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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 1416.PDF
ftJGHT international, 7 May 1964 785 Lunik 1 rocket—the only Soviet rocket to be revealed. The "surface density" shown is the weight of any vehicle divided by the total surface area of a cylinder having the vehicle's width and length. This is more meaningful for a hollow rocket body than is normal density, and in fact gives values between much narrower limits than appear for satellite payloads. At the bottom of the scale comes an Altair with a density of 9kg/sq m—probably because it is a solid booster free of heavy fuel pumps, turbines and instrumentation. Densest is the Centaur, and the Lunik 1 rocket falls at a good average value of 22.5kg/sq m. Using this density, a cylinder 14.5(±2)m long and 2.5(±0.35)m diameter would weigh 2,780(±750)kg. The dominant factor in deciding the weight and general size of the vehicles is their steady magnitude; an error of 0.8 in L/D alters the weight by only 25kg. At the extreme limits of density, 10 and 30kg/sq m, the weights would be l,24O(±33O)kg and 3,720(±l,000)kg. All these results are summarized in Table 7 and the concluding figures are printed below Table 6 for comparison with the US boosters. In conclusion, rocket bodies in the 49° Cosmos series lie some- where between an empty Centaur and Atlas in both size and weight. Some typical satellites launched by American upper stages are given also in Table 6, and our final results for the Cosmos series certainly show a reasonable satellite/rocket relationship. The launch con- figuration could be a two-stage vehicle based on an ICBM with a capability about twice that of an Thor Agena B. Although it might appear that the Cosmos booster represents an advance in Soviet rocketry this has yet to show itself. The present Cosmos booster, in fact, could not lift the 4,750kg payloads which were orbited as Sputniks 4, 5, and 6 as long ago as 1960. Footnote Having studied the effect of an object's L/D ratio on its variation in magnitude, it is interesting to add a postscript to the earlier article on the Cosmos satellites. The average of the mean variations of the satellites given in Table 2 was ±0.28, and a flash range of 0.56 magnitudes suggests that a Cosmos payload may TABLE 7: SUMMARY Dimension (and ass- umption made) L/D (from flash ranges of 1.99 and 2.32) Length and diameter (mean mag +3.84 with aoove ratios^ Length and diameter (L/D = 5.8, mean mag+4.10, +3.84, +3.52) Length and diameter (from flash +3.80 to + 5.77, +3.87 to+6.19) Weight (density 22.45kg/m!, cylinders as line 2) Weight (density 22.45kg/m8, cylinders as line 3) Minimum weight (density IOkg/m2, cylinders as line 3) Maximum weight (density 30kg/m2. cylinders as line 3) Minimum value 5.02 13.45 X 2.68m (44.1 X 8.8ft) 12.87 X 2.22m (42.2 x 7.3ft) 12.62 X 2.57m (41.4 X 8.4ft) 2,795kg(6,1601b) 2,190kg (4,8301b) 975kg (2,1501b) 2,925kg (6,4501b) OF RESULTS Average value 5.80 14.51 x 2.50m (47.6 X 8.2ft) 14.51 X 2.50m (47.6 x 8.2ft) 13.39 x 2.35m (43.9 x 7.7ft) 2,780kg(6,1251b) 2,780kg (6,1251b) 1.240kg (2,7301b) 3,715kg (8,1901b) Maximum value 6.65 15.55 X 2.34m (51.0 X 7.7ft) 16.81 X 2.90m (55.1 X 9.5ft) 14.28 x 2.14m (46.8 x 7.0ft) 2,755kg(6,0701b) 3,735kg (8,2301b) 1,665kg (3,6701b) 4,990kg (11,0001b) Probable characteristics: Length, 13.9 (+_ l.3)m; diameter, 2.4 (±0.3)m; weight, 2,550 (~550)kg. be H times as long as it is wide. The original 1.63m sphere would become an ellipsoid or stubby cylinder lfm long and ljm diameter. If the occasions on which the Cosmos satellites were steady in brightness are excluded from the magnitude data, the flash range jumps to 1.74 and the L/D to 3.9. At their most eccentric, therefore, the Cosmos payloads would measure 3.1m long and 0.8m diameter. This dramatic photograph records the first launch of a Polaris from a submarine on the surface. The missile, an A-2, was successfully fired on April 20 from USS "Henry Clay" (SSBN-625), which had 30min earlier launched a similar missile while submerged. Points of interest are the cloud of steam (the original launch system used compressed air); the volley of launch adapters; the special aerial attached to the submarine's "sail" used for test shots on the Atlantic Missile Range; and the submarine's deliberate slight list to port
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