TL 521 REFERENCE For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D.C. - Price $1.25 ADMINISTRATOR'S LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL MAY 28, 1962. THE PRESIDENT, The White House. DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: This Fifth Semi-Annual Report of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, covering the period October 1, 1960, through June 30, 1961, is submitted to you for transmittal to the Congress in accordance with Section 206 (a) of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. The report period witnessed continued progress in NASA's research, development, and operational programs. In carrying out its assignments, NASA has utilized the services of its own personnel as well as those of other Government agencies, private industry, educational institutions, and the scientific community. It is worth noting, too, that since the period covered by this report, the amount of each NASA dollar spent with industry, universities, and other privately funded organizations has risen from 80 to 92 cents. Details of this and such other NASA activities as the first U.S. manned suborbital flight, the TIROS II meteorological satellite, the Explorer scientific satellites, and the successful tests of the X-15 research aircraft are reported in the chapters that follow. The mounting accomplishments of the United States in space are something of which all Americans can be proud. Further, the value of our space activities is already being realized at home and abroad. For example, our weather satellites are providing valuable advance information on storms, and our communications satellite research holds forth the promise of less costly and more efficient communication between continents. Through the data from flights of Astronauts Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, and Carpenter, we are learning how well a man can pilot a spacecraft, how he can adjust to the weightlessness and other stresses of space, and what he can observe to add to the information recorded by electronic sensors. Already many Americans have benefited from our space programs. Liquid oxygen-now produced in large volumes and at lower cost as a result of space program requirements—is used in open hearth furnaces for efficiency and better steel. Liquid nitrogen, available as a byproduct of the liquid oxygen manufacturing process, is used to freeze whole blood for storage. It is clear that space research will add immeasurably to man's knowledge of science, technology, his own planet, the universe, and possibly of the origin of life itself. The United States is in the forefront in seeking, obtaining, and disseminating this knowledge. Sincerely, JAMES E. WEBB, Administrator. |