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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0455.PDF
FLIGHT, 13 April 1961 463 SOVIET MANNED SPACEFLIGHT NEAR Comments on the Soviet manned spaceflight programme weremade at a press conference in Moscow on March 28 by represen- tatives of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Aleksandr Topchiyev,vice-president of the Academy, emphatically denied reports that the Soviet Union had repeatedly attempted to fire a man into space,and that these flights had ended in the death of the astronauts. He said that these statements were figments of their authors' imagi-nation and that they were absolutely groundless. Manned flight into space was drawing nearer, AcademicianTopchiyev stated, but, "Naturally, the flight will be made only when Soviet scientists are certain of the first human cosmonaut'ssafe return to Earth." At present Russia was concentrating on studying the state of the numerous biological objects which hadalready made flights in satellite spaceships. Academician Norair Sisakyan described the flights of the first,second and the other Soviet spaceships as links in the preparations for manned spaceflight. He referred to the technical and biologicalaspects of manned spaceflight. From the technical standpoint, he said, manned flight into space could have been accomplished in1960. The biological aspect was extremely varied and required a deep and all-embracing study down to the smallest details. Answering a question on the Soviet Venus probe, AcademicianTopchiyev was evasive as to whether contact had been re-estab- lished, but said that the probe was moving close to its programmedcourse. Detailed reports concerning the probe, he added, would be published later. The fifth spaceship satellite had been orbiting at18O-23Okm (112-143 miles) when the radio command for re-entry had been given, it was stated in reply to a further question. Thebraking proceeded "strictly according to calculations," and there had been no deviations from the pre-set course. In an alleged amplification of the Russian training programmeleading to manned spaceflight, Oleg Gazenko said that the pro- gramme included the acquisition of theoretical knowledge neededto solve whatever problems might arise during man's flight through space. The programme also included a system of generaltechnical training; various forms of training meant to increase the endurance of specific factors, as well as the assimilation of know-ledge required for spaceflight control and communication with the Earth. The future astronauts would be comparatively young andphysically fit. but not necessarily star athletes. Academician Yevgeniy Fedorov indicated that, although the twosexes were equal in the Soviet Union, preference in the first manned flight would be given to a man. He added, "It should be borne inmind that there are mice in spaceships." Asked why Soviet satellite launchings and their purpose were not announced beforehand.Academician Topchiyev said "We have no use for sensationalism." Academician Fedorov told an American correspondent thatbeing married was not a necessary condition for spaceflight. Neither was it an obstacle, commented Academician Topchiyev.Asked whether the first manned flight into space would be made by one man or by two, Academician Fedorov said that he did not seethat it made any difference. There would be no time in a spaceship for either gossiping or playing poker, he remarked. It would be veryhard work, and the passenger or passengers would be in flight only a few hours. ROCKETRY FOR TEACHERS An excellent example of a constructive and useful type of BritishInterplanetary Society activity was the one-day course on rocket motor technology held by the Society at the College of AdvancedTechnology, Birmingham on March 30. Approximately 50 people attended the course, which was designed particularly for teachersand lecturers at schools, technical and technological colleges. An outline of the chemistry of present-day rocket propulsionwas given by Dr D. Walwyn-James of the RAF Technical College, This quartet of space travellers was interviewed and photographed at the Moscow press conference reported on this page ("Soviet Manned Space- flight Near"). From the left, Strelka, Belka (both of which made their orbital debut on August 19, I960), Chernushka (March 9) and Zvezdochka (March 25). All are apparently in good health Henlow, in a paper entitled Introduction to Propellant Chemistry.This was followed by a film on the German A4 rocket, a lively demonstration of propellant properties by D. S. Carton of theCollege of Aeronautics, Cranfield, and a general discussion period. Papers presented during the afternoon comprised Liquid PropellantMotors by W. N. Neat of de Havilland, Engineering Aspects of Solid Propellant Motors by F. J. Wilkinson of Bristol-Aerojet, andDevelopment Testing of Rocket Engines and their Components by H. L. G. Sunley of Bristol Siddeley Engines. It was obvious that the Society, and in particular its MidlandsBranch, had hit on a good idea and had carried it out most success- fully. The more-general papers and demonstrations by Dr WalwynJames, Mr Neat and Mr Carton, in particular, were well-tailored to the needs of the audience. The only gap was the absence of a reviewpaper on solid-propellant motors. Chairman of the meeting was Mr N. R. Nicoll, chairman of the BIS Midlands Branch, who isa teacher and who originally suggested the idea of such a course. As an unofficial bonus to the published programme, Mr P. A.Hilton, designer and maker of the demonstration ramjet test rig described in Flight of December 18, 1959, gave a preview of hislatest aid for college and school demonstration laboratories. This is the solid-propellant rocket test rig illustrated in the photographsbelow, for which special propellant charges are now being deve- loped. These will be accommodated in a special motor with inter-changable nozzles, and a two-pen recorder will record both thrust and chamber pressure. Enquiries concerning the Hilton equipmentshould be addressed to P. A. Hilton & Co, Sydneyville House. New Road, Radlett, Herts. The company's ramjet test rigs are atpresent in use at Imperial College, London; Northampton College of Advanced Technology, London; the Royal College of Science,Glasgow; Southampton University; and universities in Canada, the United States, and Italy. Others have been ordered for univer-sities in Japan and Ceylon. An attempt to launch the USAF Discoverer 22 satellite from Vanden-berg Air Force Base on March 30 by Thor-Agena was unsuccessful. The USAF intended to guide the satellite accurately into orbit by anew radio guidance system in the second stage, and to recover the instrument capsule. The scientific instrumentation aboard the satellitewas designed primarily for cosmic-ray research. On April 9, Discoverer 23 was successfully placed in orbit. The US Navy stated on March 21 that the Transit 3B navigationsatellite and its "piggyback" satellite Lofti, which failed to separate after launch on February 21, appeared to have re-entered the Earth'satmosphere and burned up on that date. The Service later added that Lofti had opened the possibility of communicating with submergedsubmarines by means of satellite relay stations, and could also lead to the establishment of ground-based navigational beacons to guide deep-space vehicles. This solid-propellant rocket test rig, intended for demonstration use at colleges and schools, was shown for the first time at the British Interplan- etary Society course on rocket motor technology held in Birmingham last month (see "Rocketry for Teachers" news item)
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