Adrift on the Sea of Rains (Apollo Quartet1)

by Ian Sales

  Saturn 1B A launch vehicle commissioned and operated by NASA, it first flew in February 1966 and was capable of lifting 46,000 lb into LEO. The Saturn 1B was a two-stage rocket, standing 141.6 ft tall and weighing 1,300,220 lb without payload. The first stage was powered by eight H-1 engines, developing a total thrust of 1,600,000 lbf. The second stage comprised a single J-2 engine with a thrust of 200,000 lbf.

  Saturn V The most powerful human-rated launch vehicle ever built and flown, capable of lifting 262,000 lb to LEO or 100,000 lb to the Moon. The Saturn V had three stages, stood 363 ft tall, and weighed 6,699,000 lb. The first stage was powered by five F-1 engines developing a combined thrust of 7,648,000 lbf, the second stage had five J-2 rocket engines for a total of 1,000,000 lbf, and the third stage comprised a single J-2 of 225,000 lbf thrust. The Saturn V first launched in 1967, and flew without accident or mishap throughout the following two decades.

  Space Station Freedom In 1978, President Carter announced plans to build a space station in Low Earth Orbit, stating, “We can follow our dreams to distant stars, living and working in space for peaceful economic and scientific gain”. Despite the achievements of exploration further afield, it was the need for a permanently-manned foothold in orbit which prompted the desire for a space station. The Soviets had no presence in LEO, and the US was determined to take and keep the high ground. It was not until 1980 that the first modules in what became Space Station Freedom were launched. Maintaining an impressive schedule of alternating Saturn 1B and Saturn V launches every eight weeks, NASA managed to have the basic configuration of the station in place by mid-1981. During the rest of the decade, Freedom was extended overtly by NASA and covertly by USAF. A typical tour on Space Station Freedom lasted approximately six months, with a permanent crew of four (plus two “undeclared” in Sentinel), and room for an additional four short-stay visitors. Despite the expense of the station, it did not prove as scientifically useful as had been hoped, and once NASA plans for a mission to Mars had been scrapped its military role began to expand.

  Sentinel Plans for a space station partly funded and built by international partners were never going to be politically acceptable, and so NASA was forced to compromise and accept funds - and an agenda - from the US military. As a result, an additional two modules, referred to as Project Sentinel, were built and added to Space Station Freedom. The Sentinel modules did little that a satellite could not have done, but the Pentagon saw them more as an excuse for a military presence in LEO than having any significant early warning capacity.

  Soyuz A Soviet spacecraft, it replaced the Voskhod in 1967. It comprised three modules: a spherical re-entry module, a cylindrical service module, and between them a spheroid orbital module. It initially carried a crew of two, but a new model introduced in 1980 increased this to three cosmonauts. A typical Soyuz could provide life support for its crew for 30 days.

  Sukhoi T-4 ‘Blowtorch’ A supersonic strategic bomber built by the USSR in direct response to the USA’s North American B-70 Valkyrie. The T-4, given the reporting name ‘Blowtorch’ by NATO, was capable of Mach 3, altitudes of 65,000 feet and had a range of 4,300 miles. It carried a crew of two and was powered by four Kolesov RD-36-41 turbofans, generating an afterburning thrust of 35,000 lbs each.

  TKS A Soviet military spacecraft designed to fly alongside Soyuz, it used a conical capsule similar in shape to the Apollo Command Module. It comprised two modules: a manned crew return capsule and a functional cargo block. The TKS carried a crew of three, although the crew return capsule was only occupied during launch and re-entry.

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  ONLINE SOURCES

  A Space About Books About Space

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  http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/frame.html

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  http://history.nasa.gov/afj/aohindex.htm

  Beyond Apollo

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age Gallery

  http://www.apolloarchive.com/apollo_gallery.html

  Virtual AGC Home Page

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  Wikipedia

  http://en.wikipedia.org

  Table of Contents

  Title

  Adrift on the Sea of Rains

  Appendices