Missile Defense Alarm System. Test launch with W-17 sensor. The last Atlas D/Agena A booster to be used by the Air Force placed into orbit the MIDAS II infrared scanning satellite designed to detect and give early warning of missile launchings. Although intended to function for 40 months, the satellite's telemetry system failed on 26 May. MIDAS II was the first early warning satellite system placed in orbit.

BSD's 6555th Aerospace Test Wing launched Mercury/Atlas 7 (MA-7), "Aurora 7", into orbit carrying Navy Commander M. Scott Carpenter. This was the second U.S. manned orbital flight mission. Scott Carpenter in Aurora 7 is enthralled by his environment but uses too much orientation fuel. Yaw error and late retrofire caused the landing impact point to be over 300 km beyond the intended area and beyond radio range of the recovery forces. Landing occurred 4 hours and 56 minutes after liftoff. Astronaut Carpenter was later picked up safely by a helicopter after a long wait in the ocean and fears for his safety. NASA was not impressed and Carpenter left the agency soon thereafter to become an aquanaut.

Headquarters USAF recommended that Atlas D,E, and Titan I missiles be phased out of SAC's active operational inventory between 1965 and 1968. The older liquid-fueled ICBMs were expensive to operate, required a large manpower commitment, were slow-reacting and thus vulnerable when compared to the more advanced Minuteman and Titan II missile that were being deployed.

The 6595th Aerospace Test Wing launched flight test missile 458, the first Minuteman I (LGM-30B) missile to be launched from Vandenberg. February 1959. Since then, a total of 57 Titan I R&D missiles had been fired - 47 from the Atlantic range and 10 from Vandenberg. Of these, 36 were complete successes, 14 were partially successful, and seven were registered as failures.

Because of the Apollo 204 accident in January and the resulting program delays, NASA realigned its Apollo and AAP launch schedules. The new AAP schedule called for 25 Saturn IB and 14 Saturn V launches. Major hardware for these launches would be two Workshops flown on Saturn IB vehicles, two Saturn V Workshops, and three ATMs. Under this new schedule, the first Workshop launch would come in January 1969.

Tereshkova is fighting against her appointment to the Committee of Soviet Women with the requirement for constant tours, appearances, committee sessions, and so on. He has gone to see Suslov about it. Meanwhile the Communist Central Committee and the Soviet Ministers are having a fight over the dates for the planned cosmonaut tour of Africa (the secret objective is to give the cosmonauts training in recognition of southern hemisphere constellations in preparation for lunar missions). Leonov is involved in sending mixed signals to the leadership.

Kamanin, the cosmonauts, and other VVS officers spend the day at the lake 7 km from the Tyuratam liquid oxygen plant. An asphalt road leads to the recreation area. They play tennis, chess, and billiards. The artificial lake was made by diverting water from the Syr Darya river.

The Directorate for Defense Navigation Satellite System (XRN) of the Deputy for Development Plans became the Deputy for Defense Navigation Satellite System (YE) and the Defense System Applications System Program Office (S'ZH) became the Deputy for Defense System Applications (YD), later to be redesignated Deputy for Defense Meteorological Satellite Systems in January 1974.

Stationed at 99 deg E. Transmission of Central Television programmes to a network of receivers for collective use. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 99 deg E in 1986-1988 As of 5 September 2001 located at 80.69 deg W drifting at 13.420 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 63.41W drifting at 13.419W degrees per day.

Geostationary at 123.0W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 123 deg W in 1996-2000; 127 deg W in 2000.- As of 5 September 2001 located at 126.96 deg W drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 74.14W drifting at 0.004W degrees per day.

Communications satellite. Maiden flight of Atlas IIIA with Russian RD-180 main engine; scrubbed four times. European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat) satellite equipped with 32 Ku-band transponders, and antennae covering Russia and Africa. It will be stationed at 36 deg E. This was the third of the high power Eutelsat W series to be launched (W1 was destroyed in a ground accident). Stationed at 36 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 32 deg E in 2000. As of 4 September 2001 located at 35.98 deg E drifting at 0.003 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 36.08E drifting at 0.005E degrees per day.

The Expedition 4 crew of the International Space Station spent much of this week preparing for the arrival of Endeavour on STS-111 and their return home. They packed equipment and supplies for return to Earth aboard Endeavour. They also reconfigured and checked out spacesuits and the station's joint airlock in preparation for three spacewalks at the station by Endeavour mission specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz and Philippe Perrin. Additional Details: here....

Navigation satellite, joined Beidou 1A and 1B launched in December 2000. This third satellite was considered a back-up element, Positioned at 110 deg E, still maintaining its position within 0.1 deg as of 2007. Retired after launch of the Beidou-2 geosynchronous satellites in 2010.

GOES-13 carried weather imager and sounder instruments, a space environment monitor, and a soft X-ray solar imaging telescope. Mass was 1543 kg empty. It joined GOES 10 (operating as GOES-WEST), GOES 12 (operating as GOES-EAST) and GOES 11 (on standby, set to replace GOES-10 on June 27). As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 105.26W drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.