NEWS RELEASE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 1520 H STREET, NORTHWEST . WASHINGTON 25, D. C. TELEPHONES' DUDLEY 2-6325 EXECUTIVE 3-3260 FOR RELEASE: March 1, 1961 , SOVIET SA$ELLITES REENTER EARTH 1 s ATMOSPHERES Sputnik VII, the 7-ton Soviet satellite launched on Feb. 4, 1961, has burned up in the earth's atmosphere. Tracking information from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center indicates the satellite, Beta 1, decayed on February 26, 1961. Another object, Beta 3, believed to have been ejected or broken off from Sputnik VI1 is still in orbit. A portion of Sputnik VIII, the satellite from which the Russian Venus probe was launched on Feb. 12, reentered the earth's atmosphere on Feb. 25, 1961. A second part, Gamma 4, is still in earth orbit. - END - See Release No. 61-26 1/61-39 Presentation by 7--2.-J I- 1. - - ------r.hI,--r Dr, Robert C. Semans, Yr,, Associate PdminiBtretor, an Dr. Robert Yastrow, Chief, Theoretical Div,, Godd of the 'rr National Aeronautics and Space Administration before the F SIXTEENTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION Chicago, Illinois March 8, 1961 THE ROLE OF BIGXER EDUCATION IN THE DEVELOPING SPACE AGE We are very happy to participate in the Sizxeeenth National Conference on Xigher Education. Space is a challenging frontier which man has just begun exploiting, and it is only approaekable through careful and thorough exploration. I &n certain Chat rhe various segments of our socL,;y will be repaid'for the effort expended venturing into this unknown but East p.ror,ising territory. These segments include government agencies, indf;Gt.ry, 'and most cert&inly our schools itnd colleges. Our presentation todaqwill ineIr.de a brief discussion of the NASA program, followed by a discussion of the nethods we are using to expand scientific knowledge of space and to develop the technology for space exploration. I hope you will agree with me after this presentation, if you Gon't already, that the national space program offers treaendoas opportunities to higher education. -2- I. NASA OBJECTIVES AND PROGRAM NASA will be 2% years old the end of this month. The agency was created because it was felt that the nation’s space program should not be oriented to military goals, but rather should be -- in the words of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 -0 “for the benefit of all mankind,” Space exploration holds promise of adding importantly to our knowledge of the earth, the solar system, and the universe. This exploration is directed by a civilian agency in order to provide the fullest cooperation of the scientific community at home and abroad. Moreover, a civilian setting for the administration of space functions emphasizes the concern of our nation that outer space be devoted to peaceful and scientific purposes. At its birth, NASA absorbed the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, a highly respected, 43 year old aeronautical research agency which had also participated in space research. To the 8,000 NACA scientists, engineers, and technical and administrative personnel in a Washington, D, C. Headquarters and five field centers, other excellent groups were added to form the new agency. Among these were the 157 staff members of the Naval Research Laboratory Vanguard group who came over on November 30, 1958, the approximately 2,500 people of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, operated under NASA contract by the California Institute of Technology since December 3, 1958. On July 1 of last -3- yeEr, more than 5,000 people of the Developmant Operations Divioion, k;y Zcllistic Missile Agency, Huntsville, Alnbmm, were added. Tod~y,Gur total mployee strength -- excluding the Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- is more than :5,000. We now have an all-around space research and development capacity. In tkL3 regard, may I euphasize that despite NASA's necessary growth during the last two years, we are determined that universities andb industry shall get an ever-increasing shore of NASA budget dollars. Contract psrticipntion currently amounts to more than 75 per cent of those dollars. We feel that the NASA staff should be kept at the level required to plan the space exploration pr~g~~ii~and to organize, contract for and over-see its implementatioa, and to conduct sufficient in-house efforh, to maintain the calibre of our scientific and technical personnel. The hudget for Fischl Year 1961 provides $i71,000,000 to fund the salaries and personnel expenses of the KSb organization. Contract effort provides for the construction of new facilities and the support of the research and developnent activities. The Fiscal Year 1961 budget authorizes $123,000,000 for construction and $621,000,000 for research and development. The research and development includes work on propulsion systems, propellants, power supplies, structures and materials, guidance and control, instrumentation and telemetry, and aerodynamics; as well as the development of launch vehicles and the conduct of the satellite program. As scipulaced in the Space Ask af 1453; WPSA is required ''to ~SVC:G~ and operate space vehicles for a variety of pcrposes." These purposes can be rollghly divided into t'tlese categories: unminrled scientific exploration, manned space flight, and application developments. The budget includes funds for a variety of uniinned scientific satellites, manned exploratioq and satellites for development of meteorological and cornmication systems. HSO ineluded in the budget aze funis for r~searctiand. study of mdny additional satellites which will be flown in fuzure years. Obviously, time does not permit a detailed dLiOCk;SSiOi. of :he various aspects of our satellite program but here let me give you several of the highlights. Ummned Scientific Exploration As H have already Pndlcated, we have planned a large number of unmanned scientific satellites. The ~UK~S~Sof these satellites range from investigating the earth's a&m6s?bcre9 the ionosphere, the energetic particles and fields about the earth, to lavestigating the sun and the L galaxies. These satellites have beerr: specially tailored to each particular mission or series of missions. &no& our most suseessfanl experfn;ent.o to date have been the Pioneer series of space probes. Pioneer V, for example -- launched into solar orbit on March 21 of last year e- was tracked imo space to a distance of 22.5 million miles, still the greatest distance any man-made object has been tracked. Pioneer V sent back scientific data on conditions in space until communication contact was Isst on June 26, 1960. A model of Pioneer V is QII display here at your Conference. This space probe -5- gave us new and valuable infomation about cosmic rays, the earth's rdpstic field, solar "storma," and evidenca of the existcnce of o 1;Zr;c %ing current" circulating around the earth aa: altitudes of fro3 zbout 3G,300 &lea to 60,000 miles. Dr, Eobere Jastrow W~O13 here wPt:h ne tod~ywill discuss these results and their scientific implication with YOU in detail further on in the program. Leunch vehicles, such as the &em and the Centaur, will sobn be available, with greatly improved load-carrying capability. Detailed plans have been made and work will soon begin an 8n Orbiting Geophysical Obscwatory, based on the use of the Ageria. This observatory will be one of our first standardized satellites, with a stock-model structure, basic power supply, attibrade control, telemetry, and command system. Its modular compartments are capable of carrying 50 different geophysical expriments on any one mission. For this reason, it is often referred to as the "streetcar" satellite, The observatory will be about six feet , long by three feet square. The twsolar paddles used to collect energy lrom the sun will be about six feet square, The satellite will weigh 1,000 pobnds and will include 150 pounds of scientific experiments. NlSA also has well-advanced plans for exploring the moon. A lunar spacecraft 0- known as Ranger -- has been designed to carry an instrument pzcktage built ruggedly enough to survive a crash landing on the moon. Then its instruments will record and radio back to earth data on the make-up of the lunar surface. We wi.11 begin test flights of Ranger this year, using the Atlas-Agene launch vehicle. - 6- Following Ranger will come Sumeyol, n spacecraft that will be able to mke E? so-called "soft lacding" oa the Ezaono mre delicate ocicacific ins'si-uaents than those inn Ranger cow thus be enplsyed. Also under way is a spacecraft thct vi11 fly cloae'to Vewm end liars, and later perhaps other, m~ediert~ert planets. This spacecraft, c&led Nariner, will carry inzstrorzmts to meamre planetary atmaphere, surfece temperatures, rotation rates, wgnetic fields, ~ndsurrouiwling radiction regions. The Mariner series will be launched by our Centaur vehicle. The lunar and planetary explorations are not only for scientific investigations but also to initiate the technological developments that will lead to eventual manned flights throughout our solar system, Hanned Space Flight NASA is responsible for this countryOe first manned exploration of spece. The Mercury project which has top national priority has as its L objective the orbiting of an astronaut about the earth. As you know, NhSk picked seven astronauts froa among hundreds of men with excellent military test-pilot backgrounds, and has had thea in rigorous mental and physical training for their job, kch of these exceptional men specializes in some phase of the program, For instance, ome has become expert in the recovery phase; another has concentrated on the capsule's . life-support phase. And each mn brings to his mission his own specialized experience and contributes it to the project. The astronauts have all hzd important things to say about the design of the capsule, its safety factor", etc., based upon their flight experience in aircraft.