FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1964
1964 - 2332.PDF
FLIGHT International, 27 August 1964 339 the feasibility of achieving a stationary orbit, and of using a station- ary satellite for relaying intercontinental telephone and message traffic. In addition, the spacecraft carries extra electronic equipment with which to relay television broadcasts from the Tokyo Olympic Games, which begin on October 10, to the United States and Canada. The two earlier spacecraft in the Syncom series each achieved orbit at synchronous height (22,300 miles) but, as their orbits were inclined to the equator, they appeared to trace a figure-of-eight pattern over the Earth between 33° N and 33° S, i.e., they were not "stationary" above a single point. Using the extra power of the first thrust-augmented Delta, Syncom 3 became the first spacecraft to achieve a truly stationary orbit. The schedule of events during the launch and manoeuvre phases was as follows:â T+ 0 Lift-off from Cape Kennedy at 1215hr GMT. T+2min 33sec Second-stage ignition. T+7min 20sec Yaw manoeuvre to turn booster 38° left to pre- align third stage for ignition 'downrange over equator. T-i-26min lOsec Third-stage ignition, 22sec burn, dog-leg man- oeuvre. Orbital inclination decreased by 16°. Injection into transfer orbit. Craft now over equator at first perigee at 695 miles. Booster separated from spacecraft. T+6hr First apogee at 24,081 miles at about 90e E (over Indian Ocean). Satellite is losing velocity with respect to rotation of Earth and appears to drift westward. T+llhr 4©min Second perigee at 695 miles over mid-Pacific. T-rl7hr 15min Second apogee at about 70° W over Brazil at 24,081 miles. Spacecraft in line of sight with Lakehurst, New Jersey, ground station, and receives re-orientation commands to change f attitude 10.6° to align craft correctly for apogee motor firing. T-i-22hr 50min Third perigee over Africa. Tâ28hr 30min Third apogee over Indonesia near 127° E. Fourth-stage ignition, 20sec burn, orbital inclination reduced to zero and satellite injected into a nominally synchronous, circular, equatorial orbit. Ten-day drift Satellite's control jets are pulsed to move craft period ( to final position at 176° E (near international dateline). Satellite re-oriented during drift period. Each of the three strap-on boost motors of the thrust-augmented Delta provides 53,8501b of thrust, the overall effect being almost to double the 172,0001b thrust of the basic Delta vehicle. The strap- on motors weigh approximately 9,2001b each, and are mounted so that their thrust vector passes through the centre of gravity of the main Delta vehicle. NASA officials at Goddard Space Flight Center reported on August 22 that the initial stages of achieving the desired orbit were "highly successful", and that there was no hurry to make the final adjustments to the 176° E position. RE-ENTRY TEST FROM WALLOPS A Scout vehicle was launched by NASA from Wallops Island on August 18 to conduct a re-entry heating experiment involving a low-density charring ablator material. The material used is one being considered for use as the Apollo heat-shield for re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere after lunar flights. The flight conditions for the re-entry phase of the flight are beyond those attainable in laboratory facilities at present; flight data were received both optically and by telemetry. Total payload weight was approximately 3701b, decreasing to just under 1821b at the start of re-entry. Including the adapter linking it to the fourth stage of the Scout, the payload was almost 4ft long, tapering in diameter from ll;5in at the nosecap to 20.25in at the widest point. In addition to the four stages of the standard Scout vehicle, a 17in spherical rocket was attached to the payload as a velocity package. The first two stages carried the remainder of the vehicle to a height of about 130 miles, after which the craft arced over in a descending path and the remaining stages fired, accelerating the payload to a maximum speed of approximately 19,500 m.p.h. Payload impact occurred some 1,265 miles downrange, approx- imately 400 miles south-east of Bermuda. Total flight time was llmin, and no attempt was made to recover the payload. NASA's Ionosphere Explorer Satellite, a fixed-frequency topside sounder nicknamed Topsi, was scheduled to be launched from Point Arguello by a Scout rocket on Tuesday last, August 25. The launch had been postponed from March 13 because of "difficulties encountered with the electrical wiring harness in the launch vehicle", which resulted in the Scout being returned to Ling-Temco-Vought for detailed analysis. An ion mass spectro- meter provided by University College, London, is aboard the spacecraft, which was designed and built by the Airborne Instru- ments Laboratory of Cutler-Hammer Inc under contract to Goddard Space Flight Center. The "primary experimenter" is the US National Bureau of Standards' Central Radio Propagation Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado. US Military Comsat System The US Department of Defense announced on August 10 the start of work on a $20m (£7,143,000) military communication-satellite system to maintain unjammable two-way voice circuits between US military establishments through- out the world. The programme will require 24 satellites in 18,000- mile equatorial orbit; the first launch is scheduled for early 1966. Spain Shopping for Missiles Both surface-to-air and anti-tank guided weapons are being sought by the Spanish Government from various Western nations. Hawk is to be obtained from the United States for the first role, under the terms of a bilateral military assistance programme; the anti-tank missile choice is less obvious. Components of the re-entry test vehicle launched by Scout from Wallops Island on the morning of August 18 in a NASA experiment to study the ability of low-density charring ablator materials to withstand the intense heat generated by a spacecraft during re-entry (see news item above)
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
