Capts. Robert G. Sowers, Robert MacDonald, and John T. Walton, flying in a Convair B- 58A Hustler bomber, are the only contestants in the 21st and last Bendix Trophy transcontinental race. Called Operation Heatrise, the crew completes the Los Angeles to New York course with an average speed of 1214.71 mph, and total elapsed time is two hours, 56 seconds.
The Space Development Agency added 21 satellites to its nascent data transport network in an Oct. 15 launch, the second mission in a 10-month campaign to field 154 operational spacecraft.
