100-foot-diameter inflatable sphere launched on a suborbital test flight from NASA Wallops Station, Va., to an altitude of 250 miles by a first Sergeant-Delta rocket; aluminum-coated Mylar-plastic sphere to be used as passive electronic reflector in Echo was developed by NASA Langley's Space Vehicle Group under the direction of William J. O'Sullivan.

Key staff members of NASA Headquarters and the Commander, U.S. Air Force Research and Development Command, met at the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, Los Angeles, Calif., to attend briefings and discuss matters of mutual concern.

At an executive session, Air Force and NASA programs of orbital rendezvous, refueling, and descent from orbit were discussed. Long-range Air Force studies on a lunar base were in progress as well as research on more immediate missions, such as rendezvous by an unmanned satellite interceptor for inspection purposes, manned maintenance satellites, and reentry methods. NASA plans for the manned lunar landing mission included the possible use of the Saturn booster in an orbital staging operation employing orbital refueling. Reentry studies beyond Mercury were concentrated on reentry at escape speeds and on a spacecraft configuration capable of aerodynamic maneuvering during reentry.

In a test of nuclear fratricide and ABM effectiveness, an R-5M (some sources say an R-12) launched a live thermonuclear warhead toward Semipalitinsk/Sary Shagan which was detonated at an altitude of 150 km. Two R-9 ICBM's were launched minutes earlier, timed to pass through the zone of the explosion. Both missiles guided to the planned impact zone without apparent ill-effect. This high altitude test was designed to test electromagnetic pulse effects on electronics, especially ABM system radars and incoming 'friendly' ICBM's.

In a test of nuclear fratricide and ABM effectiveness, an R-5M (some sources say an R-12) launched a live thermonuclear warhead toward Semipalitinsk/Sary Shagan which was detonated at an altitude of 150 km. Two R-9 ICBM's were launched minutes earlier, timed to pass through the zone of the explosion. Both missiles guided to the planned impact zone without apparent ill-effect. This high altitude test was designed to test electromagnetic pulse effects on electronics, especially ABM system radars and incoming 'friendly' ICBM's.

Testing of the first flight-weight 15-cell stack of the LEM fuel cell assembly began. Although the voltage was three percent below design, the unit had a 980-watt capability. Earlier, the unit completed 150 hours of operation, and single cell life had reached 662 hours.

ASPO's Operations Planning Division defined the current Apollo mission programming as envisioned by MSC. The overall Apollo flight program was described in terms of its major phases: Little Joe II flights (unmanned Little Joe II development and launch escape vehicle development); Saturn IB flights (unmanned Saturn IB and Block I CSM development, Block I CSM earth orbital operations, unmanned LEM development, and manned Block II CSM/LEM earth orbital operations); and Saturn V flights (unmanned Saturn V and Block II CSM development, manned Block II CSM/LEM earth orbital operations, and manned lunar missions).

The original Gemini VI mission had been canceled when its target vehicle failed catastrophically on October 25. In a memorandum to the President, NASA Administrator James E. Webb indicated the possibility that Gemini VI spacecraft and launch vehicle could be reerected shortly after the launch of Gemini VII. Since much of the prelaunch checkout of Gemini VI would not need repeating, it could be launched in time to rendezvous with Gemini VII (a mission scheduled for 14 days) if launching Gemini VII did not excessively damage the launch pad. NASA officials, spurred by suggestions from Walter F. Burke and John F. Yardley of McDonnell, began discussing the possibility of a dual mission immediately after the failure October 25, drawing on some six months of discussion and preliminary planning by NASA, Air Force, Martin, and McDonnell personnel for a rapid manned flight launch demonstration.

Gemini spacecraft No. 6 and the second stage of Gemini launch vehicle (GLV) 6 were deerected and removed from complex 19. GLV-6 stage I was deerected the next day. The GLV was placed in storage at the Satellite Checkout Building under guard, in an environment controlled for temperature and humidity. Bonded storage maintained the integrity of previously conducted tests to reduce testing that would have to be repeated. Spacecraft No. 6 was stored in the Pyrotechnics Installation Building at the Merritt Island Launch Area.

Meanwhile Beregovoi was instructed to conduct experiments with the 45K stellar sensor on Soyuz 3. He would quickly disengage the 45K, then orient the spacecraft to the sun. He would then reengage the sensor and the automatic orientation system. This did two complete turns of the spacecraft searching for the star, but not acquiring it. To Kamanin this shows the uselessness of the system, and the wastage of propellant it causes.

A lunar roving vehicle (LRV) cost-plus-incentive-fee contract was awarded to the Boeing Co. LRV-1 was scheduled for delivery on April 1, 1971, leaving only 17 months for vehicle development, production, and tests. The LRV project was managed at MSFC by Saverio F. Morea as a project within the Saturn Program Office. The Boeing Company would manage the LRV project in Huntsville, Ala., under Henry Kudish. General Motors Corp. AC Electronics Defense Research Laboratories in Santa Barbara, Calif., would furnish the mobility system (wheels, motors, and suspension). The Boeing Go. in Seattle, Wash., would furnish the electronics and navigation system. Vehicle testing would take place at the Boeing facility in Kent, Wash., and the chassis manufacturing and overall assembly would take place at the Boeing facility in Huntsville, Ala.

Kamanin meets with Chelomei. Chelomei discusses his 'war' with Korolev and Mishin. Korolev interfered with, and then finally took the manned lunar flyby project from Chelomei. Now Mishin is doing the same thing with Almaz. Chelomei had already invested five years in development of Almaz, and was on the way to producing a good space station. Then Mishin pushes him out of the way and seizes his production line to build the DOS-7K. DOS#1 is actually Almaz#5, nothing more than a bad copy of Chelomei's station. Serbin and Smirnov do not trust Mishin, which is why they have only authorised him to build four DOS stations. Serbin, Smirnov, and Afanasyev have visited Chelomei, and told him to accelerate work on the Almaz, using three shifts 24 hours a day.

Kamanin notes the second hijacking in Turkey of a Soviet airliner in the last two weeks.

Zond 8 is recovered only 15 minutes after splashdown by the vessel Taman. Of five Zonds recovered, this was the only one to fly over the north pole. The remainder re-entered over the south pole. The reason for this was the need to fly over tracking stations on Soviet territory in order to get trajectory updates that allowed a precise landing after the second plunge into the atmosphere. This was the reason Mishin now wants a water landing for the L3. The dilemma is that after a first dip into the atmosphere over the North Pole, tracking for a precision landing is possible, but then the spacecraft cannot land on Soviet territory. Re-entering first over the South Pole means that no trajectory updates are available, but then the spacecraft can land only imprecisely somewhere on Soviet territory.

15 L1's were completed, of which only five ever returned to earth. With this successful final recovery, the programme is cancelled. The main cause of the project's failure was the unreliability of the UR-500K rocket.

Failed lunar soil return mission. After successfully entering earth orbit, flying to the moon, entering lunar orbit, and descending toward the surface, the spacecraft was damaged during landing in Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises). The sample collecting apparatus could not operate and no samples were returned. The lander continued transmissions for three days after landing. In 1976, Luna 24 landed several hundred meters away and successfully returned samples. Parameters are for lunar orbit.

The Minuteman II launch took place at sunset and created a spectacular show in the evening sky. Pictures of the event were interpreted to mean that the missile was detonated because it was off course. The flash was visible as far away as Salt Lake City. The Air Force claimed that it was a successful launch, but the alternative LA Weekly later said that it was indeed heading for Los Angeles and was destroyed. However high-altitude contrails and staging events, altered by winds aloft, can produce easily-misinterpreted visual displays.

Geosynchronous ballistic missile early warning satellite. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 24 deg W in 1987-1991 As of 5 September 2001 located at 165.32 deg W drifting at 0.190 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 85.03W drifting at 0.375E degrees per day.

French DBS; 19 deg W. Direct broadcasting satellite. French registration: TDF-1, 1988-5-B. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 19 deg W in 1988-1996 As of 1 September 2001 located at 139.53 deg W drifting at 3.885 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 5 located at 16.35W drifting at 3.870W degrees per day.

Geostationary at 91 deg W. The Galaxy 7 satellite failed on November 22, 2000, the third such satellite to fall victim to a design flaw in the on-board computers. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 91 deg W in 1992-1999 As of 1 September 2001 located at 32.55 deg E drifting at 2.022 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 141.47W drifting at 2.077W degrees per day.

Gorizont 28 replaced Gorizont 21 at 90 degrees E. This allowed Gorizont 21 to be repositioned from mid-November to late-December for the inauguration of a new station at 145 degrees E. As of 6 September 2001 located at 96.68 deg E drifting at 0.011 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 116.96E drifting at 0.001E degrees per day.

Afristar was the first WorldSpace satellite. Afristar was to broadcast digital radio over Africa and the Middle East. Small hand-held radios could pick up the 24 to 96 radio channels available on the three L-band beams. Dry mass of Afristar was 1205 kg; it carried 1534 kg of propellant at launch. Geostationary at 21.0 degrees E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 21 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 20.98 deg E drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 20.98E drifting at 0.010W degrees per day.

Satellite was originally built as a backup for Argentina's Nahuelsat. This allowed Dornier and Alcatel to deliver the satellite in a record twelve months. Dry mass of GE 5 was 769 kg - it carried 950 kg of propellant at launch. Geostationary at 36.4 degrees W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 79 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 79.00 deg W drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 78.99W drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.

The spacecraft returned with US astronaut Edward Lu, Russian Yuri Malenchenko and Spaniard Pedro Duque. The three astronauts aboard Soyuz TMA-2 landed at 02:14 GMT, 35 kilometers south of Arkalyk. Transfer of the astronauts was delayed when a snowstorm in Kazakhstan's capital Astana and heavy fog forced all of the rescue party's helicopters.

The REXUS program was a joint project between the Swedish Space Corporation SSC, ESRANGE, and the Mobile Rocket Base (Moraba) of the German Aerospace Center DLR, conducted by newly founded EUROLAUNCH. The scientific payload capacity was shared between Swedish and German student experimenters. REXUS was considered as an annual sounding rocket program.

First DH-4 heavy Chinese communication satellite with communications equipment provided by Alcatel Alenia. Mission failed when solar panels and antennae failed to deploy in geosynchronous orbit. This was a blow to China's prestige, since the satellite was an important part of the 2008 Beijing Olympics coverage plans. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 91.80E drifting at 0.093W degrees per day.

The astronauts emerged from the Quest hatch at 09:32 GMT. They assisted in unberthing of the P6 truss and its placement in a parked position. They also installed handrails and a grapple fixture on Harmony and inspected the malfunctioning Solar Array Rotary Joint (SARJ) on the S3/S4 truss.

First flight test of the Ares/Constellation program. The Ares I-X rocket consisted of the modified Shuttle RSRM-91A solid rocket booster, a dummy Upper Stage Simulator, and a dummy Ares command module / launch abort system. It was launched from the newly modified LC39B at Kennedy Space Center to test the aerodynamics of the vehicle within the atmosphere and provide real-world data to ameliorate concerns regarding the vibration level created by the SRB for any crew in a future mission. The SRB reached 46 km altitude before descending to the Atlantic for recovery.

NPP Preparatory Project weather satellite, using payloads from the cancelled National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System. The NPP provided a stopgap between the last of the Advanced TIROS-N polar weather satellites and the first Joint Polar Satellite System satellite to be launched in a few years.

The Orbital Cygnus Orb-3 cargo ship; destroyed during launch. As well as ISS cargo, the Orb-3 mission was carrying 26 PlanetLabs Flock-1d 3U cubesats, the JPL/U-Texas RACE 3U cubesat, the Arkyd-3 3U cubesat from Planetary Resources, and also the GOMX-2 ship tracking 2U cubesat from GOMX of Aalborg, Denmark.

The Quest airlock was depressurized from about 12:00 GMT to 19:19 GMT. The crew removed a thermal cover from a failed MBSU unit, added thermal covers to the AMS-02 particle physics experiment, installed cabling for the future IDA docking adapters, and lubricated part of the LEE-B end of the Canadarm-2. Part of the LEE lubing and the IDA wiring, as well as the installation of a vent on Node 3, were omitted due to lack of time.