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

using antigravity, the explorers come upon a utopian
civilization.
cross range
The distance either side of a nominal reentry track that
may be achieved by using the lifting properties of a reentering
space vehicle.
Crossfield, Albert Scott (1921–)
A test pilot of the early X-planes and the first human to
fly at twice the speed of sound (Mach 2). Crossfield
learned to fly with the Navy during World War II and
became an aeronautical research pilot with NACA
(National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) in 1950,
flying the X-1as well as the Douglas Skyrocket(D558-II)
and other experimental jets. He was the chief engineering
test pilot for North American Aviation (1955–1961). In
1953, he achieved Mach 2 in a Skyrocket, and on the first
powered flight of the X-15 in 1959 reached Mach 2.11
and an altitude of 15,953 m. 67
CRRES (Combined Release and Radiation
Effects Satellite)
A NASA and Department of Defense satellite to study
the electrical, magnetic, and particle environment of
near-Earth space. The Air Force Geophysics Laboratory’s
Spacerad (Space Radiation Effects) experiment investigated
the radiation environment of the inner and outer
radiation belts and measured radiation effects on state-ofthe-art
microelectronics devices. Other magnetospheric,
ionospheric, and cosmic ray experiments were supported
by NASA and the Office of Naval Research. Marshall
Space Flight Center’s project involved the release of
chemicals from onboard canisters at low altitudes near
dawn and dusk perigee (low orbit) times and at high altitudes
near local midnight. These releases were monitored
with optical and radar instrumentation by ground-based
observers to measure the bulk properties and movement
of the expanding clouds of photoionized plasma along
field lines. Contact with the spacecraft was lost on October
12, 1991, following a battery failure.
Launch
Date: July 25, 1990
Vehicle: Atlas I
Site: Cape Canaveral
Orbit: 335 × 34,739 km × 18.0°
Mass: 1,629 kg
CRSP (Commercial Remote Sensing Program)
A program within NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise.
Based at the Stennis Space Center, CRSP was set up to
CS- (Communications Satellite) 93
help commercialize remote sensing, geographic information
systems, and related imaging technologies. It administers
several partnership programs designed to share
NASA’s remote sensing technology and expertise with
American industry.
cruise missile
An unpiloted aircraft with an air-breathing engine that
uses an onboard automatic navigation system to guide it
to its target.
cruise phase
The part of a spacecraft’s trajectory during which the
vehicle is unpowered except for occasional course corrections.
CRV (Crew Return Vehicle)
See ACRV (Assured Crew Return Vehicle).
cryobot
A long, pencil-shaped probe with a heated tip that can
melt its way down through a thick layer of ice and deploy
equipment for returning data from any watery environment
that may lie below. Such a device might eventually
be used in the exploration of the subice ocean hypothesized
to exist on Europa. Having penetrated to the bottom
of the ice crust, the cryobot would release two
principal devices for operating at interfaces where life
might be expected to occur: an ice-water interface station to
monitor conditions at the top of the watery sea, and a sediment
exploration station to descend to the seafloor. The
latter might also release a hydrobot, which would rise
like a bubble to the top of the subice sea, taking measurements
and searching for signs of life on the way. A
cryobot was tested for the first time in January 2002, successfully
melting its way 23 m down into a glacier on the
island of Spitsbergen.
cryogenic propellant
A rocket propulsion fluid that is liquid only at very low
temperatures. The commonest examples are liquid
hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Cryogenic propellants
require special insulated containers and vents to allow
gas from the evaporating liquids to escape. The liquid
fuel and oxidizer are pumped from the storage tanks to
an expansion chamber and injected into the combustion
chamber, where they are mixed and ignited by a flame or
a spark.
CS- (Communications Satellite)
A Japanese communications satellite program, also
known by the national name Sakura (“cherry blossom”).
Spacecraft in the CS series, which are launched by