FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1320.PDF
146 FLIGHT International, 25 July J963 Missiles and Spaceflight training for space nights I learned to pilot various types of aircraft. It was only then that I proceeded to learn how to pilot a spaceship. Our Soviet ships are being more and more perfected every year. I am convinced that spaceships leaving for long voyages to other planets will be piloted by our engineers, designers, workers—and textile workers like me. What was the most exciting moment oj your flight for you ?— During my third orbit I spoke with Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev. This was the most exciting moment of my flight. I should also like to mention the orbit when I controlled the spaceship manually. Question Jrom correspondents of the American UPI agency, Henry Shapiro and Robert Corngold. Would you advise American women to try space flights, and what programme of training for them would you recommend?—We shall be glad to welcome our friends, American women cosmonauts. As for a training programme, I know from the Press that American cosmonauts experienced cer tain difficulties in their spaceships. Therefore, to recommend something for a training programme is difficult for me since we do not have these difficulties in our spaceships. As you are not a professional pilot, what does your participation in group flight contribute ? Since the aim in view was to test the reactions of women in orbital flight, could you not have carried out a solo flight ?—The scientific experiment envisaged simultaneous study of the effect and influence of cosmic flight on the organisms of a woman and of a man. If a programme of solo flight were envisaged, planned, I should execute it like the joint one. Was the Vostok 6 spaceship equipped exactly like that of Lt-Col Bykovsky, or was it slightly modified for a woman cosmonaut ?— Well, Valery has already answered this one. I can say that one ship was controlled by a man, and the other by a woman, and, of course, they were intended for a man and a woman respectively. Can you say a few words about the character of your stand-in ?— She is a wonderful girl, brave, very brave, a true friend. She was trained just as I was and if she had been entrusted, as I was, with piloting the spaceship, she would have fulfilled this task of our native land with honour. What prompted you to become the first woman cosmonaut.'— When I took up parachuting, after the flight of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, I dreamed of trying my strength in space. As you see, something came of it. Questions to Academician Keldysh Are the Vostok 5 and Vostok 6 spaceships fundamentally new spaceships, or are they simply perfected models of the initial design ? —You know, this question has already been answered, that these are not entirely new spaceships. What was the fate of spaceships Vostok 5 and Vostok 6 ?—They came down to Earth, and in case of need could go in flight again. But probably they should be preserved as monuments. Question by "'The Times'''' correspondent: Since these flights pursue peaceful aims, when will Western correspondents be given the oppor tunities enjoyed by Soviet correspondents, and will be able to watch a launching ?—Well, this question is put at each of our press con ferences—in my opinion, by one and the same correspondent of the paper Times. Therefore I apologize in advance for giving a more or less standard answer. Here I must point out that the American Mercury spaceship weighs two tons, whereas our space ship weighs about five tons. Therefore we fly further and longer. But everybody understands that if a rocket can put into orbit a five-ton spaceship, it can also put a military payload of the same weight into orbit. And so long as there is not stable peace, the Soviet people cannot reveal secrets which form its defensive might. As to when we shall show an actual moment of launching—when there is a real guarantee of peace. And the Press, which reflects and mobilizes public opinion, has an important part to play in this matter. When do you think that Soviet cosmonauts will fly to the Moon and other planets ?—We think that time is not very far distant. Why did the programme envisage a landing of the spaceships at a great distance from each other ?—Because the programme did not envisage a constantly close flight in space, but only a meeting of the spaceships. [In the English translation of this answer the phrase used was "frequent intersection of orbits," apparently confirming that the two spacecraft were not launched into the same orbital plane.—Ed] BRITISH INDUSTRY IN SPACE Opportunities for industry to carry out space research projects were outlined by the Parliamentary Secretary for Science, Mr Denzil Freeth, in a recent letter addressed to a number of trade associations. The scale of Government-sponsored space research in this country, the letter stated, would "more than double over the next few years," and an increasing part of it was likely to be carried out through contracts with industry. After outlining the British sounding rocket programme, the Anglo-American satellite programme and the ESRO programme, the letter concluded:— "Already British industry has made valuable contributions to the instrumentation of United Kingdom sounding rockets and the Anglo-American satellites. The scientists designing experiments for these continuing and important programmes, and for the ESRO programme, will have increasing need of industrial help. Contracts to the value of £250,000 a year may be expected from this source in a few years' time. "This may not seem a large sum and the special type of equipment (mostly in single orders) may present special problems in production programmes; but the prestige value of these orders, and the exper ience gained, should provide considerable advantages to the successful British firms in competing with Continental manu facturers for work in the ESRO programme, the expenditure on which is expected to rise in the fourth and succeeding years to something of the order of £17m, of which about one-half will be in respect of the European Space Technology Centre (ESTeC), on purchase Of sounding rockets, satellite launch vehicles and launch- irif a, and the construction of satellites, space probes and payloa&. "One-half of ESTeC's expenditure again (approx £4m a year) will probably be extramual. It is envisaged that contracts will be let by competitive tender, and as the United Kingdom will be contributing one-quarter of ESRO's total cost, it is important that United Kingdom manufacturers should obtain a reasonable proportion of these contracts and that the requirements of this programme should be given an appropriate priority. In this con nection, however, it is essential to bear in mind the vital importance of providing the highest standards of inspection and test to ensure reliability and also of adhering meticulously to delivery dates which is essential in such a tightly co-ordinated series of programmes." Third Mystery Sphere BUP reports (from Adelaide, on July 9) that another metal sphere has been found in a remote part of Australia and is believed to have come from a space vehicle. About 6in in diameter, it bears lettering suggesting Russian origin. It was found at Muloorina Cattle Station, near Lake Eyre. The first sphere (illustrated in our May 9 issue) was found in April at Boullia Station, in the north-west corner of New South Wales about 180 miles north of Broken Hill and 240 miles south-east of Muloorina. The second sphere was found at Mount Stuart Station, 60 miles north of Boullia.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
