Goddard receives a grant of $ 3,500 from Clark University to continue rocket research. In a letter to the fund supervisor, he lays out his advanced concepts - Lox/LH2 liquid rockets, use of solar thermal and ion engines for interplanetary travel, constant-thrust 7.13 week trajectories to Mars. But publicly and practically, he continues his work on cartridge rockets.

After the military success in Poland, Hitler believes development of expensive 'wonder weapons' are unnecessary to win the war. The A4 and other rocket projects are removed from the priority list, making acquisition of necessary materials and engineers difficult.

Fiscal 1959 budget requirements for the Air Force man-in-space program was to meet its mid-1960 operational date. Air Force Undersecretary, M. A. Maclntyre, submitted to the Advanced Research Projects Agency Fiscal 1959 budget requirements if the Air Force man in space program was to meet its mid-1960 operational date: Budget Category, Amount (millions): P-100 Aircraft and Missiles: $82.0; P-200 Support: $11.5; P-300 Construction: $ 2.5; P-600 Research and Development: $37.0; Total: $133.0 If this amount was not fully funded the following projects could be progressively undertaken, but the first manned capsule launch would be delayed to some future date: (1) Development of small animal carrying capsules for use in the 117L program starting November 1958 $16 million. (2) Construction of launch pad assembly buildings and instrumentation modifications $5 million. (3) Design of man size capsule, second stage booster; development, procurement, test of support test vehicles $30 million. (4) Fabrication of a small number of capsules, second stages and boosters $15 million. (5) Design, development, test and procurement of capsules, second stages, boosters and support test vehicles leading to the earliest possible manned space flight $67 million. (Memo, Undersecretary of the Air Force, M. A. Maclntyre, to Dir, ARPA, 19 Mar 58, subj: Air Force Man-In-Space Program.)

The launch has been delayed to 24-25 March due to problems with L I Gusev's radio system aboard the spacecraft. A meeting of the cosmonauts at 10:00 reviews landing contingency plans that will bring the capsule down on the territory of the USSR. The best chances for such a landing are on orbits 1, 2, and 16, but it is also possible on orbits 4, 5, 6, and 7. A map will be aboard the capsule to show where and when to ignite the TDU retrorocket for each landing opportunity. Feoktistov was a great help in developing this visual aid. For about an hour Kamanin, Korolev, Yazdovskiy, Karpov, and Azbiyevich discuss long-range plans. Korolev is interested in the VVS position that they should be responsible for all military space activities. The reconnaissance satellite version of Vostok is discussed. Korolev says he plans to send a cosmonaut to the moon by 1965.

Afterwards the cosmonauts develop the radio communications plan for the flight. During the 710-second ascent to orbit, and after landing, they are to use the UHF radio. The HF and UHF radios can be used from orbit, but only over the USSR. Plans for filming the cosmonaut in flight are also discussed.

James A Chamberlin was reassigned from Manager of Project Gemini to Senior Engineering Advisor to Robert R Gilruth, Director of Manned Spacecraft Center. Charles W Mathews was reassigned from Chief, Spacecraft Technology Division, to Acting Manager of Project Gemini.

The Air Force Systems Command weekly report (inaugurated in September 1963) summarizing actions taken to resolve Titan II development problems would no longer be issued. George E. Mueller, NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, informed Associate Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr., that the launch vehicle 'no longer appears to be the pacing item in the Gemini program.'

On re-entry the primary automatic retrorocket system failed. A manually controlled retrofire was accomplished one orbit later (evidently using the primary engine, not the backup solid rocket retropack on the nose of spacecraft). The service module failed to separate completely, leading to wild gyrations of the joined reentry sphere - service module before connecting wires burned through. Vostok 2 finally landed near Perm in the Ural mountains in heavy forest at 59:34 N 55:28 E on March 19, 1965 9:02 GMT. The crew spent two nights in deep woods, surrounded by wolves. Recovery crews had to chop down trees to clear landing zones for helicopter recovery of the crew, who had to ski to the clearing from the spacecraft. Only some days later could the capsule itself be removed. Additional Details: here....

Second Skylab-B program between considered to fill late 1970's gap between the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and the Space Shuttle. Consideration was being given to the feasibility of a second set of Skylab missions (designated Skylab-B) during the interval between the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975 and the start of Space Shuttle operations late in 1979. The inherent worth of a Skylab-B was recognized, but officials were reluctant to recommend it, on the premise that it would be unwise to allow it to delay or displace the development of the Space Shuttle and other programs already included in the FY 1974 budget.

Continued operation of the long-range telephone and telegraph radio-communication system within the Soviet Union and transmission of USSR central television programmes to stations in the Orbita and participating international networks (international cooperation scheme).

Unmanned supply vessel transporting sundry cargoes to the Mir orbital station. Docked with Mir on 21 Mar 1986 11:16:02 GMT. Undocked on 20 Apr 1986 19:24:08 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 21 Apr 1986 00:48:30 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.27 days. Total docked time 30.34 days.

Stationed at 85 deg E. Provision of telephone and telegraph radiocommunications and television broadcasting. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 85 deg E in 1987-1991 As of 30 August 2001 located at 6.40 deg W drifting at 15.515 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 6.61W drifting at 15.520W degrees per day.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Attempted to dock with Mir on 21 March 1998 14:28 GMT, but missed the station by 500 m. Docking attempted again on 23 March but at 50 meters the docking was aborted; the Progress missed hitting the station by five meters. Thereafter it was placed in a station-keeping co-orbit with Mir while the problem was diagnosed. Finally docked with Mir on 28 Mar 1991 12:02:28 GMT. On 12 and 14 Apr 1998 two burns of the engine of Progress M-7 raised the station's orbit from a 360 x 377 km orbit to a 370 x 382 km orbit. Undocked on 6 May 1991 22:59:36 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 7 May 1991 17:20:05 GMT. Total free-flight time 9.72 days. Total docked time 39.46 days.

Chinese papers at the meeting sketched details of future planned missions. China was likely to begin its manned flights with a single orbit around Earth, and later launch its lunar 'quest'. Existing Chinese launchers had the capability to send scientific devices, but not humans, to the moon -- it could take up to eight years to design a lunar spacecraft. Feasibility studies on trips to the moon and Mars had begun. Participants called for greater international cooperation in space and the lifting of an apparent freeze on China's participation in major joint projects. They resented China's exclusion from the International Space Station.

The Expedition 4 crew finished loading the Progress M1-7 craft, and it undocked from Zvezda's aft port at 1743 UTC. The Kolibri-2000 microsatellite was ejected from the Progress cargo compartment at 2228 UTC; Progress fired its engines to deorbit over the Pacific at about 0127 UTC on Mar 20.

Heading into the homestretch of their 61/2-month mission aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri spent the week conducting biomedical experiments and performing maintenance on a key Station component. Additional Details: here....

Placed in orbital slot 99.2° W Longitude. In combination with DirecTV 10, the satellite would allow the parent company to direct broadcast local HDTV to 90 percent of its customers in North America. The Ka-band satellite was equipped with 28 active and 8 spare TWTAs for direct broadcast to the continental United States and Alaska; 4 active and 4 spare for broadcast to the 48 stages and Hawaii; and 55 active and 15 spares for spot transmissions. Total power was 18 kW / 16 kW at beginning/end of life. Propulsion was provided by 445 N liquid apogee engine and four XIPS 35-cm ion thrusters. Mass at launch was 6060 kg and 3700 kg after on-board propellants were consumed to place the satellite in its operational geosynchronous orbit.

The crew exited from the Quest module at 17:12 GMT to mate the S6 truss to the end of the S5 truss on the station. S6, maneuvered by the station's robot arm, made contact with S5 at 18:17 GMT and was bolted in place by the astronauts at 19:06 GMT. The crew spent several hours in removing covers and making connection betwen the station and the S6 before returning to the Quest airlock at 23:20 GMT.

Second geosynchronous orbit in the Space-Based Infrared System for detecting missile launches and tracking missiles, air vehicles, and certain surface events. The Centaur upper stage placed the satellite in a 182 km x 35804 km x 22.2 deg transfer orbit. SBIR-2 used its own engines to reach its operational geosynchronous orbit.

See WGS 9 (USA 275). Wideband Global Satcom 9 was to be added to the US DoD communications satellite constellation. This WGS was partly funded by allied countries, although it was still owned and operated by USAF. A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 sent the satellite aloft on Mar 19, first into a 185 x 6097 km x 27.6 deg parking orbit and then to a 430 x 44262 km x 27.0 deg supersynchronous transfer orbit. The Delta 377 second stage was deorbited over the Pacific near the Phillipines with reentry around 1230 UTC.