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Show l t space age began five years rpHE A. ago on Oct 4, 1957, when the Russians launched their first Sputnik. Yet most Americans haven't the slightest idea where we stand in the battle for mastery of space. The v Ceminijioosted by this Titan II, will carry 2 astronauts, 'test rendezvous method. 'I & truth is: the United States is no . longer behind the Russians but slightly race and ahead of them in the over-a- ll when it conies to the next big goal in space, a manned trip to the moon, we have a surprisingly good, chance of achieving it be- -' fore they do. Soviet successes deserve respect, but they do not merit the frightened reaction of some Americans. Too few of us are aware that the Soviet Union has orbited as many satellites only about as the United States. Russia's "firsts" were memorable the first earth satellite, the first animal in - space, the first man in space, and last month's simultaneous orbiting of two men but they all bore an unmistakable tinge of propaganda. The simultaneous flights of Andrian Nikolavev and Pavel Popovich were sta tistically similar to the earlier flights o Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov. There was nothing new about the spacecraft used or the technique (eventhe Russians; , admitted that the twin cosmonauts "did not . rendezvous in space) r While ' America's'firsts" have not been , they as spectacular (or as have been far more valuable scientifically. Only with thestart of the Cosmos .series of satellite shots this year have the Russians indicated that they are launching - any sort of program to study the radiation, problems meteorite threats, and solar-flar- e in space. deal with to that man will have This is information the U. S. space program has been piling up ever since it 'launched the first Vanguard, Explorer, and 4 t Pioneer satellitesT From "a Russian viewpoint, an even darker side of the picture is the matter of hard, cold cash. Both nations must spend a great deal more money if they are going to be successful in reaching the moon. The rockets that the Soviet Union usd to put Gargarin, Titov, Nikolayev,'and Popovich into orbit are far too small to send men to the moon. So are the ones we used to orbit John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. We are now building much bigger ones. But can Russia, a country much poorer financially, afford the extra burden . of competing in a race that will take years to show any dividends other than propaganda gains? Ironically, Russia's lead in costly "spectaculars' during tlTe' early years of the space age may result in its defeat in the race for the moon. The Russian philosophy of rocket design called for bigger and big-gvehicles whose sheer size and power made early orbiting possible and gave the Soviet Union her early lead. one-four- th ' ft k , ' ' 017at 1 will we land men on the moon? W!By 1967 at the, latest And that isn't just a guess; it is the estimate of James 7 E. Webb, head of the National Aeronautics ! and Space Administration. The nation's top space scientist, Wernher von Braun, "Jv by 19&6. ' i'i i k 0 ' hopes to do it even sooner To pave a safe road to the moon, NASA is going to pepper the skies with some 260 satellites,- manned and unmanned. Then it is going to put into action superboosters thrust that will make the 360,000-poun- d . of the Atlas look puny.' Successful test shots already have been made with a colossus called the Saturn, a rocket with 1,500,000 pounds pf thrust. - 11 Ul ft . well-publicize- Meanwhile, the United States was tackling the problem in exactly the opposite waythrough miniaturization. Our use of smaller rockets and capsules has put us at a distinct propaganda disadvantage. But to'get to the moon, .such small components are absolutely necessary. No one including the Russians has yet contrived a rocket or fuel that can shoot a gigantic payload to the moon. And before anyone can' do it, the United States will land a small, but manned, payload there. We don't need Russia's huge capsule components, but they do need and lack our miniaturized ones. d) . ft - : After preliminary exploration by the '4 urn, an advanced version of it called the C-- 5 will orbit crews of spacemen. The next step will be the Apollo, a spaceship that will ride atop one of these behemoths and will take its pilots to the moon. The RACE: SPACE tt nr Are we or Winning osm g? . .. . -- : : n- -y The rendezvous method probably will bfi used in the initial U. S. moon, trips. This method calls for crews and a mother spaceship to be launched into orbit around the ZmcnAJ;wDanV!bug ' . . er Family Weekly, September 30, 2962 vous --technique will be relatively easy owing to weightlessness. On the basis of all the information available to NASA (including secret intelligence reports), Webb concedes that Russia probably will score two more "spectacu- lars" before the United States can. These will be : a multimanned orbital flight and a multimanned flight past the moon. "The Soviets can do this because they perfected their heavy boosters before we did. Nevertheless, in view of our astrbnautic advantages, Webby von Braun, and Robert Gilruth, director of Project Mercury, all are confident that we will accomplish a lunar landing before the Russians. They believe that the first cosmonauts to land on the moon may well be greeted by American astronauts. . Claims and counterdaims'have most By ALVTN B. WEBB, JR. Cape Canaveral Bureau Chief for United Press International and author of "Countdown: An Insider's Story of Our Men in Space" a lunar landing. The landing crew will be able to maneuver the bugr back into a lunar orbit and rendezvous with the mother ship for the voyage back to earth. The rendez- . Americans confused; here are the facts in a report" by an insider Sat- . ; . |