The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

Dobrovolsky, Georgy Timofeyevich (1928–1971)
A Soviet air force lieutenant colonel and cosmonaut,
selected in 1963. In 1971, he commanded Soyuz 11,
which docked with Salyut 1. The three-man crew
remained in space for 24 days, performing meteorological
and plant-growth experiments. During reentry of
Soyuz 11, a valve in the spacecraft opened accidentally,
causing the cabin to depressurize. Dobrovolsky and his
crew were found dead upon recovery of the craft.
docking
The mating in space of one vehicle to another. Docking
was first achieved on March 16, 1966, when Gemini 8
docked with its Agena Target Vehicle.
DODGE (Department of Defense Gravity
Experiment)
A U.S. Navy satellite intended mainly to explore gravitygradient
stabilization at near-geosynchronous altitude.
DODGE carried 10 booms that were radio-commanded
to extend or retract along three different axes. Data from
in-orbit experiments provided fundamental constants for
use in controlling future high-altitude spacecraft.
DODGE also carried a number of commandable magnetic-damping
devices and two TV cameras to determine
satellite alignment. One of those cameras provided the
first color pictures of the full Earth.
Launch
Date: July 1, 1967
Vehicle: Titan IIIC
Site: Cape Canaveral
Orbit: 33,251 × 33,677 km × 11.6°
Mass: 195 kg
Dong Fang Hong (DFH)
Chinese experimental communications satellites, the first
of which was launched on April 24, 1970. The name
means “the East is red.”
Doolittle, James “Jimmy” Harold (1896–1993)
A longtime aviation promoter, air racer, U.S. Air Force
officer, and advocate of aerospace research and development.
Doolittle served with the Army Air Corps
(1917–1930), then as manager of the aviation section for
Shell Oil (1930–1940). In World War II, he won fame for
leading the April 1942 bombing of Tokyo, and then as
commander of a succession of air units in Africa, the
Pacific, and Europe. He was promoted to lieutenant general
in 1944. After the war, he was a member of the Air
Force’s Scientific Advisory Board and the President’s Sci-
Douglas Skyrocket 109
entific Advisory Committee. At the time of Sputnik, he
was chair of NACA (the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics) and the Air Force Scientific Advisory
Board. In 1985 the Senate approved his promotion in
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retirement to four-star general.
Doppler effect
The phenomenon whereby the wavelengths of light,
radio waves, or other kinds of waves coming from an
object are changed when the object is in relative motion
toward or away from the observer.
Doppler radar
Radar that measures the velocity of a moving object by
measuring the shift in carrier frequency of the return signal.
The shift is proportional to the velocity with which
the object approaches or recedes from the radar station.
Doppler tracking
The most common method of tracking the position of
vehicles in space. It involves measuring the Doppler shift
of a radio signal sent from a spacecraft to a tracking station
on Earth, this signal either coming from an onboard oscillator
or being one that the spacecraft has transponded in
response to a signal received from the ground station. The
second of these modes is more useful for navigation
because the returning signal is measured against the same
frequency reference as that of the original transmitted signal.
The Earth-based frequency reference is also more stable
than the oscillator onboard the spacecraft.
Dornberger, Walter (1895–1980)
Wernher von Braun’s military superior during the German
rocket development program of World War II. He
oversaw the effort at Peenemünde to build the V-2, fostering
internal communication and successfully advocating
the program to officials in the German army. He also
assembled the team of talented engineers under von
Braun’s direction and provided the funding and staff
organization needed to complete the project. After World
War II, Dornberger was brought to the United States as
part of Operation Paperclip and helped develop ballistic
missiles for the Department of Defense. He also worked
for Bell Aircraft for several years, developing hardware for
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Project BOMI, a rocket-powered space plane.
Douglas Aircraft
See McDonnell Douglas.
Douglas Skyrocket
An American experimental rocket-powered plane that
became the first aircraft to travel at more than twice the