Tim's Space Diary. Straight and to the point

30 October (30 October 2009)

Arianespace launched an Ariane 5 ECA booster from Kourou on 29 October carrying a 8,700kg payload comprising an SES NSS 12 and Telenor Thor 6 communications satellites. The Space Systems/Loral built NSS 12 weighs 5,620kg, with 40 C-band and 48 Ku-band transponders and the Thales Alenia Space-built Thor 6 weighs 3,050kg, equipped with 36 Ku-band transponders. The satellites will be located at 57degE and 1degW respectively. The next Ariane 5 launch is scheduled for December carrying the French Helios 2B reconnaissance satellite.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) hopes to receive the OK to develop a $3 billion three-crew spacecraft to fly in 2016 carried by the MK 111 GSLV. The maiden test flight is planned for 2011. ISRO plans to join the International Space Station project.

The USA’s DARPA agency is planning an “interplanetary internet” . The agency’s plans a persistent broadband ground connectivity for spacecraft in low-Earth orbit giving satellites a near-constant feed of "100 kbps or higher", two-way connectivity, with end-to-end transmission latency of less than a second. This Darpa project will be a “near-term system”, to be operational in 2012-2013.

28-29 October (29 October 2009)

The 327ft tall, 2.6 million pounds thrust Ares 1-X was launched from Kennedy Space Centre’s Pad 39B on a 2min powered flight splashing 150 miles downrange. The flight was basically a test and proving mission hardware, facilities and ground operations. The rocket was similar in size to the Ares 1, but used only a four-segment solid rocket motor for its first stage instead of the five-segment motor planned for the Ares 1, and had a dummy second stage. Project officials said “the launch was a success, generating "enormous" amounts of data that will go into the development of the Ares 1. The future of the Ares 1 itself, however, remains uncertain as the White House considers alternative options for NASA's human spaceflight programme that do not include the Ares 1, so whether there will be a further Ares 1 flight has to be seen.

Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) reported a 3rdQ net income of $9.4 million on $277.1 million compared $11.4 million revenue and $278.6 million in the same quarter in 2008. The lower income was due to decline in missile defense, the NASA Commercial Resupply Services contract and R&D for the Taurus 2 rocket.

UKspace reports that the global space market is growing faster than any other sector in the economy globally. ‘In the United Kingdom, space companies have had a growth factor of just short of 10 per cent a year, which is really quite dramatic.’

China’s new satellite launch centre near Wenchang on the island of Hainan will be the China’s fourth spaceport and will replace Xichang for GEO missions by 2013. The base will feature a space theme park for tourists.

Satellite operations for the French Space Agency’s COROT have been extended to March 2013. The first phase of the mission has featured the discovery of seven exoplanets, the detection of a secondary transit when a planet passes behind the parent star, the first measurements of stellar oscillations in red giant stars, observations of a Be star during a rare outburst. The three-year extension will be used to probe new types of stars and to revisit, and study in depth, those stars which have exhibited the most unexpected behaviour. The impact on the search for exoplanets will be an increase in the number of detections, and there will be particular emphasis on the search for "hot super-Earths" – planets slightly more massive than the Earth but much closer to their parent star.

Japan has named its next deep space mission Venus Climate Orbiter, Atarsuki, which will orbit Venus after launch on 20 May 2010, arriving in December 2010. After its six-month cruise through space, Akatsuki will enter an equatorial orbit around Venus stretching from just above the planet's blanketing atmosphere to an altitude of nearly 50,000 miles.

23-27 October (27 October 2009)

Former Space Shuttle pilot and commander, Charles Bolden, NASA’s Administrator has ordered the Marshall Space Flight Centre to Heavy Lift Vehicle boosters, including the Jupiter as a top priority. The vehicle is a Space Shuttle Heavy Lift Vehicle, which comprises a side mounted External Tank, based on an earlier Shuttle-C concept, to carry 80 metric tons into LEO and 54 metric tons to the moon. There are serious issues regarding the Jupiter, however which has “serious issues”. Meanwhile, the present Ares 1-Orion Constellation programme seems to be unsustainable. Meanwhile, the first Ares 1 booster is poised for a maiden flight later today. A Space Shuttle successor is unlikely to fly until 2017. The International Space Station could be maintained beyond to 2020.

Bolivia, China Great Wall Industry Corporation and the International Telecommunication Union are planning joint communications satellite, to be launched in 2012 costing US$ 300 million.

40 years ago
24 October 1969

The Soviet Union launched a Soyuz booster from Baikonur carrying Cosmos 306, a 13,200lb surveillance with a recoverable film capsule into a 65deg inclination orbit.

Meanwhile, Cosmos 307 was launched aboard Kosmos 2 booster from Kapustin Yar, carrying a 550lb air defence satellite into a 48deg inclination orbit.

The US Air Force launched a Titan 3B booster from Vandenberg AFB, California carrying a KH-8 satellite into a 108deg inclination orbit. A film capsule was retrieved on November 8.

13-22 October (22 October 2009)

1. Here is the full quote from an Abu Abutaha article on NASA references: "It now (2009) appears that NASA specifically noted both my findings and Tim’s article on the Challenger Crew Cabin in its records. For example, the NASA History Division included the text given below in the Report, “Astronautics and Aeronautics: A Chronology, 1996-2000,” posted in 2009. Under a “February 1997” entry (Page 55), the following is noted from Tim Furniss’ article: Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) photographic analysis also revealed that the explosion had propelled Challenger’s crew compartment thousands of meters away from the explosion, partially explaining why investigators had taken 40 days to locate the shell. Taha (AbuTaha) suggested that a shock wave had killed the crew instantly, although NASA had never found evidence of a shock wave. News of the photographs and of Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) research kept alive the debate surrounding the decade-old accident,” (Abutaha emphasis). Even though Furniss’ article was specifically highlighted in NASA’s own briefs, the dramatic evidence of the Challenger Crew Cabin remained dormant."

2. Ali AbuTaha who investigated the Challenger accident has produced new evidence. Only one space reporter, Tim Furniss, mentioned Ali Abutaha’s Challenger evidence on the tenth anniversary in a premier international aerospace publication, Flight International. Abutaha has posted this report. It now (2009) appears that NASA specifically noted both his findings and Tim’s article on the Challenger Crew Cabin in its records. For example, the NASA History Division included the text given below in the Report, “Astronautics and Aeronautics: A Chronology, 1996-2000,” posted in 2009. Under a “February 1997” entry (Page 55), the following is noted from Tim Furniss’ article: “Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) photographic analysis also revealed that the explosion had propelled Challenger’s crew compartment thousands of meters away from the explosion, partially explaining why investigators had taken 40 days to locate the shell. Taha (AbuTaha) suggested that a shock wave had killed the crew instantly, although NASA had never found evidence of a shock wave. News of the photographs and of Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) research kept alive the debate surrounding the decade-old accident,” (my emphasis). Even though Furniss’ article was specifically highlighted in NASA’s own briefs, the dramatic evidence of the Challenger Crew Cabin remained dormant. The line between incompetence and cover-up can be thin. Sometimes, incompetence leads to cover-up. Sometimes, incompetence appears as cover-up. Also, the line between incompetence and mistakes is thin. With great care and effort, I captured and photographed the shock wave that ripped the Challenger and External Tank apart, sending the Crew Cabin tumbling far away from all the other pieces! You can see my (Abutaha) photo of the shock wave in my Post #118 to CollectSpace. (Incidentally, Collect Space had been provided with the information! And a CS correspondent did his to best portray me as a nutcase.) Was there a shock wave? A picture is worth a thousand words. So, was it a mistake? Was it cover-up? Was it incompetence? To me, these are empty questions.

Tim Furniss says: Incidentally – Robert Pearlman had the data and did not use it in a debate on the CollectSpace. Jim Oberg also had the information but did not mention it – even making a comment “Furniss used to be respectable”. I thought Oberg was a self-appointed fount of all space knowledge and he didn’t know anything about the inside story!

3. Here is Abutaha’s account. “I had developed a completely different “sequence of events” for Challenger from lift-off to, and beyond, the explosion that we all saw on television. There were many unique events that were missed in all the other investigations. The important events are supported with clear evidence. “One event was the real Challenger Crew Cabin (CCC) tumbling far away from all the other debris after the explosion. In 1986, I discovered that what NASA identified as the CCC after the explosion, in the films, was a piece of debris, and I also captured the real Crew Cabin in the film record. I showed the evidence to a distinguished member of the Rogers Commission, officers from NASA, and others. The subject was emotionally charged then. Everyone thought it better not to release my finding publicly, and I agreed. In January 1989, I gave a Continuing Engineering Education Program at my alma mater, the George Washington University, entitled, “The Challenger Accident: An Integrated Analysis of the Official Investigation.” In video, I showed the attending engineers the Challenger Crew Cabin drifting alone away from, and way above, all the other pieces. One engineer from NASA attended my 1989 program; Wayne Hale. My course was cancelled after interference from NASA, as described in the Shuttlefactor Report. Again, I shelved the Challenger Crew Cabin subject. On the tenth anniversary of the Challenger accident, I shared the Crew Cabin evidence with space reporters. The evidence included sequenced photos showing the CCC tumbling end over end, frame after frame. The photos show the unmistakable truncated outline of the Crew Cabin. I also pointed out that the piece identified by NASA as the Crew Cabin was shallow-shaped, that looked exactly like the Lower Forward Fuselage. The Fuselage piece can easily move in a stable attitude, like a kite, in the atmosphere.” SEE SPACEPORT CHALLENGER PAGE. spaceport.co.uk. The new material will be posted on Spaceport shortly.

Russia launched a Progress cargo craft aboard a Soyuz booster from Baikonur on 15 October to be attached to the Pirs docking port at the International Space Station. The space station is occupied by the Expedition 21 crew of commander Frank De Winne, Roman Romanenko and Maxim Suraev, Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk and NASA astronauts Jeff Williams an Nicole Stott.
The spacecraft carries 1,918lbs of fuel and 926lbs of water.

UP Aerospace launched a reusable rocket plane from New Mexico Spaceport America on 15 October on the third in a series of tests after flights in 2007-08.

Astronomers have revealed the discovery of 32 new extrasolar planets, bringing the total number of such worlds found to date to 400. The discoveries were made by the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Astronomers now estimate that at least 40 percent of solar-type stars have low-mass planets.

The first “Stick” was rolled out of the VAB at the Kennedy Space Centre on 20 October. The Ares 1-X test rocket will be launched no earlier than 27 October.

The 600th Atlas booster was launched on 18 October carrying a DMSP F18. The first launch of an Atlas was made on 17 December 1957.

Space Adventures will not be able to provide private Soyuz tourists until about 2013 because more time it required for commander pilot operations as two tourist will fly on the services.

ESA plans a cut-price $1.7 billion ExoMars mission with a rover and drill in 2016 and a rover mission in 2018. The missions will be launched by Atlas rockets.

India plans to launch two polar orbiting climate satellites in 2010 and 2011.

50 years ago

17 October 1959

The second X-15 plane was tested from Edwards AFB.

18 October

The Soviet Union’s Lunik 3 spacecraft revealed 70% of the far side of the moon two weeks after launch. The first image was revealed on 26 October.

40 years ago

13 October 1969
The Soviet Union launched a Soyuz booster from Plesetsk carrying a Cosmos 302 into a 65deg inclination orbit on a high resolution photo recon mission which returned a film capsule on 25th.

18 October
The Soviet Union launched a Cosmos booster from Plesetsk carrying Cosmos 303, a military target craft into a 71deg inclination orbit.

21 October
The Soviet Union launched a Kosmos booster from Plesetsk carrying Cosmos 304, a Tsyklon military navigation satellite into a 74deg inclination orbit.

22 October
The Soviet Union launched a Proton booster from Baikonur carrying Cosmos 305 an lunar soil return mission but the craft failed to leave Earth orbit.

7-12 October (12 October 2009)

Russia’s Soyuz TMA 14 returned to Earth from a visit to the International Space Station on 11 October with commander Russian Gennady Padalka, NASA astronaut Mike Barratt and space tourist Canadian Guy Laliberte. Padalka and Barratt flew a 199 day mission, with Padalka racking up 586 days in space, making him the sixth most space experienced space traveller. Two new ISS crew members, who flew TMA 14 into space are Jeff Williams and Maxim Suraev.

Digital Globe’s WorldView 2, Ball Aerospace-built high resolution commercial remote sensing satellite was launched aboard a Delta 2 booster from Vandenberg AFB, California into a sun-synchronous orbit providing 46cm panchromatic and 1.8m multi-spectral images. The latest satellite is the fifth launched for Digital Globe. The first satellite was called Early Bird 1 and was launched in 1997. The satellite failed in orbit. The launch was the 345th of a Delta booster.

A partnership between Astrium and Kazakhstan’s Gharysh Sapary will produce two Earth observation satellites of one metre resolution and one medium-resolution to be built in Astana using a UK Surrey Satellite Technology which was acquired by Astrium in 2008.

The University of Arizona says that Saturn’s moon, Europa has enough oxygen to support not only microorganisms but then goes a bit OTT, saying that there is also “macrofauna” with a continual supply of oxygen which could support about three billion kg of macrofauna, assuming similar demands demands to terrestrial fish. Apparently, Europa contains twice the liquid water of all the Earth’s oceans. The usual “hope” of course is the “chances of life” with hot springs in the ocean floor. However, it is not certain whether the ocean floor actually would provide the conditions for such life. So, all the above is just theory.

The 133 miles diameter Saturnian moon, Phoebe could be creating a record-breaking circle of dusty and icy debris about 6 million kilometres from Saturn extending to 12 million km within the orbit of the moon with a span of two full moons.

NASA’s $79 million Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) impacted on the moon, while the mission’s Centaur rocket hit the moon but without the hoped-for fireworks. LCROSS observed impact using its mid-infrared thermal camera. The lack of “spectacular images” was a dissapointment.

Alliant Techsystems has laid-off 420 employees from   Utah-based facility as the completion of the Space Shuttle solid rocket motors and Minuteman 3 missile programmes.

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has detected an infrared ring around the planet Saturn. If you could see the ring in the Earth’s night sky, it would span the width of two full moons.

“Boeing and Russian aerospace company RSC-Energia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Moscow on Oct. 2 to work together on a future common docking system for advanced space exploration vehicles. The two companies will complement each other's extensive knowledge in International Space Station (ISS) design, assembly and operation to produce an international standard for docking mechanisms. Future space exploration will provide opportunities for more international collaboration," said former astronaut Brewster Shaw, vice president and general manager of Boeing's Space Exploration division. As the commercial space market matures, there will be a need for an international standard for docking on orbit. The Boeing Company and Energia will draw on proven experience to provide an innovative docking solution for future space exploration. The agreement outlines collaboration between the two companies to produce a mechanism based on Energia's existing Androgynous Peripheral Docking System (APDS). Designed and built by Energia in Russia, APDS is a proven system that has connected every space shuttle mission to the ISS for more than a decade”. Courtesy Boeing.

40 years ago
11-13 October 1969

The Soviet Union launched a Soyuz booster from Baikonur carrying Soyuz 6 carrying commander Georgy Shonin and flight engineer Valeri Kubasov into a 131-135 mile, 51deg inclination orbit on a mission lasting 4days 22hrs 42min. The Soyuz 6 mission was originally to be a solo flight but was later joined with Soyuz 7 and 8. In 1990, it was revealed that the spacecraft a compressed arc welding almost burned a hole right through the inner compartment. Soyuz 7 and 8 were then planned to rendezvous close to Soyuz 6 while docking together providing a space “spectacular” for Russia. The 7 and 8 spacecraft were launched but the docking failed. It was to be “a spectacular”. Soyuz 7 was launched on 12 October crewed by commander Anatoli Filipchenko, flight engineer, Vladislav Volkov and research Viktor Gorbakto and Soyuz 8 on 13 October, crewed by commander Vladimir Shatalov and flight engineer Alexei Yeliseyev. The joint mission marked the first with seven spacemen in orbit at once.

1-6 October (6 October 2009)

Arianespace launch an Arine 5 booster from Kourou on 1 October - the 33rd consecutive success and the fifth flight of 2009 - carrying Spain’s EADS Astrium build Hispasat 5,500kg Amazonas 2 satellite and German’s 2,500kg Comsat BW 1 military communications satellite. The next Arianespace launch – the 192th – will carry NSS 12 and Thor 6 in late October.

Space-X has completed acceptance testing of the Falcon 9 first and second stages for the first flight of the booster at the company’s Waco, Texas propulsion testing site. The Falcon 9 will be undergo static firing tests of the two stages before being shipped to Cape Canaveral in November. The booster will carry a Dragon spacecraft qualification unit. The second test flight will fly the first NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) to the International Space Station.

“Mr Antonio Tajani, European Commission Vice-President for Transport Policy, has announced the official start of operations for EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service. The EGNOS 'Open Service' is now available. This is a major milestone for the project: its primary service is now available to all users equipped with EGNOS-compatible receivers. Most mass-market satellite navigation receivers being sold today are ready for EGNOS. EGNOS is a satellite-based augmentation system that improves the accuracy of satellite navigation signals over Europe. The system consists of transponders aboard three geostationary satellites over the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Europe, linked to a network of about 40 ground stations and four control centres.”

India plans to pay $35 million for a 10-day Soyuz TMA flight to carry two space tourists and a cosmonaut commander for a 10-day mission to the International Space Station. Russia will help India to build a manned spacecraft.

NASA astronaut Fernando Caldeiro died on 3 October. A member of the 1966 astronaut class did not make a spaceflight.

Iran plans to launch astronauts into space but no date has been given.

Thales Alenia Space will build a APT Satellite Company Limited, Apstar 7 communications satellite based on the Spacebus 4000 C2 platform, equipped with 28 C-band and 28-Ku-band transponders, to replace Apstar 2R at 76.5degE.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has successfully completed the planned repositioning of the first Galileo test satellite, GIOVE-A, to a higher orbit to make way for the operational satellites of Europe's satellite navigation constellation. From the GIOVE-A operational headquarters in Guildford, UK, SSTL's operating team executed a series of precisely planned manoeuvres during July and August that have repositioned the satellite 113km above the orbit that the 27 operational Galileo navigation satellites will occupy.

NASA’s Messenger spacecraft made its third fly-by of Mercury at a distance of 228km on the last fly-by before the planned orbital insertion in March 2011.

Soviet cosmonaut Pavel Popovich who flew aboard the Vostok 4 spacecraft in 1962 during a dual-mission with Vostok 3 piloted by Andrian Nikolayev in which the craft flew close to each other but was not “rendezvous” , died of a stroke aged 79 on 31 September. Popovich also flew a reconnaissance craft, Soyuz 14 with a co-crewman in 1974. Nikolayev died in 2004.

The first round of redundancies of Shuttle contractors began on 2 October, with 258 United Space Alliance staff losing their jobs together with 70 security staff.

Lockheed Martin and Boeing’s United Launch Alliance has won a $927.7 million contract for the US Air Force for Delta IV and Atlas V boosters for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle programme.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has successfully completed the planned repositioning of the first Galileo test satellite, GIOVE-A, to a higher orbit to make way for the operational satellites of Europe's satellite navigation constellation. From the GIOVE-A operational headquarters in Guildford, UK, SSTL's operating team executed a series of precisely planned manoeuvres during July and August that have repositioned the satellite 113km above the orbit that the 27 operational Galileo navigation satellites will occupy.

Sea Launch is preparing a launch of a Zenit 3SL booster from Baikonur at the year-end carrying the 2.44 Intelsat 15 satellite to be placed at 85degE to replace Intelsat 709. Sea Launch is still working on a reorganisation in the course of bankcruptcy. Two earlier land launched 2009 Baikonur launches were of Telstar 11N and MeaSat 3A. A Sea Launch carried Sicral 1B from the Odyssey sea-based platform in the Pacific Ocean.

ViaSat will aquire Wild Blue Communications with $568 million by 2010. ViaSat will launch a Ka-band satellite in 2011.

40 years ago
30 September 1969

A US Air Force Thorad SLV-2G Agena booster was launched from Vandenberg AFB, carrying ten satellites into 70deg inclination orbits of about 500 miles. They comprised of a sigint, calibration, technology and elint spacecraft.

1 October

A Scout booster was launched from Vandenberg AFB, California carrying Europe’s ESRO 1B ionosphere and auroral satellite but was placed into a lower than planned orbit.

6 October
The Soviet Union launched a Vostok booster from Plesetsk, carrying a 8,300lb Meteor 1-02 meteorological satellite into an 81deg orbit.

23-30 September (1 October 2009)

India launched a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Shriharikota on 23 September with seven satellites, including India’s Oceansat 2 satellite, with six other smaller satellites from Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Sweden.

NASA’s Mesenger spacecraft flew past Mercury at a distance of 142 miles on 29 October moving the path of the spacecraft to return for a fly-by in 2011.

Russia launched Soyuz TMA 16 from Baikonur on 30 September en route to the International Space Station carrying rookie commander Max Suraev, NASA flight engineer, Jeff Williams and Canadian space tourist, Guy Laliberte, the founder of the Cirque du Soleil who will orchestrate a 2hr global concert from space.

The British spaceplane developer Reaction Engines celebrated its 20th anniversary in mid-August and revealed that it is planning to fly its Skylon spaceplane for the first time in 2018. The company has been developing Skylon - a progression from the HOTOL project - over the past two decades and believes that a single stage to orbit (SSTO) reusable launch vehicle (RLV) is the future of global space travel.

Boeing is investing $50 million to possibly enter the competition for a crew spacecraft for the Commercial Crew Development programme which will entail private finance and government money. The spacecraft would be launched aboard a Boeing Delta IV booster. Other companies interested Space X, Orbital Sceinces and Xcor Aerospace.

The Mobile satellite operator Sky Terra will be acquired by Harbinger Capital Partners. Sky Terra has ordered two satellites from Boeing to provide mobile voice and data services.

Data from Cassini, Deep Impact and the instrument on India’s Chandrayaan has discovered evident of water ice on the moon. Several studies have suggested that there could be ice in the craters around the Moon’s poles.

A Delta 2 launched was launched from Cape Canaveral on 25 September, carrying two Space Tracking and Surveillance technology demonstration satellites for the Missiles Defense Agency. The Northrop Grumman-build satellites carry sensors to track ballistic missile launches.

The US Government Accountability Office says that NASA has not made a sound business case for the Constellation programme which has a poorly phased funding, testing and technical issues. Constellation is under-funded. One of the alternatives is a Space Shuttle-based spacecraft comprising an HLV payload carrier in place of the Orbiter and an ET and twin solid rocket boosters, carrying more that an orbiter. A family of spacecraft based on the HLV would support the ISS, fly manned and unmanned lunar mission, geosynchronous satellite deployments and L1 support. The GAO estimates that Ares 1 and Orion would cost $49 billion and $95 billion for Constellation.

Japan’s state minister in charge of space says that a new rocket base is needed to replace Tanegashima, due to its launch restrictions.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation will build and launch a satellite for Laos for land-based satellite tracking stations.

Space-X will launch a model of the Dragon capsule aboard a Falcon 9 launcher later this year. The flight will provide data for the first COTS cargo missions to the ISS. Orbital Sciences Corporation is also planning a cargo ship, Dragon.
Operational Dragon missions would start in 2011.

An international Isle of Man-based space exploration company, Excalibur has been established, using Russian-based Almaz craft, week-long missions as early as 2013. The spacecraft will be compatible with many launch vehicles.

Images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed deposits of nearly pure water ice hidden in five small craters in depth of 0.5-2.5 metres.

50 years ago
24 September 1959

NASA launched Atlas Able 4 on a mission to attempt to orbit a 375lb spacecraft around the moon but the booster exploded on the pad during launch preparation.

27 September

NASA renamed the High Speed Station at Edwards AFB, California as NASA Flight Research Centre.

28 September

Images taken by the Explorer 6 satellite, over Mexico at 19,500 miles altitude on August 14 were released by NASA, showing the crescent shape of the sunlit portion of the Earth and a crude cloud-cover image.

40 years ago

23 September 1969

The Soviet Union failed to launch a Proton booster, carrying a 12,300lb robotic lunar soil return mission spacecraft which failed to leave Earth parking orbit.

24 September

The Soviet Union launched a Soyuz booster from Plesestk carrying a Zenit 2 area survey photo reconnaissance satellite on an eight day mission returning a film capsule eight days later.

25 September

James McDivitt, Gemini 4 and Apollo 9 commander was appointed Apollo manager.