October 2012
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Aeronautical Society of South Africa (Association incorporated under section 21) Registration number 2000/026325/08 P.O. Box 11928 Die Hoewes 0163 Tel / Fax: (012) 662 5113 Email: [email protected] Web: www.aessa.org.za A Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society AeSSA Newsletter – October 2012 EDITORIAL – New era in Space Flight CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida. – A privately built rocket lit up the night sky over Florida on Sunday 7 October 2012 to kick off the first-ever cargo delivery trip to the International Space Station by a robotic, American-made spacecraft. The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by the commercial spaceflight firm SpaceX, roared into space atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket from a launch pad from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, beginning a three-day flight to the space station. This is a major shift in how NASA sends supplies to the orbiting lab, by introducing commercially available spacecraft. The Dragon is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Initiated internally by SpaceX in 2005, the Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/or crew members. In May 2012, SpaceX made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments -- the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency -- had achieved this challenging technical feat. Elon Musk is a South African born entrepreneur who is behind SpaceX’s success in achieving this new era in spaceflight. He was born and grew up in South Africa, the son of a South African engineer and a Canadian-born mother who has worked as a New York City dietitian and modeled for fun. His father inspired his love of technology and Musk bought his first computer at age 10 and taught himself how to program; by the age of 12 he sold his first commercial software, a space game called Blaster. In June 2002, Musk founded his third company, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), of which he is currently the CEO and CTO. SpaceX develops rockets and spacecraft for missions to Earth orbit and beyond. Musk served as chief engineer for Falcon 1, the first privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit, as well as Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft. In 2008 SpaceX won a NASA contract to replace the cargo transport function of the space shuttle with Falcon 9 and Dragon. NASA decided in 2010 to also entrust the commercial sector with astronaut transport. Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit Page 1 of 19 AAD returns to Waterkloof By Rob Jonkers Many will welcome the return to Gauteng of AAD following 3 years at Cape Town’s AFB Ysterplaat, while the Waterkloof runway was being refurbished. The last two Cape Town shows took place during the world’s Great Recession, and affected aviation significantly, which has stifled military spending as well as airline growth. General aviation remains stagnant under over-zealous regulatory effects. Cape Town is of course a choice location, however costs for exhibiting there where most local companies are based in Gauteng did put a strain on their marketing budgets, and of course weather factors are more prominent in the Cape. The last show held in 2010 claim the Cape venue attracted 13000 trade visitors, 80 000 public day visitors, will see how 2012 stacks up, with estimates topping over 100 000. On the military front, the final deliveries have taken place of the last Gripen fighters, and with this the conclusion of the controversial strategic arms deals. Vying for potential of a SAAF maritime requirement to replace the ageing C47TP, a number of contenders showed off their hardware, including the SAAB 340 MSA, which is a based on a re-lifed commuter aircraft. Also, some heavy lifter aircraft were in evidence for the potential transport requirement after the A400M was cancelled, notably the C17 Globemaster and the C27J Spartan. For the first time, in co-operation with the Aero- Club of SA and RAASA, a dedicated area – Fun Fly Park - for light sports aircraft (LSA) types was been allocated, which was well laid out and attracted probably thousands of visitors. Page 2 of 19 Adjacent to the fun-fly part was the Youth Development Programme. The YDP is celebrating its 10th anniversary, achievers in maths & science experienced a world of flight simulators, vehicle simulators, model building, and took part in activities such as plastic model building, target shooting, first aid and investigating crime scenes. The SAAF museum had a significant presence at the show, and with their flying aircraft based at AFB Swartkops a stone’s throw away, most of their airworthy aircraft could take part in the aerial display. Trade days were from Wednesday to Friday, with air displays taking place sporadically, mostly show validation flights for the main event on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday saw severe morning thunderstorms, which fortunately dissipated later and allowed the show to continue, at least the heat stayed away, Sunday of course was a stunning day for an airshow, which did not disappoint. The mini-war sequence definitely a highlight especially with loud explosions when the attack helicopters were simulating their attack profiles. Fast jets such as the Gripen, Hawk, Cheetah also went through their thunderous paces, and for some nostaligia, the distinctive whine of the graceful Vampire. Will see you in 2014 again at Waterkloof, hopefully traffic and parking arrangements will be somewhat better organised. Page 3 of 19 IASSA 2012 By Karen van Breukelen The week of 17 September 2012 could easily have been dubbed “Aerospace Week” in South Africa with IASSA 2012 and the Africa Aerospace & Defence Expo taking place in Tshwane. Now in its 3rd year under the AeSSA, IASSA 2012 was condensed to two days to accommodate AAD in the same week, making for a busier programme over those two days and incorporating the student presentations into the mainstream technical sessions. As always, our students did us proud and more than held up to the task of providing quality presentations with interesting and defendable technical content. The local aerospace industry has received particular attention in recent years with the development of the Aerospace Sector Development Plan commissioned by the Departments of Trade and Industry and Science and Technology. Mr Beeuwen Gerryts, DST’s Chief Director: Technology Localisation and Advanced Manufacturing, presented IASSA 2012’s opening address. He outlined the sector development plan and its recommendation for the establishment of a National, Joint Aerospace Steering Committee (JASC) to help coordinate and guide the national agenda within the Beeuwen Gerryts, the dti’s Chief Director: Advanced Manufacturing giving the Keynote Address spheres of government, industry and R&D. The JASC will also aim to focus the local technology and industry development programmes through the definition and support of flagship programmes, programmes to strengthen the aerospace skills base, interventions to increase the competitiveness of the national industry and the execution of industry review programmes. The JASC is comprised of relevant government departments, government institutions, developmental finance institutions, industry Dr Sofi Bin-Salamon, Programme Manager, AFOSR/IO associations, research and tertiary education US Air Force Research Laboratory giving his Keynote Address institutions. The JASC’s interventions and coordinated actions are expected to mobilise and streamline government support to expand its enabling environment and increase its effectiveness thus increasing the profile of the local aerospace industry similar to that of other countries. Beeuwen Gerryts with Ms Nomfuneko Majaja, the dti’s Chief Director: Advanced Manufacturing at the launch of the JASC at AAD Page 4 of 19 The opening address for day two of IASSA 2012 was given by Dr Sandile Malinga, CEO of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA). SANSA is South Africa’s government body for the promotion and use of space. It fosters cooperation in space-related activities and research in space science, invests in the advancement of scientific engineering through human capital and supports the creation of an environment conducive to the industrial development of space technologies within the framework of government. Dr Malinga gave the IASSA delegates an Dr Sandile Malinga, CEO: South African National Space Agency overview of the various programmes managed by (SANSA) giving his Keynote Address on day 2 the recently established SANSA and shared his vision for the future of South African space activities and the related economic opportunities and skills development. IASSA 2012 took the opportunity to collaborate with the African Materials Research Society (Africa MRS) and their hosting of a delegation from the United State’s Department of Defense. Representatives of a number of Air Force and Army Research Laboratories, with a particular interest in aerospace materials. The delegation looked to explore the opportunities for long-term scientific collaborations between South African researchers and institutions and the US S&T International Enterprise and to network with the broader aerospace community. Dr David S Stargel, Structural Mechanics Programme Manager, Besides the active networking during breaks and at United States Air Force the IASSA 2012 cocktail evening and awards dinner, the group presented two keynote addresses and gave overviews of the research labs and their specific areas of interest. Dr Sofi Bin- Salamon, Programme Manager at the International Office of the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) introduced the delegation and their approach to international cooperation in his keynote address.