Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-09-27
INTERPRETIVE REPORT

many persons around the Space
Administration late in the week
did not know Of It's existence.
While there was no backup
vehicle for the moonshot. there
was q backup Atlas in the
Big Joe phase Of Project Mer-
curry. This Is the phase, begun
earlier this month. involving
the firing Of an Atlas with q
mockup space capsule to alti-
tudes high above the atmos-
phere, and then bringing the
capsule back under the re-
entry conditions that will be
encountered by q manned cap
sule.
The Atlas used in the first
Big Joe shot did not behave
exactly as programmed. but re
portedly gave full satisfaction
as far as duplicating re-entry
conditions was concerned. AS
a result, NASA has decided to
divert the second Big Joe to
other purposes. Accordingly, a
moonshot vehicle has suddenly
become available.
THE main objectives Of the
Big Joe tests have been met
and there will be no backup
shot in this SERIES" Project
Mercury chiefs are reliably re-
ported to have ruled. This
might sound like q sly way Of
saving the day for Our Side
but for one fact: The decision
was made before-not after
the moon Atlas blew up.
DR.. Hugh L. Dryden, NASA
Deputy Administrator, is
known to have told an ac-
quaintance about the change
in Big Joe plans before he left
for Europe fully ~ hours prior
to the Cape Canaveral acci-
dent.
Rely on Jupiter and Thor
For the time being, with the
exception Of the Atlas diverted
from Big Joe. most NASAI
space work will continue to be
based on medium sized, stand
ardized intermediate range bal
listic missiles.
These are the Army's Jupiter
in its Juno-u version which
sent Pioneer " into orbit
around the sun, and the Air
Forces Thor in its Able and
Delta versions. Thor has
boosted more orbiters than any
other space vehicle. counting
the Discoverer military series.
NASAs space program for
the next six months or so
breaks down into two categor-
les - Project Mercury opera
tons and flight tests. i
According to DR.. Stewart,
Mercury will be in the phase
Of getting equipment ready.
building UP hardware including
vital ground station networks
and training the seven Astro-
nauts. A few Little Joe shots
from Wallops Island. Va, to
test recovery mechanisms and
analyze the behavior Of Chin
panzee passengers, can be ex-
pected.
In the flight test area. the
scientists said, there will be
several" more Explorer type
shots sending instruments Of
various kinds into many diff
ferent sorts of orbits.
Weather Research Program
In this period, too, DR.. Stew
art added, the start Of a i
weather research program can
be anticipated. He said NASA
and Weather Bureau scientists
are currently hard at work on
fairly well-advanced on cloud
cover scanners.
He predicted that the
weather satellites will have
early use for short-range |
weather forecasts" Their pic
lures Of the earth's mantle Of
clouds will afford much better
resolution than is obtained
from any optical type device
yet sent aloft.
Even amid the ashes Of last
Thursdays Atlas it was pos
sible to find a cheerful philoso-
pher willing to look at the
bright side Of things.
One scientist who preferred
not to be identified, admitted
that the Atlas accident was
highly embarrassing in view Of
the presence Of Soviet Premier
Khrushchev and Of the su-
perior performance Of the Rus
sian moon rocket earlier this
month.
But he added:
This shot might have been
very embarrassing for us, too
even if it had worked properly.
The equipment we had aboard
was just not DIS good as we