Feb 21 1976
From The Space Library
A simple device to reorient an orbiting satellite toward the earth stations with which it would communicate had been used successfully on Satcom 1, RCA-owned comsat launched by NASA in December 1975. Patented by two engineers at the RCA Electronics Div. in N.J., the new equipment took advantage of the gyroscopic effect of a wheel normally rotated to stabilize a satellite in synchronous orbit; only a simple start signal from the earth could activate it. Previous systems needed precision controls involving delicate sensors and thrust motors manipulated from the ground. Satcom 1, in synchronous orbit at about 35 000-km altitude, had been rotated 90° by the new system to point its instrumentation at the earth; it would begin regular transmission in March. (NYT, 21 Feb 76, 31)
A Russian system for intercepting and destroying satellites apparently was unsuccessful this week, U.S. intelligence sources said. The test involved Russian satellites only, and posed no threat to any U.S. satellites in space. A target spacecraft (Cosmos 803) launched from Tyuratam 12 Feb. was the object of the test, carried out by an interceptor spacecraft (Cosmos 804) launched 4 days later. Observers differed on whether the interceptor had been maneuvered close enough to destroy the target, although a routine announcement by the USSR said the second launch had successfully completed its mission. In 5 tests between 1968 and 1971, USSR interceptor satellites had blown up on radio signal after approaching the targets in orbit, and the explosions had destroyed both interceptors and targets; Cosmos 804 had not blown up. U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had said that the 1972 nuclear arms limitation agreement with Russia forbade the 2 countries from interfering with each other's satellites, but did not prohibit tests of an antisatellite system. (B Sun, 21 Feb 76, A-1; W Star, 21 Feb 76, A-3)
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