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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1863.PDF
670 FLIGHT International, 17 October 1963 Missiles and Spaceflight HORiZ SCANNER PANEL SPACE RECORDS CLAIMED Eight world records for space flights have been claimed by the Soviet Union in submissions to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. These relate to the flights by Valery Bykovsky in Vostok 5 and Valentina Tereshkova in Vostok 6 made during June 14-19. For Bykovsky's flight in Vostok 5, absolute and orbital-flight records were claimed for duration, approximately 119hr; and for distance, approximately 3,326,000km. In the case of the Vostok 6 flight, figures of 71hr duration, 231km altitude, 1,971,000km distance and 4,713kg pay load were submitted as women's world records in the orbital-flight category. The documents submitted to the FAI stated in addition that total maximum thrust of each of the Vostok 5 and 6 launch vehicles was 600,000kg (approximately 1,323,0001b). It was further stated that, four days before the launch of Vostok 5 from Baikonur, the pilot's seat, equipment compartment, the cabin of the space-ship and the braking engine assembly were weighed separately. The total weight of these items plus the fully equipped cosmonaut was 4,720kg. The document stated that, using "radiotechnological" methods, the measurements of time were accurate to one-millionth of a second, and the error in the distance measurement was not greater than 3 metres. The following sequence for Valentina Tereshkova's re-entry and landing on June 19 was listed:— Orientation systems switched on Braking engine assembly switched on Cover of catapult hatch ejected; 2sec later, cosmo naut's parachute system switched on Landing system of space-ship switched on Landing of space-ship Landing of cosmonaut The locations of Bykovsky's and Tereshkova's landing places were given as 53° 23' 45" N, 67° 36' 41" E, and 53° 16' 18" N, 80° 27' 34" E respectively. NIMBUS PROGRAMME CANCELLED The US Weather Bureau and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced on October 4 that "further obligation of Weather Bureau funding in an operational meteorological satellite system based on the current Nimbus weather satellite configuration is being discontinued." Both agencies will together develop another type of long-life operational satellite to meet national requirements. The official statement continued:— "The desired system will be based on a spacecraft specifically designed for use in a continuing operational system with the reli ability and lifetime required to assure low annual cost of collecting weather data from satellites but at the same time to provide sufficient data for weather forecasting. "It is planned that the future operational system will evolve from one based on an improved version of the already tested and highly <lependable Tiros satellite to one that will give complete global coverage from satellites having a lifetime of the order of several years. Tiros, at present, does not give the scope of global coverage desired and the current configuration of Nimbus does not include a design lifetime of more than one year." NASA is continuing to develop the currently approved Nimbus spacecraft for flight tests as part of a research and development programme. It is envisaged that the ultimate operational system will use subsystems and components from both Tiros and Nimbus. TELEVISION CAMERAS ELECTRONICS- COMPARTM*"* GMT 7hr 20min Usee 7 8 8 8 8 54 10 11 15 20 48 38 00 55 00 As reported on this page, the US Nimbus meteorological satellite has been cancelled in its operational role, although it will be flown by NASA as a research and development project. The Nimbus satellite weighs 6751b, of which 1161b represents instruments PROGRESS IN EUROSPACE Membership of the industrial association Eurospace has increased over the past year from 84 (including active, corporate and corres ponding members) to 143. This was reported to the general meeting of Eurospace in London on October 3 by the Council of the Association. As briefly reported last week, the need for establishing "an intergovernmental European organization capable of surveying spaces problems as a whole" was also mentioned in the Council's report. This, it was suggested, might be a co-ordinating federation of national space bodies such as those now being set up in several countries. "We are often in touch with the European Launcher Develop ment Organization," the report continued. "It is significant that, in July 1963, the ELDO Preparatory Group took the intiative in consulting Eurospace before submitting to the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration a proposal for 'Arrangements concerning the exchange of technical information aud their use within the framework of an ELDO/NASA Agree ment.' " Concerning the Preparatory Commission for European Space Research, the forerunner of ESRO, the report comments; "Delays in the parliamentary procedures of ratification have slowed down the growth of this organization and prevented us from establishing all the structural relations we should like to have built up." "More recently, the governments of 15 European States have established a European Conference on Space Telecommunications which will seek to promote a joint attitude towards participation in a worldwide system of communication by satellite, as proposed by the United States. Following meetings in Paris and London, specialized committees were set up to examine various aspects ot the problem. . .. "We hold it to be self-evident that Eurospace should do every thing in its power to assist the success of this scheme, in the hope of winning a good measure of scope for European industry. It will not be enough for the latter to be allowed to make a technical contribution to the engineering side—it must also be able to presen solutions to the economic, financial and organizational problems that arise. Hence the establishment of the Financial and Industrial Studies Group. "Possibly it will be advisable to go further and set up a grouping of the industrial and financial concerns interested in the develop ment of this scheme. Your Board is doing all it can to Proin°: such a body, which, be it clearly understood, would eventually become a separate entity."
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