Spaceflight A British Interplanetary Society Publication Tim Peake tells all Slim satellite for Star Wars Fantastic Philae! SAMPLE Apollo 15’s room with a view Vol 57 No 1 January 2015 £4.50 www.bis-space.com 1.indd 441 11/27/2014 9:48:17 AM CONTENTS Editor: Published by the British Interplanetary Society David Baker, PhD, BSc, FBIS Volume 57 No. 1 January 2015 Sub-editor: Ann Page 18 Antares Falters Production Assistant: As the forensic engineering analysis of the failure of an Antares Ben Jones rocket on 28 October reaches its preliminary conclusions, what was Spaceflight Promotion: responsible for the catastrophic loss of more than 2 tonnes of cargo Suszann Parry for the ISS and what impact will it have on the future for Orbital SPACEFLIGHT OFFICE Sciences? 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, England. 19-22 The Apollo 15 Standup EVA Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Space historian Joel W Powell digs out the details on Apollo 15 Fax: +44 (0)20 7587 5118 commander Dave Scott’s unique survey of the Hadley Apennine Email: [email protected] landing site from his position standing on the ascent engine cover, www.bis-space.com head and shoulders out the top of the Lunar Module Falcon. ADVERTISING 23-25 Tim Peake Speaks of Principia Tel: +44 (0)1424 883401 Spaceflight’s Nick Spall talks to British astronaut Tim Peake about Email: [email protected] his Principia mission, now less than a year away from launch on a DISTRIBUTION Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS where he will remain for approximately six Spaceflight may be received worldwide by months. mail through membership of the British Interplanetary Society. Details from the above 26-28 Star Wars, LOSAT and QuickStar address. Library subscription details are also Dwayne A Day has dug into the history of a little-known series of available on request. satellites emerging from the Brilliant Pebbles concept which evolved * * * from the mid-1980s Strategic Defense Initiative, a US missile defence Spaceflight is obtainable from UK newsagents shield. and other retail outlets in many countries worldwide. In the event of difficulty contact: 32 For All Mankind Warners Group Distribution, The Maltings, In another of Nick Howes’ interviews with prominent space Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH, personalities, Russell (Rusty) Schweickart describes his experiences England. as an Apollo astronaut and more recently for his role in setting up the Tel: +44 (0)1778 391 000 B612 Foundation raising public awareness to the danger of asteroid Fax: +44 (0)1778 393 668 impacts. * * * Spaceflight is a publication which promotes the 35 World Space Week 2014 A British Success aim and objectives of The British Interplanetary Vix Southgate provides a brief wrap-up on a successful series of Society. Opinions in signed articles are those of events around the UK in support of World Space Week, acknowledging the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the dawn of the Space Age when Russia launched Sputnik 1 in October the views of the Editor or the Council of the 1957. British Interplanetary Society. * * * Regular Features Back issues of Spaceflight are available from the Society. For details of issues and prices go 4 Britain in Space – Britain on Comet 67P to www.bis-space.com or send an sae to the address at top. 5-11 World News Analysis – Philae touchdown! * * * 12-13 Satellite Digest – 504 October 2014 Published monthly by the British InterplanetarySAMPLE Society. Registered Company No: 402498. 14 Briefing notes – news shorts from around the world Registered Charity No: 250556. Printed in the UK by Latimer Trend & Company Ltd. 15-17 ISS Operations Summary – 16 October - 15 November 2014 * * * 29 Obituaries – Anatoli Berezovoi (1942-2014) – Timothy Mace (1955-2014) Copyright © British Interplanetary Society 2015 ISSN 0038-6340. All rights reserved. 30-31 Flashback – A regular feature looking back 50 years ago this month No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, 34 Off the Shelf – New Space Frontiers – A Journey through the Universe electronic or mechanical, including photo- copying or recording by any information storage 36-37 Society News – 2014 - A year in reflection or retrieval system without written permission from the Publishers. Photocopying permitted 38 What’s On by license only. * * * Cover image: ESA astronaut Tim Peake will become the second British citizen to orbit the Earth on his The British Interplanetary Society is a company mission to the ISS in November 2015. Here he is seen in the Soyuz trainer at Star City outside Moscow. limited by guarantee. ESA Spaceflight Vol 57 January 2015 3 3.indd 3 11/27/2014 10:00:58 AM BRITAIN IN SPACE Britain on comet 67P! Philae on comet 67P, as depicted on a lively and volatile body under the direct influence of the Sun. ESA he phenomenal success achieved as an enabling organ for global endeavours Control equipment and maintenance, and for by the Rosetta spacecraft is a tribute to explore the deepest regions of the solar these two ventures it received the UK Computing to the sophisticated capabilities of system and to add further pieces to the jigsaw Awards for Excellence Innovator of the Year title Tthe European Space Agency (ESA) and the puzzle of life and its origins; Britain can stand in 2004. Overall design of the spacecraft as well enhanced participation which the UK now proud for the part it has played in one of the as the on-board software was supported by enjoys through the encouraging support from most outstanding events in this decade. Telespazio VEGA, who also became involved in government is a very welcome and rewarding supporting roles for the entire mission from their change from days when apathy prevailed in The home team company base in Luton. high places. While the UK has always been The British contribution to comet 67P was In addition to the industry support for strong in space, and recognized in continental significant, 10 companies and organizations the engineering, mission design and flight Europe to be so, in the past British politicians contributing to the Rosetta mission. Airbus operations, British scientists are involved in have not always been encouraging in their Defence and Space, Stevenage, was primarily 10 of the 21 experiments aboard this flagship support for its scientists and engineers. responsible for the spacecraft platform. e2v mission and in addition to participations outlined Motivation is a powerful factor in encouraging in Cheltenham provided imaging devices for above, once again the Open University played a new generation of new participants and the the navigation camera, OSIRIS narrow-field a significant role in a major space mission, not achievement of the Rosetta team is a classic and wide-field camera and the VITRIS-M only building the Ptolemy instrument but also example of how people from different countries instrument on the orbiter and ROLIS and CIVA supporting the GIADA, MUPUS and SESAME can work together to accomplish more than the on the lander. experiments. sum of their individual contributions. ABSL Space Products provided batteries The University of Kent, with its aspiring role This historic event stands very high on the for both spacecraft. ERS technology was in space missions will support interpretation of list of truly great achievements in space and the involved with supporting development of the OSIRIS results and has been providing support sustained ability of controllers and engineersSAMPLE to reaction wheels, solar array drive motors, the observations of the comet from their own overcome anomalies and technical problems harpoon on Philae and lubricant for the MIDAS telescopes, information which has helped build over more than a decade of flight has been a equipment. mission planning structures. Studies of the classic example of the ‘can-do’ spirit which has In addition to being involved with development comet’s plasma have been divided between characterized so many endeavours in the past. of the software, CGI Group provided much of scientists from the Imperial College London The UK has for long had a proud history of the general software development that went and from the University College London’s space science and it must be accepted that into Rosetta while Moog supplied the Philae Mullard Space Science Laboratory. British academic and technical institutions are helium tanks. Developed in association with the Supporting VIRTIS are scientists from a key part of maintaining that high place of Open University, RAL worked up the Ptolemy Oxford University while Queen Mary College, achievement and success. Rosetta is a part of instrument and designed the thermal insulation University of London, are busy with results from that story and a benchmark on the long road for the GIADA and VIRTIS instruments and the CONSERT instrument. Finally, leaving very to exploring the origins and the history of the played a major role in helping to develop the few parts of the UK unrepresented, scientists solar system. overall concept and configuration of the Philae and research analysts from the Queen’s The changes engendered by the success of lander. University Belfast have been supporting the this mission may equal the value of its results Following on from its pioneering work on teams observing the comet from ground-based for science: ESA is now viewed worldwide Beagle 2, SciSys UK Ltd developed the Mission telescopes. 4 SpaceflightVol 57 January 2015 4.indd 4 11/27/2014 9:49:19 AM WORLD NEWS ANALYSIS Philae touchdown! By David Baker Confirmation of Philae separation from the Rosetta spacecraft was met with jubilation at Mission Control in Darmstadt, Germany, on 12 November. ESA t was never going to be easy. In fact it was one of the most exacting and challenging flight unlocking as it would more secrets about the one of the hardest missions conducted by sequences ever performed.