Word: space
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Other Tasks. But Explorer VI had more to do than absorb energy from the sun. Purposely programed for the most eccentric orbit ever achieved by an earth satellite, it settled almost exactly into its planned path, first reached its record apogee some 26,400 miles straight out into space from the Cape of Good Hope, its perigee a narrow 157 miles over Singapore. With so great a range of altitude, it will pierce both of the newly discovered Van Allen radiation belts (TIME. May 12, 1958 et seq.), collect comprehensive data on phenomena ranging from the earth's ionosphere...
...accomplish these tasks, Explorer VI's 1/161n. aluminum skin shrouds the most intricate and talented collection of scientific instruments yet sent into space -all in a 29-in. by 26-in. ball that moves through its complete orbit once every twelve hours. One hoped-for result is the first relatively detailed map of the Van Allen belts, which present a formidable barrier to interplanetary flight. Previous earth satellites have not gone high enough to examine the enormous breadth of the Van Allen radiation. Pioneer IV obtained valuable information, but made only one trip through the belts before falling into...
Ears & Eyes. Another possible hazard for space travelers is cosmic dust-micro-meteorites. Behind metal plates on the sides of Explorer VI, microphones listen for micrometeoric impacts, register their intensity and frequency. The problem of communication with future space probes or space argonauts is complicated by the fact that radio waves are distorted and deflected when they penetrate the shell of the ionosphere. The satellite carries equipment to study their behavior...
Kick in Reserve. Explorer VI is expected to hold its hip-swinging orbit for at least a year. During that time it may illuminate problems of the universe from Einstein's theory on the curvature of space to the question whether man can really get past the Van Allen radiation belts by entering space above the earth's poles. At week's end a spokesman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported: "The paddle wheel is doing well. It is converting solar energy into electrical energy. The signals are coming in loud and clear...
Wall Street's bull showed more concern last week over the coming exchange of visits between President Eisenhower and Premier Khrushchev (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS) than joy in the continued outpouring of record earnings. Some investors in companies with big defense contracts, or in the missile-and space-based electronics industry, dumped their stocks. They felt that any warming in the cold war might bring a cutback in defense orders, even though most Wall Streeters believe that an end to the cold war would be bullish, since it would open the way for a cut in the U.S. budget...