Spaceflight A British Interplanetary Society Publication Modelling the ISS Hermes at 25 Cape pads Vol 59 No 4 April 2017 £4.50 www.bis-space.com CONTENTS Editor: Published by the British Interplanetary Society David Baker, PhD, BSc, FBIS, FRHS Sub-editor: Volume 59 No. 4 April 2017 Ann Page Production Assistant: Ben Jones 130-133 The birth of Cape Canaveral Joel W. Powell has long had an interest in the origins and development Spaceflight Promotion: Gillian Norman of the Cape Canaveral facilities and again shares with us another chapter in the history of this remarkable place, from where the first US Spaceflight Arthur C. Clarke House, satellites were launched and from where early rocket tests took place. 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, England. 134-143 Modelling the ISS Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Keith McNeill shares with us his extraordinary effort at building a model Fax: +44 (0)20 7582 7167 of the International Space Station. Combined with masterful skills at Email: [email protected] making miniature modules and trusses, Keith brings great talent to bear www.bis-space.com with his photographic expertise. ADVERTISING 144-149 ESA’s spaceplane at T+25 years Tel: +44 (0)1424 883401 Email: [email protected] Luc van den Abeelen looks back to European aspirations for an autonomous spaceplane capable of carrying astronauts into space DISTRIBUTION Spaceflight may be received worldwide by and conducting research experiments in microgravity conditions, re- mail through membership of the British examining the Hermes programme and its many vicissitudes. Interplanetary Society. Details including Library subscriptions are available from the above address. * * * Regular Features Spaceflight is obtainable from UK newsagents and other retail outlets in many countries. 124-126 News Analysis – Health check on Commercial Space In the event of difficulty contact: Warners Group Distribution, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH, England. 126 A Letter from the Editor Tel: +44 (0)1778 391 000 Fax: +44 (0)1778 393 668 127-129 ISS Report – 9 January - 8 February 2017 * * * Spaceflight is a publication which promotes the 151 Flashback – A regular feature looking back 50 years ago this month mission of The British Interplanetary Society. Opinions in signed articles are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the 152-153 Satellite Digest – 531 January 2017 views of the Editor or the Council of the British Interplanetary Society. 154 Obituary – Eugene A. Cernan (1934-2017) * * * Back issues of Spaceflight are available from 155-157 Society News – Patrick Moore Medal Award - NLV Study Day - Nominations the Society. For details of issues and prices go Invited - Penny Wright MBE, FBIS - Astrofest UK - Space Art in Wells to www.bis-space.com or send an sae to the address at top. * * * 158 What’s On Published monthly by the British Interplanetary Society. Registered Company No: 402498. Registered Charity No: 250556. Printed in the UK by Latimer Trend & Company Ltd. * * * Copyright © British Interplanetary Society 2017 ISSN 0038-6340. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo- copying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from the Publishers. Photocopying permitted by license only. * * * The British Interplanetary Society is a company limited by guarantee. Mission The British Interplanetary Society promotes the exploration and use of space for the benefit of humanity, by connecting people to create, Cover image: Astronauts Robert L. Curbeam (left) and Christer Fuglesang over Cook Straits during educate and inspire, and advance knowledge in STS-116 in December 2006. Assembly of the ISS inspired master-modeller Keith McNeill to produce a all aspects of astronautics. stunning model of the International Space Station (see pages 134-143). ESA Spaceflight Vol 59 April 2017 123 NEWS ANALYSIS Health check on Commercial Space Preparations get under way for the abort test of the Dragon 2 capsule with the Vehicle Assembly Building and SpaceX’s Launch Complex 39A in the background. SpaceX very government department needs will appreciably shorten the time commercial factors caused the OIG to report in 2013 that oversight, an internal assessment of carriers will be subsidised to support NASA’s the agency could not expect to get crews to the how it is doing; a different viewpoint for human space flight operations for the ISS by these means before 2017. Ethe woodsman, away from the trees, to see remaining life of the station. Unless, of course, The seriousness of the effort is driven home the health of the forest. NASA has its Office of this plan evolves into a broader strategy by the realisation that the commercial crew Inspector General (OIG) tasked with conducting involving a hybrid approach to deep-space programme has already cost the taxpayer $6.8 “objective oversight of NASA programs and exploration involving both NASA and the billion. Purely by coincidence, this is divided operations and independently report(ing) to the private sector. into two equal amounts of $3.4 billion which Administrator, Congress and the public…” The will be paid to Roscosmos between 2006 and OIG has published its latest findings about the Nuts and bolts 2018 for ferrying 64 astronauts from NASA status of NASA’s commercial programmes and The 2016 OIG appraisal of the commercial and non-Russian partner countries, and $3.4 finds serious shortfall from expectations. crew programme comes three years after the billion which was paid up to March 2016 for the It finds that while financial shortfalls in previous report, which noted steady progress commercial crew programme. proper funding for the contracted carriers has being made by the contractors in an uncertain The commercial crew programme began significantly delayed the introduction of cargo financial environment devoid of stability. It under the Bush administration in 2004, and crew systems in the past, significant found that there was high risk in the uncertain enacted through a Congressional action the technical challenges are now the pacing item budget NASA would receive each year following year to direct NASA to complete in pushing back the date when astronauts and that the lack of timely certification and agreements with commercial companies for will once again fly to space from US soil. coordination with other government agencies flights to the ISS by 2015. This was an implicit Moreover, it finds too that NASA has been very could potentially bring unwelcome delays. part of the decision, at that time, to end Shuttle slow in processing submitted test reports and The new report finds that there are not flights in 2010, complete US participation in evaluating hazard mitigation steps. insignificant delays caused by technical issues the International Space Station and to focus All this is important because it is costing the in different areas for each of the contractors. instead on development of a deep-space agency inflated prices for seats on the Soyuz Boeing is having problems with vibration exploration effort under the Constellation spacecraft and based on the OIG report it is spectra during launch and with the mass of programme, first returning to the Moon and likely well into 2019 before there will be any its CST-100 spacecraft. SpaceX is having then on to Mars. chance of either SpaceX or Boeing launching problems with a decision to switch from In fact, the Shuttle programme ended in crews to the ISS. That is four years after the land-landing to water splashdown which has July 2011, the commitment to the ISS was original date set when the commercial crew driven concerns about taking on water before maintained on an equitable basis to the programme began. But equally significant, it recovery. The combined effects of all these preference of the other partners which will now 124 Spaceflight Vol 59 April 2017 NEWS ANALYSIS see sustained support for that facility through and this was the dominant factor in moving the requested by NASA. In its annual report for 2024. Cancellation of Constellation by the estimated date of inaugural operations back by 2015 NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Obama administration in February 2010 was two years. Panel criticised the lack of maturity in the made by way of removing all funding in the In September 2014 NASA awarded fixed- programme’s critical design review which, annual budget proposal and without any formal price contracts for a total of $6.8 billion to it said “added to the program management explanation other than to issue a “stop work” Boeing and SpaceX which included specific and safety challenges.” It added that “close order and cancel all funds. milestones each company must meet in cooperation among NASA, the White House, As readers to this magazine will know, order to secure sequential payments and and the Congress is necessary to deliver an incensed Congress fought back and ensure certification targets. Each contractor safe and effective transportation to low Earth reinstated the Orion spacecraft as the Multi- must fly two test flights, the first without crew orbit.” Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) lifted by the and the second with a reduced crew of two After inspection of its programme, and Space Launch System but with the Moon astronauts on board. When these have been interviews with management, the OIG bypassed and the Mars objective moved up. accomplished NASA will certify the vehicle for concluded that there was a degree of Congress did agree to continue supporting operation and issue contracts for between two over-optimism and unrealistic scheduling: the commercial cargo and commercial crew and six flights, each capable of carrying four “Notwithstanding the contractors’ optimism… programmes but the different views between to seven crewmembers to the ISS.