Short flight, 500 ft plus coasting period, very fast in leaving tower; little smoke. References: 482 .

Bell flight 10. Static longitudinal stability investigation. At Pinecastle AAF, Florida. References: 49 , 97 .

USAF Chief of Staff, Nathan F. Twining, reported that ICBM's were receiving priority in the AF program because of known Soviet progress. Navaho, Snark, and Atlas programs accelerated. References: 17 , 278 .

The thrust chamber of the F-1 engine was successfully static-fired at the Santa Susana Air Force-Rocketdyne Propulsion Laboratory in California. More than one million pounds of thrust were produced, the greatest amount attained to that time in the United States. References: 16 .

Planned to fly complete course with astronavigation system. Engine operation was rough due to high angle of attack (5-8°) of the diffuser. As a result, the flight was terminated at T+26 minutes after the missile had flown 1,500 km.

Decree 420�1741 'On approval of work on the US satellite and UR-200 launch vehicle / ICBM' was issued. References: 474 .

North American completed construction of Apollo boilerplate (BP) 9, consisting of launch escape tower and CSM. It was delivered to MSC on March 18, where dynamic testing on the vehicle began two days later. On April 8, BP-9 was sent to MSFC for compatibility tests with the Saturn I launch vehicle. References: 16 .

Decree 'On renaming OKB-1 as TsKBEM and OKB-52 as TsKBM' was issued. References: 474 .

Tested Apollo spacesuit. References: 66 .

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

The Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, with Glynn S. Lunney as Manager, was reorganized. Lunney was also Manager for ASTP (Apollo/Soyuz Test Project), an assignment to which he had been appointed in June of 1972. References: 16 .

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

Second launch of Rhyolite geostationary ELINT satellite. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 172 , 278 .

Eight satellites launched by a single carrier rocket. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Replaced Cosmos 1278. Covered Oko constellation plane 3 - 355 degree longitude of ascending node. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 100 .

Meteosat Operational Program; weather imaging, atmospheric data; 0 deg. Geostationary meteorological satellite, operating within the world-wide network of the World Weather Watch of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Its main missions are: imaging in the visible, infrared and water vapour region of the spectrum. Dat a reception from so called Data Collection Platforms (DCPs); data distribution to meteorological services and other interested parties (research institutes, etc). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Japanese domestic communications; 150 deg E. Domestic communication. Launching states: Japan, France, USA. Launch vehicle Ariane 29 (Ariane IV). Launching organization ARIANE SPACE. Launch time 1129 GMT. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Military cartographic satellite; returned film capsule. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .