REPORT TO THE CONGRESS 

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 

UNITED STATES 

UNITED STATES 

AEIiONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ACTMTIES 

1961 
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REPORT TO THE CONGRESS 

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 

UNITED STATES 

UNITED STATES 

AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ACTMTIES 

1961 

January 1962 
THE WHITE HOUSE 

Washington 

January 31, 1962 

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: 

In accordance with Section 206(b) of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Act of 1958, as amended, I transmit herewith a report for 

the calendar year 1961, on this nation's aeronautics and space activitie s . 

During 1961, major attention was devoted to establishing our 

policy objective of space leadership and to accelerating our efforts toward achieving that objective. 

In my Message to the Congress on May 25, 1961, I stated that a 

leading role in space achievements may well hold the key to this 

countryls future. That I reaffirm. Last year, we made necessary decisions and, with the support of the Congress, stepped up 

the pace of performance. Even greater strides must be made in 

the coming months and years, and thus the recommended budget 

which I submitted to the Congress earlier this month contains requests for funds for the Fiscal Year 1963 Space Program, totalling 

$5. 5 billion, an increase of $2.4 billion over FY 1962 and $3. 7 billion over FY 1961. 

It is the policy of the United States that activities in space be devoted to peaceful purposes and during 1961 we made significant 

progress in that regard. 

to help keep the peace and space projects to increase man's wellbeing in peace. 

Such progress included space projects 

In summary form, the accompanying report indicates the contributions of the various departments and agencies of the government 

to a national space program. 

1 John F. Kennedy 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page 

CHAPTER I 

CHAPTER I1 

CHAPTER III 

CHAPTER IV 

CHAPTER V 

CHAPTER VI 

CHAPTER VII 

CHAPTER VIII 

CHAPTER IX 

CHAPTER X 

CHAPTER XI 

CHAPTER XII 

CHAPTER XIII 

APPENDIX A 

APPENDIX B 

APPENDIX C 

APPENDIX D 

U. S. Aeronautics and Space Activities -- 

196 1 -- Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

National Aeronautics and Space Council. . 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Department of Defense . . . . . . . . . . . 

Atomic Energy Commission . . . . . . . . 

Department of State . . . . . . . . . . . . 

National Science Foundation . . . . . . . 

Department of Commerce . . . . . . . . 

Space Science Board . . . . . . . . . . . 

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. . 

Federal Aviation Agency . . . . . . . . . 

Federal Communications Commission . . 

United States Information Agency . . . . 

Successfu1U.S. Launches -- 1961 . . . . NASA Launch Vehicles . . . . . . . . . 

The President's Policy Statement on 

Communication Satellites . . . . . . 

Historical Summary and FY 1963 

Budget Recommendations . . . . . 

1 

5 

7 

33 

43 

47 

51 

55 

67 

73 

75 

81 

85 

91 

103 

105 

107 

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE COUNCIL 

WASIW~NGTON 
Chapter I 

U.S. Aeronautics and Space Activities 1961 

SUMMARY 

In 1961 the United States space program gained new impetus and breadth as vital 

decisions were made and essential actions taken. 

Foremost was the national decision to land a team of U. S. explorers on the moon 

during the present decade -- a goal previously contemplated for the mid 1970's. 

This objective, moreover, became a part of a national space program, composed 

of many basic projects. 

ciently, the nation began marshalling scientific, technical, and physical resources. 

To carry out this national program effectively and effiPrimarily for the lunar project but also for other space missions, actions to achieve 

far greater rocket thrusts and to build much larger spacecraft were undertaken during the year. For the same objectives, high priority was accorded projects to work 

out the techniques for rendezvous and docking (joining) of spacecraft in orbit around 

the earth. 

Study was intensified on means and materials that will be required for safe return of 

the manned lunar spacecraft into the earth's atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour, 

a speed that could heat the outside of the craft to about half the temperature of the 

sun's surface. 

Programs to develop nuclear propulsion and power -generating equipment for a wide 

range of space missions were also accelerated and strengthened. 

New emphasis was given to developing and putting to practical use, as rapidly as 

possible, technological capabilities for supporting manned space missions, with 

major attention to the essentials for the lunar project. 

Concurrently, workable means were established to apply satellite technology for 

expanding world communications, weather observation and prediction, and navigational competence. 

buted to the acceleration of the nation's economy, thus creating new products, 

processes, materials, and opportunities for employment of skills and investment 

funds. 

In addition to the direct services performed, this effort contriThis national space program, nourished by vital decisions and increased appropriations, was firmly based upon the awareness that space competence is as essential 

for national security as it is for national growth. 

through space capabilities is a basic feature. 

Progress to help keep the peace 

In direct support of aeronautics, the United States embarked on a program to bring 

into operation by the end of the present decade an economically feasible supersonic 

transport airplane that will fly at 2,000 miles per hour -- three times the speed of 

sound . 

1 
In the aerospace sciences, fundamental knowledge on weather processes was 

gained, projects were begun to search for traces of life elsewhere in the universe, 

and the quest continued for knowledge of how the earth and the solar system originated. 

The objective of this Nation is not solely to be first in exploring the space frontiers 

of knowledge -- although the United States is determined to be first. In the national 

interest, the United States must build the capacity to advance the most modern 

science and technology to the utmost, and extract from it the wealth of benefits it 

holds for this country's freedom, economy, professions, education, and standard 

of living. The defense aspects of this aerospace technology provide the opportunity 

to perform all such objectives by helping to insure against the possibility that the 

infinitely promising new dimension which human ingenuity has opened could be used 

for economic or military aggression against the free world. 

Landing U.S. explorers on the moon will be a beginning, not an end. The expeditim 

will establish a foundation of experience and competence upon which to build further 

progress in space. 

base on the moon, just as there is at the South Pole. 

flights to Mars and Venus are being contemplated. 

Even now, potentialities are being considered for a scientific 

Also, unmanned and manned 

Our scientists are studying how to send unmanned, instrument-packed spacecraft 

to investigate the fiery regions near Mercury and the sun, and to the more remote 

reaches of the solar system where Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto 

orbit in the frigid void, up to thousands of millions of miles distant from the sun. 

During 1961, the Administration proposed, and Congress endorsed, accomplishment 

of the lunar mission before 1970 and a general acceleration and broadening of the 

nation's activities and goals in aeronautics and space. 

accomplishments during the year, the following are particularly noteworthy: 

Among the many specific 

...Sites were selected for a complex of rocket and spacecraft fabrication 

plants and ground-testing and launching facilities bordering the Gulf of 

Mexico, in a year-around warm climate accessible to deep-water 

transportation. 

... Industrial contractors, large and small, were put to work across the 

nation, designing and building the flight hardware and supporting ground 

installations most urgently required for the tasks ahead. 

. . . The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was reorganized 

and highly qualified individuals were added to its staff. 

. . . The first stage of the SATURN, the most powerful rocket known to 

exist in the world, was successfully flight-tested, 

SATURN generated a thrust of almost 1,300,000 pounds at lift-off. 

In this test, the 

. ..Progress was made in accelerated efforts to develop nuclear rocket 

engines, as well as large solid- and liquid-fueled engines. 

...In Project MERCURY, first stage of the U.S. manned space flight 

program, two American astronauts made suborbital flights; two 

2 
spacecraft -- one of them carrying a chimpanzee -- were flown around the 

world; and preparations were practically completed for the first manned 

orbital flight. 

. . Nuclear power sources (SNAP) were operated aboard earth satellites, 

for the first time in history. 

. . . The North American Air Defense Command began operating a center 

to detect, track, and catalog objects in space, thus enhancing national 

security. 

...Nine satellites 0.. the two in Project MERCURY and seven others in the 

DISCOVERER program -- have been recovered after orbital flights. Four 

of the DISCOVERER satellites were caught in the air as they parachuted 

toward the sea. 

. . . The rocket-powered X-15 research aircraft established world speed 

and altitude records for the second successive year. 

were an altitude of 41.1 miles and a speed of 4,093 miles per hour, more 

than six times the speed of sound. 

The latest records 

. . . Mormation obtained from a U. S. satellite appeared to discredit one 

version of a major theory of the origin of the universe, the so-called 

"steady state" theory. 

. . . Three successful launches were conducted in Project TRANSIT, a program to develop a system of satellites that will make precise navigation at 

sea possible even when the stars are completely obscured by clouds. 

. . . Two successful flights were conducted in Project MIDAS, a program 

to develop a reliable network of satellites that will detect ballistic missile 

launchings by the heat radiated from their rocket exhausts. 

. . . Progress was made toward the establishment of an operational weather 

satellite network and the machinery for incorporating satellite information 

into weather forecasts. Meteorologists from 27 countries attended a conference sponsored by the Government to familiarize them with the system 

and necessary techniques for participating in it. 

. . . The United Nations, at this nation's urging, unanimously adopted a 

resolution declaring that space and celestial bodies other than the earth 

are free for exploration by all nations and are not subject to national 

claims of sovereignty. 

. . . The number of foreign countries and organizations with which the 

United States has agreements for peaceful space research grew to more 

than 50. 

. . . The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 was amended to make 

the Vice President Chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council. 

An Executive Secretary was appointed. 

in carrying out its statutory function, advised the President frequently during 

The vitalized Council and its staff, 

3 
1961 on important policy questions involved in planning the nation's space 

program, and engaged in a wide range of policy and coordination activities. 

. . .A communications satellite policy, drafted and recommended by the 

Space Council and its staff, was issued. Steps were taken toward the 

development of an operational satellite communications system, with 

specific tests and basic legislation scheduled for 1962. (See Appendix C. 

The United States by law is required to share with the world the adventure, the 

scientific results, and the practical benefits emerging from its endeavors in aeronautics and space. Representatives of news media of many nations observed U.S. 

space launchings. Scientific results were reported promptly to the world scientific 

community. The U. S. Mormation Agency distributed information on the program 

abroad. 

The United States placed more than 30 satellites in orbit during 1961, to bring our 

total above 60. A summary of successful launches is contained in Appendix - A. 

4 
Chapter I1 

National Aeronautics and Space Council 

The Vice President, as Chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, 

made a summary report to the President on the Council's accomplishments in 1961. 

The text of that report follows: 

Nineteen sixty one was a year of decision and progress in the space activities of the United States. 

space successes through the combination of Presidential leadership, Space 

Council coordination and recommendations, and performance by the responsible operating departments and agencies. Private industry's participation 

and contribution increased accordingly. 

Important strides were taken along the road of 

While it is too early to make definitive comparisons as between our newly 

developing competence and the capabilities of the USSR, it is encouraging 

to note that the U.S. generated a greater rate of progress in 1961 than in 

any previous year or that of any other country. 

The Space Council, authorized in 1958, was activated by the President in 

1961. 

Executive Secretary in March and the amendment of the National Aeronautics and Space Act in April. 

and the Chairman of the Council. 

Initial actions to that end took the form of the appointment of an 

The latter made the Vice President a member 

In performing its responsibilities of advising and assisting the President 

in the aeronautics and space field, the Council, directly and through its 

staff, engaged in a wide range of policy and coordinating activities. Among 

those activities were: recommending immediate step-up in the large booster 

program, which was translated into an FY 1961 supplemental request to the 

Congress; coordinating and assisting in the preparation of an across-theboard accelerated space program, which was reflected in a Presidential 

message and an expanded space budget for FY 1962; drafting and recommending a communication satellite policy, which was issued in July; coordinating the development of draft legislation on communications satellites, 

which is scheduled for submission to the Congress early in the coming 

session; obtaining greater uniformity in patent language, which is being 

reflected in defense contracts in the space field; coordinating the decision 

to include a nuclear power unit in a space satellite, which resulted in a 

world's first; and assisting in the drafting and coordination of the President's 

policy statement on the West Ford project. 

Also, during the last nine months, a bill amending the National Aeronautics 

and Space Act was drafted; staff budgets were prepared for FY 1962 and 

FY 1963; a staff nucleus was employed; assistance was given in the drafting of a U.N. resolution on space; a number of space installations were 

visited; and testimony on various space problems was given before Congressional committees. 

5 
The Space Council held both formal and informal meetings on space budgets, 

communication satellites , organization of and coordination among agencies 

with space responsibilities, comparison of U. S. and USSR space accomplishments, and considerations of various recommendations for the President. 

In addition, the Council staff maintained daily contacts between the various 

departments and agencies, received regular reports from and held frequent 

meetings with representatives of those agencies, initiated studies on the 

sovereignty limits of air space as well as in the field of aerospace medicine, 

and engaged in the coordination of the President's Annual Report to the Congress. 

The Chairman understands that it is national policy to maintain a viable 

national space program, not a separate program for NASA and another for 

Defense and still another for each of several other agencies. Likewise, it 

is understood that the United States does not have a division between peaceful and non-peaceful objectives for space, but rather has space missions to 

help keep the peace and space missions to improve our ability to live well 

in peace. 

The direction of the Council has been in accord with those principles. 

6 
Chapter I I1 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

INTRODUCTION 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration conducts a broad range of aeronautical and space activities. Major programs are manned space flight, including 

the development of powerful launch vehicles and advanced spacecraft; scientific investigation of the atmosphere, space, the moon, and nearby planets; practical applications of space technology; and advanced aeronautical and space technology. 

key development in the space program during 1961 was the national decision to explore the moon before the present decade ends. 

structure to meet the challenge of this and other objectives. 

The 

NASA reorganized its management 

MANNED SPACE FLIGHT 

Pr o j e c t MER CW .RY 

The first U. S. manned space flight program, Project Mercury, neared the goal of 

placing an astonaut in orbit around the earth. 

plishments, highlighted by the manned suborbital flights of astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Virgil 1. Grissom, and the two-orbit flight of a spacecraft carrying 

the specially trained chimpanzee Enos. 

The year saw a progression of accomThe knowledge derived from Project Mercury to date has provided a firm foundation 

for the paramount objective of the Manned Space Flight Program -- landing a team of 

U. S. explorers on the moon within the decade. 

Project Mercury has provided a basis for the development of spacecraft life support 

systems. The reactions of animals and men under high stresses of acceleration and 

deceleration, and weightlessness have been determined. The United States has 

learned how well men can operate controls and instruments, what they can observe 

to supplement the information obtained by automatic devices -- in short, how man's 

intelligence and abilities can be geared in as an operating component of a spacecraft 

system. 

As the year ended, the knowledge and experience gleaned from previous suborbital 

and unmanned orbital flights were being utilized in final preparations for the first 

manned orbital flight. 

Mercury Technical Progress -- Of 10 flights conducted in 1961 all but two accomplished their mission objectives. Major technical achievements included: ( 1) reliability improvement of the Atlas launch vehicle to meet the more stringent requirements of manned flight; (2) qualification of the Mercury spacecraft and its subsystems; (3) completion and staffing of the 18-station worldwide Mercury Tracking and 

Ground Support Instrumentation Network; and (4) achievement of operational status 

for launching, flight, and ocean recovery techniques. 

7 
"Little Joet1 Escape and Recovery Systems Tests -- On March 18, in a launch from 

Wallops Island, Virginia, a Little Joe failed in a test of the spacecraft escape system 

when the escape rocket fired 14 seconds prematurely. The craft survived in sound 

condition, and provided an unexpected bonus -- a demonstration that it could withstand the shock of parachute-opening pressures greater than design limits. 

The experiment was repeated on April 28, using the same Mercury spacecraft that 

had been flown on March 18, this time successfully. 

and was recovered in excellent condition. 

The spacecraft performed well 

Redstone Suborbital Flight Tests -- Four flights -- two manned -- were conducted 

during 1961 in the suborbital phase of Project Mercury. A modified Redstone launch 

vehicle was employed. 

On January 31, a Mercury spacecraft carrying the chimpanzee Ham was launched on 

a 16-minute flight, to an altitude of 156 miles, and over a distance of 420 miles. 

The mission objectives -- flight test of the spacecraft and its life-support system-- 

were achieved. 

Knowledge gained from the flight enabled correction of malfunctions in the Redstone 

launch vehicle. 

when it successfully carried a boilerplate spacecraft to an altitude of 115 miles and 

a downrange distance of 311 miles. 

As a result, the Redstone qualified for manned flight on March 24, 

The first manned suborbital flight, on May 5, carried astronaut Alan Shepard to an 

altitude of 116 miles and a peak velocity of 5, 180 miles per hour. The 2,800-pound 

spacecraft touched down in the Atlantic Ocean 15 minutes and 22 seconds after liftoff, 302 miles downrange from Cape Canaveral. 

Shepard underwent five minutes of weightlessness and experienced maximum acceleration of 11 times normal gravity on entry into the atmosphere. Nevertheless, he 

continuously carried out his assigned tasks, including manual control of spacecraft 

orientation, a task not known to have been previously performed in space. 

During the launching, radar observations were continuously transmitted to Goddard 

Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, where two electronic computers calculated the impact point. The calculation, made a few seconds after the engine cut off, 

was transmitted to the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain and enabled helicopter 

pilots to take off from the carrier and arrive at the impact point seven miles away, 

before the spacecraft. In the water, Shepard climbed out of the spacecraft, was 

hoisted intothe helicopter, and was on the deck of the Lake Champlain 11 minutes 

later -- 26 minutes after Redstone liftoff. 

Astronaut Grissom's suborbital flight, on July 21, carried him to an altitude of 118 

miles and to a distance of 303 miles downrange. 

of Grissom's mission were successful. However, the spacecraft was lost in the sea. 

Premature opening of a new quick-acting escape hatch allowed sea water to swamp 

the spacecraft before the hovering helicopters could retrieve it. 

The launching and flight phases 

Except for the information recorded by on-board cameras, all scientific data were 

telemetered to ground stations during the flight. Analysis of the information obtained on Grissom's flight indicated that the objectives of the suborbital phase of 

8 
Project Mercury had been achieved, and no further suborbital flights were scheduled. 

Atlas Entry and Orbital Flight Tests -- Unforeseen structural weaknesses in the 

initial Mercury-Atlas vehicle were corrected and the vehicle was successfully tested 

during its second launching on February 21, 1961. 

fired on a trajectory that carried it to an altitude of 107 miles and 1,425 miles downrange from Cape Canaveral. 

phere under conditions of the most severe heating that could occur in an emergency 

following orbital flight. 

At that time the spacecraft was 

The spacecraft withstood entry into the earth's atmosAfter a launching difficulty on April 25, when a faulty programmer caused the third 

Mercury-Atlas to veer off its flight path, the recovered spacecraft was launched by 

another Atlas on September 13, and successfully orbited the earth. 

The spacecraft, which was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean 160 miles east of 

Bermuda, carried a fully operational life-support system, tested by a mechanical 

device simulating an astronaut, which consumed oxygen, expelled carbon dioxide, 

and discharged heat and moisture much as a man would in the course of normal 

breathing. 

wide Mercury tracking network. 

A tape recorder broadcast pre-planned messages to stations in the worldThe Atlas performed well again on November 29, when it launched a spacecraft 

carrying the chimpanzee Enos on a two-orbit flight. 

three circuits but the spacecraft and its passenger were brought down at the end of 

its second orbit because the stabilization system was beginning to malfunction. The 

craft was successfully recovered from the Atlantic 220 miles southeast of Bermuda, 

and provided information of great value in preparations for the first manned orbital 

flight. 

The flight was scheduled for 

In 1962, NASA plans several manned flights of three orbits each. 'When the objectives of that phase of the program are completed, flights lasting up to 24 hours will 

be made, 

Project GEMINI 

NASA's second-phase manned space flight program -- approved December 7, 1961 -- 

is Project GEMINI (named for the twin stars Castor and Pollux). 

to: 

and being brought together (docking) with another vehicle in orbit about the earth, 

and (2) carry out orbital flights lasting from a few days to a week to study how man 

functions under prolonged conditions of weightlessness and to carry out a variety of 

scientific investigations of space that require men to participate and supervise. 

Its objectives are 

(1) develop and fly at an early date, a two-man spacecraft capable of rendezvous 

Project GEMINI is supporting research and development for Project APOLLO, in 

which the technique of rendezvous and docking is expected to be used as the primary 

method of carrying out the mission of landing a manned expedition on tlie moon. 

The GEMINI spacecraft will follow the same basic design as the one-man MERCURY 

spacecraft. 

craft and is scheduled to be boosted into orbit by a TITAN I1 launch vehicle. 

The new craft will weigh about twice as much as the MERCURY spacePlans call for the target vehicle for the rendezvous experiments to be an unmanned 

9 
AGENA B rocket stage, launched into orbit by an ATLAS booster. 

stations will observe its orbit and feed the information into a computer, which will 

calculate the proper moment for launching the TITAN-boosted GEMINI spacecraft. 

Then, with both craft in orbit, rockets aboard the GEMINI and the AGENA B can be 

used to maneuver the two for rendezvous and docking. 

Ground tracking 

NASA's present seven astronauts will be eligible to serve as pilots in the GEMINI 

program. 

the project. 

Additional crew members will probably be trained during later phases of 

Project APOLLO 

Beyond GEMINI is Project APOLLO, the development of a three-man spacecraft for 

up to two weeks' orbit about the earth, flights around the moon, and manned lunar 

landing. 

Flight hardware development for APOLLO began during 196 1. Since analysis showed 

that the longest lead time was involved in the guidance and navigation system and its 

associated computer, a contractor for that part of the system was selected August 9, 

more than three months in advance of the selection of the prime spacecraft contract. 

November 28 the prime contractor was selected to design and develop two of three 

major APOLLO units or "modules." 

three-man crew; the second is the service unit, containing fuel, electric power supplies, and propulsion units for lunar take-off. 

containing rockets to de celerate the spacecraft for a gentle landing on the moon will 

be awarded during 1962. 

The first is the command center, housing the 

A contract to develop the third unit 

Rendezvous Approach Selected -- In December 1961, it was decided that the rendezvous approach offers the earliest chance of accomplishing the manned lunar flight. 

However, the direct ascent approach, which will require a larger launch vehicle, 

will also be pursued. 

Launch Vehicles for Manned %ace Flight 

Five launch vehicles are planned for the manned space flight programs leading to the 

manned lunar landing. In ascending order of size, they are the ATLAS, the TITAN 

II, the SATURN C-1, the ADVANCED SATURN, and the NOVA. 

Of the five vehicles, ATLAS was operational, SATURN C-1 first stage was successfully flight-tested once during 1961, and the TITAN I1 was nearing the flight-test 

phase by the end of the year. 

in late 1961, while NOVA development is to be started during 1962. 

Development of the ADVANCED SATURN was begun 

First Stage SATURN Test Successful -- On October 27, NASA conducted from Cape 

Canaveral a successful initial flight test of the first stage of the SATURN C-1 -- the 

most powerful rocket known to exist in the world. The SATURN first stage (designated S-1) is a cluster of eight engines that produce 1, 500, 000 pounds of thrust -- 

more than four times the lift-off thrust of the ATLAS, the most powerful U. S. 

launch vehicle now in use for space projects. 

The take-off thrust achieved on October 27 was 1,296,000 pounds. 

rying two water-filled upper stages as ballast, reached a peak altitude of 84.8 miles 

The vehicle, car10 
and maximum velocity of 3,607 mph before plunging into the Atlantic Ocean 214. 7 

miles downrange from Cape Canaveral 8 minutes and 3.6 seconds after launching. 

A contractor was selected on November 17 to fabricate, check out, and test later 

models of the S-I at the NASA Michoud Operations, New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Earth-orbital APOLLO flights will utilize a two- stage SATURN launch vehicle. 

second stage, under development in 1961, utilizes a high-energy rocket fuel, liquid 

hydrogen, with liquid oxygen, and consists of a cluster of six engines similar to 

those used in the upper stage of the CENTAUR vehicle. Total thrust will be 90, 000 

pounds. 

The 

ADVANCED SATURN for Circumlunar Flight -- During 1961, NASA began developing a much larger launch vehicle, the ADVANCED SATURN, which will propel the -- 

APOLLO spacecraft on its second mission, the flight around the moon. 

chamber F-1 rocket engines will make up the first stage. 

thrust of 1,500, 000 pounds, equal to the thrust of all eight engines of the SATURN 

C-1 first stage. 

first stage at Michoud. 

Five singleEach will generate a 

A prime contractor was selected on December 15 to develop the 

The second stage will also have five clustered (J-2) engines, each of which will burn 

liquid hydrogen as fuel and will generate 200,000 pounds of thrust. The vehicle will 

be capable of completing missions even if one of the engines in the second stage 

fails. 

stage. 

On September 11, NASA announced selection of a contractor to develop this 

On December 20, NASA announced selection of a prime contractor to develop and 

build the third stage, a modification of the SATURN C-1 second stage, which will 

utilize a single J-2 engine. 

The three-stage ADVANCED SATURN will stand about 275 feet tall, about the 

height of a 27-story building. 

be employed for the lunar landing itself, if the rendezvous technique proves feasible 

in time. 

As noted above, the ADVANCED SATURN may also 

NOVA Vehicle for Direct Ascent -- The NOVA, a vehicle still larger than the 

ADVANCED SATURN, will be required to propel a manned spacecraft to the moon 

by direct ascent from a single launching, and for manned exploration beyond the 

moon. 

NOVA will be about 280 feet tall. 

with a total thrust at take-off of 12 million pounds. 

of about 50 feet and will carry more than 3,000 tons of liquid oxygen and kerosene. 

Since it is only through the use of liquid hydrogen fuel in upper stages that a NOVA 

of manageable size can be built, NASA decided at the end of the year to develop a 

third liquid hydrogen engine, which will deliver 1.0-1. 2 million pounds of thrust, six 

times the power of the J-2. 

Its first stage will consist of eight F-1 engines 

This stage will have a diameter 

The new engine is termed the M-1. 

The second stage of the NOVA will consist of four M-1 engines, with a thrust totaling 4,800,000 pounds. 

hydrogen and will have the same diameter as the first stage. 

It will carry about 1,000 tons of liquid oxygen and liquid 

11 
The third stage of NOVA will be similar in many respects to the third stage of 

ADVANCED SATURN. 

vehicles attempt rendezvous, they will place the third stage and the APOLLO spacecraft into orbit in separate packages. After the two have docked together, the rocket stage will be ignited in orbit for the flight to the moon. NOVA will place its third 

stage and the APOLLO spacecraft into orbit as a single package. 

third stage will be ignited in orbit for the flight to the moon. 

This is the reason: when two ADVANCED SATURN launch 

Then the NOVA 

The characteristics of launch vehicles, scheduled for NASA projects, are summarized on the accompaying chart. (See Appendix B.) 

Facilities Construction -- Construction of facilities -- for fabrication, ground testing, and launching -- is the portion of the large rocket development work that sets 

the pace, because it must take place earliest. During 1961, NASA took steps to 

acquire these facility sites for ADVANCED SATURN at New Orleans, southwest 

Mississippi, and Cape Canaveral. 

SPACE SCIENCES 

Scientific Advances 

The year 1961 saw a great outpouring of advances in knowledge resulting from space 

experiments conducted by the United States, both from flights made during the year 

and analysis of information obtained earlier. 

It is noteworthy that so much of the U. S. space program is conducted in the open, 

with prompt announcement of results to the scientific community, both in this country and abroad. This practice of "openness" has not only made clear to all that our 

space objectives are peaceful but it has contributed to the quality of the scientific 

accomplishments. The interchange of results and theories has enabled scientists to 

test interpretations against those of their colleagues and increase thereby man's 

understanding of the unknown, 

One Version of Steady State Theory Discredited -- A most important scientific result was the discrediting of one major theory of the origin of the universe, a version 

of the so-called "steady state" theory. 

is being continuously created in space at a slow rate, thus creating in time new stars 

and galaxies in the voids between those existing, which appear to be rushing zpart at 

enormous velocities. The theory held that the appearance of new stars and galaxies 

would maintain a steady state of star and galaxy distribution in any given region of 

the universe. 

The steady state theory holds that matter 

However, if matter were being created continuously, there would have to be steady 

production of gamma rays in space. 

earth's surface, because they would be absorbed by the atmosphere. 

would be detected by instruments aboard a satellite orbiting above the earth. 

The gamma rays could not be detected from the 

However, they 

On April 27, 1961, NASA launched a satellite, EXPLORER XI, with instruments to 

detect gamma radiation. The radiation detected was 1,000 times less than it would 

have to be in the case in which both matter and antimatter are created at equal rates. 

Antimatter is material which combines with ordinary matter as we know it to the annihilation of both. Thus, as a result of the EXPLORER XI experiment that version 

12 
of the steady state theory which assumes that both matter and antimatter are created 

at equal rates must be discarded. 

creation of matter, however. 

This still leaves the possibility of a continuous 

Other Advances -- Major scientific advances during the year included: 

. . . Discovery that a layer of helium surrounds the earth between altitudes of 600 and 

1,500 miles. 

VIII, launched November 3, 1960. 

This was found through analysis of information gathered by EXPLORER 

. . .Magnetic fields in the space between the planets were found to be far more intense than had previously been believed. 

1961, also discovered that the terrestrial field merges with the interplanetary magnetic field at a distance of about 40, 000 miles from earth. 

EXPLORER X, launched on March 25, 

. . . The radiation zone surrounding the earth -- named after its discoverer, James A. 

Van Allen of the State University of Iowa, -- was found to consist of a single system 

of charged particles, trapped by the earth's magnetic field, rather than several 

belts. Data from EXPLORER XU, launched on August 15, showed that the outer 

portion of the Van Allen zone contains a large number of low-energy protons, and 

that the intensity of electrons in this portion is one thousand times less than interpretation of previous measurements had indicated. 

not materially change previous findings that the inner portion of the zone is dominated by high-energy protons. 

The EXPLORER XU data did 

. . .Seventy "sounding" rockets were launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, Fort 

Churchill, Canada, and Woomera, Australia, on short-range flights to gather scientific information in space. 

. . . Observations of nine very hot stars with instruments carried above the atmosphere by sounding rockets indicated that these stars behave in quite a different manner than can be explained on the basis of present knowledge, acquired from observations of the sun. 

laws of chemistry are reversed on such stars, allowing the element helium to form 

compounds. 

Scientists at NASA'sGoddardSpace Flight Center believe that the 

Spacecraft and Launch Vehicles for Unmanned Scientific Projects 

During 1961, substantial progress was made in the development and testing of spacecraft and launch vehicles for use in far-reaching experiments scheduled for 1962 and 

the years following. 

Spacecraft Tests -- During the year, the RANGER spacecraft, boosted by the ATLASAGENA B launch vehicle made its first two test flights. The ATLAS performed properly, but the AGENA B upper stages failed to re-ignite on both occasions. As a result, the spacecraft remained in low earth orbit, instead of following its programmed 

trajectory, a highly elliptical path that would have carried it several hundred thousand miles from the earth. 

Orientation control in the RANGER spacecraft operated satisfactorily on the first 

flight. Corrective action 

has been taken to prevent repetition of the AGENA-stage re-ignition failures. The 

schedule calls for three missions to rough-land instrumented RANGER spacecraft 

On the second, the control equipment was not operated. 

13 
on the moon, during 1962. 

In August 196 1, the RANGER program was augmented by four additional flights 

planned for 1963. 

upon which to base plans and spacecraft design for manned flights. 

photographs will be made and televised to earth as the spacecraft approaches the 

moon. 

with earth - ba s e d te 1 e s c opi c technique s . 

The purpose will be to obtain information about lunar conditions 

High-resolution 

Six cameras will obtain pictures in far greater detail than would be possible 

Vehicle Changed for Venus Flight -- During the year, a decision was made to employ the ATLAS-AGENA B launch vehicle to power two unmanned missions to the 

vicinity of Venus. 

rive near Venus at the time of that planet's closest approach to the earth. 

plans called for use of the CENTAUR, a much more powerful launch vehicle. 

ever, the CENTAUR will require testing beyond that date before it will become 

operational. 

Both are selected for the summer of 1962, so that they will arEarlier 

HowThe CENTAUR will be the first U. S. launch vehicle to burn liquid hydrogen, a fuel 

that provides 30 percent greater performance than conventional liquid-rocket fuel, 

a refined form of kerosene. 

During 1961, a CENTAUR ignition fault that had caused a series of explosions on the 

test stand was corrected. Recent static runs give assurance that the engine is now 

qualified for flight testing, for which final preparations were under way at Cape Canavera1 as the year ended. 

Vehicle Development Progress -- All in all, five launch vehicles for unmanned missions are being developed. In descending order of size, they are CENTAUR, ATLASAGENA B, THOR-AGENA B, DELTA, and SCOUT. 

The THOR-AGENA B vehicle has been used extensively in the DISCOVERER program. 

The first NASA flights, however, will be in 1962, when the vehicle will be employed 

to launch a Canadian scientific satellite and a NIMBUS meteorological satellite from 

Point Ar guello, California. 

DELTA is a two-stage vehicle consisting of a modified THOR and an improved version 

of the second stage of VANGUARD. Following an initial failure in 1960, DELTA 

scored a series of five successes, proving a high degree of reliability. Originally, 

the program called for only 12 vehicles. However, in view of its reliability and 

relatively low cost, NASA decided in 1961 to procure an additional 14 vehicles. 

DELTA is to be used to launch further weather satellites in the TIROS aeries, 

experimental communication satellites (TELSTAR, RELAY, SYNCOM), and several 

scientific satellit es . 

The all-solid-propellant SCOUT, smallest and least expensive of the U. S. launch 

vehicles, boosted its first satellite into orbit on February 16, 1961. This satellite 

EXPLORER IX, an aluminum-coated plastic balloon 12 feet in diameter, was also 

the first launched from Wallops Station, Virginia. Continued analysis of the orbit 

of EXPLORER IX is being made to learn more about the density of the gases between 

altitudes of 400 and 1, 500 miles. 

14 
By the end of 1961, seven of eight launches in the SCOUT development program had 

been completed. Four were successful. At present, 30 operational SCOUT vehicles 

are on order. 

Spacecraft Programs Take Form -- Nineteen experimenters were chosen to take part 

in the first flight of the Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO), scheduled for late 

1963. The OGO is a heavy, multi-purpose scientific spacecraft, which will be 

launched at regular intervals, carrying whatever scientific experiments are ready 

for flight at the time. 

Plans to investigate the possibility of life on Mars were added to the NASA program 

during 1961. Instruments to detect the presence of bacteria and other living organisms will be landed on that planet in 1964 and 1966. 

APPLICATIONS 

Communication Satellites 

Research and development work in the area of communications satellites has been 

expanded and accelerated to provide the technology upon which to base an operational 

system. 

Satellites orbiting far above the surface can increase greatly the range of radio transmissions around the curvature of the earth. 

quency ranges -- FM and television are familiar examples -- pass through the ionosphere and are not reflected back to earth. Such signals can be reflected back from 

satellites and distributed. 

Radio signals in many channels, or freCommunications satellites now under development are of two main types, active and 

passive. 

ceives signals from the earth surface and transmits them back to earth where they 

may be received at properly equipped terminals. The passive satellite carries no 

radio equipment. 

signals can be bounced. 

Equipped with radio receivers and transmitters, an active satellite reIt serves as a mirror or reflector in space from which electronic 

NASA's first communications satellite, ECHO I, launched August 12, 1960, was of 

the passive type. 

1, 000 miles, ECHO proved the feasibility of using passive satellites as radio communications reflectors. 

rigid construction, has been developed for launching in 1962. 

A 100-foot aluminum-coated plastic balloon, orbiting at about 

A larger ECHO, 135 feet in diameter and having a more 

NASA has also initiated three active communications satellite programs, all scheduled for test launchings during 1962. They are: RELAY, TELSTAR, and SYNCOM. 

The RELAY and TELSTAR satellites will be launched into orbits having maximum altitudes of 3,000 miles. 

are designed to demonstrate transoceanic television, and multi-channel voice and 

telegraph communication. 

tion about effects of the space environment on electronic components. 

Although differing in some technical details, both satellites 

Each will carry scientific experiments to produce informaFor the RELAY experiments, NASA will make use of ground stations owned by two 

private communications concerns at Andover, Maine, and Nutley, New Jersey. 

seas, grounds stations will be provided by communications organizations in England, 

France, West Germany, and Brazil. 

Over15 
Under the terms of the agreement on Project TELSTAR, which is being funded by a 

private company, the Government will obtain the right to make inventions arising 

out of work under the agreement generally available to interested U. S. companies 

on a royalty-free basis. The Government will have similar rights with regard to 

inventions arising out of work by the private company on satellite communications 

systems during the life of the agreement. 

In Project SYNCOM, an experimental 55-pound satellite will be launched into an orbit 22, 300 miles above the earth. At that altitude, the satellite will revolve about 

the earth once in every 24 hours -- in other words, the orbit will be synchronous 

with the rotation of the earth. 

will appear to hover in a stationary position above a fixed point on the surface. 

ever, in this first experiment, the orbit will not be directly over the equator, but 

will be inclined at an angle of 30 degrees. As a result, the satellite will appear to 

wander north and south of the equator. 

above the Atlantic Ocean, one above the Pacific Ocean, and one above the Indian 

Ocean -- could provide communications relay between almost every area on earth. 

The Department of Defense is cooperating in Project SYNCOM by furnishing ground 

stations and performing voice and telegraph experiments. 

A synchronous satellite above the earth's equator 

HowThree so-called "24-hour" satellites -- one 

Also during 1961, NASA initiated industry studies of a program for orbiting three or 

more ECHO I1 satellites on a single launching. 

BOUND, has the aim of reducing the unit cost of communications satellite launchings. 

The program, called Project RETelecommunications Channels - - NASA is using the present radio communication 

channels set aside for space research and has continued its efforts to obtain additional channels, leading toward allocations for a commercial communications satellite 

network. In addition, effort is being made to protect already assigned frequencies 

against interference from other radio users. 

The main NASA activity in this field consisted of promoting and assisting in the preparation of the preliminary views of the United States on space frequency allocation 

and organizing the U. S. space telecommunications study group of the International 

Radio Consultative Committee, both providing the groundwork for a special meeting 

of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), tentatively scheduled for late 

1963. 

agency Radio Advisory Committee in preparing the U. s. position. 

tions of frequencies are based on agreements reached at the last world-wide radio 

conference, held at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1959. At that time, 13 narrow frequency bands were set aside for use in space research. 

clearly foreseeable will have much greater requirements. 

NASA worked with the Federal Communications Commission and the InterPresent allocaPresent experiments and those 

During the year, NASA represented U. S. civilian space interests on the Telecommunications Planning Committee (TPC); advised the Office of Emergency Planning 

(OEP); prepared technical spacecommunications studies for the Study Groups IV 

(Space Telecommunications) and VIII (Broadcast Monitoring) of the International 

Radio Consultative Committee of the ITU; and regularly consulted with the Space 

Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences, the International Radio Scientific 

Union (URSI), and the National Bureau of Standards' Central Radio Propagation Laboratory (CRPL). Informal consultations with the communications and frequency offices 

of the military services were held. 

16 
Meteor oloaical Satellites 

Substantial progress has been made in the development of meteorological satellites 

and in arrangements for other nations to participate in and especially to benefit from 

the program. Among the 1961 highlights: 

. . . TIROS II and 111 were launched successfully and furnished quantities of meteorological data of high value for both research and day-to-day forecasting. 

. . . Decision was made and funds were appropriated for the development of a satellite observing system to become an integral part of the over-all weather observing 

and forecasting system. 

. . . Representatives of 27 nations attended the first International Meteorological 

Weather Satellites Workshop, held in Washington under the auspices of NASA and 

the Weather Bureau. 

Results of the TIROS I1 and TIROS 111 satellite tests, and discussion of international 

cooperative arrangements, and of future plans are contained in the chapter on Weather Bureau activities later in this report. 

TIROS Series Progress -- TIROS II, launched November 23, 1960, far exceeded the 

original three-month estimate of its useful lifetime. Until late in October 1961, this 

developmental weather satellite continued to provide useful meteorological information. In January, for example, TIROS I1 photographed sea ice in the Gulf of the St. 

Lawrence. About two months later, its photos for several days progressively recorded the changes in the ice-covered area. The pictures were excellent indications of 

how weather satellites can be employed to show clearly the boundaries between ice 

pack and open water, data obviously of great utility for assessing weather and navigation conditions in sea lanes near the Arctic and Antarctic and for similar analyses 

of freeze and thaw circumstances in inland regions such as the Gre;t Lakes. 

TIROS I1 also aided forecasters with information on weather conditions for the Project MERCURY suborbital flight in May and for the launching of RANGER I in July. 

TIROS III was launched on July 12, 1961, and was placed in a near-circular orbit at 

an altitude of about 475 miles. TIROS 

I11 further demonstrated the feasibility of operational weather satellites by again 

showing that the data could be used for daily weather analysis. 

in the Weather Bureau chapter of this report. 

Popularly known as the "Hurricane Hunter, 

Details are set forth 

ADVANCEDRESEARCHANDTECHNOLOCY 

Research Supporting Space Activities 

During 1961, NASA conducted research on the problems of atmospheric entry, 

spacecraft rendezvous, launch from the moon, navigation, propulsion systems, aerodynamic heating, spacecraft shielding, and many other related areas. 

Navigation-- A manually controlled spacecraft navigation system for lunar landing 

was built and tested. The system is simple to operate and weighs only 10 to 15 

pounds. It consists of a timing device, a gunsight-like optical instrument, and a 

17 
specialized radar unit, all of which would enable the pilot to orient the spacecraft and 

its lunar landing unit by fixes on various stars and by other navigational techniques. 

There is significant advantage to the lightweight of the system because this reduces 

the amount of propellant required for take-off and the weight to be fired into an escape trajectory for the voyage back to earth. 

Rendezvous -- NASA researchers advanced understanding of the first phase of space 

rendezvous, which calls for maneuvering space vehicles within 100 to 1, 000 feet of 

one another in earth orbit. Later phases of rendezvous will call for actual coupling 

of two spacecraft. 

NASA scientists concluded that simultaneous firing of the spacecraft to be brought 

together in space would be superior to launchings separated in time. 

"salvo rendezvous" method would require less fuel and would involve simpler guidance and control problems. 

This so-called 

Spacecraft Entry and Landing -- It was found that a spacecraft with ballistic shape 

and no wings, like that in Project MERCURY, can select its landing area within a 

zone ranging from 1,000 to 15, 000 miles long and up to 1,000 miles wide. 

spacecraft, however, must be designed to take best advantage of lift, resistance, 

and other factors of high-velocity flight into the atmosphere. For the range up to 

15, 000 miles, a spacecraft would skip along the top of the atmospheric layer like a 

flat stone on water, between the altitudes of 80-90 miles and 400 miles, the lower 

edge of the Van Allen radiation belt in some regions. 

The 

Moon Trajectories -- NASA studies compared the relative merits of two kinds of trajectories for flight around the moon -- direct trajectories, in which the spacecraft 

enters the earth's atmosphere in the direction of the earth's rotation, and retrograde 

trajectories, which enter in the opposite direction. The studies showed that retrograde entry is a superior method of navigation because greater margins of error 

can be allowed in the required speeds and altitudes of approach for achieving the 

proper entry flight path. 

Liquid-Propellant Engines -- NASA is supporting three major liquid-propellant engine development programs, all of which are necessary phases of the Manned Lunar 

Landing Program. The three are the F-1, the J-2, and the CENTAUR engine, of 

which there are two models, the A-1 and the A-3. 

The F- 1 is a single-chamber rocket that generates 1. 5 million pounds of thrust, as 

much as all eight engines of the SATURN-C-1 first stage. It uses the conventional 

propellant combination of liquid oxygen (LOX) and RP-1, a refined form of kerosene. 

The J-2 and the CENTAUR engines burn high-energy liquid hydrogen and LOX. 

, . . F- 1 Progress -- Nineteen successful test firings of the first F- 1 engine, complete with all flight components, were conducted before an inspection of the engine 

became necessary. 

September. 

A second test stand was completed and fired for the first time in 

. . . J-2 Development -- At the year's end, the contractor had nearly completed the 

check-out of the major components of the J-2, whose thrust will be 200,000 pounds 

Results with most components have been good. Some delays up to about three 

18 
months, however, have been encountered in the work on the thrust chamber and the 

turbopump, because the first designs were not satisfactory. When the components 

have been successfully tested, the contractor will assemble them into the first J-2 

engine. 

. . . CENTAUR Engines -- The A- 1 and A-3 engines, delivering about 15,000 pounds 

of thrust each, use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Two A- 1 engines will power 

the upper stage of the ATLAS-CENTAUR vehicle, while a cluster of six A-3 engines 

will power the second stage of the SATURN C- 1. The A- 1 engine performed satisfactorily during 20 selected test-firings which qualified it for experimental flight 

use. In November, a 30-second tandem firing of two A-1 engines was conducted 

successfully and during the same month other firings simulated the use of these 

engines as the upper stage of the ATLAS-CENTAUR. Also, in November, fullduration test firings of the A-3 engine took place. 

Solid Propellant Engines -- NASA has completed a series of studies on employment 

of solid propellant engines in stages of large launch vehicles for manned lunar 

flights. 

As an outgrowth of the studies, a contractor ground-tested a very large, tapered, 

and segmented solid-propellant engine for NASA in August. 

long, and with maximum diameter of 86 inches, weighed 73, 000 pounds. It developed 200,000 pounds of thrust -- somewhat greater than that generated by one of the 

eight engines of the SATURN C- 1 -- and burned for a period of 70 seconds. By 

NASA-Air Force agreement, the Air Force assumed responsibility for directing 

later phases of that program and directed a successful test of a two-segment version 

of the engine, weighing 140, 000 pounds. 

The engine, 27 feet 

NASA contractors also carried out: 

. . . Two investigations of symptoms of impending malfunction of solid-propellant engines to provide information needed in the design of escape systems for manned 

spacecraft boosted by solid-propellant vehicle stages. 

. . . An inquiry into the effects on electronic and mechanical equipment, propellant, 

and vehicle structure, and ground support equipment of the noise fields developed by 

launch vehicle stages generating up to 20, 000, 000 pounds of thrust. 

. . . A study of inspection methods for very large solid-propellant engines to improve 

the means of predicting failure. 

Nuclear Propulsion -- The nuclear-rocket engine program (Project ROVER) has 

emerged as a major phase of the national space effort. 

the technology being developed in the KIWI reactor and NERVA nuclear-rocket engine work now in progress could lead to another approach for manned exploration of 

the moon. Substitution of a nuclear-rocket engine for a chemical engine in the third 

stage of the ADVANCED SATURN vehicle could make the manned lunar landing and 

return mission possible without requiring rendezvous and docking in orbit. 

Analysis has indicated that 

The nuclear-rocket engine program is completely integrated. 

tor, the engine, the test-flight vehicle and test-facilities development. The program 

is jointly supported by NASA andAEC. 

It involves the reac19 
. . . Reactor Progress -- The reactor research part of the program is being conducted by the AEC. In 1961, that agency completed the first of the KIWI-B reactor test 

series to establish a basic design leading to flight reactors. The test was cut short 

because of a hydrogen leak. Nevertheless, valuable information was provided on the 

reactor-control system, the rocket nozzle, and data to aid in selection of one of the 

several reactor designs from which the final flight reactor will be selected. 

All tests thus far have been made with gaseous hydrogen as the reactor coolant. 

Completion of liquid hydrogen test facilities at the Nevada Test Site in 1962 will permit the reactor to be tested with liquid hydrogen. 

quid hydrogen, is scheduled for early in 1962. 

A KIWI-B series test, using li- 

. . . Engine Work -- NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) development is being conducted under contract to the AE?-NASx SpaceNuclear Propulsion 

Office. The flight-test vehicle and program for the nuclear rocket will be developed 

under NASA guidance. 

NERVA will be flight-tested in an upper stage compatible with the ADVANCED 

SATURN vehicle. 

Reactor-In-Flight-Test. 

engines for operational upper-stage nuclear rocket vehicles. 

The design and development program has been termed RIFT, for 

The goal of the NERVA program is development of flight 

Nuclear Energy Power Generation -- SNAP-8 (Systems for Nuclear _Auxiliary Power) 

is the highest power (30-60 kilowatts) space nuaear electric system currentlyunder 

development in this country. 

for the nuclear reactor, its controls and reactor shielding, and NASA for the energy 

conversion equipment, system integration, and eventual system flight testing. 

It is a joint AEC-NASA project with AEC responsible 

SNAP-8 will serve as the power source for first generation electrically propelled 

spacecraft which will perform unmanned space science missions. 

also generate large quantities of electric power for other space applications. 

The system will 

During 1961 , intensive component development continued; system ground test facility 

requirements were established; and plans for system flight testing were prepared. 

NASA conducted a broad program to solve advanced systems problems and develop 

system technology. 

high-powered vapor turbines; liquid metal lubrication; two-phase alkali metal heat 

transfer; compact refractory heat exchangers, and projects dealing with system materials development. 

The program included work on experimental high-temperature, 

Electric Propulsion -- Three concepts of electric-propulsion engines are being developed, under 48 research and development contracts. These comprise ion, arcjet, and plasma engines, each of which will require a nuclear-electric power generating plant, such as the SNAP-8 system. 

. . . Arc-Jet Engine -- NASA is developing a 1-kw arc-jet engine for spacecraft orientation-control and stabilization systems. The program was expanded in April to 

include design, development, and fabrication of a model scheduled for launching by 

a SCOUT vehicle on a flight test late in 1962. 

20 
A contract to develop an arc-jet engine laboratory model, drawing 30 kw of power 

for primary propulsion of spacecraft, was awarded in July. 

contract to a second concern for further study. 

a thermos bottle and produce one-half pound of thrust. 

NASA let a parallel 

The engine will be about the size of 

. . . Ion Engine -- Development continued on a laboratory-model cesium ion engine 

with .002 pounds of thrust for flight tests launched by SCOUT vehicles late in 1962. 

The tests will establish whether ion engines can operate under true space conditions. 

. . . Plasma Research -- NASA is sponsoring a number of studies of plasma techniques 

and their possibilities for space propulsion. Plasma technology is not considered advanced enough to warrant an engine -development program. 

Materials Research -- Studies of ablative materials to protect spacecraft from the 

intense heat of entry into the atmosphere are being made. Ablative materials are 

plastics] ceramics] or other materials which are converted to gases by aerodynamic 

heating. The gases dissipate much of the heat as they flow back over the vehicle. 

For relatively low heating rates, Teflon plastic was found fully effective. 

lene plastic was found to be less effective than Teflon because it ablates in liquid 

form. 

Polyethy- 

. . . Passive Satellite Materials -- NASA scientists found that for passive communication balloon satellites fine wire mesh bonded to plastic withstood exposure to the 

equivalent of one year of radiation. 

. . .Structures Research -- During the year greater understanding of flutter -- a destructive vibration of the outer skin panels of hypersonic and entry vehicles -- was 

obtained. 

stable] but that additional heating may eventually stop flutter. 

It was found that aerodynamic heating can cause a panel to become un- 

. . . Cooling Panels -- Aircraft that encounter severe heating in hypersonic flight may 

employ water in "tubed sheet, 

absorb the heat. 

bly be used in hypersonic craft. 

a structural material with internal passageways, to 

Tests of two designs of tubed material indicated that it could probaAeronautics Research -- Wide-ranging studies in advanced aeronautics have been 

progressing. Important investigations during the year were related directly to 

studies of a civilian supersonic transport -- under development jointly by NASA, the 

Department of Defense, and the Federal Aviation Agency. The study urged 'la wellorganized national effort.. . to produce an economically competitive commercial supersonic transport by 1970.. . IT to preserve the position of the United States in world 

commercial aviation. 

Aerodynamics -- NASA investigation of designs for the supersonic transport progressed during the year through wind-tunnel tests of a variable-sweep wing that can 

be mechanically extended at low speeds (take-off, climb, approach] landing) or 

swung back at high speeds. 

satisfactory flight characteristics at practically all speeds. 

The wind-tunnel tests indicated that this wing design has 

Investigations were conducted in regard to the use of supersonic aircraft engine 

power (ordinarily employed fully at cruise speed) to supply more lift during approaches and landings. These experiments held promise that performance can be 

21 
improved by deflecting the engine jets downward. 

Operating Problems -- Supersonic aircraft research has demonstrated that the pilot 

of a supersonic transport will need a single, compound instrument for reference in 

order to maintain a steady flight path during climb from take-off. The requirement 

is for a device showing changes in speed and altitude simultaneously. It will be especially needed when the pilot cannot locate landmarks or other guides due to the 

nose-high pitch of the airplane. Research on such an instrument is under way. 

Problems of cruising stability for supersonic aircraft are also being studied. Data 

collected corroborated NASA findings that a versatile device is needed before pilots 

of supersonic transports can keep the aircraft stable and under full control at all 

times. 

Noise will be a severe problem with supersonic transports as it is with military 

jets. The sonic boom (a thunder-clap passing through the sound barrier caused by 

an aircraft at the speed of sound or beyond it) can crack windows and damage buildings. Through NASA laboratory and flight research with supersonic aircraft, it has 

been learned that the sonic boom increases two to four times when an aircraft accelerates or turns. This information is being used in further research to predict 

the boom and devise ways to reduce its force. 

V/STOL Research -- Studies of VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) and STOL 

(Short Take -Off and Landing) aircraft moved forward. The conclusion was reached 

that a combination V/STOL aircraft is preferable to two separate types because it 

will be able to take off either vertically or with a short run. 

Flight Tests -- Typical of NASA V/STOL flight tests were those utilizing the X-14, 

a deflected turbojet airplane, modified to stimulate characteristics of various aircraft of the V/STOL type. 

flight and has made in-flight transition from one type to the other. 

instruments and evaluation by the pilot are being used in conjunction with windtunnel studies to further V/STOL design progress. 

The X-14 has been flown in both hovering and forward 

Information from 

Another type of VTOL used in flight investigations is the VZ-2, a two-propeller, 

tilt-wing aircraft. 

stall (lose lifting ability) by changing the design of the wing. Solution of this problem will provide information valuable in the design of other aircraft. 

Progress was made in overcoming the tendency of the VZ-2 to 

Improving Helicopter Design -- Investigations were conducted to ascertain the effects of the fuselage shape and external components (hubs, pylon, antennas, rotors, 

landing gear) on the performance of helicopters. 

Army needs for a helicopter with longer range and greater cruise efficiency than 

those now in service. 

other parts dissipated much of the helicopter's total power. 

The study resulted from U. S. 

Research showed that the drag (resistance) of fuselage and 

Data from wind-tunnel tests indicated that smoothing and streamlining fuselage and 

skid landing gear reduces resistance substantially. 

Flight Safety -- In 1961, much research effort was expended on problems of civil 

aircraft operation. 

with a specially-designed, 100, 000-pound test car. 

Investigations were made of the effects of slush on runways 

It was found that one-half inch 

22 
of slush requires 1,000 feet of extra runway for take-off of a jet transport. Another 

finding was that in a high-speed run, slush is thrown into all openings of the aircraft. 

This can damage the vehicle and seriously interfere with operational safety. 

Tire Designs for Safety -- Another problem investigated during the year was the 

poor braking ability of jet aircraft on wet runways. Aircraft tires reinforced with 

fabric are satisfactory for propeller-driven aircraft that can reverse thrust to aid 

in braking. Jets, however, have much less reverse thrust than prop-driven aircraft and are thus more dependent on tires for braking. Research showed that fabric-reinforced tires, with simplified tread design had, in some cases, only onethird the braking efficiency at high speed as tires of older design. NASA developed 

a design for a fabric-reinforced tread, which is about equal in braking efficiency to 

the older type, and has made the results available to aircraft tire manufacturers. 

23 
SPECIAL FLIGHT RESEARCH PROJECTS 

The X- 15 Emerimental Airdane 

The rocket-powered X-15 is the latest in a series of expsrimental aircraft built in 

the last 15 years to explore the conditions of manned flight at ever-greater speeds 

and altitudes. 

design requirements of 4, 500 mph speed and altitude capability in excess of 50 miles. 

A joint NASA-Air Force-Navy project, the X-15 was built to meet 

The three aircraft in this project continued to set world speed and altitude records 

again in 1961 as performance was increased by stages to build up to design performance levels. 

high-thrust XLR-99 engine. Maximum speed was 2, 756 mph. 

All but one of the 1961 records followed the installation of the new 

On March 30, NASA pilot Joe Walker flew to an altitude of 169, 600 feet (32. 12 miles) 

on his first flight with the new engine. 

On October 11, Air Force Major Robert M. White flew to an altitude of 217, 000 feet 

(41. 10 miles). 

Five successive speed records were set by the X-15 during 1961, four by White and 

one by Walker. 

flight powered by the XLR- 11 engines, and reached an altitude of 75,000 feet (14.2 

miles). 

On February 7, White attained a speed of 2, 275 mph in the final 

On March 7, White attained a speed of 2, 905 mph at an altitude of 75, 000 feet in the 

first flight with the high-thrust engine. 

On April 21, White attained a speed of 3, 074 mph and an altitude of 105, 100 feet 

(19. 9 miles). 

On May 25, Walker attained a speed of 3, 307 mph and an altitude of 110, 000 feet 

(20. 9 miles). 

On November 9, White pushed the X-15 to its maximum speed in the current series 

of flights -- 4,093 mph -- 6.04 times the speed of sound -- and a maximum altitude 

of 101,600 feet (19. 3 miles). 

86 seconds. White was launched from a B-52 at 52,000 feet over Mud Lake, Nevada, 

and landed at Edwards, 200 miles away, about 10 minutes later. Some cracking took 

place in the right outer windshield during descent. 

The rocket engine burned at maximum throttle for 

The cause is under study. 

On November 28, the President presented the Harmon International Trophy to X- 15 

pilots White, Walker, and Scott Crossfield, an employee of the X- 15 contractor. 

The next objective in the X-15 flights will be the accomplishment of design altitude-- 

about 50 miles. 

begin after the installation of a backup stability augmentation system. 

little doubt that the propulsion system can send the plane to those altitudes -- and 

even higher, perhaps. 

from which the X-15 can safely enter the dense lower atmosphere. 

Flights above that altitude -- possibly as high as 80 miles -- will 

There is 

But only experimentation can establish the maximum altitude 

24 
Many experiments have been proposed to make use of the X-15 as a test aircraft to 

obtain scientific information between the altitudes of 30 and 70 miles -- heights greater than those attained by balloons but lower than satellite altitudes. 

would capitalize on the availability of the pilot for on-the-spot input in the conduct 

of the experiment. The proposals are being evaluated by a joint NASA-Air ForceNavy Committee. 

Experiments 

DYNA-SOAR SUPPORT 

During 1961, NASA made progress in research on aerodynamic, structural, propulsion, navigational, operational, and human factors problems in support of the DYNASOAR project. Progress was made in studies to improve stability and control characteristics of the DYNA-SOAR glider at speeds as high as Mach 18. 

NASA scientists served on review teams which conducted an engineering inspection 

and evaluation of the DYNA-SOAR Step I mock-up in September 196 1. Responsibility 

of the teams is to assure completeness and correctness of requests for design alterations. 

TRACKING AND DATA ACQUISITION 

Substantial progress was made during 1961 in the establishment of NASA's ground 

tracking and data acquisition networks. Vital to the space program, they support 

operational missions involving vertically fired sounding or research rockets, 

manned and unmanned earth satellites, and deep space probes requiring communications over vast reaches of spzce. 

Network Progress 

During 1961, NASA completed the network of 18 globally deployed stations, a computing and communications center and a control center for the MERCURY Program. 

This complex successfully supported the first MERCURY single-orbit mission 

(MA-4) and the second MERCURY mission (MA-5), which resulted in a two-orbit 

flight. 

Also completed was the Deep Space Network, consisting of three stations located 

at Goldstone, California; Woomera, Australia; near Johannesburg, Republic of South 

Africa, and a communication, computation and control center at the Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Only the Goldstone station had been operational 

in 1960. 

This network can now support missions such as those of the unmanned lunar spacecraft RANGER. During the year, two RANGERS were launched, but both failed to 

leave their earth "parking" orbits, and thus performed as earth satellites rather 

than as lunar probes. 

both missions. 

Nevertheless, the network was operated successfully during 

New Antennas 

Another accomplishment was the erection of a new 85-foot diameter parabolic antenna near Fairbanks, Alaska. 

aid in obtaining data when large satellites are launched on scientific and applications 

This antenna and its associated electronic devices will 

25 
missions. 

supporting a satellite mission. 

Carolina, on a site selected during 1961. 

The station will be entirely operational before its first scheduled task of 

A similar station will be built at Rosman, North 

Minitrack Advances -- Numerous changes were also made in the NASA earth-satellite tracking network known as Minitrack. 

banks, Alaska; Newfoundland; and Winkfield, England, as well as at new sites in 

Australia, South Africa, and Goldstone, California. Some of them will be consolidated with the Deep Space tracking network. 

of stations at Antigua, B. W. I. , and San Diego, California--constituting significant 

progress in a long-term program of shifting the operational frequency of Minitrack 

from 108 Mc to a permanent frequency of 136 Mc. 

New stations became operational at FairThese facilities permitted deactivation 

Other Activities 

No changes were made in connection with the Baker-Nunn Satellite Tracking Camera 

Network, operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. 

In another advance, a high-gain antenna at Wallops Station was modified during the 

year to support the TIROS mission. This modification introduced Wallops to a new 

role of supporting the orbital phase of NASA missions. 

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS 

Space activities are a significant factor in international policy. 

the space program accomplishments have influenced world opinion with respect to 

national strength and prestige. 

sharing knowledge with other nations is bringing about a growing appreciation abroad 

of the significance of the U. S. program to the free world. 

From its beginning, 

Moreover, this countryls policy of "openness" in 

Satellite Pro j e c t s 

In March 1959, the United States pledged -- through the Committee on Space Research 

(COSPAR) of the International Council of Scientific Unions -- that it would support 

projects for orbiting individual experiments or complete satellite payloads, of mutual interest, prepared by. scientists of other nations. 

to make available launching vehicles, spacecraft, technical guidance, and laboratory 

support for valid scientific experiments or payloads developed by scientists abroad. 

Subsequently, NASA has offered 

The first satellites under this program are being prepared by the United Kingdom and 

Canada. The U. K. satellite will carry devices to study electron temperatures and 

concentrations in the ionosphere, and instruments to determine electron densities 

in the vicinity of the satellite, to measure solar radiation and correlate it with ionospheric phenomena, and to observe primary cosmic rays and study their interactions 

with the earth's magnetic field. 

Experiments were selected by scientists of the United Kingdom in consultation with 

NASA scientists. U. K. scientists are building the experiments. They will also be 

responsible for data analysis. NASA will design, fabricate, and test the prototype 

and flight models. 

26 
The Canadian project centers around a TOPSIDE SOUNDER satellite, which will be 

employed to study the upper ionosphere by radio-echo sounding -- a technique, similar to radar, used for years to study the ionosphere from below. The nature of the 

ionosphere makes it impossible to obtain information about its upper reaches from 

the ground because radar pulses penetrate the region and continue on into space instead of reflecting back to earth. 

sounding of the ionosphere's top surface from above. 

I'ALOUETTE" by Canada) is being funded and built by Canada. 

will supply the THOR-AGENA launching vehicle. 

The TOPSIDE SOUNDER will apply radio-echo 

The United States 

The satellite (christened 

The first U. K. -U. S. satellite and the Canada-U. S. ALOUETTE advanced to the preflight test phase in 1961. 

satellite has been agreed upon, for possible launching in 1963. 

Both will be launched by NASA in 1962. A second British 

NASA's design and test requirements for such projects call for the closest relationships between scientists of the participating nations. 

program with the United Kingdom, a joint U.S. -British working group meets regularly to resolve technical problems. 

tists serves the ALOUETTE TOPSIDE SOUNDER program. 

For example, in the satellite 

A similar group of U. S. and Canadian scienNone of these international projects involves exchange of funds. 

S ounding Rocket Pr o j e c t s 

Much valuable information about the earth's atmospheric envelope and its near-space 

environment has been gained from experiments carried aloft by relatively cheap and 

uncomplicated sounding rockets. 

which are conducting scientific investigations with sounding rockets. 

launchings in these international programs took place in 196 1. 

Italian National Space Committee carried out six successful experiments , using payloads provided by NASA. 

was made in Sweden. Four U. S. astronomical payloads were launched on British 

SKYLARK rockets in Australia. 

NASA is cooperating with a number of nations 

The first 

In Sardinia, the 

An upper-air experiment, employing an American rocket, 

NASA and the Japanese Radio Research Laboratory, the Norwegian Space Committee, 

and the Pakistan Upper Atmosphere and Space Research Committee have made arrangements for joint rocket-research experiments in 1962. 

Weather and Communications Satellite Programs 

Twenty-eight nations agreed to conduct special observations of weather phenomena, 

to be coordinated with the cloud-cover photographs made by the TIROS III weather 

satellite as indicated elsewhere in this report. In November, NASA and the U. S. 

Weather Bureau co-sponsored an International Meteorological Satellite Workshop in 

Washington. 

Under agreements with NASA, the post and telegraph agencies of England, France, 

West Germany, and Brazil are building ground terminals at their own expense, for 

experiments in overseas television, telephone, and telegraph transmissions via 

communications satellite in 1962. 

27 
Training Personnel 

Scientists and technicians from Chile, Ecuador, Peru, the United Kingdom, and 

Canada visited Goddard Space Flight Center for extended periods of training, in 

preparation for the operation of tracking and data acquisition stations in their own 

countries. 

Also during 1961, NASA initiated a university fellowship program for foreign 

graduate students , administered by the National Academy of Sciences. 

in 1962, the program will accommodate up to 100 foreign graduate students at 

American university laboratories engaged in space research. 

sponsored by their national space committee or research councils. 

countries will provide travel and subsistence for their nationals. NASA will 

fund university costs. 

Beginning 

Students must be 

Sponsoring 

These programs are designed to aid nations wishing to help themselves to share 

in the benefits of space research. 

The programs are expanding U. S. research without export of dollars 

28 
NASA ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES 

During 1961, NASA reorganized in line with the goals of the accelerated and broadened national aeronautics and space program, to achieve: 

. . . Unification of the management of major programs, so as to bring all important 

functions within a single office and facilitate prompt decisions. 

. . .Easy direct communications between headquarters and the centers, to increase 

the effectiveness of the center directors as co-equal contributors to NASA policy. 

. . . Recognition of the centers as institutions, and functional management of activities carried on at more than one center -- such as tracking and communications, or 

advanced re se arch. 

. . .Increased flexibility in assigning and shifting missions and resources among the 

centers and headquarters program offices. 

He adauarte r s -Center Relationships 

The general management of NASA, represented by the Administrator, the Deputy 

Administrator, and the Associate Administrator, now share in making broad policy, 

major decisions, and general direction. Headquarters program and administrative 

offices are responsible for planning, programming, and supervising specific programs, projects, and administrative activities. The field centers are responsible 

for execution of programs, projects, and administrative activities. On institutional 

matters, the general management of each field center reports to the Associate Administrator. On programs, projects, and administrative activities, the personnel 

involved in the field centers are under the functional direction of the appropriate 

program or administrative offices in headquarters. Technical offices in headquar - 

ters were realigned to provide clearer focus and major emphasis on programs. 

Field Centers 

The following major organization changes took place at NASA field centers during 

the year: 

In January, the Institute for Space Studies was established in New York City, near 

the campus of Columbia University, as an extension of the Theoretical Division of 

the Goddard Space Flight Center. 

The selection of the Government-owned Michoud Ordnance Plant, near New Orleans, 

as a fabrication site for large launch vehicle stages was announced September 7. 

Operations at the plant will be conducted by industrial contractors under the technical direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, beginning about the fall of 1962. 

On October 25, NASA announced the selection of a 13, 500-acre site in southern 

Mississippi where six or more stands for the ground-testing of large launch vehicle 

stages will be constructed. In addition, NASA will acquire easement rights to about 

128, 000 acres in Mississippi and Louisiana as a buffer zone. The Government will 

own the central site, but will merely move residents out of the buffer zone, where 

29 
farming, lumbering, grazing, and mineral operations will still be possible. 

On September 19, NASA announced the selection of a thousand-acre site in Harris 

County, 15 miles from the center of Houston, Texas, for the Manned Spacecraft 

Center, which incorporates the former Space Task Group. The Houston laboratory 

will carry out and supervise work in-house and by industrial contractors on the design, development, evaluation, and testing of manned spacecraft. In addition, it 

will train flight crews for space missions. 

ready begun to move personnel and activities to Houston from its present site at 

Langley Field, Virginia. 

Mercury orbital flights. 

The Manned Spacecraft Center has alThe bulk of the staff will move on completion of Project 

With the selection of four sites at Houston, New Orleans, southwest Mississippi, 

and Cape Canaveral, NASA now has a complex of facilities at warm-water ports 

near the Gulf of Mexico, connected by deep-water transportation. 

to work outdoors most of the year at all four sites and to transport by water the 

large rocket and spacecraft units that will be required for the landing on the moon 

and the more ambitious space flight missions that will follow. 

It will be possible 

COOPERATION WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES 

Coordination of space research plans and programs with other Government agencies 

became closer during 1961. 

consultation with the National Aeronautics and Space Council and its staff. 

major interagency activities in which NASA is engaged are the following: 

The cooperative activities were aided by advice and 

Among 

. . . The Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board, established September 13, 

1960, chaired jointly by the Deputy Administrator of NASA and the Director of Defense Research and Engineering. 

activities of NASA and the Department of Defense to avoid undesirable duplication 

and to achieve efficient utilization of available resources, identifying problems re - 

quiring solution by one agency or the other, and exchanging information. The Board 

operates through six specialized panels. Major joint NASA-Department of Defense 

activities during the year include the agreement for expansion of facilities and operations at the Atlantic Missile Range, a joint bioastronautics plan in preparation, and 

agreement on plans for future large launch vehicle configurations. 

The Board has the function of coordinating the 

. . . Joint projects with the U. S. Weather Bureau, Department of Commerce, and 

the Department of Defense, under the auspices of the Joint Meteorological Satellite Advisory Committee; and cooperation arnong NASA, the Weather Bureau, the 

Department of the Treasury, the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation 

Agency, the Civil Aeronautics Board, and the Bureau of the Budget on the National 

Coordinating Committee for Aviation Meteorology. These and other organizations 

are concerned with developing satellites and facilities for expanding weather re - 

search, observation, and prediction. 

. . . Research in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Agency and the Department 

of Defense in the development of a supersonic jet transport plane. 

all management of the program. 

FAA has over- 

. . . Joint programs with the Atomic Energy Commission to develop nuclear-rocket 

propulsion and spacecraft power sources. A NASA-AEC Space Nuclear Propulsion 

30 
Office manages Project Rover, a program to develop nuclear rocket propulsion. 

Other programs are integrated through the SNAP-8 Coordinating Committee and a 

joint agreement between AEC and NASA. 

NASA receives scientific advice from the Space Science Board of the National 

Academy of Sciences, and conducts cooperative programs with the National Bureau 

of Standards, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Science Foundation. 

31 
Chapter IV 

Department of Defense 

INT RODUC TION 

In 1961, military space activity expanded both in volume and scope as the Department of Defense (DOD) sustained a vigorous interest in the advancement and exploitation of space technology for the enhancement of the national defense posture. 

Space efforts of the Department are integrated with the over-all military program, 

supplementing or complementing other military activities. 

Some of these space efforts are systems oriented in those areas which are definable today such as navigation and communications. Others are oriented toward the 

development of future space capabilities such as rendezvous and inspection. 

Finally, there are developments in basic technology, the building blocks necessary 

for a flexible capability to move rapidly into systems needed in the future as 

specific defense requirements and missions are defined. These building blocks 

include structures, guidance and control systems, maneuverable re-entry vehicles, 

propulsion, and man himself. 

Many significant accomplishments were achieved in the military portion of the 

national space program during 1961. The United States Military Space Detection 

and Tracking Center (SPADATS) attained full operational status. SPADATS is an 

essential element of the North American Air Defense Commandts Combat Operations Center. Nuclear power sources, developed through the Atomic Energy 

Commission, were used for the first time in space to power TRANSIT navigational 

satellites. LOFTI, the very low frequency satellite, launched pick-a-back on 

TRANSIT, provided data to confirm that the ionosphere is not opaque to very low 

frequency radio energy. 

single space booster. The technology and technique of recovering capsules from 

orbit was improved. 

Three satellites were launched simultaneously on a 

Space activities of the military departments are closely coordinated by the 

Director of Defense Research and Engineering. 

of Defense issued a directive assigning a primary responsibility for military space 

research and development to the Department of the Air Force. Exception is made, 

however, in any case where the particular interests, responsibilities, or unique 

capabilities of one of the other military departments properly justifies a specific 

assignment. 

TRANSIT, and the Army's communications satellite project, ADVENT. 

On March 6, 1961, the Secretary 

Current examples are the Navy's navigational satellite program, 

In addition to the space programs conducted by the Department of Defense, planning for potential military applications of the future must also take into account 

all aspects of research and development in space. 

all of the technology and techniques already developed, being developed, or 

planned for development, are incorporated into national defense plans and programs. 

This is essential to insure that 

33 
For these reasons, and because the NASA programs help make our country stronger 

in many fields of science and technology, the DOD and NASA operate in close accord at management and operating levels to insure that the collective efforts are 

complementary. 

The NASA-DOD Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board continued to 

function effectively during the year to ensure close working relationships and to 

effect integration of DOD and NASA effort essential to the prosecution of a single 

national space program. Through the Board membership and six functional area 

panels, projects and project support were defined, planned, revised, and adjusted 

to eliminate duplication, and to apportion, adjust, or augment effort as required. 

Major DOD programs and joint planning efforts are discussed in following sections: 

MAJORPROGRAMS 

ADVENT 

The objective of this program is to demonstrate the feasibility of instantaneous 

microwave communications using an active repeater in a synchronous equatorial 

orbit. This program calls for the placing of communications satellites in orbits 

19, 300 nautical miles above the earth where they will rotate at the same rate as 

the earth and remain fixed with respect to the ground. This satellite is designed 

to meet military communications requirements of security and resistance to jamming and interception. Two ground stations are nearing completion at Fort Dix, 

New Jersey, and Camp Roberts, California. The initial launches next year call 

for the placing of satellites in 5,000-mile orbits, utilizing the ATLAS AGENA B 

as a preliminary step. 

may be possible. 

could provide instantaneous communications between almost any two points in the 

world. ADVENT ground stations will also be used to support the NASA SYNCOM 

communications s at ellit e pro gram. 

The following year orbiting at the synchronous altitude 

Three such satellites, properly spaced in equatorial orbit, 

ARENTS 

The ARPA Environmental Test Satellite (ARENTS) project is a task under the 

VELA HOTEL program. Its objective is (1) to investigate the space environment 

at the 24-hour orbit altitude of 19,300 nautical miles, (2) to measure the fluctuations of this environment with time, and (3) to determine the long-term behavior 

of critical satellite-system components in this environment. 

will be of general scientific value and will support other space programs, especially those such as the Army ADVENT communications satellite program which 

will operate in a 24-hour orbit. 

periments to measure the radiation background. 

The ARENTS data 

Of particular interest to VELA HOTEL are exThe ARENTS spacecraft is scheduled to fly with a NASA payload on three of the 

ten CENTAUR vehicle development flights. 

vehicles are under review. 

The mission assignments of these 

BAMBI (PROJECT DEFENDER) 

The purpose of this program is to conduct research necessary to identify and 

34 
solve the problems involved in intercepting enemy ballistic missiles during or 

immediately after the burning phase. 

BAllistic Missile Boost - Intercept. 

The program derives its name from 

- - - 

As presently foreseen, the BAMBI concept involves high performance space-based 

platforms and interceptors. The conceptual and preliminary investigations to date 

have not established feasibility or firm values for design and operational parameters. 

able additional research is required in a variety of areas before the technical, 

operational, and economic feasibility of the BAMBI concept can be verified. 

Detailed technical assessments of the work to date indicate that considerBLUE SCOUT 

The BLUE SCOUT program is directed toward providing a simple, reliable and 

versatile space booster system which can be used to perform selected, lightweight 

space missions for much less cost than the larger ballistic missile-derived boosters. 

by NASA. With certain modifications and developments, and by combining various 

size solid propellant booster stages, flexibility is provided to match a wide variety 

of military requirements. 

The family of BLUE SCOUT vehicles utilizes standard hardware developed 

During 1961 there have been seven launches of the BLUE SCOUT family, of which 

five were successful in achieving their design mission. 

placed various probes to altitudes from 1,000 to 56,000 nautical miles. 

the failures occurred shortly after lift-off and were destroyed by the range safety 

officer. 

The successful shots 

Both of 

DISCOVERER 

The Air Force has continued a vigorous DISCOVERER satellite program during the 

past year. The program consists of testing components, propulsion, guidance 

systems, and techniques used in various U.S. space projects. Included is the 

gathering of scientific data in such areas as space radiation, cosmic rays, micrometeorites, radio wave propagation, biomedicine, temperature, pressure, 

density, and general engineering using both recoverable and non-recoverable 

packages. Capsule recovery is foremost among techniques being studied. 

Seventeen launches were attempted this year with twelve satellites attaining orbit 

successfully. Of that number, seven have been recovered from orbit. Four of 

these were caught in the air by specially equipped aircraft and three by parachute 

dropped rescue teams equipped with scuba diving gear. There have been a total 

of 36 DISCOVERER launches to date. Impact predictions and recovery techniques 

have been steadily improving with the accumulation of knowledge and refinement 

of equipment. The C-130B aircraft have now replaced the slower and lower flying 

C-119s for recovery missions. 

The AGENA B, second stage and satellite vehicle which is currently being used, 

is also being employed or planned for use in other Air Force programs such as 

MIDAS, SATELLITE INSPECTOR, and some of the NASA programs. Action has 

been initiated to develop and test a standardized AGENA, the AGENA D, for future 

use by the Air Force and NASA. 

the DISCOVERER program. 

The testing of this vehicle has been assigned to 

35 
DYNA-SOAR 

DYNA-SOAR is a manned test vehicle capable of maneuverable re-entry from 

orbit to a conventional controlled landing at an air base which can be selected by 

the pilot. 

The development is a joint USAF-NASA program, financed and administered by the 

Air Force, to construct and test a manned military space research vehicle which 

will explore the problems and conditions of hypersonic flight over the range between 

the X-15 research aircraft and orbital velocity. 

capability for positive, pilot controlled re-entry and recovery from orbit. 

pilot of the DYNA-SOAR glider will have the ability to control his return to Earth 

by extending his flight path by several thousand miles straight ahead or to either 

side followed by conventional landing. 

when he will initiate re-entry and to control the point where he will land. 

The program will demonstrate the 

The 

This will enable the pilot to select the time 

During 1961 , design details of the DYNA-SOAR glider were finalized culminating 

in a full scale mockup of the vehicle and its subsystems in September. 

testing of the glider-booster combination has been nearly completed and subcontracts for development of the high temperature nose cap, flight control electronics, auxiliary power system, reaction controls , acceleration (abort) rocket, 

environment (cockpit) control system, generators and test instrumentation have 

gotten well under way. Other contracts for guidance, communications and data 

link subsystems are also in effect. 

development is proceeding on schedule and confidence has increased in the successful attainment of program objectives. 

Wind tunnel 

Current program progress indicates that the 

GREB 

The Naval Research Laboratory's Solar Radiation Research Satellite, GREB Lu, 

was launched pick-a-back on TRANSIT IV A, on June 29, along with INJUN I. Due 

to a malfunction in the mechanism connecting GREB and INJUN these two satellites 

are orbiting the earth still connected together. Despite this malfunction, however, 

GREB Lu has emulated its predecessors in providing continuous information on 

solar activity in the X-ray and ultraviolet 

related with other ionospheric and ground 

mine the effects of solar activity on radio 

activity , and related phenomena. 

LOFTI 

radiation bands. 

level measurements in order to deterand radar propagation, weather 

These data are corLaunched pick-a-back on TRANSIT LII B on February 21 , the Naval Research 

Laboratory* s Very Low Frequency Satellite, LOFTI, opened a whole new field 

of scientific investigation that may lead to significant advances in military communications and space vehicle navigation. From data gathered during LOFTI's 

six week lifetime in space, Navy scientists have been able to confirm their belief 

that the ionosphere is not opaque at low frequencies, as previously assumed, and 

that VLF radio waves pass through the ionosphere into the exosphere with 

relatively little attenuation. 

possible use of trans-ionospheric VLF radio waves emanating from ground 

stations as navigational aids to manned or unmanned space vehicles and, 

This information points , among other uses, to the 

36 
conversely, to the possibility of world-wide communications with VLF communications. 

MIDAS 

The objective of the WAS program is the development of a reliable satelliteborne missile defense alarm system. 

satellites equipped with infrared payloads which can detect ballistic missiles during 

the powered phase of their ascent trajectory. 

The MIDAS system will consist of a net of 

During 1961 the third and fourth WAS flight vehicles were launched into successful, high altitude orbits from the Pacific Missile Range. 

ance and infrared data were obtained from these orbital flights. 

Valuable vehicle performMIDAS IV, launched on October 21, carried pick-a-back the Project WEST FORD 

package containing 75 pounds of very small copper dipoles imbedded in naphthalene. 

The dipoles were to have dispersed in space to form an earth-girdling belt for 

communications relay. There has been no evidence that the dipoles spread as 

scheduled. Occasional radar contacts have been made with an object in space 

thought to be the WEST FORD package but causes for failure of the experiment are, 

as yet, speculative. 

Rocket Probes 

During this year the DOD made extensive use of instrumented rocket probes for 

research in the upper atmosphere and space environment. Experimental objectives ranged from purely scientific to the determination of features of the natural 

environment directly influencing material design and operational performance. 

Vehicles employed included the NIKE-CAJUN, AEROBEE, ASTROBEE, EXOS, 

and ARCAS sounding rockets. In addition, seven development test shots of the 

BLUE SCOUT vehicle were made with research payloads on board. 

weighing from 40 to 200 pounds were carried aloft to altitudes between 40 and 700 

miles. A few of the more important scientific results of these programs inPayloads 

cluded: 

a. 

bo 

C. 

The acquisition of a high resolution ultraviolet spectrum of the 

sun by an AEROBEE rocket carrying newly designed instrumentation 

which demonstrated an order of magnitude improvement over previous 

techniques for mass spectroscopy by sounding rockets. 

The measurement of absolute radiation fluxes in the ultraviolet 

region of the 40 brightest stars. 

The discovery of what appears to be a dense band of micrometeorites encircling the earth at altitudes of about 100 miles. 

dust, of barely visible particle size, was measured at densities of 

about 10 particle impacts per second per square centimeter. 

This 

37 
SATELLITE INSPECTOR 

Work continued on a SATELLITE INSPECTOR program. 

tracts were let to design, fabricate and test the SATELLITE INSPECTOR spacecraft. This program will, in the near future, provide the United States the 

capability to rendezvous in space with selected objects and to inspect them. The 

DOD and NASA are closely coordinating their efforts in the field of space rendezvous technology and both the SATELLITE INSPECTOR and manned space flight 

programs should benefit from anticipated advances in this field. 

During March 1961 conSPADATS 

On July 1, 1961 the Space Detection and Tracking Center at Ent Air Force Base, 

Colorado, became operational. This center, operated by the Air Defense Command for NORAD, is the heart of the Space Detection and Tracking System over 

which CINCNORAD assumed operational control during the latter part of last year. 

While the ability to detect, track, and catalog space objects is still limited, the 

system now in being has a real capability in this area. 

In June of 1961 the addition of a new transmitting station to the Navy Space 

Surveillance System (NAV SPASUR) raised the detection ceiling of this NORAD 

SPADATS element from a previous 1000 miles to a present capability in excess of 

3000 nautical miles. NAV SPASUR is currently reporting in excess of 20,000 observations per month on the more than one hundred objects (satellites and 

assorted Itspace junkt1) currently orbiting the earth. 

During 1961 action was initiated to develop both optical and radar sensor for space 

surveillance which will give the military services a capability to detect and track 

space objects well beyond current ranges. Such sensors will be integrated into 

automatic systems capable of completely processing these observations for 

tactical evaluation in a matter of seconds after an object is first detected. 

TRANSIT 

The TRANSIT satellite navigation system developmental program is progressing 

as planned on a schedule directed toward the availability of this system for worldwide fleet operational employment in the last quarter of calendar year 1962. 

During 1961 principal research efforts were concentrated on increased system 

reliability and accuracy, the refinement of refraction and geodetic data, satellite 

power and stabilization technology, and the development of shipboard navigation 

equipment. 

There were three TRANSIT satellite launches during 1961: 

a. TRANSIT LII B: 

February 21 into a highly elliptical orbit (536 nautical mile apogee 

and 94 nautical mile perigee) inclined 28.5 degrees to the equator. 

The Naval Research Laboratory's very low frequency research 

satellite LOFTI I was launched pick-a-back with this experiment. 

Despite a poor initial orbit and the failure of the LOFTI satellite to 

separate, both caused by launch vehicle malfunctions, TRANSIT 111 B 

Launched from the Atlantic Missile Range on 
effectively demonstrated the requisite capability for data injection, 

storage, and retransmission before burning up on *e-entry on 

March 30. 

b. TRANSIT IV A: Launched from the Atlantic Missile Range on June 29 

into a near-circular (500 nautical mile) orbit inclined 67.5 degrees 

to the equator. This launch achieved the first "triple-decker" payload 

launch and the first utilization of a nuclear power source for satellite 

auxiliary power. TRANSIT IV A and its pick-a-back companions, the 

Naval Research Laboratory's solar radiation research satellite, 

GREB III, and the State University of Iowa's space research satellite, 

INJUN I, are still in orbit and fully functional. 

C. TRANSIT IV B: Launched from the Atlantic Missile Range on 

November 15 into a near-circular (500 nautical mile) orbit inclined 

32.5 degrees to the equator. TRANSIT IV B again carried aloft the 

AEC*s SNAP JJI type nuclear auxiliary power source. 

back with this equipment was an additional payload called TRAAC 

(Transit Research and Satellite Control) designed by the Applied Physics 

Laboratory, of the Johns Hopkins University to explore a method by 

which satellites could be stabilized in space by natural gravitational 

forces. 

space environmental factors which will influence satellites' lifetimes 

and operational performance. 

Carried pick-aOther instrumentation is providing data on several of the 

The launch of TRANSIT IV B marked the last planned launch of a TRANSIT satellite 

by the THOR-ABLE-STAR vehicle used to date in this program. 

launches are programmed for SCOUT vehicles to be launched by the Air Force. 

During 1962 all TRANSIT launch activity will be shifted to the Pacific Missile 

Range. 

All future 

When operational the TRANSIT system will provide reliable, world-wide, allweather navigation for ships of all nations to a degree of accuracy (1/2 mile or 

less) heretofore unattainable with conventional navigational methods. To insure 

that world-wide commercial shipping can avail itself of this mode of navigation, 

the Navy is coordinating with appropriate organizations. 

VELA HOTEL 

The Departmeht of Defense Project VELA consists of programs of research, experimentation and systems development for improving the detection of nuclear 

explosions both underground and at high altitude. It is subdivided into three 

research and development programs: 

a. VELA UNIFORM: detection of underground nuclear explosions; 

b. VELA SIERRA: ground-based detection of nuclear tests in space; 

and 

C. VELA HOTEL: satellite-based detection of nuclear tests in space. 

39 
VERA HOTEL is a joint DOD/AEC program. 

mentally detector sensitivity, reliability, and system performance capability in 

the space environment by conducting experiments to obtain data on the background 

effects of the natural radiation environment in space. Of particular interest are 

possible natural radiations in space which might be similar to those expected from 

a nuclear detonation in space. 

vehicles scheduled for other space programs and high altitude flights of spacecraft 

designed specifically for VELA HOTEL. In the former category -- pick-a-back -- 

are instrumentation packages developed by the AEC Lawrence Radiation Laboratory 

and the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory to be flown on DISCOVERER, RANGER, 

BLUE SCOUT JR, and ATLAS missiles. 

spacecraft flights -- five launches during 1963-64 are planned. 

consist of two spacecraft which will be injected into circular orbits at altitudes of 

about 50,000 nautical miles, and separated by about 140 degrees. The ATLAS/ 

AGENA B booster combination will be used, and final injection into orbit will be 

accomplished by an injection motor included in the spacecraft. The payload will 

consist of X-ray, gamma-ray and neutron detectors. 

Its objective is to confirm experiThe progress consists of pick-a-back flights on 

In the latter category -- high-altitude 

Each launch will 

X-15 Research Aircraft 

Program Obi e ctive s 

The X-15 research aircraft program will gather needed scientific 

and engineering data on manned hypersonic flight for application in 

future aerospace systems. 

Progress 

The X-15 program, a joint endeavor of the USAF/NASA/Navy, was 

initiated in the spring of 1952. At this time, the NASA directed its 

team to study problems likely to be encountered in flight beyond the 

atmosphere and recommend methods to explore the problems. Very 

early in 1954 a team was assigned by NASA to determine the characteristics of an airplane capable of exploratory flight studies and the 

feasibility of building such an airplane. In June 1954, NASA representatives met with the Air Force and Navy to develop a program. In 

December 1955, a contract was let for the construction of three airplanes. The first X-15 was completed in October 1958, and made the 

first captive flight on March 10, 1959. Since the first powered flight 

on September 1959, a continuing research program has been in progress. 

of 6,005 feet per second (speed) and 217,000 feet (altitude) to validate 

de sign criteria. 

To date, the flight envelope has been expanded to flight conditions 

Flight Summary 

As of December 18, 1961, there had been 45 flights (launches) of the 

X-15 aircraft. The planned performance was achieved on 42 of those 

flights, and the prime research objective was achieved on 40 of those 

flights. A 98% launch success has been achieved on the X-15 aircraft. 

The success is attributed to the use of alternate modes for subsystems 

40 
and having a pilot present to detect malfunctions in the subsystems. 

This can be compared to a 43% achievement for an unmanned missile 

with no alternate modes in the subsystems. 

SPACE FLIGHT SUPPORTING RESOURCES 

During 1961, 19 NASA and 30 DOD space launches were supported by the Atlantic 

Missile Range (AMR) and Pacific Missile Range (PMR). 

MERCURY project were also conducted at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). The 

capabilities of these national ranges were augmented and expanded throughout the 

year by the addition of more ground based and shipboard instrumentation to provide 

better world-wide tracking and data collection. 

for two new range instrumentation ships which, when operational in 1962, will provide the most advanced shipboard instrumentation in the Free World for missile 

and space vehicle tracking missions. 

during 1961 were the completion of SATURN and ATLAS/CENTAUR launch complexes of AMR and ATLAS/AGENA sites at PMR. 

Support activities for the 

In mid-1961 a contract was initiated 

Primary among the ground facilities additiom 

The AMR-PMR-WSMR national range facilities were closely integrated with the 

NASA MERCURY tracking network to provide support for all phases of Project 

MERCURY in 1961. In addition, military ships and aircraft were actively engaged 

in MERCURY capsule recovery operations. The last of these, involving the orbital 

primate-carrying vehicle, saw 18 ships, 51 fixed wing aircraft, and 9 helicopters 

deployed along the Atlantic Missile Range for recovery operations alone. 

AMR activity for the year was highlighted by the MERCURY launches and support, 

the first launch of the SATURN vehicle, and three successful launches of the 

TRANSIT navigational satellite. Major PMR activity centered on support for 

Project MERCURY and rocket probe launches, and the DISCOVERER program-. 

the latter marked by several successful capsule recoveries in the Hawaiian Island 

area. 

During 1961, an agreement was signed by the United States and the emerging West 

Indies Federation (WLF) which provides for necessary base rights for AMR activity 

in the WLF area through 1975. 

DOD-NASA JOINT PLANNING AND COORDINATION 

In the national interest, it is mandatory that all resources be effectively used in 

the conduct of the National Space Program. 

ously planned their respective efforts on a joint basis whenever and wherever 

po s s ible. 

The DOD and the NASA have continuIn the spring of 1961, under the auspices of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Council, the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of NASA jointly evolved 

and forwarded a report to the Vice President (Chairman of the Council), recommending an expansion of the National Space Program which included manned lunar 

landing, development of large solid rocket motors and use of the TITAN missile as 

a space booster vehicle. 

acceleration of the national program, were approved by the President and 

supported by the Congress. 

These recommendations, coordinated into an over-all 

41 
In July, the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of NASA established the 

DOD-NASA Large Launch Vehicle Planning Group (LLVPG) to develop a plan leading to a national launch vehicle program to meet the requirements of both agencies 

and to meet the national space objectives. The LLVPG has completed its planning 

assignment. 

by joint agreement, such as initiation of the development of certain large liquid 

launch vehicles , the development of large solid motors, and the development of the 

TITAN III launch vehicle for payloads in the 5,000 to 25,000 pound near-earth orbit 

equivalent. 

Many of the recommendations made have been implemented already 

Additional examples of DOD-NASA agreements, to avoid duplication and insure 

effective use of resources and planned programs, include joint participation in the 

NASA GEMINI manned rendezvous program and mutual use of the DOD bioastronautics capability. 

A joint DOD-NASA study on facilities and resources required at a launch site to 

support the national manned lunar landing program was completed during 1961. 

This study resulted in: 

a, Selection of Cape Canaveral as the launch site for the program. 

This involved expansion by purchase of 80,000 acres of land. The 

Corps of Engineers is now purchasing this additional land. 

b. An agreement between DOD and NASA which places the Air Force in 

the role of range manager in support of the manned lunar landing 

program with NASA funding for the additional land purchase and 

special facilities required for the program. 

42 
Chapter V 

Atomic Energy Commission 

INTRODUCTION 

The Atomic Energy Commission's main contribution to the national space program 

is made through its development of Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power (SNAP) 

and through its nuclear rocket propulsion program designated Project ROVER. A 

major milestone was achieved in 1961 when a small plutonium 238-fueled thermoelectric generator was successfully placed in orbit as a power source in a navigational satellite. This was the first use of nuclear energy in space. 

PROJECT SNAP 

The objective of the SNAP program (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power) is to 

develop small, lightweight, nuclear power sources for satellites, space craft, and 

for other special applications. SNAP projects are divided into those that utilize 

heat from decay of selected radioisotopes, and those that utilize heat from the operation of very compact reactors. 

Radioisotope Space Power Systems 

The first use of nuclear energy in space was achieved on June 29 when a small plutonium-238 fueled thermoelectric generator was successfully placed in orbit as a 

power source in the TRANSIT-4A navigational satellite. The five pound, 2.7 watt 

generator is powering two of the four navigational transmitters in the orbiting satellite and is expected to continue satisfactory operation for several years. A second navigational satellite, TRANSIT-4B, was launched on November 15 and is also 

transmitting signals successfully using a similar nuclear power source. 

small generators are the first step in the program now under way to develop a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (designated SNAP-SA) for the operational TRANSIT navigational system which will provide a world-wide means for ships and aircraft 

to determine accurately their positions electronically rather than through celestial 

observations. 

These 

The SNAP-SA generator also will be fueled with plutonium-238. 

NASA has evaluated the results of preliminary generator design and safety studies 

performed under contract for the AEC in the spring of 1961. These studies established the feasibility of using a 25-watt curium 242-fueled thermoelectric generator 

designated SNAP- 11 on the SURVEYOR unmanned soft lunar landing missions 

planned by NASA. 

crease substantially the scientific value of the SURVEYOR missions. 

development program for SNAP- 11 is being formulated. 

This evaluation indicated that such a power source would inA prototype 

In September the program to develop a low powered, curium 242-fueled, thermionic generator to demonstrate the feasibility of the close-spaced vacuum diode as a 

space power supply was terminated. Test results indicated that a generator efficiency of 2.5 percent was the maximum to be expected from this type system. The 

vacuum diode approach was thus abandoned in favor of the very promising cesium 

43 
diode. 

13, in late 1962. 

It is planned to fuel a thermionic cesium diode generator, designated SNAPReactor %ace Power Svstems 

The goal of the SNAP-2 effort is to develop a compact three electrical kilowatt reactor-turboelectric system for space applications. 

basic research and development technology of compact reactors and miniaturized 

conversion equipment. 

This project also provides for 

The first SNAP-2 reactor, the SNAP Experimental Reactor, successfully completed 

initial testing on November 18, 1960, and has been disassembled. The second reactor, the SNAP- 2 Developmental Reactor, went critical in April, 196 1 at the AEC 

facility at Santa E.:sana, California. After a period of testing, the reactor began 

power operation in August. 

sion system are expected to be performed in the first half of 1962. 

Integrated tests of the reactor with the power converThe SNAP-8 effort is a joint AEC-NASA effort to develop a nuclear electric generating system for the NASA space program. It will be used for power in orbital test 

of experimental electrical propulsion generating devices. 

the capability to run one or two 30 electrical kilowatt turboelectric units. Fabrication of the first SNAP-8 experimental reactor began in March and will be completed 

in the spring of 1962. Construction of the SNAP-8 ground prototype nuclear test 

facility was started at Santa Susana in December and should be completed in one 

year. 

The reactor is to have 

The SNAP- 10A project is designed to produce a low-power, lightweight, electric 

power source for space operation. 

watts will be mated to a static thermoelectric power conversion system. 

um-potassium liquid metal coolant is pumped by an electromagnetic pump from the 

reactor core to the thermoelectric elements where the heat is converted into electricity. After orbital start-up, the system will not require active control and will 

have no moving parts. The system will produce 500 watts of electricity at a design 

weight, including shielding, of 750 pounds. The first mass mock-up of the system 

for environmental shock and vibration tests has been fabricated. Parallel development effort on thermoelectric converters has been conducted to select the most effective system. 

A SNAP-2 reactor operating at 30 thermal kiloThe sodiThe orbital flight testing of SNAP-2 and SNAP-1OA devices is to be a coordinated 

AEC-Air Force effort designated SNAPSHOT, designed to demonstrate the feasibility of use of small compact reactors in space. 

ATMOSPHERIC ENTRY TEST PROGRAM 

Accidental impact of a SNAP device in populated areas of the earth is of major concern to the AEC. At present it is not feasible to control the entry point of satellites; 

therefore, the decision has been made to design the nuclear components to burn up 

on entry into the earthls atmosphere. 

Initial experiments on entry burn-up have been started in cooperation with the Air 

Force. 

missiles. 

These experiments were carried out as accessory experiments on Atlas 

Three experiments were flown successfully on July 31, November 22, 

44 
and December 1. 

were unsuccessful because of missile failure. 

designed specifically for entry burn-up is being developed. 

the pod attached to the Atlas missile was loaded with specifically designed spheres 

and cylinders containing colored flare material which were ejected at predetermined 

intervals. 

by release of flare material and was recorded with high speed color cameras. 

Two other experiments were flown on December 12 and 21, but 

A program of testing using boosters 

In the first three tests, 

The position of the capsules at the time of burn-through was determined 

The purpose of the experiment was to check aerodynamic heating equations under actual re-entry conditions. 

geometry, tumble, altitude, and velocity. The flare-camera technique will provide 

the time and altitude of burn-through, and as the other variables are known (except 

tumble for cylinders), the heat equation can be checked. 

The heat pulse created on entry is a function of capsule 

PROJECT ROVER 

The objective of Project ROVER is to develop nuclear rocket engines for manned or 

unmanned space missions. The major current effort is aimed at the development of 

a Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) based upon a series of experimental reactors, designated Kiwi-By which are under development at the Los 

Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL). A major step in the development of NERVA 

to operational use will be the initial in-flight test series which may reasonably be anticipated in the 1966-67 period. It is presently planned to test a NERVA engine in an 

upper stage of a Saturn-class launch vehicle. 

Reactor development for Project ROVER has been carried forward by a series of 

reactor tests held at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). 

series were tested in 1959 and 1960. 

Kiwi-B test series was begun in December 1961 with the testing of Kiwi-BlA, also 

using gaseous hydrogen. 

hydrogen, which is a requirement in a flyable system. 

Three reactors in the Kiwi-A 

They all used hydrogen gas as propellant. The 

The Kiwi-B series will be continued in 1962 using liquid 

The major technical effort during 1961 was devoted to additions and modifications to 

the Kiwi ground test facilities at NTS for the more complex higher-power tests needed as the next step in the development of flyable reactors. 

In July, the joint AEC-NASA Space Nuclear Propulsion Office, which managed the 

nuclear rocket program, contracted with a private corporation for initial work in 

the development of the NERVA engine using the reactor technology developed in the 

Kiwi effort. 

engine, assistance to LASL in connection with reactor tests, assistance in the design of facilities, preparation of a detailed plan for development of NERVA, and a 

number of research and development tasks. 

The present contracted work includes preliminary design of the NERVA 

Every effort is being made to develop the nuclear rocket technology as rapidly as is 

possible so that the performance potential of these systems may be applied to the 

long range space missions for which they are well suited. 

45 
Chapter VI 

Department of State 

INTRODUCTION 

Throughout 1961, the United States continued to pursue an active policy of international cooperation in space research and exploration, in the development of practical applications of space technology, and in fostering the growth of a regime of 

peace and law in outer space. 

The Department of State initiated and secured adoption of appropriate proposals in 

the United Nations, and effected international arrangements required abroad to provide support of United States space programs and to facilitate participation of other 

countries in cooperative experimental programs. 

closely with the National Aeronautics and Space Council and others within the Executive Branch in considering political and legal aspects of the exploration and use of 

outer space, and in developing approaches. to the new opportunities and problems 

arising from increased outer space activities of additional nations, in particular 

multilateral efforts emerging in Western Europe. 

The Department has worked 

The Department has been particularly active in recommending that United States 

space programs should enhance foreign policy objectives, as in the case of the 

President's policy statement of July 24, 1961, concerning communications satellites. 

ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 

During 1961, the United States continued its efforts to strengthen the United Nations 

role with respect to outer space and to encourage the development of international 

outer space cooperation. In his address before the General Assembly on September 25, President Kennedy stated that the United States would recommend adoption 

of specific proposals". . . extending the United Nations Charter to the limits of 

man's exploration in the universe, reserving outer space for peaceful use, prohibiting weapons of mass destruction in space or on celestial bodies, and opening the 

mysteries and benefits of space to every nation. We shall propose further cooperative efforts between all the nations in weather prediction and eventually in weather 

control. We shall propose, finally, a global system of communications satellites 

linking the whole world in telegraph, telephone, radio, and television. l1 

The disarmament aspect of the President's proposals was included in The United 

States Program for General and Complete Disarmament (circulated in the General 

Assembly on September 25) which called,' among other things, for the prohibition, 

subject to effective verification, of the orbiting or stationing in outer space of weapons of mass destruction. 

47 
On December 4, the United States, with the co-sponsorship of three other nations, 

introduced before the General Assembly a draft resolution which covered the remaining points the President had made in his September 25 address, with regard to the 

peaceful uses of outer space. In presenting this resolution Ambassador Stevenson 

pointed out that 'I. . . we cannot afford to delay. The space programs of the great 

powers are well advanced. 

satellite systems for weather forecasting and communications. 

important decisions will have to be made. If the opportunity for United Nations action is missed, it will be increasingly difficult to fit national space programs into a 

rational pattern of United Nations cooperation. I' In the talks which followed, all 

members of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Soviet Union, co-sponsored the resolution in an amended form. 

Our own nation is proceeding with the development of 

In the months ahead, 

As adopted unanimously by the General Assembly on December 20, the space resolution endor sed the applicability of international law, including the United Nations 

charter, to outer space and celestial bodies and declared that these are free for exploration and use by all states and are not subject to national appropriation. The 

resolution further provided that the United Nations Secretary General should maintain a public registry of launchings of space vehicles into orbit or beyond and should 

assist the Outer Space Committee in the conduct of space studies and arrangements 

for the exchange of information relating to outer space activities. 

proposed early and comprehensive study of measures to advance the state of atmospheric science and technology, to develop existing weather forecasting capabilities, 

and to help member states make effective use of such capabilities through regional 

meteorological centers. 

noted the potential importance of this new capability for the United Nations, recommended that the International Telecommunication 

space communication in which international cooperation will be required, and called 

attention to the need for technical and other assistance for the development of domes 

tic communication systems in less developed countries so that they might make effective use of satellite communications. 

The resolution 

In the field of communication satellites, th e resolution 

Union examine those aspects of 

Finally, the resolution continued the mandate of the Committee on the Peaceful 

Uses of Outer Space and enlarged its membership in recognition of the increased 

membership of the United Nations. 

er than March 31, 1962, to review the activities provided for in this resolution and 

to undertake the tasks assigned it by the General Assembly when the Committee was 

originally established in December 1959. It is expected, therefore, that the Committee will proceed early in 1962 with its work which includes: a study of practical 

and feasible means for activating programs in the peaceful uses of outer space 

which could appropriately be undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations; 

an examination of legal problems rising from the exploration and use of outer space; 

and Consideration of an international scientific conference under the auspices of the 

United Nations for exchange of experience in the peaceful uses of outer space. 

The Committee was requested to meet not latOTHER INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

During 196 1, bilateral negotiations for the establishment of the world-wide tracking 

network for Project Mercury were completed, and additional support for manned 

orbital flight program was prepared. Other arrangements in support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Department of Defense programs were 

also completed or initiated. 

48 
Bilateral arrangements were completed with the United Kingdom, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Brazil looking toward their active participation in 

communications satellite experiments which will be initiated in 1962, and informal 

understandings were reached which may lead to participation by additional countries. 

In anticipation of future operational capabilities in the field of communications satellites, preliminary United States proposals for the allocation of radio frequencies 

for space communications were developed and presented for initial comment to 

members of the International Telecommunication Union. Arrangements were completed for Study Group IV on space of the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) to meet in Washington in 1962. 

There was continuing support and consultation with NASA in connection with the expansion of international cooperative programs in other areas. 

49 
Chapter VI1 

National Science Foundation 

INTRODUCTION 

The National Science Foundation has as a primary objective the support of basic research of a pioneering nature. 

to nonprofit institutions in support of research projects proposed by their own staff 

scientists. 

laws of the physical universe constitute a substantial portion of these efforts. 

dition, a limited number of grants have been made, and contracts awarded, to develop special instrumentation or facilities of particular importance in improving 

some specific types of space-related research. For example, two telescopes under 

construction in 1961 (scheduled for completion in 1962) will surpass any similar instruments in the world. 

In most instances, this is achieved through grants 

Scientific investigations which seek an under standing of the fundamental 

In adPROGRAMS IN BASIC SCIENCE RELATED TO SPACE 

The basic nature of the programs sponsored by the Foundation produces a pattern of 

support for space sciences which is largely indirect. 

product of the Foundation's programs is the creation of a reservoir of well-grounded 

scientific talent which becomes available for activities directly related to the aeronautics and space program. 

Moreover, an important byIt is often difficult, however, to determine the precise relationship of a given project to the space sciences. Physics research projects, such as nuclear and plasma 

physics, low temperature research and solid state research, almost invariably have 

some application to science or technology in space. 

supports an extensive program of research in the biological and medical sciences, 

which will have vital applications in the space sciences. 

In addition, the Foundation 

Several space-related projects in the regular program in support of basic research 

deserve special attention here: 

THE NATIONAL RADIO ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY (WEST VIRGINIA) 

During 1961, the instrumentation at the observatory included one 85-foot equatorially-mounted radio telescope which is fully operational. A similarly mounted 140- 

foot telescope was under construction during the year, and is planned to go into 

operation in the near future. Both telescopes are or will be usable over the entire 

range of wavelengths employed in radio astronomy, down to 3 centimeters. 

Construction was also undertaken in 1961 on a 300-foot telescope, which will be the 

largest movable parabolic reflector in the world, with a surface area of 78,000 

square feet, or 1.8 acres. To achieve economy, the telescope is designed to be 

movable in elevation only, at angles from 30 degrees above the southern horizon 

through the zenith to 30 degrees above the northern horizon. It will be useful for a 

wide variety of astronomical observations which do not require extended viewing, 

51 
including the measurement of the quantity and distribution of hydrogen gas within our 

own and other galaxies, for measuring the spectra of distant extragalactic radio 

sources, and for surveys of distant faint radio sources. 

ment for the instrument will consist of a multichannel receiver for exploring radiation from galactic and extragalactic hydrogen, and other receivers operating at 

various frequencies lower than 1420 megacycles per second. 

Initial electronic equipThe Observatory is being constructed and operated under a contract with a group of 

universities. 

with priorities determined by the scientific merit of their respective projects. 

All qualified U. S. astronomers will have access to these facilities, 

THE KITT PEAK NATIONAL OBSERVATORY (ARIZONA) 

During 1961, a 36-inch reflector and a 16-inch telescope were operated at this Observatory. 

telescope, which will be several times larger than any instrument of its kind now in 

existence. 

Meanwhile, construction proceeded on an 80-inch and a 60-inch solar 

Constructed under contract with a group of universities, the Observatory will be 

available for use by all qualified U.S. astronomers, with priorities determined by 

the scientific merit of their respective projects. 

The Kitt Peak Observatory has also undertaken long-range studies on a moderately 

large space telescope with an aperture of about 50 inches, to be placed in orbit and 

remain operable for at least a year, perhaps 10 years. This instrument will be valuable in a number of research problems involving spectroscopy, direct photography 

and photometry in the ultraviolet region. 

tion as close as possible to the theoretical limit determined by the aperture. 

The telescope will have an optical resoluThe Foundation has not established a time schedule for completion or launching of 

the instrument, in order that the preliminary work remain free from the pressure 

of launching schedules. 

when it is agreed that a working instrument can be produced vehicles capable of 

placing it in orbit will probably have been developed. 

The work is proceeding in close liaison with NASA, and 

New Photoelectric Recording Devices 

Research proceeded during 1961 on new devices for recording information collected 

by telescope from extended areas of sky such as those occupied by a galaxy or a 

star cluster. 

even the fastest emulsions available are inefficient, and require about 10,000 times 

as long to photograph a faint galaxy as should be necessary. 

At present, this is achieved through use of photographic plates, but 

Photoelectric devices, some developed as early as 1945, promise greatly increased 

efficiency in the photographic procedure. 

strikes a photographic plate forms a distinct blackened image, photons which strike 

an appropriate photoemissive surface will cause one electron to be emitted for approximately ten photons. Accelerating electrodes can then provide each electron 

with high energy, subsequently producing a distinct blackened image on the plate. 

While only one photon in 1,000 which 

The image tube projects were undertaken to develop simple, inexpensive and efficient light amplifiers for astronomical purposes. 

ture of an existing telescope by 5 to 10 times in certain applications. 

In effect, they multiply the aper52 
THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH (COLORADO) 

The Center was established during 1961 to meet a national need for a broader, more 

intense attack on fundamental problems in the atmospheric sciences. 

ed that the knowledge gained through the program at the center may lead to greater 

understanding of fundamental theories underlying weather prediction or shortened 

long time-scales, as well as to a realistic appraisal of the possibilities of weather 

c ont r 01, 

It is anticipatHIGH ALTITUDE ASTRONOMY 

Another difficulty in taking astronomical photographs from ground-based observatories is the limitation of angular resolution by the fluctuations in the refraction of 

the earth's atmosphere. 

of the stars, and produce the condition known as poor astronomical "seeing. 

photographs taken with existing telescopes produce an angular diameter of a point 

image (such as a star) which is never less than 0.3 seconds of arc. 

These same fluctuations are responsible for the "twinkling" 

Night 

To obtain better resolution in astronomical photographs, it is desirable to mount 

the telescope on a platform well above most or all of the earth's atmosphere. 

timately, this may be achieved through the use of space vehicles. Meanwhile, a 

project at Princeton University has already succeeded in photographing the sun with 

a 12-inch reflector suspended from a balloon at an altitude of 80,000 feet. 

U1- 

During 1961, design and construction proceeded on a 36-inch balloon-borne telescope for observing objects in the night sky. First flights are currently planned 

for 1962, and if successful, should greatly increase our detailed knowledge of the 

surface features of the moon, Mars, and other such objects. 

This project is supported by the Foundation in cooperation with the Office of Naval 

Research and NASA. 

PHYSICS PROGRAM 

Cosmic rays originate in outer space, come from the sun, or are influenced by it, 

and the energy and particle spectra of these rays are directly related to physical 

processes occurring in outer space. 

energies help to determine the galactic origin of cosmic ray particles, and what can 

be learned about the particle spectrum bears directly on the origin of the universe 

and its composition. 

Directional studies of cosmic rays at high 

Measurements obtained from neutron flux studies are of particular interest to scientists because of the information they reveal on the sun and the magnetic fields 

between the earth and the sun. 

Rockets and satellites have added greatly to the store of information on cosmic ray 

particles in their virgin state before they break up in the earth's atmosphere--information previously obtainable only from balloons. Such high altitude studies are also 

concerned with the earth's magnetic field and solar activity, and may utilize emulsions, counters or ionization chambers. Terrestrial telescopes which are sensitive to air showers also provide information on the cosmic source of very high energy particles. 

53 
ATMOSPHERIC SCLENCES PROGRAM 

Problems concerning the atmosphere around us have long been studied, but new facilities, such as satellites, have significantly enhanced scientific opportunity to obtain observations and improve research. Included are such studies as the physics 

of atmospheric motions; the earth's planetary albedo; photochemical and hydromagnetic phenomena in the ionosphere; the effect of solar activity on atmospheric circulation and distribution of meteorological phenomena in the stratosphere; the variability in the composition of the stratosphere, and tidal oscillations within it. 

ENGINEERING SCIENCES PROGRAM 

During 1961, the Foundation continued to sponsor studies that will aid in solving engineering problems related to the supersonic flight of a high-speek vehicle, or dssile, in the upper atmosphere. In such flight, frictional drag quickly heats the solid surface to extreme temperatures which endanger the structure of the vehicle and 

change its flight behavior. 

heated surfaces become ionized, and so electrically conducting. These extreme 

conditions drastically alter and complicate flow behavior. 

The gaseous molecules in the gas layer adjacent to the 

Theoretical studies aimed at understanding these flow patterns are made at high 

speed of the drag of various shapes, and measurements are also made of the rate 

of heat loss, the influence of ionization and the nature of the gaseous medium on the 

maximum temperatures encountered. 

The properties of a high temperature, ionized gas are so unusual that it has been 

the subject of a large amount of theoretical and experimental study, particularly 

when the pressure is also low. Known as "plasma, 

netic radiation characteristics of the antennas for control and telemetry is also an 

important problem. 

conductivities and other properties of substances at the extreme temperatures involved. 

its influence on the electromagOther studies have been undertaken to explore the thermal 

54 
Chapter VI11 

Department of Commerce 

INTRODUCTION 

The space program activities of this Department are conducted in the Weather 

Bureau, the National Bureau of Standards and the Coast and Geodetic Survey. 

WEATHER BUREAU 

The successful meteorological satellite experiments conducted as part of the United 

States space program have had a major impact on the plans and operations of the 

Weather Bureau. On September 30, 1961, legislation was enacted to provide funds 

to the Weather Bureau to "establish and operate a system for the continuous observation of world-wide meteorological conditions from space satellites . . . . " The 

Weather Bureau is establishing an organization to be known as Meteorological Satellite Activities (MSA), which will have the responsibility for implementing this 

obligation. 

ational Meteorological Satellite System (NOMS). 

ological Satellite Laboratory (MSL), which will continue to conduct re search both in 

support of the satellite activity and to further meteorological knowledge. Close cooperation among the Weather Bureau, NASA, and all user agencies will continue 

under this organizational structure. 

MSA will have a division which will eventually operate the National OperMA also will include the MeteorThe international aspects of meteorological satellites are also receiving close attention in the Bureau's activities and planning, in close cooperation with NASA. 

In other aspects of the space effort, the Bureau is cooperating with other agencies to 

probe the atmosphere with meteorological sounding rockets; and furnishes meteorological support to the Pacific Missile Range, NASA's Wallops Station, and Project 

Mercury. 

TIROS II and Radiation Measurements 

The TIROS 11 satellite was launched by NASA November 23, 1960. Despite the 

relatively poor quality of the pictures from the wide-angle camera, the experimental 

program for the operational use of the satellite cloud pictures was successful, and 

continued as long as usable pictures were available. The last nephanalysis, or cloud 

analysis map, was made from pictures received on April 28, 1961. However, useful 

pictures were still being received occasionally at the beginning of December 1961, 

more than a year after launch. 

TIROS 11 carried instruments for measuring solar and terrestrial radiation as well 

as the cameras. 

Radiation data are received in a form that requires a considerable amount of processing before they can be used. 

Laboratory (MSL), in cooperation with NASA, developed methods for processing 

these data on digital computers. 

The Weather Bureau's Meteorological Satellite 

To date, all usable radiation data from TIROS II 

55 
have been processed, and recorded on reels of magnetic tape (for research use with 

computers). 

radiation measurements which are being used extensively in research. 

published by NASA, contains 344 of these radiation maps from TIROS 11. 

From these tapes, MSL and NASA have produced a series of maps of 

A catalogue, 

The radiation measurements in the 8 to 12 micron water-vapor "window" region of 

the terrestrial radiation spectrum are being used to study the distribution of cloud 

patterns under both day and night conditions. Studies are under way to find means of 

using these data to determine the temperatures and the heights of cloud tops from 

the satellite. In addition, other TIROS I1 radiation data will also be used, in preliminary fashion, for general circulation studies. 

TIROS III - Experimental Operational Use of Satellite 

Information 

TIROS III, the third experimental meteorological satellite, was launched from Cape 

Canaveral, Florida on July 12, 1961. 

would be operational during the hurricane season. During the period July 12 to 

October 12, TIROS 111 photographed tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and 

typhoons, on more than fifty separate occasions. 

storm were seen in the Atlantic; two hurricanes and a tropical storm were seen in 

the eastern Pacific. Typhoons Kathy through Tilda, nine storms in all, were followed over the central and western Pacific. 

tropical storms, and other significant weather patterns were phoned, radioed, or 

otherwise transmitted to Weather Bureau, Air Force, or Navy offices at Miami, 

San Francisco, New Orleans, San Juan, Guam, Honolulu, and Tokyo, and to the 

weather services of Mexico, the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Republic of 

China. Japan and the Philippines acknowledged the se message s with thanks and 

requested continued advisories. These advisories were sent under a special Weather Bureau operating procedure to provide warnings of tropical storms or other 

hazardous weather to all concerned both in the United States and abroad. 

The launch date was chosen so the satellite 

Five hurricanes and one tropical 

A total of fifty advisories on these 

0 0 Hurricane Esther, by means of TIROS 111 pictures, was discovered at 11 N, 30 W at 

1:00 P. M. EST, September 10, 1961. The San Juan and Miami hurricane warning 

centers were notified. At 5:OO P. M. EST, September 12, after receiving a second 

picture from the satellite (at about 1:00 P. M. EST, September 11) and confirming 

evidence of aerial reconnaissance and ship reports, Bulletin No. 1 on hurricane 

Esther was issued by San Juan. Thus Esther became the first fully developed hurricane ever discovered and reported operationally by a meteorological satellite. 

the meteorologists at the data acquisition station had more experience with the 

appearance of tropical storms as viewed from space, hurricane Anna might have 

been the first satellite discovery of a hurricane. 

research, showed that the tropical storm, which developed into Hurricane Anna, 

could have been identified on July 17, 1961, two days before conventional data 

revealed her presence. 

Had 

Post analysis undertaken during 

In addition to special warnings, routine dissemination of cloud analysis maps, or 

nephanalyses, to United States weather stations and to the weather services of other 

nations was accomplished. 

form by facsimile, or in coded form by radio teletype. 

analyses, derived from TIROS III data, had been transmitted by November 1, 1961. 

The nephanalyses were transmitted in diagrammatic 

A total of 781 of these 

56 
The poorer quality of the pictures, because of deterioration of electronic components aboard the satellite, forced a sharp curtailment of the operational program 

after October 1. 

recipients of the nephanalyses, both in the United States and abroad, indicated that 

the information was used extensively in both analysis and forecasting to augment 

standard sources of weather information. 

Few nephanalyses were transmitted after that date. Reports from 

The information was also used routinely at the National Meteorological Center 

(NMC) of the Weather Bureau for comparison with standard weather analyses. 

organized a temporary experimental operational analysis unit to assist NMC in this 

program, and on seventeen days, NMC used TIROS III pictures data to improve its 

analyses. 

MSL 

In all, during the first three months of full operation, TIROS 111 viewed 60 significant storm circulations, discovered a hurricane, and saw 18 tropical cyclones. 

TIROS III has acquired over 25,000 pictures, and several hundreds of orbits of 

radiation data, all of which are being used to further meteorological knowledge 

through research. The most dramatic data, the hurricane photographs, are the 

subject of intensive research at this time. There are many theories on how and 

why hurricanes form. 

detail because observations over the ocean areas, where these tropical cyclones 

form and travel, have been almost unobtainable. The data from satellites should 

now enable research meteorologists tu examine these storms in detail, to confirm 

or refute existing theories, and perhaps to develop new ones. 

Scientists have not been able to examine these hypotheses in 

Research Programs 

Research programs conducted by MSL fall into three categories: that based on the 

cloud pictures from the TIROS satellites, that using the radiation data from the 

satellites, and a program of basic research on the radiation transmission characteristics of the atmosphere in specific spectral regions. 

The striking cloud patterns photographed by TIROS are the subject of intensive 

study. When pictures of large-scale cyclonic vortices (or storms), sometimes 

more than a thousand miles in diameter, were studied together with conventional 

meteorological data, Weather Bureau scientists learned much about the structure 

of moisture fields, the cloud patterns associated with frontal zones and jet streams, 

and the relation of the spiral cloud bands of the storms to the wind flow. This 

knowledge has been useful for interpreting pictures of cloud photographed over 

remote ocean areas, and for improving standard meteorological analyses both in 

remote ocean areas and over land areas. 

Studies of. TIROS data are making important contributions towards an increased 

understanding of the physical processes associated with storms and other areas of 

widespread cloudiness. 

been linked to the vertical temperature structure of the atmosphere and tentatively 

to the transfer of energy and moisture from the ocean surface to the atmosphere. 

Long, narrow lines of clouds, or cloud "streets" seen in TIROS pictures have been 

associated with the wind field. The pictures of cloud cells and "streets" are being 

compared with conditions prescribed by theory or prevailing in laboratory experiments. 

Cellular arrangements of clouds over ocean areas have 

57 
The pictures are also used in advancing the study of severe local storms. 

studies have already demonstrated the possibility of using satellite pictures for 

detection and warning purposes. 

These 

Other phenomena revealed in TIROS pictures are snow cover and clouds in mountain 

regions, ice on sizeablk bodies of water, and sun "glint" on the oceans. 

pictures are or will be under study to determine the meteorology of remote mountain 

regions, the possibility for using the satellites for routine ice reconnaissance, and 

to measure sea conditions and surface winds over sea and ocean areas. 

These 

The radiation data from TIROS 11, which has been mapped, will be used in studies of 

the heat budget related to the general circulation, and of sources of atmospheric 

energy. These data will also be used in studies correlating the heights of cloud tops 

with temperatures in the atmosphere, and in studies of the temperature distribution 

within the atmosphere and at the earth's surface. 

Basic research on the infrared transmission characteristics of atmospheric gases is 

a major program. 

data being acquired by TIROS, and in the development of future meteorological satellite experiments. 

The results of this research are being used to evaluate infrared 

Int e rnational Meteorological Satellite W ork shop 

The International Meteorological Satellite Workshop held in Washington, D. C. , November 13 through November 22, 1961, was organized jointly by the Weather 

Bureau and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The purpose of this 

workshop was to acquaint other nations with the results of the current United States 

meteorological satellite program, and possibilities for the future, and to furnish 

sufficient information so that: 

a. The weather services of other nations may acquire a working knowledge 

meteorological satellite data for assistance in their future analysis 

programs both in research and in daily synoptic application, and guidance 

in their own national observational support efforts. 

b. The world meteorological community may become more familiar with the 

TIROS program. 

c. The present activity may be put in proper perspective relative to future 

operational programs. 

Thirty-five participants from 27 nations attended the workshop; one additional nation 

sent an observer only. Observers from the International Civil Aviation Organization 

(ICAO), the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), the Committee 

on Space Research (COSPAR), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the 

National Aeronautics and Space Council (NASC) of the United States, the U. S. House 

of Representatives' Committee on Science and Astronautics, and the National Academy of Sciences were also invited and present at the workshop. 

During the workshop, lectures were given on the research programs on meteorological satellites and tours were made to nearby Weather Bureau and NASA facilities 

Laboratory sessions gave participants practical experience in assessing and using 

58 
weather satellite data, 

plans for using satellite data. 

The foreign visitors had an opportunity to discuss their own 

The consensus of the sponsors is that the IMSW was very successful and the participants also expressed informally their satisfaction. 

The nations which sent participants are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Republic of 

China, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, 

Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New 

Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Sudan, Thailand, United Arab 

Republic, United Kingdom, and the West Indies Federation. 

Africa sent an observer to the workshop. 

The Republic of South 

International Cooperation 

On July 19, 1961, subsequent to the successful launch of TIROS III, the Weather 

Bureau and NASA sent a joint letter inviting 105 WMO nations and Colombia to 

participate in the experiment in order to provide them with the opportunity to correlate their own observations with those from the satellite. Thirty-five countries, 

including Poland and Czechoslovakia, indicated their intent to cooperate, and established programs to intensify and augment their regular observation programs during 

satellite passages over their territory. 

whole-sky and aerial photography, special cloud observations, and extra radiosonde 

as cent s . 

Included in the intensified programs are 

To assist other nations in the cooperative programs, alert messages on the areas to 

be photographed by TIROS III were transmitted from the United States over international meteorological circuits. Planning messages were sent seven days in advance, and more precise alert data on individual orbits 24 to 48 hours in advance. 

As a special service, positive film strips of TIROS photographs were forwarded to 

each of the cooperating nations within a few months after the satellite observations 

were made. 

the cooperating nations sent copies of their special observational records to the 

United States. 

A total of 390 such film strips were furnished. In turn a number of 

Other International Activities 

In addition to the International Cooperation Program, and the International Meteorological Satellite Workshop, the Weather Bureau has a continuing program to stimulate progress in international meteorological programs. The Bureau, representing 

the United States in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has kept the WMO 

member ship informed about the U. S. meteorological satellite programs. 

and working groups have been established in the WMO, largely through the influence 

of the Weather Bureau, to stimulate progress and to plan and coordinate the international use of meteorological data acquired by satellites. In addition, Bureau personnel serve on other international scientific bodies such as the Committee on 

Space Research (COSPAR) and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics 

(IUGG). 

Panels 

As a further spur toward international cooperation in the use of satellite data, the 

Weather Bureau and NASA have sent to WMO nations catalogues of the picture data 

and radiation data, which are available to all at moderate cost. 

59 
Advanced Meteorological Satellite Experiments 

The Meteorological Satellite Laboratory of the Weather Bureau has been working 

closely with NASA on developing the NIMBUS satellite, the first of which is scheduled 

for launching during FY- 1963. 

has been developed, and is being laboratory tested. 

world-wide temperature distribution in the stratosphere and upper troposphere by 

measuring radiation in the 15-micron carbon dioxide band. The spectrometer will 

also obtain measurements in the 11. l-micron water vapor "window", which can be 

used to determine temperature at the earth's surface or at cloud top level. 

A prototype infrared spectrometer for satellite use 

This instrument will determine 

An engineering feasibility study on the use of satellite-borne radar to detect precipitation has been completed and forwarded to NASA for review and further study. 

Theoretical studies have also been completed on a technique for measuring the worldwide distribution of atmospheric ozone from meteorological satellite s. 

National Operational Meteorological Satellite System 

A plan for a National Operational Meteorological Satellite System (NOMSS) was prepared in April 1961, by an ad hoc Panel on operational Meteorological Satellites 

under the auspices of the National Coordinating Committee for Aviation Meteorology. 

The panel was made up of representatives from the NASA, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, and the FAA. The report of the panel described 

and recommended the establishment of a national system to exploit the present and 

planned capabilities of the United States meteorological satellite experimental program. 

system be placed on the Weather Bureau. 

It further recommended that the responsibility for the management of the 

The report of the panel formed the basis for the President's request to the Congress 

for funds to implement the National Operational Meteorological Satellite System. 

Funds for this program were appropriated to the Weather Bureau in September, 1961. 

The proposed system is designed to phase into operation at the earliest date possible, consistent with the progressing state of technology, and with the requirements 

of the U. S. weather services. It is to have a progressively increasing capability to 

meet the needs of the United States and the international meteorological communities. 

Following the TIROS program will come the NIMBUS satellites which have augmented capabilities, principally by being oriented to point their cameras toward the 

earth at all times. With more ground stations and further experience, it is expected 

that substantial progress will be made toward an expanded operational weather satellite system. 

Meteorological Support for Space Activities 

The Weather Bureau provides a team of meteorologists to make special observations, prepare forecasts, and provide meteorological advice to support operations 

at NASA's Wallops Station. 

The Bureau also provides extensive meteorological support for the Pacific Missile 

Range by the operation of weather observing stations in California and downrange 

in the Pacific. Some of the Pacific Stations were established specifically for range 

60 
suppo r t . 

The Weather Bureau's Project MERCURY Weather Support Group provides meteorological assistance to NASA for Project MERCURY. 

National Meteorological Center, Cape Canaveral, and Miami, provides climatological information for planning purposes. 

forecast and briefing service for the launch area and the ground track of the vehicle. 

This support will continue throughout Project MERCURY. 

the Bureau will provide similar support for future NASA manned space-flight projects. 

This group, with units at the 

For each MERCURY shot, it provides a 

It is also expected that 

The Weather Bureau also serves in a consultant capacity to other groups engaged in 

space activities by providing climatological data and studies in support of their 

activities. 

Meteorological Rocketsonde s 

The Weather Bureau is continuing to participate with other government agencies in 

the use of meteorological sounding rockets to extend the range of observations above 

the maximum altitudes that can be obtained by conventional balloon soundings. 

Bureau has been especially active in reducing and interpreting the data for meteorological uses particularly in the stratosphere. 

rocket network, established in 1960, and operated by NASA and the Department of 

Defense, continued to provide meteorological data for research. 

also being used to determine what atmospheric conditions high altitude vehicles can 

expect to encounter. 

The 

The preliminary meteorological 

These data are 

During 1961, DOD and NASA recommended an orderly transition from the current 

network status to an operational Meteorological Rocket Network (MRN) to be managed by the Weather Bureau. 

Weather Bureau, has been established for this purpose. This steering committee 

expects to complete plans for the operational network by mid- 1962. 

A Joint MRN Steering Committee, chaired by the 

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS 

The research programs conducted by the National Bureau of Standards to provide 

the basis for the national system of physical measurement in the United States are 

basic to all research in the physical sciences. NBS continued its efforts to meet 

measurement- standards needs of particular importance to space and aeronautical 

science and technology. 

The expanding national space effort has generated many demands for precise data 

on the basic properties of matter and materials, for more accurate determinations 

of physical constants, and for specialized consultative and advisory services from 

the Bureau. To meet these varied but related needs, steps have been taken to formulate and emphasize within NBS certain closely coordinated research programs 

which cut across traditional disciplinary and organizational lines. 

are intended to bring the full weight of the Bureau's competence to bear on important new national objectives. 

and plasma physics and in space telecommunications are of this nature. 

These programs 

The Bureau's programs in laboratory astrophysics 

61 
Laboratory Astrophysics and Plasma Physics 

Lack of knowledge of the physical behavior of extremely hot gases or "plasmas" has 

delayed progress in a number of major national programs in science and technology 

including space exploration and astronomy, rocket propulsion, hyper sonic aerodynamics, thermonuclear power, ionospheric communication, and ballistic missile 

defense systems. 

systems--some of extremely high density and some of very low density. All have 

in common their dependence upon the solution of basic problems which can be 

approached through development of better laboratory techniques and standards for 

the measurement of fundamental properties of highly ionized gases. To help solve 

these problems, NBS in 1960 began a special effort to unify and strengthen its work 

in plasma physics and astrophysics. During the past year with the cooperation and 

support of other interested agencies, considerable progress has been made in this 

program. 

All of these areas involve interactions in highly ionized gaseous 

The most immediate need for such knowledge and services arises in the space 

sciences, where satellites are used to carry equipment outside of the earth's atmosphere to study the sun and the stars. The value of the spectroscopic data thus obtained can be greatly enhanced if they can be accurately described in measurement 

units based on precise laboratory standards. 

measurements of atomic properties to provide the data necessary for quantitative 

interpretation of these astronomical observations. 

The Bureau is making accurate 

To study the probabilities of atomic transitions associated with hydrogen and oxygen 

lines observed in solar and stellar spectra, the Bureau developed a wall-stabilized 

high-current arc chamber operating in hydrogen at 12,000 K, a temperature twice 

that of the sun. 

in the arc chamber is photoelectrically recorded with a spectrometer and provides 

information to determine temperature and particle concentrations within the plasma. 

0 

A characteristic red light emitted by the hydrogen through slits 

A tabulation of the relative intensities of 39,000 spectral lines was completed during 

the year, providing intensity values on a uniform energy scale for 70 elements over 

the wavelength range from 2000 to 9000 Angstrom units. The new tables will supply 

spectroscopists with much-needed quantitative intensity values for those elements 

most commonly encountered in their analyses. 

formed into atomic transition probabilities and used to determine temperatures of 

laboratory light sources emitting atomic spectra and of stellar atmospheres. 

The intensity values may be transBesides the well-known hydrogen line at 21 cm wavelength, the spectra of extraterrestrial radio sources may contain sharp lines characteristic of other atoms, 

ions and small molecules. 

considerably to present information on the composition of inter stellar gas clouds 

and, perhaps, planetary atmospheres. 

line spectra using high sensitivity radio telescopes it is essential to have precise 

foreknowledge of the line frequencies of the most likely producers of detectable 

radio emissions. 

been started at NBS for this purpose. 

strong spectral lines by which OH may be identified in interstellar gas have been 

determined. 

The detection and study of such line spectra would add 

To facilitate a search for inter stellar radio 

A research program in free radical microwave spectroscopy has 

During the past year the frequencies of two 

Similar experiments on other radicals are planned. 

Data centers were established to gather and index all published information on 

62 
atomic transition probabilities and on atomic collision cross sections. 

ities in the broadly based but closely coordinated laboratory astrophysics program 

included work in photoionization, molecular spectroscopy, vacuum ultraviolet 

photochemistry, and completion of a six year program on transport properties of air. 

Other activThrough the production of radio waves from plasmas in the laboratory, a major step 

was taken toward duplicating under controlled conditions the eiectromagnetic processes which occur in the upper atmosphere. 

velocity shockwave travelling over 100 times the speed of sound in helium. 

the plasmas were studied in the presence of a transverse magnetic field, radio 

waves resulting from interaction between the shockwave and the magnetic field were 

observed. 

Plasmas were produced by a highWhen 

New facts about the interplanetary medium also have been revealed by studies of the 

relation of solar emission of medium-energy particles to other types of solar activity. 

tected and their effects studied by means of VHF forward-scatter radio signals. 

The presence of these solar particles in the earth's atmosphere has been deSpac e T ele communications 

Through its Central Radio Propagation Laboratory NBS has a central responsibility 

for radio propagation research, for prediction of radio propagation conditions, and 

for technical advice and assistance in conservation and use of the radio frequency 

spectrum. 

space vehicles and communication to and from such vehicles, plus the major emphasis being given to the development of satellite communications systems prompted 

the Bureau to examine its responsibilities in this area and to formulate a broad program of research to meet these needs. Portions of this program were implemented 

during the past year. 

The critical nature of the radio problems associated with control of 

Particular attention has been given to studies directly concerned with the technical 

factors pertinent to spectrum utilization and frequency allocation problems arising 

from the space programs of this and other nations. The possibility of mutual interference between surface and satellite communication systems operating on the same 

frequency is being studied to assure adequate safeguards for the systems involved 

and at the same time make efficient use of the frequency spectrum. Examination of 

the influence of the atmosphere on radio propagation at frequencies above 10,000 Mc 

has received emphasis with the objective of developing methods to predict the expected performance of space communication systems using these frequencies with 

terminals located anywhere on the earth's surface. Tropospheric radio propagation 

theory is being extended to space communications problems to take account of satellite heights, atmospheric differences, changes in refractive index and turbulence. 

Other projects are concerned with basic information needed to optimize equipment 

and system specifications for space communication systems, ground to space links, 

and satellite and missile tracking system. This includes work on methods of encoding information and modulating radio carriers for the very wide band systems 

needed to handle large quantities of various types of information as required for 

world-wide satellite communication systems. 

of the lower atmosphere on the accuracy of tracking systems. 

Also in progress is a study of effects 

A third category of projects is concerned with obtaining basic information and 

63 
understanding required for space telecommunications as well as conventional systems. In this area NBS for many years has provided a focal point for collection of 

current data on solar flares and associated phenomena and data on various kinds of 

ionospheric and magnetic disturbances. With the support of NASA the network for 

collection of these data is being extended and strengthened to provide the coverage 

needed for the national effort in space research. 

Two important new tools for investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space 

will soon be available. Installation of a high-power scatter radar facility is nearing 

completion near Lima, Peru. Preliminary observations using relatively low power 

and only part of the antenna system have given electron density profiles to heights of 

1, 200 kilometers. 

kinetic temperature of ions at heights up to 3000 km. 

observations of radar echos from the sun's corona and from solar gas clouds, and 

for studies of small scale irregularities in the outer atmosphere. 

The facility will be used to study electron densities and the 

It also will be used in limited 

The feasibility of the proposed S-48 Topside Sounder satellite was demonstrated during two suborbital rocket firings from the Wallops Island launching site in June. 

NBS has overall planning responsibility for this satellite program under NASA sponsorship. 

er should be a valuable new source of information concerning the ionosphere. For 

many years properties of the ionosphere have been studied with radio probes from 

below. The satellite technique will permit observation from above the ionosphere 

which will contribute to under standing of its structure. Vertical movements, tidal 

fluctuations, and storm mechanisms all of which are of importance to space research and long-distance communications. 

Data collected during the suborbital firings confirm that the Topside SoundCryogenic Engineering 

The work of the NBS Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory is strongly oriented toward 

requirements of the nation's space program. Increasing use of normally gaseous 

materials in their liquid state as propellants for rockets and missiles has created 

many demands for information on the properties of materials at the very low temperatures necessary to handle the gases in their liquid form. 

sponsorship, NBS has compiled a data handbook containing over 500 data sheets on 

materials used in cryogenics. 

continuing central source of information in this field. 

important physical properties are being made where data are lacking or are inadequate. 

Under Air Force 

A data center has been established to provide a 

Laboratory determinations of 

Precise measurements were made of the pre ssure-volume-temperature characteristics of liquid and gaseous para hydrogen from 20 to 100°K and at pressures up to 

350 atmospheres to aid in the design of advanced chemical and nuclear rocket propulsion systems. Other work included studies of two-phase (liquid and vapor) flow 

in cryogenic systems, studies of the bulk density and density distribution of boiling 

fluids, and investigations of various instruments and components for use in cryogenic systems. 

Standards and Measurement Methods 

In recent years, NBS has been faced with rapidly expanding demands for calibration 

and measurement services to insure the accuracy of the measurements made in 

64 
laboratories, shops and plants engaged in space science and technology. 

increasing complexity of new propulsion, guidance, and communication systems 

require constant improvement in our ability to measure the performance of thousands of individual components if reliable operation of such systems is to be achieved. Recent surveys of the measurement needs of some 70 firms in the aerospace 

industries and among Air Force contractors revealed many critical measurement 

problems. 

Bureau with the required measurement range and accuracy. 

The ever 

Over 100 of these needs were for service not then available from the 

During the past year a series of measurement conferences was conducted with industry specialists to identify specific problems and more clearly define measurement needs in areas such as temperature, infrared radiation, humidity, vacuum and 

flow, force and acceleration, shock and vibration, surface flatness and finish, gear 

calibration and measurement, pulsed voltage, radiofrequency impedance and phase, 

radio-frequency voltage and field strength, microwave power and attenuation, and 

many others. 

industries face severe measurement problems. As a result of these meetings the 

Bureau's planning in all measurement areas that were covered has benefited and 

immediate steps were taken to place greater emphasis on calibration and related 

work in the most critical areas such as microwave power and attenuation, infrared 

radiation, high temperature, and vacuum standards. 

The conferences identified many areas in which the aircraft and space 

To provide continuing liaison with those who use the Bureau's services a new Technical Advisory Committee on Calibration and Measurement services was established. 

It is composed of industry specialists who will advise the Bureau of current and 

anticipated measurement needs of industry. The Bureau also has taken steps to 

strengthen its liaison with other agencies of Government including NASA and DOD to 

better anticipate the measurement needs emerging from national programs urrder 

their cognizance. 

Properties of Materials 

One of the major difficulties of obtaining data on the properties and behavior of 

materials in the extreme environmental conditions encountered by space vehicles is 

our lack of knowledge of how to make these measurements under entirely new conditions. 

techniques and precise measurement of basic properties of a variety of materials 

which should contribute to improved under standing of their behavior in radically new 

environments . 

At NBS emphasis is being given to the development of new measurement 

A continuing study of the thermodynamic properties of light-element compounds has 

produced information badly needed by those concerned with rocket propulsion systems. 

substances are needed to advance the design of thermionic heat engines being developed for space applications. Also important are investigations of the high temperature properties of a variety of materials including ceramics, polymers, glasses, 

and metals. 

Studies in progress on the vaporization and thermionic emission of selected 

COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 

The Survey's Magnetic Observatory and Laboratory, located near Fredericksburg, 

Virginia, has contributed significantly to the space technology programs of the 

65 
United States. 

During 1961, NASA made extensive use of the unique coil facility at the laboratory. 

This set of specially designed. coils about 18 feet in diameter provides a working 

space in which geomagnetic fields at any point on the earth's surface or in interplanetary space can be duplicated. 

Moreover, for certain programs such as the RANGER and EXPLORER X projects, 

the laboratory has operated comparable magnetometers on the ground for monitoring 

terre stria1 magnetic conditions for direct comparison with telemetered magnetic 

data received from the space vehicle. This activity has been in addition to the 

regularly operated geomagnetic programs which provide continuous records of 

magnetic conditions. 

The Fredericksburg coils were also used extensively for testing and calibrating 

geomagnetic instruments for artifical satellites and high altitude rockets (including 

moon shots). 

RANGER I, and RANGER I1 projects, and the proposed lunar and interplanetary 

space probes. 

The facility was utilized in the EXPLORER X, EXPLORER XII, 

The Survey is developing a capability for photogrammetric determination of satellite 

orbits and for the application of geodetic satellite information in the development of 

geodetic science. 

illuminated satellite s. 

A mobile optical observing system will utilize both passive and 

Preliminary surveys have also been made preparatory to construction of NASA's 

own coil facility at the Fredericksburg site, to obviate any restriction which expanded NASA use might impose on the Survey's requirements for use of the existing 

coil building. 

66 
Chapter IX 

Space Science Board 

INTRODUCTION 

The Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences is advisory and consultative to agencies of the Federal Government having executive responsibilities in 

the field of space science. It furnishes advice and recommendations on a variety of 

subjects relating to basic research; serves to represent the interests of scientists; 

and provides a broad scientific base for current and future U. S. space science efforts by stimulating the scientific community to interest and activities in space 

research. 

The Board is also engaged in cooperation with scientists of other countries. 

international vehicle for such cooperation is the Committee on Space Research 

(COSPAR) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), to which the 

Academy adheres in behalf of American science. 

through the Board's Committee on International Relations, whose chairman serves 

as the Academy's delegate to COSPAR. The Board, its committees, and Academy 

staff have devoted considerable effort to problems of international cooperation dur - 

ing 1961. 

The 

Adherence to COSPAR is provided 

The members of the Board serve as chairmen of fifteen specialized committees 

covering the various scientific disciplines and fields of activity associated with the 

country's space science program. The Board and its committees are composed of 

approximately 150 leading scientific specialists. 

DOMESTIC ACTIVITIES 

The Board devoted a major portion of its time and attention during 1961 to the 

longer range objectives of space science. 

had earlier completed its initial objectives of providing the Federal Government 

with recommendations in the selection of specific projects in each scientific field to 

be included in the space science program. Consequently during the present year 

only a limited number of the Board's regular committees in each discipline were 

convened. In contrast, the Board convened a number of specialized groups and an 

even greater number of informal discussion sessions, to consider problems and 

programs, including objectives relating to the national effort as defined by the 

President and outlined by the NASA for the 1960 decade. A total of thirty such 

meetings took place during the period. 

Except in specialized cases, the Board 

A summary description of the activities of the Board during 1961 follows. 

SSB Policy Position on Man's Role in the National Space Program 

Studies of the role of man in space led to the preparation of the Board's position 

officially transmitted to the Government in late March. 

pointed out that, while it is not yet possible to say when man will be able to journey 

In essence, the Board 

67 
into space, there is little question that his presence will be necessary for the scientific program as soon as it becomes technologically feasible for him to participate. 

Moraover, the scale of program development to support man's activities in space 

for ,kcientific objectives is likely to be little different from the scale required to conduct a complex and extensive scientific program of investigations by instruments 

alone. Accordingly, the program for man in space in the national research program 

should be pushed vigorously and in parallel with the program for the investigation of 

space and the moon and planets by instruments alone. 

Basic Research 

The Board also developed a policy position concerning the need for a broad, imaginative program of fundamental research, not immediately oriented to flight experiments, based upon the broadest possible collaboration by the national scientific 

community. 

academic science in general, emphasizing these sources as the foundation from 

which must spring the support and participants for the national space science program in the years ahead. 

In this recommendation the Board stressed the role of universities and 

Increased SSB Emphasis in Biology 

The Board increased its emphasis in the biological sciences by the creation of three 

committees (Exobiology, Environmental Biology, and Man in Space], which met initially early in 1961. 

with their consideration of fundamental biological investigations in space. 

with the Board's policy on man's role in the national space program, by far the 

greatest activity, however, in the biological fields has been undertaken by the Man 

in Space Committee. 

of physical radiations which will be encountered in near and interplanetary space 

and is evaluating its findings in terms of their biological effect upon man. 

Board also convened a group of national and international specialists on the subject 

of the effects on man from high gravity accelerations and similar stresses to review 

the current state of knowledge in this field and to define the most urgent objectives 

of future investigations. 

early 1962 for application to the national space program. 

Committee also plans to consider other important parameters such as weightlessness, disorientation, the gaseous environment, and temperature considerations, in 

a manned spacecraft, nutritional problems, medical selection criteria and crew 

training. 

The first two of these committees have vigorously pressed on 

Consonant 

Here the Board has undertaken an analysis of the known facts 

The 

The findings of both of these groups should be available in 

The Board's Man in Space 

ECHO Inflatable Sphere Study 

In response to a request from the NASA-DOD Unmanned Spacecraft Panel, the SSB 

Committee on Optical and Radio Astronomy carried out an analysis of the effects of 

multiple inflatable spheres of the ECHO type simultaneously in orbit on fundamental 

scientific radio and optical astronomical observations. In summary, the report 

found that many inflatable sphere satellites of this type, simultaneously in orbit, 

could cause serious interference to fundamental ground-based observations in astronomy, the extent of the damaging interference depending upon the number of such 

spheres which were placed in orbit. 

Government for its use and guidance in planning future communications experiments 

utilizing spheres of the ECHO type. 

This report was formally transmitted to the 

68 
Satellite Tracking Requirements 

Acting upon a request from NASA, the Board established a special study group to 

assess the present NASA program for satellite tracking and orbit determinations in 

terms of scientific needs. This report, concluded and formally transmitted to NASA 

in early November 1961, summarized the scientific requirements for satellite tracking and precise orbital information for each field of investigation. 

fields of interest include geodesy and gravitational studies, meteorology, atmospheric physics, air drag studies, ionospheric physics, magnetic fields, cosmic rays 

and trapped particles, ultraviolet, X- and gamma rays from the outer atmosphere 

and extraterrestrial sources, and the interplanetary medium. 

These separate 

Balloon and Rocket Research 

The Board presented the views of scientists throughout the country on proposed 

Federal Aviation Agency regulations to govern the launching and flights of balloons 

and rockets in the United States. Since the draft regulations appeared to place very 

serious limitations on launching of balloons and rockets for scientific research, with 

consequent adverse implications to the future of other aspects of space research as 

well, the Board solicited the views of a large number of scientists throughout the 

country. 

community was forwarded to the FAA in May 1961. 

work closely with the FAA in its revision of the original draft regulations and, in 

particular, assisted in arranging that representative scientists should participate in 

a hearing on this matter before the FAA on December 7. 

A special report summarizing the views and suggestions of the scientific 

The Board has continued to 

Geode tic Satellite 

Continuing activities begun in 1960, the Board has represented the interests of fundamental science to the Government regarding the need for a geodetic satellite which 

can be used for fundamental scientific investigations. 

would supply, with immediacy and directness, data for scientific problems or objectives falling broadly in the following three categories: 

world-wide coordinate system on which all separate land masses can be placed with 

a precision about an order of magnitude higher than presently attainable; (ii) mapping 

the coarser structure of the earth's gravitational field, which is the only direct way 

to locate the regions of excess or deficient density in the earth's interior; (iii) discovery of possible variations of the so-called "gravitation constant" with time, position, or direction, which certain physical theories predict and which would profoundly alter our views of the universe. The Board has reported to the Government that 

it has carefully examined the scientific needs for such a program and believes they 

are most important for advances in geodesy. 

A geodetic satellite program 

(i) the establishment of a 

Planetary Atmospheres Report 

Following a symposium convened by the Board in June 1960 to examine the state of 

current knowledge of the atmospheres of the planets, a special study group was assembled to investigate more thoroughly our present knowledge of these atmospheres 

and to prepare a report concerning the most important unknown aspects which should 

be investigated as part of the Nation's space research effort. 

chapters was published by the Academy in December 1961, as an authoritative 

compilation of current knowledge of planetary atmospheres and as a reference work 

A report in five 

69 
for designing planetary missions. 

Project WEST FORD 

A special Board study group worked closely with the organizations responsible for 

the conduct of Project WEST FORD in order to assess the scientific impact of this 

experiment, particularly as to radio and conventional astronomy. Continuing effort 

has been made to bring the facts and implications of this experiment to the attention 

of scientists both at home and abroad. 

for the publication of four articles in the April 1961 issue of the Astronomical 

Journal, under the heading Project WEST FORD -- Properties and Analyses. 

In pursuance of these aims, the SSB arranged 

In August, the Academy issued a report summarizing its activities on the WEST 

FORD Project. Included in this review was an official policy statement on Project 

WEST FORD obtained from the Government: this statement said, in essence, that 

competent astronomers in consultation had concluded that the effects of the initial 

experiment would be harmless, and guaranteed that no further experiments would be 

conducted until after the results of the first experiment had been carefully evaluated. 

This statement was distributed at the General Assembly of the IAU in August. Since 

that time the Academy has secured the publication of the predicted lifetime calculations for the dipole belt (Science, 134, 973, 6 October 19611, to provide an additional point of information. 

foreign and domestic scientists in observations and measurements of the dipole belt 

when it is erected. 

advice and information regarding the program to project personnel as well as to 

Government authorities responsible for policy decisions. 

Steps have been taken to secure the collaboration of both 

The Board's special committee continues to provide scientific 

Radio Frequency Allocations 

The Board has continued to provide advice and assistance to Federal agencies concerned with frequency allocations and assignments needed for the space research 

program. The pressures from all quarters to make maximum use of all the available radio spectrum are so great, and the spectrum has become so crowded, that 

the needs of scientific research are often in danger. In response to this situation, 

in the spring of 1961 the Academy established a Committee on Radio Frequency 

Allocations for Scientific Research, to which the Board has named two members. 

The Board looks to the Committee to represent and protect the frequency needs of 

space science and related fields. These include not only frequency allocations for 

the telemetry of experimental data and radio command links between ground stations 

and satellites, rockets, and balloons, but also clear channels for radio and radar 

astronomy. 

World Data Center A for Rockets and Satellites 

In 1961 the Academy continued the operation of World Data Center A for Rockets and 

Satellites as a means for the international exchange of scientific data resulting from 

research programs employing these tools. 

collaborated in the international distribution of scientific information concerning 

each successful NASA launching of scientific satellites and space probes. 

the year the center issued Report numbers 13 and 14 in the Satellite Report Series. 

Staff of the Center and the Board have 

During 

70 
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

1961 COSPAR Meeting and Symposium: 

of Scientific Unions in 1958, the Committee on Space Research held its fourth meetEstablished by The International Council 

ing and its Second International Space Science Symposium in Florence, Italy, 

April 7 to 18, 1961. 

from 28 countries and 117 scientific papers were presented by scientists from 14 

countries. 

scientists and a U.S. scientific presentation of 56 papers. The following is a list 

of the countries and the number of papers presented: Argentina (l), Belgium (l), 

Canada (4), Czechoslovakia (11, Denmark (l), France (8), Germany (7), Italy (121, 

Japan (8), Netherlands (2), Sweden (l), UK (51, USA (56), USSR (12). 

The Symposium was divided into the following seven sessions: Rocket and Optical 

Tracking; Magnetic Observations; Telemetry and Data Recovery; The Special 

Geophysical Events of July 1959 and November 1960; Recent Results from Instrumented Satellite and Spacecraft; International Reference Atmosphere; and Scientific 

Research by Means of Small Sounding Rockets. 

The Symposium was attended by approximately 300 scientists 

The Space Science Board organized a U.S. delegation of about 65 

The working sessions of the Fourth COSPAR Meeting produced a number of significant resolutions including COSPAR development of a world list of tracking stations; 

a COSPAR study of the need for more tracking facilities in the Southern Hemisphere; 

endorsement of satellites of the TRANSIT type for ionospheric research; COSPAR 

development of an international program of contributions by rocket and satellite 

experiments for the International Year of the Quiet Sun and World Magnetic Survey; 

measures to increase the effectiveness of the world-wide SPACEWARN system for 

rapid communication of satellite information; and COSPAR action to revise the IGY 

guide to World Data Centers for rockets and satellites, which establishes the 

character of international information exchanges. A COSPAR International Refer - 

ence Atmosphere was adopted. 

The Space Science Board, with the cooperation of NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, has prepared a comprehensive list of tracking stations which 

report their results to the U,S. and has submitted this list to COSPAR for its use 

when similar information is available from other countries. 

COSPAR Planning for IQSY and WMS. 

scientific experiments was held at Kyoto, Japan, in September 1961. 

A meeting of COSPAR Working Group II on 

This meeting 

took advantage of the presence in Kyoto of a large number of the world's leading 

experts in cosmic rays and geomagnetism further to develop plans for the IQSY and 

WMS. 

Science Board is developing proposals for the U.S. program of activities for the 

IQSY and WMS, 

In cooperation with the Academy's Geophysics Research Board, the Space 

Information and Data Exchange. A new Guide to Rocket and Satellite Information 

and Data Exchange has been drafted and is now being circulated internationally to 

the members of Working Group 11 for agreement. 

and extension of the IGY provisions, sets forth in detail procedures for announcement of rocket and satellite launchings, designation of satellites and space probes, 

distribution of acquisition and tracking data, exchange of scientific results, and 

presentation of reports and bibliographies of national space programs. 

The Draft Guide, an expansion 

71 
Improvements in the SPACEWARN System. 

satellite information is being developed and steps are being taken to improve the 

effectiveness of the SPACEWARN system for world-wide rapid communication of 

satellite information. This plan provides for the appointment of national contacts 

within member countries of COSPAR for SPACEWARN matters to review the problems of end-users and the addition of radio broadcasts on satellite information to 

the present telegraphic communications network. 

A unified code for the transmission of 

COSPAR International Reference Atmosphere. 

precise data as a result of the IGY, and of new tools for research conducted in 

space gave rise to the need for an internationally recognized set of reference data 

on pressures, temperatures, densities, etc., of the high atmosphere above 32 km. 

In response to this need COSPAR convened a group of appropriate experts to 

develop the basis for an International Reference Atmosphere. 

The availability of new and more 

72 
Chapter X 

Smi thsonian Astrophysical Observatory 

INTRODUCTION 

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is involved under grants and contracts 

in three programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: 

satellite tracking, the orbiting astronomical observatory, and the orbiting solar obs e r vat or y. 

optical 

OPTICAL SATELLITE TRACKING PROGRAM 

The Observatory's Satellite Tracking Program consists of: 

tracking stations equipped with Baker-Nunn cameras, which are the most powerful 

optical means available for the precise observation and determination of satellite 

positions; the cameras are capable of photographing a very faint object (13th magnitude) to an accuracy of 4 seconds of arc and 2 milliseconds of time; (b) 95 volunteer Moonwatch teams in 18 different countries; these Moonwatch stations supply 

additional approximate observations and act as a reacquisition system for lost satellites; and (c) photoreduction, computation, data, and communication divisions and 

a staff of scientists who analyze the data. To date, approximately 38,000 satellite 

passages have been photographed by the camera stations, and 40,000 recorded by 

Moonwatch. 

(a) twelve photographic 

Last year, major developments in operational techniques of the Baker-Nunn camera stations were accomplished in two fields: the automation of matched track and 

off-culmination observing methods; and the design and development of auxiliary 

equipment to synchronize the entire network to within several milliseconds of time. 

These developments will prove extremely valuable in geodetic research using direct triangulation methods. 

The Research and Analysis Division has made valuable contributions to our basic 

knowledge of the earth and the upper atmosphere. 

greater accuracy in the analysis of the earth's gravitational potential field, established the gravitational ellipticity around the earth's equator, and determined the 

geodetic positions of the observing stations with greater exactness. The division 

has measured variations of atmospheric density in relation to solar activity and 

interplanetary storms; and studied the effect of solar light pressure on satellites. 

Its new model of the terrestrial atmosphere has been accepted as a tentative standard by the International Committee of Space Science. 

The division has achieved 

During the year, four leading scientists from England, Belgium, Republic of South 

Africa, and United Arab Republic, respectively, have done research at the Observatory using data obtained through the satellite tracking network. 

During 1961, The Observatory issued special reports numbers 56 through 82 inclusive in its series Research in Space Science: and members of the scientific staff 

73 
published a score of papers in professional journals. 

ORBITING ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY 

Project CELESCOPE, which is part of NASA's Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, 

will place three telescopes and a slitless spectroscope in orbit to extend stellar observations to the far ultraviolet and X-ray region of the spectrum. The immediate 

objective of the program is to map about 200,000 stars and record their brightness. 

During 1961, CELESCOPE negotiated a contract for the construction of the satellite payload and the ground station for receiving data from the satellite. 

two contracts have been concluded for the manufacture of the special televisiontype tubes sensitive only in the ultraviolet regions to 1000 angstroms. 

In addition, 

In March, 1962, a prototype of the satellite instrumentation is scheduled to be 

launched in an Aerobee-Hi rocket. 

data handling equipment and provide a rough idea of the sensitivity that will be required of the final satellite instruments. 

will be placed in orbit. 

This experiment will test the capabilities of the 

In late 1963 or early 1964, the satellite 

ORBITING SOLAR OBSERVATORY 

For NASA's Orbiting Solar Observatory Program to make ultraviolet studies of the 

sun, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, in cooperation with Harvard College Observatory, is directing the design and construction of two scanning spectrometers. The combined spectral range of the spectrometers will be 75 to 1500 angstroms, and the resolving power will vary between 0. 3 angstrom at the longer wavelengths and 1.0 angstrom at the shortest wavelengths. 

meters was completed during the past year. 

The design of these spectro74 
Chapter XI 

Feder a1 Aviation Agency 

I,NTRODUCTION 

The Federal Aviation agency (FAA) is responsible for assuring the safety and 

efficiency of U. S. civil air operations and for fostering future development in a safe 

environment. During 1961, the Agency reviewed its first two years of operation in 

order to prepare to meet the increasing demands created by aviation's dynamic 

growth. 

dations for modernizing the air traffic control system and for making rule-making 

and enforcement procedures fairer and more effective. At the same time, a concerted effort was begun to improve relations with the aviation community. The FAA 

also streamlined and decentralized its management organization. 

Special task forces developed national aviation goals and made recommenNATIONAL AVIATION GOALS 

Project Horizon 

At Presidential direction, an FAA task force studied and defined national aviation 

goals for the next decade. The report calls for an integrated national aviation system designed to make a maximum contribution to the economic growth, security and 

culture of the United States, as well as to international commerce and world peace. 

Recommendations included in the report call for: development within five years of 

a common civil/military air traffic control system; supersonic aircraft development by early 1970 to maintain U.S. leadership in commercial aviation; economically efficient V/STOL aircraft; simplified air regulations; support of general aviation growth and an improved national airport system. 

Super sonic Transport Aircraft 

The FAA, in conjunction with the Department of Defense and National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration, has undertaken a long range program to work with the 

aviation industry in the development of an economically efficient Mach 3 transport 

aircraft. FAA, by virtue of its statutory authority and agreements with Defense 

and NASA, has basic responsibility for providing over -all leadership and management direction of the government role in the program. Congress appropriated $11 

million for contracted industry research in fiscal 1962. 

Sonic Boom 

A coordinated research program was begun by FAA, NASA, and the Air Force to 

determine methods of predicting and minimizing effect of the sonic boom. 

jected development of a supersonic commercial airliner lends impetus to this project. 

The pro75 
V/STOL Aircraft 

For economical short-haul operations , more efficient helicopters and other vertical 

or short takeoff and landing aircraft are needed. 

Defense report was prepared discussing these aircraft in detail. 

To this end, a joint FAA/NASA/ 

FAA furnished technical assistance to the Army on standards necessary for certification of a tri-service V/STOL assault transport under development for operational 

service testing. Advance models will be made available to civil operators for recommendations to be incorporated into subsequent production models for possible 

civil use. 

INTERNATIONAL AVIATION POLICY 

The FAA Administrator, as Chairman of a committee appointed by the President to 

review U. S. international aviation policy, announced award of a $300,000 industry 

contract to conduct a broad study of international aviation problems. The present 

system of granting international routes by bilateral agreements , and the operation 

of these agreements, were scheduled for review. 

AIR SAFETY PROGRAMS 

Project Beacon 

A second study initiated by the President was based on a scientific and engineering 

review of the nation's air traffic control system and related research and development programs leading to safe and efficient use of the airspace. 

The Beacon report recommended short and long-term changes in the existing air 

traffic control system to handle the forecast 44 percent increase in U.S. civil and 

military flying by 1975, and a corresponding 300 percent increase in air traffic 

c ontr ol workload. 

President Kennedy directed that the recommendations of the report be implemented, 

and work to that end has been undertaken. 

Air Traffic Control 

An intermediate airway system was established to provide express airways for long 

and medium haul aircraft flying between 14,500 and 24,000 feet. Navigation aids on 

these new airways are spaced farther apart than on the low altitude airways, with a 

resultant decrease in pilot position reporting workload. 

Ceiling on the Chicago-Indianapolis positive control area was raised from 35,000 

feet to 60,000 feet to provide positive control protection for civil and military aircraft conducting high altitude flight test and training operations at the higher altitudes. 

availability of additional radar equipment. 

Plans for further expansion of the positive control area program await 

Standard Instrument Departure (SID) procedures , which simplify pilot-controller 

coordination of lengthy complicated departure instructions, were started at Indianapolis. SIDs are in the form of pictorial charts and are being developed for other 

76 
U.S. civil airports. 

First national standards for conducting flight operations on and around all controlled 

airports were issued by the FAA. Aimed at flight safety and aircraft noise reduction, the new rule calls for limitation in airspeeds and requirements for two-way 

radio communications at all airports served by towers. There are 465 Federallyoperated towers throughout the country, of which 234 are operated by the FAA and 

231 by military services. 

Progress was made in FAA efforts to furnish constant radar surveillance service, 

including direct radar hand-offs, at major terminals. 

accomplished on a full-time basis from 12 FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers 

to 16 radar approach control facilities in airport towers. 

are providing radar hand-off service for inbound aircraft on a part-time basis. 

Limiting factor is availability of radar -trained controllers and special communications and radar equipment. 

Radar hand-offs are being 

Fourteen other centers 

Joint use of long range radar by FAA and the Air Force has saved substantial sums 

in equipment costs and the units are adapted to serve both military and FAA functions. Fifteen radars are presently in joint use, with 33 scheduled for joint use by 

December 1963. 

Federal Aviation Service 

Looking toward a common civil/military air traffic control system, the FAA proposed to Congress the creatiop of a Federal Aviation Service which the President 

could have converted to military status in a national defense emergency to assure 

continued traffic control services. 

During 1961, the Air Force transferred to the FAA its military flight service 

functions for all military aircraft operating within the continental United States and 

adjacent oceanic areas. 

Plans for eventual transfer of a significant number of military air traffic control 

and air navigation facilities compatible with an integrated civil/military FAA control system are being developed. 

Further civil/military cooperation was evident in an FAA prototype program of air 

traffic control training for USAF personnel. 

Pro je c t Scan 

Flight Safety Foundation was awarded an FAA contract to develop a pilot reporting 

program to obtain data on incidents in which mid-air collisions have nearly occurred. 

prove air safety. 

These reports are analysed by the Agency in its continuing campaign to im77 
Air space 

A total of 3,790 square miles of restricted airspace was returned to general use in 

1961, making a total return of 28,901 square miles since May 1959. Additional uncontrolled air space was made available to pilots operating under Visual Flight Rules 

when flight visibility is less than three miles. This was done by generally raising 

the floor of the control area from the 700 feet to at least 1 , 200 feet above the surface, providing an additional 500 feet or more of uncontrolled space. 

Safetv 

New FAA procedures for emergency operation of certain jet hydraulic systems were 

issued and, after extensive investigation by the FAA and industry, hydraulic system 

changes were ordered to correct similar problems with all large jet transports. 

A special Civil Air Regulation was issued making it mandatory for pilots in command of aircraft operating in controlled airspace under Instrument Flight Rules to 

report immediately to FAA air traffic control any in-flight malfunctions of navigational or air /gr ound communications equipment. 

Weather accounts for approximately 3570 of the fatalities incurred in general aviation accidents. Incentive for raising private and commercial pilot skill was instituted in October 1961, with inauguration of the FAA's Blue Seal program. Private 

and commercial pilots who acquire enough instrument skill to fly out of any marginal visibility or weather conditions they might encounter and back to an area 

where visual flying is safe qualify for a Blue Seal on their pilot certificates. 

Airports 

FAA's 1961 National Airport Plan called for a total of 465 new airports to be built 

and improvements made to 2,834 existing airports during the next five years if the 

nation's civil aviation needs are to be met. 

the FAA is authorized to allocate up to $75 million to match local sponsors' funds 

during the fiscal year which ends June 30, 1962. 

Airport Program is the establishment of a nationwide system of public airports 

adequate to meet present and future needs of civil aviation. 

Under the present Federal Airport Act, 

Objective of the Federal Air 

Under a joint FAA/Civil Aeronautics Board policy statement regarding requests for 

airport aid funds, use of single airports serving adjacent communities -- which results in savings to the Federal Government, and to sponsoring communities, and 

improvement in air service to the area, -- is specified as a factor in allocating 

Federal funds for airport construction. 

Dulles International Airport, under construction near Chantilly, Virginia, is scheduled to open in late 1962. Designed from the ground up for jet age needs, the new 

Washington airport features a new passenger handling concept, the mobile lounge , incorporated into the terminal design. 

78 
GENERAL AVIATION 

Project Little Guy 

To provide a greater margin of safety for the general aviation pilot, a study was 

initiated of simpler , more efficient cockpit instrumentation and layout for light air - 

craft. 

Project Tightrope 

Project Tightrope was initiated to review FAA's rule-making enforcement procedures to satisfy requirements of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 and the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946. 

recommended better management of the currently dispersed rule -making activities 

and authority of the Agency. It also urged establishment of a hearing officer system for enforcement cases. Based on these recommendations, FAA established an 

Agency Regulatory Council to provide a central forum for FAA's rule-making process, and it is actively considering other changes. 

Published in November 1961, the Tightrope report 

Safety Regulations 

FAA's rules recodification, begun in 1961 , will simplify and integrate all regulatory material into one code called the Federal Aviation Regulations. 

the program is to simplify, combine and streamline the present complex of 123 

regulations and considerable other materials into approximately 60 simplified, 

easily under stood rules . 

Purpose of 

AGENCY REORGANIZATION 

Reorganization of the FAA began in 1961. 

policy-making remains in Washington, but operational responsibility has been dele - 

gated to the field, with the number of regions being increased from six to seven. 

Airport functions were removed from the Aviation Facilities Service and placed in 

a separate Airport Service to assure more effective administration of the Federal 

Aid Airport Program. 

Authority for program development and 

79 
Chapter XI1 

Federal Corn muni cations Com miss ion 

SPACE COMMUNICATION 

Radio communication, heretofore earthbound, except for reflecting layers extending to the outer limits of the atmosphere, is rapidly reaching thousand of miles 

into space. Man-made satellites transmit radio signals, and space objects are 

used to "bounce" other signals to test long-distance communication possibilities. 

Although the Commission is not responsible for any over-all space program or any 

particular space vehicle launching project, space communications, as a new means 

of communication, obviously has great importance to it in view of the potential use 

of such means by non-government interests for telephone and telegraph communication, broad-band data transmission and intercontinental television. The Commis - 

sion has obligations under the Communications Act to "study new uses for radio, 

provide for experimental uses of frequencies, and generally encourage the larger 

and more effective use of radio in the public interest, I' as well as to "make available, so far as possible, to all the people of the United States a rapid, efficient, 

nationwide, and worldwide wire and radio communication service. 

The Commission's responsibilities include the allocation and assignment of frequencies for space communication and the authorization of research and experimentation looking toward the use of natural or man-made satellites to provide civil 

communication services on a regular basis. This development presents a new and 

complex array of technical problems, not the least of which is finding suitable and 

sufficient frequencies and insuring compatibility between space communication 

systems and surface systems in the public interest. 

flow from adding space communication to radio's already manifold uses. 

Many regulatory problems will 

The achievement of these purposes involves both national and international considerations. Consequently, the Commission is working closely with the interests 

concerned. 

This involves particularly close relationship with the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration (NASA). On February 28, 1961, the FCC and NASA 

announced a joint memorandum of understanding for delineating and coordinating 

their respective responsibilities in this field. 

The FCC also participated in other related interagency activities, including those of 

the Telecommunications Coordinating Committee (TCC) of the Department of State; 

the Telecommunications Planning Committee (TPC); the Office of Civil and Defense 

Mobilization (OCDM, later OEP): the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee 

(IRAC); the U. S. Committee for Study Groups IV and VIII of the International Radio 

Consultative Committee (CCIR) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); 

the Space Science Board (SSB); the International Radio Scientific Union (URSI); and 

the National Bureau of Standards Central Radio Propagation Laboratory. 

81 
Under the auspices of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, representatives 

of the FCC participated in the drafting of recommendations to the President on 

Communication Satellite policy and on draft legislation for organizing and regulating 

the commercial communication satellite business. 

International Cons ide rations 

The International Administrative Radio Conference, held at Geneva in 1959 under 

the auspices of the ITU, adopted an international table of frequency allocations 

which, for the first time, opened bands of frequencies for space and earth-space 

services. These bands, however, are for research purposes only and are useful 

principally for re search, tracking, control, and telemetry functions. Although no 

bands were allocated internationally for space satellite relay communication, an 

Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference of the ITU is scheduled tentatively 

for late 1963 to deal specifically with world frequency problems for space communications on the basis of development At the request of the Department of State, preparatory work toward formulating the U. s. position at that conference has been initiated jointly by the FCC and IRAC. 

as of that time. 

PROCEEDINGS 

Spa= Frequency Allocation 

As a result of developments in space communication during 1960, the Commission 

reopened its proceeding in the general inquiry relative to the allocation of frequencies above 890 Mc (docket 11866) to determine, in the light of evidence then available, whether the frequency requirements for communication via space satellites 

would require modification of the Commission's decision to permit some additional 

classes of users to establish communication systems on frequencies between 1,000 

and 10,000 Mc. 

mission on September 28, 1960, concluded that its earlier decision need not be 

modified at that time. 

After a careful analysis of all the evidence then on hand, the ComHowever, in view of rapid developments in space communication, the Commission 

had, on the previous May 18, instituted an inquiry (docket 13522) as to space frequency needs on a longer range basis. This information will assist the Commission 

in its preparatory work leading to a U. S. position for future international confer - 

ences on space needs and usage. On December 21, 1960, the inquiry was expanded 

to include consideration of whether and what sparsely settled areas might be established and protected for future civil space communication earth terminals. 

On May 17, 1961, the Commission adopted, for public comment, a second notice of 

inquiry in docket 13522 setting forth preliminary draft views of the United States 

concerning international frequency allocation requirements for coordinated domestic 

and foreign space programs. 

ther study of the matter with IRAC, the Commission on August l, 1961 adopted and 

After consideration of the public comments and fur82 
sent a document containing its preliminary views to the Secretary of State recommending that the Department disseminate these views abroad so that the United 

States can have the benefit of the reaction and comments of other administrations 

prior to the scheduled 1963 Conference. 

on about the same date to the Secretary of State by the Office of Civil and Defense 

Mobilization, which is now the Office of Emergency Planning for the President. 

The document has been distributed abroad by the Department of State for this 

purp o s e. 

A similar document was also transmitted 

In summary, the proposals would provide frequencies for space communication, 

research, meteorological and aeronautical services, also for telemetry, command, 

guidance, and tracking functions associated with such space operations. 

The U. S. draft estimates that a total of about 3,000 Mc of spectrum space for the 

communications satellite space service, in the range 3,700-8,400 Mc should be 

allocated to meet foreseeable requirements until about 1970. Of this, 2,000 Mc 

would be divided between earth-to-satellite and satellite -to-earth transmissions, 

950 Mc in each case being shared with the fixed and mobile services, with two other 

bands reserved for adjustments as needed. 

These allocations proposed for the communication satellite service lie in the range 

of 3,700-4, 200 Mc (3.7-4.2 gigacycles) and 5, 925 and 8,400 Mc (5. 925-8.4 gigacycles) where it would share frequency bands with the existing fixed and mobile 

services. (A "gigacycle" is a short term for denoting 1,000 Mc. ) 

Administrative and Regulatory Problems 

On March 29, 1961, the Commission to facilitate an early solution to administrative 

and regulatory problems relating to the authorization of a commercially operable 

space communications system, instituted an inquiry (docket 14024) into the matter. 

Specifically, on the assumption that only one or a related number of such systems 

would be feasible, and in view of the Commission's policy of fostering beneficial 

competition in the international communication field and within the antitrust laws, it 

solicited views from the public as to the best plan to ensure that international communications common carriers and others participate on an equitable and nondiscriminatory basis in a single or limited number of satellite systems. 

views as to the consistency of such plan with antitrust and other laws and policy, the 

authority of the Commission to prescribe such plan, and the extent to which participants would be subject to its regulation. 

It also required 

After receiving comments the Commission, on May 24, issued a report stating that 

those replying generally favored a joint venture for the ownership and operation of 

such system but differed as to the composition of such venture. 

stated that a joint venture of international telephone and telegraph common carriers 

was deserving of consideration and exploration. 

those carriers and other respondents, the Commission through a supplement+l 

The Commission 

After a conference was held with 

83 
notice of inquiry announced a plan of procedure to permit such carriers to meet 

jointly through an ad hoc committee for the purpose of formulating a plan of organization or joint venture with respect to such system. It set out public interest objectives which should be met by any joint venture, including the requirements that 

it be so structured or arranged to prevent any single carrier from being in the 

position to dominate such system, that it ensure that existing or future carriers, 

whether or not owners, have equitable access to a non-discriminatory use of the 

system under fair and reasonable terms, that it ensure, as through competitive 

bidding, that there would be no favoritism in the procurement of communications 

equipment required for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the system, 

and that opportunity would be fostered for continued research and development activity by all enterprises seeking to compete to furnishing such equipment for the 

satellite system. In connection with this last point, the Commission had previously announced that it intended to require that its approval be obtained with 

respect to the specifications for all equipment used in the system, including ground 

terminals, and that before approving any specifications it would examine into the 

relevant patent situation to ensure that an undesirable or dominant patent position 

would not hamper or frustrate its objectives in this regard. 

-- 

Because of the prime importance given by the Commission to this undertaking it 

required the committee to report not later than October 13, 1961. 

international carriers filed a plan which, together with all relevant information and 

proposals, was given careful study by the Commission. 

On that date nine 

Experimentation 

The FCC encouraged experimentation by its licensees so that private industry might 

develop additional technical information to further the country's over -all space pro - 

gram. 

launch satellites built by the communications industry. 

In this endeavor, NASA will cooperate by providing facilities at cost to 

Since January 196 1, the Commission has granted authorizations to several private 

companies to conduct space communication experiments such as bouncing signals 

off the moon and Ilpassive" earth satellites and also for testing earth terminal equipment and 'Iactive satellite s. 

Monitoring 

Another FCC activity is the continued monitoring of channels being used for space 

communication. This started with its long-range direction-finding work in tracing 

Sputnik I, before the Government established special installations to track space objects. Commission monitoring is to prevent unauthorized use by other stations of 

channels employed for space communication, and to identify and locate sources of 

interference on those channels. At a number of FCC monitoring stations, special 

equipment used for this purpose includes sensitive receivers, high-gain directional 

antennas, and automatic frequency scanning devices. 

84 
Chapter XI11 

United States Information Agency 

INTRODUCTION 

In telling the story of our national space program during 1961, the United States 

Information Agency (USIA) made energetic use of its available resources. 

Agency's five media divisions -- Press, Radio, Television, Motion Pictures, and 

Information Centers Service -- kept a continuing flow of materials enroute to U.S. 

Information Service posts in 98 countries for further dissemination, much of it in 

the local language. Because of restrictions on U.S. informational activities in the 

Communist bloc of nations, peoples in those countries were served primarily by 

Voice of America radio broadcasts, publications such as the Russian and Polish 

language America Illustrated circulated under reciprocal agreements with the USSR 

and Poland, and USIS exhibits carried out under cultural exchange agreements. 

the 

Space information was prepared for overseas audiences by USIA staff members, 

whose duties include originating some materials and processing those supplied by 

other Government agencies and private industry. 

lation were handled in the field by USIS officers and their locally employed staffs. 

Additional tailoring and trans - 

Because of the continuing heavy demand for space information, USIA took steps late 

in the year to set up a service, designed especially for foreign science writers, to 

supply materials on a wide range of U. S. scientific activities, including space. 

This service, already tested in Germany, promises fruitful returns in other areas. 

THE MEDIA SERVICES 

Press and Publications 

News stories were carried via radioteletype Wireless File to 92 points in all areas, 

some of which are not serviced by U. S. commercial news agencies. 

Project MERCURY packet, * about our first manned space flight, furnished information on which news stories and articles in thousands of newspapers, magazines, and 

other publications throughout the world were based. 

ample, reported that eight newspapers stopped their presses to handle the packet 

stories. Posts in Lahore, Warsaw, Caracas, Athens, and Buenos Aires told of 

similar results. 

A special 

The post in Bangkok, for exAfter the flight, Commander Shepard, assisted by a USIA editor, prepared a 2500- 

word by-line article that was sent around the world by Wireless File and received 

*Whenever necessary, advance packets containing articles and photograps are 

dispatched for translation and preparation for distribution at launch time. 

85 
correspondingly wide usage. 

During the year, materials prepared by USIA Washington appeared in 102 USIS 

periodicals in 29 languages ranging from Amhamic to Vietnamese. USIS Paris 

dedicated an entire issue of its monthly Information et Documents to U.S. space 

achievements, as did USIS London with its monthly Science Horizons. 

Twelve different pamphlets came out in such languages as French, Arabic, Greek, 

Chinese, Swahili, and Hausa. USIA's Regional Service Center in Beirut adapted a 

National Geographic article into a heavily illustrated pamphlet entitled "The Great 

Venture," and distributed it throughout Africa and the Near East. 

appeared in the Agency's America Illustrated in Russian and Polish; and Al Hayat 

in Arabic. 

and after copyright clearance were offered to foreign journals for their use. 

Other articles 

A number of articles on space were selected from American periodicals, 

Wide photographic coverage in 1961 ranged from "TLROS-eye-views" of Africa and 

the Mediterranean to a serial "strip" on space that was published in book form by 

USIS Manila. Photographs acquired from NASA, the Department of Defense, and 

private industry, went out with news stories, picture stories, as illustrations for 

special features, and in plastic mat form to serve small newspapers lacking reproduction facilities. 19 Japanese newspapers and magazines used 111 

pictures of our first manned space flight, covering 34 pages of photographic reproduction with 422 column inches of explanatory text. 

Sample usage: 

Radio -- Voice of America 

Throughout the year, Voice of America (VOA) covered all major space achievements as lead stories in world news roundups broadcast in 36 languages, including 

English, to all areas of the world. 

Shepard and Grissom flights; the orbiting journey of a chimpanzee; the mid-air 

catches of DISCOVERER capsules in the Pacific; the use of TIROS weather satellites 

in spotting hurricanes; and defense spacecraft such as MIDAS. 

Space stories given top billing included: the 

In addition to the lead stories in 15-minute news roundups, separate, expanded 

accounts of each major U. S. space achievement were broadcast immediately after 

the news, to give additional details of the flight and the vehicle that made it. 

items broadcast included wrap-ups of editorial comment and press reaction, both 

at home and abroad, on significant U. S. space accomplishments. 

Other 

More than 84 features and news analyses were broadcast world-wide throughout the 

year. 

"Project MERCURY ,I' and "New Horizons in Science. I' 

Series of programs aired on space subjects included "Conquest of Space," 

VOA reporters on the scene at Cape Canaveral provided bulletins and eye-witness 

accounts of the successful launchings of astronauts for the language services. Typical of the coverage was the Armenian broadcast on the first of such flights. Within 

one minute after launching, the newscast was interrupted with the first of four news 

bulletins. These special bulletins announced (1) the launching, (2) the first reports 

from the astronaut himself, (3) the sighting of the capsule, and (4) the recovery of 

the astronaut alive and well. The last scheduled feature of the program was replaced with a special interview, announced as having been pre-recorded at Cape 

Canaveral, featuring Shepard's own voice. 

86 
When Astronaut Grissom was launched into space, the world-wide English program 

then on the air interrupted its regular service to carry the story live with a feed 

from a VOA reporter on the scene in Florida. The story was carried, with updated 

news, as a special all during the day, to reach all areas. 

During the International Meteorological Satellite workshop, VOA broadcast inter - 

views with 15 of the delegates, in languages ranging from Chinese to Urdu. 

Russian language service conducted interviews in French and English, then trans - 

lated them into Russian for listeners in the Soviet Union. 

The 

In conjunction with the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, VOA transmitted the 

latest information on new satellite launchings, and up-to-the-minute revised statistics on satellites already in orbit. These broadcasts are a contribution to the 

international efforts of the Council on International Scientific Unions , COSPAR.. 

While intended chiefly for tracking stations and scientific organizations in south 

America, the broadcasts can be received in other areas of the world, and are of 

interest to all listeners desiring the latest launching and orbital information on 

earth satellites. 

Television 

By distributing advance film clips and documentaries to the USIS posts serving the 

54 countries which have television, USIA was able to capitalize immediately on the 

public interest in such major projects as MERCURY and SATURN at time of launch. 

These advance "visuals" served as background for news received by USIA's Wireless 

File and through commercial news agencies. 

One such advance was Shadow of Infinity, a 15-minute documentary of the first U.S. 

manned space shot. Virtually all posts reported that the film was used extensively 

and received excellent reactions. "Telecast was praised by 

viewers and received plaudits in the local press. .!I Similar reports were received 

from Caracas, Rio de Janeiro, Beirut, Damascus , Lagos, Wellington, Oslo and 

Lisbon. And USIS Rome reported that R.AI, the Italian radio-television network, 

was able to go on the air the day of the flight with film, stills, and other background 

information sufficient to total 50 minutes of detailed and authoritative reports. 

USIS Manila reported: 

USIA's weekly Panorama Panamericana, a 15-minute TV newsreel in Spanish and 

Portuguese distributed to 47 stations (41 cities) in 17 Latin American countries, - 

carried 22 reports on U.S. space progress and activities. Sample subjects: X-15 

flights; TRANSIT; COURIER; ECHO; TIROS photos; MERCURY flights; and the International Meteorological Satellite Workshop. Similar subjects were covered in both 

regular and special reports for Europe, Africa, the Near East, and the Far East. 

U. S. scientific satellites were given special attention in the 13-film ICY series 

entitled Planet Earth, seven of which concerned outer space. 

The USIA television branch assisted numerous teams from abroad -- particularly 

Western Europe and Japan -- in filming space subjects at major U.S. installations, 

and in procuring documentary footage from official sources. 

foreign networks to give authoritative and well-rounded treatment of the U.S. space 

effort. 

This service enabled 

87 
Motion Pictures 

During 1961, the USIA motion picture service (IMS) distributed 10 documentary 

films on space topics. 

distributions: ATLAS (1 reel, black and white, 17 languages in 90 countries}; 

TIROS EXPERIMENTAL WEATHER SATELLITE (2 reels, color, 14 languages in 

75 countries); WORLD WATCHES EXPERIMENT IN SPACE (1 reel, black and white, 

37 languages in 102 countries). 

The last-named film was a factual, newsreel documentary, distributed soon after 

the historic space flight of May 5, and showed how the launch and recovery were 

carried out in full view of representatives of world news media. 

"openness," in marked contrast with the secrecy of the Soviet Union, was an impressive success. Typical of world press comment was this statement in Vienna's 

Neue Tageszeitung: 'I. . .A great technological achievement of the Communist world 

. . .has been followed by an equally great one which has been reached in an entirely 

different social-political climate. . . We can only welcome this noble style which is 

rooted in the essence of free life. It 

The following examples show typical language patterns and 

This policy of 

Other newspapers throughout the world expressed similar reactions to the "open" 

policy and practice of the United States. 

Film footage was also furnished to USIS posts for use in locally produced documentaries and newsreels. 

Information Centers Service 

The continuing requirements of overseas libraries (176 U.S. Information Service, 

128 bi-national centers) for books and publications -- both in English and in translation -- official documents, exhibits, posters, prepared lectures slides, etc., 

were met by the Information Centers Service (ICs) of USIA. 

Drawing on the American publishing industry's prolific output on aeronautics and 

space subjects during 1961, the ICs Bibliographic division appraised more than 50 

titles; of these 

Books Recommended for USIS" distributed to all posts. 

technical and industrial treatments to popular articles and books on space accomplishments and space potentials. 

33 (17 adult, 16 juvenile) were included in the lists of "Current 

The books ranged from 

Fifteen titles fed into the book translation program came out in a variety of 

languages 

up to 10,000 copies. 

Burmese, Greek, Hindi, and Malayam; another was published in Japanese, Arabic, 

Chinese, Korean, Marathi, Malay, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Indonesian. 

including Bengali and Burmese, Tamil and Telugu, in editions ranging 

For example one authoritative analysis appeared in Arabic, 

Numerous official Government publications, particularly those put out by NASA and 

the House and Senate Space Committees, were distributed to USIS libraries. Many 

of these documents were issued in translation by USIS posts overseas. 

To assist USIS public affairs officers in giving factually accurate and authoritative 

talks on space subjects, ICs distributed a special packet containing background 

materials and a lecture, in layman's language, written by an official of the National 

Academy of Sciences. 

88 
Exhibits 

Working in close cooperation with NASA's Office of Technical Information and 

Education, the USLA Exhibits Division circulated to overseas posts these NASAproduced exhibits : 

TIROS Weather Satellite 

Eight copies shown in 18 countries in all areas, including the 

USSR. 

Pro j ect MERCURY 

Seven 1 / 3-scale models of the MERCURY capsule with back-up 

panels were sent to as many important posts. 

models were circulated in Europe and Latin America. 

thousand copies of an eight-panel color poster on manned orbital 

flight were distributed world-wide for use at the proper time. 

Two full-scale 

Two 

PIONEER V Space Probe 

Eight copies shown in 17 countries. 

In addition to the above, the following USIA-produced exhibits were shown: 

X-15 Research Airplane 

One hundred copies, scale model and explanatory panel, were 

shown wo rld-wide. 

Space Unlimited 

Fifteen copies of an old standby still being used effectively in 15 

c ountrie s . Outer Space -- A New Frontier 

Eighty-six thousand copies of a full color poster, shown world-wide. 

By far the most impressive single exhibit activity was the showing of Freedom-7 

spacecraft at the International Air Show in Paris (600,000 visitors) May 25-June 4, 

and at the Electronic and Nuclear Fair in Rome (1,200,000 visitors) June 13-25. 

In both shows it became a fetish for the viewers to touch the capsule for "luck." 

The genuine public interest reflected in all public information media led one 

Italian paper to comment editorially: "The psychosis of American failure after 

Gagarin's flight has now disappeared. 'I 

SUMMARY 

The policy of "openness" observed in both U.S. manned space flights during the 

year dramatized the basic difference between the American open society and the 

Soviet closed society, and drew widespread approval from commentators 

89 
throughout the free world. The availability of full information about the events 

through all news media, together with the presence of foreign correspondents -- 

who gave first-hand, on-the-spot coverage -- enabled overseas audiences to 

achieve a high degree of self-identification with one of the greatest adventures of 

our time. 

at its disposal through all of its informational media. 

USIA fostered and promoted this sense of participation by every means 

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Appendix B 
APPENDIX C 

July 24, 1961 

THE PFUBIDENT'S POLICY STATEMENT ON 

COMMUNICATION SATELLITES 

Science and technology have progressed to such a degree that communication through 

the use of space satellites has become possible. 

this competence should be developed for global benefit at the earliest practicable 

time. 

Through this country's leadership, 

To accomplish this practical objective, increased resources must be devoted to the 

task and a coordinated national policy should guide the use of those resources in the 

public interest. Consequently, on May 25, 1961, I asked the Congress for additional 

funds to accelerate the use of space satellites for worldwide communications. Also, 

on June 15, I asked the Vice President to have the Space Council make the necessary 

studies and policy recommendations for the optimum development and operation of 

such system. 

such recommendations was that public interest objectives be given the highest priority. 

This has been done. The primary guideline for the preparation of 

I again invite all nations to participate in a communication satellite system, in the 

interest of world peace and closer brotherhood among peoples throughout the world. 

The present status of the communication satellite programs, both civil and military, 

is that of research and development. To date, no arrangements between the government and private industry contain any commitments as to an operational system. 

A. Policv of Ownership and %eration 

Private ownership and operation of the U. S. portion of the system is favored, provided that such ownership and operation meet the following policy requirements: 

1. New and expanded international communications services be made available at 

the earliest practicable date; 

2. Make the system global in coverage so as to provide efficient communication 

service throughout the whole world as soon as technically feasible, including service 

where individual portions of the coverage are not profitable; 

3. Provide opportunities for foreign participation through ownership or otherwise, 

in the communications satellite system; 

4. Non-discriminatory use of and equitable access to the system by present and 

futur e authorized communications carrier s ; 

ment used in the system. 

5. Effective competition, such as competitive bidding, in the acquisition of equip105 

Appendix C 
6. Structure of ownership or control which will assure maximum possible 

competition; 

7. Full compliance with antitrust legislation and with the regulatory controls 

of the government; 

8. Development of an economical system, the benefits of which will be reflected in overseas communication rates. 

B. Policy of Government Responsibility 

In addition to its regulatory responsibilities, the U. S. Government will: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

Conduct and encourage research and development to advance the state of 

the art and to give maximum assurance of rapid and continuous scientific 

and te chnolo gic a1 pro gr e s s ; 

Conduct or maintain supervision of international agreements and negotiations; 

Control all launching of U. S. spacecraft; 

Make use of the commercial system for general governmental purposes and 

establish separate communications satellite systems when required to meet 

unique government needs which cannot, in the national interest, be met by 

the commercial system; 

Assure the effective use of the radio-frequency spectrum; 

Assure the ability to discontinue the electronic functioning of satellites 

when required in the interest of communication efficiency and effectiveness; 

Provide technical assistance to newly developing countries in order to help 

attain an effective global system as soon as practicable; 

Examine with other countries the most constructive role for the United 

Nations, including the ITU, in international space communications. 

C. Coordination 

I have asked the full cooperation of all agencies of the government in the vigorous 

implementation of the policies stated herein. The National Aeronautics and Space 

Council will provide continuing policy coordination and will also have responsibility 

for recommending to me any actions needed to achieve full and prompt compliance 

with the policy. With the guidelines provided here, I am anxious that development 

of this new technology to bring the farthest corner of the globe within reach by voice 

and visual communication, fairly and equitably available for use, proceed with all 

possible promptness. 

106 
APPENDIX D 

SPACE ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED STATES GOVER"lP 

New Obliga+,ional A-ithority/Progrsm Basis - ic millions 

Historical Summary and FY 1963 Budget kcomendations 

FY 1955 .................. $56.9 $3.0 - - $59.9 

FY 1956 .................. 72-7 30-3 $7.0 $7-3 - 117.3 

FY 1957 .................. 78.2 71.0 21.3 8.4 - 178 * 9 

FY1958 .................. 117.3 205.6 21.3 3.3 - 347.5 

FY 1959 .................. 338.9 489.5 34.3 - - 862.7 

FY ig60 .................. 523.6 560.9 43.3 .1 - 1,127 9 

FY 1961* ................. 926.2 793.8 63.2 -6 - 1,783.8 

FY 1962 .................. 1,630.3 1,147.2 120.1 1.6 50.2 2,949.4 

- 156.0 

Total 1962" ........... l,'f86.3 1- i&k h 50.2 3,1053 

Reconmrended supplemntal . 156.0 I 

FY 1962 .................. 1,630.3 1,147.2 120.1 1.6 50.2 2,949.4 

Reconmrended supplemntal . 156.0 - I 156.0 

Total 1962" ........... l,'f86.3 1- i&k h 50.2 3,1053 

FY 1963 bud&* .......... 3,732.~ 1,517.7 19.9 1.7 47.2 5,492.4 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration amounts for 1961 and subsequent 

years exclude amounts for aircraft and missile technology. hnunts for 1960 

and prior years are totals for all activities of NASA and include totals for 

NACA prior to establishmat of NASA. 

The Department of Defense amounts include identifiable Defense funding for 

space and space-related programs, but exclude tkre cost of developing 

missiles and related equipment which are also used in the space programs, 

military personnel costs, and certain operating and supporting costs which 

it is not feasible to separate from other military expenses. Amounts for 

1960 and prior years &so exclude construction and operating costs of the 

national missile ranges and certain supporting research and developmnt 

applicable both to space and other programs. 

Atomic Energy Conmission amounts are those identified with Rover nuclear 

rocket, tk SNAP atomic power source project, and related activities. 

4/ National Science Foundation a~nounts are those identified with Vanguard and 

5f Weather Bureau amounts ~tre those identifieti with the meteorological satellite 

* These amounts used in table on "New Obligational Authority for Federal Space 

with the NSF space telescope project. 

program. 

Programs" on page 329 of the 1963 budget. 

* Rounded to $3.8 billion on Bureau of the Budget chart. 

Bureau of the Budget 

January 19, 1962 

107 

Appendix D