Spaceflight A British Interplanetary Society Publication

Mars UK boosts options space spending

NASA’s Radiation Atlantis threats display

Shuttle: icon of an age

Vol 60 No 8 September 2017

www.bis-space.com

contents

Editor: Published by the British Interplanetary Society David Baker, PhD, BSc, FBIS, FRHS Sub-editor: Volume 60 No. 9 September 2017 Ann Page Production Assistant: 331-334 Living with the Legend Ben Jones Author of the seminal work on NASA’s Space Shuttle, Dennis Jenkins describes how he came to follow the programme through work and, as Spaceflight Promotion: a genuine enthusiast, create the massive three-volume history of its Gillian Norman design evolution and engineering. Spaceflight Arthur C. Clarke House, 334 An icon immortalised 27/29 South Lambeth Road, Laurence Withers recounts a visit to the Kennedy Space Center where he London, SW8 1SZ, England. missed a launch and came across the Space Shuttle Atlantis, more by Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Fax: +44 (0)20 7582 7167 mistake than by pre-planning, to impress and astound with its display of Email: [email protected] space artefacts. www.bis-space.com 336-342 Evaluating Mars Programme Designs ADVERTISING Stephen Ashworth has a particular view on Mars missions and judges a Tel: +44 (0)1424 883401 range of potential expeditionary modes to comment on the architecture Email: [email protected] being discussed by government agencies DISTRIBUTION and commercial providers alike. Spaceflight may be received worldwide by mail through membership of the British Interplanetary Society. Details including Library subscriptions are available from the above address. * * * Spaceflight is obtainable from UK newsagents and other retail outlets in many countries. In the event of difficulty contact: Warners Group Distribution, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH, England. Tel: +44 (0)1778 391 000 Fax: +44 (0)1778 393 668 * * * Spaceflight is a publication which promotes the mission of The British Interplanetary Society. Opinions in signed articles are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the 348 Successful Orion Abort Motor Test views of the Editor or the Council of the British Space historian and lecturer Joel Powell motored across to Utah to feel Interplanetary Society. the power of the Orion abort motor, which was tested for the first time * * * on 15 June. Back issues of Spaceflight are available from the Society. For details of issues and prices go to www.bis-space.com or send an sae to the Regular Features address at top. * * * 324-326 News Analysis – UK boosts space spending – Factchecker update Published monthly by the British Interplanetary Society. Registered Company No: 402498. 325 A Letter from the Editor Registered Charity No: 250556. Printed in the UK by Latimer Trend & Company Ltd. 327 Briefing notes – news shorts from around the world * * * Copyright © British Interplanetary Society 2017 ISSN 0038-6340. All rights reserved. 328-330 ISS Report – 9 June - 8 July 2017 No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, 344-347 Satellite Digest – 536 June 2017 electronic or mechanical, including photo- copying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission 350-351 Flashback – A regular feature looking back 50 years ago this month from the Publishers. Photocopying permitted by license only. 353 Obituary – Dr Charles Arthur Lundquist 1928-2017 * * * The British Interplanetary Society is a company 354-357 Society News – A visit to Spadeadam – Space at Cosford limited by guarantee.

Mission 358 What’s On The British Interplanetary Society promotes the exploration and use of space for the benefit of humanity, by connecting people to create, educate and inspire, and advance knowledge in Cover image: Space Shuttle Atlantis undergoes preparations for its last flight on 8 July 2011 all aspects of astronautics. (see pages 331-334). NASA

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An artist’s impression of the National Satellite Testing Facility at Harwell, which is expected to open in 2020. STFC UK boosts space spending

he UK Space Agency announced on involve significantly expanding the existing have not existed in the UK before. This lack 11 July a commitment made by the R100 building, which has recently been given of infrastructure has added to the costs and government to allocate £99 million for a an upgrade. The new expansion will double served to impede certain projects, a situation Tnew National Satellite Testing Facility (NSTF) the area for that activity, improvements which fully addressed by this timely upgrade to at Harwell, Oxfordshire, and a further £4 million are due to see it open in 2020 with its new title consolidate an infrastructure in need of for a National Space Propulsion Facility (NSPF) as the NSTF. Dr Christopher Mutlow, who is adaptation and development for the new and on Westcott Venture Park, Buckinghamshire, currently director of the Rutherford Appleton challenging requirements of 21st century space to assist with the development and testing of Laboratory (RAL), will take change of the new science and engineering. rocket motors. facility. The new National Space Propulsion Facility The NSTF funding is from the Industrial Services added to an existing capability at Westcott will empower the research and Strategy Challenge Fund and will support will benefit from two 5 x 6 m thermal vacuum development of new rocket motors in a way construction of facilities for assembly, chambers, installations which have been which has not been possible before. Reaction integration and testing of instruments, satellites booked or several years into the future. Added Engines has already pledged to invest in a new and spacecraft. It is hoped that this will prevent too will be a new test chamber 8 m tall, capable test stand and this will enhance an already British firms from having to go abroad to use of taking the largest satellites weighing up to six positive approach to improved opportunities. test facilities not presently available in the UK. tonnes. While many customers will be attracted But the real concern for everyone is the issue The UK government has pledged to strive for to these new chambers, and other test facilities over the relationship with European countries 10% of the global space market by 2030 and to at the new NSTF, there is a desire to attract after Britain leaves the EU in a few years from extend its commitment to the development of foreign clients too. now. new facilities to support that objective. So far, many UK instruments and satellites Britain’s role in the European Space Agency Sustaining a traditional role in consolidating have had to be taken abroad, not only to (ESA) will be largely unchanged – ESA is a major presence for an environment in which take advantage of unique experience with a independent of the EU and has for long sought new developments can take place, work will specific team, but also to use facilities which to stave off attempts by Brussels to absorb it

324 Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 in its jurisdiction. But several ESA projects are now reliant on EU money, not least the Galileo navigation system and the Copernicus Earth science and environmental research programme. Just how UK participation continues in those programmes will depend upon negotiations which have yet to get underway. In view of those uncertainties, the significant improvement to national infrastructure is only to be applauded, allowing UK companies and customers to maintain a solid base of development without going abroad. And, already, satellites for the Copernicus programme will employ instruments already booked in for Harwell. “It’s soup to nuts, isn’t it?” says Dr Graham Turnock the Chief Operating Officer of the UK Space Agency. “You should be able to set up From left: Dr Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, Dr Chris Mutlow, Director and run a space business in the UK and be of RAL Space, Dr Brian Bowsher, Chief Executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council able to go from conception to launch. And if and Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson on a visit to RAL Space, on the Harwell Campus in we can offer that, it’s going to make the UK a Oxfordshire, the site of the new National Satellite Testing Facility. STFC tremendously attractive place to do space.” player in the commercial space age by enabling The Bill seeks new powers to expand the Meanwhile… small satellite launch from UK spaceports. The licences for rockets, spaceplanes, satellite In a concerted effort to expand the practical measures in the Bill will help make the UK the operations and spaceports, in addition to application of commercial space flights from UK most attractive place in Europe for commercial providing a regulatory framework for risk sites, the Queen’s Speech contained a Space launch and enable UK businesses to capture a management and safety assessments. It will Industry Bill to “ensure the UK remains a leading growing share of this emerging global market.” also address matters of security and associated

nce again, issues of Mars exploration Orion is incapable, on its own, of getting referred to as such by the media on account come to the foreground, as serious people there. of their emulation of the male bee – has consideration is being applied to how This month (pages 336-342) Stephen caused serious problems for aviation. ONASA will construct a robust Mars exploration Ashworth examines the various options put It is illegal to fly these devices over airports programme for the coming decade. While still forward for those missions, and awards scores or airfields but it is also illegal for the authorities some way from being announced, the agency which rate them against the initial plan from to actively shoot them down. The recent near is operating in a sustained state of limbo, Robert Zubrin for an early Mars landing from miss of a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor with without an appointed Administrator to lead which have flowed several copycat ideas, not a privately owned UAV intruding into the it during what is turning out to be a crucial all of which are sound. Stephen adjudicates airspace of a military airfield has brought a period in its history. This is a White House on them all and passes judgement. demand for lawful use of force and while the appointment and the Trump administration Elsewhere, there is movement in the UK comparisons are not direct applicable, the appears not to feel there is an urgency here, for a new legislative template for the new framework for space must include security but there is. age of UK space activity, reinvigorated by and right of restraint from authority. The US Not only is there a pressing need to get the considerably better informed debate Air Force agrees and is seeking lawful use of a firmer hold of the Space Launch System now circulating in the House of Commons. force to shoot down privately owned UAVs. and Orion programmes, each of which have Readers are encouraged to seek out Hansard No one is suggesting that the restraints their own technical problems and sustained (available on the web) and read the measured on launching satellites from UK sites should delays, but also determine how best to and considerate debate during the Bill’s in any way be comparable to intruding UAVs connect the present level of Mars exploration second reading in the House of Lords. If only from rogue handlers but the lack of restraint in with the long-term goal of placing humans on we had had this intellectually informed debate that sector is already causing legal challenges the surface. At present, NASA is conducting several decades ago! through litigation involving private individuals detailed surveys and data-gathering and has Regulatory frameworks are strange things, without the means to pay for fines or penalties. yet to announce plans for the sample retrieval for they control what cannot be done as well Damage or injury caused by licensed rocket being cached by the Mars 2020 rover. To as freeing the marketplace for new entrants flights – whether suborbital or orbital – show how humans will advance exploration and entrepreneurs. There is precedent for requires a set of regulatory standards by to a new level, it needs to get under way with this. The proliferation of miniature unmanned which operators can carry out their activities a transportation gateway that will support aerial vehicles (UAVs) – or “drones”, a word protected by a framework sympathetic to humans between Earth and Mars, because hated within the aerospace community but progress and non-constraining.

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infrastructure while ensuring public safety and providing launch sites for these and suborbital a properly regulated framework for liability, flights. The primary role taken by space tourism including insurance and indemnity. is declining in the broader interest for flying In the debate on 12 July on the second science missions in support of these suborbital reading, Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist or low Earth orbit assignments. Access to reminded the House of Lords that space space will be afforded by the proliferation of activities in the UK are worth “approximately small companies carrying out support services £13.7 billion to the UK economy and some to facilitate the opportunities for universities and 38,000 jobs”, and that workers in this sector small research groups. “are nearly three times more productive than Toward that end the Bill may serve to open the UK average.” channels of access for a wider participation Lord Balfe drew attention to the in space research and engineering, for the indiscriminate use of miniature unmanned potential is far greater than the performance aerial vehicles and how legislature in this Bill realised so far in the UK. For some, the could easily embrace all potentially dangerous opportunities afforded by leaving the activity involving flying machines through the European Union outweigh the disadvantages air without proper regulation. This brought of Britain finding itself alone and isolated thoughtful consideration for potential disasters but in several respects that is not the issue. laid open by this omission in the legislative Science, engineering and business transcend framework. All agreed that a proper operating the artificial barriers put up by political framework was essential. bureaucracy and the establishment of a great The driving necessity for the Bill is the UK government involvement financially and the expanding application of small satellites in low legislative framework for creating wider access Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson Earth orbit and the active interest shown in through those channels is to be applauded. tours the existing Harwell facility. STFC FACTCHECKER update

ast month we started an informal ad hoc constellations, OneWeb and SpaceX are projects to useful and highly marketable assets series FACTCHECKER, which aims to jostling for dominance without looking over their for small operators in diverse fields. Earth bring you detailed and factual opinion- shoulders at the astonishing capacity increases observation is likely to see a phenomenal Lshaping information about key aspects of the now being displayed by geostationary orbit expansion with more than 1,100 satellites space programme. (GEO) satellites. projected to fly by 2026, with four companies The first of this series of articles covered Within a handful of years, GEO satellites alone (Planet, DigitalGliobe, Spire ad BlackSky) the global space industry, how much it is worth have shot from a few gigabits/second to accounting for 970 of the total number of and who pays for it. We found that in the last several hundred gigabits/second and they satellites expected to launch. full year of accounting (2015) that market was are marketing not only to consumer satellite For these diverse applications, the smallsat worth $355 billion, with only 22% funded by broadband, such as ViaSat 1 and Jupiter 1, market is expected to generate $14.5 billion in government money, finding that “the tax alone but GEO-HTS are now migrating to the Fixed revenue for launch services, a 76% increase paid by space companies worldwide more than Satellite Service markets embracing business, over the past decade. These revenues are pays for the amount governments spend on maritime and aeronautical services. There increasing faster than satellite manufacturing space.” is still too little attention to these fast-moving but the market for these is not yet mature and Now we have more information, but technology spurts for the bigger GEO satellites with so many heavy and medium launchers somewhat less factual and more predictive, while considerable interest is attracted to the offering piggy-back rides, the dedicated concerning one part of the market set to see smallsats which are threatening to overwhelm smallsat launcher will come at a premium price. a soaring proliferation of satellites. But there is the launch spectrum. While competitive piggy-back pricing can bring a level of uncertainty, as there always is with But there are problems down below. To a few percentage points to the revenue line for predictions – it’s a little bit like the weather get the relevant and appropriate look-angles medium and large launcher operators, it can forecast. However, if informed forecasts in to ground terminals, the LEO smallsats are undercut the market for dedicated smallsat this sector are correct, more than 6,200 small having to go up from an average orbital altitude launch vehicles. satellites will be launched over the next 10 of 350-500 km to 800-1,100km and that is Moreover, with niching being at the forefront years with multiple constellations accounting compromising the technical performance of the of small launcher development, any stress to for 70% of the total and that could trigger some system. There are rapid growth developments the smallsat market could leave the dedicated unpredictable consequences. with the big GEO satellites and recent pricing launchers with nothing to carry. And the market The estimated value for these smallsat structures show highly competitive rates which is already zoning out into satellites weighing markets is about $30.1 billion in the period will undermine the LEO-HTS programmes, and less than 50 kg and those weighing more than 2017-2026, compared to $8.9 billion in the probably skew the advantages their advocates 500 kg. There is very little in between and that past ten years. High revenue growth and hold to for investors eyeing this category of could bring serious trouble to the market and unprecedented turnover is driving further smallsats as the next “big thing”. to the smallsat companies themselves. When investment for low-Earth orbit/high throughput But smallsats are also about expanding their competition is thinned out, the piggy-back slots satellites (LEO-HTS). With their massive orbital envelope from being technology-stimulation will become much more expensive.

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the planet and that he had a better solution, is nominated as the next Deputy Chief Briefing notes which SpaceX has yet to announce. Management Officer of the Department • The European Council of Ministers is of Defense and the committee wanted seeking to cut the proposed budget for its • Virgin Orbit is nearing completion of to know why he was qualified to do that flagship Horizon 2020 programme for 2018 its LauncherOne test vehicle, while job when he had presided over a failing by reducing expenditure on key space conversion of a Boeing 747-400 carrier- company. Neither Gibson nor XCOR are projects. Particularly at risk are requested plane is ready for operations following prepared to name the client but when it spending levels for the Galileo and Egnos extensive work at L-3 Platform Integration downsized in May 2016 and stopped work satellite navigation and the Copernicus in Waco, Texas. In work since 2007, on Lynx it claimed that this was necessary Earth observation programmes. The EU LauncherOne is designed to place a 440 so that it could concentrate on a contract planned to spend a total of €11.1 billion kg payload in Sun-synchronous orbit. On with United Launch Alliance for a new on Horizon 2020 next year (which also 2 March, Richard Branson announced that propulsion system being developed by includes the ITER fusion project), but the LauncherOne team would be shifted XCOR for the Vulcan launcher. ULA have the EU has announced a budget ceiling to the new operation (Virgin Orbit), which refused to comment. of €10.6 billion. While the cut is likely to will market the smallsat capability for which prompt fierce opposition from the European several companies are already designing • Life on Mars may be hard to find and might Parliament, both sides have only until 20 commonality busses. Encouraged never have existed at all, according to a new November to resolve the disparity. by the expanding market for smallsat study published by Jennifer Wadsworth constellations, Virgin Orbit has already and Charles Cockell of the University • As we indicated at the beginning of the acquired OneWeb as a client, while NASA, of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and year that he would, President Trump Planet and Cloud Constellation (developing Astronomy. During laboratory simulations has re-established the National Space SpaceBelt) are target customers. of the Martian environment, perchlorates Council which had been retired to oblivion were shown to kill bacteria where ultraviolet since it was stood down at the order of • Following the loss of a prime contract, as light activated the compound. While known President George H W Bush 14 years ago. of the end of June XCOR Aerospace has for being activated in heat, UV light can President Trump signed the Executive had to release all its employees, retaining cause the same reaction in the cold climate Order alongside members of the Congress, a nucleus as consultants and attempting of Mars. First observed by the Phoenix NASA, and commercial space companies to hold on to some key pieces of work lander in 2008, perchlorates on Mars were in the Roosevelt room of the White House which it was believed would have held thought to have formed in liquid water and in Washington on 30 June. Vice President finances together until an upturn could are believed to have been detected in Mike Pence, also in attendance, will chair once again restore work on the Lynx, two- brine streaks on Mars. While indicative of the council. As in previous times when the seat reusable spaceplane. Work on that water, the presence of perchlorates could council has been active, it will review space project ground to a halt in May 2016 when prevent the emergence of simple life forms, policy and make recommendations to the almost half its staff were laid off. XCOR had a conclusion reached when in laboratory President while also hearing representation been the recipient of a $10 million incentive simulation perchlorates were shown to and advice from the business community deal to move its facility to Midland, Texas. have killed B. subtilis under UV light. While and the commercial sector, which has a In Senate hearings on 18 July, John H essential for life, the presence of water strong investment in the national space Gibson, the former chief executive officer on Mars may have intrinsically created programme. of XCOR who stepped down in late June the compounds for killing any emerging said that the current problems originated bacterial life forms. • Elon Musk has announced that the crew- suddenly and without warning when an carrying Dragon spacecraft will not have unnamed customer cancelled work on • Mars rover Opportunity is emerging from the capacity to soft-land on solid ground an engine development project. Gibson solar conjunction, when Mars passed with retro-rockets but will instead behind the Sun as viewed from Earth land in the water like its cargo- President Donald Trump (centre), signs an Executive Order to and inhibited communication. In a carrying contemporary. Musk re-establish the National Space Council. Pictured are retired NASA new extended lease of life and now said that the certification issues astronaut David Wolf (left) NASA astronaut Alvin Drew (second from well into its 14th year of operation, for such a capability were right) and retired NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin (right). NASA Opportunity has been parked at very great and that it would be the top of a gulley on the flank of impractical to incorporate them Endeavour crater where it may have into the capsule. They will be the chance to closely investigate a retained as a launch escape place where water spilled over and system, boosting the capsule flowed out onto the surrounding off the top of the Falcon 9 in surface, the first time that such the event of an abort during a feature has been visited at the launch or the ascent phase to surface. On 22 July NASA refrained orbit. Musk also said that this from sending signals to Mars during will change the way he plans to the start of conjunction, which occurs land Dragon vehicles on Mars, every 26 months, resuming two- claiming that he had already way communications on 1 August. concluded that this was not the Opportunity has travelled 44.97 km way to achieve a soft-landing on since it landed on 25 January 2004.

Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 327 space stations ISS Report 9 June – 8 July 2017

By George Spiteri

The Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA) deployed by engineers on the ground from the Dragon resupply spacecraft. NASA NASA

n 9 June, Whitson and Fischer structural dynamics. ROSA rolled out similar to a TV message for his fellow countrymen in continued to monitor the Rodent a tape measure with solar cells on a flexible honour of Russia’s National Day. Research-5 facility delivered by Space blanket and could be used to power future On 13 June, Whitson and Fischer conducted OX’s Dragon vehicle, which is studying bone loss spacecraft and satellites. further Dragon transfers and also worked with in mice and how to prevent it in astronauts. The Orbital ATK’s Cygnus OA-7 spacecraft NASA’s NeuroMapping experiment, which following day, ground controllers completed the conducted a 5.5 min de-orbit burn at 16:36 UTC investigates whether long duration spaceflight five day extraction of the Multiple User System on 11 June and entered the Earth’s atmosphere causes changes to brain structure and function, for Earth Sensing (MUSES) experiment from 36 min later to complete its mission. Since motor control, or multi-tasking abilities. Dragon’s unpressurised trunk onto ExPRESS leaving the ISS (Spaceflight Vol 59, No 8, Whitson photographed the devastating Logistics Carrier-4 (ELC-4) located on the S3 p 290) the unmanned vehicle conducted a wildfires in South Africa on 14 June for the truss. MUSES is a commercial Earth imaging week of scientific experiments, including the continuing Crew Earth Observation (CEO) platform which can host up to four instruments Saffire-III study, which tested the real-life programme, and together with Fischer restocked to conduct remote sensing for Earth viewing spread and interaction of fires in space with the the Rodent Research-5 habitat and worked with payloads. various materials from which spacecraft are the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR). Three days later ‘ROSA rolled out similar to a constructed. Cygnus the Neutron Star also deployed four Progress fatalities tape measure with Interior Composition solar cells Lemur-2 CubeSats Progress MS-06/67P was launched atop a Explorer (NICER) on a flexible blanket…’ and performed the Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Baikonur’s Site 31 was installed onto ELC-2, having been RED-Data-2 re-entry data recorder experiment at 09:20 UTC (15:10 local time) on 14 June. extracted from Dragon on 11 June. Co-principal during its fiery demise over the Pacific Ocean, Although the launch was flawless, it was investigator, Keith Gendreau described NICER east of New Zealand. reported that a Kazakh truck driver was killed, as the “first mission dedicated to the study Whitson measured her shoulder, back, while a second contract worker was injured of neutron stars”. NICER was positioned for chest and hip on 12 June for NASA’s Body with serious burns and later died, when deployment viewing, which was delayed two Measures experiment, which investigates how fragments of the rocket’s first stage ignited the days until 16 June following initial trouble when living in space changes body shape and size. dry grass and caused a fire 20 km southwest releasing the instrument’s four launch locks. Fischer studied how plants sense light and of the village of Talap in the Karaganda The final extraction took place between16-18 grow in space for ESA’s Seedling Growth-3 Region. Both victims were employees of NPO June when the Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA) experiment. He also worked on removing a Mashinostroyenia who are responsible for was successfully deployed at 05:45 UTC on bolt that jammed after the last Dragon left the clean-up operations at the impact site. The 18 June and remained attached to Canadarm2 Station in March (Spaceflight Vol 59, No 6, p Interfax news agency quoted Roscosmos for a week long demonstration of the array’s 208) whilst Yurchikhin took time out to record that a strong gust of wind propelled the blaze

328 Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 space stations

toward the truck, killing the driver. cargo from Progress the following day, updated The crew enjoyed another light-duty Following an investigation, Roscosmos the orbital outpost’s inventory system and weekend 24/25 June and resumed loading announced on 7 July that “the fire had had a checked on Russian experiments. Whitson Dragon with used science gear and research technical origin and had been facilitated by and Fischer collected saliva samples, stowed samples in addition to unloading Progress on extreme hot temperatures reaching 35 degrees them in a science freezer for later analysis 26 June. Whitson and Fischer worked on the Celsius and strong winds on the day of the on Earth and conducted further work with the Seedling Growth-3 study by completing the launch”. The space agency said it would have Rodent Research-5 facility. second of the six day growth sessions. overflights and organise imaging of the impact On 22 June, Whitson and Fischer tested site before and immediately after launch to a new injectable drug on mice as part of the ROSA jettisoned help prevent such an accident being repeated. Rodent Research-5 experiment. This is being Mission managers decided to jettison the On 15 June, Fischer photographed mould used to explore ways to reverse bone loss ROSA experiment on 26 June, following three and bacteria samples on petri dishes as part during spaceflight and could help patients on unsuccessful attempts to retract the arrays. of six student led biology experiments taking Earth with bone disease. Fischer also worked Imagery showed the array was not lining up place inside a NanoRacks module. He later on light plumbing duties, whilst Yurchikhin re- correctly which prevented locking ROSA’s removed protein crystal samples from a pressurised the space station’s atmosphere latches onto Dragon’s trunk. ROSA was left science freezer for NASA’s LMM Biophysics using oxygen stored inside Progress. fully deployed and jettisoned from Canadarm2 3 experiment. Whitson did further work with Whitson retrieved further samples for the later that day at 21:15 UTC to the nadir and the Rodent Research-5 facility and swapped Cardiac Stem Cells experiment on 23 June. She aft of the ISS. The array would have been out samples for NASA’s Cardiac Stem Cells also set up the Synchronised Position, Hold, disposed after attachment to Dragon’s trunk. study, which is exploring why living in space Engage, Reorient, On 27 June, may accelerate the aging process. Yurchikhin Experimental ‘…a Kazakh truck driver was Whitson swapped performed final onboard training with the Satellites-Halo killed, while a second contract out more stem cells teleoperated TORU system, which would have (SPHERES Halo) worker was injured with serious samples inside served as a back-up to the Kurs-NA automatic hardware, which burns and later died…’ the Microgravity docking system if there had been a problem is exploring the Science Glovebox during the Progress rendezvous. possibility of using satellites to clean up space (MSG) for the Cardiac Stem Cells experiment Progress docked to Zvezda’s aft docking debris and assemble objects such as space and set up light meters to measure the intensity port at 11:37 UTC on 16 June as the complex telescopes and habitats. Fischer activated an and colour of new Light-Emitting Diode (LED) flew 415 km above the Philippine Sea. Progress ultrasound and scanned his legs for Canada’s light bulbs installed in the station. The data flew the two day 34 orbit rendezvous profile Vascular Echo experiment, which looks at how is being collected for NASA’s Lighting Effects and delivered 2,398 kg of cargo including veins and arteries adapt during spaceflight. study to determine how the new lights affect 705 kg of propellant, 420 kg of water, 50 kg of Yurchikhin conducted Earth observation crew sleep, circadian rhythms and cognitive oxygen, several satellites, two of which were studies with the Russian Ekon-M and Uragan performance. Fischer checked out the Orlan- built by schoolchildren and 15 kg of “fresh (Hurricane) experiments and worked with the MK EVA suits with Yurchikhin ahead of a apples, adjika sauce, mustard, horseradish Algometriya investigation, which studies the planned Russian EVA later in the year, who sauce and smoked sausages”. changes in the pain threshold during long also conducted more Ekon-M and Uragan The crew began unloading cargo from duration missions. Earth observations. Progress during their light-duty weekend 17/18 June, aside from conducting regular Jack Fischer took this photograph of the SpaceX Dragon capsule housekeeping chores, talking to friends and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere on 3 July. NASA family and planning for the week. Whitson and Fischer returned to the Seedling Growth-3experiment on 19 June and Fischer later installed samples in a NanoRacks facility for an educational research project which is studying the effects of radiation damage on synthetic DNA, whilst Whitson did further work with the Rodent Research-5 facility and the Cardiac Stem Cells experiment. On 20 June, Fischer entered the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) for a regular inspection and installed a radiation shield that covers a radiation sensor inside the habitat. The new thicker shield was 3D printed aboard the ISS and replaced the old radiation shield inside BEAM. Whitson sampled the air and surfaces for microbes in the station’s US segment and began readying the Rodent Research-5 facility for its return to Earth aboard Dragon, whilst Yurchikhin conducted a routine medical conference with ground specialists. The ISS commander continued to unload

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Whitson and Fischer continued packing around 18:30 UTC on 2 July and was released worked with air purification gear. Whitson and Dragon with scientific samples and station by Canadarm2 at 06:41 UTC the following day Fischer conducted research inside Destiny hardware on 28 June. Fischer also worked with as the complex flew over central Australia. aimed at understanding the effects of bone JAXA’s Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF), Fischer said Dragon was “an incredible loss during space flight and how to prevent it. which levitates, melts and solidifies materials spacecraft” as it moved away from the station. Whitson worked with NASA’s Fine Motor for physical science research, whilst Yurchikhin Approximately five and a half hours later, Skills study on 6 July, which looks at how living replaced gear on the Orlan suit and checked it SpaceX tweeted “Good Splashdown of Dragon in space affects a crewmember performing for leaks confirmed – completing first re-flight ofa various interactive tasks, while Fischer wrapped The highlight of 29 June was the visit of commercial spaceflight to and from the Space up operations with JAXA’s Group Combustion Garth Brooks to Mission Control. The American Station” (Spaceflight Vol 56, No 12, p 451). Module experiment, which explores how flames country rock singer spoke to the crew and Dragon landed 420 km south west of spread as the composition of fuel changes in played a song for them, which brought Fischer Long Beach, California at 12:12 UTC (05:12 space. Their Russian commander connected out in “goose bumps everywhere”. The crew local time), concluding the Commercial power and network cables before moving on conducted various life science experiments, Resupply Services-11 (CRS-11) mission. The to activating an antenna and performing more including once again spacecraft’s critical plumbing assignments. ‘Fischer said Dragon was “an photographing cargo was shipped Fischer tweeted “launched 5 micro-satellites mould and bacteria incredible spacecraft” as it to NASA for analysis from 5 countries off the JAXA arm!” on 7 July. samples and loading moved away from the station.’ by scientists whilst The CubeSats will be operated and monitored Dragon with further scientific experiments. Dragon was returned to McGregor, Texas for by students in Japan. Fischer partnered Whitson and Fischer had five hours of an examination by SpaceX technicians. Whitson with NASA’s Fluid Shifts experiment, Dragon cargo loading remaining on 30 June, Whitson tweeted “Happy birthday USA!” which examines amongst other things the which they completed the following day. Some and a special 4 July photograph together with changes in crewmembers’ vision and the duo of the final items loaded into Dragon were the Fischer in patriotic red, white and blue attire collected more blood, urine and saliva samples Rodent Research-5 habitat and the POLAR with a US flag in the background. Despite their for stowage in the science freezer and later freezer with time-sensitive research samples light-duty day, the crew completed their Food analysis. Yurchikhin spent the majority of his on 1 July. The duo also conducted two further Acceptability questionnaire. The results of this day conducting further plumbing operations, days of on board robotics training ahead of will be used in developing strategies to improve replacing pumps and hoses and repressurising Dragon’s departure. food system composition to support astronaut the station’s atmosphere. Following a one day delay due to health and performance on future missions. The crew enjoyed a light-duty day on 8 July unacceptable weather at the splashdown On 5 July, Yurchikhin transferred water from having completed another week on the orbital zone, Dragon was unberthed from Harmony at Progress to Zvezda, replaced water hoses and outpost.

Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson celebrate the 4th July more than 400 km above Earth NASA

330 Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 space stations Living with the Legend

By Dennis R Jenkins

Space Shuttle Atlantis about to bring down the curtain on 135 missions with the launch of the last mission in July 2011 NASA

For many, the Space Shuttle is the iconic link between Apollo and the the transfer of the remaining orbiters to their next generation of public and private space ventures, building the display sites, and was part of the team that International Space Station and launching flagship spacecraft; for one delivered Discovery, Enterprise, Endeavour, man it inspired a dedicated work chronicling its origin and the evolution and Atlantis. After the end of the programme, I of its development. was the project director in charge of displaying Endeavour at the California Science Center. was a sophomore in high school when several of us reluctantly became hardware It was a strange career, but it provided a Richard M. Nixon approved the development engineers. fascinating insight into one of the most visible of Space Shuttle in 1972. Little did I realize Since I had some familiarity with both sides achievements of our time. Ithat seven years later I would be a fledgling (hardware and software), I became a trouble- engineer on the programme, working for Martin shooter, trying to make things work when the Lack of history Marietta. It was the beginning of a career that various disciplines were pointing fingers at When I first arrived, one of the things I noticed ultimately spanned 33 years, mostly on Space each other. It was a fascinating role, allowing was a distinct lack of history; it seemed as Shuttle, always for contractors – Martin, me a broader view than most of my colleagues. if everybody believed Space Shuttle just Lockheed, then Lockheed Martin, United Unfortunately, it also limited my depth, and materialised in its final form. Of course, nothing Space Alliance, and finally as an independent at times I envied co-workers who became could have been further from the truth, but I consultant – never a civil servant. truly intimate with a single system. Mostly was an engineer, not a historian, and in any As a co-op student, I walked with Enterprise because my mother had taught me some case lacked the time to do anything about the and Columbia during their overland moves essential English, I ended up writing a lot of situation. through the High Desert and stood by the proposals for enhancements and upgrades, as Sometime in 1986, Jay Miller – a friend and side of the runway as Joe Engle and Dick well as chasing new business for my various publisher of the well-received Aerofax series Truly landed during the approach and landing employers. Occasionally, after winning some of of aviation history monographs – asked me to tests. Other than being a witness to history, I these, I spent time working other programmes review a manuscript somebody had written on am sure I contributed little. I arrived at KSC (notably, X-33) but always came back to Space Space Shuttle. To put it bluntly, it was terrible. in late 1980 to write software for the ground Shuttle. A while later, he asked me to review a different systems but quickly migrated to the Wild West I was in the firing room for the first launch manuscript, with much the same result. Tiring at Vandenberg AFB performing the same role. and, in a very different capacity for the last. I of this game, Jay told me to put my pen where This evolved into working ground system helped recover from one accident and had the my mouth was. The timing was good. We were hardware, mostly because it was hard to write unfortunate opportunity to investigate another. I just shutting down the Vandenberg Launch software for systems that did not yet exist, so worked the closeout of the programme planned Site and, for the first time in six years, I had

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several of us to return in January 2004 to serve as staff to the President’s Commission on Behind the lines Moon, Mars and Beyond, better known as the Moon to Mars Commission. In announcing the commission, George W Bush directed NASA to Last month we published a review retire Space Shuttle no later than 2010. It was of Dennis Jenkins’ magnum opus, a a poor decision based on questionable advice, three-volume history of the origin and mostly because there was no reasonable development of NASA’s Space Shuttle. forward plan. This is such a landmark event in space publishing that we asked Dennis to New material explain how he started on this project It became obvious there was no particular and eventually wrote a series of books reason to publish a fourth edition of the book culminating in this outstanding boxed set that covered the first 125 missions, since there (see Spaceflight Vol 59, No. 8, p 308). Ed would only be a handful of additional flights. But all of the new material that had come my way also dictated a greatly expanded text for some time on my hands. a useful reference for the Board. It was an an end-of-programme book. Initially, I thought When I wrote the mini-edition of what unexpected, and unwelcome, turn in my career. this would be a two-volume set that would became this book in 1988, the response was Along the way, I met many of principals from the appear within a year of the last flight. The plan overwhelmingly positive, leading me to write programme, and any number of them began got off to a good start when I was the Verville the first of the expanded hardcover editions. sending me historical documents and tidbits to Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum, By the time I finished in 1991, however, further an eventual fourth edition of the book. allowing me the opportunity to concentrate on Aerofax was largely out of business and other As we finished publishing the supporting researching and writing without the normal publishers said there would never be a market volumes of the CAIB report, NASA asked requirement to make a living along the way. for more than 500 copies of a book on Space Shuttle; all declined to publish it. Believing there was a story to be told, I published the book myself. Roger D. Launius, then Chief Historian at NASA, took notice and coached me on how to make the book more authoritative; the improvement was evident in later editions. By late 2014, more than 100,000 copies of three editions had passed. If I had known this would be the path taken, I would have collected a lot more research material earlier in my career.

Unintentional progress The progression of the original books was not necessarily by intent. The original Aerofax Datagraph, all 72 pages of it, was written during the stand-down following the Challenger accident and, by default, covered the first 25 missions. The first of the hardcover editions, with the blue cover, covered the first 50 missions, mostly because that number had passed when I finished writing it. It set the trend. The next edition, with the brown cover, covered the first 75 missions, and the black- cover third edition covered the first 100. It was a logical progression that allowed an update every three to four years. This all changed on 1 February 2003 when Columbia, and her crew, was lost coming home from STS-107. I spent the next ten months as staff to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) and the third edition proved

Dennis Jenkins wearing an Advanced Crew Escape Suit, a derivative of the suit worn by SR- 71 crewmembers. Dennis Jenkins

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Ironically, this brought me full circle since Roger Launius was the Chair of Space History at the museum. Unfortunately, after returning to KSC, my day job got in the way when United Space Alliance assigned me as the project manager for planning the contract closeout at KSC and delivering the orbiters to their display sites. These tasks, and helping each of the sites with their final exhibits, became rather all consuming, leaving little time to work on the book until the orbiters were delivered. As I finally got back to the book, it quickly spiralled out of control. Initially, I wanted to tell the entire story including the ground systems, mission planning, simulation, etc. It soon became evident this was a reach too far, so I instead concentrated on the development of the flight vehicle and its technical description. I intentionally only briefly touch on each mission, although I have extensive data tables that describe the technical aspects of each flight, mostly because other authors have shown interest in covering that aspect of the programme. Unfortunately, everybody, including myself, have ignored the ground

Chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, retired Admiral Harold Gehman with a copy of the Dennis Jenkins’ Shuttle book covering the first 100 missions. Dennis Jenkins

systems and such. particularly Boeing and Grumman, maintain Still, there is a limit on how much one can archives as do each of the NASA centres; all say about a single subject and I figured a million provided useful information. words in 1,584 pages was mine. Hopefully, Other data came from second or third tier some future historian will publish a book on subcontractors, which were usually thrilled the infrastructure that supported the Space somebody was paying attention to them. Shuttle Program, since there is a fascinating Perhaps the most disappointing part of the story to be told. Finding data was harder than research was not being able to discuss more one might expect. Since it was an ongoing about the classified Department of Defense programme spread across several NASA missions. Although I knew where some of the centres and multiple contractors, there was data was located (having worked the missions), no single repository for historical information. I could never convince the bureaucracy who This resulted in a lot of trips to various archives owned the data; NASA always pointed at the including the National Archives in College Part, Air Force who always pointed back at NASA. Fort Worth, Atlanta, and St. Louis. Official FOIA requests to both organisations The National Museum of the United States came back as “no relevant data located.” Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB and the Air Sadly, I finally gave up. In any case, I finally Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell finished the book in late 2016 and it appeared in AFB contributed some of the early pre-history. early 2017. Overall, I am happy with its content A particularly useful trove of information exists and presentation, although as with most things at the University of Houston at Clear Lake, in life there are things I would do differently now although it is primarily centred on events at that I see the final result. Hopefully it proves a JSC. The various aerospace companies, useful addition to the subject.

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An icon immortalised

By Laurence Withers

Visions of Atlantis: the display at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Laurence Withers

n Saturday 3 June I was sitting in the can say is, the display is absolutely stunning. departure lounge of Marsh Harbour The whole thing took my breath away. Airport in The Bahamas waiting for I spent over two hours in the new display, Oa flight, delayed by 4 hours, back to Miami, which includes a full scale mock-up of the due to torrential rain. My fingers were crossed Hubble Space Telescope and various cockpit and I was praying (selfishly, I know!) that the display simulations of Atlantis. I took photos of Falcon 9 flight from the Kennedy Space Center Atlantis from every angle and couldn’t tear my that day with the refurbished Dragon capsule eyes from her, displayed in all her glory. bound for the ISS would be further delayed due On the ground floor, in a small corridor, is to weather. a very poignant memorial to the 14 astronauts On my return to Miami I was due to get a who lost their lives on the two Shuttle hire car and drive north to the KSC for my third accidents. The displays include the crews’ visit, and I was desperate to catch a launch. personal items, supplied by their families, such However, it wasn’t to be, and the Falcon/ as school reports, family photos, etc. At the Dragon launched that day. end of the corridor, often missed by visitors I returned to Miami, hired a car and drove (a member of staff informed me) is a small north to the Cape. My intention was to see the room with two display windows. In the first is Space Shuttle Atlantis, placed on display since a side panel, with the Stars and Stripes, from my last visit. Challenger, recovered from the sea bed in We arrived at the KSC soon after the booths 1986. In the second, are the cockpit window opened and bought the tickets. I headed frames of Columbia, recovered from Texas straight across to the new Atlantis display in 2003. I cannot describe the emotions I felt before the crowds built up. On entering, the viewing those two display windows. visitor is given two short video presentations on After tearing myself away, we boarded a the history of the Space Shuttle programme. At bus for the usual trip around the refurbished the conclusion, the screen rises and, suddenly, launch pads and on to the Saturn V centre. you are aware that Atlantis is now in front of For anyone who has never seen the Atlantis you. I don’t know how much has been spent on display, I can only say that it is not to be missed displaying my favourite orbiter at her 43 degree and is a fitting memorial to such an iconic angle with her payload bay doors open. All I spacecraft.

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Evaluating Mars

Programme Designs By Stephen Ashworth

For several decades NASA has been carrying out studies on Mars habitats, most design concepts focusing on modular clusters landed by successive rocket flights. NASA

Over the years since Wernher von Braun’s Marsprojekt was first published not merely flying a sequence of missions, in 1952, many alternative visions of astronaut exploration of Mars have but stimulating a space economy capable of come and gone. Meanwhile the experience of the Apollo missions to exponential growth over coming decades and the Moon demonstrated that even a highly successful plan can lead to centuries: cancellation once the initial objective has been achieved, with the loss of • Growth in numbers of people travelling in the capability so painstakingly built up. space and ultimately living permanently in space and planetary colonies, starting most oday, Mars seems closer now than it activity to Mars, with permanence as the long- probably with Mars. has for many years, thanks to growing term goal. As John Marburger, then Director of • Growth in the economic use of space efforts within not only NASA but also the Office of Science and Technology Policy, resources and opportunities for extraterrestrial Tits most flamboyant commercial supplier, put it in his 2006 keynote address to the 44th development. SpaceX, whose visionary CEO Elon Musk set Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium, • Growth in the sustainability and self- out his plans for enabling colonisation of the the “questions about the vision boil down to sufficiency of operations in space and on other Red Planet at the International Astronautical whether we want to incorporate the Solar worlds. Congress in Mexico in September 2016. Not to System in our economic sphere, or not.” Clearly, this will be a slow process. It is be outdone, at the same venue representatives Marburger pointed out that President likely to be more than a century before any of Lockheed Martin, the company which is George W Bush’s Vision for Space Exploration extraterrestrial colony or network of colonies building the Orion capsule for NASA, presented did indeed envisage the use of the Solar System becomes independent of resupply from Earth. their own version of a Mars strategy. for economic purposes, and therefore this was A Mars exploration strategy conceived with How should these competing architectures official US policy. One might wish to add that permanence and growth in mind is likely to for astronaut exploration of Mars be assessed? the benefits of doing so include safeguarding contain a number of features which have What should such a strategy contain, if it is to the long-term future of our civilisation and our become progressively clearer in recent years. be a success? species, maintaining the culture of growth Five key principles stand out. The answer depends upon whether one is and progress critical to our society’s success working from a paradigm of Apollo-style sortie without unduly overburdening planet Earth, 1 Extraterrestrial propellant missions which, if successful, achieve some and developing humanity’s creative potential manufacture scientific exploration before they are cancelled, to its maximum extent. In his keynote speech at the 2011 International or whether one is more interested in a In which case, the exploration of Mars Space Development Conference, Jeff Greason progressive extension of the human sphere of should be seen as part of a larger process: emphasised the need to “make gas” at each

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extraterrestrial destination we reach. There are is obviously untenable for any but the most several options: fleeting of visits. A serious Mars programme • On the surface of Mars: here production is will need to get to grips with extraterrestrial easiest, given the ubiquitous, if thin, carbon food production, as well as full recycling of dioxide atmosphere and also widespread water and oxygen from human biological subsurface ice deposits. The atmosphere wastes, both to avoid a Mark Watney situation mining option has been thoroughly described (as in the 2011 novel The Martian by Andy by Robert Zubrin in his book The Case for Mars Weir, and its subsequent movie adaptation in (1996). 2015 directed by Ridley Scott) and to enable • On near-Earth asteroids in Earth/Mars long-term growth. The following factors are space, including Phobos and Deimos in important: orbit around Mars itself. A large proportion • Food production systems need to be fully of these are expected to have subsurface trialled on Earth in advance, and extended ice, according to John S. Lewis in his book to space stations and the Moon as and Mining the Sky (1997). Production here is when opportunities arise. Experiments need more difficult because of the microgravity and to focus on novel production techniques vacuum conditions, and because of the time from microorganisms, both with and without and delta-V costs of accessing near-Earth local gravity. The production of meat, fish asteroids, but more economically important in and poultry needs to be developed to the the long run because they are at the top of the point that these can be synthesised from local gravity well. microorganisms or grown under laboratory • On the lunar surface, where we can obtain conditions without the necessity to raise and water from polar ice deposits, and oxygen from slaughter living animals. Von Braun’s original concept was for a fleet of mare ilmenite (an iron-titanium oxide mineral, • Conventional terrestrial crop-growing may ten spacecraft, carrying a total of 70 astronauts. It on Earth the most important ore of titanium). supplement the diet, particularly to supply was based on large-scale, military-style Antarctic These locations are easiest of access from vitamins, but is too inefficient in terms of expeditions organised by the United States Navy, Earth and closest to low Earth orbit, where the energy and land use to be transferred to space such as Operation Highjump (1946-1947). largest market will be, but the resources will applications for the bulk of the diet. via David Baker be harder to extract than on Mars due to the • The development of such a micro-agriculture Moon’s environmental extremes. should be done with an eye to its application 3 Artificial gravity on the The importance of “making gas” can on Earth as well as off it. The rewards would Earth-Mars cruise hardly be overstated. The large amounts of be immense if its products could be made Given the problems astronauts have had rocket propellant required to go anywhere in affordable for the vast mass of Earth’s adapting to weightlessness, with at least two the Solar System for any purpose, and the population, thus reducing their environmental hours a day of exercise essential for their high economic and environmental costs of impact and freeing urban living from its health, artificial gravity will be required for any launching from Earth, mandate a refuelling dependence on an agricultural hinterland. sustainable and safe human activity in space. industry independent of Earth as the basis of a Clearly, local food production with full Zubrin’s Mars Direct architecture adopts it as viable space economy. recycling of human wastes would be the first a matter of course. Two further points are of step in a process which would extend local particular weight here: 2 Extraterrestrial food self-sufficiency to manufacture of cleaning • People who are not professional astronauts production materials, clothing, drugs, furniture, machinery, will be less tolerant of spending a week or Current manned Mars plans propose to feed electronics and ultimately the full range of more in microgravity, therefore commercial the crew with rations packed on Earth; this products available on Earth. space hotels for private passengers will have

Mars One is promoting a controversial one-way Mars colonisation plan. It rests upon sourcing hardware based on existing technology from commercial suppliers such as Lockheed Martin. At present there does not seem to be any intention to use artificial gravity in space or propellant production at the destination. Mars One

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5 Create safe havens where possible along the way It need hardly be stated that the first explorers of Mars will be cut off from all the material resources of civilisation in an unremittingly hostile environment to a greater degree than any explorers ever before in history. Of course, if one corrects for contemporary technology and knowledge, they will in many respects be better off than were the explorers of the world’s oceans in the age of sail. A round trip to Mars would last approximately the same time as Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the world from December 1577 to September 1580. Unlike Drake, the Mars explorers are unlikely to spend part of the voyage fighting the Spanish, and will be in constant touch with mission control with only between 10 and 40 minutes delay for each round-trip communication. Be that as it may, one wishes to avoid the attrition of ships and men suffered by Magellan, Drake, Anson and others. One way to improve security would be to accumulate reserves of propellants, consumables, spare parts and radiation shielding at strategic An artist’s conception of a human Mars base, with a cutaway revealing an interior points along the way. Such a strategy would horticultural area. NASA Ames focus on setting up a permanent and growing extraterrestrial infrastructure: an interest in developing the technology. with commercial ships being used for ocean • On the surface of Mars: given the abundance • While the boldest of the bold are willing to exploration, and with commercial aircraft being of local resources, the relative safety of Mars fly to Mars right now and tough it out, come used to access Antarctica. For example, the surface rendezvous and the fact that the what may, it is unlikely that a space agency first aircraft to land at the South Pole, in 1956, surface is the primary science destination, will want to expose its astronauts to Martian was a US Navy adaptation of the famous DC-3. a substantial surface base from the very first gravity before having quantified the health risk • Launch from Earth: the launch vehicles missions is indicated. This might, however, be beforehand. Furthermore, it will not be possible carrying exploration hardware should also be called into question if it turned out that Martian to make detailed plans for surface activities in use to orbit space laboratories and hotels for gravity failed to offer any health benefit relative before knowing whether people on the Martian commercial users. The fate of the Saturn V and to microgravity, when an orbital station above surface will require physical exercise, and for the Shuttle demonstrate what happens when a Mars providing a higher gravity level would be how many hours per sol. vehicle has only a single user. needed. Therefore, experience with partial gravity • The interplanetary flight between Earth and • During the Earth-Mars transfer: an space stations in the Earth-Moon system will Mars: rockets and habitation modules need interplanetary cycler architecture has been come before a manned flight to Mars in any extremely high reliability. They are most likely to proposed by a number of people, most case. The mission architecture might as well achieve this if they are based on systems with prominently the Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz use the same technology to generate whatever years to decades of actual flight experience in Aldrin. Creating a number of safe havens level of artificial gravity is found to provide an the Earth-Moon system serving mass markets. in the form of cycler stations in heliocentric effective antidote to the stress of microgravity • The landing on Mars: is a purpose-built Mars Earth-Mars orbits, possessing large masses on the 6 to 9 months long interplanetary cruise. lander necessary? This has always been of radiation shielding and reserves of fuel, thought to be the case, but SpaceX has thrown consumables and spare parts, would protect 4 Hardware commonality this into question with the Red Dragon variant against an Apollo 13-type scenario, but would for both exploration and of its Dragon spacecraft now in development. also restrict launch windows. The pros and commercial use The key technology of supersonic retro- cons therefore need careful analysis. Another of Jeff Greason’s points was that each propulsion is now in regular use on Earth to Full advantage needs to be taken of the capability gained by the space agency must return rocket stages to the ground. Prior lunar capabilities to build infrastructure robotically be designed for transition to the private sector experience should be helpful when designing prior to human occupation, and to cumulatively when technologically mature, since only in that EVA suits for Mars surface use, and techniques enhance a safe haven with steady growth over way is it possible to add new capabilities at for keeping the dust hazard under control. a number of decades. constant budget. Precision navigation, rendezvous and The converse is equally attractive: space docking in LEO are already mature, and should Timescale for strategy agencies should improve their capabilities transfer to near-Mars space without difficulty. All five of these points illustrate the potential by using technology already developed for There already exist decades of experience benefits of coordination between exploration commercial purposes. The historical record navigating spacecraft accurately through the missions and the commercial development provides examples of this pattern, for example satellite systems of Jupiter and Saturn. of space. This implies the buildup in near-

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Earth space of a large scale, commercially viable space tourism/research/manufacturing industry over some decades, incrementally improving reliability, lowering unit costs, expanding markets and establishing an in-space refuelling network (extending to extraterrestrially sourced radiation shielding and metals in due course). In this scenario, the billionaires and the official government explorers out in front would be at the peak of a pyramid of activity and rest on the industrial heritage which has gone to form the base. To put it another way with a concrete example, Mars exploration will begin to look very much easier in a scenario in which there are (say) 10,000 people a year flying to low Earth orbit on fully reusable vehicles, a few hundred being in orbit at any given time, 1,000/ Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel Red Mars (1992) justified Mars colonisation as a desperate year going further onto a lunar sightseeing attempt by the United States in collaboration with Russia to revive their outmoded flyby, and 100/year descending to the surface industries in the face of competition from Europe and Asia. Red Mars to visit lunar surface hotels. Twenty people flying to Mars per two-year window then with the development of commercial services. into space specific mission architectures will completes the pyramid of activity. The history of exploration suggests that this is prove to be. How do the current crop of Mars Since there are currently just 12 to 15 even likely to be the case. designs measure up? people flying to low Earth orbit annually, that But if progress is to make a permanent Robert Zubrin’s Mars Direct, first presented scenario would require a 1,000-fold increase contribution to the growth of civilisation then 27 years ago (on 20 April 1990 at the Marshall in activity, which at (say) a 10% annual growth a growing self-sustaining base must also be Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama), rate would require about 70 years. One can present, and will be more significant in the was a quantum leap forward in mission design play with different possible growth rates while long run. The oceanic voyages of the Chinese by introducing the first practical scheme for keeping within the bounds of plausibility. admiral Zheng He in the early fifteenth century making use of propellant manufacture on Mars. Meanwhile it may well be that space agency are a celebrated example (mentioned, for It adopts artificial gravity on the interplanetary officials, governments or private companies example, in Lewis’s book) of a phase of cruise, builds up a safe haven on the Martian decide to press ahead with a Mars orbiting or exploration which failed to take root, and was surface and devotes considerable attention landing mission when the technical heritage subsequently forgotten. to building up local self-sufficiency with local they need is not yet there, or the commercial resources. sector is not yet ready to adopt the technical Assessment of plans Zubrin’s vision of Martian food production heritage which they create. In that case they The five principles discussed here may be used is, however, based entirely on conventional would lose the benefit of mutual coordination to evaluate how useful for long-term growth crops, which is related to the fact that he is keen to emphasise the superiority of Mars for The Troy Mars strategy proposed by Reaction Engines Ltd was based on the company’s crop-growing in comparison with the Moon. I Skylon spaceplane design, showing how both commercial development and exploration would therefore give him only half a point for can share a single launch vehicle. Reaction Engines extraterrestrial food production. Although Zubrin goes on to discuss the growth of a Martian civilisation, he remains vague on the process by which government missions could metamorphose into commercially self-sustaining ones, and the major omission in his book is any mention of how his space agency’s Mars rockets and spacecraft would share costs, risks and markets with commercial activities such as space tourism and orbital manufacturing. Without such sharing, they would quickly go the way of the Saturn V and Apollo vehicles when the government lost interest. I would therefore give him 3.5 out of 5, which is still a high bar for more recent plans to match. The Elon Musk/SpaceX plan was announced in some detail at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico on 27 September last year. Given the nature of

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MARS ORBIT CONFIGURATION © 2016 Lockheed Martin Corporation

Orion One of two Orions will serve as the excursion vehicle that explores Deimos and Phobos as well as a backup for critical life support and safety systems.

Liquid Oxygen/Liquid Hydrogen Tanks These reinforced tanks hold fuel for the jouney to and from Mars and serve as radiation shielding for the crew quarters.

Habitat Along with Orion and the crew quarters, the habitat provides extra living and working space.

Mars Laboratory Houses scientific equipment, sample analysis tools and workstations to remotely pilot drons and rovers on the surface of Mars.

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Pre-Positioned Lab A Solar Electric Propulsion- powerd lab is launched ahead of the Mars Base Camp spacecraft and docks with the full ship in Mars orbit.

Solar Arrays Generate all the power for the spacecraft operations and the Solar Electric Propulsion stages.

Radiators Keep sensitive electronics and living quarters cool.

Orion The-command-and-control heart of the orbiting spacecraft, housing vital navigation, communications and life support for 1,000-day missions. Also keeps astronauts safe on re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere.

Cryo Stage Propulsion Generates high powered thrust to get the spacecraft from lunar orbit to Mars and lets astronauts conduct excursions around Phobos and Deimos. human space flight

the company, we can be sure that any Mars no sense of a safe haven being cumulatively As for the second of Lockheed Martin’s vehicles it builds will be fully exploited for their built up with any greater capabilities than the principles: orbital rendezvous and docking commercial potential. It’s also clear that Musk transport vehicles themselves. is a mature technology thanks to decades of would expect his customers to quickly build The Lockheed Martin representatives do experience; surface rendezvous is still more a safe haven on the Martian surface as the mention studying Phobos and Deimos for their reliable as a guarantor of crew safety (and was nucleus of a colony specifically designed for possible water resources, but these do not in fact demonstrated on the Moon on only the growth towards self-sufficiency. His plan also form part of their mission architecture. Two of second Apollo landing mission); so the effect of embraces Martian propellant production from Lockheed Martin’s own fundamental principles this principle is not to increase safety, but to rule local resources. for the Mars Base Camp architecture are: out the opportunity to utilise surface resources Musk’s own four key elements for • A manned landing must be preceded by a for refuelling. Given the fact that everyone success are in fact all focused on transport: manned orbit mission, partly as a flight test concerned no doubt has the comparison with full reusability of vehicles, refuelling in orbit (analogous to Apollos 8 and 10), and partly Mars Direct at the back of their mind, this effect through tanker flights, propellant production in order to promote research into possible is presumably not a bug, as the saying goes, on Mars, and choosing the right propellant Martian life before risking its contamination by but a feature. (methane/oxygen). But he has so far omitted terrestrial organisms (including astronauts). In fact the Mars Base Camp architecture to consider important human factors. Although • There is no rendezvous and docking operation fails to incorporate any of the five principles local production and recycling are implicit in his required of pre-staged elements at Mars or listed above, earning Lockheed Martin a score goals, he did not say anything explicit on the upon return to Earth that, if failed, would lead of nought out of 5. subject, so for local food production I can only to loss of the crew. NASA itself has a different strategy give him half a point. (Spaceflight Vol 59, No. 7, p.252-259). He has not recognised the major difficulties Minimising the risk Like Lockheed Martin, it uses solar-electric that still stand in the way in setting up a full Regarding the first of these, robotic test flights propulsion for the interplanetary voyage. biosphere independent of Earth able to should ensure that the extra risk involved Notably it envisages manufacturing methane support a human colony. Musk’s vehicle design in going all the way down to the surface is and oxygen propellants on the surface of Mars, furthermore suffers from the lack of provision of small. Meanwhile the benefit of establishing a but only using them for the return to Mars orbit artificial gravity on the interplanetary crossings, safe haven on the surface is large – such a – a scheme which Zubrin described as Mars despite looking ahead to even longer flights, base has access to local resources, does not Semi-Direct. While NASA is now very open from Earth as far as the Jupiter and Saturn suffer from orbital decay, and can be reached to commercial activities in low Earth orbit, it systems. His resulting score: 3.5 out of 5, by other crews even if their rendezvous does not attempt to describe how the SLS and matching, but not surpassing, Mars Direct. manoeuvres are tens of kilometres off. This is other vehicles used for Mars could fulfil any Lockheed Martin’s “Mars Base Camp” was all described in Zubrin’s The Case for Mars; so economic function, limiting its score here to also described in a presentation at IAC 2016. too are the reasons for not worrying too much half a point. The other three principles being The base camp they have in mind is a station in about interplanetary “contamination”. altogether absent, NASA’s roadmap earns a a highly elliptical geosynchronous Mars orbit. Lockheed Martin themselves expect to see score of 1.5 out of 5. Most of the station doubles as the interplanetary a manned landing on a later mission following The privately proposed Mars settlement transport craft, with just a laboratory and a one or more Mars Base Camp orbital missions, ventures, from Robert Zubrin (1990) and space tug being pre-positioned (using solar- leaving open the scenario that living organisms Elon Musk (2016) and their collaborators, electric propulsion) and then left behind at are not discovered on Mars until a manned are therefore well out in front so far as the the end of the mission for future use, together surface base has been active for many years sustained exploration and settlement of Mars with a number of remotely operated rovers and has acquired the ability to drill down to the is concerned, even while leaving some room and aerial vehicles on the surface. There is water table. for improvement.

The Hermes spacecraft provided artificial gravity on the Earth-Mars voyages of NASA’s fictional Ares missions in the movie adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott. 20th Century Fox

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Satellite Digest is Spaceflight’s regular listing of world space launches. It is prepared by Geoff Richards using orbital data from Satellite Digest-536 the United States Strategic Command Space-Track.Org website.

Spacecraft International Date Launch Vehicle Mass Orbital Inclin. Period Perigee Apogee Notes Designation Site kg Epoch deg min km km Michibiki 2 2017-028A Jun 1.01 Tanegashima H-IIA 202 4,100 Jun 18.67 44.76 1,436.24 32,618 38,963 [1] ViaSat 2 2017-029A Jun 1.99 CSG Ariane-5ECA 6,418 Jul 3.25 0.32 1,436.39 17,893 53,696 [2] Eutelsat 172B 2017-029B 3,551 Jun 4.90 6.03 630.63 267 35,720 [3] Dragon CRS 11 2017-030A Jun 3.88 KSC Falcon 9FT 10,700? Jun 5.36 51.64 92.57 402 408 [4] GSAT 19 2017-031A Jun 5.50 SHAR GSLV Mk 3 3,136 Jun 21.96 0.06 1,436.03 35,774 35,799 [5] EchoStar 21 2017-032A Jun 8.16 Baykonur Proton-M-Briz-M 6,871 Jun 22.36 7.48 1,436.04 35,779 35,795 [6] Progress MS-06 2017-033A Jun 14.39 Baykonur Soyuz-2.1a 7,277 Jun 16.46 51.64 92.56 402 408 [7] Huiyan 2017-034A Jun 15.13 Jiuquan Chang Zheng 4B 2,500 Jun 15.80 43.02 95.35 537 545 [8] Zuhai 1-02 2017-034B 55 Jun 15.71 43.02 95.31 534 545 [9] ÑuSat 3 2017-034C 37 Jun 15.80 43.02 95.33 536 545 [10] Zuhai 1-01 2017-034D 55 Jun 15.80 43.02 95.31 534 545 [9] Zhongxing 9A 2017-035A Jun 18.68 Xichang Chang Zheng 3B 5,100 Jul 7.96 0.05 1,435.98 35,774 35,798 [11] Notes 1. Quasi-Zenith Satellite 2, a navigation satellite to augment the GPS system over Japan built using a Mitsubishi DS2000 bus, launched by Mitsubishi for JAXA as agent for a group of four Japanese Ministries. Mass quoted above is at launch, dry mass is about 1,800 kg. Satellite also carries particles and field instruments for environmental measurements and retroreflectors for laser tracking. Manoeuvred to operational orbit centred over 137°E, co-located with, but not in phase with, Michibiki 1, by June 11. 2. Viasat is a telecommunications satellite built using a Boeing 702HP bus and launched by Arianespace for ViaSat. Mass quoted is at launch, dry mass is 4,197 kg. Satellite is in a near-geosynchronous elliptical orbit over the Americas for test, and is using electric propulsion to circularise orbit. It will be located over 69.9°W to provide a high-throughput service to North and Central America, including to North Atlantic region shipping and aircraft. 3. Eutelsat is a telecommunications and direct broadcast satellite built by Airbus using the new Eurostar-3000E bus for Eutelsat to replace Eutelsat 172A. Mass quoted above is at launch. The satellite will manoeuvre from transfer orbit given using electric propulsion to geostationary orbit located over 172°E for service to South-east Asia and the Pacific Ocean region. 4. Dragon freighter spacecraft, ISS Mission SpX-11, built and launched by SpaceX as part of NASA’s CRS programme for transport to ISS with 1,706 kg of internal cargo including new experiments and a J-SSOD deployer with five Cubesats, and 1,002 kg of unpressurised cargo: the NICER experiment, ROSA demonstration and MUSES instrument mount. Launch vehicle first stage successfully landed at LZ-1 back at the launch site. Spacecraft, including a return capsule refurbished from the Dragon CRS 4 mission, captured by the ISS arm June 5.58 and docked at the ISS/ Harmony nadir port June 5.67. Cubesats formed the BIRDS 1 mission from Kyushu Institute of Technology, five 1 kg 1U educational satellites built by student teams, each with two cameras for Earth imaging and a voice synthesiser transmitting on amateur bands. Satellites are BRAC Onnesha (BIRD-B) built by a team from Bangladesh, GhanaSat 1 (BIRD-G) by a team from Ghana, Toki (crested ibis, BIRD-J) by a team from Japan, Mazaalai (Gobi bear, BIRD-M) by a team from Mongolia and Nigeria EduSat 1 (BIRD-N) by a team from Nigeria. NICER and MUSES were transferred to ISS. ROSA solar panel was held on the ISS arm for deployment tests. It was unrolled three times. Third retraction failed, so ROSA could not be returned to Dragon and was instead jettisoned June 26.89. 5. Communications and technology demonstration satellite built using an ISRO I-3000 bus and launched by ISRO. Mass quoted above is at launch, dry mass is 1,394 kg. Payload includes a high-throughput communications system, a spectrometer (GRASP) for the radiation environment and new systems for performance test. The satellite is located over 82.5°E for test and will be located over 74°E to provide a service to India. First orbital launch of all-new GSLV Mk 3 vehicle. 6. Telecommunications satellite built using an SS/L 1300 bus launched by SpaceX for EchoStar Mobile. Mass quoted above is at launch. The satellite is in an inclined geosynchronous orbit centred over 10.25°E to provide a service to mobile users in Europe. 7. Unmanned freighter mission to the International Space Station, mission ISS-67P, with 2,398 kg of cargo including four small satellites. Spacecraft docked at ISS/Zvezda aft port June 16.48. Satellites, which are due to be hand-launched during a future EVA, are TNS-0 2, a 5 kg technology development satellite built by RKS (Russian Space Systems) to demonstrate new systems including communications with Globalstar satellites, Tanyusha YuZGU 1 and 2, a pair of 3 kg 3U Cubesats built by YuZGU (South-west State University) for amateur communications, air density measurement and autonomous operation, and Sfera-53 2, an 8 kg passive sphere to measure atmospheric density from decay rate. Tanyusha satellites were switched on for test July 4 to 8 while still aboard ISS. 8. Huiyan means Insight. HXMT, Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope, is an astronomy satellite built by CAST using a Phoenix Eye 2 bus for IHEP (Institute of High-Energy Physics) and CAS carrying a high-energy phoswitch photomultiplier telescope, a solid-state medium-energy telescope and a swept-charge low-energy telescope for celestial X-ray sources including transients and X-ray binaries. 9. Zhuhai or Orbita Video Satellite (OVS 1B and OVS 1A) are a pair of Earth survey satellites built by Zhuhai Orbital Control Engineering Ltd, each carrying a high-resolution video camera for Earth imaging and a transponder (CAS 4B and CAS 4A) for amateur communications. Satellites are the first for the planned multi-satellite Orbita system. 10. ÑuSat is an Earth survey satellite, also called Milanesat (after milanesa, a local food), built by Satellogic SA and carrying three high-resolution cameras, multispectral, hyperspectral and thermal, for Earth imaging. Part of the Aleph-1 constellation to provide users with real-time Earth images. 11. Telecommunications and direct broadcast satellite built using a CAST DFH-4 bus for China Satcom. Mass quoted above is at launch. The satellite was left in an orbit with a much lower apogee than planned due to a guidance problem with the launch vehicle third stage. It manoeuvred to geostationary orbit located over 101.4°E by July 6. It is intended to provide a service to China and surrounding countries, but will now have a shorter operational life due to extra propellant used to correct launch vehicle shortfall. 12. UCLSat (QB50 GB03) is an atmospheric science 2U Cubesat built by University College London for the European Commission and carrying a mass spectrometer (INMS) for ions and neutral particles in the atmosphere, sensors for external temperature and instruments for the

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UCLSat 2017-036A Jun 23.17 SHAR PSLV-XL 2 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.63 497 508 [12] NIUSAT 2017-036B 15 Jun 23.93 97.45 94.74 497 518 [13] Cartosat 2 Series 2017-036C 712 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.83 504 521 [14] LituanicaSAT 2 2017-036D 4 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.73 497 518 [15] CE-SAT 1 2017-036E 65 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.73 497 517 [16] InflateSail 2017-036F 4 Jun 24.78 97.45 94.71 497 517 [17] Lemur 2 ShainaJohl 2017-036G 5 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.72 497 517 [18] Lemur 2 2017-036H 5 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.72 497 516 [18] XueniTerence Lemur 2 LucyBryce 2017-036J 5 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.72 497 516 [18] Lemur 2 KungFoo 2017-036K 5 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.71 497 516 [18] Aalto 1 2017-036L 4 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.71 497 515 [19] Ursa Maior 2017-036M 3 Jun 24.85 97.45 94.70 497 515 [20] Compass 2 2017-036N 4 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.69 497 514 [21] Max Valier Sat 2017-036P 15 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.68 497 513 [22] Lemur 2 2017-036Q 5 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.68 497 513 [18] Lynsey-Symo Lemur 2 Lisasaurus 2017-036R 5 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.68 497 513 [18] Lemur 2 Sam- 2017-036S 5 Jun 26.89 97.45 94.67 497 513 [18] Amelia Lemur 2 McPeake 2017-036T 5 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.67 497 512 [18] Red Diamond 2017-036U 6 Jun 24.72 97.45 94.67 497 512 [23] Pegasus 2017-036V 2 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.67 497 512 [24] Green Diamond 2017-036W 6 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.67 497 512 [23] Blue Diamond 2017-036X 6 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.66 497 512 [23] SUCHAI 2017-036Y 1 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.66 497 512 [25]

particles and fields environment. The QB50 satellites on this launch, together with the Lemurs, Diamonds, Aalto, Robusta, skCUBE and SUCHAI, comprised the ISILaunch19 mission. 13. NIUSAT or Keralshree (Kerala) is a technology satellite built by Noorul Islam University carrying a multispectral camera (MWiFS) for Earth imaging for crop management and disaster monitoring. 14. Cartosat 2 Series is a mapping and Earth resources satellite for ISRO, carrying multispectral and panchromatic high-resolution pushbroom imagers. Its orbit is co-planar with the two previous Cartosat 2 Series. Under the earlier ISRO naming system satellite would have been called Cartosat 2E. 15. LituanicaSAT 2 (QB50 LT01) is an atmospheric science 3U Cubesat built by Vilnius University for the EC and carrying an electrolyte sensor (FIPEX, supplied by Germany) for atomic oxygen, sensors for external temperature and a mono-propellant propulsion system (EPSS) using ammonium dinitramide (ADN) non-toxic propellant. 16. Canon Electric Satellite 1 is a technology demonstrator satellite built by Canon Electronics carrying a high-resolution camera for Earth imaging, a wide-angle camera for image context and new systems including magnetic plasma de-orbit for performance test. 17. InflateSail (QB50 GB06) is a technology development 3U Cubesat built by Surrey Space Centre for the EC with a 1 m inflatable boom carrying an inflatable drag sail 3.3 m square and a nitrogen gas inflation system. Sail has successfully inflated. 18. Eight Lemur 2 dual-mission 3U Cubesats built by Spire Global each carrying an AIS receiver (SENSE) to track shipping and a GPS receiver (STRATOS) for atmospheric data from occultation of GPS signals. Lemurs are named after members of the Spire team. 19. Aalto 1 is a technology development 3U Cubesat built by Aalto University carrying a Fabry-Perot spectrometer/imager (AaSI) for Earth observation, a deployable 100 m tether and electron guns to demonstrate electric sail technology and a solid-state radiation monitor. 20. Ursa Maior (QB50 IT02) is an atmospheric science 3U Cubesat built by University of Rome “La Sapienza” for the EC and is a cuboid 0.34 m long by 0.10 m square carrying a Langmuir probe (mNLP, supplied by Norway) for electron density in the atmosphere, sensors for external temperature, an ARTICA drag sail about 1 m square for performance test and a MEMIT MEMS propulsion system. 21. Compass 2 or DragSail-CubeSat (QB50 DE04) is a technology development 3U Cubesat built by Fachhochschule Aachen for the EC and carrying a deployable drag sail 1.4 m square and a deployable thin-film solar panel spanning about 2 m for performance test. 22. Max Valier Sat, named for the Italian/Austrian rocket pioneer, is a technology and astronomy satellite built by business schools Gewerbeoberschule “Max Valier” Bozen and Gewerbeoberschule “Oskar von Miller” Meran with the society Amateurastronomen “Max Valier”. It carries an X-ray telescope (μRosi) for celestial sources, an amateur-band beacon transmitter and the Venta 2 experiment pack supplied by OHB Group with computing and communications system for performance test and four Sprite chipsats, two of which are to be jettisoned, for test in support of the Breakthrough Starshot initiative. 23. Diamonds are a set of three communications technology development 3U Cubesats built by GOMSpace for Sky and Space Global, a multinational company from the UK, Israel and Australia, and are each carrying narrow-band SDR transponders for M2M (machine-to-machine) and IoT (Internet of Things) communications. 24. Pegasus (QB50 AT03) is an atmospheric science 2U Cubesat built by Fachhochschule Wiener Neustadt for the EC and carrying a Langmuir probe (mNLP, supplied by Norway) for electron density in the atmosphere, sensors for external temperature and four pulsed-plasma thrusters (μPPT) for performance test. 25. Satellite of the University of Chile for Aerospace Investigation, a technology development 1U Cubesat built byUniversidad de Chile, carrying a Langmuir probe for electron density, a camera for Earth imaging and monitors for thermal performance and for electronic fluctuations. 26. NUDTSat (QB50 BE06) is an atmospheric science 2U Cubesat built by NUDT for the EC and is a cuboid 0.23 m long by 0.10 m square carrying a mass spectrometer (INMS, supplied by UK) for ions and neutral particles in the atmosphere, sensors for external temperature and a camera for Earth imaging.

Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 345 satellite digest

NUDTSat 2017-036Z 2 Jun 25.64 97.45 94.66 497 512 [26] skCUBE 2017-036AA 1 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.66 497 511 [27] VLZUSat 2017-036AB 2 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.66 497 511 [28] Venta 1 2017-036AC 8 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.66 497 511 [29] Robusta 1B 2017-036AD 1 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.65 497 511 [30] CICERO 6 2017-036AE 10 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.64 497 509 [31] D-Sat 2017-036AF 4 Jun 24.92 97.45 94.63 497 508 [32] PacSciSat 2017-036AG 4? Jun 24.92 97.45 94.63 497 508 [33] PSLV-C38 2017-036AH 1,000? Jun 30.46 94.61 91.58 337 371 [34] Kosmos 2519 2017-037A Jun 23.75 Plesetsk Soyuz-2.1v-Volga 1,000? Jun 23.91 98.05 97.93 654 669 [35] BulgariaSat 1 2017-038A Jun 23.80 KSC Falcon 9FT 3,669 Jul 10.99 0.05 1,436.02 35,782 35,792 [36] Iridium 113 2017-039A Jun 25.85 WTR Falcon 9FT 860 Jun 26.45 86.67 96.99 608 625 [37] Iridium 123 2017-039B 860 Jun 26.45 86.67 96.99 607 625 [37] Iridium 120 2017-039C 860 Jun 26.45 86.67 97.00 608 625 [37] Iridium 115 2017-039D 860 Jun 26.45 86.67 96.98 607 625 [37] Iridium 118 2017-039E 860 Jun 26.45 86.67 97.01 609 625 [37] Iridium 117 2017-039F 860 Jun 26.90 86.67 96.98 607 625 [37] Iridium 126 2017-039G 860 Jun 26.38 86.67 96.98 607 625 [37] Iridium 124 2017-039H 860 Jun 26.90 86.67 97.00 608 625 [37] Iridium 128 2017-039J 860 Jun 26.45 86.67 97.01 609 625 [37] Iridium 121 2017-039K 860 Jul 10.94 86.40 100.37 776 779 [37] Hellas Sat 3 2017-040A Jun 28.89 CSG Ariane-5ECA 5,780 Jul 10.69 0.04 1,436.02 35,784 35,789 [38] GSAT 17 2017-040B 3,477 Jul 8.47 0.10 1,433.00 35,671 35,784 [39]

27. First Slovak satellite. skCUBE, a technology development 1U Cubesat built by Žilinská univerzita (UNIZA, University of Žilina), Slovenská technická univerzita v Bratislave (STU, University of Technology in Bratislava) and Slovak Organization for Space Activities (SOSA), carrying an amateur-band communications system with a voice synthesiser, a camera for Earth imaging and a VLF receiver for whistlers and other ionospheric phenomena. 28. VZLUSat 1 (QB50 CZ02) is an atmospheric science 2U Cubesat built by VZLÚ (Výzkumný a Zkušební Letecký Ústav, Aerospace Research and Test Establishment) for the EC carrying an electrolyte sensor (FIPEX, supplied by Germany) for atomic oxygen, sensors for external temperature, a miniature solid-state X-ray telescope for celestial sources, 16 retro-reflectors for laser tracking and instrumented radiation-hardened structure for performance test. 29. First Latvian satellite. Venta 1, a technology demonstrator satellite built by Ventspils Augtsckola (Ventspils University College), carrying new systems for performance test, two AIS receivers to track shipping, an ultra-wide angle imaging system and a retroreflector for laser tracking. 30. Radiation on Bipolar for University Satellite Test Application educational and technology development 1U Cubesat builtby Université Montpellier 2 (UM2) for CNES with bipolar electronic components for the effects of radiation on performance (ELDRS). 31. Community Initiative for Cellular Earth Remote Observation is a technology development 6U Cubesat built using the Endeavour bus by Tyvak for GeoOptics Inc. and carrying a GPS/Galileo receiver (Cion) for atmospheric and ionospheric data from occultation of signals and Earth surface data from reflection of signals. 32. Deorbit Satellite is a technology development 3U Cubesat built by D-Orbit, an Italian company, carrying a D3 solid-propellant de-orbit motor, a SatAlert store-and-forward transponder for MAMES emergency messages, a set of instruments (DAA) to measure atmospheric temperature and magnetic field during decay and a DeCAS “smart fragment” with a battery-powered transmitter to track break-up trajectory during decay and transmit a warning message to traffic below. 33. Pacific Scientific Satellite, also known as Tyvak 53b, is a technology development 3U Cubesat built by Tyvak for PacSci EMC carrying SEA (Smart Energetics Architecture) Technology controllers, initiators and MAPS solid-propellant motors for performance test and de-orbit. 34. PSLV fourth stage carried out three manoeuvres after deploying payloads and conducted two experiments, reportedly measuring the space environment, until batteries exhausted after 10 orbits. 35. Space object tracking satellite, possibly called Napryazhenie (Voltage) and built by NPO Lavochkin for MORF, carrying instruments for remote sensing of space objects. It would appear to be the equivalent of the US SBSS satellite. 36. Telecommunications and direct broadcast satellite built using an SS/L 1300 bus and launched by SpaceX for Bulgaria Sat, a Bulsatcom company. Mass quoted above is at launch. The satellite is located over 1.9°E to provide a service to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. First stage, originally used to launch first Iridium-NEXT batch, successfully landed on the Of Course I Still Love You barge 680 km downrange. 37. Ten low-orbit communications satellites built using the ELiTeBus by Thales Alena Space and launched for Iridium by SpaceX, the second batch of the Iridium-NEXT second-generation design. In addition to the communications payload satellites carry add-on payloads: an ADS-B receiver to track air traffic for Aireon and, on nine of the satellites, an exactView RT AIS receiver to track shipping for exactEarth. Launched into parking orbits. Satellites will be manoeuvred to raise orbits and enter the Iridium constellation, the first to do so being Iridium 121 in Plane 3. First stage successfully landed on the Just Read the Instructions barge 300 km downrange. 38. Hellas Sat, also known as Inmarsat S EAN, is a dual-payload communications and direct broadcast satellite built using a Spacebus 4000C4 bus by Thales Alenia Space and launched by Arianespace for Hellas Sat (part of Arabsat) and Inmarsat. Mass quoted above is at launch, dry mass is 2,500 kg. The satellite is located over 34.5°E for test and will be located over 39°E for communications and direct TV broadcast service to Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Inmarsat part of the payload will provide an S-band service to aircraft for the new European Aviation Network. 39. GSAT, a communications satellite built by ISRO using an I-3000 bus, has a payload including transponders for data from distant weather stations and location of emergency beacons. Mass quoted above is at launch. Currently in drift orbit. Planned to be located over 93.5°E for service to India, the Middle East and South-east Asia, including to mobile users.

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Launched on 3 June, Dragon capsule CRS 11 about to dock with the International Space Station and deliver 2,708 kg of supplies. NASA Additions and Updates Designation Comments 1997-030E Iridium 13 was moved out of the Iridium constellation about June 22 and into a reserve orbit. 1998-018A Iridium 51, co-located with Iridium 6 since 2014, was moved within the Iridium constellation during June and is now co-located back with Iridium 7. 1998-032D Iridium 74, in a reserve orbit since 2006, was manoeuvred from June 2 to June 11 to a disposal orbit, from which it rapidly decayed. 1999-006A JCSat 6 (JCSat 4A) was relocated at 150°E, co-located with JCSat 1B, June 30. 1999-060A AMC 4 was manoeuvred off station at 67°W June 20 and was relocated at 85°W, co-located with AMC 2, AMC 6 and AMC 16, June 29 to provide Gogo inflight Internet service for aircraft. 2000-043A Intelsat 9 was manoeuvred off station at 43.1°W June 1 and is drifting to the east. 2000-068A AMC 6 was relocated at 85°W, co-located with AMC 2 and AMC 16, June 13. 2000-072A Intelsat 1R was relocated at 169°E, co-located with Intelsat 805, June 11. 2003-024A AMC 9 suffered an anomaly June 17 which left it drifting off station at 83°W to the west. It has shed some fragments, but contact was re-established July 1. 2004-031A Hispasat 55W-1 was manoeuvred off station at 36°W June 19 and is drifting to the west. It appears to have been retired. 2006-062C Kosmos 2424 (Uragan-M 715) was withdrawn from GLONASS service for maintenance June 26, but did not resume operation. 2010-039A AEHF 1 (USA 214) has been relocated at 4°E, according to amateur trackers. 2012-019A AEHF 2 (USA 235) was relocated at 68°W about May 25, according to amateur trackers. 2015-070A LISA Pathfinder successfully completed its mission June 30, having demonstrated accuracy better than that needed for the planned LISA gravitational astronomy observatory. 2016-065A Shijian 17 was relocated at 125°E, co-located with Zhongxing 5A and Zhongxing 6A, June 20. 2016-069B,C Galileo Sat 16 and 17 (GSAT0212 and GSAT0213) were declared operational June 8. 2016-070A Soyuz MS-03 crewed by Novitsky and Pesquet undocked from the ISS/Rassvet port June 2.45 and landed near Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan June 2.59. Whitson remained on ISS as flight engineer for Expedition 52. 1998-067KU ITF 2 has been given the AMSAT name Tsukuba-Oscar 89. 2017-016A WGS 9 (USA 275) circularised its orbit by early June then manoeuvred into a rapid westward drift orbit, according to amateur trackers. 2017-019A John Glenn was unberthed from ISS/Unity on June 4.46 using the ISS arm and released June 4.55. Carried out Saffire 3 onboard fire experiment June 4 then manoeuvred to a higher orbit and deployed four Lemur 2 Cubesats from NRCSD-E deployers in pairs June 8.75 and June 8.88. Spacecraft was de-orbited over the Pacific Ocean June 11.69 and used three RED-Data 2 capsules to record atmospheric entry. Lemurs are named after members of the Spire team. Add objects and orbits: Lemur 2 Angela 2017-019B Jun 10.64 51.64° 94.19 min 477 km 491 km Lemur 2 JennyBarna 2017-019C Jun 10.64 51.64° 94.19 min 477 km 491 km Lemur 2 RobMoore 2017-019D Jun 10.25 51.64° 94.18 min 477 km 490 km Lemur 2 Spirovision 2017-019E Jun 10.64 51.64° 94.19 min 477 km 491 km 1998-067MA,MC QBUS 1 (Challenger) is now assigned as1998-067MA and UNSW-EC0 as 1998-067MC. 1998-067ME Zidingxiang 1 has been given the AMSAT name LilacSat-Oscar 90. 2017-021A Tianzhou 1 undocked from Tiangong 2 on June 19.07 and separated 5 km before approaching for a redocking June 19.29. Separated again June 20.07 for a period of solo flight. 2017-023A Mugunghwa 7 was manoeuvred off its test station at 114.5°E June 1 and relocated at 116°E, co-located with Olleh 1, June 5. 2017-023B SGDC was manoeuvred off its test station at 74.3°E about June 9 and relocated at 75°E by June 12. 2017-027A Kosmos 2518 has manoeuvred to its operational orbit. Add orbit: Jun 20.28 63.78° 717.40 min 1,671 km 38,677 km

International Space Station activity Recently detailed orbital decays There were no orbital manoeuvres of ISS during June. International Object name Decay End-of-June orbital data: Jun 30.89 51.64° 92.56 min 402 km 408 km Designation 1998-032D Iridium 74 Jun 11 1998-067HQ Bevo 2 Jun 13.7 2016-019B Lemur 2 DrMuzz Jun 25.9 2016-070A Soyuz MS-03 Jun 2.59 2017-019A John Glenn Jun 11.71

Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 347 space shuttle Successful Orion Abort Motor Test

By Joel W Powell

Technicians inspect the Orbital ATK Orion QM-1 abort motor (inset) shortly before its test firing – all the more spectacular due to its close proximity to an impressed group of invited spectators. The motor will undergo three such tests before it is flight-rated for the first manned Orion flight in 2021. Joel Powell

rbital ATK successfully test fired The four-nozzle abort motor is loaded with system was test fired from the ground at the the solid propellant Orion launch fast burning propellant and has a mass of White Sands Missile Range, designated Pad abort motor on 15 June 2017 at the about 7,258 kg. It measures 5.4 m in length Abort-1, but this test will not be repeated in the Ocompany’s T-93 ground test site at Promontory, and is 0.9 m in diameter. The motor burns current Orion/SLS configuration. Utah. The five second firing was the first of from the aft end up, and the reverse-direction During a manned flight of Orion, the Launch three scheduled Qualification Motor tests for manifold feeding the nozzles was inspired by Abort System will carry the Crew Module to the launch abort system (LAS) prior to the first the design of the Russian Soyuz abort motor. safety in the event of a malfunction to the SLS crewed mission of Orion/SLS in 2021. From one lateral acoustic sensor array rocket at point from on the pad up to an altitude Visitors and VIP guests viewed the test from deployed for the ST-1 test, Orbital ATK added of 91 km where the solid propellant booster will a bluff above the QM-1 motor, where the T-97 a second array for QM-1 to acquire additional be jettisoned, two minutes after lift-off. Unlike the test stand for the five-segment Space Launch acoustical data because loads measured on Apollo Launch Escape System, which employed System solid booster is located. Due to the the first test were higher than anticipated. An canards to flip the Command Module over to close proximity of the test motor to the viewing ogive fairing was added to the boost protective orientate the vehicle for parachute deploy, the site (only 800 m distant), guests were startled cover in response to these findings. Engineers Orion LES has a pair of steering rockets which will by the boom of ignition before the motor shut also designed a unique circular instrumented move the Crew Module away from the ascending down at five seconds. Heat Shield Array to be suspended by crane booster. The LES tower will separate 14 seconds The QM-1 test was primarily intended to above the motor plume, to represent the after ignition. verify that the motor would perform within high- position of the Orion heatshield during an abort After LES jettison, the Mode 2 abort procedure temperature limits up 38º C, and to provide data situation. will use the Orion Service Module propulsion to characterise acoustic loads on the exterior Two additional static tests (QM-2 and QM- system to carry the combined spacecraft off a of the Orion spacecraft. From analysis of data 3) will be conducted at Promontory prior to malfunctioning SLS on an arching trajectory and collected from the first Static Test (ST-1) abort Exploration Mission-2 on an SLS, and a full- away to safety. Mode 3 involves the use of the motor firing in November 2008 (also at T-93), scale abort test at Cape Canaveral is scheduled Service Module motor to make up a deficiency the motor grain was modified by Orbital ATK in 2019 with a surplus SR-118 Peacekeeper in velocity should the upper stage of the SLS to reduce overall thrust output by 20 percent motor. The Ascent-Abort 2 launch from Pad 46 fail to achieve orbital speed. Mode 4 would to 1,779.2 kN. The reduction will lighten abort will involve activating the Launch Abort System use the Service Module engine to adjust major loads on the crew from 15 g (Aries) to 10-12 g at approximately 7620 m altitude as the vehicle dispersions in orbital insertion due to an erratic (Orion/SLS) and will reduce structural loads in experiences maximum dynamic pressure. orbit insertion burn or an attitude and pointing the event of an abort situation. In May 2010 the original Orion/Aries abort error at second stage cut-off.

348 Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 Spaceflight Vol 59 August 2017 349 reflection

FLASHBACK – September 1967

A regular feature looking back 50 years this month

his month the realities of post-fire programmes and it was here that the Apollo lunar surface and he found some money for a changes to the Apollo spacecraft were Applications Program (AAP) began to run out wide range of studies by Apollo contractors and beginning to make themselves visible. of steam. others into the way existing hardware could be TInitial expectations of getting astronauts AAP had been pursued as the extension used to achieve that. back in space aboard NASA’s first three-man of the first Moon landing and as a means of Mueller believed that the enormous sums of spacecraft were dashed when a schedule of basing further human space flight initiatives on money that had already been spent in achieving work indicated that the soonest this could be an existing set of hardware. It was created as a a national investment in infrastructure would be achieved would be early in 1968. Then, during bridge between the early days of human space wisely spent if it could not only support the Moon September 1967 the flight slipped to late flight including the initial landing on the Moon landing by the end of the decade but continue summer that year. and the truly post-Apollo era of purpose-built to support advanced manned space missions At NASA, in 1967 there were mixed feelings space stations and Mars missions. through much of the following decade as well. and contrasting emotions: disturbed by the It was the logic of commonality – using the poor quality of workmanship in the haste to Commonality same basic hardware to accomplish a diverse get men on the Moon, senior managers were Begun in 1965, and preceded by Apollo X range of operational objectives and it made a terrified that another catastrophe would result and then the Apollo Extension System (AES), lot of sense. In building facilities, giant rockets in cancellation; engineers and astronauts AAP was the brainchild of George Mueller, and spacecraft, most of the cost of Apollo had alike wanted to get on with the job, make the head of manned space flight since 1963 already been spent – the missions themselves spacecraft safe, test, fly and land on the Moon. and the architect of the restructured mission cost relatively little. Which is about how it would unfold – including management concept which took hold of a But Mueller was fighting a losing battle. the nervous managers. disparate group of scientists and engineers at Very few politicians in Congress saw Apollo as But while expectations were on the NASA and honed them into a formidable team anything other than a Cold War technological way up, the wherewithal to make the most fit for the advanced exploration of other worlds. virility symbol – a one-shot punch to knock advantage out of the existing hardware was Parallel to the Moon goal, Mueller wanted to out the Soviet Union in the race for space. going down, as the NASA budget went into use existing equipment to support permanently And while the incumbent President, Lyndon B steep decline and opposition to another major manned space stations in low Earth orbit, Johnson, had been the architect of NASA and programme increased. There was simply no geosynchronous orbit, polar orbit and Moon the manipulator behind the scenes pushing a mood in Congress to apply funds to follow-on orbit as well as semi-permanent bases on the reluctant Kennedy toward a Moon goal he never really believed in, the increasing cost of the As shown here on this presentation slide to Congressional hearings in 1966, the Apollo Applications Vietnam War and his Great Society programme Program envisaged the use of a workshop converted into a habitable station after it had propelled itself sapped energy from the administration as it into orbit. NASA focused attention on a worsening war overseas and escalating tensions over civil rights at home. Yet the mood at NASA in the mid-1960s ORBITAL WORKSHOP was alive with ideas and concepts, utilising existing hardware for a variety of mission AIRLOCK COMMAND MODULE applications. There were even studies to send Apollo on flights around Venus, flights SERVICE MODULE around Mars, and to support long-duration manned reconnaissance flights in lunar polar orbit. By upgrading the Apollo Command and Service Modules, missions of up to 90 days would become possible, and by adding three more seats inside the Command Module, expeditionary crews could be delivered to space stations. Moreover, the US Air Force was looking at using Apollo for a range of military missions, both in support of the Manned Orbiting UPRATED Laboratory (MOL) which had been approved in SATURN 1 1963 and for uniquely dedicated flights for Top SECOND STAGE Secret operations in Earth orbit. If the Air Force did buy in to that, extended production lines would lower the unit procurement of CSMs for NASA. To achieve all this, production of

350 Spaceflight Vol 60 September2017 reflection

Saturn IB and Saturn V would have to resume but there was not a good track record for that. The Marshall Space Flight Center had hoped EREP GROUND COVERAGE to have Saturn I used to launch the DynaSoar spaceplane which preceded MOL but the Air Force chose the Titan III instead. For most missions, even the smaller of the two Saturn launch vehicles was too big and costly. As a space launcher, Titan came off the back of the ICBM programme and unit costs were much lower due to volume production. In this month, 50 years ago, the first flight S192-40 N MI of the Saturn V was planned for 19 October (it would not occur until 9 November) with two S193-6 N MI more unmanned flights and the first manned AT NADIR mission in 1968 followed by four lunar-distance “development” flights and one landing attempt in 1969. Six remained as back-up to the landing S190B-59 N MI attempt but there was no money for more flights S194-60 N MI S190A-88 N MI and nobody wanted to pay for more Saturn Vs beyond the 15 already in production. In order of mission, the smaller Saturn IB was expected to make the first and second flights of an unmanned Lunar Module followed by the first S191-114 N MI manned Apollo mission on a 10-day flight in Earth orbit, all in 1968. AT NADIR NASA boss James Webb had been against AAP from the beginning, fearing it would sap resources from Kennedy’s primary goal of When flown as Skylab in 1973-74, the fully fitted laboratory incorporated a major suite of instruments for getting to the Moon. Aware that there were observing the Earth. NASA only 15 Saturn Vs, Webb was desperate not to siphon off the only rocket capable of insightful analysis, read Val Cleaver’s approval of a Russian manned Moon landing getting astronauts on the surface. Cutbacks contemporary write-up in Spaceflight Vol 9, plan, there was renewed interest from the had already slashed $900 million from NASA’s No 10, pp 330-336. At the time Val was chief Soviets in further cooperation. requested budget in only two years and there engineer and manager of rocket development Paradoxically, this had been one of the (again was funding to fly only nine Saturn Vs before at Rolls-Royce, Derby and presented a full less quoted) reasons given by President the end of the decade instead of 13 as planned description of this launcher, the first time the Kennedy when initiating the Moon goal for in 1964. Russians had shown it and the first time they NASA; it was also the reason why he made Within a year all but four AAP flights had had provided information, albeit limited. concerted efforts to scale back Apollo and enter been cancelled, leaving a converted Saturn The IAF meeting this September, 50 years into detailed discussions with the Russians IV-B stage and three separate expeditionary ago, reflected a new mood of optimism. The about further cooperation and about “going to crews to what would become America’s first Americans came with news that manned the Moon together”. The Russians had been space station remaining. By the end of 1969 the Apollo flights would probably be delayed to the less than forthcoming on that invitation, and the decision had been made to forego the on-orbit second half of 1968 and, as said, the Russians International Congress was replete with Soviet conversion of the rocket stage, replace it with turned up with their piece de resistance. Some pride in what they had been able to achieve, a fully fitted out space station pre-launch, lifted 600 delegates attended the large number of but the discussions would go on and eventually on a two-stage Saturn V left over from Moon working sessions, the technical sessions and result in the joint docking flight between Apollo missions. It would be called Skylab. the proliferation of separate study sessions and Soyuz spacecraft. covering every aspect of astronautics from There was also discussion about the future 24-30 September 1967 history to space and from space science to uses of space and about the need to extend The International Astronautical Federation space engineering. the duration of human space flights through (IAF) held its 18th Congress in Belgrade, The Congress heard Soviet academician commercial space stations which could pay then Yugoslavia, the first great gathering of Leonid I Sedov describe in “Ten Years of Space for their cost through a very wide range of the world’s space-faring countries, agencies, Exploration” how he had a deep commitment applications. In reality, they would quickly contractors, scientists and engineers since the to fostering international cooperation. This be taken up by a prolific array of unmanned tragic loss of astronauts and cosmonauts earlier was borne out by his extensive discussions satellites and spacecraft rather than gathered in the year. It was also on the heels of the Paris with Hugh L Dryden of NASA, who had died into the integrated function of a single orbiting Air Show (26 May to 4 June) during which the in December 1965, laying the foundations for facility. This was a time when considerable Russians turned up on 12 May with the various many cooperative space ventures between the concern was being shown in the United elements of a full scale Vostok launch vehicle, United States and the Soviet Union, activities all States about environmental issues and the quickly assembled on site. too frequently forgotten in the haste to polarise management of natural resources. It was the For a detailed description of this and an the Cold War. Having started late in their formal beginning of the second age of space.

Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 351 obituary

352 Spaceflight Vol 59 April 2017 OBITUARY

Dr Charles Arthur Lundquist 1928-2017 One of the guiding figures in the early development of US satellite technology, Charles A Lundquist has died, aged 89 years. He had been an influential participant in the science and technology of space flight for more than 60 years.

orn on 26 March 1928 in Webster, helped von Braun develop the engineering South Dakota, Charles Lundquist concept and keep it ready and on hold until was the sole child of his parents the failure of a Vanguard rocket less than Buntil a sister, Dorothy, arrived in 1939. two months after Sputnik 1, and a month A keen follower of his father’s interest after Sputnik 2, propelled von Braun’s rocket in camping, fishing and the occasional combination to place Explorer 1 in orbit on 31 boat trip, the young Charles was an early January 1958. convert to geology, being fascinated with Lundquist remained with the expanding the rock formations in one of America’s most facility for a further two years before geologically interesting regions. But it was accepting a post with the Smithsonian with an intention of joining the military that Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Charles completed high school early in the Massachusetts, in July 1962. He was their summer of 1945. When the war came to a assistant director for science. Like so many sudden end in September he enrolled at who had time with NASA, he never really left South Dakota State University instead. the national family for civilian space research Lundquist gained his Bachelor’s degree and exploration and continued to maintain a in engineering four years later and several very close and working relationship with the months after that he joined the graduate space agency. year in physics at the University of Kansas. In 1973, Lundquist returned to formal It was while he was there that he struck up employment with NASA, becoming director a relationship with Patricia Richardson, then of the Space Sciences Laboratory at working as a librarian at the University. In MSFC. During his tenure he made useful addition to academic achievements, Pat was contributions to the Skylab programme a competent violinist and the two shared which MSFC had developed out of early a common interest in music. They were approved development of the Lockheed U-2 concepts for reusing spent rocket stages, married on 28 November 1951. Charles spy plane but wanted to get the clandestine only this time as a pre-launched adaptation received his PhD in late 1953 and within satellite in service as quickly as possible to into America’s first habitable space station. a few months had accepted a position as allow overflights of the Soviet Union with He also contributed in no small measure to Assistant Professor of Engineering Research impunity. the success of the first Shuttle flight in 1981, at Penn State University. These were difficult days for US security the year he finally retired from the agency Fortuitously, as it turned out, the draft considerations. The Russians had just and joined the University of Alabama in surge occasioned by the Korean War, which detonated their first H-bomb device and Huntsville. ended in an armistice in 1953, gave Charles Lundquist was pitched full tilt into some of When Charles Lundquist retired in 2000 the opportunity of a lifetime. After army basic the most important activity of that decade. he was Associate Vice President and Director training at Fort Bliss, Texas, in 1954 he was Atlas, the first US Intercontinental Ballistic of the Interactive Projects Office at the assigned to the Guided Missile Development Missile had been placed under contract and University, leaving behind a comprehensive Division at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. It the Army was putting great expectations on archive of material relating to the history was there that he became aware of the work Redstone Arsenal where Lundquist received and accomplishments of space research. underway by Wernher von Braun and of the his first grounding in rocketry and space flight Along the way he had been the author of proposal which became known as Project engineering. several books, each making their own unique Orbiter for the launch of an artificial Earth Charles and Patricia lived in nearby contribution to the abundance of material satellite. Athens and started to raise a family but in the archive. More than that, Charles President Eisenhower had supported income was supplemented by Charles Lundquist was an accomplished speleologist, the clandestine development of military teaching night classes at the local college. having been a member of the Huntsville reconnaissance satellites as a way of spying By 1956 Charles’s stint with the Army came Chapter of the National Speleological Society on the Soviet Union, and communist China, to an end and he was invited to take up a since 1954. As with everything he did in his without running the risk of detection and post as chief of the Physics and Astrophysics life, Charles was accomplished in caving attack. His science adviser James Killian had branch of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency exploits and in 2005 published “Tales of the also proposed the development of a scientific at Redstone Arsenal. Here, von Braun was Huntsville Caves”. satellite under the Vanguard programme to technical director and already developing the Charles Lundquist died on 3 June serve as a stalking horse for the highly secret Project Orbiter concept using a Redstone 2017, pre-deceased by his wife Patricia in spy satellite, which would operate under the missile stacked with upper stages consisting 2004 and survived by his children Clara, public name of Discoverer in the guise of an of Loki solid propellant rocket motors, to Dawn Lee, Eric, Frances and Gary, by two open, basic research programme which hid place a very small satellite in orbit. grandchildren and two great grandchildren. its true function. Eisenhower had already Lundquist was captivated by this idea and David Baker

Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 353 society news

seemed very apposite. After being checked in, the Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Ruari Henderson- Begg, gave a very informative talk about the base, its history and present role in the defence of the UK, and took questions afterwards. The historic Blue Streak site originally consisted of five areas: Administration, a LOX plant, Components Test Area [CTA], Engine Test Area [ETA] and the Missile Test Area [MTA]. A sixth area was added in 1968 to test the RZ20 LOX/liquid hydrogen engine chamber. Very little of the original administration area survives, although the building in which we were given the talk by the CO was original and oozed 1950s utility. We re-boarded the coach and the tour A Blue Streak core fuel tank assembly survives the Cumbrian weather. Below, Alan Bond grips his proper began, accompanied by the Wing audience at the hotel. Alistair Scott Commander. Heading north we soon passed, on our left, the site of the LOX plant and also the RZ20 site of which little remains. After a few hundred metres we turned left A visit to Spadeadam along a narrow road to the CTA. The purpose of the CTA was to calibrate and test engine n a special visit organised by the BIS with his reminiscences and photographs and subassemblies prior to their incorporation into History Committee, a group of enthusiasts although he only stayed for about 90 minutes a power plant. Most of this facility has lapsed and rocket scientists visited one of the most his presence was greatly appreciated. into disrepair, even though the buildings are Iiconic sites pertaining to the history of modern In the evening, before dinner, Alan Bond historically protected. The RAF can do very rocketry in the British Isles – Spadeadam in gave an extremely interesting talk about Blue little, if anything, to prevent this state of affairs Cumbria, where tests were conducted with Streak and Spadeadam which was followed since it would have to hand back redundant the Blue Streak medium range ballistic missile by a period Rolls-Royce video featuring Blue buildings in their original state and the defence (MRBM). Streak and its building and test programme. funding does not allow for this. Spadeadam is a 31.65 km2 piece of barren All of this, and a compilation of articles Returning to the main road we turned left Cumbrian landscape which was selected in from Flight, the aviation trade magazine, and travelled north again for about 2 km before the mid-1950s as the location for static tests put together by Alan, ensured we were well bearing off north-west to the ETA. Here the on the Blue Streak missile and in particular on prepared for the visit next day and enabled individual rocket engines were tested either its propulsion systems. Construction of the site the various historical areas to be identified and singly (RZ2) or as the twin (RZ12) units as started in January 1957 and the management their various functions to be appreciated. used in the missile. Four stands were built, of the Spadeadam Rocket establishment Next day, 27 June, the group was A1-A4; A1 was capable of accepting an entire (SRE), as it became known, was undertaken collected by coach at 08.00 hrs, the journey missile. by Rolls-Royce on behalf of the Ministry of to Spadeadam taking about one hour. It was The coach stopped in front of the ETA Aviation. No flights of the missile were ever noticeable how the countryside became more control blockhouse which is built of 61 cm thick undertaken from Spadeadam. barren and boggy as we moved away from reinforced concrete and stands some 200 m Spadeadam is now a Royal Air Force Carlisle and the local saying that you will only from stand A1. The group ascended up some base and is the only facility in Europe where know it is summer because the rain is warmer, steps onto the roof in order to view the whole aircrews can practice ETA area. No superstructure manoeuvres and tactics now survives on top or against a variety of threats around the A stands and only and targets they may face in the concrete bases are left modern warfare. and these were, unfortunately, The BIS visit began on virtually impossible to see 26 June with an afternoon because of the torrential rain gathering of the group of and mist. thirty seven at the Central Retracing our steps Premier Inn in Carlisle. In the coach returned to the the late afternoon we were main road, turned left and delighted to be visited by continued north for about 4 91 year old Tom Tuer, who km to the MTA. This is where had been a test engineer at whole missiles, including Spadeadam. He quickly found flight units, were tested. Two an appreciative audience stands were built, C2 and C3,

354 Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 society news

The upper section of the Blue Streak resisting the elements and securing attention. T Collins although only C3 was ever used for missile that the cold wet weather was not conducive to but there is some consolation in that a legacy firing. The coach parked in the area where the some of the party who ruefully either stayed in lives on at Reaction Engines. full blast from the rocket would have travelled the coach or took refuge in the café! After breakfast, on 28 June, the group after being deflected by the efflux bucket. We were back in the hotel by about 16.00 dispersed after a very enjoyable trip. Again, as in the ETA all the metal framework hrs and again assembled for pre-dinner drinks. Thanks are due to Martin Postranecky, of and the mobile tower have long gone but all After the evening meal Alan Bond gave an the History Committee, and Gill Norman, the the concrete superstructure is intact and this is excellent talk, with some original footage, on BIS Executive Secretary, for their hard work in still very impressive indeed. the RZ20 Lox/liquid hydrogen engine on which making this visit possible. Our thanks also go The well- known photographs showing he had worked. The engine was fired twice at to Wing Commander Ruari Henderson-Begg Blue Streak firing from C3 take on a new Spadeadam in September 1969, a day after for allowing us to visit his station. Finally, and meaning when standing in front of this cancellation of the project. Alan described the by no means least, we must thank Alan Bond immense concrete edifice. Clearly visible are development of the engine and his personal for his contribution and for adding a unique the concrete conduits which snake along the experiences along with his colleagues at Rolls- and important perspective to the visit. ground and across bridges carrying cables Royce. It was also an additional reminder of Andrew Chatwin from the stand to the control blockhouse 300 the squandered efforts of British rocket work, Chair BIS History Committee m away, a stark reminder of the world of the pre-digital age. After returning to the administration area the opportunity was taken to inspect a Blue Streak core fuel tank assembly which was in remarkably good condition considering it was open to the Cumbrian elements. Alan is reasonably sure that this Blue Streak artefact is the last of the facility check-out vehicles (which is why it never had thrust chambers), called DG. All production flight vehicles are otherwise accounted for. After saying farewell to our very helpful host we departed Spadeadam and drove 24 km west to sample a much earlier occupation, the Roman temple of Mithras, followed by a visit to a part of Hadrian’s Wall. It must be admitted

Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 355 society news

Space at Cosford

Members of the BIS and visitors admire the Raven VIII motor while (below) Stuart Lodge displays his flyable rockets. Alistair Scott

ach year the Cosford Air Show for some versions of the Skylark sounding selects a different theme on which to rocket were also on display. focus specific attention and, highly To complete the main family of UK Eappropriate in a year in which British space sounding rockets the rocket motors for the interests are soaring, the RAF Museum Meteorological (MET) Office sounding rockets selected “Space”. Held on Sunday 11 June, were on display, consisting of the Lapwing for the Show attracted more than 50,000 people, the Petrel Vehicle and Bantam for the Skua a figure which is not surprising; more people vehicle. go to air shows at weekends than stand The Museum also brought out of store, around watching football matches! or moved from the main rocket and missile Thanks to the RAF Museum’s previous displays, additional items such as a cutaway involvement in the BIS West Midlands branch V2 combustion chamber and a complete “Space Day” events the branch was contacted Stentor motor from the Blue Steel stand- to help organise the exhibitors for the Space off missile (also cut away) carried by RAF themed hangar. The West Midlands branch Vulcan and Victor V-bombers. This allowed along with BIS HQ organised and crewed us former rocket engineers and scientists on the BIS stand, whilst other West Midlands’ the Westcott stand to explain to interested members and supporters manned a number members of the public combustion chamber of other stands. design and operation! The RAF museum brought out of store a Robin Joseph had an impressive collection considerable collection of rocket hardware. of Rolls-Royce RZ engine components from This was particularly gratifying for me as I Blue Streak on display. Stuart Lodge brought younger visitors with his build and launched a had donated much of this material. Part of along an excellent collection of his flyable pop-up rocket to add zest to the activity. my role, whilst employed, was to hand out space models including scale models of Petrel Astronaut Information Services’ (AIS) hardware and display items previously held and Skua, as well as the American Super Dave and Bel Shayler were busy on their at the various site museums of the Rocket Loki Dart. In honour of this, the RAF Museum stand selling copies of Dave’s books and Propulsion Establishment and Summerfield brought out of store a real Super Loki Dart other publications. Inspirespace’s Nick and Rocket Research Station to UK national (SLD) so that visitors could compare the two. Bryar Deakin entertained visitors with their museums for display to the public. Also, out on display was the forerunner of the interactive planetary rover Demo and amused So, at Cosford a 914 mm diameter SLD, the World War Two German ground-to- visitors by dressing up and greeting visitors in Stonechat rocket motor, the UK’s largest air rocket Taifun. a mock space suit. production motor (so far) was on display Robin Brand, chair of the BIS Technical Finally, for exhibits Alistair Scott persuaded along with an inert igniter. A rather battered Committee and author of the seminal work Airbus to kindly let us borrow a scale inflatable single stage Skylark sounding rocket, Britains First Space Rocket, was able to Arianer rocket which was a great way of previously displayed on the Westcott stand at tell visitors all about the Skylark sounding letting visitors know where the Space Themed Farnborough air show in the 1960s along with rocket on display and sell copies of his book. Hangar was located! a Raven VIII rocket motor the sustainer motor Spaceflight UK’s Jerry Stone entertained Mark Perman

356 Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 society news

The BIS members and supporters at the show who crewed the various stands. Left to Right: Alistair Scott - BIS HQ, Amelia Stanton & Bob Stanton - BIS West Midlands, Caz - BIS HQ, Dave Shayler - Astronaut Info. Service (AIS), Stuart Lodge - Space Modelling, Gill Norman & Ian Norman - BIS HQ, New BIS Members Robin Joseph - Blue Streak Memorabilia, Mark Perman - Rocket Propulsion Establishment Westcott/ Stephen Suddell, Gloucestershire BIS West Midlands, Jerry Stone - Spaceflight UK, Robin Brand - Author of Skylark/BIS HQ, John Harlow John Holt, Leicestershire - Rocket Propulsion Establishment Westcott/BIS West Midlands, Ian Johnston - Rocket Propulsion Robert Groarke, Dublin, Ireland Establishment Westcott. Alistair Scott Volodymyr Levykin, USA Joanne Richardson, Somerset Simon Willmore, Wiltshire Satinder Shergill, Kent Journal of the British David Clapham, Lancashire JBIS Interplanetary Society Ed Chester, Leicestershire Sandor Toth, Bedfordshire Aristo Coutinho, West Midlands Billy Mandley, Staffordshire James Wilson, Warwickshire Lisa Harrison, Shropshire Mark Williams, West Midlands Meghna Dhanji, Middx The January 2017 issue of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society is now available David Phipps, Shropshire and contains the following papers: Andrew Griffiths, Epsom Skyfarm: Feeding a Large Space Population Arnaud Vacari, France Theoretical Prediction of Critical Pyrolysate Mass Fluxes of a Material to Mitigate Spacecraft or Planetary Habitat Fire Cole Pennington, USA Christopher Smith, Berkshire Concurrent Design Optimization of Earth Observation Satellites and Reconfigurable Constellations Philip Broughton, Gloucestershire JBIS Copies of , priced at £10 for members, £40 to non-members plus P&P. Keith Lewin, Merseyside Full list of available issues – www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page/publications/jbis/ Back issues are also available and can be obtained from The British Interplanetary Society, Eddie Meakin, Nottingham Arthur C Clarke House, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, England

Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 357 what’s on

commercially viable as space technology improves. These include space tugs; space tourism; BIS Lectures and Meetings satellite refuelling; debris removal; debris exploitation; manufacturing in orbit; real-time video from space; space mining; etc. Dangerous Worlds We also anticipate animated discussion on “The Norms of Behaviour in Space”, which are becoming increasingly important as we move towards the era of mega-constellation, the 7 September 2017, 7 pm need for Space Traffic Control, and hence the requirement for significantly enhanced space situation awareness. Speaker: Elizabeth Tasker, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency RISpace brings together industry, agency, government, financiers, academia and end users. Venue: BIS, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ We thought the planets of our Solar System were weird worlds, until we began to see the lands 4th BIS Belgium Annual Space Symposium harboured by our neighbouring stars. Huge Jupiters snuggle so close to their star that their complete orbits last mere days instead of years. Worlds like Star Wars’ Tatooine begin their 28 October 2017, 2 pm nights with dual sunsets, while rogue planets float in perpetual darkness with no Sun at all. Other planets are split lands with hemispheres of eternal day and night, while still more drown Venue: Armand Pien Observatory, Gezusters Lovelingstraat 1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium in global oceans or seas of lava and tar. Let’s visit worlds more extreme than anything in fiction BIS Belgium has organised its 4th symposium at a new venue in Ghent. There will be three and ask if any could be called home. presentations: • Elisaveta Orlova - Policy Vacuums on Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life: Causes and Skylark - Britain’s First Space Rocket Implications 5 October 2017, 7.30 pm • Bart Hendrickx - Planetary Exploration Update about planetary missions currently under way and the ones that will be launched in the future Venue: Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16 Queens Square, Bath, BA1 • Philip Corneille – Spacefarers’ wristwatches 1961-2021 2HN More detailed info about the presentations can be found at www.bis-space.com/belgium/ A joint event by the William Herschel Society and the BIS South West Branch Call for Papers In 1957 ‘Skylark’ was Britain’s first rocket to reach space, and became the basis of the country’s first space programme and the birth of British space science and technology. Over the next Symposium on Space Elevators 48 years, hundreds were fired from Australia and around the world, launching into space 7 November 2017 thousands of scientific instruments that made pioneering observations of the Earth, Sun, stars and galaxies. This activity produced some of the earliest UV and X-ray astronomical images The space elevator has captured the imagination of scientists and writers for decades. The obtained – a little-known result this talk will emphasise. transition to low-cost, low-energy access to space via a smooth, gentle ride on an elevator has been compared to the transition from the horse-drawn carriage to the railways. The necessary strong, light-weight material remains elusive, but progress has been made in a number of Space Day 2017 areas, particularly understanding the minimum requirements and a better grasp of the dy- 7 October 2017, 11 am - 4.30 pm namics. A good summary is found in JBIS, 69, no.6-7, June-July 2016. Venue: The Hive, Sawmill Walk, The Butts, Worcester, WR1 3PD Speakers are invited to submit presentation proposals for talks of up to 40 minutes duration on topics related to space elevators. The scope may include marketing, finance, management, The West Midlands Branch of the BIS has been running this event for several years now and history (past and future) and science fiction, as well as scientific and technological topics such last year’s event was our largest so far with 22 exhibitors, two talks, two children’s shows, a as materials research, climbers, power transmission, simulation and space debris. Presentations build-a-model-spaceship competition and last but not least Rocket Motor static firings! The will also be considered on associated technologies: these may include other techniques for 2017 event, currently in the early planning stage, will be a similar event. establishing fixed infrastructure such as the orbital ring and versions of the launch loop. Please send details of your proposed presentation to [email protected] before end-July 2017. Call for Papers Proposal acceptance will be by mid-September 2017. UN Space Treaty Symposium 10 October 2017 West Midlands Branch Talks The British Interplanetary Society is holding a one day symposium to celebrate the 50th 18 November 2017, 1.45 pm anniversary of the UN Space Treaty which has been the foundation of space law for half a Venue: The Gardeners Arms, Vines Lane, Droitwich, WR9 8LU century. The Society invites proposed papers as contributions to this symposium on two themes: Theme 1 - The history of the UN Space Treaty and its contribution to the exploration The West Midlands Branch is continuing its varied series of talks and lectures at the Gardeners and exploitation of space. Theme 2 - The future of the UN Space Treaty and how it may need to Arms. Our speakers for the afternoon are: Mark Yates – Apollo Era Artefacts and Gerry Webb change to reflect the changes in space activity such as the growth in non-government activity. – The Fermi Paradox. Speakers are asked to send details of their papers via the BIS, un_space_treaty_symposium@ For further details please visit the BIS Website or the BIS WM Facebook page. Come and join us bis-space.com, to Mark Hempsell and Jerry Stone, coordinators of the symposium. for what will be an interesting and entertaining afternoon.

15th Reinventing Space Conference The Fermi Paradox 24-26 October 2017 28 November 2017 Venue: Strathclyde University, Technology & Innovation Centre, 99 George Street, Venue: BIS, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ Glasgow, G1 1RD The British Interplanetary Society will host a one day symposium to discuss the problems posed Website: http://rispace.org/ by the Fermi Paradox. The format will be similar to the sold out and well received symposium on ‘Future Histories and Forecasting’ held on the 25th January this year, with 10-12 speakers, The focus of the 2017 conference will be on the novel applications that are becoming refreshment breaks and lunch supplied. More details coming soon, including draft programme.

Readers are reminded that these Notices contain only a reduced description of the event. Full details can be found online: www.bis-space.com/whats-on

358 Spaceflight Vol 60 September 2017 The British Interplanetary Society From Imagination to Reality Join online by going to www.bis-space.com/join or fill in this form Why not take a digital subscription where a PDF version of your chosen publication(s) is delivered to your inbox each month? Go to www.bis-space.com/digital

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JOIN NOW FOR 2017! Your BIS membership includes: • Monthly issues of Spaceflight, the world’s leading space magazine, or JBIS, the global leader in peer-reviewed astronautical papers and our seminal history journal Space Chronicle is available for a supplementary fee • Access to a members-only website page with frequent new material including videos, lectures and reports • Membership of a worldwide network of like-minded people, uniting space industry professionals, enthusiasts and students • The opportunity to meet leading figures in space science, technology and exploration, including astronauts, with free entry to exciting evening talks (also available to members online) • Reduced rates to BIS workshops and social events meeting astronauts, scientists, engineers and opinion shapers at regular meetings • Access to the BIS library, one of the world’s most comprehensive astronautical collections including books, technical reports, journals and a full backlog of all the BIS’ publications • Odyssey, the BIS members’ e-magazine featuring interviews and articles, Society news and events with special articles covering sci-fi, art and a range of subjects linked to space and astronautics. Six issues per year. See p359 for an application form, visit our website or write for an application form to: British Interplanetary Society, Arthur C. Clarke House 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, UK Join online: www.bis-space.com/join

360 Spaceflight Vol 59 January 2017