NASA announced that the government-owned Michoud Ordnance Plant near New Orleans, La., would be the site for fabrication and assembly of the Saturn C-3 first stage as well as larger vehicles. Finalists were two government-owned plants in St. Louis and New Orleans. The height of the factory roof at Michoud meant that an 8 x F-1 engined vehicle could not be built; 4 or 5 engines would have to be the maximum.

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 shock absorption data were obtained.

The first Atlas F (HGM-16AF) missile squadron, the 550th Strategic Missile Squadron at Schilling AFB, Kansas, was turned over to SAC. This was the first Atlas unit to feature the silo-lift storage/launcher configuration for improved hardness and survivability.

In response to a query from NASA Deputy Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr., Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications Homer E. Newell said that no laboratories had been selected for receiving lunar materials but proposals had been solicited and were in process of review. Newell said the lunar samples fell under the planetary and planetary biology disciplines primarily. The Planetary Biology Subcommittee of the Space Science Steering Committee had four working groups evaluating the proposals geophysics, geochemistry, geology, and Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). The working groups were expected to complete their evaluations in September and, following review by the program office, recommendations would be prepared for the Space Science Steering Committee. Following appropriate review by that Committee, Newell would select the Principal Investigators for approved experiments.

Funding for the analyses could be determined only after selections had been made, but budget estimates for that purpose had been made for $2 million in FY 1968 and $6 million in FY 1969, exclusive of laboratory upgrading and funding of the LRL. As a part of the continuing research effort, 33 laboratories had received support during 1966 for upgrading their ability to handle and examine lunar material. Newell added that 125 proposals for handling lunar material had been received and were under review.

LM-1 (Apollo 5) continued to have serious schedule difficulties. However, all known problems were resolved with the exception of the propulsion system leaks. Leak checks of the ascent stage indicated excessive leaking in the incline oxidizer orifice flange. The spacecraft was approximately 39 days behind the July 18, LM-1 KSC Operations Flow Plan.

Biological capsule recovered. The scientific payload, consisting of 13 select biology and radiation experiments, was exposed to microgravity during 45 hours of Earth-orbital flight. Experimental biology packages on the spacecraft contained a variety of specimens, including insects, frog eggs, microorganisms and plants. The planned three-day mission was recalled early because of the threat of a tropical storm in the recovery area, and because of a communication problem between the spacecraft and the tracking systems. The primary objective of the Biosatellite II mission was to determine if organisms were more, or less, sensitive to ionizing radiation in microgravity than on Earth. To study this question, an artificial source of radiation was supplied to a group of experiments mounted in the forward part of the spacecraft.

The second launch in the Multispectral Measurements Program was attempted at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. During the pre-launch countdown, some squibs fired prematurely and separated the payload from the booster while it was still on the launch pad. This accident forced cancellation of the launch.

Undocked 22:55 GMT 5 September. Jettisoned Orbital Module 23:35 GMT 5 September. Planned landing 02:15 September 6 1988 failed due to confusion of infrared horizon sensors. Repeat retrofire attempt one orbit later resulted in a partial burn only. The crew had to spend a tense 24 hours in the cramped Descent Module (the Orbital Module having already been jettisoned before the retrofire burn) before making last chance deorbit. Finally Lyakhov and Afghani cosmonaut Mohmand (Soyuz TM-6) returned safely to Earth and landed September 7, 1988 00:50 GMT, 160 km SE Dzhezkazgan.

Deployed and retrieved Spartan 201, WSF 2. Payloads: Wake Shield Facility (WSF) 2; Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for As-tronomy (SPARTAN) 201; International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH)1; Inter-Mars Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (ITEPC); Extravehicular Activity Development Flight Test (EDFT) 2; Capillary Pumped Loop (CAPL) 2/ getaway special (GAS) bridge assembly with five GAS payloads; Auroral Photography Experiment (APE) B; Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC); Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA), Configuration A; Electrolysis Perfor-mance Improvement Concept Study (EPICS); Space Tissue Loss (STL)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cells (C); Commercial Middeck Instrumentation Technology Associates Experiment (CMIX).

Picosat 7/Picosat 8, were ejected from the Mightysat II.1 satellite on September 7 at 1939 UTC into a 511 x 539 km x 97.8 deg orbit. The 0.25 kg satellites were connected by a 30 m tether and were cataloged as a single object. Mightysat II.1 (Sindri) was launched in July 2000, and the deployment of the picosats was planned for a year after launch.

NASA Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Enviroment Explorer mission. It carried an ultraviolet spectrometer, a lunar dust experiment, a neutral mass spectrometer, and a laser communications experiment. An Aerojet Rocketdyne/Redmond R-4D-15 HiPAT 455N thruster, with 135 kg of propellant, was used for lunar orbit insertion and orbit maneuvers. After three perigee boost maneuvers it entered lunar gravitational sphere of influence on 6 October at 18:02 GMT. The lunar orbit insertion burn at 10:57 GMT placed LADEE in a 24-hour-period 269 km x 15,772 km selenocentric orbit inclined 157 deg to the lunar equator. Two further burns, the last on 12 October at 10:40 GMT, placed the spacecraft in a 248 km x 251 km orbit. The spacecraft was lowered into an orbit with a 2 km perilune in early April 2014, and it impacted the lunar farside between 04:30 and 05:22 GMT April 18, possibly on the east rim of the crater Sundman V at 12N 93W, north of Mare Orientale.

Communications satellite for Asiasat, a Hong Kong based telecom company. The satellite had C and Ku band communications payloads and an additional C-band payload for the Thai operator Thaicom; this payload was marketed as Thaicom 7. Stationed over 119.8 deg E.