tracked U. S. and Russian satellites with a global network of optical and radio telemetry receiving stations, In addition, hundreds 

of volunteer Moonwatch teams contributed to the visual tracking 

phase. 

A high degree of international cooperation marked the satellite tracking program; the same teamwork prevailed in the lunar 

and space probe tracking activities. 

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory at Cambridge, Mass. , 

supervised the Moonwatch teams as well as a network of 12 optical 

tracking stations employing tracking cameras designed for the U. S. 

ICY program. 

The U. S. Naval Research Laboratory -- with the cooperation 

of the other services and other countries -- established a "fencegt 
- 35 - 

of minitrack telemetry receiving stations stretching from the East 

Coast of the U. S., down through the Caribbean and South America. 

Among the stations tied in with this network were installations 

in the Union of South Africa and Australia. 

Contributing to the tracking of lunar and space probes were 

the giant University of Manchester radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, 

England, the Goldstone Tracking Facility (operated by the NASA - 

California Insticute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory) at 

Camp Irwin, California, and the Millstone Mountain, New Hampshire, 

long-range radar developed for the Air Force by the Lincoln 

Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

IGY Findings. Much highly significant knowledge emerged 

from the IGY, including: 

Discovery of the Great Radiation Belt. 

Determination of densities and pressures of high 

atmosphere to several hundred miles, and discovery 

that these quantities vary by as much as a factor 

of 10 with geographic position, time of day, and 

season of the year. 

Upper atmosphere winds above the Arctic are 

extremely strong and from the West in winter, 

and relatively weak and from the East in summer. 

Blackouts of radio communication in the polar 

regions are caused by an intensification at 

about 45 miles altitude of ionization produced 
- 36 - 

by hard X-rays, emitted by the Sun during high 

solar activity such as flares. 

Verification that auroral displays contain electrons and ions. 

Identification of the ions in the ionosphere from 

60 to several hundred miles, and proof that the 

principal ion in the highest part of the ionosphere is atomic oxygen. 

Discovery that the sky, as seen from above the 

atmosphere, contains numerous sources of ultraviolet light which appear as diffused nebulosities. 

(0) 

(0) 

(0) 

(0) Proof that the cosmic ray flux from outer space 

is markedly decreased in intensity at the time of 

sunspot 

netic fields in interplanetary space. 

maximum, indicating the existence of magCOSPAR. Although the IGY has ended, important follow-up work 

will continue. 

Scientific Unions met in Washington, D. C., and approved establishment of a Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) which will carry 

on s.cientific cooperation in the spirit of the ICY. 

In October 1958, the International Council of 

The purpose of COSPAR is to further,on an international 

scale,the progress of all types of scientific investigation carried out with the use of rockets or rocket-propelled vehicles. 

COSPAR will be concerned with basic research and will not normally 

! 

? 

’ deal with such technological problems as propulsion, rocket 

; construction, guidance and control. 

t. 

k 
- 37 - 

Disarmament Aspects. For more than two years, the United 

States has been working through the State Department and the 

machinery of the United Nations toward the ideal of establishing 

space with its wealth of benefits as a peaceful domain for all 

mankind. 

As early as January 34, 1957, the U. S. proposed in the 

United Nations the first study to lay groundwork for international 

, agreements to assure that outer space will be used only for peace- 

-- ful purposes. Later in the year, during the London Disarmament 

Conference, the U. S. joined Canada, France, and the United Kingdom in advocating a second study leading to an inspection system 

that would insure that activities in space will be solely for 

peaceful scientific purposes. 

Henry Cabot Lodge, U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 

stated in October 1957 that this country was willing to enter into 

technical talks on the matter without waiting for other disarmament negotiations to be completed. 

Correspondence between the President and then-soviet Chairman 

Bulganin in 1958 indicated that space aspects of disarmament negotiations would prove both delicate and complicated, This Government has concluded, therefore, that the United States should seek 

international agreement- on developing cooperative programs for the 

peaceful uses of outer space separate from its continuing efforts I1 

13 to bring about agreement that outer space will be used only for 

peaeef ul purposes. 
- 38 - 

Peaceful Activities. Because peaceful Cooperation for activities in space is vital, the United States is considering approaches 

through: (1) international organizations (governmental and private), (2) bilateral and multilateral agreements, government-togovernment, or (3) unilateral proposals or invitations for foreign 

organizations or individuals to take part in U,S.-sponsored space 

activities. 

different methods of international cooperation, 

Obviously, varying types of space undertakings require 

During the past year, the United States proposed that the 

United Nations concern itself with problems and planning related 

to use of outer space for peaceful purposes. 

U. S. and 19 other nations jointly introduced a resolution in 

Committee I, UN General Assembly, which called for creation of an 

On November 13, the 

ad hoc committee to: LI- 

(0) Make an inventory of the activities and resources of 

the United Nations, its specialized agencies, and other international bodies relating to peaceful uses of outer space. . 

(0) Determine the area of international cooperation and 

programs in the peaceful uses of outer space that could appropriately be undertaken under U.N. auspices. 

(0) Consider the form of organization in the United Nations 

that would serve best to bring about full international cooperation 

in this field. 

(0) Survey the nature of the legal problems that may arise 

in carry out activities in space. 
- 39 - 

d 

i" 

Attempting to reach unanimous agreement on the resolution, 

the United States and its co-sponsors introduced an amended >- 

resolution, November 21, 1958, instructing the Committee to consider certain proposals contained in a Soviet resolution. 

sador Lodge discussed the resolution thus: 

Ambas- 

"In deciding what the United Nations should do, it 

will be necessary to consider the role and activities 

of the specialized agencies, and of international 

scientific bodies before coming to firm conclusions 

on this subject. For example, there convened in 

London only a few days ago the Committee on Space 

Research ( COSPAR) organized by the International 

Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), in which both 

American and Soviet scientists participate." 

The Soviet bloc voted against the resolution because it 

opposed the membership of the Committee. 

tive at the United Nations later stated that the USSR will not 

work with -- ad hoc Committee. Although the inventory requested by 

the resolution and the studies called for can be conducted without Soviet participation, the U. S. continues to hope that the 

Soviet will participate. 

resolution on December 13, by a vote of 53 in favor, seven 

opposed, and 19 abstentions. 

The Soviet representaThe General Assembly approved the 
?' 

i 

7 - 40 - 

RESEARCH IN SUPPORT OF AERONAUTICS AND SPACE 

The year 1958 saw a blending of aeronautics and space research in which a number of agencies are engaged. When NACA was 

was absorbed by NASA in October, about half of its research was 

applicable to the problems of space technology. 

cable to space will continue to expand at an accelerating pace 

Research applib 

but the advent of the Space Age does not mean that the speed, 

safety, and efficiency of the airplane will become less important. NASA is continuing its basic and applied research in 

* support of atmospheric flight, in cooperation with the Depart- 

: ment of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the U. S. 

Weather Bureau, the National Bureau of Standards, and other 

agencies. 

The division between aeronautics and space research is, 

at best, arbitrary. The supersonic airplane, for example, uses 

atmospheric air for combustion; the hypersonic rocket carries 

its own oxidizer -- yet jets and rockets have similar fundamental problems of aerodynamics, combustion, and materials . The 

stratosphere, where jet planes operate, merges imperceptibly into 

"space." Results of aeronautical research are often applicable 

to space craft, and vice versa. 

The research considered here under general headings has 

been going forward primarily in Government laboratories. 

research program in the laboratories of industrial, educational 

and research institutions is now under way. 

A 
Aerodynamrcs and Flight Mechanics 

A major research effort in 1958 was devoted, as in previous 

years, to the aerodynamic problems attendant upon high-speed flight 

by aircraft and rockets through the atmosphere. 

especially aerodynamic heating caused 5y friction -- becnme acute 

when a vehicle slams back into the Earth's atmospheric envelope 

after a trip through space. 

upon heat protection, control, and safe landing of manned space 

vehicles. 

These problems -- 

Particular emphasis has been placed 

Re-entry. Landing problems have occupied a large share of 

research attention throughout the history of flight. However, 

they are insignificant compared to the complications involved in 

successful recovery or landing of a space craft. 

For a manned satellite or space vehicle, the landing approach 

begins in airless space where the pilot, human or automatic, aligns 

the vehicle to begin atmosphere re-entry. Reaction controls or 

gyroscopic devices will be used to accomplish this task. 

In a vehicle that depends upon aerodynamic lift for controlled flight in the atmosphere, a transition is made from space controls to aerodynamic controls as it enters the atmosphere. 

effective command of the vehicle must be maintained during a very 

Then 

. wide range of accelerations and rapid changes in air density and 

dynamic pressure while speed is reduced from 18,000 miles per 

; hour or more, to a safe landing speed. 

1 

! 

d 
- 42 - 

In consequence, a whole new family of piloting and control problems appears and the cost and complexity of flight 

operations multiply. 

A number of re-entry methods for manned vehicles are 

being explored. 

employ aerodynamic lift for flight control through the atmosphere. This calls for a shallow re-entry initiated from a 

carefully established orbit, after which the vehicle would 

follow a stable but essentially uncontrolled flight path to 

a point near the Earth where a parachute could be used for landings. 

toward body shapes which will absorb the least amount of heat and 

also remain stable through the entire range of speeds encountered. 

One is the ballistic re-entry that does not 

Aerodynamic configuration research in this case is directed 

Disadvantages of the ballistic re-entry vehicle include 

the relatively high decelerations to which the occupant would 

be subjected and the difficulty of controlling the precise landing point. 

A second way to keep surface temperatures within tolerable 

limits is to use aerodynamic lift during re-entry. 

the vehicle remains longer at higher altitudes and the heat is 

generated more gradually. Use of lift for re-entry permits 

lowep decelerations, a most important consideration for the pilot . 

In this way 

Lift, too, has disadvantages. To obtain it, the blunt, 

high-drag forms known to permit successful ballistic re-entry 
- 4.3 - 

must be altered. As greater lift is required, the vehicle becomes more flattened and the amount of blunting that can be 

tolorated gradually diminishes. 

Studies have revealed a number of possible variations on 

these two methods of- re-entry flight and further possibilities 

will undoubtedly come to light. These findings have been accompanied by steady progress in analytical and experimental research 

on a large number of detailed questions concerning flow phenomena 

and heating at extreme speeds, aerodynamic forces, vehicle Etability and means of flight path control. 

in the study of orbits and interplanetary trajectories and analytical methods have been worked out that simplify the calculation 

of these paths. Analytical studies have also been made on the 

initiation of atmosphere re-entry from orbit by use of braking 

rockets . 

Work has also progressed 

High Speed and Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft . Aeronautics research has concentrated upon supersonic and hy-oersorlic aircraft at one end of the speed spectrum, and VTOL 

(Vertical Take-off and Landing) and STOL (Short Take-off and 

Landing) aircraft at the other. Continuing study of wings, 

bodies, and wing-body combinations has led to the development 

of efficient configurations for advanced supersonic military 

airplanes and for the high-speed, subsonic jet transports which 

have just recently come into general use on the civil airlines. 
Research in VTOL and STOL aircraft has been concerned with 

several propulsion types such as rotors, propellers, ducted fans, 

turbojets and annular jets. With each type, different principles 

for achieving the required lift at zero or low forward speeds 

have been investigated. Dual propulsion methods, for example, 

are under study as well as systems whereby the thrust is redirected 

in take-off and landing to provide additional lift either by tilting the entire thrust unit or by deflecting the thrust from a 

fixed unit. 

Attention is being given to the critical problem of stabilizing and controlling such aircraft in all conditions of flight, 

including hovering, transition from hovering to level flight (and 

vice versa), steep climb, and landing approach. The turbojet thrust 

deflection airplane, the deflected propeller slipstream airplane, 

and the tilting propeller-wing airplane are but a few examples 

of this type of aircraft which have the lift advantages of helicopters but greater flying speed. 

Wind-tunnel and flight-testing of these airplanes has generally been a cooperative effort among the NASA, industry, and 

the military services. 

Flight Simulators. With the advent of vehicles that fly 

at great speed, under delicate aerodynamic conditions, and increasing need is found for flight simulators. Testing of highperformance aircraft in actual flight is expensive and paradoxically limits the scope of conditions that can be studied 
- 45 - 

without danger to the pilot or the craft. S,au ators not only 

save money and eliminate the danger, they also serve to train 

pilots in new types which are radically different from the 

machines they have been flying. An example is the X-15. In a 

simulator, pilots for the X-15 had experienced most of the 

conditions expected in actual flight before the craft was even 

rolled out for ground tests. 

Power Plants 

Research and development on high-energy fuels for airbreathing (jet) engines continues to be a high-priority program 

in which NASA and other Government agencies are cooperating. 

Typical of the program is the quest for a satisfactory burner to 

use liquid compounds of the element boron. Boron burns at elevated temperatures but also with high heating value per unit of 

weight. The higher the heating value per pound of jet fuel, the 

greater is the range of the craft using it. 

Hydrocarbon fuels can deliver on the order of 18,500 btu 

(British thermal units) of heat per pound. 

capable of 51,000 btu, but containers for such a low-density 

fuel appear to be too bulky to be practicable. 

for boron-containing liquid fuel mixtures approaching 27,000 btu 

per pound . Substantial progress has been made with experimental 

burners for short periods with a boron-containing fuel delivering 

some 25,000 btu per pound. 

Hydrogen as fuel is 

Research is aiming 
- 46 - 

Until recently, a factor severely limiting utilization of 

boron fuels has been that boron-oxide deposits encrust the afterburner, thus rapidly lowering efficiency. During 1958, an afterburner of new design was tested. 

of the boron-oxide deposit problem than were earlier versions. 

Although much research and development in this program is classified, it can be stated that boron now appears feasible as a highenergy jet fuel, 

It was found appreciably freer 

Advanced Jet Aircraft. Propulsion research for jet aircraft in the Mach 3 or Mach 4 class (three or four times the 

speed of sound) is nearing completion. 

that of speeds above Mach 4 -- about which research scientists 

There is a large area -- 

need much more knowledge. 

NASA is planning research to determine whether practical 

vehicles can be built capable of sustained velocities at Mach 4 

and above. One key to the success of these vehicles is associated with the engine performance. Engine problem areas in 

question are inlet size and configuration, combustion chambers, 

exhaust nozzles where gases exit at temperatures of 4,000° F. 

or more, and problems of cooling. Recent progress in associated 

fields has provided a good foundation upon which resezrch into 

the possibilities of ultra-fast supersonic aircraft can be based. 

New Rocket Propulsion Energy Sources. The goal of research 

to provide better rocket fuels is the same as that for high-energy 
I 

- 47 - 

fuels for aircraft -- to produce the greatest possible propulsive 

energy from the least possible weight and volume of fuel. 

Today's rocket engines depend on liquid and solid propellants, 

either separately or in combination for different stages of a 

booster. Limits to development of chemical propellants can be 

foreseen. Advanced research is therefore focusing on other possible energy sources and on engines to use them. Under investigation, as previously discussed, is use of a nuclear reactor with 

hydrogen as propellant. In such a device, hydrogen would be 

heated to very high temperatures by passing through the hot reactor. 

Theoretically, major gains in nuclear engine performance are 

available. However, research problems associated with the fuel 

elements, reactor control, nozzle cooling, and vehicle shielding, 

while offering no insurmountable obstacles, will be costly and 

time- consuming to solve. 

Nuclear Aircraft, Missiles, and Spacecraft Propulsion. In 

addition to work noted earlier in this report, there is vital research and development in the field of nuclear propulsion for 

power plants 

A joint AEC-Air Force project (PLUTO) is developing a ramjet 

propulsion system for use within the Earthcs atmosphere. Work is 

centered at the University of Californiacs Radiation Laboratory 

at Livermore, with the support of private industry. Design and 

I construction of the first experimental reactor -- Tory-I1 -- for 

i. 
this project started in 1958, and is progressing satisfactorily. 

During 1958, initial test and some supporting facilities 

required for ROVER, a project noted in an earlier section, and 

Project PLUTO were completed at the AEC Los Alamos and Livermore 

installations, respectively. A zero-power reactor (one producing 

just enough nuclei to sustain a chain reaction) at the NASA Lewis 

Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, was completed during the year. 

The NASA Plum Brook 60-megawatt reactor at Sandusky, Ohio,is 

expected to go into operation in 1959. 

Two main approaches toward nuclear engines for aircraft are 

being developed by industrial contractors under AEC-Department of 

Defense programs. 

In the Direct Cycle System, air from a turbojet engine compressor is heated directly in a reactor core before passing through 

turbine and exhaust. In 1958, a number of core tests directed 

toward attaining higher reactor temperatures and power levels, 

were made at AEC's National Reactor Test Station in Idaho. 

Modified 5-47 turbojet engines were used but future tests will be 

carried out with specially designed turbojets. 

For the Indirect Cycle System, air from a turbojet engine 

compressor is heated as it passes through a radiator system outside the reactor. The heat is carried to the radiator by a 

liquid metal coolant piped from the reactor. 

jective of the current program is to determine the technical 

The immediate ob- 
feasiu 

- 49 - 

ity of a high-temperature reactor having very high 

specific power. During the year, encouraging improvements were 

made on advanced reactor coolants, structural materials, and fuel 

element s . 

Construction of a Flight Engine Test (FET) facility at 

AEC's National Reactor Test Station in Idaho was approximately 

80 percent done by the year's end. 

advanced flight prototype propulsion systems installed in fullscale aircraft or mock-ups. 

FET will be used to test 

Aircraft, Rocket and Spacecraft Loads and Structures. 

This field of research is concerned with the design of the 

structure which provides the streamlined shapes and smooth exterior 

surfaces required by the aerodynamicist, and houses the propulsion 

and control systems, as well as the payload, human or otherwise. 

The goal is to provide a basis for developing sound structures of 

minimum weight. 

selection and development, and structural arrangements is re1 

Further research in loads prediction, material 

quired. 

Here, again, the problem of prime importance is aerodynamic 

heating. In every case, the aerodynamic means for controlling 

re-entry heating dictates some internal provision for keeping 

the re-entry vehicle cool or for dealing with the quantities of 

heat that must inescapably be absorbed. 

The specific method or combination of methods will vary with 
- 50 - 

the conditions of re-entry, the shape of the vehicle, and the 

flight path it follows. In some cases the rate of heat absorption 

during re-entry is the crucial factor; in others, lengths or 

exposure times become more important, and the total heat demands 

attention. 

Several well-tried cooling systems and some less familiar 

are receiving attention. One system uses a cooling fluid pumped 

through passages next to the skin of the vehicle to absorb and 

carry away incoming heat. 

Transpiration cooling may be adaptable to returning space 

vehicles. A coolant liquid pumped through a porous skin absorbs 

heat and then flows over the vehicle, insulating the surface from 

the hot layer of adjacent air. 

A third method is called ablation cooling. The surface of 

the vehicle is coated with a substance that vaporizes progressively 

duringlheating. 

produced insulate the skin over which they flow. The ablating 

material will eventually be consumed, but a half-inch coating of 

some materials could protect a rocket-glider through a 20-minute 

hypersonic flight. 

The vaporizing process absorbs heat and the gases 

Radiation provides valuable cooling. A moderate increase 

r in surface temperatures relative to the surroundings will result 

I 

in more heat being radiated away from a vehicle. If surface 

materials can withstand high enough temperatures, radiation cooling 

1 

! 
c 

- -51- * 

+ 

will be sufficient. Unfortunately, the hot skin radiates into 

the vehicle as well as out from it, Thus, additional internal 

protection must be provided for crew and equipment. 

Although heat sinks-. materials that absorb and store heat-- 

will absorb and store re-entry heat, great quantities of such 

materials are required to safeguard a vehicle for long periods. 

Conduction can be useful in combination with a heat sink. 

A good conductor will carry the heat from the 

regions of a vehicle to cooler areas where it can be stored. 

Once again, weight would be a severe problem with conduction 

materials now available. 

hottest surface 

The tendency of aircraft structures to "flutter" in the 

supersonic-hypersonic speed range plagues designers. Flutter is 

produced by interaction of structural qualities -- flexibility or 

stiffness -- with weigh8 distribution and aerodynamic forces. 

These relationships %re so complex that theoretical predictions 

of flutter seldom are accurate enough to solve the problems: 

experimental corrections are usually necessary. 

kind with new aircraft designs are therefore continuing, as are 

analyses of load factors on aircraft in rough air. 

Studies of this 

Operating Problems . Crash fire prevention; noise reduction; ditching aids; 

crash survival: and landing or take-off procedures are among 

: 

k I 

1 1 the practical questions that arise in aircraft operations. Often 
they overlap the problems of aerodyn n, and 

structural design. 

safety and comfort are mentioned. 

Here, only a few projects involving passenger 

Investigation has shown that 9 frequent cause of crash fires 

in turbojet aircraft has been fuel spilled during the crash, and 

sucked into the engine with the intake air. 

the tailpipe then would ignite the 'spilled fuel on the ground. 

It was found that fires of this kind could be prevented by a waterdousing system to quench the combustor flames and to cool the hot 

metal in the engine. 

Flames escaping from 

Recent studies of the turboprop engine have demonstrated an 

effective method to smother the combustor flames at the time of 

a crash. Manufacturers are now applying this technique to some 

aircraft . 

For several years, jet noise has been studied intensively 

at NASA's Lewis and Langley Research Centers. 

Two types of noise suppressor that attack the problem at 

its source -- the jet exhaust -- have evolved from this program, 

and now are in use on the new transports. These are the corrugated multiple-tube nozzle and the shrouded nozzle. 

Both have the disadvantage of adding some weight to the 

aircraft, reducing engine performance slightly, and increasing 

drag. 

tunnels to improve the aerodynamic qualities. 

NASA is continuing to test various configurations in wind 
1 

- 53 - 

Supersonic jets have introduced a new noise problem into 

routine flight operations -- the sonic boom, from shock waves 

following the craft traveling downward through the air. From 

data collected by NASA, pilots are taught how to hold the intensity of the boom to a minimum. 

CONCLUSION 

During 1958, a large segment of the Nation's scientists, 

engineers, and production experts were drawn together and given 

direction. 

series of space experiments that yielded invaluable data to the 

world's store of scientific knowledge and established a firm 

foundation from whiah to launch the space activities of coming 

months. 

Against this background, the country carried out a 

s 

There were a number of failures during the year and we 

promptly announced them. 

may well be proud. 

hold. Much research, re-evaluation, and work lies ahead for US. 

The United States is aware of the magnitude of the challenge and 

aware that it must be fully met. 

A beginning has been made of which we 

We are, however, only just over the thres- 

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