Titov's Tour

After the easy, articulate warmth of its own astronaut. Colonel John Glenn, the U.S. was surprised last week by the somewhat uncommunicative attitude of Russian Cosmonaut Gherman Stepanovich Titov. Sent to the U.S. to share his hard-won knowledge of travel in space with Glenn and COSPAR (Committee on Space Research), Titov seemed under orders from home to do nothing of the sort. In press conferences and TV interviews, he was always guarded and reluctant in his replies, though often breezy enough when it came to enjoying the crowds.

Problems Enough. Most of Titov's tour was anything but scientific. Rushed around New York City, he was booed by floor traders at the Stock Exchange and replied that he had better things to do than to work in such a place. While visiting the U.N., he was asked by U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson whether he thought the whole Security Council could be transported to the moon. He quickly fell in with the Stevensonian gag. "Aren't there enough problems on earth for the council to solve?" he asked, and got a laugh.

In Washington, Titov and his buxom wife Tamara joined John and Mrs. Glenn for a frantic tour of the capital. They were chivied from conference to conference by mobs of reporters, photographers and keening teenagers. ("My God," cried one photographer, "it was Sinatra all over again!") The Glenns showed the visitors the standard sights (Smithsonian, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, etc.) and took the Titovs to the White House for a brief, formal call on President Kennedy.

Always Perfect. Finally Titov had to face up to the official reason for his trip to Washington: his address before COSPAR. Listeners who hoped that they would hear a Glenn-type account of the Russian's 25 hours in orbit were disappointed. Titov's formal, apparently ghostwritten speech described the Vostok II's equipment only in the most general terms. Even when figures were given, they were carefully selected to tell little. Titov revealed, for instance, that his ship was launched by a multistage booster having six liquid-propellant rocket engines with 600,000 kilograms (1,323,000 Ibs.) of total thrust. Without breakdown into stages, this information told U.S. scientists little that they had not already calculated for themselves. The same was true of Titov's revelation that, against instructions, he left the Vostok II's portholes uncovered during re-entry and saw flame and molten material from the heat shield wash over them. His predecessor, Yuri Gagarin, had done the same thing. Titov also disclosed, not very informatively, that he had controlled his craft himself during two of his 17 orbits.

Everything about Titov's ride went perfectly, of course, as is always the case with Russian-described flights of Russian-designed equipment. But if U.S. scientists want to know how a space traveler feels after more than three orbits of the earth, they will have to wait until they have sent one of their own astronauts on the trip.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.