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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1277.PDF
J-LIGHT International, 18 July 1963 Missiles and Spaceflight Some people think that there is nothing complicated in this, that the automatic equipment aboard the ship functions by itself and that the role of the woman cosmonaut is insignificant. However, such a role did not suit us. We understood that our role was the active operation of all the systems of the ship, and first of all the system of manual control and the life-supporting system. All my girl friends and I firmly decided to prepare for the real thing in full measure. This meant determined study, hard work and daily and varied training. Everybody knows that the first cosmo nauts in our country, as well as abroad, were pilots. This was not accidental. In the course of their duties the pilots acquired the qualities necessary for cosmonauts. During our training, therefore, we flew in transport planes and acquired the techniques of work with a large number of instruments and learnt how to switch our attention from one thing to another as required. A large part of our training was taken up with flight in weightless condition. Though this weightless condition was very short-lived it is the primary one aboard the spaceship. Parachute jumping was of great use in training. We had already gained some experience in parachute jumping, but during our training we jumped again and again in different conditions. This enabled us to acquire a great deal of experience and prepared our morale for the fulfilment of the complex spaceflights. Is all this easy? Of course not. However, we were not afraid of difficulties and the majestic goal before us filled us with new strength. The preparation for spaceflights demands the co-ordinated efforts and work of specialists of the utmost diversity. In this connection, 1 would like to note the following. When one becomes personally acquainted with such intelligent and talented people who create the space machines, one is struck by the wealth of talent of our Soviet people arid one begins to appreciate in a new sense that fact that more technicians and engineers graduate in the USSR than in any other country. These people were always ready to reach me and my friends, the other girls, to tell and explain things, to help us. Our instructors spared no effort or time in teaching and training us. You can accomplish any task with such people beside you. We worked hard to become familiar with our spaceship. At first we were speechless in our admiration of the wonderful machine. Then followed a detailed examination of all the systems and learning their practical application. This in turn was followed by persistent training in the control and operation of the ship. We spent many hours in training. But then I felt confident during the flight. It was part of my assignment to guide the ship manually. I switched on the manual control system, noted and recorded the initial pressure in the containers and set the stop-watch. The posi tion of the Earth in the porthole was such that it was expedient to orientate the ship in accordance with the spaceship's pitch. Somewhere in the Soviet Union" is given by Toss, the Soviet news agency, os the location for this happy informal shot of Lt-Col Valery oykovsky and Valentino Tereshkova on the day after their landing 105 The Toss caption to this picture reads: "Cosmonauts Valentino Teresh- kova and Valery Rykovsky pose at the Soviet Cosmodrome just prior to the launching of Lt-Col Bykovsky's space ship Vostok 5 on June 14" After the pitch orientation I quickly carried out the roll and yaw orientation. I stopped the stop-watch, then observed and recorded the instrument readings. I was glad to see that I had used little time and fuel. The spaceship had handled well and proved easy to con trol. Besides this "landing orientation" I also carried out "aircraft orientation." Radio communications were a very important part of the flight assignment. Much has already been said about the importance of communications in space flights. I would like to mention one thing. When Valery and I were talking to each other on the short wave communication channel I had the impression that we were sitting in the same room back to back and conversing. It was a real illusion of someone's presence. And it seemed to me that with the radio waves I was receiving I was also receiving new energy which increased my strength and raised my spirits. I felt this particularly during the conversation with Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev. Yes, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev has become a real radio operator; we followed all the radio communications rules in our conversation; we used the call signals and ended by saying "over." The whole flight was full of unforgettable impressions, the fre quent sunrise and sunsets, the quick changes in the nature of the terrain below—continents, oceans, seas, clouds, rivers, mountains, towns and fields. On the third day I received the order from the Earth to return; it is pleasant in space, but one has to come back. All systems worked accurately. By the increased g-force, I realized that the ship had entered the dense layers of the atmosphere. Flames blazed outside the porthole. Finally, the landing; on native soil once more; the joyful feeling that the mission is accomplished and all is well; and as the culmination of the space flight, the warm touching meeting with our Soviet people.... (To be concluded) NEW SPACE COMMITTEE A space committee has been formed by the Electronic Engineering Association in order to assist the association in co-operating with the Ministry of Aviation on the communication and electronic aspects of the communication-satellite design study now being carried out by the Royal Aircraft Establishment. This co-operation, the association states, was requested by the Ministry. The EEA announcement further states: "The Government approach to the matter is to divide it into two phases:— (1) The study of complete systems, (2) The study of necessary technical developments. Systems studies which have already been made by the industry will prove invaluable in the first phase, when advising the Ministry on a preferred system or systems. "The second phase, which will be a more detailed study of the technical requirements for the Earth stations and satellites, will involve close liaison between Government research establishments
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