Central Committee for the Study of Rocket Propulsion established in the Soviet Union. References: 17 .

Raktenflugplatz in Germany was visited by Mr. and Mrs. G. Edward Pendray as official representatives of the American Interplanetary Society, who upon their return organized the experimental program of the society. References: 17 .

Single-engine Heinkel (He-112) with Junker 650-pound thrust, liquid-fuel rocket motor successfully flown at Neuhardenberg, Germany, Capt. Erich Warsitz as pilot. References: 17 .

Supplemental appropriation passed by Congress authorized expanded research on guided missiles at NACA Langley Laboratory, including establishment of a rocket launch facility at Wallops Island, Va. References: 17 .

17 JPL Private F rockets were fired at Hueco Range, Fort Bliss, Tex. References: 17 .

Bell Aircraft Corp. contracted with AAF (under Project MX-776) to produce a 100-mile guided missile (later designated the Rascal). References: 17 .

Launched 13:10 local time. Reached 129.5 km. Carried cosmic and solar radiation, photo experiments for Applied Physics Lab, John Hopkins University.

First Deacon rocket launched at Wallops Island, which achieved a velocity of 4,200 feet per second. References: 17 .

The Office, Chief of Ordnance (OCO) disapproved Redstone Arsenal's proposed development plan for what would become the Redstone missile. The arsenal had intended to implement the manufacturing program for these missiles by creating an assembly line in its own development shops. The OCO, however, required that the development effort be done by a prime contractor. Nonetheless, delays in the acquisition of production facilities for the prime contractor caused Redstone Arsenal to fabricate and assemble the first 12 Redstone missiles along with missiles 18 through 29.

Upper Atmosphere Rocket Research Panel was renamed the Rocket and Satellite Research Panel. Its chairman was James A. Van Allen of the State university of Iowa. References: 17 .

Decree 'On adoption of the R-11M into armaments' was issued. References: 474 .

A $61,000 contract was signed by the Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, and the Air Force. Gerard P. Kuiper, principal investigator, was to produce a new lunar photographic atlas. The moon's visible surface would be divided into 44 areas, and each would be represented by at least four photographs taken under varying lighting conditions. Additional Details: Lunar photographic atlas begun. References: 16 .

Central Committee of the Communist Party and Council of Soviet Ministers Decree 'On production of the R-7A missile at Plant No. 1001 at Krasnoyarsk-26 and establishment of a branch' was issued. References: 474 .

H. Kurt Strass of the Space Task Group (STG) at Langley Field, Virginia described some preliminary ideas of STG planners regarding a follow-on to Mercury: (1) an enlarged Mercury capsule to place two men in orbit for three days; (2) a two-man Mercury capsule and a large cylindrical structure to support a two-week mission. (In its 1960 budget, NASA had requested $2 million to study methods of constructing a manned orbiting laboratory or converting the Mercury spacecraft into a two-man laboratory for extended space missions.) Additional Details: Two-man Mercury capsule proposed..

The first McDonnell production spacecraft was delivered to NASA at Wallops Island for the beach-abort test. References: 483 .

Seven Mercury astronauts completed training session at the Navy Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory, Johnsville, Pa. References: 17 .

TV and Infrared Observation Satellite; returned 22952 cloud cover photos. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

KH-4; film capsule recovered 3.1 days later. Best imagery to date. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

MSC negotiated a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract, valued at $1.65 million, with Hamilton Standard for 27 prototype Apollo space suits and 12 pairs of gloves. References: 16 .

Decree 'On appointing KB TM as main space launch pad design organization' was issued. References: 474 .

The first stage of the Saturn IB booster (the S-IB-1) underwent its first static firing at Huntsville, Alabama. The stage's eight uprated H-1 engines produced about 71,168-kilonewtons (1.6 million lbs) thrust. On April 23, Marshall and Rocketdyne announced that the uprated H-1 had passed qualification testing and was ready for flight. References: 16 .

Grumman presented to MSC its recommendations for an all-battery electrical power system for the LEM:

• Two batteries in the ascent stage
• Four batteries in the descent stage
• A new power distribution system
• Active cooling for the descent batteries and electrical control assemblies

First Minuteman III flight test missile launched from Vandenberg AFB. References: 88 .

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

Ocean surveillance; either chemical batteries or nuclear powered. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 290 .

Acquisition of meteorological information needed for use by the weather service. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

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

High resolution photo reconnaissance; returned film in two small SpK capsules during the mission and with the main capsule at completion of the mission. References: 1 , 2 , 6 , 179 .

Military navigation satellite. Positioned in plane 4 of constellation. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 107 .

The Kvant-2 hatch had been fixed from within and was used for the EVA. Objective was to repair the damaged Spektr solar panel. Handrails were installed near the panel but the crew could not complete the work before the scheduled time ran out.