RCA proposed to NDRC design and developoment of rocket-propelled, radio-controlled aerial torpedo with TV nose, which was given code name "Dragon." The National Bureau of Standards was assigned the task of developing a suitable airframe.

At request of Army Ordnance, Cal Tech's rocket laboratory started research and development program on long-range missiles, called Project ORDCIT, which resulted in development of Private "A" and Corporal missiles.

The Technicolor film "Destination Moon" went into production. The direct ascent mode was used in a four-man lunar landing mission. The movie premiered in New York City in 1950.

In parallel with the R-5 Korolev OKB NII-88 begins design of 8,000 km range winged missile.

The series of 5 launches began on 11 January 1956 with launch of a dummy warhead.

Cooke AFB (with major operational and training units) transferred from Air Research and Development Command to Strategic Air Command. Launch facility construction as well as research and development activities at Cooke AFB were the responsibility of the A

Strategic Air Command assigned responsibility for U.S. operational ICBM capability; while the 672nd Strategic Missile Squadron, first to be equipped with USAF Douglas Thor IRBM, was activated.

Rocketdyne demonstrated 1-million-pound-thrust liquid-propellant rocket combustion chamber at full power.

Decree 'On formalising powers of the Council of Chief Designers' was issued.

Qualifications: Qualified jet pilot with minimum 1,500 flight-hours/10 years experience, bachelor's degree or equivalent, under 40 years old, under 180 cm height, excellent physical condition.. Randolph Lovelace was director of the clinic where the Mercury astronauts had undergone their physical examinations. He and Jacqueline Cochran, the first American woman to break the sound barrier, wanted to prove that women were equally qualified to be astronauts. In early 1961 they arranged for 20 highly qualified female pilots to take the same physical tests undergone by the Mercury astronauts. Thirteen passed the tests, but NASA maintained its position that astronauts had to be qualified test pilots (all of whom were white males). One of the thirteen was the wife of a US Senator, and some congressional hearings were arranged. Despite the publicity NASA was still unwilling to place them in the official NASA training program.

Oddly enough, the selection of these women may have resulted in the first woman going into space after all. In May 1962 a Soviet delegation, including cosmonaut Gherman Titov and cosmonaut commander Nikolai Kamanin, visited Washington. Kamanin had been pushing for the flight of a Soviet woman into space since October 1961, and five Soviet female cosmonauts had just reported for training a month earlier. However the flight of a woman in space had little support from Chief Designer Korolev or Kamanin's military commanders. On May 3 Kamanin and Titov were invited to a barbecue at the home of astronaut John Glenn. Glenn, already politically-connected, was an enthusiastic supporter of the 'Lovelace 13'. Kamanin understood from Glenn that the first American woman would make a three-orbit Mercury flight by the end of 1962. Armed with the threat that 'the Americans will beat us', Kamanin was able to obtain a decision to go ahead with the first flight of a Soviet woman within weeks of his return. The Russians were obsessed with being first in space -- and even though NASA's female cosmonauts never materialised, Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963.

A survey was performed at the Manned Spacecraft Center to ascertain the number of personnel who intended to move with the Center from Langley Field to Houston, Texas. Only 84 personnel indicated they would not make the move.

Decree 'On end of work on the Raketoplan at OKB-52' was issued. This action was in accordance with the Five Year Military Space Plan approved on 18 June 1964.

Central Committee of the Communist Party and Council of Soviet Ministers Decree 'On work on space stations at OKB-52' was issued.

Decree 'On plan of work on Spiral at OKB-155' was issued.

The group was selected to provide trainees for a planned Voskhod spaceflight made with a journalist aboard.

Homer E. Newell, Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications, announced opportunities for study grants to competent astronomers for conceptual and preliminary design work leading to instrumentation to be flown in the 1969-1975 period. A description of the Apollo telescope mount was included.

Ministry of Defence Decree 15 'On transfer of Zenit-2 from the 8A92 to the 11A57 launcher' was issued.

TsKBEM was given a completely new structure as a result of the findings of the expert commissions on the disasters for the previous year, Mishin remained as the Chief Designer for the organisation, but each programme now had its own chief designer:

• N1: Boris Dorofeyev
• 8K98P solid propellant ICBM: Igor Sadovskiy
• N1 payloads: Vladimir Brorov [check]
• Soyuz 7K-TM, or Soyuz M, for Soyuz-Apollo: Konstantin Bushuyev
• Soyuz 7K-T: Yuri Semenov
• Soyuz 7K-S or Soyuz VI: Yevgeni Shabarov

The first lunar expedition project, the N1-L3M, was studied in 1973.

As the only remaining contender for the Aelita design competition, Chelomei proposes a Mars flyby using an MK-700 spacecraft. A crew of two would be sent on a two year mission in a single launch of a UR-700M booster. The spacecraft would have a mass of 250 tonnes in low earth orbit and be equipped with an RD-410 nuclear engine.

The USNS Sunnyvale, the last Air Force Western Test Range instrumentation ship, transferred to the Maritime Administration.

Mishin and Barmin, using budget provided by the Ministry of Defence, had designed a lunar base for launch by the N1 in 1969-1974. After the cancellation of the N1, Glushko pleaded with the Military-Industrial Commission for the work to be taken from Barmin and be given to NPO Energia. Glushko's alternative, Vulkan-launched base was elaborated within his bureau. Bushuyev developed spacecraft for the base. Prudnikova developed a modular lunar city, with living modules, factory modules, a nuclear reactor power module, and a lunar crawler with a 200 km radius of action. The project work was only finally cancelled after the Apollo-Soyuz flights.

Glushko proposed a Mars expedition launched by the Vulkan heavy-lift launch vehicle. The concept was treated like a bad allergy by the VPK. He later scaled it down and proposed it for launch by Energia (using 100 tonne modules instead of 230 tonne modules).

Cardiologists were selected for planned Salyut / Mir long-duration biomedical missions.

VM Kovunenko succeds Babkin as head of former Lavochkin design bureau.

An expert commission led by Keldysh examines the plan for a lunar base launched by the Vulkan booster. The plan is completely rejected. NPO Energia was told to quit dreaming and devote itself only to projects with national economic importance, like Buran. This put a definitive end to Glushko's lunar base projects studied in 1976-1978. But he just waited and started design work again on a lunar base using the Energia launch vehicle after the first Buran launch in 1988.

Demolition and construction work began at Space Launch Complex 6 in preparation for the Space Shuttle program.

The training group was selected for planned female missions to upstage any American female 'first in space' missions aboard the space shuttle. Soviet women would make the first female spacewalk, and the first all-female crew was planned.

British military communications; 6 deg E. Military communications. Expected life approx 7 years. Owner/operator: Ministry of Defence, Main Building, Whitehall, London SW1A 2HB. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 6 deg E in 1990; 29 deg E in 1991; 65 deg E in 1991; 34 deg W in 1992-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 34.01 deg W drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 63.46W drifting at 4.595W degrees per day.

Japanese domestic communications; 154 deg E. Domestic communications. Launching organization Martin Marietta. Launch time 0007 GMT. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 154 deg E in 1990-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 154.04 deg E drifting at 0.006 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 116.78W drifting at 6.255W degrees per day.

Chertok predicted that China would replace Russia as the space superpower within ten to fifteen years.

Ukrainian astronauts trained for flights to the Mir space station.

Slovak astronaut trained for flights to the Mir space station.