Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-10-13

The next dramatic victory
In mans campaign to con-
quer space is likely to be
the firing Of a rocket round
the moon.
This has been the fore
cast Of both American and
Soviet scientists who have
said for some years that such
q lunar probe" would follow
the successful launching Of
an artificial earth satellite.
Now that Sputnik I is in his
orbit and an American
brother is soon to join him
the race to the moon is on.
Flight to our nearest heav-
enly body is an old-age dream
Of man and a favorite sub
ject for science-flction writ
ers. Jules Verne in his
"A Trip to the Moon" in
1865 told about three men
who were shot to the moon
In q projectile. They missed
the target, but nevertheless
circled around 1t. Eventu-
ally they returned TO earth.
Just such a circumfiight,
without a landing, will be
the first step in Operation
Noon in the opinion of
many experts in the field Of
"astronauttcS" "a word des-
tined for early entry into
the household category. The
vehicle, Of course, will not
be q cannon ball but an I'M
manned rocket loaded with
data-recording instruments.
The Big Questions
The talk of moon conquest
brings two major questions
Immediately to mind: Who's
winning the race? When
will the race be finished?
The second question Is the
more difficult and the answer
to 1t larely depends on what
sort Of an effort either coun-
try Is willing to make. Sue
cess could come in a matter
Of months, or 1t may take as
long as five years.
AS to who Is ahead right
now. there seems little doubt
that the Soviet Union, with
its earth satellite success and
its longer interest in rocketry
and space flight, has an edge
over the United States.
But there is an additional
factor which may be impor-
tant. The men in Americas
rocket and space programs
the scientists. military
planners and administration
ofhcials-still say. as of to-
day. that we are in no race to
the moon or anywhere else.
These men talk Of our "or-
derby, sensible" research and
development schedule as OPP
posed to the pell-mell. grand
stand approach taken by the
Soviet. an approach they
hold Is concerned with prop
uganda and prestige as well
as the advancement Of
science.
Martin Wos Reody
In 1853 the Glenn L.
Martin Co. of Baltimore,
prime contractor for our
Operation Vanguard satellite,
announced in full-page ads:
I'VE are ready and willing
TO design. build and deliver a
space ship for flight to the
moon II the defense effort Of
this country demands the
execution Of such an order"
They have never gotten
such an order. But Martin
men today will say that the
United States could get a
rocket to the moon in a COM
paratively short time, with
rockets and fuel already
available. The major problem
remaining appears to be the
exact calculations for the
rockets trajectory. Even the
slightest error would mean
failure.
The moon is approximately
$4,000 miles from the earth.
The experts say 1t would take
nearly i've days by rocket to
reach 1t.
There are two principal
takeoff points for rockets
bound for the moon: From
the earth and from space
stations, large manmade sat-
elites which orbit at the
height OF Sputnik or higher.
To launch a rocket from
q satellite would involve, of
course. the tremendous prob
lem OF getting men UP to
the satellite to assemble and
Are the rocket. Neither
American nor Soviet experts,
however. feel the Job Is in
trTmountable. The satellite