Evening star. [volume], March 16, 1962, Image 1

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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District and vicinity—Fair tonight: lowest
in the middle 30s. Mostly sunny and con
tinued cool tomorrow. High, 51, at 4 p.m.
yesterday; low, 35, at 6:40 a.m. today.
Full Report on Page 8-2
110th Year. No. 75.
SPECIAL REPORT “—«
SEGMENT 51'
Tiny Switch Caused Grim 3 Hours
For Mercury Spacemen
By WILLIAM HINES
Star Science Writer
For three harrowing hours last
month, the life of a man and the
prestige of a Nation hung in doubt.
In this period—so brief yet so long—
Astronaut John Glenn made the final
two of his three earth orbits while his
colleagues on the ground wondered
whether they would be able to get him
back. Had they failed, not only would
a brave man have perished, but this
country’s stature in the Space Age
would have suffered tremendously.
This is the story of Friendship-7’s
heat shield, told by the men most
Intimately involved. It is a story of
suspense and high adventure on an
unknown frontier, of incisive detec
tive work and cold engineering logic,
of steely calm under stress. It is an
adventure story, told for the first
time, that will have an enduring place
in the annals of the early Space Age.
The three-hour crisis of the heat
shield began at 11:20 a.m. on February
20, just as Glenn was passing over the
East Coast at the end of his first orbit.
In a room in the building at Cape
Canaveral housing Mercury Control,
a technician named Bill Saunders was
scanning a bank of 90 small meters,
each of which gave some information
on the state of affairs aloft.
Suddenly his eyes froze on a meter
numbered 51. He spoke into a tele
phone that linked him with Mercury
Flight Director Christopher Columbus
(“Chris”) Kraft and Astronaut Alan
B. Shepard, who was the Cape’s voice
contact with his fellow spaceman in
orbit:
“I’ve got a valid signal on Segment
51.”
Flight Goes on
In the main Mercury Control room,
the ordered busy-ness of a flight day
continued. A dozen or so scientists,
technicians and engineers sat at con
soles where blinking lights told a host
of fast-paced tales. Across the front
of the room was spread a map of the
world, a capsule-shaped dot moving
across its surface as Friendship-7
moved through space. To the left and
right of the map were banks of charts
showing, minute-by-minute, the con
ditions of the astronaut and the major
elements of his spacecraft.
Shepard was the first to react to
Saunders’ news. Kraft was for the
moment occupied with the immediate
flight situation. The ground commu
nicator jotted down “Segment 51”
and then did a double take. His heart
skipped a beat. A signal on Segment
51, if accurate, meant that Frjend
ship-7’s heat shield had come loose
while the spacecraft was still in orbit.
To understand the significance of
this and why the signal so shook
Shepard—it is necessary to know a
little about the Mercury capsule and
its heat shield.
The Vital Shield
Friendship-7 was a cone-shaped
metal can, about 6 feet across the
base and about 7 feet high. In orbit,
and when returning to earth, it
traveled blunt end first.
To protect the capsule and its occu
pant- from the terrific frictional heat
of re-entering the atmosphere at
17,000 miles an hour, this blunt end
was covered entirely by a heat shield.
The shield was a smoothly curved
surface of glass fibers embedded in
a special resin. It had the strange
property of boiling itself and the
worst of the re-entry heat—off into
space.
In a normal re-entry from orbit, the
center of the heat shield reaches
3,000 degrees and its outer edges
approach 2,000. If there were no heat
shield to carry them off, these tem
peratures would be imposed on the
Astronaut Alan Shepard shows strain as he monitors Glenn flight
She Ittieniiui afef
V JR V WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION
Phone LI. 3-5000
Glenn During Re-entry
capsule and its occupant—with dis
astrous results.
This vital shield was not fixed
firmly to the blunt end of Friend
ship-7 because it served a double
purpose: It was to be an insulator on
re-entry, and a shock-absorber on
landing. At a certain point after re
entry, it was supposed to drop
loose and hang beneath the capsule
as the bottom of an air-filled landing
bag. On water landings, such as are
normal in Project Mercury, the land
ing bag is not essential. It would be,
however, if an emergency caused the
capsule to come down on hard ground.
The Segment 51 meter on Bill
Saunders’ board had to do with the
condition of the heat shield. When
Saunders first noticed it, on the first
pass over Canaveral, Segment 51
seemed to be saying that the shield
had come loose in outer space, and
was hanging in landing position. If
that were true, things couldn’t be
worse.
)
Puzzling Signal
The reading on Segment 51 didn’t
make sense to Shepard, and it didn’t
make sense to Chris Kraft, either.
Neither man could see any way for
the heat shield to come loose if the
retro - rocket package, which was
mounted on it, was still in place. And
conversely, if the rockets were not in
place, the question of Glenn’s re-entry
was probably academic, anyway, be
cause the “retros” were needed to
slow him down from orbital speed so
he could come back to earth.
These retro-rockets sit in a round
aluminum container called a “retro
pack” on the outside of the heat
shield. The pack is held firmly to the
capsule itself—not to the heat shield
—by three stout straps of the exceed
ingly strong metal titanium. In effect,
these straps serve to anchor the heat
shield to the capsule as long as the
retropack is on.
So reason said the retropack must
go before the heat shield could drop
loose, and all indications were that
the pack was still in place with its
rockets still unfired.
But still, there was that signal on
Segment 51 . . .
Kraft pondered the signal’s signifi
cance, trying to convince himself that
it was false. He asked Saunders to
report the signal strength, and Saun
ders replied, “Eighty per cent.”
Far from dispelling his fears, this
news sobered Kraft further. He knew
that if everything was well, Segment
51 should be reading about 10 per
cent. What were the alternatives?
Zero per cent might mean a bad
meter; 100 per cent would mean a
grounded circuit; 40 or even 50 per
cent might mean a dirty switch. But
80? Eighty per cent should mean only
one thing: The heat shield was loose.
Meanwhile the minutes were ticking
Continued on Page A-5, Col. 1
** WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1962-64 PAGES
Reds Orbit New Satellite,
Warn of Global Rocket'
Soviet Accuses
U.S. of Pushing
A-Test Race
East, West Woo
'Middle Nations'
At Geneva Talks
By JOHN M. HIGHTOWER
Associated Press Staff Writer
GENEVA, Mar. 16.—The So
viet Union accused the United
States today of seeking resump
tion of a nuclear arms testing
race and said American negoti
ations in Geneva are avoiding
a “serious approach” to this
problem.
This charge from Soviet Am
bassador Semyon Tsarapkin ap
pears to represent an attempt
by the Kremlin to make the
United States shoulder blame
for any new round of nuclear
test explosions.
It came as Eastern and West
ern groupings in the 17-nation
disarmament conference began
openly to woo the eight coun
tries in the middle section—
Brazil, India, Mexico, the
United Arab Republic, Sweden,
Burma, Nigera and Ethiopia.
The “eight middle men,” as
they have been dubbed, began
their own careful moves in the
conference to keep the United
States and the Soviet Union
negotiating on the widest pos
sible range of disarmament and
nuclear testing problems.
Rusk Sees Indians
As a first step, India’s V. K.
Krishna Menon called on the
conference to switch its em
phasis from formal speech
making to intimate study ses
sions by United States Secre
tary of State Dean Rusk and
Soviet Foreign Minister An
drei Gromyko on the complex
disarmament problem.
Mr. Rusk, who supported Mr.
Krishna Menon’s suggestion,
met with the Indian delegation
head immediately after the
conference session.
Conference prospects suf
fered a blow last night when
the Soviet Union rejected Presi
dent Kennedy’s terms for a
test ban. Resumption of United
States nuclear weapon tests in
the atmosphere next month
appeared inevitable as a result.
The Russians once more re
fused to accept foreign in
spectors on their territory to
check against violations of a
test ban. They appeared certain
to maintain this opposition to
international inspection where
all other disarmament measures
were concerned.
The Western powers were
just as determined not to dis
arm without international in
spection. In this deadlock, top
Western diplomats saw no hope
of progress, but they intended
to keep on trying to negotiate,
for weeks or months if neces
sary.
Italy Backs Rusk
Italian Foreign Minister An
tonio Segni, one of the two
speakers at today’s session,
urged full support for the dis
armament proposals submitted
by Mr. Rusk yesterday.
Italy, he said, would accept
“any type of control, however
strict, which might be agreed
on an international plane."
Approving Mr. Rusk’s idea
See GENEVA, Page A-9
Mrs. Rockefeller
Gets Divorce for
'Mental Cruelty'
RENO, Mar. 16 (AP).—Mrs.
Nelson Rockefeller, 54, divorced
the New York Governor today
in proceedings that took little
more than 10 minues.
The divorce was granted by
District Judge Grant Bowen on
grounds of mental cruelty, thus
ending a 31-year marriage.
Mrs. Rockefeller arrived in a
station wagon from a guest
ranch near Reno where she put
in the required 6 weeks’ resi
dency for a “quickie” Nevada
divorce. She left in another car
driven by her lawyer, William
Woodburn.
She was accompanied by her
son, Stephen, who arrived here
Wednesday.
Mr. Woodbum said Mrs.
Rockefeller would have no com
ment about anything, including
her plans.
British H' <r * Colleges
LONDON, Mar. 16 (AP).—
Treasury Secretary Henry
Brooke says the government
will spend $921 million in aid
to British universities over the
next five years. Part of the
money will be used to build
seven more universities.
> K ■’ ESh * ImA W x ' *
L-/ JR flßk R| -- J . IB
Astronaut Donald Slayton at his news conference at the National Aero
nautics and Space Administration headquarters here today.—AP Photo.
Potomac Land
Buying Killed
Funds Out for Tract
Facing Mt. Vernon
By JOHN McKELWAY
Star Staff Writer
The House Appropriations
Committee today refused to let
the Government purchase land
across the Potomac from Mount
Vernon for $937,000.
Unimpressed with arguments
that future development of the
land, including a sewage treat
ment plant, would destroy the
view once enjoyed by George
Washington, the committee
sliced the funds out of the
Interior Department’s budget.
The action came as the com
mittee reported out an SB6B
million money bill scheduled ;
for debate in the House Tues
day.
The National Park Service
had planned to buy up the land
across from Mount Vernon and
Congress had authorized the
purchase last year.
But the committee said it
had received assurances the
treatment plant will not be
built on a site which would
"detract from the Mount Ver
non vista.” It added that the
area is also under adequate
planning and zoning controls
by the Prince Georges County
Commissioners and the Mary
land National Capital Park and
Planning Commission.
Policy Reflected
The committee’s stand re
flected its policy on Federal
purchase of land in the Wash-;
ington area.
As the report states, in ref
erence to the Mount Vernon
view:
“The committee sees no com
pelling reason to make an ex
ception to its policy that future
acquisition of park lands in the
Washington area should gen
erally be the responsibility of
the local jurisdictions which!
enjoy some of the highest peri
capita incomes in the country.”
This led the committee, it I
was revealed in today’s report,
to delete a request of $1.2 mil-[
lion by the National Capital
See FUNDS, Page A-9
REDS HELP AMERICAN
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ i.
Rare Drug Flown to U. S.
The life of an elderly Ameri
can woman suffering from
Hodgkins’ disease may be pro
longed because of an act of
mercy by Soviet Russian au
thorities.
Representative Schweiker,
Republican of Pennsylvania,
disclosed today that the Rus
sian Embassy here gave him
a supply of the rare drug
Sarcolysin, apparently flown
from the Soviet Union as a
result of the Congressman’s
request.
Mr. Schweiker, whose dis
j trict is in the Norristown area
near Philadelphia, said the
drug was brought to his office
Wednesday by Petr M. Malak-
Ihin, a first secretary of the
Slayton Misses Flight
But Keeps Space Job
Removal Due to Irregular Heart;
Carpenter Gets May Assignment
Astronaut Donald K. Slayton has been removed as pilot
for the next Mercury orbital flight, but still remains actively
in the Nation’s manned space flight.
Irregular heart action was given as the reason for can
i ceding the 38-year-old Air Force major’s part in the next
, shot, tentatively scheduled for early May. His place will be
taken by 36-year-old Navy Lt.
Comdr. Malcolm Scott Carpen
ter, back up pilot to Astronaut
John H. Glenn, jr„ last month.
At a news conference at
the National Aeronautics and
Carpenter Welcomes Challenge of
Space. Page A-4
Space Administration today,
Maj. Slayotn said. “I’m damned
disappointed; let’s face it.”
However, medical and ad
ministrative officials of NASA
agreed there was a good pos
sibility of Maj. Slayton’s mak
ing a space flight at some later
date. The personal physician of
the seven astronauts, Air Force
Lt. Col. William K. Douglas,
did not concur in the decision
to pull Maj. Slayton out of the
MA-7 flight.
Board Made Decision
The decision was made yes
terday by a board of Air Force
officers, and was reviewed and
[ratified by three Washington
heart specialists.
Maj. Slayton’s removal came
with great suddenness. As late
as* Tuesday he was actively en
gaged in preparations for the
[coming flight. Apparently he
was told only about Wednesday
that his status was in doubt.
The heart trouble was de
scribed as “idiopathic atrial
fibrillation.” Col. Charles
Roadman, life sciences chief
for NASA, explained that this
I means erratic muscular action
lin the topmost part of the
[heart. The word idiopathic
means “origin unknown.”
The difficulty was first dis
covered in November 1959,
[when Maj. Slayton was pre
paring for a training run in
! the human centrifuge at
Johnsville, Pa. It had not been
detected in the exhaustive
Russian Embassy. The legisla- i
!tor said he immediately for
warded it to the Valley Forge
Heart Research Foundation for
the benefit of the woman,
fatally stricken with the dis-I
ease.
Hodgkin’s disease is a pain
less and progressive enlarge- |
ment of the lymph glands which I
begins in the neck and usually |
spreads. Mr. Schweiker said he'
learned of the elderly woman’s i
case when a constituent in
Lansdale, P? wrote him she
i could not obtain the one drug
that would prolong her life,
Sarcolysin.
The Congressman, informed
that the rare drug was avail
able in Russia, wrote directly
i to the Embassy, a week later
Guide for Readers
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Businen B-10-12 Lost, Found A-3
Classified D-S-U Music C-13
Comics B-13-15 Obituary B-4
Crossword 814 Society-Home C-l-9
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examination he and the other
six astronauts took early in
1958 prior to final selection for
Project Mercury.
Detects It Himself
Maj. Slayton said today that
the erratic heart action comes
upon him about once every two
weeks and lasts “for a couple
of days.” He said he can detect
it in his pulse when it occurs,
and is usually able to get rid
of it “by running two or three
miles.”
Deputy Space Administrator
Hugh L. Dryden indicated that
the decision to remove Maj.
Slayton was due as much to the
injection of new faces in the
space program as to the astro
naut’s actual physical condi
tion.
Referring to “this little de
fect” of Maj. Slayton’s, Dr.
Dryden said that at the time
of its discovery “we had assur
ances from the medical people
that it would not interfere
with the mission.”
The new decision was caused
by “a reassessment by people
up the line of the stresses of
orbital flight.” New people
have come into NASA since the
condition was discovered, he
pointed out.
Conditions No Worse
Col. Roadman said there had
been no deterioration of Maj.
Slayton’s condition since dis
covery of the trouble. He added
that nothirig learned from the
orbital flight of Col. Glenn
had caused the reassessment.
Before making a further de
cision on how to use Maj. Slay
ton, medical authorities want
to catch him while his heart is
acting up. They will then sub
ject him to the kind of tasks he
See ASTRONAUTS, Page A-4
the Embassy called, Mr. Schwei
ker said, to tell him the drug
was being obtained.
When Mr. Malakhin delivered
i the drug to Representative
(Schweiker, the legislator said
he asked the price. The diplo
mat replied, Mr. Schweiker
said, that there was no charge
(and “they were happy to help
I a person who was fatality ill.”
“It is very heartwarming to
(know that in spite of our cold
war differences,” Mr. Schweiker
said, "the Russians were will
ing to send a drug to our
country at no charge to help
a critically ill American citizen
for whom there seemed to be
no relief.”
The name of the patient was
not disclosed.
10 Cents
No Defense,
Khrushchev
Tells U. S.
MOSCOW, Mar. 16 (AP).—
Premier Khrushchev announc
ed today the Soviet Union has
put a new space vehicle th or
bit. At the same time he
threatened the United States
with what he called a “global
rocket,” invulnerable to anti
missile defenses.
The Soviet leader said all
American efforts to interdict
the new weapon, as he de
scribed it, would be in vain.
“The time has passed when
the Americans can feel de
fended from the consequences
of war,” he said.
Mr. Khrushchev gave no de
tails of what the stage of de
velopment of the so-called new
weapon might be.
He made his remarks in the
course of an election rally, pre
liminary to Sunday’s voting in
the Soviet Union. Earlier at
the rally he had announced or
biting of a new space vehicle.
Tass news agency said it was
"an artificial earth satellite
launched with a view to con
tinuing the Soviet program of
outer space research.”
Apparently Unmanned
A Tass report suggested the
satellite is unmanned. The
agency said:
“The Sputnik carries scien
tific instrumentation, radio
telemetric system and trans
mitter.”
Tass said the space ship had
a perigee of 135 miles, an apogee
of 609 miles and an orbiting
time of slightly over 96 min
utes. The angle of the orbit
is 49 degrees to the equatorial
plane.
In Cambridge, Mass., Smith
sonian Astrophysical Observa
tory scientists reported a coded
radio signal on the usual So
viet vehicle frequency of 20.006
megacycles has been picked up
which apparently is that of
the new Sputnik. They said the
fact that a coded signal was
being transmitted, rather than
a voice signal, indicated that
the vehicle had no man aboard.
The Bochum Observatory ini
Germany also announced it
had picked up signals which
seemed to come from the Soviet
space ship.
Refers to Anns Views
Mr. Khrushchev made his
statement about the “global
rocket” to reinforce his views
on the current disarmanent
negotiations at Geneva. Refer
ring to Western proposals for
an effective control system, he
See SATELLITE, Page A-9
Titan 2 Hits
Target on
First Flight
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.,
Mar. 16 (AP).—The most pow
erful United States military
rocket ever flown, the towering
Titan 2, successfully passed its
maiden test flight today,
streaking to a South Atlantic
target more than 5,000 miles
away.
The succes, announced by the
Air Force, bolstered Defense
Department hopes of fully de
veloping the blockbuster weap
on in about a year and gave
tremendous boost to future
United States manned and un
manned space exploration
plans.
Titan 2 is ticketed as the
launching vehicle for several
space programs, including the
two-man Gemini space capsule
and the Dyna-Soar manned
bomber.
The Air Force announcement
said the 103-foot vehicle met
all test objectives on the 30-
minute flight.
BOYS TELL
DATE PEEVES
OKAY, GUYS, what bugs you
about dating some girl? Do you cool
your heels for on hour while they
dress, and you miss the movie fea
ture? Do they yak with vour buddy's
girl on a double date? Or they don't
talk at all? See what Washington
area teen-agers have to say about
irksome dates in TEEN, Page 8-6-7.
AN UNDERCOVER “Fed” raided
some Texas duckleggers and rounded
up 56 of them. Read the latest in
a series about the adventures of an
undercover agent for the Fish and
Wildlife Service by The Star's out
door editor, Charles Covell, on Page
D-4.
THE STAR'S weekly Friday garden
page resumes today. See Pages
8-8-9.
Guide for Readers Is at
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