A bidders' briefing for the Little Joe launch vehicle was held. As earlier mentioned, this launch vehicle was to be used in the development phase of the manned satellite project. The Little Joe launch vehicle was 48 feet in height, weighed (at maximum) 41,330 pounds, was 6.66 feet in diameter, consisted of four Pollux and four Recruit clustered, solid-fuel rockets, could develop a thrust of 250,000 pounds, and could lift a maximum payload of 3,942 pounds.

After a meeting with officials concerned with the missile and space program, President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced that he intended to transfer to NASA control the Army Ballistic Missile Agency's Development Operations Division personnel and facilities. The transfer, subject to congressional approval, would include the Saturn development program.

The Technical Assessment Panels presented to the Evaluation Board their findings on the contractors' proposals for feasibility studies of an advanced manned spacecraft. On October 24, the Evaluation Board findings and recommendations were presented to the STG Director.

Fundamental decisions were made as a result of this and a previous meeting on September 20.. Additional Details: here....

The second prototype space suit was received by MSC's Crew Systems Division. Preliminary tests showed little improvement in mobility over the first suit. On October 24-25, a space suit mobility demonstration was held at North American. The results showed that the suit had less shoulder mobility than the earlier version, but more lower limb mobility. Astronaut John W. Young, wearing the pressurized suit and a mockup portable life support system (PLSS), attempted an egress through the CM hatch but encountered considerable difficulty. At the same time, tests of the suit-couch- restraint system interfaces and control display layout were begun at the Navy's Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory centrifuge in Johnsville, Pa. Major problems were restriction of downward vision by the helmet, extension of the suit elbow arm beyond the couch, and awkward reach patterns to the lower part of the control panel. On October 30-November 1, lunar task studies with the suit were carried out at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in a KC-135 aircraft at simulated lunar gravity. Mobility tests were made with the suit pressurized and a PLSS attached.

MSC Deputy Director George M. Low advised NASA Hq of Houston's planning schedule for follow-up procurement of Apollo spacecraft for the AAP. Based upon the most recent delivery schedules for the last several command and service modules and lunar excursion modules for Apollo, contract award for those vehicles was scheduled for July and August 1966. In accordance with a 14 July directive from Headquarters, MSC was preparing a procurement plan for the extended CSM and the LEM derivatives covering both the final definition and development and operational phases of AAP. Approval of this plan by Headquarters, Low stated, was anticipated for mid-December, while award of contracts for the program definition phase was set for late January 1966. The contract award date for actual development of the extended CSM was slated for October 1966, while that for the LEM derivatives was postponed until mid- 1967 (in line with revised funding directives from Washington).

MSC announced that the bubble-type helmet, designed by Crew Systems Division (CSD) engineers Robert L. Jones and James O'Kane, had been adopted for use in the Apollo extravehicular mobility unit. The new helmet was smaller and lighter than earlier types; extensive studies by CSD had demonstrated its superior comfort, visibility, and don/doff characteristics.

Samuel C. Phillips, Apollo Program Director, notified the Center directors and Apollo program managers in Houston, Huntsville, and Cape Kennedy that OMSF's launch schedule for Apollo-Saturn IB flights had been revised, based on delivery of CSMs 009 and 011:

• AS-201 - January 1966
• AS-202 - June 1966

First Mishin was pushing the 60-year-old Anokhin for spaceflight, now the invalid Feoktistov. Feoktistiov suffers from gastrointestinal ulcers. Tyulin and Kerimov are of one voice in the matter - this is not even a question that can be raised - sick is sick, period. The L1 and L3 crews will have to endure eight to ten days of orbital flight. They can only be between 170 and 175 cm tall, and can have a maximum weight of 70 kg. Mishin insists that he doesn't even need military pilots for the L1 and L3, and therefore doesn't need to decide crew compositions until the middle of 1968, and then only 'his' engineer cosmonauts from TsKBEM should be considered. The Marshal interrupts Mishin, angrily reminding him that the space program is a national enterprise, not something being accomplished by 'your' spacecraft or 'your' cosmonauts. A three hour-long bitter debate ensues, with no resolution on crew selections. The final conclusions are only that the crews will consist of one pilot, and one engineer, and that Feoktistov will never be allowed to go into space.

Maqsat 3 was an instrumentation package used to monitor performance of the Ariane 5 booster. At T+12:43 the Speltra adapter cover separated revealing Maqsat-3. At T+15:14 the EPS stage Aestus engine ignited and burned until T+31:00. At this point on a normal mission the satellite would separate from the EPS, but to avoid creating space debris Maqsat remained attached to the EPS. The EPS/Maqsat-3 was placed in a 1027 km x 35863 km x 7.0 degree geostationary transfer orbit.

The ARD was an 80 percent scale model of the Apollo Command Module, and a technology test for a possible International Space Station Crew Rescue Vehicle. Equipment included a TDRS satellite communications system; a GPS navigation system; 7 DASA 40 kgf hydrazine attitude control thrusters; a 2.8 m diameter heat shield; three 23 metre diameter parachutes, and a SARSAT recovery beacon. The ARD separated from the Ariane EPS upper stage at 12 minutes 2 seconds after launch. ARD and the EPC stage manoeuvred into a 1 km x 830 km orbit, guaranteeing re-entry at the end of the first orbit. The spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific at 3.69 degrees N, 153.35 degrees W, and was successfully recovered by the French Navy.

Communications satellite. Stationed at 72 deg W. The GE 6 was a Lockheed Martin A2100 series satellite with a mass of 3552 kg at launch and 1900 kg dry. It was to provide broadcast and data services in North America. The DM3 upper stage made two burns and placed the GE 6 in a 5850 x 35726 km x 18.7 deg intermediate transfer orbit at 0441 UTC on October 22. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 72 deg W in 2000. As of 3 September 2001 located at 72.01 deg W drifting at 0.008 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 72.00W drifting at 0.005W degrees per day.

Mobile Communications satellite. Launch delayed from September 18 and October 19. Stationed at 44 deg E. The first Boeing GEM satellite, Thuraya 1, was built by Boeing/El Segundo (formerly Hughes). It was based on the HS-702 design but featured a large 12-m diameter truss antenna for L-band mobile telephone service. Launch mass of Thuraya was 5108 kg; dry mass probably around 3000 kg. The satellite was to be delivered after on orbit testing to Etisalat, the Emirates Telecom Corp of Abu Dhabi, and its Thuraya Satellite subsidiary. Thuraya was launched from the Odyssey platform in the Pacific Ocean positioned on the equator at 154 deg W. The two-stage Yuzhnoe Zenit core delivered Thuraya and its Energiya Blok DM-SL upper stage to a -2212 x 182 km suborbital trajectory. The first DM-SL burn placed the stack in a 180 x 200 km x 6.3 deg parking orbit at 0604 GMT; a second burn at 0733 GMTput Thuraya in a 210 x 35891 km x 6.3 deg geostationary transfer orbit. A later depletion burn lowered the DM-SL stage perigee to 180 km, as burns by Thuraya's liquid engine raised it towards geosynchronous orbit. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 44 deg E in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 44.22 deg E drifting at 0.003 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 98.57E drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

Soyuz TM-33, an ISS lifeboat, carried two Russian and one French cosmonaut to the International Space Station (ISS). It docked with the ISS at 10:00 UT on 23 October. This new crew spent eight days on the ISS, and returned on the older Soyuz TM-32 at 03:59 UT on 31 October. The new Soyuz was to remain docked as a lifeboat craft for the long-term ISS crew of three (two Russian and one American) astronauts. On May 5, 2002, after a week aboard the station, the visting Soyuz TM-34 crew moved to the old Soyuz TM-33, docked at the Pirs port. They undocked at 0031:08 UTC on May 5, leaving the EO-4 crew of Onufrienko, Walz and Bursch with the new Soyuz TM-34 as their rescue vehicle. Soyuz TM-33 made its deorbit burn at 0257 UTC and landed successfully at 0352 UTC 25 km SE of Arkalyk.

Chuangxin-1 (or Innovation-1) was China's first experimental small satellite for store-and-forward short message data communications in low Earth orbit. With a mass less than 100 kg, the Chuangxin-1 was developed in light of national strategic demands. Starting from 1999 with support of the national Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the project was carried out jointly by researchers from the CAS Shanghai Institute of Microsystem Information Technology and the CAS Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics. The satellite used spread spectrum communication and subsystems included a communication transponder, onboard computer, attitude control, energy source, thermal control, and structure. The mission was to demonstrate data communications for such sectors as traffic and transportation, environment protection, oil and gas transportation, flood and drought control, detection of forest fire and earthquake monitoring.

Growing increasingly familiar with their microgravity home and laboratory in space, the 12th international space station crew turned its attention to experiment work, began preparations for the first space station-based spacewalk using U.S. suits since 2003 and captured spectacular images and video of the latest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin, Hurricane Wilma. Additional Details: here....

The final Briz-M burn was incomplete, leaving the communications satellite in an orbit with a 1373 min period - significantly below the planned orbit. Ekspress AM-6 had to reach its geosynchronous destination using extra xenon propellant from its own electric propulsion system at the cost of operational lifetime. Ekspress AM-6 orbit is 1373.2 min, 31307 x 37784 km x 0.7 deg; the Briz-M's auxiliary SOZ thrusters disposed of the stage into a 1512.4 min, 34984 x 39549 km x 1.0 deg orbit. Stationed in geosynchronous orbit at 140 deg east.