Two Philippine monkeys, Patricia and Mike, along with two white mice, Mildred and Albert, are carried to an altitude of 36 miles at a speed of 2,000 mph in the nosecone of an Aerobee rocket launched from Holloman AFB, N.M. This modern Noah’s ark is recovered by parachute. By measuring the effects of rapid acceleration and weightlessness on the animals, the flight provides valuable data for the later launching of humans in rockets.
A decade and a half after awarding a contract for a new ground control system to manage its GPS satellites, the Pentagon has finally gotten its hands on the thing. The Space Force officially took ownership of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System, or OCX, the service announced this week.…