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Aviation History
1971
1971 - 0077.PDF
i&^**fc '"•"^A.^,. '^trnm nil US-USSR SPACE RESEARCH TALKS Discussions are to begin next Monday, January 18, in Moscow on expanded US-USSR co-operation in space research. A six-man US team, headed by Dr George Low, Nasa Acting Administrator, will spend the week discussing with a Soviet group headed by Mr M. V. Keldysh, president of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the possibility of co-operation over and above the present space rescue agreement. The discussions will cover areas such as scientific research by satellites, space meteorology and space biology and medicine. Steps have already been taken in this direction through certain limited arrangements notably on meteorology and space biology and medicine, the latter taking the form of a joint publication, currently in preparation, as the result of arrangements in October 1965. Next week's meeting is the outcome of approaches initially made in October 1969. On that occasion, Dr Thomas Paine, then Nasa Administrator, sent to Mr Keldysh copies of the report submitted by the US President's Space Task Group established to review the United States' long-range goals in space, and of Nasa's more detailed report to the Space Task Group. In his letter, Dr Paine indicated his belief that these reports suggested possi bilities for moving beyond the present very limited co-operation between the Soviet Union and the United States and stated his readiness to meet with Mr Keldysh either in Washington or Moscow. President Keldysh replied in December 1969 agreeing in principle to such a meeting and suggesting that its timing and location be considered later in 1970. In October 1970, following confirmation of arrangements for Nasa/Soviet Academy discussions on possible compatible space docking arrangements, Mr Keldysh proposed a meeting with Dr Low in Moscow at any convenient time around the end of the year. Dr Low's subsequent suggestion by Mr Keldysh in a telegram which was received on December 30. Dr Low will be accompanied by Dr John E. Naugle, Nasa Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications; Arnold W. Frutkin, Nasa Assistant Adminis trator for International Affairs; Arthur W. Johnson, Deputy Director, National Environmental Satellite Service; William Anders, Executive Secretary, National Aeronautics and Space Council; and Robert F. Packard, Director, Office of Space-Atmospheric and Marine Science Affairs, Department of State. NASA 1971-INTELSAT 4 DELAYED The launch of Intelsat 4a, originally due to have taken place yesterday, January 13, has been postponed as a precautionary measure until engineers have established the exact cause of an Atlas-Centaur failure last November. An Atlas-Centaur was to have been used yesterday for this first launch of a new series of communication satellites for the Intelsat network. The failure last November occurred when the nose cone refused to detach itself during the Erno is to begin subsonic free-flying tests of its L&.2I "bumerar& lifting body this spring. Bumerang is about I Oft, 3m long with a 6.2ft, 2m wingspan and weighs 881b, 400kg. Its radio-controlled flight, after launch at 15,000ft, 4,600m from a Grumman Hu-16 Albatross amphibian, will be carried out over water, ending with a parachute- controlled landing launch of the third Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, thus preventing the satellite from reaching orbital speed. But for the postponement, the launch of this inter nationally built satellite would have heralded in the US space programme for 1971, a programme which includes nine international projects among the 19 missions which Nasa has tentatively scheduled for this year. The initial launch will now probably be that of the second Nato comsat on January 27. The highlights of the programme are, of course, the two Apollo Moon flights, the first of which, Apollo 14, is to take place on January 31 with astronauts Shepard, Mitchell and Roosa—destination, Fra Mauro (Flight, December 24). Apollo 15, crewed by Scott, Worden and Irwin, is scheduled for launch on July 25 and to carry the lunar rover vehicle for extensive exploration of the Hadley Rille area. Also significant are two Mariner probes to Mars which will be launched eight days apart next May. At the end of the six months' journey taken to reach the planet, Nasa will attempt to place the two spacecraft in orbit. If success ful, it will be the first occasion on which a spacecraft has been orbited around another planet—all previous US and Soviet planetary flights have been fly-by or landing mis sions. During several weeks in orbit, the two probes will photograph 70 per cent of the planet from 1,000 miles, 1,600km altitude. Tentative launch dates for the remaining missions are:— January 27: Nato B—Nato communications satellite. February 25: Interplanetary Monitoring Platform—a scien tific satellite to study spatial magnetic fields, solar wind and other interplanetary phenomena. February: Solrad—the latest in a series of US Navy scien tific satellites studying solar radiation. March: Isis B—co-operative US-Canadian scientific satellite to study the Earth's ionosphere. March: planetary atmosphere experiments test-satellites to test techniques for discovering undetected atmospheres around the distant planets. April: OSO-H—seventh in a series of Orbiting Solar Obser vatories. April: barium aerosols experiment—a co-operative project with Germany to study the density and motion of the lower ionosphere with barium aerosols launched by small rockets. May: SSS-A—Small Scientific Satellite to be launched by an Italian team from Italy's San Marco platform off the coast of Kenya. June: Ariel 4 (UK-4)—fourth satellite in a co-operative project with the UK to study electrons, protons, cosmic noise, lightning discharge noise, and other phenomena in the ionosphere and near space.
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