Scrapbook 2: Aug 1962 — Vostok 3 and 4
LANDING FORECAST
Bochum Observatory, in West Germany, said last night that the next possible time for a landing in the Saratov region of Russia would be between 8 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. G.M.T. to-day. Russia’s first two spaceships landed in this area.—Reuter.
Live TV pictures
Television pictures of the astronauts are being transmitted live from the space capsules to the earth. A smiling Major Nikolayev was seen holding a log book, on which viewers could make out the State emblem.
Moscow television showed Mr Khrushchev talking with Colonel Popovich in Vostock 4. The Soviet leader said: “I hear you, Comrade Popovich, I hear you well. I greet you warmly, Pavel Romanovich; I congratulate you on your wonderful heroic achievement. Once again I greet also as we have got used to saying—your space brother Comrade Nikolayev.” Colonel Popovich replied: “The flight is going on successfully. All the systems of the ship are operating faultlessly, communications are good.”
Mr Khrushchev answered: “I am happy that you are in good cheer, that the equipment functions well, that your voice is cheerful, that you have confidence in your spaceship.”
The men also transmitted a telegram to Mr Khrushchev, the party, the Government, and the people, saying: “In accordance with our assignment we begin the external flight at a close distance. Reliable communications are established between the ships. The ships’ systems are functioning perfectly.” Tass said Russian scientists hope to find out about ways of establishing contact between two ships, co-ordinating the actions of the astronauts and checking the influence of identical flight conditions on astronauts.
This three-way communication between the Russian spacecraft Vostok 3 and 4 and their ground control station may play a big part in solving the communication problems of spaceships flying to Mars and Venus, Mr Konstantin Palatov, a Soviet scientist, said today. He told Tass: “The possibility of a radio link in outer space between spaceships flying between the planets Mars and Venus may be solved today.”
During his flight Major Nikolayev slept for seven hours last night and woke at 5 a.m. He has had ordinary food in his regular meals and did some exercises before breakfast. A former lumberjack, he is unmarried. Unconfirmed reports said he might stay in space for three days, completing about 50 orbits.
If the two astronauts, who last night went to bed, are returned safely tomorrow, they will probably spend a day under medical examination. Then they will probably be flown back to Moscow for a triumphal welcome at the airport by Mr Khrushchev, a victory parade into Moscow, and a celebration in Red Square.
Colonel Popovich is one of five children; his wife, Maria, aged 31, is a woodcutter’s daughter. A Ukrainian, the Colonel worked as a shepherd during his school holidays. His father was wounded after German forces invaded the Ukraine in 1941, and the 11-year-old boy became the “man of the house,” caring for his family. He was the first to arrive in the Soviet astronauts’ unit and helped other trainee spacemen, including Gagarin, Titov, and Nikolayev, to settle in.
New technique
A Tass correspondent reported that he was told by the Academy of Sciences that complex problems were being solved by the astronauts, in particular “the unparalleled space piloting of two ships in simultaneous flights and their interaction on practically the same orbit.” The most important question about man’s working capacity aboard spaceships could be solved only with the astronauts’ participation, and this task was part of the programme of studies in the present flight.
Major Yuri Gagarin, the first astronaut, today set a less than 20-year target date for manned flights to other planets. Forecasting what space exploits could be expected 20 years from now, he said he hoped that “long before 1981 there will appear on the moon the first astronomic observatory and the first cosmodrome suited for flights to Venus and Mars.”—Reuter and British United Press.
THE two Russian spacemen, Major Nikolayev, 32, and Lt. Col. Popovich, 31, returned safely to earth yesterday. They landed in their craft within six minutes of each other in a predetermined area south of Karaganda, 340 miles from the Cosmodrome at Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
A first report after medical checks said there were no grounds for anxiety about the men’s health. Major Nikolayev, who went into space last Saturday, made 64 orbits; Col. Popovich, who went up on Sunday, made 48.
Soon after landing, the men ate a large water melon. Then they telephoned Mr. Khruschev. A spectacular welcome in Red Square, Moscow, is being planned.
“WE WILL STEER TO THE PLANETS”
The Russian Government said: “The time is approaching when we will steer mighty spaceships to the planets.” Sir Bernard Lovell, director at Jodrell Bank, described the Russians as masters of space in the military sense. The landing of a man on the Moon in 1967 or 1968 now seemed to be entirely realistic. Congratulations were sent to Russia by Mr. Macmillan and President Kennedy.
While American space officials praised Russia for “amazing marksmanship” it became known that 20 unidentified satellites had been launched in secret by the United States Air Force since November. They included six Samos “spy” satellites.
Mr. James Webb, head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, expressed the belief that America would land a man on the Moon and return him to earth before Russia.
RENDEZVOUS IN SPACE NOT ATTEMPTED
By ANTHONY SMITH, Daily Telegraph Science Correspondent
THE most significant facts revealed at the Russian space conference are that the capsules weighed only a little more than the two earlier ones, and that the two men were once within three miles of each other.
The first fact implies that the same rocket was used as for most of Russia’s recent space spectaculars. There is no need to consider that some gigantic new weapon had been extracted from the Russian armoury.
The three-mile distance indicates the accuracy of the shooting. The fact that the spaceships were six minutes apart at the end indicates that Major Nikolayev gradually speeded up in relation to his successor.
At an orbit time of 88 minutes the average speed is about 17,500 mph. The six-minute gap indicates a distance gap of 1,750 miles.
MUCH UNSAID
But despite the fact that the Press conference lasted for nearly four hours the Russians managed to refrain from mentioning many points.
It seems that no rendezvous was tried, in which case the Russians are not so far advanced over the Americans in this sphere as many had thought.
They also stated nothing about the biological control of their spaceship and failed to mention any difficulties or setbacks. In fact, everything worked “perfectly,” and this remark alone makes one feel they have not disclosed everything about their flights.
JUST a puff of gas—that is all “Pop” or “Nick” needs to “drift” his ship alongside the other and establish the first station in space.
From then on it would be only a small step to building space “stations” that remain permanently in orbit.
Stations that could be used to launch missiles as easily as for refuelling moon rockets.
Less than two miles separated Russia’s two cosmonauts at their nearest point in orbit.
And, in an 18,000 m.p.h. “togetherness,” both ships were taking an identical 88.5 minutes on each orbit.
So linking up appears to pose few problems. It has yet to be done, but it is technically feasible.
Orbital rendezvous solves the problem of having to develop bigger and better rockets to launch bigger and better payloads into space—and to the moon.
America’s proposed giant Nova rocket with a take-off thrust of 12,000,000lb.—even larger than the massive Saturn moon-launcher—is its insurance policy against the failure of attempts at orbital rendezvous.
But Russia’s block-buster rockets, developed from the brains of captured German missile scientists, have done it already—apparently at the first attempt.
And rocket sections, each carrying its own load of fuel and supplies, coupled together in orbit, could form the moon-shot missile—capable of taking off from a parking orbit for the second-stage, two and a half-day voyage to the Lunar surface.
At the rendezvous a cosmonaut in a “tailor-made” space suit could pass from rocket section to rocket section.
Once in space he will float. A simple swimming motion with his hands and legs would probably be enough to propel him.
For longer, more tiring journeys—such as assembling earth-launched sections of a space headquarters—he would ride a space-mobile pushed along by jets of compressed gas.