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

eceived by users anywhere on Earth to identify their position
and velocity in real time based on ranging measurements.
The first GLONASS satellites were placed in orbit
in 1982. Each satellite is identified by its “slot” number,
which defines the orbital plane (1–8, 9–16, 17–24) and the
location within the plane. The three orbital planes are separated
by 120°, and the satellites within the same orbital
plane by 45°. The GLONASS orbits are roughly circular,
with an inclination of about 64.8° and a semimajor axis of
25,440 km. The full constellation is supposed to contain
24 satellites, arranged in three orbital planes; however,
Russia’s economic troubles prevented replacement satellites
from being launched as needed. As of mid-2002, only
9 GLONASS satellites were operational.
Glushko, Valentin Petrovitch (1908–1989)
A Soviet rocket scientist, a pioneer in rocket propulsion
systems, and a major contributor to Soviet space and
defense technology. He was born in Odessa, Ukraine.
After graduating from Leningrad State University (1929),
Glushko headed the design bureau of the Gas Dynamics
Laboratory in Leningrad and began research on electrothermal,
solid-fuel, and liquid-fuel rocket engines. In
1935, he published Rockets, Their Construction and Utilization.
From 1932 to 1966, Glushko worked closely with
renowned rocket designer Sergei Korolev. The two
achieved their greatest triumphs in 1957 with the launching
of the first intercontinental ballistic missile in August
and the first successful artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in
October. In 1974 Glushko was named chief designer of
the Soviet space program, in which he oversaw the
development of the Mir space station. He received
numerous official honors, including the Lenin Prize
(1957) and election to the Soviet Academy of Sciences
(1958).
GMS (Geostationary Meteorological Satellite)
A series of weather satellites managed by the Japanese
Meteorological Agency and NASDA (National Space
Development Agency); their indigenous name, Himawari,
means “sunflower.” All have been located in geostationary
orbit at 140° E. The first GMS was launched in
1977 and the most recent, GMS-5, on March 18, 1995.
GMS-5 is equipped with a VISSR (Visible and Infrared
Spin Scan Radiometer), which scans Earth’s surface line
by line, each line consisting of a series of pixels. For each
pixel the radiometer measures the radiative energy at
three different wavelength bands—one in the visible
region and two in the infrared.
GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
A worldwide time standard; the time as measured on the
Greenwich meridian. Also known as Universal Time.
GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) 165
go, no-go
A term used to indicate a condition of a part, component,
system, and so forth, which can have only two
states. “Go” indicates “functioning properly”; “no-go”
means “not functioning properly.”
Goddard Institute for Space Studies
An arm of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center that
conducts theoretical and experimental research in global
change. It is located next to Columbia University’s Morningside
Campus in New York City. Work at the Institute
focuses on humanity’s large-scale impact on the environment
and fosters interaction among scientists in atmospheric,
geological, and biological sciences. It includes
long-range climate modeling, and analysis of biogeochemical
cycles, Earth observations, and planetary atmospheres.
Goddard, Robert Hutchings
See article, pages 166–167.
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
NASA’s foremost field center for programs related to
space science and observation from space of the Earth
and its environment. Founded in 1959, it was named
after the rocket pioneer Robert Goddard and is located in
Greenbelt, Maryland, 16 km northeast of Washington,
D.C. Goddard Space Flight Center has designed, built,
and operated numerous near-Earth orbiting spacecraft,
including members of the Explorer series, and controls
several astronomy satellites, including the Hubble Space
Telescope. It manages the National Space Science Data
Center and is responsible for the Wallops Flight Facility.
Godwin, Francis (1562–1633)
Bishop of Hereford and author of what is arguably the
first science fiction story to be written in the English language.
In The Man in the Moone, 131 published posthumously
in 1638, Godwin conveys the astronaut
Domingo Gonsales to the Moon in a chariot towed by
trained geese. (Gonsales had intended a less ambitious
flight but discovered that the geese are in the habit of
migrating a little further than ornithologists had supposed!)
In keeping with both popular and scientific opinion
of his day, Godwin accepted the notion that air filled
the space between worlds and that the Moon was inhabited
by intelligent human beings. See Wilkins, John and
Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinien de.
GOES (Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite)
A series of weather satellites that superseded the SMS
(Synchronous Meteorological Satellite) program and,
(continued on page 167)