Department of Defense transferred northern portion of Camp Cooke, Calif. (now Vandenberg AFB), to the Air Force to be used as first ICBM base. The Secretary of Defense directed the United States Army to transfer 64,000 acres of Camp Cooke's 86,000 acres to the Air Force.

Golovin Committe studies launch vehicles through summer, but found the issue to be completely entertwined with mode (earth-orbit, lunar-orbit, lunar-surface rendezvous or direct flight. Two factions: large solids for direct flight; all-chemical with 4 or 5 F-1's in first stage for rendezvous options. In the end Webb and McNamara ordered development of C-4 and as a backup, in case of failure of F-1 in development, build of 6.1 m+ solid rocket motors by USAF.

Third suborbital test of Saturn I. Saturn-Apollo 3 (Saturn C-1, later called Saturn I) was launched from the Atlantic Missile Range. Upper stages of the launch vehicle were filled with 23000 gallons of water to simulate the weight of live stages. At its peak altitude of 167 kilometers (104 miles), four minutes 53 seconds after launch, the rocket was detonated by explosives upon command from earth. The water was released into the ionosphere, forming a massive cloud of ice particles several miles in diameter. By this experiment, known as "Project Highwater," scientists had hoped to obtain data on atmospheric physics, but poor telemetry made the results questionable. The flight was the third straight success for the Saturn C-1 and the first with maximum fuel on board.

NASA test pilot Joseph A. Walker flew the LLRV for the second time. The first attempted liftoff, into a 9.26-km (5-nm) breeze, was stopped because of excessive drift to the rear. The vehicle was then turned to head downwind and liftoff was accomplished. While airborne the LLRV drifted with the wind and descent to touchdown was accomplished. Touchdown and resulting rollout (at that time the vehicle was on casters) took the LLRV over an iron-door-covered pit. One door blew off but did not strike the vehicle.

Venera 3 was launched towards the planet Venus. The mission was to land on the Venusian surface. The entry vehicle contained a radio communication system, scientific instruments, electrical power sources, and medallions bearing the coat of arms of the U.S.S.R. The station impacted Venus on March 1, 1966. However, the communications systems had failed before planetary data could be returned.

Mishin's draft plan for the Soviet lunar landing was approved by an expert commission headed by Keldysh. The first N-1 launch was set for March 1968. At same meeting, Chelomei made a last ditch attempt to get his revised UR-700/LK-700 direct landing approach approved in its place. Although Chelomei had lined up the support of Glushko, and Mishin was in a weak position after Korolev's death, Keldysh managed to ensure that the N1-L3 continued. However continued design work on the LK-700, the UR-700 booster, and development of the RD-270 engine were authorised.

Problems on the mission included excessive firing of the manoeuvring engine during rendezvous and docking, and failure of the stellar navigation systems. The systems still need work before a man's life can be risked. It is decided to conduct another unmanned dual docking mission in March-April 1968; with a manned flight in May-June 1968. As for the L1, the simulator was still 'raw' and had many problems. Four to six successful unmanned flights are needed to prove the L1 before a manned flight can be made.

Mishin is comatose, pulse 88, blood pressure 160 over 90. The doctors want to put him in the hospital, but he stays. The side of the L1 where the tanks were mounted finally comes into the sun, and the temperature rises to -1 deg C, a safer temperature than before. But now there is a new problem -- the cabin pressure fell from 718 mm at 05:13 to 610 mm by 05:20. By 08:30 it was down to 350 mm - essentially a situation of a depressurised cabin as far as the landing instruments are concerned. By 18:00 the temperature and pressure in the capsule have stabilised and Mishin is in the hospital. Meanwhile Kosygin is visiting the TsPK.

The launch vehicle arrived at the site on 18 March 1969. The objective was to launch China's first satellite before Japan lofted its counterpart. Ren Xinmin had obtained this specific order from Deng Hsiao Peng. Great difficulties were encountered in the middle of the Cultural Revolution, including the sending of most of the satellite engineers to work on irrigation ditch construction in the provinces. The skirt for the satellite, designed to make it easily visible to ground observors, had to be made from a special silk produced in a factory without the knowledge of the Red Guards. The engineers went by bus to a department store in Beijing to study an imported folding umbrella as a model for the deployment mechanism -- they could not afford to buy it. The entire launch was kept secret until a documentary was released in 2001.

Kamanin has a difficult and unpleasant conversation with Tereshkova. She and her mother have written to generals in the chain of command over Kamanin several times about Nikolayev's bad behaviour. This was never mentioned to Kamanin. He doesn't know what to do about the quarrels between the 'space couple'.

There were still three defects in the new digital computer systems and controversy as to whether to fly the fuel cells in the LOK. But without the fuel cells, there could be no translunar mission. The only power available would then be the batteries in the Block G, limiting the flight to low earth orbit. But the launch manager continued to insist there was danger in handling liquid hydrogen. This was simply a bureaucratic hold-up - only 600 kg of LH2 would be flying, which did not represent a real safety issue. Finally a waiver was agreed and the it was decided the LOK would fly with fuel cells.

All else seemed ready to go. The estimated engine reliability was 93%. The turbogenerators had achieved 100% reliability in test stands. There were still dissenting voices on the use of LH2 - the final vote was 7 for flying with it, and 2 against.

Final Skylab mission; included observation and photography of Comet Kohoutek among numerous experiments. Completed 1,214 Earth orbits and four EVAs totalling 22 hours, 13 minutes. Increased manned space flight time record by 50%. Rebellion by crew against NASA Ground Control overtasking led to none of the crew ever flying again. Biological experiments included two Mummichog fish (Fundulus heteroclitus).

The space vehicle consisted of a modified Apollo CSM and a Saturn IB launch vehicle. All launch phase events were normal, and the CSM was inserted into a 150.1- by 227.08-km orbit. The rendezvous sequence was performed according to the anticipated timeline. Stationkeeping was initiated about seven and one-half hours after liftoff, and hard docking was achieved about 30 minutes later following two unsuccessful docking attempts. Planned duration of the mission was 56 days, with the option of extending it to a maximum of 84 days.

For some time the Mir-crew is preparing the freighter Progress- M20 for its last autonomous flight. They store all what they want to throw away in the Progress-M20 herself and all experiments, films etc. in the return capsule (VBK). The Progress-M20 has to undock from Mir on 21.11.93 at abt. 0900 UTC for decay in the atmosphere. Before burning up the Progress-M20 will jettison the VBK for a safe landing in the Orenburg region, so on Russian territory. A landing in Kazakhstan means that the Russians must pay import duties to Kazakhstan!

Orbit correction: One of these days the Progress-M20 will have to correct the orbit of the complex. After this correction old Keplers will no longer be valid.

Mir-crew: The cosmonauts reported that the outside surface of the Mir-station is in a good shape. The damages caused by micro- meteorites are not that bad as previously expected. More concern they expressed about the inside systems of the station. The guaranteed lifetime is running to its end and they have to do a lot of strenuous maintenance work on the life systems. Nowadays they have problems with the provision of oxygen.

Contact between Mir and Shuttle Columbia on 26.10.93:

It was a great surprise for the Mir-crew to get a call in Russian from the Columbia on a radio-amateur channel.

Renovation work in my shack:

Due to renovation work in my shack it might be difficult to maintain my operational possibilities for a while. So there might be a period in which I will be unable to make Mir- reports. Please don't worry: when this misery is over I will be back again!

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

The Mars 96 spacecraft was launched into Earth orbit, but failed to achieve insertion into Mars cruise trajectory and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere at about 00:45 to 01:30 GMT on 17 November 1996 and crashed within a presumed 320 km by 80 km area which includes parts of the Pacific Ocean, Chile, and Bolivia. The Russian Mars 96 mission was designed to send an orbiter, two small autonomous stations, and two surface penetrators to Mars.

With the first component of the International Space Station encapsulated in its nose fairing, a 180-foot long Russian Proton rocket was transported to its launch pad at dawn today at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan in preparation for liftoff Friday to begin assembly of the new complex. Additional Details: here....

First use of the ASAP-5 piggyback payload adapter. Communications satellite, stationed at 58 deg W. PAS 1R was a large Boeing Model 702 satellite with a dry mass of about 3000 kg (launch mass 4793 kg) and a solar panel span of 45m. It carried 36 C and 48 Ku-band transponders. PAS 1R was operated by Panamsat, whose fleet included the former Hughes Galaxy system. The PAS 1R, STRV 1c/1d, and AMSAT Phase 3D satellites were placed in orbit on a single Ariane launch. The EPS stage entered geostationary transfer orbit at 0134 GMT, followed by separation of the PAS 1R main payload. As of 4 September 2001 located at 45.03 deg W drifting at 0.016 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 1 located at 45.05W drifting at 0.023W degrees per day.

The two small STRV cubes were then ejected from the Ariane EPS stage ASAP-5 secondary payload structure at 0141 GMT. STRV-1c and 1d were small satellites built by the DERA (former Royal Aircraft Establishment), Farnborough, England. Mass was around 95 kg each. STRV-1c performed accelerated life testing of new components and materials in the high radiation environment of geosynchronous transfer orbit.

STRV-1c and 1d were small satellites built by the DERA (former Royal Aircraft Establishment), Farnborough, England. Mass was around 95 kg each. STRV-1d carries an NRL Space Test Program experiment (S97-2), a camera, and technology and computer experiments.

The long-delayed Phase 3D amateur radio satellite, built by AMSAT-DL (Germany), was renamed AMSAT-Oscar-40 (AO-40) once launched. It carried an MBB S400 liquid engine (the backup engine for the Galileo Jupiter probe) and a variety of amateur radio payloads in L, S, C, X, V, U and K bands, as well as an ammonia arcjet thruster and a laser communications experiment. The satellite was the largest amateur satellite orbited to date and the first to feature deployable solar panels. Mass was 397 kg dry. The PAS 1R, STRV 1c/1d, and AMSAT Phase 3D satellites were placed in orbit on a single Ariane launch. At 0149 GMT the SBS cylindrical adapter which connected PAS-1R to AMSAT was jettisoned; 50 seconds later AMSAT separated from the EPS upper stage. Thereafter the spacecraft could not be contacted. Finally telemetry was received from after two weeks of silence, confirming that the satellite was still functioning.

Progress M1-4 was an unmanned resupply craft that rendezvoused with the International Space Station on November 18. After problems with the automatic system, ISS Expedition 1 crew member Gidzenko took over manual control with the remote TORU system at 0302 GMT. The first docking attempt was aborted when M1-4 was only 5 m from the station at 0309 GMT. On the second attempt docking was successfully achieved at 0348 GMT at Zarya's nadir port. The problem on the first attempt was icing of the TORU system TV camera on the Progress when the spacecraft was in shadow. Progress M1-4 undocked from ISS at 1623 GMT on December 1. Following the mission of STS-97 Progress M1-4 redocked to Zarya's nadir port on December 26 at 1054 GMT. The redocking tested a fix to the software that caused problems in the vehicle's first docking attempt on November 18. Yuri Gidzenko completed the docking manually using the remote control TORU system. Progress M1-4 undocked from Zarya's nadir port for the last time at 1126 GMT on February 8. It was deorbited over the Pacific and reentered at 1350 GMT the same day.

Delayed from September, November 9 and 15. Final test of NASA's X-43A-3 Hyper X hypersonic scramjet demonstrated air-frame integrated scramjet performance at speeds approaching Mach 10. Changes to the launch vehicle compared to Flight 2 included high-temperature thermal protection system tiles on the wing and fin leading edge, elimination of all ballast, a full propellant load on the ATK Orion 50S booster, lightweight aluminum structures, and updated control laws and aerodynamics. Air dropped in Point Arguello WADZ.

Heaviest total commercial GTO payload to that date. Qualification flight for the Ariane 5 EC-A version. Launch delayed from June 25 due to launch vehicle problems. Spaceway 2 launch delayed from April for problems with the satellite. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 99.24W drifting at 0.010W degrees per day.

The mission was to deliver and place spare components outside the ISS station. The 11-day flight included three spacewalks. The payload bay carried two large ExPRESS Logistics Carriers holding two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly, a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm, a spare trailing umbilical system for the Mobile Transporter, and a high-pressure gas tank.