FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1182.PDF
284 FLIGHT, 31 August 1961 Missiles and Spaceflight LOW ORBIT FOR RANGER 1 An unsuccessful attempt to launch the first Ranger space-craft into a highly eccentric Earth orbit extending to an apogee of 685,000 miles was made from Cape Canaveral onAugust 23. The first stage of the Atlas-Agena launch appar- ently functioned as planned, with the Agena B second stage andRanger spacecraft established in a 100-mile near-circular "parking" orbit. The second stage fired on schedule but theresulting trajectory comprised a low orbit of 105-312 miles altitude. A full description of the planned Ranger 1 experiment wascontained in Flight of August 3. The launch had been post- poned several times since the end of last month. Themain object of the firing was to test the spacecraft system, in preparation for later Ranger craft which will rough-landinstrumented payloads on the Moon. The secondary mission of the Ranger 1 launch was to carry out a number of scientificexperiments designed to study the nature of cosmic rays, magnetic fields and radiation and dust particles in space. UNMANNED MERCURY ORBIT DUE The most comprehensive test to date in Project Mercury,unmanned orbital flight and re-entry on a completely automatic basis, was due to be attempted from Cape Canaveral as thisissue went to press. The flight, fourth in the Atlas-boosted series of Mercury shots, was to comprise one Earth orbit of aMercury spacecraft carrying special instrumentation and a "crewman simulator." The spacecraft to be used was theeighth of the production capsules, and was the same one flown in the MA-3 one-orbit attempt of April 25 last, in which thelaunch vehicle was destroyed by the range safety officer after about 40 sec of flight when the booster failed to carry out itscorrect sequence of operations. If successful, the MA-4 mission would (1) achieve the firstMercury orbit. (2) prove that the spacecraft could withstand the 2,000°F heat of re-entry eight times longer than in anyprevious Mercury flight test. (3) demonstrate the ability of the modified Atlas launch vehicle to release the spacecraft at theprecise speed, altitude and flight-path angle for orbital flight. (4) prove the integrity of the spacecraft and its interrelated on-board systems on a fully automatic basis for nearly two hours —the projected time "from lift-off to splash." (5) exercise forthe first time the worldwide Mercury tracking, data-gathering and communication network, and (6) check the ability of thebraking-rocket system to bring the craft down from orbit. The "crewman simulator'" carried was designed to consumeoxygen, expel carbon dioxide and fill the cabin with heat and moisture in much the same way as a man would in the courseof normal breathing. Two 45min voice tapes were to transmit messages to the Mercury tracking stations to check HF andUHF transmissions. A fully operational attitude control system is carried, with the manual side of the system blanked off. anda complete life-support system is also included. Lift-off at Cape Cana- veral on August 23 of the Atlas-Agena 6 vehicle carrying Ran- ger I spacecraft. As reported in the first news item, the first stage functioned as planned but the anti- cipated orbit was not achieved VOSTOCK 2 CONTROL CENTRE DETAILED A description of the "co-ordinating and computing centre" inoperation during Maj Titov's orbital flight of August 6-7 was contained in an article in Pravda on August 17. This centre, itwas stated, operated in parallel with the central headquarters and the command post for the flight at the cosmodrome.Numerous maps with the route of every revolution of the spacecraft marked on them, the article stated, were placedunder glass sheets on the long tables of the Centre. Different versions of these maps provided for "all possible variations ofthe flight." Nearby, another map showed ground tracking stations and observation ships in the Atlantic and Pacific. In adjacent rooms at the Centre special equipment wasinstalled to receive instructions from the technical supervisor of the flight at the cosmodrome, and for direct radio contactwith the cosmonaut if needed. Electronic computers deter- mined with great accuracy the parameters of the orbit and thelanding place. The computing operations at the Centre were paralleled by a number of other major computing stations. Specialists concerned with all the systems installed onVostok 2 were on duty throughout the flight in different rooms in the Centre. They were able to monitor the functioning ofthe apparatus on board by means of the telemetered data and Major Titov's reports. The Centre was also stated to have"radiation control instruments." During the descent of the spacecraft its trajectory wasaccurately checked and recorded at the Centre, and was con- tinuously verified by scores of other direction-finding stationswhich immediately transmitted their information to the main Centre. Aircraft and helicopters were in readiness to pick upthe cosmonaut after landing, and during the final descent these were all in the air "in order to watch the landing visually." Left, model of the GPO station to be built in Cornwall for transatlantic communication-satellite tests in con- nection with NASA's Rebound and Relay projects. Diameter of the actual steerable reflector will be 85 ft SPECIAL INSTRUMENT PACKAGE CREWMAN SIMULATOR Right, sketch showing location of special equipment aboard the MA-4 Mercury spacecraft (see "Unmanned Mercury Orbit Due"). The "crew- man simulator" consumes oxygen, expels carbon dioxide, and in general behaves like an astronaut in orbit .*,,
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
