Space Engineering

The 2nd International Conference on Space Engineering took place May 7-10, 1969, at Venice, Italy, under the organization of the Centro Studi Trasporti Missilistici and the Association pour l'Etude et la Recherche Astronautique et Cosmique. Its purpose was to bring together those interested in the technological development of space components, to exchange information by the presentation of papers and to discuss present problems and future trends, and to this end forty-eight papers were presented by distinguished experts from all over the world. The papers were selected from as wide a background as possible, approximately an equal number coming from the academic and research establishments as from industry. The principal criterion for their selection was that they should contribute to the knowledge of Space Engineering, and have application either to the improve­ ment of current technologies or to the design of more advanced systems for the future. Six pertinent sessions were planned which covered the major areas of interest: (1) Structures and Materials, where three important papers were presented; (2) Guidance and Control Systems, in which six valuable papers were presented, in­ cluding problems of controlling space ships, details of the inertial guidance system of the ELDO launch vehicle, the attitude control system of the "Europa 2"; (3) Propellants and Combustion, where eleven papers described recent work on solid and liquid rocket engines, advanced fuels and oxidizers, effects of additives, propellant injection, propellant expulsion techniques; (4) Propulsion, in which session ten papers

Opening Ceremony.- Address.- I/Structures and Materials.- Vibrations of Thin Elastic Plates Subject to Random Driving Forces.- Designing Cost-Effective Pressure Vessels Based on Fracture Mechanics.- Investigation of Low ?s/?-Coatings in a Simulated Space Environment.- II/ Guidance And Control Systems.- Contrôle automatique des chaînes de télémesures.- Some Problems of Controlling Spaceships.- Numerical Procedures for the Attitude and Orbital Maneuvers Computation of a Spin-Stabilised Satellite.- A Roll and Pitch Attitude Control Scheme for a Synchronous, Flywheel Stabilized, Communication Satellite.- Autopilot Compatibility of the Digital Inertial Guidance System Used in the Eldo ‘Europa’ Launch Vehicle.- Development of the ‘Europa I’ First Stage attitude Control System to the ‘Europa II’ Requirements.- III/Propellants and Combustion, I.- Decomposition and Ignition of Ammonium Perchlorate in the Presence of SnO2-Cr2O3 Catalysts.- Advanced Chemical Rocket Propellants: On the Way from Theory to Hardware.- Advanced Fuels and Oxidizers.- Effect of Additives on the Combustion of Hydrazine/Nitrogen Tetroxide.- Effects of Propellant Injection on Resonant Combustion.- Analytical and Experimental Investigations of Aerothermochemical Processes in Liquid Propellant Rocket Motors.- IV/Propellants And Combustion, II.- Investigations on Propellant Vaporization and Gas Mixture Formation in a Liquid Rocket Motor Using Nonhypergolic Propellants.- Physical and Chemical Kinetics of Al and ? Flames (An Extended Abstract).- Investigation of Boron Combustion for Its Application in Air Augmented Rockets.- Propellant Expulsion Techniques.- Investigation of an Injector Concept for Throttleable High-Energy Rocket Engines.- V/Propulsion, I.- Determination of the Position of the Supersonic Flow Closing Shock Wave in the Channels of an Air-Breathing Jet Engine.- Reduction in Cost of the First Stage, ‘Recoverable’ First Stages, and First Stages ‘to Be Thrown Away’.- Low Cost Launch- and Re-Entry Vehicles - a Requirement for Future Space Flight.- Comparison of a Booster-Ram Rocket Combination with a Two-Stage Rocket for An Acceleration Mission.- Hybrid Motors in Sounding Rockets - Technical and Economical Advantages.- Evolution of Reaction Control Engines for U.S. Manned Spacecraft.- VI/Propulsion, II.- The Morphological Continuum in Solid Propellant Grain Design.- Une famille de propulseurs Bi-ergols à poussées comprises entre 40 et 1 kp. Technologie et possibilités d’application pour le Satellite ‘Symphonie’.- Design of the Apollo Service Module Rocket Engine for Manned Operation.- Some Problems of the Dynamics of a Space Vehicle with Tanks Partially Filled with Liquid.- VII/Auxiliary Power Systems.- Compact ZrH Reactor Development Status and Reactor Thermoelectric Space Power Systems.- Batteries d’accumulateurs pour alimentation en énergie de satellites.- Batteries d’accumulateurs souples nickel-cadmium pour alimentation de ballons météorologiques.- Low-Power Nuclear Energy Conversion for Long-Duration Space Missions. Comparison between Rankine and Brayton Cycles: Dynamic and MHD Power Conversion.- VIII/Testing, Support and Accessories, I.- Investigation of the Vibration Modes of a Three Degrees of Freedom Ground Testing Apparatus for the Attitude-Control System of Satellites.- Satellites and Heat-Shields Test Facilities at FIAT Aerospace Laboratory.- Jettisoning Test Equipment at FIAT Aerospace Laboratory.- A Comparison of Satellite Drag Measurement Techniques.- Satellite Gravitational Stabilization Systems with Maximum Damping Rate.- An Analysis and Simulation of Mars Landing.- The Deep Space Network. An Instrument for Radio Navigation for the Mariner Mission to Mars, 1969.- Optimal Value for the Antenna Spacing of a Three Antenna Interferometer.- IX/Testing, Support and Accessories, II.- Space Programme in India.- The Churchill Research Range and Canada’s Space Research Program.- Design and Dynamic Characteristics Investigation of a High Performance Spherical Bearing.- A Polyvalent Data Acquisition System for Ground Space Tests at FIAT Aerospace Laboratory.- Méthodes et moyens d’essais relatifs au développement des propulseurs.- New Capacitive Pressure Transducer for Aerospatial Use.- X/Speeches Delivered at the Banquet.- Speech by General B. A. Schriever: Manned Space Stations (Gateway to Our Future in Space).- Speech by Academician B. N. Petrov.