Twenty-eight years ago this morning our hearts were broken…
Sad word today that Neil Armstrong – Naval Aviator, test pilot and first man on the Moon, has passed. Neil Armstrong typified the “quiet professional” whose coolness in extremis events were exemplified in flying the X-15 and especially so on orbit as commander of Gemini VIII when things suddenly went very, very wrong (@ the…
Comes word over night of an apparently successful attempt by Iran to place a satellite in orbitusing the Safir-2 space launch vehicle (SLV). The Safir (“Ambassador”) was ingeniously developed as part of Iran’s growing rocket and missile program and has direct links to its attempts to develop extended range missiles in the IRBM and ultimately,…
Americans Demand Military Response After Chinese Shoot Down DirecTV Satellite WASHINGTON, DC—A citizens’ group presented a petition signed by nearly 75 million Americans to key members of Congress Monday, demanding the United States take immediate military action against China after the Communist nation shot down a DirecTV satellite last week. “This is a blatant attack…
(earlier report on Iran’s space launcher acivity here) Much reporting since yesterday regarding Iran’s claims to have launched an object into space. To set the record right, Mohsen Bahrami, the head of Iran’s aerospace research centre, told state television that “The first space rocket has been successfully launched into space,” without disclosing its range or…
Requirement: 1) place a satellite in orbit during the IGY; 2) accomplish a scientific experiment in orbit; 3) track the satellite and ensure its attainment of orbit. Because of an ongoing classified program to put reconnaissance satellites in orbit (Project WS-117 using Air Force Thor MRBM’s – which later became the Korona-series of reconnaissance…
Truly a watershed event – story here.
