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1962 During the Year - Vostok-Zh studies - Vostok-Zh studies conducted for multiple dockings of rocket blocks and payloads in orbit for circumlunar missions, using Vostok rocket. Vostok-Zh spacecraft used to for manual dockings only. Manned reentry vehicle from circumlunar distance is Sever/...
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1962 During the Year - Development of RD-270 engine begun - The RD-270 engine was proposed for Chelomei's UR-700 and Yangel R-56 lunar landing launchers in competition to Korolev N1. The RD-270 was in the same class as the F-1 engine developed for America's Saturn V launch vehicle, but burned storable but tox...
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1962 January-June - Grumman study on lunar orbit rendezvous - The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation developed a detailed, company-funded study on the lunar orbit rendezvous technique: characteristics of the system (relative cost of direct ascent, earth orbit rendezvous, and lunar orbit rendezvous); devel...
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1962 During the Year - GR-2 (Global Rocket 2) requirement. - The GR-2 was to be a kind of enormous multiple-warhead FOBS (fractional orbit bombing system). Competitors included Korolev's N-11GR; Chelomei's UR-500; and Yangel's R-56...
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1962 January - Proton design selected - This 'polyblock' design was chosen for the Proton launch vehicle, following studies that indicated improved wind loads and bending moment characteristics compared to the monoblock design....
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3 January - "Gemini" became the official designation of the Mercury Mark II program. - The name had been suggested by Alex P. Nagy of NASA Headquarters because the twin stars Castor and Pollux in constellation Gemini (the Twins) seemed to him to symbolize the program's two-man crew, its rendezvous mission, and its relation to Mercury. ...
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5 January - Three-man Apollo spacecraft, Saturn C-5 launch vehicle announced - NASA made public the drawings of the three-man Apollo spacecraft to be used in the lunar landing development program, On January 9, NASA announced its decision that the Saturn C-5 would be the lunar launch vehicle....
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11 January - In State of the Union message Kennedy discusses moon program - In his State of the Union message to the Congress, President John F . Kennedy said: "With the approval of this Congress, we have undertaken in the past year a great new effort in outer space. Our aim is not simply to be first on the moon, any mo...
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15 January - Apollo Spacecraft Project Office established - The Apollo Spacecraft Project Office (ASPO) was established at MSC. Charles W. Frick was selected as Manager of the new Office, to assume his duties in February. Frick had been Chief of Technical Staff for General Dynamics Convair. Robert O. Piland w...
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15 January - Proton configuration selected. - The 'polyblock' design was chosen as most advantageous, following studies that indicated improved wind loads and bending moment characteristics compared to the conventional 'monoblock' design....
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15 January - James A. Chamberlin named Manager of Gemini Project Office (GPO). - Director Robert R. Gilruth of Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) appointed James A. Chamberlin, Chief of Engineering Division, as Manager of Gemini Project Office (GPO). The next day MSC advised McDonnell, by amendment No. 1 to letter contract NAS 9-170,...
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1962 January 15-17 - Recovery swimmers trained for Mercury MA-6. - Recovery area swimmers were trained at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida, for use in the Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) manned orbital mission. Instruction included films, briefings, auxiliary flotation collar deployment, and jumps from a helicopter....
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16 January - Mercury spacecraft 16 delivered to Cape Canaveral - Spacecraft 16 was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the third manned (Schirra) orbital flight, Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8)....
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18 January - Korolev requests new Vostoks - Korolev has issued a letter requested eight new Vostok 3A spacecraft to be built in 1962-1963. He recommends that they should be finished as the 1100 to 1300 kg heavier 'Vostok-2', to be boosted by the 11A57 rocket, developed originally for the Zenit...
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22 January - First Apollo engineering order issued - The first Apollo engineering order was issued to fabricate mockups of the Apollo command and service modules....
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26 January - Ranger 3 - Lunar impact probe; missed the moon by 36,874 km and went into solar orbit. A malfunction in the booster guidance system resulted in excessive spacecraft speed. Reversed command signals caused the telemetry antenna to lose earth acquisition, and mid-...
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27 January - Mercury MA-6 postponed at T-minus 29 minutes - The Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) manned orbital flight was postponed at T-minus 29 minutes due to weather conditions....
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30 January - Mercury MA-6 postponed - The Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) mission was postponed because of technical difficulties with the launch vehicle....
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1962 January - Storable liquid propellant selected for Apollo service module - The solid propellant called for in the original NAA proposal on the service module propulsion system was replaced by a storable, hypergolic propellant. Multitank configurations under study appeared to present offloading capabilities for alternative m...
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1962 January - Preliminary layouts of the Apollo command module - NAA engineers began preliminary layouts to define the elements of the command module (CM) configuration. Additional requirements and limitations imposed on the CM included reduction in diameter, paraglider compatibility, 250 pounds of radiation prote...
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During February 1962 - Pitsunda Conference - Decision to start design of UR-500 and N1 lunar boosters - The Soviet leadership attends a secret exhibition of Soviet rocket technology in a sporting hall at Pitsunda, on the Black Sea. The Chief Designers offer competing designs. It is decided that the R-16, R-9, UR-200, UR-500, and N1 will go forward. Yan...
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1 February - Mercury MA-6 scheduled - NASA Headquarters announced that the Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) manned orbital mission would be scheduled no earlier than February 13, 1962, and that repair of the Atlas launch vehicle fuel tank leak would be completed well before that time....
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6 February - Langley presentation of lunar orbit rendezvous - John C. Houbolt of Langley Research Center and Charles W. Mathews of MSC made a presentation of lunar orbit rendezvous versus earth orbit rendezvous to the Manned Space Flight Management Council....
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7 February - Kennedy comments on moon program - At his regular press conference, President John F. Kennedy was asked for his "evaluation of our progress in space at this time" and whether the United States had changed its "timetable for landing a man on the moon." He replied: &...
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7 February - Single-engine design for the Apollo service module - On the basis of a study by NAA, a single-engine configuration was chosen as the optimum approach for the service module propulsion subsystem. The results of the study were presented to MSC representatives and NAA was authorized to issue a work statem...
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9 February - General Electric selected for Apollo support - NASA announced that the General Electric Company had been selected for a major supporting role in the Apollo project, to provide integration analysis of the total space vehicle (including booster-spacecraft interface), ensure reliability of the entir...
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13 February - Contract for Apollo launch escape system rocket - A contract for the escape rocket of the Apollo spacecraft launch escape system was awarded to the Lockheed Propulsion Company by NAA. The initial requirements were for a 200,000-pound-thrust solid- propellant rocket motor with an active thrust-vector...
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14 February - Mercury MA-6 postponed. - Unfavorable weather conditions caused the Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) manned orbital mission to be postponed....
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16 February - Delay of Mercury MA-6 schedule - Walter C. Williams, Project Mercury Operations Director, announced that because of weather conditions February 20, 1962, would be the earliest date that the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission could be launched....
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17 February - Immediate Vostok launches demanded - Ustinov wants launch of two cosmonauts within a month to answer the American Glenn flight. Of seven candidates, Nikolayev and Popovich are most likely to be selected. Meanwhile Titov has more incidents. He has driven his Volga into a bus. This is his...
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18 February - NASA announced Project Fire - NASA announced Project Fire, a high-speed reentry heat research program to obtain data on materials, heating rates, and radio signal attenuation on spacecraft reentering the atmosphere at speeds of about 24,500 miles per hour. Information from the pr...
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20 February - Mercury MA-6 - First US manned orbital mission. John Glenn finally puts America in orbit. False landing bag deploy light led to reentry being started with retropack left in place on heat shield. It turned out that indicator light was false and a spectacular reentry...
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20 February - Vostok 3/4 training - Kamanin selects the cosmonauts for the dual flight ordered by Ustinov: Nikolayev and Popovich, with Nelyubov and Bykovsky as back-ups. Ustinov has ordered launch by 10-12 March. - such is the Soviet's lousy leadership, Kamanin notes. They don't do an...
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25 February - Factory roll-out inspection of Mercury Atlas launch vehicle 107-D. - Factory roll-out inspection of Atlas launch vehicle 107-D, designated for the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) manned orbital mission, was conducted at Convair....
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26 February - John Glenn Day in Washington, D.C. - This featured the reception of the astronaut at the White House, a parade, and his address to joint session of Congress....
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1962 February - Little Joe dropped for Apollo tests - NASA wind tunnel data on the adaptation of the Project Mercury Little Joe booster to the Apollo launch escape system were analyzed. The booster fins were ineffective in maintaining the stability of the configuration and the project was canceled. The ...
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1 March - Chance Vought to study spacecraft rendezvous - NASA Headquarters selected the Chance Vought Corporation of Ling-Temco-Vought, Inc., as a contractor to study spacecraft rendezvous. A primary part of the contract would be a flight simulation study exploring the capability of an astronaut to control...
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1 March - 4 million New Yorkers greet Glenn - An estimated 4 million people lined the streets of New York City for John Glenn Day. Mayor Robert Wagner presented Glenn and Robert R. Gilruth the city's Medal of Honor....
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2 March - Marquardt to build the reaction control rocket engines for the Apollo spacecraft - The Marquardt Corporation was selected by NAA's Space and Information Systems Division to design and build the reaction control rocket engines for the Apollo spacecraft. The contract was signed during April....
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3 March - Aerojet-General named for the Apollo service module propulsion system - The Aerojet-General Corporation was named by NAA as a subcontractor for the Apollo service module propulsion system....
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5 March - Vostok 3/4 delayed - Due to technical problems and the launch failure of a Zenit spy satellite, the launch of the dual Vostoks is pushed back to April. Therefore a trip to New York by the cosmonauts in March will not be possible. In any case the Presidium has decided aga...
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6 March - Mercury Atlas launch vehicle 107-D delivered to Cape Canaveral - Atlas launch vehicle 107-D was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) mission....
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7 March - Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) - The first Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) performed remarkably well in conducting the thirteen different experiments for which it was programmed. Especially relevant to manned space flight were its measurements of solar radiation in high frequency r...
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8 March - Contract for the Apollo spacecraft fuel cell to Pratt & Whitney - NAA awarded a development contract for the Apollo spacecraft fuel cell to Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation....
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12 March - Apollo program moved to Houston - Primary MSC activities for the Apollo program were relocated from Langley Field, Va., to the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Tex....
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15 March - Carpenter replaces Slayton on Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) - NASA Headquarters publicly announced that Scott Carpenter would pilot the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) manned orbital mission replacing Donald Slayton. The latter, formerly scheduled for the flight, was disqualified because of a minor erratic heart rate....
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18 March - Saturn C-5 first launch scheduled in the last quarter of 1965 - Marshall Space Flight Center's latest schedule on the Saturn C-5 called for the first launch in the last quarter of 1965 and the first manned launch in the last quarter of 1967. If the C-5 could be man-rated on the eighth research and development fli...
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1962 March 25-31 - Little Joe II test launch vehicle development approved - NASA Headquarters approved plans for the development of the Little Joe II test launch vehicle. Prospective bidders were notified of a briefing to be held at MSC on April 6, at which time Requests for Proposals would be distributed....
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29 March - Republic to build two experimental FIRE spacecraft - NASA announced that a $5 million contract would be awarded to Republic Aviation Corporation for the construction of two experimental reentry spacecraft. Republic was selected from eight companies that submitted bids on March 12. The contract was part...
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29 March - Chance Vought briefed on lunar orbit rendezvous - Members of Langley Research Center briefed representatives of the Chance Vought Corporation of Ling- Temco-Vought, Inc., on the lunar orbit rendezvous method of accomplishing the lunar landing mission. The briefing was made in connection with the stu...
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31 March - The configuration of the Gemini spacecraft was formally frozen. - Following receipt of the program go-ahead on December 22, 1961, McDonnell began defining the Gemini spacecraft. At that time, the basic configuration was already firm. During the three-month period, McDonnell wrote a series of detailed specifications...
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1962 April 1-7 - Design criteria of the Apollo service module for the lunar landing maneuver - NAA was directed by the MSC Apollo Spacecraft Project Office to begin a study to define the configuration and design criteria of the service module which would make the lunar landing maneuver and touchdown....
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4 April - Mockup of the Apollo command module made public - A mockup of the Apollo command module, built by the Space and Information Systems Division of NAA, was made public for the first time during a visit to NAA by news media representatives....
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6 April - Request for proposal for the Little Joe II launch vehicle - The request for a proposal on the Little Joe II test launch vehicle was submitted to bidders by a letter from MSC, together with a Work Statement. Five launches, which were to test boilerplate models of the Apollo spacecraft command module in abort s...
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6 April - Thiokol selected for Apollo launch escape tower jettison motors - The Thiokol Chemical Corporation was selected by NAA to build the solid-fuel rocket motor to be used to jettison the Apollo launch escape tower following a launch abort or during a normal mission....
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6 April - Symposium on the results of Mercury MA-6 - NASA sponsored a 1-day symposium in Washington on the results of the Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) three-orbit flight of John Glenn. One of the items of particular interest was Glenn's 'fire-flies,' or luminous particles, and their possible origin....
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11 April - DX (highest) priority for the Apollo program - President John F, Kennedy designated the Apollo program including essential spacecraft, launch vehicles, and facilities as being in the highest national priority category (DX) for research and development and for achieving operational capability....
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12 April - First Soviet announcement of manned lunar goals - First Soviet public announcement of manned lunar goals....
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13 April - N1 development slowed. - Decree 'On restriction of work on the N1' was issued....
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16 April - N1, R-36, R-36-O, and R-56 rockets authorised. - Decree 'On Important Development of Intercontinental Ballistic and Global Missiles and Carriers-Rockets for Space Objects--work on the N1, R-36, R-36-O, and R-56' was issued....
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20 April - OP -Orbital Belt - Korolev’s fantastic ‘Orbitalniy Poyas’ (OP -Orbital Belt) scheme anticipated Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defence Initiative by 25 years. Two to three large N-I launched military manned stations would control a constellation of strategic assets. Geosync...
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23 April - Ranger 4 - ...
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24 April - Indecision on the lunar mission mode causing delays in Apollo program - MSC Associate Director Walter C. William reported to the Manned Space Flight Management Council that the lack of a decision on the lunar mission mode was causing delays in various areas of the Apollo spacecraft program, especially the requirements fo...
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24 April - Delay in award of a Nova launch vehicle study contract - The Manned Space Flight Management Council decided to delay the awarding of a Nova launch vehicle study contract until July 1 at the earliest to allow time for an in-house study of bids submitted and for further examination of the schedule for a mann...
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24 April - Approval to proceed with the UR-500 (8K82) was provided in a Central Committee decree - Council of Soviet Ministers (SM) Decree 'On start of work on the UR-500 missile and carrier-rocket' was issued. The rocket was to be built initially for the GR-2 requirement - a heavy rocket that could be used to launch large military payloads into s...
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25 April - - Second suborbital test of Saturn I. The Saturn SA-2 first stage booster was launched successfully from Cape Canaveral. The rocket was blown up intentionally and on schedule about 2.5 minutes after liftoff at an altitude of 65 miles, dumping the water...
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30 April - Swimmer training for Mercury MA-7 - Swimmer training was started for the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) manned orbital mission recovery area. Instruction consisted of films, briefings, exercises in deploying the auxiliary flotation collar, and jumps from a helicopter....
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1962 May - Advanced project for the Proton UR-500 completed - The initial design featured four ungimballed Glushko engines mounted below the core, with four steerable Kosberg engines on the lateral tanks. The second stage of the UR-500 was a larger-diameter variant of the first stage of the UR-200, with the eng...
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6 May - Preliminary Statement of Work for Apollo lunar excursion module - A preliminary Statement of Work for a proposed lunar excursion module was completed, although the mission mode had not yet been selected....
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7 May - Mercury MA-7 delays - NASA announced that the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) manned orbital flight would be delayed several days due to checkout problems with the Atlas launch vehicle....
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11 May - Convair contract for the Little Joe II launch vehicle - NASA awarded a letter contract to General Dynamics/Convair to design and manufacture the Little Joe II test launch vehicle which would be used to boost the Apollo spacecraft on unmanned suborbital test flights. The Little Joe II would be powered by c...
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12 May - Project Gemini cost estimates had tripled from the original estimate of $250 million. - James E. Webb, NASA's new Administrator, reviewed the Gemini program. Project Gemini cost estimates at this point ($744.3 million) had increased substantially over the original estimate of $250 million. Estimated spacecraft cost had risen from $240.5...
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15 May - UR-500 advanced project published. - ...
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17 May - Mercury MA-7 postponed a second time - The Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) manned orbital mission was postponed a second time because of necessary modifications to the altitude-sensing instrumentation in the parachute-deployment system....
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19 May - Mercury MA-7 postponed a third time - A third postponement was made for the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) flight mission due to irregularities detected in the temperature control device on a heater in the Atlas flight control system....
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24 May - Mercury MA-7 - Scott Carpenter in Aurora 7 is enthralled by his environment but uses too much orientation fuel. Yaw error and late retrofire caused the landing impact point to be over 300 km beyond the intended area and beyond radio range of the recovery forces. La...
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26 May - Saturn F-1 engine first fired at full power - The F-1 engine was first fired at full power more than 1.5 million pounds of thrust) for 2.5 minutes at Edwards Rocket Site, Calif....
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29 May - Mobile launcher concept for the Saturn C-5 approved - The Manned Space Flight Management Council approved the mobile launcher concept for the Saturn C-5 at Launch Complex 39, Merritt Island, Fla....
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7 June - von Braun recommends lunar orbit rendezvous mode for Apollo - Wernher von Braun, Director, Marshall Space Flight Center, recommended to the NASA Office of Manned Space Flight that the lunar orbit rendezvous mode be adopted for the lunar landing mission. He also recommended the development of an unmanned, fully ...
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1962 June 16-22 - 100 percent oxygen atmosphere for Apollo would save 30 pounds - Results of a preliminary investigation by NAA showed that a 100 percent oxygen atmosphere for the command module would save about 30 pounds in weight and reduce control complexity....
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1962 Summer-Fall - Microcircuits to be used on the Apollo computer - NASA and MIT agreed that the Instrumentation Laboratory would use the microcircuit for the prototype Apollo onboard computer. The Fairchild Controls Corporation microcircuit was the only one available in the United States....
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27 June - US Plans in Space - Kamanin notes that the US launched 86 satellites up to June 1, 1962 compared to only 21 by the USSR. He believes the Soviet reply should be a vigorous program that would launch 10 to 12 Vostok manned spacecraft in 1963 alone; to finally resolve organ...
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1962 June - Study of repair of J-2 engine in space - Five NASA scientists, dressed in pressure suits, completed an exploratory study at Rocketdyne Division of the feasibility of repairing, replacing, maintaining, and adjusting components of the J-2 rocket while in space. The scientific team also invest...
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1962 July - Hamilton Standard to develop the Apollo space suit - Hamilton Standard Division of United Aircraft Corporation selected by NASA to develop the Apollo space suit....
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10 July - First Apollo mockup inspection - The first Apollo spacecraft mockup inspection was held at NAA's Space and Information Systems Division. In attendance were Robert R. Gilruth, Director, MSC; Charles W. Frick, Apollo Program Manager, MSC; and Astronaut Virgil I. Grissom....
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1962 July 10-11 - Apollo atmosphere to be pure oxygen - At the monthly Apollo spacecraft design review meeting with NAA, MSC officials directed NAA to design the spacecraft atmospheric system for 5 psia pure oxygen. From an engineering standpoint, the single-gas atmosphere offered advantages in minimizing...
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11 July - Selection of LOR as Apollo Mission Mode - Following a long controversy NASA selected Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) as the fastest, cheapest, and safest mode to accomplish the Apollo mission. LOR solved the engineering problem of how to land. The EOR or Direct Landing approaches required the A...
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11 July - Project Apollo to use lunar orbit rendezvous. - NASA officials announced the basic decision for the manned lunar exploration program that Project Apollo shall proceed using the lunar orbit rendezvous as the prime mission mode. Based on more than a year of intensive study, this decision for the lun...
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17 July - Nuclear blasts to clear inner radiation belts for Apollo - In an address to the American Rocket Society lunar missions meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, James A. Van Allen, Chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, State University of Iowa, said that protons of the inner radiation belt could be a seriou...
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20 July - NASA Mission Control Center would be located at Houston - NASA Administrator James E. Webb announced that the Mission Control Center for future manned space flights would be located at MSC. The Center would be operational in time for Gemini rendezvous flights in 1964 and later Apollo lunar missions. The ove...
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21 July - Apollo advanced Saturn launch complex northwest of Cape Canaveral - NASA announced plans for an advanced Saturn launch complex to be built on 80,000 acres northwest of Cape Canaveral. The new facility, Launch Complex 39, would include a building large enough for the vertical assembly of a complete Saturn launch vehic...
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25 July - Invitation to bid for the Apollo lunar excursion module - MSC invited 11 firms to submit research and development proposals for the lunar excursion module (LEM) for the manned lunar landing mission. The firms were Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, The Boeing Airplane Company, Northrop Corporation, Ling-Temco-V...
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27 July - First Zero-G training on Tu-104 - The Soviets conduct their first cosmonaut zero-G training on an aircraft flying parabolic trajectories. 6 to 25 seconds of weightlessness is experienced on each manoeuvre....
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27 July - Mercury Atlas launch vehicle No. 113-D accepted - Atlas launch vehicle No. 113-D was inspected at Convair and accepted for the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) manned orbital mission....
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1962 July - Design of heatshield for Apollo boilerplates completed - NAA completed the analysis and design of the Fibreglass heatshield. It duplicated the stiffness of the aluminum heatshield and would be used on all boilerplate spacecraft....
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1 August - Russian methods for sending a man to the moon - A recent Russian article discussed various methods which the Soviet Union had been studying for sending a man to the moon during the decade. The earth orbital rendezvous method was reported the most reliable, but consideration also had been given to ...
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2 August - Apollo lunar bus - NASA's Office of Manned Space Flight issued Requests for Proposals for a study of the lunar "bus" and studies for payloads which could be handled by the C-1B and C-5 launch vehicles. Contract awards were expected by September 1 and completi...
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7 August - Apollo BP- 25 impact test in the Pacific Ocean - The first completed boilerplate model of the Apollo command module, BP- 25, was subjected to a one-fourth-scale impact test in the Pacific Ocean near the entrance to Los Angeles Harbor. Three additional tests were conducted on August 9....
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8 August - Two Apollo lunar logistic studies - At a bidders' conference held at NASA Headquarters, proposals were requested from Centers and industry for two lunar logistic studies: a spacecraft "bus" concept that could be adapted for use first on the Saturn C-1B and later on the Saturn...
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8 August - Mercury Atlas launch vehicle 113-D delivered to Cape Canaveral - Atlas launch vehicle 113-D was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) manned orbital mission....
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11 August - Eight companies to bid on Apollo lunar excursion module - Of the 11 companies invited to bid on the lunar excursion module on July 25, eight planned to respond. NAA had notified MSC that it would not bid on the contract. No information had been received from the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and it was que...
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11 August - NASA schedule for Apollo command and service modules - A NASA program schedule for the Apollo spacecraft command and service modules through calendar year 1965 was established for financial planning purposes and distributed to the NASA Office of Manned Space Flight, Marshall Space Flight Center, and MSC....
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11 August - Vostok 3 - Joint flight with Vostok 4. The first such flight, where Vostok capsules were launched one day apart, coming within a few kilometers of each other at the orbital insertion of the second spacecraft. The flight was supposed to occur in March, but follo...
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12 August - Vostok 4 - Joint flight with Vostok 3. Acquisition of experimental data on the possibility of establishing a direct link between two space ships; coordination of astronauts' operations; study of the effects of identical spaceflight conditions on the human org...
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13 August - Ten Air Force pilots spend a month in a simulated space cabin - Ten Air Force pilots emerged from a simulated space cabin in which they had spent the previous month participating in a psychological test to determine how long a team of astronauts could work efficiently on a prolonged mission in space. Project Dire...
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14 August - LEM added to Apollo CSM Statement of Work - The NAA spacecraft Statement of Work was revised to include the requirements for the lunar excursion module (LEM) as well as other modifications. The LEM requirements were identical with those given in the LEM Development Statement of Work of July 24...
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14 August - Flight tests of the half-scale vehicle (HSTV) in the Paraglider Development Program. - North American began flight tests of the half-scale vehicle (HSTV) in Phase II-A of the Paraglider Development Program two months behind schedule. The instrumented HSTV with the paraglider predeployed was towed aloft by helicopter. Objectives of the ...
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1962 August 15-16 - Manned Spacecraft Center reviewed engineering mock-up of the Gemini spacecraft. - Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) formally reviewed McDonnell's engineering mock-up of the Gemini spacecraft in St Louis. The company had begun building the mock-up in January, shortly after receiving the spacecraft contract. Mock-up review had original...
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15 August - Landing of Vostok 3 - Recovered August 15, 1962 6:52 GMT. Landed 48:02N 75:45 E. Both the Vostok 3 and 4 spacecraft land successfully six minutes apart a short distance from each other....
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15 August - Landing of Vostok 4 - Recovered August 15, 1962 6:59 GMT. Landed 48:09 N 71:51 E. By 07:00 the temperature aboard Vostok 4 is down to 10 deg C, and the humidity at 35%. Popovich is ready to continue for a fourth day, but he admits the cold is getting to him. Keldysh and ...
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16 August - S-IV successfully static-fired for the first time - The second stage (S-IV) of the Saturn C-1 launch vehicle was successfully static-fired for the first time in a ten-second test at the Sacramento, Calif., facility by the Douglas Aircraft Company....
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17 August - Carl Sagan warned scientists of need for sterilization of lunar spacecraft - Carl Sagan, University of California astronomer, warned scientists at a lunar exploration conference, Blacksburg, Va., of the need for sterilization of lunar spacecraft and decontamination of Apollo crewmen, pointing out that Lunik II and Ranger IV p...
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22 August - Contractor for Apollo CM reaction controls changed - Responsibility for the design and manufacture of the reaction controls for the Apollo command module was shifted from The Marquardt Corporation to the Rocketdyne Division of NAA, with NASA concurrence....
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22 August - Length of the Apollo service module increased - The length of the Apollo service module was increased from 11 feet 8 inches to 12 feet 11 inches to provide space for additional fuel....
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22 August - Future Vostok flight plans discussed - At Baikonur for the launch of a Venera probe, the Soviet space leadership discussed future plans. The female cosmonaut training group was there for their first rocket launch. The next Vostok would carry the first woman into space; Ponomaryova, Solovy...
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25 August - Sputnik 19 - Attempt to launch a probe towards Mars. The launch went well, but the fourth stage motor burnt for only 45s of the planned 240s. The stage remained in Earth orbit. However Kamanin notes that it was good that the launch of the basic vehicle was a succ...
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27 August - Female Vostok flights delayed to 1963 - The prospects did not look good for authorisation of production of ten further Vostok spacecraft. In a heated discussion between Rudenko, Ivanovskiy, and Grechko, it was argued that production of further Vostoks would delay flight of the first Soyuz ...
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30 August - Korolev supports military Vostok flights - Korolev, still very ill in the hospital following a collapse six days earlier, supported Kamanin's plan for acceptance of the Vostok manned spacecraft for military service with the Soviet Air Force. It could enter series production and be used for co...
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1962 August - Limited testing planned of fire hazards in pure oxygen atmosphere for Apollo - A preliminary NAA report was completed on a literature search concerning fire hazards in 100 percent oxygen and oxygen-enriched atmospheres. This report showed that limited testing would be warranted....
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4 September - Nine industry proposals for the Apollo lunar excursion module received - Nine industry proposals for the lunar excursion module were received from The Boeing Company, Douglas Aircraft Company, General Dynamics Corporation, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Ling-Temco-Vought, Inc., Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Ma...
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5 September - Studies of Apollo unmanned logistic system - Two three-month studies of an unmanned logistic system to aid astronauts on a lunar landing mission would be negotiated with three companies, NASA announced. Under a $150,000 contract, Space Technology Laboratories, Inc., would look into the feasibil...
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6 September - Apollo mockups, and boilerplates deleted - NASA deleted five Apollo mockups, three boilerplate spacecraft, and several ground support equipment items from the NAA contract because of funding limitations....
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7 September - Apollo boilerplate model BP-1 accepted by NASA - Apollo command module boilerplate model BP-1 was accepted by NASA and delivered to the NAA Engineering Development Laboratory for land and water impact tests. On September 25, BP-1 was drop-tested with good results. Earth-impact attenuation and crew ...
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8 September - Mercury Atlas vehicle 113-D static-fired - Atlas launch vehicle 113-D for the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) manned orbital mission was static-fired at Cape Canaveral. This test was conducted to check modifications that had been made to the booster for the purpose of smoother engine combustion....
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10 September - Apollo command module boilerplate model BP-3 shipped - Apollo command module boilerplate model BP-3, showing the arrangement of the cabin interior, was shipped to MSC....
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10 September - Fire in a simulated Air Force space cabin - Fire broke out in a simulated space cabin at the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base, Tex., on the 13th day of a 14-day experiment to determine the effects of breathing pure oxygen in a long-duration space flight. One of the...
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10 September - Mercury MA-8 postponed - The Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) manned orbital mission was postponed and rescheduled for September 28, 1962, to allow additional time for flight preparation....
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12 September - President Kennedy spoke at Rice University - President John F. Kennedy spoke at Rice University, Houston, Tex., where he said:...
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18 September - Slayton designated Coordinator of Astronaut Activities - Donald Slayton, one of the seven chosen for the astronaut training program, was designated Coordinator of Astronaut Activities at the Manned Spacecraft Center....
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24 September - N1 and GR-1 authorised. - Central Committee of the Communist Party and Council of Soviet Ministers Decree 1021-436 'On start of work on the N1 and GR-1' was issued. Following a review of the N1 project by an Academy of Sciences expert commission headed by Keldysh in July, thi...
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25 September - N1 launch vehicle upgraded to accomodate OS-1 75 tonne manned platform with nuclear weapons. - Work on the OS-1 began following a meeting between Khrushchev and chief designers at Pitsunda. Korolev was authorized to proceed immediately to upgrade the three stage N vehicle to a maximum 75 tonne payload in order to launch the station. By 1965 t...
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26 September - Plans for Apollo Mississippi Test Facility - NASA announced that it had completed preliminary plans for the development of the $500-million Mississippi Test Facility. The first phase of a three-phase construction program would begin in 1962 and would include four test stands for static-firing t...
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1962 September - Tentative Apollo flight plan - MSC outlined a tentative Apollo flight plan:...
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1962 September - Structural design of the Apollo command module 65 percent complete - Release of the structural design of the Apollo command module was 65 percent complete; 100 percent release was scheduled for January 1 963....
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1962 September - Apollo spacecraft weights - The Apollo spacecraft weights had been apportioned within an assumed 90,000 pound limit. This weight was termed a "design allowable." A lower target weight for each module had been assigned. Achievement of the target weight would allow for ...
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1 October - Storm "Daisy" threatens Mercury MA-8 - Tropical storm 'Daisy' was studied by Mercury operations activities for its possible effects on the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) mission, but flight preparations continued....
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3 October - Mercury MA-8 - The ...
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4 October - First full-duration static firing of the Apollo J-2 engine - Rocketdyne Division successfully completed the first full-duration (250-seconds) static firing of the J-2 engine....
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5 October - Schirra would have been killed if Mercury MA-8 had gone above 640 km - A U.S. Air Force spokesman, Lt. Colonel Albert C. Trakowski, announced that special instruments on unidentified military test satellites had confirmed the danger that astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Jr., could have been killed if his MA-8 space flight h...
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7 October - The Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) press conference was held at the Rice University, Houston, Texas. - Astronaut Schirra expressed his belief that the spacecraft was ready for the 1-day mission, that he experienced absolutely no difficulties with his better than 9 hours of weightlessness, and that the flight was of the 'textbook' variety....
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9 October - Mercury spacecraft 20 delivered to Cape Canaveral - Spacecraft 20 was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) 1-day mission flight....
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15 October - Five additional Ranger spacecraft to be added - NASA announced that five additional Ranger spacecraft would be added to the lunar exploration program, raising the total to 14 to be launched through 1964....
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15 October - Ranger 3 showed that gamma-rays greater than expected - The analysis of scientific measurements made by the ...
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18 October - Ranger 5 - The ...
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23 October - Gemini ground support equipment for Apollo program - At the request of NASA, about 300 pieces of Gemini ground support equipment were examined by NAA engineers. It appeared that about 190 items would be usable on the Apollo program....
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24 October - Final manned lunar landing mode report - Faced by opposition of mode selection by Jerome Wiesner, Kennedy's science adviser, NASA let contracts to McDonnell and STL for direct two-man flight modes. Both concluded that it was feasible but would require LH2/LOX stages for descent and ascent f...
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26 October - New numbering system for flight missions of the Apollo spacecraft - Flight missions of the Apollo spacecraft were to be numerically identified in the future according to the following scheme :...
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30 October - Contract for production of the S-II stage signed - NASA announced the signing of a contract with the Space and Information Systems Division of NAA for the development and production of the second stage (S-II) of the Saturn C-5 launch vehicle. The $319.9-million contract, under the direction of Marsha...
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1962 October - Gemini fuel cell for the lunar excursion module studied - The feasibility of using the Gemini fuel cell for the lunar excursion module was studied by NAA. However, because of modifications to meet Apollo control and auxiliary requirements, the much lighter Gemini system would ultimately weigh about as much ...
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31 October - NAA completed the firm-cost proposal for the definitive Apollo program - NAA completed the firm-cost proposal for the definitive Apollo program and submitted it to NASA. MSC had reviewed the contract package and negotiated a program plan position with NAA....
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31 October - Contract for the S-IVB stage for use in the Saturn C- 1B - NASA announced that the Douglas Aircraft Company had been awarded a $2.25million contract to modify the S-IVB stage for use in the Saturn C- 1B program....
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1962 October - Apollo CM blowout emergency escape hatch not needed - Elimination of the requirement for personal parachutes nullified consideration of a command module (CM) blowout emergency escape hatch. A set of quick-acting latches for the inward-opening crew hatch would be needed, however, to provide a means of eg...
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1 November - Chelomei takes over Lavochkin and Myasishchev OKBs - At Khrushchev's decision Chelomei takes over Lavochkin's OKB-301 and Myasishchev's OKB-23. Lavochkin had built objects 205, 207, 400 (SA-1,2,5); Chelomei UR-96 ABM-1....
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4 November - Mercury veteran Enos dies - Enos, the 6-year-old chimpanzee who made a two-orbit flight around the earth aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) spacecraft (November 29, 1961, entry) died at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The chimpanzee had been under night and day observation ...
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7 November - Selection of Grumman to build the Apollo lunar excursion module - NASA announced that the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation had been selected to build the lunar excursion module of the three-man Apollo spacecraft under the direction of MSC. The contract, still to be negotiated, was expected to be worth about...
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9 November - Raytheon contracted for the Apollo spacecraft guidance computer - The Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) and the Raytheon Company came to terms on the definitive contract for the Apollo spacecraft guidance computer....
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9 November - Plans for additional Vostoks quashed - Kamanin prepared recommendations for General Staff discussions on future Vostok military flights. His plan involved construction of ten additional spacecraft including new versions to test military equipment for reconnaisance, interception, and comba...
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12 November - Plans for Vostok female cosmonaut flight discussed. - A meeting was held to discuss alternatives for the next two Vostok flights. Alternatives were simultaneous flight of two capsules, each with a female cosmonaut; or one female flight and a male 5 to 7 day flight. The flight would occur no earlier than...
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13 November - Cooper named for Mercury MA-9 1-day orbital mission - Gordon Cooper was named as the pilot for Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) 1-day orbital mission slated for April 1963. Alan Shepard, pilot of Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) was designated as backup pilot....
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15 November - Firings of the prototype Apollo service propulsion engine completed - The Aerojet-General Corporation reported completion of successful firings of the prototype service propulsion engine. The restartable engine, with an ablative thrust chamber, reached thrusts up to 21,500 pounds. (Normal thrust rating for the service ...
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16 November - Mercury spacecraft 15A delivered to Cape Canaveral - Mercury spacecraft 15A was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 10 (MA-10) orbital manned 1-day mission....
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16 November - - Third suborbital test of Saturn I. Saturn-Apollo 3 (Saturn C-1, later called Saturn I) was launched from the Atlantic Missile Range. Upper stages of the launch vehicle were filled with 23000 gallons of water to simulate the weight of live stages. At ...
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17 November - Four injured when an electrical spark ignited a fire in a Navy altitude chamber - Four Navy officers were injured when an electrical spark ignited a fire in an altitude chamber, near the end of a 14-day experiment at the U.S. Navy Air Crew Equipment Laboratory, Philadelphia, Pa. The men were participating in a NASA experiment to d...
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19 November - Female cosmonaut crew selection. - The members of the female cosmonaut group were given academic tests and interviewed to choose the first woman in space....
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26 November - General Staff rejects construction of additional Vostoks - The letter to Ustinov, head of the Military Industrial Commission, opposed acquisition of ten additional spacecraft. However Korolev had secretly begun final assembly of four additional Vostoks in his factory....
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28 November - Mercury Simulator 2 modified to the 1-day configuration. - Mercury Simulator 2 was modified to the 1-day Mercury orbital configuration in preparation for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) flight....
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28 November - Retrofire initiated 2 seconds late during Mercury MA-8 - Retrofire was reported to have initiated 2 seconds late during the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) mission. Because of this, the mechanics and tolerances of the Mercury orbital timing device were reviewed for the benefit of operational personnel, and the proc...
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29 November - Final tests for female cosmonauts. - Academic examinations were completed of the female cosmonaut corps. Kuznetsova had missed to much training and was excluded from even taking the test. Of the four women remaining, only Tereshkova did not receive the highest marks. This was attributed...
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1962 December - Soyuz draft project completed. - The draft project for a versatile manned spacecraft included the Soyuz-A circumlunar spacecraft, the military Soyuz-P fighter and Soyuz-R reconn bird....
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3 December - Four firms to design the Apollo Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, acting for NASA, awarded a $3.332 million contract to four New York architectural engineering firms to design the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) at Cape Canaveral. The massive VAB became a space-age hangar, capable...
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4 December - First test of the Apollo main parachute system - The first test of the Apollo main parachute system, conducted at the Naval Air Facility, El Centro, Calif., foreshadowed lengthy troubles with the landing apparatus for the spacecraft. One parachute failed to inflate fully, another disreefed prematur...
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10 December - Selection of lunar orbit rendezvous for Apollo explained to Kennedy - NASA Administrator James E. Webb, in a letter to the President, explained the rationale behind the Agency's selection of lunar orbit rendezvous (rather than either direct ascent or earth orbit rendezvous) as the mode for landing Apollo astronauts on ...
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11 December - First static firing of the Apollo tower jettison motor - The first static firing of the Apollo tower jettison motor, under development by Thiokol Chemical Corporation, was successfully performed....
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21 December - Apollo CM boilerplate (BP) 3 delivered - North American delivered CM boilerplate (BP) 3, to Northrop Ventura, for installation of an earth-landing system. BP-3 was scheduled to undergo parachute tests at El Centro, Calif., during early 1963....
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28 December - First test firings of the Apollo CM reaction control engines - North American's Rocketdyne Division completed the first test firings of the CM reaction control engines....
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1962 December - Static firings of the Apollo launch escape motor - North American reported three successful static firings of the launch escape motor. The motor would pull the CM away from the launch vehicle if there were an abort early in a mission....
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