SpaceFlight A British Interplanetary Society publication Volume 60 No.10 October 2018 £5.00 SUN seeker Parker launches 10> Sidemount Shuttles 634072 BIS launcher report 770038 Apollo 7 remembered 9 CONTENTS Features 11 Dr Parker’s Sun grazer NASA has embarked upon a new and more intensive data collection project designed to gather information about our Sun through direct sampling and a close-up look – far closer than ever before. 11 Letter from the Editor 16 Giant rockets: the third way Seradata analyst David Todd gives us his This month we remember the overview of how NASA could have acquired a flight of Apollo 7. Its real heavy-lifter a lot earlier and a whole lot cheaper, importance was not so much that it was the first manned Apollo had it taken a different route. mission but that it was upon its success that Apollo 8 was cleared 27 First up: Apollo 7 to fly to the Moon. In a way, this Fifty years ago in October, NASA launched the was a repeat of how Alan first manned Apollo mission, long in the making Shepard’s flight as the first and considerably changed from its original 16 American in space on 5 May 1961 objective. cleared the way for President Kennedy to announce the Moon 30 Getting there – the NLV project goal less than three weeks later. Robin Brand reports from the BIS Technical Few cannot fail to have been impressed with the launch of the Committee on the first phase of the Society’s Parker Solar Probe which will fly Nanosat Launch Vehicle project and describes closer to the Sun than any other how that activity is progressing. spacecraft. It is more than 56 years since the launch of the first Orbiting Solar Observatory on 7 March 1962 – seven more were to 27 follow. NASA has had a proud history of solar probes, not least Skylab’s Apollo Telescope Mount. Regulars As a major feature this month I am particularly pleased to again 2 Behind the news publish an analytical study by UK Space puts on a show David Todd – always good for sound revisionist thinking. This 4 Opinion time he asks whether NASA got it all wrong when moving from 6 ISS Report Shuttle to the Space Launch 9 July – 8 August 2018 30 System. 36 Satellite Digest 549 – July 2018 40 Obituary Georg von Tiesenhausen (1914-2018) 42 Multi-media The latest space-related books, games, videos David Baker [email protected] 44 Letters to the editor Inspiration for all, Moon dust, Clavius lessons 46 Society news / Diary 38 COVER: AN ARTIST IMAGINES THE PARKER SOLAR PROBE NEARING PERIHELION / NASA SOLAR PROBE THE PARKER IMAGINES ARTIST AN COVER: What’s happened/ What’s coming up OUR MISSION STATEMENT Editor David Baker, PhD, BSc, FBIS, FRHS Sub Editor Ann Page Creative Consultant Andrée Wilson Design & Production MP3 Media Promotion Gillian Norman Advertising Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Email: [email protected] The British Interplanetary Society Distribution Warners Group Distribution, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH, England Tel: +44 (0)1778 promotes the exploration and 391 000 Fax: +44 (0)1778 393 668 SpaceFlight, Arthur C. Clarke House, 27-29 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ, use of space for the benefit England Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Email: [email protected] www.bis-space.com Published monthly by the British Interplanetary Society, SpaceFlight is a publication that promotes the mission of the British of humanity, connecting people Interplanetary Society. Opinions in signed articles are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of to create, educate and inspire, the Editor or the Council of the British Interplanetary Society. Registered Company No: 402498. Registered charity No: and advance knowledge in 250556. The British Interplanetary Society is a company limited by guarantee. Printed in England by Latimer Trend & Co. © 2018 British Interplanetary Society 2017 ISSN 0038-6340. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced all aspects of astronautics. or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission for the Publishers. Photocopying permitted by license only. SpaceFlight Vol 60 October 2018 1 BEHIND THE NEWS Coming to a site near you – Lockheed Martin’s spaceport launcher. UK SPACE PUTS ON A SHOW Britain's space industry puts its best foot forward at this year's FIA. THIS JULY’S BIENNIAL FARNBOROUGH government support policy really helping now? International Airshow (FIA) was certainly record breaking in terms of its aircraft and engine sales – BREXIT – A UK OPPORTUNITY more than 1,400 commercial aircraft were ordered, Despite the lack of solid UK government interest in valued at £117 billion, together with 1,432 aircraft space and rocketry during the 1980s through to the engines, worth £17 billion. These industry figures are mid 1990s, changes in investment attitudes and the more than double the 2016 show and there is great success of UK satellite manufacturing of apparently a backlog of 14,000 aircraft on the books. recent years means that companies like Airbus But if the FIA’s show success is a barometer of a Defence and Space, SSTL and ClydeSpace have boom in world aviation growth, what of space boosted growth of the sector to 8% a year, with UK activity, covering both commercial applications and space companies employing 38,500 people and science/exploration? Euroconsult are bullishly creating an annual revenue of £13.7 billion in 2016. quoting an estimated average manufacturing The UK government wants to expand the UK’s requirement for 300 satellites, with a mass of over share to 10% of global activity by 2030, worth over 50 kg, each year by 2026. £40 billion. But at the FIA, trade visitors were of Will the UK’s March 2019 Brexit damage or course wondering if the change to the close link enhance our worldwide space interests and is new with European space activities and markets may 2 Vol 60 October 2018 SpaceFlight BEHIND THE NEWS Coming to a site near you – Lockheed Martin’s spaceport launcher. ESA’s Exomars rover test model, the flight hardware being built by ADS at Stevenage. NICK SPALL threaten that UK ambition. argue that the UK is well-placed for a post Brexit A key issue currently under discussion is of course international expansion of its world space the emerging £9 billion Galileo satellite navigation The UK manufacture and trading interests. UK SPACE PUTS ON A SHOW system. The EU is arguing that post Brexit the UK At the FIA it was also noted that new government should not be entrusted with access to the sensitive government initiatives such as UK spaceports and licensing for military grade encrypted information. Excluding the launch activities should accelerate the UK’s UK’s space industry from future contracts could be wants to international standing in the world for space industry considered as a “protectionist” approach and, UK expand the growth. industry having invested approximately £1 billion so far, government Ministers have even referred to the UK’s share to UK LAUNCH SITES idea of developing a national satellite navigation The UK has never had its own orbital rocket launch system for the future if the UK is excluded from 10% of global site, despite the success of the South Uist range Galileo contracts. near Benbecula in Scotland serving as the home At the FIA, notable was the strong presence of activity by launch-site for the successful sub-orbital Skua and international space companies like Lockheed Martin, Petrel sounding rockets that could reach heights of long established with its UK-based subsidiary. 2030, worth over 170 km. It was exciting for the space US-based Virgin Orbit showed off their Boeing community at the start of FIA week when two key 747-400 satellite launcher aircraft model, due to be over £40 announcements were made covering UK based at the forthcoming Newquay Spaceport (see billion. government pump-priming spaceport investment SpaceFlight Vol 60 No 9 p2). The UK’s Reaction (SpaceFlight Vol 60 No 9 p 2). Engines is now closely linked to US interests and Following the May 2016 announcement that the Chinese aerospace component companies like the UK government was allowing the market to select UK/China’s Sigma Precision Engineering show the more than one horizontal launch site for orbital flavour of UK global activity; some therefore might access, Prestwick near Glasgow, Llanbedr in Wales SpaceFlight Vol 60 October 2018 3 BEHIND THE NEWS and Newquay in Cornwall have the airport is protected from low Briefing emerged as prime contenders. cloud and mist due to its MARS COVER-UP For 2021 timescale launches, the surrounding peripheral land mass, government is committed to which strips out moisture at low June saw the start of a Martian dust storm bringing in new orbital and sub- levels. They describe a 10.4% that is rapidly reached global proportions, orbital licensing regulations to average annual incidence of cloud causing the Opportunity rover to shut down clarify legal issues and ease the bases below 457 m, arguing that and Mars orbiters to refocus their attention. Spaceport development and Newquay is 31.1% and Llanbedr With the THEMIS instrument (Thermal function process. The UKSA is 17.9% (Met Office figures). Emission Imaging System), on Mars Odyssey, currently working closely with the scientists can track the planet's surface and CAA and DfT to achieve that end. REACTION ENGINES FUNDING atmospheric temperature, and the amount of An agreement between Virgin Over recent years, Culham-based dust in the atmosphere.