The Kokomo Tribune from Kokomo, Indiana • Page 29

Space Program Cost U.S. Over $40 Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1969 KOKOMO 7 Over $40 billion will have gone into the United States space program by the end of the current fiscal year on June 30, 1970. For the Apollo moon landing project alone, the total in July reached $21,395,000,000. Through the fiscal year of 1971 it is estimated to reach $23,915,900,000.

The Mercury and Gemini projects, considered a necessary prelude to Apollo, cost $1.7 billion. They included 16 manned flights two suborbital four orbital in Mercury and the remainder in Gemini. America's sights on exploration of the universe were brought into focus with the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 which set as objectives one or more of the following: 1. Expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space. 2.

Improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles. 3. Establishment of long range studies for peaceful and scientific purposes. 4. Preservation of the U.

S. role as leader in aeronautical and space science and technology. 5. Cooperation by the U. S.

with other nations in peaceful application of results. Neil's Footstep May Be Doomed Lunar geologists have said that man's footprints on the moon will last 500,000 years. They say that the visible track of his boots in the lunar soil will last until they are erased by micrometeorite impact over time. BUT--that's only if generations lol- lowing don't vacation or visit their scientific relatives on the moon. Somebody better grab Neil's small step and giant leap and place them in the "Moonsonian Institute" before someone else well, steps on them.

NASA thus was born Oct. 1, 1958, almost a year to the day after the launching of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union. In that initial year Congress appropriated $330.9 million. This year's appropriation is $3.7 billion ($3,700 million), actually smaller than six other years in the short history of NASA. Budgets since 1959 fiscal have been: 1960 -i $523.6 million.

1961 -i $966.7 million. 1962 $1,825.3 million. 1963 --i $3,674.1 million. 196-J $5,100 million. 1965 $5,250 million.

1966 $5,175 million. 1967 $4,968 million. 1968 $4,588.9 million. 1969 $3,953 million. A budget for the space administration is made up of many items, just as is the budget for any governmental agency, or for your own family for that matter.

Fundamentally it consists of research and development (around $3 billion), construction of facilities (now down to about $58 million), and research and program management (which is approximately $650 million). i Then just as you set aside for rent or house payments, utilities, clothing, automobile maintenance or transportion, food, the space' agency also must prepare a budget which is scrutinized by the president and his staff, and the Congress. Looking at it broadly, the rounded amounts'are broken down as follows: Manned Space Flight $2 billion (Apollo, i space flight operations, advanced missions). Space Science and Applications million (physics and astronomy, lunar and' planetary exploration, biusci- ence, space applications, launch vehicle procurement). Advanced Research and Technology $277 million (basic research, ispace vehicle systems, electronic systems, human factor systems, space power and electric propulsion systems, nuclear rockets, chemical propulsion, aeronautical vehicles).

Other $1 billion (tracking and date acquisition, sustaining university program, technology utilization, construction, management). CHARLES CONRAD JR. RICHARD F. GORDON JR. Happy Ending Traveling With Astronauts To The Moon Ready To Go Apollo XII sits on Launch Pad the day before the launch, ready to do her part in a number of stages to put man's second moon-team on the lunar surface and return them to earth.

The crew of Apollo XII returned to earth Monday after man's second space journey to put two more human beings on the moon. Pete Conrad and Alan Bean became the third and fourth earthlings to trod on the soil of lunar surface, following Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin who made the first trip last summer. And like their predecessors, Apollo XJU's moonwalkers brought back with them lunar samples for extensive investigation and left complex equipment on the earth's satellite to make comprehensive studies of it and its origin. The success of Apollo Xn gives the "go ahead" to the launch of Apollo XIII, scheduled for March, and a more detailed exploration. Man learns-from each trip, making the next one simpler but he adds more complexities to it.

Amidst thousands of spectators surrounding Apollo XII at the edge of a four-mile perimeter Nov. 14, the three astronauts blasted up through the overcast sky. But it wasn't an easy or nerveless task. Thirty-six seconds after liftoff, lightening bolted through the air and the three astronauts had their hands full trying to check out problems indicated by many flashing trouble lights. There seems to be some question as to whether Apollo XII was struck by nature's most charged weapon.

Scientists and space officials aren't in total agreement that the spacecraft was struck. But after correcting all of the electronic difficulties and reaching a height of 117 miles, man's second moon team achieved earth's orbit and then blasted off onto a lunar course to the Ocean of Storms. Safely hi space and on the target line, Conrad, mission commander, discussed those precious first minutes with ground control. "I remember seeing it get light outside the window," he said. "We were in the clouds.

I'm pretty sure we got hit by lightening." Mission control, however, wasn't positive and suggested, to which Conrad admitted was possible, that the spacecraft could have created its own lightening. Control said that while the rocket was shouldering its way through the clouds it may have built up static electricity along its sides. And that the electricity may have discharged into the spacecraft providing the power jolt that upset the instruments. At any rate, Conrad suggested, future Apollo missions should not be launched during inclement weather or an overcast sky. Conrad and Bean, the two designated for that second moonwalk, made a thorough check of their lunar module and found it in perfect shape.

More than half way to their destination, the three astronauts fired their main rocket to tighten the aim of the ship, Yankee Clipper, into the lunar orbit, and thereby surrendering any chance of a loop around the moon for a free course back to earth if something went wrong. It was the first time in any Apollo flight that a free return course had been abandoned. And at 8:38 a.m., Nov. 17, the Apollo XII spacecraft zipped through a so- called "twilight zone" in which the gravitational influence of the earth and moon is equal. Once across this invisible line, lunar gravity look hold and Apollo XII's speed accelerated after slowing to about 1,500 miles an hour on the long outward coast.

The ship was 211,322 miles from earth and 38,933 miles from the moon. The speed increased to about 5,700 miles an hour as the astronauts looped behind the moon's back side the night of Nov. 17 and blasted into the lunar orbit. Then in the wee hours of Nov. 19, at tronauts Conrad and Bean flew their lunar module, Intrepid, to a pin-point landing in a 400-footwide circle target on the eastern edge of the Ocean of Storms on the moon's surface, just 20 feet from a crater edge and 600 feet from Surveyor III, the unmanned spacecraft that soft-landed there 2V4 years ago.

Parts from Surveyor III were brought back by the crew for scientific analysis to ascertain to what the craft may have been subjected during that stay. Durng their first walk, Conrad and Bean i aised their nation's flag and deployed a set of five scientific instruments powered by the first nuclear generator on the moon. The generator works perfectly and is sending data back to earth. After 45 minutes of use, the color TV camera carried by the lunar walkers konked out, disappointing the millions on earth who planned the watch the moon exploration. The two moonwalkers reported that the dust in the Ocean of Storms is thicker and blacker than that in the Sea of Tranquility where Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the first moon exploration trip.

"Your boots dig into the soil quite a bit," Bean siad. "If you don't pick up your feet you really kick a load of dirt in front of you." And the spacemen worked happily and reported their every move to listeners on earth, confortable in their complex spacesuits in a world where temperatures vary some 500 degrees, from 243 degrees above zero in sunlight to 279 below in shadow. During Conrad and Bean's trek on the foreign land, Gordon loomed in the lunar orbit, around and around, keeping vigil in the mother ship, Yankee Clipper. On the second moonwalk, the two astronauts collected more rocks, photographed more formations, stripped more parts from Surveyor III. And the two encountered more black powdery soil.

"Man, is it filthy here," Conrad reported back. "Al and I look like a couple of bituminous coal miners." He added, though, "But we're happy." Conrad fell down once. Both were on their knees collecting samples. A voice was heard on earth. "I just knew Alan would get his white spacesuit dirty up on the moon," said Bean's mother.

After the lunar activities were conducted, Conrad and Bean climbed into the Intrepid and blasted off into lunar orbit for a link-up with the Yankee Clip- per and the return trip home. They had to chase the mother snip for hours before, through skillful rocket firings, they were in position for the link-up. Then the Intrepid was discharged from the Yankee Clipper for a smashing thud into the moon's surface, a treat for scientists who studied the tremor from the impact. Scientists said reports sent by instruments from the lunar surface indicated that the moon's core isn't wholly molten nor is it wholly hard. And for those scientists, the astronauts brought back with them 80 to 90 pounds of carefully documented rock samples from at least six craters, soil dug from a foot beneath the moon's surface, hundreds of photographs and five pieces clipped from the Surveyor III.

While the astronauts readied their rocket for a return to earth, one of the experiments they left on the moon per formed a pre-set It was a gadget designed to analyze the nature of the solar wind, the high energy gases blown off by the sun. Man's second quest of the moon has been a success. The splashdown in the Pacific was the finale of another chapter. A Biographical Sketch Men Of The Apollo XII Crew U. S.

Navy commander Charles Conrad a slight blond, blue-eyed, veteran of naval aviation, flew by far his greatest mission as commander of Apollo XII. At 5 feet, 6'A inches and 138 pounds, he is one of America's smallest astronauts yet he has compiled one of the largest records of space achievements. Commander Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA in September 1962. In August 1965, he served as pilot on the eight-day Gemini 5 flight. On Sept.

22, 1966, Conrad occupied the command pilot seat for the three-day, 44-revoIution Gemini II mission. He served as backup commander for the Apollo 9 flight prior to his assignment as Apollo XII commander. Conrad had logged a total of 222 hours and 12 minutes of space flight in his earlier two missions. The Apollo XII commander was born in Philadelphia 39 years ago. He attended primary and secondary schools in Haverford, and New Lebanon, N.Y.; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Princeton University in 1953 and an Honorary Master of Arts degree from Princeton in 1966.

Conrad entered the Navy following his graduation from Princeton and became a naval aviator. He attended the Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, and upon completing that course of instruction was assigned as a project test pilot in the armaments test division there. He also served at Patuxent as a flight instructor and performance engineer at the Test Pilot School. He has logged more than 4,000 hour flight time, with more than 3,000 hours in jet aircraft. His impressive flying record has earned him two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, and the Navy Astronaut Wings.

He also has received Princeton's Distinguished Alumnus Award for 1965, the U. S. Jaycees 1 Ten Outstanding Young Men Award for 1965 and the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award for 1966. Conrad is married to the former Jane DuBuse of Uvalde, Texas. They have four children, Peter, Thomas, Andrew and Christopher.

While not flying around in space, Conrad enjoys the earthly activities of golf, swimming and water skiing. U. S. Navy commander Richard F. Gordon is no stranger to space flying.

But his assignment as Apollo XII command module pilot has been his most challenging voyage. He was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963 and he was served as backup pilot for the Gemini 8 flight, pilot for the Gemini 11 mission and packup command module pilot for the Apollo IX flight. Commander Gordon received his wings as a naval aviator in 1953. He then attended All-Weather Flight School and jet transitional training and was subsequently assigned to an all-weather fighter squadron at the Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fla. In 1957, he attended the Navy's Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, and served as a flight test pilot until 1960, During this tour of duty, he did flight test work on the F8U Crusader, FllF Tigercat, FJ Fury and A4D Sky- hawk.

He was also the first project test pilot for the F4H Phantom II. Gordon served with Fighter Squadron 121 at the Miramar, Naval Air Station as a flight instruction in the F4H and participated in the introduction of that aircraft to the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. He also was flight safety officer, assistant operations officer and ground training officer for Fighter Squadron 96 at Miramar. Winner of the Bendix Trophy Race from Los Angeles to New York in May 1961, Gordon established a new speed record of 869.74 miles per hour and a transcontinental speed record of 2 hours and 47 minutes. He was also a student at the U.

S. Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, Calif. His time in the air has been set at more than 4,000 hours, with more than 3,300 of that flying time coming in jet aircraft. He has been awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the Navy Astronaut Wings. Gordon has brown hair, hazel eyes, stands 5 feet 7 inches and weighs 150 pounds.

He graduated from North Kitsap High School. Paulsbo, Wash, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemis- try from the University of Washington in 1951. He is married to the former Barbara J. Field of Seattle, Wash, and they have- six children, Carleen, Richard, rence, Thomas, James and Diane. Astronaut Gordon enjoys water skiing, sailing and golf.

For Alan L. Bean; U. S. Navy Commander and Apollo XII lunar module pilot, man's second journey to the moon's surface was his first experience at space flight. Space rookie Bean has previously served as backup command pilot for the Gemini 10 mission and as the backup lunar module pilot for Apollo IX.

He was one of the third group of astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963. Although a rookie in space, Bean is veteran aviator. A Navy ROTC student- at Texas, he was commissioned upon graduation in 1955. Following completion of his flight training, he was assigned to Attack Squadron 44 at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla. He later attended the Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, and received an assignment as a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center at Patuxent.

Commander Bean participated in tne initial trials of both the ASA and A4E jet attack airplanes. He attended the school of Aviation Safety at the University of Southern California and was next assigned to Attack Squadron 172 at Cecil Field, as an A-4 light jet attack pilot. During his career, he has flown 27 aircraft and logged more than 3,775 hours flying time including 3,212 hours in jet aircraft. Bean was born in Wheeler, Texas, in 1932, but he considers Fort Worth his hometown. He stands 5 feet 9M inches, has brown hair, hazel eyes and weighs 155 pounds.

He graduated from Paschal High School in Fort Worth and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Texas in 1955. He is married to the former Sue- Ragsdale of Dallas and they have two children, Clay and Amy Sue. His hobbies are surfing, painting and handball. He also enjoys swimming, diving and gymnastics..