In 1955-1957 many Air Force officers in widely scattered field units, without coordinated effort, prepared papers and studies proposing military space projects. Small groups at Headquarters Air Research and Development Command, at the Ballistic Missile Division, at Holloman Air Force Base, and at Wright Air Development Center (WADC) sensed danger in the Government's unwillingness to give the new technology the urgent support they felt it deserved. Programs were proposed which called for organized space experiments, "at the earliest practicable date." Such experiments included orbiting satellites, manned and unmanned, a manned space station and a spacecraft voyage to the moon. (Bowen, Lee, The Threshold of Space, Sep 1960, published by the Air Force Historical Liaison Ofc, p.7)

A contract was awarded to the Convair Division of the General Dynamics Corporation for the development and fabrication of the Atlas (XSM-65) airframe and control system. Included were the integration and assembly of the various subsystems with the airframe and control system, and for checkout and testing.

Council of Ministers selects Tyuratam for ICBM test site. The first 30 construction workers arrive at Tyuratam. The town founded at the rail staion is called Zarya (Dawn). The name will be changed to Leninsk in January 1958, but Zarya will remain the call sign of Soviet ground control.

The Western Development Division (WDD) and the Special Aircraft Project Office (SAPO) awarded a contract to Aerojet-General Corporation for development of liquid oxygen-hydrocarbon ICBM engines. The contract covered design and fabrication of booster, sustainer, and vernier engines and was intended to provide an alternate propulsion system should the North American Aviation effort encounter delays.

WDD and SAPO selected the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation to be awarded a contract to design, construct, and flight test a reentry test vehicle (RTV), the X-17. As a result of this contract, the three-stage, solid-propellant X-17 was built to test experimental nose cones and to gather data on reentry phenomena. The RTV was primarily intended to facilitate the investigation of heat transfer at high mach and Reynolds numbers.

A formal, definitive contract between the Air Force and the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation fixed the firm's responsibility for systems engineering and technical direction (SE/TD) support for ICBMs. A formal, definitive contract between the Air Force and the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation fixed the firm's responsibility for systems engineering and technical direction (SE/TD) support for ICBMs.

American chemical engineer mission specialist astronaut 1996-on. 369 cumulative days in space. First NASA astronaut to return to earth in a Russian spacecraft. 369 cumulative days in space. 3 spaceflights, 369.7 days in space. Flew to orbit on STS-113 (2002), STS-126, Soyuz TMA-03M.

NACA Lewis Laboratory presented ARDC with results of air-breathing nuclear propulsion systems for manned applications, leading to AEC-AF Pluto project, and also initiated comparison of nuclear rocket with chemical systems for ICBM, a concept of use to Rover program.

Quarles Committee studies best method of furnishing the United States with a sattelite by end of 1958. A committee, appointed by Secretary of the Air Force, D. A. Quarles, to recommend the best method of furnishing the United States with a satellite between the dates of June and December 1958, was briefed at Western Development Division (WDD). The Atlas project was reviewed and the potential of Atlas as a booster vehicle in a selected satellite system was presented. The committee was advised that WDD was qualified to manage the program if so directed but that such a program would interfere, to some extent with the high priority of the Atlas development effort. (Memo, Col C. H. Terhune, Dep Cmdr Tech Opns, WDD, to Brig Gen B. A. Schriever, Cmdr WDD, 28 Jun 55, subj: Visit of DOD Satellite Committee, 28 Jun 55.)

Instrumented Loki I and Deacon rockets were successfully balloon launched (Rockoons) from shipboard off the coast of Greenland in cosmic-ray studies by State University of Iowa research group. Army Ordnance supplied JPL-developed Loki rockets and ONR sponsored the project.

Following a protracted two-year test series, the design was finally accepted for military service on 13 July 1955. In anticipation of this formal decree, in June of 1955 Makeyev was made Chief Designer at SKB-385, responsible for engineering of the R-11 and future small land and sea based ballistic missiles. SKB-385 was given complete responsibility for development of the sub-launched R-11FM in August 1955.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the National Security Council (NSC) were given a complete briefing on the Atlas program. Briefers were Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Trevor Gardner, Professor John von Neumann, and Brigadier General Bernard A. Schriever, Commander of the Western Development Division.

Eisenshower announced that the USA would launch 10-kg satellites in 1958 without the use of military missiles. The President announced that the United States, as part of its International Geophysical Year contributions, would attempt to launch a number of 21 pound satellites without the use of military missiles. The project, named Vanguard, although organized in the Department of Defense under Navy management, would be completely removed from military significance. (Bowen, The Threshold of Space, p.10.)

First successful demonstration of Rockair technique (resarch rocket launched from aircraft) by ONR and University of Maryland team, a 2.75-inch FFAR rocket fired from a Navy F2H-2 aircraft to an altitude of approximately 180,000 feet. Rockair technique first suggested by Herman Oberth (1929) and others.

Research and development Policy Council (DOD) unanimously recommended that the time-risk factor in the scientific satellite program be brought to the attention of the Secretary of the Defense for determination as to whether a Redstone backup program was indicated.

The Department of Defense's Stewart Committee reviewed the alternatives for an IGY satellite program: wait for the development of an Atlas launcher, use a modified Redstone, or develop a rocket derived from the Viking missile. The committee voted seven to two in favor of abandoning Project Orbiter (Redstone) and developing Vanguard (Viking derivative with and Aerobee-Hi upper stage). Secretary Donald Quarles ruled with the committee majority in the Department of Defense Policy Committee, which approved the decision. The Department of Defense wrote a letter to the Department of Navy authorizing the Navy Research Laboratory to proceed with the Vanguard proposal. The responsibility for carrying out the program was placed with the Office of Naval Research. Objectives of Project Vanguard were: to develop and procure a satellite-launching vehicle; to place at least one satellite in orbit around the earth during IGY; to accomplish one scientific experiment; and to track flight to demonstrate the satellite actually attained orbit.

Trevor Gardner, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Research and Development, requested that a working group be formed to evaluate the ballistic missile program. Such an evaluation was necessary to assure that the administrative management and control procedures of the program would allow the full project acceleration as directed by President Eisenhower and the National Security Council on 8 September. Accordingly, a committee was established under Hyde Gillette, Deputy for Budget and Program Management, to evaluate these procedures and to recommend means for reducing administrative delays that might impede attainment of the earliest possible operational capability of Atlas.

After five years of wrangling, and secret talks in Geneva between the Red Chinese and US governments, Tsien is deported from the United States. Upon arrival in China, he was immediately put to work as head of the Chinese missile program. He had to introduce US systems engineering approaches to Chinese engineers, and build the technical infrastructure to enable China to build rockets.

RS-11 was launched at 0051 hours EST from AMR after a three-hour hold. The flight was unsuccessful. The LOX container pressure and the combustion chamber decreased 50 seconds after lift-off. The temperature of Fin Number 1 went out of measuring range 72 seconds after lift-off. The servo battery current dropped to zero and the stabilised platform lost its reference. The range safety officer gave the emergency cut-off signal at 79 seconds. Impact occurred approximately 21,000 yards from the launch pad. The RS-11 was the first flight with the complete guidance system. Missed aimpoint by 118,800 m.

The NACA Langley and Ames Aeronautical Laboratories developed high-temperature jets, wind tunnels, and other facilities for use in materials and structures research at hypersonic speeds. These facilities provided, among other things, data proving that ablation was an efficient heat-protection method for reentry vehicles.

The Atomic Energy Commission approved, on the basis of a statement of interest by the Department of Defense, the proposed plans of the Los Alamos Scientific and the Radiation Laboratories of the University of California, for the study and development of nuclear power for rocket propulsion.

With the growth of its missile products beyond the Navaho program, and emerging requirements for the Navaho's navigation and rocket engine systems on ballistic missiles, North American broke up the Navaho program into two new divisions. The Missile Development Division, in Downey, would handle the Navaho missile and Hound Dog air-launched cruise missile, a derivative of the X-10 Navaho test vehicle. The Autonetics Division, would handle inertial navigation and other avionics products, and move from Downey to Anaheim. The Rocketdyne division would handle North American's increasing line of liquid rocket motors, and move to a new facility in the western San Fernando Valley in Canoga Park, close to North American's rocket test facilities in the Santa Susanna mountains.

Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson approved the report of the Gillette Committee on simplifying administrative procedures for ICBM development programs. In accordance with the Committee's recommendations, Wilson established the Office of the Secretary of Defense Ballistic Missile Committee (OSD/BMC) with exclusive Department of Defense (DoD) authority to review and approve all ballistic missile program requirements. The existing Air Force ICBM Scientific Advisory Committee was also to advise the Secretary of Defense on ballistic missile matters. In addition, the Air Force was later authorized to undertake all actions necessary for the construction of ICBM operational bases.

Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson approved a compromise memorandum of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) recommending the concurrent development of two intermediate range ballistic missiles (IRBMs). IRBM Number 1 by the Air Force and Number 2 as a joint Army-Navy effort. The former program later became the Thor (XSM-75) program, and the latter became the Jupiter (XSM-78) program.

Air Force Ballistic Missile Committee (AF/BMC) given exclusive Air Force authority to review and approve all ballistic missile program requirements and plans. In accordance with the Gillette Report and recent OSD decisions, Air Force Secretary Donald Quarles established the Air Force Ballistic Missile Committee (AF/BMC) with exclusive Air Force authority to review and approve all ballistic missile program requirements and plans. The Western Development Division was to submit annual development plans which, when approved, were to become the basis for programming, planning, budgeting, production, testing, and most other aspects of each ballistic missile program.

Project Manhigh was established in December 1955 to obtain scientific data on the behavior of a balloon in an environment above 99% of the earth's atmosphere and to investigate cosmic rays and their effects on man. Three balloon flights to the edge of space were made during the program.

The Western Development Division notified certain of its subsystem contractors to redirect part of their efforts to the recently authorized IRBM program. North American Aviation was to provide the propulsion system, AC Spark Plug was to work on an all-inertial guidance system, and Bell Telephone Laboratories on a radio guidance system and General Electric would handle the nose cone effort.

RS-12 was launched from AMR at 1946 hours EST. The flight was successful. The actual range was 144.79 nm; .31 nm over; and 200 meters right of the intended impact point, The primary test objective was to test the complete guidance system. This was the first successful flight with the inertial guidance system. Missed aimpoint by 228,800 m.

On the basis of the Hq USAF directive of 18 November, General Thomas S. Power, ARDC Commander, amended the Western Development Division's mission to include responsibility for ICBM initial operation capability (IOC) and for the development of IRBM Number 1 on a priority second only to that of the ICBM program.

US industry to investigate the feasibility of a manned, hypersonic, rocket-powered, bombardment and reconnaissance weapon system. The Air Force requested the aviation industry to investigate the feasibility of developing a manned, hypersonic, rocket-powered, bombardment and reconnaissance weapon system.

Douglas Aircraft Company awarded contract for the development and fabrication of the airframe for the Thor IRBM. Following Hq USAF approval of its 23 December selection, the Western Development Division and SAPO awarded a contract to the Douglas Aircraft Company, Incorporated, for the development and fabrication of the airframe for the Thor IRBM (XSM-75) and assembly of the missile.