Soviet Missile Report Shocks U.S. Senators

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28447, 29 November 1957, Page 15

Soviet Missile Report Shocks U.S. Senators

(Rec. 8 p.m J WASHINGTON. November 27. . The Senate Preparedness Sub- J committee, which is inquiring into the American missiles programme, was today given “a sad and shocking story” of American missile competition wiih Russia. This was the description given by Senator Stuart Symington (Democrat. Missouri) to secrei testimony by the director of the : Central Intelligence Agency. Mr < Allen Dulles, and members of his staff. “Thb sooner the American people know about it the better,” i Senator Symington told reporters < Senator Styles Bridges (Repub- i lican, New Hampshire) said the committee had received “very un- < pleasant information—it is a pretty j drab thing.” < What the committee learned j about Russian progress. Senator i Bridges said, “certainly justifies ] the investigation undertaken by it of this whole situation.” 1 Senator Ralph Flanders (Re- 1 publican, Vermont) told reporters. 1 “I am a little disturbed by this < testimony, but we suspected it’’ 1 Asked for his reaction to Sena- < tor Symington’s description of the i testimony. Senator Lyndon John- j son (Democrat. Texas), the sub- < committee chairman, said: “There is little comfort to be gained from realising what the facts are and i concerning the advances the So- ' viet Union has made in certain j respects. 1 “I shall do all within my power to see that the American people receive all the informatign on the record consistent with, tne national security"

Earlier. Dr. John Hagen, head of the Vanguard satellite programme said that he was confident that the launching of the first United States test satellite next month woyld be a success, but he declined to pinpoint the date in December when the launching will take place. He said that published reports that the first test satellite would '•e sent aloft between December 3 and 5 were not “in any way official.” Dr. Hagen said United States scientists would be able to do “a much better job” in tracking their own satellite than they could do in following Russia’s two sputniks. Experiments in tracking Russia’s two sputniks. Dr. Hagen said, had shown scientists that the atmosphere at the height of approximately 140 miles was five times as dense as they had expected. He also said scientists expected to gain valuable information about heat engineering problems from the United States satellite. In addition. he said it was expected to produce information on the density of the upper atmosphere, the earth's shape, and possibly on precise distances between the earth’s continents. Reports were circulating in Washington that the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile would be fired on Saturday if scheduled ground tests today at the Capo Canaveral. Florida, test centre, were successful. But the Air Force refused to confirm or deny the reports. a J The projectile has fizzled out in its two previous tests.