Walt Whitman Junior High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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I S-114' F, P ,,f' ...f- ii- ,NNNN NNNX 6 if THE FIRST MEN INTO SPAQE Americans were exuberant on February 20th, this year,when Lt. Col. John H. Glenn circled the earth three successive times in his rocketship Friendship 7. Lt. Col. Glenn was the first American to succeed in this astounding feat. To say that we are proud of our out was pioneer in space goes with- Lt. Col. Glenn question. feted with celebrations in his honor in Washington D.C., New York, and in his home town, New Concord, Ohio. He received thousands of letters from en- thusiastic citizens from every state in the union. He was awarded medals, keys to the city, and other tokens of affection. The orbiting of the earth took approximately five hours. A large compliment of scientists, technicians, and helpers were re- sponsible for the successful carrying out of plans that re- ,Pk quired months of preparation. Previous to Mr. G1enn's notable achievement, two Russian cos- monaufs had likewise achieved worl- wide acclaim by orbiting the earth. Yuri Gagarin and Ghermane Titov circled the earth one and seventeen times respectively. We must not forget astro- nauts Alan Shepard in the Free- . if-, dom 7 and Virgil Grissom in the Liberty Bell 7. Mendick wr

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DEDICATION Because his remarkable success lenge to the loyal- has been a chal and devotion of young Americans 't d States, we 'CY throughout these Uni e ' 's issue of the Walt dedicate thi Whitman Pioneer to COLONEL JOH Astronaut N H. GLENN the whose courage and daring as first American to orbit the earth ' ' tal fame. have earned him immor

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THE SPACE AGE Satellites The first satellite was launch- ed by the Russians in 1957. One of the main problems of launching a rocket or satellite is overcoming inertia, as stated in Newton's Laws of Inertiag a body at rest tends to remain at rest unless acted upon by some outside force. After this is overcome, the satellite must be balanced. The satellite is controlled by two natural for- ces: the centrifugal force and the earth's gravitational pull. The satellite must be exactly balanced between these two forces in order to remain in orbit, What It's Like In Outer Space The satellites that are now tra- veling out in space keep in constant touch with the earth. Their mes- sages have helped to tell those on earth more about the universe. On any average day now, more than twenty-five satellites Cusually eight American to one Russianj are traveling in orbit around the earth. This fleet of satellites is on a tremendous exploration mission. The satellites go through the dense world of outer space at speeds ranging from 16,000 to above 20,000 miles an hour. Space is by no means empty. It is filled with cosmic dust, solar winds, rays waves, electrons, protons, nuclei of atoms, and specks of matter be- fore it has become material or after it has ceased to be that. As a result of the information gathered by U.S. satellites and space probes, new vistas are open- ing in scores of different fields! global TV, cheap transoceanic telephone calls in unlimited vol- ume, day and night navigation by I fixed stars, and an apparently cli- matic breakthrough in long range weather forecasting. The United States is already helping nine other countries in space efforts of their own---Great Britian, France, Canada, Australia, japan, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Argentina---and is trying to get the Soviet Union to cooperate in a weather satellite program. Meanwhile, the space fleet will continue to grow. American Space Vehicles 1. Explorers- The Explorers re- corded the existence of radiation around the earth. They also took the first pictures of the earth from space, 2. Vanguards- The Vanguards obtained data on the earth's mag- netic fields and on solar radia- tion. 3. Pioneers- The Pioneers are now orbiting the sun. They sent back important data on solar phenomena. 4. Discovers- The Discovers weee used to perfect the re-entry and recovery techniques, and also stopping and restarting of rocket motors in flight. 5. Tiros- The Tiros were design- ed to aid weather forcasting. They also transmitted photographs of cloud formations. 6. Transits- The Transits were used to test radio signals as an aid for navigation. 7. Midas- The Midas were used to detect missile launchings any- where on earth. This is accom- plished by use of instruments that are sensitive to infra-red rays. 8. Echo- The Echo is used in orbiting. CIt is still in orbitb It is a huge silvery balloon used to reflect radio waves. 9. Courier- This satelitte is used for global relays of radio and television waves. LINDA MIRINGOFF DOROTHY URMAN 7