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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0640.PDF
Launch of an Aerobee from Wallops Island, boosted during the first 2.5sec of flight by a small solid-propellant booster. The Aerobee is the only liquid-fuel vehicle operated from Wallops Missiles and Spaceflight of radiosonde sounding balloons and meteorological rocket payloads. Wallops Station plays an important role in NASA's programme of international co-operation in space research. Some 40 nations have sent representatives to Wallops to observe its operations or seek assistance in establishing a sounding-rocket launch facility of their own. Several of these countries have brought experiments to Wallops for launching, while others have sent technical personnel for training in methods and techniques. Wallops has also provided technical assistance to several countries in the selection and construction of their own launch sites, and in the launching of their first experiments. Yet another task of Wallops is the fulfilment of tracking and data- acquisition functions for experiments launched elsewhere. One such series of experiments is the Tiros family of weather satellites which are launched from Cape Canaveral. Robert L. Krioger is Director of the Wallops Station. A graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, he has headed the facility since 1948. John C. Palmer, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, is chief of the Flight Test Division which has the prime responsibility for vehicle launches. The total of such launches is now approxi mately 5,000. MARTIN'S It has long been apparent that the significant advantages enjoyed by the new generation of solid-propellant military weapons can in general be applied equally to development of a new generation of space boosters. On the biggest scale this has already resulted in a research and development programme by NASA, the US Air Force and industry leading to solid motors very much larger than any thing previously attempted (with diameters of 120in, 156in and 260in). On a smaller scale, it has never been denied that both Polaris and Minuteman are potentially better space boosters than existing liquid-propellant devices of earlier concept; and now Martin Orlando are proposing a "peaceful" derivative of their Pershing missile, with the name of Pegasus. Pershing is a US Army tactical weapon system carried on three tracked vehicles and able to operate autonomously in any part of the world. The complete system has earned in more than 40 firings 614 FLIGHT International, 25 April 1963 SOME RECENT EXPERIMENTS As an illustration of recent work conducted at Wallops Station, the following are some of the more important events of the past six months:— October 16 Nike Apache lifted 651b payload to 103 miles to measure ionosphere conductivity, ion density, electron density and temperature. October 29 Aerobee lifted 2301b payload to 116 miles to measure ultraviolet energy distribution of stars Gamma Cassiopeia and Delta Persei and check out three photometers developed by University of Wisconsin for the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (first flight of OAO hardware). November 7 Nike Cajun lifted 551b payload (primarily a Langmuir probe) to 82 miles to measure night-time electron density and temperature. Nike Apache launched 28min later, at 0553hr, to eject sodium vapour from 34 to 103 miles in measurement of winds and diffusion; the pink and yellow clouds were visible for several hundred miles. November 15 Australian CSIRO payload, including a lunar aspect sensor for determining vehicle attitude, suffered vehicle malfunction at 38sec. November 17-18 Aerobee lifted 2111b payload to 128 miles (launch at 2357hr) to study liquid hydrogen exposed to radiant heating and zero gravity. November 20 Sparobee lifted 901b payload to 214 miles to measure electron and neutral-particle temperatures and ion and neutral-particle densities from 75 miles to apogee and flight-test new thermosphere probe system. November 30 Nike Cajun lifted 551b to 75 miles to measure night-time electron density and temperature. Nike Apache discharged sodium vapour from 56 to 106 miles to miles (first of world wide COSPAR series). December I Nike Apache lifted 651b to 105 miles to measure electron density and temperature and ion density and conductivity. Nike Apache lifted 701b to 82 miles to measure atmospheric pressure, temperature, density and winds. Nike Cajun ejected and detonated 12 explosive charges at intervals from 24 to 58 miles to measure winds and temperatures. December 5 Nike Cajun measured electron density and temperature to 80 miles. Nike Apache sodium vapour payload malfunctioned. December 6 Nike Cajun launched and detonated charges from 24 to 57 miles. December 10 Australian CSIRO 1861b payload, designed to measure VLF radio waves, functioned correctly on flight curtailed by malfunction at 42sec. December 13 Malfunction at launch of experiment to determine distribution of certain molecular and atomic species. Successful launch for Canadian Government of two Black Brant III sounding rockets, both lifting to 61 miles a 1001b payload including a cosmic-ray sensor for measuring altitude, a-roll-rate magnetometer and a new telemetry system, December 16 Scout placed Explorer 16 in 466/733-mile, 52° Earth orbit to measure micrometeoroid-puncture hazard to structure (such punctures were for the first time accurately recorded by this experiment), to measure particle momen tum and to compare performance of protected and unprotected solar cells. January 16 Nike Cajun lifted 1261b to 47 miles releasing ozone into sodium- airglow layer of atmosphere. January 29 Booster malfunction curtailed study of spectral emission lines. February II At Point Arguello, Calif, Wallops team assisted in launch of Argo D-8 Journeyman which lifted 1041b payload to peak altitude of 990 miles in investi gation of radiation-belt hazards. February 18 Sodium vapour experiment stopped by malfunction of second state. February 20 Nike Apache ejected sodium vapour from 25 to 100 miles. Nike Cajun ejected and detonated 12 explosive charges at intervals from 24 to 55 miles February 21 Nike Apache ejected sodium vapour from 22 to 104 miles. February 27 Nike Apache lifted 651b payload to 94 miles to measure electron- density profile, electron temperatures and solar radiation (and to check out hard ware to be flown from Ft Churchill, Canada, during solar eclipse next July). February 28 First of series of Hopi-Dart launches terminated by malfunction This series will be rescheduled, and is intended to gather wind data at about 60 miles to assist the design of large spacecraft. Nike Cajun ejected and detonated 12 explosive charges at intervals from 22 to 51 miles. March 8 Nike Apache lifted 951b payload to 97 miles in measurement of density and conductivity of charged particles. March 15 Aerobee lifted 2481b to 123 miles in attempt to map night-sky sources of photons having specified wavelengths. April 3 Aerobee lifted 1741b payload to approximately 147 miles in test of equipment to be flown in about a year's time aboard the EOGO (eccentric orbiting geophysical observatory) satellite, and to measure VLF signal propagation. April 8 Testof Astrobee 1500 curtailed by first-stage malfunction. April 9 Nike Apache lifted 801b to 101 miles in repeat of March 8 test April 12 Australian CSIRO 1441b payload successfully lifted by Aerobee I50A to 125 miles to measure the intensity and spectrum of VLF waves above the E region of the ionosphere. PEGASUS the best record of any missile tested at Cape Canaveral. Pegasus consists essentially of the Pershing first and second stages, plus an optional third stage, together with a new payload compartment and a choice of either an inertial guidance system or a simple "strapdown" reference. The system is completed by a translauncher almost identical to that which forms part of the present Pershing system. Martin's promotion of the Pegasus is prompted by the apparent gap which exists between simple upper-atmosphere probes and sounding rockets and the large and extremely expensive liquid- propellant boosters used in orbital missions and deep-space pene tration. The only existing vehicle which bridges this gap is the Scout and Blue Scout family. Martin do not mention the Scout in their Pegasus literature, but doubtless feel that the Pegasus will have significant advantages in first cost, flexibility and in being
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