FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0680.PDF
680 FLIGHT, 20 May Missiles and Spaceflight . . . intercept Jupiter IRBMs launched from Johnston Island, 1,650miles to the east. Owing to its immense size and complexity, no decision has yetbeen taken to deploy the Zeus system operationally. However, the mere fact that it is the only defensive system in the Westernworld capable of offering protection against hypersonic vehicles is enough to ensure that the programme continues to be fundedat a high rate. According to our contemporary Aviation Week it is widely believed that the entire system could be operationaltwo years from now. * MANNED SPACE STATIONS SYMPOSIUM Regardless of the magnitude of scientific advances realized, or evencontemplated, with contemporary flight systems, it is characteristic of mankind to inquire, "What comes next?" Such was the case atthe Manned Space Stations Symposium conducted recently by the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences in Los Angeles. America'sProject Mercury effort (described in Flight of February 12 last) is not expected to place a man in orbit until some time next year; andyet, listening to the ambitious futuristic programmes proposed and discussed at this meeting, one might easily have concluded thatdetails of Project Mercury should be reported in Flight's "Retrospect" feature. Beyond the Dyna-Soar vehicle, Col Lowell B. Smith (chief ofthe space systems office at the USAF Wright-Patterson Field) foresaw the need for a military test space station. Noting that inactual practice it was difficult to differentiate between pure scientific research and military research and development, thecolonel envisaged two broad missions for the space station. The first would be the collection' of fundamental scientific data.Secondly, the station would serve as a platform on which to determine the effects of a space environment on personnel,mechanisms and weapons. The military station offered the oppor- tunity to gain exposure to unattenuated cosmic and other forms ofextraterrestial radiations for extended periods of time. The science of astronomy (which was to be discussed in detail in another laterpaper) also would benefit, and undistorted celestial observations would assist subsequent exploration of our solar system andgalaxy. Space also provided an ideal vacuum chamber in which to perform tests of equipment to be used in future exploratorywork. Scientific probes might be launched from the station, and the orbiting laboratory could be used as a staging base for lunarand planetary missions. Being a lonely, remote test site, the station could be used for advanced weapons tests, the conducting of whichon the Earth might contaminate the terrestial atmosphere. When might such a station become operational? All factorsconsidered, the colonel concluded that 1972 was a realistic date. The next two or three years would be occupied by study work.A further 5-7 years of development was foreseen, followed by a "first flight" in 1970. The system would be fully operational twoyears later. Two Lockheed scientists, Kramer and Byers, discussedA Modular Concept for a Multi-Manned Space Station. The speakers detailed a 94ft wide, 108ft long station which was to orbitat an altitude of 318 miles. Modular construction techniques were employed, the yehicle being assembled from a collection ofspherical and cylindrical units. Each sphere was 18ft in diameter, while the cylinders were shown as 10ft in diameter and 30ft long. To assist in orbital assembly, two service vehicles, the "Astro- tug" and the "Astrocommuter," were conceived. The Astrottgwas to serve as a "spaceborne workhorse"; the other vehicle couW re-penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and was to be utilized to car* •/cargo and personnel to the station. The station was to spin above its own axis to provide a one-g environment (due to centrifuge-iforce) in the outermost modules. Modular techniques (as oppose ! to unitary construction) were favoured because the failure of anyone cabin would not prove catastrophic. Better growth potential was another reason for choosing a building-block approach ratherthan a single large vehicle. The station would weigh slightly more than 440,0001b and use a nuclear reactor as a primary powe;-source. In case of temporary reactor disablement, a secondai••; bi-propellant-operated two-cycle piston engine would be used fcremergency power. Several interesting effects were expected from the coriolis forcesincurred because of the station's rotation about its own axis. While walking across the cabin in the direction of rotation, the crewwould experience a downward force. For example, the loads wouid tend to press one's head against one's chest. Walking in theopposite direction (against rotation) would tend to produce upward forces which raised one's head. In climbing a ladder towards thecentre of the station, the crew would experience sideways forces in the direction of rotation; while, in descending, opposite sideforces would be experienced. Coffee poured from a container would not fall directly, but would appear to fall at an angle withrespect to the vertical. These coriolis effects were expected to produce a somewhat distressing environment for the spaceman;tests conducted on a "slow centrifuge" on Earth under simulated orbiting conditions had caused nausea among the men, andacclimatization to the unusual conditions proved difficult. Several members of the Martin Company described a 4/6-manscientific laboratory. Their configuration was a pressurized cylinder with externally convex elliptically-domed ends. Interiorseparation of the compartments was achieved by the use of floor separators designed as pressure bulkheads. Other configurationswere shown in papers by representatives of other companies, and there was certainly no lack of imagination displayed in the varietyof arrangements presented during the meeting. The staggering cost of placing a space station in orbit wasdiscussed widely at the symposium. Some estimates placed the cost of a 1968 10/15-man station at $l,500m; other guesses rangedto twice that figure, and there was much questioning on whether America's economy could stand such a momentous venture. Apoint was made here for the modular theory of construction, based on the fact that the costs of a space station could therebybe spread over a long time period. If a single large vehicle were contemplated, the major expenses would be concentrated in a fewyears. Other interesting statistics disclosed during the meeting were that each Saturn launch would cost $10m (exclusive ofresearch and development). Centaur shots were expected to be approximately one-half that cost, while each Nova firing mightrun as high as $20m. Nova development costs were estimated at $ 1,000m. The cost of placing one pound of pay load in orbit wastoday about $10,000, while in 1970 the cost might drop to $100 per pound. Where the money goes in any space programme was shownby slides which gave the cost breakdown for a typical project. Approximately 73 per cent of the costs were non-recurring (launchcomplex, R and D, etc). In one case it was noted that actual vehicle hardware costs were only 1.3 per cent of total programme costs. An interesting paper was presented by Dr James Van Allen, in which he concluded that galactic radiation was of minor con- sequence to manned spaceflight. The most serious problem was COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS COMPARTMENT- REGENERATION SYSTEM PERSONNEL AND ^-LANDWG DOCK EQUIPMENT fOOCKING MANIPULATORS RADAR ANTENNAE (3) FOR HOMING OF SUPPLY VEHICLES SEARCH UGHT- ZERO-V AND MEDICAL LABORATORY REGENERATION COMPARTMENT The proposed Lockheed space station, suggested by Kramer and Byers at the Los Angeles Sym- posium reported above, would employ modular construction techniques, the yehicle being assembled from a collec- tion of spherical and cylindrical units. The 108ft-long station would weigh over 440,0001b and would orbit at a height of 318 miles /;.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
