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Aviation History
1973
1973 - 1684.PDF
FLIGHT International, 14 June 1973 telescopes in the ATM which blanks out the Sun's disc to permit study of the corona. In the first main Earth- resources sweep, the survey package in the multiple docking adapter focused on the first manned orbital survey on Cen tral America, where mineral resources and insect infestation of crops are of prime interest. Medical experiments involved the use of a rotating chair to check susceptibility to motion sickness and included further attempts to use the bicycle exerciser. As work got under way after the first few days of orientation and equipment check-out, Conrad reported "the first thing that's obvious to me is that Man can work up here. Surprisingly enough, we are doing what I consider a lot more physical tasks—that is, exercising our muscles— than I thought we would." Illustrating this point, he later reported an unscheduled exercise when all three crewmen had succeeded in running around the wall of the workshop, generating enough centrifugal force to create a light artificial gravity. A television demonstration of this had to be cancelled, however, when the battery problems emphasised priority use of power. On June 3, Conrad achieved the US record total of space flight hours when he overtook James Lovell's 715hr 5min. On June 7, the mission became the longest US three-man flight and, on the next day, it surpassed the overall US record mission, that of the 14-day Gemini 7 flight. If all goes well, the world duration record, now held by the Soyuz II crew, will be exceeded on June 18. • In a 90min spacewalk on June 7 Conrad, assisted by Kerwin, succeeded in freeing the jammed solar panel. Enough power will now be available to complete most of the experiment programme (see World News). LUNAR INSERTION MOTOR SOLAR PANELS (4) VELOCITY CONTROL PROPULSION SYSTEM PACKAGE TELEMETRY ANTENNAS (4) DIPOLE ANTENNA ELEMENTS (2) 750-FOOT ANTENNA (4) TIP TARGET (4) The positioning of the main elements ofNasa's Radio Astronomy Explorer are shown in this drawing. When fully extended, the antennae from a diagonal cross spanning 1,300ft to 0-25 r.p.m. and two V-shaped antennae are deployed, each arm extending 750ft, 228m. The antennae are de ployed, each arm extending 750ft, 228m. The antennae are stored flat on small reels and are extended in three steps to reach their full length. Made of bimetallic strip ping, the exposed antenna curls over to form a tube for rigidity. RAE-B is the second satellite in the series designed to obtain data on little-understood radio emissions from deep space. The first RAE was launched into Earth orbit at 3,700 miles altitude in July 1968. Although it operated successfully until it was retired at the end of last year, its observations were affected by interference from terres trial emissions. LUNAR ORBITING EXPLORER In an attempt to measure galactic and solar radio noise at extremely low frequencies, Nasa was to have launched a 7351b, 333kg spacecraft last week into lunar orbit where it will be able to operate clear of interference from the Earth's ionosphere. The spacecraft, named Radio Astronomy Explorer (RAE) -B, was to have been launched by a Delta vehicle from Kennedy Space Centre on June 9. Insertion into lunar orbit was to have taken place today, June 14. The first month in orbit will be occupied with a complex series of operations preparing the spacecraft for service. Orbital insertion is achieved by the use of a solid rocket motor which places the spacecraft into an elliptical equa torial orbit and is then jettisoned a few minutes later to reduce the heat-absorption area of the spacecraft. A new hydrazine-fuelled motor, called a velocity control propul sion system (VCPS), then fires to circularise the orbit at 682 miles, 1,100km altitude. Spin stabilisation will be reduced from 12 r.p.m. first to 4 r.p.m. by partial extension of a 630ft, 190m-long stabilisation boom and two 120ft, 36m-long dipoles which will then be calibrated over the next 21 days. The lengthy calibration period is required to make use of two oppor tunities when the spacecraft is shielded by the Moon from any Earth radiations. After final orbit adjustments are completed the VCPS is also jettisoned. The spacecraft is then slowed by Freon-gas thrusters LUNOKHOD 2 SHUT DOWN The second Soviet lunar roving vehicle, Lunokhod 2, has ceased operations. A statement issued on June 3 said that the "scientific and technical research programme con ducted with the use of the Soviet Moon vehicle, Lunokhod 2, has now been completed." No reference was made to any failure in what would appear to be a premature shutdown compared with the mission of the first Lunokhod, which lasted 11 months. Lunokhod 2 was landed on the Moon on January 16 by Luna 21. In the course of its five lunar days of operation the vehicle covered 23 miles, 37km, more than three and a half times the distance covered by Lunokhod 1. During this time, the vehicle's television cameras took 80,000 pictures, including 86 panoramic views. The statement records that internal temperature was maintained between 53°F, 12°C and 90°F, 32°C and the atmospheric pressure between 30in, 770mm and 32 • 6in, 830mm of mercury. The Soviet Academy of Sciences plans to publish the scientific results of the mission but reports success in the first attempts to obtain measurements of the luminosity of the lunar sky from the lunar surface. Established so far is the fact that the Moon is surrounded by a layer of dust particles which disperses the light received directly from the Sun and from Earth reflection. It is stated that infor mation was obtained on the inner structure of the Moon to a depth of hundreds of kilometers.
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