Ordnance Department entered into a research and development contract with the General Electric Company for study and development of long-range missiles that could be used against ground targets and high-altitude aircraft. This was the beginning of the Hermes project.

Air Force Missile Development Center (AFMDC) was investigating vital environmental elements applicable to manned space flight. One of two technical development projects was titled, "Human Factors of Space Flight. " The investigation covered exposure to space radiation, tolerance to high g loads and weightlessness, problems of descent and recovery from space, and physical and environmental problems of sealed cabins. A second study, "Biodynamics of Human Factors for Aviation", investigated tolerance to abrupt deceleration, total pressure changes, abrupt wind blasts and aircraft crash forces. These studies were symptomatic of a renaissance of scientific interest in space research throughout the Air Research and Development Command. (Memo, Maj D. L. Carter, Dep Dir, Tech Div, Weapon Sys, AFBMD, to Col C. H. Terhune, Dep Cmdr, Weapon Sys, 19 Dec 57, subj: Meeting With Major Simons, AFMDC.)

Air Force headquarters affirmed the necessity for the Air Force to acquire recognized competence in "astronautics and space technology." Therefore the Air Research and Development Command was instructed to prepare by 1 December 1957 an astronautics program with estimates of its funding requirements. The plan was to review those space programs already underway and make a projection of development in astronautics and space technology over the next five years. (Msg, Cmdr ARDC, to Comdr AFBMD, 20 Nov 57.)

Manned Spacecraft Center notified North American to proceed with Phase II-A of the Paraglider Development Program. A letter contract, NAS 9-167, followed on November 21; contract negotiations were completed February 9, 1962; and the final contract was awarded on April 16, 1962. Phase I, the design studies that ran from the beginning of June to mid-August 1961, had already demonstrated the feasibility of the paraglider concept. Phase II-A, System Research and Development, called for an eight-month effort to develop the design concept of a paraglider landing system and to determine its optimal performance configuration. This development would lay the groundwork for Phase II, Part B, comprising prototype fabrication, unmanned and manned flight testing, and the completion of the final system design. Ultimately Phase III-Implementation-would see the paraglider being manufactured and pilots trained to fly it.

The Defense Department announced that the Naval Missile Facility at Point Arguello, California, and the Navy tracking stations in the Pacific would be transferred to the Air Force. This would include control of the Atlantic Missile Range, the Pacific Missile Range, and the satellite control facilities at Sunnyvale, California, and combine them under a single component of the Air Force.

Titov still would prefer to be a test pilot, not a cosmonaut. The Soyuz group is scheduled to complete their training and to depart for the cosmodrome on 20 December for final preparations. Leonov's L1 group is to complete their training on 20 January 1969, then depart to the cosmodrome for a flight to the moon in February.

Kamanin attends an Yastreb spacesuit review with VVS doctors. The suit removes 200 cal/hour, but when the cosmonaut is exerting himself, he will generate 3 to 4 times more than this. So the cabin is chilled to 18 deg C prior to the EVA, and there will be lots of pauses during preparations to exit the spacecraft. The L1 cosmonaut-engineers at the meeting have little zero-G experience, and need to get a lot more. The new oxygen generating system for the L1 is still not complete. It will be 6 to 8 kg lighter than the old system (using calcium instead of the old material). Mishin insists that the new system should be completed and installed. Ground qualification testing will be completed on 1 January, but the system will not be flight-proven - Kamanin believes it needs test on low earth orbit missions before being adopted for lunar flights. Beregovoi's experience on Soyuz 3 is reviewed. He needed more time to adapt to zero-G before being required to attempt a docking. He had the impression he was upside-down and had intestinal tract problems.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Space station orbit at rendezvous was 326 km x 343 km. Docked on 23 Nov 1987 01:39:13 GMT. Undocked on 19 Dec 1987 08:15:46 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 19 Dec 1987 13:37:00 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.30 days. Total docked time 26.28 days.

Stationed at 137 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 137 deg W in 1990-1991; 139 deg W in 1991; 137 deg W in 1991-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 78.98 deg W drifting at 0.013 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 151.83E drifting at 3.912W degrees per day.

Stationed at 125 deg W. Ku band communications satellite. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 125 deg W in 1990-1992; 105 deg W in 1992-1999 As of 6 September 2001 located at 104.95 deg W drifting at 0.005 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 74.47W drifting at 4.077W degrees per day.

Stationed at 0 deg. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 10 deg W in 1994-1997; deg W in 1997-1998; 9 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 9.14 deg W drifting at 0.012 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 36.89E drifting at 0.610E degrees per day.

This long-expected freighter blasted off from Baykonur on 19.11.1996 at 23 hrs 20 mins and 35 seconds UTC (for Moscow-time and for MEWT already on 20.11.1996). After some orbits the beacon- and TLM-transmissions could be monitored over here. The cargo of Progress-M33 consisting of post, food, spare-parts, containers for human waste and materials for experiments weighs 1650 KG. In the tank-compartment of Progress-M33 547 KG oxygen, fuel and water has been stored. Fuel for the Mir-complex itself weighs 2462 KG. Also among the 547 KG a new supply of nitrogen for the pressurising and purging of the oxygen-producing Elektron systems. Because of the fact that there will be no further deliveries of supplies before New Year the mail-bag also contains the Christmas- and New Year post for the crew.

Progress-M32: This old freighter has to free the port at which she is docked now for the arrival of the Progress-M33. This is the aft docking port (Kvant-1, +X-axis). Progress-M32 can abandon the Mir-station for the systems of her successor are working normally. This will take place on 20.11.1996 at 1945 UTC. After a few orbits Progress-M32's engines will be fired for the de-orbit manoeuvre after which Progress-M32 will burn up over a designated area in the Pacific East of New Zealand.

Expected time of arrival and docking Progress-M33 at Mir:

This will be on 22.11.1996 at 0100 UTC. Progress-M33 has to approach and dock in the automatic mode by the system Kurs. If this system fails commander Korzun is ready to conduct the freighter manually with the system TORU.

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

This was the first launch in the assembly of the International Space Station. The Zarya FGB was funded by NASA and built by Khrunichev in Moscow under subcontract from Boeing for NASA. Its design from the TKS military station resupply spacecraft of the 1970's and the later 77KS Mir modules. Zarya included a multiple docking adapter, a pressurised cabin section, and a propulsion/instrument section with a rear docking port. Initial orbit was 176 lm x 343 km x 51.6 degrees. By November 25 it had manoeuvred to a 383 km x 396 km x 51.7 degree orbit, awaiting the launch of Shuttle mission STS-88 which docked the Unity node to it.

The Kosmos-3M second stage entered an 81 x 614 km x 65.8 deg orbit but failed to restart at apogee, and reentered at the next perigee over Uruguay. The loss of the QuickBird 1 satellite was a heavy blow to EarthWatch Inc. QuickBird1 was a 1-m resolution commerical imaging satellite using a Ball Aerospace BCP-2000 bus. Their earlier satellite, EarlyBird, failed after a few days in orbit in December 1997. EarthWatch's rival, SpaceImaging, lost one satellite as well but its second Ikonos was operating in orbit.

Maiden flight of the Delta 4 EELV booster, delayed due to development problems from January and November 2001, April 30, July 15, August 31, October 9, November 3, 16 and 19. EUTELSAT W5 was a European (EUTELSAT Consortium) geostationary communication spacecraft. EUTELSAT W5 was to provide voice, video, and Internet services to all countries in western Europe, central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent through its 24 Ku-band transponders after being parked over 70.5° E longitude. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 70.55E drifting at 0.004W degrees per day.

First Lotos-S electronic intelligence satellite, built by TsSKB-Progress, Samara and KB Arsenal, Saint Petersburg, using the same bus as the Resurs-DK optical remote sensing satellites. Maneuvered from an initial orbit of 199 km x 904 km x 67.2 deg to operational orbit of 903 km x 906 km on 23 November.

Geosynchronous direct broadcast satellite leased to DISH Network for use in direct-to-Home services in the United States. Payload 32 Ku-band high-power transponders, stationed at 61.5 deg W. Carried a Ku-band television payload, had a dry mass of 3520 kg plus 3130 kg of propellant.

Carried technology and space weather experiments, including a Total Solar Irradiance sensor, TCTE, to provide data lost when the Glory launch failed. Also on the launch vehicle were two CubeStack wafers which eject a record total of 28 cubesats. The upper wafer carried four 6U Cubesat dispensers for NRO missions, and the lower wafer carried eight 3U P-POD cubesat dispensers for various payloads including NASA's ELANA IV cubesat cluster.

On 19 November a J-SSOD cubesat deployer was retrieved from the Kibo module airlock by the JEM RMS arm and moved to a deployment position. On 20 November it released this 3U cubesat from NASA-Ames and San Jose State University, which deployed an 0.6m `Exobrake' sail to test a way to increase the cubesat's drag and make it reenter quickly.

Chinese-built DFH-3B communications satellite for Laos. LaoSat-1 was owned by Lao Satellite Joint Venture Co, a collab between China APMT Co. and the Lao National Authority for Science and Tech. LaoSat-1 was placed in a 189 x 41778 km x 18.4 deg geotransfer orbit. Onboard liquid thruster raised orbit to GEO at 128.5 deg E