helicopter crash, 1993) February 26, 1961 (Sunday) Tyazhely Sputnik (literally "heavy satellite"), at seven tons the largest object to be launched into outer space when it went up on February 4, reentered the atmosphere over Siberia. The failure of the mission was disguised as a test by Soviet authorities. Died: King Mohammed V of Morocco, 51, suffered a fatal heart attack after undergoing a minor operation at the clinic in his palace at Rabat. His son, Hassan II was proclaimed his successor. February 27, 1961 (Monday) Professor Henry Kissinger of Harvard University was appointed by President Kennedy as a consultant to the National Security Agency. The 37-year-old Kissinger, who would later serve as U.S. Secretary of State for two Republican Presidents, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, had been the author of the 1958 book Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tula was created. The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation (OSE) opened. February 28, 1961 (Tuesday) Under United States law, 38 U.S.C. §101 (29)(A), the Vietnam Era refers to "The period beginning on February 28, 1961, and ending on May 7, 1975, in the case of a veteran who served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period." East Germany abruptly ended its program of researching, designing and building aircraft, with the passage of a resolution by the Central Committee of the ruling SED Party. "Huge resources were wasted as a result of this about-face," noted one commentator. The Saarlouis electric tramway closed after nearly 48 years in operation. Born: Mark Ferguson, New Zealand actor and TV presenter, in Sydney, Australia References 1961 1961-02 1961-02