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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0005.PDF
FLIGHT, 6 January 1961 5 United Technology Corp have a NASA feasibility contract for conical segmented solid-propel- lant rockets. The photograph on the left shows last-minute preparations before the success- ful firing of a 15,000lb-thrust motor, burning for one minute NASA have chosen Space Tech- nology Laboratories at prime contractor for the orbiting geophysical observatory (right). The OGO will be NASA's first standardized multi-purpose satellite, as described below representatives of the French Government on the joint develop-ment of a satellite launcher based on Blue Streak. These dis- cussions have envisaged collaboration in both finance andtechnology. "So far ... our discussions with our French friends have gonewell. We must, however, recognise that just as this is a major decision for us to take, so it is a major decision for any othercountry. On the technical side, we have established that it is practicable to develop a satellite launcher using a first propulsionstage formed from our own Blue Streak and a second propulsion stage based on French development work. On the policy side,we came to the view that the next step is to ascertain which other countries would wish to join in sponsoring the development ofsuch a launcher and to undertake other parts of the development. "To that end the House will be interested to know that we andthe French Government have it in mind that interested countries should be invited to join in a conference early in the New Year.We hope that from such a conference will emerge a sufficient indication of the degree of interest in this project to enable us totake firm decisions. As a preliminary to this conference, we are inviting individual countries to send their experts here for dis-cussion and to judge for themselves the technical soundness of our proposals and the distance we have already gone in develop-ment. I agree with the House that we have gone a considerable distance. I cannot say more at this stage as the matters which Ihave described were settled in Paris only last week and we are now working out the detailed steps which will lead up to the con-ference which I have announced. "Meanwhile, we are keeping the Blue Streak work going atwhat, we think, is the right level, striking a balance between the need to limit expenditure to the minimum in advance of policydecisions and the need to obtain a viable nucleus of the many skills which must be deployed in strength once the policy decisionto go ahead is taken." 8KYBOLT SCARES Scare-stories of difficulties and delays with GAM-87 Skybolt arebecoming commonplace. Our contemporary Aviation Week has now stated that the missile is likely to be cancelled owing to theaccelerated development of the B-70 and Minuteman, claiming that no further funds will be authorized beyond the end of FiscalYear 1961 (ending on June 30). The US Air Force replied that about $80m (£28.6m) had been voted early in 1960 and thatadditional funding of about $70m (£25m) would be required during FY61. The GAM-87 programme was being reviewed,and the $70m appropriation was being curtailed. The effect of this adjustment upon key system dates was not expected to be sub-stantial, and final deliveries should be less than four months late. Yet another report claimed that the programme would becurtailed, or even cancelled, unless the British Government put more money into it. It has been unofficially reported that the totalBritish vote for adapting Vulcans to carry the missile is £37m— an ample figure for fewer than 200 aircraft. All work involved inmatching Skybolt to RAF Bomber Command requirements is being paid for from British funds, and the USAF have deniedthat Britain's requirement for Skybolt has any bearing on the curtailment of the FY61 supplementary appropriation. A furthernigger in the woodpile was provided by the announcement that the personnel strength at Northrop Nortronics Division engagedin the development of the Skybolt guidance system was being cut by about 50 per cent. Nortronics hurriedly emphasized that thereductions arose from the fact that most of the work had been done. Then, on December 30, Douglas said they were reducing theSkvbolt work-force by 1,200. British newspapers continue to refer to a British project knownas the Bat, said to be under consideration as a possible insurance against failure of Skybolt to materialize. According to the London Daily Mail, the Bat will be "a supersonic, hedge-hopping H-bombmissile," for which a £lm design contract is likely to be placed this month. The London Times says that the Minister of Defence,in his avowed search for a diverse range of delivery systems, is promoting "a low-level missile that could fly below an enemyradar screen." It links this missile with TSR.2. OGO The right-hand illustration above is the first to show the OGOorbiting geophysical observatory, three of which are to be delivered by STL to NASA within three years at a cost of more than$15m (£5.4m). OGO will be a standardized vehicle with modular compartments capable of carrying 50 different experiments in agiven mission. It will be approximately 6ft long by 3ft square, with two 6ft-square solar paddles. Gross weight will be 1,0001b(including 1501b of payload), rising later to 1,5001b. The craft will be stabilized so that the same axis constantly points towardsthe earth, and it will carry wide-band, narrow-band and special- purpose telemetry systems. Under the code-name of EGO, the first mission projected forthe satellite will be a study of energetic particles, for which purpose an Atlas Agena B will place the OGO in a very eccentric orbitwith a perigee of 170 miles and aoogee of almost 70,000 miles. Approximately 9 months later a Thor Agena B will launch POGO(polar orbit OGO) with perigee of more than 170 miles and apogee of about 650 miles. Among the scientific missions plannedfor OGO are measurements of magnetic fields, atmosphere structure, ionosphere, dust, energetic particles, planetary para-meters, solar physics, astronomy, meteorology, biology and tests of structures. The third US Navv Polaris submarine, Robert E. Lee, successfullyfired a missile while submerged at the head of the Atlantic Missile Range on December 29. It was the 13th Polaris to be fired from a submergedsubmarine. NASA announced on December 29 that Explorer 8. launched onNovember 3, ceased transmissions "several weeks earlier than expected." Rattery failure is given as the cause; the last signal was received atQuito, Ecuador, on December 27. Air Marshal C. R. Slemon. RCAF, who was in the "hot seat" atNorad HQ on October 5, stated last week that there was never anv likeli- hood of nuclear retaliation on that dav. Signals detected bv the BMEWSat Thule, later identified as reflections from the rising Moon, were not identical to those caused by incoming re-entry vehicles. On December 23 NASA announced that the severe solar storm onNovember 12 produced "a substantial change" in the orbit of Echo I. During the storm, the atmospheric drag of the 100ft balloon satelliteincreased "by a factor of two," increasing the period of orbit by 2sec per day. Current data on the revised orbit are: apogee, 1,334 miles;perigee, 619 miles; period 117.428min. Discoverer 19 was launched from VandemVrg AFB on December 20and went into a 93min polar orbit with perigee and apoeee of about 500 and 600 miles respectively. Total weight in orbit is 2,1001b, and inolace of the usual Discoverer capsule is equipment measuring the wave- length and intensity of infra-red (heat) waves from the Earth beneath.The equipment is similar to that whirh will be installed in the Midas satellites to detect ICBM launchings. Discoverer 19 ceased transmittingon Christmas Day, unexpectedly early. Further details are now available of the "Ballute" (drag balloon andparachute) method of recovering vehicles from abov- the atmosphere. The first Ballute was launched from Santa Rosa Island Con the westcoast of Florida) on November 21, when a 5001b capsule was sent to n height of 32 miles. When the capsule had fallen to 75,000ft it streameda 9ft spherical balloon, which opened within 0.1 s»c. The balloon was reeled out by cable, reducing the speed to below Ml at about 35,OOOft.Finally a parachute lowered the capsule into the Gulf, the capsule being recovered after 45min.
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