1958-05-12 — Page 4

THE CHINÀ MAIL, MONDAY, MAY 12, 1958.

U.S. spend fifteen million dollars to develop atomic space motor: Herr Flick

STEP NEARER

ONE

The pace of rocket development quickens each month. In this article,, David Divine describes an amazing new American project-the development of an atomic rocket motor which, perfected, could power the first true inter- planetary space ship.

THE

TRAmerican Bureau of 16,000,000 dollars for Pro- 'Ject Rover.

With that decision "roc- ketry" movea up another stage in the astonishing "staircase" of its develop ment, and space travel-for those who want appreciably nearer.

both a

They

work on the principle of als developed, would consist of violently projected to impart tonn" propulsion sufficiently violent motion to the body of powerful to get the atomic sec- the rocket farli

tions into nu aren where it could develop its maximum usefulness,

But with an alomie engine

Both these two theories about nothing is ejected. The reactor producer is energy an heat, and the use of reactors have best heat itself ennnot drive a heavy discussed in varying degrees in rocket. There must still be a the past. What makes a further Theoretically it is afteen million dollars for Pro- propellant.

possible

achieve jeet over important, however, -cumen perfectly

is that it has been released to provide test facilities la Neva-

thir.

Once

For Project Rover is the attempt to develop an atomic pr rocket motor.

have

to

do."

Kamplifying again

isites, enormously complicated

atomic rocket carries a Tael--sty kuid hydrogen-in lenks-and the heat causes the to be superheated hydrogen

freted at great speed, it will

TECHNICAL RACE

Test facies are cot usually bi possible to translate The built until something is ready

entegy of the reelor into pro- to be tested, pellant power,

נ

Existing rockel fuels proved powerful enough to set up heavy satellites in pre- designed orbits. The Rus-, success with the first Sputnik

world. astonished the

The

Bul such development econd Sputnik expped

would carry things comparative in the y le farther than the exist The Americans are fold.' Scientists huve declared ing chemical fuel rocket.

Duration of High: would be already that existing turls are

send a strictly limited to the amount of svmelently powerful to

hydrogen that could be carried, misille to the moon.

and the real potential of the What is the need. thẹn, for an actor would never be brought There appears, however, to be a possible alternative,

atomie engine?

INDEFINITE LIFE

The answer is simple enough. No chemical fuel yet h 150 cần pruvide for sustained fight.

Every

mixture of known Hquid fuels every type of solitt foot, Is positive rate of burning.

ย

The fust lords which can be carled in a rocket can last only for a very short time.

It Is rue that in that time spreds of fantastic magnitude en be imparted to missiles, but

those speeds have been " rezrin there is an end.

once

Answer lo

itin use.

A-Motor

that cruises

for ever

in Space

It looks as if the Americans are reaching the point of con- missile experts structing what and atomle phystests alike des cribe as "hardware,"

If,

challenges THE MOON the British

by David Divine Motor

achievement of the Ameri- can armed services in other husiasts. branches of missilery.

Disregarding Project Raver which I have already discussed. there are no fewer than thirty- nine missiles already in service. in production, or in the last stages of development for the ren branches of the American armed forces,

In

Afteen timez the

extremes

between these เก ay seems probable, atomite propulsion unit would are some of the most astonish- equally some tar the use inside Ing und have no foreseeable

In any case a programme of operations could be fed into it before departure which could produce a vast amount of Infor- mation that could not be fined by any other means,

und

The teelmician.

Of

dates acknowledged by missile six feet long and has a range of Hit the speed and three hundred miles, Regulus inventiveness of missile design has a range of six hundred miles, today makes it obvious that within the very near future the role of the manned bomber will

mited and enmeshed i danger.

Nor does the problem end there, for 11 is quite cicar that

Array of Weapons

Snork, seventy-four feet in length, has a range of five thou- sand miles. None of these except the Mark II Regulus (a.) supersonic, but Spark comes close in it and so does Maindor.

Industry

by Norman Lindhurst

ronge class-and beyond those enemies, the British. again the giants like Titan and Atlog, with

5,500-mile range,

range is

their

needed.

A

Con

It could carry the H-bomb warhead and, unl in some In- credible future of radar develop- It goes on to Little John, La ment and electronic brains an Cross, Honest John, Corporal, anti-misslie miscle can be made Sergeant, and finally Redstone, 100 per cent effective, there is in what might be called the no defence against it. short to medium-range bumbard- ment group.

The one thing wanting at the moment Is pinpoint accuracy. It

Ray

come

we

NEW VENTURES

He still had a surplus of idle

groundwork for his malor car money and with this he fold the challenge to Brilain, He bought 37 per cent, of Dalmler Bear's slock and about the same per- centage of stock in Auto Union, Gernan

in the very rear future mislea Very high accuracy is claimed at extreme will be able to carry out at for both of them least as well as a harassed and ranges, and a very high degree

China Mait Special Correspondent In Dusseldort resistance They begin with the Mighty vulnerable bomber-self using of

th counter- Mouse. the tiny four-foot air- a stand-of mkolic u hundred "measures la also’claimed. fear missile developed by the miles from its target-—the lasks

PAREDERICK FLICK, the interests during the Korean War American Air Force, and they which are necessary.

But once again these are only

In fact, he made, a Interim weapons

ntee! magnate who was boom. because very

handsome profit. mount swiftly to the hundred-

clore behind them are, first, the convicted as a war criminal

With this new-found fortune, fent Titan, with a range of five

Intermediate range thousand five hundred miles and

ballistic at Nuremberg, has

most men missiles like Thor, Jupiter and back to torment his old would have sought retirement. In their seventies speed of sound.

Triton-all In the 1,500-mile speed of

Not Herr Flick. He immediately looked around for new venturos Nobody But this time his chal. In which to Invest. lenge is rather a different had said anything about his not buying himself into foreign and the earth's uir envelope, why must appalling examples of the

it me the Americans going ahead ingenully of the incdern scientist

is steel enterprises: the idea and ONSIDER the astonish- Nothing more in the way or one. Nevertheless, twentieth century

five-equally deadly. For Herr seemed highly unlikely. ingly formidable list of thousand-mile missile with "Rover?"

do Flick presents the British

But this is what he did. He The answer seems to lie in the

American ground-to-ground anything that 1 long-range motor industry with the invested heavily in Belglen and realm of prestige, A racket that Beginning with the amullest

biggest challenge they have French steel and coal, producing emild creise indefinitely or al ciss again, there are part weapons. It begins with the bomber can do.

had for some years.

outeries in Parliament in both most indefinitely-under remote from the Mighty Mouse-Falcon, Bhort-range Dart, the anti-

countries. But the outeries died control could explore to inter- Shewinder Zuni and Sparrow tank rocket.

the air-to-air group. planetary distances-always pro- in

His is the master-mind down without anything happen- vided that control could be there Zuri is also adaptable for

strength to strength. behind a plan to cut out Bring and Herr Flick went from exercised

the requisite sir-10-ground strikes. 01

tish motor car exports to ranges.

Also airborne and in the class

U.S.A. and Western of the "stand-off" missile, the

Europe. nature of which the Royal Force seems suddenly to Air

La Cross, with

We need not a range of will come in time. have realised (and which in the

*:{ the pir-launched Afteen to twenty milles, is among shape velan of the V.1. was used the smallest of these, but all of There is still one more dass haven't been warned for Herr Flick has giveń clear ngainst Great Britain thirteen them can carry atomic war- that is of extraordinary

The American Navy notice of his intentions. The technical race with Russia years ago), the Americans have heads of the smaller types, portance, has gripped the minds of the Bullpigs, Bulldog, Petrel and and some of them can carry the has developed on almost fendist

ingenuity for submarine war- Old men flourish in Ger- American public to such on ex- Reseal the last, a 35-foot long, heavy ones. T is not strictly correct to tent that the cost of such a hundred-mile range job with a

They give unbellevable Are which can be sent from long dis- Adenauer are all veterana fare. There is a missile mine, many, Ilindenburg, Schacht, be entirely speed of about a thousand mites say that "nothing" is venture would

power from what used to be the tances into enemy harbours or the an hear.

who

He gained a controlling vales old heavy artillery ranges 10 ejected from an atomic re- negligible compared with

to focal shipping points. effects of Success 25} 1e

Broadly speaking, the what not so long ago were the

than many men forty years in each company, then merged national credit,

companies Into Europe's Britain's Parliamentary Secret- of existence

these missiles oki medium bosiber ranges.

their junior.

biggest motor car producer. To- nry to the Admirally referred means that . buonber does not need to approncha closer than aTheir tollal values vary the House-of-commons the other-

"And Herr-Flick is at seventy day it has 75,000 workern and an annual turnover of £200,- hundred miles from its target. Some of them, like Corporal, are day

anti-submarine five as sprightly, hard-working 600,000, Some of incasures. defences against slew in operation. What are the

and full of ideas as any go- D: bomber thea?

them, like the solid fuel Honest

IL John. are, for pruetleal pur- The Americans have develop-getting executive of half his

produces anything from DgC.

bicycles to aircraft engines-a Apart from

ed what they call a hydro-jel the tir-to-air poses, instantaneous. missiles that have already been

torpedo for use by one sub- Pre-war, along with Krupp built-in market, incidentally, for marine against mentioned. there are Terrter,

another which and Fritz Thyssen, be ruled the Flick's Belgian and French steel. Tests and Talon Hauck, she

operates on the principle of the Ruhr. He barkrailed the Nazis. And the merger gives Herr Flick It is only necessary to draw a Alex and Nike-Hercules.

in their poverty-stricken days of a complete line of cars ranging series of circles with a radius of

the early thirties, and when from the luxury Mercedes down

to the They have developed another ter came to power his steel Their ranges rua frem twenty two hundred mlies on any map

Auto Union, a 40 miles miles to seventy, and the grow- to see the prodigious amount of ingenuity called the B.B.I.M. empire helped build the Nazi to the gallon, 70 m.p.l. model which sells at a lower prico T the moment rocket ccuracy and the extra ground that can be covered by the Buoyant Ballistic Inertial war machine.

than the Volkswagen. nedtrary target-seeking exp--well-placed-missile-sites.

Missile This is also on under- A interest in Great Britain abilities of the later makes of

They weapon.

At water

have

he Nuremberg Their ability to take over the developed concen; missile are almost incredible.

LATU the convicted the

Flick is famed for his fore- of member us n is almost entirely

work of the short-range medium Underwater to Air to Under- Hitler's Elile Guard, of spolia- sight. And, beyond the

he truted on Thor, the inter

All three of there classes of bomber la already apparent,

market. water Transitional Missile lion and the use of slave labour. American mediante ballistic missile nissile are of interim value What about the long-range?

he W13 which, fred from below the rur-But

released from focussing on a vast new market which is to be sited along only

coming Into being the European So long CA manned

travels most of Landsberg Prison in 1950 as an There is Arst a series of alr- lace, emerges, The conditions in outer space, the eastern half of the lumbers continue to be used, it

will be necessary to provide breathers of the type of Bomare, the way alrborne, and submerges act of clemency by the then Common Market,

Commissioner, John however, permit of entirely country.

egain to seek is target under- US. High either airborne or Shark, Regulus and Malador.

He intends, to dominate this different calculations.

defences,

Virtually they are the ultimate water. And, finally, and most J. McCloy.

market, or at least to ensure Thor has passed its first ground-launched, against them.

refinement of the V.1 idea. incredible of all, there is the But McCloy and the Allies that. German cars capture 1. firing tests and is, for prac It is still Impossible to fix a Ram-Jet

powered, they are Polaris the fifteen-hundred-put certain restrictions on Herr He has two formidable rivals in fur gefe for the end of the manner pilotless alreraft with, some of mile solid fuel missile, which, Flick. It was made clear that Cermany-Opel and Volkswagen tical purposes, ready

Aired from underwater, can he must "gei out" of German -ard his solution is a working to navigate an ato deployment, its size and its bomber, Low-flying techniques, them, emormous ranges.

radar counter-measures of a

threaten almost any point in any coat and steel production, And agreement with them to freeze potential have tended to ob variety of kinds, may possibly Bomure, which is actually a conceivable enemy's Interior. Flick, with lacrity, did just out British molor

the extraordinary extend It beyond the maximum ground-to-ulr missile, is forty- is a terrifying list.

that. He sok! out is steel petition. scure

Superficially, then, the hamle

is the ergine

the space traveller's dream. It will actor. Trevitably be heavy.

****The Bux-lans estimate Tant feasible reactor for rockel pur: poses would weigh at least one Jaundred tons.

itsel

The fuel component would weigh hardly more than

would, how alew pounds. www lake an alması izdelali Nie.

The reacter of the Nautilus. the Best atomic submarine, ran 16. nearly two yours beftig re- et orging.

Unfortunately it is, not as easy as that in practice. There 3s for the purpises of "rocketry one major defect in the whole principle of temle revetten,

It Is pertaps simplest to ev- plula tin terms of a firework. Toe blue paper, et ce lit, igniles comparatively slow-burning

KI

powder charge.

The grses produced by that burning rear out

thic.ugh the vent of the reeket.

The thrust achieved by that action is transmitted buck to the Jocket and drives it 116 the oky.

Basically there is no difference between the rework

Consilemble. theoretion! research has been made into the possibility of a controll- able on stream.

Ions are charged particles. I they would he accelerated and controlled by power produced in perctor, they could of the past pa selves provide an appreciable thrust,

TEST FACILITIES

His improbable that that thrust would ever be sumetent to operate a rocket in the con- diens of the earth's atmo

phere.

1

There seems to be no reason why a controlled ion streami should not provide suficient

prower iccket almost indefnitely,

The nature of the ton stream would, of course, make its use close in the earth's surface quile in possible.

It serms kely, then, that an and the atomie reeket. II A can be

Goodbye to the Bomber

They can be fired round three hundred and sixty degrees, and

10

INLA

air rain-jet.

accompilahed

moro

Was

an old and respected motor car Arm.

the

19

car com-

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