Space Progress Russian Success Dominated 1961

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29747, 14 February 1962, Page 8

Space Progress Russian Success Dominated 1961

[Specially written tor “The Pros" bp COLIN S. L. KtAY, Phytict Department, University of Canterbury] Man into space was the dominant theme of space operations during 1961, the fourth complete year of the Space Age. Over- ■- shadowing all else were the two spectacular •Russian successes when Majors Gagarin and Titov became the first men to experience the thrills and hazards of orbital spaceflight. Gargarin’s flight was symbolic. Just as the Wright 'brothers’ first flight at Kittyhawk opened the skies to aviation so has Gagarin’s complete orbit of the earth thrown open the vast reaches of space.

Given a reasonable share of luck the Americans will shortly emulate the flight of Gagarin and the tempo of manned space operations is bound to increase. More extensive expeditions will follow and will require ever larger rockets: hence the importance of the highly successful maiden flight last October of the giant American Saturn rocket. Although it received surprisingly little publicity at the time, the flight of the Saturn heralded a major breakthrough in American rocketry. Saturn is the first large rocket designed purely for peaceful space missions.

Early in 1961 conditions were favourable for a rocket shot towards the planet Venus. The Russians, after a public rehearsal with Sputnik Vn, managed to launch their Venus Probe which, they believe, passed within 67.000 miles of Venus. How this knowledge was gained is a complete mystery because contact xyith the probe was lost when it was only 4,700.000 miles from the earth. That distance, incidentally, was far short of the record of 22.000,000 miles for space communications set up by America's smaller spaceprobe Pioneer V a year earlier. Venus will again be the target next August when the Americans hope to send two Venus probes on their long journey to that mysterious planet. Year of Consolidation

Leaving aside the spectacular launchings, 1961 was a year of consolidation in

space activities. Relatively few new programmes were initiated, most of the satellites being designed to extend the knowledge gained from earlier work and explore the many problems known to exist—for example the tricky feat of shutting down and re-igniting a rocket motor in the deep vacuum of space was first accomplished by Discoverer XXI last February. During the year almost as many satellites were orbited as in the previous three years taken together. The vast majority were American. It is interesting to note that the most recent Soviet space operation was Major Titov’s flight in Vostock II last August, but between then and the end of 1961 the Americans attempted no fewer than 22 satellite launchings, of which 17 achieved orbit. The total number of rocket components known to be in orbit has also increased greatly as a result of the 1961 activities. There are now at least 126 man-made objects satellites, rocket casings, protective covers and other fragments—in a wide variety of orbits around the earth. There is also the mystery of the needles, which is discussed below. The well-known Discoverer series of satellites played a very prominent role last year. Out of a total of 17 launching attempts 12 Discoverers were placed in their intended polar orbits and most of the re-entry capsules were recovered—one of them circled the earth for the record period of three days before recovery Still in Orbit Quite a number of the Discoverers (having shed their capsules) are still in orbit, which explains the frequent sightings of these fleeting satellites as th y pass from north to south, or vice-versa, over New Zealand. Among the many discoveries made by the aptly named Discoverer satellites is the surprising fac’ that significant amounts of tritium reach the earth from the sun whenever a large solar flare occurs Titium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen which is three times heavier than ordinary hydrogen. It is too early yet to say what part the tritium plays in the complex inter-relationship between the sun and the earth The Explorer series of satellites also made worthy contributions to our knowledge of space during 1961. The outstanding example was E tplorer XII which, it is reported, “sent more useful data baek to earth than all previously launched satellites combined.” This 831 b satellite was launched last August into a highly elongated orbit extending 48,000

miles into space in order to traverse and explore the Van Allen belts of atomic radiation surrounding the earth. For 112 days it transmitted a steady stream of data to world-wide tracking stations as it slipped in and out of the radiation belts over 200 times. It sent more than 3000 million bits of information back to earth, of which about 80 per cent, was stored on over 2500 miles (5600 spools) of recording tape. Explorer XII has reversed previous ideas concerning the composition of the outer Van Allen belt, showing that protons (positively charged hydrogen atoms) rather than electrons are the main constituent. The energy of the protons is small and they are fortunately not hazardous to manned space flight. Highly Useful

Many other highly useful satellites were launched last year, including two more Transit navigation satellites and the Tiros 111 weather satellite. The Transits are notable also for their piggyback passengers—two or three satellites for the price of one! Eventually it is hoped that a chain of Transit satellites will provide a highly accurate global navigation system for ships and aircraft.

Tiros 111, launched last July, is a fine example of a satellite working for the direct benefit of mankind. From its 450 mile-high orbit it radioed back to earth detailed picture sequences showing the cloud and weather conditions over many

parts of the world, enabling meteorologists in many countries to improve the accuracy of their forecasis Tiros IV, launched last week, is continuing the good work and by the end of the year two more will have been launched, together with the first Nimbus—a vastly improved type of weather satellite. Within the next few years these satellites will lead to the introduction of effective long range weather forecasts, and the resultant savings may even exceed the total cost of all space operations READERS’ QUESTIONS Questions are still required They should be sent to the address at the top of this column or to the Space Progress Column. C/o “The Press.” What has happened to the 350 million needles which were shot into space last October by the Americans?—L. McD., Upper Riccarton. They haven't thawed out yet! They are still imbedded in a cylindrical block of naphthalene 15 inches long by five inches and a half in diameter which was successfully ejected from the Midas IV satellite. The naphthalene was intended to evaporate in space, freeing the tiny needles, each of which is less than three-quarters of an inch in length and much finer than a human hair. The block of naphthalene has been detected by radar but the needles are being released too slowly to form a detectable belt As they come free from the naphthalene the needles will gradually be dispersed by various forces and within a few years will strike the earth's atmosphere and be destroyed

Could advanced extraterrestrial life be built around the silicon atom, instead of the terrestrial carbonbased life?—R.W.C., Woolston.

Nobody knows. The possibility has often been discussed and opinions vary widely. Until we visit the haunts of "silicon-men," or they contact us, there will be no way of knowing. Of course there will always be individuals preoared to prove that such life-forms are imoossible, but remember that it isn’t so very long since learned people proved that iron ships could not float and metal aircraft would not fly'

Indonesian Arrest*.—Thirtythree persons suspected of association with Dutch-spon-sored subversive organisations in Indonesia had been arrested. Radio Indonesia said today.— Djakarta, February 12.