However continued problems and late delivery of the Auxiliary Power Unit pushed the planned first launch date from May to July. Three APU's were shipped before one was accepted. Attempts for a pad static test of the boost engines began in August. Seven attempts were made through the end of September. The fiberglass liquid oxygen tank insulation delaminated during the first propellant loading; chair springs were used to hold it on in subsequent tests. Helium lines ruptured; the engine was shut off after three seconds due to high gas generator temperatures; the G-26 cruise stage's landing gear deployed internally, cracking the skin; finally at the end of September a 34-second test was completed, but on ground power after the APU failed. The missile was pulled from the flight order and the first Broomstick flight canceled.

A LEM/CSM interface meeting uncovered a number of design problems and referred them to the Systems Engineering Division (SED) for evaluation: the requirement for ground verification of panel deployment prior to LEM withdrawal; the requirement for panel deployment in earth orbit during the SA-206 flight; the absence of a backup to the command sequencer for jettisoning the CSM (Flight Projects Division (FPD) urged such a backup signal); and Grumman's opposition to a communications link with the LEM during withdrawal of the spacecraft (FPD felt that such a link was needed through verification of reaction control system ignition). SED's recommendations on these issues were anticipated by April 22.

Joseph F. Shea, MSC Apollo Spacecraft Program Office Manager, was appointed NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, with responsibility for technical aspects of the program.

George M. Low, MSC Deputy Director, would succeed Shea as ASPO Manager. Changes were to be effective April 10.

Lunar Orbiter; studied lunar gravitational field, Earth-Moon gravitational relationship, and conducted further scientific experiments in circumlunar space. Not revealed until years later was that the E-6LS was primarily intended to test tracking and communications networks for the Soviet manned lunar program. The Luna 14 spacecraft entered a 140 x 870 km x 42 degree lunar orbit on April 10, 1966. The spacecraft instrumentation was similar to that of Luna 10 and provided data for studies of the interaction of the earth and lunar masses, the lunar gravitational field, the propagation and stability of radio communications to the spacecraft at different orbital positions, solar charged particles and cosmic rays, and the motion of the Moon. This flight was the final flight of the second generation of the Luna series.

A small film canister, designed and fabricated at MSFC, was delivered to KSC for flight test on Apollo 10. The canister, packed with a variety of photographic film, would obtain information on the sensitivity of film to the thermal, pressure, and radiation environment of space, in part equivalent to those which would be experienced by the ATM in flight. The test would also complement ground testing and theoretical analyses that were conducted to evaluate potential film fogging in a space environment.

Kamanin reviews the Spiral manned spaceplane program with Goreglyad, Frolov, and cosmonaut Titov. Work on the KLA orbiter began in 1961-1962. In the following eight years Kamanin has tried to push the leadership many times to accelerate the project, but without result. Still, the work is proceeding, albeit very slowly. Mikoyan has decided the first phase of the project will use rocket launch only - the air-breathing winged first stage will only be introduced later. Afanasyev has finally responded to the project, only to declare that the KLA must be not only for military missions, but serve as a transport shuttle for civilian space missions as well. Dementiev is holding the whole project up because he doesn't want to overburden the aircraft design bureaux and factories. And Kutakhov won't push the program without Dementiev's support.

Shatalov, Leonov, and Dobrovolsky are all working hard on final preparations for DOS-7K. The station is fully complete. Only small defects have been noted. This is the first look by the crews at their future home in space in its fully completed version. On the bus back to the hotel the cosmonauts discuss the poor quality and inedibility of 'space food'.

The Wing V Operational Snow Test was successfully completed at Francis E. Warren AFB with the firing of the Minuteman launcher closure door carrying a full-criteria load of snow and ice. This test verified the performance of the Upgrade Silo Program Launcher Closure System.

Experimental comsat. Medium-scale broadcasting satellite for experimental purposes (BSE). Launch vehicle Delta 2914-140. Launch time 2201 GMT. Location 110 deg E. Characteristics of satellite: Weight approx 355 kg in an early stage in orbit. Configuration - box shaped satelli te with 2 solar array panels with overall span of 8.95m. Height 3.09m, width 1.32m, length 1.19m. 3-axis stabilized attitude control. Expected life 3 years. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean at 110 deg E in 1978-1982 As of 4 September 2001 located at 44.59 deg E drifting at 0.116 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 108.19E drifting at 0.031E degrees per day.

First commercial Chinese launch; Stationed at 105 deg E; formerly Westar 6 (retrieved by STS-51A and refurbished). Fixed-satellite telecommunication services and transmission of television signals. Operational life about 10 years. Orbital position 105.5E. Owner/operator: Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co, Ltd. 23-24/F, East Exchange Tower, 38-40 Leighton Rd, Hong K ong. Telex 68345 ASAT HX Fax 852 576 4111. Operated in geosynchronous orbit at 105 deg E in 1990-1999; 122 deg E in 1999-2000. As of 3 September 2001 located at 121.97 deg E drifting at 0.009 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 23.96E drifting at 3.706W degrees per day.

Mobile communicaitons. Stationed at 101.1 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 101 deg W in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 101.01 deg W drifting at 0.024 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 100.99W drifting at 0.003W degrees per day.

The Proton launch vehicle placed the Iridium cluster and the Block DM2 stage into low parking orbit. The DM2 fired twice to enter the deployment orbit and dispensed the seven satellites, which used their own propulsion units to reach operational altitude. The DM2 stage then fired again to deorbit itself, to avoid creating space debris. SV068 placed in Plane 1. Ascending node 167.8 degrees.

The 2001 Mars Odyssey probe (formerly the Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter) was the first spacecraft in the revamped NASA Mars Exploration Program. Built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics (Denver) and JPL, the satellite was similar to Mars Climate Orbiter. It carried a 6-meter boom with a gamma ray spectrometer for remote sensing of Martian surface mineralogy, as well as an infrared imager and a radiation environment monitor. The probe had a dry mass of 376 kg and carried 349 kg of propellant. 2001 Mars Odyssey entered a 195 x 215 km x 52 deg parking orbit 10 minutes after launch. After a 12 minute coast the Delta second stage fired again and separated from the third stage, which placed the probe on an Earth escape trajectory into a 0.982 x 1.384 AU x 3.05 deg solar orbit. It escaped Earth's nominal gravitational sphere of influence at around 19:00 GMT on April 10.

The 2001 Mars Odyssey probe entered Mars orbit on October 24, 2001. The orbit insertion burn with the main 640 N bipropellant N2O4/hydrazine engine began at 0218 GMT lasted 20 min 19 sec. Mass of the spacecraft was then 456 kg, including 79 kg of fuel left. Initial orbit was was 272 x 26818 km x 93.42 deg with periapsis near the Martian north pole. 76 days of aerobraking began on October 26 to slowly circularise the orbit to its 400 km altitude, 2 hour period sun synchronous operational orbit. The solar panels reached 180 deg C as Odyssey skimmed through upper atmosphere of Mars on each orbit.

After reaching the operational orbit, the probe was to conduct a 917 day mapping program. It was to also serve as a communications relay for American and international landers expected to arrive in 2003/2004. In the Martian orbit, it was to map the distribution of elements and minerals on the surface, the distribution of hydrogen (embedded in water ice) and the radiation environment. The second was to assess the likelyhood of past or present life, and the third was to assess the radiation hazard to manned missions. The three major instruments on board were THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System at the visible and infrared light) for the distribution, at 100 meter resolution, of minerals that form only in the presence of water, GRS (Gamma Ray Spectrometer) for determining hydrogen and other elements, and MARIE (presumably, MArs RadIation Environment) for determining the radiation hazard. THEMIS was to also enable site selection for a future manned landing. THEMIS was expected to provide 15,000 images, each covering 20 x 20 km. GRS carried two neutron monitors also. The gamma rays and neutrons come out of the surface in distinct, element-specific energies, released by cosmic ray bombardment.

Direct Broadcasting satellite. Maiden flight of new version of Proton. Launch delayed from August 2000, March 16 and April 6. Ekran-M No. 18 was a UHF television broadcasting satellite which was to be stationed at 99 deg E to provided television service to the Russian Far East. The satellite had a launch mass of around 2100 kg and was to replace the recently failed Ekran-M 15 that had been operating since October 1992 at the 105 deg-E longitude orbital slot.

The improved 3-stage Proton launch vehicle, with a new digital flight control system and enhanced first stage engines, delivered its payload section to a suborbital trajectory at 0356 GMT. The Briz-M upper stage then fired to enter a 200 km parking orbit. It appears that only two more burns were used to reach geostationary orbit: one at around 0440 GMT to enter a 200 x 35800 km GTO, after which the Briz-M toroidal drop tank was jettisoned, and one at around 1000 GMT, to circularize the orbit at geostationary altitude. Briz-M reportedly separated from its payload at 1031 GMT. Ekran was expected to reach its 99 deg E final location on around April 24. As of 5 September 2001 located at 99.27 deg E drifting at 0.009 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 99.30E drifting at 0.005W degrees per day.

Carried the Expedition 15 crew and space tourist Charles Simonyi to the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-10 docked at the Zarya port of the International Space Station at 19:10 GMT on 9 April. It undocked from Zarya at 19:20 GMT on Sep 27 September and docked at the Zvezda port at 19:47 GMT to clear Zarya for Soyuz TMA-10.

The EO-15 crew and EP-13 space tourist Shukor (brought to the station by Soyuz TMA-11) boarded Soyuz TM-10 and undocked from the Zvezda port at 07:14 GMT on 21 October. The re-entry burn began at 09:47 and was normal. But afterwards, due to failure of an explosive bolt, the Soyuz service module remained connected to the re-entry capsule. The Soyuz tumbled, then began re-entry with the forward hatch taking the re-entry heating, until the connecting strut burned through. The Soyuz the righted itself with the heat shield taking the heating, but defaulted to an 8.6 G ballistic re-entry, landing 340 km short of the aim point at 10:36 GMT. Improved procedures after the ballistic re-entry of Soyuz TMA-1 meant a helicopter recovery crew reached the capsule only 20 minutes after thumpdown. However the true nature of the failure was concealed from the world until the same thing happened on Soyuz TMA-11.