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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 1845.PDF
36 FLIGHT, 21 August 1959 Above, an aluminium-coated plastic balloon of the type used in the attempted satellite launch from Cape Canaveral on August 75. A Juno 2 was the launching vehicle in this NASA firing. Right, the "paddlewheel" satellite launched on August 7 by means of a Thor-Able 3, also from the Cape. Designated Explorer 6, this carved the most complex experimental payload yet launched by the U.S.A. Missiles and Space flight TWO NEW SATELLITES Two satellite launching attempts, one successful and one unsuc-cessful, were made from California and Florida last week. In the first of these, at Vandenberg A.F.B. on August 13, a Thor-Hustler vehicle was used to launch Discoverer 5, a 1,700 lb satellite (including second stage) from which a 300 lb re-entry body wasejected. The second attempt, made from Cape Canaveral on August 15, was intended to place in orbit a 12ft aluminium-coatedplastic balloon by means of a Juno 2 three-stage rocket, but a fault occurred in the second stage and orbit was not achieved. The first stage of the Thor-Hustler was stated to have used anew fuel, RJ-1, of high specific impulse. The 19ft-long Discoverer 5 satellite carried special guidance controls to ensure its stabiliza-tion in a horizontal position during its polar orbit, and the re-entry capsule was scheduled to be automatically ejected after the 17threvolution. As in previous ARPA Discoverer re-entry shots, air- craft and ships were standing by to recover the capsule near theHawaiian islands. Ejection was in fact effected, but at the time of going to press the capsule had not been recovered. The purpose of the unsuccessful balloon satellite fired fromCape Canaveral was to determine air density at orbital altitudes. Carried in a steel cylinder, the balloon was to have been inflatedwith nitrogen after ejection at orbital height (420-1,460 miles), and would have been tracked optically. Weight of the balloon wasabout 10 lb. CORVUS The accompanying illustration (below right) is the first to bereleased of the Corvus air-to-surface missile under development for the U.S. Navy by Temco Aircraft. Officially described asbeing "of a size to be used by carrier-based aircraft" Corvus is designed to attack heavily defended targets including surface ships.Major sub-contractors include: Reaction Motors (pre-packaged liquid rocket engine), Texas Instruments, W. L. Maxson, Williamsand Company, Horkey Moore Associates, Douglas Aircraft (Tulsa), Avion Division of ACF, Emerson Research Laboratory,Bulova Research Laboratory and Talco Engineering Company. TARTAR In our August 14 issue we reported briefly upon the configurationof the "advanced Terrier" ship-to-air missile of the U.S. Navy. A photograph released on August 6 depicting the Tartar ship-to-airmissile reveals this weapon to be virtually the advanced Terrier, but without the tetter's tandem boost motor. Some 15ft in length,Tartar is claimed to have a performance better than that of the original Terrier; it will be widely deployed aboard cruisers,destroyers and a variety of small surface ships of the U.S. Navy. MACE ON SHOW On August 7 an open day was held at the U.S.A.F. base at Sembach, Western Germany. This is the home of the 587th Tactical Missile Group (part of the 38th Tactical Missile Wing), Designated XASM-N-8, this experimental version of the Temco Corvus air-to-surface missile is now in flight test. On its initial launch at Point Mugu an A4D Skyhawk was used as the carrier aircraft the first unit in Europe to be equipped with the Martin TM-76AMace. Compared with the original TM-61 Matador, Mace has much improved all-weather guidance (the Goodyear Atran terrain-comparison system) conferring a "practical range" several times that of the earlier weapon. "Space Research Techniques and Recent Experimental Data" will bediscussed at the ninth general assembly of the NATO Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development (AGARD) at Aachen onSeptember 24-25. Specialized panel meetings will precede the main assembly. Sputnik 3 completed its 6,000th revolution around the Earth on July 15. Its orbital period had decreased from 105.95 to 98.4 min, corresponding to an apogee reduction from 1,170 to 730 miles. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration plan to launch apig into space has been abandoned, according to Dr. Homer Stewart, director of preliminary planning and evaluation, because "a pig getsuncomfortable on its back." By agreement between the U.S. National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration and Manchester University's Jodrell Bank Experimental Station, NASA will pay $140 per hour (up to a maximum of eight hoursper day) for the continued use of the Jodrell Bank steerable radio- telescope in tracking U.S. satellites and space probes. On August 14 the fourth Thor IRBM was successfully fired fromVandenberg A.F.B. by an R.A.F. crew. Seacat, the simple ship-to-air weapon system under development forthe Royal Navy by Short & Harland, will be fitted to all eight destroyers of the Daring class. It will also form secondary armament of the newCounty Class ships, the main armament of which will be the Seaslug missile. The U.S.A.F. designation of the ALBM (air-launched ballistic missile)is XGAM-87A. Prime contract was awarded to Douglas Aircraft in May after a protracted competition, and Douglas have in turn assignedpropulsion to Aerojet-General. At Cape Canaveral on August 14, the U.S. Navy achieved the first successful firing of a Polaris from a ship motion simulator. The unblemished firing record of Martin's Denver Division endedon August 14 when the fifth XSM-68 Titan ICBM blew up before leaving the pad. It would have been the first Titan to achievesecond-stage ignition. Consequent upon its introduction to combat units, further details ofthe Martin Lacrosse bombardment missile were revealed by the U.S. Army on August 4. Previously classified, the guidance system can nowbe stated to include an angular tracker, a computer, a launch and direction
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