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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0752.PDF
As we go to press, this enlargement of part of a photograph of the Moscow parade of May I is the only available picture of a new type of missile (the four vehicles in the extreme rear) Missiles and Spaceflight Ariel was commanded to transmit tape-recorded data for the first time on April 27 by the station at Blossom Point, Maryland; and for the first time by the DSIR Radio Research Station's Mini- track station at Winkfield on April 29. COMMONWEALTH CONFERENCE CONCLUSIONS A recommendation that the Commonwealth should co-operate with the United States and with European countries in the development of a world-wide communications satellite system was included in the report drafted by the Commonwealth Conference on Satellite Communications, which ended in London on April 13. The report, which was agreed unanimously, is being submitted to Common wealth Governments. A final communique issued at the end of the conference stated:— "The conference, which was of an exploratory character, con cluded that satellite communication systems were technically feasible although a great deal of research and experimental work will be required before a satisfactory commercial system can be established; this may take some years. The conference recom mended that such work should continue to be actively pursued in Commonwealth countries. "The conference gave detailed consideration to the needs of Commonwealth communications. It recognized the advantage of a satellite system based on stabilized active satellites in equatorial orbit in the height range of 5,000 to 10,000 nautical miles. "The conference also had regard to the research and develop ment work being undertaken in the United States of America and elsewhere. The conference recognized that any commercial satellite system should serve as large a number of countries as possible and should have maximum flexibility. They decided therefore to recommend that early discussions should take place with the United States and with European countries in the hope that such co-operation would lead to a pooling of effort, and thereby achieve the best worldwide system of satellite communications. This recommendation is entirely in line with the United Nations General Assembly resolution of December 1961, which expressed the view that communication by means of satellites should be available to the nations of the world on a global and non discriminatory basis. "The conference forecast a very bright future for the growth of telephone and telex communications and felt that a global satellite communications system could well become financially profitable within a few years of establishment. The possibilities of television relays, especially between countries with comparatively small time differentials, were also thought to be bright . . ." MORE BULLPUPS The Martin Company—until March of this year known as the "Aerospace Division of Martin Marietta Corp," which it remains in effect but not in name—have been able to bring about a reduction in the cost of all versions of the Bullpup, largely as a result of more efficient production to meet a greatly expanded order-book. The US Navy announce that their versions of the missile, at present deployed with A4D-2 and FJ-4B squadrons, is to be issued also to units equipped with the F8U-2NE, A3J-1, A2F-1 and F4H-1, while the new (P & W J52 engine) A4D-5 version of the Skyhawk will carry more than the three Bullpups provided for in the A4D-2. The US Air Force likewise state that the number of GAM-83 Bullpups which can be carried by the F-105 Thunderchief is being 750 FLIGHT International, 10 May 1962 increased from two to four. No information is yet available on how many will be carried by RN Sea Vixens, Scimitars and Buccaneers. Official confirmation that at least one version of Bullpup will be manufactured in Europe for NATO nations came from the US Department of Defense on April 27. Prime contractor will be the Norwegian firm of Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk, and the other part ners will be Britain, Denmark and Turkey. Martin and the US Navy are giving their full technical and administrative support, and initial producion will include US-built components. On April 30 Martin announced that yet another version—for the US Air Force, and a generation later than the nuclear-warhead GAM-83B—is the subject of a contract for research, development and testing. Cosmos 4 Down On April 29 Tass announced that the Cosmos 4 satellite had been recovered from orbit. The agency stated: "The Soviet artificial Earth satellite Cosmos 4, which was launched on April 26, was in orbit for over three days, covering a distance of some two million kilometres during this time. Throughout the flight the systems and equipment installed in the sputnik for investi gations of outer space and the upper layers of the atmosphere functioned smoothly. "In view of the conclusion of the programme of scientific investi gations, a successful landing of the sputnik at a predetermined point in the Soviet Union was effected on a signal from the Earth on April 29. As a result of the launching of the sputnik Cosmos 4, valuable scientific information has been obtained which is now being processed and studied." May Day in Moscow Good-quality pictures are still not available of four missiles which took part in the May Day parade through Red Square and were first seen in a similar parade last November. They are said to be about 50ft long, and entirely encased in a launch tube or protective container with a diameter of about 10ft. The articulated transporter has four axles and a forward driving cab and engine. (See illustration above.) Black Knight Launched A Black Knight rocket was fired to a height of 480 miles over the Woomera range on May 1. Tesi objective was to obtain re-entry information. X-15 FLIES HIGH A record altitude of approximately 246,700ft (46.7 miles) was achieved by NASA pilot Joseph A. Walker in a North American X-15 research aircraft on April 30. Released from a B-52 at 45,000ft some 200 miles north of Edwards Air Force Base, Cali fornia, the X-15 achieved a top speed of about 3,443 m.p.h. and landed at Edwards after a lOmin flight. The purpose of the flight was to obtain data on the use of reaction jet controls at extreme altitudes, aerodynamic heating during re entry at high angle of attack, and recovery from extreme altitudes. Immediately after launch, Walker put the X-15 into a 38° climb He kept the engine at full throttle for 82sec, shutting it down at about 150,000ft. The aircraft's momentum carried it from burn out to its peak altitude in a long ballistic trajectory southward over the Mojave Desert. During the climb, Walker opened the speed brakes to limit the velocity of the aircraft, and for about three minutes was in a near-weightless condition. On re-entry, the air craft instruments recorded temperatures of about 900°F on the lower surfaces of wings, fuselage and speed brakes. The aircraft weighed 32,6001b at launch and 14,5001b on landing, having con sumed nearly nine tons of liquid oxygen and ammonia propellant. The flight was the eleventh X-15 flight by Walker, who is civilian chief research pilot of NASA's Flight Research Center at Edwards It marked a total of 52 X-l 5 flights made by seven pilots since flight operations began in June 1959. The flight also marked the accom plishment of the second of two major design objectives in the X-15 programme—to study flight problems at speeds up to 4,000 m.p.h.. and at heights up to 250,000ft. The speed objective was reached last November 9, when Major Robert M. White, USAF, achieved 4,093 m.p.h. Flights of the three X-15 aircraft at Edwards AFB had been sus pended from January until April 5 because of exceptionally heav- rain and snow on the dry-lake landing area at the base. The flight programme was resumed with a check-out of the X-15's adaptive control system by Neil Armstrong of NASA in the third aircraft '
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