The Air Force Chief of Staff directed that space projects which depended on the use of ballistic missile components use the same procedures as IRBM/ICBM programs. The Air Force Chief of Staff directed that space projects which depended on the use of ballistic missile components "if... will be administered in the same manner and by the same procedures as the ICBM/IRBM programs. " The decision process would be identical and, as in the "ballistic missile programs,approved development plans will constitute action documents. " (Memo, Maj Gen J. E. Smart, AF Asst Vice Chief of Staff, to Air Staff distribution, 4 Mar 58, subj: Space Projects Involving ICBM/IRBM Components.)

North American gave boilerplate 28 its third water drop test. Upon impact, the spacecraft again suffered some structural damage to the heatshield and the core, though much less than it had experienced on its initial drop. Conditions in this test were at least as severe as in previous ones, yet the vehicle remained watertight.

OGO 5 carried 25 experiments, 17 of which were particle studies, and two were magnetic field studies. In addition, there was one each of the following types of experiments: radio astronomy, UV spectrum, Lyman-alpha, solar X ray, plasma waves, and electric field. By April 1971, spacecraft perigee had increased to 26,400 km and inclination had increased to 54 deg. The spacecraft attitude control failed on August 6, 1971, after 41 months of normal operation. The spacecraft was placed in a standby status on October 8, 1971. Four experiments (Meyer, Blamont, Thomas, and Simpson) were reactivated for the period from June 1 to July 13, 1972, after which all operational support terminated. Spacecraft orbit parameters changed significantly over the spacecraft life.

Pushkin and Kuznetsov brief Kamanin on the results of the N1/L3 expert commission. They found that the N1/L3 is unreliable and that the design needs to be fundamentally re-examined. Therefore the Soviet Ministers and Central Committee passed a decree that the commission must determine by 1 May 1971 what to do with the lunar project. Kamanin's opinion: abandon the N1-L3, modify Chelomei's UR-700 design to replace it, and design a new lunar landing spacecraft for missions in 1974-1975. Mishin is afraid of such a solution. Kamanin believes that the commission, headed by Keldysh, will finally recommend continued development and flight of Mishin's bad booster and even worse spacecraft. It is true that the N1 design has been substantially reworked in the last 18 months, but Kamanin believes it to be fundamentally flawed and that nothing can make it reliable.

After Mishin pushed his Indian Ocean recovery plan for the L3, the VVS insisted on sea trials of the capsule. These showed the cosmonauts had to get out within 30 to 35 minutes before the valves to the interior started leaking seawater. The L3 is also unsafe due to the EVA method of transfer to the LK of a single unassisted cosmonaut. The Krechet spacesuit is very bulky and unmanoeuvrable.

Prague wanted Gagarin's widow for International Women's Day.since Tereshkkova couldn't go, but she wants no part of public appearances.

Carried USMP-2, OAST-2, SAMPIE, TES, EISG. Payloads: United States Microgravity Payload (USMP) 2, Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) 2, Dexterous End Effector (DEE), Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet/A (SSBUV/A), Limited-Duration Space Environment Candidate Material Exposure (LDCE), Advanced Protein Crystal Growth (APCG), Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE), Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG), Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA), Auroral Photography Experiment Phase B (APE-B), Middeck Zero-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) Calibration Test, Bioreactor Demonstration System A.

Falcon 9 rocket F9-022 first stage flew to an apogee of around 160 km and descended 660 km downrange to crash on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" at about 73.8W 28.3N, in a technology test to develop experience for future landing attempts. The second stage accelerated to reach a 160 x 531 km x 28.5 deg parking orbit at 2344 UTC and then reignited at 0002 UTC Mar 5 to reach a 334 x 40648 km x 28.0 deg transfer orbit. The SES-9 payload separated at 0006 UTC. It was a Boeing 702HP satellite with a mass of about 5270 kg and a Ku-band communications payload for delivery of services to Asia and the Indian Ocean from 108.2E. By Mar 14, SES-9 was in a 28569 x 41649 km x 0.5 deg orbit.

Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet, in suits EMU 3008 and 3006, completed spacewalk US EVA-40 from the Quest airlock. The airlock was depressurized below 50 mbar at 1116 UTC and repressurized at 1758 UTC. The astronauts replaced the EXT-2 MDM computer (old S/N: MDM-16E-0102) on the S0 truss, lubricated the LEE end-effector on the Dextre robot arm, replaced cameras on the Kibo Exposed Facility and a light on one of the CETA carts, and disconnected cables joining the PMA-3 docking unit to the Tranquility node.