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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 1962.PDF
FLIGHT International, 25 June 1964 1083 uneven burning which causes motor casings to burn through and explode." This is because burning does not take place on the surface of the solid fuel of a hybrid in the way it does on a solid. The liquid oxidant (typically liquid oxygen) is fed through an injector into the solid fuel segment where ignition is achieved with a hypergolic fluid or other means. The solid fuel (typically butadiene rubber) melts slowly, turning into a gas that burns with the oxygen. Thus, the solid itself is always separated from the burning by a zone of fuel gas. By controlling the flow of oxidant the hybrid rocket can be throttled, or stopped and restarted, with ease. "Hybrids will deliver specific impulses 20 per cent greater than any operational all-solid system," Ordahl claimed, "and are competitive with present all- liquid systems." He announced that UTC are now achieving a specific impulse higher than anything previously attained with hybrid motors, as a result of more rapid combustion brought about by a new metal additive to the fuel and a new mechanical technique which increases combustion turbulence. He also demonstrated that the oxidizer and fuel would not react upon one another hypergoli- cally, nor would the solid react even with fuming nitric acid. "This fuel is completely non-toxic and it will not ignite unless subjected to special conditions used in the starting technique." Mr Ordahl indicated the hybrid rocket is being studied as a means /for providing emergency power upon demand for aircraft. UTC have so far conducted over 7,800 starts in testing 790 individual hybrid rocket motors. Thirty different fuel and oxidizer combina- tions have been tried, and the photograph depicts a recent test firing. UNU8UAL ORBITS The Cosmos 32 launching on June 10 marked a new phase in the Soviet Union's investigation of the Earth's atmosphere and near space. This satellite was orbited at an inclination of 51.3°, an angle never before used by the Russians, all previous Cosmos spacecraft having kept rigidly within 0.15° of 64.9° or 48.9°. Although the new satellite might appear to belong to the 49° class, the transmitting frequency (19.996Mc/s) and the initial period (89.77min) are typical of the larger 65° craft. The lowest 49° Cosmos, number 6, i. orbited at a period of 90.6min. ? The first orbit of Cosmos 32, launched at about 11 a.m. GMT •on June 10, passed over 50°N 79.1°E and 51.3°N 96.5°E, which suggests that it originated from the Baikonur region rather than Kapustin Yar. Its class cannot be determined by visual observa- tions from the UK since transits in the vicinity of the British Isles occur at about 4 p.m. GMT. Accompanying the satellite were the .jrocket body and one fragment. * A Thor Agena launched south-westwards by the USAF from Vandenberg Air Force Base on June 13 successfully placed a Starflash satellite into an orbit having the record inclination of 115.05°. The period for the 35O-375km orbit was 91.66min. Although three other USAF spacecraft have had orbits inclined at more than 100° to the Earth's equator, this latest firing paid a greater payload penalty by moving even further against the Earth's rotational velocity. Since a launch site at latitude 40°N moves eastwards at 900 m.p.h., a booster launched into a retrograde 65° path must acquire a velocity some 750 m.p.h. greater than that needed for a direct orbit of the same altitude. Also, since Starflash's inclination approximates to 116.6°, at which value the perigee position would remain constantly over its initial latitude, the perigee rotates round the orbit at only 0.4° per day. The Agena stage carried a Starflash experiment, an inter-agency geodetic payload from which the NASA STADAN (formerly Minitrack) tracking stations will be receiving telemetry and which the stations will attempt to photograph. As part of a follow-on programme to the Anna project, the new satellite will be com- manded to emit a series of coded flashes lasting about 32sec while in the Earth's shadow. Although the flashes might only record images as bright as eighth or ninth magnitude stars on the photo- graphic plate, they could appear of second magnitude to a naked- eye observer as the satellite crosses the sky from south-east to north-west or north-east to south-west. Initial tracking data suggested that the single object in orbit would remain aloft for 3-15 months. French Firings First firings of two types of French rocket were made recently. Two Veronique 61 rockets achieved a height of 260km, one on June 8 and one on June 13; and a two-stage Rubis reached a height of 1,800km on June 10. All three firings were made from the French Inter-service Guided Weapons Test Centre at Hammaguir. Eurospace and USA The first meeting to be held jointly by the industrial organization Eurospace and US industry took place this week (June 22-24) in Rome. It was concerned primarily with project management, and comprised a series of full discussions on five papers presented by speakers from Boeing, Douglas, General Electric, Martin and Hughes. A Eurospace Transporter? The development by European industry of a space transporter, or aerospace plane, is "from all points of view feasible," according to a report which is shortly to be published by Eurospace. This was disclosed at the fourth European Spaceflight Symposium in Rome last week. The sym- posium will be reported in next week's issue. ESRO Skylarks The first ESRO sounding-rocket payloads, assembled in the European Space Technology Centre, Delft, are now mounted on their Skylark rockets and in place at the launch site at Salto di Quirra, Sardinia. They are scheduled to be launched "very shortly." This was announced at the second session of the Council of the European Space Research Organization, held in Paris during June 15-17. Comsat Communique A three-day international conference on satellite communication which ended in London on June 20 made much progress, according to a Foreign Office communique, towards interim arrangements for a global communication satellite system. Delegations attended the meeting from the USA, member-countries of the European Conference on Satellite Communications, Canada, Australia and Japan. Two agreements are being drafted, one defining broad principles and the other an operating agreement; negotiations are to be resumed in Washington on July 13. During the first flight test of this ONERA hybrid rocket from lie de Levant on April 25, the thrust was varied from approximately 2,200 to 4401b. The performance of the 160mm diameter rocket was stated to have confirmed the research work carried out by ONERA over a period of several years
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