European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 29, 1959, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes saturday August 2, 195 to if than Mere propulsion research chief says . Sets Pace in Basie Liasos of Koc Ketry Washington too. Article backs Russ Lead in rocket Power Washington up a report from behind the Iron curtain says Russia s Sun rocket Mechta was blasted into space by a rocket whose first stage alone developed600,000 pounds of thrust. This is nearly four times the Power generated by the main stage of the rocket which sub sequently tit a much smaller .instrument pack into orbit around the Sun. It is nearly twice the 360,000-, Pound thrust of the Atlas the american intercontinental ballistic missile expected to go into military service soon. The new information about the soviet solar rocket is reported in a  military Avia Tion Magazine just distributed in translation Here by the Commerce department. Confirms statements it confirmed it True what space administrator t. Keith Glennan and others have said repeatedly that Russia is far ahead of the . In rocket Power. Mechta was launched Jan. 2 by a three stage rocket which hurled it within 2,105 Miles of the Moon and on into a 15-month orbit around the Sun. Mechta s final orbiting stage weighed 3,238 pounds including 795 pounds of scientific and radio equipment America s Sun rocket Pioneer in was launched March 3 with a Multi stage rocket whose Booster a Jupiter intermediate Range ballistic missile generated 165,000 pounds of thrust. The Magazine did not give the thrust of the second and third stages. But it is believed to havea two Potor Irby with thrust of 268,000 and 78,100 pounds and an other version with thrusts of 170,-400 and 52,800 pounds. Guidance system the czech article written by a Prague Engineer i. Poker Ray credited Mechta with a guidance sys tem not yet achieved in the . Mechta had a built in guidance system which operated under pre set instructions . Space vehicles also have such  Mechta had supplementary guidance from the ground capable of ordering in flight course changes by Means of a Long Range directional radio beam which could be used As Long As Contact was maintained. The . Is not expected Mohave an in flight guidance system for another year or so. Astronaut capsule recovered in test Al Centro. Calif. . Has completed the first full scale West coast drop test of project Mercury satellite capsule o learn How to bring the nation first astronaut Back from space. The National aeronautics an space administration Nasa said a one ton steel capsule was parachuted into the Salton sea from an air Force c130 cargo plane on aug. 20, a capsule of the same size and shape will be used in the first manned satellite to be sent up bythe . The air Force plane release the capsule at 30,000 feet it was recovered successfully according to Nasa and radio plane a division of Northrop corp. Producing the Parachute system designed to return the first manned  test is the first of 30 drops planned by radio plane which previously conducted bomb drop Testa of the Parachute system at the naval Parachute test station Here. The system consists of a drag Chute six feet in diameter and a main Chute 63 feet across. In Earl tests the parachutes were attached to bombs similar in weight to the capsule. Under current plans the Mer Cury capsule is intended to come Down in the Atlantic Ocean after its Orbital Mission probably in 1961,