Total, authorizations to expend from debt receipts. 6, 189,604 8,114,098 5,974,531 8,114,128 5,534,414 7,962,561 5,067,781 7,897,011 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION General and special funds: RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND OPERATION For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, including research, development, operations, technical services; repairs, alterations, minor construction; supplies, materials, and equipment; uniforms or allowances therefor, as authorized by the Act of September 1, 1954, as amended (5 U.S.C. 2131); purchase of aircraft [(including not to exceed three for administrative use)] for non-administrative use; hire, maintenance and operation of aircraft; hire of passenger motor vehicles; and purchase of [ten] not to exceed twenty-four passenger motor vehicles, of which eleven shall be for replacement only; [$2,897,878,000 $4,912,000,000, to remain available until expended. (42 U.S.C. 2451, et seq., 50 U.S.C. 151-160, 511-515; Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1963; additional authorizing legislation to be proposed.) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established in 1958 to plan, develop, and conduct the nonmilitary space programs of the United States, including the exploration of space and its utilization for peaceful purposes, and to conduct and support advanced research and development related to space and aeronautics in support of both civilian and military requirements. 1. Manned space flight.—The estimates for this activity include funds for all NASA manned space flight missions and the development of the large launch vehicles and propulsion systems required for these missions. In 1964, efforts will continue to be focused primarily on the highest priority objective of achieving a manned lunar landing before the end of the decade. (a) Spacecraft development and operations. Project Mercury has successfully completed five manned launches to date, ranging from suborbital flights of a few hundred miles to three and then six orbits of the earth. These flights have rapidly increased scientific, technical, and operational capabilities to the point that an orbital flight of 1 day's duration is scheduled for the spring of 1963. Effort on the Gemini two-man spacecraft, directed toward long-duration orbital flight and the development and test of the techniques of bringing large spacecraft components together in an orbital rendezvous, was initiated in 1962 and will receive major emphasis in 1963 and 1964. The effort initiated in 1962 on the Apollo three-man spacecraft system will be increased in 1963 and 1964, leading in later years to missions ranging from extended earth orbital flights and rendezvous tests through circumlunar flight and lunar landing. During 1962 it was decided to adopt the lunar orbit rendezvous method for manned lunar landing, which offers advantages of simplicity, time, and reduced launch vehicle requirements over other methods. In the lunar orbit rendezvous method, the Apollo spacecraft, launched from earth by a single Advanced Saturn launch vehicle, orbits the moon. The lunar excursion module then leaves the orbiting spacecraft, makes the landing on the moon, and ascends to rendezvous with the Apollo in lunar orbit before return to the earth. The Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Tex., has primary responsibility for manned space flight projects, while much of the development effort is provided by industrial contractors. (b) Launch vehicle development.-Prior to 1963, major emphasis was placed on development of the Saturn launch vehicle which is intended primarily for the launching of large spacecraft into earth orbit. The first stage of the Saturn, which develops approximately 1.5 million pounds of thrust, has had three flight tests, all successful. The latest flight is believed to have flown the heaviest object lifted from the earth to date. In the summer of 1963, the first two-stage Saturn will be launched. In 1963, development will be initiated on an improved second stage for the Saturn, which will increase the vehicle's payload capability by approximately one-half. This improved launch vehicle, called the Saturn B, is required to test the Apollo spacecraft's ability to reenter the earth's atmosphere after a lunar journey, and to practice rendezvous between the Apollo spacecraft and the lunar excursion module. In 1963 and 1964, primary emphasis will be placed on the development of the Advanced Saturn launch vehicle which was initiated in 1962. Generating approximately 7.5 million pounds of thrust in the first stage, this vehicle will launch the Apollo manned circumlunar and lunar landing flights. In 1964, development work will continue on the engines for the Saturn series of launch vehicles, and on the 1.2 million pound thrust liquid hydrogenoxygen engine, a project initiated in 1962 for application to post-Saturn vehicles. Funds for launch operations and other supporting activities at the Atlantic Missile Range and the new Merritt Island launch area are also included. Most of the development work on these launch vehicles and engines is done by industrial contractors. NASA effort is concentrated primarily at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; the Michoud Plant, New Orleans, La.; 'the Mississippi Test Facility, Pearl River, Miss.; the Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio; and the Launch Operations Center, Cocoa Beach, Fla. (c) Supporting programs. Estimates are included in this activity for effort in several supporting areas required by manned space flight missions. Engineering analysis and evaluation of mission requirements and objectives, and of the concepts and design criteria for manned mission hardware systems are provided for. In addition, the final integration of major hardware components into a complete system, and the development and evaluation of methods and equipment to check out manned space vehicles as properly integrated and functioning systems are included here. Funds are also provided for work necessary to define and meet physiological, psychological, and health requirements, emphasizing the assurance of flight and ground crew safety and effective performance during missions. Study effort will be continued in 1964 to define mission requirements for a more powerful successor to the Advanced Saturn launch vehicle. In addition to contractor effort covered in these estimates, NASA elements primarily involved are the Office of Manned Space Flight, Washington, D.C., the Manned Spacecraft Center, the Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Launch Operations Center. 2. Space applications.-NASA programs in this activity provide for research and development on applications of space technology for practical purposes. Both contractor and NASA efforts are involved, the latter primarily located at the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. (a) Meteorology-Work will proceed in 1964 on the continuing Tiros series, which has enjoyed six successful flights to date and which is providing needed data for a future operational system. Primary emphasis will be placed on development of the more advanced Nimbus satellite, which was initiated in 1962. The U.S. Weather Bureau is providing for the establishment of an operational meteorological satellite system using Tiros and Nimbus satellites. Vehicle procurement, launching, and certain other services in connection with the operational system are being performed by NASA for the Weather Bureau on a reimbursable basis. NASA's meteorological satellite program also includes the development of techniques and components for use in future systems. (b) Communications.-The national research and development program in the communications satellite field has been planned and conducted cooperatively by NASA, the Department of Defense, and industry. Responsibility for development and establishment of an operational, worldwide, commercial communications satellite system will be centralized in the communications satellite corporation, which NASA will assist by continued research and development, technical consultation, and other services. In 1964, NASA will complete the Echo project to develop passive communications techniques using spherical reflectors in space. In the active communications satellite area NASA will continue work in 1964 on the present Relay low altitude, wide-band satellites and the Syncom 24-hour orbit satellite system being developed in cooperation with the Department of Defense. În addition, NASA will place major emphasis in 1964 on technology required for a 24-hour orbit satellite of significantly expanded capability and reliability, while the Department of Defense will pursue the development of a low altitude active system. As in the past, technological advances resulting from NASA communications satellite research and development will be made available to industry to encourage the earliest possible operational use in private satellite developments. NASA is also prepared to provide services on a reimbursable basis for the launching of privately developed communications spacecraft, such as the Telstar, which was successfully launched on July 10, 1962. (c) Other applications.-This activity includes research on other possible applications for orbiting spacecraft. Specific effort is also directed to promote the application of NASA developed technological advances for the benefit of the national economy, through the cataloging and dissemination of information to industry. 3. Unmanned investigations in space.-Estimates in this activity include NASA's programs for unmanned space flight missions for the acquisition of basic scientific data, and the development of the related launch vehicles. NASA effort in this area is carried out primarily by the Goddard Space Flight Center; the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; the Lewis Research Center; and Wallops Station, Wallops Island, Va., with support from other NASA centers and contractors. (a) Spacecraft development and operations.-Acquisition of scientific data on the upper atmosphere and near space by means of sounding rocket probes will be continued in 1964 on an expanded scale, with special emphasis on cooperation with university experimenters. The program for development of earth-orbiting observatories capable of carrying multiple experiments for measurement and investigation of space phenomena will be increased in 1964. Major projects in this area include astronomical, geophysical, and solar observatories. In addition, work will be conducted on a number of smaller scientific satellites and probes, including international satellite projects. Significant resources will be devoted in 1964 to the unmanned lunar exploration program, including the Ranger and Surveyor projects to land instruments on the lunar surface and to collect data from lunar-orbiting spacecraft. These experiments will help meet the urgent requirements of the manned lunar landing program. În the unmanned Mars and Venus planetary exploration program in 1964, major emphasis will continue to be placed on the Mariner series of spacecraft, one of which successfully relayed the first information from the vicinity of Venus on December 14, 1962. Research and development on spacecraft intended for landing on Mars and Venus will continue in 1964, while the resources devoted to the Pioneer series of interplanetary probes will be increased. The bioscience program will continue on an expanded basis in 1964, with investigations of the effects of the space environment on living organisms and the search for extraterrestrial life through research and flight projects. (b) Launch vehicle development. This activity provides for the development of relatively small launch vehicles for use in the unmanned space programs. The only launch vehicle under active development in 1964 will be the Centaur, which is intended as the launch vehicle for the Surveyor spacecraft. The liquid hydrogen technology developed in this project will be used extensively for the upper stages of the Saturn launch vehicle series. encompassed in this activity are analyses of possible improvements to the present family of small and medium launch vehicles. Also 4. Space research and technology.-NASA programs for the advancement of the technology required for the development and operation of space vehicle systems and related equipment and components are funded in this activity. (a) Launch vehicles and spacecraft. The estimates provide for a program of flight projects and research and development in technical disciplines and problem areas such as space environment effects, aerothermodynamics, structures and materials, vehicle concepts, and work to |