The Army Ballistic Missile Agency completed and forwarded to higher authority the first edition of A National Integrated Missile and Space Vehicle Development Program, which had been in preparation since April 1957. Included was a "short-cut development program" for large payload capabilities, covering the clustered-engine booster of 1.5 million pounds of thrust to be operational in 1963. The total development cost of $850 million during the years 1958-1963 covered 30 research and development flights, some carrying manned and unmanned space payloads. One of six conclusions given in the document was that "Development of the large (1520 K-pounds thrust) booster is considered the key to space exploration and warfare." Later vehicles with greater thrust were also described.

The Air Force created a Directorate of Astronautics to manage and coordinate astronautical research programs, including work on satellites and antimissile-missile weapons. Brigadier General Homer A. Boushey was named to head the office. Later in the month the order was rescinded by James H. Douglas, Secretary of the Air Force, who considered the creation of such a group before the activation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency to be premature.

Although the tempo of space technology research within recent months had been significantly accelerated by the Air Research and Development Command, a further increase was yet desirable. A plan, which would increase space research by 50 percent or more by fiscal 1959 and place management responsibility for the over-all space technology program within command headquarters, now adopted. (Ltr, Lt Gen S. E. Anderson, Cmdr ARDC, was to Cmdr AFMDC, 10 Dec 57, subj: Space Technology.)

Lieutenant General D. L. Putt, Deputy Chief of Staff Development at Air Force headquarters, announced establishment of the Directorate of Astronautics, to be headed by Brigadier General Homer A. Boushey. There was, however, an adverse Department of Defense reaction to this action. The Secretary of Defense objected to the use of the term "astronautics" and William Holaday, Defense Director of Guided Missiles, publicly stated the Air Force "wanted to grab the lime light and establish a position. " Just three days later General Putt directed that the organizational change be cancelled. (Bowen, Threshold of Space, p. 20.)

NASA Administrator James E. Webb, in a letter to the President, explained the rationale behind the Agency's selection of lunar orbit rendezvous (rather than either direct ascent or earth orbit rendezvous) as the mode for landing Apollo astronauts on the moon. Arguments for and against any of the three modes could have been interminable: "We are dealing with a matter that cannot be conclusively proved before the fact," Webb said. "The decision on the mode . . . had to be made at this time in order to maintain our schedules, which aim at a landing attempt in late 1967."

Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced cancellation of the X-20 Dyna Soar project at a news briefing at the Pentagon. McNamara stated that fiscal resources thereby saved would be channeled into broader research on the problems and potential value of manned military operations in space, chiefly the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) project. These decisions on the X-20 and MOL had been discussed and coordinated with NASA, and, although the Air Force received responsibility for the MOL project, NASA would continue to provide technical support. By the end of 1963 $410 million had been spent on Dynasoar, with another $373 million needed through the first flight. It was decided to complete re-entry testing of the Asset subscale unmanned vehicle, at a cost of $ 41 million.

Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara assigned responsibility for the development of a near-earth Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) to the Air Force. First manned flight was tentatively planned for late 1967 or early 1968. A modified Titan III, the Titan HIM, would be used to place the laboratories in orbit from Vandenberg.

The operational Minuteman force would number 1,000 missiles in six operational wings with a total of 20 squadrons by the end of FY1967 rather than the previously planned 1,200 missiles. The Office of the Secretary of Defense directed a Force Modernization program that would provide the Minuteman I wings with capabilities equivalent to those of the Minuteman II (LGM-30F). Force Modernization was to begin in July 1966, with retrofit to proceed on a squadron-by-squadron basis (later changed to wing-by-wing). Other improvements in the Minuteman systems were directed.

A Titan IIIE/Centaur launched from Cape Canaveral boosted the United States-West German HELIOS spacecraft into heliocentric orbit as a solar probe to investigate the properties and processes of solar/terrestrial relationships. This was the first completely successful flight of the Titan IIIE/Centaur booster combination. Solar probe. Solar Orbit (Heliocentric). Launched by the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany. Helios A (Helios I). Heliocentric orbit 190 days, 0.309 x 0.985 AU x 0 deg. Exploration of the interplanetary space between the earth and the sun and study of solar influences on that area.

Stationed at 128 deg E. Provision of telephone and telegraph radiocommunications and television broadcasting. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 128 deg E in 1987-1991; 170 deg W in 1991-1997 As of 3 September 2001 located at 140.92 deg W drifting at 0.213 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 154.31W drifting at 0.091W degrees per day.

Stationed at 99 deg E. Transmission of Central Television programmes to a network of receivers for collective use. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 99 deg E in 1988-1996 As of 28 August 2001 located at 156.78 deg W drifting at 13.031 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 173.37E drifting at 13.036W degrees per day.

For a long time we expected the launch of the freighter towards the end of November 1993. Due to economic and other problems this launch has been put back. The launch is now on schedule for 26.01.1994, so long after the relief of the present crew.

SOYUZ-TM18:

This ship will be launched for a flight to the Mir-station on 6.01.1994. If all goes according to the original planning the relief crew will consist of 3 cosmonauts. One of them is a doctor (Polyakov or Arazamov) who must remain in space for 1.5 year. Whether the crew will consist of 2 or 3 cosmonauts is not sure for 100%.

Mir-routine:

In this period Mir's passes are in the night hours. The crew is still busy in keeping the station operational. They have to pay a lot of attention to the life-support systems: air pressure- and air composition and the water regeneration systems Elektron and S.R.V.-U.

Visit of the American vice-president to TsUP:

The Russians very badly need financial support from the United States for the upgrading of the partly worn-out Mir-station. So they are very pleased that vice-president Gore will visit Kaliningrad near Moscow around 14.12.93. He will also visit the flight control centre TsUP.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202

This EVA took place on 9.12.1996 between 1352 UTC (opening hatch) and 2028 UTC (closing hatch). So a duration of 6 hrs 36 mins. The EVA lasted longer for Korzun wished to accomplish all what had to be done and there also was a problem with something which bungled loose. Before return they restored the connection of the radio-amateur antenna for the 145 mc. Probably this antenna had been disconnected by accident during the 1st EVA. They connected the antenna again and while they were flying over Chile and Brazil they asked John Blaha to listen out on the 145.800 mc to check whether the antenna was working or not. There was no traffic on that frequency in that area and so they had to wait until they came in range of European amateurs. I asked the English radio-amateur Pat Gowen (G3IOR) to give calls on 145.800 mc as soon as Mir would come in range (at abt. 1934 UTC). So he did and these signals could be heard by John Blaha while Mir was flying over France. He reported this to the still being on EVA Korzun and Kaleri and congratulated them with their success. Korzun urged John not to transmit, but to listen only. The cosmonauts fully accomplished their tasks: installing the truss construction Rapana at the truss Ferma-3 and the replacement of the Kurs-antenna on the outer surface of the P.Kh.O. (transition section). John Blaha who stayed inside the complex took care of the communications and executed commands given to him by TsUP. He gave the cosmonauts all possible moral and technical help. The cosmonauts and Blaha did an excellent job during this EVA, they gave an example of fruitful international co-operation and so they all deserve a loud: 'MOLODTSY' (very well done). Of course the cosmonauts were very tired after the EVA and back in the airlock they had to do hard labour to put off their spacesuits. Just before midnight Korzun could be heard in a contact with a Portuguese radio-amateur via the repaired antenna for the 145 mc.

Thus far there are no more EVA's on schedule for this crew.

Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202.

After their successful mission to the International Space Station, Endeavour astronauts spent much of Sunday getting ready to land at Kennedy Space Center Monday afternoon. They tested Endeavour's controls and stowed equipment in preparation for their 5:04 p.m. CST landing in Florida. Additional Details: here....

Meteorology satellite. Launch postponed from late 2000, then delayed from November 30. The Meteor-3M weather satellite carried visible and IR sensors as well as NASA's SAGE III instrument which studied aerosols and the ozone layer. This was the first launched of a modernised version of the spacecraft. Launch be Zenit launch vehicle from Baikonur rather than Tsyklon 3 from Plesetsk allowed the spacecraft to be 350 kg heavier, carrying additional sensors and various piggy-back payloads.

The Russian Kompas satellite, built by Makeyev for the IZMIRAN geophysics institute, was an 80 kg satellite with a magnetometer and other sensors designed to attempt prediction of earthquakes. The satellite was originally built for use on the Shtil rocket.

The 8 kg Reflektor was built by NII KP in Russia for space debris studies in a joint experiment with the Air Force Research Lab. The satellite consisted of of four triangular fins on a square base plus a deployable boom, with an array of laser retroreflectors. The satellite was 1.4 m long and 0.5 m wide but only 6 kg in mass. It will be used to calibrate laser imaging systems and other optical sensors.

Maroc-Tubsat was built by the Technical University of Berlin for the Centre Royal de Teledetection Spatiale, Morocco, and had a mass of 47 kg. It carried an imager and a store-forward communications test payload. The satellite measured 32x34x36,2 cm and was still in operation as of 2003.

The astronauts exited from the Shuttle's airlock and installed thermal blankets on the International Space Stations's P6 solar array gimbal motor bearings, which were distorting due to temperature changes. The blankets were installed by 2010 GMT; after failing to engage a solar array latch, the crew moved on to retrieve tools for the next mission and returned to the airlock.

The mission used solid rocket booster pair RSRM-95 and external tank ET-123. At SSME burnout Discovery was in a 58 km x 220 km x 51.6 deg preliminary burn. The OMS-2 burn at 02:25 GMT placed the shuttle in a stable 225 x 250 km orbit from which rendezvous maneuvers began. Discovery docked with the ISS at 22:12 GMT on December 11. In the most demanding ISS assembly mission ever, the crew would require an additional spacewalk to complete installation of the P5 truss, retraction of the recalcitrant port P6 solar array wing, and activation of the truss electrical and cooling system. Sunita Williams rode the shuttle to the station, and remained behind with the EO-14 crew; ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter, already aboard the station, was returned to earth. Due to weather problems a landing at White Sands was considered; but in the end Discovery landed safely at Kennedy Space Center, after which it was to enter a year-long overhaul cycle.

Classified National Reconnaisance Office payload; probable primary payload data relay communications. May also have carried SBIRS HEO-2 infrared missile warning sensor and a TWINS-B magnetospheric research experiment. Initial orbit 261 x 16776 km x 60.0 deg.

First satellite in the FY-4 series, placed in a geotransfer orbit. China's FY-1 and newer FY-3 series were polar orbiting weather satellites comparable to the NOAA polar series, while the FY-2 constellation, to be superseded by the FY-4 system, consistd of geostationary satellites like NOAA's GOES. FY-4 No. 1 carried a 0.5 km resolution imager, a 913-channel IR sounder, a lightning mapping imager, and a space environment package.