Aurora 4x
Other Games => Beyond the Stars! => Topic started by: Þórgrímr on January 12, 2012, 11:08:08 AM
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I will be posting the game events from our current game here in this thread.
The current line up is as follows:
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - Backstab
The United Kingdom of England, Scotland, and Wales - Haegan 2005
The Republic of Japan - Mavikfelna
The Republic of France - Tssha
The People's Republic of China - MrAnderson
The United States of America - Þórgrímr
Cheers, Þórgrímr
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YEAR 1956
April 15th - Tokyo - (INN)
Tokyo, Japan -- In a bold move, the Prime Minister of Japan has announced today that NASDA (National Space Development Agency of Japan) was close to completing a launch complex at their space facility in Tageshima. Adding to that announcement Japan intends to launch a series of sub-orbital rockets from Tageshima in June, July, and August.
Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network
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May 25th - Cape Canaveral - (INN)
Cape Canaveral, Florida -- In a stunning announcement this week NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Director Dickinson announced that NASA's R&D budget would be exhausted by the end of July, bringing to a halt all of his agency's research programs.
After the announcement Senator Chad Snyder from Texas, Chairman of the Senate Oversight Committiee for the Development of Space, immediately called for an investigation of NASA's expenditures and called for the resignation of the current Director.
In a statement from the White House President Eisenhower expressed that Director Dickinson still has his, and the President's Council on the Sciences, full support and stated there was no reason for the Director to resign.
In a biting retort the Director had this to say in response to Senator Snyder's call for his resignation and investigation:
"When President Eisenhower formed NASA earlier this year he gave us a mandate, to take America to space. That is exactly what NASA is attempting to do, but when Congress finally funded our agency they did not give us the resources to do it quickly. So we have to prioritize our R&D dollar wisely.
"And if the good senator from the state of Texas wishes NASA to carry out the President's mandate, maybe he, and his committiee, can loosen the purse strings a little and fund NASA with the means to do so.
"As for what we have done with our limited research budget, the senator and the rest of the world will see soon enough. Thank you."
The world is abuzz with talk about the hint that Director Dickinson dropped in his press conference. What exactly did he mean the world will see? What exactly will the world see?
David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network
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September 3rd - Cape Canaveral - (INN)
Cape Canaveral, Florida -- "Today, the United States launched Explorer 1, mankind's first orbiting satellite." Director Dickinson announced in a media-filled press conference. President Eisenhower released a statement reaffirming his confidence in the NASA Director, and feels the future is bright for the US space effort under the Director's guidance.
"The Juno I rocket was launched September 3rd, putting Explorer 1 into orbit with a perigee of 222 miles and an apogee of 1,580 miles, having an orbital period of 114.8 minutes. Once Explorer 1 was confirmed to be in orbit, we called this news conference, here at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC and announced it to the world.
"Explorer 1 was designed and built by the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the direction of Dr. William H. Pickering. It is the first satellite to carry a mission payload.
"The total weight of the satellite is 30.80 lbs, of which 18.3 lbs are part of the instrumentation package. The instrument section at the front end of the satellite and the empty scaled-down fourth-stage rocket casing orbit as a single unit, spinning around its long axis at 750 revolutions per minute.
"Data from the satellite is transmitted to the ground by two antennas. A 60 milliwatt transmitter feeds a dipole antenna, consisting of two fiberglass slot antennas in the body of the satellite, operating on 108.03 MHz, and four flexible whips forming a turnstile antenna are fed by a 10 milliwatt transmitter operating on 108.00 MHz.
"Because of the limited space available and the requirements for low weight, the payload was designed and built with simplicity and high reliability in mind, using new transistor based electronics, consisting of both germanium and silicon devices. A total of twenty-nine transistors are used in Explorer 1. Electrical power is provided by mercury chemical batteries that make up approximately forty percent of the payload weight.
"The external skin of the payload section is painted in alternating stripes of white and dark green to provide passive temperature control of the satellite. The proportions of the light and dark stripes were determined by studies of shadow-sunlight intervals based on firing time, trajectory, orbit, and inclination.
After the press conference was completed Director Dickinson released the following information on the first manmade object to orbit our planet.
David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network
Statistics on the rocket and satellite:
The Juno I consists of a Jupiter-C rocket, with a fourth stage mounted on top of the tub of the third stage, which is fired after the third stage burnout, to boost the payload and fourth stage to an orbital velocity of 18,000 mph.
This multi-stage system, designed by Wernher von Braun for his proposed Project Orbiter, obviated the need for a guidance system in the upper stages, proving to be the simplest and most immediate method for putting a payload into orbit. Both the four stage Juno I and three stage Jupiter-C launch vehicles are the same height, with the added fourth stage booster of the Juno I being enclosed inside the nose cone of the third stage.
Size
Height: 69.5 feet
Diameter: 5.8 feet
Mass: 64,070 lb
Stages: 4
Capacity
Payload to LEO: 42 lbs
Performance
First Stage: Redstone (stretched)
Engines: 1x Rocketdyne A-7
Thrust: 93,562 lbf
Specific Impulse: 235 sec
Burn Time: 155 seconds
Fuel: Hydyne/LOX
Second Stage: MGM-29 Sergeant cluster
Engines: 11 Solid
Thrust: 16,490 lbf
Specific Impulse: 214 sec
Burn Time: 6 seconds
Fuel: Solid - polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate
Third Stage: MGM-29 Sergeant cluster
Engines: 3 Solid
Thrust: 4,500 lbf
Specific Impulse: 214 sec
Burn Time: 6 seconds
Fuel: Solid - polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate
Fourth Stage: MGM-29 Sergeant
Engines: 1 Solid
Thrust: 1,499 lbf
Specific Impulse: 214 sec
Burn Time: 6 seconds
Fuel: Solid - polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate
Explorer-1
Operator: Army Ballistic Missile Agency
Major contractors: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mission type: Earth science
Launch date: 3 September, 1956 at 05:16 UTC
Launch vehicle: Juno-II
Mass: 90 lbs
Orbital elements
Eccentricity: 0.139849
Inclination: 33.24°
Apogee: 1,580 miles (2,550 km)
Perigee: 222 miles (358 km)
Orbital period: 114.8 minutes
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October 3rd - Tokyo (INN)
Tokyo, Japan -- The Japanese Prime Minister announced today that the Japanese Aerospace Agency is ready to test their new satelite delivery rocket and communications satelite. A successful mission will show that Japan is as capable as the United States in space launch capablity and they believe they will be a safer and less expensive option than American based launches for those nations intersted in launching their own satellites with Japanese help.
Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network
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October 15th - Cape Canaveral (INN)
Today Director Dickinson announced a large schedule of launches beginning in January of next year. The Director stated that NASA - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration - will be launching one satellite per month, beginning in January and ending in October of 1957.
The Director stated the reason for so many launches is that with a large amount of satellites in orbit transmitting data they will help push the boundaries of orbital science even further.
When the Director was asked to comment about the Japanese announcement that they too were going to launch a satellite he had this to say: "We welcome any peaceful exploration of space, and hope the Japanese launch is a successful one."
David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network
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October 23rd - Tokyo (INN)
Tokyo, Japan -- The Japanese Prime Minister, Ichiro Hatoyama, held a press conference today announcing the successful launch of a Japanese communications satellite.
"Japan has joined the space age." was Prime Minister Hatoyama's triumphant message to the gathered press. "We have successfully launched and deployed a Tengu-Maru communications satellite aboard a Noboritaiyo-B rocket from our Tageshima launch facility. With this launch we have shown the drive and determination of the Japanese people to rise above the past and peacefully explore our world and its surroundings alongside the United States and other space faring nations."
Minister Hatoyama went on to say that Japan is fully committed to space and its exploration and exploitation for peaceful purposes. There is a great deal we do not yet know about space and we are eager to learn more. It is the hope of the Japanese people that all nations might be able to peacefully explore space and bring a new age of enlightenment and international cooperation to the world.
The speech ended with the Prime Minister affirming that Japan plans on being ambitious in their space program and to expect more successes in the future.
Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network
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November 3rd - Tokyo (INN)
Tokyo, Japan -- Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama today announced that Japan plans to launch four new communications satellites in January of next year, one per week, and will continue to launch thereafter at a rate of not less than one mission a month though the year.
When asked if this was a response to the American announcement to launch a communications satellite every month through next year Minister Hatoyama replied "The Americans are ambitious in their study of space, just as we are. We welcome the progress of the United States NASA program and hope that we can both share our discoveries and research in this new endeavor. But Japan is not a follower of America, we are here equals in this. We have had long range plans in place for some time now to do this and it is merely a fortunate coincidence that NASA is following a similar strategy."
He further went on to announce that Japan would like to share its communications capacity and infrastructure with all of their neighbor nations. They will be discussing terms on an individual contract basis but they look forward to the improvements in communications and relations that such cooperation will bring.
Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network
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YEAR 1957
January 6th - Cape Canaveral (INN)
Cape Canaveral, Florida -- Director Dickinson, Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gave a short press conference today about the scheduled launch yesterday.
"Yesterday, the fourth stage of the Juno rocket failed to fire, and in so doing did not insert Explorer-2 into its proper orbit. In consequence the satellite re-entered the earths atmosphere where it burned up and we lost all telemetry from it."
David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network
Step Two: Orbital Insertion Burn Failure.
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January 18th - Tageshima (INN)
Tageshima, Japan -- NASDA announced today the loss of their fourth Tengu satellite in a catastrophic launch failure. The launch facility at Tageshima was damaged, but no injuries were reported. The launch scheduled for January 24th will go forward as planned.
Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network
Step One: Launch Failure
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January 25th - Tageshima (INN)
Tageshima, Japan -- NASDA announced today the successful launch of their fifth Tengu communications satellite. Unfortunately, after the successful launch and orbital insertion the satellite failed it's power up procedures. After extensive attempts to enable the satellite NASDA has officially declared it non-functioning.
Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network
Step Three: Hardware Power-On Failure
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As an FYI, the game is now into 1958, and the first classes of Astronauts have been recruited and have begun their basic training. :)
France:
Jean Manoury
Octavé Renaudie
Pascal Buisson
Rainaut Larrouse
Jacques Lapôtre
Joachim Herbaut
Matthieu Pallegoix
Julien Muche
Gérald Bourget
Johan Dehaene
Japan:
Shusaku Shionoya
Tadamasa Kajiwara
Thoki Kitabatake
Yoshisada Yamakage
Yuichi Ichimonji
Norinaga Fukusaku
Hokichi Takekawa
Hirotsugu Watari
Yoshimi Chikanatsu
Chikao Miyazawa
China:
Hoong Tzu-yu
Mah Yic
Kan Ai-de
Loh Yuk
Sa Yo
Guo Hsiao-lou
Ba Xi-ku
Pi Yang-cheng
Lang Cheng-en
Ping Bing-de
United Kingdom:
Ora McClellan
Ashley Ginger
Lucius Izett
Delbert McWhirter
Cole Vinson
Adrian Bevin
Kevin Toms
Wilburn Swift
Edwin MacGregor
Thaddeus Ashwin
USSR:
Ivan Anikeyev
Pavel Belyayev
Yuri Gagarin
Valentin Bondarenko
Aleksei Leonov
Andrian Nikolayev
Gherman Titov
Dmitri Zaikin
Vladimir Komarov
Boris Volynov
US:
Scott Carpenter
Gordon Cooper
John Glenn
Virgil 'Gus' Grissom
Wally Schirra
Alan Shepard
Deke Slayton
Iven Kincheloe
Robert Rushworth
Joseph Walker
Cheers, Thor
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February 6th - Cape Canaveral - (INN)
Cape Canaveral, Florida -- "Today, the United States launched Explorer 3. The satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida at 17:31:00 UTC on February 5th, by the Jupiter-C vehicle," Director Dickinson announced in a short press conference today.
"Explorer 3 was placed in an orbit with a perigee of 117 miles and an apogee of 1580 miles, having a period of 115.7 minutes. Its total weight is 30.80 lbs, of which 18.3 lbs is instrumentation. The instrument section at the front end of the satellite and the empty scaled-down fourth-stage rocket casing orbit as a single unit, spinning around its long axis at 750 revolutions per minute.
"Instrumentation on the satellite consists of a cosmic ray detection package and a ring of micrometeorite erosion gauges. The Explorer 3 spacecraft is spin-stabilized and has an on-board tape recorder to provide a complete radiation history for each orbit. Data from these instruments are transmitted to the ground by a 60 milliwatt transmitter operating on 108.03 MHz and a 10 milliwatt transmitter operating on 108.00 MHz.
"The transmitting antennas on the satellite consists of two fiberglass slot antennas in the body of the satellite itself and four flexible whips, forming a turnstile antenna. The rotation of the satellite about its long axis keeps the flexible whips extended.
"Electrical power is provided by nickel-cadmium chemical batteries, which make up approximately 40 percent of the payload weight. These will provide enough power to operate the high power transmitter for 31 days and the low-power transmitter for 105 days.
"Because of the limited space available and the requirements for low weight, the Explorer 3 instrumentation was designed and built with simplicity and high reliability in mind.
David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network
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April 4th - Cape Canaveral (INN)
Cape Canaveral, Florida -- Director Dickinson, Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gave a short press conference today about the scheduled launch yesterday.
"Yesterday, the first stage of the Juno rocket impacted the second stage upon seperation, causing the rocket to veer off course. The range safety officer ordered the destruction of the rocket to prevent any possible loss of life or damage to the surrounding civilian communities."
David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network
Step One: Launch Failure
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April 12th - Beijing (INN)
Beijing, China -- The Director of the CNSA (China National Space Administration) has gone public with the program, after about half a year of silence. "We are preparing to launch communications satellites much like the Americans and the Japanese. These satellites will provide communication services to China, as well as any nations interested in renting them out. The first one is scheduled to launch in December of this year, with four more planned to be launched next year. This is only the first stage of our plans to explore and utilize the final frontier."
CZ-LOR1 Low Earth Orbit lifter:
Maximum capacity: 8500lb
CS-126 Communications Satellite:
"The CS-126 Communications Satellite features recent advances in power systems technology, with two small solar panels and a set of backup zinc-carbon batteries. The satellite has several receivers and transmitters to "bounce" radiowaves received from one station to another one."
Li Zi-yang
Beijing Desk, International News Network
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May 5th - Béchar (INN)
Béchar, Algeria --- Another Sounding Rocket takes off from the test pad at the Hammaguir rocket testing range in Algeria. It is not the first sounding rocket to have been launched from this facility and it appears it will not be the last; visible preparations are already underway for another launch.
There is a clear change in the number of launches at Hammaguir's rocket test range. This facility has long been used by the French Military to test sounding rockets for military application, but never with this frequency. The launch schedule is unprecedented, with one on the heels of the last. This change is worrying to many, but French officials have responded to the controversy by stating that these launches are routine and nothing to worry about, that they are simply testing new designs that have only recently been developed. This response has been accepted by all governments in the Western Bloc.
The Soviet Union, however, has filed a protest with the French government. Calling it "a sad exercise in French Colonialism", they claim the launch is a sign of France's "negative intentions" towards the rest of the world's poor and developing nations. They called it "pathetic sabre rattling" and "backward colonialism", "a ploy of militarism to tighten their grip on the poor nations of the world". They have asked the French government to open a dialogue with the Soviet Union, in the hopes that "this course may be prevented before it comes to its inevitable and ugly conclusion".
The French President, René Coty, stated through his office that he would be accepting the offer of dialogue with the Soviet Union. A formal letter was sent to the Soviet Ambassador in Paris this morning. A meeting with the Soviet Ambassador is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
The facility at Hammaguir is no stranger to controversy. The Hammaguir test facility is seen as a symbol of French Colonialism, of unwanted foreign rule without representation. Though it is unclear what the future holds for the Hammaguir facility, one thing is certain: the launches are not scheduled to stop anytime soon.
Nathan Clement
Paris Desk, International News Network
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June 7th - London (INN)
London, England -- "The Space Ministry has announced the intent to continue to place satellites into orbit to test a Global Positioning System for civilian purposes. When asked, the official admits that there could be military uses, but that such was being looked into by the Defense Ministry."
Percy Thistlewaite
London Desk, International News Network
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June 10th - Cape Canaveral (INN)
Cape Canaveral, Florida -- Director Dickinson, Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gave a press conference today about the launches scheduled for the 7th and the 9th of this month.
"On June 7th, the United States launched Explorer 7. The satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida at 15:36:00 UTC by a Juno II rocket to an orbit of 356 miles perigee by 667 miles apogee, with an inclination of 50.27°.
"It is designed to measure solar x-ray and Lyman-alpha flux, trapped energetic particles, and heavy primary cosmic rays. Also, the secondary objectives include collecting data on micrometeoroid penetration, molecular sputtering, and studying the earth-atmosphere heat balance.
"On June 9th, Ham, a male chimpanzee, was secured in a Project Mercury mission capsule labeled MR-2 and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a sub-orbital flight. Ham had his vital signs and tasks monitored using computers on Earth.
The capsule suffered a partial loss of pressure during the flight, but Ham's space suit prevented him from suffering any harm.
Ham's lever-pushing performance in space was only a fraction of a second slower than on Earth, demonstrating that tasks could be performed in space. Ham's capsule splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean and was recovered by a rescue ship later that day. He only suffered a bruised nose.
His flight was 16 minutes and 39 seconds long."
David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network
Below are the statistics on the rockets and satellite:
The Juno-II is an orbital satellite launcher derived from the Jupiter IRBM. It is a basic four stage vehicle consisting of 1 x S-3D, 11 x Sergeants Cluster stage, 3 x Sergeants Cluster stage, 1 Sergeant
Size
Height: 78.7 feet
Diameter: 8.76 feet
Mass: 121,500 lbs
Stages: 4
Capacity
Payload to LEO: 90 lbs
Performance
First Stage: Jupiter
Engines: 1x Rocketdyne S3-D
Thrust: 170,563 lbf
Specific Impulse: 282 s
Burn Time: 182 s
Fuel: LOX / Kerosene
Second Stage: Sergeant Cluster
Engines: 11x Sergeant motors
Thrust: 1,497 lbf Each
Specific Impulse: 285 s
Burn Time: 6 s
Fuel: Solid - polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate
Third Stage: Sergeant Cluster
Engines: 3x Sergeant Motors
Thrust: 1,497 lbf Each
Specific Impulse: 285 s
Burn Time: 6 s
Fuel: Solid - polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate
Fourth Stage: Sergeant
Engines: 1x Sergeant Motor
Thrust: 1,497 lbf
Specific Impulse: 285 s
Burn Time: 6 s
Fuel: Solid - polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate
The Redstone is a Sub-Orbital launcher. It is a basic single stage vehicle consisting of 1 Rocketdyne A-6 motor.
Size
Height: 83.38 feet
Diameter: 5.83 feet
Mass: 66,000 lbs
Stages: 1
Capacity
Payload to Sub-Orbital: 4,000 lbs
Performance
First Stage: Redstone
Engines: 1x Rocketdyne A-6
Thrust: 82,595 lbf
Specific Impulse: 265 s
Burn Time: 155 s
Fuel: LOX / Alcohol
Explorer-7
Operator: NASA
Major contractors: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mission type: Earth science
Launch date: June 7, 1957 at 14:23 UTC
Launch vehicle: Juno-II
Mass: 90 lbs
Orbital elements
Eccentricity: 0.034693
Inclination: 50.27°
Apoapsis: 667 miles
Periapsis: 356 miles
Orbital period: 101.38 minutes
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July 18th - Moscow (INN)
Moscow, USSR -- Late yesterday Party Secretary Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev met with Bachir Hadj Ali, General Secretary of the Algerian Communst Party, to discuss the problems within his nation. During this meeting, Ali described the opression of the workers and their exploitation by the Imperialist French Government. Top of their list of discussions was the French facility at Hammaguir which both leaders agree is nothing more than a platform to test weapons of mass destruction. Secretary Khrushchev also hinted of a major expansion to the Soviet Space Program including sending probes to the Moon.
Sergei Timoshenko
Moscow Desk, International News Network
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August 15th - Cape Canaveral (INN)
Cape Canaveral, Florida -- Director Dickinson, Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gave a press conference today about the launch scheduled for the 14th of this month.
"On August 14th, Enos, a male chimpanzee, was secured in a Project Mercury mission capsule labeled MA-1 and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on an orbital flight. Enos had his vital signs and tasks monitored using the computers on Earth.
"The Mercury-Atlas 1 was launched from Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral on a heading of 72.51 degrees east of north. Orbital insertion of the Mercury spacecraft occured 480 miles (770 km) from Cape Canaveral.
"The spacecraft was placed in an orbit with a perigee of 86.4 Miles (160.1 km), an Apogee of 128.1 Miles (237.2 km), with a speed of 25,695 feet per second (7,832 m/s) where it made three orbits of the planet before retrofire.
"Retrofire took place at 4 hours, 32 minutes, and 26 seconds after launch. The spacecraft landed 21 minutes and 49 seconds after retrofire. Re-entry temperatures reached 3,000 °F (1,650 °C) on the heatshield, 2,000 °F (1,090 °C) on the antenna housing, 1,080 °F (582 °C) on the cylindrical section, and 1,260 °F (682 °C) on the conical section. The spent Atlas sustainer motor re-entered the atmosphere after 9? orbits.
"Enos' lever-pushing performance in orbit was only a fraction of a second slower than on Earth, demonstrating that tasks could be performed while in orbit."
David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network
Below are the statistics on the rocket:
The Atlas LV-3b is an orbital satellite launcher derived from the Atlas ICBM. It is a basic stage and a half vehicle consisting of 1 x Atlas MA-2 Stage and 1 x Atlas D Stage
Size
Height: 82 feet
Diameter: 16 feet
Mass: 255,900 lbs
Stages: 1.5
Capacity
Payload to LEO: 2998.29 lbs
Performance
First Stage: Atlas MA-2
Engines: 2x Rocketdyne XLR89-5 motors
Thrust: 170,563 lbf each
Specific Impulse: 282 s
Burn Time: 135 s
Fuel: RP-1 / LOX
Stage 1.5: Atlas D
Engines: 1x Rocketdyne XLR105-5 motor
Thrust: 81,651 lbf
Specific Impulse: 309 s
Burn Time: 335 s
Fuel: RP-1 / LOX
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August 28th - Iowa City (INN)
Iowa City, Iowa -- Prior to 1957 scientists were aware that ions and electrons could be trapped by the Earth's magnetic field, but not that such trapped particles actually existed. At most it was proposed that during magnetic storms a temporary trapped population created a ring current, decaying again as the storm ebbed.
The years 1956-7 were, recently, designated as the 'International Geophysical Year' (IGY), and both the USA and Japan prepared to launch artificial satellites, the first ever. The US successfully orbited its first satellite, Explorer I, on 6 September, 1956, built by James Van Allen and his team at the University of Iowa. The Japanese then quickly assembled a rocket carrying a satellite, the small Tengu-Maru-1 built by Tomiichi Mutsu and his team at the University of Tokyo. It was launched on 23 October, 1956.
Explorer 1 carried only one instrument, a small detector of energetic particles, a Geiger counter designed to observe cosmic rays, ions of very high energy and unknown origin, arriving at Earth from distant space. The experiment worked quite well at low altitudes, but at the top of the orbit no particles at all were being counted.
Explorer 3, which followed five months later on 3 February, collected on tape a continuous record of data, which revealed that the zero counts actually represented a very high level of radiation. So many energetic particles hit the counter at the higher altitudes, that its mode of operation was overwhelmed and it fell silent. Not only was a radiation belt present at all times, it was remarkably intense.
The Earth's Radiation Belts
"The Earth," Dr. James Van Allen, whom the belts have been named after, stated, "has two regions of trapped fast particles. The inner radiation belt is relatively compact, extending perhaps one Earth radius above the equator," 1 RE = 6371 km or about 4000 miles. "It consists of very energetic protons, a by-product of collisions by cosmic ray ions with atoms of the atmosphere. The number of such ions is relatively small, and the inner belt therefore accumulates slowly, but because trapping near Earth is very stable, rather high intensities are reached, even though their build-up may take years.
"Further out is the large region of the ring current, containing ions and electrons of much lower energy, the most energetic amongst them are also known as the 'outer radiation belt'. Unlike the inner belt, this population fluctuates widely, rising when magnetic storms inject fresh particles from the tail of the magnetosphere, and then gradually falls off again. The ring current energy is mainly carried by the ions, most of which are protons.
"However, one also sees in the ring current 'alpha particles,' atoms of helium which have lost their two electrons, a type of ion that is plentiful in the solar wind. In addition, a certain percentage are O+ oxygen ions, similar to those in the ionosphere of the Earth, although much more energetic. This mixture of ions suggests that ring current particles probably come from more than one source."
Implictions for Future Space Travel
Missions beyond low earth orbit will leave the protection of the earth's geomagnetic field, and will have to transit the Van Allen belts. Thus they will need to be shielded against exposure to cosmic rays, Van Allen radiation, or solar flares. According to Dr. Van Allen the region between two to four earth radii lies between the two radiation belts and is sometimes referred to as the 'safe zone'.
Electronics of all kind, and all kinds of sensors, can be damaged by these radiation belts. Geomagnetic storms can damage electronic components on any future spacecraft. The new transistor style electronics will, in all likelyhood, make satellites more vulnerable to radiation, as the total charge in these circuits will now be small enough so as to be comparable with the charge of the incoming ions.
Future electronics on satellites will have be hardened against radiation to operate reliably. Any form of future space telescope, amongst other types of satellites, will need to have its sensors turned off when passing through regions of intense radiation.
According to Dr. Van Allen a satellite shielded by 3 mm of aluminium in an elliptical orbit, 200 by 20,000 miles, passing through the radiation belts will receive about 2,500 rem (25 Sv) per year. Almost all radiation will be received while passing through the inner belt.
As to what this will mean for manned space travel, at this time no one can say. Only time, and experience, will tell.
David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network
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October 17th - Beijing (INN)
Beijing, China -- Director Ran Bai of the CNSA has announced the launch of four more communications satellites for February and March of 1978. "The CS-157 is our latest communications satellite design. It features improved power conductors and addresses many errors, that are now corrected. Four more satellites are already planned to be launched next year, but this will most likely be the end of the launches for a while. To any companies that want to use our satellites, two of the five will be dedicated to private uses.
Finally, we fully acknowledge the US, Japan, Russia and any other nations space programs, and we wish all of you good luck in the task of colonizing space." Director Bai's announcement to the public.
Li Zi-yang
Beijing Desk, International News Network
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November 12th - London (INN)
London, England -- The Space Minister reports that issues with the EVA Suit project were uncovered during pressure testing last week.
"There was a failure with the layered insulating seals when sufficient air pressure was applied inside the suit to simulate the stress the seals would be under in an airless environment. This failure was deliberately tested for and a correction is already being implemented," said Debra Hackworths, Ministerial Assistant.
She was also proud to report another successful Communications Satellite launch, bringing the total launches in the Merlin series of satellites to six.
Percy Thistlewaite
London Desk, International News Network
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November 10th - Tageshima (INN)
Tageshima, Japan -- We do mourn the loss of Hamotaru the guinea pig who was not recovered when the heat shield on his capsule suffered a failure when it collided with a small object on reentry. It is believed that debris from the Lambda L-2A launch vehicle was responsible for the impact.
Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network
Step 3 - Recovery/Landing Failure
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10 Dec 1957 - Moscow (INN)
Moscow, USSR -- Despite the Imperialistic United States launching the first satellite, which we believe to have failed and now drifts aimlessly in orbit, the people of the Soviet Union have successfully launched two orbital Satellites in the past 4 weeks. There has been conformations that both are working fine and now provide the Workers of the Soviet Union with access to radio transmissions stretching from Kiev to Vladivostok.
The “Chief Designer”, who’s name will remain a secret to ensure his safety, is currently working on new programs to ensure the continued Soviet domination of space. We ask that all workers and peasants continue to be vigilant and be on the lookout for anyone who may sabotage our peaceful space program.
Sergei Timoshenko
Moscow Desk, International News Network