A correction to my own book, Viking rocket

I thought that, in writing THE FIRST SPACE RACE (Texas A&M University
Press, 2004), we had nailed down every fact about the earliest
satellites. Naturally, I find I am mistaken. Dwayne Day, Rick
Sturdevant, and Mike Gruntman have all pointed out some things to
correct. The most serious flaw, to me, though, is the account we
included of the Viking rocket static test firing which ripped part of
the test stand free of the concrete pad. We wrote that Viking No. 8
actually took off with the test stand attached, rising four miles as
the most unaerodynamic rocket in history. Gil Moore, who was there,
told us about that day, but I either mistook what he said or misread my
notes later. (I was not the first to get this story wrong - I found it
in some articles I referenced also.)

Gil collared me at the last Conference on Small Satellites to
energetically correct me. The Viking did not take off with the stand,
but forced its way out of it, severly damaging the stand in the
process. It rose only four miles because of the limited propellant on
board.

One thing we learned in writing THE FIRST SPACE RACE is that once an
error gets into the literature (the appearance of the Explorer I flight
vehicle and the erroneous quotation "Goldstone has the bird" are two we
addressed), it tends to stay there forever. We hope to put out a
revised and expanded version of our book in 2007, but I didn't want the
misconception to remain out there.

Regards,
Matt Bille
www.mattwriter.com

On 24 Aug 2005 21:17:11 -0700, "Matt" wrote:

Gil collared me at the last Conference on Small Satellites to
energetically correct me. The Viking did not take off with the stand,
but forced its way out of it, severly damaging the stand in the
process. It rose only four miles because of the limited propellant on
board.

....Some stories are better when the facts are a bit skewed towards the
"holy ****!" end of the spectrum. I suggest correcting the error for
the 2nd edition, but adding a footnote telling the stand-attached
version, just so future generations don't miss out on the tall tale
:-)

OM

--

"No ******* ever won a war by dying for | http://www.io.com/~o_m
his country. He won it by making the other | Sergeant-At-Arms
poor dumb ******* die for his country." | Human O-Ring Society

- General George S. Patton, Jr

OM wrote:

...Some stories are better when the facts are a bit skewed towards the
"holy ****!" end of the spectrum. I suggest correcting the error for
the 2nd edition, but adding a footnote telling the stand-attached
version, just so future generations don't miss out on the tall tale
:-)



I've read the "accidental launch of the Viking" story in more than one
place, but had never heard of a variant of the story where it took off
with the test stand attached.

""""""Pat FLANNERY""""""

An I'll vote for truth in this book also. Good to see some books do
get corrected.

"bombardmentforce" wrote in message
ups.com...
An I'll vote for truth in this book also. Good to see some books do
get corrected.

So now you can go on to the next page?

On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 13:40:25 -0400, "Ami Silberman"
wrote:

"bombardmentFARCE" babbled
An I'll vote for truth in this book also. Good to see some books do
get corrected.

....This dickhead is so goddamn full of himself he's either a) CT in
drag or b) related to that trolling asshat. Just killfile him and be
done with the problem.

So now you can go on to the next page?

....Preferably, he'll just off himself and go straight to Hell. This
troll's the type who'd complain to Dr. Seuss that page 4 of _The Cat
in the Hat_ contained a factual error.

OM

--

"No ******* ever won a war by dying for | http://www.io.com/~o_m
his country. He won it by making the other | Sergeant-At-Arms
poor dumb ******* die for his country." | Human O-Ring Society

- General George S. Patton, Jr

OM wrote:


...Preferably, he'll just off himself and go straight to Hell. This
troll's the type who'd complain to Dr. Seuss that page 4 of _The Cat
in the Hat_ contained a factual error.



"Orion ships would not have won in Nam.
I do not like them.
Uncle Sam I am.

Would you like them if they carried SLAMs?
If they could blow up Commie dams?
What in they were captained by a baboon?
What if they hid out by the Moon?

I would not like them armed with SLAMs.
Even if they could blow up those damn dams.
Not if they were captained by a baboon.
Not if they hid out by the moon.
Orion ships would not have won in Nam.
I do not like them.
Uncle Sam I am.

If we armed them with some nukes?
If we crewed them with Navy pukes?
If we made them extra stealthy?
If we made their fallout much more healthy?

I would not like them equipped with nukes.
Or if their crew were Navy pukes.
You cannot make their signatures stealthy.
You cannot make their fallout healthy.
Orion ships would not have won in Nam.
I do not like them.
Uncle Sam I am.

If we filled them full of ice?
Made their crew quarters extra-nice?
Put a Casaba Howitzer in their tail?
Or moon rocks ejected in a pail?

I would not like them full of ice.
Even if their quarters were extra-nice.
The Casaba Howitzer might sometimes fail.
The bucket launcher would weigh as much as a whale.
Orion ships would not have won in Nam.
I do not like them.
Uncle Sam, I am.

If we deployed them in vast fleets?
If we covered them in cunning RAM sheets?
Dropped off troops each in a MOOSE?
Turned the Orionship Troopers loose?

I cannot afford such vast fleets.
Nor to cover them in RAM sheets.
I will not put my soldiers in a MOOSE.
The Orionship Troopers would cook, like a goose.
Orion ships would not have won in Nam.
I do not like them.
Uncle Sam, I am.

Came from Moon to Earth in only five hours?
Made the U.S. the greatest of all Earth's powers?
Used them to bomb all of Afghanistan?
Put them under control of Space Command?

They will not fly here in five hours.
They will not threaten the foreign powers.
They will not bomb all of Afghanistan.
Nor be controlled by loons in Space Command.
Orion ships would not have won in Nam.
I do not like them.
Uncle Sam, I am.

Send them to lay mines in Saturn's rings?
Invade Uranus, do lots of military things?
Use them to seize the poles of Mars?
Go to Venus, visit the Firewomen's bars?

There's no need to mine Saturn's rings.
Wipe out Uranus, or do other silly things.
We can't seize the poles of Mars.
The U.N. space treaty such action bars.
Orion ships would not have won in Nam.
I do not like them.
Uncle Sam, I am.

So take your space bombardment plan.
And file it in the garbage can." ;-)

Pat

Pat Flannery ) writes:
OM wrote:

...Preferably, he'll just off himself and go straight to Hell. This
troll's the type who'd complain to Dr. Seuss that page 4 of _The Cat
in the Hat_ contained a factual error.

"Orion ships would not have won in Nam.
I do not like them.
Uncle Sam I am.

[...]

So take your space bombardment plan.
And file it in the garbage can." ;-)

Well, that caused my S/O to pretty much lose it, and demand
that I save this ditty.

Get a publishing deal, soon, Pat. Imagine all the kiddies
who are missing this stuff... g

Andre

--
" I'm a man... But, I can change... If I have to... I guess. "
The Man Prayer, Red Green.

Matt wrote:

One thing we learned in writing THE FIRST SPACE RACE is that once an
error gets into the literature (the appearance of the Explorer I flight
vehicle and the erroneous quotation "Goldstone has the bird" are two we
addressed), it tends to stay there forever.

Yup. Two thousand years ago, Loki got all likkered up and wrote a
pastiche sequel to the Torah, and look how that's turned out...



--
"The only thing that galls me about someone burning the American flag is how unoriginal it is. I mean if you're going to pull the Freedom-of-speech card, don't be a hack, come up with something interesting. Fashion Old Glory into a wisecracking puppet and blister the system with a scathing ventriloquism act, or better yet, drape the flag over your head and desecrate it with a large caliber bullet hole." Dennis Miller

On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 16:31:54 -0500, Pat Flannery
wrote:

"Orion ships would not have won in Nam.
I do not like them.
Uncle Sam I am.

....Pat, that's probably the Apex of your career. Ironically, it's a
slam at a troll at the anus of his.

OM

--

"No ******* ever won a war by dying for | http://www.io.com/~o_m
his country. He won it by making the other | Sergeant-At-Arms
poor dumb ******* die for his country." | Human O-Ring Society

- General George S. Patton, Jr