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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 0572.PDF
FLIGHT International. 27 February 1964 337 The modified X-I5A-2 sits on the ramp at North American Aviation's Los Angeles Division awaiting shipment to Edwards AFB, where it was turned over to NASA by the USAF on February 24. The new air- craft is designed to fly at eight times the speed of sound in advanced research. Modifications include added external fuel tanks, 29in longer fuselage, a pressur- ized helium system for use in ramjet tests, and a new windshield Aramis on Offer A proposal for a new guided weapon called Aramis has been made by an Anglo-French consortium of Short Brothers and Harland, Electronique Marcel Dassault and Engins Matra. The missile is designed to be a small, easily handled weapon for use against low-flying aircraft. A Shorts announcement on February 20 stated: "A presentation of the proposed system has been given to the Ministry of Aviation and representatives of the Service Departments. Presentations will follow in France and other NATO countries." High-Energy Stage A high-energy upper stage "for all US rocket boosters" has been proposed to NASA by the Missile and Space Systems Division of Douglas Aircraft Co. Powered by a single hydrogen/fluorine engine generating 35,0001b of thrust, the stage would be 30ft long, 10ft in diameter and would carry 15 tons of propellant. Payload gains from 30 per cent (Earth orbit) to 300 per cent (deepspace missions) compared with a comparable hydrogen/ oxygen stage are claimed. One Hundred Per Cent Engine Reliability in 135 orbital and deep- space launchings between January 1, 1961, and January 29, 1964, was claimed at the end of last month by the Rocketdyne division of North American Aviation. The launchings were stated to have accounted for more than 85 per cent of US payloads launched into orbit or deep space, and for 99 per cent of the total weight (200,0001b) of US space payloads. Rocketdyne MB-3 systems operated in 94 Thor flights; MA-2 and MA-5 systems launched 37 flights and a single engine launched three Jupiter flights; and the SA-5 Saturn launch involved one system of eight H-l engines. In addition, 39 other Rocketdyne engines achieved a perfect performance record in Saturn 1 and Mercury suborbital flights. High-G Douglas Aircraft Co at Charlotte, North Carolina, announced on February 18 "completion of the 19th in a series of successful firings of a high-speed experimental rocket." The announcement continued: "In the tests, the rocket motor achieved flight accelerations surpassing any levels before reached in rocket propulsion. The Charlotte Division of Douglas has conducted a two-year independent research and development programme tinder the joint technical management of the Marine Corps and the US Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. In the experiments, axial accelerations of very high g at launch, coupled with very high spin accelerations, have been successfully demon- strated. The solid-propellant grain for the experimental motor is being developed by Thiokol Chemical Corporation's Alpha Division, under subcontract to Douglas Charlotte. The programme is continuing with the basic objective of performance refinements in rocket stability after which flight tests will be conducted to deter- mine the accuracy of the rocket." Polaris Subs Modified The US Navy plans to modify its first five Polaris submarines, beginning with the USS George Washington in June, to accommodate the 2,500-mile A3 version of the missile in place of the 1,200-mile Al. According to Lockheed, "One of the first 'dividends' of modification will be the use of the Al in the development this year of a sophisticated and extremely accurate guidance system. It will also be used as a booster in flight testing of the Air Force guidance systems." The 1,500-mile A2 is now operational, with nine Polaris submarines deployed on station. Four additional submarines have been commissioned and await deployment, while a further ten are nearing completion. Twelve Polaris submarines were launched in the 11 months from August 1962 to June 1963: on present plans, a fleet of 41 is scheduled. A SPACE "JANE'S" THIS journal's associated company Iliffe Books Ltd has today published a book which in many respects can be regarded as the space counterpart of Jane's All the World's Aircraft. Compiled and edited by K. W. Gatland, a vice-president of the British Interplanet- ary Society, it is the first attempt to catalogue all major announced details of all significant civilian and military space vehicles and missions accomplished in a given year. Entitled Spacecraft and Boosters, it is envisaged as the first of an annual series. To begin his series Mr Gatland has chosen 1961—a year of exceptional space significance, including the first ventures by men into space: Gagarin, Titov, Shepard and Grissom. It also included the first flight of the eight-engined Saturn S-l, as well as a host of remarkable scientific satellite and probe missions. The first part of Mr Gatland's work is in diary form. His treatment of each shot varies greatly according to its significance. Several, especially those by the US Air Force subject to security classification, rate less than a page; but CdrShepard's MR-3 flight receives 13 pages, and the Moon-probe Ranger I as many as 16. Basic data for each flight are set forth at the outset, after which the mission is fully described and illustrated. Following the chronological section comes a valuable second part in which all the launch vehicles used in the year under review are described in some detail. All significant data are given, to the latest released standard, as well as a concise technical description and development history. Scale drawings are provided, together with numerous photographs and, in four cases, highly detailed cutaway illustrations. Throughout, the standard of production is extremely high. The whole book is beautifully printed on art paper, the many illustra- tions are exceptionally clear, and the neat and ordered layout make it the work of but a moment to look up the results achieved by Mercury-Atlas MA-5, or the nominal burning time of the engine of an Agena B second stage. "Spacecraft and Boosters," compiled and edited by K. W. Gatland and published by Iliffe Books Ltd, Dorset House, Stamford St, London SE.I. 296 pages, including 167 illustrations, price 85s (by post 87s 3d).
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