NDUP.
VOL. 2, NO. 17 MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS JUNE 12, 1963 ------~---- Recruiting Opens For 10-15 New Astronauts Deadline For New Application Is l'J . The First Of July . ) :i.----- The National Aeronau / . ' . tics and Space Adminis tration will recruit ten to 15 new astronaut trainees this summer, NASA an nounced last week. Open to both civilian and militarv volunteers, the pro gram has a July 1 cut-off date for applications. "'-lilitary serv ices, which will pre-screen their pilots, will have until July 15 to pass on to NASA their recommended applicants. Pilots selected will join the current astronaut pilot pool in October, based at \ISC. \Vith slight exceptions, selec tion criteria ai'F' similar to those used in the selection of nine manned space flight candi dates chosen in 1962. To qual ify a candidate must: 1. Be a Unit eel States citizen.
UP IN THE AIR, in more ways than one. The expressions of these three astronauts mirror the strangeness of their sensations as their feet rise from the 2. Have been born after June floor of an Air Force C-135 during weightlessness orientation at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. The plane, specially padded inside, dives to gain 30, 1929, so that he does not speed, climbs sharply and dives again. At the top of the parabolic curve at the end of the climb, occupants experience about 60 seconds of weightless reach his 34th birthday until ness. Left to right are Astronauts Thomas Stafford, Frank Borman and James Lovell, three of the astronauts chosen last September for programs beyond Mercury. All nine of the "new" astronauts got a chance to experience weightlessness in a four-day trip to Wright-Patterson April 22-25 when they were (Continued 011 page 2) taken aloft in the special plane in groups of three. The nine also experimented with a space manuevering unit, a back pack designed to propel them. MA-9 Problems On Reentry Center Operation Divisons Split Traced To Insulation Break Into Two Groups In Reorganization Till' 1nalfuuction that caused astronaut Gordon Cooper to n1anuall' fly "Faith 7" during reentry on \IA-9 has been traced ~lanned Spacecraft Center \lanager \Im·tin A. Byrnes. Walter C. Williams. He will to t\\·o connt·dors iu an electrical amplifier. The two connectors last week announced a realign The Office of Center Opera also monitor business admin ar<' localt'd in till' amp cal (amplifier calibrator), where electrical ment of its administrative tions \lanager has been elim istration activities at \ISC's signals h-on1 \'arious spac(_Traft systen1s are converted into c:onl organization, headed by Assist inated. \\'bite Sands Resident Office nlands. ant Director for Administration Byrnes will be responsible and at Cape Canaveral Opera power li nc to find a ground, TIH·S<· l'OIIIIIIallds adi\·ate Wesley L. Hjornevik. for assuring that effective busi tions. cattsing a short circuit. th<' hnlrog"" peroxidt• jet The major change is the ness rnanagen1ent service is Those divisions which for The inverters will not op thrustt'rs in thl' auto111atic con establishment of the position provided to those elements of merly came under the \lan erate in the event of such a trol sy.stt·111 to mai11tain prop<'r of \lanager for \I issions and the Center reporting to Deputy agcr, Center Operations, have malfunction in the circuit. A spact'crai't po.sition in rl'lation Operations Support, occupied Director for \lission Require now been realigned in two post-Hight examination of the to tht· t•arth. by former Center Operations ments and Flight Operations (Contint~ed on page 2) Th" spac<·craft S<'l!sors in inverters themselves showed clude thl' ,g,roscop<· and infra them to he undamaged. r('d hori/oll Sl'anners. Corrosion was found in First, till' appt·arai!C<' of the and around another electrical .'O.'lg pam·! light and latn the connector through which some failure of th,. ac pmn·r from the of the .O.')g circuit passed. Pre inn·rtcr signalled problems Sl'lll'l' of the corrosion indi to :\stroiiaut Coop('r. cated the possibility that mois Ddailt·d post-flight l'X
Apollo Mission Simulators Are ,.JJ " Ordered For Houston And Cape ;;·~"!!li Apollo mission trainer.s to put space-bound astronauts through simulated two-\H'<'k trips to the moon and hack hm·e been ~·:-:. ordered for :\AS.\"s '\lanned Spacecraft Center. The Link Di,·ison of Gen------era! Precision, Inc., Hing- Digital Computers kunpton. :s:. Y. was selected Are Ordered For ll\ :\orth AIIH'rican Avia- tion·., Space s, stt'liiS Di\ i- Saturn v Checkout sion, Downt·v, Califi>rnia, to den·lop and i11stall the two High-speed digital com spact•craft si11ndators. :\IIH>unt puters to check out the huge I\" of tlH· co11tract is '''l"'cted to second stage of ASA' s Saturn total approxi111ately .";,) ..') mil y launch vehicle have been ordered from Control Data l i 0 II. 011e oftll<' si1111dators willlH' Corporation, '\linneapolis. placed at \ISC hnc i11 Hous Amount of the contract is toll a11d the othcr is to lw expected to be more than at the :\!Ltntic '\lissile Range, 8:2,200,000. Cap<' C:a11an•ral. The '\linnesota firm was Thc Apollo mission simu selected by :\orth American Aviation's Space and Informa lators wi II trai 11 astronauts from la1111ch through lunar tion Systems Division, princi pal contractor for the Saturn orbit and rdurn to earth. ( S-11) second stage. The Saturn C11iqw· in design, the train project is under the technical er pro,·ides a new concept in si111ulati<•n which will project direction of :\'ASA's '\larshall the trai11ing into deep sp
ABORT TOWER is placed on top of simulated Apollo test pay CONVAIR PLANT, near midtown San Diego and adjacent to Lindbergh Field-the municipal air load. This boilerplate, dummy payload will be launched on port, encompasses three million square feet of company-owned laboratory and factory areas. first Little Joe II flight at White Sands and permit a true check This includes a seaplane test and overhaul facility on San Diego Bay near a Naval Air Station. out of the launch vehicle. The test is scheduled next month. Within 32 days the first Little During the past year the pany of America uses t•xisting Joe II flight- a vehicle quali Little Joe II program, which is dies and machines. The cor fication test-will take place at managed by the '-.tanned mgated ski 11 is made 011 the the White Sands Missile Range Spacecraft Center and has been same folding 1nachines used in New :-.texico. consistently on schedule and to put "\\·a\·es" in industrial Only one year ago last month on-or under-budget, has siding and from dies similar to the National Aeronautics and been credited with a number those usl'd for patio roofing. Space Administration selected of "firsts:" The l'OJTugat<-d skin i nher General Dynamics/Convair to In 1\:ovember of 1962 Con ently incrl'ases the strcn)..,>th of design and manufacture the vair became the first Apollo the vehicle. The corrugation Little Joe II launch vehicle. program contractor to put a acts as the \'t•rticlc support for The tightness of this sche high-speed automatic PERT the vc·hicle, eliminating the dule for a completely new data transmission system in need for combination ri\·eted launch vehicle - only 14 operation between .its plant skin and steel stringers. The months from contract go-a location and the :-vlanned corrugated skin is ri\'l·ted di head to first flight- indicates Space craft Center. \Vi th eli rect rectly onto ring frames. the importance of Little Joe computer-to-computer com The Little Joe I l launch ve II to the manned lunar land munication, Convair sends a hicle airframe consists of a l'\' ing program. two-week program pro1,rress lindrical body and four fin.s. Little Joe II will be used to report to Houston in five min The airframe is produced in thrust the Apollo spacecraft utes. two sections: a forebody about on unmanned suborbital test In February of this year Con 19 feet long and an afterh(}(h· flights. It will qualify the un vair became the first m<\ior about I 0 feet long. The fm;r manned Apollo launch escape Apollo program contractor fins, each about .'50 square feet system and command module to receive a definitive con in area, are spaced around the prior to missions using major tract from NASA. It called for afterhodv. MACHINIST turns Little Joe II ring thrust reaction part in gap launch vehicles. Convair to design and manu The n;ain structural member lathe. Convair craftsmen are supported by modern equipment, Convair has tailored Little facture four Little Joe II launch of the vehicle is the thrust hulk including type-controlled numerical milling machines. Joe II design and fabrication vehicles and two launchers, head located at the lower end to meet NASA's requirements and furnish support at the of the afterbodv. The solid for a low cost, expendable White Sands 1\lissile Range. fue I rocket mot<;rs that prope I launch vehicle that is simple, In order to fulfill the :\fASA the vehicle are mounted in this reliable and versatile. requirements for a low-cost, bulkhead. On the initial flight, Little simple and reliable launch ve The vehicle can accommo Joe II will be topped by a Con hicle, Convair has designed date as many as se\Tn Acrojet vair-designed simulation of Little Joe II around already General Algol motors which the North American Aviation proven systems and compon have a maximum thrust capa Company's test Apollo pay ents that are available on an bility of approximately 720,000 load. By using the boilerplate off-the-shelf basis. lbs. The \lncury-Atbs bunch payload, engineers will be able vehicle, for comparison, has to obtain extensive informa Little Joe II is the first launch approximately :3(i0,000 lhs. of tion regarding the performance vehicle that is being value con thrust. of the launch vehicle and its trolled from preliminary de Tailoring the thrust of Little systems. sign to first flight. Utilization of J ot• II to fit specific mission Preparations for the first the latest value engineering re CONVAIR CARPENTER works on wood assembly fixture for Little Joe II bulkhead. Use of wood tools- rather than steel- resulted from value analysis recommendation. Wood serves the purpose and lowers assembly cost. The bulkhead is the main structural member. 'lilt' ' 1111 , ·r is d<'s i ~twd to s \\·i n·l through tion of A\IR complexes 11, 12, ceptors. 1111.. .Ill a 1-Hl dt·.~n·<· arc so the n·hicle 1:1 and 14. Complex 14 is the Other produets concei,·ecl at can lw ,.\\·tnt~ awa,· from the otH' ust>d for mcmned orbited Convair led to the establish .u:antry and aina·d do\\·n range. launches of Astronauts Glenn, ment of separate General Dy UPPER BARREL-SHAPED section of first Little Joe II launch Tlw lauuclwr ccut lw aiuwd iu C:aqwntl'r, Schirm and Cooper. namics divisions for their de vehicle is lowered into position. The white cylinder protruding t'lt·\·ation hch\'t•t·n 7.7 dcgn·es Engineering and fabrie,ttion sign and manufacture. These from the afterbody is a chamber mock-up of a solid-fuel Algol aud a \<·rtical position. To etc tasks were also assignt>cl to include the Atlas launch ve rocket motor. The motor is made by Aerojet General. count for anY shift in wind, tlw C:on\·air on the Atlas D, E and hicle i GD/Astronauties), and ai 111 i.s acc-un;t,. and controllah le F series; l'rojt'ct Ct>ntaur: :\t the Terrier guided missile r1p tn firin!.! fillH'- Lts tarc>:d for :\ike-Zeus; and (GD/Pomona). Littk Jol' II is tlw first :\ASA the Atlas booster for \lercury, Through the years, Cmwair Scunos, .-\gnes and Able-.5 space pro~rctnt a\\·ard<'d to C:ou\air. It in San Diego has pioneered a l)r<)grarns. ba-.., bct·n gi\'Pil a top priorlt~ number of aircraft concepts (~onYair enginet:>ring ancl In· th<' Sau Dit·.~o coutpcul\ aud that enabled it to design, de ntanufacturi ng faci 1i ties- en velop and build the worlds eompassin~ three million first successful ,·ertical take square fpet of company·-owned off fighter, the N The SPACE NEWS ROUNDUP, an official publi MSC PERSONALITY I cation of the Manned Spacecraft Center, !WELCOME National Aeronautics and Space Administra ABOARD Holland-Born Andre J. Meyer tion, Houston, Texas, is published for MSC personnel by the Public Affairs Office. Over 120 new employees Has 20 Years With NASA-NACA joined .V1SC between \lay 26 Born in Rotterdam, Holland, .\!SC's chid' of the Project Director ••..•••.•••.•• Robert R. Gilruth and June 5, all but 11 of them Administration Office, Project Gemini, is Andre J . .\lt'yer, Jr. Public Affairs Officer ••..•• John A. Powers here in Houston. This vear is r-ot eyer's 20th of continuous :\'AC:A-1\ASA serviee. Chief, Internal Communications • Ivan D. Ertel Preflight Operations Did Hi~ parents immigrated to Editor •...... ••..••••••. Anne T. Corey sion (Cape Canaveral): Arthur the United States t'arly in his L. Arnold, Edward E. Wright, life, settling in Detroit, and Jr., PaulK. Burdime,andRaoul later in Lexington, Ky. As a D. Smith. youngster he liked model air Flight Operations Division: planes,and designed and build Janie M. Plunkett, Eugene J. a working model of a five Langenfield, James J. Taylor, cylinder rotary aircraft engine. Joseph W. Hall, Charley B. Before he had finished eol Parker, Daryl R. Lostak, Bed lege at the C niversity of Ken ford F. Cockrell, Larry J. Mee tucky, where he received a ker, David E. Jungbauer, and B.S. in Mechanical Engineer Elric !\. .V1cHenry. ing in 1943, .\!eyer had already White Sands Missile Range put in nine months as a work Operations: Carl F. Radwan ing toolmaker, nearly a year ski, Melton 'v1. Aldridge, How as a part-time draftsman in an ard W. Feindel, Donald D. airplane engine company, and Kingsbury, and PaulS. Sullen six months as instructor of a berger. college ordnance class. Logistics Division: Leo Nic Immediately after gradua AndreJ. Meyer, Jr. hols, John A. Carlins, Rene E. tion, .\!eyer went to work at Zedekar, Myron 'vt. Hendirck NACA's Aircraft Engine Re opment of root fastenings suit son, and James E. Mikus. search Laboratorv in Cleve able for brittle turbine blade Personnel Division: Pene land, which later became materials, and the develop lope Elling, James E. Zema Lewis Research Center, in ment of several nove I air nek, Betty J. Moore, l\'ancy E. engine and propeller vibration eooled turbine blade designs Williford, John B. Merryman, research work. with good eooling character Ben J. Brookman, Jr., Wilfred Meyer became head of the istics and high reliability. He S. Litzler, Jamie S. Penny, Stress and Vibration Section in authored some 33 technical Susan P. Davenport, William 1952, was made an assistant papers and received four L. Gotcher, Jr., Rebecca A. branch chief when the section patents for inventions. Baas, John E. Novotny, Loren became a branch in 1957, and During his last several yl•ars E. Gearhart, Miles A. Smither, became associate branch chief, with Lewis, \!eyer spent much Patricia C. Carter, Harold M. Structures Branch in 1957. of his time on temporary duty Martin, Richard H. Smith, In his 1.5 years at Lewis, his at I .angl<-y He search Cent<'r James D. Bozeman, Robert F. working with tlw group that "Which one of you is in charge?" research in the vibration of Beckman, Lenora F. Guin, rotary engine parts was parti was later to form Space Task A Harvard College astronomer says if Mars is Jesse .\1. \Valker, Karen K. cularly noteworthy. Group. In July of 1959, he Meigs, Diane L. Farman, and transferred officially from inhabited, its life must look something like a cross His contributions included a Leroy Fair. Lewis to Space Task Group as slip ring system which he de between a unicorn, an elephant and a bear. Mercury Project Office: Wal assistant chief of the Engineer veloped for measuring vibra But, Dr. Donald H. Menzel believes, the possibility ter M. Winnette, Jr. ing and Specifications Divi tory stresses in rotating parts, of such life is very remote. Gemini Project Office: Regi sion, coordinating the monitor invention of a coil pick-up nald M. Machell, and Dwayne th~ ing of contracts for Project Because of the physical nature of the planet, Dr. with no moving parts for mea L. Forsythe (St. Louis, Mo.) Mercury and aiding in the Menzel says, a typical Martian would have an elong suring vibration in axial flow Apollo Project Office: Vera direction of the design engi compressor blades, the devel- ated he I ASTRONAUT WALTER M. SCHIRRA takes a piece of wild pork from a roasting stick as part of his ASTRONAUT JAMES LOVELL gives a boa constrictor the once first jungle meal as the other 1 S astronauts dig in. The flight crew took four days of jungle over at the U. S. Carribean Air Command Tropical Survival survival training at the U.S. Carribean Air Command's Tropical Survival School in the Panama School. Two of the snakes ran free in the classroom in which the Canal Zone. Following classroom instruction the crew spent three days in the jungle itself. astronauts received their initial lectures. (See story, page 8.) Corps of Engineers Calls For Bids On Merritt Island V AB Eight Astronauts Practice Troubled The l'. S ..\rm:> Corps of an upright position and moved Engineers has called for bids vertit:ally to launt:h pads sev Moon Landing Well In Advance on Oil<' construction project eral miles away. '""""'-ctcd with :\.\SA's Sat Eight of NASA's astronauts were "Hying" a unique simulator at Ling-Temco-Vought in Dallas Estimated t:ost of the steel urn \' \loon exploration coJn last month to study well in advance the problem of what to do should the Apollo lunar excur work is 8:32 million. Subse plex at Merritt Island. The sion module's primary guidance system fail during the vehicle's descent to the moon and the quent contracts will call for project has a price tag esti landing have to be abandoned. foundation preparation, out nJ NDUP. SECOND FRONT PAGE Space Technology Laboratory To Build LEM Descent Engine The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, contracted by \!an ned Spacecraft Center to build the Lunar landing vehicle in which two U.S. AstrmHmts will descend to the moon's surface, has named Space Technology Laboratory to develop the lunar descent and landing engine. A division of Thomason Westinghouse Gets Ramo-Wooldridge Corpora tion, STL was selected by Centrifuge Drive Grumman as a result of compe tition. System Contract The lunar excursion module (LE.\1) of Project Apollo will :\lannccl Spacecraft Center detach from the Apollo space has awarded a definitizcd con craft orbiting around the moon, tract estimated at $949,000 to and will slowly descend to its the Westinghouse Electric Cor surface. A TAPIR gazes back at an audience of interested astronauts from the serenity of his pool, as poration for the clesi!-,'11 and de Two approaches to develop Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr. makes friends with another tropical animal, a peccary. Both livery of the main drive system ment of the descent and land species are found in the jungle. (More pictures, page 7.) of the flight acceleration fa ing t•ngine for the LE:Vl are cility to be built at 'v!SC's !wing pursued. STL is devel Motion Simulator Clear Lake site. oping an engine with a ten-to Three Days In Panama Jungle The svstcm is clue to be in one mechanical throttling To Test Astronaut stalledl;y mid-t-.lay, 1964. range, while Rocketdyne-a Vibration Reaction Teach Astronauts To Survive The main drive motor and division of the North American three-unit motor generators Aviation Corporation- was A six-degree-of-motion sim The 16 astronauts spent two nights and three da\'S in the set and switch gear will he recently selected by Grumman ulator will be installed at jungles of Panama last week, part of a first-hand ~-ourse in fabricated rook vision, East Pittsburgh, Penn parallel development program to test astronauts' reactions to AFB, Panama Canal Zone. sylvania, and its Research and will continue for approximately the severe vibrations of launch sions planned for the future, Development Center, Pitts a year before a decision will be and reentry. They spent their three-day burgh. The tests are designed to trek separated into two-man missions which will re(}Uire a made between the two devel spacecraft to fly over a f!:r<'att>r The flight acceleration con opment approaches. The find out more about the toler teams, completely out of sight land area of the earth's surface. trol system will he fabricated selected method will go into ance of the astronauts to some or hailing distance of each There is a remote possibility at the \Vestinghouse Plant in production models of the LEJ\L actual flight conditions. other. One instructor was as Buffalo, New York. The simulator study was signed to monitor the activities that a spacecraft would have to :VISC will use the flight ac ered in space flight. conceived after the discovery of each two teams, by radio. llhlke an en1ergcncy landing iu celeration facility for crew The main drive motor will of severe linear and angular The group experienced pri a tropical area. training, for equipment de provide power to rotate a 50- oscillations during the launch mitive existance, dressed only The course of instruction velopment and test and bio foot arm at the end of which and re-entry of space vehicles, in boots and long underwear, was presented by H. \!organ medical testing under g-loads will be fixed gondolas for men low-altitude aircraft flight, the garb they would wear in Smith, Director of the Tropic equivalent to those encount- or equipment. (Continued on Page 3) the event of a jungle landing. Survival School, and his staff (Pressure suits would have to and included classroom in be discarded after such a land struction on a varietv of sub ing.) jects. The astronauts (earned to identify poisonous tropical The group was taught to live plants, their locations, safety on plants, fruits and animal precautions and first aid; iden life which they recognized as tification of edible plants and edible. They slept in shelters fruit, location, and method of erected from jungle materials preparation prior to enner Lo security man ruefully. \1. Greenburg, John E. De Space Encironment Divi raine Landrus of Lexington, It is hoped that other physical characteristics, listed Fife, Donald 'vt. Curry, Jerry sion: David E. Pitts, ,md Jerry Kv. Mever is tlw father of twin C. Smithson, Harriet C. Hat on the back of the card, will change more gradually. W. Reedy. gi.rls, r-.{arilyn Lou and Carolyn ., ., ., cher, Dannie C. Barclay, Wil Computation and Data Re Ann, !9; and two boys, Andre liam R. Hammock, Jr. \Villiam duction Division: David D. V, !6 and Hruce Allen, !3. Call it either innocent helpfulness or a pretty wry W . .\1clv1ahon, John F. Burg Bland, Jr., Walter A. Bollfrass, Marilyn is taking nursing at wisecrack. Anyhow, among the several thousand fan land, James J. Kotanchik, and Alexandra E. \Vynnczok, the \lemorial Baptist Hospital letters pouring into Cape Canaveral for Astronaut Jack S. Keggins. l\'ancy E. Earle, and Anthony in Houston and Carolyn was Gordon Cooper are a number of packages. One of Procurement and Contracts J. Coumelis. last year uamed Outstanding Division: Jacqueline A. Pound, them contained a complete diesel filter, in apparent Technical Serdces Division: Freshman of the Year at the Cynthia J. Martin, J eanene Rodney P. Kaufhold, and Ma University of Houston, where reference to the balky deisel engine which refused to Harville, Helen .\1. Fagnana, rion R. Zedekar. sht' is in a special advanced move the Pad 14 gantry back during the one-day delay Judith A. Woodward, Mary L. Photographic Services Divi class of the top 2.5 students. in Cooper's flight. Summers, Nancy L. Middleton, sion: \Valter D. Hanby. Meyer's hobby, which began ., ., ., and Stephen M. Newman. Facilities Division: David with a mineral collection in his Casey Stengal, the beloved ageless-wonder man Security Division: Sherry A. .\1. McStravick. boyhood, is gem-cutting, but Hicks, Polly J. Windle, Judith Ground Systems Project he says he hasn't had much ager of the New York ~lets, expressed real concern C. McDaniell, Paula Ann Office: Robert T. Voigt. time to do anything except recently during Astronaut Cooper's flight. Said he, Stricklin, Sandra A. Pace, and Public Affairs Office Dow collect materials lately. He "Does that fella get meal money while he's traveling Judith C. McDaniel. ney, Calif.: Edward A. Orze also likes boating and taking up there?" Technical Information Divi- chowski. the boys fishing. SPACE NEWS ROUNDUP JUNE 12, 1963 PAGE 7 • '