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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1148.PDF
250 FLIGHT, 24 August 1961 Major Yuri Gagarin in the cabin of the "Vostok" spacecraft—a still from the film reviewed on this page. Main entrance hatch, with porthole, is not visible on this picture but is located above and behind the pilot's head. The film shows the cabin interior to be spacious, well-equipped, well-finished and with plenty of foam-rubber insulation Missiles and Space flight . . . STARRING GAGARIN Glimpses of the training of Russian space pilots and a detailedinspection of the interior of the Vostok cabin are the most re- warding sequences in the official Soviet colour film With Gagarinto the Stars, to be generally released through Warner-Pathe from September 3. The rocket launches shown briefly are enigmatic,adding little to our knowledge of the Soviet boosters yet inevitably provoking further speculation about them. According to the commentary, it was at the time that Lunik 3was photographing the far side of the Moon (October 1959) that Gagarin "was asking to be trained as a space pilot." So were manyothers. The film shows some of their selection tests—on a tilt- table; in a suspended, slow-swinging chair; in a teeth-chatteringvibration chair; and in a high-altitude chamber. The short-listed candidates, about 15 in number, are seen intraining—running, swimming, playing volleyball, engaging in calisthenics and parachute drops; studying "astronomy, geophysicsand rocketry"; and undergoing tests in a high-altitude chamber, isolation chamber (in which one man, at least, was reported tohave spent "many weeks") and centrifuge. Weightlessness was experienced in the cabin of a military Tu-104. with nets and amattress to cushion the cosmonaut's fall. A mock-up of the Vostok cabin was tried out. Preparations for the launch into orbit of dogs Belka and Strelkain August 1960 are depicted. The first false note in the film is struck in the subsequent launch sequence, which purports to showthe actual rocket which launched the dog-carrying satellite. In fact a familiar and earlier type of Soviet rocket isillustrated. Training of the cosmonauts continued, with furthercentrifuge exercises. Meanwhile, the Soviet commen- tary admits, "The American engineers have done agreat deal in launching small satellites." American newsreel shots of chimpanzees, rockets and the ProjectMercury astronauts are included, complete with Ameri- can commentary ending "Perhaps in 1961 one of thesemen will be the first man in space." The Soviet film commentary corrects this gently, "But the first manin space was to be someone else. . . ." Gagarin's final selection as the pilot on the firstmanned orbital flight was made after an appearance before "the State commission," at which he delivered aspeech in reply to the unasked but familiar interview question "Why do you want this job?" His answer wasobviously the correct one. Final preparations followed. Here the film showsthe interior of the Vostok cabin in detail—spacious, well-equipped, well-furnished and with plenty of foam-rubber insulation. One porthole is over the cosmo- naut's head; one instrument carries a model globe andindicates not only where the spacecraft is but where it would land. One of the two television cameras aboardis shown, and also the tubes of food—sufficient for a ten-day trip. Workhorse engine for major US space missions will be the 1,500,0001b Rocketdyne F-l, described in our June 15 issue. On August It it cut-off prematurely on its first public firing. At far right is the first photograph of an Atlas F, successfully launched on a 5,000-mile mission on August 8. Bearing the number 525, and carrying an Avco Mk 5 re-entry vehicle, this new version is the first Atlas variant intended for deployment in silos Gagarin puts on his blue inner suit, orange outer suit and whitehelmet. He enters the executive-suite interior of the cosmodrome bus and is driven to the launch pad. Maj Thov JS among these whoshake his hand at the base of the enormous service tower. Gagarin enters the lift and the lift ascends—not vertically, but along a steeplyinclined ramp. He is assisted into the spacecraft feet-first; when he is seated on his couch the entry hatch is just behind his head. The lift-off sequence is tantalizingly brief and not very informa- tive. The nose of the launch vehicle shown (Flight, August 17) differs in shape from that of the Vostok and final-stage rocket (Flight, July 27 and August 17) as previously shown in the film. The apparent acceleration after lift-off leads one to conclude that the film may have been speeded up, or a model rocket used. Although it is impossible to determine from this film whetherthe rocket vehicle depicted is the one which launched Vostok, there are two valid reasons for doubt. The first is the discrepancy innose shape (the use of a second nose fairing over that shown on Vostok would be improbable); and the second is the knowledgethat one deceptive launch shot had been included earlier in the film. The film is basically inconsistent in showing two differentvehicles for the August 1960 and April 1961 launches, which according to official reports employed the same type of rocket. The remainder of the film is anti-climax, ending as it began withscenes of enthusiastic welcome for Maj Gagarin. As a well-made documentary on a fascinating subject, the film is a success. As anofficial introduction to Soviet rocketry, it is a most frustrating experience. But the Vostok is a dreamboat. K. T. O.
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