REPORT TO THE CONGRESS 

FROM THE PRESIDENT 

OF THE UNITED STATES 

UNITED STATES 

AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ACTIVITIES 

1963 
NOTE TO READERS: ALL PRINTED PAGES ARE INCLUDED, 

UNNUMBERED BLANK PAGES DURING SCANNING AND QUALITY 

CONTROL CHECK HAVE BEEN DELETED 
REPORT TO THE CONGRESS 

FROM THE PRESIDENT 

OF THE UNITED STATES 

UNITED STATES 

AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ACTIVITIES 

1963 
THE WHiTE HOUSE 

WAS H I N GTO N 

January 27, 1964 

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 1963, on this nation's aeronautics 

and space activities. 

The year 1963 was a period of constructive development of our 

increasing space competence. 

evaluation of the national space program -- an evaluation which 

resulted in broad acceptance of the policy of our attaining and 

maintaining space leader ship, with due regard for our national 

s e curity . 

It was also a period of searching 

Our space program, in both its civilian and military aspects, is 

peaceful in purpose and practice. Moreover, it combines such 

objective with a policy of international cooperation based upon a 

mutuality of participation and benefits as well as the wide dissemination of knowledge. 

Space progress is essential if this nation is to lead in technology 

and in the furthering of world peace. Such progress requires the 

use of substantial resources, which must be employed efficiently 

and effectively in order that we obtain the maximum benefits with 

a minimum of waste. 

In summary form, the accompanying report depicts the contributions of the various departments and agencies of the Government 

to the national space program during 1963. 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Chapter I 

Chapter 11 

Chapter 111 

Chapter IV 

Chapter V 

Chapter VI 

Chapter VII 

Chapter VI11 

Chapter IX 

Chapter X 

Chapter XI 

Chapter XI1 

Chapter XI11 

Appendix A-1 

Appendix A-2 

Appendix A-3 

Appendix B 

Appendix C 

Appendix D 

Appendix E-1 

Appendix E-2 

Appendix E-3 

Index 

U. S. Aeronautics and Space Activities -- 

1963 Summary ........................ 1 

National Aeronautics and Space Council.. 5 

Administration ..................... 9 

Department of D ef e ns e ................. 39 

Atomic Energy Commission ............ 61 

Department of State ................... 67 

National Science Foundation ............ 73 

Department of C ommer c e .............. 77 

Space Science Board.. ................. 89 

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. . 95 

Federal Aviation Agency ............... 101 

Federal Communications Commission ... 109 

United States Information Agency. ....... 115 

National Aeronautics and Space 

U. S. Launching Record (Chart) ......... 120 

U. S. Launching Record (Table) ......... 121 

Successful U.S. Launches - 1963 ....... 122 

U.S. Space Launch Vehicles.. .......... 138 

Selected Programs for Cooperation in 

Outer Space (Chart). ................. 140 

SNAP Radioisotope Electric Power 

Units for Space ..................... 141 

Historical Summary and FY 1965 Budget 

Recommendations (New Obligational 

Historical Summary and FY 1965 Budget 

Recommendations (Expenditures). ..... 143 

Space Activities Budget ................ 144 

...................................... 145 

Authority) .......................... 142 

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE COUNCIL 

WA.*I*OTO* 
Chapter I 

U.S. Aeronautics and Space Activities 1963 

SUMMARY 

Nineteen sixty-three was a significant year for the United States in its arduous 

effort to achieve broad space competence for peaceful purposes, i,ncluding both 

civilian and military projects. 

The past six years have been productive ones in overcoming competitive disadvantages, which derived directly from a relatively late start and from initial lack of 

enthusiasm for space achievements. In this process, there have been numerous 

positive accomplishments, not the least of which has been the marshalling of valued 

resources into a viable national effort. Leadership among spacefaring nations is 

now a discernible goal. Our chief competitor has in the meantime not stood still, 

and in fact continues to lead in some respects. Through their greater ability to 

rocket heavier payloads into space, the U. S. S. R. could, for example, score new 

"firsts" in maneuvering, rendezvousing, and space docking. However, our encouraging progress in the development of large rockets and in sophisticated spacecraft gives strong indication that the United States will cut any "lag-time'' appreciably as it proceeds toward new space successes. 

While many achievements are recorded for the year 1963, the record forms no 

basis for complacency. If the goal of being first in space is to be achieved and 

maintained, there can be no slackening of effort and no dampening of enthusiasm 

for space achievements. 

The United States adheres firmly to its policy of "space for peaceful purposes'' as 

expressed in the basic legislation and as espoused by this country's leadership. 

Furthermore, as a corollary to that policy, we are cooperating with some 60 

nations in various aspects of the space program. Such cooperation, in intent and in 

proposals, extends to the Soviet Union on a mutually beneficial and peace-creating 

basis. 

Although many specific accomplishments will be described in more detail throughout 

this report, special notice should be given to the improved cooperation between 

agencies with space responsibilities, to the reorganization of NASA's management, 

and to the coordinated decision for the Defense Department to develop and use a 

manned orbiting laboratory. 

The United States has made outstanding progress in improving the reliability of its 

rockets. For example, during the year, NASA had 14 launch successes out of 15 

attempts, including the successful launching of 10 earth satellites out of the 10 tries 

made. 

both in the number of successes and in the reliability of its launch vehicles. 

The launching record of the Defense Department has also been impressive, 

The peaceful applications of space competence were furthered, during the year, in 

the continuing improvements to the weather, communications, and navigational 

satellite systems. 

In order to maintain this countryls lead in the field of commercial aviation, 

1 
decision was made to proceed toward the development of a supersonic transport for 

commercial us e. 

Of particular note during 1963 were the following events and accomplishments. 

. . . A U. S. astronaut was orbited 22 times for a period of 34 hours, 20 minutes, 

and was accurately landed within four miles of a predicted point while under manual 

control. This MERCURY shot (MA-9) completed the first U. S. manned space 

flight program with a perfect record. 

. . . The successful launch of CENTAUR, the first known successful flight of a high 

energy rocket fueled by liquid hyrdrogen was accomplished. 

. . . The first synchronous satellites, SYNCOM I & I1,were orbited. SYNCOM I1 was 

also the first truly maneuverable station-keeping satellite, the first space link 

from North America to Africa, the first 24-hour a day space communications link. 

It was also the first satellite to employ a satellite ship-to-shore link, and conducted 

the longest (7, 700 miles from California to Nigeria) space communication link. 

. . . Twin satellites capable of detecting nuclear explosions in the atmosphere or in 

outer space by radiation measurements were launched. 

dual injection of the two satellites into different 60, 000 mile orbits. 

The operation included 

. . . A navigation satellite was stabilized in a low (500 mile) earth orbit by passive 

means using only the earth's gravity field and a damping mechanism. 

. . . The X-15 research rocket-aircraft set new records in flight on the fringes of 

space. 

. . . The decision was made to revise and enlarge the Department of Defense spaceflight program. 

tory (MOL) program; extension of the NASA-developed GEMINI spacecraft to 

defense missions; cancellation of the X-20 program; and expansion of Project ASSET 

to accelerate lifting body technology development. 

Redirection included establishment of a Manned Orbiting Labora- 

. . . The President ordered the development of a supersonic transport. Forty five 

tentative orders had been placed by the world's airlines for the proposed aircraft. 

Three airframe and three engine companies are completing design proposals to be 

submitted this January. 

. . . TELSTAR I1 joined RELAY in orbit to provide two operational low orbit communications satellites, both furnishing television, phone, voice and teletype communication demonstrations. 

. . . The first two spacecraft powered entirely by nuclear units were orbited this 

year. 

isotope thermo-electric generator. 

The power is supplied by the SNAP-9A 25-watt plutonium-fueled radioTwo weather satellites, TIROS VI1 and TIROS VI11 were successfully launched, and 

weather satellites launched to date have supplied over 300, 000 useful pictures. 

TIROS VI11 contained an automatic picture transmission (APT) system to provide 

daily weather pictures to relatively inexpensive ground stations throught the world. 

2 
. . . In cooperation with other member nations, the United States participated in the 

drafting and acceptance of a United Nations resolution calling upon all nations to refrain from stationing weapons of mass destruction in outer space. 

. . .An agreement to ban nuclear testing in outer space, the atmosphere and underwater was drafted by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, 

and ratified by over 100 nations. 

. . . The United States played a leading part in developing a Declaration of Legal 

Principles to guide states in the exploration and use of outer space, which was 

unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. 

. . . The United States entered into a cooperative agreement with the Soviet Union envisaging an exchange of data from coordinated launches of weather satellites, joint 

experiments in space communications with passive United States satellites, and an 

exchange of data from satellites equipped with magnetometers. 

. . . The Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference convened at Geneva, 

Switzerland, in October 1963 to allocate bands of frequencies for research and development in the field of space communication and radio astronomy. 

was concluded in November with a good measure of acceptance of the U. S. proposals. 

. . . New astronauts were selected, and began training for the eventual lunar landing 

mis s ion. 

An agreement 

. . . Suborbital test flights were conducted of the ASSET winged reentry vehicle and the 

LITTLE JOE II APOLLO boilerplate version of the vehicle to be used for the manned 

lunar mission. 

. . . The scientific satellite EXPLORER XVII was placed into orbit and is furnishing 

significant information on atmospheric structures, 

. . . LOFT1 2A conducted a dual frequency study of the propagation of very lowfrequency radio waves in and through the ionosphere. 

. . . The 120-inch solid rocket to be used with the TITAN I11 was successfully tested. 

. . . EXPLORE8 XVIII, the Interplanetary Monitoring Probe (IMP) afforded scientists 

with the first comprehensive study of radiation hazards in cislunar space to a 

distance of 150, 000 miles from the earth. 

. . . A narrow belt of tiny electric dipoles (WEST FORD) was established around the 

earth, which had the communications ability and the decay characteristics which had 

been planned. 

. . . The HITCHHIKER scientific satellite was launched into orbit from another satellite which had already been in orbit several days. 

. . . The planets Mars and Venus were successfully contacted by radar. 

. . . Another in the series of the large SATURN boosters was successfully tested, to 

provide 1,500, 000 pounds of thrust, the largest first stage yet tested. 

. . . The United States placed about 60 satellite payloads into orbit. 

3 
Chapter I1 

National Aeronautics and Space Council 

Nineteen Hundred and Sixty-Three was a year of accelerated effort and accelerated 

learning as the national space program of the United States reached higher levels of 

competence and performance. The year's program included a 34-hour manned orbital flight, the launching of the world's first successful synchronous satellite, the 

world's first all-nuclear powered satellite, the first high energy hydrogen rocket 

stage, the first satellite stabilized by the earth's gravity field, the orbiting of a belt 

of reflective communications dipoles, the orbiting of nuclear' test detection spacecraft, and the achievement of critical milestones in the development of large-thrust 

rocket engines. 

During this year, the United States was successful in placing about 60 satellite payloads into earth orbit, raising the Nation's total from the beginning of the space age 

to approximately 180. The Soviets put about one-third as many payloads into earth 

orbit during 1963, although they were sufficiently heavier than ours to keep their 

lead in total weight orbited. The over-all country-to-country orbital payload ratio 

numerically is more than 3 to 1 in favor of the United States. In the light of available information, it also appeared that the ratio of successes to failures was approximately comparable for both countries as the launching vehicles of each showed a 

trend toward improved reliability. 

By the end of 1963, the United States had under development more powerful rockets 

than any the Soviet Union had in operation. 

U. S. S. R. in putting space competences to direct use in improving man's living on 

earth by weather, communications, and navigation satellites. Although the U. S. S. R. 

must be credited with potential ability to do so, it has not developed comparable programs for the benefit of mankind. 

their lead in large operational rockets, near-rendezvous experiments, and the life 

sciences aspects of space. 

spent more time flying outside the atmosphere, and their interplanetary effort was 

significantly greater. 

they have an orderly, step-by-step program which has impressed the world with 

their accomplishments. 

This country remained well ahead of the 

At the same time, however, the Soviets maintained 

They launched more weight into space, their astronauts 

Their accumulation of data and experience made plain that 

The National Aeronautics and Space Council has been guided by the premise that the 

United States will become the world's leading spacefaring nation and that it will 

dedicate its space competence to improving and maintaining the peace. To this end, 

our national space program has been designed to increase our knowledge of the space 

environment and the fundamental facts of nature; to master the technology of manned 

and unmanned space flight; to explore the solar system; to increase our national 

security; and to utilize the results of space technology and discovery to achieve a 

broad range of economic and social benefits. Our goals include increased international cooperation in the use of outer space for peaceful purposes, the development 

of the regime of law for outer space for peaceful purposes, the development of the 

regime of law for outer space, and the orderly and open conduct of space-related 

activities. 

5 
More critical and detailed examination of the space program characterized the 

Congress's approach to budgetary requests for FY 1964, particularly regarding the 

funds for NASA. Although the net result was less than the amount of appropriations 

needed, it is significant and encouraging that the Congress favored a substantial 

increase over the preceding year and hence supported a broad-based accelerated 

program. 

In discharging its responsibilities, the Council directly and through its staff engaged 

in a wide range of policy and coordinating activities. Among such activities were: 

a. 

b. 

C. 

d. 

e. 

f. 

gh. 

i. 

j. 

k. 

1. 

formulated and recommended to the President that the United States 

initiate a supersonic transport prototype development program at the 

earliest possible date, with the objective of obtaining a safe, economically sound, and superior aircraft. 

supervised the preparation and conducted the editing of the President's 

Annual Report to the Congress on aeronautics and space activities for 

1963. 

testified on space and aeronautical activities before committees of the 

Congress. 

increased the public understanding of the national space program through 

speeches, articles, public appearances, and interviews. 

participated in the analysis and development of the FY 1965 budgets for 

space. 

coordinated efforts leading to the launch of an orbiting dipole belt and the 

release of information to the world scientific community in accordance 

with the President's policy on Project WEST FORD. 

participated in continuing review of the major policy and planning issues 

confronting the Communications Satellite Corporation. 

coordinated procedures for the placing of nuclear auxiliary power devices 

in spacecraft and made positive recommendations to the President regard.- 

ing such launches. 

initiated coordination on space projects, such as space stations for 

military and non-military missions. 

participated in the development of United States positions with respect to 

bilateral arrangements with the Soviet Union in the field of weather, communications, and geomagnetic satellites. 

visited space installations, examined facilities, and discus sed space 

developments and problems with mana g e r ial and t e chnica 1 specialists . 

engaged in numerous interagency, as well as Government-industry, 

meetings and briefings on new developments in space technology and 

space benefits. 

6 
m. 

n. 

0. 

participated in analyses leading to the decision to initiate a Manned 

Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) project. 

developed internal analyses on nuclear rocket propulsion, nuclear 

auxiliary power, reliability of space launching vehicles, lunar and 

earth orbital rendezvous, range instrumentation ships, post-lunar 

missions, high velocity space probes, and space station program 

decisions, and 

maintained a current record of United States and Soviet space 

launches, developed comparisons between U. S. and U. S.S. R. space 

activities, and reviewed space accomplishments and potential of other 

nations . 

The Space Council held formal meetings on such subjects as: formulation of supersonic transport program recommendations; review of policy issues relating to the 

national space program; and coordination of Defense-NASA'space projects, such 

as GEMINI and space stations. 

The United States space program is designed to maintain our position of leadership 

in the Free World. 

and pressing for ever-widening participation and distribution of space benefits, the 

United States has led the world effort It is in the national interest -- 

economically, technologically, scientifically, militarily, and internationally -- to 

carry this program forward in an accelerating fashion so that the United States will 

obtain for mankind every one of its many benefits as soon and as efficiently as 

possible. 

Cooperating with other nations in many areas of space technolbgy, 

this area. 

7 
Chapter 111 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

INTRODUCTION 

During 1963, 'the National Aeronautics and Space Administration made significant advances in all of its programs in the continuing effort to assure preeminence in space 

for the United States. 

The MERCURY manned space flight project culminated in the 22-orbit flight of 

Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., May 15-16. 

cluded the orbiting of SYNCOM and TELSTAR communications satellites, the TIROS 

VII and VIII meteorological satellite, and the EXPLORER XVII, XVIII, and XIX geophysical satellites. 

CENTAUR rocket into orbit. The first stage of the powerful SATURN I launch vehicle 

was successfully tested for the fourth time. Progress also continued in all other aspects of the drive to complete a manned lunar-landing-and-return mission during this 

decade. 

Other important achievements inAnd on November 27 NASA launched the hydrogen-fueled 

MANNED SPACE FLIGHT 

In 1963, NASA concluded Project MERCURY and substantially advanced the work on 

Project GEMINI and Project APOLLO; the Agency also took concurrent steps to provide the essential manned space flight support. 

Project MERCURY 

The outstanding event of the United States space program in 1963 was the successful 

flight of Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. It began on the morning of May 15, 1963; 

34 hours and 20 minutes later, after completing 22 orbits, Astronaut Cooper's spacecraft Faith 7 reentered the atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. The 

primary mission of the flight was to evaluate the effects of weightlessness and extended orbital flight on man. 

The launch phase was normal; the spacecraft was inserted into a near-perfect orbit. 

Its systems performed well until the 18th orbit, when the automatic control system 

failed. For the rest of the flight, retrofire, and reentry, Astronaut Cooper manually 

controlled the spacecraft, landing it within four miles of the predicted point. 

astronaut performed his tasks in an outstanding manner and provided further evidence 

of the essential role of man in space exploration. 

The 

The effectiveness of NASA's flight operations planning was underscored during this 

mission. Ground controllers quickly diagnosed the problem encountered in the automatic control system of the spacecraft during the 19th orbit and subsequently relayed 

new instructions, enabling the astronaut to make a manually controlled retrofire and 

reentry. 

operational techniques. 

The successful termination of this flight confirmed the soundness of the 

This flight also enabled NASA to conduct such scientific and engineering experiments 

9 
as medical studies, radiation measurements, photographic and visibility studies, and 

experiments in TV communications. 

In the area of space medicine, the Project MERCURY flights were completed with no 

prolonged ill effects upon the astronauts; also, there were no significant deficiencies 

in the life support system or personal protective equipment developed for this project. 

Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the MERCURY life-support system, originally 

designed for short duration missions, was modified during the course of the project 

to support man for more than 34 hours. Improvements in equipment and techniques 

were characteristic of each succeeding flight. 

In Project MERCURY, the United States learned: 

a. 

b. 

C. 

d. 

e. 

f. 

how to design, build, and test the necessary spacecraft. 

how to adapt launch vehicles, never intended for manned flight, so 

that they are sufficiently safe and reliable for manned flight. 

how to operate a worldwide network of radio and radar to keep track 

of the spacecraft and remain in communication with the pilot. 

how to recover spacecraft from the ocean in a very short period of 

time. 

how to select and train astronauts. 

how to develop and operate life-support systems, pressure suits, and 

biomedical instrumentation systems. 

Perhaps most important of all, the United States has learned that man can contribute 

materially to the exploration of space. He can make scientific observations in space 

and perform and assess scientific experiments. As an engineer and test pilot, he can 

function as a primary system of the spacecraft, and he can cope with the unexpected 

in a space mission. These demonstrations of man's ability to judge, to reason, and 

to cope with the unexpected enable the United States to proceed with confidence that 

man can assume the role of explorer in space just as he has been an explorer on 

earth. 

The objectives of Project MERCURY, as laid out in 1958, were to take the first step 

in the manned exploration of space, to determine man's capabilities in space, and to 

develop the foundation for the technology of manned space flight. 

completion of the Cooper mission, these objectives have been more than met. 

With successful 

Proiect GEMINI 

Project GEMINI is the second major step being taken by the United States in manned 

space systems development and manned space exploration. 

MERCURY, GEMINI will provide a two-man spacecraft; the objectives of the project 

are to increase operational proficiency and to gain more knowledge of the technology 

of manned space flight. Specific areas within these objectives include long duration 

flight, rendezvous and docking, post docking maneuvers, controlled reentry, extravehicular activity, and ground and flight crew training. 

Closely following 

10 
Production design of the GEMINI spacecraft structure was completed in February; in 

October, GEMINI Spacecraft No. 1 was delivered to Cape Canaveral (now Cape 

Kennedy). Spacecraft No. 1 together with the first GEMINI Launch Vehicle, also delivered in October, will be used in the first unmanned developmental flight scheduled 

during the first half of 1964. 

To test the final design of the spacecraft and various subsystems, 10 non-flight spacecraft were in the process of being fabricated. These will be used to evaluate the 

various individual subsystems of the spacecraft such as the life support system, the 

ejection seats, and the parachute recovery system; they will also be used to test 

structural design and astronaut training. 

Typical structural tests include pressurization, flotation, and landing impact. Seven 

successful parachute drops were conducted during the summer months to qualify the 

recovery system. Two of these were dropped in the water to determine impact loads. 

Effort was devoted to the development of the paraglider recovery system for a series 

of air drops. 

determine landing characteristics. 

More than 100 ground tow tests were made with a half-scale model to 

Electronic systems tests were conducted to determine the intercompatibility of the 

spacecraft electronics and guidance systems. 

which make up the flyable spacecraft for mission No. 2 was underway by the end of 

the year. 

A complete test of all the subsystems 

The GEMINI Launch Vehicle (GLV) is a modified TITAN 11 being procured by NASA 

through the Air Force Space Systems Division. 

to be procured. 

checkout of all subsystems, qualification testing of components, and correction of 

certain deficiencies noted by the vehicle acceptance team. 

A total of 15 such launch vehicles are 

The first of these was delivered to Cape Kennedy in October following 

Critical components of the GLV, such as the malfunction detection system, were 

flight tested on Air Force TITAN 11 ICBM's to gain flight reliability data. 

the planned six such tests were flown before the end of the year. 

first GEMINI flight, flight data from many standard Air Force TITAN IPS were being 

obtained. 

Three of 

Also, prior to the 

The target vehicle for the GEMINI rendezvous and docking missions consists of the 

ATLAS standard launch vehicle and a modified AGENA D. 

fied to give it maneuverability in orbit and to provide for actual docking with the 

spacecraft. 

The AGENA is being modiDuring the year, work on the target vehicle centered on development and test of the 

AGENA propulsion system. 

altitude conditions; the results were satisfactory. Design and development of other 

aspects of the AGENA are proceeding according to schedule, with the first delivery 

planned for early 1965. 

The system was repeatedly fired under simulated orbital 

Operational concepts and procedures were being developed for Projects GEMINI and 

APOLLO, using the experience gained from Project MERCURY. A new ground control site, the Integrated Mission Control Center (IMCC), was under development at 

the Manned Spacecraft Center ip Houston. This Center will maintain operational 

11 
control over the manned flights now planned for both GEMINI and APOLLO. 

ground crews underwent intensified training for the early GEMINI flights. 

The 

Project APOLLO 

NASA continued progress with the development of the Project APOLLO spacecraft, 

the launch vehicles and propulsion systems, and the associated mission planning. 

Systems Engineering 0- During 1963, continued progress was made in the overall engineering of the system for manned lunar flight. Additional detailed specifications of 

the hardware were completed. The computation of the detailed flight path was begun. 

Special attention was paid to natural environmental problems, including the earth's 

radiation belts, solar flares, meteoroids, and the surface of the moon. The value of 

a lunar orbiter was established, and mission assignments for the APOLLO flight tests 

were established. 

Spacecraft -- During the past year, NASA completed selection of the APOLLO spacecraft industrial team, the first test spacecraft were delivered, and the first developmental flights were made. 

Three boilerplate APOLLO Spacecraft Command and Service Modules were constructed and delivered by October 1963. 

Year 1963, with six of the boilerplates for unmanned flight testing and three for 

various ground tests. 

A total of nine were delivered in Calendar 

(A boilerplate spacecraft has the same shape, but is heavier structurally than the 

spacecraft that will make the mission. 

ticated items of equipment, containing elaborate instrumentation and actual spacecraft systems and components. ) 

Some boilerplate spacecraft are highly sophisThree of the flight tests of these boilerplates are to demonstrate the mission abort 

emergency escape systems. 

micrometeorite density in near earth space, and one is to obtain information on conditions of vibration, temperature, pressure, and noise at launch. 

Of the other three flight tests, two are to measure the 

Manufacturing was also begun on three prototype spacecraft (similar to those planned 

for the lunar mission). Two of these spacecraft are to be used for ground tests to 

check out the spacecraft structure and systems under simulated mission and space 

conditions. 

the spacecraft systems, including the heat shield. 

The third is to be a production air-frame for unmanned flight testing of 

Nearly half the ground tests of boilerplate spacecraft were completed. Basic design 

approaches were confirmed in water recovery and handling operations, land and 

water impact tests, parachute recovery tests, and dynamics tests conducted in combination with a prototype SATURN launch vehicle. 

At the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), N. Mex., a LITTLE JOE I1 launch vehicle 

facility was completed and made operational in July. In August, a LITTLE JOE 11 

launch vehicle with a dummy spacecraft payload was flight tested at White Sands to 

qualify the launch vehicle for forthcoming APOLLO spacecraft emergency escape 

system tests. In a flight at WSMR in November, the launch escape system of the 

APOLLO was tested in a launch pad abort situation. 

lated a mission abort resulting from a launch vehicle failure on the pad. 

This flight successfully simu12 
In January, NASA signed a contract for the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM). 

Lunar Excursion Module is used to transport two astronauts from the mother spacecraft in lunar orbit to the lunar surface and back again to the mother spacecraft. 

During 1963, more than a dozen subcontracts were let to form the Lunar Excursion 

Module industry team. 

The 

A preliminary configuration of the LEM was "frozen" in the middle of the year, and 

the first of a series of mockups was reviewed in September. Plans were drawn and 

construction started to permit the first test firing of the LEM rocket engines at White 

Sands, N. Mex., in mid-1964. The descent engine of the LEM will represent a technological advance in that it must be capable of a thrust level variation ranging from 

one-tenth to maximum thrust. 

these will provide the basis for selecting the final descent engine design. 

Two parallel development efforts were underway; 

Small bi-propellant control engines which are capable of thousands of starts were in 

the advanced stages of development for the reaction control systems of the APOLLO 

Spacecraft Command and Service Modules. 

the attitude of the spacecraft in space and during reentry. 

These engines are used for controlling 

The 22,000-pound thrust service module propulsion system engine, also with multiple start capability, underwent altitude testing at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) facilities at Tullahoma, Tenn. 

attaining the highly reliable spacecraft engine necessary to assure flight safety and 

mission success. 

earth once the spacecraft leaves the near -earth environment. 

This program is directed toward 

This engine is the prime means of returning the astronauts to 

Construction was initiated on the APOLLO Propulsion Development Test Facilities at 

White Sands Missile Range, N. Mex. Also included at this site are the Control 

Center, the Propellant Storage and Transfer System, a Preparation Building and the 

Project Control Area. 

At the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Tex., contracts were awarded for construction of two major test facilities. 

Testing Laboratory; the other is the Flight Acceleration Facility. 

laboratory and administrative facilities were near completion. 

One of the buildings is the Environmental 

Thirteen other 

Launch Vehicles and Propulsion -- The development of more powerful engines and 

launch vehicles required for the APOLLO project progressed significantly in 1963. 

The SATURN I, the SATURN I-B, and the &TURN V are the launch vehicles under 

development. 

The configuration of the SATURN I consists of two stages: (1) the S-I booster stage, 

powered by eight H-1 engines (liquid oxygen and kerosene) developing 1.5 million 

pounds of thrust; and (2) the S-IV second stage, propelled by six RL-10 A-3 engines 

(liquid oxygen-liquid hydrogen), generating 90,000 pounds of thrust. The SATURN I 

is slated for use in earth orbital tests of two of the three modules of the APOLLO 

spacecraft. 

The fourth unmanned developmental flight of the SATURN I was successfully completed in March. 

flights, consisting of a live first stage and dummy upper stages. 

The flight configuration was similar to the first three successful 

Uprating of the H-1 engine from 165,000 to 188,000 pounds of thrust was nearing 

13 
successful completion and further uprating of the engine to 200,000 pounds of thrust 

for SATURN I-B flights was approved. 

veloped: (1) a stainless stell thrust chamber of increased durability and (2) a new injector capable of damping out artificially induced combustion instability. 

Two improvements to the engine were deThe first S-IV flight stage was successfully static fired for its full mission duration 

in August and was delivered to Cape Kennedy for final pre-flight checkout in September. 

In November, fabrication of hardware began on the SATURN I-B, an improved version 

of the SATURN 1. 

vous operations of the complete APOLLO spacecraft, including the Command Module, 

the Service Module, and the Lunar Excursion Module. This launch vehicle will comprise a first stage (S-IB) which will be a modified version of the SATURN I first 

stage, and a second stage (S-IVB) propelled by one J-2 engine generating 200,000 

pounds of thrust. 

of the SATURN V vehicle. 

1965. 

The I-B will be used for manned earth orbital flights and rendezThe S-IVB second stage is essentially the same as the third stage 

Flight testing of the SATURN I-B vehicle is scheduled for 

The J-2 engine, which also powers the S-I1 second stage of SATURN V, underwent 

successful tests and the first production engine for use in ground testing of stages 

was delivered. 

The SATURN V, the most powerful launch vehicle now under development, will provide the launch power required to land two men on the moon. The vehicle will stand 

281 feet high (without payload) and will weigh approximately six million pounds. 

will have the capability to place 240,000 pounds (the equivalent of 80 MERCURY capsules) into earth orbit, and 90,000 pounds into a translunar trajectory. 

It 

The vehicle has three stages. The first or booster stage (S-1C) will have five F-1 

engines (liquid oxygen and kerosene) producing a total of 7.5 million pounds of thrust. 

Work was begun on the fabrication and assembly of the first ground test stage--the 

All Systems stage--at the Marshall Space Flight Center. In addition, a full scale 

mock-up of the thrust structure assembly, measuring approximately 20 feet in height, 

and 33 feet in diameter, was built there. 

In the F-1 program, substantial progress was made in developing an injector which 

will produce stable combustion. 

nozzle extension, improved turbopumps, vehicle interconnects, and a heat exchanger 

for heating vehicle tank pressurizing gases. 

also demonstrated. 

largely the result of the work of a NASA-Industry-University research task force 

which was formed for the purpose. 

Continued progress was made in developing the 

Gimballing capability of the engine was 

The progress in solving the combustion instability problem was 

At the close of the year, three new F-1 production test stands at Edwards Air Force 

Base were nearing completion and the first production engine for ground testing by 

the Marshall Space Flight Center and vehicle manufacturers was completed. 

The second or S-11 stage is equipped with five J-2 engines (liquid oxygen-liquid hydrogen); these will yield a total of one million pounds of thrust. 

powerful stage under development using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants. The total thrust of this stage is 11 times greater than that of the S-IV, which 

is the second stage of the SATURN I. 

The S-I1 is the most 

14 
The s-II is being assembled at Seal Beach, Calif. 

tured at Downey, Calif., and Tulsa, Okla. Fabrication of hardware for the battleship 

and the structural test stages was initiated during 1963. 

Components are being manufacThe third stage of the SATURN V vehicle is an S-IVB stage powered by a single 

200,000 pound thrust 5-2 engine. 

earth orbit and, after a predetermined coast period, it will be re-ignited to provide 

the propulsion to place the spacecraft on its lunar journey. 

progress with the S-IVB stage over the past year. 

the final phase of completion; the ground test stages, forerunners of the flight stage, 

were being fabricated; and the test facilities were progressing on schedule. 

This stage will carry the APOLLO spacecraft to 

NASA made significant 

The initial design effort was in 

The Instrument Unit is the uppermost part of the SATURN V vehicle. 

cylindrical section 260 inches in diameter. 

and nerve center for the vehicle and determines the optimum trajectory to achieve 

the desired flight mission requirements through its guidance and control systems supported by its measuring, telemetering, and radio frequency systems. 

It is a 3-foot 

The Instrument Unit serves as the brain 

In the past year, most of the prelirninary design was completed for the components of 

the Instrument Unit, and the contractor was selected for the assembly and checkout of 

the Instrument Unit. 

form and for the guidance computer and associated data adapter. 

Also contracts were awarded for the stabilized guidance platIn 1963, a program was instituted to assure the compatibility of mission requirements and vehicle capabilities, using performance and weight as an index. 

tion, high-speed computational capabilities were developed for studies to investigate 

vehicle systems and designs which critically affect the weight-performance relationships. 

In addiBasic design concepts of the computer-controlled checkout systems for the APOLLO 

spacecraft and SATURN launch vehicles were approved, and stringent reliability and 

quality requirements were established. 

NASA continued constructing the facilities necessary for the fabrication and testing of 

more powerful launch vehicles. The Marshall Space Flight Center's S-I static test 

stand was completed, and construction undertaken of SATURN V static test facilities 

for the engines and vehicles. The Michoud Plant at New Orleans, La. , which provides 1.8 million square feet of space for the manufacture and assembly of the 

SATURN I and SATURN V vehicles, assumed operational capability. 

The construction of a large vertical assembly and hydrostatic test structure for the 

SATURN V first stage was carried through to completion, and erection of a new engineering building was initiated. 

At the Mississippi Test Facility, site for ground testing of large launch vehicle 

stages, the acquisition of 13, 000 acres for the construction area was completed, and 

easements on about 128,000 acres of land (necessary buffer zone) were approximately 

40 percent complete. 

construction contracts were awarded for support structures, test stands, waterways 

and utilities. Approximately $70 million of construction contracts had been awarded 

by the end of the year. 

Facilities valued at $150 million were placed under design; 

Other facilities for manufacutre, assembly, and test of the SATURN engine and the 

15 
second and third stages were in various stages of construction at Seal Beach, Santa 

Susana, Edwards Air Force Base, Huntington Beach, and Sacramento, all in 

California. 

NASA acquired most of the approximately 87,000 acres comprising the Merritt 

Island Launch Area at the Launch Operations Center, Fla. 

program was initiated at the industrial area and Launch Complex 39 within the Merritt 

Island Launch Area. 

An extensive construction 

A causeway across the Banana River between Cape Kennedy and the new area was 

readied for limited operation. 

(Operations and Checkout Building and the Fluid Test Complex) were nearing completion. 

Spacecraft facilities supporting the APOLLO program 

The major items of the APOLLO-SATURN V Launch Complex 39 were designed and 

construction was started. In March, a contract was awarded for the design, manufacture and erection of two crawler-transporters. In July, a contract was awarded 

for the fabrication and erection of three launcher-umbilical towers. The fill for the 

524 foot-high Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) was completed in August and construction of the foundation was started. 

was awarded in July, and erection began in December. 

The contract for the structural steel framing 

On January 17, 1963, NASA and the Department of Defense signed a new agreement 

covering the management relationships between the Atlantic Missile Range of Department of Defense and the NASA Launch Operations Center. 

Department of Defense is the single manager of the Atlantic Missile Range and the 

Air Force is the host agency responsible for the Cape Kennedy area. 

will manage and serve as host agency for the Merritt Island Launch Area to the north 

of Cape Kennedy. 

Under the agreement, 

However, NASA 

Space Medicine -- Achievements in personal protection during 1963 included~the successful testing of a light weight net couch; beginning development of a multi-directiona1 force attentuation device for crew restraint and support systems; and advancing 

development of a partial wear, quick donning suit for use inside a spacecraft. 

A configuration mock-up and a prototype of the APOLLO portable life support system, 

to be used in entrance/egress and wearability studies, were developed. 

A significant problem with respect to flights of more than two weeks duration is the 

uncertainty about the physiological effects of a pure oxygen cabin atmosphere. Extensive reviews of cabin atmosphere were initiated early this year and work in this 

area is continuing. Also, a prototype for a flight instrument capable of accurately 

measuring contaminants in a spacecraft was developed. 

A series of studies to determine human tolerance limits to impact stress was initiated, 

facilities. 

audible noise associated with the APOLLO-SATURN booster. 

These studies are being carried on at Air Force and Naval medical research 

Other studies in tolerance to stress include the investigation of subFlight Crews 

Based on experience provided by Project MERCURY astronauts, NASA established 

crew requirements for forthcoming flights and selected an additional 14 flight crew 

16 
candidates who will report for duty early next year. 

Response of applicants to this third selection was again enthusiastic. 

age of the 14 new candidates is lower than that of their predecessors when selected. 

They possess a higher educational level and have comparable outstanding flying 

records. 

one was a Ph. D., and another was completing his doctorate work. 

entific trew members at a future date is now under study. 

The average 

At time of selection, seven of the new candidates held advanced degrees-- 

Selection of sciFor GEMINI and APOLLO, operational training equipment, such as mission simulators, part task trainers, and docking trainers, were being developed. 

underwent basic training in science and engineering subjects. Jungle, desert, water 

survival, and environmental training on centrifuges and in zero Ilgfl environment was 

conducted. GEMINI systems trainers were used. A large portion of the astronauts' 

time was spent in assisting the engineering personnel in the space vehicle design. 

Astronauts 

Advanced Planning 

NASA co-ntinued to conduct studies of possible future missions, looking to the time 

when the nation will have the capacity to undertake more advanced programs. Primary emphasis was placed on studies of the feasibility of extended scientific and exploration missions to the moon, manned planetary missions, manned earth-orbiting 

laboratories, and on research into advanced launch vehicles. 

The M-1 engine was being developed as a 1.5 million pound thrust liquid oxygenliquid hydrogen engine for use with post-SATURN class launch vehicles. Progress 

was made in the design, development and testing of major engine components of the 

M-1, and work on construction of M-1 facilities was advanced. Since rocket engine 

development precedes and sets the pace for launch vehicle design and development, 

the M-1, on which development was started in 1962, will make it possible for the 

Nation to undertake the development of a vehicle with a significant space capability 

beyond that of the SATURN V, should such be required. 

The joint NASA-Air Force Large Solid Propellant Booster Program was initiated 

during 1963. Based on agreement between NASA and the Department of Defense, a 

program to build and test 156-inch and 260-inch diameter solid boosters was defined. 

The purpose of the program is to demonstrate the feasibility of very large solid fuel 

motors, and to advance their technology to such a point that they will be readily available for post-SATURN vehicle stages if a decision should be made to proceed in that 

direction. 

a later design will deliver 6,000,000 pounds of thrust. 

Initial motors will generate thrusts of from 1, 000, 000 to 3, 000, 000 pounds; 

SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS IN SPACE 

The past year proved to be one of steadily increasing knowledge of the earthls environment, earth-sun relationships, planets, and outer space, as the universe 

yielded more of its secrets under the persistent probing of instrumented spacecraft. 

For example, astronomers made greater use of the newest space vehicles to observe 

the sun and the stars from far above any disturbance of the atmosphere of the globe, 

as they awaited the development of an Orbiting Astronomical Observatory which will 

enable them to study the sky through a telescope mounted on a revolving platform. 

17 
The first Orbiting Solar Observatory, launched in 1962, discovered nearly instantaneous X-ray flashes and fadeouts from the sun and detected a puzzling coronal response to solar flares. 

MARINER I1 in its four-month lifetime transmitted over 90 million scientific data 

points, and determined the mass of Venus to be 0.815 that of the earth. 

FLIGHT PROGRAMS 

EXPLORERXVII 

On April 2 NASA launched the 17th in the EXPLORER series of geophysical satellites 

which detected a layer of neutral helium only 160 miles above the earth at the spacecraft's perigee, while it was studying the physics and chemistry of neutral gases 

making up the atmosphere. 

EXPLORER XVII, a 410-pound stainless steel sphere, 35 inches in diameter, represented the first gas-tight satellite designed to prevent its discharges from contaminating the region that it was investigating (at an altitude of between 160 and 570 miles). 

The fact that the spacecraft was able to examine the atmosphere's neutral atoms 

molecilles, marked a substantial advance over earlier craft that were generally 

limited to measuring electrically-charged ions and electrons, 

EXPLORER XVIII 

and 

On November 26, the 138-pound EXPLORER XVIII (IMP) was launched by NASA into 

an earth orbit to measure magnetic fields, cosmic rays and solar winds in cislunar 

space (the region between the earth and the moon). 

series of interplanetary EXPLORERS, was sent out to a maximum distance of 

122,800 miles from the earth--more than twice as far as any other earth satellite 

has gone. 

The satellite, the first in a 

EXPLORER XVIII contains nine scientific instruments contributed by scientists from 

the Universities of California and Chicago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 

and two NASA centers. 

of each orbit outside the earth's magnetic field in cislunar space. 

will be made of the charged particle radiation emanating from the sun and sources 

beyond the sun during a solar cycle and are expected to provide important data for 

the manned lunar flight program. 

In its present orbit the satellite will spend about 60 percent 

Measurements 

EXPLORER XIX, an inflatable sphere, was launched from PMR on December 19, 

into polar orbit. Its purpose is to study behavior and electron content of the ionosphere and particularly those conditions which can disrupt communications. 

RANGER A 

The sixth and latest in the RANGER series of unmanned spacecraft designed to collect data about the moon and cislunar space is scheduled to be launched from Cape 

Kennedy early in 1964. This Ranger mission is expected to obtain high resolution 

TV pictures of the lunar surface prior to impact--data that should be of great benefit 

to the lunar science and manned lunar programs. 

18 
A review of the RANGER program by a board of inquiry of experts from industry and 

NASA to determine causes of previous RANGER failures was concluded during 1963. 

This detailed examination led to a major reorientation of the program that promises 

a high degree of success with future RANGER spacecraft. 

MARINER II 

MARINER 11, which flew within 21,648 miles of Venus in December 1962, completed 

its first orbit of the sun on August 1, having traveled about 540 million miles. Communication was lost with the spacecraft on January 3, 1963, when it was 53.9 million 

miles from the earth and 5.7 million miles beyond Venus. 

Making an orbit around the sun every 346 days, MANNER 11 is calculated to be 

moving at 54,200 m. p. h. 

PIONEER 

In the fall of 1963, NASA awarded a contract for the design and development of four 

PIONEER spacecraft for the exploration of interplanetary space. 

PIONEER A, planned for launching early in 1965, is being designed to provide scientific measurements of interplanetary space. 

needed for the lunar exploration of Project APOLLO and future advanced interplanetary projects. 

Data on this environment are vitally 

Lunar Orbiter 

In August, the Agency embarked upon a program for a lunar orbiting satellite able to 

provide the photographic coverage needed to select suitable sites for SURVEYOR to 

soft-land on the moon. (The craft would later help SURVEYOR find a landing site for 

manned Project APOLLO spacecraft. 

Preliminary plans are for the first lunar orbiter launch early in 1966. 

the culmination of NASA's two years of extensive studies to determine the most feasible, yet most economical, method of carrying out this exceedingly difficult, important mission. 

This will be 

Sounding Rockets 

Seventy sounding rockets were successfully launched this year. 

pheric motions in the ionosphere 100 miles above the earth; others worldwide circulation patterns. 

revealed meteoric dust particles coated with ice in polar regions at an altitude of 

about 50 miles. 

Some studied atmosContinuing investigations of high noctilucent (bright nighttime) clouds 

For the first time sounding rockets were used to measure atmospheric temperatures 

and other conditions during overhead passes of spacecraft. 

made for EXPLORER XVII and the Canadian geophysical satellite ALOUETTE, orbited by NASA in September 1962. 

Such measurements were 

In addition, sounding rockets carrying instruments high above the earth's atmosphere 

made unobstructed observations of the sun and stars and searched for sources of 

X-rays from outer space. 

19 
Data from Earlier Spacecraft 

During the year substantial amounts of data were transmitted by the five satellites 

launched in 1962--ARIEL, ALOUETTE, EXPLORERS XIV and Xy, and Orbiting 

Solar Observatory (OSO-I). 

satellite was studied to determine the atmospheric density at its orbital altitude. 

In addition, the now useless ECHO I communications 

BIOSCIENCE PROGRAMS 

Detecting Extraterrestrial Life 

The Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences, after a thorough study 

of the Nation's space program, concluded that investigations of extraterrestrial life 

should be assigned top priority in NASA's space explorations. Accordingly, the 

Agency responded to this recommendation by expanding its space biology program 

and is able to report substantial progress in this field. 

Noteworthy advances were made in developing four of the more promising devices to 

search for life on other planets and in interplanetary space. The radioisotope biochemical probe (Gulliver), designed to detect growth and metabolism of microorganisms on Mars, was modified so that it will be able to also detect photosynthetic organisms on the planet and work efficiently even though it may not land "right side 

on the Martian surface. 

Another instrument is being perfected that will be able to detect living matter through 

the unique ability of organic forms to rotate polarized light. 

In research related to investigations of extraterrestrial life and the development of 

life-detection instruments, significant progress was made in studies on the laboratory 

synthesis of primitive lifelike organisms. 

Further, in March, a balloon carrying a 36-inch telescope and an infrared spectrometer flew to an altitude of 77,000 feet and observed that the atmosphere of Mars 

contained traces of water vapor (essential to all types of life). 

Biosatellites 

Beginning late in 1965, NASA plans to orbit biosatellites in systematic studies of the 

biological effects of weightlessness, high energy cosmic radiation, and other outer 

space stresses on a wide variety of life forms including primates, mammals, eggs, 

cell cultures, plants, and bacteria. 

The Agency's advisory Space Science Steering Committee has reviewed and screened 

175 biological experiments proposed by life scientists for these laboratories in space 

and has selected about 40 of the best scientific experiments to be developed for final 

s election for flight in biosatellites. 

THOR-type boosters, with specially designed recoverable spacecraft containing life 

support systems, will be used in the 3- to 30-day circular near-equatorial orbits of 

the biosatellites. 

20 
Superior Diet for Astronauts 

A synthetic, chemically-defined liquid diet for astronauts has been developed by a 

NASA contractor. 

2,000 calories a day for a month, and at the same time reduce fecal waste by 90 percent. 

One cubic foot of the diet (including 50 percent water) will supply 

As part of a continuing two-year study, volunteer prisoners were fed the diet for two 

months with excellent results. 

Medical research into possible use of the diet for surgical and other patients, and 

dietary and nutritional studies were continued. 

SATELLITE APPLICATIONS PROGRAM 

As of December 10, 1963, four spacecraft were orbited by NASA in its satellite applications program--TIROS VII (June 19); TELSTAR I1 (May 7); SYNCOM I (February 14); and SYNCOM 11 (July 26). Significant advances were also made in research 

and development in the program. 

METEOROLOGICAL SYSTEMS 

TIROS 

On June 19, TIROS VI1 was launched by a Delta vehicle from Cape Kennedy, marking 

an unbroken series of seven successful launches of these efficient meteorological 

satellites. 

pated, the original date of orbiting TIROS VII was twice postponed to assure its maximum contribution during the 1963 hurricane season. 

Since the fifth and sixth TIROS continued to perform longer than anticiTIROS VLI detected and warned of the formation of Hurricane Flora before any conventional detection devices. 

in May, and later observed sand storms in Saudi Arabia and ice conditions in both 

hemispheres . 

The sixth TIROS supported the orbital MERCURY flight 

Since the launch of TIROS I on April 1, 1960 and as of December 9, 1963, about 

290,000 pictures have been transmitted by these spacecraft, approximately 80 percent of them meteorologically useful. 

Although the lifetime of the TIROS satellites was originally estimated to be three 

months, all but the first in the series have exceeded this time. TIROS I performed 

for two and one-half months; TIROS 11, ten months, TIROS III and IV, four and onehalf months; TIROS V, ten and one-half months; TIROS VI, thirteen months, and 

TIROS VII is still in operation. 

TIROS VIII, launched December 21, contains an experimental Automatic Picture 

Transmission (APT) subsystem designed to continuously transmit pictures of local 

cloud conditions to weather stations near the track of the satellite. 

Meteorologists with relatively simple ground equipment costing less than $50, 000 a 

set will be able to obtain direct cloud pictures of their local areas when the satellite 

passes within 1, 700 miles of them. 

21 
A design study for another TIROS, planned for launching next year, was completed 

and hardware was being fabricated. This satellite, referred to as the cartwheel configuration, is basically the same as the standard TIROS, but its cameras will be lined 

up to view out through its rim. The spacecraft will be oriented so that its axis will be 

perpendicular to its orbital plane. Thus, as the TIROS spins on its axis in space, the 

cameras will be able to view the earth almost all the time. 

NIMBUS 

The NIMBUS meteorological satellite designed to overcome some of the limitations of 

the original TIROS, is scheduled for its first launching early in 1964. NIMBUS in a 

near polar orbit will cover the entire globe daily. This earth-oriented satellite will 

also provide a test bed for developing sensory devices to be used on more advanced 

satellite systems. 

Two phases in the development of NIMBUS were scheduled for 1963--a research and 

development vehicle and the initial spacecraft in the operational system sponsored by 

the Weather Bureau. The Bureau has discontinued support of an operational system 

using the present NIMBUS configuration as the basis for the operational system. 

NASA is continuing with the research and development vehicles. 

About 150 small sounding rockets carrying chaff, sphere, or parachutes with telemetry package were launched (some for the Navy) to provide atmospheric data for altitudes between 20 and 40 miles. 

A program was established to develop a self-sufficient sounding system (motor, sensors, and data acquisition) for these generally experimental single-stage solid propellant rockets. The system will assure reliable routine operation of the rockets in 

a network or in support of research. 

About 15 larger two-stage solid propellant rockets, using acoustical grenades, sodium 

vapor, and pitot tube techniques, were also launched during the year to make basic 

meteorological measurements between 40 and 70 miles. 

COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS 

Two types of communications satellites were under development during 1963--active 

satellites carrying their own power supply for receiving, amplifying, and transmitting 

signals (TELSTAR, RELAY, SYNCOM) and passive satellites or communications reflecting stations (ECHO). 

Operating altitudes for the active satellites are classified as low or medium, up to 

12,000 miles or synchronous, 22,300 miles. When in orbit the angular speed of the 

synchronous type of satellite (SY NCOM) corresponds to the rotational velocity of the 

earth around its axis. 

TELSTAR 

TELSTAR I1 was launched by NASA for the Ameritan Telephone and Telegraph Co. on 

May 7. 

stopped operating for an unknown reason. 

for an unexplained reason). 

This communications satellite performed successfully until July 6 when it 

It resumed operation on August 13 (again 

22 
TELSTAR I operated from its launch date on July 10, 1962 until November 23, 1962 

at which time it failed to respond to ground commands. 

came to life again and performed until February 21 of this year when it went dead a 

second time and remains silent. 

In January 1963 the satellite 

Demonstrating the feasibility of using a low-altitude active repeater satellite as a 

communications device, TELSTAR has transmitted transatlantic TV in color, and 

black and white. In addition, transatlantic telephone conversations were held and 

teletype messages sent via the satellite, as were data and facsimile transmissions. 

RELAY 

Another highly successful active communications satellite launched by NASA (December 13, 1962) is RELAY. 

between the U. S. and Europe, this country and South America, and between Europe 

and South America. 

The spacecraft has performed communications experiments 

RELAY, in various engineering tests in television and via telephone during 1963, 

transmitted "brain wavestt (electroencephalograms) from England to the U. S. and 

transmitted the diagnosis from the U. S. to England within the same 15-minute pass 

of the satellite. 

Astronaut Cooper's orbital space flight and provided European viewers with on-thespot coverage of the White House ceremony conferring honorary American citizenship on Sir Winston Churchill. 

RELAY available for coverage of the events following President Kennedy's assasination. 

The spacecraft also telecast to Europe pre-launch activities of 

At the requests of the TV networks NASA made 

Three telecasts to Japan and eight to Europe were transmitted. 

In addition, when ionospheric conditions prevented the use of normal radio communications between the U. s. and South America, RELAY was successfully used as a 

ground station link. 

Difficulties with a power supply voltage regulator immediately after its December 

1962 launch caused a loss in power preventing the use of the satellite. 

January 3, 1963, RELAY'S batteries were sufficiently charged to be able to turn on a 

duplicate communications system carried on board, and the spacecraft again became 

operative. Except for three days in March, when this trouble reoccurred, RELAY 

has performed continuously. 

However, by 

A timer aboard RELAY is set to disconnect the main power supply from all electronics one year after launch. 

SY NCOM 

SYNCOM LI, on July 26, became the world's first satellite to be placed into synchronous orbit and successfully maneuvered into position. Reorientation was accomplished 

after injection, the drift rate and direction adjusted through a series of jet pulses, 

and the satellite stationed over Brazil and the North Atlantic Ocean--a final maneuver 

placing it at 55O West Longitude. 

Tracing out an elongated figure 8-type path on the earth, SYNCOM has an orbital 

period the same as that of the rotational period of the globe 22,235 miles below. 

its relatively short lifetime the satellite has logged as much communications time as 

have all other active satellites. 

In 

23 
SYNCOM II was used to establish the first North America-to-Africa link employing 

an Army transportable ground station at Lakehurst, N. J., and the Navy satellite 

communications ship in Lagos Harbor, Nigeria. 

lished at Fort Cix, N. J. , Camp Roberts, Calif., and the Goddard Space Flight 

Center, Md. 

Spain in the fall of 1963. 

Union conference was transmitted via SYNCOM I1 from Geneva, Switzerland, to the 

u. s. 

Other ground stations were estabA U. S. -b-Europe link was established by moving the Kingsport to Rota, 

The conclusion of the International Telecommunication 

The first SYNCOM was successfully launched from Cape Kennedy on February 14. 

However, soon after the firing of its apogee motor the satellite became silent and 

contact was lost. 

Bloemfontein, South African observatory affiliated with Harvard College Observatory 

indicated that SYNCOM I is in orbit nearly at its planned synchronous altitude. 

Visual sightings (February 24 and 25, and March 2) by a 

' ECHO 

ECHO I completed its third year in orbit. 

cations satellites that reflect signals transmitted by one ground station to be received 

by another. 

foot diameter, 135-pound balloon has probably been seen by more people throughout 

the world than any other man-made object. 

It is typical of NASA's passive communiNow wrinkled and no longer an effective communications device, the 100- 

Progress was made in 1963 toward developing its larger, stronger, and heavier successor, ECHO I1 (135 feet in diameter, weighing 500 pounds). Successful inflation 

and radio reflectivity tests of the sphere--made of a laminate of aluminum and mylar 

plastic 0.00075 inch thick--were conducted at Lakehurst, N. J. and at the Goddard 

Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. 

ECHO 11 is scheduled to be used by Russian scientists to transmit radio signals between observatories in the U. S. S. R. and England. These limited joint communications experiments are the result of a cooperative agreement on space projects between the U. S. and the Soviet Union announced on August 26. 

LIGHT AND MEDIUM LAUNCH VEHICLES 

NASA presently makes use of five launch vehicles for unmanned missions. 

are CENTAUR, ATLAS-AGENA, THOR-AGENA, DELTA, and SCOUT. Of these 

only CENTAUR is in the development stage. 

These 

Planned for SURVEYOR and MARINER missions, ATLAS-CENTAUR is the Nation's 

first launch vehicle using high energy liquid hydrogen as a fuel. After significant 

difficulties and delays, NASA made a substantial number of design changes to improve the launch vehicle's .reliability and increase its payload capability. 

Agency also initiated and substantially executed an intensive ground test program. 

The 

On November 27, the first successful ATLAS-CENTAUR was launched from Cape 

Kennedy in a test of vehicle performance. 

by two RL-10 A-3 liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen engines with a thrust of 15,000 

pounds each. 

The CENTAUR stage was placed in orbit 

24 
NASA and the Air Force revised the management agreement on the ATLAS-AGENA 

and THOR-AGENA vehicles to permit greater participation by NASA in the USAF vehicle improvement and development programs. 

space launches, was redesigned into a Standard Launch Vehicle for improved reliability and increased economy. The USAF, in a program monitored by NASA, has 

improved the THOR performance with no apparent penalties to reliability to gain 

greater vehicle cost effectiveness. 

scientific satellites such as the Geophysical and Astronomical Observatories and the 

lunar and planetary probes such as RANGER and MARINER. 

The ATLAS D, used in previous 

These vehicles will be used to launch NASA's 

THOR-DELTA continued to be a very reliable launch vehicle; after an initial failure 

in May 1960, this vehicle has scored 20 consecutive successes. Plans to procure additional quantities in FY 1964 are underway for additional launchings of such satellites 

as TIROS and RELAY. 

The all solid propellant 4-stage SCOUT launch vehicle developed by NASA has been 

utilized by the NASA, USAF, Navy and the AEC for research experiments and orbital 

missions. NASA continued its efforts to increase the payload capability of the SCOUT 

by up-grading the 4th stage motor. Reliability studies recently completed for SCOUT 

are expected to lead toward assurance of increased performance. 

ADVANCED RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY 

BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH 

NASA continued to conduct a wide variety of advanced studies in areas that will provide the new knowledge necessary to assure success of current missions and to pave 

the way for future vehicles and equipment. 

Applied Mathematics 

To determine a stable space vehicle orbit around both the earth and moon, it is necessary to solve what is known as the three body problem--bodies under mutual gravitational forces. During the year, NASA mathematicians developed an improved approach to solving this problem; it will aid significantly in programing and planning 

for deep space probes. 

Fluid Phvsic s 

Planetary Entry Fluid Physics -- NASA gained additional knowledge concerning the 

flow field and heat transfer around bodies entering planetary atmospheres at speeds 

ranging from 25,000 to 45,000 feet per second. 

proves the accuracy with which the effects of gas ionization on flow properties, heat 

transfer, and radio blackout can be estimated. 

This knowledge considerably imAdditional research increased understanding of the ablative behavior of relatively 

slender-nosed shapes. This knowledge should lead to designs that will reduce the 

heat load of spacecraft entering the atmospheres of the earth and other planets at 

speeds corresponding to those of deep space travel. 

25 
Plasma Physics 

Plasma physics research increased the basic understanding of the physical processes 

involved in electromagnetic propulsion, space power conversion, and radio communication in space. 

nostics, in investigating the propagation of radio waves through various plasmas, and 

in developing principles and apparatus for greater efficiency in plasma acceleration. 

Magnetohydrodynamic research has shown that it may be feasible to control MHD 

drag and MHD heat transfer. 

Progress was achieved in developing new methods of plasma diagEl e c t r ophys ic s 

Two independently stabilized infrared lasers were utilized by researchers to detect 

the presence of an ether wind. No such effect was noted thereby confirming the results of previous optical experiments. 

Materials 

Supersonic Transport Materials -- In late 1960, NASA started an evaluation program 

of the approximately 30 different alloys being considered as the structural materials 

for the national supersonic transport project. 

property change after exposure lasting 10,000 hours and longer to stress, temperature, and other elements of the operational environment of a supersonic transport. 

Results of this work are now available to U.S. airframe companies to aid them in the 

selection of the best structural alloys. 

The candidate alloys were observed for 

Reciprocal Stiffness Materials -- Normally, a polymeric shock mount becomes too 

soft to operate as the temperature is raised to 210° F. NASA researchers developed 

a graft polymer which becomes stiffer as the temperature is raised and softer as the 

temperature is lowered. 

Electrical Conductive Polymer -- A polymeric sheet material, commonly used as an 

insulator, was made electrically conductive by including iodine in the polymer matrix. 

This gives the material many more possible applications. 

Passive Communication Devices -- A rigidized inflatable polymeric material (developed and reported last year) can remain spherical even after the inflation gas has 

leaked out. 

to be placed in orbit as ECHO II in 1964. 

This material was incorporated into a space structure and is scheduled 

Thermal Control Coatings -- A spacecraft coating experiment carried by the Orbiting 

Solar Observatory (OSO) I detected no evidence of erosion, showing that ultraviolet 

radiant energy was the only cause of coating damage. Test coatings for the APOLLO 

space radiators are to be orbited on the OSO-B satellite, currently undergoing prototype environmental tests. 

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN RESEARCH 

Significant progress was made in developing a physical-chemical regenerative life 

support system capable of operating for a minimum of one year (with expendables resupplied at 90-day intervals). 

magnetic fields was completed; research on physiological effects of high magnetic 

A research project on physiological effects of low 

26 
fields was started. 

Manual Flight Control Research 

NASA investigators derived mathematical descriptions of man' s performance in 

rapidly changing control situations. The descriptions permit designers to insert the 

man's performance characteristics in analytical studies of flight control system designs. 

performance levels. 

These studies and others in progress will aid in improving pilot work and 

Rendezvous 

Using the recently completed moving-base GEMINI docking simulator, a number of 

the astronauts participated in studies to test the pilot's ability to visually guide his 

spacecraft during the docking phase of rendezvous. 

earlier studies on stationary simulators; these results indicated that precise docking 

can be accomplished visually under daytime visibility. In addition, the tests demonstrated that advance training enabled the pilot to handle a number of situations in 

which simulated failures were introduced into portions of the control system. Nighttime operations pose considerably more difficulty and continued under study. 

The tests confirm results of 

Monitoring Vital Human Functions 

Prototypes of extremely small, light microelectronic units, which monitor and transmit merged electrocardiographic and respiratory data, were tested successfully on 

human subjects. All working parts and a power supply cell for these devices are contained within a volume of 1/16th cubic inch. 

netic beams were under development; such units are needed to replace present units 

which have a 36-hour limit on power cell life. 

Units powered by impinging electromagELECTRONICS AND CONTROL PROGRAM 

Microelectronics 

NASA expanded its research and development program in microelectronics to achieve 

higher reliability, lower power consumption, and greater immunity to the radiation 

environment. 

Speech Compression 

Because of problems in communication with astronauts at planetary distances, NASA 

continued basic studies to determine whether speech compression techniques can be 

applied to voice communications in deep space. 

Antenna Arrays 

A feasibility study is underway on the array of large dish antennas to increase antenna 

size for deep space communications and thereby increase communication capability 

for the transmission of data from space. 

Flight Path Control During Rendezvous and Docking 

Additional research has demonstrated that the pilot can efficiently effect the docking 

27 
maneuver with a minimum of instrumentation, and the requirements for a flight control system have been defined. 

Cryogenic (Superconductive) Inertial Sensors 

Continuing research on the problems inhibitihg the performance of the cryogenic gyro 

led to improvements in both design and magnetic shielding. 

material on which superconductive films are deposited offer promise of providing a 

capability for operation in high-g launch environments. 

Rotors of ceramic 

Horizon Sensor 

Project SCANNER, a small flight program, seeks precise knowledge of the earth's 

horizon gradient in portions of the electromagmagnetic spectrum. This information 

is of interest to designers of the horizon scanners for use in NASA and Department 

of Defense earth orbiting spacecraft. 

Computer Memory Studies 

The heart of a modern digital computer is that portion of the data storage system 

usually called the "random-access memory'' because information can be stored anywhere within it or retrieved from it rapidly and relatively directly. 

made in new magnetic and electrostatic. techniques which should substantially increase the ability of such systems to store large amounts of information with no compromise in speed. 

Advances were 

Launch Checkout and Countdown System 

Elaborate, multi-computer systems completed at NASA field centers markedly advanced the technology of automated, rapid checkout of electronic and other systems 

in SATURN vehicles. 

hicle characteristics at launch time. 

Duplication at launch sites will ensure rigid control of all veTelevision Improvements 

NASA scientists designed, constructed, and tested a television system in which such 

characteristics of TV pictures as line structure, amount of detail, noise levels, and 

contrast range can be precisely controlled. 

yielded very useful data on requirements for transmission of such images over interplanetary distances. 

Extensive studies with this equipment 

CHEMICAL PROPULSION AND POWER GENERATION 

Launch Vehicle Engines 

Analytical and experimental work continued on nozzles, engine cycles, combustion 

chambers, high pressure pumps, and high pressure cooling for future large launch 

vehicle engines in the 3- to 40-million-pound thrust range. 

Spacecraft Engines 

NASA undertook extensive investigations of problems associated .with the reliable 

28 
operation of liquid propulsion systems in deep space. 

on propellants, on engine components, and on operating characteristics were evaluated and progress was made in solving related problems. 

advanced high energy propellants particularly suitable for use in space and on advanced engine construction concepts. 

The effects of the environment 

Also, work continued on 

Solid Propulsion Systems Technology 

Hybrid Hover Motor -- A design study of a solid propellant hybrid hover motor was 

conducted to understand the methods of operation, propellant selection and characterization, and system designs. This research will aid engine development by pinpointing key problem areas in need of further study. 

Start-Stop-Restart Motor -- NASA started a program to design, fabricate, and test 

a start-stop-restart solid propellant rocket motor for use in various space applications. 

SDace Power Generation 

NASA made further progress in the development of solar power systems. 

the s.ervice life of the solar thermionic system converters pressed the 2,000 hour 

mark, and the mercury rankine (liquid metal) solar engine completed 4, 300 hours of 

testing. A developmental program was started on a solar engine using gas as the 

working fluid. 

Tests of 

In chemical power research, NASA developed a rechargeable sealed battery with a 

third electrode. Its advantages: long life, increased reliability, and reduced weight. 

AERONAUTICS RESEARCH 

In addition to its investigations in space technology, NASA conducted aeronautical research on the supersonic transport, on V/STOL aircraft, and on hypersonic vehicles. 

SuPersonic TransDort Aircraft (SST) 

NASA concentrated effort on studies to determine the feasibility and practicability of 

four promising aircraft design concepts for the SST. The studies defined the following problem areas for further analysis: sonic boom influence on airplane design; advanced propulsion system research and development; benefits of using titanium as the 

basic structural mat e rial. 

V/STOL Aircraft 

In this research area, NASA stressed the flying and handling qualities of short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft. 

vehicles, and work began on a boundary-layer control airplane. 

potential value in the very low speed landing-approach condition. 

characteristics of the tilt-wing airplane were assessed in wind tunnel investigations. 

Evaluations were made of deflected-slip-stream 

This system has 

The aerodynamic 

X-15 Research Airdane Program 

This program, conducted in cooperation with the Department of Defense, provided 

additional data on aerodynamic and structural heating, structural dynamics, 

29 
supersonic and hypersonic aerodynamics, stability and control, and on the physiological aspects of manned flight in a maneuverable hypersonic vehicle. 

During 1963 the X-15A-2 airplane was modified to give it a capability for a Mach 8 

mission at an altitude of 100,000 feet. Increased performance will result from the 

addition of two external propellant tanks, and improving the windshield configuration, 

landing gear, and instrumentation. 

354,200 feet, an unofficial world record, on August 22, 1963. 

data on stability and control in the extreme flight ranges, and on reentry without the 

ventral fin. 

The X-15 number 3 was flown to an altitude of 

The flight obtained 

Aerodvnamics 

Research in aircraft aerodynamics contributed additional data applicable to the super - 

sonic transport program. 

figurations at supersonic speeds, exploitation of wing warp and favorable interferences 

to optimize supersonic performance, the skin friction forces of very large supersonic 

aircraft, and stability characteristics of such aircraft. 

The information related to the wave drag of complex conStructural Studies 

Research on metal fatigue in the titanium alloys and steels indicates that their properties are not significantly changed by exposure to heat representative of that encountered by advanced aircraft such as the supersonic transport. 

SPACE NUCLEAR PROPULSION 

During 1963, steady advances were made in the AEC-NASA program in developing 

nuclear systems capable of propelling spacecraft for manned explorations of the 

planets and for prolonged instrumented probes of deep space. 

Key projects in this research and development were nuclear rockets (Project ROVER), 

nuclear electric power generation, and electric rocket engines. 

Nuclear Rockets 

The program to provide the earliest, most practical use of nuclear rockets in space 

consists of three projects and the research and technology needed to support them. 

The projects include: KIWI to develop the basic technology for the first generation 

nuclear rocket reactor; NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) to 

develop a flight engine for nuclear rocket-powered upper stage vehicles; and RIFT 

(Reactor-In-Flight Test) to provide flight verification of the NERVA nuclear rocket 

propulsion system. 

KIWI -- The KIWI-B4A nonflyable reactor was redesigned to prevent mechanical vibrations of its core that occurred in tests. Non-power producing reactor tests were 

conducted to further evaluate this problem. 

actor's design and a different design were also evaluated. 

assemblies underwent flow and mechanical tests to assure their satisfactory operation 

in full -scale tests . 

Principles used in modifying the reComponents and subNERVA -- The NERVA project, conducted under contract to the AEC-NASA Space 

30 
Nuclear Propulsion Office, has as its objective the development of flight engines for 

operational nuclear rocket-powered upper stage vehicles. The KIWI-B4 design was 

selected as the basis far developing the flyable reactor. 

Laboratory and full-scale mechanical testing are underway prior to adapting this design for power demonstration. 

ever, non-nuclear component work is underway to evaluate the critical long lead time 

between the design and operating problems of the engine. 

components to be developed to high reliability will not be procured until the reactor 

is operated successfully. 

Major emphasis continued on the reactor itself. HowLarge numbers of flight 

Two reactor test cells are operating at the Nuclear Rocket Development Station, 

Jackass Flats, Nev. 

construction is proceeding on an engine maintenance and disassembly facility. 

Major construction was completed on an engine test stand and 

RIFT -- Major hardware and facility commitments for the RIFT project are being 

delayed pending further development of the NERVA engine reactor. 

IUFT program emphasizes the development of necessary technology in fabrication 

and structures, cryogenic insulation, and radiation effects. 

The present 

Supporting the radiation effects program, the Georgia Nuclear Reactor was reactivated. 

Field, Calif., for the RIFT stage fabrication and assembly facility. Two acceptable 

routes to transport this stage from Moffett Field to the Nuclear Rocket Development 

Station in Nevada were surveyed. Conceptual design of the stage, including preliminary definition of all its subsystems, was completed. 

NASA arranged with the Navy to use the metal dirigible hangar at Moffett 

Nuclear Electric Power Generation 

The joint AEC-NASA SNAP-8 electric power system is intended to propel lunar 

stations or orbit space platforms and provide power for interplanetary communications, as well as to investigate problems of long-lived nuclear turbomachinery as a 

guide for future systems. 

During 1963 SNAP-8, a compact experimental reactor that will use the heat from the 

decay of radioisotopes as energy, underwent a series of low power tests of its performance and operating characteristics. The power conversion system design was 

completed and released for fabrication and component tests. 

Isotope generators ranging from 25 to 500 watts were also under design or development to determine their feasibility for a number of NASA missions, including the 

Interplanetary Monitoring Probe, SURVEYOR, Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, 

NIMBUS, and manned space exploration. (The research and development version of 

NIMBUS is scheduled for a nuclear power tack.) 

ELECTRIC PROPULSION 

Electric Rocket Engines 

NASA's electric propulsion program is planned to develop, test, and evaluate laboratory engine models; provide the technology to develop high-power prime propulsion 

systems and low-power attitude control and station keeping engine systems; and investigate advanced concepts. 

31 
Electric engines for prime propulsion are being designed to provide up to 30 megawatts of power with a lifetime of 10,000 to 30,000 hours. 

specific weight of 10 to 20 pounds per kilowatt for manned flight and up to 30 pounds 

per kilowatt for unmanned flight. Station keeping 

spacecraft will require rocket engines with power levels of 200 watts to several kilowatts, 10, 000 to 50, 000 hours of life, and 15 to 40 pounds per kilowatt specific weight 

for the entire power thrustor system. 

Such engines will have a 

High reliability will be essential. 

Three general categories of electric propulsion engines are being investigated: 

electrothermal (arc jet and resistojet); electrostatic (ion); and electromagnetic 

(plasma or MHD). Fifty-five contracts cover supporting research and technology. 

Electrostatic (Ion) Engines -- NASA is investigating and demonstrating a small ion 

engine (200 watts to 1 kilowatt) to determine its feasibility for satellite position con- - 

trol. This engine is presently undergoing long duration laboratory tests. 

Good performance was demonstrated on two types of 3-kilowatt ion engine modules. 

These will be scaled and clustered into higher power engines using the building block 

technique to attain large megawatt power engines (those with hundreds of pounds of 

thrust. High efficiencies--60 through 80 percent for specific impulse range of 6,000 

to 9, 000 seconds--were obtained on these modular units. 

on attaining long life, high performance, and techniques for scaling and clustering 

these units. 

Emphasis is being placed 

Electrothermal (Arc Jet and Resistojet) Engines -- Small (up to 8 kilowatts) and large 

(up to hundreds of kilowatts) arc jets are being investigated for position control of 

satellites and prime propulsion for spacecraft. The arc jet promises to perform well 

for the specific impulse range of 800 to 2, 500 seconds. Ion engines appear attractive 

for the impulse range of 4,000 to 10,000 seconds. 

During the past year the arc jet was redesigned to provide good performance at 

specific impulses of 1,000 to 2,200 seconds. 

30-kilowatt (0.5 pound thrust) engine with specific impulse of 1, 300 seconds. 

phasis is being placed on attaining a 250-kilowatt arc jet engine of high efficiency and 

long life. 

A 31-day life test was completed on a 

EmElectromagnetic (Plasma or MHD) Engines -- Progress was made in determining the 

feasibilitv of and defining problem areas for four different types of MHD accelerators. -- ~~ 

Good performance was obtained on a coaxial plasma gun for propulsion,which showed 

the most promise to date. Improvements on thrustor efficiencies and better thrustor 

component design are being emphasized. 

SPACE VEHICLE SYSTEMS 

Space Vehicle Aerothermodynamics 

A model piloted spacecraft able to generate much greater lift than the Apollo lunar 

exploration craft was built and successfully flown subsonically at NASA' s Flight 

Research Center. 

mined. 

Its low speed handling and landing characteristics are being deterExperimental radiative heating data obtained on similar spacecraft models entering 

32 
the simulated atmospheres of Mars and Venus at about 15,000 m. p. h. indicated a 

large increase in radiative heating over those entering the earth's atmosphere at 

similar speeds. 

diminish at hypervelocity speeds. 

However, recent theoretical studies show that this effect may 

The Project FIRE reentry flight test experiment to investigate aerodynamic and hot 

gas radiative heating on an APOLLO-shaped body at 25,000 m. p. h. is in the final 

stages of preparation for launch. 

Progress was also made in adapting retro-rockets to gliding parachutes to provide a 

steerable spacecraft landing and recovery system with very low or zero landing impact. 

Space Vehicle Structures -- Major advances were made in reentry thermal protection 

schemes, self-sealing micrometeoroid protection methods, cushioning against environmental vibrations, and techniques for measuring atmospheric wind shear layers 

having a substantial effect on space vehicle loads during launch. Noteworthy progress was also made on improving propellant tanks to handle ultra-cold liquid oxygen 

and hydrogen. 

High Energy Radiation 

Theoretical and experimental techniques are supplying precise nuclear data to deter - 

mine how high energy charged particles in space (such as electrons and protons) pass 

through spacecraft materials. 

trons on materials and spacecraft components, and thereby aid in designing more adequate shielding for thin-walled spacecraft. 

This information will help gauge the effects of elecMeteoroid Hazard 

Results obtained from the EXPLORER XVI micrometeoroid satellite showed that 

damage to the spacecraft's thin skin from penetrations by 50 meteoroids was not as 

great as expected. 

craft. 

However, meteoroids must be considered in designing spaceZero Cravitv Fluid Behavior 

Initial drop tower and space probe rocket-powered tests were completed to determine 

how liquids in tanks behave under zero gravity conditions. 

specially designed tanks could position fuels so that they can be pumped and vented 

when in a weightless state. 

Results indicated that 

Solar Radiation and Temperature Control 

MARINER I1 on its Venus fly-by in December 1962 was heated by solar radiation beyond expectations and also beyond established pre-flight tolerances. 

work is proceeding on improving test facilities able to simulate this type of radiation 

in order to develop shielding to protect against it. 

Accordingly, 

Also, experiments in the laboratory and in space determined that surfaces which 

normally reflect solar radiation degrade and become more absorbent when exposed 

33 
to ultraviolet solar radiation. 

stand this damaging effect. 

More stable materials are being developed to withIn addition, during the year significant progress was made in the broad program 

aimed at solving advanced systems problems and developing the technology for these 

systems. 

were obtained on materials, heat transfer, liquid metal bearing design, environmental effects, and electron emission. 

Valuable data (for both turboelectric and thermionic conversion systems) 

TRACKING AND DATA ACQUISITION 

During 1963, NASA's three tracking and data acquisition networks were expanded and 

modified to meet the increasing and changing requirements of current flight missions. 

Manned Space Flight Network 

The support of the 22-orbit MA-9 mission on May 15-16 ended one phase of the 

Manned Space Flight Network's operations. 

and later programs, tracking and data acquisition equipment was purchased, construction was started on a new Australian facility, and long-range plans were formulated for ground support of the APOLLO missions. An agreement was reached with 

the Department of Defense for the provision of ship support to monitor APOLLO insertion, injection, and recovery operations. 

To prepare the network for the GEMINI 

Satellite Network 

This network, which consists of the optical and electronic stations, including 

Minitrack, used in tracking and acquiring data from scientific, communications, and 

weather satellites, was expanded with the completion of the 85-foot diameter antenna 

facility at Rosman, N. C. 

system at Rosman and for a similar system near Canberra, Australia. 

NASA completed a second 85-foot antenna system in Alaska for use in the Nation's 

weather satellite program. 

Detailed plans were prepared for a second 85-foot antenna 

In addition, 

For the Project SYNCOM synchronous communications satellites, the network provided the intricate command and control functions required to put the satellite into a 

synchronous orbit. 

Deep Space Network 

Several steps were taken to give this network the capability to support future deep 

space flight programs. 

in Southeast Australia, and related S-band electronic equipment was contracted for. 

In addition, a contractor was selected for the 210-foot advanced antenna facility at 

Goldstone, Calif. It will have the potential of receiving high quality television pictures in real time from lunar distances. 

Construction started on an 85 -foot parabolic antenna system 

UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS 

The Sustaining University Program was established in 1962 to expand university research and training in the space sciences and technology to help meet the needs of our 

expanding space effort. 

special purpose research grants to augment and complement its major sponsored 

During the second year of the program, NASA made 22 

34 
research projects in space science and technology. 

In addition, 786 graduate students entered training in space-related science and engineering programs under pre-doctoral training grants to 88 universities, and essential national space research capabilities were expanded by grants to 9 selected universities for urgently needed research facilities. 

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS 

At the close of 1963, 65 political jurisdictions had joined with NASA in flight, flightsupport, ground-based support, or personnel exchange programs in the peaceful uses 

of outer space. A bilateral agreement was reached with the Soviet Union for limited 

coordinated U. S. -U. S. S. R. launchings of geomagnetic and weather satellites, and 

experiments with the ECHO 11 communications satellite. Cooperative arrangements 

were explored with two European space organizations --the European Space Research 

Organization and the European Launcher Development Organization. 

Satellite Projects 

The second cooperative U. S. -U. K. satellite (ARIEL 11) is scheduled for launching 

early in 1964. Like ARIEL I, the first international satellite launched by NASA in 

1962, the U. S. -built spacecraft will contain experiments designed and built by 

British scientists. 

and micrometeoroid flux. 

ARIEL 11 will measure atmospheric ozone, galactic radio noise, 

ALOUETTE, the Canadian-built topside sound satellite, also launched by NASA (September 1962), continued to perform well and to transmit valuable data. 

In view of the successful ALOUETTE cooperative project, the Agency and the 

Canadian Defence Research Telecommunications Establishment held technical discus - 

sions to develop a follow-up program--1SIS (International Satellite for Ionospheric 

Studies). 

launched by NASA at intervals during the next period of increasing solar activity-- 

1965 to 1970. 

Under this arrangement four satellites will be built by Canadians and 

Work continued on the U.S. -Italian San Marco program. 

culminate, in 1965 to 1966, in the launching of an Italian-built satellite into equatorial 

orbit from a towable platform (like a Texas tower) in the Indian Ocean. 

will be used to determine the local density of the upper atmosphere in the equatorial 

plane. 

The project is expected to 

The satellite 

NASA and the French National Center for Space Studies agreed that the Agency should 

launch a French-built satellite in 1965 to study very low frequency (VLF) radio propagation. 

During 1963, NASA also selected six experiments submitted by foreign scientists to 

be flown on the Agency's astronomical, geophysical, and solar observatory satellites 

from early 1964 through 1966. 

periments are to be prepared at the expense of the cooperating foreign agencies. 

Selected in competition with U. S. proposals, the exIn August, NASA and the Soviet Academy of Sciences approved a memorandum of 

understanding to implement the 1962 U. S. -U. S. S. R. technical agreement for limited 

35 
coordinated meteorological and geomagnetic satellite programs with data exchanges 

and long-distance experiments in telecommunication. 

The Agency and the Soviets agreed to an exchange of weather data received from each 

country's experimental meteorological satellites using a fulltime data-transmission 

link between world weather centers in Washington and Moscow, and to subsequent coordination of launchings of operational meteorological satellites for maximum cover - 

age of worldwide weather conditions. 

telecommunication using the U. S. passive reflector satellite ECHO II, and to satellite 

launchings by each country, in 1965, to measure the earth's magnetic field, with free 

exchanges of resulting data. 

The two also agreed to joint experiments in 

Sounding Rockets 

During 1963 sounding rocket experiments to collect data on cosmic rays, the ionosphere, and geomagnetic and auroral phenomena were conducted from ranges in this 

country and abroad in cooperation with Australia, Canada, India, Japan, New 

Zealand, Norway (with Denmark participating), Pakistan, and Sweden. 

In two special soupding rocket experiments launched from Wallops Island, Va. , in the 

summer, Italian technicians tested the drag-balance mechanism for the San Marco 

project payload, and French technicians tested the payload for their very low frel 

quency satellite. 

responsibilities for rockets, experiments, and ground facilities--each financing its 

own share of the work. 

As in previous years, NASA and the cooperating countries divided 

The Agency also concluded agreements with Argentina for a sounding rocket study of 

the ionosphere, and with Indian and Pakistan for their participation in a developmental 

meteorological sounding rocket program in connection with the International Indian 

Ocean Expedition of 1964. 

Surmort for Satellite Proiects 

In 1963, 40 weather services were participating in ground-based meteorological 

studies coordinated with passes of the TIROS satellites. 

studies included cloud photography, radar, and radio, and sounding rocket experiments. Fourteen countries have started to assemble or are planning to buy ground 

receiving equipment for NASA's new satellite-borne Automatic Picture Trans - 

mission (APT) subsystem to be orbited in 1964. Allowing direct readout of weather 

photographs as the satellite passes overhead, this relatively simple and inexpensive 

ground station equipment is within the means of many nations. 

These meteorological 

Arrangements were made for scientists in 26 countries to cooperate in ionospheric 

investigations through ground-based studies of radio emissions from NASA's Polar 

Ionosphere Beacon Satellite (S-66) scheduled to be launched from the Pacific Missile 

Range in 1964. 

tracking experiments associated with this satellite. 

Laser specialists from France and the United Kingdom plan laser 

Fourteen countries took part in ground ionospheric studies synchronized with the 

passes of the Canadian geophysical satellite ALOUETTE. 

Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were added to a growing list of nations 

36 
agreeing to cooperate with NASA in testing experimental communications satellites by 

providing major ground terminals at their own expense. 

In August the first telephone and radio transmissionsbetween Africa and the U. S. were 

made via NASA's SYNCOM communication satellite. 

Tracking Network Stations -- International arrangements were made for new stations 

at Carnarvon and Canberra, Australia and Majunga, Malagasy as part of NASA worldwide tracking network. 

Bermuda; Canton Island; Grand Canary Island; and Guaymas, Mexico. 

Agreements for existing network stations were renewed for 

Support for Project MERCURY Flight 

The Agency cooperated with the Department of State in arranging for the entry of U. S. 

search and recovery teams into the territory of 80 countries should the MA-9 spacecraft have landed outside planned recovery areas during its orbital space flight in 

May. 

overs eas . Approval was also secured for staging additional contingency recovery units 

Personnel Exchanges 

In 1963, 66 scientists from 23 countries participated in the post-doctoral theoretical 

and experimental research program at NASA centers. During the same period, under 

an Agency program 41 graduate students, co-sponsored and supported by their national or regional space committees, were enrolled at American universities in space 

res earch studies. 

Some 140 technicians from 13 countries are also being trained at NASA centers in 

payload engine e ring, telemetry , tracking, radar , meteorology , launch proc edur e s , and range safety operations. 

Fourteen foreign students, sponsored by their national or regional space committees, 

attended a summer institute in space physics at Columbia University. 

During 1963, about 2,400 visitors, representing foreign scientific and technical organizations, other governments, and overseas news media, toured NASA Headquarters and the Agency's field installations. 

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES 

During 1963, NASA made major organizational changes to obtain better coordinated 

planning and quicker reactions to new and unexpected developments, and to strengthen 

lines of authority and responsibility between Headquarters and field installations. 

The Associate Administrator was relieved of direct responsibility for general operation of NASA's field installations. 

programs and the field installations primarily required to carry out these programs 

have been assigned to three officials reporting to the Associate Administrator. 

An Associate Adm'lnistrator for Manned Space Flight will direct this program and the 

three centers primarily involved in the manned space flight program--George C. 

Marshall Space Flight Center, Manned Spacecraft Center and Launch Operations 

Center. 

these programs primarily through the direction of the Goddard Space Flight Center, 

Responsibility for management of NASA's major 

An Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications will execute 

37 
Wallops Station, Pacific Launch Operations Office, and the contractor-operated Jet 

Propulsion Laboratory. An Associate Administrator for Advanced Research and 

Technology will be responsible for carrying out this program primarily through the 

Ames Research Center, Langley Research Center, Lewis Research Center, and 

Flight Research Center. 

Other Headquarters elements were realigned. 

Industry Affairs was appointed and given responsibility for procurement policy and 

overall direction of procurement activities. A Deputy Associate Administrator 

handles agency-wjde organizational and managerial matters as an "assistant general 

manager. A small Secretariat, headed by an Executive Secretary, is responsible 

for assisting the members of general management particularly in maintaining a flow 

of information among them and the major elements of NASA's Headquarters. 

public affairs function was transferred from the Assistant Administrator for Technology Utilization and Policy Planning to an Assistant Administrator for Public 

Affairs who reports directly to the Administrator. 

Evaluation was abolished and its policy planning functions transferred to an intraagency Policy Planning Board. 

missions and projects was transferred to the Associate Administrator in order to relate more effectively NASA's planning for future projects to the status of programs 

and projects currently underway. 

A Deputy Associate Administrator for 

The 

The Office of Plans and Program 

Responsibility for coordinating plans for advance 

PROCUREMENT 

The Office of Procurement, formerly the Procurement and Supply Division, was reorganized as a staff office reporting directly to the Deputy Associate Administrator 

for Industry Affairs. NASA is planning greater emphasis on incentive type contracts 

rather than cost-plus -fixed-fee contracts to stimulate more effective and economical 

performance by its contractors. 

TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION PROGRAM 

This program carries out one of the primary responsibilities of the Associate 

Administrator for Technology Utilization and Policy Planning. 

taken the lead in a government-wide effort to translate and transfer the results of 

federally financed research to business, commerce, and related segments of the 

Nation's economy. 

ganizations, universities, and publications to assist in the transfer of space research 

information. 

Through it, NASA has 

Under the program the Agency employed industrial research or38 
Chapter I V 

Department of Defense 

INTRODUCTION 

During 1963 the Department of Defense (DOD) sustained a comprehensive effort to 

advance and exploit those space and aeronautics technologies important to national 

defense posture. Over 20 percent of the funds spent for all Defense research and 

engineering programs were spent on military space activities. 

About half of the military space effort - measured in dollar expenditures - is directed 

toward the development of hardware to meet firm military needs. The remainder is 

devoted to the development and maintenance of a base of supporting technology, techniques , and experience intended to sustain a flexible, responsive capability to move 

rapidly into future system development programs as future needs evolve. 

This year was marked by a substantial growth in the reservoir of military space flight 

experience. 

hardware on which flight data are available and from which components , systems , and 

subsystems can be drawn for application to future programs. The space environment 

has become well enough understood to permit spacecraft design with confidence. Test 

and simulation techniques, equipments , and facilities have been developed which per - 

mit a greater emphasis and reliance on ground, aircraft, and other test and evaluation 

programs before commitment to orbital flight. With the fundamentals increasingly 

well in hand, greater attention is being directed to putting space technology to work 

and the balance of emphasis is shifting from the past need to explore to a growing 

competence to exploit. 

techniques, and with cost estimating. 

ness analysis as it applies to military space systems and a firmly seated conviction 

that to merit support, space programs must compete favorably when weighed impar - 

tially against other feasible alternatives in the context of overall military needs for 

the present and the future. 

Accompanying this experience is a growing inventory of space -proven 

Continuing progress is being made with program management 

There is a growing expertise in cost-effectiveFinally, there is wide recognition that the nation's space activities must be measured 

from a national rather than a departmental standpoint. Just as there are many Defense 

programs providing direct support to other agencies, so are the research and development efforts of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as well as those of 

other agencies such as the Atomic Energy Commission and the Weather Bureau of the 

Department of Commerce, providing hardware and know-how of importance to military needs. 

NASA are engaged in a joint manned space flight enterprise as well as the space nuclear power programs of the AEC and the Weather Bureau's weather satellite program. 

Undoubtedly, the scope and magnitude of the Defense Department's space efforts would 

be substantially larger if it were not for the programs of other agencies. 

Prime examples are the NASA GEMINI program where the DOD and 

The year 1963 witnessed both progress and delays in achieving military space capabilities. 

utilizing gravity gradient techniques. Also, the first satellites entirely powered by 

nuclear energy were placed in orbit. With the launch of two identical satellites in the 

During the year a DOD satellite was stabilized, for the first time, by 

39 
fall of this year, significant steps were taken toward the development of the equipment 

and techniques for the detection of nuclear tests in space by satellite-borne instruments. 

passive relay via a belt of orbiting dipoles was successfully demonstrated. On the 

other hand, rendezvous with, and inspection of, unidentified satellites still appears 

technically difficult and there still remain unanswered questions regarding the technical feasibility, complexity, and cost-effectiveness of a spaceborne ballistic missile 

alarm system. 

The feasibility of voice, teletype , and high speed digital communications by 

A significant step toward future manned space flight capabilities was taken in December with the decision to proceed with the development of a Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL). The MOL program will exploit equipment and facilities already under 

development in the DOD's TITAN III and NASA's GEMINI programs to provide an 

early, straightforward approach to the problems of exploring and developing man's 

potential for performing military missions in space. 

provide a more economical and effective allocation of efforts and resources, the X-20 

(DYNASOAR) program was terminated and the unmanned vehicle program for the 

research and development of the techniques and technology of advanced reentry and 

precision recovery was substantially augmented, both in emphasis and scope. 

In corollary actions taken to 

Continuing progress was made in strengthening inter-agency ties at both the management and operating levels in DOD and NASA and several important agreements vyere 

reached which establish terms of reference for further collective effort. Among these 

are agreements covering the GEMINI, Navigational Satellite, AGENA D and ThrustAugmented THOR programs, a possible new manned earth orbital research and development project , the management and oper ation of the Atlantic Missile Range (DOD/ 

Merritt Island Launch Area (NASA)), and ship support for APOLLO. Such agreements 

will further facilitate the conduct of a fully integrated national space program properly 

addressed to all national needs. 

Although not accorded the public attention focussed on space activities, aeronautics 

programs continue to figure importantly in Defense interests and capabilities. 

tinuing, and significant, progress was also made in this area during the past year. 

ConAccordingly, selected elements of the DOD program in both of 

lighted in the following sections: 

these areas are highSPACE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 

TITAN 111 

The TITAN 111 Standardized Space Launch System is being developed by the Air Force 

as a part of the National Launch Vehicle Program of the DOD and the NASA. 

booster uses a modified TITAN I1 missile as the basic building block. A pair of 120- 

inch diameter segmented solid motors give over two million pounds of lift-off thrust. 

A new pressure-fed upper stage, capable of multiple restarts after long coast periods 

in space, will provide the propulsion versatility needed for very high orbits, escape 

missions, and precise control of orbital plane or altitude changes. The low altitude 

payload weight capability of the TITAN I11 configurations ranges from 5,000 to 25,000 

pounds. 

This 

Over a ton of payload can be injected into a stationary orbit. 

After more than a year of program definition effort, the development phase was started 

on 1 December 1962. The first full-size five-segment solid motor was test-fired on 

40 
schedule in July 1963. 

exceeded expectations. 

successfully tested, also in July, in a long duration firing with programmed shutdowns and restarts. 

motors has been completed. At Cape Kennedy, billions of cubic yards of fill were 

pumped to create new islands in the Banana River. 

Integrate-Transfer-Launch facility is well on the road. 

a conventional ICBM launch pad has been modified to support the early test flights of 

TITAN IIIA. 

The performance of the liquid injection thrust vector control 

The new twin engine propulsion unit for the upper stage was 

A new facility at Edwards Air Force Base for testing the solid 

On these, construction of the new 

In addition to the new complex, 

The first flight is scheduled to take place in the third quarter of 1964. 

Manned Orbiting Laboratorv (MOL) 

In December the Secretary of Defense assigned to the Air Force a new program for 

the development of a near -earth Manned Orbitiqg Laboratory (MOL). 

The MOL system will consist of a modified GEMINI capsule coupled to a pressurized 

laboratory cylinder of approximately 1500-2000 cubic feet of volume configured as an 

orbiting laboratory, to be launched integrally on a TITAN IIIC. Astronauts will be 

seated in the GEMINI capsule during launch and will move into the laboratory after 

injection into orbit. 

reenter the GEMINI capsule, detach, and deorbit, leaving the laboratory cylinder in 

orbit. The GEMINI capsule being developed by NASA for use in the Lunar Program 

will be appropriately modified to provide in-orbit access to the laboratory as well as 

to perform other functions necessary to support the MOL. While not required in the 

early stages of the program, rendezvous provisions will be designed into the MOL so 

that the laboratory could later be resupplied and reused if justified by progress made 

in defining man's military role in space. 

After completion of their tasks in space, the astronauts will 

The MOL program will be directed specifically to fulfilling the need for an early, 

effective demonstration of man's utility in performing military functions in space. 

This must be accomplished before realistic specifications can be drawn for any 

potential operational manned system. 

The MOL program is not aimed at a military operational system, or even to an orbiting manned space station capability in the context usually attributed to that term. 

Rather, it will be designed to provide a minimal but substantive assessment of the 

feasibility and effectiveness of manned operations in orbit which may later be used to 

specify operational design characteristics and performance parameters. 

manned flight of the MOL is expected late in 1967 or early in 1968. 

The first 

In initiating the MOL program, it was decided to terminate the X-20 (DYNASOAR) 

program because of its limited utility as an in-space test facility and because the 

exploration of the hypersonic flight regime and the development of maneuverable 

reentry and recovery techniques - which X-20 was primarily designed to do - are of 

lesser priority and can be more economically conducted in a program of unmanned 

lifting reentry vehicles. 

specific design of a radiative-cooled structure with a hypersonic lift-to-drag ratio 

of about 1.7. 

was not one of the X-20 objectives. 

X-20 was directed to demonstrating the feasibility of a 

The development of a weapon system, or prototype of a weapon system, 

It is planned to broaden the DOD's unmanned vehicle program (ASSET) for the research 

and development of reentry and recovery techniques and technology to embrace a wider 

range of reentry conditions , materials, structures , and techniques than previously 

41 
included in either X-20 or ASSET. 

ularly the wind tunnel testing, aerodynamics , structures design, and materials improvements - will be directly applicable to this augmented effort. 

Much of the X-20 development experience - particAs the development for the MOL proceeds, continued joint participation by DOD and 

NASA will be involved: in assessing compatible scheduling between DOD and NASA 

manned space flights, to facilitate the common usage of range and ground support 

equipment and launch tracking and control facilities , to incorporate NASA experiments 

in the MOL while meeting priority military requirements , and in planning and conducting a mutually interdependent effort for the exploration of hypersonic reentry characteristics and subsonic landing and handling qualities of representative lifting reentry 

vehicles . 

Communications Satellite Programs 

The immediate objective of the Defense Communications Satellite Program (DCSP) , as reoriented by the Secretary of Defense in May 1962, is to provide a worldwide 

communications system utilizing active medium-altitude random-spaced satellites in 

polar orbits, with ground stations so located as to satisfy the operational requirements of the Defense Communications System. Under the integrating direction of the 

Defense Communications Agency, the Air Force has responsibility for the satellites 

and launch vehicles and the Army is responsible for the surface environment to be 

comprised of fixed and transportable terminals. 

In January 1963 a request for proposal for the Program Definition Phase of the Medium 

Altitude Communication Satellite Development Program was distributed to 36 potential contractors. Seven contractors responded. 

bidders were released on 13 May 1963. 

was to determine feasibility and acceptability of continuing with the development program. 

The names of the two successful 

The purpose of the Program Definition Phase 

The study was completed on 30 July 1963. 

The medium altitude system would involve four series of six to eight satellites, weighing approximately 100 pounds each, in random polar orbits. 

lites in four orbital planes, spaced 45O apart, will provide global communication 

coverage. 

being conducted on the feasibility of phasing in gravity gradient stabilized satellites 

at a later date. 

Approximately 24 satelInitial launches will employ spin stabilized satellites. Studies are now 

The DOD TRADE POST test program was continued in order to determine: 

nical capabilities of a ground station complex which is compatible with at least two 

different concepts of communications satellites; the requirements for operation, 

maintenance , personnel, and logistic support; and the operational data to aid in 

planning future military communication satellite systems. 

mercial ground terminals and all available communications satellites - SYNCOM, 

TELSTAR, RELAY - were employed in carrying out this evaluation. 

The techBoth military and comIn addition, a continuous program of supporting development is being conducted to 

advance the design of satellite communications surface complexes as the state of the 

art progresses. These efforts generally lead from studies through component and 

subsystem development to actual hardware fabrication and integration. Included are 

investigations in such areas as multiple access , anti-jamming, communication 

vulnerability, improved radio frequency components, optimized antenna designs, 

42 
computer programming for satellite communications scheduling, and transportable 

terminals. 

Project WEST FORD 

Project WEST FORD is a communications experiment designed to place 50 pounds of 

copper hair-like filaments (dipoles) into orbit in a belt around the earth for the purpose 

of: 

a. Investigating the technical feasibility of utilizing orbiting dipoles as 

passive reflectors for relaying communications. 

b. Providing an opportunity for an objective assessment of the possible 

effects of the dipole technique on space activities or any branch of 

s cience. 

The WEST FORD package was launched on 9 May 1963, and injected into orbit from 

the parent satellite on 10 May. The first observation of belt dispersal was made on 

12 May. The dipole belt closed on 18 June 1963. 

and 20 miles thick at an altitude of approximately 2,000 miles. 

Its width is about ten miles wide 

This experiment was very successful. Voice, teletype, and high speed digital data 

communications were transmitted between Camp Parks , Calif. , and Westford, Mass. 

Observations and measurements are continuing in order to provide a detailed analysis 

and evaluation of this experiment. 

In accordance with the Presidential Policy Statement of August 1961, the U.S. will 

plan no further launches of orbiting dipoles until after the results of the first WEST 

FORD experiment have been analyzed and evaluated. The scientific community will 

be advised of the government's plans before conducting further experiments of this 

nature. 

InsDector 

Work continued this year on various aspects of the satellite inspection problems. 

DOD/NASA detailed plans for performance of selected experiments on GEMINI flights 

are nearing completion. Conceptual preliminary design studies are under way to 

define a spacecraft capable of co -orbital inspection of non-cooperative satellites. 

Further efforts toward an unmanned prototype co-orbital demonstration have been 

suspended pending the completion of those studies. 

ICBM Alarm 

The objective of this program is the research and development of a space-based 

attack alarm system intended to maintain continuous surveillance over ballistic 

missile launches on a global basis. Such a system would consist of unmanned satellites carrying infrared sensors which can detect ballistic missiles in powered flights 

as they emerge from the atmosphere. During 1963, several technical advances were 

made in furthering this development as the flight test program was directed toward 

the actual detection of live ballistic missile launches. Two flights were conducted on 

which a number of in-space detections were made of both liquid-fueled and solidfueled ICBM launches from AMR and PMR. 

43 
ANNA E3 

The ANNA 1B Geodetic Satellite launched on 31 October 1962 experienced early equipment failures that affected the power supply and by January 1963 the intensity of the 

flashing light experiment was reduced to about 25 percent of original level. 

original observation program had to be abandoned in favor of a small camera network 

operating in the United States only. ~n July 1963 the power supply trouble disappeared 

and the light intensity came back to normal if used for about eight to ten flash sequences per day. With the limited revival of the light, a program has been formed to use 

ANNA 1B to determine the accuracy of long base-line surveys by satellite light techniques. The analysis of doppler and other data is continuing and the ANNA satellite 

has contributed materially to a better definition of the earth's gravitational field and 

to the improvement of world mapping accuracies. 

The 

On 13 December 1962 the DOD and NASA executed an agreement on Project ANNA 

which prescribed the division of responsibility which obtains from ANNA I as well as 

for a follow-on ANNA program. 

programs as may be required rests with NASA. The DOD will participate as necessary to provide and operate certain ground tracking equipment to assist with data 

processing and analysis. 

Overall project management for such follow-on 

Large Solid ProDellant Motor Proeram 

In accordance with an agreement between the DOD and the NASA, the Air Force is 

carrying out a program to advance the technology and demonstrate the feasibility of 

very large solid motors. 

under development for TITAN III, this program has progressed in the past year to 

larger sizes , specifically 156-inch and 260-inch diameters. 

overland transportation by road or rail is 156 inches. 

interest in a solid motor larger than this size. 

With segmented motors 120 inches in diameter already 

The practical limit for 

There is no current DOD 

A monolithic motor approximately 260 inches in diameter may have application to 

first stage use in very large NASA launch vehicles capable of orbiting payloads 

weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds; a motor of this size would require water 

transportation from the manufacturing plant to launch site. The two-year program 

initiated by the Air Force in mid-1963 should result in static firing tests of motors 

in both of these sizes from early in 1964 to mid-1965. 

In support of NASA Is interests , the DOD program includes four half-length 260-inch 

motors firings at new contractor -owned fabrication and test facilities on waterways 

in the Southeast convenient to Cape Kennedy. Should NASA's requirements dictate , successful demonstration of these sub-length motors at the three -million pound 

thrust level could subsequently lead to development of flight-qualified full size motors 

delivering about seven million pounds of thrust. In direct support of the 260-inch 

effort, a two-segment 156-inch motor will be used to test a three-million-pound 

nozzle and simulate the propellant grain design of the larger motor. Single segment 

156-inch motors will be used in tests of mechanical thrust vector control methods at 

the one-million-pound thrust level. One of these methods uses a single large movable 

nozzle; the other, jet tabs. Concurrently with these tasks a general technology effort 

is being conducted which includes work on nozzle and case materials, fabrication 

processes , alternate methods of thrust termination and thrust vector control, ground 

handling equipment, high burn rate propellants, and high chamber pressures. 

44 
Navigational Satellite Proer am 

The Navigational Satellite Program proceeded as planned during 1963. Ground based 

tracking, computation, and injection stations are in place and operating. Operational 

prototype satellites are being launched. 

installed and operational evaluation of the system is under way. 

DOD/NASA agreement was reached which provides that responsibility for governmental determination of the suitability of Navy-developed navigational equipment to 

meet non-military requirements, as well as responsibility for the development of nonmilitary navigational equipment, rests with NASA. 

sibility for the development, technical direction, and operation of the satellite system 

per se, its associated ground environment, and for the development of military navigational equipment. 

Shipboard navigational equipment has been 

In February 1963 a 

The DOD (Navy) retains responSpaceborne Nuclear Detection 

The nuclear detection satellite program is a joint AEC-DOD research and development effort concerned with the detection of nuclear tests in space by satellite-borne 

instruments. The satellites developed under this program are designed to provide 

data on the operation of nuclear test detection sensors in space, and information on 

the natural radiation environment in which the sensors must function. 

The first launch of this program occurred during the fall of 1963. 

experimental satellites, equipped with X-ray, gamma-ray and neutron detectors, 

were launched in tandem and placed into virtually identical near -circular orbits 

beyond most of the particle trapped in the earth's magnetic field. 

were injected into their final orbits to maintain an almost constant separation of about 

100,000 miles. 

Two identical 

The two satellites 

A large amount of data on radiation background has been received. 

be used to design improved worldwide test detection systems of the future. 

tion, the satellites are providing data of considerable general scientific value for the 

study of solar and galactic radiation. 

These data will 

In addiAdditional launches, each with two satellites, are scheduled in this series. 

SPACE GROUND SUPPORT 

Space Detection and Tracking System (SPADATS) 

This system is under the operational control of the North American Air Defense 

Command (NORAD) and consists of three major elements. SPACETRACK, operated 

by the USAF Air Defense Command (ADC) is a globally dispersed system of long 

range radars and optical device plus a computer center at Colorado Springs. SPASUR, 

and interferometer fence across the southern U. S. , is operated by the Navy. 

third element, a full computer backup for Colorado Springs, is located at L. G. 

Hanscom Field and manned by a detachment of ADC. 

The 

During the past year SPACETRACK has been improved by the addition of a tracking 

radar in Diyarbekir, Turkey, and the completion of BMEWS Site III at Fylingdales, 

United Kingdom. 

processing throughout the entire system. 

Significant progress has also been made in automating the data 

45 
DOD National Ranees 

The Department of Defense's National Range complex consists of the Atlantic Missile 

Range (AMR), Pacific Missile Range (PMR), and the White Sands Missile Range 

(WSMR). The capabilities of this complex continue to grow at a pace set by the everincreasing data needs of the DOD missile programs and the nation's expanding space 

program. 

tracking ships, improved radars and precision tracking systems, additional communications capacity, and various minor improvements. Global satellite tracking and 

control facilities have been expanded and are now capable of simultaneous control of 

multiple orbiting vehicles. DOD space operations have increased to the extent over 

the past year that one or more active satellites requiring active control is now in 

orbit at all times. 

Capabilities added during the past year include highly instrumented new 

In November the Secretary of Defense directed a number of changes regarding management of the DOD's missile test ranges and space launch and tracking facilities. 

principal changes include: 

The 

a. The establishment of a single manager, within the Air Force, to coordinate 

and conduct the planning of ICBM and space vehicle tracking activities at: 

AMR, Point Arguello and Vandenberg AFB, and the Air Force Satellite 

Control Facility , Sunnyvale. 

b. Transfer of the Navy-managed facility at Point Arguello to the Air Force. 

c. Clarification of the responsibilities for on-orbit control of DOD satellites 

by assigning this function to the Air Force. 

d. The initiation of action to transfer the anti-missile test support facilities 

at Kwajalein from the Navy to the Army, and the transfer, from the Navy 

to the Air Force, of the PMR space tracking stations. 

These and other related changes are expected to improve the overall management of 

the facilities involved since responsibilities which previously overlapped have been 

clarified and ICBM and space support facilities are now to be managed by one central 

authority . 

At AMR two new ships (modified C-4 hulls, renamed the General H. H. Arnold and 

the General Hoyt S. Vandenberg) have been added, augmenting the United States' 

already extensive mobile, seaborne radar tracking and telemetry capability. The 

ships will be used in support of the missile development programs and could be used 

in support of space projects. 

enhanced with the installation of new, large, hi-power tracking radars with a greatly 

increased range and accuracy performance. 

precision, the Missile Trajectory Measurement (MISTRAM) has been put into oper - 

ation up-range. 

(GLOTRAC) which is mobile and has extensive coverage. 

been installed between Grand Turk Island in the Bahamas and Antigua. 

an extension of high density wide -band communication capability over the critical 

first 1500 miles of the range. 

bility of operation. 

support is enhanced because of the ability to transmit real time tracking and telemetry 

Also at AMR the electronic tracking capability has been 

A tracking system of extremely high 

It is supplemented by another new system, Global Tracking 

A new submarine cable has 

This provides 

This increased capacity permits much greater flexiBetter range control results, but more importantly, project 

46 
data back to Cape Kennedy as well as the transmission of vehicle control signals 

down-range. 

Launch rates of large space boosters and missiles from the Point Arguello/Vandenberg complex of PMR tripled during this year. 

increase overall was the NIKE ZEUS AICBM tests which reached a peak level of 

activity. 

PMR were the successful launching of a DOD satellite containing an AEC-developed 

nuclear power plant, and the support of the MERCURY MA-9 flight. 

capsule and astronaut Cooper were recovered by the aircraft carrier Kearsarge in 

an area near Midway Island. Land tracking, instrumentation, and telemetry facilities 

at Canton Island, Kokee Park, Hawaii, and at Point Arguello, California provided the 

necessary support for the MA-9 operation. The USNS Wheeling, T-AGM-8 is being 

converted to an instrumentation ship and next year will join the group of PMR ships 

which are now assisting in obtaining data from satellites and missiles over wide ocean 

areas. 

multiple countdown facilities at PMR continue to be made. 

An important element of the PMR 

Highlighting over one hundred and forty other programs supported by the 

The MA-9 

Other important additions to communications , tracking, range safety, and 

At WSMR design and construction of the NASA-operated APOLLO Propulsion Development Facility was initiated. Modification of test stands and other support facilities 

for tests of APOLLO abort systems was completed permitting initial flight tests of 

the SATURN booster simulator (LITTLE JOE 11). By the end of the third calendar 

quarter , WSMR was planning or providing range support for a total of 159 air, space, 

and missile project programs. 

Rocket Engine Test Facility 

In December 1963 the Air Force Systems Command completed construction at Arnold 

Engineering Development Center of the largest simulated altitude rocket test facility 

in the free world. This facility will permit testing of 500,000-pound thrust rocket 

engines under simulated altitude environments. 

booster programs, has the potential of being modified to permit testing of boosters 

developing 1.5 million pounds thrust. 

The facility, which supports national 

AERONAUTICS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 

Helicopter and V/STOL Development 

Fixed-wing aircraft currently in the inventory have good characteristics for landing 

and taking off from short, unimproved surfaces. 

comparatively efficient in vertical take -off, hovering and at low speeds. However, 

the flexibility of fixed-wing aircraft is still limited by their dependence on landing 

areas, and the helicopters are limited in stability, lift capability, range and speed. 

Therefore, the DOD is pursuing a development program with the twin goals of improving the helicopter and developing vertical and short landing and take-off (V/STOL) 

aircraft which are completely responsive to combat area requirements of the ground 

combat forces. 

Currently available helicopters are 

Helicopter development has included flight or wind-tunnel tests of rigid, semi-rigid 

and teetering rotors in speed ranges up to 160 knots. In 1962, the Navy, in cooperation with the Army, initiated a rigid rotor research helicopter program. 

purpose of this effort was to determine if a simplification could be made in the helicopter program. 

The 

The purpose of this effort was to determine if a simplification could 

47 
be made in the helicopter rotor hub without loss in current helicopter performance, 

stability and control. This program resulted in the construction of two experimental 

helicopters designated the XH-51. The 

results indicate that the rigid rotor concept has merit in that hub mechanisms can be 

considerably simplified without a decrease in helicopter handling characteristics. In 

addition, an increase in helicopter performance is probable since the simplified hub 

has lower air drag than current rotor hubs. 

Flight evaluations were completed in 1963. 

Extrapolation from other tests completed this year indicates that, by 1968, it will be 

feasible to construct reasonably stable helicopters capable of speeds in excess of 

200 knots. Tests were initiated with heavy lift, turbine-shaft driven helicopters with 

8 to 10 ton lift capabilities and investigation of hot cycle and tip-turbine rotors continued with the objective of determining the feasibility of lighter weight heavy lift systems. 

The Army conducted three V/STOL development programs directed towards a surveillance aircraft; one, as U.S. project manager, for development with the British and 

Germans, of a single engine, deflected jet V/STOL aircraft. Tests were initiated on 

and improved engine for this aircraft, capable of developing 15,200 pounds of thrust. 

A second program resulted in both conventional and hovering flight of a U. S. designed 

and fabricated twin-engine aircraft employing an augmented jet ejector principle for 

vertical flight. 

oriented, turbine-driven fans which will provide over 15,000 pounds of vertical thhust 

to lift and propel a U. S. designed fan-in-wing aircraft. 

The third program has resulted to date in static tests of vertically 

The three military services continued three additional V/STOL programs funded 

equally by each Service directed toward development of a transport aircraft. 

the tilt-wing configuration was considered the lowest risk approach, five four-ton 

payload prototypes are being constructed under Air Force management. 

aircraft of this type, designated the XC-l42A, is scheduled to fly in July 1964. 

half-scale research aircraft programs, one of a tandem tilt-propeller and one, a 

tandem rotating ducted propeller, are also being pursued. Design and component 

testing of the tilt-propeller version, designed the X-19A, were completed under Air 

Force management early this year. The first of two X-19A's was completed and the 

roll-out ceremony was held on 23 July 1963. First flights of the X-19 occurred late 

in 1963. 

Since 

The first 

Two 

The rotating ducted propeller VTOL research aircraft, designated the X-22A, is now 

in the design phase under Navy management with first flights expected in early 1965. 

Two aircraft are scheduled for construction and evaluation. 

Laminar Flow Control Demonstration Aircraft 

The two X-21A Laminar Flow Control (LFC) demonstration aircraft began their flight 

tests this year. 

so-called "wing that breathes." Suction through a large number of very fine slots in 

the surface removes the boundary layer air before it becomes turbulent, thereby 

reducing the friction drag. 

These aircraft, which are extensively modified WB-66Is, have the 

Refinements in the system since the first flight in April 1963 have gradually increased 

the area of the wing over which laminar flow is maintained to about 70% at low Reynolds 

numbers. 

applied to a subsonic airplane of optimized configuration with an expected increase in 

If it can be perfected for the expected speed-altitude regime, it could be 

48 
range or endurance of up to 50%. 

X-15 Research Aircraft 

One of the X-15 Research Aircraft is being modified to increase its speed capability 

from Mach 6 (4100 mph) to Mach 8 (5400 mph). 

ing fuel and oxidizer capacity in order to provide longer rocket engine burning time. 

At the same time other modifications are being made to provide greater heat resistance at the increased speed for the wing and tail leading edges, fuselage nose section, 

and cockpit windshields. Improved instrumentation to acquire aerothermodynamics, 

structures, and materials test data should add measurably to the value of the future 

flight program. 

This will be accomplished by increasXB-70 Development 

The objective of the XB-70 program is to preserve the option of developing a new 

manned bomber weapon system through exploration of the problems of flying at three 

times the speed of sound with an airframe. potentially useful for a bomber. The program plan provides for the design, development and fabrication of three experimental 

prototype (XB-70) aircraft and a limited flight test program. 

contain a prototype bombing-navigation system. 

The third aircraft will 

The XB-70 program is also of interest to the FAA and NASA as support for the 

National Commercial Supersonic Transport program and the supersonic aeronautical 

research activity conducted by NASA. 

NASA, and DOD (USAF) to provide for FAA and NASA participation in the program. 

FAA and NASA funds have been applied toward gathering information of specific value 

to those agencies from the SB-70 flight test program. 

Agreements have been reached among the FAA, 

Work on the first aircraft approached completion as the year ended. 

the second and third aircraft was under way. 

to begin during 1964. 

Fabrication of 

The flight test program is scheduled 

F-111 Tactical Fighter Aircraft 

The F-111A is being developed as a fighter weapon system for Air Force tactical air 

missions in either limited or general war. 

missions for the Navy. The F-111 will combine high performance, long ferry range, 

and operational flexibility. 

The F-111B will perform fleet air defense 

The Air Force is the program manager for this Joint Air Force/Navy Weapon System 

and the program has progressed well into the development cycle. 

A full scale mock-up of the aircraft was reviewed by the two services in August 1963 

and the configuration established. The commonality of configuration and equipments 

in the Air Force and the Navy aircraft has been retained with a high degree of success. 

The Development Engineering Inspection, a significant milestone in the development 

cycle, was completed in September 1963. 

are being achieved effectively. 

The development approach stresses total weapon system integrated performance to 

achieve the tactical demands of future air operations. 

design and manufacture of the test articles, development flight test program, static 

The program is on schedule and milestones 

The development cycle includes 

49 
and fatigue test program, ground equipment development, and test program, together 

with the determination of spare parts and generation of technical data. This program 

will capitalize on the developments from other programs, and, as a result, the weapon system should have high reliability and operability characteristics. 

F-5A Tactical Fighter for Military Assistance Program 

Two prototype models of the F-5A have been undergoing initial testing at Edwards Air 

Force Base, California, during 1963. 

fighter began flight test in October 1963. 

The first production model F-5A tactical 

This F-5A is the first of 85 fighters currently on contract and being built for use by 

nations participating in the Military Assistant Program. 

will be single place F-SA's. the remaining 14 will be F-5B two-place trainer versions. 

Seventy-one of the aircraft 

Both versions of the F-5 are powered with General Electric J85-13 turbojet engines 

with afterburners. 

fighter aircraft. 

and reliability, low initial and operating cost, and minimum logistics requirements. 

It is suitable for a variety of missions , including air superiority, reconnaissance , interception, close support for ground troops , and interdiction of enemy targets behind 

enemy lines. 

The F-5 reverses a trend toward heavier and more complex 

It is designed as a lightweight aircraft to provide high performance 

Both the F-5A and F-5B will carry SIDEWINDER missiles and auxiliary fuel tanks on 

their wing tips, plus a variety of bombs, rockets, chemical stores, and pylon fuel 

tanks on their five stations beneath the wings and fuselage. In addition to the aforementioned armament, the F-5A will carry two 20MM cannons mounted is its nose for 

aerial and ground attack missions. 

leading and trailing edge wing flaps, parachute braking system, and special design 

"sod field" landing gear make the F-5 capable of operating from dispersed air strips 

less than 5,000 feet long. The F-5 sister aircraft, the T-38, is currently in use by 

the Air Force as a supersonic trainer. 

Its light overall weight, high thrust engines, 

C-141A Transport Aircraft 

The C-141A was conceived as a modern, high speed, jet powered, cargo transport 

aircraft. 

FAA certification, scheduled for January 1965, will be facilitated by continuous close 

coordination between the Air Force and the FU in order to assure maximum compatibility with civil requirements. 

It is being developed and produced for both military and commercial use. 

The C-141A will be capable of worldwide, all-weather operations. 

aircraft will permit routine operation, at maximum gross weight, from air fields 

with runways measuring less than 6,000 feet. 

separately mounted 21 , 000 pound thrust turbofan engines, a high wing with a 25 degree 

sweep, a fuselage mounted Janding gear , truck bed height level cargo compartment 

and a high T-tail empennage. 

personnel, equipment and supplies, as well as the capability for aeromedical evacuation. 

The first C-141A was rolled out of the factory, on schedule, on 22 August 1963 and 

the first flight took place in December 1963. 

the military - civilian transport fleet will greatly extend the speed, range, and 

The design of the 

Significant features include four 

It will have an excellent aerial delivery capability for 

The introduction of this aircraft into 

50 
versatility of the nation's airlift capability. 

COIN Aircraft 

The DOD is currently following dual approaches to attainment of an improved counterinsurgency aircraft. 

The Air Force is modifying T-37 and T-28 airplanes to determine the degree to which 

these aircraft can be successfully reoriented toward counterinsurgency use. 

At the same time the Navy is undertaking the development of an entirely new "stateof-the-art" primitive area, STOL aircraft which is to be a combination weapon delivery and limited logistic vehicle. The combination of Air Force and Navy effort will 

provide both a short range program and a moderate risk, maximum improvement, 

longer term program. Contractor proposals were solicited by the Navy during the 

last quarter of 1963. 

Airlift Requirements Studies 

Extensive studies are currently in progress on the overall subject of Defense logistic 

support, examining the relative requirements for airlift, sealift, and prepositioning. 

In these reviews a new heavy-lift transport, the CX-HLS, is being considered which 

would have the additional capability for transporting outsize cargo. The studies are 

incomplete at this time and final requirements for airlift have not been determined. 

Short Airfield for Tactical Support 

After several years of effort, the Navy-developed Short Airfield for Tactical Support 

(SATS) is approaching operational status. The basic requirement that resulted in the 

development of the SATS system is that of the need for air support of the Marine 

assault and landing forces. With the SATS system, first line fighter and attack aircraft can be operated from areas close to the combat area without the need for 

expensive and time consuming construction of airfields. 

to be air transportable and quickly assembled and disassembled. 

of the system is completed and operational evaluation is currently in progress. 

expected that first delivery of the operational system will commence in calendar year 

1964. 

The SATS system is designed 

Technical evaluation 

It is 

SUPPORTING RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY 

Vehicle Flight Contr ol 

The Air Force is conducting an in-house flight research program to develop solutions 

to the critical control/display problems associated with letdown, approach, landing, 

and take off of advanced high performance vehicles under "blind" flight conditions. 

The results of this program have direct application to the National Supersonic Transport program. 

personnel and funds. 

tional as well as national interest in both military and commercial aviation fields. 

FAA is actively involved with the Air Force and is contributing both 

While far from complete, this program has aroused internaIn Phase I, 1200 successful blind landings and take offs were completed, forty-one 

Air Force, commercial and FAA pilots participated. 

at the Instrument Pilot Instructors School, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, have 

In Phase 11, two T-39 aircraft 

51 
been equipped for blind landings. 

used to demonstrate the operational applicability of the system. 

being included in the program. 

A grossly larger cross section of pilots is being 

Foreign pilots are 

ASSET 

The first of a series in the Aerothermodynamic/Elastic Structural Systems Environmental Test (ASSET) Program was successfully launched from the Atlantic Missile 

Range (AMR) on 18 September 1963. The basic objective of the ASSET program is 

to obtain data fiecessary to understand the glide reentry environment. With these 

non-orbiting, unmanned, glide -reentry vehicles, the Air Force conducts multiple 

experiments under true conditions of temperature, density, and velocity to obtain 

relatively steady-state data in aerothermodynamics, structures, and aerothermoelas ti city. 

The first ASSET, an aerothermodynamic/structural vehicle, was launched by a single 

stage THOR booster. 

tory. Booster separation and start of glide occurred at 200,000 feetand 16,000 fps. 

The vehicle impacted approximately 1,000 nautical miles down range. Although the 

vehicle was not recovered as planned, all data were gathered through telemetry and 

del aye d playback. 

Actual trajectory was almost identical with the planned trajecI 

As mentioned previously in connection with the MOL program, the purpose and scope 

of the ASSET program is being broadened to include a wider range of reentry conditions, materials, structures, and techniques than now planned for the initial flight 

program. It is expected that this augmented effort will produce the data needed to 

define design and performance parameters for an operational reusable space ferry 

vehicle, should that operational requirement evolve from the MOL program. 

Variable Camber Propeller 

In 1960, the Navy initiated a research and development program on a variable camber 

propeller. 

ation over a wider aircraft operating range. 

designed for maximum efficiency for one operating condition such as takeoff, climb, 

cruise, etc., they suffer efficiency degradation at other conditions. The first full 

scale static tests of the variable camber propeller were conducted in the spring of 

1963. 

proceeding satisfactorily toward the desired goal. 

preliminary flight rating test (PFRT) to be completed in early 1964 and flight tests on 

a modified €5-17 to commence by mid-1964. 

The purpose of this program is to provide more efficient propeller operSince conventional propellers must be 

The results of these tests are promising and indicate that the program is 

Present plans are for the 50 hour 

Tilt Float Program for ODen Ocean Stabilization 

In 1957, the Navy initiated a research and development program on a tilt-float system 

as the most promising means of providing on-the-water stability for helicopters and 

seaplanes against violent wave motions of the open ocean. 

such a system could improve the effectiveness of airborne anti-submarine warfare 

operations as well as allow for more effective air sea rescue operations. On open 

sea tests of a seaplane test vehicle conducted this year, the pitching motion of the 

aircraft was reduced by as much as 96 percent by the application of the tilt-float 

system. 

cingly demonstrated the effectiveness of this system in providing a stable platform. 

Successful development of 

These and other model tests on both seaplanes and helicopters have convin52 
Regenerative Turboprop Engine 

Development of a regenerative turboprop engine of approximately 4200 horsepower 

has been initiated. 

exhaust gases to preheat the intake airflow. This makes possible a more efficient 

engine and will require less fuel use for the same output horsepower. 

that this new engine development will improve efficiency and effectiveness of aircraft 

weapon systems that are required to operate at low altitudes for long periods of time; 

for example: anti-submarine warfare and cargo delivery. 

This engine will use the principle of recirculation of the hot 

It is expected 

Jet Engine Thrust Measuring 

As a result of a research and development program initiated in 1957, a more reliable 

method for determination of the thrust output of jet engines has been devised. This 

method utilizes the swinging probe technique and measures the temperature and 

pressure of the engine exhaust gases. The method and the developed equipment can 

be used on after-burning as well as non-after-burning jet engines. 

extensive flight testing of this method has been conducted using an A-5 aircraft with 

very encouraging results. 

ance in that it will (1) enable a more accurate determination of the flight characteristics of new military aircraft, and (2) provide a more positive identification of any 

deficiencies that must be corrected. 

During this year, 

The development of this method is of considerable importSounding Rockets and Space Probes 

Several sounding rockets were launched during 1963. 

NIKE-CAJUN, the AEROBEE, the ASTROBEE, the BLACK BRANT, and others 

carrying payloads of up to about 100 pounds to altitudes of approximately 300 miles. 

Types of vehicles included the 

a. In June 1963, and AEROBEE launched at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida 

found a peak in the positive ion distribution in the ionospheric D region 

that correlated strongly with solar X-radiation in the one to ten Angstrom 

wave length band. 

b. In July 1963, two Air Force-launched BLACK BRANTS at the Fort Churchill, 

Canada Rocket Research Facility, made the first direct ion density measurements in the ionosphere during and after a total eclipse of the sun. 

c. Using NIKE-CAJUN sounding rockets, the compound trimethyl aluminum has 

been demonstrated to be a potent agent for exploring the upper atmosphere. 

When released in small quantities under pressure from a rocket in flight 

above about 55 miles , it yields a visible , artificial trail not dependent on 

sunlight for activation. 

provides information on upper atmospheric physical and chemical reactions , 

wind, and turbulence. 

Analysis of the behavior of the visible chemical 

A space probe was launched by the Air Force on 30 July 1963 to measure extraterrestrial radio noise at two and four megacycle frequencies. 

SCOUT, JR. the probe achieved an altitude of 7000 miles. 

noise level is essentially constant above 900 miles. 

frequencies is thus negligible above that altitude. 

Boosted by a BLUE 

The data showed that the 

Ionospheric absorption at these 

53 
Tactical Probes 

Studies and development tests were completed during the past year involving the 

application of high altitude ballistic trajectory probes to military tactical require - 

ments. Tests were completed proving tactical feasibility in the application of high 

altitude probes to long range communications and tactical area weather reconnais - 

sance. Probes launched from aircraft, land and the sea itself for this application 

have proven successful. 

Hydra Launch Technique 

The Hydra technique involves the launch of rockets from the sea by appropriately 

water proofing the missile, floating it vertically like a spar buoy and initiating under 

water ignition. During the past year, development tests have been completed for the 

Hydra concept application to high altitude rocket probes. Standard land launched and 

air launched missiles have been modified and successfully fired from a floating 

position to carry instrumentation packages for the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory to 

altitudes of over a hundred miles. The attractiveness to this application of Hydra 

involves the very large flexibility in the selection of launch locations for obtaining 

synoptic information on the earth's atmosphere and near space environment. 

Space Technology Satellites 

The Air Force continued with an active launch program of Space Technology Satellites 

during 1963. 

States space projects were tested in a space environment. 

from telemetry and through recovery of the capsules. 

Propulsion, guidance systems, and components used in various United 

The data were obtained 

During 1963 the total payload capability was somewhat increased through the use of 

an improved booster. However, the increment of payload capacity available for 

scientific experiments was less than in previous years. A total of 12 experiments 

was carried on in 1963 on micrometeorite detection, cosmic radiation, ionization 

density, and galactic radio noise. 

as emulsions and metal transmutation samples were carried on recoverable vehicles 

for determination of particle radiation energies and total radiation doses received in 

the orbits of the spacecraft. Throughout 1963, results of experiments flown in 1962 

continued to be analyzed. 

Technology Satellites in 1962 have yielded unique data on electron fine structure in 

the aur or a1 regions. 

In addition, 20 packs of sensitive materials such 

Four experiments on ionization density flown on Space 

STARAD 

The STARAD Air Force Special Radiation Measuring Satellite launched in October 

1962 continued to function until January 1963, fulfilling its designed lifetime to within 

six days. The data on electron and proton energies, fluxes, and directional variation 

continue to be analyzed. 

The information from this satellite has been an invaluable contribution to the knowledge of the radiation effects from the high altitude weapon test of 9 July 1962. 

Five scientific papers from the data have been published. 

Radiation Monitoring Satellite 

A Radiation Monitoring Satellite was launched from an Air Force Space Technology 

Satellite while in flight in July 1963. This sub-satellite powered itself into an 

54 
independent polar srbit of 180x2240 nautical miles and carried a payload to measure 

magnetically trapped electrons and protons at all significant energy levels. The subsatellite yielded stored data read-out on two full orbits each day until September 1963 

when the stored data read-out system failed. 

on real-time. All instruments have functioned perfectly and the data are of unprecedented high quality and resolution. 

tions between solar flares and low energy particles in the space plasma. 

low energy electrons and high energy protons, there seems to be no clear zone of 

separation between the inner and outer Van Allen belts, but rather only a gradual 

transition. 

Since then the data have been read-out 

Preliminary results of analysis show new relaAlso, for 

Geophysical Research Satellites 

An Air Force Geophysical Research Satellite was launched using a Scout Booster 

from the NASA Wallops Island Station in June 1963. 

orbited between 260 and 800 miles, and operated perfectly until telemetering was 

lost, on the thirteenth orbit. The experiments consisted of a mass spectrometer 

sensitive to atoms and molecules of all weights from atomic hydrogen to molecular 

oxygen for the determination of space gas composition, and a retarding potential 

analyzer sensitive to photoelectronis up to 60 electron volts, positive ions up to 20 

electron volts, and free electrons up to 30 electron volts. The data are in process 

of analysis and are regarded as especially valuable because of their clarity, the 

orbit dimension, and the day-night transition region collection process. 

This small research satellite 

Space Power Equipment 

The DOD continued to examine various concepts for meeting the anticipated high electrical power requirements of future satellites. 

than several hundred watts, careful consideration has been given to both nuclear and 

solar powered generators. In 1962, joint inter -agency management action was 

accomplished to undertake the development of a nuclear power unit to generate several hundred kilowatts of electrical power. 

with agreement between the Chairman, AEC, and the Secretary of the Air Force on 

the use of Air Force capabilities by the AEC in the development of SNAP-50/SPUR 

(300 kw to 1,000 kw) nuclear reaction electric space power unit. 

major experimental test equipment for the turbine experiments and for heat transfer 

experiments commenced with Air Force funds and per agreement will be placed in 

operation using AEC FY 1964 funds. 

For possible requirements of more 

Further progress was made in 1963, 

The construction of 

In September 1963, the Department of Defense launched the nation's first satellite 

powered solely by nuclear (radio isotopic) power. 

designated the SNAP 9A, delivers 25 watts of power and is expected to provide 

electrical power to the satellite systems for a period in excess of five years. 

This AEC-developed power unit, 

A new program was started this year to develop and demonstrate a solar powered 

electrical system capable of producing 20 kw of power continuously for a year. This 

is the only non-nuclear system under development capable of these power levels. It 

is expected that it could be available for space missions late in the decade. Five 

years of research work on component technology preceded this decision. One such 

task was accomplished this year; the orbital flight testing of solar mirror, Efforts 

this year were also directed to fabricating a 44.5 foot Solar Collector and installing 

it with a heat storage device to obtain ground test data. 

55 
Electrical Propulsion 

In 1963, efforts continued to develop electrical propulsion engines which can be used 

for space missions around the 1970 time period. 

the Contact Ion Engine was successfully increased. New concepts such as the Oscillating Electron Engine in the lower specific impulse range have also shown promise. 

The program to flight test the most promising engines included a flight test of the 

Contact Ion Engine late this year. 

simulation tests were conducted in the environmental chambers at the Arnold Engineering Center, Tullahoma, Tennessee, and at the Aeronautical Systems Division in 

Dayton, Ohio. 

The performance and lifetime of 

In preparation for this flight, extensive flight 

Gravity Gradient Stabilization for Satellites 

During this year the Department of Defense successfully stabilized a satellite using 

gravity gradient techniques. After the satellite was placed in orbit a long boom was 

erected with a weight .on the end and the resulting torques due to the decreasing 

strength of the gravitational field with altitude caused the satellite to align itself 

vertically within a few degrees. 

at the end of the boom. Gravity gradient stabilization is a passive method of attitude 

control with inherent reliability for those types of long-lived functional satellites 

which are required to have their antennas, cameras, or other satellite instrumentation always pointed earthward. 

Damping forces were provided by a "lossy1' spring 

Infrared 

Recent developments in infrared detector technology have resulted in the development 

of a detector material consisting of mercury, cadmium, and telluride, with a sensitivity in the 8-14 micron region comparable to that of mercury-doped germanium 

which is currently the best detector in that band. 

the advantage of less severe cooling requirements (-196OC vs -243OC) to achieve the 

same performance as the mercury-doped germanium. This lesser cooling require - 

ment will result in significantly less weight and power required to support these 

detectors when used for horizon scanners, satellite rendezvous , reconnaissance, 

and other space -borne applications. 

The new tertiary detector offers 

LASER Technology 

Several electronic projects in the exploratory development area had some type of 

LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulating Emission of Radiation) investigation under 

way in 1963. The research objectives include propagation studies, effects on materials, device configurations, modulation and demodulation schemes, materials 

research, medical and biological effects, improvement of efficiency, pumping and 

power supplies, improved detectors, aiming and beam deflection, and improvement 

of optical components. 

It was realized quite early that LASER applications would, to a large extent, depend 

on a good fundamental understanding of the devices and major advancements in those 

areas previously mentioned. Accordingly, thoughts on applications have been used 

merely as guides to research. 

In August 1962, ODDR&E formed the Special Group on Optical MASER'S (Molecular 

Amplification by Stimulating Emission of Radiation). This group has the function of 

56 
reviewing existing and proposed programs of the Services and advising the Department of Defense and the Services on these programs. 

sentatives from the three Services and ARPA. 

ted as information items. 

inter -agency and intra-departmental coordination and has been instrumental in reorienting a number of efforts down more useful lines. 

Membership consists of repreAll NASA projects have been submitOver the past year, the Group has effected considerable 

General Support, Research and Development 

The DOD's basic and applied research program in materials, ballistics, solid state 

physics, fuel cells, night vision, and upper atmosphere investigations, continues to 

contribute to the advancement of space technology. Some of the major activity during 

1963 and progress associated with this effort is as follows: 

Studies and investigations of the performance of solid and liquid lubricants and of the 

vaporization and outgassing characteristics of other materials in a hard vacuum were 

continued. While designed primarily to permit improvement of military missile and 

vacuum tube components, this effort is applicable to the solution of problems being 

encountered in the pursuit of space technology. 

The results of military high temperature materials programs designed to improve 

nuclear reactors, gas turbines, gun liners and electrical devices are applicable in 

orbiting vehicle structural and power source parts. 

Research into the energy absorption and dissipation characteristics of materials is 

being conducted for application to the development of protective armor and of shielding against nuclear weapons effects. 

of protecting personnel and equipment in space from the hazards of meteorite bombardment and natural high energy radiation. 

This activity also has application to the problem 

The Department of Defense is continually looking for high strength-to-weight ratio 

structural materials for its weapons and other equipments. 

icant to efforts designed to reduce the weight of spacecraft. 

This research is signifInvestigations of the operating characteristics of available batteries which is important to satellite designers who use such power supplies as well as to manufacturers 

who are seeking to improve their designs. 

COOPERATION WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES 

General 

Much of the Department of Defense space and aeronautics activity reported on herein 

was carried out in close coordination with other government agencies. 

examples already cited include the Large Solid Propellant Motor Program, the navigational and geodetic satellite programs, the X-15, and XB -70 programs, and space - 

borne nuclear detection. 

Important 

The Department of Defense's support to MERCURY launches and recoveries has been 

extensive and represents a major contribution to the success of this program during 

the past year. Other examples requiring emphasis include the DOD's participation 

in the Joint Meteorological Satellite Advisory Committee and continued cooperation 

with the AEC in the development and use of space nuclear power units. 

57 
DOD/NASA Agreements 

Major DOD/NASA formal agreements were concluded during the year concerning the 

following : 

a. Management and Operation of the Atlantic Missile Range (DOD) and the 

Merritt Island Launch Area (NASA) 

b. The GEMINI Program 

c. The TRANSIT Navigational Satellite Program 

d. The AGENA D Program 

e. The Thrust Augmented THOR-DELTA Launch Vehicle Program 

f. A possible joint program for a manned orbital space station 

g. The DOD Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) Program. 

DOD Participation in the GEMINI Program 

On 21 January 1963, NASA and DOD entered into the agreement cited above designed 

to insure the greatest national benefit from the GEMINI Program. 

Program Planning Board was formed to administer the agreement. 

Board recommended to the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of NASA a 

plan for DOD experiments to be performed on NASA's flights. 

of Defense approved: (1) A program of "piggyback" experiments on NASA flights 

along the lines recommended by the Board; (2) the manning of an Air Force Field 

Office at Houston to manage the integration of DOD experiments into the NASA program; and (3) the assumption by DOD of the costs associated with improving the 

TITAN I1 booster for the GEMINI program. A development plan for the experimental 

program has been prepared by the Air Force, working with the Army, the Navy, and 

NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center. 

A joint GEMINI 

In May, the 

In June the Secretary 

Active DOD participation in the NASA GEMINI Program facilitates the flow of information between DOD and NASA, insures more complete use of experience gained in 

manned space flight activities, and minimizes the possibility of duplication within the 

National Space Program. 

for the MOL development and operation. 

Data derived from this program are expected to be useful 

Orbital Space Station 

On 16 September 1963 Secretary McNamara and Administrator Webb signed the agreement concerning a possible new project in the area of manned earth orbital research 

and development vehicles. 

As pointed out in the agreement, since a large orbital space station would be a major 

technical and financial undertaking, the requirements of all government agencies 

should, insofar as practicable, be met in a single national program. 

Both NASA and DOD will continue adwanced and exploratory studies to develop data on 

agency requirements, possible liemrd&gn concepts, feasibility, and costs. These 

58 
studies are to be coordinated through the Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating 

Board (AACB) which will evaluate the various advanced space station concepts. 

ing upon the evaluations of the AACB, and in the light of the experience gained in 

GEMINI, MOL, and APOLLO, the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of 

NASA will, at an appropriate time in the future, address a joint recommendation as 

to whether to proceed with a new national program in this area. 

ActManned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) Program 

DOD and NASA worked together in defining the MOL program and NASA concurred in 

the DOD decision to proceed. 

station program in the context of the Webb/McNamara agreement of September 1963, 

but, rather, is a specific experimental test bed for certain potential military space 

applications not within the scope of NASA's activities. It was agreed, however, that 

NASA projects would be considered for test in the MOL on a non-interference basis 

in order that NASA might take full advantage of the research and development opportunities presented by the program. 

It was agreed that the MOL is not a national space 

Both agencies have agreed that a joint coordinating board should be established to 

advise and pass on recommendations to DOD and NASA top management concerning 

such GEMINI/MOL interagency interfaces as: 

out equipments , control centers , and range support, as well as the accommodation of 

NASA experiments in the MOL. 

common use of launch facilities, checkBoth agencies have agreed that major savings could be realized in the next year by 

terminating the DOD's X-20 program and orienting effort in the MOL direction. To 

provide the technical data needed for the design of possible future operational lifting 

reentry vehicles, DOD and NASA have agreed to coordinate in the planning and conduct of an accelerated program for the exploration of hypersonic reentry character - 

istics and subsonic handling and landing characteristics of representative reentry 

space craft. 

Life Sciences /Bioastronautics 

The Bioastronautics/Life Sciences programs of the Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) were involved in several joint management 

actions during the past year. 

The Manned Space Flight Panel of the Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating 

Board (AACB) completed a "Report on Air Force /NASA Space Station Coordination" 

in July 1963, in which Air Force and NASA representatives put forth a jointly approved 

plan for effective participation. 

The Supporting Space Research and Technology (SSRT) Panel of the AACB has established a Life Sciences Sub-panel. 

departments and the NASA, has formally addressed the problem of achieving effective coordination of Life Sciences /Bioastronautics effort with specific emphasis on 

eliminating duplication of effort. 

for the exchange of project data cards and task descriptions between the Office of 

Advanced Research and Technology (NASA) and the Aerospace Medical Division at 

Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, the latter of which has management responsibility 

for the Air Force Bioastronautics /Life Sciences program. 

This group, with members from the three military 

In achieving these goals , the sub-panel has arranged 

This exchange will result 

59 
in computer -accessible information in both agencies, regarding the exact efforts 

being conducted in-house and on contract. 

Another important agreement reached during the year was one between the Office of 

Manned Space Flight in Hq NASA and the Deputy for Manned Space Flight in Hq AFSC, 

Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. This agreement entitled "Plan for NASA/AF 

Coordination of FY 1964 Space Medicine/Bioastronautics Design, Development and 

Test Programs to Support Approved Flight Program Requirements'' resulted in a 

meeting this year between representatives from the Manned Space Flight Center, 

Houston, Texas, and selected Air Force technical specialists. 

level scientists from both agencies reviewed each task in detail and considered such 

matters as validity, priority, duplication, and redundancy. Each surviving task was 

then assigned to one agency or the other. 

task scientists were identified. This method of detailed cross -examination will help 

assure that Air Force and NASA facilities and capabilities in this important area are 

being optimally utilized in the National Space Program. 

At this meeting benchSpecific laboratories were designed and 

SYNCOM I 

DOD and NASA operations have been fully integrated in NASA's SYNCOM I effort, 

which resulted in the fir st synchronous -altitude communications satellites experiment. Since the launch of the SYNCOM satellite in July, the Army, as agent for the 

DOD, has directed the communications. test operations and public demonstrations and 

is thoroughly evaluating the system to determine its true capabilities. The DOD has 

provided a total of five Satellite Communication Terminals for the SYNCOM network: 

a shipboard terminal, USNS Kingsport; two fixed terminals, Fort Dix and Camp 

Roberts; and two transportable terminals. 

General Support, Construction 

The Army Corps of Engineers continued to support the national space program by 

providing real estate acquisition and management services, and design and construction of facilities. Construction of the Manned Spacecraft Center at Clear Lake, Texas 

was continued and NASA occupied some of 'the buildings by the end of the year. Real 

estate was acquired and construction was started at NASA's Mississippi Test Facility. 

Additional land was acquired at Merritt Island for the expansion of NASA's launch 

facilities. Construction was initiated at Cape Kennedy on the SATURN V launch facilities including the large Vertical Assembly Building. 

ion began on the Air Force TITAN 111 Integrate - Transfer - Launch complex. 

Also at Cape Kennedy construct60 
Chapter V 

Atomic Energy Commission 

INTRODUCTION 

Throughout 1963 the Atomic Energy Commission continued to pursue its efforts to 

develop: (1) a family of compact nuclear devices and nuclear reactors to provide 

power for spacecraft and satellites (Project SNAP); (2) the technology basic to the 

development of a nuclear rocket engine for accomplishing operational space missions 

in advanced launch vehicles (Project ROVER); (3) an advanced-type reactor which can 

be used as a heat source in rhjet propulsion systems designed to propel missiles 

of very long cruising range at high-speeds and sea-level altitudes (Project PLUTO); 

and (4) satellite-based instruments and associated systems to detect and identify 

nuclear explosions in space (formerly called Project VELA HOTEL). 

PROJECT SNAP 

SNAP Radioisotone Units 

Compact devices which use the heat from the decay of radioisotopes as the energy 

source are being developed to meet space power requirements of up to several 

hundred watts. 

Two of these small devices, plutonium-238-fueled 25-watt SNAP-9A generators, 

were launched into space aboard Navy navigational satellites the latter part of 1963. 

They are designed to supply the total power requirements of the satellites. 

are the first launchings of nuclear powered satellites. 

five years, and are functioning properly. 

These 

They are designed to last 

Additional SNAP-9A-powered navigational satellites are scheduled for later launch. 

The SNAP-9A generators had been readied for use in 1962 but because the launchings of the satellites for which they were intended were delayed, they were subjected 

to additional ground testing in 1963. 

incorporated into the generators. 

the Navy during the last half of 1963 were, in effect, second-generation units 

which had been developed without an intervening flight test. 

These tests led to improvements which were 

Thus the SNAP-9A units which were delivered to 

During 1963, a detailed design was completed of the SNAP- 11 thermoelectric 

generator, and electrically heated prototype generators were fabricated and put 

under test. 

instruments in NASA's unmanned SURVEYOR soft lunar landing spacecraft. Half - 

scale SNAP- 11 fuel capsules were tested during the year to assure no fuel leakage 

upon their impact with the surface of the moon. 

The SNAP- 11 units being developed will have the capability of powering 

Two SNAP- 13 electrically-heated prototype thermionic generators were removed 

from life-testing in December 1962 because of a steady degradation in their power 

output. 

connections, was overcome by cleaning the connector pins and replacing the leads. 

Life-testing of the units, which are also adaptable to NASA's SURVEYOR lunar 

The power drop, caused primarily by oxidation of the external lead 

61 
landing program, was reinstituted in March, and completed in late, 1963. A demonstration SNAP-13 unit is scheduled to be fueled with curium-242 and ready for ground 

testing by mid- 1964. 

A detailed design was completed during the year of a radioisotopic power system for 

use in a satellite whose primary mission will be to chart the magnetic field between 

earth and the moon. 

each of which will produce approximately 20 watts of electric power, are to be used 

to power the Interplanetary Monitoring Probe - - IMP - - satellite under development 

by NASA. 

Two plutonium-238 fueled thermoelectric SNAP generators, 

Electrically-heated mockup generators are currently being fabricated. 

A program was initiated during 1963 to develop an advanced, low-powered 

strontium-90 fueled thermoelectric generator for use on long-lived operational 

satellites such as the Air Force's medium altitude communications satellite. This 

program is the first step toward exploiting the use of abundant fission product radioisotopes for space power sources. 

to perform separate but competitive de sign approaches. 

Late in the year, two contractors were selected 

SNAP Reactor Units 

To initially provide space power in the range of .5 to 100 kilowatts, a family of 

compact, lightweight, long-lived, reliable, zirconium-hydride moderated, enricheduranium fueled, nuclear reactor s is under development. 

By mid- 1963, two complete SNAP- 10A flight qualification systems, one non-nuclear 

and the other nuclear, had been assembled, checked out, and successfully subjected 

to a series of simulated launch environmental tests. 

operated satisfactorily at full power on October 12. 

fication system is scheduled for full power operation early in 1964. 

The non-nuclear system 

The ground test nuclear qualiAnother non-nuclear ground system, designed as a confirmatory test of flightqualified hardware identical to the components which would make up a final flight 

system, is being assembled for scheduled 1964 full power operation. 

Late in December the SNAP-1OA flight test was cancelled because of the lack of firm 

space power requirements in the low kilowatt range. 

testing will continue as planned, and subsequent to endurance testing of the two 

complete non-nuclear mockups and one nuclear ground system, the SNAP- 10A 

program will be completed. 

be continued under a separate thermo-electric material and generator development 

program. 

The associated ground system 

The development of thermo-electric technology will 

Since the SNAP- 10A reactor, with static thermoelectric power conversion system 

has been scheduled to be the first nuclear power reactor system to be placed in orbit, 

major 1963 effort was devoted to assuring its safe operation into, in, and back from, 

space. 

launched on a SCOUT vehicle from NASA's WaIlops- Island Complex in Virginia to 

obtain experimental evidence to support theoretical studies of reactor heating, disassembly, and melt down during re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. When the 

inert reactor reached an altitude of approximately 80 miles, its re-entry vehicle 

was turned and powered back into the atmosphere to simulate the reactor re-entering 

the atmosphere from a decaying orbit. 

On May 22, an unfueled but otherwise complete SNAP- 10A reactor was 

A preliminary evaluation of data obtained by 

62 
optical tracking networks and special telemetry systems indicates that the major 

test objectives were achieved. 

Late in the year, as the result of the lack of a firm requirement by a user agency 

for a nuclear-powered 3 electrical kilowatt generator for space use, the SNAP-2 

development program was reoriented. Rather than being a system flight test demonstration program, the technology developed to date under the SNAP-2 program will 

be incorporated into a broadly based technical program designed to provide improved 

space nuclear power technology, including turboelectric power conversion, when 

systems are needed. 

The SNAP-8 Experimental Reactor commenced nuclear operation using liquid metal 

coolant in May 1963. 

and completing a program of low-power experiments, the reactor began its approach 

to full 450-thermal-kilowatt power operation in August. 

thermal kilowatt power level, however, an inadequacy in the instrumentation required 

that the reactor be shut down. During the shut down, a leak was detected in the cooling coils within the reactor containment vessel. Repairs were completed and the reactor was restarted in October. By mid-November, the SNAP-8 Experimental Reactor had attained its full power level, and during December it was started on a 

60-day endurance run at full power. 

After successfully undergoing a complete system checkout 

Upon reaching the 10 

The SNAP 50/SPUR power plant is being designed and developed for future space 

applications which call for hundreds of kilowatts of power with a high rate of power 

production for each pound of system weight. To meet the specified high performance 

goals, a high temperature, refractory metal system will be used with lithium serving 

as the reactor coolant and potassium as the working fluid for the Rankine cycle energy conversion loop. 

During 1963, a working agreement was reached with the Air Force to combine 

several tasks in the power conversion area, being developed under the Air Force's 

SPUR program, with the reactor and power plant design work underway in the AEC's 

SNAP-50 Program. 

ment phase, is now being funded and centrally administered by the AEC. 

All of this work, currently in the component design and developPROJECT ROVER 

The most probable choice of basic reactor design for later flight engine development, 

the KIWI-B4A, was initially tested at the Nuclear Rocket Development Station in 

Nevada on November 30, 1962. The test was cut short when flashes in the exhaust 

jet indicated that material was being ejected from the core of the reactor. 

disassembly and examination of the reactor revealed that most of the fuel elements 

in the core had broken or cracked, apparently the result of mechanical vibrations 

within the reactor. 

conducting an extensive program of component, subassembly, and full- scale mechanical and cold-flow (non-power producing) testing in order to examine, understand, 

and resolve the phenomena which may have caused the damage in the November power 

run. These design evaluation experiments have been conducted on an extensively 

instrumented reactor assembly identical to the KIWI-B4A except that it did not contain fissionable material. The data and camera records from these tests confirmed 

that excessive mechanical vibration was the primary cause for the failure of the 

llhotll test of the KIWI-B4A. 

Subsequent 

Consequently, major effort during 1963 has been directed to 

63 
In August, a KIWI-B4B cold flow reactor core test indicated that modifications 

incorporated into the design of its core would prevent it from experiencing, at 

least under cold-flow conditions, the vibration difficulties which its predecessor 

KIWI-B4A core had experienced. 

The KIWI-B2 reactor concept, whose core support de sign is distincly different 

from that of the B4 concept, was cold-flow tested in July. 

were observed. 

No mechanical vibrations 

The development of critical non-nuclear components for the NERVA (Nuclear engine 

for rocket vehicle application) engine such as the nozzle, the liquid hydrogen turbopump system, and the engine controls and actuators, has been initiated. Preparations also have begun for conducting engine system tests on a mockup NRX (NERVA 

Reactor Experimental) reactor. 

scheduled to begin late in 1963. 

The cold-flow experiments on NRX reactors are 

The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory has been devoting an increasing share of its 

capabilities to the PHOEBUS Prograp, which is expected to provide the technology 

for developing rocket reactors with higher power levels, longer operating times and 

increased re start capability. 

is investigating various alternate core concepts which use uniquely different cor? 

materials. 

the development of advanced propulsion systems. 

Paralleling this effort, the Argonne National Laboratory 

The total effort is aimed at providing an improved reactor technology for 

Despite labor difficulties with the crafts which slowed construction progress, modifications were made to some, and design services and conceptual studies are in 

progress on other, Nuclear Rocket Development Station Facilities at the AEC's 

Nevada Test Site. These facilities are being readied for testing the series of 

progressively higher power test reactors which will evolve into the flight reactors 

to be incorporated into the presently planned and the future envisioned nuclear 

rocket engines. 

PROJECT PLUTO 

During 1963 the AEC's PLUTO project to develop nuclear reactors for the DOD for 

possible use in low altitude supersonic ramjet missiles was reduced to development 

of the TORY IIC reactor only. In the absence of a specific DOD requirement, work 

leading to higher performance reactors was discontinued early in the year. 

Assembly of the TORY IIC reactor, the second in a series of reactors designed to 

lead to the eventual development of a flyable nuclear power plant, was completed 

during the first half of 1963. 

minimum required for a propulsion system to permit low altitude supersonic flight. 

On July 19, this flight-type reactor successfully achieved its initial criticality, 

i. e., a self-sustaining chain reaction. 

neutronic measurements and evaluations were performed which, to within small acceptable 

tolerances, confirmed de sign predictions. 

Its design power, temperature, and size are the 

From then until the middle of September, 

Following the completion of these criticality tests at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, the reactor was to be shipped to the AEC's Nevada Test Site where groundtesting was scheduled to begin during December. 

64 
The facilities at the Nevada Test Site which were used to test the TORY IIA initial 

engineering test reactor have been expanded and modified to accommodate the 

testing of the TORY IIC. This major construction project, completed in June, 

gives the test facility a capability of providing a five minute test run delivering air 

at about 2,000 pounds per second and 1, OOOo F, conditions which simulate the environment that a vehicle traveling at supersonic speeds at low altitude would encounter. 

Late in October, after the TORY IIC test facility had undergone several trial runs, 

an inspection revealed certain deficiencies in the expansion joints. 

repair and modification procedure was promptly initiated to restore the facility to 

sound operating conditions, shipment of the TORY IIC reactor from the Lawrence 

Radiation Laboratory to the Nevada Test Site is being withheld until the repairs 

and subsequent facility checkout are completed. 

TORY IIC reactor is consequently now expected to commence early in 1964 rather 

than late in 1963. 

Although a 

Initial nuclear testing of the 

SATELLITE-BASED DETECTION OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS IN SPACE 

In October, the successful launch of an ATLAS-AGENA rocket by the Department of 

Defense placed in orbit in space two AEC-instrumented detection satellites. 

satellite-based instruments, consisting of X-Ray, gamma-ray, and neutron radiation detectors, were developed, designed, and fabricated by the Los Alamos 

Scientific Laboratory. The Sandia Laboratory was responsible for the associated 

data processing electronic systems placed in the satellites, and for special equipment to test the performance of the systems in the satellites. 

The 

The October launch was the first of several authorized rocket launchings to place 

detection satellites in orbit; instruments and associated systems developmental 

work is continuing. 

65 
Chapter VI 

Department of State 

INTRO DU C TION 

Brought to fruition in 1963 were the protracted negotiations of a number of international agreements of worldwide interest and great importance. Particularly 

noteworthy were the approval by acclamation by the United Nations of a resolution 

which welcomed the expressions of the United States and the Soviet Union of their 

intentions not to station any objects carrying nuclear weapons or other kinds of 

weapons of mass destruction in outer space and a second resolution, also adopted 

by the General Assembly, which called upon all States to become parties to the 

treaty, signed in Moscow on August 5, 1963 banning nuclear weapon tests in the 

atmosphere, in outer space and under water. 

Many of the objectives proposed by the Department of State in past years also were 

brought to international agreement during 1963. Many of the proposals and recommendations tabled in the Outer Space Committee of the U. N. by the United States, 

i. e. scientific and technical cooperation and legal principles, were adopted unanimously by the General Assembly of the United Nations. 

The final actions of the Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference on Space 

Communications, held under the auspices of the International Telecommunications 

Union, were in considerable measure responsive to United States desires on the 

allocation of frequency bands for space communications. 

at this conference were frequency bands for radio astronomy, meteorology, navigational satellites, aeronautical amateur services, scientific re search, and most 

important, communications satellites. 

Successfully negotiated 

Negotiated or in the process of negotiation on behalf of NASA, are the renewal of 

tracking station agreements with Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, the U. K. and Zanzibar. 

U. N. RESOLUTIONS ON DISARMAMENT 

RELATED QUESTIONS INVOLVING OUTER SPACE 

On September 19, 1963, the Soviet Foreign Minister stated before the General 

Assembly that "the Soviet Government deems it necessary to reach agreement with 

the United States Government to ban the placing into orbit of objects with nuclear 

weapons on board, and expressed awareness that the United States took a positive 

view toward a solution of this problem. The following day President Kennedy, in 

his address to the Assembly, said: "We must continue to seek agreement, encouraged 

by yesterday's affirmative response to this proposal by the Soviet Foreign Minister, 

on an arrangement to keep weapons of mass destruction out of outer space. 

On October 16, 1963 Committee I of the General Assembly, while considering the 

que stion of disarmament, approved by acclamation a re solution, cosponsored by all 

of the participants in the 18-Nation Commfttee on Disarmament, which (a) welcomed 

67 
the expressions by the United States and the Soviet Union of their intention not to 

station any objects carrying nuclear weapons or other kinds of weapons of mass destruction in outer space, and (b) called upon all States to refrain from placing such 

objects in orbit. The U. S. Ambassador, speaking before Committee I, recalled that 

this resolution set forth a policy which had already been adopted by the United States, 

and said that he was glad the intentions of the Soviet Union in this regard were the 

same as our own. While reaffirming the intentions of the United States, he made 

clear that "if events as yet unforeseen suggest the need for a further look at this 

matter, we would acquaint the United Nations with such events. It The General Assembly adopted the resolution by acclamation in plenary session on October 17, 1963. 

On November 27, 1963, the General Assembly adopted, by a vote of 104 in favor, one 

against (Albania) and three abstentions, a resolution which called upon all States to 

become parties to the treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water, which was signed on August 5, 1963 by the United States, 

the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. 

ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE UNITED NATIONS 

Guidelines for United Nations activity in outer space for 1963 were laid down by General Assembly Resolution 1802 (XVII), adopted unanimously on December 14, 1962, 

on the initiative of the United States. 

The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the 

Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which met in Geneva from May 14 to 29, agreed upon 

a number of recommendations, including the following: (1) preparation by the U. N. 

Committee of a working paper on the activities of the United Nations and its specialized agencies relating to the peaceful uses of outer space and of a summary of national and co-operative international space activities based upon voluntary submissions; 

(2) compilation, in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and 

Cultural Organization (UNESCO), of information on facilities for education and training in basic subjects related to the peaceful uses of outer space in universities and 

other places of learning; (3) recommendation to Member States to give favorable consideration to requests of countries for training and technical assistance; and (4) establishment, at the request of the Government of India, of a group of scientists, to 

visit the sounding rocket launching site at Thumba and to advise the Committee on the 

acceptance of United Nations sponsor ship. In addition, the Subcommittee reviewed 

reports of the International Telecommunication Union on space communications and 

the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO) on its program involving satellite 

meteorology. 

The Legal Subcommittee, which met in New York from April 16 to May 3, was unable 

to record any progress at that time. 

Committee urged the adoption of general legal principles to guide the conduct of 

States in outer space upon which there was already wide agreement. The Soviet 

Union, however, opposed any recommendation on a set of principles that did not 

include four provisions to which the United States and other countries strongly 

objected. 

ing space activities to States; (c) requiring advance international consultation and 

agreement on national activities which might in any way hinder the exploration or 

use of outer space; (d) and condemning the use of satellites "for the collection of 

intelligence information. It The Soviet Delegation also insisted that a declaration on 

general principles must take the form of an international treaty or agreement, 

The United States and other members of the 

These were provisions (a) banning war propaganda in space; (b) restric68 
whereas the United States and others, believing a treaty to be premature, wished to 

see the general principles incorporated into a General Assembly resolution. 

The full committee met from September 9 to September 13 to consider the reports 

of its two Subcommittees. 

Technical Subcommittee. It also noted that as a result of the work of its Legal Subcommittee and subsequent exchanges of views, there had been a narrowing of differences on legal questions and expressed the hope that a wider consensus might be 

achieved by the time the General Assembly considered the Committee's report. 

It approved the recommendations of the Scientific and 

In accordance with the request of the U. N. Committee, the United States continued 

negotiations with the Soviet Union and with other Members of the Committee on legal 

matters. 

and on the desirability of preparing international agreements on liability for damage 

caused by objects launched into outer space and on assistance to and return of astronauts and space vehicles. 

tion of legal principles include the four provisions which had obstructed agreement 

in the spring and also agreed that the declaration should be in the form of a General 

Assembly resolution rather than a treaty. The Outer Space Committee on November 22, 1963 unanimously decided to submit to the General Assembly an agreed text. 

The negotiations yielded agreement on a declaration of legal principles 

The Soviet Union abandoned its insistence that the declaraThe Political Committee of the General Assembly adopted by acclamation the resolution containing the declaration of legal principles on December 5, 1963. The resolution was subsequently adopted unanimously in plenary session on December 13, 1963. 

The United States and all other members of the U. N. Space Committee except Albania 

co- sponsored in the General Assembly a second resolution approving the recommendations endorsed by the Space Committee on scientific and technical cooperation; encouraging the programs of the World Meteorological Organization and the International Telecommunication Union in the fields of satellite meteorology and communications, respectively; and calling upon the Committee to arrange for the preparation 

of draft international agreements on liability and assistance and return. The Political Committee adopted this resolution by acclamation on December 5, 1963, and 

the General Assembly approved the resolution unanimously in plenary session on 

December 13, 1963. 

The U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations opened the Political Committee's discussion of the two resolutions on December 2, 1963 with a major address. In this 

address he outlined progress toward freedom, peace, law and cooperation in the 

field of outer space. The Ambassador recalled that "President Kennedy proposed 

before the General Assembly last September to explore with the Soviet Union opportunities for working together in the conquest of space, including the sending of men 

to the moon as representatives of all of our countries. It The Ambassador stated: 

"President Johnson has instructed me to reaffirm that offer today. It 

In response to General Assembly Resolution 1721 (XVI), the United States has continued to register with the U. N. Secretariat all United States objects launched into 

orbit or beyond since mid-February, 1962. In a letter of June 6, 1963 to the 

Secretary-General of the United Nations, our Ambassador called attention to the 

failure of the Soviet Union to include in its registration data submitted to the United 

Nations a number of Soviet space vehicles launched into earth orbit. 

69 
The World Meteorological Organization undertook several significant steps to implement General Assembly Resolutions 1721 (XVI) and 1802 (XVII) at its Fourth Congress 

in Geneva in April. A comprehensive study was initiated looking toward the improvement of the worldwide weather system, including the use of both satellite and conventional data. 

WMO Advisory Committee of twelve highly qualified scientists and experts was 

established on operations, research and training aspects of meteorological activities 

and the atmospheric sciences. 

Member States were urged to cooperate in this study. In addition a 

The Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference on Space Communications held 

under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva in October and November allocated frequency bands for space communications. The work 

and results of this conference are dealt with below. Following the completion of this 

Conference, President Kennedy issued a statement observing that "This Government 

and the United States Communications Satellite Corporation can now take practical 

steps, in cooperation with other governments and foreign business entities, to develop 

a single global commercial space communications system. 

policy of the United States that all countries which wish to participate in the ownership, management and use of this system will have an opportunity to do so. '' 

It continues to be the 

BILATERAL AGREEMENTS AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

In the spring of 1963 a senior NASA official met again with a senior representative 

of the Academy of Sciences of the U. S. S. R. to develop the broad steps to be taken to 

implement the bilateral technical agreement on cooperative space projects which had 

been reached between NASA and the Soviet Academy in 1963, i. e. : (1) the coordinated launching of meteorological satellites and the exchange of weather data from 

them; (2) a joint effort to map the magnetic field of the earth by means of coordinated 

launchings of geomagnetic satellites and related ground observations; (3) cooperation 

in the experimental relay of communications via an ECHO satellite. 

These meetings resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding which was approved by 

NASA and the Soviet Academy on August 1, 1963. The U. S. representative on 

August 23, 1963, advised the Soviet representative that NASA was ready to proceed 

with the implementation of these projects and urged early action. He designated the 

American officials who would serve on working groups to bring the projects to 

fruition, and suggested detailed courses of action for each of the three projects. 

Further progress awaits action by the Soviet Academy. 

In his address to the eighteenth General Assembly of the United Nations the President 

proposed to explore with the Soviet Union opportunities for working together in the 

conquest of space, including the sending of men to the moon as representatives of 

all our countries. As a means of accomplishing this objective he further suggested 

that scientists and astronauts of all the world band together to eliminate duplications 

of re search, construction and expenditures necessitated by lunar exploration. 

The Department undertook bilateral negotiations with a number of countries on items 

ranging from support of NASA programs to arrangements for communications 

satellite demonstrations. 

In support of NASA programs the Department commenced negotiations with Spain for 

a deep space instrumentation facility to be located near Madrid. At the close of the 

70 
year negotiations for this facility were still underway. The State Department negotiated with Nigeria for the stationing of a ship, the USNS Kingsport in Lagos Harbor 

which was used in connection with the Project SYNCOM communications satellite. 

The Department also made arrangements with Japan for the first trans-Pacific 

television transmission using the RELAY communications satellite. 

were made with Spain for a European demonstration of the SYNCOM communications 

satellite involving the stationing of the USNS Kingsport in Rota, Spain, after its 

departure from Lagos, Nigeria, with terminal facilities at Geneva, Switzerland and 

Washington and New York. 

the Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference of the ITU. 

Arrangements 

This latter demonstration was held during the meeting of 

International agreements were signed in 1963 with Japan, Sweden, Norway and Denmark for joint participation in intercontinental testing of experimental communications satellites. An international agreement was also signed with France for a cooperative program to investigate the propagation of very low frequency electromagnetic waves in the earth's upper atmosphere. The Department continued to facilitate 

the work of Project SAN MARCO, in which the Italians will place a satellite into an 

equatorial orbit using a SCOUT launch vehicle from the "Texas tower" type platform 

in the Indian Ocean. 

An officer of the Department served as a member of a committee chaired by USIA 

for international program demonstrations via communications satellites which were 

by RELAY and SYNCOM. 

for the conduct of the demonstrations. 

He helped to formulate and institute Procedure Guidelines 

In 1959 and 1960 the Department negotiated agreements with Australia, Mexico, the 

United Kingdom and Spain providing for the establishment and operation within their 

jurisdictions of satellite tracking stations in support of the U. S. manned spaceflight 

program. A number of these agreements were scheduled to expire in 1963. 

Department undertook steps to insure the continued use of the facilities by negotiating 

extensions, as appropriate, of the relevant agreements. 

sion of the agreements with Mexico, Spain and the U. K. have been completed. Arrangements for the Zanzibar and Nigerian facilities are still under consideration. 

The 

Negotiations for the extenExtensive preparatory work and contingency planning was done prior to the May 15- 

16, 22-orbit flight of Major Leroy Gordon Cooper which was the last flight in the 

MERCURY series. The Department's planning contemplated every possible contingency that could occur in the event of an unplanned emergency landing. 

85 embassies, 17 consulates and 8 regional telecommunications centers were on the 

alert throughout the course of the flight to facilitate, if necessary, search and rescue operations. The planning, which was developed in close cooperation with NASA, 

also included thorough coordination with 16 major military commanders. Throughout the flight the Department maintained a special coordinating center and watch 

office which advised the Secretary of State and other principal officers as to the exact 

location of the astronaut at any given time and was prepared to inform them of the 

probabilities of an unplanned contingency landing ia a foreign territory or at sea. 

More than 

SPACE COMMUNICATIONS 

In January and February of 1963 the 10th Plenary Assembly of the InternationalRadio Consultative Committee (CCIR) met in Geneva to study technical and scientific 

problems affecting space radio communications and radio astronomy. The findings 

71 
of the conference are important as they have a direct bearing on the technical characteristics of future communications satellites. 

ration of the U. S. proposals and a Department officer was chairman of the U. S. 

dele gation. 

The Department organized the prepaThe 18th Session of the Administrative Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) which was convened on March 23, 1963, supported the U. S. proposals which were determining factors in establishing the agenda for the October frequency allocation conference. U. S. proposals were designed to enable the orderly 

development and operation of the space programs of the United States and other nations. 

of State officer. 

The U. S. representative on the Administrative Council was also a Department 

Planning for the Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference (EARC) convened in 

Geneva October 7, 1963, for the purpose to allocate frequency bands for space communications, telemetry, radio astronomy, meteorology, navigational satellite s, 

aeronautical and amateur services and scientific research was coordinated by the Department in conjunction with the Inter -Departmental Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC), 

industry and scientific groups. 

amended the existing international Radio Regulations to the extent necessary to make 

the desired frequency bands available on an exclusive, shared or joint user--non-interference basis. 

when teams of experts were sent to numerous foreign countries to explain the U. S. 

allocations proposals. These proposals had been given wide and earlier distribution. 

Allocations obtained at the space radio communications conference, although not in 

all cases those proposed by the United States, 'are believed to be of sufficient quantity and quality to accommodate the presently projected U. S. requirements in the services mentioned. 

To make the necessary allocations, the Conference 

The preparatory work started in 1960 and was intensified in 3963 

Although the conference was technical in nature and the agenda limited to frequency 

allocations and related technical matters, the opportunity was seized to impress upon the delegations the policy of the U. s. , established by the President and reflected 

in the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 that a commercial communications satellite service should be organized as a single global system with non-discriminatory 

access to all nations. 

space powers of the world would pre-empt allocated frequencies for space communications by prior utilization, thus precluding small-nation participation in the development of a global communications satellite system, were largely allayed. 

The fears of a number of smaller countries that the major 

Progress was made in the implementation of the Communications Satellite Act of 

1962. Starting late in the fall of that year, preliminary discussions were held with a 

number of foreign countries to explain the United States policy of a single global system for commercial satellite communication, with opportunities for participation in 

ownership, management and use by all interested countries. Following the organization of the Communications Satellite Corporation and the appointment of its principal 

executives, the Department established close liaison with the Corporation. 

after Corporation officials, assisted by the Department, held a series of meetings 

with the representatives of a number of foreign telecommunications agencies with the 

result that a satisfactory groundwork has now been established permitting actual negotiations, for the orderly development of a global system, to start during the early 

months of 1964. 

the Executive Branch of the United States Government and the Communications Satellite Corporation. 

ThereThe negotiations will be conducted as a collaborative effort between 

72 
Chapter VI I 

National Science Foundation 

INTRODUCTION 

The principal. efforts of the National Science Foundation are directed toward the 

stimulation and support of basic research and education in the sciences. 

this activity is conducted at universities and non-profit institutions. 

Most of 

Significant research is also carried out at three National Research Centers, federally owned and supported by the National Science Foundation. 

tablished to provide essential research facilities, so large and expensive that it 

would have been impractical for most individual unive,rsities to have constructed 

them. 

endeavors SO broad in scope that the cooperative efforts of a number of institutions 

are required to execute them. 

resident staff and by visiting university scientists. 

They have been esThe Centers also constitute nuclei for planning and executing research 

Research at the Centers is carried out both by the 

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (West Virginia) 

The new 300-foot radio telescope has been used almost continuously for a number 

of research programs primarily conducted by an impressive list of visiting astronomers. 

sources for possible polarization of their radiation; measuring the distribution of 

hydrogen gas in the Andromeda galaxy and in our own galaxy; exhaustive survey of 

all the radio sources in a strip of the sky at t400 declination. 

Examples of investigations carried out in 1963 are: study of 120 radio 

Construction of a 140-foot precision telescope, after long delays, is now going forward, with the expectation that fabrication and erection of the major aluminum and 

steel components will be completed in December, 1964. 

Work has started on the addition of a second 85-foot radio telescope to be used in 

conjunction with the existing 85-foot dish as a two-element interferometer. 

new telescope will be mounted on wheels SO that it can be moved along a runway to 

distances of up to 9, 000 feet from its twin. 

The 

The Kitt Peak National Observatory (Arizona) 

The new 60-inch solar telescope is the largest instrument of its kind in the world. 

Although the chore of debugging and testing has continued throughout most of the 

year, the instrument has been used part-time for research programs and soon will 

be in full-time operation. 

graphic dispersions may make it the first optical telescope to be used around the 

clock. In addition to providing photographs of the solar spectrum and of sunspot 

velocity fields, it has been used at night to photograph stars, planets and the moon. 

Its great light-gathering power and variety of spectroA new 84-inch stellar telescope is essentially completed by still undergoing tests. 

The mirror gives evidence of being extremely accurate. Some magnificent photographs of star clusters have already been obtained with it, and photoelectric 

73 
photometry has also started. 

In the Space Division, work is continuing on the remotely-operated 50-inch telescope. Space research programs have been initiated, including the firing of two 

Aerobee rockets equipped with spectrometers to measure dayglow idthe upper 

atmosphere. Studies of the glow of the night sky are also being carried out with 

special photometers on Kitt Peak. 

Cerro Tololo Inter -American Observatorv (Chile) 

The major effort during the past year has been the completion of a 14-mile road 

linking the observatory site with the nearest existing road. Research is already 

underway on Tololo with one of Kitt Peak's two 16-inch reflecting telescopes which 

is used to set up photoelectric standards in the southern hemisphere. 

mountain now accessible, construction of the required buildings and telescopes can 

be started at a rapid pace. 

will be in operation in mid 1965. 

With the 

It is expected that a 60-inch and a 36-inch telescope 

The E. 0. Hulbert Center for Space Research (Washington, D. C. ) 

A grant to the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D. C. for the establishment of this Center is permitting university faculty members and post - 

doctoral fellows to reside at the Center and to participate in astrophysical research 

from space platforms with the distinguished NRL team. 

ment the existing NRL effort by the addition of a number of major space experiments 

each year for the guest investigators, and is expected to greatly strengthen U. S. 

research in space physics. 

This support will suppleStratoscope I1 

The first scientific balloon flight of Stratoscope I1 (a balloon-borne 36-inch telescope operating by remote control at an altitude of about 80, 000 feet) took place on 

March 1, 1963 from the newly completed launch facility at Palestine, Texas. The 

purpose was to determine the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere of Mars by 

scanning the infrared spectrum of the planet in the wavelength region 1 and 7 M. 

Although the launch went perfectly the scientific results were marginal because of 

several malfunctions such as interference and electronic failures. Further scientific flights are planned for 1964. 

The International Year of the Quiet Sun (IQSY) 

The International Year of the Quiet Sun is a concerted 24-month effort to study the 

geophysical and interplanetary environment of the earth during the period of sunspot minimum. As such, it is a space activity, particularly since the earth and 

its atmosphere form the most sensitive probe of the space environment available 

to us so far. We have much to learn about the operation of this probe and how it 

responds to the varying inputs of solar particles and radiation. In doing this we 

add to our basic understanding of the earth, the atmosphere and exosphere, space, 

and solar radiation. These interlocking goals are the purpose of the IQSY. 

The program for the IQSY consists of internationally coordinated research projects 

in meteorology, geomagnetism, aurora, airglow, ionospheric physics, solar radio 

74 
astronomy, solar activity, the interplanetary medium, cosmic rays, trapped particles, and aeronomy. 

world days and special intervals so as to assure appropriate simultaneity and dispersion. Results are brought together in World Data Centers which assure international dissemination of data for analysis and interpretation. More than sixty 

countries are involved, each supporting its own activities. The United States program consists of researches by a number of Federal and private agencies, and of a 

number of special projects, funded through the National Science Foundation, which 

are undertaken to enhance or to exploit the coordinated aspects of IQSY. 

The cooperative observations are geared to a calendar of 

In calendar year 1963, the major United States efforts were planning, and the initiation of projects with long lead times for the construction of equipment. Grants 

were made in FY 1963 for projects to study the stratosphere, ionosphere, aurora, 

magnetic field, whistlers (sounds heard over voice radio generated by some lightning discharges) cosmic rays, and solar flares. The equipments are all expected 

to be in operation by January 1, 1964, as the IQSY begins. 

High TemDerature Gas Dvnamics 

Continuing support is being given to a research program at Harvard University on 

the properties of gases at high temperatures. While the data being obtained are not 

oriented toward a particular application, a knowledge of gas properties at elevated 

temperatures is fundamental to the solution of such problems as heat transfer from 

space vehicles upon entry into the atmosphere of a planet, spacecraft power production and spacecraft propulsion by ionized gases. This research team has published 

theoretically determined data on the high temperature thermal and electrical properties of helium and has recently completed an attempt at experimental verification 

of these data. The results of theory and experiment differ by a factor of 2, and an 

effort will be made by the group to resolve this discrepancy before proceeding to the 

study of the properties of hydrogen, which is a major constituent in the upper 

atmosphere. 

The aerodynamic behavior of an ablating body is being studied under an NSF grant 

at the University of Florida. 

since the problem of heating of a space vehicle on re-entry is currently solved by 

ablation. 

This work is of potential interest to space technology 

The drag and heating of meteors, satellites and space vehicles moving through lowdensity atmospheres at high speeds can be simulated using a hypersonic molecular 

beam developed under a research grant at the University of California, Los Angeles. 

75 
Chapter VI11 

Department of Commerce 

INTRODUCTION 

The Department of Commerce both supports and makes use of the nation's space 

program through activities of the Weather Bureau, Coast and Geodetic Survey and the 

National Bureau of Standards. Applications of satellites to the operations of ships at 

sea are under review in the Maritime Administration. 

WEATHER BUREAU 

Space activities of the U. S. Weather Bureau are carried out through its National 

Weather Satellite Center (NWSC), Suitland, Md. During 1963 NWSC operations were 

highlighted by: 

a. 

b. 

C. 

d. 

e. 

f. 

g. 

the continued use of TIROS-derived data for operational weather 

analysis and forecasting; 

implementation of TOSS (TIROS Operational Satellite System); 

cancellation of plans for a Nimbus -based operational system 

and initiation of steps to provide an interim and then long-term 

substitute ; 

continuation of meteorological support to NASA manned spaceflight programs; 

interim completion and dedication of the NWSC Data Processing 

and Analysis Facility; 

progress in Meteorological Satellite Laboratory research programs; 

and 

furtherance of the international distribution and use of weather 

satellite observations. 

Use of TIROS Data for Analyses and Forecasting 

The beginning of the year found two satellites - - - TIROS V and VI- - -in operation. 

June 19 a third, TIROS VII, was orbited. TIROS V had ceased functioning in May, 

however, and TIROS VI did the same in October after 320 and 388 days of operating 

life respectively. TIROS VI11 was successfully launched on December 21 and began 

operations that date. 

On 

Throughout 1963, at least one, and sometimes two, TIROS spacecraft were in orbit 

and operation. 

sequences and 82, 687 useable individual pictures. 

Their combined observations provided 3, 052 useable picture 

77 
On the basis of this coverage, 179 adjustments were made to the weather analyses 

of the National Meteorological Center, 79 Satellite Storm Advisories were trans - 

mitted to foreign countries, and 129 Satellite Storm Advisories were issued to 

Weather Bureau activities in the continental United States. 

in number, were provided to U. S. Navy Weather Centrals and U. S. Air Force 

Weather Centrals and U. S. Air Force Weather Detachments overseas. 

Similar advisories, 325 

Out of 41 named tropical storms, TIROS cameras were instrumental in locating or 

positioning 17. 

During 1963 a number of picture-taking sequences were programed to support 

specific projects or operations. These included: 

a. the International Indian Ocean Expedition; 

b. experimental ice reconnaissance; 

c. Project MERCURY (flight MA-9); 

d. observation of the solar eclipse; 

e. sea swell studies (University of California); 

f. Antarctic resupply; 

g. tropical research (Florida State University); and 

h. U. S. Navy and Air Force Research and experimental programs. 

The opening in September of a third Command and Data Acquisition Station, located 

at Fairbanks, Alaska, to complement the readout capabilities of the existing stations 

at Wallops Island, Va., and Point Mugu, Calif., greatly facilitated TIROS operations 

during the remainder of the year. 

Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) Test 

The entry-into-operation of TIROS VU1 (December 21) was noteworthy for the APT 

system which it carried aloft. 

system enabled cloud cover pictures to be scanned slowly for automatic direct readout to ground stations equipped to receive them. 

seconds for approximately 30 minutes of each orbit, proved the feasibility of APT and 

laid the groundwork for use of the system in follow-on spacecraft. 

Using a so-called "sticky vidicon" camera, this 

Test pictures, taken every 208 

Implementation of TOSS 

Essentially TIROS is a NASA research and development program. 

valuable information obtained from its flights has been a by-product or outgrowth of 

its prime experimental usage. 

ments, these operations are expected to involve schedules and orbits not necessarily 

conducive to the production of data operationally useful to the Weather Bureau. 

The operationally 

As NASA plans further TIROS flights and experiRecognizing this, the Bureau in late 1962 began discussions with NASA intended to 

78 
help maximize the continuity of weather satellite data by interspersing operational 

Weather Bureau-funded TIROS launches among NASA's research and development 

flights. This plan to deploy operational TIROS spacecraft was assigned the name 

TOSS (TIROS Operational Satellite System). 

On May 23, 1963, TOSS was formally implemented when the Weather Bureau issued 

a $9,132,000 Purchase Order to NASA providing for three TIROS spacecraft, two 

THOR-DELTA launch vehicles, plus associated launch, data acquisition, programing 

and data analysis services. 

TIROS VI with its two wide-angle cameras. The third would embody a "cartwheel" 

configuration, producing vertically oriented pictures taken by cameras looking out 

from the spacecraft rim. 

The first two TOSS spacecraft would be identical to 

The first NASA launching of a Weather Bureau TOSS satellite is expected in calendar 

1964. 

Cancellation of Plans for a NIMBUS-Based Operational System 

When Congress in September 1961 appropriated funds to the Weather Bureau to establish and operate a National Operational Meteorological Satellite System (NOMSS), 

the national inventory of weather-reporting spacecraft consisted of only two models: 

TIROS and NIMBUS. The other was under development. The first was in a flight status. 

Because TIROS has severe performance and observation limitations, it was decided to 

base NOMSS initially upon the NIMBUS vehicle. It was expected that this secondgeneration weather satellite would provide the earth-oriented global coverage required. 

During 1963 the National Weather Satellite Center (NWSC) undertook a series of operational analyses and cost effectiveness studies for use in planning the further implementation of the operational system. 

reason of its cost and projected lifetime, NIMBUS was not well suited for routine operational usage and (b) other satellite concepts seemed better adapted to meeting 

Weather Bureau requirements. 

From these resulted the conclusions that (a) for 

Ensuing Department of Commerce/NASA discussions reached the following conclusions (in late September and early October): 

a. that further Weather Bureau funding of NIMBUS would be discontinued 

and plans terminated for a NIMBUS-based operational system; 

b. that the cooperative program which had existed between the Weather 

Bureau as the user and NASA as the spacecraft system developer 

would be continued; 

c. that this program would be re-oriented to provide for the development 

of an Operational Meteorological Satellite (OMS) which would possess 

the cost, reliability, lifetime, and other requisites recommended by 

the NWSC analyses and studies; 

79 
d. that because this OMS would require three years or more to develop, 

an Interim Operational Meteorological Satellite (IOMS), based 

upon TIROS technology, would be evolved and placed in operational 

service to fulfill Weather Bureau needs; and 

e. that the NASA NIMBUS research and development effort would be 

continued for the space technology advances and experience 

benefits which such continuation would provide, particularly to 

the IOMS and OMS programs. 

It is estimated that the first IOMS will be launched early in calendar 1965, the 

initial OMS, in the 1968 period. 

Meteorological Support to NASA Manned Spaceflight Programs 

To provide meteorological assistance to NASA's MERCURY, GEMINI, and APOLLO 

programs, NWSC's Spaceflight Meteorology Group utilized the services of its 

detachments at Miami, Cape Kennedy, Xnd the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, 

in addition to its own headquarters staff at Suitland. 

During the year the Group achieved the following: 

a. continued studies of the weather problems for MERCURY recovery 

operations for all ocean areas beneath the MERCURY track; 

b. provided operational forecasting services for the last MERCURY 

flight (MA- 9) ; 

c. expanded its general climatological studies to include all water 

and potential terrestrial landing areas for follow-on manned 

spacecraft; 

d. began providing forecasts to the Manned Spacecraft Center for use 

in connection with GEMINI and APOLLO systems testing, primarily 

in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas; and 

e. conducted instruction in meteorology to the second group of astronauts, 

stressing not only weather as it affects their operations but also what 

they as spaceborne observers and experimenters might do to advance 

meteorological knowledge. 

NWSC Data Processing and Analysis Facility 

The National Weather Satellite Center, created by the Weather Bureau as its management tool for the establishment and operation of NOMSS, is an operational as well as 

administrative headquarters. 

sensed by weather satellites and transmitted to Suitland and the Center by wideband 

communication links. 

will be used (a) to generate TV pictures with latitude and longitude grid lines superimposed and (b) to provide computer-produced digitized and rectified mosaics and 

other products. These products will then be interpreted by NWSC analysts and 

Into NWSC will come television and infrared data 

There this information concerning the earth's atmosphere 

80 
communicated, together with their analyses, to the world meteorological 

community . 

The fulfillment of this task requires considerable data processing capability. 

September 6, this capability, represented by recording, formatting, digitizing, and 

computing equipment, was declared to be in a state of interim readiness and the 

NWSC Data Processing and Analysis Facility officially dedicated by the Chief of the 

Weather Bureau. 

On 

Meteorological Satellite Laboratory (MSL) Research 

MSL comprises a major activity within NWSC. 

investigations, and experimental programs, it seeks (1 ) to extract the maximum 

possible weather information from satellite observations and (2) to find new ways 

to obtain and apply such observations to the betterment of the various services 

provided by the Weather Bureau. 

By analytical studies, research 

During the year, MSlL continued its work on cloud picture and infrared data analysis. 

The development and movement of storms and weather phenomena were studied in 

search of new information concerning their behavior and how to predict them 

ac cur at e ly . 

Of particular interest among the fifty or so projects under way was the work carried 

on (1) to test the feasibility of improving the Numerical Weather Prediction model 

using satellite data, (2) to determine or devise methods for inferring atmospheric 

motions from satellite cloud pictures, (3) to investigate the possibility of using 

reflection patterns of the sun on the sea surface and radiation data from satellites 

to estimate wind speeds over water surfaces, and (4) to experiment in viewing the 

earth's cloud cover using the near-infrared portion of the spectrum. 

project, a hand-held camera containing infrared film and three separate filters was 

used by the MA-9 astronaut to obtain photographs in the 6600 to 9000 Ao range. 

These pictures revealed that the strong emission from vegetation tended to decrease 

the contrast between clouds and land surfaces as compared with photographs made in 

the visible range. Film definition and contrast between land and sea areas were 

termed "excellent. 'I 

For this last 

International Distribution and Use of Observations 

June 1963 saw the beginning of the first full year of overseas facsimile broadcasts 

of satellite-derived meteorological information. 

facsimile and photofacsimile transmissions beamed toward Manila, Frankfurt, San 

Juan, and, at times of significant Australian information, toward Melbourne. 

These took the form of standard 

The past twelve months additionally saw certain nations - -specifically Argentina, 

Ireland, Israel, and, on a part-time basis, the United Arab Republic-- start retransmitting pertinent standard satellite cloud analyses (nephanalyses) received 

via these international broadcasts. 

information to other local users is an important step toward achieving optimum 

utilization of the weather data which these nephanalys-es contain. 

The willingness of these countries to relay the 

Special interest was attached to the agreement dated March 20, 1963, between the 

U. S. S. R. Academy of Sciences and NASA. This laid the future basis (1 ) for exchange 

81 
of satellite-derived meteorological information (cloud photos and nephanalyses) over 

a communication link between Moscow and Washington (Suitland) and (2) for the coordinated launchings of operational weather satellites in the future. 

Weather Satellites and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 

The Quadrennial Congress of the World Meteorological Organization was held in 

April 1963. 

including developments in meteorological satellite programs. The WMO, led largely 

by United States interests and proposals, had responded to United Nations Resolution 

1721 calling for extensive international activity in meteorology, with its "First 

Report on the Advancement of Atmospheric Sciences and Their Application in the 

Light of Developments in Outer Space. This report called for extensive research 

and operational effort in the atmospheric sciences and developed the concept of the 

"World Weather Watch" to assist in reaching these objectives. 

again responding to United States proposals, considered the new United Nations 

Resolution 1802 which requested the WMO to develop in greater detail its pIans for 

an intensive program to strengthen meteorological services and research with particular emphasis on artificial satellites, education, and training. The United States 

proposed the establishment by the WMO of a new Development Fund to assist in implementation of the "World Weather Watch. I1 This concept was adopted unanimously. 

The United States also introduced proposals for system study on a worldwide bash of 

requirements for improvement in data availability and facilities for research, operations, education, and training. The United States announced and described the newly 

developed automatic picture transmission system for use on meteorological satellites 

which will permit suitably equipped ground stations to acquire pictorial data of 

meteorological conditions in their local area. 

One of the major items considered was peaceful uses of outer space, 

The WMO Congress, 

Other 

Establishment of. a National Meteorological Rocket Network (NMRN) under overall 

management responsibility of the Weather Bureau--see Report to the Congress from 

the President on United States Aeronautics and Space Activities, 1962--did not 

materialize during 1963 owing to lack of funding. 

Project SKYWATCH was undertaken in the summer and again in the fall of 1963. 

program made use of the help available from students in the Washington, D. C. , area 

to record observations of clouds and weather conditions. Assisted by local newspapers which published the times that TIROS would overfly the area, these school 

children observed and sketched the clouds, using specially-prepared SKYWATCH observation forms. They recorded also wind speed and direction, humidity, temperature, and precipitation where school-owned weather instruments were available. The 

data thus recorded by these youngsters--a thousand from over 200 schools participated in the October experiment--were forwarded daily to NWSC for subsequent research analysis. In addition to the eventual value of correlating these high-density 

ground observations with the pictures taken by the passing satellite, the impetus 

given to student and teacher interest in meteorology made this program a major 

achievement of the year. 

This 

82 
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 

The Coast and Geodetic Survey has been active in the development of photogrammetric satellite tracking systems to be used primarily for establishing a world 

geometric geodetic control net. 

space projects. 

The Survey has also been active in support of other 

Geodetic Triangulation Apparatus and System Planning 

The Coast and Geodetic Survey has completed the technical development of three 

precision photogrammetric satellite tracking systems for use in geodetic satellite 

triangulation using passive (sun-lit) satellites. 

completed satisfactorily. 

with the three cameras side by side to establish that the position of the satellite, 

photographed against a stellar background, was the same for all cameras. The 

second consists of photographing ECHO-1 and ANNA 1B with the three cameras 

located at the corners of a triangle, one each in Maryland, Mississippi, and 

Minnesota. Many simultaneous photographs of ECHO 1 and several of ANNA 1B have 

been obtained and computations of the results are in progress. Preliminary results 

are very encouraging and indicate that it will be possible to define, for the first time, 

a network having an accuracy commensurate with increasingly rigorous civilian and 

defense requirements. 

lation to Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the Canal Zone. 

The first evaluation phase has been 

This consisted of photographing ECHO- 1 simultaneously 

Present plans are to extend the present satellite trianguA system study is in progress to provide a comparison between sun-lit and incandescent satellites for measurement of the worldwide geodetic reference system. 

The study will also be used for determining the ground operations that would provide 

the necessary data at least cost. 

Missile Range Measurements 

Extensive geodetic surveys have been made during the year at both Atlantic and 

Pacific Missile Ranges. These were done to provide essential data for the tracking 

of test missiles over the ranges and for the launching phases of earth satellites and 

space vehicles. 

Magnetic Field Studies 

NASA has continued to use the Coast and Geodetic Survey's large-coil facility at its 

Fredericksburg, Md., Observatory during the past year for the test and calibration 

of a number of instrument packages designed for satellite installation. 

only facility known in the United States having fully automatic controls and capable of 

maintaining near -zero magnetic field intensities for the duplication of outer space 

magnetic conditions. Special equipment has been used at times in these coils for 

producing wide ranges of temperatures and high vacuum conditions as well as the 

controlled magnetic fields. 

This is the 

The analysis and interpretation of magnetic measurements made in orbiting vehicles 

and space probes must be correlated with the distribution of the magnetic field at the 

earth's surface, the latter portrayed by C&GS "world magnetic charts. 

oceanic areas have inadequate magnetic measurements and the U. S. Naval Oceanographic Office through its Project MAGNET is attempting to supply these through 

But vast 

83 
airborne magnetic surveys. 

calibrate its airborne magnetometers. 

The Navy has used the Fredericksburg Observatory to 

The C&GS has a cooperative project with NASA and the National Science Foundation 

for the study of geomagnetic data from an array of observatories throughbut the 

world. The study will produce a mathematical description of the temporal changes 

in the magnetic field which will be used in the evaluation and analysis of magnetic 

measurements made with satellite and space probe vehicles. 

Seismic Studies 

The C&GS has monitored the seismic effects of several vehicle launches at the 

Atlantic Missile Range. 

launch of April 28. The objective of the C&GS seismic monitoring program was to 

obtain data on seismic conditions generated within the Cape Kennedy Missile Test 

Complex and vicinity by missile launches, and to provide consequently an estimate 

of the probable seismic conditions to be generated by launches of larger vehicles. 

These included the Moon Probe of April 23, and the Saturn 4 

Analysis of the seismic data obtained made possible the prediction of the seismic 

effects from vehicle launches with engines of .075 to 1. 3 million pounds of thrust 

with possible extrapolation to much larger vehicles. 

Special Maps for Space Activities 

The C&GS has prepared and furnished two maps to Aracon Laboratories, Concord, 

Mass. , (lander contract to Meteorology Research Laboratories, AFCRL, Bedford, 

Mass.). 

of 500 miles, and are printed in 8 tones from black to white as depicted on photographs taken from the TIROS Satellite. 

future photographs relayed from other satellites. 

The two maps portray that portion of the earth as seen from an altitude 

They are to be used to index and interpret 

Also under preparation by C&GS for the Navy are three charts of the Pacific Missile 

Range for "Official Use Only. I' 

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS 

Because the national space program ranges across the broad spectrum of science 

and engineering, many NBS projects contribute substantially, although sometimes 

indirectly, to the national space effort. The Bureau's efforts to provide leadership 

in measurement techniques, the properties of materials, in radio propagation, and 

cryogenic engineering are frequently spurred in by the exacting demands of the space 

program. 

Basic Measurement Standards and Techniaues 

For several years the Bureau has been conducting a research program for calibrating 

master gage blocks in order to meet the stringent calibration requirements imposed 

by increasingly small tolerances in industry. Many of these requirements are 

associated with the guidance systems of space vehicles.. 

have now been developed which are dimensionally stable to better than one 10- 

millionth of an inch per year. 

Two types of gage blocks 

84 
The accurate measurement of spectral irradiance has assumed increasing importance 

in connection with studies of the irradiance to which space vehicles will be subjected. 

During the year a new standard of spectral irradiance was developed in the form of 

a 200-watt quartz-iodine lamp with a coiled tungsten filament operating at about 

30 0 OOK. 

Research continued on atomic standards of frequency and time which are vital to the 

space program. 

promises to have a precision about twice that of the cesium standard now used to 

maintain the United States Frequency Standard with an accuracy better than one 

second in 3000 years. In addition, a thallium beam standard was evaluated and it 

appears that it may provide an improvement of one order of magnitude in accuracy 

over that of cesium. 

A new cesium beam frequency standard was constructed which 

Standard Reference Data -- Basic Properties of Matter and Materials 

Basic information on the properties and behavior of matter and materials is fundamental to the design and execution of experiments, the design of systems and components, and the reliability of complex equipment which is typical of the space program. 

fundamental physical constants, the Bureau launched a new program in 1963 which 

should go far toward insuring that reference data needed by scientists and engineers 

is available when and where it is required. 

In addition to existing experimental programs in materials research and 

A National Standard Reference Data System is now being set up which will consist of 

a National Standard Reference Data Center at NBS, and various other Standard 

Reference Data Centers in other government agencies and at uniuersities, research 

institutes, and other non-government organizations. 

Under the sponsorship of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Bureau 

continued its comprehensive program of research on the thermodynamic properties 

and high temperature chemistry of simple light-element substances that are important in rocket propulsion. Microwave spectra have been detected and analyzed 

for such molecules as aluminum monofluoride and aluminum monochloride, which 

do not exist at room temperature but which are important constituents in rocket 

combusion systems. 

New information of interest to space scientists on the atomic energy levels of the 

rar.e gases helium, neon, and argon was also obtained in a series of independent 

experiments which utilized both electron and photon interactions. 

Radio Propagation Studies 

The Bureau's Central Radio Propagation Laboratory (CRPL) in Boulder, Colorado, 

is concerned with the collection, analysis and dissemination of information on the 

propagation of radio waves at all frequencies along the surface of the earth, in the 

atmosphere and in outer space. The very broad research program conducted by the 

CRPL contributes in numerous ways to improved understanding of upper atmosphere 

and solar phenomena in addition to improved space telecommunications. The following examples cover only a very few of the CRPL activities which directly support the 

national space program. 

85 
During 1963 ground-based studies of the inonosphere in the vicinity of the earth's 

equator were made by a scatter radar technique at the Jicamarca (Peru) Observatory 

of CRPL and of the Instituto Ceofisico de Huancayo (Peru). 

located on the magnetic equator near Lima, employs a 6 -million-watt transmitter 

and a 22-acre antenna to transmit a very high frequency radio wave of extremely 

short duration to great heights. 

the distribution of electron density with height out to 6000 miles or more above the 

earth's surface. 

This observatory, 

The primary function of the installation is to study 

In cooperation with the Instituto Geofisico de Hyancayo, the Jicamarca Observatory 

made a series of measurements of the synchrotron radiation that was emitted by the 

man-made belt of high-energy electrons which formed as a result of the high-altitude 

nuclear detonation occurring above Johnson Island in the Pacific on July 9, 1962. 

From these measurements, made at 30 and 50 megacycles per second, the number, 

energy spectrum, and decay rate of the electrons were derived -- information that 

will help improve understanding of the physics of the upper atmosphere. The extremely high radar sensitivity available at Jicamarca also made possible thk detection of radar echoes from Venus when the planet was observable from Lima during the 

first week of December 1962. 

During the orbital flights of Astronauts Shirra and Cooper, special efforts were made 

by the staff at the North Atlantic Radio Warning Service located at Ft. Belvoir, Va., 

to keep Project MERCURY- headquarters informed of current and anticipated radio 

propagation conditions. 

previous to the flights and at every hour during the flights, specifically for the high 

frequency circuits which comprise the Project MERCURY ground communications 

network. 

Special forecasts of radio propagation conditions were issued 

CRPL participated with NASA and the Defense Research Telecommunications Establishment of Canada in the analysis of data from the ALOUETTE topside sounder 

launched in September 1962. 

million ionograms in an orbit which permits almost pole-to-pole analysis of the 

topside of the ionosphere. 

The sounder has produced more than a quarter of a 

Other CRPL studies included predictions of the limitations on radio tracking of 

rocket launch trajectories imposed by the atmosphere, experimental studies of dis - 

tance and angular position errors in long-baseline tracking systems, studies of the 

effects upon space communication systems of forward scatter interference from 

thunderstorm cells, and theoretical calculations of the interaction of solar plasma 

thrown out by the sun during magnetic storms with the outer portion of the earth's 

magnetic field. 

Cryogenic Engineering 

This continuing program provides information on the physical properties of materials 

at extremely low temperatures, methods of measuring these properties, and the 

characteristics of cryogenic systems. 

and the program includes experimental work as well as the operation of a data 

center. 

increased the demand for information in this field. 

The emphasis is on practical applications, 

Space programs, relying on cryogenic liquids as propellants have markedly 

The Cryogenic Data Center's documentation unit searches the world:.literature for 

86 
technical information pertinent to the cryogenic engineering field and provides such 

literature to the Bureau staff and the cryogenic industry. 

A study of the bulk density of boiling liquid oxygen stimulated by the needs of rocket 

propulsion programs, was completed with NASA support. Satisfactory agreement 

between the theoretical analysis and the experimental research to determine the 

mass and volume of propellant aboard a vehicle at any time was obtained. 

theoretical analysis was also applied to boiling liquid hydrogen. 

The 

Cryogenic instrumentation studies were continued with particular emphasis during 

the past year on the evaluation of liquid level point sensors for hydrogen. The 

dielectric behavior of dense parahydrogen also was studied to meet urgent demands 

of design engineers who are interested in determining density, liquid level and 

quality of the fluid by capacitance measurements. 

Assistance is being given to Projects CENTAUR, ROVER, and NERVA. The 

CENTAUR first space vehicle to use liquid hydrogen as a propellant, will be followed by the nuclear rocket programs, ROVER and NERVA, that are planning more 

extensive use of liquid hydrogen. 

different from other propellants to present many new problems to the industry. 

Principal contractors of these programs receive Bureau support in the areas of 

ground support equipment, insulation, instrumentation, thermodynamics, and plans, 

specifications, and equipment review. 

The physical properties of hydrogen are sufficiently 

Economic Analysis of Supersonic Transport 

The Operations Research branch of the Bureau conducted a parametric cost and 

benefit analysis of various alternatives facing the United States in the field of longrange, high-speed transport. The analysis assumed various levels of costs for each 

of the alternative strategies, and a range of fares, traffic, and operating conditions. 

The results indicated the rate of return on invested capital that could be anticipated 

under a series of assumed strategies, including the rapid development of a supersonic transport to compete with the Anglo-French Concorde SST. 

made available to the National Aeronautics and Space Council during its consideration 

of the national policy on the SST. 

This study was 

87 
Chapter IX 

Space Science Board 

INTRODUCTION 

The work of the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences has been 

devoted, domestically, to advising the government on the scientific aspects of the 

national space program and to the promotion of discussion of advances and opportunities in sapce research. 

represents the U,S. scientific community on, and has collaborated closely with, the 

Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Council of Scientific 

Unions (ICSU). This committee serves to encourage and guide international cooper - 

ation in space research, to facilitate the exchange of information and to elicit the 

interest and participation of scientists throughout the world. 

Internationally, the Board, on behalf of the Academy, 

In the account which follows, the activities of the Board are discussed under three 

heads: the national space program, international activities, and the effects of space 

projects on other branches of science. 

THE NATIONAL SPACE PROGRAM 

Space Science Summer Study 

The formal report of the 1962 Summer Study of the space research program (A Review 

of Space Research, NAS Publication 1079) was transmitted to the government early in 

the year and at the same time made available to the public. More than 4000 copies of 

this report have been distributed. 

Committees 

The Board has continued its advisory work through its regular meetings and those of 

its Executive Committee and a small number of standing committees; viz. , Surfaces 

and Interiors of the Moon and Planets, International Relations, Life Sciences, Geodetic Uses of Navigational Satellites, High Altitude Rocket and Balloon Research, 

Potential Contamination and Interference from Space Experiments, and several ad hoc 

groups. 

scientific subcommittees of the NASA Space Sciences Steering Committee. 

In addition, the Board has maintained continuous and close liaison with the 

Lunar Orbiter 

Further consideration, in the light of the Summer Study, of the plans for exploration 

of the moon led to the conclusion that an unmanned lunar orbiting spacecraft should be 

included in addition to the unmanned lunar spacecraft already projected. 

craft was originally included in the lunar program, but execution had been deferred. 

The Board therefore adopted and forwarded to the government a resolution which 

strongly recommended proceeding with a lunar orbiter project in order to facilitate 

the planning and execution both of the investigation of the moon by other unmanned 

spacecraft and of the manned lunar landing programs. A spacecraft of this type should 

provide photographic coverage of the lunar surface and equally essential measurements 

Such a space89 
regarding the gravitational and geometric constants of the moon. 

ommendation on this question has been accepted and preparations have been made by 

NASA for the construction of a lunar orbiting spacecraft. 

The Board's recScientist -Astronauts 

In consequence of one of the recommendations of the Summer Study, the Board has 

been requested by NASA to assist in the selection of scientist-astronauts to participate in future space flights. 

as an observer in the selection of the most recently appointed group of astronauts. 

In preparation for this, a representative has participated 

Biology and Man in Space 

In the'life science.s, several reports have been completed covering the work of study 

groups established earlier to investigate problems both in pure biology and in the 

development of manned space flight. 

radiation biology, weightlessness, nutrition, magnetic and radiofrequency effects, 

impact acceleration stress, and gaseous environment. 

follows . 

The following subjects are covered: fundamental 

A synopsis of these reports 

The need for applied radiobiological studies with reference to manned flight programs 

is recognized, but work on radiation biology should not be confined to the solution of 

immediate problems, since, in the long run, the successful exploration of space will 

be aided by the contributions of basic research. Studies in fundamental radiobiology 

of relevance to the space program are discussed. Biological effects of radiation in 

space are not expected to differ significantly from those on earth but this expectation 

can be very easily verified experimentally. 

The environment of space flight may, in the future, involve radical departures from 

terrestrial biological experience of magnetic field strengths and radiofrequency 

energy levels; it is therefore of interest to ascertain whether marked biological 

effects are to be expected. 

is needed to establish the existence of definite and reproducible effects; in the meantime there are no clear grounds for concern with respect to the development of manned 

space flight. 

Present evidence indicates that further laboratory work 

A detailed report of the contributions to a Symposium on Impact Acceleration Stress 

has been published (NAS Publication 977). 

impacts (such as may be encountered in space flight) on humans and the means whereby they may be controlled. 

It contains discussion of the effects of 

The requirements for 'self-sufficiency, compactness and minimization of weight pose 

severe problems in planning for the feeding of astronauts on flights of more than a 

few days. 

are outlined, both for short and long duration flights. 

Approaches to practical solutions consistent with the special requirements 

Although of small significance in short flights, exposure of humans to weightlessness 

for two weeks or more can be expected to produce definite physiological effects (e. g. 

calcium loss from the bones). 

knowledge of the phenomena involved are discus sed, including some which require 

experimentation in spacecraft. 

weightlessness must be a fundamental part of future manned space flight development 

Investigations which will help to improve present 

Physiological research on the effects of exposure to 

90 
if these effects are to be well enough understood for the devising of proper corrective 

measures . The atmosphere provided in manned spacecraft must satisfy human physiological re - 

quirements without adding unnecessary engineering difficulties or contributing to the 

risks of space flight (as ordinary air may do). 

problem are reviewed, on the basis of current knowledge. Criteria for the selection 

of composition and pressure of the cabin atmosphere are recommended together with 

specific measures to verify suitability and to minimize difficulties which may arise 

in flight. 

The scientific support for programs in space biology and man in space is under continuing study and a symposium on nutrition in space flight was sponsored in order to 

stimulate interest in this field. 

izing a working conference on nutrition to be held early next year. 

Congressional Testimonv 

The physiological aspects of this 

At the request of the government, the Board is organAt the request of the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, the 

Chairman of the Board provided a Board statement on the scientific goals of the space 

program in connection with the Committee's review of the NASA authorization request 

for fiscal year 1964. 

SDace Science SvmDosium 

On the occasion of the Spring Meetings of the National Academy of Sciences during its 

centennial year, the Board organized a symposium on developments in space research. 

The symposium included addresses reviewing progress in several scientific fields 

which are important in the space program: energetic particles and fields, solar 

phenomena, lunar and planetary studies, the interplanetary medium and the life 

sciences. 

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

Sixth Meeting of COSPAR 

As in previous years, the Space Science Board organized, on behalf of the National 

Academy of Sciences, the attendance by U.S. scientists at the sixth meeting of 

COSPAR in Warsaw, June 1963 and prepared and presented the summary report of 

the year's activities in this country in space research. 

Warsaw reflected the increasing variety and growth of interest in space research. 

This is particularly apparent in the case of the smaller countries which have more 

recently embarked on the use of sounding rockets for scientific research. Among 

special topics discussed were: 

The working meetings at 

a. plans for participation during the IQSY in coordinated sounding rocket 

investigations of the upper atmosphere; 

establishment of a new working group on the physics and chemistry 

of near space; and 

establishment of a new working group on space biology. 

b. 

c. 

The COSPAR Consultative Group on Potentially Harmful Effects of Space Experiments 

met several times; its field of interest is described in the last section of this report. 

91 
International Years of the Quiet Sun (IQSY) 

A working group of COSPAR for international planning of space research activities 

for the period of minimum solar activity had met earlier in the year in conjunction 

with the International Committee on Geophysics in Rome. At this meeting and at 

Warsaw research programs appropriate to the study of the sun and the effects of 

solar phenomena were devised. 

rockets. 

pose. 

of the following kinds: 

These involve the use both of satellites and sounding 

In the former case continuous monitoring of solar activity is the main purIn the latter, it is proposed to arrange synoptic or cooperative investigations 

a. upper atmosphere winds and temperatures; 

b. atmospheric circulation in the mesosphere; 

c. height profiles of atmospheric density; 

d. composition of the upper atmosphere; 

e. electron density and temperature; 

f. electric currents in the ionosphere; 

g. coordinated studies of the D- and E-regions of the ionosphere; 

h. changes in the hydrogen concentration of the upper atmosphere; and 

i. synoptic meteorological observations by sounding rockets. 

Manuals which describe the relevant experimental techniques are in process of 

publication. 

COSPAR Fourth International Space Science Svmposium 

On the occasion of the Sixth Meeting of COSPAR in Warsaw, an International Space 

Science Symposium was held involving the presentation of more than 160 papers by 

scientists from 14 countries. 

the Space Science Board and contributed more than 70 papers to the total. 

advances were reported in a wide range of physical fields, including the upper atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere of the earth; solar radiation; the interplanetary 

medium; the planets and cosmic radiation. Among noteworthy spacecraft which contributed useful results were the deep space probes MARINER II (U.S.) and MARS I 

(U. S. S.R) and the first international cooperative satellites ARIEL I (U. K. and U. S. ) 

and ALOUETTE (Canada and U. S. ). 

The U. S. delegation to this meeting was organized by 

Recent 

Interests in the life sciences were centered on a special symposium on space biology. 

This included review papers on extraterrestrial organic chemistry and biology and 

particular attention was given to methods for the detection of extraterrestrial life and 

the biological effects of the space environment. 

was played by the U. S. delegation which presented discussions on the effects of space 

on terrestrial organisms, problems of manned space flight, biological contamination 

and sterilization, and exobiology. 

The leading role in this symposium 

92 
U. S. -U. S. S. R. Bilateral Discussions 

In response to a request from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the 

Space Science Board recommended appointment of scientists as advisors to the U. S. 

members of the working groups which were designated to devise plans for cooperation 

between this country and the Soviet Union in space research. The fields of particular 

interest were meteorology, communications and the World Magnetic Survey. These 

working groups met in Rome in March 1963. 

World Data Center A for Rockets and Satellites 

In the discharge of its commitment to COSPAEt, the Board continued to support the 

operation of the World Data Center which collects and exchanges the results of research with spacecraft and sounding rockets. In addition to its normal activities in 

archiving and distributing of data, two catalogues have been prepared. 

bibliography of over 2000 reports and papers in the space sciences was compiled and 

incorporated in the Space Science Board report to COSPAEt. 

An annual 

EFFECTS OF SPACE PROJECTS ON 

OTHER BRANCHES OF SCIENCE 

One of the chief concerns of the Board is the preservation and improvement of scientific standards and opportunities in space research. 

necessary to examine projects which may seriously interfere with work in other 

branches of science, or other human activities. 

In this connection it is considered 

WEST FORD Experiment 

The WEST FORD experiment involves the creation of an orbital belt of many fine wire 

dipoles and the testing of its properties as a reflector in a radio communications 

system. This experiment was designed so as to avoid causing interference to astronomers and, in any case, to produce a belt with limited lifetime. However , some 

scientific workers feared that errors or uncertainties in estimation might lead to 

unexpected and harmful results, once the belt was formed, and that the belt might 

remain much longer in orbit than intended. 

followed this project from its inception in order to verify the expectation that the 

presence of the belt would cause no difficulties to observations in either optical or 

radio astronomy. It has advised astronomers both at home and abroad of the important characteristics of the experiment so that calculations and observations could be 

made which would assist in assessing the amount of astronomical interference which 

orbital belts of wire dipoles would cause. These steps were taken well in advance of 

the establishment of the WEST FORD belt. After the belt was successfully formed in 

May 1963, the committee continued in touch with the astronomical community and was 

instrumental in assisting observers and in the compilation of the results. 

has been prepared which incorporates the observations made to date and compares 

them with the results expected on the basis of calculations. It verifies the expectation that the experimental belt has produced no significant interference with optical 

or radio astronomy and will have the limited lifetime intended. 

effects of denser belts of dipoles, should these become of practical concern, can be 

made with confidence. This report has been forwarded to the government, COSPAR 

and to the WEST FORD Committee of the International Astronomical Union. Calculations and observations of the belt by interested astronomers have been and will 

A special Board committee has therefore 

A report 

Estimation of the 

93 
continue to be published in the open literature. 

Space Probe De contamination 

The Board has long been concerned with the problems which might arise from the 

landing of unclean spacecraft on the moon and the planets before an adequate study 

of the exlstence of life or the chemical precursors of life on these bodies could be 

made. Mindful of the practical difficulties of sterilization and decontamination of 

interplanetary spacecraft and on the basis of the most recent information, the Board 

has adopted a new statement of policy with respect to: 

a. lunar probes; and 

b. Mars probes. 

This statement discusses the particular considerations which apply to each of these 

bodies and explains the steps which should be taken with regard to decontamination of 

spacecraft intended for lunar and Martian investigations, respectively. 

Conditions on the lunar surface are felt to be sufficiently hostile to the survival and 

reproduction of terrestrial living organisms to permit some relaxation of the rigorous 

standards of cleanliness which are required in the biological studies of Mars. In the 

latter case, and because of its unique character, every reasonable measure should 

be taken to avoid contamination of the Martian environment until the critical investigations of the possible existence of Martian life and of its characteristics have been 

c ondu c te d . 

The recommendations contained in this statement of policy have been accepted by the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration and embodied in the latest instructions 

for the carrying out of lunar and Martian investigations. 

COSPAR Consultative Group on Potentially Harmful Effects of Space Experiments 

Problems involving space projects which may have deleterious effects on other 

branches of science are dealt with internationally by a special Consultative Group of 

COSPAR. 

studies of the two topics mentioned above. This group considers also other aspects 

of space activity where undesirable effects may arise, e. g. the pollution of the atmosphere by rocket -exhaust gases . 

The Space Science Board has provided this group with information from its 

Space Science Board Committee on Potential Contamination and Interference from 

Space Experiment s 

In order to carry on its work on subjects such as those described above and to provide 

a domestic counterpart to the COSPAR Consultative Group, the Board has established 

a Committee on Potential Contamination and Interference from Space Experiments. 

This committee includes members representing both the physical and biological 

sciences. It will maintain interest in space activities which may have harmful effects 

and has the power to co-opt additional specialists as required. 

indicated its desire to consult the Board on potentially harmful space projects and the 

new committee is expected to play a key role in these matters. 

The government has 

94 
Chapter X 

Smi t hsonian Astrophysical Observatory 

INTRODUCTION 

The Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 

pursues a broad program of research in astrophysics and related space sciences, 

funded both from its own resources and from contracts and grants from the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration and other government agencies. 

The Observatory maintains a highly accurate and extremely productive network for 

optical tracking of artificial earth satellites; is engaged in the design and operation of 

two experiments to be flown as part of NASA's Orbiting Observatory Program; is 

establishing a network for photographing meteors and recovering newly fallen meteorites; is developing a program for injecting into the high atmosphere particles to 

simulate meteoric phenomena; conducts with the Harvard College Observatory a 

Radio Meteor Program and, under a contract from the Air Force, a related study of 

the velocity and direction of winds in the lower ionosphere; is reducing gamma-ray 

data from the first orbiting solar observatory; continues radioisotopic and other 

analyses of meteoritic and recovered satellite materials; is investigating the possibilities of a cometary probe; and is conducting laboratory experiments to simulate 

the primitive terrestrial and other planetary environments. 

Closely integrated with these projects are the theoretical investigations and studies 

by the more than fifty Observatory scientists whose research has yielded new information and theories concerning the earth, interplanetary matter, the solar system, and 

the stars, galaxies, nebulae, and interstellar matter. 

In 1963, as in previous years, scientists from many parts of the world have visited 

the Observatory to cooperate with its staff in both consultation and research on 

various space problems. 

As in every year since the launching of the first artificial satellite, the number of 

major scientific papers written by members of the staff has increased. 

nearly 40 Special Reports were issued in the Observatory's Research in Space Science 

series, and 150 other papers were published in leading scientific journals. 

In 1963 

Finally, the Observatory continues to supply services on request from other agencies. 

An outstanding example was the photographing of Syncom by the Observatory's satellite -tracking camera in South Africa. Another has been the surveillance observation 

of several satellites at the Air Force's request. 

OPTICAL SATELLITE TRACKING PROGRAM 

The Observatory's optical tracking program consists of the 12 Baker-Nunn camera 

stations located in Argentina, Australia, Curacao, Florida, Hawaii, India, Iran, 

Japan, New Mexico, Peru, South Africa, and Spain; 190 volunteer Moonwatch teams, 

97 of them in 28 foreign countries; and service groups in Cambridge for the communication, recording, reduction and scientific use of the resultant data. 

95 
In 1963 the Baker-Nunn cameras, still the most accurate means of measuring satellite positions in space, made more than 30,000 observations, and the photoreduction 

group in Cambridge precisely determined the time and position recorded on approximately 24,000 of the films. The station operations division continues to improve the 

Baker-Nunn system and has developed a new EECo precision timing system now being 

installed in the stations. 

The Baker-Nunn stations made simultaneous observations of light flashes from the 

ANNA geodetic satellite, and Observatory scientists used the resultant data for 

refining the geometric determination of the station positions. 

The Baker-Nunn cameras are also being used for cometary and flare-star studies, 

the latter in cooperation with the Jodrell Bank and the CSIRO radio telescopes. 

The Moonwatch teams made approximately 7000 observations of more than 125 satellites in 1963. 

the reentry of satellites, with the objective of recovering satellite material, and a 

correlative program of observing meteors and transmitting to Cambridge data that 

might result in meteorite recovery. 

In addition, Moonwatch is developing a program for the prediction of 

Data supplied by the tracking stations and the Moonwatch teams and reduced by the 

photoreduction division, and programs developed with the computations division 

enable Observatory scientists to continue their analyses of the earth's atmosphere, 

geopotential field and the geodetic data. The temperature and density of the upper 

atmosphere, and their response to electromagnetic and corpuscular radiation have 

been more precisely defined. Extensive computer programs have been written to 

permit the analysis of many optical observations in order to determine the coefficients of higher -order tesseral and sectorial harmonics in the earth's gravitational 

field and to establish whether those coefficients have seasonal variations. 

In addition to the geodetic studies resulting from ANNA, the Observatory has used 

the deviations between observed and predicted values to improve the coordinates of 

the Baker-Nunn stations, as one more step toward the fuller use of satellites for 

geodetic studies. 

satellite -tracking camera, now in experimental operation, to expand the network's 

geodetic capabilities. 

Another such step has been the development of an inexpensive 

SPACE OBSERVATORIES 

The Celescope experiment, to be launched in a NASA Orbiting Observatory in 1965, 

will make a complete survey of ultraviolet stellar radiation between 1000 and 3000 A. 

Four specially designed telescopes will make programmed observations of the stars 

for one year. 

where they will be used for the preparation of a map recording the position and 

brightness of at least 50,000 stars. 

delays and disappointments attendant on the development of any new observing 

system, prototypes of the following pioneering instrumentation and techniques have 

been designed and built: the Uvicon, an ultraviolet-sensitive television camera tube; 

Schwarzschild telescope systems; lamps for calibrating ultraviolet radiation; a 

digital television system; and means for automatic identification and cataloging of 

stars. 

250,000 stars prepared for the rapid and accurate reduction of Baker -Nunn films. 

Telemetry equipment will send the resultant data to ground stations, 

While the project has suffered the inevitable 

For the last, project scientists will use the SA0 catalog of more than 

96 
A joint project of the Smithsonian Astrophysical and Harvard College Observatories 

is the preparation of the instrumentation for the second Orbiting Solar Observatory, 

to be launched early in 1964. 

obtain monochromatic images in the wavelengths between 500 and 1500 A. Both the 

prototype and the flight models have already been delivered for integration into the 

spacecraft. Meanwhile, research and development are under way for an improved 

spectrometer -spectroheliograph for the fourth OSO. 

The experiment will scan the solar spectrum and 

The Observatory is reducing data from the first Orbiting Solar Observatory, launched 

in March, 1962;.making theoretical calculations of the sun's possible production of 

gamma rays; and planning experimental instrumentation for a survey of gamma rays 

from solar and other stellar origins. 

ME TEORITIC STUDIES 

The director of the Observatory has made axew estimate of the meteoroid hazard to 

space vehicles. 

to travel for about 28 months before being impacted by a meteoroid--in contrast to 

his 1957 estimate of once every six hours. 

The data indicate that a spacecraft 10 feet in diameter will be able 

By the end of 1963, seven of the 16 camera stations of the meteorite recovery program were photographing the trails of extremely bright meteors in order to determine 

the possible impact points of corresponding meteorites and to initiate searches for 

them. 

and control systems, is being improved as experience suggests. 

The instrumentation of the stations, including the cameras and photoelectric 

The Observatory is cooperating with Harvard College Observatory in the radio meteor 

project, which utilizes radar techniques to gain information concerning the speed and 

trajectory of particles entering the earth's atmosphere. 

multistation radar system capable of detecting meteors down to a limiting magnitude 

of t12 on the visual scale. 

difference in the populations of large and small meteors, that between magnitudes 

t6 and t9 the average velocity of meteors changes by 5 km/sec as a consequence of 

the smaller orbits of the fainter meteors, and that the faint meteors show total 

fragmentation as they enter the upper atmosphere. 

The project operates a 

Data derived from the system indicate that there is a 

In conjunction with this project, the Observatory has undertaken a study of the 

velocity and direction of winds in the lower atmosphere by measuring the Doppler 

shifts in radio returns from meteor trails. 

In cooperation with NASA's Langley Research Center, the Observatory is participating in a meteor-simulation project that will inject into space small particles of 

predetermined mass, density, composition and shape, and then measure the trails 

and ionization they produce on reentry into the earth's atmosphere. 

A number of Observatory scientists are devoting their attention to the composition, 

distribution, and history of micrometeoritic particles in space, in orbit around the 

earth, and in the earth's atmosphere. 

building up a detailed picture of cosmic dust produced by comets, by meteors 

colliding with one another and with the moon, and by other sources. 

particles collected by the earth are being examined microscopically and their physical 

and chemical properties studied, the latter particularly by means of electronprobe 

The results of this research are gradually 

Extraterrestrial 

97 
te chnique s . 

The Observatory's program for the analysis of meteorites also continues. 

to tritium and argon radioactivities, staff scientists have now measured carbon-14 

and gamma-ray radioactivity from such isotopes as aluminum-26, manganese-54, 

sodium-22, and cobalt. The Potter, Estacado, and Farmington meteorites, as well 

as the recently fallen Peace River, have been measured for tritium, argon-37, and 

argon-39 in order to determine ages, relevant to physical processes in space. Concentrations of tritium in stony and iron meteorites and in recovered satellite material constitute a special field of study. 

the loss and retention of tritium in various materials. 

spectrometer is being completed for the study of noble gases in meteorites. 

temperature-pressure history of meteorites is also being approached through a study 

of their mineralogy and petrology, and the chemical composition of the microstructures of chondrites is being analyzed for determination of the thermal history of 

meteorites. All of these programs lead to increased knowledge of the experience of 

these objects in the solar system and therefore of the evolution of that system. 

In addition 

Tentative hypotheses have been advanced for 

A high-sensitivity mass 

The 

OTHER SPACE STUDIES 

Of the other dramatic research programs at the Observatory, only a few can be highlighted here. The study of the evolution of the solar system has been continued, the 

age of which has now been established as near 4.6 billion years, positing the hypothesis that the Cameron model of a collapsing interstellar cloud forming the planets 

may also lead to the development of a stable belt of cometesimals near the planetary 

plane beyond the orbit of Neptune. 

observed disturbances to the motion of Neptune's latitude previously attributed to 

Pluto. 

Not visible optically, this belt may produce the 

Studies are being made on methods for detecting extraterrestrial life, including 

simulation of a possible Martian environment and a rigorous analysis of the panspermia hypothesis. Preliminary results emphasized that microorganisms from 

terrestrial soil would probably survive on Mars and that therefore Mars-impacting 

space vehicles must be rigorously sterilized before launch. 

The possibility that decay of cometary nuclei can provide evidence of the brightness 

and deterioration of periodic comets is used to calculate the lifetimes of certain 

comets. 

conditions and to aid in recommending specifications for cometary studies in space. 

Laboratory techniques are being developed for simulating cometary 

A theory developed to account for the motion of an artificial satellite about its center 

of mass has been confirmed from Baker-Nunn observations. 

Observatory is investigating the excitation of the metastable states in 02, N2 and 0 

by electron impact, and the subsequent reactions of the states with other gases, as 

one phase in the development of a model of the atmosphere that will take into account 

atomic collision processes. 

atomic oxygen 6300-6364 A are almost certainly excited by heated electron in lowaltitude auroral forms. 

One group at the 

Another group has concluded that the red lines of 

A theoretical study being made of the expected limb-darkening in planetary atmos - 

pheres indicates distinct Cytherean limb-darkening in the 10-micron region and no 

clear breaks in the Venus cloud layer. 

98 
Studies of the rings of Saturn continue in a search for a more accurate scattering 

theory for solar illumination. 

The orbits of both the major and the minor planets are being more exactly defined 

through the development of new computer programs. 

In the lunar sciences , the Observatory has developed an approximate analytical study 

of the motion of a body orbiting the moon, and shown that radiation pressure could 

sufficiently change the orbit of a "balloon" spacecraft to effect a lunar capture from 

an initially geocentric orbit. 

force, and consequences of the impact of meteorites on the moon surface. 

Finally, studies are being continued of the nature, 

The Observatory continues to publish the results of statistical analyses of precisely 

reduced photographic meteor data from Super Schmidt cameras, and to determine 

more precisely the orbits of meteor streams. 

Measurements have been made of the activity of a cometary tail as a means of developing a hypothesis to account for the interaction of solar winds and comets. 

Theoretical studies of stellar atmospheres continue , including extensive calculations 

concerning the structure of stellar convection zones and the nature of the perturbations they produce in the stellar atmosphere; the structure of shock fronts in atomic 

hydrogen; and perturbation-iterative procedures for solving the structure equations 

for nongray stellar atmospheres. 

Finally, the Observatory is correlating these many researches and opening new lines 

of study as part of its preparation for participation in the United States program for 

the Year of the Quiet Sun. 

99 
Chapter XI 

Federal Aviation Agency 

INTRODUCTION 

In this the 60th year of powered flight, civil aviation continued to grow in importance 

as a vital element of national life and as one of the world's major economic, political, 

and social forces. Throughout 1963, the Federal Aviation Agency pointed its efforts 

to both sustaining momentum and imparting new impetus to this urgent national enterprise. Solid and distinct progress was made in major programs looking toward the 

development of an integrated National Aviation System to meet tomorrow's needs. 

Meanwhile the Agency sought and achieved immediate improvements in its complex 

mission of promoting aviation safety, assuring efficient utilization of airspace, fos - 

tering civil aeronautics and air commerce, and supporting defense and other national 

policy requirements. 

structure and administrative processes in the never-ending effort to improve management effectiveness. 

At the same time FAA continued to refine its organizational 

AIR SAFETY PROGRAMS 

Promoting safety of flight is FAA's most important mission. 

of many Agency programs and a desired derivative of countless others. 

air safety record will never satisfy FAA until an accident-free situation is attained, 

preliminary statistics reveal that the airways were never busier nor safer than during 

1963. The steady improvement, in the safety record of commercial airlines is encouraging more and more Americans to take advantage of the speed and convenience of air 

travel. 

It is the single purpose 

Although the 

Throughout the year FAA placed particular emphasis on improving air safety through 

better maintenance practices and procedures. 

aviation mechanic and his vital role in safety of flight, 1963 was designated "maintenance year" and an aviation mechanic safety-award established. 

To bring greater recognition to the 

With the goal of eliminating potentially disastrous in-flight engine failures FAA inaugurated in 1962 a program to improve the reliability of aircraft propulsion systems. 

Steady gains in engine reliability were reported by air carriers during 1963. Participation in this program, in which 22 operators representing 75 percent of the U.S. air 

carrier fleet are cooperating, produced first-year savings of $1.2 million for one airline by reducing flight delay and unscheduled maintenance costs. 

extend the reliability control concept and use of automatic data processing methods to 

programs covering all the complex systems and components of modern transport aircraft. 

FAA is planning to 

In related safety and airworthiness programs the Agency: 

a. encouraged wider use of turbine-engine vibration-monitoring devices 

to permit early detection of malfunctions. 

101 
b. approved use of contract maintenance to assist small air carriers 

to attain highest safety standards. 

c. continued to take positive action to improve supplemental carrier 

operations. 

d. evaluated the regulatory material governing the training of the 49, 000 

maintenance employees of U. S. scheduled and supplemental air carriers. 

e. updated and standardized maintenance and overhaul specifications for 

certain aircraft not presently monitored by maintenance review boards. 

Effective measures to prevent air catastrophes depend also on accurate determinations of their probable cause. To aid accident analysis FAA has undertaken the development of voice recording equipment capable of preserving crew conversation and 

other sounds occurring in the cockpit up to 30 minutes before an accident. 

year feasibility tests were completed and technical specifications written. 

now seeking comments from the aviation industry and the public on its proposal to 

make use of such devices mandatory. 

During the 

FAA is 

A parallel project aims at devising improved flight data recorders that are better able 

to withstand crashes and more easily recovered thereafter. 

quired by FAA for all air carrier jets and certain other commercial piston-driven 

aircraft records time, altitude, airspeed, heading, and vertical acceleration. New 

recorders under development will provide accident investigators with additional information concerning aircraft and engine performance. Evaluation of such a prototype is 

scheduled for late 1964. 

Equipment presently reThe report year also witnessed the establishment of a joint FAA-CAB school to train 

personnel of both agencies and keep them current in the most modern techniques of 

aircraft accident investigation. Located at the FAA Aeronautical Center, Oklahoma 

City, the school is called the National Aircraft Accident Investigation School. The 

first NAAIS course began in September. 

Since 1933 six accidents in the United States have resulted from explosives placed 

aboard commercial aircraft, claiming the lives of 173 passengers and crewmembers. 

FAA in concert with other government agencies has continued to actively explore 

numerous techniques for combating such warped enterprises. In October at Dulles 

International Airport an experimental bomb-detection device was tested and proved 

feasible. 

ties Experimental Center (NAFEC), Atlantic City, N. J. 

gram are proceeding on schedule. 

Engineering evaluation is now underway at FAA's National Aviation FaciliOther portions of the proExperience continues to show that human errors and limitations are the greatest 

single cause of air accidents. 

aeronautical activity was the object of special FAA attention during 1963. Progress 

was made in studies to refine selection criteria for air traffic controllers, to determine relationships between an individual controller's physical condition and his resistance to stress, and to evaluate the effects of antihistamines and other over-thecounter drugs on his judgment and efficiency. Intended primarily for use by FAAdesignated medical examiners in counseling pilots and other airmen in the use of 

drugs whose side effects could make flying a hazard, an exhaustive compilation of 

such drugs--the first comprehensive guide of its kind in aeromedical pharmacology-- 

The human factor in the air-ground equation of civil 

102 
was published. 

Other studies focused on better escape methods for crews of all-cargo aircraft; the 

characteristics of vertigo, a little understood but critical factor in many general aviation fatal accidents; and toxic hazards associated with crop-dusting operations. Impact tests with new seats being readied for airline use enabled FAA to specify design 

changes which will help passengers survive crashes that would otherwise be fatal. 

Perfection of a pocket-size electroencephalographic device during the year makes it 

possible for FAA researchers to secure for the first time recordings of a pilot's 

brain-wave activity under in-flight conditions where he may be subject to stress. 

Data thus obtained is being used in the Agency's pioneering aeromedical project exploring manls aging process and its relation to chronological age and pilot proficiency. 

FAA also began tests in which two large transport aircraft, remotely controlled, will 

be deliberately crashed and five others burned to examine and find means to combat 

the hazards presented by aircraft crashes and resulting fires. To determine their 

relative resistance to fire, over 100 materials used in aircraft cabins were laboratory-tested. 

tests of modern turbine engines--a project made possible through a cooperative arrangement with the Navy for use of its engine test facility at Trenton, N. J. 

In a related safety program, FAA is proceeding with full-scale fire 

ADVANCES IN AIRSPACE USE AND CONTROL 

Related closely to its safety mission are FAA programs which aim at insuring the 

efficient utilization of national airspace to serve the need of both U. S. civil and military aviation. 

Increased use of improved radar and radar beacon equipment is a key element in the 

Agency's plan for modernizing the Nation's air traffic control system. This follows 

the recommendation of the Project BEACON task force, established by the President 

to review the system as it existed in 1961 and to chart a course for future progress. 

Extensive tests at NAFEC during the year proved the engineering soundness of the air 

traffic control radar beacon system (ATCRBS), which adds a third dimension--altitude- -to the information now automatically available to the air traffic controller. 

Suitable altitude-reporting transponders are now available commercially for large 

and medium aircraft. 

planes neared completion at yearls end. 

process altitude data received from the airborne transponders also moved ahead, 

with prototype models scheduled for delivery in 1964. To assure that the highest 

standards of reliability are achieved and maintained in the ATCRB system, the 

Agency accelerated programs to develop tools and techniques to monitor groundstation performance, to suppress undesired transponder replies, and to determine 

accurately the center of target-aircraft appearing on radar displays. 

Development of similar light-weight equipment for small air - 

Work on ground devices to decode and 

Full cooperation is being received from the armed services in steps to implement the 

beacon system. Agreements between FAA and the Department of Defense during the 

year defined the use and technical standards of the ATCRB system along with the 

characteristics of the airborne equipment which will be used. 

To safely yet efficiently separate jet aircraft flying in the world's busiest highaltitude airspace, FAA provides radar area positive control (APC) service. In these 

103 
positive control areas, which extend upwards from 24, 000 feet, all aircraft must operate under instrument flight rules, regardless of weather, and be equipped with a 

two-way radio and a coded beacon transponder that identifies the aircraft on ground 

radarscopes. Although lack of certain special equipment and problems related to 

radar remoting produced some delays in 1963, at year's end FAA neared its program 

objective, having blanketed with APC service well over 90 percent of the area embraced by the 48 contiguous States. 

More and faster aircraft with greater numbers under positive control continue to 

heighten requirements for radio communications and air navigation facilities. At the 

same time, the available radio frequency spectrum is a rapidly dwindling natural resource. 

ment and techniques, FAA during 1963: 

To lessen frequency congestion and to improve its communications equipa. 

b. 

C. 

d. 

e. 

f. 

established a policy and formulated plans to pursue an active groundair data link program which looks also toward expanded use of computer 

techniques to supplement present ground-air-ground voice communications for control of air traffic. 

developed for overall application to the U. S. airways system more 

exacting standards for the geographical separation of VHF/UHF (very 

high frequency/ultra high frequency) navigation aids. \ 

installed and began evaluation of log-periodic and wire-grid Luneburg 

lens antennae to improve the reliability of high-frequency point-to-point 

circuits that link vital communications between the continental United 

States and overseas locations. 

prepared, for submission by the Interdepartmental Radio Advisory 

Committee, U. S. proposals to the International Telecommunications 

Union Space Conference to permit wider use of space communications 

techniques for aeronautical services. 

initiated extensive tests using two new tropospheric communications 

facilities located near Cape Cod and San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

results indicate that it may be economically feasible to provide reliable 

air-ground communications over distances more than triple that spanned 

by conventional equipment in use at other major gateways to the United 

States. 

Year-end 

contracted for the development of electronic equipment to process radar 

information for transmission over ordinary telephone lines. 

ment could eliminate the need for expensive microwave transmitter and 

repeater faci1itie.s now used to send radar data from field sites to FAA 

control centers. 

Such equipThe FAA-Department of Defense plan which last year called for joint use of three 

SAGE direction centers underwent modifications during the year as the result of revised defense requirements and the decision to close the centers at Minot and Grand 

Forks, N. Dak. In the third center--at Great Falls, Mont. --FAA began air traffic 

control operations during December. 

serving the western part of the "Northern Tier" area, while FAA's air route traffic 

control center at Minneapolis, with similarly augmented radar capability, covers the 

With expanded radar coverage this center is 

104 
eastern portion. 

Despite these changes in the planned air traffic control structure for the Northern 

Tier, FAA's program to consolidate air route traffic control centers (ARTCC's) and 

realign area boundaries proceeded on schedule during 1963. 

at Norfolk, Spokane, and El Paso was completed--their services taken over by the 

Washington, Seattle, and Albuquerque centers, respectively. When consolidationrealignment actions are completed, FAA centers in the contiguous 48 States will have 

been reduced from the present total of 25 to 21, including the joint-use SAGE center 

at Great Falls, Mont. 

quiring fewer air-ground-air communications and radar handoffs from center to center, this program is calculated also to produce substantial economies through better 

use of equipment and personnel. 

Phaseout of the ARTCC's 

Intended to lighten both cockpit and controller tasks by reA large stride towards FAA's objective of eliminating control by two separate agencies 

of aircraft in the same airspace was taken during the year as the result of an FAAContinental Air Defense Command (CONAD) agreement concerning airborne interceptor operations. Under the cooperative arrangement, scheduled to take effect in early 

1964, air defense activities will be conducted within the same FAA traffic control 

system which controls all other aircraft operating under instrument flight rules. Although military control will be exercised over certain special missions and the most 

critical phases of interceptor operations, the new procedures will reduce materially 

the potential collision factor and increase safety margins for both civil and military 

air operations. 

Significant developments took place this year in FAA's Project FRIENDSHIP. 

ing with the intent of the Federal Aviation Act to establish a common civil-military 

system of air traffic control, Project FRIENDSHIP designates the plan under which 

FAA has taken over or would assume responsibility for (1) military flight services, 

(2) flight inspection of military air navigation facilities, (3) training of military air 

traffic controllers, and (4) operation of military air traffic control facilities. 

assure responsiveness to military requirements in emergencies, FRIENDSHIP also 

visualized creation of a Federal Aviation Service to operate military air traffic control facilities. 

1963, the Agency assumed complete worldwide responsibility for flight inspection of 

all military NAVAID' s . 

In keepTo 

Military flight services were transferred to FAA in 1961. And during 

To establish guidelines for future actions under Project FRIENDSHIP a high-level 

FAA-Department of Defense-Bureau of the Budget steering committee was formed in 

February 1962 and a senior task force organized to work under the committee's 

direction. Reporting in the spring of 1963, the task force concluded that general 

worldwide operation of U.S. military air traffic control facilities by FAA cannot be 

justified on the basis of cost or operational efficiency. It recommended that future 

transfers of activities and facilities be continued on a selective, mutually agreed 

basis. In view of this finding the Interagency Steering Group has concluded that the 

proposed Federal Aviation Service is not necessary. A special staff led by FAA, 

however, is reexamining the Agency's special personnel needs. Continuing studies 

are exploring the feasibility of joint training for military and civil air traffic controllers. 

105 
AIRCRAFT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 

Important decisions and decisive actions taken during the year imparted fresh impetus to the Supersonic Transport Program (SST). Highlighting these activities was the 

President's determination in June that the government, in partnership with private 

industry, must undertake development of an SST aircraft "which is safe for the passengers, economically sound for the world's airlines and whose operating performance 

is superior to any comparable aircraft. 'I The President's decision, following comprehensive program review, guided by the Chairman of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Council, climaxed two years of intensive and careful study regarding the technical feasibility of such an aircraft, its marketability, efficiency, and safety. Research projects also probed into high-altitude hazards, sonic-boom effects, and other 

problems related to the physical and social environment in which the SST will operate. 

In this feasibility-research phase, completed with appropriations of $31 million, FAA 

provided program leadership, NASA basic research and technical support, and DOD 

administrative and technical collaboration. To head the administrative and technical 

organization charged with overall management responsibility for the development 

program the FAA Administrator established in July the post of Deputy Administrator 

for Supersonic Transport Development. 

to contribute technical assistance as needed. In August FAA established SST performance objectives to serve as a basis for the design competition in which three major 

airframe builders and three major engine manufacturers have indicated their intent 

to participate. Scheduled for submission by January 15, 1964, the manufacturers' 

design proposals will be evaluated by FAA, other government agencies, and U. S. airline s. 

Other agencies of government will continue 

Under the current timetable, this U. S. bid for continued leadership in the field of 

aircraft development and air transportation will be carrying passengers safely by mid1970 at between two and three times the speed of sound. 

strate, in the Chief Executive's words, the "technological accomplishments which can 

be achieved under a democratic free enterprise system. 'I 

Furthermore it will demonDespite a marked growth rate over the past several years, air cargo transportation 

has failed to realize its full potential--primarily for want of suitable commercial allcargo aircraft. 

passenger-carrying civil airplanes, lagged far behind in its application to civil aircraft engineered expressly for cargo operations. To meet civil needs for an efficient 

and economical jet cargo aircraft, FAA is participating in the Air Force's C-141 

development program. Designed from the start to meet civil certification criteria as 

well as military requirements, the C-141 prototype advanced during the year through 

the final stages of fabrication to "roll-out, 'I with initial flight tests planned for late 

December. A better airplane both for defense and commercial purposes is resulting 

from this cooperative development endeavor. 

Jet propulsion, which found extensive employment in military and 

Double duty from the defense dollar and greater flexibility in the national air transportation system of the future are likewise two prime objectives of FAA's participation in. military projects to develop helicopters and other vertical or short-takeoffand-landing air vehicles (V/STOL). 

turers competing in the Army's light observation helicopter program underwent initial 

flight tests during the year. 

these aircraft for civil use by the end of 1964. 

Prototypes offered by three different manufacFAA's schedule calls for completing certification of 

During this year FAA was also 

106 
engaged in 13 other joint military projects to develop new kinds of V/STOL aircraft. 

These cooperative efforts are building an essential core of operational data, engineering information, and related technical knowledge for subsequent application to civil 

aircraft in these categories. 

During the year FAA accelerated its efforts to stimulate development and production 

of a small, modern transport to replace the venerable but aging DC-3, which, after 

27 years of service, still dominates the short-haul market in this country and abroad. 

Following release of design objectives for such an aircraft, FAA proposed in October 

a cooperative government-industry program calling for limited design competition to 

produce detailed specifications and cost data for a practical short-haul transport. 

Under the present timetable, a number of competitive aircraft designs will be ready 

for evaluation during 1964. Besides meeting an acute need of local-service airlines 

and certain mission requirements of potential military users, an efficient, short-haul 

transport could become also an important dollar earner in foreign markets. 

Launched in 1962, Project LITTLE GUY aims at developing simplified flight control 

apparatus and instrument displays for light aircraft such as those used in general 

aviation--the largest and fastest growing segment of U. S. civil aviation. General 

aviation includes all aviation other than commercial and military. A less -complex 

and more efficiently designed cockpit will make flying easier and safer for the nonprofessional pilot and enhance the utility of light planes for the general public. 

Completed this year was a report containing major recommendations and an experimental mockup that could evolve into the light plane instrument panel of the future. 

Work is progressing on the construction of a dynamic model of this instrument panel. 

It will undergo extensive tests in a general aviation flight simulator, installed during 

the year at FAA's National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center. Actual flighttesting of LITTLE GUY equipment and systems is scheduled to get underway next year. 

OTHER ACTIVITIES FOSTERING CIVIL AVIATION 

Extensive all-weather landing tests were completed, using an Agency aircraft equipped with a radio altimeter and airborne computer to make over 1, 100 automatic landings at some 50 different airports. Built around an improved version of the present 

instrument landing system (ILS), this first-generation system is expected to be available for airline use by 1966. Looking toward a second-generation system to provide 

aircraft with a fully automatic, "hands -off" landing capability in conditions of low airport visibility, FAA in July awarded a development contract. 

become available for operational use in the 1970's. 

Such a system could 

In September FAA sponsored the Second International Aviation Research and Development Symposium, bringing together representatives from the aviation community and 

scientific and educational groups from the United States and to discuss progress in allweather landing systems and plans for their introduction into commercial service. 

To evaluate procedures for segregating controlled from uncontrolled aircraft in the 

vicinity of high-activity airports --a Project BEACON recommendation--FAA conducted a test program at the Atlanta Airport between November 15, 1962, and June 1 

of this year. 

applicable to high-density terminal areas. Although such service improves airport 

acceptance rates and contributes to safety of operations, adequate ground facilities 

must be provided commensurate with traffic volume. 

Results indicated that positive separation service is sound and generally 

107 
Another procedure, initiated late last year at the world's busiest airport, Chicago's 

O'Hare International, has resulted in substantial reduction in arrival delays. It involves the use of parallel ILS approaches to the airport's dual runways during peak 

traffic periods. 

standards for implementing such procedures at other selected airports. 

Experience at O'Hare has provided a basis for establishing national 

Recognizing the seriousness of noise nuisance to neighbors of many of the Nation's 

major air terminals and its potentially adverse effect upon the growth of U. S. civil 

aviation, FAA continued during 1963 to direct special attention to this complex problem. Within the limits imposed by safety in aircraft operations, the Agency made 

further use of preferential runways and developed, in cooperation with the aviation 

industry, refinements in landing and takeoff procedures to lessen the noise imposed 

on communities adjacent to busy runways. To supplement such procedural methods, 

FAA provided updated technical guidance for use by other Federal agencies, airport 

authorities, zoning boards, and other local officials for evaluating the compatibility 

of land use around airports. 

Defense effort, the Agency in June awarded a research contract to develop valid 

measurements of aircraft-noise annoyance. 

junction with the engine-development portion of the SST program, a substantial research effort aimed at reducing noise at its source. 

Continuing a cooperative FAA-NASA-Department of 

FAA also continued to support, in conMounting concern that long-standing American leadership of world aviation was 

threatened by an outmoded U. S. international air transportation policy led to the establishment in September 1961 of a Presidentially appointed Interagency Steering 

Committee, charged with the task of conducting a comprehensive policy review. 

Early in 1963 this committee, chaired by the FAA Administrator, submitted its report to the President. 

Chief Executive in April issued a statement of basic policies as a guide for future actions to strengthen U.S. aviation in its international role. 

related U. S. policies stay ahead of swift-moving developments in international aviation and consistent with overall national objectives, the President directed the 

Secretary of State to organize an International Committee on International Aviation 

Policy (ICIAP), designating the FAA Administrator as its Vice Chairman. 

Accepting many of the report's key recommendations, the 

To assure that this and 

108 
Chapter XI1 

Federal Com mun i cations Corn mission 

INTRODUCTION 

Among its many responsibilities under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 

the Federal Communications Commission is required to "study new uses for radio, 

provide for the experimental uses of frequencies, and generally encourage the larger 

and more effective uses of radio in the public interest.'' In the discharge of its duties 

under this Act and the Communications Satellite Act of 1962, which later provided for 

the establishment of the Communications Satellite Corporation, the Commission has 

been called upon to assume an important regulatory role in the development of a space 

satellite communication system. 

the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of State, other 

government agencies and private industry, the year 1963 has seen significant strides 

made with respect to space telecommunications. The Commission played an impor - 

tant part both leading up to and in the Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference 

convened in Geneva in October 1963 principally for the purpose of allocating, on an 

international basis, bands of frequencies to be used in space communications research 

and development and commercial operations. With respect to the field of aeronautical communications, the Commission's regulation thereof is a continuing one, the 

importance of which, to the safety of lives and property, cannot be overemphasized. 

Through the cooperative efforts of the Commission, 

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SPACE COMMUNICATION 

The Communication Satellite Act of 1962 charges the Commission with the responsiIn order to perform its duties propbility of approving the technical characteristics of the operational communications 

satellite system as well as the ground stations. 

erly the Commission maintains close liaison with NASA, with. the Department of State 

and with the Corporation and private industry. 

RELAY, and SYNCOM experiments (described elsewhere) were followed in specific 

detail. Using these satellites, since January 1963, experimental television, record 

data and two-way telephone transmissions have been made internationally on an almost 

daily basis through the use of one or more of the communications satellites placed in 

orbit either as U. S. Government or joint industry-government projects. 

The progress of the TELSTAR, 

The experiments with TELSTAR series, RELAY and SYNCOM have been conducted 

through the joint efforts of the United States and certain foreign governments whose 

cooperation was obtained by the Department of State in coordination with NASA, the 

FCC and private industry. 

been or are being established in England, France, Brazil, West Germany, Italy and 

Japan. 

countries has laid the groundwork for continued cooperative efforts necessary to the 

establishment of a truly global satellite communication system. 

Pursuant to these cooperative efforts ground stations havc 

The past coordination of activities by the United States and these foreign 

The Communications Satellite Corporation is engaged in experimental and developmental work necessary for a determination of the technical characteristics of the 

initial system. 

studies and is preparing for further technical studies which must be conducted before 

In August 1963 the Corporation let contracts for multiple access 

109 
such a determination can be made. The Commission and other concerned government 

instrumentalities maintain particularly close liaison with the Corporation in this area. 

STATUTORY AND REGULATORY RESPONSIBILITIES 

The Satellite Act gives the Commission comprehensive regulatory authority over the 

Corporation. 

approving of all corporate borrowing and stock issues, except the initial capital stock 

offering; granting authorization to those communications common carriers who desire 

to own capital stock in the corporation; insuring of effective competition in the procurement of equipment, apparatus and services required by the communications 

satellite system, common carriers with equitable opportunity for small business 

firms to participate; licensing of satellite terminal stations; and insuring that all 

present and future authorized carriers have equitable and nondiscriminatory access 

to the system; and on just and reasonable terms and conditions. 

Its responsibilities in this regard include, but are not restricted to: 

Because of the fact that existing communications satellites are being operated as part 

of an experimental program and are not designed to render a commercial service, no 

basis presently exists for action by the Commission in connection with certain of its 

statutory responsibilities partially listed above. 

duties which can be discharged at this time, the Commission has taken the actions 

l,isted below. 

However , with respect to those 

CORPORATE FINANCING AND ISSUANCE OF CAPITAL STOCK 

Section 201(c)(8) of the Satellite Act empowers the Commission to authorize borrowings by the corporation whey they are deemed consistent with the purposes and 

objectives of the Act. 

to borrow sums against line of credit entered into, with Commission consent, by the 

corporation with 10 commercial banks. 

interim financing of the corporation's operations pending the completion of the initial 

is sue of capital stock. 

The Commission has several times authorized the corporation 

Such loans have been necessary to provide 

CARRIERS AUTHORIZED TO OWN STOCK IN THE 

SATELLITE CORPORATION 

After appropriate rule making proceedings, the Commission adopted rules and regulations, effective December 3, 1962, setting forth the procedures to be followed by 

communications common carriers desiring to apply for Commission authorization to 

purchase stock in the corporation. 

filed by carriers as of December 31, 1963, 127 have been granted by the Commission. 

The remaining applications are being processed in accordance with the applicable 

rules and regulations. 

Of the 142 applications for such authorizations 

PROCUREMENT 

In addition to requiring the Commission to insure effective competition in the satellite 

procurement program the Satellite Act provides that the Commission shall consult 

with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and solicit its recommendations on 

measures and procedures which will insure that small business concerns are given 

an equitable opportunity to share in the supplying of property and services. 

initial step in the performance of its duties in this connection, the Commission 

As an 

110 
promptly established an employee group charged with the duty of maintaining close 

liaison with the SBA. 

On July 17, 1963, the Commission proposed to issue rules which would implement 

the procurement provisions of the Satellite Act. A report and order promulgating 

final rules in this connection will be issued by the Commission when it has completed 

its consideration of the comments filed by interested parties. 

of such rules, the corporation and communications common carriers are keeping the 

Commission informed of their procurement activities in the satellite communications 

field in accordance with the request of the Commission. 

Pending the adoption 

ALLOCATION OF FREQUENCIES FOR SPACE 

COMMUNICATION AND RADIO ASTRONOMY 

The first major event of the year relating to the allocation of frequencies for the space 

services was the Xth Plenary Assembly of the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) which convened in Geneva in January 1963 for a one month meeting. 

FCC representatives were very active, together with many U. S. scientists and engineers, in the work of the U. S. committee of the CCIR dealing with space communication matters, and excellent progress was made in the development of sound technical Principles for use in the special International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 

conference on the allocation of frequencies for the space services held in October and 

November of 1963. The agenda for this conference, referred to as an Extraordinary 

Administrative Radio Conference (EARC) of the ITU, was limited to the allocation of 

frequencies for the various space communications services and for radio astronomy. 

The preparation for the 1963 EARC constituted a major effort for the Commission in 

the field of space communication. 

the Commission, since 1960, was deeply engaged in extensive preparatory work as 

part of a coordinated effort with other government agencies, with great weight being 

given to the representations and advice of the communications industry. 

Recognizing the importance of this conference, 

As part of its preparatory work the Commission issued Notices of Inquiry soliciting 

views of all interested parties on the subject of frequency allocations for space 

communications and radio astronomy. 

with representatives of other government instrumentalities, in visits to various other 

countries to discuss proposals for the EARC. As a result of this extensive preparatory work, the Commission, in coordination with the Interdepartment Radio Advisory 

Committee (IRAC), submitted recommended proposals to the Department of State. 

These were adopted as the formal U.S. proposals for the EARC and forwarded to the 

ITU for conference purposes. 

In addition, the Commission participated, 

Subsequent to submission of the U. S. proposals, the Commission, in recognition of 

radio astronomy's potential for adding significantly to our knowledge of the universe, 

adopted a Report and Order reserving UHF-TV channel 37 for the exclusive use of 

radio astronomy for a period of ten years. 

the U. S. proposals to the EARC for radio astronomy frequency allocations were expanded to include worldwide reservation of this channel for the aforesaid purpose and 

period. 

On the recommendation of the Commission, 

General agreement was reached at the space EARC on all of the essential allocation 

objectives in the area of space radiocommunication and radio astronomy. This was 

111 
accomplished with a minimum of impact upon existing (terrestrial) radio services, 

by employing a number of technical devices developed earlier in the year by the Xth 

Plenary Assembly of the CCIR. The conference made allocations for a communication-satellite service, meteorological -satellite service, radio -navigation satellite 

service, space research service and the radio astronomy service. It also agreed to 

the application of space techniques in the amateur service, the aeronautical mobile 

(R) service and the aeronautical radionavigation service. 

the support functions of space telemetering, tracking and telecommand. 

ence established procedures for the international notification and registration of 

individual frequency assignments which will be made to stations in the several categories of service. 

frequency sharing between terrestrial and space radio communication services with 

a minimum impact on each. 

Provision was made for 

The confer - 

It also established the technical criteria necessary to control 

The work of the space conference (Geneva, 1963) constitutes a major step forward in 

a technical but essential area, because it provides frequency allocations which appear 

reasonably adequate to support space and radio astronomy programs in this country 

and abroad for a considerable number of years. 

Acts of the space conference, which constitute a partial revision of the international 

Radio Regulations (Geneva, 1959) were transmitted to the Senate with a view to 

receiving the advice and consent of that body to ratification (Senate Executive “S, 

88th Congress 1st Session). 

On December 16, 1963, the Final 

The Commission completed rule making proceedings intended to improve the domestic 

allocation of frequencies for radio astronomy in the national table of frequency allocations (Docket No. 14475) and to adopt rules to enable domestic radio astronomy 

observatories to make annual reports to the ITU for worldwide information pooling 

(Docket No. 14476). Space frequency problems of a domestic nature continue to 

increase with the expansion of the U.S. space effort. There is continuing close 

cooperation between the FCC, private industry, NASA, the Department of State and 

other government instrumentalities concerned with space communications. The 

Commission has cooperated to the fullest extent in arranging for frequencies to meet 

the needs of the various U.S. space projects. 

AERONAUTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

The Commission has the statutory responsibility of regulating the non- government 

use of radio for aviation. 

quencies may be assigned for aeronautical telecommunication purposes such as air 

safety and operational control as well as command and telemetry functions in the 

development of missiles, rockets and satellites. Stations to which frequencies are 

assigned include, among others, aircraft, aeronautical enroute, radionavigation, 

flight test, airdrome control and aeronautical advisory. 

It prescribes the manner and conditions under which freOne area of the Commission’s responsibility relates to the loading of aviation communication frequencies in the various aeronautical bands. For example, due to the 

normal growth of aviation and the increase in aircraft speeds, communication capability may be required in excess of that provided by 50 kilocycle channel spacing in 

the 118 - 136 megacycle band. 

limited frequency space available, the Commission has initiated rule making which, 

if adopted, would require increased frequency stability for the majority of transmitters operating in such band. This would allow more efficient utilization of the 

In order to meet the increasing need,within the 

112 
channels available, looking toward a possible increase in the number of usable 

channels. 

The Commission is and has been, cooperating with the FAA and the Department of 

Commerce in the direct pilot-to-forecaster weather service test. Indications are 

that a requirement for this service will be established on a regular basis with a 

permanent frequency. 

A Special Communications Conference of the member States of the International 

Civil Aviation Organization was held in April and May 1963 in Montreal to coordinate 

the views of aviation interests on revision of the ITU Radio Regulations (Appendix 26) 

relating to the high frequency aeronautical mobile (R) frequency allotment plan. The 

material developed at the Conference is being used in preparation for the Aeronautical Extraordinary Administrative Conference of the ITU, which is scheduled to be 

convened in two sessions with the first, or preparatory session, to be held early in 

1964. 

industry, working under the aegis of the Department of State, include, among other 

things; technical and operational criteria, guidance for use of the Conference on 

collection of aircraft operation statistics, and amendments to Appendix 1, Articles 

7 and 9 of the Radio Regulations, Geneva, 1959. 

U.S. proposals, prepared by a group of representatives from government and 

113 
Chapter XI11 

United States Information Agency 

INTRODUCTION 

In 1963 the United States moved steadily towards its goal of becoming the leading 

spacefaring nation. As the space events of the year unfolded, USIA employed the 

resources of its five media-- Press, Radio, Television, Motion Pictures, and 

Information Center Service--in its 

audiences. 

239 posts abroad, to tell the story to world 

The Agency employed an unprecedented network of communications to retail the 

principal space event of the year-- the flight of Astronaut Gordon Cooper. This 

and other steps towards achieving a manned lunar landing within the decade, 

together with other U. S. achievements in space, were conveyed to the world in 

a steady stream of information and reports. 

Information Service operates, American officers and their staffs prepared these 

materials for further dissemination. The story of the U. S. in space was translated for the local press, made known to government officials and scientific circles, 

placed on local radio, shown on movie and television screens, translated into books; 

and, through wall newspapers and comic strips, carried still further to the people. 

In 105 countries where the U. S. 

Communist bloc countries learned of American space developments primarily 

through the Voice of America. 

Polish-language illustrated monthly that is distributed in the Soviet Union and 

Poland by reciprocal arrangement, carried important articles on U. S. developments 

and space science. 

But America Illustrated, the USIA Russian and 

CU IDE LINE S 

USIA employed the following guidelines in its coverage: 

a. 

b. 

C. 

Emphasized that the U. S. is determined to lead in space and that 

U. S. space achievements flow from American leadership in science 

and technology. 

Emphasized that the U. S. favors peaceful development of outer space. 

United States activities in this regard-- the common scientific benefits 

flowing from communication, weather, and other satellites, cooperation 

extended for U. S. tracking stations abroad, NASA assistance to foreign 

space programs-- were fully publicized. 

Underlined the desire of the U. S. to cooperate in space, as signified by 

the U. S. -Soviet Rome agreement on exchange of satellite information, 

the offer to the Soviets to participate in the lunar landing program, and 

the effort at the UN to reach a joint agreement on legal principles for 

exploration and use of outer space. 

115 
ASSETS 

These factors emerge on the credit side, in depicting the U. S. space effort abroad: 

Breadth and Scope of U. S. Program 

The U. S. has a balanced, well conceived, orderly space program of very broad 

scope. 

for global communications, weather forecasting, navigation and mapping. The 

U. S. S. R. has announced no such programs. 

\ 

It provides a continuing flow of data to meet human needs through satellites 

International Cooper ation 

The U. S. has working partnerships in space experimentation with 61 nations-- 

including cooperative projects in meteorology, exchanges of scientific personnel 

and joint launchings of sounding rockets and satellites. 

comparable cooperative programs. 

The U. S. S.R. has no 

ODenness of ODerations and Sharing of Results 

Manned space operations are conducted in full view of the world's television 

cameras, and NASA's launchings are announced in advance. Scientific findings 

are made available, unfiltered, to the scientific and industrial community as soon 

as practicable. The U. S. S. R., on the other hand, conducts manned space operations behind a curtain of secrecy, and announces launchings and scientific findings 

selectively. 

LIABILITIES 

Influencing the U. S. negatively in the reception of our space effort abroad: 

Soviet Manned SDace Flight Feats 

The Soviets continued to mount manned spacecraft larger than those of the U. S. for 

longer periods and to display space techniques beyond present U. S. capability. Part 

of this was due to superior Soviet booster power, which permits larger payloads. 

The Soviet edge in manned flight performance continued to be the largest negative 

factor affecting the picture overseas of the U. S. in space. 

USIA TREATMENT 

Manned Space Flight 

No other phase of space activity so influences the U. S. space image abroad. 

this reason, manned flight received major emphasis. The flight of Astronaut 

Gordon Cooper in May was given fullest treatment as a rare opportunity to counter 

the impression, widely held abroad, that the Soviets lead the U. S. in space. 

For 

Communications Satellite 

Communications satellites emerged as probably America's greatest asset in conveying to other nations the practicable possibilities in peaceful space development. 

116 
USIA worked with other government agencies and with private enterprise in the 

broadcast of a wide variety of events through the calendar year. 

arrangements were in direct support of American foreign policy in the areas 

concerned. SYNCOM, newest of U. S. communication satellites, was used in a 

telephone and radio demonstration with Nigeria between President Kennedy and 

the Nigerian Prime Minister, to broadcast a U, S. press conference concluding 

the Extraordinary Conference on Communications Frequencies at Geneva, and 

for transmission of the first TV broadcast to Japan. 

simultaneously a three-language, four-media demonstration between the U. S. 

and Brazil, and later for transmission of Preside'nt Kennedy's funeral and 

President Johnson's inaugural address to Europe and the Soviet Union. Both 

RELAY and TELSTAR broadcast a large number of news events, including the 

launch of Astronaut Cooper, while TELSTAR reported President Kennedy's trip 

to Ireland and Germany. 

The broadcast 

RELAY was used to carry 

Weather Satellites 

The Agency continued to distribute pamphlet and press material covering the 

operations of the TIROS satellite system. These satellites have continued to 

excite interest abroad, probably because of its established capacity to detect 

hurricanes and storms in advance. 

Lunar and Planetary Experiments 

The story of MARINER I1 is still gaining scientific credit for the U. S. For 

example, USIA's account of it was the Agency's first TV export to Rumania. It was 

also seen by four million Swedes at peak evening time, and in Morocco was 

hailed as the telecast of the year. 

ASSISTANCE TO NEWS MEDIA 

Pres s and Publications 

The Agency's daily wire service gave full coverage to all space events while its 

features service published in-depth articles on the U. S. in space. 

transmitted 77 flight reports, totalling over 24, 000 words, by radio-teletype on 

the two days Gordon Cooper was in orbit. Advance material on the flight had been 

shipped to all overseas posts, for translation and local placement on the launching 

date, as early as February. The Agency's printing plants in Manila, Beirut, and 

Mexico City, along with many individual posts, produced leaflets and pamphlets 

dealing with the flight. The Agency dispatched advance photographs to 148 posts, 

supplied 3,000 newspapers with plastic plates of a Cooper portrait. According to 

the responses from posts, few events in postwar history made such an impact. 

The Agency 

Television 

Through Science Report , an Agency television newsreel program produced in 

four languages for 52 countries, the space events of the year received wide exposure 

on foreign screens. 

stations on the Cooper flight, the Agency's TV service preshipped, for showing with 

the flight, a half-hour TV program, "Profile: Gordon Cooper, I' to posts abroad, 

In addition to providing world news coverage to networks and 

117 
Radio 

The Voice of America provided continuing and full coverage of all American space 

events, reaching many parts of the world not available to other USIA media. For 

the Gordon Cooper flight, the Voice was on the air continuously for 36 hours. The 

largest network of radio transmitters ever assembled fed the story to the largest 

overseas radio audience in history. A Voice team in Washington interviewed 

Congressional leaders and NASA officials, while at Cape Kennedy. 

reporters broadcast live coverage in English, Russian, French, German, Spanish 

and Malay. 

Voice 

Motion Pictures 

Coverage of important U. S. space developments was provided by newsreels, which 

carried the message to movie audiences. "The John Glenn Story, I' a half-hour film 

on the astronaut's life, was distributed in 27 languages to 97 countries. 

hour film, "Profile: Gordon Cooper, in three languages, went to movie houses in 

58 countries. 

The halfExhibits 

USIA has used original MERCURY spacecraft and scale models of satellites, in 

addition to photo-panels and other materials, to carry the story of the U. S. in space 

to large and small communities abroad through exhibits. 

NASA was maintained. 

Close st cooperation with 

The Sigma 7 MERCURY capsule of Astronaut Wally Schirra, set up by USIS in 

Sa0 Paulo, Athens and Tokyo during a world tour sponsored by NASA and the 

Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, was viewed by more than a million 

people. Its public impact can only be described as tremendous. 

Models of satellites and MERCURY spacecraft, including five life-size of the latter, 

with dummy astronauts, are circulating more widely. 

An exhibit on U. S. Progress in Space Sciences, distributed to all regions of the 

world, has reached over 1,500,000 people. Recently 1,000 poster-size sheets 

carrying this exhibit in condensed form were distributed worldwide. 

In anticipation of Astronaut Cooper's flight, world charts of the orbit paths to be 

followed were distributed for display at flight time. In conjunction with the fifth 

anniversary of NASA, all areas received world maps of the U. S. tracking network. 

Books and Libraries 

In 34 1 U. S. Information Service libraries and binational centers, a vast variety of 

materials on the U. S. space effort was made available to readers. Included were 

official NASA reports, Congressional and Senate hearings, and a continuing selection 

of the be st available books and publications. 

118 
USIA-NASA COOPERATION 

Supported by a full-time USIA liaison officer at NASA, the two agencies have worked 

together in publicizing the space program. The USIA/NASA - sponsored seminar, 

"The United States in Space, 

government and industry to the Agency for a full-dress review of all phases of the 

subject. 

field, in planning exhibits, in preparing space books useful to USIA, in arranging 

lectures by travelling NASA scientists, and in drawing on space scientists and 

technicians at NASA installations for Voice of America and USIA-TV interviews. 

brought ranking administrators and technicians from 

USIA and NASA have cooperated in getting NASA's significant photos to the 

NASA- supplied Spacemobiles- - mobile lecture-demonstration units equipped to 

explain U. S. space science and programs by models and experiments--are carrying 

the space story to cities, hamlets, and colleges abroad. Two spacemobiles in 

charge of USIA officers are operating in English- speaking Africa and French- speaking Africa. Five more in Europe, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and South Asia are 

sponsored by NASA and the local scientific-space agency, and are captained by a 

local scientist or teacher. 

119 
7- 

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3 u\ 

0 

Appendix A- 1 120 
UNITED STATES LAUNCHING RECORD 

Year 

Earth Satellite 

Attempts 

Good Failed 

Escape Payload 

Attempts 

Good Failed 

1957 

1958 

1959 

1960 

1961 

1962 

1963 

Total 

0 

5 

9 

16 

35 

54 

60 

179 

- 

1 

8 

9 

12 

12 

12 

11 

65 

- 

0 

4 

2 

2 

2* 

1 

0 

11 

- 

Notes: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Information contained in this table is drawn from unclassified sources and is 

believed to be complete and accurate in keeping with the definitions given below. 

Numbers are given in terms of identified separate payloads placed in Earth 

orbit or sent to the Moon or into solar orbit. A few launchings have put up 

more than one payload. 

other in flight, they are counted individually even though in a limited number 

of cases such separation failed to occur. 

into orbit or sent away from the Earth to accomplish some specific research 

or application purpose and to return data to Earth. Typically, a payload transmits telemetry, but not always (e. g. ECHO which carried only a radio beacon). 

Some rocket casings may carry radio beacons, but limited data return incidental 

to putting up a payload does not classify these as payloads in their own right. 

If these payloads were intended to separate from each 

A payload is defined as an object put 

The sole criterion of success or failure used for the purpose of this table is 

that of attaining Earth orbit, or escape to the Moon or solar orbit as appropriate 

to the column indicated. 

ing as much data as planned; other payloads failed to reach orbit or escape, yet 

returned useful data at least briefly. 

Some payloads reached orbit or escaped without returnThe corresponding data for number of launchings attempted (the count without 

reference to multiple payloads) are the same as given above except in the Earth 

orbital category for 1959 (8 failures), 1960 (15 successes and 11 failures), 1961 

(29 successes), 1962 (48 successes and 6 failures), 1963 (38 successes and 8 

failures), making totals of 144 orbital launch successes, 6 escape launch successes, 54 orbital launch failures, and 11 escape launch failures, for a grand 

total of 213 launch attempts (2 escape failures were orbital successes). 

Minor adjustments in some figures quoted previous years follow a continuing detailed review of records in an attempt to apply a uniform standard of statistical 

definition. 

*These failed to go to escape as intended, but did attain Earth orbit and are in those 

totals. 

NASC Staff Appendix A- 2 

121 
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Appendix D 

141 
S PACE ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 

Historical Summary and 1965 Budget Recommendations January 21, 1964 

NEW OBLIGATIONAL AUTHOFUTY 

(In millions of dollars) 

NASA Dept. of Weather Total 

NSF Space Total Space11 Defense AEC Bureau - 

Historical 

1955 

1956 

1957 

1958 

1959 

1960 

1961 

1962 

1963 

1965 Budget 

1964 

1965 

56. 9 56. 9 3. 0 - 

72. 7 72. 7 30. 3 7.0 

78. 2 78. 2 71. 0 21.3 

117. 3 117. 3 205.6 21.3 

338.9 338. 9 489, 5 34. 3 

523.6 523.6 560.9 43. 3 

966.7 926.2 813.9 67. 7 

1, 824. 9 1, 796. 0 1, 298.2 147.8 

3, 673.0 3, 626.0 1, 579. 3 213.9 

21 21 5, 241.0- 5, 189. 5- 1, 615.8 227. 6 

5, 304.0 5, 230.8 1, 474. 1 212. 7 

- 

- 

50. 7 

43. 2 

2.7 

20. 8 

- 59. 9 

7.3 117. 3 

8. 4 178.9 

3. 3 347.5 

- 862. 7 

. 1 1, 127.9 

.6 1,808.4 

1. 3 3, 294. 0 

1. 5 5,463. 9 

2.4 7, 038. 0 

2. 9 6, 941. 3 

1/ Excludes amounts for aircraft technology in 1961 and succeeding years. 

for NASA-NACA aircraft and space activities not separately identifiable prior to 

1961. 

- Amounts 

21 Includes recommended 1964 supplemental appropriation of $141. 0 million. - 

Source: Bureau of the Budget 

U. S. SPACE BUDGET - NEW OBLIGATIONAL AUTHORITY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 

8. 0 

7. 0 

6. 0 

5. 0 

4. 0 

3. 0 

2. 0 

1.0 

1965 REQUEST 

JAN. 21. 1964 

FY 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 

NASC STAFF 

Appendix E- 1 142 
SPACE ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 

Historical Summary and 1965 Budget Recommendations January 21, 1964 

EXPENDITURES 

(In millions of dollars) 

NASA Dept. of Weather Total 

Total Space L/ Defense AEC Bureau - NSF Space 

Historical 

1955 73. 8 73. 8 1. 5 - 

1956 71. 1 71. 1 16. 5 6. 3 - 

1957 76. 1 76. 1 47. 5 19. 2 - 

1958 89. 2 89.2 135. 5 20.2 - 

1959 145. 5 145.5 341.0 32.6 - 

1960 401.0 401.0 518. 1 41. 1 - 

1961 744.3 694.0 710.0 64.3 - 

1962 1, 257. 0 1, 229. 0 1, 028. 8 130. 0 1.0 

1963 2, 552. 3 2, 515. 3 1, 367. 5 181. 0 12.2 

1965 Budget 

1964 4, 400. 0 4, 354. 8 1, 583. 0 217. 7 19. 0 

- 75.3 

6.2 100. 1 

7. 3 150. 1 

4.0 248. 9 

1. 5 520. 6 

- 960.2 

- 1, 468. 3 

.9 2, 389.7 

1. 1 4, 077. 1 

1. 5 6, 176.0 

1965 4, 990. 0 4, 939. 1 1, 548. 0 220.4 21.7 1.8 6, 731.0 

- 1/ Excludes amounts for aircraft technology in 1961 and succeeding years. 

for NASA-NACA aircraft and space activities not separately identifiable prior to 

1961. 

Amounts 

Source: Bureau of the Budget 

U. S. SPACE BUDGET -EXPENDITURES BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 

8. 0 

7. 0 

6. 0 

5. 0 

4. 0 

3. 0 

2. 0 

1. 0 

143 Appendix E-2 
SPACE ACTIVITIES BUDGET 

1965 Budget Document 

January 21, 1964 

(In millions of dollars) 

New Obligational Authority Expenditures 

1963 1964 1965 1963 1964 1965 

(Actual) (Estimated) (Actual) (Estimated) 

Federal Space Programs 

NASA* .................... 3626.0 5189.5** 5230.8 2515.3 4354.8 4939. 1 

Department of Defense.. .... 1579.3 1615.8 1474. 1 1367.5 1583.0 1548.0 

Atomic Energy Commission. 213.9 227.6 212. 7 181.0 217.7 220.4 

Department of Commerce: 

Weather Bureau.. ...... 43.2 2.7 20.8 12.2 19.0 21.7 

National Science Foundation. 1.5 2.4 2.9 1.1 1.5 1.8 

TOTAL ................... 5463.9 7038.0 6941.3 4077. 1 6176.0 6731.0 

NASA Program 

Manned space flight.. ...... 2244.8 3535. l** 3580.4 1533.4 2898.3 3369.6 

Space applications ......... 106.8 116.6 98.0 89.7 105.0 97.3 

Unmanned investigations 

in space ............... 588.3 687.6 732.5 484.1 645.2 670.4 

Space research & technology. 492.1 491.6 457.8 272.5 443.6 453.9 

Supporting operations & other 216.9 375.0 362.1 135.7 262.7 347.9 

Aircraft technology ........ 47.0 51.5 73.2 37.0 45.2 50.9 

Adjustment - to NOA basis -22.9 -16.4 -. 1 - - 

Total 3673.0 5241. OW 5304.0 2552.3 4400.0 4990.0 

* Excludes amounts for aircraft technology. ** Includes proposed 1964 supplemental estimate of $141.0 million. 

Source: Bureau of the Budget. 

Appendix E-3 

144 
Index 

Advanced Research Projects 

AEROBEE 53 

Abronautic and Astronatics 

Coordinating Board 59 

Aeronautical Systems Dis. 56 

Aerospace Medicine Div. 

AGENA 11, 24, 25, 40, 58, 59 

ALOUTTE 19, 24, 25, 6 5, 86, 92 

Ames Reseach Center 38 

APOLLO 3,9, 11,12, 16, 19, 32, 34, 

AFUEL 9,1I, 1Z,16,19, 32, 34, 92 

Arnold Engineering DevelopmentCenter (AEDC) 56 

Arnold USAF H. H. 46 

ASTROBE 53 

Astronauts 3, 16, 20 

Atlantic Missile Range (AMR) 

40, 43, 46 

Atlas 24, 25 

Atomic Energy Commission 61-65: 

Automatic Picture Transmission 

Agency (ARPA) 57 

Brooks AFB 59 

40, 47, 59, 80, 92 

39,45,47, 55, 57 

(APT) 2,36, 78 

Baker-Nunn cameras 95,96,98 

BEACON 107 

Bioastronautics 59,60 

Biotechnology 26,27 

Blackbrant 53 

Canadian Defense T elecommuni - 

CENTAUR 9,10,11, 23, 87 

Central Radio Propagation Laboratory 

Cerro Tololo Inter American ObservaCoast and Geodetic Survey 83, 84 

Commerce, Dept. of 77-87: 39,113,118 

Communications, Defence Satellite Procations Establishment 86 

(CPRL) 85,86 

tory 74 

gram 42 

Communications Satellite CorCoober, Mjr. G. L. 9,15,86,116 

Coyogenics 8687 

poration 6, 81,109 

CX-HLS 51 

DELTA 24 

Department of Defense 39-60: 

DYNASOAR (See X-20) 

1, 7, 25, 103-108, 115-117 

ECHO 20, 23, 24, 35, 36, 70, 83 

Edwards AFB 41 

Electronics 26 

EXPLORER3, 9, 18 

Ext r o dina r y Admin s t rativ e Radio 

Conference on Space Communications (EARC) 3, 67, 70, 71, 72, 

109, 111, 113 

F-111 49, 108, 109 

F-5 50 

Federal Aviation Agency 101-108; 

Federal Communication Commis - 

French National Center for Space 

51 

sion 109-113 

Studies 34 

GEMINI 2, 7, 9,10,11,12,16 

Geophysical Research Satellite 55 

Global Tracking (GLOTRAC) 46 

Goddard Space Flight Center 37 

Gravity Gradient Stablization 56 

GULLIVER 20 

Harvard College Observatory 

Helicopters 47 

High Temperature Gas Dynamics 75 

Hurlburt, E. 0. Center for Space 

95,97 

(XH-51) 47 

Research 74 

145 
IMP 3, 62 

Instituto Geofisico De Hyancayo 

86 

Internation Indian Ocean Expedition 36, 78 

International Radio Consultative Committee 111, 112 

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) 67-72: 104, 

111, 113 

International Year of the Quiet 

Sun (IQSY) 74, 91, 92, 99 

Italian Satellite (See San Marco) 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) 

38 

Kennedy, JohnF. 23, 117 

Kennedy, Cape 14, 24, 41, 44, 47, 

Kingsport, USNS 60, 71 

Kitt Peak National Observatory 

KIWI 30, 31, 63, 64 

71, 80, 84, 117 

73,74 

Laminar Flow Aircraft (See 

Langley Research Center 38, 97 

LASER 36,56 

Lewis Research Center 36 

Life Sciences (See BioastroLITTLE GUY 107 

LITTLE JOE 3, 12, 47 

LOFT1 IIA 3 

Lunar Excursion Model (LEM) 

Lunar Orbiter 19, 89 

X-21A) 

nautic s) 

3, 13 

Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) 

Manned Spacecraft Center IMSC) 

2, 7,40, 41,42, 52, 58, 59 

37, 60, 80 

MARINER 18,19, 24, 25, 32, 40,41, 

Mars 20, 98 

Marshall Space Flight Center 14, 37 

MASERS 56 

Materials 26, 29 

Medicine, Space 16, 37 

MERCURY 2, 9,10,11, 37, 47, 71, 78, 

80, 86,118 

Merritt Island Launch Area 14, 40, 

60 

Meteorological Research Lab. 84 

Meteorological Satellite Laboratory 

(MSL) 77,81 

Missile Trajectory Measurement 

(MISTRAM) 46 

Mississippi Test Facility 15 

Moonwatch 95,96 

42, 52, 58, 59, 92 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 9-37: 2,6, 7, 39-45, 

89, 91,109,112,115,118,119 

49, 57, 58, 60, 77-81, 83,84, 86, 87, 

National Academy of Sciences 20 

National Aeronautics and Space 

National Bureau of Standards 84-87 

National Meteorological Rocket NetNational Meteorological Center 78 

National Operational Meteorological 

Satellite System (NOMSS) 79, 80 

National Radio Astronomy Observatory 73 

National Science Foundation 73-75: 

84 

National Standard Reference Data 

System 85 

National Weather Satellite Center 

Naval Research Laboratory 74 

Navigational Satellites 61 

NERVA 30,87, 97 

Council 5-7, 87,106 

work (NMRN) 82 

77, 79-82 

146 
NIKE CAJUN 53 

NIMBUS 21, 77, 79, 80,102 

North American Air Defense 

Command 45 

NIKE ZEUS 47 

Operational Meteorological SatelOrbiting Astronautical Obse'rva: 

Orbiting Geophysical ObservaOrbiting Solar Observatory 

lite (OMS) 79,80 

tory (OAO) 17,25,95 

tory (OGO) 25,95 

(OSO) 18,95,97 

Pacific Missile Range (PMR) 

Physics, fld 25 

Physics, plasma 26, 32 

PIONEER 19, 51 

PLUTO 61, 64 

Propulsion, chemical 28, 89 

Propulsion, electrical 31,102 

Propulsion, solid 17, 29 

19, 36, 46,47 

RANGER 18,25 

RELAY 2, 20, 23, 42,109,117 

ROVER 30, 61, 63 

S-66 36 

San Marco Program 34,71 

SATURN I 9,13,14, 28, 60 

SATURN I-B 13,14,28 

SATURN V 13-16, 28, 60 

SCANNER, Project 47 

SCOUT 6, 53, 55, 6i, 62, 71 

Short AirfieJld Tactical Support (SATS) 51 

SKYWATCH 82 

Smithsonian Institution 95 - 99 

Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory 95, 96 

SNAP 2, 31, 55, 61-63 

Soviet Union (USSR) 1, 3, 5, 34, 36, 67 - 

70, 81, 82,115,116 

Soviet Academy of Sciences 34, 35, 70 

Space Power Equipment 29 

Sounding Rockets 19, 36 

Space Detection and Tracking System 

(SPADATS) 45 

Space Science Board 89-94 

SPACETRACK 45 

Space Technology Satellites 54 

SPASUR 45 

STARAD 54 

State, Dept. of 67-72,109,113 

STRATOSCOPE I1 74 

SURVEYOR 19, 24, 61 

Supersonic Transport (SST) 1, 2,6,29. 

10 6 

SYNCOM 2, 9, 20, 23, 24, 34, 37, 71, 95, 

109,117 

TELSTAR 2, 9, 20, 23, 24, 34, 37, 71, 95 

THOR 20,24,42, 60, 90 

TIROS 2, 9, 20, 35, 77, 80, 82,117 

Tiros Operational Satellite System 

TITAN I1 11, 40 

TITAN I11 3,11, 40,41, 44, 60 

Tracking and Data Acquisition 95 

TRANSIT 58 

TORY 11- C 64,65 

(T SS) 77-79 

United Wtions 3, 67-69 

UNESCO 68 

United States Information Agency 115, 

USSR (See Soviet Union) 

11 9 

Vandenberg, USNS H.S. 46 

Vehicle Flight Control 51 

Venus 19, 32, 86, 98 

Voice of America 118,119 

V/STOL z9,47 

147 
Wallops Island 36, 38, 55, 62 

Weather Bureau 77-82;20,39 

WEST FORD 3,6,43,93 

White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) 

World Meteorological Olganization 

12,46,47 

(WMO) 68, 69,70,82 

148 

6SA WASH DC 64-S!5?4