Technology development and dissemination. Hardware development and technology applicable to future manned programs. Operational capability applicable to Apollo and Manned Orbiting Laboratory. Test capability at Mississippi test facility. Engine and stage contractor development, manufacutring and test capability. Page Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, today I would like to present to this committee our annual report of accomplishments in the past year and plans for the fiscal year beginning in July. Our progress has been excellent in these 12 months. Gemini has slipped forward enough to recover all the schedule loss we reported last year. It is now on schedule. We are progressing on schedule in Apollo and are about to reach the first of five major program milestones. As this committee well knows, in any unprecedented program of this size, develop- ment, testing, and manufacturing problems are expected and are being en- countered. Thus far we have been able to solve the problems without ap preciable schedule impact. We have progressed in the definition of the next major Manned Space Flight activity, Apollo Applications, and we have con- tinued the studies of alternative future manned flight programs. The experience of working together during the past year has highlighted the need for a close relationship between the Manned Space Flight organization and other elements of the NASA team. Thus, we are working in close coordina- tion in the development of future manned and unmanned missions. It is im- portant, then, to consider the NASA program as a balanced and interrelated We have been cognizant of the concern of this committee with respect to NASA's plans for the period after the decline of the effort applied to the Apollo program. The committee's publication of the summary report of the Future Programs Task Group, followed by the staff study conducted last fall by the Subcommittee on NASA Oversight, underscored this concern. In accordance with National and NASA policies, and with the resources available, we are working to formulate our future programs. We have also been cognizant of the fact that the attention of the Nation is focused on the Vietnam conflict. We have provided some measures of the contributions to national and international security made by the development of capabilities in Manned Space Flight. These contributions are generally in three areas-(1) technology and skills directly applicable to the current requirements of the Department of Defense; (2) technology and skills potentially applicable to the future requirements of the Department of Defense and; (3) technology and skills that provide a visible focus of power, evident to all the world, of a broad capability to do whatever is necessary to insure security and peace on this planet. In the first category is the Gemini spacecraft, which has been selected as the manned vehicle for launch and reentry of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program of the Department of Defense. In the second and third categories is the ability to perform rendezvous in space, demonstrated by the Gemini 6 and 7 spacecraft on December 15, 1965. This contribution was emphasized 2 weeks later by Mr. Webb at Houston, Tex., when he said: "Now, with respect to Vietnam, my own view is that what these men on this team *** what our team has done, is to show the world that we can operate men and machines together very, very efficiently. We cannot only remain up 14 days, but make the rendezvous within a very short time interval from what we anticipated on the ground. This means that the world sees a nation of great capability." In addition to the demonstrations in Gemini, there are those skills and techniques being provided in the Apollo program. The accomplishment of lunar landing and return within this decade will provide visible evidence relating to the balance of technological power in the world. Objectives With these considerations in mind, let me now review our progress against the objectives of Manned Space Flight. Here (fig. 6) are the general objectives, which are unchanged. Next (fig. 7) are the specific objectives of the three Manned Space Flight programs-Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo-also unchanged from last year. The achievements of the past year reflect substantial progress toward the accomplishment of all of these objectives, both general and specific. In five manned Gemini missions it has been demonstrated that well-trained and wellqualified astronauts are capable of performing effectively in weightless flight for missions lasting up to 14 days, almost twice the length of a nominal Apollo lunar mission. We have demonstrated that two spacecraft piloted by men can achieve rendezvous in orbit about the Earth, flying in formation at distances as close as 1 foot. We have begun research in the conditions of extra vehicular manned activity in space. However, this progress in Gemini was not accomplished without difficulties. The loss of the first Agena on October 25 was a serious threat to the timely accomplishment of rendezvous and has delayed the first attempt at docking. However, as a result of careful contingency planning, it was possible to revise the flight schedule and to conduct the Gemini VII and VI flights simultaneously. In the Apollo program, major ground facilities are nearing completion. The first phase of the Saturn I launch vehicle program has completed a perfect series of 10 test flights and the first unmanned flight of the Apollo Saturn I (Saturn IB) space vehicle, a major milestone in the Apollo program, is near at hand. All three stages of the Saturn V launch vehicle have been test fired successfully on the ground. The Apollo spacecraft for Earth-orbital flights is in production and the design on the Block II model for the lunar flights has been completed. This progress has increased our confidence that we will accomplish the Apollo objectives within this decade. However, the Subcommittee on NASA Oversight focused attention on program problems last fall when it issued the report, Pacing Items in the Apollo Program. The report included that: "Given the objective of a lunar landing in this decade, NASA currently is progressing on schedule with the Apollo program. NASA Apollo management is demonstrating maturity of skill and knowledge which is surmounting the complex technological program problems. NASA has identified the controlling or pacing systems in this program at this time. These systems, the Lunar Excursion Module and the Command and Service Module and their critical subsystems, are analyzed in this report. This study indicates that several subsystems are critical in meeting the Apollo goal but have been identified by NASA-industry management and corrective action is underway. It is the finding of this study that NASA management is employing its resources effectively in the solution of these pacing system problems giving confidence to attainment of the Apollo goal. A corollary finding of this study indicates that limited additional funds of the order of $200 million over the amount NASA requested in fiscal year 1966 would have provided to NASA increased program alternatives providing additional assurance that a lunar landing will be accomplished in this decade." I agree with the conclusion of this report, but remain fundamentally confident that, with effective and timely utilization of present resources and those requested for the coming fiscal year, we will, barring major problems, be able to complete the lunar landing on schedule. Because of the urgency of other national needs related to Vietnam, the work on Apollo Applications is beginning at a slow pace. However, we do propose to begin procurement of long-lead-time hardware and to employ available resources to maintain the Apollo team as nearly intact as possible to provide required sustaining engineering for Apollo during the launch period, and to maintain the option of beginning in an orderly manner, major efforts in Apollo Applications in fiscal year 1968, when a decline in Apollo requirements is anticipated. Schedule Next, let us review the schedule for accomplishing these specific objectives. This chart is one shown for the last 2 years in our annual presentation. As was done last year, this chart has been updated to include 1965 accomplishments (fig. 8). |