These tests (P5-P12) ran through Aug. 4, 1939. The new gas generator was used in eight static tests at the desert launching lower. The two best tests on July 17 and Aug. 4, 1939 gave lifts of 700 lb for about 15 sec, with flow of oxygen at 4 lb/sec and gasoline at 3 lb/sec; jet velocities were in excess of 3200 ft/sec. This completed the series of 19 proving-stand tests. Average interval between tests 7 days References: 482 .

Static test, flame hot, apparently large lift; ground behind dame deflector looked melted. References: 482 .

First glide flight was on 10 September 1941, but the factory had to be evacuated to Sverdlovsk. Accidents in ground runs of the rocket engine further delayed the first powered flight. On flight 7 the aircraft crashed into the ground, killing the pilot. Plans for production were abandoned. Rocketplane testing in the USSR only resumed with the testing of German designs after the war.

First flight BI-1. Maximum Speed - 400 kph. Maximum Altitude - 840 m. Flight Time - 189 sec. References: 94 .

Launched 16:04 local time. Reached 135.5 km. Carried cosmic and solar radiation, temperature, ionosphere, photo experiments for Naval Research Lab. Landed east of the impact zone on the outskirts of Alamagordo, New Mexico

Bell flight 16. Buffet-boundary investigation. Aileron-damper malfunction. References: 49 , 97 .

First two-stage Bumper-Wac fired. Short duration Wac Corporal test; round successful. V-2 reached 112.4 km, 1220 m/s; Wac Corporal 127.6 km, 1345 m/s.

Test of separable warhead. Range achieved 210 km. Ballistic launch. Expected range 210 km. Launched at 0548 local time. References: 283 , 344 .

NACA flight 45. Wing loads and aileron effectiveness. Aileron rolls at mach 0.90. References: 49 , 97 .

Range achieved 270 km. First test launch of R-5. References: 283 , 344 .

RS-19 was launched at 2322 hours EST from AMR. The flight was successful. The actual range was 169.4 nm; 13 nm over the intended impact point. Cut-off wee given by the alcohol depletion switch that sensed alcohol injector pressure drop-off. Takeoff occurred 0.156 seconds after firing. The missile followed the correct trajectory with no obvious deviation. Missile cut-off occurred later than predicted and caused the missile to impact approximately 6.5 nm long, During descent the warhead turned left, causing impact to be several miles to the left of the aiming azimuth line. The primary test objectives were to test the angle-of-attack meter hardware (Jupiter control). Missed aimpoint by 25,100 m. References: 439 .

NACA flight 15. Mach 2.0 at 22,265 m. Aileron pulses and rolls, sideslips, and wind-up turns. Plane severely damaged upon landing. References: 49 , 97 .

The second three-stage re-entry missile, was launched at 0255 hours EST from AMR to test the thermal behaviour of a scaled-down version of the Jupiter nose cone during re-entry. The separated nose cone, which weighed 314 pounds, should have reached a nominal range of 1,212 nm. The missile began. to pitch up at 134 seconds, and impact was 420 nm short of the intended impact point. The composite missile consisted of three stages. The first stage was an elongated Redstone using alcohol and liquid oxygen as propellant. The second and third stages were made up of clusters of 11 and 3 scaled-down Sergeant solid propellant rockets, respectively. The nose cone was not recovered; however, instrument contact with the nose cone through re-entry indicated that the ablative-type heat protection for warheads was successful. Nose Cone Recovery Test References: 439 .

Variety of scientific data. Research in the upper atmosphere and outer space References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 173 .

The Soviet Union launched a Vostok 1KP prototype manned spacecraft (without heat shield; not recoverable) into near-earth orbit. Called Sputnik IV by the Western press. On May 19, at 15:52 Moscow time, the spacecraft was commanded to retrofire. However the guidance system had oriented the spacecraft incorrectly and the TDU engine instead put the spacecraft into a higher orbit. Soviet scientists said that conditions in the cabin, which had separated from the remainder of the spacecraft, were normal.
Officially: Development and checking of the main systems of the space ship satellite, which ensure its safe flight and control in flight, return to Earth and conditions needed for a man in flight. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 175 .

The final reports on the feasibility study contracts for the advanced manned spacecraft were submitted to STG at Langley Field, Va., by the General Electric Company, Convair Astronautics Division of General Dynamics Corporation, and The Martin Company. These studies had begun in November 1960. References: 18 , 27 .

KH-5; film capsule recovered 4.1 days later. First successful KH-5 mission. Officially: Spacecraft Engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Maximum Speed - 6204 kph. Maximum Altitude - 37860 m. Lost both nose landing gear tires and forward fuselage buckled after APU gear box pressure loss. References: 38 , 49 , 97 .

Final Mercury mission, Faith 7, was piloted by Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. After 22 orbits, virtually all spacecraft systems had failed, and Cooper manually fired the retrorockets and the spacecraft reentered the atmosphere, landing safely in the Pacific Ocean 34 hours, 19 minutes, and 49 seconds after liftoff. Cooper was reported in good condition, and this turned out to be the final Mercury flight. Additional Details: Mercury 9. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 16 , 26 , 33 , 59 , 60 , 278 .

Central Committee of the Communist Party and Council of Soviet Ministers Decree 'On establishment of the Institute of Space Research in the USSR Academy of Sciences on July 14. 1965' was issued. References: 474 .

Decree 144 'On assessing preparations for flights of the 7K-OK spacecraft' was issued. References: 474 .

TV, IR cloud cover photos. The spacecraft carried an advanced vidicon camera system for recording and storing remote cloud cover pictures, an automatic picture transmission camera for providing real-time cloudcover pictures, and both high- and medium-resolution infrared radiometers (HRIR and MRIR) for measuring the intensity and distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted by and reflected from the earth and its atmosphere. The spacecraft and experiments performed normally after launch until July 26, 1966, when the spacecraft tape recorder failed. Its function was taken over by the HRIR tape recorder until November 15, 1966, when it also failed. Some real-time data were collected until January 17, 1969, when the spacecraft mission was terminated owing to deterioration of the horizon scanner used for earth reference. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

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

Combat evaluation launch.

Decision made to proceed with development of the multi-engined stage Block Sr with a propellant mass of 66.4 tonnes. This single stage would be used in place of the previously-planned Blocks S and R to insert the modernized Lunar Expeditionary Complex (LEK) into low lunar orbit. It was also to be used to insert heavy spacecraft into geosynchronous orbit and on interplanetary trajectories. References: 21 .

Council of Chief Designers Decree 'On approval of the N1-L3M proposal' was issued. References: 474 .

Ocean surveillance; nuclear powered. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

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

Area survey photo reconnaissance satellite; returned film capsule. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

American merchant ship Mayaguez, seized by Cambodian forces, is rescued in operation by U.S. Navy and Marines, 38 of whom are killed

Buran engineering details were definitised and drawing release began to the production shops.

Deliver left-hand OMS/RCS from McDonnell Douglas to KSC, Columbia (OV-102) References: 15 .

High resolution photo reconnaissance satellite; returned film capsule; maneuverable; also performed earth resources tasks. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

Military topography satellite; returned film capsule; also performed mapping, geodesy, earth resources tasks; separated capsule. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

Gathering meteorological information and data on penetrating radiation fluxes in circumterrestrial space. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

Photo surveillance mission. References: 279 .

The 4M Energia mock-up was used for dynamic/vertical/load tests in May-October 1983. The 4M was then returned to the shop for fitting of complete functional propellant systems.

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

Last Atlas H launch (first launch on 9 February 1983). References: 88 .

Ocean surveillance; aka White Cloud type spacecraft; Navy Ocean Surveillance Satellite; PARCAE. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 172 , 278 .

Due to delays in completion of the enormous static test facility at Baikonur, which could test the entire Energia vehicle stack, it was decided to launch the vehicle without the verification the tests would provide. The launch of 6SL was planned for 11 May 1987 at 21:30 Moscow time. It was delayed five days when a leak was detected in the Block 3A electrical distribution section, then by another hour due to a fault LH2 thermostat. The launch vehicle performed successfully, but the Polyus payload failed to inject itself into orbit due to a guidance system failure. References: 5 .

Topographic mapping for the Army General Staff. References: 1 , 2 , 6 , 101 , 102 .

Atlantis blasted off on a night launch to Mir, docking with the station on May 17 at 02:33 GMT. Jerry Linenger, who had begun his stay on Mir in mid-January aboard STS-81, would return aboard STS-84. Michael Foale would be left at the station for his stint as the American crew member of Mir. The crew transfered to Mir 466 kg of water, 383 kg of U.S. science equipment, 1,251 kg of Russian equipment and supplies, and 178 kg of miscellaneous material. Returned to Earth aboard Atlantis were 406 kg of U.S. science material, 531 kg of Russian logistics material, 14 kg of ESA material and 171 kg of miscellaneous material. Atlantis undocked from Mir at 01:04 GMT on May 22. After passing up its first landing opportunity due to clouds over the landing site, the Shuttle fired its OMS engines on the deorbit burn at 12:33 GMT on May 24. Atlantis landed at 13:27 GMT at Kennedy Space Center's runway 33. Additional Details: STS-84. References: 4 , 7 , 276 .

Long duration film return military reconnaissance satellite. After returning multiple film capsules, the spacecraft was deorbited. This satellite provided Russia with the photo reconnaisance capability after a break of 7 1/2 months. This launch came on the 40th anniversary of the first successful launch of the R-7 rocket, from which the Soyuz-U was derived. It was the 250th launch of the Soyuz-U from Baikonur, the 350th launch from Launch Complex 31, and the 666th launch of a Soyuz-U. References: 4 , 102 , 106 .