RUSSIAN ROCKET

Press, Volume C, Issue 29504, 4 May 1961, Page 20

RUSSIAN ROCKET

Explanation Of Descent

An explanation of how the Soviet spaceship, which carried Major Yuri Gagarin round the world, was slowed down for its descent into the earth's atmosphere is given in the Soviet Legation's latest information bulletin. The explanation is given by Mr Y. Sushkov, who is described as having a master of science degree in technology. He says: "The landing signal is given, a braking rocket is fired and the space vehicle veers from its orbit and begins its descent. With a velocity roughly 25 tunes greater than the speed of sound, it dives into atmospheric layers of increasing density. In front of it a "shock wave” forms a layer of compressed air separating the ship from the undisturbed atmosphere. The shock wave, heated to several thousand degrees, dissipates some of its heat into surrounding space. The rest is imparted to the space vehicle. "At the beginning of descent, when the space vehicle is still very high and the surrounding atmospheric density is small, a heavy spaceship does not slow down fast enough. To brake faster on this section of the trajectory a parachute could be used. This high altitude parachute is of an unusual type. As it will not open Itself in the low atmospheric density it must be made to do so by special gadgets. "An intricate automatic system gives normal braking. At the height of a few miles above the prescribed landing area, the spaceship's velocity is low enough to catapult the cabin from the spaceship. It then eomes down by parachute in the ordinary way," says Mr Sushkov.