The tremendous successes in rocketry which made possible flights into space have greatly enhanced the Soviet public's interest in the universe. In this book a series of questions are considered: what is the universe; what will man encounter when he penetrates it; what velocities would be required; what should be the trajectories and the most advantageous times for flights to the moon, to other planets of the solar system, and to the nearest stars; what means can be used to determine the position of a spacecraft traveling in space.

The book is well illustrated. It reflects the latest Soviet and foreign achievements in the field of astronautics and astronomy.

The book is intended for a wide circle of readers interested in questions related to the conquest of space.


PREFACE

The beginning of the second half of the twentieth century has been marked by great developments in science and technology. The penetration into the depth of the nucleus, which was crowned by the realization of controlled nuclear reactions, on the one hand, and the exploration of space on the other, are perhaps mankind's most important achievements in this period. Great interest in many problems related to the universe has been aroused in a wide circle of the Soviet public, and especially among the youth. Indeed, can one remain indifferent to the stories of heroic countrymen, hero cosmonauts, who have made these flights into space? Is it possible to read without excitement even the miserly brief lines of newspaper announcements of flights by artificial satellites and space rockets, of the unprecedented scientific experiments in space and of the outstanding scientific discoveries that have been made?

Space travel has always been a subject of special popular interest. A proof of this is the publication of so many works of science fiction. Real accomplishments have now come to replace fantasy. Man has penetrated into the near cosmos, and automatic interplanetary stations with numerous instruments have been launched from the earth to the moon and to the nearest planets - Venus and Mars.

In his eternal aspiration to know the secrets of the universe, man is not satisfied with the results so far achieved. Piloted spacecraft will fly to the moon and to neighboring planets, and, perhaps within the lifetime of the present generation, spaceships from the earth will be sent to the remote planets of the solar system and even beyond its boundaries.

However, the flight of man even to the nearest celestial body - the moon - requires the solution of very complicated scientific and technological problems and careful preparation.

In a talk with the delegates of the Third World Convention of Journalists on 25 October, 1963, N.S.Khrushchev answered a question on the possibility of a flight by Soviet cosmonauts to the moon as follows:

“At present we are not planning flights of cosmonauts to the moon. Soviet scientists are working on this question, studying it as a scientific problem, and conducting the necessary investigations. I have read the report that the Americans want to land a man on the moon in 1970. . . We do not wish to compete in the sending of men to the moon without careful preparation; it is clear that no good would come out of a competition of that kind, which, on the contrary, would be harmful, since it could result in the loss of human lives... Before man can make a successful flight to the moon much work and sound preparation will be required."

In connection with the huge successes in astronautics recently achieved in the USSR and abroad, a large number of special articles and popular essays have appeared which analyze the results obtained and consider the immediate and long-term prospects for man's penetration into the depths latest

Methods of solving the most important problems of cosmic navigation are described in a number of recently published works. Among them one should particularly note the works of Aleksandrov and Fedorov /2/, Seleznev /29/, Levantovskii /19/, and Erike /41/, to which the author refers readers who are interested in problems of space navigation and who wish to study this new highly-interesting field of science in greater detail.

This book is designed for those first being introduced into this subject. In it the author has endeavoured to consider the various aspects of navigation, and to show how the fundamental questions involved in the navigation of space vehicles have been solved. However, it is not a study of space navigation problems and not a textbook; the author has therefore tried to present his material as simply as possible. It remains for the reader to judge how far he has succeeded in these aims.

The book is intended for a wide circle of readers interested in the latest achievements in the conquest of space, and particularly for young people eager for knowledge, and if the reader finds in this work useful information, if his reading arouses in him a lively interest in the questions discussed, the author will consider his task fulfilled.

The author takes this opportunity to express his profound thanks to Engineer Colonel V. P. Seleznev, Doctor of Technical Sciences, who made a number of valuable comments and suggestions which were extremely helpful in the preparation of the manuscript.


INTRODUCTION

On 4 October, 1957, in the USSR, for the first time in man's history an artificial earth satellite was successfully launched into orbit. Man had created an artificial moon; a velocity had been attained which made it possible to realize prolonged flights in space.

We have already become accustomed to the vigorous tempo of modern scientific and technological developments. We perceived the progress of aviation and the rise in the velocity of airplanes as usual phenomena, but this event profoundly excited us. Indeed, for the first time in the history of mankind, a velocity had been attained (over 28,000 km/hr!) which exceeds the velocity of modern jet planes by a factor of more than 10. A terrestrial body created by man's hands reached a height of about 1000 km. The dream of reaching space had been realized by the Soviet people.

The 20th century is the century of electricity, atomic energy, cybernetics, computers, automation, and new plastic materials. Obviously, it is not less justified to call it the century of the conquest of space, the century of man's escape beyond the boundaries of the "air ocean" - the atmosphere of the earth. This is confirmed by the remarkable achievements in the conquest of space and the unparalleled tempo of the development of astronautics - the science and practice of flights in space.

On 3 November, 1957, the second artificial earth satellite was launched into orbit by the USSR. The USA, the foreign country leading in scientific and technological developments, put its first artificial earth satellite - "Explorer I" - into orbit only on 31 January, 1958.

With the launching of the artificial earth satellites there arose the possibility of direct experimental investigation of the upper layers of the atmosphere and of outer space. Astronomy, geophysics, meteorology, and other sciences received a new, extremely powerful instrument of research. Even the first launchings led to outstanding scientific discoveries. The radiation belts of the earth were discovered by direct experiment, the values of the parameters of the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere were determined and extensive investigations on the earth's magnetic field were carried out. Soviet, and later also American cosmonauts demonstrated the possibility of prolonged human flight in outer space under conditions of weightlessness.

The launchings in 1957-1958 of the Soviet earth satellites (sputniks) made it possible to accumulate the necessary material for flights deeper into space. On 2 January, 1959, a Soviet rocket was launched in the direction of the moon. In this case the second escape velocity - the minimum velocity necessary to get free of the gravitational field of the earth - was attained. On 12 September, 1959, a second rocket to the moon was successfully launched, and on 14 September at Ohr 02min 24sec Moscow time it reached the surface of the moon. For the first time in history a flight had been made from the earth to another celestial body. On 4 October, 1959, the third Soviet cosmic rocket was launched to the moon, and unique photographs of the part of the lunar surface which is not visible from the earth were obtained. These made it possible to prepare an atlas of the moon and a lunar globe.

While 1959 can be called the year of Soviet lunar flights, 1961 can be called the year of the first manned space flights and the first interplanetary flights. The dates 12 April and 6 August, and the names Yu. A.Gagarin and G. S. Titov will forever be remembered in the history of mankind. People will never forget the feat of Soviet cosmonauts, the first to pave the way to the stars. On 12 February, 1961, for the first time in history, a Soviet automatic interplanetary station was launched to Venus.

On 20 February and 24 May, 1962, the American astronauts J.Glenn and S. Carpenter made their orbital flights. This was followed by a new achievement of the Soviet people, an outstanding success of Soviet science and technology - the orbital flight of several days of the two cosmonauts A.G.Nikolaev and P.R. Popovich in August 1962; then the 1 November launching of the automatic interplanetary station "Mars I" - the next attempt to penetrate into the depths of the solar system. The "multi-day" double flight in the summer of 1963 in the manned satellites "Vostok V" and "Vostok VI" of V. F. Bykovskii and of the first woman cosmonaut V. V. Tereshkova - a new example of heroism and courage - was a further outstanding success of Soviet science and technology. The Soviet launching of the maneuverable spacecraft "Polet I" on 1 November, 1963, opened a new page in the conquest of space.

Man's indomitable will, supported by the greatest achievements of his mind, will every day penetrate further and further beyond the limits of the earth's atmosphere.

The science dealing with the study of the problems of interplanetary spaceflights is called astronautics. It includes a whole series of independent scientific disciplines. A constituent part of astronautics is the science which can be called space navigation. This science has not yet been definitively formulated. The scope of problems which have to be studied has not yet been defined, its purpose and problems are not yet clearly delineated. However, this science is an essential and important one, particularly with the beginning of flights into the depths of the universe.

It would seem that the fundamental problems to be considered by this science will be those connected with the choice of the most advantageous flight trajectories of spaceships, as well as the problems connected with the guidance of spaceships along their prescribed trajectories. The solution of these questions requires first of all a study of the universe. Astronauts, spacecraft captains, and pilots of future spaceships will need to know the navigational structure of that part of the universe in which they have to fly their interplanetary ships.

Like seamen and land travelers studying geography, astronauts should have a working knowledge of cosmology - one of the branches of astronomy which deals with the structural regularities of the universe - and some other other branches of astronomy. In fact, there will be take-off and arrival points for spaceships not only on the earth, but also on other planets and celestial bodies. The trajectories of these ships will pass through gravitational fields of other celestial bodies and therefore the form and parameters of the trajectories of the spaceships will be determined by the physical characteristics of those celestial bodies, primarily their masses. The choice of the safest path for a spaceship also requires the study of the position of meteor streams and dangerous zones of intense cosmic radiation.

The solution of a very important problem of navigation - determination of the position of the spacecraft in space - would be impossible without knowledge of such subjects as the dimensions of celestial bodies, their apparent brightness, their relative position and so on.

Finally, the cosmic traveler will need to know what to expect on arrival at the celestial body to which he is heading; what his weight will be there, i. e., what the gravitational acceleration on the surface of the celestial body is; what kind of atmosphere the celestial body has; the condition and temperature of its surface.

This is far from being a complete list of the most important problems in the field of cosmology and other branches of astronomy, which astronauts must get acquainted with when planning to fly to other planets, to other worlds. Accordingly, the first chapter of this book gives a short description of space and of the nearest celestial bodies; the second chapter deals with the question of orbits and trajectories for reaching the nearest celestial bodies and gives a comparative evaluation of them; and in the third chapter various possible methods and devices for resolving the principle problems as well as some of the subsidiary questions involved in the navigation of interplanetary ships and low-orbit spacecraft are described.


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