Nov 11 1963

From The Space Library

U.S.S.R. orbited COSMOS XXI, "intended for continued space research." Orbital data : apogee, 229 km. (142 mi.); perigee, 195 km. (121 mi.) ; period, 88.5 mm.; and inclination, 4°50'. (Tass, Komsomolskaya Pravda, 11/13/63, 1, AFSS-T Trans.)

Academician Mstislav V. Keldysh, president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, was interviewed by Soviet newsmen on the signifi­cance of POLET I, the maneuverable spacecraft orbited by U.S.S.R. be on November 1, 1963. In speaking of its implications for manned space flight, Keldysh said : "Maneuverable spacecraft will permit us to execute a landing from any orbit to a given `kosmodrom' ; carry out a meeting in space of ships which are flying in different orbits; and also allow astronauts to select the most advantageous landing area. "The ability of a ship to maneuver will make it possible for us to create heavy orbital scientific research stations in space so that we can exchange crews, replace scientific equipment and maintain a continuous supply of all that is necessary . . . ." (Pravda, 11/11/63, 1, AFSS-T Trans.)

NASA postponed indefinitely the launch of the first inter­planetary monitoring probe (Imp) after ground tests of the third-stage launch vehicle indicated that a change would have to be made in the separation sequence to prevent contamination of the spacecraft. (AP, NYT, 11/12/63, 42; Wash. Daily News, 11/11/63)

U.S. tracking data on the Russian POLET I maneuverable spacecraft substantiated the Russian claim of change in apogee but indicated that any substantial change in plane had to be made before com­pletion of the first orbit. According to Aviation Week, NORAD'S initial orbital plane for the Russian satellite was 59.99°, later revised to 58.89°. Whether this 1.1° change was a result of a satellite maneuver or was merely a refinement of earlier data is uncertain. (Av. Wk., 11/11/63, 28)

Rocketdyne had completed test firings of the X-8 experimental engine, one of a series of experimental rocket engines being de­signed and tested by Rocketdyne for USAF's Ballistic Systems Div. in a search for advanced propulsion techniques. The X-8 engine had tested the feasibility of using liquid hydrogen as coolant for the thrust chamber. The tests showed liquid hydrogen to be a remarkably good coolant. An X-12 engine would now be built to test the possibility of achieving an increase of four to five times the pressure in the thrust chamber using coolant. This would not alter thrust at sea level but would give considerably increased thrust at altitude. (Av. Wk., 11/11/63, 99)

A number of unofficial reports from Moscow have identified two key figures in the Soviet space program, according to Theodore Shabad, the New York Times Moscow correspondent. One of the men was Valentin P. Glushko, known as a rocket propulsion expert who worked with Friedrich Zander in the first Soviet research in liquid fuel rockets in the early 1930's. The other was Sergei P. Korolov, a mechanical engineer long associated with mechanics and structural problems of flight. Both are full acad­emicians in the Soviet Academy of Sciences. (Shabad, NYT, 11/12/63, 2)

Aviation Week reported that USAF and USN were pressing NASA to improve the reliability of the Scout launch vehicle. The Navy was said to have had only 50% success with it in their Transit navigational satellite program. USAF was said to have had a little better performance but only because it had undertaken a complete and expensive checkout of components. Government-furnished equipment was said to be especially unreliable. (Av. Wk., 11/11/63, 34)

Chemist S. Stephen Papell, of NASA'S Lewis Research Center, had applied for a patent on magnetic rocket fuel. Mr. Papell had found a means of magnetizing JP-4 and other liquid hydro­carbons by mixing small quantities of magnetic iron oxide with the liquids. Under weightlessness, an electromagnet located near the propellant pumps could pull the fuel into the pumps. Papell said much work remained to be done on the process before it could be considered operationally feasible. (Av. Wk., 11/11/63, 30; Lewis Chronology, 11)

U.S. Army had contracted Lockheed California for further development of the Ping Pong short-range reconnaissance missile concept. Under this concept, a missile would be fired a short distance behind enemy lines, would take photos of enemy positions, and then a motor on the other end of the missile would fire it back over U.S. lines for recovery. (Av. Wk., 11/11/63, 34)

Editorial by Editor Robert Hotz in Aviation Week and Space Technology on U.S. supersonic transport aircraft: "One of the most significant points developed by the [ Senate] hearings is that the FAA has vastly underestimated the development costs of the supersonic transport, and that the aircraft manufacturing in­dustry cannot and will not assume even the fraction of these costs that the government has assigned to it." (Hotz, Av. Wk., 11/11/63, 21)

The comet Burnham 1960 II "wagged" its tail during its trip past earth and to the point in its orbit nearest the sun. Photographs taken by Daniel Malaise in April and May 1960 from the Astro­physical Institute of the Univ. of Liege, Belgium, showed that the tail of the comet moved in a four-day cycle, swinging about eight degrees to each side of the radius vector each four days. The most obvious explanation of the movement would be that it was caused by rotation of the comet's nucleus, but so far no explana­tion had been fully satisfactory. (Schmeck, NYT, 11/11/63, 29; cf. article in The Astronomical Journal, Oct. 1963)

USN launched a Polaris A-3 missile under water from the nuclear submarine U.S.S. Andrew Jackson in a flight of more than 2,000 mi. down the AMR. (UPI, NYT, 11/12/63, 18)

• November

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