The Press THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1962. A Great U.S. Space Achievement

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29754, 22 February 1962, Page 12

The Press THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1962. A Great U.S. Space Achievement

New Zealanders will endorse the congratulations the Prime Minister has sent to the President of the United States and to Lieutenant-Colonel John Glenn on the successful triple orbit of the earth by a manned space vehicle. Standing alone, it was an amazing feat of scientific and technological achievement And, let it not be forgotten, it was an example of the high courage of a man whose burdens were increased by the cruelly long delays in which he must contemplate the hazards. Fitted into the United States research programme, the flight marks the great progress made in a brief nine months since the first of the team of American astronauts. Commander Shepard, made a parabolic flight into space. The United States and Russia had differing concepts at the outset of the function of rockets, and this led to radically different lines of research. The difference left the United States far behind Russia in the development of rocket thrust; and as a consequence Russian achievements in putting vehicles into space have always appeared far more impressive. Colonel Glenn’s flight overtakes much of the lead to which Russia’s achievements have testified. In duration and distance it fell far short of the second Russian orbital flight; but it was a fully orbital flight —the first by an American—and consequently a major milestone in the competition for the mastery of space.

In some respects the American triple-orbit exceeded the 17 orbits achieved by Major Titov. Chief of these was the period—two-thirds of his flight—in which Colonel Glenn steered his vehicle as it circled the earth. He was indeed a space pilot, and not a mere guinea-pig and observer in a vehicle controlled from the ground. The accuracy of the flight was remarkable, though only the Russians know whether the American vehicle ended its journey nearer the chosen destination than the Russian vehicles. This consideration leads directly to the most striking contrast in the American and Russian programmes. The Russians give evidence only of their successful ventures, while the Americans invite the whole world to see what happens as their programme moves to announced stages and tests. The American practice leads to humiliations when failure attends experiments in a new science. Just as surely as public failures are humiliating, so are triumphs greater when tests are made in the full glare of publicity disclosing indisputable facts. If logic and sense dominated man’s venture into space it would be possible to hope that, as the gap in achievement narrowed, the chances of co-operation by the rivals would widen. But, with things as they are, imperfect man must be grateful to see the earth’s two great space giants becoming more evenly matched.