President Eisenhower recommended to Congress the creation of the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (ODDR&E). This would have more rank and authority than, as well as replace, the present Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD/R&E).

The 6595th Aerospace Test Wing launched an Atlas/Agena which boosted the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Snapshot spacecraft into orbit carrying the SNAP-10A satellite nuclear power supply experiment. The onboard nuclear reactor was used to provide electric power for an ion engine, marking the first attempt to test a reactor-ion system in orbit. Only nuclear reactor ever orbited by the United States. The SNAP-10A reactor provided electrical power for an 8.5 mN ion engine using cesium propellant. The engine was shut off after one hour of operation when high-voltage spikes created electromagnetic interference with the satellite's attitude control system sensors. The reactor continued in operation, generating 39 kWt and more than 500 watts of electrical power for 43 days before the spacecraft telemetry failed.

Studies were conducted to determine the feasibility of conducting a controlled deorbit of the Orbital Workshop. Three methods were considered: (l) using the CSM service propulsion system; (2) using the CSM reaction control system; and (3) implementing an S-II (Saturn V second stage) deorbit. The service propulsion system deorbit was assessed as not feasible; the reaction control system deorbit was considered technically feasible but, like the service propulsion system, it had an inherent program and crew safety risk associated with it. Implementation of an S-II deorbit would have serious time and cost impacts on the program. A 1970 study, which indicated that the probability of damage from the deorbiting Skylab was so small that changes which caused major impact in cost and schedule were not worth pursuing, was confirmed.

The first flight of the Almaz manned military space station. In January 1973 the first Almaz OPS was delivered to Baikonur. Launch and initial orbital checkout went according to plan. But before a crew could be launched the station depressurized. It was concluded that a short in electrical equipment started a fire in pressure vessel, leading to rupture of hull and depressurization. An alternate theory was that debris from an explosion of the third stage of Proton penetrated the hull. Control was lost on April 25, 1973, and the OPS cased operations on 29 April. Decayed May 28, 1973. Initial crew was to have been Popovich and Artyukhin.
Officially: Testing of improved design, on-board systems and equipment; conduct of scientific and technical research and experiments. Additional Details: here....

Unmanned Soyuz test flight. Recovered April 13, 1974 5:05 GMT. Soyuz ASTP Test.
Maneuver Summary:
190km X 309km orbit to 190km X 266km orbit. Delta V: 12 m/s
190km X 266km orbit to 240km X 300km orbit. Delta V: 23 m/s
240km X 300km orbit to 258km X 274km orbit. Delta V: 12 m/s
Total Delta V: 47 m/s.
Officially: Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space.

Manned three crew. Docked with Salyut 7.Transported a Soviet-Indian international crew comprising ship's commander Y V Malyshev, flight engineer G M Strekalov (USSR) and cosmonaut-researcher R Sharma (India) to the SALYUT-7 orbital station to conduct scientific and technical studies and experiments.

Geostationary at 64.1E. Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with RAAN Cntl trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 64 deg E in 1996-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 63.98 deg E drifting at 0.003 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 64.52E drifting at 0.006W degrees per day.

The launch of this freighter from Baykonur is on schedule for 6.04.1997 at 1904 UTC. If this start will take place and the flight to the Mir complex will be successful docking can be expected on 8.04.1997 at abt. 1730 UTC. Progress-M34 has to deliver new supplies of fuel, oxygen, water, food and repair materials. Progress-M34 will also bring 2 spacesuits for spacewalks (EVA's) of a new type. Originally the Russians planned to have a new Antares transmitter (for communications via the geostationary satellite) ready for the flight with Progress-M34, but possibly they cannot make that and that means that this transmitter will be delivered at Mir by the shuttle Atlantis in May.

Mir-routine: Mir's passes for our position take place during the night hours and in this period all communications are handled by the tracking stations in the USA Dryden and Wallops and the OKIK's in the East of Siberia. For the oxygen production the crew is fully dependent on the so called 'shashki', the lithium perchlorate cartridges. Daily they 'consume' 2 or 3 cartridges. The 2 Elektron systems could not be repaired and so the crew has to wait for new Elektrons to be delivered by Atlantis.

Altair-2 (23426 - 94082A): This geostationary satellite recently still over a sub-satellite point over 95 degrees East has been brought in a somewhat higher orbit. Now the period is more than 1436 minutes. This means that the sub-satellite point is slowly moving to the West. if all goes according to plan Altair-2 will reach a position over 16 degrees West in the 26 week of May.

1st Spacewalk (EVA) Tsibliyev and Linenger: This EVA is on schedule for 29.04.1997.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

Penultimate US Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program payload in orbit. The DMSP Block 5D-3 S-19 spacecraft was built by RCA/East Windsor, New Jersey and transferred to Lockheed Martin/Sunnyvale after closure of the former facility. The AV-044 Centaur stage reignited to go into heliocentric orbit, like that for the previous DMSP launch. The DMSP satellite's solar array did not completely deploy, but the satellite was expected to enter service nonetheless.

First satellite in the European Commission's Sentinel/Copernicus Earth observing program. Sentinel-1A's C-band SAR was 13.3 x 0.8m in size. The satellite was only a quarter the mass of its predecessor Envisat which carried a wider array of instruments; in the Sentinel program there will be a series of smaller, more specialized satellites. At 05:14 GMT on April 5, Sentinel made a maneuver to avoid a very close pass by NASA's defunct ACRIMSAT satellite, which failed on December 14 2013 after suffering battery issues.