|
Post by gwiz on Jan 22, 2008 6:37:17 GMT -4
Another 40th anniversary today, Apollo 5, the first space test of the Lunar Module. It was flown unmanned, with a programmer in control, and it was the programmer that caused the main problem. On the first firing of the descent engine, the thrust built up a trifle slower than expected so the programmer stopped the burn. Mission control recovered the situation, and long burns of both descent and ascent engines were successfully carried out, including throttling of the descent engine and firing the ascent engine to separate the two stages, as would be required for an abort during lunar landing or a normal take-off from the moon.
|
|
|
Post by gwiz on Feb 7, 2008 5:51:54 GMT -4
It's 40 years since the Russians launched the last of their second-gereration Luna probes. The mission, a repeat of Luna 14, was curtailed by an upper-stage failure.
|
|
|
Post by gwiz on Mar 2, 2008 7:38:51 GMT -4
Another 40th anniversary today: Zond 4, the most successful test of the Russian manned circumlunar vehicle so far. It was not actually launched towards the moon, but into a deep elliptical orbit going over half way to the moon's orbit and returning after six days. Attitude control problems delayed the eventual test of the mid-course manoeuvre process and also prevented the planned Apollo-style guided re-entry. As a result, the craft made a ballistic re-entry with final descent above the Gulf of Guinea. As was current Soviet practice with off-course re-entries, the capsule was destroyed with an explosive charge to prevent it falling into foreign hands.
HBs should note that the measurements made of the Van Allen radiation belts did not result in any cancellation of the programme.
(NB Zonds 1 to 3 were a different programme, tests of unmanned planetary probes)
|
|
|
Post by gwiz on Mar 27, 2008 8:23:48 GMT -4
Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of Yuri Gagarin, killed with his instructor when their MiG-15UTI trainer crashed. The cause of the crash is still disputed, possibly the result of a near miss with another aircraft.
|
|
|
Post by gwiz on Apr 2, 2008 15:03:24 GMT -4
40 years today from the launch of Apollo 6, intended as a repeat of Apollo 4 with the peak altitude increased to near-lunar distance. However, the Saturn V first stage experienced a severe pogo-style vibration, causing some damage to both upper stages which resulted in the vehicle only achieving low earth orbit. In a revised mission, the Apollo service module propulsion was used to take the spacecraft out to 22000 km, which still set a record altitude for a recovered spacecraft, though lower than the planned 440000 km.
After experience of curing a similar pogo vibration problem during the Gemini programme, NASA was able to incorporate a fix on subsequent Saturn V vehicles.
Edit to add: 2001: A Space Odyssey premiered on the same day.
|
|
|
Post by gwiz on Apr 7, 2008 9:37:43 GMT -4
It's 40 years since the launch of Russia's Luna 14, like last May's Kosmos 159 a test of systems, primarily communications, for the manned lunar programme. The probe entered lunar orbit on April 10th and operated for about a month. Tracking data provided information on the lunar gravitational anomalies discovered by the US Lunar Orbiter probes, and radiation data was also returned.
|
|
|
Post by gwiz on Apr 14, 2008 8:38:18 GMT -4
Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of Kosmos 212, the active craft in the second Russian unmanned rendezvous with two Soyuz spacecraft. The target craft, Kosmos 213, was launched the following day. The rendezvous was successful, and only Kosmos 212 experienced the persistent Soyuz attitude control problems. The only major problem came at the landings at the end of each five-day mission. In both cases the parachutes failed to jettison after touch-down, and the craft were somewhat damaged by being dragged several km along the ground.
|
|
|
Post by gwiz on Apr 22, 2008 13:53:16 GMT -4
April 1968 was a busy month. Today's anniversary is of another launch failure in Russia's series of Zond unmanned circumlunar tests, caused by an electrical fault that halted the burn of the second stage of the Proton launch vehicle. The launch escape system functioned perfectly, returning the capsule to earth 520 km downrange from Baykonur.
|
|
|
Post by Ginnie on May 5, 2008 20:56:49 GMT -4
May 5, 1961 Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American to go in space. Hurrah!
|
|
|
Post by Ginnie on May 18, 2008 17:46:12 GMT -4
On this date in 1969, Apollo 10 was launched.
|
|
|
Post by Ginnie on Jun 10, 2008 18:38:55 GMT -4
You are only young once - but you can be immature forever. Unfortunately, for that very reason my wife and kids are embarrassed by me. Sometimes when I buy something - be it a DVD, tool or just about anything - I tell my wife that I bought a 'toy'. Two weeks ago, I said those very words to her, "Oh, I bought a toy". "What did you get" she says. Oh, "A toy, a real one. Its a toy model of the Saturn V rocket." She gave me a really weird look... And later my daughter knocks it over and it breaks into pieces - not broken though, it comes apart at the stages and thrusters. "My F1 thrusters fell down the floor vent!", I said to her. So we look for them. "Are these them" she says, holding them up in her hand. "Yes!", I said, "That's seven and a half million pounds of thrust there, the rocket can't take off without them!" She gave me a really weird look... Also...I know this is late, but on June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces stormed Normandy Beach. I salute all those guys.
|
|
Jason
Pluto
May all your hits be crits
Posts: 5,579
|
Post by Jason on Jun 10, 2008 20:53:45 GMT -4
I bought some of those Indiana Jones Lego sets that came out with the new movie, and I don't have any kids, and don't plan to give them to my nephews or neice.
|
|
|
Post by scooter on Jun 10, 2008 21:21:37 GMT -4
You are only young once - but you can be immature forever. Unfortunately, for that very reason my wife and kids are embarrassed by me. Sometimes when I buy something - be it a DVD, tool or just about anything - I tell my wife that I bought a 'toy'. Two weeks ago, I said those very words to her, "Oh, I bought a toy". "What did you get" she says. Oh, "A toy, a real one. Its a toy model of the Saturn V rocket." She gave me a really weird look... And later my daughter knocks it over and it breaks into pieces - not broken though, it comes apart at the stages and thrusters. "My F1 thrusters fell down the floor vent!", I said to her. So we look for them. "Are these them" she says, holding them up in her hand. "Yes!", I said, "That's seven and a half million pounds of thrust there, the rocket can't take off without them!" She gave me a really weird look... Also...I know this is late, but on June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces stormed Normandy Beach. I salute all those guys. Ya need a bigger model of the Saturn...this one won't be falling thru no vents. www.cjsaviation.com/wish I had the $ to buy some of these...
|
|
|
Post by Ginnie on Jun 10, 2008 22:08:30 GMT -4
Cool. I'd love to have them all if I had the room. They should make a little solar panel that looks like the Apollo 11 Laser Range Reflector. That would be neat to have. Here's my model: i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb184/ginniegatrit/SaturnV.jpgIt is huge. Look how small those clouds are to the model! And that 'astronaut' is actually me in a Halloween costume. The model only cost $9999, er, 9.99. ;D Oh, I guess I must have really big vents. Yeah, that's right.
|
|
|
Post by echnaton on Jun 11, 2008 15:46:16 GMT -4
Unfortunately, for that very reason my wife and kids are embarrassed by me.
But they love you anyway.
I get those rolled eyes too for trying to drag them out of the house to try out different things. Life of a dad I guess.
|
|