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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 1471.PDF
712 FLIGHT, 22 May 1959 Missiles and Spaceflight INTO SPACE MODESTLY 'T'HE long-awaited statement of Government policy on space•*• research was given by the Prime Minister in the Commons on Tuesday, May 12. It amounted broadly to the facts that wewere to develop special instruments; we intended to put them in modest orbits around the Earth; and we were not really sureexactly how we would get them up there but we were about to start to find out. The Prime Minister said: — "There are two problems to be considered in relation to a Britishcontribution to space research : the nature and design of the instruments to be carried into space; and the means by which the containers forthese instruments are launched. "With regard to the first, with the assistance of Fellows of the RoyalSociety and with the endorsement of the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy, a programme for the design and construction of instruments tobe carried in Earth satellites has been approved. Work will begin at once."With regard to the second, there may well be scope for joint action with the United States, with the Commonwealth or with other countries.We therefore plan to send to Washington a team of experts, including Prof. H. S. W. Massey, to discuss possible Anglo-American co-operation;and we are also opening consultations with other Commonwealth countries."Meanwhile, however, design studies are also being put in hand for the adaptation of the British military rockets which are now underdevelopment. This will put us in a position, should we decide to do so, to make an all-British effort. "I have asked my noble Friend, the Lord President of the Council,in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply and other Ministers concerned, to exercise general supervision of these newdevelopments." This statement was amplified slightly at a Press conference thesame day by Lord Hailsham, Lord President of the Council, and a supporting cast of advisers who included the Minister of Supply, Prof. Massey (of University College, London) and Mr. W. H.Stephens, Director of the R.A.E. Although rendered possible by military development, Lord Hailsham said, this was a purelycivil scientific project. The significance of the Prime Minister's statement was that the Government had now decided to take"the essential steps to enable British scientists to participate in a satellite programme." It had not been decided whether U.S. rockets or British rockets—or both—would be used to launch into orbit the satellites which would carry the British instruments. It could not be said howmuch the programme would cost, but it would be measured in hundreds of thousands of pounds and not in millions. Neithercould it be said exactly what experiments would be performed, but British scientists had plenty of ideas and the problem wouldsimply be one of selection. Neither could it be divulged exactly who was to carry out the British work, except to say that it wouldinclude both universities and government establishments (the manufacturing industry was not mentioned). A modicum of specific information was injected into this rathervague atmosphere by the representatives of the Ministry of Supply, who said that, if the adaptation of British military rocketswere to be chosen, the vehicle most likely to succeed would be a three-stage rocket comprising a modified Blue Streak, a modifiedBlack Knight, and "one other" solid-propellant third stage. The desi<?n studies on this should be completed in six months, andthe initial work would assume as an objective the establishing in orbit of a 1,000 lb satellite at a height of "a few hundred miles." What really came out of the conference was the fact that a lotmore would be known following Prof. Massey's visit to the U.S.A. To one question, however, Lord Hailsham had a directanswer. Would British animals or humans be carried into orbit? No, they would not. ANOTHER MISSILE PRIMER Last month the U.S. Aircraft Industries Association published asmall booklet entitled Missiles—From Concept to Count-Down. This is described as placing in proper perspective "the relation-ship of the missile to the nation's arsenal; the complexities of its manufacture; the reasons for its cost; and its potential both inwar and peace." There are a number of statements at which the trained engineermay smile and on the very first page is the assertion that "the most notable 19th century employment of rocketry occurred during thewar of 1812 .. ."—the Americans never can forget Fort McHenry which they apparently rate higher than the cities ofBoulogne and Copenhagen (likewise devastated by the warlike British a year or two earlier). The illustrations in the booklet arepleasant but uninformative, and have clearly been prepared by artists who know little of the subject concerned. Another criticismis that the text invariably argues from the particular to the general and discusses specific well-known weapons while ostensibly speak-ing in general terms. This little production is, however, refresh- ingly free from politics and "massive-retaliation" dogma, and itcertainly covers a vast field. The A.I.A. do not state the conditions governing the booklet's circulation, but interested bodies may writeto the Association at 610 Shoreham Building, Washington 5, D.C. According to Lt-Gen. Schriever, the U.S.A.F. will have "more thanone" Atlas ICBM ready for operational service in July this year. In a written reply Mr. Christopher Soames, Secretary for War, hasstated that a Corporal missile is to be fired at the South Uist range "during the early summer." An illustration has now been published depicting the Tartar ship-to-air missile of the U.S. Navy. Closely related to Terrier, the new weapon has linear dimensions about three-quarters as large as its predecessor,and aerodynamic surfaces of cropped-delta form. Preliminary details of the first type of Avco nosecone for the TitanICBM have now been divulged. The re-entry surface has a large radius and is fabricated from a slab of stainless steel, coated with nickel andhighly polished. A special system of gas jets is employed to stabilize the cone during re-entry. The first photograph of an "advanced" Boeing IM-99B Super Bomarc shows it to bear close superficial re- semblance to its shorter- range predecessor. On either side can be seen the halves of its environmental shelter; each half-roof weighs six tons and can support twice its own weight of snow
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