Reflections on Apollo

SPACE CHRONICLE A BRITISH INTERPLANETARY SOCIETY PUBLICATION Vol. 72 No.3 2019 REFLECTIONS ON APOLLO At the sharp end of STILETTO TIANGONG-2 TUKHACHEVSKY operations Soviet rocket pioneer ISBN 978-0-9567382-2-6 SEPTEMBER 20191 Submitting papers to From the editor SPACE CHRONICLE THIS, MY PENULTIMATE ISSUE as editor of Space Chronicle, contains four widely differing papers. Space Chronicle welcomes the submission for publication of technical articles of general The first is a brief biography of Marshall Tukhachevsky, a military man, who was interest, historical contributions and reviews also influential in the development of Russian rocketry in the 1930s before he met in space science and technology, astronautics an untimely end in the Stalin purges. This is authored by two Russian historians and related fields. and is a new venture for Chronicle, reaching out beyond the normal sources.. The second paper – authored by David Baker, editor of the BIS’s SpaceFlight GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS magazine – is the story of his work on the Apollo programme. It is, as the author ■ As concise as the content allows – says, “a summary of one person’s experience of what it was like for a British born typically 5,000 to 6,000 words. Shorter in that great adventure”. papers will also be considered. Longer papers will only be considered in The third, authored by Phillip Clark, a pioneer in documenting Soviet and exceptional circumstances and, at the Chinese space activities, looks at the mission of the Chinese orbiting laboratory - discretion of the Editor, may be split into Tiangong 2 – during 2018 and 2019 until its planned de-orbit in July 2019. parts. 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Subscription details for members, non-members Our full Guidelines for Authors can be and libraries are available from the above address. downloaded from www.bis-space.com Space Chronicle is a publication that promotes the mission of the British Interplanetary Society. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or the Council of the British Interplanetary Society. Security clearance, where necessary, is the responsibility of the author. Published by the British Interplanetary Society. Registered Company No: 402498. Registered FRONT COVER (1) NASA officials discuss the Charity No: 250556. Printed by Latimer Trend, Estover Road, Plymouth, PL6 7PY, England. missions of the Ranger lunar probes (2) Marshall © 2018 British Interplanetary Society. No part of this publication may be reproduced or of the Soviet Union Mikhail Tukhachevsky (3) transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or Stiletto target rocket (4) Videostill of the re-entry of recording by any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission from the Tiangong-2. Publishers. SPACE CHRONICLE A BRITISH INTERPLANETARY SOCIETY PUBLICATION Vol. 72 No.3 2019 Contents 79 MIKHAIL NIKOLAYEVICH TUKHACHEVSKY Marshal of the Soviet Union – his life and contribution to the Soviet rocket and space industry A.V. Glushko & N.I. Shilo 84 ON DAYS WITH APOLLO – remembering and reflecting David Baker 100 OPERATIONS WITH TIANGONG 2 2018-2019 Phillip S. Clark 103 STILETTO Hitting the target John Harlow & Jack Noble OUR MISSION STATEMENT The British Interplanetary Society promotes the exploration and use of space for the benefit of humanity, connecting people to create, educate and inspire, and advance knowledge in all aspects of astronautics. 77 Contributors Alexander Valentinovich Glushko is a leading specialist in the history of Soviet manned space exploration. He is also a world expert on Soviet and Russian space badges and patches and on significant historical events. Natalya Igorevna Shilo is an historian specialising in the history of the Orient and a leading expert on the life and works of Marshal of the Soviet Union M.N. Tukhachevsky. She is also a consultant on historical investigations David Baker is an award-winning author of more than 115 books and is currently editor of SpaceFlight magazine. He worked on the NASA Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle programmes from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s and also worked extensively in China, Asia, Europe and the former Soviet Union on cooperative space ventures for governments and organisations. He is a lecturer and speaker and also runs a consultancy business, having had experience with both civil and military space programmes over the last 50 years. For the last two decades, he has been a professional historian in space operations and aerospace technology. Phillip S. Clark presented a paper at the very first Sino-Russian Technical Forum in 1980 and traditionally has delivered the final presentation at most of the subsequent meetings. Since 1969 Phil has focused on Soviet/ Russian and Chinese spaceflight, and has been a space consultant for many years. The author of the popular 1988 book The Soviet Manned Space Programme, he has regularly published papers in JBIS and SpaceFlight. John Harlow MBE has had a career in rocket propulsion working at Westcott on Polaris/Chevaline, Penaid, and was Project Manager for the ESA Advanced Technology Engine study. After the privitisation of the Research and Development Establishments and the sale of Royal Ordnance to British Aerospace, he left Westcott to become an independent consultant. Roles then included support to the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), becoming a Chief Inspector. Later he became a consultant to various organizations such as QinetiQ and MoD, ending his career as a consultant with Aerojet Rocketdyne. He retired in 2017. Jack Noble joined Shorts in 1961 working in the field of analog computers for UKAEA. Later he worked on many different missile systems such as Seacat, Tigercat and Blowpipe missiles. Other projects included MATS B, Skeet Mk1 & Mk2 Aerial Targets. In 1981 he became Stiletto Series Targets Programme Manager and Associated Project Management for Engineering, Radar, Radio Frequency & Antenna Development. Jack retired from Thales Air Defence Ltd in 1993. 78 Space Chronicle, Vol. 72, pp.79-83, 2019 Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky – his life and contribution to the Soviet rocket and space industry A.V. GLUSHKO AND N.I. SHILO Mikhail Tukhachevsky was a high-ranking Russian military of- ficer who is probably best known for the part he played in the modernisation of the Red Army during the nineteen twenties and thirties. However, of equal importance to many historians is the fact that he was one of the very first people to understand the potential value of modern rocketry for military purposes. Tukhachevsky could be ruthless and he understood the ne- cessity for power politics but, judging by his career, he was also an “ideas man”. It is this, more imaginative, side of his character that allowed him to identify many new initiatives of which missile technology was just one. It is also important to bear in mind that being a very power- ful voice in the Russian military put him in an ideal position to lay the foundations for the future Soviet missile and space programmes. Therefore, to fully appreciate Tukhachevsky’s life, we need to study, not just his contribution to rocketry, but also his military career as well. Tukhachevsky’s Military Career: the Commander Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky was born on 4 February 1893 near Smolensk, on the estate of a nobleman named Aleksan- drovskoye in the Dorogobuzhsky District. In 1914 he graduated from the prestigious Alexandrovskoye Military School in the top ten of the best graduates and was enlisted in the Semenovsky Life Guard Regiment. He fought in the First World War with the rank of lieutenant and repeatedly won awards for personal courage. In February 1915, during the Prasnysh operation on the Northwest- ern Front, he was captured near Lomza but in August 1917, after repeated unsuccessful attempts, he escaped and fled from Germa- ny to Russia.

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