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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 1459.PDF
fUGHT International, 16 August 1962 251 unmanned flights must be made, as well as lesser manned flights, to test concepts and equipment for the Apollo mission, learn more about the Moon, and the dangers to be traversed on the way. Much already has been learned about cislunar space from small, unmanned satellites flown since 1958—the Pioneer and Explorer series, and Injun. But the Moon's surface, the problems of landing on it and of operating within its gravitational field, all require further investigation. Most of the unmanned satellites which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration expects to launch over the next few years will be devoted to gaining such knowledge. Other satellites, such as Mariner, will meanwhile investigate the other planets. Additional Ranger flights have been scheduled to the Moon, de spite the lack of success of the four so far undertaken. At least five more are to be launched towards the Moon before the end of 1963. Ranger 5 is scheduled to make an impact landing on the Moon later this year. It and other Rangers to follow will have high- resolution television cameras to send back pictures of the lunar surface right up to the instant of impact. Some cameras will be able to distinguish 4ft objects on the Moon's surface. Radiation en route, dust on the Moon, and magnetism also will be mea sured. Another five Rangers may be sent to the Moon beginning late in 1963 and through early 1964 if that becomes necessary. These would give more television pictures, measure surface hardness of the Moon and its gravitational field. By the end of 1964 the first Surveyor satellites should be ready to carry out further exploration of the Moon if the Centaur upper- stage vehicle also is ready by then. In some configurations, this satellite will carry up to 3001b to the Moon, including a retro- rocket to gradually lower it to the lunar surface. Very high resolu tion television will be carried on seven shots as well as other TV cameras to record the horizon and intermediate positions as the satellite approaches impact. Seismographic measurements and spectrographic analysis of a sample from the Moon's surface will be made and the results sent back to earth by television. Other Surveyors, designed to orbit the Moon, have been sche duled for late 1964 through early 1965. Reconnaissance of the lunar surface by TV camera, stereoscopic mapping of the surface by two TV cameras from a 60-mile orbit, selenodetic measurements of the Earth-Moon distance, lunar gravitation and related data will be recorded. Tracking equipment for future missions, manned or unmanned, also will be checked out. Every manned shot to be made during the next few years will provide further support for Apollo. Using the Mercury capsule, several manned flights are soon to get underway (one in September) for six or more orbits. Equipment and principles that could have a bearing on the Apollo spacecraft and its operation will be worked out during these flights, which will continue through 1963 and into 1964. Then the Mercury programme will give way to Gemini, in which an Earth-orbiting, two-man spacecraft will be launched by the Atlas Agena B. Principal purposes of Gemini (for which twelve capsules have been ordered from McDonnell Aircraft Corporation) will be to further prove that man can stand long periods of weight lessness. Some of these flights will run 14 days, or twice the ex pected time of the first lunar mission. In later phases of the Gemini programme, more than one vehicle will be in orbit around the Earth at a time, and rendezvous tech niques to link Gemini to other types of space capsules will be under taken. These experiments not only are essential to success of the lunar orbit rendezvous for the Apollo project, but for as yet un scheduled flights to other planets in the next decade. NASA gave careful consideration to at least three ways to reach the Moon, and selected lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) only last month (Flight International, July 19 and 26). Selection of the lunar orbit rendezvous means that heavy mone tary outlays scheduled for Nova can be delayed, and NASA experts now expect that a much larger Nova booster can be developed. well in excess of the 12m lb thrust thought possible to date. The larger Nova will be needed for Venus and Mars flights in the 1970s. As the situation now stands, experimental Apollo launches will get undciway in 1964-1965 (sub-orbital flights in 1964, orbital flights in 1965) using the Saturn C-1B, consisting of an eight-engine Saturn first stage and a high-energy S-4B as a second stage. For the Moon shot, the C-5, which will be 325ft tall and weigh 6m lb with the Apollo spacecraft on top, will have five F-l engines generating 7.5m lb of thrust in the first stage, an S-2 second stage with five J-2 hydrogen engines, each generating 200,0001b thrust, and a third stage S-4B powered by a single J-2. The C-5 and the three-section spacecraft, 13ft in diameter, will be launched toward the Moon from Complex 39 at Cape Canaveral, for which an area of 73,000 acres is being acquired. On board probably will be two astronauts and one scientist selected from a group soon to go into training at Edwards Air Force Base. The C-5 and Apollo spacecraft combination will be built up some dis tance from the launch complex, and then will be transported to the pad in an upright position by a giant crawler tractor the size of a baseball diamond. The Apollo spacecraft will consist of three sections or modules. Models of lunar excursion module or "bug" and (upper model) parent Apollo spacecraft which would orbit the Moon Pioneer transmissions using Telstar included a still picture of the satellite itself (above) and a live view of the US presidential heads of Mt Rushmore, South Dakota
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