davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01
'ExiIed' Jupiter-C Expert
Silent, Wife Halls News

then she said to the reporter:
you'd better talk to him. He
won't believe me-"
A pause followed.
NO" she finally added. HE
says he'd better not come to
the phone. But ! have no or
ders not to talk. and / think
it's wonderful the Army has
lived up to all the things 1t
promised"
The Army's fortunes in the
missile and satellite field have
changed, but Col. Nickerson's
have not.
Relieved Of Post
The 41-year-old career officer
came to Panama last August
after conviction by a court
martial on charges that he sent
secret information to unauthor-
lied persons. The accusation
grew out of his determined
campaign against a Defense
Department order limiting
Army missile activity.
Col. Nickerson. who had been
a top officer at the Army Mis-
siles Center at Huntsville. Ala,
was cut off from all missile
work and was relieved Of hold
ing any command position for
a year.
He came here as inspector
Of engineering facilities" in the
q pal Zone.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01
u. S. SATELLITE IS COMPARED
WITH RUSSIA'S SPUTNIKS
BY the Associated Press

Explorer-the United States baby moon now girdling
the globe-is considerably smaller than either of its
two Soviet predecessors.
Explorer weighs 30.8 pounds Sputnik weighed 1874
pounds, while Sputnik II weighed 1120.29 pounds.
Scientists said Explorer will remain aloft from
to 10 years.
Sputnk sent up october 4, disntegrated January A.
Sputnk H. which went up November g. is still DRIFTING
but the Russians indicated it probably will burn out
within the next couple of months.
Explorer consists of a slender tube w feet long
DRIFTING at $4,000 miles hour at a distance varying
from 1876 to 1,700 miles from the earth.
Sputnik l. a sphere % inches in diameter attained
the speed and assembled $50 miles. Sputnk H.
rocket-shaped, reached speed Of 1890 miles and
maximum altitude of ,056 miles
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01
Area Early Risers Mildly Enthused,
Scarcely Surprised at Satellite Feat

No surprise and only mild
enthusiasm seemed to be the
reaction of many early-riserS
this morning to the news that
the Army had successfully
launched a satellite.
1T was due sooner or later, y
said M. M. Feingold of 1921
Fourteenth S tr e e t NV.
There's been a lot of talk
about it and 1 was just waiting
for it to come through"
The same thought was ex-
pressed by L. j, DeMino of 6315
Sixteenth street NV. "A great
achievement-but it's late" he
said. 1T may help our prestige
At least it shows we're living
and not hopeless"
A Navy seaman, who declined
to identify himself, said he
thought the Army deserved the
honor. "The Nays been fool
ing around too long," he said
The most enthusiastic re-
action came from Capt. Gae-
tano Faillace. an Army photog-
rapher who has already COM
pleted a film on the Jupiter
scheduled to be released fol-
lowing a successful launching,
ITS the greatest achievement
we've ever accomplished" he
said. 1T places us among the
great nations of the world.
We can hold our heads high
T/Sergt. Eugene A. Fritz,
U.S.A.F., Of Jasper, Ind. said
the launching shows we have
definitely pulled all our re-
sources together to catch up to
Russia And. frankly, / think
it's about time"
One of the calmest reactions
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01
First Army Unit
Using Missiles
To Go to Germany

% bHH AsbOClhtco FEebb
The first United States Army
unit using the Redstone 200
mile missile as a weapon will
be sent to Germany in June.
The Army confirmed the plan
after it was mentioned in tes-
timony given by Acting Chief
Of Stan Gen. Lyman L. Lem
nitzer Of the House Armed
Services Committee.
Gen Lemnitzer's testimony,
given at a closed-door session
last week. has now been made
public in censored form. He
said the Redstone missile Ii
presently being made opera
tional by unit which is now
under training at Huntsville,
Ala, and will be deployed to
Europe this summer. early this
summer"
The unit is the 40th Field
Artil Try Missile Group.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01

to whether the United States
was nearly as good in this field
as people had assumed.
Meanwhile, the Soviets had
followed up their satellite &C
complishment with aggressive
diplomatic action which quickly
was tagged "sputnik diplomacy"
Bulganin's Warning
This reached its peak in adj
vance of the NATO summit
conference at Paris in middle
cember when Bulganin wrote
European allied leaders warm
ing against any agreement to
base United States missiles on
European territory.
In effect. Mr.. Bulganin was
bidding for neutralism in
NATO- Europe by implying that
If the Europeans refused United
States nuclear rockets they
might have hope of escaping,
the devastation of any future
great war.
In spite of worried public
opinion in many sections Of
Europe's population the NATO
council voted that rocket bases
and United States nuclear
stockpiles should be established
there, but avoided a showdown
on the issue of which countries
they should be established in.
That issue is being negotiated
by the NATO military COM
mand but is still unresolved.
Conditions to Farley
In replying to the Bulganin
letter which he received, Mr..
Eisenhower declared American
readiness to go into an East
West summit conference il
there was advance preparation
and if this preparation gave
good hope of successful agree
mentS.
Despite considerable specula-
ton that the United States is
willing to soften these terms,
high State Department officials
insist there has been no deci-
sion to do so. They say a con-
ference without careful pre-
liminary planning and without
reasonable prospects of success
might make world conditions
worse instead of better.
Nevertheless, officials pri-
vately concede that with the
United States satellite in orbit
they face the probability Of a
summit conference sometime
this year with considerably less
concern than they felt before
the successful launching last
night.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01

hope that the launching will
introduce a new era of peace
full scientific work to serve the
progress of the whole Of hui
mainly"
Viewpoint Changes
When the United States Navy
Vanguard project failed to gel
a satellite UP, the anti-Con-
munist Vienna newspaper Neue
WeltpresSe carried a cartoon
depicting President Eisenhower
missing a golf drive at a Sput-
mix the size of a golf ball.
Today the same paper showed
a smiling Eisenhower getting
of his drive. The caption said:
Nov it flies"
Afternoon papers in Tokyo,
which is IA hours ahead of
Cape Canaveral time, just
managed to get the news in
time but some European morn
ing papers put out extras.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01
Won Braun 7 cam Gets
Its Chance and Delivers

faced with a choice: Capture
by the Soviets or fight to the
West.
The whole story may never
be told, but there are occa-
sional hints of a race by the
Americans then to pluck a few
of the scientists from the So
Wet advance, of American in
telligence officers herding these
scientists westward while 9TH
ers remained behind to blow
up bridges and roads.
Most of the 1870 scientists,
now all American citizens,
came to the United States
under a one-year contract with
the United States Army.
They were assembled first at
Fort Bliss, near Ell Paso, Tex,
where they were kept under
heavy guard. Their job here
was to teach Americans about
the W..
Strange Passport
Once q week four of them,
accompanied by an Army SER
geant, were permitted to 60
into Ell Paso to shop. have din
ner and perhaps take in a
movie. Each carried a pass
port as strange as any ever
issued in this country.
Each passport bore a nota-
ton. addressed to all police au-
thorities, that if the bearer be.
came lost, injured or i'll, he was
not to be questioned and no.
body was to be notified except
the authorities at Fort Bliss.
Finally the day arrived in
1949 when it became impera-
tive to get the visitors into the
United States-officially One
day they moved across the
border into Mexico. Six hours
later, equipped with regular
passports. they took a 20-min-
ute ride by streetcar back into
the United States. They were
officially in the country and
thus eligible for citizenship.
One reason for the move was
that the Army had decided TO
set up the ballistic missile
agency on a permanent basis
at Huntsville.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01

came from A. A. Adams of New
London. Conn. II don't have
much of a reaction to it," he
said. 1T was all part of a
planned program. The panic
was reaction from ignorance,
The whole thing went as plan
ned, and that's it."
Obey w. Morgan of Spring
field. Va, thought the launch
ing shows that lit won't be too
long before we're ahead of
Russia. I think it's wonderful
Some expressed complete
dismay at the launching.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01

PANAMA, Feb. (P).-Col.
John c. Nickerson, banished
champion of the Army's Jupi-
ter-C missile, heard about the
United States satellite early
today in officially imposed
silence.
His wife, not inhibited by an
Army court : martial, fairly
screamed with excitement at
the news. II think it's wonder
full" she exclaimed.
But neither word Of the
Army's success in launching an
American moon with a Jupi-
ter-C nor his wife's elation
could persuade the missile en-
gineer to comment.
When his telephone rang at
1880 am, Mrs. Nickerson an
swered. She told a reporter the
colonel was asleep but that she
had been awake reading.
Gives Husband News
Told about the satellite
launching. she exclaimed ex-
citedly: Did it really?" Then
she could be heard telling her
husband the news and asking
him for comment.
Back came this reply: HE
has orders not to comment on
missiles"
There was more conversation
between the Nickersons, and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01

II think they're out of their
minds" said William r. Bree-
den of Alexandria, a bus driver
for the A. B. g. w. lines.
Where do we go from here?
They're fooling around with
something they know nothing
about"
The philosophical reply was
supplied by a counter girl in a
Waffle Shop luncheonette on
Pennsylvania avenue. Don't
worry" she said. Adam saw
it. Moses saw it. And we're
still here"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01
Satellite Probes
Six Mysteries
BY ALTON L. BLAKESLEE
Associst ted Press Science Reporter

=
NEW YORK. Feb. / R.-
The first United States satellite
is exploring six mysteries Of
space and earth.
What it learns could speed
the day Of safe space travel, as
well as benefit humans who
stay home.
The six jobs for this Ex-
plorer are:
CoSmic rays, mete IS, tenn
peratureS in space, air density.
the shape of the earth, and the
electrical ocean high overhead
known as the ionosphere.
Here's How 1t Works
Here's why and how it is
lacking them all: +,
/. Space is full of an invisible
rain of cosmic rays or atomic
particles streaming from our
sun and distant stars. The
earth's thick air saves us from
most of them. But space ship
crews will be exposed to the
full rain.
2. Space is crowded with
meteors ranging from dust
specks in size to cannonballS
and larger. Meteors could sand
blast or even puncture and
destroy a space ship. On the
satellites skin are special strips
containing wire grids. AS tiny
meteorS sandpaper them down,
or break them, the electrical
current in the wires is changed.
and this changes the radio fire.
quency or code to report what's
happening. A microphone in
side the satellite hears the
pings and bangs from meteors,
and transmits this sound
through radio signals.
3. When the full sun shines
on the satellite its skin will get
hot. The other side will be
cold. Temperatures are being
recorded on the skin, and inside
the satellite, and broadcast
back.
Data on Air Extent
4. How high up does the
earth'S air extend-how dense
or thin is it at 200 or 300 miles
or higher? AS the satellite
meets this air, it will be forced
downward, toward earth, in
time. Accurate measurements
of the orbit can tell much
about this air, including telling
how high a satellite has to fly
to live for months or years.
S. The earth bulges at the
equator, and the earth's pull
of gravity is therefore stronger
there. This uneven pull will
affect the orbit Very precise
measurements will supply a
new look for accurate knowl-
edge of the shape and size Of
the earth, how far it really is
between continents. That could
aid precise navigation by air
and sea.
6. The satellites radio sig
mails have to come down
through the Ionosphere. They
are high frequency signals to
penetrate through these cleo
trified layers. But the radio
waves will be distorted some
what by the ionosphere. This
bending can yield more infor-
nation about the composition
and behavior of the ionosphere.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01

$500 OsAAAs SAAeNu OAAC SNbCAAAve
rocketed into space from Flor
ida some two hours earlier had
gone into orbit successfully.
The he made the official an
nouncement, that the satellite
was orbiting, in a statement is
sued through White House Press
Secretary James c. Hagerty.
COngratules Participants
The President slept later
than usual this morning. At
ter breakfast at 1885 am, he
sent a message to DR.. Alan
Waterman, director of the Ma
tienal Science Foundation, ex-
tending his personal congrat-
ulationS to all those who have
been participating in the earth
satellite program.
Asked if Mr.. Eisenhower sent
any personal congratulations
directly to the Army, Mr.. Hag-
erty said the President was not
congratulating any single
branch of the Government.
: He added that the President
considered this an American
scientific achievement" and is
quite proud of it"
Reports were relayed to the
President during the day on
progress of the satellite. Mr..
Hagerty said the information
was about the same as that
being made public in Washing
ton by the National Academy
of Sciences.
Its in Orbit"
The good news that the Ex-
plorer was circling the earth
was relayed to the President
from DR.. j. Wallace Joyce, head
of the International Geophy-
steal Year Office of the National
Science Foundation, through
Brig. Gen. Andrew j. Good
paster. White House staff Sec
rotary. and Mr.. Hagerty.
Gen. Goodpaster was Jug
Cling three telephones at his
White House desk in WASH
ington-open lines to Mr..
Hagerty in his room at the Bon
Air Hotel here, to DR.. Joyce
and to the Army Telecommuni-
cations Center in the Pentagon.
At 1874 am, Gen. Good
paSter passed on to Mr.. Hagerty
the good news from DR.. Joyce
in these three words: tits in
orbit"
Statement Released
Mr., Hagerty promptly shifted
to another telephone to relay
the words to the President at
his cottage on the Augusta
National Golf Club grounds. Mr..
Eisenhower had been playing
bridge there with three fellow
members of the exclusive club.
THE President just said two
words: That's wonderful" "
Mr.. Hagerty reported. Il then
told him ! was going to release
his statement"
Mr.. Hagerty talked for an
other moment to Gen. Good
paster, then walked to the tenn
porary White House press room
in another wing of the hotel.
He started reading to newsmen
at 1858 am. This statement
from the President:
"Dr. j. Wallace Joyce, head
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01

of the International Geophy-
steal Year Office of the National
Science Foundation, has Just
informed me that the United
States has successfully placed
a scientific earth satellite in
orbit around the earth.
Orbited by Jupiter
1.-THE satellite was orblted by
a modified Jupiter-C rocket.
This launching is part of our
country's participation in the
International Geophysical Year.
All information received from
this satellite promptly will be
made available to the scien-
tif1c community of the world"
Mr.. Hagerty added that all
further information on the
satellite would come from the
National Academy of Sciences
in washington.
The President had been watt
ing for the news. He had been
kept informed throughout the
evening of the progress of plans
for launching the satellite and
of the rocket firing at 10:48:16
pm.
Mr.. Eisenhower flew into Au-
guSta at las pm. yesterday.
Within an hour he was out on
the Augusta National course.
playing his first golf since his
November vacation here that
ended a few days before he
suffered a Stroke-like cerebral
occluSion on November IS.
Played Is Holes
In mild weather, with the
temperature in the COS, the
sun shining through broken
clouds and a brisk breeze
sweeping the invigorating scent
Of Georgia pines across the
course, he played Is holes. He
cut his game short because of
increasing winds and approach
ing darkness.
Mr.. Hagerty reported that the
President Laughed and said he
enjoyed it" as he finished the
abbreviated round.
Mr.. Eisenhower expected to
play more golf today, despite
rather stiff and chill winds. He
figured he could play those holes
that are more sheltered down
in valleys on the National
course, skipping the higher and
more exposed areas to spare
himself from the wind.
The Weather Bureau re-
ported at 10 am. that the tenn
perature was "A and winds were
blowing from the west at IS to
SO miles per hour. 1t was cloudy,
after heavy rain during the
night. The high temperature
expected today was IS.
From the golf course, the
President went right into q
bridge game at his cottage with
Clifford Roberts, New York in
vestment banker and board
chairman of the Augusta Ma
tional; Clarence Schoo, SPRING
field, Mass, box manufacturer,
and Barry Leithead, chairman
of the board of Cluett. Peabody
& Co., who few here from
| Washington with him.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01

ment may be a new United
States move to press President
Eisenhower's proposal to Soviet
Premier Bulganin for an agree
ment pledging outer space to
peaceful uses.
A new initiative on this pro-
poSal in the United Nations is
possible. though no specific ac-
ton has been decided on yet.
U. N. Agency Suggested
Secretary Of State Dulles has
suggested that a U. N. agency
might be created by East West
agreement to police a pledge to
limit space missiles and space
exploration to peaceful pur-
poses.
Unless some such system is
worked out officials here foresee
a long period of increasingly
grim, costly and dangerous
competition by the worlds great
powers for control of the skies.
AS officials presently see the
situation, the launching should
strengthen this country's hand
in negotiating with Russia for
a summit conference.
There is no doubt that State
Department leaders were re-
luctant to approach top-level
meeting so long as this country
was completely behind in the
satellite race.
Mr.. Eisenhower and Mr..
Dulles have insisted from the
first that Russia's ability to
launch its Sputniks - despite
implications of Soviet missile
capability-had not upset the
worlds balance of military
power.
Future Balance at Stake
But no one denied that it
threatened to upset the balance
in the future or that the Dip
llomatic balance had shifted in
Russia's favor and that consid-
cradle damage had been dealt
American prestige.
Part of the impact of Soviet
successes on world opinion, au-
thorities here say, was due to
the fact that Russia had
achieved spectacular accom-
Iplishments which many people
had assumed the United States
would take the lead in achieving
When the United States
finally did undertake its first
effort to catch up by launching
the Vanguard satellite rocket
on December 6, the operation
turned out to be a highly pub
llicized failure.
Authorities attributed consid-
erable prestige loss to the fall
lure because it raised doubts as
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01
MOSCOW PAPER
I'LOSES' DISPATCH
ON u. S. SATELLITE

MOSCOW (P).-The edi-
tor Of the newspaper Eve
ming Moscow, the Soviet
capitals only afternoon
newspaper, told Western
correspondents today he
had been told the story
about the American satel-
lite Explorer was interest
ing. But, he added, the
newspaper was unlikely to
print it.
I'VE seem to have mis-
laid our Tass dispatch on
that subject" he said.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01
President Stays Up Lote
ToGetWord on Satellite
BY GARRETT d. HORNER
star star Writer

AUGUSTA, Ca, Feb President Eisenhower stayed up
past midnight to early today that the United
States had put satellite into orbit around the earth
The event was welcome interruption for the President
in the week end of relaxation at golf and bridge for which
he few here yesterday
That's wonderful!n he exclaimed when informed about
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01
BY the Associated Press

DR.. Wernher Won Braun and
his 130-man team of former
German scientists finally have
Matched their egg-the satellite
carrying Jupiter-C rocket.
For two years DR.. Won Braun's
team at the Army balliStic
missile agency at Huntsville,
Ala, have been aching for an
opportunity to prove the Jupi-
ter-C could hoist an earth sat-
elite into the heavens.
The Jupiter-C sat in the
Army's machine shops while
the Navy got the job of putting
UP a satellite, using the VAN
guard rocket, with its 27,000-
pound thrust, as a launcher.
The first Vanguard effort on
December 6 was a failure.
When the existence of the
Jupiter-C first was reported by
the Associated Press last June
6, DR.. Won Braun made this
observation:
1T is a difficult thing for a
team which has a lead in eggs
not to get an opportunity to
hatch at least one of them"
Last night then was hatch
ing time.
Devised We Rocket
DR.. Won Braun and his team
of ex-Germans are the men
who devised the W. rocket
which nearly knocked London
to pieces in the final stages of
World War IL.
AS he once put it in an
interview:
There is no other team
which has carried the idea of
ballistic missiles forward from
| its earliest concepts to the
present. 1t is not that we are
geniuses. 1t is just that we
have been working on 1t so
long. We have already made
more mistakes than the other
people have"
The story Of how DR.. Won
Braun and his team came to
the United States goes back
to 1945 and the last days of
Hitler's Third Reich
Russians and the Western
allies we're sweeping through
Germany. One Of the major
detectives was the missile base
at Peenemunde on the Baltic
Sea.
AS the Russians neared the
base. the rocket scientists were
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-01

the state committee on cultura
relations with foreign countries
I'VE congratulate you." ht
told Western correspondents.
A Foreign Ministry spokes-
man said there was no comment
Immediately from Communist
Party Chief Nikita Khrushchey
or Premier Nikolai Bulganin.
He reminded Western CORE
spondents. however, of Mr.
Khrushchev'S statement at a
jubilee session Of the Supreme
Soviet (Parliament) last No
vember.
Urged Competition
Mr.. Khrushchev said then the
Soviet Union would welcome
friendly competition with the
United States in the field of
earth satellites rather than
ornaments.
Most Europeans got the news
on breakfast-time radio news
casts, since it came too late for
morning payers.
Communist East Germany's
radio station said the first
United States satellite was
launched at weeks after the
start of the Soviet Unions first
Sputnik." Sputnik I was
launched last october 3.
One of the first British
scientists to get the news was
DR.. Martin Ryle, director OF
the Cambridge radio observa-
tory that tracked the Soviet
satellites.
ITS a fine show, they have
got it up at last, a very good
thing" DR.. Ryle commented.
Lauded in Tokyo
Prof. Taxed Hatanaka OF
Tokyo University, one OF
Japan's top authorities on.solar
physics, said in Tokyo he was
certainly glad to hear (of the
launching) because the United
States definitely did it by keep
ing its word as its project for
the International Geophysical
Year (IGY)."
Another Japanese space ex.
pert. Mitsuo Harada, extended
a shouted congratulations" or
getting the news. Il have ex-
pected the success" he added.
An American officer at allied
headquarters outside Paris was
relieved by the news. I'm sure
glad we got that thing ur
there" he said. i've heard
about all the jokes / can take.
A West German government
official in Bonn said: "The
American people are to be con-
graduated on this great scien-
tific achievement" He added