54 and 1955, Newspaper Coverage Has Grown by Leaps and Bounds
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Union Galendar No, 34 87th Ccmgress, 1st Seuioli ----- Hoitre Report So. 67 A CHRONOLOGY OF MISSILE AND ASTRONAUTIC EVENTS \ L% - \&dl REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EIGHTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION Serial b \ ! '.' I 1' , 'I 1 I ]A, I ,J i ;I J@(6AAclf8, 1961.- Comniittetl to thc Coninlittee of the N'liole House on ' i ~ the qate of the Union and ordered to be printed ! I _I. I lJ S. GOVERNMENT PRIN'I'ING OVF'IC'I.: 1 64426 WASHIN(:TON . I!)fil 4 6 I ! i i j 1 I! I I LETTER OF SUBMITTAL HOUSEOF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEEON SCIENCEAND ASTRONAUTICS, Washington, D.C., March 8, 1961. Hon. SAMRAYBURN, Speaker of the House of Representatitles, Washington, D.C. DEARMR. SPEAKER:By direction of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, I submit the following report on “A Chronology of Missile and Astronautic Events” for the consideration of the 87th Congress. Two reports issued by the predecessor Select Commiftee on Astro- nautics and Space Exploration included chronologies which have proved useful to many readers interested in our emerging missile and space capabilities and in world progress in these areas. It has seemed useful to expand slightly upon the original efforts and to bring the revised listings up to date. The chronology must be viewed as preliminary. Although an effort has been made to make it correct, unofficial sources have been relied upon quite heavily in order to widen the coverage. Dr. Charles S. Sheldon 11, technical director of the committee, supplemented his main Compilation with a few items collected either by the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress or by the Historian of the , wational Aeronautics and Space Administration. The manu- script was reviewed by other members of the professional staff, and also by appropriate offices in NASA, the Army, Navy, and Air Force for which appreciation is expressed. OVERTONBROOKS, Chairman. m LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL HOUSEOF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEEON SCIENCEAND ASTRONAUTICS, Washington, D.C., February 24, 1961. Hon. OVERTONBROOKS, Chairman, Committee on Science and Astronautics. DEARMR. CHAIRMAN:I am forwarding herewith €or committee consideration a report on “A Chronology of Missile and Astronautic Events” prepared by Dr. Charles S. Sheldon 11, technical director of the committee. Two reports issued by the predecessor Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration included chronologies which have proved useful to many readers interested in our emerging missile and space capabilities and in world progress in these areas. It has seemed useful to expand slightly upon the original efforts and to bring the revised listings up to date. The chronology must be viewed as preliminary. Although an effort has been made to make it correct, unofficial sources have been relied upon quite heavily in order to widen the coverage which was possible even at the risk of some inaccuracies. It is hoped that readers will call any inconsistencies to the attention of staff for correction in any future edition. The main compilation prepared in the Com- mittee has been supplemented with a few items collected either by the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress or by the Historian of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The manuscript was reviewed by other members of the professional staff, and also by appropriate offices in NASA, the Army, Navy, and Air Force for which appreciation is expressed. CHARLESF. DUCANDER, Executive Director and Chief Counsel. V Union Calendar No.34 A CHRONOLOGY OF MISSILE AND ASTRONAUTIC EVENTS MARCH8, lSbl.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House 011 the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. BROOKSof Louisiana, from the Committee on Science and Astronautics, submitted the following REPORT A CHRONOLOGY OF MISSILE AND ASTRONAUTIC EVENTS INTRODUCTION As the world moves visibly into what is popularly called the “space age,” events are piling up so fast that soon the path down which we have come will be quite obscured by the continuing flood of news. It is instructive to step back sufficiently for some small perspective which a chronology of the nature reported here permits. It would be valuable to assesss the relative importance of different contributions in science, technology, and public policy which have brou ht us to our present levels of achievement. But this is a job whicf must be left to the full-time researcher in a more cloistered atmosphere than that of a Congressional office. The goal of the listing contained in this report is relatively modest. It is intended as a handy reference for the non-specialist to some of the significant events in both missilry and astronautics. Several categories of information have been covered. Dates of important launchings have been included, and wherever available, the contem- porary information has been cross-checked against later information on performance and characteristics to permit refinements and correc- tions. Included are all known satellite and deep space probe efforts. A second category of information includes key administrative deci- sions and directives important to either the organization or the pursuit of space progress. Because of our legislative responsibilities in this committee, a special effort has been made to record all major re orts, legislation, and organizational steps in the Congress which reP ate to space. A third category of information is more subjective in character. Enough statements of future plans, predictions of progress, and policy views have been included to give more insight into trends than a listing of physical events alone would provide. Such a tabulation of policy views and predictions can not be complete, but it is indicative of trends. A fourth category represents a catchall of announcements of dis- coveries, issuances of key books and reports, and even a few birthdays that have some bearing on space. A word is necessary on source materials and how they have been used. Legislative information has been derived from internal infor- mation including reference to the reports and bills in question and the official calendar of the committee, together with such information as has been made available by the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. The semiannual and annual reports of the executive branch of Government related to space have also been scrutinized, and occasional press releases summarizing launchin data have been put to use. Newspaper clippings and indexes %ave been used very extensively because the thoroughness of the American press in reporting has added greatly to the value of the record which could be put together. 1 2 A CHRONOLOGY OF MISSILE AND ASTRONAUTIC EVENTS However, such reports frequently have to be written hurriedly and on the basis of incomplete information, so the information is subject to some errors of fact arid interpretation. Because this chronology does not purport to be a definitive listing based exclusively on officially announced policies and factual events there has been the freedom to use many unofficial items which add to the overall value of the study. It should particularly be em- phasized that there is no absolute way to check the accuracy of every Soviet claim which has been included. These and many other uncheckable items have been included nevertheless because of their general usefulness, and whether all of them are accurate or not, their appearance at the time became factors in policy making, and therefore their place in history is legitimate. The committee must make clear that it neither infers agreement with any views expressed in the items listed, nor does it confirni the accuracy of any rumors or claims expressed in these items. A few items in the chronology date back about a century. There was no offort to trace every idea or invention which has made space exploration possible, for such a review would in effect be a complete history of science and teclmology. ,4 few of the rocket developments between the two world wars have been reported, and since World War 11, many missile events have been included. Par- ticularly since the IGY satellite programs were planned in 1954 and 1955, newspaper coverage has grown by leaps and bounds. Since 1958, there have been legislative acts and reports, and corresponding developments in the executive branch which have been included. Readers can help the accuracy and completeness of any future committee chronology by calling to our attention items of interest incomplete or in error in the span of years covered by this report. As far as possible, specific days have been listed in chronological order. Where the month but not the day is known, these items have been listed at the end of the month in question, and the same is true where only the year is known: these items appear at the end of the year. In some cases a specific date is not known, but the item is listed under the date announcement was made in the press release or the newspaper. THECHRONOLOGY 1686 Sir Isaac Newton tlescribed how an Earth satellite is placed in orbit. 1857 September 5: Birthday of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky at Ijevsk, Ryazan, Russia. Anniversary regarded as possible target date for Soviet space exploits. 1865 Jules Verne published the first half of “De la Terre SL In Lune” (From the Earth to the Moon). 1869 Edward Everett Hale published “The Brick Moon” which discusses a heat-resistant, manned, communications, reconnaissance, ttrid risviga tion satellite. A CHRONOLOGY OF MISSILE AND ASTRONAUTIC EVENTS 3 1882 October 5: Birthday of Robert H. Goddard at Worcester, Mass. 1893 Tsiolkovsky wrote “On the Moon”. 1894 June 25: Birthday of Hermann Oberth at Sibiu (Hermannstadt), Transylvania. 1895 Tsiolkovsky published his first article on space travel in Nature and Men. 1898 Tsiolkovsky submitted “The Rocket into Cosmic Space” to the editors of Science Survey.