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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 1871.PDF
1040 FLIGHT International, 18 June 1964 Missiles and SpacefJight Included in the space work of the Radio Research Station, reported on this page, is the provision of experiments to study the D-region of the ionosphere using Skylark sounding rockets. Left, one of the Skylark payloads, with glass-fibre noseeone on the left Right, the aerial used for receiving telemetered signals from satellites at the RRS outstation at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Much information from Ariel I and from Alouette has been received here Far right, equipment for processing data from the Canadian Alouette satellite to give the height distribution of electrons in the topside of the ionosphere. Important new results concerning the structure of the ionosphere have been obtained by scientists of the Radio Research Station using Alouette data (see last week's issue) RRS TO STUDY COMSAT PROBLEMS The Radio Research Station at Ditton Park, Datchct, is to operate an 82ft diameter radio telescope at Chilbolton Airfield, Hampshire, in an investigation of communication satellite problems. In the field of satellite-borne experiments, the Station is now working on part of the payload for ESRO 1, the European Space Research Organization's first satellite, to be launched early in 1967. These and other aspects of the Station's space work were outlined by the Director, Mr J. A. Ratcliffe, FRS, and his staff at the RRS Open Days last week. The following were among the items exhibited or described:— Radio Telescope An 82ft diameter, fully steerable, paraboloid- reflector aerial, designed to operate at wavelengths greater than 3cm, is to be built by AEI for the RRS at Chilbolton Airfield. It will be used to investigate wave propagation through the tropo- sphere and ionosphere (particularly in relation to communication satellite problems), and the radio noise emitted by the Sun, the planets and the galaxy. ESRO Satellite Purpose of this satellite is to measure the flux and energy spectrum of corpuscular radiation associated with aurorae, magnetic storms and ionospheric disturbances at high latitudes. The major experiment, which will measure the intensities of electrons and protons of different energies, will be performed jointly by the RRS and a number of Scandinavian laboratories. The station has undertaken to measure electrons of 5O-50OkeV, and also high-energy protons. The ESRO satellite will be launched into polar orbit by a Scout or similar rocket in the autumn of 1967. Technical proposals for the spacecraft itself have been submitted to ESRO by Saab and Fiat. Other experiments aboard the satellite will measure the ultra-violet radiation, ion composition, electron temperature and concentration, and auroral light intensity (or as many of these quantities as proves practicable). At Datchet, a laboratory prototype of the RRS particle-counting equipment should be complete by the end of this year. The design of this equipment will be tailored to the appropriate power, size, weight and telemetry capacity so that it can be engineered into flight models. The flight models will be made wholly or in part by industry, and probably will be ready by the end of 1965. Rocket Experiments To determine the height distribution of electrons in the D-region (below about 100km) of the ionosphere, RRS payloads are carried in Skylark sounding rockets fired from Woomera. Radio receivers in the payloads measure the field strength from ground transmissions on 202kc/s ,• l'rom the field variations the electron concentration can be deduced. In this series of experiments the Station has flown four payloads (the first two in collaboration with Sheffield University), and D-region electron densities have been obtained for both day and night. In two forthcoming Skylark flights, the D-region measurements will be continued using a different technique. Temperature and concentration of electrons will be deduced from the "resonance rectification" effect on a probe aboard the rocket. Two further Skylark experiments will measure the impedance of a 15ft dipole aerial at three frequencies. This will give design data for aerials to be used on rockets and satellites, and will be useful also in investigating the ionosphere itself. UK-3 Satellite RRS receivers in this spacecraft, to be launched in 1967, will measure high-frequency noise propagated through the ionosphere to the satellite from sources (mainly lightning dis- charges) near the Earth's surface. The object is to deduce the geographical distribution of the sources and their movements, the amplitudes of single atmospherics, the numbers of discharges and the total noise radiated into space. Laser Beams Beams of light from ruby lasers are being used in two investigations. In one the beam is directed upwards, and the light scattered by atmospheric molecules at heights up to about 80km is measured. In the other the beam will be directed at a NASA satellite equipped with special optical mirrors and the posi- tion of the craft will be determined by observing the reflected light. Topside Sounding Results of RRS analyses of data received from the Canadian Alouette topside-sounder satellite were reported in last week's issue. Alouette will be followed in the international topside sounder programme by five further satellites—Topsi (US) and four ISIS craft (Canada). IBM AND SATURN NASA has selected International Business Machines, Federal Systems Division, as "lead contractor" for development and fabrication of instrument units for the Saturn IB and Saturn V launch vehicles. IBM was chosen last October to design and manufacture the instrument-unit data adapters and digital guidance computers and to be responsible for integration and checkout of the units. As lead contractor the company will now assume additional responsibility for the structural and environmental control systems, and integration of all systems. NASA will supply the telemetry systems and the ST-124M stabilized platform. Total cost of the IBM instrument unit work over the next five years is expected to exceed $175m, of which contracts for |79m have
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