SPACE NAVIGATION,

Whatever may be the purpose of a given space-vehicle launching, importance invariably attaches to the ability to monitor the status and viability of the vehicle itself and of its individual on-board systems, to verify the proper execution of the flight program, to formulate and refine specific mission assignments, and to transmit to Earth the results of observations and investigations. Briefly stated, what is needed is a ground command-telemetry complex. The optimal distribution of functions between on-board systems and ground-based facilities, the further rational expansion of the complex, along with its automation and improvement - these are very vital tasks, inseparable from the fundamental problems involved in the exploration and exploitation of outer space. Author