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Lebanon’s forgotten space programme (2013)
- callesgg 11y agoMore lite a rocket programme than a space programme.
- golergka 11y agoOh, but Lebanon still has a rocket programme. At least Hezbolla surely has.
- sbierwagen 11y agoThe Cedar IV launched in 1963 was so successful that it was commemorated on a stamp. It reached a height of 90 miles (145 km), putting it close to the altitude of satellites in low-earth orbit. So, sounding rockets, not orbital rockets: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounding_rocket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounding_rocket Quoting myself, from 3 years ago: An object in orbit is both high and fast. *Really* high (160km) and *really* fast. (7.8km/s) 7.8 kilometres per second is 17,000 miles per hour. They were far, far away from actually putting an object in orbit. Altitude's the easy part, speed's the hard part.
- th3iedkid 11y agoAm certainly not aware of mechanics of a rocket but from below quote and [1], seems they weighed in around 1250Kg , given its 1960's and its a tiny state , seems like something few could do . >> Cedar III launched in 1962 had a length of seven metres and weight of 1,250 kg [1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_rocket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_rocket
- avmich 11y agoArrrgh, but Lambda-4 was kinda similar... pretty light and quite simple, yet orbital launcher it was. So may be Lebanon had a way forward, which could lead them to orbit...
- nkoren 11y agoThe Lambda-4 was approximately 9,000kg[1], so we're still talking about a different order of magnitude here. 1: http://orbitalaspirations.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/japanese-lambda-4s-launcher.html http://orbitalaspirations.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/japanese-la...
- nkoren 11y agoFar from orbit, but still a very impressive achievement, particularly in 1963. As far as I'm aware, no other amateur rocket club has had that kind of success since.
- astrodust 11y agoIf 160km is considered "really high" then what is a geo-statoionary satellite? Super really mega ultra high?
- bdchauvette 11y agoShortly after independence, Zambia also briefly had an unofficial space program: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/10/old-weird-tech-the-zambian-space-cult-of-the-1960s/64945/ http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/10/old-we... http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-almost-forgotten-zambian-space-odyssey http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-almost-forgotten-zambia...
- veddox 11y agoI want to emphasize the word unofficial there - you never learn about this in the Zambian history curriculum. It was just a bunch of crackpots playing at being astronauts.
- veddox 11y agoGreat story :-) Sounds a lot like "October Sky".
- owobeid 11y agoAs a Lebanese person, it's sad to see that this part of our history isn't taught to us. I only found out about it when the original article was written. Such a shame that the Lebanese (with quite a few exceptions, especially among millennials) have given up on intellectual progress.
- IndianAstronaut 11y agoIn that region, Jordan seems to have taken up that task. They are making major moves forward in R and D.
- anonu 11y agoThis is a repost. Original discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6732210 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6732210 There is also a well thought out documentary on the subject that I saw at the MoMA recently: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2361348/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2361348/ [Edit] Another thought about the Lebanese Rocket Society... this story isn't just about the nascent rise and fall of a small country's space exploration program. It is also about it's diverse demographics and the strength that arises from a multi-cultural population. In this case the story is about Manougian, an Armenian, who lived in Lebanon for only a few years. The story points to the resourcefulness and ambition of the Armenians in Lebanon.