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Aviation History
1967
1967 - 0154.PDF
150 FUGHT International, 26 January 1967 Spaceflight ANTI-MISSILE TESTS (continued from page 145) From these observations, from telemetry data transmitted from the payload, and from data recorded on an on-board insulated tape recorder which is recovered after the flight, information on temperatures and on the radiation characteristics of the re- entering body and its ionised wake is obtained. Complex US ground equipment was installed at Woomera for the Dazzle programme, including a special high-power radar developed by Stanford Research Institute and two electro-optical units produced by Barnes Engineering. The radar uses an 86ft dish and is designed to study the properties of the head and wake on re-entry, and in general to find out everything that can be learned by electromagnetic measure- ment. The Barnes units utilise a Nike Ajax radar mount carry- ing 800lb of instrumentation, including radiometers, ultra- violet photometers and spectrometers. These facilities are clearly of equal value in connection with the Sparta programme, apart from any additional ARPA radars and other sensors which may have been supplied speci- fically for Sparta. Compared with Black Knight, the Redstone vehicles provide higher re-entry velocities: according to Senator Henty, "The greater re-entry speeds made possible by the use of the Redstone rocket will add to the large amount of information already amassed on re-entry phenomena col- lected from the earlier Dazzle programme." The Redstones will also enable heavier re-entry vehicles to be tested. In the current experiments the USA is providing the modified Redstone rockets, special ground equipment, instrumentation and launch handling teams. The Australian Weapons Research Establishment is responsible for the operation and manage- ment of Woomera range, particularly of the launch area; operation of special instrumentation; and the processing of certain test data. The UK Ministry of Aviation has an interest from its joint project association with Australia and its earlier participation in the Gaslight and Dazzle projects. NEW FIX ON SOVIET LAUNCH-SITE With the aid of Cosmos 136, launched at noon on December 19, 1966, two Swedish engineering students have pin-pointed more accurately the position of the new Soviet launch site near Archangel (reported in Flight last April 21 and November 10). They are Sven Grahn, who has collaborated for some time with Geoffrey Perry of the space group at Kettering Grammar School, and Bjorn Gimle. In a letter to Flight the two students report their revised calculations, based on Cosmos 136 orbital data, that the loca- tion of the Soviet site is at 62.9 °N +0.1° latitude; 39.9 °E + 0.4°. This position is compatible with the data published by Mr Perry in the November 10, 1966, issue of Flight. Every new launch from the site, they comment, will provide another fix on the location, so that these figures may have to be revised. SYNCHRONOUS SUCCESS Testing of the second satellite in the Intelsat 2 series began on January 16 using Earth stations at Carnarvon, Australia; Ibaraki, Japan; Oahu, Hawaii and Brewster Flat in Washing- ton State, USA. The US Communications Satellite Corpora- tion, acting as manager for the International Telecommunica- tions Satellite Consortium, stated that testing would be com- plete in time for commercial service to begin on January 26. The spacecraft was launched from Cape Kennedy into an elliptical transfer orbit on January 11. Its on-board apogee motor was ignited at 5.11 a.m. EST on January 14 to achieve a planned, near-synchronous orbit over the Pacific. Later that day hydrogen-peroxide jets aboard the satellite were activated to perfect the orbit, position the spacecraft's aerial in the correct attitude for reception and transmission, and adjust the velocity of the craft to obtain the desired synchronous position at a height of 22,300 miles near the International Date Line. The corporation announced the same day that the desired McDonnell's airlock assembly trainer built at St Louis for the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, was recently accepted ty NASA. The airlock unit may be attached to a spent Satan S-/VB stage used as an orbiting research laboratory; the entry hatch is 15ft 6in long and 5ft 5in in diameter orbit had been achieved and that all on-board communicatio systems appeared to be functioning properly. When in com-1 mercial use, the satellite will provide 24hr communication ser- vice between the USA and Earth Stations in Hawaii, Japan and Australia. Additional stations in Thailand and the Philip- pines will be in operation later this year. Among the commercial users of the satellite are NASA, in connection with the Apollo programme; and the US National Communications System, for military communications between Hawaii and Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. Cosmos 138 was launched on January 19. The satellite was placed in orbit at 193-293km, 89.2min period, 65° inclination, according to Tass, and was transmitting on 19.995Mc/s. Lunar Orbiter 2 took a total of 412 pictures of the surface of the Moon which disclosed five locations considered suitable as j landing sites for manned Apollo landings. Selection of anj actual site for landing awaits surveys of other possible areas! by three more Lunar Orbiter spacecraft and a second soft-1 landing Surveyor. The next Lunar Orbiter is scheduled to bej launched on February 3. Eight satellites were launched into Earth orbit by a sin Titan 3C launch vehicle from Cape Kennedy on January .-. They are Department of Defense communication satellites orbited as part of the Initial Defense Communications Satel- lite Project; seven spacecraft of the same type were launched into orbit last June. The latest eight satellites have been tracked by the Ministry of Aviation's Earth station at Christ- church since 6.37 a.m. on January 19. Comsat Cost Expected cost of Britain's military communica- tion satellite programme (involving the purchase and launching of two synchronous spacecraft from the USA) is over SM million (over £7 million), according to US Defense Depart' ment sources quoted by Reuter on January 17. On present plans the first launching will be in April 1968, probably by a Thor Delta vehicle. The USAF is expected to contract within the next few weeks for the construction of the satellites: the three companies who have bid as prime contractors are Phil* Hughes Aircraft and TRW Systems.
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