- Title: ALGERIA: FRANCE LAUNCHES SCIENTIFIC SATELLITE FROM SAHARA BASE.
- Date: 8th February 1967
- Summary: 1. GV CAMEL PAST ROCKET SITE SIGN 0.03 2. LV HAMMAGUIR BASE 0.07 3. GV BLOCKHOUSES 0.11 4. GV DITTO 0.14 5. LV ROCKET ON PAD SOF IN COUNTDOWN STARTS (FRENCH SOF) 0.21 6. LV TILT UP ROCKET TAKES OFF SOF CONTINUES ON INTERCOMM AND ROCKET EFFECTS 0.42 7. GV & SCU PHOTOGRAPHIC TRACKING DEVICE (2 SHOTS) 0.47 8. LV ROCKET 1.02 Initials GHB/V/MGT/OS Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 23rd February 1967 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HAMMAGUIR, ALGERIA
- Country: Algeria
- Reuters ID: LVA154O96LKRYQON9AUFPR52Y71N
- Story Text: FRANCE TODAY (WEDNESDAY) SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE FIRST STAGE OF AN EXPERIMENT TO OBTAIN THE FIRST PRECISE MEASUREMENTS OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE WITH LASER BEAMS WITH THE ORBITING OF 50 LBS (23 KILOGRAMS) SATELLITE FROM THE SAHARA BASE AT HAMMAGUIR.
THE SATELLITE, WHICH WAS TONIGHT CIRCLING THE GLOBE EVERY 104.3 MINUTES, SPARKLES IN THE SKY. ITS SPEED WAS FOUND TO BE FIVE MINUTES FASTER THAN WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED. BUT FRENCH SCIENTISTS SAID THIS WAS NOT EXPECTED TO INTERFERE WITH THE LASER EXPERIMENTS, DUE TO START NEXT TUESDAY (FEBRUARY 14). THE SATELLITE'S GLITTER COMES FROM THE 144 REFLECTIONS DESIGNED TO BOUNCE THE LASER BEAMS BACK TO EARTH.
THE GOLD-PLATED SATELLITE - CODE-NAMED "DIADEM (D-L-C)" IS FRANCE'S FOURTH. A FIFTH IS SCHEDULED TO GO UP IN A WEEK OR TEN DAYS.
SCIENTISTS HOPE THAT THE LASER METHOD WILL GIVE PRECISE MEASUREMENTS OF DISTANCES ON THE EARTH'S SURFACE. PRESENT CALCULATIONS OF DISTANCE FROM VARIOUS POINTS OF THE GLOBE CAN VARY CONSIDERABLY.
FOR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS THE SATELLITE WILL BE TRACKED FROM STATIONS IN ALGERIA, CANARY ISLANDS, UPPER VOLTA, CONGO BRAZZAVILLE, FRANCE AND GREECE. UNITED STATES STATIONS WILL ALSO TRACK THE SATELLITE IN A CO-OPERATIVE EFFORT WITH THE FRENCH SPACE STUDIES CENTRE.
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