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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1615.PDF
No 2748 VOLUME 8O THURSDAY 9 NOVEMBER 1961 Editor-in-Chiej MAURICE A. SMITH DFC Editor H.F.KING MBE Technical Editoi W. T. GUNSTON Air Transport Editor J. M. RAMSDEN Production Editor ROY CASEY Managing Director H. N. PRIAULXMBE N THIS ISSUE From All Quarters Birth of the Big- Aeroplane Breguet's Atlantic Makes its Bow Missiles and Space-flight Correspondence Bahamas Airways Revitalized Total Temperature Probes Service Aviation Flight System Survey Air Commerce 720 722 723 725 732 734 737 739 74O 743 Ilifte Transport Publications Ltd, DorsetHuusr, Stamford Street, London, SE1; telephone Waterloo 3333. TelegramsKliirhtpres London SKI. Annual sub- •wriptlons: llnnie £4 15s. Overseas £5.Canada and USA 115.00. Second Class Jtail privileges authorized at NewYork. NY. Branch Offices Coventry: S-IO Corpora-tion Street; telephone Coventry 25210. Birmingham: King Edward House, NewStreet, 2; telephone Midland 7191. Man- chester: 260 Deansgate 3; telephoneRlackfriars 4412 or Deans«ite 3695. Glasgow: 62 Buchanan Street Cl; tele-phone Central 1265-6. New York, NY: Thomas Skinner & Co(Publishers) Ltd, 111 Broadway 6; telephone Digby 9-1197. © Iliffe Transport Publications Ltd,1861. Permission to reproduce illustra- tions and letterpress can be granted onlyunder written agreement. Brief extracts or comments may be made with dueacknowledgement. Official Organ of the Royal Aero Club First Aaronautical Weekly in the World Founded in 1909 Europe in SpaceE UROPE is getting into the space business. In scientific research and in the development of a heavy launch vehicle, the events of the past few weeks have shown that the planning is going well. Two weeks ago at Munich, the Preparatory Commission which is laying the foundations for the European Space Research Organization (ESRO) reported a detailed eight-year scientific programme agreed by the representatives of eleven countries. Last week in London, Mr Thorneycroft's salesmanship homework on the subject of Blue Streak was marked in Europe's school—seven out of a possible ten, with Sweden, Norway and Switzerland abstaining (but with Australia as a bonus) in the plan to develop a European launcher based on the British vehicle. As reported exclusively in last week's issue of Flight, ESRO plans to set up a European Space Technology Centre and a Data Centre (at locations yet to be decided), and a northern firing range for sounding rockets at Kiruna, Sweden. For its medium-term and long-term projects involving Earth satellites, lunar orbiters and deep-space probes the Organization will buy the most suitable launch vehicles, whatever the source. For four firings it will need a heavy launcher such as the proposed European three-stager; while for thirty others a Scout-sized medium vehicle is required. These will all be launched from existing ranges such as Woomera and Hammaguir. The programme of the proposed European Launcher Development Organi- zation calls for the first firing of the complete three-stage vehicle in the summer of 1965. This would be preceded by test flights employing dummy upper stages, and would be followed by two further complete firings, all at Woomera. Although personnel from all member-countries might work on each of the vehicle's three stages, the respective leaders would be Britain, France and West Germany. This organization does not intend to launch operational satellites except incidentally as part of the development of the launcher. Means to an End This leads to an important question. Who, then, will be launching Europe's operational, non-scientific satellites—that is, satellites with practical applica- tions such as communications, navigation and meteorology ? Mr Thorneycroft was singularly vague at his press conference last week about who, apart from ESRO, is expected to buy and use Europe's own launcher. It is not sufficient merely to say, in effect, "we are building a launcher so that we shall not be excluded from those countries building launchers." A rocket launch vehicle, like any other, is a means of transport: it is the means by which something is accomplished, and is not an end in itself. Unless Europe intends to place "application" type satellites in orbit she should think twice about developing and making heavy launchers of the type proposed—and to say this is not to minimize the technological and political importance of the programme. This gap in spacecraft development—between the launch-vehicle-builders and the space scientists—was illustrated ironically last week by the staff reduc- tions in the astronautics section of Hawker Siddeley Aviation. An opposite extreme applies in the United States where, in the single field of communica- tions satellites, no fewer than five separate civil programmes are under way. Appropriately directed, Europe has a powerful potential in space, as ESRO is admirably demonstrating in its own field. But the "application" spacecraft gap is serious, and one which might well be tackled by the launcher organiza- tion in two ways: first, by a widening of interest to include satellite and space- craft operation; and, secondly, by increasing collaboration with the USA.
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