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Aviation History
1970
1970 - 1199.PDF
FLIGHT International, 2 July 1970 changes in the cryogenic, oxygen system. The accident is strikingly similar in some respects to that of Apollo 204— the presence of oxygen (either in liquid or gaseous form) with organic materials, and one of the recommendations is to minimise the quality of Teflon, aluminium and other relatively combustible materials in the presence of potential ignition sources. Another recommendation is that consumables and emergency equipment in the lunar module and the command module be examined with a view to seeing if they can be increased to provide a better "lifeboat" potential. Most significant is undoubtedly the recommendation which calls for Nasa to "reassess all Apollo spacecraft subsystems, and the engineering organisations responsible for them at the Manned Spacecraft Centre and at prime contractors, to ensure adequate understanding and control of the engineering and manufacturing details of these subsystems at the subcontractor and vendor level. Where necessary organisational elements should be strengthened and in-depth reviews conducted on selected subsystems with emphasis on soundness of design, quality of manufacturing, adequacy of testing and operational experience." ELDO's F.9 FLIGHT More details of the recent F.9 launch have been given by Eldo. This last flight in the Initial Programme to qualify the basic European launch vehicle was launched from Woomera on June 12 after a delay of two days caused by snags in the telemetry and the firing-sequence instrumentation. The main objects of the F.9 flight were to measure the per formance of the three propulsion stages, to qualify the stage- separation systems and the jettisoning of the nose-fairing, and to verify the operation of the radio-guidance system at Gove, in northern Australia, and to demonstrate the operation of the inertial guidance system, carried on the F.9 flight as a payload. These objectives, with the exception of part of the second, were achieved. The 300kg nose-fairing, which should have released and been discarded during the second-stage burn, 222sec after lift-off, did not do so, owing to the premature disconnection of an electrical connector, carrying the separation command signal, 78sec after launch. The first-stage engines (two Rolls-Royce RZ12 Mk III motors, with a total thrust of 300,0001b, l,340kN) burned for 157sec, those of the French second stage for 105sec. The German third-stage engine, a single-chamber unit built by Messerschrnitt-Bolkow-Blohm, burned for 367sec in place of the scheduled 356sec, but verified its performance for the first time. The flow of tank-pressurisation gas (helium) was.greater than normal, causing a relief valve to open and vent gas overboard. During the later stage of the burn; therefore. insufficient gas remained to maintain pressure in the tank and consequently there was a progressive reduction in thrust from the nominal value of 4,9801b, 22.4kN. The two 1101b, 490N, thrust verniers, operating from the common presurisa- tion system, also lost thrust. The non-injection into orbit not only resulted in the loss of data from the communication experiment by CETS (the European Telecommunication Satellite Conference) but pre vented the accuracy of the radio-guidance system from being accurately determined. The 260kg payload consisted of a test satellite, weighing 214kg, and an adaptor containing the radio-guidance equir> ment. Because the nose-fairing failed to release, the effective mass of the satellite was increased beyond the ability of the third-stage propulsion system to place it in orbit. The velocity actually obtained by satellite was 7,100m/sec instead of the 7.893m/sec corresponding to the planned orbit. The combined third stage and nose fairing enclosing the satellite flew over the North Pole and came down in the sea just off the north coast of South America, not Greenland as was at first stated by Eldo (Flight, June 18, page 984). Eldo concludes: "The F.9 launch can therefore be con sidered to have been on the whole very satisfying, the main objectives having been achieved; it marks a major step forward in the development of the European launcher programme." 31 NASA RE-EXAMINES THE SHUTTLE Nasa is to examine several alternative shuttle layouts to those currently being investigated under Phase B (project definition) contracts by North American Rockwell and McDonnell Douglas. It is negotiating with three firms—Grumman, Lock heed and Chrysler—for 11-month Phase A (project feasibility) studies. * .; Grumman, which previously headed a team comprising General Electric, Northrop and Eastern Airlines in an un successful attempt to bid for Phase B contracts, will be assisted by Boeing. Its $4 million, 11-month Phase A contract will be managed by Nasa's Manned Spacecraft Centre. It will look at three possible solutions: a" one-and-a-half stage vehicle, consisting of a single re-useable manned module with on-board propulsion and external tanks; a re-useable orbiter launched by means of an existing expendable booster, or a new minimum-cost first-stage liquid or solid-propellant booster; and a re-useable first stage, using North American Rockwell J-2S engine technology and solid propellant boosters, with a re-useable second-stage orbiter, also powered by J-2S engines (the J-2S is an advanced version of the liquid-hydrogen-liquid- oxygen engine used in the second and third stages of the Saturn V vehicle). The $1 million Lockheed study, to be managed by the Marshall Space Flight Centre, will define one-and-a-half stage vehicles tailored to both high and low cross-range requirements. In a related Phase A study, Chrysler is to look at a re- useable vehicle which can loft payloads to orbit using only a single stage, a very significant development if it can be shown to be practicable. This contract is worth $750,000. This re-think is a clear sign that the lack of basic engineer ing data over the whole regime of possible layouts has caused concern in Nasa that a definitive layout may be adopted much too soon; indeed Christopher Kraft (Flight, last week, page 1055) voiced these same doubts. With such an expensive and significant programme ahead, second thoughts are a good thing to have. SKYNET 2 BEGINS Hawker Siddeley Dynamics, and GEC-AEI (Electronics) have each been given a contract by the Ministry of Technology to develop, in co-operation with American industry, proposals for higher-powered Skynet communications satellites for defence purposes. A decision on which firm is to be the eventual prime contractor for two such satellites will be taken later this year. The satellites are to be ready for launching in 1973 as replenishment for the initial two satellites of the Skynet system which were built in America, the first of which was successfully launched last November. The new satellites will be substantially more powerful than these first Skynets and will be capable of operating in conjunction with small transportable aerials. Full-scale mock-up of the lunar roving vehicle, under test at the Marshall Space Flight Centre, which is due to fly to the Moon aboard Apollo lb spacecraft next year. The two astronauts are Charles Duke, left, and John Young at the controls. The vehicle will be able to travel up to 3 miles from the lunar module, powered by an electric motor. This range is compatible with the endurance of a new portable life-support system under development for the later Moon flights
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