The first multi-orbit flight of the X-20 was planned for late 1967 atop the ninth Titan 3C at the time the program was cancelled. References: 152 .

NASA Hq issued a revised AAP schedule incorporating recent budgetary cutbacks. The schedule reflected the reduction of AAP lunar activity to four missions and of Saturn V Workshop activity to 17 Saturn IB and 7 Saturn V launches. There would be two Workshops launched on Saturn IBs, one Saturn V Workshop, and three ATMs. Launch of the first Workshop was scheduled for March 1970.

Operation of a system of long range telephone-telegraph radiocommunication, and transmission of USSR Central Television programmes to the stations of the Orbita network. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 64 .

Unofficial world speed record (full ablative coating, dummy ramjet, mechanical eyelid). Maximum Speed - 7273 kph. Maximum Altitude - 31120 m. References: 38 , 49 , 97 .

Maximum Speed - 7270 kph. Maximum Altitude - 76530 m. References: 38 , 49 , 97 .

Because of wind conditions, an abort of the Apollo spacecraft from a Saturn V in the near-pad region would result in land impact. To ensure the maximum potential safe recovery of the crew during a near-pad abort, certain forms of preparation within the abort area were being considered. Tests were being prepared at MSC and KSC to determine the most favorable soil condition for spacecraft landing. The capability of the spacecraft to sustain a land impact was also being investigated by MSC. References: 16 .

Area survey photo reconnaissance satellite. References: 1 , 2 , 6 , 93 .

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Suborbital. References: 5 .

Maximum Altitude - 4400 km. References: 98 .

A proposal to use a Ballute system rather than drogue parachutes to deploy the main chutes on the Apollo spacecraft was rejected. It was conceded that the Ballute system would slightly reduce dynamic pressure and command module oscillations at main parachute deployment. However, these advantages would be offset by the development risks of incorporating a new and untried system into the Apollo spacecraft at such a late date. References: 16 .

Extreme UV solar observations. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

High resolution photo reconnaissance satellite; returned film capsule References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

NASA Hq. informed MSC that NASA Deputy Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr., had approved the project approval document authorizing four additional CSMs beyond No. 115A. MSC was requested to proceed with all necessary procurement actions required to maintain production capability in support of projected schedules for these items. References: 16 .

Maximum Speed - 6204 kph. Maximum Altitude - 85500 m. Astronaut wings flight (USAF definition). References: 33 , 38 , 49 , 97 .

Fractional Orbital Bombardment system test. Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Suborbital. References: 5 .

Operation of a system of long range telephone-telegraph radiocommunication, and transmission of USSR Central Television programmes to the stations of the Orbita network. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 64 .

Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

KH-8 type satellite. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

First test of Korolev's Istrebitel Sputnik. Only tested engine; no target launched. First launch of Tsykon 2 launch vehicle. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 272 .

Docked with Cosmos 188; First automated docking. Recovered October 31, 1967 08:20 GMT. Achieved automatic rendezvous on second attempt. Capture achieved but hard docking and electric connections unsuccessful due to misallignment of spacecraft. Star tracker failed and had to make a high-G ballistic re-entry. Additional Details: Cosmos 186. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

Fractional Orbital Bombardment System test. Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

A parachute test (Apollo Drop Test 84-1) failed at EI Centro, Calif. The parachute test vehicle (PTV) was dropped from a C-133A aircraft at an altitude of 9,144 meters to test a new 5-meter drogue chute and to investigate late deployment of one of the three main chutes. Additional Details: Apollo Drop Test failure 84-1. References: 16 .

Confirming an October 27 telephone conversation, ASPO Manager George M. Low recommended to Apollo Program Director Samuel C. Phillips that the following LM delivery schedule be incorporated into official documentation: LM-2, February 5, 1968; LM-3, April 6, 1968; LM-4, June 6, 1968. Subsequent vehicles would be delivered on two-month centers. The dates had been provided by Grumman during the last Program Management Review. References: 16 .

Docking target craft for Cosmos 186, which achieved world's first automatic rendezvous on second attempt. Capture achieved but hard docking and electric connections unsuccessful due to misallignment of spacecraft. Ion flow sensor failed and Cosmos 188 had to make a high-G uncontrolled re-entry. When it deviated too far off course, destroyed by the on-board self-destruct system, November 2, 1967 09:10 GMT.
Officially: Investigation of outer space, development of new systems and elements to be used in the construction of space devices. Additional Details: Cosmos 188. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

Possible ELINT satellite test. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Suborbital. References: 5 .

KH-4A. All cameras operated fine. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Radar monitoring. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 172 .

High resolution photo reconnaissance satellite; returned film capsule References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

NASA announced an Apollo mission schedule calling for six flights in 1968 and five in 1969. NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight George E. Mueller said the schedule and alternative plans provided a schedule under which a limited number of Apollo command and service modules and lunar landing modules, configured for lunar landing might be launched on test flights toward the moon by the end of the decade. Apollo/uprated Saturn I flights were identified with a 200 series number; Saturn V flights were identified with a 500 series number. Additional Details: Apollo mission schedule for six flights in 1968 and five in 1969. References: 16 .

Communications tests. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 278 .

Final launch of an Atlas D missile (first operational at Vandenberg on 9 September 1959). References: 88 , 278 .

Soft landed on lunar Moon; photographed lunar surface; sampled lunar soil; used propulsion system to briefly lift off of lunar surface. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 278 .

Apollo 4 (AS-501) was launched in the first all-up test of the Saturn V launch vehicle and also in a test of the CM heatshield. The Saturn V, used for the first time, carried a lunar module test article (LTA-10R) and a Block I command and service module (CSM 017) into orbit from KSC Launch Complex 39, Pad A, lifting off at 7:00:01 a.m. EST - one second later than planned. The launch was also the first use of Complex 39. The spacecraft landed 8 hours 37 minutes later in the primary recovery area in the Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii, about 14 kilometers from the planned point (30.06 N 172.32 W). CM, apex heatshield, and one main parachute were recovered by the carrier U.S.S. Bennington

Main objectives of the mission were to demonstrate the structural and thermal integrity of the space vehicle and to verify adequacy of the Block II heatshield design for entry at lunar return conditions. These objectives were accomplished.

The S-IC stage cutoff occurred 2 minutes 30 seconds into the flight at an altitude of about 63 kilometers. The S-II stage ignition occurred at 2 minutes 32 seconds and the burn lasted 6 minutes 7 seconds, followed by the S-IVB stage ignition and burn of 2 minutes 25 seconds. This series of launch vehicle operations placed the S-IVB and spacecraft combination in an earth parking orbit with an apogee of about 187 kilometers and a perigee of 182 kilometers. After two orbits, which required about three hours, the S-IVB stage was reignited to place the spacecraft in a simulated lunar trajectory. This burn lasted five minutes. Some 10 minutes after completion of the S-IVB burn, the spacecraft and S-IVB stage were separated, and less than 2 minutes later the service propulsion subsystem was fired to raise the apogee. The spacecraft was placed in an attitude with the thickest side of the CM heatshield away from the solar vector. During this four-and-one-half-hour cold-soak period, the spacecraft coasted to its highest apogee - 18,256.3 kilometers. A 70 mm still camera photographed the earth's surface every 10.6 seconds, taking 715 good-quality, high-resolution pictures.

About 8 hours 11 minutes after liftoff the service propulsion system was again ignited to increase the spacecraft inertial velocity and to simulate entry from a translunar mission. This burn lasted four and one half minutes. The planned entry velocity was 10.61 kilometers per second, while the actual velocity achieved was 10.70.

Recovery time of 2 hours 28 minutes was longer than anticipated, with the cause listed as sea conditions - 2.4-meter swells. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 16 , 26 , 27 .

Returned cloud cover images. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Decree 'On revision of the timetable for the N1-L3' was issued. References: 474 .

MSC informed MSFC that it would provide the following payload flight hardware for the AS-503/BP-30 flight test: boilerplate 30 (BP-30, already at MSFC); spacecraft-LM adapter 101 and launch escape system (SLA-101/LES) jettisonable mass simulation; and lunar module test article B (LTA-B, already at MSFC). MSC had no mission requirements but recommended that any restart test requirements for the Saturn S-IVB stage be carried out on this mission to simplify requirements for the first manned Saturn V mission. References: 16 .

Fatal accident, aircraft destroyed. After reaching peak altitude, entered spin at Mach 5. Entered dive at 30,000 m, began high frequency pitch oscillations, disintegrated when these reached 15 Gs.Maximum Speed - 5744 kph. Maximum Altitude - 81080 m. References: 33 , 38 , 49 , 97 .

Central Committee of the Communist Party and Council of Soviet Ministers Decree 1070-363 'On approval of work on the UR-500 launch vehicle' was issued. References: 474 .

Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 99 .

Second attempted circumlunar flight. Four seconds after second stage ignition the booster went out of control. The launch escape system shut down the engines and the escape tower pulled the spacecraft away from the booster. The Proton crashed 300 km from the pad and the Soyuz was recovered 80 km southwest of Dzhezkazgan. References: 5 , 67 , 274 .

Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Area survey photo reconnaissance satellite. References: 1 , 2 , 6 , 93 .

Stays on pad until 12 December for facilities checks. Photographed by US reconnsat on 11 December. 1M1 mockup scrapped in 1975. References: 96 .

Weapons Research Establishment Satellite; solar radiation, upper atmosphere data. WRESAT 1 launched for upper atmosphere and space research at 1419 h central standard time, from Woomera, South Australia. Launch vehicle based on Redstone. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

The third Apollo flight announced on December 22, 1966, was the Apollo E mission - a test of the Apollo lunar module in high earth orbit. The Borman crew would be launched aboard a Saturn V, and put into a very high earth orbit. In mid-1968 Collins had to leave the crew due to a medical problem, and was replaced by Lovell. By late 1968, Apollo 7 had flown the Apollo C mission, but delays with the lunar module meant that neither the D or E profile missions could be flown. In order to beat the Russians around the moon, it was decided that the E mission would be cancelled and instead Borman's crew would fly an Apollo CSM into lunar orbit. This became Apollo 8. References: 16 , 366 .

A new cosmonaut training group for the Spiral spaceplane was established: Titov, Kizim, Kozelskiy, Lyakhov, Malyshev, Petrushenko.

NASA Hq. announced that, as concurred in by the Center Apollo Program Managers, the following decisions, based on the results of the Apollo 4 mission, were firmly established:

• CSM 020 would be flown on the Apollo 6 mission.
• Boilerplate 30 was assigned to the AS-503 unmanned mission.
• If Apollo 6 was successful, AS-503 would be flown as the first Saturn V manned mission.

NASA Administrator James E. Webb approved the designation "Saturn IB" as the standard way of referring to that launch vehicle in public statements, congressional testimony, and similar materials, rather than "Uprated Saturn I." References: 16 .

High resolution photo reconnaissance satellite; returned film capsule References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

KH-8 type satellite. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Ionospheric studies. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Suborbital. References: 5 , 126 .

An Apollo drop test failed at El Centro, Calif. The two-drogue verification test had been planned to provide confidence in the drogue chute design (using a weighted bomb) before repeating the parachute test vehicle (PTV) test. Preliminary information indicated that in the test one drogue entangled with the other during deployment and that only one drogue inflated. The failure appeared to be related to a test deployment method rather than to drogue design. The test vehicle was successfully recovered by a USAF recovery parachute-intact and reusable. References: 16 .

On 13 October 1967 Mishin began his efforts to kill the VI program. From the point of view of the 'Podpliki Mafia', Kozlov had insulted them by redesigning the Soyuz VI in light of the defects of their 7K-OK design. They were also fundamentally opposed to the use of radio-isotope power sources, and raised doubts about the 800 mm hatch cut into the heat shield (as they did in the case of Chelomei�s VA). Mishin wrote a letter to Afanasyev and Smirnov, urging them to cancel the 7K-VI program. In the place of Kozlov's VI Mishin proposed his own project for an Soyuz-derived OIS orbital station. In a November 1967 meeting between Mishin and Kozlov Mishin demanded the abandonment of Kozlov�s 7K-VI project. Kozlov rejected this and subsequently appealed to Kamanin. Through various complex machinations Mishin seized control of the project on 8 December 1967 and promised that the first OIS would be launched in 1969. Mishin�s revised project was reaffirmed in May 1968. Having won the battle, Mishin lost interest. OKB-1 would pursue it at a desultory pace until it was finally cancelled in 1969. In the place of Kozlov's VI Mishin proposed his own project for an orbital station 11F730 Soyuz VI. This would consist of on orbital block 11F731 OB-VI and a transport spacecraft 11F732 7K-S. Through various complex machinations Mishin seized control of the project on 8 December 1967. The new Soyuz VI was designated the OIS 11F730. It would be launched into a lower-inclination 51.6 degree orbit at 250 x 270 km, and would use solar panels in the place of the nuclear power sources.

KH-4B. Noticeable image smear for forward camera, but best imagery to date. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Solar radiation data. Solar Orbit (Heliocentric). Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Test and Training Satellite; tested Apollo tracking network. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Apollo Program Director Samuel C. Phillips wrote the manned space flight Centers of Apollo schedule decisions. In a September 20 meeting at MSC to review the Apollo test flight program, MSC had proposed a primary test flight plan including

1. the addition of a second unmanned LM flight,
2. addition of a third unmanned Saturn V flight, and
3. addition of a new' primary mission, a lunar orbital mission.

Area survey photo reconnaissance satellite. References: 1 , 2 , 6 , 93 .

A LM test failed in the Grumman ascent stage manufacturing plant December 17. A window in LM-5 shattered during its initial cabin pressurization test, designed to pressurize the cabin to 3.9 newtons per square centimeter (5.65 pounds per square inch). Both inner and outer windows and the plexiglass cover of the right-hand window shattered when the pressure reached 3.5 newtons per sq cm (5.1 psi). An MSC LM engineer and Corning Glass Co. engineers were investigating the damage and cause of failure. References: 16 .

Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 99 .

NASA Hq. announced establishment of the Lunar Exploration Office within the Office of Manned Space Flight's Apollo Program Office. The new office, headed by Lee R. Scherer, merged program units directing Apollo lunar exploration and planning exploration beyond the first manned lunar landing. OMSF would staff the Systems Development element; the Lunar Science group would be staffed by the Office of Space Science and Applications, which would approve operating plans and scientific objectives, payloads, and principal investigators for specific missions. References: 16 .

The first fire-in-the-hole test was successfully completed at the White Sands Test Facility (WSTF). The vehicle test configuration was that of LM-2 and the test cell pressure immediately before the test was equivalent to a 68,850-meter altitude. All test objectives were satisfied and video tapes of TV monitors were acquired. Test firing duration was 650 milliseconds with zero stage separation. References: 16 .

Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 99 .

Prototype RORSAT hardware using chemical batteries in place of BES-5 nuclear reactor. First satellite to be boosted to 900 km storage orbit. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 290 .