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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 2203.PDF
FLIGHT, 7 October 1960 557 facilities; elimination of duplication; standardization of com-ponents and, in fact, all the inter-faces which might be overlooked by individual system designers. At a Press briefing attended by senior officers of Air Researchand Development Command that afternoon, Lt-Gen Bernard Schriever, ARDC commander, said he was convinced that, fromthe development standpoint, the USA had not only caught up with Russia but was now ahead in the development of ballisticmissiles. He did not think the Soviet Union possessed missiles as advanced as Minuteman and Polaris. The two main problems facing the USAF in achieving its aimof deterring an all-out war were (1) to find a way of reducing the vulnerability of the retaliatory forces—a highest-priority job—and(2) to eliminate the element of surprise in case of an enemy attack. Commenting on the development of US missiles. Gen Schrieversaid that Atlas, Titan and Thor had each exceeded performance expectations "in every respect." The warning systems having thegreatest potential, he suggested, were systems such as Midas, Samos and Advent. Being completely passive, they could not wina war; but could contribute a great deal towards preventing one. The B-70 bomber, the speaker continued, would lead the way tothe supersonic transport aircraft. He believed that there was absolutely no reason why the US should not have a supersonictransport flying before 1970. ARDC had recently initiated a very important programme on boundary-layer control for aircraft. The biggest single problem facing space engineers at presentwas that of achieving a very high degree of reliability in com- ponents which were required to operate (in a satellite, for instance)for long periods. The second major problem was to reduce the launching cost per pound weight placed in orbit. The first Samoslaunch was scheduled for the very near future, and would be made from Pt Arguello, adjacent to Vandenberg AFB. Tactical Air Command was the final command to give anaccount of its current thinking at a Press briefing during the San Francisco meeting. The TAC commander, Gen Frank F. Everest,spoke of the need for a new tactical aircraft for use in 1965-75, and said that this must be an all-purpose machine—"We cannot con-tinue the multiplicity of types with which we are cursed today." The main characteristics of this forthcoming aircraft, designatedthe F-X, had been established and some $25-30m had been allo- cated in the 1961 budget for its development. ARDC would selectthe source of the aircraft, and Gen Everest hoped that this would be done within the next six months. The F-X would be very fast,would operate from short runways, and would be able to cope with all kinds of missions. "In all probability," the general commented, "the F-X willemploy a variable-sweep wing." Was this a development of the Barnes-Wallis Swallow? The general replied that he was notfamiliar with this device. How would the Boeing STOL proposal suit TAC? The general answered that he had not seen Boeing'sproposal. A number of tvDes had been assessed for the F-X role. Did these include the TSR.2? No, they did not. Gen Everest said that, while serving in Europe, he had realizedthat the heavy demand for runways meant that NATO woi'ldbe well advised to go for a progressive change from aircraft to missilesfor a proportion of its tactical air force, and he was still of that opinion. His command was now adopting the US Navy's Bullpupair-to-surface missile for use with the F-105, but whether this missile's life would be sufficiently long for it to be applied to theF-X was not known. Final formal session of the convention was a symposium onThe Military Mission in Space, held on the morning of September 24. With Lt-Gen Tames D. Doolittle as chairman, theplatform sneakers comprised Mr Richard D. Horner, senior vice- president, Northroo Corp, and until recently Associate Adminis-trator of NASA; Mr George P. Sutton, manager (development planning), Rocketdvne and previously chief scientist. AdvancedResearch Proiects Aeency; and Dr Edward Teller, professor at large. University of California. A relatively modest rate of progress in the military use of spacewas forecast, and recommended, by the first two speakers. Military satellites, in their opinion, would be primarily useful in supportmissions such as communications, navigation and meteorology. Mr Sutton auoted the current cost of placing "a ma;or pavload" inorbit as $5-7.5m, and reasoned that duolicat'on of pro'ects, pre- viously accepted, could not now be afforded. From the many goodprojects available, only the very best must be selected, i.e., a calculated risk should be taken. A supremely ambitious effort—no less than the domination of Space—was, bv contrast, put forward as the only course by thelucid and forceful Dr Teller, whose starting point was thisj^ tcBefore all other military missions I would put one—to survive." Even if the US had advance notice that the Soviet Union wasplanning a maior attack. Dr Teller said, we should never strike first. "It is wrong, it is immoral and, in my opinion, it is imnrac-ticable." Therefore we must have the ability to take the first blow and then strike back. Dr Teller's view of morality somehow managed to include the resumption of nuclear testing. The reasoning was that continued nuclear experiments could reduce the payloads which missilescarried: the missiles and their bases could then be smaller, the cost of hardening the bases would be reduced and mobility couldbe increased. The fact that we had stopped nuclear testing was not a calculated risk, it was a miscalculated risk; it meant that, whenwe ought to be ready, we would not be ready; and it could mean the annihilation of our society. The control of space would have a considerable effect on thebalance, or imbalance, of world power, in the same way as had the control of the oceans in earlier times. Russia would be able tooutbuild the United States in space hardware for the next few years—there were no grounds for complacency and no justificationfor economy. It was a mistake, on the threshold of this new field, to subdivide it into civilian, military and scientific categories, or tolimit our efforts. It had been said that Mars and Venus had nothing to offer from a military point of view but, the speakerenquired, "What kind of nothing?" Perhaps the domination of space would be "impossibly expen-sive"—the speaker did not know; but it was extremely important. It would, in his opinion, be very much easier to achieve, however,than a foolproof anti-ICBM system. The fourteenth annual convention of the Air Force Associationwas over. We gathered up the reams of press releases, papers, copies of speeches, and product literature which had given usmental indigestion over the three-day period, and left the civic auditorium, walking out past the AIR RAID SHELTER noticeswhich are an inescapable feature of the San Francisco street scene. It had been a formidable occasion. Interesting and useful inthe Service and industry information which had been forthcoming; excessively and aggressively militaristic in some of the social-occasion speeches; overpowering in the "hospitality suite" manner of (we are told) all American conventions—perhaps the phrase"hospitality system concept" is appropriate. All this in the setting of a Pacific-coast city of distinctive beauty and character. Lt-Gen Roscoe C. Wilson, Deputy Chief of Staff (Development) at USAF Headquarters, unveiling the Dyna-Soar model at San Francisco USAF Aerospace Medical Center, Brooks AFB, Texas The two individuals who had both begun and ended careersas Air Force astronauts politely rose to their feet but impolitely stared at us as we left the room. One of them had ridden a Mercurycapsule to a height of 55 miles during a ballistic shot out over the Atlantic, but had no comment to make. Rhesus monkeys Sam,aged 3, and Miss Sam, aged 2, showed every sign of being thoroughly bored with the attentions of the British Press. We were visiting the USAF School of Aviation Medicine, oneof five constituent units of the Aerospace Medicine Center located just outside San Antonio, Texas. In particular, we were beingshown the work of the Department of Veterinary Services, which prepares, trains and looks after the various animals used in aviationand space experiments; and also has the wider job of developing surgical techniques for humans by proving them first on animals. Primates such as Sam and Miss Sam are the highest form ofanimal life used in these experiments. These two particular monkeys have now retired from space research, while anotherrhesus monkey has been trained in preparation for orbital flight in a Discoverer satellite capsule. Other animals used in experimentsat the School of Aviation Medicine include mice, rats, rabbits, opossums, cats and dogs. A range of ingenious and compactinstruments and electronic equipment has been devised to assist in obtaining the required data (such as temperatures, blood pres-sure, heartbeat, respiration and brain waves). It was left to human beings and not animals, however, to carry (Concluded on page 558)
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