First Pictures of Lunar Surface

On the 15^th of December, the South African Space Agency, SARSA, successfully launched a rocket carrying two satellites. The first was a Lunar Probe Lander and it's mission to land on the surface of the moon and return pictures from that surface went without a hitch. The Probe touched down on the vast lava plain known as Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms) and revealed a surface that, while cratered, looks like it could be a suitable place for a future moon landing.

The second satellite carried by the rocket was a second attempt at a Mars Fly-by mission. This probe is currently on its way to the red planet.

SARSA ordered to land a man on the moon by end of 1968

In a major speech to mark the end of the year and obviously enthused by the successful Lunar Probe Lander, the President of South Africa, Charles Robberts Swart, has ordered SARSA to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of 1968. The President said We cannot allow the Australians or anybody else to beat us. We must and we will get there first by any means! I have heard rumours that other agencies have set themselves a target of reaching the moon by the end of the decade. We South Africans can, and will do better, so I pledge that we will land a man on the moon and return him safely to the Earth by the end of the 1968!. If we have increase SARSA's budget to match the Australians then that is what we will do. If we have to send monkeys to test the way then that is what we will do. If we have to sow the way with additional satellites to secure the route then that is what we will do. The reaction of the agency itself is not yet entirely clear, but the Journal has assumed that the order will be accepted by SARSA. If the order is rejected, SARSA budget will be cut to $90,000,000 and $53,000,000 will be removed from SARSA's cash in hand (the financial figures shown below assume that the order will be accepted). Should SARSA accept the order and fail to achieve the lunar landing by the end of 1968 its budget will be halved.

Confusion in Smaug Inc.

The ongoing review of the space program started by Smaug Inc. following the disaster last year appears to have paralysed the organisation. No instructions were issued by the organisation this year¹ and only those launches which had equipment ready to do were able to launch².

SHADO gets a mission off the ground

Following a major research effort, SHADO latest mission successfully left both the ground and Earth orbit on the 10^th of December. In fact the mission, a Venusian fly-by, had a near perfect separation from its booster rocket and is now safely on its way to Venus. Pyromaniacs have expressed disappointment at the launch - Where was the drama? and the explosion? one was heard to comment.

ASA becomes third Orb Sat nation

On the 29^th of December ASA became the third nation to have successfully launched and operated an orbital satellite. The mission is believed to have been primarily a proving mission for the three stage rocket program, but has scooped the third nation bonus for orbital satellites.

Smaug Inc. flies by the moon

In a morale boosting move, Smaug Inc. successfully flew a satellite past the moon on the 20^th of December, becoming the second agency to have successfully completed this mission. The boost to the agency's budget, together with the substantial cash in hand balance of the agency is expected to allow the agency to make a major comeback in the next year or so.

Two missions scrubbed

Of the six missions planned for 1964, two were scrubbed. Both GOSsiP and Smaug Inc. scrubbed one mission each. Observers have been forced to assume that both missions would have been orbital satellite launches although there were signs that other missions may have been intended.

Hampton Bell of SHADO retires

In a embarrassing blow to SHADO's astronaut recruitment efforts, the agency was forced to admit that age discrimination legislation forced it to recruit Hampton Bell even though he was just eight months from his 65^th birthday and hence retirement. One can only hope that he was not scheduled to fly on either of the missions being planned by SHADO for 1965!

Minor problems for Smaug Inc.'s Satellites

Recent auditing of the test protocols for Smaug Inc.'s Satellite program has revealed that a few of the ground test results are unreliable. As a result the safety factor of Smaug Inc.'s Orbital Satellite program has either been overrated by 10%, or the results re-verified at a cost of $10,000,000.

Major test failures for both ASA and GOSsiP

Ground tests at both ASA and GOSsiP have revealed significant problems. At ASA, the problem involves its three stage rocket whose safety factor has been revised downwards by 25%. Meanwhile for GOSsiP it was testing of the three person capsule that revealed a failure of the craft's rubber sealants and its safety factor has been revised downwards by 15%.

Manned launch plans at ASA?

Rumourmongers in Harold's Bar in Woomera (while carefully avoiding all cocktails and sticking to the Amber Nectar) have been kept busy after Dr. Venus had been overheard commenting on the two launches planned by ASA for 1965. Gossip suggests that she said Hmmph. Boys together eh? At least I will have a break from Zodiac.

Launch Calendar

The provisional calendar for launches planned in 1965 (assuming none of the missions are rushed or scrubbed) is as follows:

5^th Dec

GOSsiP

10^th Dec

SHADO

12^th Dec

SHADO

18^th Dec

ASA

27^th Dec

SARSA

31^th Dec

ASA³

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Last updated: December 21, 2021 at 19:38 pm

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Smaug Inc. mourning loss of 4 astronauts

Following the successful launch on the 27^th of December by Smaug Inc. of Lawrence Fields, Eric Zevery, Frederick Hagiwara on a Manned Orbital mission, hopes in the organisation were high that the mission would be a complete success. The capsule easily attained its planned orbit and the astronauts engaged in checking out the capsule's systems which were proving to be working fine. At the end of the planned set of orbits the capsule left earth orbit on schedule. However once the capsule started the re-entry phase all contact was lost with the capsule and was never re-established. Telescopic observations, together with appearance of a fireball, have led ground observers to believe that the capsule's heat shield must have some kind of design flaw which led to a failure of the heat shield and the total loss of the capsule. As a result of this disaster Smaug Inc.'s capsule will need to be redesigned.

One other very unfortunate side effect of the loss was a car accident involving another of Smaug Inc.'s astronaut corps. Margaret Reynolds was driving to the first meeting of the committee called to investigate the tragedy when her vehicle was involved in a collision with a tourist bus which had been speeding. Investigators into that accident have denied that the bus had been looking for Smaug Inc.'s launch facilities and have also denied that the tourists were from South Africa¹.

As a result of this accident, Smaug Inc. scrubbed its second launch that had been planned to launch just a day after the failed re-entry attempt.

First pictures from Venus

SARSA has posted pictures from its successful fly-by of Venus (the planet, not the noted Australian Scientist and Astronaut). Disappointingly the satellite revealed that the cloud is as complete as low resolution pictures from Earth based telescopes. On board sensors report that the clouds seemed to be highly acidic with concentrations of both carbolic and sulphuric acids.

GOSsiP fire crew earn their keep

The launch on the 6^th of December of a lunar satellite fly-by mission ended up being a good test of the effectiveness of the fire crews at Julianehåb. The attempt to ignite the two stage rocket which was to have lifted the interplanetary satellite on its way appears to have been overly successful. Instead of igniting the first stage of the rocket, the ignitors appear to have cut through a major portion of the solid fuel propellant, which then fell down out of the rocket and started to burn fiercely. The fire crews based at the launch facility immediately acted to implement their emergency plan to basically dowse the rocket with large chunks from the nearby glacier. Although the rocket and satellite were destroyed the quick actions of the fire crews saved the facility itself from any major damage and the facility remains available for use.

SHADO loses another satellite

Serious doubts over the gung ho attitude of SHADO are being expressed by the organisation's superiors after another satellite (this one an interplanetary satellite aimed to pass by the moon) failed to achieve its initial orbit. The launch had already been delayed twice by problems with the rocket, both resulting from last second aborts in the countdown procedure. After the problem was tracked down to the countdown timer itself, the rocket lifted off perfectly. However once the satellite was released by the rocket at a height of 97 miles all contact with the satellite was immediately lost and its whereabouts remain unknown. Experts suggest that the satellite probably re-entered the Earth's atmosphere within minutes and only small fragments will have made back down to the Earth's surface, probably somewhere over Antarctica.

Astronaut Linnea Larsen of GOSsiP dies in training

Linnea Larsen, who was only hired by GOSsiP a few months ago has been killed in a training accident in the hot pools near Julianehåb. The Scandinavian governments that fund GOSsiP had ordered the organisation not to launch any manned missions until full details of the investigation report has published later this year. While the circumstances of the accident remain murky it is apparent that the safety of the hardware that is actually sent into space has not been questioned, but only the training methods being used have been called into question².

Smaug Inc. discovered to be using Australian EVA Suits

Experts have been forced to re-evaluate the safety factor of Smaug Inc.'s EVA Suits after the discovery of a spy ring within the Australian Space Agency. Smaug Inc. had apparently been using the Australian research as the basis of their own EVA suits and hence the safety factor of Smaug Inc.'s EVA suits has been reduced to match that of ASA's suits.

ASA has claimed that the discovery of Smaug Inc.'s espionage was the result of beefed security at its launch facility and the related civilian areas of the base including Harold's bar. Apparently Harold's suspicions had been raised when the sales of his Nuclear Fireball cocktails had overtaken those of his more traditional liqueur coffees and had started to approach those of the Amber Nectar.

Trainees hit South African Production

The focus on industrial trainees for the South African space program during 1963 has apparently resulted in problems in the plans for factories to build capsules for the South African program. Although it is expected that the factories themselves can be built next year, contractors say that it will be impossible to run them at full speed³.

Dr. Von Graun moves back to Hawaii

Having discovered that even the Greenland climate is not to his taste, Dr. Von Graun has returned to Hawaii and rejoined SHADO. SHADO expressed their hope that his travel experience will assist him (and SHADO) in their future research efforts⁴

South African officials deny first strike orders

In a rare statement South African officials have officially denied reports that they ordered SARSA to build and launch a volley of missiles all armed with multiple nuclear armed warheads - It's a complete fabrication and anyway if we did have any such missiles we would need them to deter the Martians that shot down our probe last year.... As this is first time that Martians have been mentioned by the officials suspicions are rising that perhaps something has been discovered by South Africa.

All are welcome to use the new launch facility on the island of Lenur in the Vanatu Islands. This brand new launch facility has been constructed and is managed by SHADO, the premier independent space agency. Rental includes use of the facility and the adjacent beaches (including the beach huts).

Price on application. SHADO accepts no responsibility for any accidents or problems with the use of the facility. Insurance is the responsibility of the user

Launch Calendar

The provisional calendar for launches planned in 1964 (assuming none of the missions are rushed or scrubbed) is as follows:

5^th Dec

GOSsiP

10^th Dec

SHADO

15^th Dec

SARSA

20^th Dec

Smaug Inc.

22^th Dec

Smaug Inc.

29^th Dec

ASA

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Last updated: December 21, 2021 at 19:38 pm

8 Aug 2017

Fix typo

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