50 Years Ago Today: Titan 1 Test Series Concluded

Titan 1A at launch.

Fifty Years ago the Air Force concluded its series of launches of the Titan 1 rocket from the Atlantic Test Range at Cape Canaveral. There had been 40 launches, out of which 4 had been failures. The Titan 1 was an important development in the design of multi-stage InterContinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) for America's strategic rocket forces. The launches had taken place from launch complexes LC15, LC16, LC19, and LC20.

Titan-1 had a range of 5500 miles. As an ICBM, it could carry a nuclear weapon of 3.75 megatons of TNT. It became operational in our Strategic Missile Defense System in 1962 and was active until 1964. It was the first of our ICBMs to be launched from underground silos hidden in the western USA. There were difficulties with the first silo designs, needing an elevator to lift the rocket for launch, too long a time for fueling, and the command necessity of grouping them in threes, possibly making them vulnerable to a nuclear attack. During deployment, there were about 60 missiles available for launch at any given time. In 1965, as the new Titan 2 and Minuteman 1 missiles came on line, the Titan 1's were retired.

For NASA, the tests enabled engineers to prepare for the successful Titan 2 missiles, which would be used to launch astronauts later in the Gemini series.

There were 33 Titan 1s given to museums, Air Force bases, and government installations as memorials. You can see one at the Cape Canaveral US Air Force Museum in Florida, on one of the bus tours that you can board from the Kennedy Space Center. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of it when I was there earlier this year.

Posted by Mark Daymont

Helping Those in Need this Holiday Season

All Things Considered, my favorite radio program on NPR, recently played this beautiful and haunting Franz Schubert song, "Hurdy-Gurdy Man". A Hurdy-Gurdy Man was someone (either a street vendor or someone seeking charity) who played a stringed instrument to attract attention to his wares or to get charity. On the show, "Hurdy-Gurdy Man" was recommended by a son remembering his father trudging 10-miles through cold and snow to a menial job to put food on the table.

This is the song sung in German with an English translation.

There are many this Holiday season who are unfortunate, many through no fault of their own. This recession has taken a terrible tole on many families. In this season of extra giving, it is well to remember them and donate either our time, food or money to worthy charities.

If you are searching for a good charity, may I recommend "Covenant House"? It is my favorite charity for holiday giving and does much good for runaway teens trying to survive in America's large cities.

Mr. W.

50 Years Ago Today: Discoverer 36 Launch Success

Thor-Agena rocket at Vandenberg AFB.

Fifty Years ago on December 12, 1961, the U.S. Air Force Space Division launched Discoverer 36 from a launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The orbit of the 300+ pound capsule reached as high as 280 miles. The main experiments included testing space equipment, researching radiation in space, and detecting nuclear explosions. All the experiments were successful.

On this flight, the Air Force allowed a hitch-hiker. A 10 pound satellite named OSCAR (Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) was lifted aloft on the rocket to test beaming signals to HAM radio operators back on Earth. This was also a success. Even today, HAM radio operators often have opportunities through NASA programs to use amateur radios to contact astronauts on space missions such as the International Space Station.

Discoverer 36 would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere four days later after 64 orbits. The rocket itself burned up on March 8, 1962. The mission was one of the most successful launches of the Discoverer series.

Posted by Mark Daymont