The leading Soviet rocket engine designer is arrested in one of Stalin's purges. Under interrogation he denounces Korolev and two others.

This was the first time he became acquainted with liquid rocket engine technology. 300 kgf and 1000 kgf engines were fired in his presence. A colour-coded cutaway model of the A3 rocket was presented and its systems explained. Hitler was quiet throughout the exhibits and asked no questions. Afterwards, while taking lunch at the mess hall, he asked only about the development schedule (clucking when told), the range of the missile, and the impact on the schedule if synthetic 'Eisenbled' was substituted for light metal alloys in the rocket frame. Hitler spoke of deceased rocket pioneer Max Valier - he had known him in Munich, but dismissed him as a dreamer. Dornberger countered by comparing the state of rocket development to the early days of the zeppelin, when Lillienthal made the first primitive experiments. Hitler in turn dismissed airships as dangerous, filled with explosive gas . The Fuehrer finally departed with handshakes and few words. His summary of the day: 'Es war doch gewaltig' (it was impressive, nevertheless). The rocket team was dismayed - it was the first time a visitor had exhibited no reaction to the power the rocket engines when fired for their benefit. But on the plus side, Von Brauchtisch said he was astounded at the progress made by the team in only a few years. Dornberger believed Hitler was enthralled with artillery and tanks, and was unimpressed with rocket technology. He thought Hitler didn't understand the possibilities and didn't believe the time had come yet for development of the rocket as a weapon.

As of this date, the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation listed some 32 items that required a DX priority procurement rating in support of Project Mercury. This highest national priority procurement rating had been requested by NASA on November 14, 1958.

Planned to fly complete course from Vladimirovka to Cape Ozerniy. Launch mass of the booster stage was 97,215 kg, and that of the crusie stage 34,680 kg. The second stage ignited at Mach 2.85. The booster stage engines cut-off at Mach 3.2. Stage separation occurred normally at T+101.3 seconds. The cruise stage astronavigation system acquired its guide stars at T+114 seconds. The cruise stage began level flight at 18 km altitude. The vehicle flew along its assigned 6,500 km route for 2 hours 4 minutes at an altitude of 18-24.5 km at Mach 3.2-3.15. At T+118 minutes, with the fuel completely exhausted, the ramjet flamed out. At T+121 minutes power was transferred to the emergency batteries and the vehicle was issued a destruct command, but the rudders did not work. Flight with a steady loss of altitude continued to T+124 minutes.

Representatives of Marshall Space Flight Center recommended configuration changes for the Saturn C-1 launch vehicles to NASA Headquarters. These included:

• Elimination of third-stage development, since two stages could put more than ten tons into earth orbit.
• Use of six LR-115 (15,000-pound) Centaur engines (second-stage thrust thus increased from 70,000 to 90,000 pounds).
• Redesign of the first stage (S-1) to offer more safety for manned missions.

At Tyuratam in the morning, LII engineers brief the cosmonauts on correcting the Globus instrument in flight, which indicates their position over the earth. Korolev checks in for a few minutes to make sure the cosmonauts have everything they need. In the evening the news of the death of cosmonaut Bondarenko reaches the cosmodrome. He died on the tenth day of a 15-day endurance experiment in a pressure chamber at IAKM when a fire broke out in the pure-oxygen cabin. Kamanin blames his death on IAKM's poor organisation and control of the experiment.

From experience in Titan II and Mercury programs, the planners estimated a budget of $164.4 million, including a 50 percent contingency for cost increases and unforeseen changes.

Central Committee of the Communist Party and Council of Soviet Ministers Decree 'On Luna spacecraft for soft-landing on the Moon' was issued.

OMSF outlined launch vehicle development, spacecraft development, and crew performance demonstration missions, using the Saturn IB and Saturn V:

1. Launch vehicle and unmanned CSM (at least two flights planned).
2. CSM long-duration.
3. CSM and LEM (two flights planned).
4. Launch vehicle and heatshield (at least two flights).
5. Lunar mission simulation.
6. Lunar exploration.

Launched at 1965 Croatan MRF Expedition LP20 - Latitude: 12.95 S, Longitude:77.83 W.

First manned test flight of Gemini. Virgil I. Grissom and John W. Young entered an elliptical orbit about the earth. After three orbits, the pair manually landed their spacecraft in the Atlantic Ocean, thus performing the first controlled reentry. Unfortunately, they landed much farther from the landing zone than anticipated, about 97 km (60 miles) from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Intrepid. But otherwise the mission was highly successful. Gemini III, America's first two-manned space mission, also was the first manned vehicle that was maneuverable. Grissom used the vehicle's maneuvering rockets to effect orbital and plane changes. Grissom wanted to name the spacecraft 'Molly Brown' (as in the Unsinkable, a Debbie Reynolds/Howard Keel screen musical). NASA was not amused and stopped allowing the astronauts to name their spacecraft (until forced to when having two spacecraft aloft at once during the Apollo missions). The flight by Young was the first of an astronaut outside of the original seven. Young, who created a media flap by taking a corned beef sandwich aboard as a prank, would go on to fly to the moon on Apollo and the Space Shuttle on its first flight sixteen years later.

Among these would be three 'S-IVB/Spent-Stage Experiment Support Modules' (i.e., 'wet' Workshops), three Saturn V-boosted orbital laboratories, and four Apollo telescope mounts. The initial AAP launch was slated for April 1968. The schedule was predicated upon non-interference with the basic Apollo lunar landing program, minimum modifications to basic Apollo hardware, and compatibility with existing Apollo launch vehicles.

An OKB-1 review is held, without Tyulin and Mishin, who are at Baikonur supervising launch of a Monlniya satellite and Luna 10. Tsybin leads the meeting. Although the Cosmos 110 flight was successful, there were several deviations: the Zarya antenna did not deploy, the Komar system did not 'digest' after landing, the ion flow sensors were unreliable, and the Signal radio system only functioned in the HF band within the zone of visibility of a tracking station. There was no detectable dangerous radiation at the 900 km apogee of the satellite. The dogs were alive, but uncoordinated in their movement after landing, and showed a loss of calcium in their bones. The flight also showed good functioning of the ECS - the problems seen on the ground could not be duplicated in flight. A new run at IMBP has reached its 16th day with no abnormalities, which clears the system for use on an 18-19 day manned flight. The Voskhod-3 spacecraft has been completed and shipped to Baikonur; the booster has also been delivered and is ready for flight. The crew has completed their flight plans and ship's logs. After completion of the ECS trials (planned for 10 April), Voskhod 3 will be cleared for launch.

Work on the Svinets experiment continues. It was discovered that the device needs a night horizon, and the absence of a moon in the sky, in order to detect a rocket launch in the infrared band. The designer has been working with the cosmonauts for three months to fix this and problems in reliably operating the equipment. Kamanin estimates it will take 10 to 15 days to rectify these problems. Svinets is a crucial experiment, but in his view the development of the device by the PVO has been poorly managed.

A State Commission is held on the impending L1 translunar flights. A major issue is the L1 tracking/recovery radio beacon and the Zarya-3 deep space communications system. Launches of prototype L1P spacecraft are planned for April and May, with the first all-up L1 in June. All commission members are confident a Soviet man will the first around the moon by the end of the year. The State Commission also considers the pending Soyuz 1 / Soyuz 2 flight.

Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 15 deg W in 1967-1971; over the Atlantic Ocean at 35 deg W in 1972; over the Atlantic Ocean at 15 deg W in 1973. As of 22 August 2001 was at 6.75 deg W drifting at 0.037 deg W per day. As of 2005 Dec 5 located at 13.34E drifting at 0.188W degrees per day. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).

Apollo drogue chute test 99-5 failed at the El Centro, Calif., parachute facility. The drop was conducted to demonstrate the slight change made in the reefed area and the 10-second reefing cutter at ultimate load conditions. The 5,897-kilogram vehicle was launched from a B-52 aircraft at 10,668 meters and programmer chute operation and timing appeared normal. At drogue deployment following mortar activation, one drogue appeared to separate from the vehicle. - Additional details.

A four-story school burned down the previous night in Leninsk. The cosmonauts and space centre technicians watched the USA-USSR ice hockey match, which went from 23:00 until 02:00 the next morning. Kamanin returns to Moscow aboard a Tu-104. Aboard the flight the political intrigues surrounding selection of Kamanin's deputy are discussed.

Ferry flight, shuttle carrier aircraft/Columbia (OV-102) from Kelly AFB to Eglin AFB, Fla. (2 hours, 12 minutes)

Astrophysics. Electrophysical research of galactic and extragalactic sources of ultraviolet ray and X-ray emission. The scientific apparatus was built jointly by scientists and specialists from the USSR and France.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Docked on 25 Mar 1988 22:21:35 GMT. Undocked on 5 May 1988 01:36:03 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 5 May 1988 06:56:19 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.28 days. Total docked time 40.14 days.

Photo/digital surveillance.

On March 19, 2001 Mir was in a 224 x 230 km x 51.6 deg orbit. On March 23 at 0033 GMT Progress M1-5 carried out the first small DPO burn to lower Mir's orbit from 212 x 218 km to 190 x 219 km. A second small burn began at 0201 GMT and put Mir in a 150 x 215 km orbit. The main deorbit burn began at 0507 GMT, lowering perigee to less than 80 km. At 0550 GMT observers in Fiji reported seeing multiple bright reentry bodies passing overhead, confirming that the station had broken up by that time. The impact zone was around 160 W 40 S.