General Schriever forwarded two important recommendations to Headquarters ARDC. First, he recommended that an alternate propulsion system contractor be introduced into the Atlas program as a back-up. Second, he presented the results of the Atlas management study of 18 August and recommended Ramo-Wooldridge for the SE/TD role in the project.

The Large Launch Vehicle Planning Group (Golovin Committee) notified the Marshal! Space Flight Center (MSFC), Langley Research Center, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that the Group was planning to undertake a comparative evaluation of three types of rendezvous operations and direct flight for manned lunar landing. Rendezvous methods were earth orbit, lunar orbit, and lunar surface. MSFC was requested to study earth orbit rendezvous, Langley to study lunar orbit rendezvous, and JPL to study lunar surface rendezvous. The NASA Office of Launch Vehicle Programs would provide similar information on direct ascent. Additional Details: here....

The launch of Atlas 101D from Vandenberg AFB completed the initial operational capability (IOC) launch series for the Atlas D ICBM. In 11 launches, only five missiles were successful. The launch of Atlas 101D from Vandenberg AFB completed the initial operational capability (IOC) launch series for the Atlas D ICBM. In 11 launches, only five missiles were successful.

Lunar probe; failed to leave Earth orbit. Ranger 1, a test version of the spacecraft which would attempt an unmanned crash landing on the moon, was launched from the Atlantic Missile Range by an Atlas-Agena B booster. The 306 kg spacecraft did not attain the scheduled extremely elongated orbit because of the misfiring of the Agena B rocket. Although the spacecraft systems were tested successfully, only part of the eight project experiments could be carried out. Ranger 1 reentered on August 29 after 111 orbits. Ranger 1's primary mission was to test the performance of those functions and parts that are necessary for carrying out subsequent lunar and planetary missions using essentially the same spacecraft design.

Headquarters Space Systems Division awarded two contracts in its program to develop the technology for large-solid-propellant motors (Program 623A). Thiokol Chemical Corporation and Aerojet-General Corporation received contracts for demonstration static firings of 260-inch diameter, solid-propellant rocket motors of approximately 3 million, pounds thrust. Following the test firings, one of the contractors would be selected to continue development of the 260-inch motor.

Over Atlantic Ocean. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 30 deg W in 1973-1976 over the Atlantic Ocean 1 deg W in 1976-1980; over the Indian Ocean 56 deg E in 1980-1981; over the Pacific Ocean179 deg E in 1981-1982; over the Atlantic Ocean 53 deg W in 1982-1983 As of 31 August 2001 located at 74.52 deg W drifting at 4.067 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 19.61E drifting at 4.058W degrees per day.

Unmanned supply vehicle to Mir; first flight of new vehicle design. Tested on-board systems under different conditions and delivered expendable materials and sundry cargo to the Mir manned space station. Docked with Mir on 25 Aug 1989 05:19:02 GMT. Undocked on 1 Dec 1989 09:02:23 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 1 Dec 1989 11:21:00 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.19 days. Total docked time 98.16 days.

Vehicle Demonstration. Return to flight following earlier failure. The third Boeing Delta III launch was financed by the company and carried a dummy payload in order to bolster customer confidence in the new launch vehicle. The second stage ignited at an altitude of 158 km and the RL-10 shut off as planned in a 157 x 1363 km x 29.5 deg parking orbit. The engine fired again until fuel depletion, to place the vehicle in a geostationary transfer orbit of 190 x 20,655 km x 27.6 deg. This was much lower than that planned (23,400 km plus or minus 3,000 km) due to the fuel temperature and atmospheric conditions on the day of launch. The DM-F3 dummy payload was a mass model of the Orion 3 HS-601 satellite launched on the second Delta 3. The 4348 kg model was a 2.0m diameter, 1.7m high cylinder with two circular end plates, painted with black and white patterns. It was to be used by US Air Force researchers as a calibration target.

Just hours after the return of the Expedition Two crew to the Kennedy Space Center, the Expedition Three crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) received new supplies and fuel this morning following the flawless docking of a Progress resupply freighter. Additional Details: here....

The Expedition Five crew spent a large portion of its week preparing for the next scheduled spacewalk. Commander Valery Korzun and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev plan to leave the Pirs Docking Compartment of the International Space Station around 12:00 a.m. Central time (0500 GMT) Monday, Aug. 26, to begin a six-hour spacewalk. While Korzun and Treschev work outside, Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson will tend to space station systems and assist the spacewalkers as necessary. She will also maneuver the Canadarm2 to provide camera views of the cosmonauts for the two mission control centers. Additional Details: here....

Moved from J-1A . Delayed from August 15. Optical Inter-Orbit Communications Engineering Test Satellite. Its laser communications experiment was be used in with ESA's Artemis geostationary satellite. The satellite was renamed Kirari (twinkle) after launch.

Mission 2a sensor target for the NFIRE satellite. The Minotaur II, a three-stage refurbished Minuteman 2 missile with a new guidance and payload section, was aimed to pass within 4 and 20 km of the NFIRE satellite while its third stage motor was burning, to allow NFIRE's sensors to characterize the the rocket and its exhaust. The Missile Defense Agency reported that Mission 2a was successful.