SpaceFlight A British Interplanetary Society publication

Volume 61 No.6 June 2019 £5.25 Who’ll track them? Scotland’s DSRS faced with closure

Reversing the future 06> Course corrections

634089 Reflections on Apollo

770038 Red Planet whirlybird 9

CONTENTS Features 12 Reinventing the future SpaceFlight takes a long hard look at current NASA plans for getting boots on the Moon, finding President Trump’s clamour for a 2024 target date to be unrealistic. 2 18 Course Correction Letter from the Editor Former NASA contractor on the Apollo programme Pat Norris shares his experiences of We have a rich mixture this month, ensuring that NASA got its Apollo spacecraft on including a review of NASA’s plan course for the Moon – accurately! to put boots on the Moon. But we find fault with the call for a landing within the next five years, seeing 22 Apollo 10 – so near, yet so far instead why a more modestly- In the final instalment to his trilogy on the paced effort will bring along the meaning of Apollo, Nick Spall FBIS looks at the commercial New Space brigade environmental and cultural aspects of this while easing the budget for a historic venture, 50 years on. 12 cash-strapped NASA. But Apollo continues to attract 28 Whirlybird interest as we close in on 50 years The Editor takes a look at what could turn out to since the first landing by be a seminal shift in rover support for Mars , considering the legacy of the programme on our broader exploration as NASA gives the light to the perspective of the Earth and its first helicopter designed for the Red Planet. environment as well as the cultural impact it had. We also continue with a series describing unique roles played by British scientists and engineers, as Pat 18 Norris describes his work for Apollo. Regulars Returning to examine new technologies for planetary exploration, NASA’s Mars 2020 will 2 Behind the news carry a helicopter and we have DSRS threatened with closure the feeling this could just be a significant game-changer in the 4 Opinion exploration of worlds with an atmosphere. If flying 6 ISS Report reconnaissance platforms can be 9 March – 10 April 2019 seen to work, it could add a fifth 22 stage of development after fly-bys, orbiters, landers and rovers. 36 Obituary Next month – the Apollo 11 50th Valery Bykovsky (1934-2019) anniversary special – brace yourselves! 38 Multi-media The latest space-related books, games, videos

42 Satellite Digest Valery Bykovsky (1934-2019) David Baker [email protected] 44 Society news / Diary 28 COVER:NOAA-19 METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE OF THE TYPE MONITORED BY DUNDEE SATELLITE RECEIVING STATION / NOAA RECEIVING STATION DUNDEE SATELLITE BY TYPE MONITORED THE OF SATELLITE METEOROLOGICAL COVER:NOAA-19 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 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. © 2019 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 61 June 2019 1 BEHIND THE NEWS

DSRS THREATENED WITH CLOSURE

The L-band antenna at DSRS stands proud above the River Tay.

One of the UK’s key space assets – the Dundee Satellite Receiving Station (DSRS) – is going to close unless new funding is identified to cover its annual operating costs. DSRS IMAGES:

THE DECISION TO CLOSE the Centre was made by The station’s remit has been to receive and the University of Dundee following the withdrawal archive data and to provide the information to of core funding from the Natural Environmental support studies in many areas. In the marine sector Research Council (NERC). Dundee is one of the data from the station has contributed to directing main stations in the UK receiving data from Earth research cruises where it is used to monitor observation satellites. It has been systematically properties such as sea temperatures and the collecting data on a daily basis since 1978 and was, development and extent of algal blooms. For the until recently, funded by the NERC. The station terrestrial environment, data has been used for developed from pioneering projects in electronics monitoring vegetation and crop yield, wildfires and and communications undertaken by academics and bird habitats. Atmospheric studies include severe students during the 1960s and 70s, and reached a weather conditions and phenomena, directing point where the facilities could be used as an research aircraft. The archive was also used for a operational service to UK scientists. The user base long-term investigation of aircraft contrails.

IMAGES: CSNA IMAGES: now extends far beyond this community. Over its 40 years of operations, notable events

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captured include the Fastnet yacht race storm of 1979, the Buncefield oil depot fire in 2005, volcanic eruptions in Iceland and at Mount Etna, forest fires, severe winter conditions in the UK and Ireland, Atlantic hurricanes and tropical cyclones. The Dundee station archive contains over 200,000 recordings from polar orbit satellites with coverage of Europe and the North Atlantic as well as images from geostationary satellites providing global coverage. Hundreds of scientific papers have been supported with this data as well as many other publications. There is great public interest in the station’s website with around five million images downloaded each year by thousands of users with incredibly varied applications. DSRS currently has five operational tracking satellite dishes for polar satellite reception and a number of fixed position antennas for signals from geostationary satellites. Staff provide the essential electronic hardware and software expertise to design, build, operate and maintain the facility. The high level of in-house expertise ensures an extremely high success rate for collecting data (generally above 99.9% annually) and fast delivery for time-critical applications such as fire monitoring. The DSRS can trace its origins back to the work of Peter Baylis and Dr John Brush in the 1970s when they began picking up data from meteorological satellites. This led to acquisition of a 3.7 m reflector which allowed data to be acquired from the High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) instrument carried by NOAA-4, launched in 1974, and NOAA-5, launched two years later. After the launch of Tiros-N in 1978, the facility began ABOVE DSRS archiving data including that from the satellite’s A rare completely cloud-free view of the British Isles – obtained Advanced VHRR which operated until 1981. from polar satellite data via the DSRS station at Dundee. A major problem recognised from the outset was the challenge of data storage. At first, 75 MB in Shugart ST506 hard drive had a 5 MB capacity! To of raw data was generated for each satellite pass, get over this problem, a 14-track reel-to-reel tape THREATENED WITH CLOSURE which grew to more than 93 MB after conversion recorder was employed, operating at a slightly from 10-bit to 16-bit data. Universally, around the slower speed of 29.5 in/sec to get two satellite world, throughout the 1980s the problem was data passes on to a single track. By the end of the The L-band antenna at DSRS stands proud above the River Tay. volume and storage capacity. In 1980 the first 5.25 decade the team had moved on to a Sun work station. Now, DSRS has 388 TB of data storage, essential when considering that the Terra and Aqua satellites alone transmit 1.5 GB and the group also captured data from Nimbus 7, SeaStar and other NOAA satellites as well as Meteosat. Recognition of process occurred when the European Space Agency asked the team to produce a design and construction manual for other users.

ADDED VALUE Due to Dundee’s geographic position in the northern hemisphere, the station is well-suited for the reception of “real-time” satellite data covering Europe, the North Atlantic and the Arctic; this is data received from satellites in a polar orbit. DSRS also procured geostationary satellite data such that EOS systems can give full global coverage. The satellite data collected by the DSRS ranged between 250 m to 1 km in resolution. The Station’s operations room has been considerably updated since its inception. The planned construction of the UK Spaceport

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on the A’Mhoine Peninsula in CONSEQUENCES Briefing Sutherland County, Scotland, The decision to close the station is provides an opportunity for both more than unfortunate, coming as it IDEAS, PLEASE… Dundee and the UK Space effort. does at a time when the UK, and ESA is actively seeking ways to apply space The primary launch regimen particularly Scotland, aims to be a technology to Earth-based problems. envisioned presently for the UK major player in the rapidly growing Through the Open Space Innovation Spaceports come from two small satellites industry with many Platform, a new challenge-based website, primary clients. Lockheed-Martin satellites built and launched here. the Agency is hunting out bright ideas for and Orbex (a UK space start-up) Ground station support is needed monitoring plastic waste polluting the are for polar-orbiting satellites, with for this activity. Dundee is currently oceans, and to improve the self-steering a focus on AIS (Automatic the only established ground station abilities of ships. ESA is also looking for ways Identification System) for in Scotland and has been involved to advance the adoption of autonomous commercial shipping and new in adding VHF/UHF TTC support to shipping, which would lower costs, increase mini-cubesats for specific earth the previous L/X-band data safety and solve an anticipated shortage of observation missions capabilities. crew. For example, current navigation (oceanographic, terrain monitoring The potential loss of a facility that satellites are only visible at low inclinations etc.). These new platforms will has supported UK and European at the poles and their signals can be require satellite data download scientists for many years and is disrupted by the ionosphere. capabilities for data testing, internationally recognised is deeply verification, calibration and other worrying, especially at a time when

ESA related issues. At a time of ever climate change and environmental increasing “climate instability” the issues are major concerns. Given loss of the DSRS basic functionality the rapid growth of small satellites in supporting atmospheric scientific the decision to close the facility is research would be a grave loss. indeed, unfortunate. It is well known that in the The DSRS has been a high value northern latitudes of the world, the asset to the University of Dundee largest deposits of frozen methane itself, which has steadfastly, albeit lie within the tundra of Canada and quietly, given both the university . DSRS and its polar orbiting and Scotland, a name, or “brand” satellite data collection ability make with incalculable value across the Solution needed: GPS in Arctic regions is it ideal for linkages to researchers world. This comes from Dundee’s compromised by the high latitude. in the key area of tundra unique role as the scientific monitoring. The release of birthplace of an essential critical methane into the Earth’s technology, without which there LAKELAND DATA atmosphere is well known as a would be no space industry: radar. On its final flyby of Saturn’s largest moon in potential future key contributor to Invented by Sir Robert Watson- 2017, NASA’s spacecraft gathered global warming. Moreover, as new Watt, a graduate of what is now the radar data revealing that the small liquid polar orbiting satellites take to University of Dundee, where his lakes in Titan’s northern hemisphere are space, they offer new sources of focus was on radio wave science, surprisingly deep, perched atop hills and data from the bottom of the world, his research evolved into filled with methane. The new findings, where at present, very little atmospheric science and storm published 15 April in Nature Astronomy, coverage of ocean mechanisms tracking. Then most famously, his confirm just how deep some of Titan’s lakes and the Antarctic is available. work evolved once more into the are (100 m) and also their composition. The findings provide new information about the way liquid methane rains on, evaporates Opinion from and seeps into Titan – the only planetary body in our solar system other than Earth known to have stable liquid on its surface. A GRAVE MISTAKE JPL THE ACCLAIMED VALUE TO THE BRITISH PEOPLE of a national space industry producing world-class science, technology and engineering is a proven fact; the UK space industry is in healthy growth with great potential for the next generation. And that is so for both deliverers and recipients; the career opportunities for those at the supply end are instantly recognizable as having enormous benefits to the vast number of people whose lives are enhanced by space technology. But you sometimes have to wonder if the attached bureaucracy that surrounds any government, regulatory or academic enterprise is altogether in synergy with the public acceptance of space research as a national asset. In the phraseology of the bean-counters and paper-shufflers, a value-added investment with durable infrastructure. It doesn’t always seem that they get the message. This month I am turning a spotlight on the plight of the Dundee Satellite Receiving Station which is in imminent danger of closing unless a relatively paltry Near-infrared radiation reflecting off Titan.

4 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight technology we now know as radar, which helped win the “Battle of Britain” and changed the course of World War Two. Later, radar evolved from aviation and naval applications into the early space achievements of the 1950s. Radar is the technology that has allowed every rocket launched since that time, to be either navigated, tracked, or communicated with, and which has allowed the careful collection of EOS data by DSRS in supporting climate change financial support for the DSRS research. The demise of the DSRS facility, the University of Dundee Briefing will be judged in future years as a announced the DSRS would no SPACEX catastrophic decision reflecting longer continue to operate but for ABORT ABORTED adversely on the wisdom of those now it remains intact and “ticking A test of Dragon 2’s abort rocket motors who let it slip through their hands. over” while options for its future (above) ended prematurely on 20 April If it can be said that we stand on are considered. As soon as the when the the motor exploded. During a the shoulders of giants, then all in equipment is decommissioned, sequence of test firings, which started the space industry stand upon the the opportunity to save the DRSR well, personnel at Cape Canaveral were broad shoulders of Watson-Watt operation is gone. alerted when a cloud of black smoke was and Dundee. It is unconscionable that DSRS released from the site. SpaceX was is lost. Together with its valuable unwilling to comment, with NASA’s Jim AN OPPORTUNITY? store of archived data, DSRS is a Bridenstine tweeting “This is why we The University is currently looking unique example of the capabilities test”. With Boeing already announcing at options for the DSRS including that exist in Scotland for delays to its CST-100 crew-carrier, there its imminent de-commissioning. supporting a growing space is concern that the resumption of There is still an opportunity for an science industry. Investors are flights from US soil may push external investor or commercial urged to step in and capitalise on closer toward the end of this year. body with the right vision to put a what is still a much needed, proposal to the University stating highly valued and productive how they might tap into the facility. SEASICK FALCON expertise and facilities at Dundee, There is an urgent need for After a near-flawless launch of the first given that the facility exists and beneficiaries and related interests commercial Falcon Heavy on 11 April, all has a proven track record. For to respond to this call for support. three first stages were successfully anyone wishing to create a similar For further details, the initial point returned to Earth. However, the central facility from scratch, the cost of contact is Mr. John Gardner at core stage was subsequently damaged would run into several millions. the Centre for Remote aboard Of Course I Still Love You, while However time is of the essence Environments, Univ. of Dundee, the recovery barge battled 3 m seas here. After NERC ended its [email protected]. SF during its return to Port Canaveral. Apparently, there had been insufficient time to install a new grapple fixture that could have prevented the stage from toppling over. The existing fixture aboard This is a national workhorse, and it is being the barge was compatible with the Falcon summarily retired because, to mix metaphors, 9 – but not Falcon Heavy. accountants are running the stables sum is found to keep alive what has, for several decades become an invaluable data collection and archiving centre of atmospheric and environmental data from a VAN OENE JACQUES wide range of satellites. This is a national workhorse, and it is being summarily retired because, to mix metaphors, accountants are running the stables. The public supports space – not just rockets, big-ticket satellite building or astronauts, but the very infrastructure that gives meaning to a national capability. Based on earth observation, remote sensing, weather and climate research, DSRS is an essential tool in unlocking the trends and vital signs of a rapidly changing environment, deciphering the heartbeat of our own planet. We urge reconsideration and we appeal for a sponsor to save this high-value asset. SF David Baker The aft end of the damaged central Falcon Heavy core.

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6 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight ISS REPORT ISS Report 9 March – 10 April 2019 Now in its third month, is under the command of Russian with flight engineers American Anne McClain and Canadian David Saint-Jacques. Report by George Spiteri

n 9/10 March, Kononenko, McClain and Saint-Jacques enjoyed two light-duty days, conducting their regular weekend housekeeping chores, exercising and talking to family and friends. Kononenko ALL IMAGES: NASA ALL IMAGES: O also posed inside the Cupola with a photo of on 9 March on what would have been his 85th birthday. NASA reported that Saint-Jacques began growing two new crops on the ISS on 9 March as part of the Veg-03 experiment. This involved Wasabi Mustard Greens and Extra Dwarf Pak Choi which is part of research to identify fresh vegetables capable of providing food and nutrition for crewmembers during long-duration and future interplanetary missions. On 11 March the crew worked with the Circadian Rhythms experiment, which investigates how a crewmember’s biological clock changes during space flight and the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator-4 (GLACIER-4) hardware which stores samples at temperatures as low as -60ºC. McClain took her turn with the Veg-03 study on 12 March and conducted maintenance work on an EXPRESS Rack, whilst Saint-Jacques resupplied the Human Research Facility-2 (HRF-2) rack and ABOVE From left, Hague, McClain filled in a questionnaire for the Behavioural Core and Koch, the two suited Measures investigation which, according to a NASA astronauts getting ready for blog, looks at the “risk of adverse cognitive or a spacewalk. behavioural conditions and psychiatric disorders that could occur with longer space missions”. Their Russian commander worked with the Cosmocard biomedical experiment, cleaned various panels inside Zvezda and performed fluid transfers with LEFT 71. (centre Kononenko replaced fuel bottles on the top) and Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) on 13 March. swap batteries and install The CIR allows the crew to conduct fluids and adapter plates on the P-4 truss structure. The duo combustion studies in microgravity. McClain upgraded the ISS’s power installed communications gear and performed storage capacity. additional maintenance to the EXPRESS Rack,

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whilst Saint-Jacques conducted life science conduct the extended mission but his flight will be research with NASA’s Space Automated Bioproduct the nominal six months, returning with Ovchinin Laboratory (SABL). Hague said he felt and a United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut, who will conduct a short visit to the station as part of an FAST-TRACK SOYUZ “very fortunate to agreement between Roscosmos and the UAE Space Soyuz MS-12/58S was launched atop a Soyuz-FG Agency. rocket from Baikonur’s Site 1 at 19:14 UTC on 14 have a second Over the weekend of 16/17 March, Ovchinin, March (00:14 15 March local time) carrying retired opportunity” to fly Hague and Koch began to familiarise themselves Russian Air Force Colonel Alexei Ovchinin (47) on with their new orbital home and the United States his third space flight, USAF Colonel Nick Hague to the ISS with Orbital Segment (USOS) crew continued with their (43) on his second mission and rookie Christina EVA preparations. Koch (40) a US electrical engineer and physicist. reference to the On 18 March, Saint-Jacques began the new For Ovchinin and Hague it was second time lucky week by placing eight bubble monitors in various following the Soyuz MS-10 launch abort over five earlier abort locations inside the station as part of Canada’s months ago (SpaceFlight Vol 60 No.12 pp 2-3 and Radi-N2 experiment which according to a CSA SpaceFlight Vol 61 No.1 pp 6-8). Hague said he felt tweet is “designed to measure how much neutron “very fortunate to have a second opportunity” to fly radiation astronauts are exposed to during their to the ISS and with reference to the earlier abort was missions”. The Canadian astronaut also joined the “looking forward to the 204 days that are going to other USOS crewmembers to resume preparations happen after those first two minutes”. for the upcoming EVAs and also joined their two Soyuz docked to Rassvet on the Earth facing port Russian colleagues to review emergency evacuation of the Station’s Russian segment six minutes ahead procedures. of schedule at 01:01 UTC on 15 March following the McClain, Hague, Koch and Saint-Jacques now regular fast track six hours, four-orbit profile continued with spacewalk preparations on 19 as the complex flew 410.3 km off the west coast of March by using 3-D computer software to review Peru. The docking also signalled the official start EVA procedures and robotics manoeuvres. of Expedition 59 and over two hours later at 03:07 Ovchinin, Hague and Koch also spent about an UTC the hatches to the ISS were opened and the hour each further familiarising themselves with the new arrivals were welcomed aboard, returning the Station’s hardware and facilities. ISS to a six person complement. On 20 March, McClain and Hague devoted two The traditional welcoming ceremony took place further days to final preparations for their EVA, inside the Russian segment and the crew spoke whilst Koch and Ovchinin checked the station’s to family, friends and space dignitaries including safety and communications gear. NASA’s Associate Administrator for Human Koch cleaned the ventilation screens inside Exploration and Operations, Bill Gerstenmaier Unity on 21 March and installed lights in the who said it was “extra special” to see Ovchinin and Permanent Multi-Purpose Module (PMPM), BELOW Hague aboard the station. The expanded Expedition whilst Saint-Jacques set up the Astro-Pi science Following the docking a joint Roscosmos-NASA 59 crew gathers inside the education hardware inside Harmony’s window and press conference took place at Baikonur where it ISS Zvezda service module. swapped fan cables in the Life Sciences Glovebox. was confirmed that Koch would be staying aboard Front row from left: Nick Kononenko and Ovchinin collected and stowed the ISS for an extended nine months as would Hague, Alexey Ovchinin and blood samples in a science freezer for a Russian Christina Koch. In the back back-up crewman US astronaut Drew Morgan, who from left: Anne McClain, metabolism experiment and worked on heart and is due to launch this July. There was speculation on Oleg Kononenko and David radiation detection investigations. various space related websites that Hague would Saint-Jacques. FIRST MISSION SPACEWALK McClain and Hague began the mission’s first EVA at 12:01 UTC on 22 March. NASA reported this was the first of “two spacewalks to swap out the twelve nickel-hydrogen batteries for six lithium-ion batteries”. The astronauts replaced the old batteries with the more powerful 136 kg lithium-ion batteries to upgrade the 2A and 4A power channels on one pair of the station’s solar arrays on the P4 truss. The new batteries arrived aboard JAXA’s HTV-7 in September 2018 (SpaceFlight Vol 60 No.12 pp 7-10) and provide an improved power capacity for operations with a lighter mass and a smaller volume than the nickel-hydrogen ones. McClain and Hague also installed three 34 kg adapter plates and cables needed to tie the new batteries into the station’s electrical grid and to provide mounting points allowing two of the older batteries to be stored indefinitely whilst the rest will be mounted on a pallet for future disposal aboard a cargo vehicle. The crew also accomplished several “get ahead”

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tasks, including removing debris from outside the ABOVE Saint-Jacques participated in NASA’s Actiwatch ISS and securing a tieback for restraints on the Solar Christina Koch enters the Spectrum (AWS) study on 27 March which Quest airlock moments Array Blanket Box, and photographed a tool bag for before completing her first measures a crewmember’s circadian rhythm. contingency repairs and the airlock thermal cover spacewalk. The remainder of the USOS crew conducted used for spacewalks. further research with the Cerebral Autoregulation Once back inside the Quest airlock, CapCom experiment and performed biomedical research Thomas Pesquet told the crew Mission Control inside Kibo. Houston was “very proud of you” and surprised On 28 March, the crew finalised preparations Hague with a call from his wife Catie who made for the next spacewalk, whilst at 16:14 UTC Saint- an impromptu visit to the control centre. The EVA Jacques conducted an eight-minute Ham radio lasted 6 hr 39 min and was the first spacewalk contact with more than 300 students in northern for both McClain and Hague who became the Quebec and answered some of their questions about 225th and 226th humans respectively to conduct life on the ISS as part of the Amateur Radio on the an EVA, with McClain becoming the 13th female International Space Station (ARISS) programme. spacewalker in history. BELOW During the crew’s light-duty weekend 23/24 Christina Koch wears a SECOND EVA March, the astronauts participated in an EVA virtual reality headset for Hague and Koch began the mission’s second EVA debrief with ground controllers and the station the Vection study that is some 38 min ahead of schedule at 11:42 UTC on exploring how microgravity received a re-boost courtesy of Progress 71’s engines affects an astronaut’s 29 March. NASA announced four days earlier that at 14:22 UTC on 23 March, which fired for 5 min motion, orientation and Hague would replace McClain who was scheduled 42.3 sec using approximately 106 kg of propellant to distance perception. together with Koch to conduct the first all-female place the complex in a 428.8 km x 408.8 km orbit in EVA because “McClain learned during her first readiness to receive the next Progress spacecraft. spacewalk that a medium-sized upper torso – On 25 March, the crew worked with ESA’s essentially the shirt of the spacesuit – fits her best”. Myotones muscle tone investigation and JAXA’s The US space agency admitted that only one Cerebral Autoregulation experiment, which medium-sized torso would be ready in time and examines the brain in microgravity. They also scheduled Koch to wear it. There are at least two filled in NASA’s Food Acceptability questionnaire, medium-sized spacesuit torsos aboard the station which monitors the type of food consumption and but only one of them would be ready for the nutritional intake crewmembers receive aboard the upcoming spacewalk. Rather than reconfigure ISS to promote crew health and performance. the suits which would require adding arm and Hague and Koch continued with the Myotones leg segments to the medium-sized torso and take and Cerebral Autoregulation studies on 26 March, additional time, mission managers consulted with whilst their Russian crewmates resumed worked the astronauts and decided to simply swap crew with the Profilaktika-2 biomedical experiment. assignments.

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NASA was at the receiving end of some harsh and unfair criticism from social media and the butt of jokes on US late-night comedy shows which was shown to the crew who took it in the it was meant and found it “hilarious”. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was even asked to explain during a US Congressional Appropriations Committee meeting on 27 March that McClain made the decision because “it would be easier and more appropriate” for the mission and confirmed by McClain who tweeted it “was based on my recommendation”. Hague and Koch successfully connected three new lithium-ion batteries on the P4 truss replacing the previous nickel-hydrogen ones. The crew also conducted work that enabled robotic specialists to remove one of the lithium-ion batteries connected during the first spacewalk. It was found not to be charging properly after attempts to recharge it over the weekend 23/24 March were unsuccessful and it was decided to replace it with two of the old nickel- hydrogen batteries. Ground controllers later used Canadarm2 to place them back in their original ABOVE prompting Hague to tweet that Progress “made location, undoing some of the work Hague and Christina Koch exits the record timing…under three and a half hours. Pretty Quest airlock shortly after McClain did on the previous spacewalk, to restore a setting her spacesuit to impressive!”, delivering 1,530 kg of propellant, 1,413 full power supply to that solar array panel. battery power. kg of dry cargo, 420 kg of water and 47 kg of oxygen Hague also inspected the worksite interfaces for a and air. portable foot restraint the astronauts used to anchor On 5 April, Koch measured her aerobic capacity themselves during the EVA and Koch installed and later set up a VR camera inside Unity, whilst fabric handrails to assist future spacewalkers move Hague recorded himself describing his spaceflight across the worksite. The spacewalk lasted 6 hr 45 experience for a short immersive cinematic film. min with CapCom Pesquet once again praising the Saint-Jacques spoke to students as part of Canada’s crew, telling them “you guys rock”. NASA was at the First Robotics Festival and Kononenko and The crew went through another EVA debriefing Ovchinin began unloading items from Progress. with Houston over the weekend 30/31 March, receiving end of McClain and Saint-Jacques devoted most of whilst also conducting their usual housekeeping the weekend 6/7 April finalising preparations and duties and according to a tweet from Saint-Jacques; some harsh and gathering their spacewalking tools for their EVA. “Fixing a broken valve on our C02 scrubbing unfair criticism Hague tweeted that the crew would also enjoy “a system”. pizza party” during their off-duty time after “a week On 1 April, the crew resumed preparations for from social media of hard work and spacewalk prep”. the mission’s third spacewalk and for the imminent arrival of three cargo ships and collected blood and and the butt of THIRD SPACEWALK urine samples the following day for storage aboard McClain and Saint-Jacques began their spacewalk a science freezer for later analysis. Kononenko jokes on US late- 34 min ahead of schedule at 11:31 UTC on 8 and Ovchinin worked with the Russian Pilot-T April. The two astronauts established a redundant experiment, which aims to explore space piloting night comedy path of power to Canadarm2 and installed techniques and assesses a cosmonaut’s ability cables to provide for more expansive wireless to perform complicated operator tasks such as shows communications coverage outside the station, as controlling a robot on the surface of another planet. well as for enhanced hardwired computer network McClain and Saint-Jacques reviewed EVA capability. The crew also relocated an adapter plate procedures on 3 April with ground specialists, from the first spacewalk in preparation for future whilst Hague and Koch took turns testing their battery upgrades. The spacewalk lasted 6 hr 29 min visual acuity and contrast sensitivity using an and was the 216th dedicated to ISS assembly and eye chart in Destiny. Kononenko and Ovchinin maintenance totalling 56 days 10 hr 53 min. practiced with the TORU docking system in The crew began to stow their EVA tools preparation for the arrival of the next Progress and equipment the following day, filled in cargo vehicle. TORU acts as a manual back up if the their Food Acceptability and JAXA’s Probiotics Kurs automatic docking system fails during the final questionnaires and conducted ESA’s Airway stages of the spacecraft’s rendezvous with ISS. Monitoring experiment which examines the health Progress MS-11/72P was launched atop a of crewmembers and its impact on long duration Soyuz-2.1a rocket at 11:01 UTC (16:01 local time) LEFT missions. on 4 April from Baikonur’s Site 31 and docked to Nick Hague (suit with no On 10 April, the crew continued with the Pirs two orbits later at 14:22 UTC as the complex stripes) and Anne McClain Airway Monitoring study and returned to the (suit with red stripes) work flew 408.7 km above central China. This was the to retrieve batteries and Cerebral Autoregulation brain investigation and second time Progress had flown the fast track adapter plates from an took more footage for NASA’s ISS Experience VR rendezvous profile (SpaceFlight Vol 60 No.10 p 6), external pallet. . film documenting daily life aboard the station. SF

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 11 SATELLITES

Reinventing the future Donald Trump wants boots back on the Moon in 2024. That’s just not feasible. by David Baker

he meticulous detail of plans to get out of his second term – if he gets one – with a astronauts back on the Moon in a victorious achievement. There are some things this progressive sequence of robotic and President has resisted that others have succumbed crewed flights was torn apart on 26 March. to, the irresistible temptation of fiddling with T On that day, while delivering the opening long-running plans and changing the direction of address at a meeting of the National Space Council, US national space policy being one. Wisely, this Vice President Mike Pence brought a message President has let Congress and NASA dictate the from his boss demanding that NASA put boots way long-term investment can best be realised. on the Moon by 2024 (SpaceFlight Vol 61, No 5, p Until now. 7). Not the target date of 2028 so carefully crafted But manipulating a government programme with domestic and international partners. But, said for a personally slanted success contrived to shine TOP Pence, if NASA was not up the job – the agency Astronauts on the lunar a favourable light on his presidency while he would have to change to make it so. surface with the lander at a sees out his last months of office is very bad. It is Rising to the challenge, the charismatic NASA South Polar location. a wrecking ball slicing the foundations from an Administrator Jim Bridenstine, loyal to his agency ABOVE edifice that appeared, at last, to give structure and community, pledged to come up with a plan to Proposed as a way to get purpose to a defined set of steps leading first to allow that to happen. From the outset this was a people back on the surface a human presence on the Moon and then on to by 2028, the two-stage lander politically-driven demand from the White House proved too heavy for any Mars. Demanding a crewed landing in 2024 is an for a spectacular “other-world” event to see Trump available launch capability. unachievable deadline and trivialises a purposeful

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commitment by science, engineering and industry to finally give direction to the deep-space goals of US human space flight programme after a decade of change and uncertainty. For at least two years NASA has been committed to building a sustainable and evolving set of programmes with hardware built around reusability and commonality of design involving government and industry partnership through an international team of space-faring nations and organisations. But the direction has been carefully honed and refined only within the last several months. It had been a long time coming and had been built up after consultation with the international partners committed to the Lunar Gateway – purposefully envisaged as a base block upon which to build future and sustainable objectives starting with a landing by humans in 2028.

THE MOON PLAN The initial study began with a single lander such as that envisaged by Lockheed Martin in an unsolicited proposal last year. That vehicle weighed ABOVE stage option for landing on the lunar surface from An early Ascent Module 62 tonnes fuelled and 22 tonnes empty. NASA docked at the Lunar Gateway, a near-rectilinear lunar halo orbit: a 9-12 tonne wanted a vehicle which could support four people reusable and ferried back and AM, a 15 tonne DM and a 12-15 tonne Transfer on the surface for sustainable surface EVAs and forth as required. Vehicle (TV). The Descent Vehicle was to be ready access to any location on the Moon. Seven-day by 2024 with a payload capability in excess of 9 lunar stays were required as well as supporting tonnes and the capacity to operate from a 100 km elements launched on existing rockets. That would low lunar orbit for the 2026 and 2028 roles. NASA have required a vehicle which weighed more than Demanding a has issued requests for proposals on this as well as 50 tonnes, far outside the ability of an existing the Transfer Vehicle, which would be ready by 2026 or planned launch vehicle. The two-stage option crewed landing in for moving the Ascent and Descent elements from would have taken the 9-12 tonne Ascent Module a halo orbit to a 100 km low lunar orbit. With a (AM) and mated it to a 32-38 tonne Descent 2024 trivialises a capacity of 10 tonnes, the Refueling Element would Module (DM), still not light enough to achieve the purposeful be on station by 2028. mission with available rockets. Aside from reducing the mass of the lander The architecture required lunar operations to commitment elements to 21-37 tonnes and making the work out of the Gateway in its rectilinear halo orbit configuration compatible with existing launchers, and this determined the structure of the sequence the separate elements can be co-manifested on in which capabilities would grow and expand, the Space Launch System. And, it increases the some elements transitioning to reusability with opportunity for partner participation – which in others capable of being refuelled via a Refueling turn means lowering the cost to NASA because, Element (RE) to achieve maximum utilisation BELOW like the Orion Service Module built by the and reusability with commonality. More work was Key to cislunar and lunar Europeans, it can be traded for services and access. needed to reduce the overall mass while retaining surface operations is the It also supports reusability and engages with Gateway – an essential first efficiency. step in getting back on the commonality across various habitable modules. Initial results indicated the need for a three- Moon. Moreover, if necessary, they can be manufactured and launched by non-US rockets much as the ISS was supported by supplies delivered by Russia, the European Space Agency and Japan. Under the gateway-centric plan the Descent Vehicle would be available in 2024, together with the central node of the Gateway from where it would make a trial descent to the lunar surface. By 2026, the Ascent Vehicle, another Descent Vehicle and a Transfer Vehicle would aggregate at the Gateway with the TV taking the lander elements down from the halo path to a 100 km orbit. In a simulation of operating capability, the assembled DV/AV would make an uncrewed trip to the lunar surface leaving the TV to return to the Gateway, followed a week later by the Ascent Vehicle launched from the surface back to the Gateway. The full crewed flight to the Moon’s surface would take place in 2028. A four-person crew

ABOVE LEFT, ABOVE RIGHT AND RIGHT: NASA / LEFT: LOCKHEED MARTIN / LEFT: NASA AND RIGHT: RIGHT ABOVE LEFT, ABOVE would be launched on an SLS together with

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Airlock Module for a direct flight to the Gateway. ABOVE Aeronautics & Space Act of 1958), the agency is The strategic roadmap for A commercial rocket would lift a logistics resupply getting astronauts on the expanding opportunities for entrepreneurs and module to the Gateway where it would refuel the Moon by 2028 includes the innovative organisations outside government. No reusable Ascent Vehicle. Another Lunar Descent four separate elements better place for that to be seen is in the request for as shown at left with their element would also be delivered by commercial utilisation in the first return to bids to build the three critical elements of the lunar rocket to the Gateway to refuel the Transfer the surface since Apollo 17 lander project – the Descent, Ascent and Transfer Vehicle, thus assembling crewed and full-element in 1972. components. assembly for the landing. Following solicitation for the Descent Module As defined earlier, and demonstrated on the and Transfer Vehicle in February 2019, last to simulated landing in 2024, sequential steps would be put out to industry was the Ascent Vehicle follow a prescribed pattern using common sets of which was rushed through in seven days and was hardware, reusable and sufficiently flexible to carry announced on 8 April. All three elements are under different sets of equipment down to the surface. the NASA Space Technologies for Exploration Much of the initial heavy-lift would be conducted Partnerships (NextSTEP) programme which by commercial vehicles, leaving the SLS to set up ensures that all elements of the human lander the initial operations with Orion, which would programme are a public/private initiative. be docked in passive mode at the Gateway until Before that, however, NASA had established the activated to return the four-person crew to Earth. Advanced Cislunar and Surface Capabilities for its 2019 budget proposal, requesting $116.5 million GETTING THERE toward an early test flight of the human lander. All the above is contingent on the ISS partners All this is based on a two-step precursor phase falling in line behind the US leadership. That looks …the agency is beginning with NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload pretty solid, with Canada having already pledged Services (CLPS) initiative which has awarded full support for the life of the initiative. Japan is expanding contracts to nine companies for delivering payloads hard pressed financially due to expanding stress to the surface of the Moon. These contracts have a on its welfare and pensions programme driving up opportunities for cumulative value of $2.6 billion over ten years and expenditure at a time when per-capita tax levels are entrepreneurs and are expected to provide innovative technology and falling due to a rapidly ageing population and fewer engineering solutions supporting materials and wage-earners. ESA is keen but already committed innovative processes which may not yet have been invented. to the Orion Service Module yet anxious to ride Between the CLPS initiative and the expanded on a more expanding deep-space plan for human organisations technology base supporting the three human flight. Russia may very well participate but split lander elements, NASA had planned a mid-size investment between the NASA plan and several outside lander capable of placing a payload of 300-500 national programmes of its own. kg on the surface. The idea is that this could But the Gateway is also contingent upon a government be flying by 2022, three years after the first of steady budget and that is by no means a given the CLPS vehicles reach the Moon (assuming a certainty. To spread the risk, reduce cost to first-flight could occur by the end of this year). the taxpayer and stimulate private industry (a These incremental steps are building blocks for primary role for NASA enshrined in the National technologies and for operations maturation as

14 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT well as demonstration bids toward more complex are dispersed into the new CLIPS programme. landers of the future. The long-term involvement Underpinning a potentially lucrative market in of robotic and crewed vehicles underpins these If political producing in-situ resources for autonomous space combined steps toward a new class of vehicle. infrastructure support, a strong interest in defining Some of the tasks conducted by these programmes for the quantities of mineral materials available not commercial landers and rovers will absorb work only for supporting lunar-based habitation but previously carried out by NASA, one example being steering us also contributing to the return of rare elements the Resource Prospector. Cancelled in April 2018, towards an electric to Earth, has emerged. An increasing reliance on Resource Prospector was intended for launch in electrical energy on Earth for data encapsulation, 2022 with the objective of assessing the distribution society are to be power generation and motive power, means that of water on the Moon in addition to several other existing global resource reserves are inadequate for volatiles. Evidence for water dates back to the met, the resources the political-driven objectives in securing a carbon- findings of Luna 24 which landed on 18 August neutral imprint. De facto, if political programmes 1976 and returned 0.17 kg of material from the of the solar system for steering us towards an electric society are to Moon to Earth with a landing in Siberia six days be met, the resources of the solar system will be later. Other spacecraft followed, including Lunar will be essential essential. This itself is driving interest in obtaining Prospector in 1998, Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and rare materials from the Moon and other places in Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2009, confirming the solar system. that a sparse and very thin layer of water does exist Environmental issues and sustainability in some areas on the Moon. notwithstanding (that’s for another debate!), the The reason Resource Prospector was cancelled desire to add to the world’s mineral and rare- appears to be associated with its migration from earth resources is driving a race to gain a lead in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission lunar materials extraction, before which comes Directorate (HEOMD) led by William (Bill) surveying, assaying and retrieval. The presence of Gerstenmaier to the new Lunar Exploration and “lunar water”, bound together with hydroxyls in Discovery Program (LEDP) which is itself within hydrates and hydroxides, is almost certain in an the Science Mission Directorate. This mission environment where in most places on the Moon was developed under the previous political free-standing water or water-vapour is chemically administration and placed greater emphasis on impossible. Polar regions of the Moon are most NASA developing this initial level of robotic prevalent in detection levels observed to date and it surveying on the lunar surface. Under the Trump is to those regions that future planning is focused. administration the pendulum swings wider toward the private sector and for that reason, Resource WATERFALLS ON THE MOON Prospector was “buried” in the SMD, which had But there is more to this than industrial insufficient funds to continue with it as a NASA- exploitation. Characterisation is essential. The exclusive venture. The objectives for this mission surface of the Moon may be a lot more dangerous than previously understood. Apollo astronauts spent a few hours on the surface during each of RESOURCE PROSPECTOR six flights. Future sites for human occupation will host excursions across the Moon far longer than This NASA rover was conceived to to reach the Moon at the end of the anything achieved during those early expeditions. conduct initial surveying prior to a decade – an objective now sample-retrieval mission to the South embraced by the human space Nobody knew at the time the rate at which Pole Aitken basin. According to the programme. micrometeorites are falling to the surface, let alone Lunar Exploration Analysis Group Lunar Prospector followed Apollo the prolific frequency of material striking the (LEAG), it was the only proposed with a launch in 1998 as a polar- surface every year. mineral and resource prospecting orbiter mapping the Moon’s surface Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt observed what mission funded by government or composition and looking for water he believed to be an impact when observing the private entrepreneurs, capable of ice, which was observed, and lunar surface from orbit – a bright flash that caught moving across the lunar surface. As observing magnetic fields as well as his attention. But there was little hard evidence such, it was considered to be the gravitational anomalies observed upon which to model an impact prediction. While uniquely placed to conduct several on Lunar Orbiter and manned Apollo seriously large impacts are relatively infrequent – drilling operations for resource missions. It was successful in analysis of core samples. mapping the distribution of maybe only one every few years – small impacts Resource Prospector adopts the radiogenic elements across the observable from Earth have been tracked for the name of the original Prospector surface. last decade and are occurring at an increasing rate. project proposed in the late 1950s, Fresh research is linking these impacts with the defined in 1960 to follow the Surveyor study of lunar water on the Moon. In one eight- soft-landers in being capable of month period from October 2013, observations roving around on the Moon and recorded 29 known meteoroid streams that caused drilling into the surface and returning a surge in impacts with the surface “puffing” out samples to Earth. Ironically, water vapour into the lunar exosphere. Detailed Prospector was cancelled because measurements now suggest that the amount the objectives of the Apollo programme as re-structured by of water released by these impacts comes from President Kennedy for the Moon depths lower than 8 cm, above which the lunar landing overwhelmed the soil (regolith) is dehydrated. Below, where impacts requirement for a robot which aimed penetrate and excavate lunar material, water may

NASA comprise 0.05% of the mass of stored material

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down to at least 10 m. Of course the water vapour instantly disperses and cannot be retained in that state but based on observations from spacecraft mentioned earlier it is now believed that the Moon loses 200 tonnes of water each year. Most of this is liberated from impacts created by impacts too small to be observed from Earth. It is the flux rate that is now helping to identify meteoroid showers previously unknown but identified purely from the observed obscuration following impact events. The reason why Apollo samples are devoid of water is likely because they were collected from less than 8 cm below the surface or because they did not contain water within their structure with any detectable external traces of water being stripped out during the process of bringing them to Earth. It is a remarkable example of how collected samples have led to incorrect conclusions in a manner that could not have been anticipated when they were collected. But the consequences are profound. Yet many of the obscuration reports of surface features seemingly clouded by exhausted gases are now seen not as expelled products of seismic or volcanic events but of liberated lunar water. Before and during the Apollo programme an international group of amateur observers watched the Moon and reported many events such as these, known as Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLPs) and this rapidly attracted the interest of professional ABOVE it was thought could have been released from A CLPS contender for astronomers and cartographers gathering robotic lunar surveying from radiogenic elements such as uranium, thorium observational data for the Aeronautical Chart & Intuitive Machines. or potassium heating the interior and causing Information Center (ACIC). Even during the flight expansion, contraction and outgassing. The use of Apollo 11, Mission Control alerted the crew to of robotic pathfinders to define more clearly a reported obscuration of the crater Aristarchus, the nature of the lunar surface and immediate advising them to keep a lookout for this activity. subsurface is clear and the characterisation of lunar In response, Mike Collins was able to report a materials is a vital precursor to any future crewed brightening of one part of Aristarchus. expedition. The possibility that it could be water was NASA is interested in landing in a south polar unacceptable at the time, attention being focused region in places where there is a high probability more on the debate as to whether the Moon was of finding water – to provide hydrogen and oxygen still volcanically active. In fact these observations for cryogenic propellants as well as life-support were almost exclusively attributed to gases that infrastructure, even electrical power which is currently balanced between nuclear generators and fuel cell technology. The economics of scale do not support the use of solar cell arrays in equatorial IT’S RAINING ROCKS! LOCKHEED MARTIN RIGHT: ABOVE / MACHINES INTUITIVE ABOVE: zones, given the 45% of time in any given lunar Since it began in 2005, NASA’s lunar impact monitoring team has observed “day” for producing electricity from sunlight, but more than 300 hits viewed from Earth, more than half of which come with the the situation changes dramatically in polar regions. meteor showers such as the Leonids or the Perseids. Unlike Earth where The value in launching to polar zones comes not much of this material burns up, devoid of an atmosphere to partially-shield the only from gaining access to places permanently surface, the Moon is directly exposed to significant surface impacts. In fact, the events are far in excess of anything expected before the impact team in shadow but also to places that get permanent began work. sunlight for more than 200 Earth days each year, Greatly increased interest in the lunar environment has started to reveal re-introducing the possibility of large solar cell fascinating facts. The Earth receives 33,000 kg of micrometeoroids each day, arrays providing electrical energy to bases near the most falling as micro-particles invisible to the eye. In fact, one-third all the South Pole. The combined effect of the Moon’s tilt dust that settles in the home comes from space. Without an atmosphere, the of 1.54º and the movement of the Moon around Moon receives particles at velocities of up to 72,000 km/sec, arriving at the the Sun, tied to the gravitational attraction of the surface intact. A 5 kg rock would dig out a crater 9 m in diameter throwing Earth means some permanently shaded areas never 75,000 kg of lunar material on trajectories high above the lunar surface. see temperatures rise above -248º C, where sheets The danger this infall would pose to surface activity is clear and a better of water-ice would be stable and possibly exist over understanding of the threat to human activity can only be carried out by robotic landers carrying equipment to consistently monitor impacts. Equipped large areas. too with improved seismometers, such landers could add measurably to understanding movement within the crust. All of this is a vital prerequisite for THE POLITICAL EQUATION human occupation and crewed vehicles traversing the surface. The desire to stimulate private industry and focus NASA on the Moon has direct scientific and

16 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT technical advantages but it is also has political traction. It energises the long-fought struggle by HERITAGE PRESERVATION Congress to get the White House committed to the Concern is growing that historic sites on the Space Launch System and the deep-space objective Moon could be damaged or even destroyed by proposed by NASA ten years ago when the decision uncontrolled access and unregulated was taken to retire the Shuttle. processes. At present there is no protocol in At loggerheads with Congress over its decision effect, and legally binding, that preserves intact to cancel NASA’s previous Moon plan, defined sites such as that of the impact made by Luna 2 through the Constellation programme, the Obama in 1959, the first object from Earth to reach the administration attempted to shift all deep-space surface of another world or the landing site for Apollo 11 in 1969. human exploration to the commercial sector. Now, an organisation called “For All Failing, perhaps, to realise that the commercial ABOVE Lockheed Martin’s Moonkind”, has been set up to protect such providers are only thriving due to paid-for services, McCandless CLPS contender. sites. Nobody wants to see Tranquillity Base supporting both NASA (for the ISS) or other turned into a theme park and the organisation commercial operators seeking launch vehicles has written up a declaration which it wants to for satellites. To grow, the private world needed a get companies and governments involved in customer. lunar exploration to sign, preserving historic Much time was wasted in re-directing efforts space sites on the Moon untouched and which saw the return of a heavy-lift launch vehicle unexploited for commercial gain. The first (the SLS programme) at a time before it became signatory is PTScientists, a German company which wants to send the first private uncrewed clear that heavy-lift can also be provided by the mission to the Moon. private sector. Now, with integration of big-ticket, …the agency is The declaration recognises the existence of government funded, programmes and a rapidly human cultural sites in outer space and aims to evolving private sector, the architecture for expanding “memorialise the universality of our species, our returning to the Moon is closer to hand than it ever unrelenting need to explore and our incredible was before. But it does call for full international opportunities for capacity for innovation and technological cooperation and for the participation of partners entrepreneurs and achievement”, according to co-founder Tom from the International Space Station. Hanlon. “The traces of our first missions to the There are presently two directions the innovative Moon deserve the same respect, attention and politically-driven objectives can be achieved: a protection as any evidence of human achievement. committed evolution of public-private hardware organisations supporting a measured, scientifically focused return, or a fast-tracked, government-run race outside back to the lunar surface at a pace unsustainable by the commercial world, still minnows in a sea government of massive, federally-funded programmes. A dash to the Moon by 2024 would eliminate private participation and leave little opportunity for an evolving and lasting world where entrepreneurs and small companies have a role to play. Witness, that in the aftermath of the call to be on the Moon by 2024, only the big aerospace organisations came forward with proposals – the Michelle Hanlon, Co-Founder of For All Moonkind (left) companies that have always built US spacecraft and Robert Boehme, CEO of PTScientists. from Mercury in the late 1950s to Orion in this PTSCIENTISTS century. There would be no room for the private companies which NASA needs to backfill logistical lives again. and peripheral support; the former for cargo and BELOW This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary Thorium concentrations on freight delivery and the latter for defining the the Moon as measured by of the first landing by humans on the surface of nature of the lunar surface before we risk human Lunar Prospector. another world. A seminal event in the history of not only the space programme but of organised human society as well. It ended prematurely

NANA because the systematic progress by NASA at the beginning of the 1960s toward a Moon landing through a series of measured and sequential steps, was hijacked for political purposes resulting in a single-shot race instead of a long-run marathon. Apollo was cancelled because it was reacting to Russian successes with a fiscally unsustainable programme driven by one political requirement. It would be sad indeed if history were to repeat itself and if our return to the Moon was doomed by a sudden dash to satisfy a politically-driven whim by rushing forward before we were ready to stay for the long haul. If history did repeat itself we may not get a third chance. SF

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 17 SPACE HISTORY Course Correction The impending 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing by humans gave one engineer cause to reflect on the work he did with NASA contractor TRW to help ensure Apollo navigated safely to the Moon and back. by Pat Norris FBIS FRIN

hen Apollo 8 left Earth orbit on 21 ours (produced by TRW) came up with answers in December 1968 and headed for the batches at intervals of several hours. Moon it was tracked by more than With Apollo 8 twelve hours out from the Earth a dozen NASA stations around the (the trip to the Moon took three days) NASA staff W globe. The radar data streamed into noticed that radar data from up to four stations Mission Control in Houston where NASA and seemed to be systematically in error. Our offline contractor staff (some of them TRW colleagues of software gave the same outcome, so the radar data mine) processed it to calculate the trajectory of the was in error, not the Mission Control software. A Apollo spacecraft and the manoeuvres needed to get quick glance at the stations concerned showed that it to its destination. they had one thing in common. They were islands: This was the first flight of the Saturn V super BELOW Ascension Island, Hawaii, Canary Island and Guam. heavy-lift rocket to carry humans. It was also the first The four tracking We agreed with our NASA counterparts that the spacecraft controlled from Houston that went beyond stations for which likeliest reason was that the longitude values ascribed Earth orbit so my team was tasked with calculating the Apollo 8 trajectory to those radar stations were in error. Determining trajectory in parallel with Mission Control, using the analysis showed longitude accurately was a centuries old problem that new longitude off-line software that was intended for detailed analysis values were finally solved to a great extent by John Harrison in before and after the flight. Mission Control’s software needed for lunar the 18th century with his highly accurate clocks. The (developed by IBM) produced real-time results while missions. data from the remaining ten or so stations that weren’t NASA (LEFT) / P-D ART (ABOVE RIGHT) (ABOVE ART (LEFT) / P-D NASA

18 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight exhibiting errors was sufficient to allow the Apollo 8 ABOVE mission to be completed. Lunar Reconnaissance ABOUT THE AUTHOR Orbiter views the EARTHRISE Apollo 11 landing For the general public there were two highlights. First site with Descent was the TV broadcast on Christmas Eve 1968 when the Stage (LM), retro- crew took it in turns to read from Chapter 1, verses 1 reflector (LRRR) and seismometer through 10 of the Book of Genesis in the King James (PSEP). Bible (“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, etc.”) while the TV cameras pointed at the forbidding landscape of the Moon below as it gradually darkened with their approach to the terminator (day/ night dividing line). The second highlight was the Earthrise image which The radar showed the small blue Earth in the distance contrasting with the cratered, lifeless surface of the Moon in the data was in Born and educated in Ireland, Pat Norris’s 50+ years foreground. This image inspired a generation to see of space experience includes the Apollo Moon the Earth as a single and fragile body, and with life- error, not the landings as a NASA contractor, and the Hubble supporting conditions that were at odds with the bleak Space Telescope at the European Space Agency. conditions on other Solar System bodies. Mission From 1980 until his retirement in 2018 he helped make CGI Europe’s leading space software company. He Returning to the one quarter of NASA’s stations Control was chairman of the trade association of the UK’s whose data had to be binned during Apollo 8, the space industry, UKspace, 1995-97, received the trouble with longitude was that it is an arbitrary software Arthurs Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, and is parameter, namely the angular distance of the NASA the author of three books and many articles and station from an arbitrary line – the line joining the papers. His latest book Returning People to the Moon poles that passes through Greenwich. In contrast, After Apollo: Will It Be Another 50 Years? is latitude is relative to the Earth’s spin axis which can published by Springer. More at www.pat-norris.com be measured by looking at the stars, and altitude is

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 19 SPACE HISTORY IMAGES: NASA (BELOW AND FAR RIGHT) / NASA/STEVE (LEFT) SMITH / NASA/STEVE RIGHT) AND FAR (BELOW NASA IMAGES:

relative to mean sea level which in principle can be ABOVE data in our software calculating a new longitude value measured at any coastline. There will inevitably be A gravity map of for each of the island stations. We also had to calculate the Moon (right) measurement errors in both those parameters but at made by the errors in the clocks at all of the stations for each of the an acceptable level, while ancient mariners had found Lunar Prospector missions to counteract the tendency of the frequency that longitude could be off by tens, even hundreds, of spacecraft in standard that drove the clocks to drift a bit over the kilometres. The scale of the Apollo 8 longitude errors 1998-89. Mascons course of weeks and months resulting in biased values seemed to be of the order of 100-300 m. are shown in of the Doppler data used to calculate the trajectories. orange-red and In practice, the longitude reference for Apollo the overlap with At the end of April 1969 we submitted the results of 8 wasn’t the line on the ground at the Greenwich the large, circular our analysis to NASA with corrected longitude values Observatory, it was whatever reference frame was used Maria is evident for Ascension Island, Guam and Hawaii; there was by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory when it created from the map (left). insufficient data from Canary to get a reliable value. the lunar ephemeris (the path of the Moon across the The station team at the Goddard Spaceflight Center sky) which was being used in Mission Control. That near Washington DC also produced new longitude in turn meant using longitude values for the stations values to be used for the May 1969 Apollo 10 flight BELOW that were consistent with those of the JPL stations used In 1966 and 1967 which differed from our values by about 50 m. A 1 when the lunar ephemeris was created. five Lunar Orbiter m error in a station coordinate maps to about a 60 m Over the course of the next three months my team spacecraft error at the Moon, so the 50 m difference represented collected radar data from all previous deep space revealed the about 3 km at the Moon. missions tracked by the full set of NASA and JPL heterogeneous I joined my NASA Houston customer in presenting makeup of the stations and this included the outbound leg of some of Moon resulting the results to the Data Committee chaired by Bill the unmanned Lunar Orbiter probes that mapped the in gravitational Tindall, and explained that the Goddard values were Moon and of Apollo 8 itself. We then reprocessed that anomalies. relative to the US Navy’s Transit network (and thus to the line at Greenwich) whereas ours were tailored for the Apollo missions. I had worked at Goddard before coming to Houston and knew a bit about their relevant processes and technology (see “Remembering Explorer 29” article in Spaceflight, Vol 57, No 11, pp 413). Tindall’s committee had to approve all data values used in the Mission Control software, and they went with ours. I was lucky enough to receive the Apollo Individual Achievement Award (endearingly known at the time as “Snoopy awards”) for this work from Neil Armstrong shortly after he came out of post-mission quarantine in August 1969.

THE DAY JOB Tidying up the NASA station longitudes was an interesting interlude that took me away from the main “day job”, namely figuring out ways to calculate and predict the trajectory of a spacecraft orbiting the Moon. The problem was first encountered with the unmanned Lunar Orbiter 3 mapping spacecraft in 1967. It

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taken by the astronauts with the data from the Earth- bound radars. We tried several formulas for the Moon’s gravity field – the formulas try to model the departure of the gravity field from that of a uniform sphere and varied in sophistication from four mathematical terms to 121 terms. None of these approaches improved matters significantly. The gravity model with the most mathematical terms often gave the worst results! The best that could be done for Apollo 11 was to calculate the trajectory of the spacecraft in the orbit before the Lunar Module lander separated from the Command & Service Module mother ship, and send that information to the astronauts who fed it into their navigation computer. One orbit later the orbit information in the computer was off by a few kilometres, which is why Armstrong had to fly his way out of an area strewn with boulders to find a flat location where he could safely land. The Tranquility Base landing site was about 6 km from the intended spot. For the next mission, Apollo 12 four months later (November 1969), the mathematics stayed the same but a fudge was used to improve the orbit information. As the spacecraft came from behind the Moon, Mission Control noted how late or early it was compared to expectations – typically it was three or four seconds different, where one second equates to about 1.6 km. The time error was converted to a distance and radioed up to the astronauts who inserted it into their navigation software which had been modified to take it into account. As a result Apollo 12 landed bang on target, only 180 m from the unmanned Surveyor 3 probe that had landed there in 1967. Astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean had no difficulty walking from their Lunar Module to Surveyor III during a circuitous geology trip on the swooped down to about 50 km altitude over the ABOVE second EVA, where they removed pieces of it for planned Apollo landing sites, returning to nearly 2,000 A graph from a analysis back on Earth. SF Technical Note km altitude for the rest of its orbit. The low altitude written by the allowed it to obtain very detailed photographs of the author August potential landing sites. When close to the Moon the 1969 showing how radar data exhibited variations from the expected value. Apollo 11’s orbital Because these happened close to “perilune” (the point inclination angle relative to the of the orbit closest to the Moon) the phenomenon Moon’s equator became known as “perilune wiggle”. changed during It was soon shown by two JPL scientists that the the CM’s 30 orbits problem was caused by the unexpected roughness around the Moon. The dots signify of the Moon’s gravity field. The most obvious the best estimate manifestation of this was a stronger gravity field over for each orbit, the circular Maria (Serenitatis, Crisium, Humorum, while the four lines Nectaris, etc.), but in general the Moon’s gravity field are the predictions needed a very complex mathematical formula to of how inclination changed represent it accurately. And it would require more according to the spacecraft orbiting the Moon at various inclinations four mathematical and altitudes to provide information to determine the models of the values of the data in that complex formula – something Moon’s gravity that wouldn’t be achieved until the 1990s. field.

MODELLING A PATH RIGHT The main impact for Apollo was that accurately Astronaut Charles predicting the trajectory one or two orbits ahead was “Pete” Conrad impossible. My team and several others around the inspects Surveyor USA spent 1968 and 1969 trying to devise algorithms III with the Apollo 12 Lunar Module that gave accurate trajectory predictions. We tried in the background collecting radar data over two orbits and predicting on the far side of forward one orbit. We tried mixing in sextant sightings Surveyor Crater.

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 21 SLUG The impact of

APOLLO part 3 In the final part of his series, Nick Spall looks at the environmental and cultural legacies of the Apollo programme.. by Nick Spall FBIS

lthough not fully appreciated at the time, Apollo 8’s Anders famously stated: “We came all Neil Armstrong’s boot-print in the lunar this way to explore the Moon and the most important soil of the Sea of Tranquility ushered in a thing is that we discovered the Earth.” His crew-

new era, representing humanity’s “giant mate Jim Lovell said of space and the planet: “The NASA IMAGES: A leap” to develop into a space-faring vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you species. Other secondary consequences have also realise just what you have back there on Earth.” occurred. Although early images of the crescent Neil Armstrong himself noted how he could blot- Earth floating above the Moon were sent back from out the Earth just with one spacesuit gloved finger NASA’s robotic Lunar Orbiter 1 in August 1966, it from the lunar surface. was not until the colour “Earthrise” photo was taken by Prof Chris Riley, space historian and film-maker, Apollo 8 crew member William Anders in December refers to the environmental messages of the Earth 1968 that the world fully appreciated seeing planet images of the NASA manned lunar programme as Earth from 400,000 km away. being a key “gift” of Apollo. For the first time, humanity Images of the Earth from low orbit are impressive began to fully appreciate the unique beauty and value enough and astronauts aboard the International of Earth’s delicate biosphere. By the time the last of the Space Station (ISS) speak of the “overview effect” that nine Apollo lunar missions had returned in 1972, the extended spaceflight provides. From lunar distances, world was used to extraordinary images of the Earth the full potency of seeing the beauty of the planet BELOW taken from lunar distances by the Apollo astronauts. without evident boundaries across its surface can A panoramic shot The Earth, with its colour and obvious atmosphere, affect an individual’s perception of human existence of the Apollo 16 strongly contrasts with the sterile “desolation” of the Lunar Module and and meaning. But lunar distances truly convey the Lunar Rover on Moon. The Apollo 17 full earth “Blue Marble” image isolation, fragility and beauty that “oasis” Earth the surface of the taken by Harrison Schmitt in 1972, is now used in possesses amidst the blackness of space. Moon. countless biology books and by the United Nations as

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From lunar distances, the full potency of seeing the beauty of the planet can affect an individual’s perception of human existence and meaning

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the inspirational image for the work of UNESCO. Dr David Baker has referred to Apollo as “mobilising the environmental movement”. Friends of the Earth was formed in 1969, Greenpeace in 1971 and by 1972 the “Club of Rome” academic environmental group had issued its “Limits to Growth” warning of pollution dangers and resource depletion across the planet. Prof James Lovelock produced his “Gaia” hypothesis in the late 1960s and the 1968 “Whole Earth Catalogue” of Stewart Brand made use of the iconic “Earthrise” image. Buckminster Fuller referred to the planet as being “Spaceship Earth” from 1968 onwards. One key environmental message from the success of Apollo is, of course, essentially that mankind can achieve almost anything if resources and international commitment exists. Thanks to the space programme and its Earth observation data, we are now more acutely aware of the dangers of environmental threats, pollution and the harmful effects from conspicuous consumption of resources. Beginning in America, countries around the world tackled ozone depletion internationally via CFC controls and we monitor their depletion level from space. The Kyoto Protocol shows that some level of direct action is possible across international boundaries ABOVE a richer future than will be obtainable if humanity and, whilst the future is still uncertain, although James Lovelock: remains Earth-bound”. This stems from space his Gaia concept evolving climate is a constant in Earth’s history, the of a holistic providing “a vast expansion of the horizons of human unprecedented rate of change is now at the forefront of Earth gained experience”. debate inspiring attempts at finding solutions. favour among Apollo marked the start of this future stage for environmentalists humanity and to many its message is a spiritual one, SPIRITUAL CONSEQUENCES following the as well as technical and scientific. Anu Ojha from the Apollo missions. Whilst the appreciation of the view of the Earth from UK’s National Space Centre noted how the Apollo 8 the Moon influenced environmental considerations, BELOW readings from the Book of Genesis in lunar orbit in as considered in Part 1 of this series (SpaceFlight Vol The “Earthrise” December 1968 resonated around the world because 61, No 4 p28) it has also altered our perception of the picture taken by the message was a common one to three of the planet’s trajectory of human evolution. Bill Anders on most populous religions. Apollo 8 that gave At the 2018 Astrobiology and Big History fresh stimulus to Apollo astronaut Frank Borman referred to the conference in Australia, Prof Ian Crawford argued that the environmental “Good Earth” in his Christmas transmission from after the Apollo success, space exploration will “enable debate. the Moon. Again, this verbal appreciation gave a profound respect for the planet and humanity as a whole. Although fascinating and challenging as a world

to explore, the Moon is sterile. By contrast, humanity BAKER VIA DAVID ABOVE: / AND RIGHT) LEFT (BELOW NASA IMAGES: appreciates now that the Earth combines life and consciousness – so far as we know at present, this is unique across the solar system and possibly the galaxy. For many, the unauthorised trans-lunar ESP experiment and spiritual awareness “epiphany” experiences of Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell in 1971 highlighted what many were seeking from Moon voyage messages, in the form of a quasi-religious experience. Buzz Aldrin famously took Mass on the lunar surface in 1969. Although such spiritual and religious awareness remains at the fringes of science, the fact that it occurred at all reveals the richness of the Apollo story, indicating that there can still be a place for emotion and spirituality in the hi-tech world of lunar exploration. The Apollo 11 Moon landing fired emotions from observers of course, as well as from the participants. Arthur C Clarke told the BBC’s space correspondent Reginald Turnill at the launch that “I cried for the first time in 20 years”.

CULTURAL ASPECTS During the late 1960s and early 1970s the context of Apollo was a period of rapid social and political

24 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight SPACE HISTORY change. Despite the dramatic ambition of landing on Damien Chazelle showed the other negative side of the Moon, the culture of Apollo appeared relatively Apollo where many questioned the cost – poet Gil boring, unemotional and uninspiring to many. Only Only after half Scott-Heron wrote “Whitey on the Moon” as a searing after half a century do we better understand the fears indictment of the cost of the project. and anxieties of many of the crew and support teams a century do Today, one would like to think that the positive at the time. Before the Apollo 13 drama, the US press benefits and message of Apollo could have been more were saying that “NASA makes a flight to the Moon we better effectively presented. Space is now considered more look like travelling to Pittsburgh!” understand “cool” to the young and probably more justifiable for NASA disliked any suggestion of real danger or economic and beneficial returns. But at that turbulent hazards for the Moon landings. Only relatively recently the fears and time in the late 1960s, the painful battles that NASA have the public heard of the “In the event of Moon went through after the successful early landings were disaster” speech that was prepared for President Nixon anxieties of inevitably hard to manage. to use if Apollo 11 astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin A more recent cultural oddity developed in the were stranded on the lunar surface. It included the many of the form of the Moon hoax conspiracy theorists – these drama of phrases such as: “Fate has ordained that the stemmed from the Peter Hyams 1978 fiction film men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will crew Capricorn One, covering a faked Mars mission. stay on the Moon to rest in peace.” In recent years, in Thankfully the absurdity of the claims have apparently films like “Shadow of the Moon”, the Moon landing now drifted away, but perhaps one positive from the astronauts opened up more. Alan Bean of Apollo 12 episode is that it shows that if some people could explained in the movie his real fears during his space actually doubt that a Moon landing is achievable in the mission – that openness makes the success of the first place, how extraordinary the success really was. landings seem all the more impressive. BELOW Apollo 16 Moonwalker Charlie Duke put things rather Post Apollo 13’s “successful failure” mission, NASA’s With fiercely well when he jokingly said: “We’ve been to the Moon argued viewpoints PR image gained some respect – some called it the but a willingness nine times….why did we have to fake it nine times?!” “victory of the squares”. But many still criticised its loss to concede to of direction, particularly the failure of the messages logic, the “team MANAGEMENT INSPIRATION to the media and Congress to keep up the lunar effort” of Apollo Following the cool and considered way that NASA and was the single exploration momentum with Apollos 18, 19 and 20 enabling factor for the Apollo crews dealt with the unexpected during the following the J-series extended flights of Apollos 15, 16 getting humans nine voyages to the Moon, many subsequent technical and 17. on the Moon. management courses now focus on the organisational The heavy $160 billion (2016 values) cost of Apollo Pictured here are inspiration that the Apollo programme offers. could, according to many in the 1970s, have been used astronauts Joe The phrase “failure is not an option” is now Allen (pointing) to tackle poverty and disease, plus assuaging wider and Dick Gordon often applied to complex and difficult management US social and urban deprivation (SpaceFlight Viol at Mission Control situations. Attributed to Apollo’s Chief Flight Director 61 No 5 p18). In the 2018 movie First Man director during Apollo 15. Gene Kranz and the title of his 2000 autobiography,

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in fact the phrase originated from Flight Dynamics Officer Jerry Bostick when he described the calm but energetic “creed” that NASA engineering teams applied during the Apollo 13 mission crisis and for the missions in general. The phrase was used during the 1995 movie and spoken by Ed Harris who played Gene Kranz. In the early days of the Apollo series, particularly for Apollos 11, 12 and 13, the crew support teams famously showed calm management through mission incidents. For example, Apollo 11 suffered the worrying “1201” and “1202” computer overload alarms during the lunar landing sequence, addressed very quickly by mission engineers Jack Garman and Steve Bales at Houston. Apollo 12’s Saturn 5 was hit by lightning during its launch, briefly losing electrical power and, of course, Apollo 13 experienced NASA’s greatest challenge with an on-board explosion that nearly led NASA IMAGES: to the loss of the crew. In all of these cases, outstanding team management and considered mission control ABOVE he described as a project that needed undertaking, procedures won through, with crew commanders President John F. because: “We choose to go to the Moon and do the Kennedy delivers Armstrong, Conrad and Lovell relying on ground an address from other things not because they are easy, but because they controllers and technical advisers to safely cope with Rice University are hard”. problems as part of a well-drilled team. galvanising Kennedy described the Moon landing project The lesson and legacy from NASA’s practical support for his as “the greatest adventure on which mankind has handling of the Apollo missions is therefore powerful. Moon goal. embarked”, reaching into the powerful human psyche’s Across the world, dynamic management thinking is desire to explore, particular the American “settler often referred to now as “if we can put men on the ethos” which valued perseverance and determination. Moon, surely we can learn from the way NASA did it”. He quoted George Mallory’s “because it is there” This Apollo organisational inspiration is now apocryphal words, which explained the reason for applied to major project construction situations, climbing Mt Everest. Kennedy also noted of course the project management procedures and even military practical and geo-political point of going to the Moon organisational scenarios, particularly where safety and ahead of the . the balance of risk is a crucial requirement. Dr David Baker, who was working with NASA during the Apollo era, noted the enormity of what HUMAN was achieved in terms of its adventure and the President Kennedy fully understood the human BELOW human spirit: “It was the most audacious of human challenge of landing on the Moon when he used the Apollo 17 returns endeavours” and also that it was “about people”. This with the last men famous “we choose to go to the Moon” speech at Rice to walk on the understanding of the base reason for and outcome of Stadium in Houston on 12 September 1962 to galvanise Moon for at least Apollo can only be appreciated after the half century the US public and support billions of dollars to what five decades. that has now elapsed. The philosophy of Apollo and the human desire to explore relate of course to the deep-seated human spaceflight urge that fires many of the world’s space communities. The UK’s astronaut Tim Peake and his 2015/6 Principia mission to the ISS represented that national desire, in the same way that Apollo did for the USA. Governments respond to the public sense and desire for “exploration” beyond the confines of the Earth – echoing Tsiolkovsky, the inimitable Brian Blessed put it simply as: “We don’t just belong here!”

A LASTING LEGACY By 1963, Kennedy was considering an approach to the USSR as a means of creating a geopolitical détente between the superpowers. Perhaps he began to be daunted by the cost and commitment or he was seeking ways to end Cold War tensions only months after the Cuba Missile Crisis. In the event of course, President Johnson continued US commitment and NASA won the Moon Race. There is a profound international message from Apollo however. In 1969, over a fifth of the world’s population, approximately 600 million, watched the Apollo 11 landing on TV. The pride of the USA was extended across the planet – as Anu Ojha put it, “humanity was united as one”. Of course, NASA employed European and indeed many British scientists and engineers in the Apollo programme. Positive public recognition of the achievement stemmed from NASA using phrases like “We came in peace for all mankind”. This international recognition and a sense of “we did it” must be another positive legacy of Apollo. Now, it has developed into international space projects such as the 17-nation ISS and the planned Lunar Gateway station. Mars exploration will most likely follow this international approach for the 2030s and beyond. A powerful outcome of the Apollo programme has been the way that popular culture now recognises the achievements of the Moon landing astronauts as human beings. This occurred for the Apollo crews and NASA team as a result of the Apollo 13 movie. The positive features of the late Neil Armstrong, the “reluctant hero” of Apollo, are only just being given appropriate recognition. The book First Man by James Hansen charts the quiet, modest and discrete life and qualities of this heroic figure. Armstrong was of course determined to stay out of the limelight of press attention, as he considered the Apollo success was down to the NASA support teams and 400,000 industrial employees, engineers and scientists who made the success possible. The 2005 book Moondust describes the efforts that Armstrong made to avoid endless interviews and autograph signings. But his fine “one small step” words on the Moon, his conduct on the post-mission world tour, his modesty over the lack of photos of himself ABOVE of astronauts as “someone quite special”. on the lunar surface (only five exist) and his support “We came in As a final Apollo legacy, it should be recognised that peace for all for the USA’s human spaceflight ambitions over many mankind.” Fifty Armstrong stepped out onto the Moon 50 years ago in years must make his life and inspirational achievement years on, the an open and uncensored way. NASA achieved what it a key legacy from Apollo. magnificent did without secrecy, fully prepared to take the Alan Bean said of him: “I cannot think of one achievement consequences of failure and in the context of a negative of Neil Armstrong. That’s a tough role”. Mike of the Apollo relatively free society and culture. This achievement missions remains Collins said of him: “He was the best and I shall miss undimmed. was what President Kennedy and the US electorate had him terribly”. Norman Mailer, author of Of a Fire on sought back in 1962 at the start of Apollo and this is the Moon, noted how Armstrong stood out in a group what was finally achieved on 21 July 1969. SF

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 27 PLANETARY EXPLORATION MARS Whirlybird

With less than two years to go before Mars 2020 slices through the rarefied atmosphere of Mars on 18 February 2021, preparations are in full swing for sending the Curiosity lookalike to the Red Planet – with a helicopter. by David Baker

uperficially similar to the Curiosity rover that ever be achieved by a wheeled vehicle roaming around. landed on Mars on 6 August 2012, Mars 2020 But there are significant problems. While gravity is has a number of significant design and payload Rotary wings low (3.76 m/sec²), reducing the weight of a given changes. An important addition is the Mars are preferred mass, the atmosphere has a variable density (0.4-0.87 S Helicopter Scout (MHS), a game-changer kPa), changing through cycles of condensation and designed to enhance traverse route mapping and sublimation; the amount of atmosphere available for lift decrease time taken to drive the rover to desirable over fixed changes according to the season as well as with altitude sampling sites. It will also maximise the value of the wings due to above mean surface level. roving vehicle itself as it seeks out the very best places to search for samples to cache, waiting retrieval by the compact FLIGHT CHALLENGE a sample-return mission, hopefully later in the next All forms of flight have been considered for planetary decade. nature of exploration. Venus has been the subject of attention The desire to use the rarefied atmosphere of Mars with proposals ranging from aerostats to fixed-wing to fly heavier-than-air machines around has been their blades flying machines incorporating high aspect ratio wings evolving over the last 20 years. There is much merit for high altitude photo-mapping of clouds and varying to this idea. Very few places on Mars are free of atmospheric phenomena. With a density increasing significant surface obstructions and there are many with depth, the predominantly carbon-dioxide vertical surfaces that warrant a closer look than could atmosphere of Venus is suitable for a wide variety of

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flying machines, some at high altitude and others closer ABOVE down to the surface. But the technical complexities are Mars Helicopter Scout conducts a immense. reconnaissance With a much thinner atmosphere, Mars was felt of suitable for balloons and for gliders but only recently conditions for the have enabling technologies converged to make those 2020 rover. possible. In many ways, rotary wings are preferred over fixed wings due to the compact nature of helicopter blades, which also have low mass and integrate both RIGHT

IMAGES: JPL (ABOVE) / NASA (RIGHT) / NASA JPL (ABOVE) IMAGES: lift and directional movements. This has the additional NASA-Langley developed advantage of using a single power source for generating this Aerial both lift and motion. Regional-Scale The natural application of rotary-winged aircraft Environmental to Mars surface support operations, as well as for Survey (ARES) indigenous surveillance of denied areas due to terrain aircraft for deployment during obstruction or distance from a landing site, only descent but the required a unique development path incorporating concept was electronics, micro-miniaturisation and a lightweight rejected.

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design. The MHS gets all three but the availability of this device will greatly improve the prospects of one of the mission objectives, which is to collect and cache samples for return on a later flight. With a system capable of flying several hundred metres ahead of the rover, reconnaissance becomes much more flexible. These obvious value-added attributes have spurred design concepts for several decades but in 2014 papers began to appear outlining a development path, identifying the required technology and proposing a specific configuration. This work originated at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on the back of successful deployment of the Curiosity rover in 2012. With the entry, descent and landing (EDL) concept for the Mars Science Laboratory, it became possible to put payloads on the surface of Mars of sufficient mass that a Curiosity-style rover would be capable of supporting a helicopter. The MHS that emerged from these initial studies was given traction through funding in 2016, sufficient money being available to continue with tests in a ABOVE lightweight tether. This simulator was also used to simulated Martian environment. Challenges posed by Mars 2020 is built evaluate the Engineering Development Model (EDM), on the design the unfamiliar dynamics of the atmosphere on Mars of the Curiosity with specific focus on a measurement of power and were met through design and test, both in wind tunnels Rover, part of the thrust as a function of actuator settings, key system and in virtual simulation. But these only partially Mars Science dynamics and under free-flight conditions. Initial tests simulate the environment in which MHS will operate, Laboratory which were conducted at ambient Earth temperatures but has been working which has unknowns in terms of the interconnectivity at Crater evaluating the EDM at simulated Mars temperature of of gravity, atmospheric density, turbulence and the since 2020. Note -50º C was not necessary due to the slow speed of the aeroelastic response of the rotor blades and the rigidity the helicopter with helicopter when used operationally. It did, however, level of the structure. folded rotor blades require a significant change in the design of the rotor With $16 million allocated in 2016, engineering mounted between blades for the flight-rated MHS. the right front tests were completed by December the following year and right-centre With a height of 25.9 m, the JPL test chamber was and additional tests were performed in the Arctic. wheels. not sufficiently large to be completely sure of dispersal Initial evaluation was conducted in the environment of recirculated rotor wash and so the EMD was tested chamber at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), upside down to minimise that effect. Suspended 3.5 a 7.6 m diameter facility which initially qualified the m above the floor of the chamber, the test model was basic design concept. This consisted on a prototype attached to a carbon fibre arm held stationary for with a rotor diameter of 1.21 m, a co-axial design with hover and forward flight. Additional tests for closed- both cyclic and collective control through the upper loop attitude control functions were completed with a rotor. BELOW standard two-direction-of-freedom gimbal stub-arm The demonstration attached to the carbon-fibre arm. TESTING TIMES model of the A full-scale prototype was built consisting of the two To fully simulate the operating environment, the JPL Mars Helicopter rotors, a single motor, reversing train gear and swash chamber was evacuated and back-filled with carbon Scout showing plate servos for controlling the pitch of the blades. An the staggered dioxide to a density of 0.0175 kg/m³. Weighing displacement of electrical umbilical carried signals for power and for 850 gm, the prototype operated on external power the contra-rotating avionics from a Linux-based computer. Some 18 Vicon source and avionics connected to the model by a rotor blades. cameras were used for a visual tracking system using reflective spherical targets to capture motion tracking. The first prototype had a mass of 0.75 kg while the EDM weighed 1.7 kg but free-flight was not possible due to the effects of Earth’s gravity. The work at JPL was based on much earlier testing conducted in 2002 at the large environmental chamber at Ames Research Center, where isolated rotor testing was conducted. From this came a baseline design which involved a co-axial rotor and two contra- rotating, hingeless, two-blade rotors. The rotors were spaced apart at 12% of the radius and were capable of operating at speeds of up to 2,800 rpm. From this work emerged a baseline operating envelope and this included a maximum airspeed of 10 m/sec in horizontal flight and 3 m/sec in vertical motion.

DESIGN AND LAYOUT The basic design of the MHS was built around a central, hollow structural tube containing the electrical

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wires from the Electronics Core Module (ECM) to ABOVE base of the structural tube, providing thermal control the electric motor and the servo elements and also to Inside the for the avionics and associated circuit boards. This simulation the Mars 2020 rover. The structural attachment to the chamber at JPL, encapsulated a fault-tolerant computer incorporating rover itself was installed at the top with an interface this view shows a 2.26 GHz Snapdragon processor with a Linux and power take-off connector to get energy from the the helicopter’s operating system and 2 GB of RAM, a 32 GB flash host until it is released to the surface and independent solar cell array memory, 4,000 pixel camera and a black and white operations. Immediately below the disconnect panel, a atop the upper camera. The processor is connected to two flight rotor blades. solar panel provides electrical power for charging the control units operating redundantly, receiving and battery. Upper and lower rotor hubs are attached to the processing identical sensor data for controlling all BELOW mast together with the rotor windings and the power Dragonfly, a flight functions. One control unit is active with the electronics. concept for second in stand-by mode in the event of a failure. A company called AeroVironment Inc developed exploring the Provided by Texas Instruments, the flight control units the rotor blades (aerofoils) and conducted evaluations environment of incorporate a 300 MHz processor with 512 K RAM to determine the optimum blade thickness, chord, Titan, one of two and 4 MB of flash memory. bids for funding IMAGES: JPL (OPPOSITE, ABOVE) / NASA (BELOW RIGHT) (BELOW / NASA ABOVE) JPL (OPPOSITE, IMAGES: twist distribution and cross-section using two- with a decision The very heart of the MHS is the Field- dimensional CFD simulations. Spanwise changes in expected in July Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a military-grade aerofoil geometry affected the operational potential of this year. version of the ProASIC3L which harnesses all the the blades and led to a shaping design that improved the boundary layer transition across the surface. Three Maxon DC 46-pole brushless motors operate via a four-stage gearbox to control the height and tilt of each swashplate. The landing system was designed with four legs constructed from tapered carbon fibre/epoxy tubes with feet to prevent the legs digging in to loose sand and also to provide contact energy-damping. The legs also accommodated a free-fall from a height of 0.3 m on to slopes of up to 10º inclination and with a 30º roll or pitch angle. The legs are stressed to accept a descent velocity of up to 2.5 m/sec with some latitude regarding horizontal translation of up to 0.5 m/sec at the point of contact. A Warm Electronics Box (WEB) is attached to the

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input from on-board systems and controls the ABOVE greyscale, 640 x 480 pixel sensor attached to an optics operative functions and attitude control loop operating delta module with a field of view of 133º horizontal by100º where the surface at 500 Hz. It also controls overall timing, the inertial was inundated in the vertical plane, capable of acquiring images at measurement unit, altimeter, inclinometer and all the with water in an a rate of 10 frames/sec. The Return-to-Earth (RTE) analogue telemetry for temperature sensors. After early epoch on camera is a high-resolution Sony IMX 214 with a 4208 separation from the host rover, the FPGA controls Mars, an area in x 3120 pixel sensor possessing a field-of-view of 47º in the two brushless rotor motors and the six brushed which potentially both horizontal and vertical planes. Both cameras are life-bearing clay servo-motors, three at each rotor washplate. This also minerals have attached to the lower sensor assembly with the navcam controls most communications from the avionics been observed. pointing directly down while the RTE camera points subsystems, implementing 25 separate data interfaces. about 22º below the horizon. This results in an overlap In independent operation, separated from the of 30º by 47º which allows the correlation of features rover the helicopter’s FPGA is in control of systems between the two when processing the data on Earth. management, turning on and off the other avionics The telecommunications system is designed to subsystems as necessary and managing the two flight accept and transmit signals directly from the rover control units, switching to the stand-by in the event or via radio to Earth, through the rover, after it of a malfunction in the primary. It also manages All the has separated. The antenna is a loaded quarter-wave fault protection by gathering status and health data monopole placed close to the centre of the solar panel and controls triple-module redundancy for added sensors are at the top of the assembly. It is fed through a coaxial reliability. The FPGA and the software manage cable through the interior of the mast to the electronics motor control between them, generating pulse-wave commercial bay. A significant challenge for the use of off-the-shelf modulation to control the DC motor servos. off-the-shelf equipment is the extreme temperatures on Mars, On-board sensors deliver position information for getting down as low as -140º C but with the equipment all flight phases with information from the inertial items maintained above -15º C by heaters when required. measurement unit, the altimeter and the navigation A significant problem found during design, camera image to deliver a position solution as well as development and testing was the placement of the positioning the helicopter for the terrain images from antenna when the MHS is in the stowed position the colour camera. All the sensors are commercial on the rover. The radio emits a 0.75 W signal at 900 off-the-shelf items and the navigation camera is a MHz, consuming 3 W of electrical power during

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transmission and 0.15 W when receiving. Data can be relayed at 20 kbps over-the-air or at 250 kbps across distances of up to 1 km. Data recovering from the MHS in real-time is possible using a one-way data transmission mode. Maximum return rate during flight is 200 kbps with provision for a two-way throughput down to as low as 10 kbps if it touches down in an area of marginal location with respect to direct line of sight. Electrical power is provided by a lithium-ion battery which can be recharged daily through the solar array, the energy being used to operate heaters, actuators and the avionics during the flights which could last from 90 seconds to several minutes. If necessary due to seasonal changes in the number of hours of solar radiation per day, several charging cycles could be applied between operations. SolAero Technologies provides the solar cells that occupy a rectangular substrate area of 680 cm², of which 544 cm² is an active cell area. With a capacity of 2 Ah the maximum discharge rate is in excess of 25 Ah and with a maximum cell voltage of 4.25 V, maximum continuous loaded capability is 480 W. Battery voltage is 15-25.2 V for a total mass of 0.273 kg for the six cells. An end-of-life battery capacity of 35.75 Wh is available, of which 10.73 Wh is reserved, the energy level for night time survival being 21 Wh of which 10 Wh is available for flight. Power time is flexible and proportional to the power loads applied during operation. With 20% of the power at a peak load of 510 W and 80% at a continuous load of 360 W, a flight of 90 seconds is nominal.

GETTING THERE The functional justification for the Mars Helicopter Scout is twofold: to provide added flexibility to what is already shaping up to be a significant step forward ABOVE essentially programmed from Earth; they can only in getting samples back to Earth through a cache of MiMi Aung, MHS move across limited distances due to the lack of project manager, samples left at the surface; and to serve the function oversees a critical stereoscopic or overhead views. of an engineering demonstration for more advanced test (top) and a The helicopter can convey cameras and provide helicopter scouts. test sequence is images from a position directly above the surveyed As briefly alluded to earlier, due to linear visual constructed for area, or at a perspective angle to allow three- perspectives from surface cameras and the lack trials in the space dimensional modelling. This can both increase the environment of elevated observation alignments, the ability chamber. potential for access and reduce the amount of time of a ground-hugging vehicle to “see” more than taken for the rover to traverse a given distance. This is a few metres in front of it is severely restricted. applicable to any planet with sufficient atmosphere to BELOW Navigation cameras operate to provide a view forward MHS in the space engage sustained flight and has potential applications and laterally and to provide images which allow environment across the solar system. In the case of Mars 2020, programmers to plot the next moves with rovers chamber at JPL. however, the primary objective is based on concept demonstration and qualification as well as flexing an operating protocol for routine activities. Jezero Crater, the selected site for the Mars 2020 landing, has been chosen for its smoothness, relatively low altitude and location favourable to the search for a previously habitable environment. As such, these are physical surface parameters that suit the MHS. After touchdown, the rover will move to its first region-of- interest (ROI) with redirection en-route for a suitable place to deploy the helicopter. This area would have to be flat and with low slopes so as to enhance surface texture for the in-flight navigation filter, with rocks no bigger than 5 cm across for landing. Initial deployment selection would be made using the rover’s navigation cameras. Ideally pre-flight, mission controllers would select

IMAGES THIS PAGE: JPL THIS PAGE: IMAGES a place 10 m x 10 m in area with outbound sorties

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of up to 100 m for area coverage. Following this, comparison of orbital imaging and stereo digital elevation models would indicate that the rover would need to move less than 200 m in the landing ellipse to a suitable place for deploying the helicopter. Operations with the MHS are expected to last approximately 30 days with most airborne activity beginning around 11.00 am local time on selected days. This allows the temperatures to rise and relieve the requirement for heaters to warm the vehicle. Most activity would involve flights lasting no longer than 90 seconds to a range of up to 300 m and in altitude between 3 m and 10 m above the local surface. Technically, the MHS could fly at a height of up to 400 m. These are regarded as technology demonstration flights of which up to five are scheduled. During these flights, late-morning atmospheric density is expected to be between 0.016 kg/m³ and 0.0175 kg/m³ with ambient temperatures around -50º C. Although MHS weighs only 1.8 kg, future variants could have a mass of up to 15 kg with a science payload up to 10% of the loaded weight. The dynamics of the contra-rotating lift system are probably capable of no greater lift capacity in the extremely rarefied atmosphere of Mars but in denser atmospheres on other worlds there could be considerable growth potential using the same engineering concept and design configuration of the MHS. The MHS has a height of 80 cm and a co-axial rotor diameter of 1.2 m and a blade tip speed of 0.7 Mach but this could increase to accommodate more demanding

requirements on future vehicles going to other NASA THIS PAGE: IMAGES destinations. ABOVE Mars. We needed to see that it worked as advertised. TAKING FLIGHT Samples cached The Martian atmosphere is only about one percent the by the rover as Anticipation is high among the design team which has they may be density of Earth’s”, said Aung. “Our test flights could been working the concept for almost a decade already recovered for have similar atmospheric density here on Earth – if and it is largely due to a group operating from different delivery to Earth you put your airfield 30,480 metres up! So you can’t go NASA field centres that have brought it to this level in this imaginary somewhere and find that. You have to make it.” of readiness, the most recent qualification test having spacecraft “The next time we fly, we fly on Mars”, said Aung. sometime in the been conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in next decade. “Watching our helicopter go through its paces in the January this year. chamber, I couldn’t help but think about the historic “Gearing up for that first flight on Mars, we vehicles that have been in there in the past. The have logged over 75 minutes of flying time with an BELOW chamber hosted missions from the Ranger Moon engineering model, which was a close approximation The ultimate probes to the Voyagers to Cassini, and every Mars rover beneficiary – Mars of our helicopter”, said MiMi Aung, project manager 2020 shown faster ever flown. To see our helicopter in there reminded for MHS at JPL. “But this recent test of the flight model routes by Mars me we are on our way to making a little chunk of space was the real deal. This is our helicopter bound for Helicopter Scout. history as well.” “Getting our helicopter into an extremely thin atmosphere is only part of the challenge”, said Teddy Tzanetos, test conductor for the Mars Helicopter at JPL. “To truly simulate flying on Mars we have to take away two-thirds of Earth’s gravity, because Mars’ gravity is that much weaker.” Carrying the MHS, Mars 2020 is heading for a three-week window from 17 July to 5 August 2020 on a flight from Cape Canaveral by Atlas V 541. Landing date for the rover is scheduled for 18 February 2021. The most notable objective for this mission will be to cache samples for retrieval and delivery to Earth by a later spacecraft yet to be designed but the Mars Helicopter Scout will break new ground – taking the first heavier-than-air flying machine into the skies over Mars more than 117 years after the Brothers first flew a winged powered machine into the skies above Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in December 1903. SF

34 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight

OBITUARY

REMEMBERING Valery Bykovsky (1934-2019) Cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky, the pilot of 5, died on 27 March 2019 aged 84 years. He was the fifth Russian to fly in space, and still holds the record for the longest solo space flight. by Ken MacTaggart FBIS

ykovsky was one of the final six Soviet cosmonaut candidates selected for the early space flights and in 1963 he became the

eleventh human to fly in space. Before his BUNDESARCHIV / OPPOSITE: IMAGES SPUTNIK LEFT: / BELOW FRANK LEUBAND LEFT: B death he was the earliest space traveller still alive – a baton which has now passed to the first ABOVE Lieutenant, becoming a jet pilot and parachute woman to orbit the Earth, . Ever the relaxed instructor in the Soviet Air Force. Aged 26, he qualified and self-effacing Valery Fyodorovich Bykovsky was born in the space pioneer, in January 1961 as a member of the elite group of six town of Pavlovsky Posad, 64 km outside , on Valery Bykovsky, selected for the first Russian space flights, three months 2 August, 1934. He was the second child of Fyodor circa 2008. before Yuri Gagarin’s historic launch. Fyodorovich Bykovsky and Klavdia Ivanova, following an older sister, Margarita. In the 1940s his father’s A HAWK TO SPACE career at the Ministry of Railways took the family to Bykovsky was not one of the original “Vanguard Six” the closed military city of Kuybyshev (since reverted selected as Vostok cosmonauts, but he got his place in to its original name, Samara) then to Tehran, in Iran. the group in July 1960 when Valentin Varlamov was There has been some speculation that his father’s work discharged after injuring his back. His first role was was not simply in engineering, but had a national as a back-up to Andriyan Nikolayev on Vostok 3, and security role. Bykovsky’s own turn came the following year. Returning to Moscow as a teenager, Bykovsky The first of his three space flights was , wanted to enter the Navy, but his father encouraged launched into orbit on 14 June, 1963 from the Baikonur him to stay on at school. A lecture about the Soviet BELOW cosmodrome in Kazakhstan amid widespread rumours Bykovsky and Air Force Club set his mind on becoming a pilot, and Tereshkova after that a joint flight with another craft was planned. he started flying lessons at the age of 16. He graduated their dual Vostok Two days later, Valentina Tereshkova duly followed from the Kachinsk Military Aviation Academy as flight in 1963. Bykovsky into orbit on . The two capsules passed within five kilometres of one another, but the Vostok vehicle was not designed to manoeuvre, so no rendezvous was possible. Instead Bykovsky, whose call-sign was Yastreb (Hawk), and Tereshkova as Chaika (Seagull) spoke to one another by radio. While still in orbit on 18 June, he was made a member of the Communist Party. Bykovsky returned to Earth a few hours after Tereshkova on 19 June, after spending five days in space. The original plan was for him to remain in orbit for eight days but he was ordered home early due to hazardous solar flare activity, a phenomenon which had also delayed his launch. However, his curtailed mission still holds the record for the longest solo space flight. For 13 years, Bykovsky remained on the roll of active cosmonauts, but did not fly in space. Only many years later did the explanation emerge, that he had two space programme assignments which never materialised into flights.

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First, he was appointed commander of Soyuz 2, whose launch for an intended docking was cancelled after died aboard in April His curtailed 1967. Bykovsky’s planned flight, never undertaken, is now informally known as Soyuz 2A, to distinguish [Vostok] it from the October 1968 flight of the same number, which was an unmanned docking target for Georgy mission still Beregovoy aboard Soyuz 3. holds the As the Soyuz programme was re-scheduled, Bykovsky was transferred to the secret Soviet Moon record for landing programme, which was abandoned sometime after the Americans landed in 1969. He was later made the longest chief of cosmonaut training for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, which was a great success in July 1975. solo space

THE COSMOS CALLS flight After a long gap, Bykovsky returned to space in 1976 as commander of with flight engineer Vladimir Aksynov. Their eight-day mission was to study the Earth’s geology from orbit with a multi-spectral camera. They also observed the behaviour of fish in weightlessness in a small aquarium. Bykovsky’s last space flight was in August 1978. This time his co-pilot was Sigmund Jähn of East Germany, flying as part of the programme which took other nationalities from the Soviet bloc into space. This project achieved considerable propaganda value, as up until that year all space flyers had been only Russian or American. aboard . The flight caused consternation and embarrassment In his personal life, Bykovsky married Valentina in West Germany, since Jähn was an Air Force Mikhailovna Sukhova, and the couple had two sons. officer from their ideological opponent, the German Their first son died in an aviation accident in 1986. Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany). The Bykovsky left the cosmonaut programme in 1988 and East German press tended to ignore the existence of became director of the House of Soviet Science and its wealthier and technically advanced neighbour and Culture in Berlin until his retirement in 1990. He held shied away from any sense of German nationalism. ABOVE RIGHT the rank of Major-General in the Soviet Air Force. However, on this rare occasion a headline in the party Bykovsky opens With Bykovsky’s death, the odd coincidence arises newspaper Neues Deutschland proudly proclaimed: up a new age that each of the flown Vostok cosmonauts will pass “The first German in Space – a Citizen of the GDR.” of international away in the order of their flight – first Gagarin who The pair spent eight days in orbit, visiting the flights to Soviet died in 1968, then Titov (2000), Nikolayev (2004), space stations space station and conducting experiments in with East German Popovich (2009), and now Bykovsky, leaving Valentina remote sensing, medicine and biology. They swapped Sigmund Jähn Tereshkova as the last living Vostok pilot, currently spacecraft and Bykovksy piloted Jähn back to Earth in 1983. aged 82.

BYKOVSKY AND THE BIS Several BIS members have recollections of Bykovsky, either from visits to Moscow or his appearance at the Autographica show in

Coventry in October 2004. Author Dave Shayler recalls chatting VIS BERT over drinks at Autographica, when Tereshkova also came: “I found him a very pleasant and warm individual.” Carl Walker, who works for ESA, remembers him at the same event as a polite and modest man, who gave an entertaining talk with translations provided by the Star City museum curator Elena Esina: “He recounted his flight in a very animated way, and Elena would translate and then correct him, seeming to know the details and figures more accurately than Valery remembered!” But perhaps the most privileged encounter was an occasion in 2003 when space researchers and writers Bert Vis and Rex Hall ran into Bykovsky near his house in Leonikha, outside of Star City and outside Moscow. Bert remembers: “He invited us to join him BIS members visit Valery Bykovsky and Valentina Tereshkova in April in his garden for tea. To our surprise, Tereshkova was also 2003, with Rex Hall on the left. present and we had a nice hour or so at his place. Tereshkova served us tea and pastries!” attention would go to her, rather than Bykovsky. I was present at Bert met Bykovsky on a number of other occasions. “Of course, the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of their joint flight, and it any celebrations regarding his Vostok flight always went together was only thanks to Tereshkova that Bykovsky got any attention. with those for Tereshkova. That could be a little unfortunate as all She pulled him into the limelight to stand next to her.”

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 37 REVIEWS

BELOW The original box art for the Airfix kit (below left) and the MULTI-MEDIA Monogram (left) and Airfix 1:44 scale kits compared. The Monogram kit is a recent version with a Block II Apollo spacecraft, and includes The latest books, films, TV, models and three figures at the base to games for space enthusiasts of all ages convey a sense of scale.

SPACE MODELS NASA’s mighty ground-shaker midst the publicity surrounding the pattern on the Service Module. The Monogram kit Apollo Moon landing in July 1969, the also got the engine section of the SII stage wrong, model kit companies were not about to based as it was on very early designs, but of course miss out on such an opportunity, As the this doesn’t show with the rocket in “full stack” Aend of the decade approached, four of configuration. the biggest announced models of the Saturn V The Monogram kit also allowed the Lunar Module rocket. Three were American, but one was the UK’s to be authentically contained in the four “petals” of kit pioneer Airfix, which opted for the 1:144 scale it the Lunar Module Adaptor section, which unfolded used for its civilian airliners. One of the American realistically. The Airfix kit’s SLA was solid and you companies, Monogram – at that time, still a major had to de-stage the sections to reveal the LM, or else name in modelling – also chose 1:144 scale, and their cut out a “viewing panel”. Being the same scale as kit was the first of the four to arrive in 1968. the rocket, neither kits Apollo spacecraft allowed for Both the Airfix and Monogram kits made up into much detail, although the LM could be made to look decent models, though they also had their faults. The reasonably realistic with judicial use of black, and major one, common to all Saturn V kits until recent silver paint – or, if you were feeling adventurous, with years, was that the Apollo spacecraft was in Block I small pieces of gold foil. form – not the Block 2 version as used for the manned Monogram found itself partnered with the other flights. This is especially noticeable in the radiator major American kit brand, Revell, in 1986, when both names were taken over by the same holding company. Confusingly, kits got swapped between the two names, resulting in the release of a Revell 1:144 scale Saturn V in new boxing for the 15th Anniversary. Before that, Revell had marketed its own 1:96 scale kit of the rocket, which stood around 1.15 m tall, and for many years held the record as “largest model kit – ever”. Because of its size, Revell took a novel approach in the way the kit was constructed. A great deal of the Saturn V construction is cylindrical tanks, with little detail on the exterior. Consequently Revell decide to supply these not as injection-moulded parts, but as thin plastic sheets with the relevant markings already printed on. The sheets were then formed into cylinders by the builder, held by the vertical piping, and slotted into the corrugated, injection-moulded sections at the top and bottom of each stage. Despite its apparent flimsiness, once assembled this resulted in an extremely construction. The larger 1:96 scale also enabled Revell to put more detail into the Apollo spacecraft and in fact a kit of only these parts was issued separately (of which more in subsequent issues). The last of the original Saturn V kits arrived in 1970, and at 1:200 scale gave you a lot more than just the rocket. AMT, which was best known for model cars, had previously made very first kits from Star Trek. Now it moved from science fiction to fact with a kit that included not only the

38 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight REVIEWS

BELOW Revell’s original 1:96 scale GAMER'S CORNER with Philp monster, now reissued to commemorate the forthcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon SpaceX reusable rockets in KSP landing mission. In light of the recent SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch, where all three Falcon cores were successfully propulsively landed, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the feasibility of flying and landing reusable rockets in Kerbal Space A SpaceX Falcon 9 lands near the Kerbal Space Centre. Program. There are many add-ons for KSP which specialise in realistic-looking SpaceX rocket parts – the image here is an example of just one. The real stumbling-block when trying to emulate SpaceX is the game’s simplified physics. KSP simulates physics for all vehicles inside a “physics bubble” of a certain size. Since reusable rockets usually involve flying two craft at once, this can cause issues such as the reusable first stage of your rocket being deleted or destroyed. Some add-ons allow you to go “back in time” to essentially control both craft at once, or add an autopilot feature to handle one half of your rocket while you fly the other manually. However, if you’re flying a rocket similar to Falcon Heavy, where there’s more than one rocket to land, it can still be particularly challenging. Another aspect of SpaceX rocket landings that’s difficult to recreate in KSP is the hoverslam, or “suicide burn” in which the engine fires at exactly the right time to bring the rocket to a stop just as it reaches the ground. While it’s possible to work out, there are many factors that you need to take into account such as atmospheric pressure, thrust-to- weight ratio, altitude and velocity. Kerbal’s a video game, but it’s a very realistic one, and this makes doing something like precision-landing a fifty-metre rocket from space in the game almost as difficult as doing it in real life!

BELOW RIGHT The AMT Man in Space Pro Shop release, with

PHOTOGRAPHS THE BY AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPHS plain base.

Saturn V, but four more American launchers – the Mercury-Redstone, Mercury-Atlas, Gemini-Titan II and Saturn IB – plus a neat cardboard background diorama of the Kennedy Space Center. The Saturn V was also issued separately (as were the tiny 1:200 scale Apollo craft atop the V and IB), and this kit was reissued at the turn of the Millennium – although to many modellers’ dismay, the diorama gave way to a rather bland flat base. A few years later, the diorama was reinstated, as was the standalone Saturn V kit. Aside from the American kits, the somewhat obscure Japanese names of Nakamura and ODK both released Saturn V kits to varying degrees of accuracy, while the better known Aoshima, issued a range of Apollo-related kits, including a 1:144 scale Saturn V with the LUT. Back in the US, a company called Countdown issued a 1:290 scale model similar to the Aoshima kit (it may very well have been scaled-down copy) for sale in NASA gift shops. And in 2011 came a 1:72 scale monster from the Hong Kong-based Dragon, although it limited production run and high price made it something of a rarity. Mat Irvine FBIS

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 39 REVIEWS

PRINTED BOOKS Mobilising a nation ndoubtedly, in 2019 there will be more books published about the Apollo missions than in any other single year. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of U the first Moon landing in which humans walked on the surface, most books will record the heroic achievements of NASA astronauts and the herculean efforts of scientists and engineers who sent them into the jaws of danger. Other books will pontificate, readers finding out more about what the author’s think than what the record shows. This book is very different and for me it is the

seminal publication in this genre likely to appear in NASA / BELOW: HOUSE WHITE LEFT: AND BELOW LEFT this anniversary year. It stands distinct as a record embracing the finest principled professionalism bound strongly for durability. But you will want to of ethical journalism, allowing the story to unfold care for this compilation, attractively laid out and a as though we were privileged to be with John joy to handle, as you accompany the President in a F. Kennedy on his many visits connected to the photographic journal chronicling his movements. space programme. Through its pages, we trace Through expanded captions directing the reader to the movements, the presentations, the speeches fascinating aspects of selected pictures, the editor- and addresses given by the one man singularly compilers have recorded, uniquely, a valuable responsible for creating the political environment historical record. in which the entire Apollo programme began and For those steeped more deeply in the events of matured. the early 1960s, I have never felt closer to those Apart from an introductory section and a days, when I first experienced the United States as foreword by Christopher C. Kraft, Jr, veteran flight a young man being absorbed into the rise and rise controller then flight director and later Director of of NASA, than I did when opening this book. For The Space-Age the Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Johnson me it also exposed the paradox in this remarkable Presidency of John Space Center), the book puts the reader alongside F. Kennedy – a Rare man and for that the compiling authors have done Kennedy through more than 500 colour and black Photographic History a very great service indeed. One which perhaps and white photographs as he tours facilities, meets they did not intend. But, in telling a very straight by John Bisney and J. L. astronauts, comments on various phases of the Pickering story without inflection, it does remind those of us programme and shows excitement over what he who were there just what it was actually like. We University of New had started. can so easily forget, in the babble of the busy 21st Mexico Press The book itself is beautifully designed and laid 9780-82635-809 century, that world so different that it bears hardly out, exquisitely printed on high quality paper and any recognition for those who were not there. And $45 224 pages, 528 colour photographs

ABOVE Kennedy makes a stirring speech at Rice University, Houston, Texas in 1962.

LEFT President Kennedy inspects Friendship 7 after John Glenn returns safely to Earth.

RIGHT Kennedy meets with Khrushchev, ideological opponents in a technology struggle that spawned the Apollo Moon challenge.

40 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight REVIEWS it reopens those paradoxes which all too frequently 21st century. get forgotten, or deliberately pushed aside. A key element of the book is to define the If the vision of John F. Kennedy as President paradox rigorously, for the first time. Continuing of the United States in agreeing to a plan put to on, Ćirković also creates a taxonomy of the myriad him in 1961 by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed solutions, demonstrating the equivalence and a cohort of persuasive NASA administrators, of many suggested hypotheses. Such a classification to eclipse Russian space achievements and send provides a roadmap to where we should seek Americans to the Moon, was inspired, the man knowledge and clues towards the solutions we may himself is an enigma. In an almost endearing way, find. The relevance of the paradox as a ‘“magic that comes through in this book and that is to its mirror” in which we can see the future of our own greater credit. For it is not a postcard celebration, species is drawn out, highlighting its importance rather a reflective remembrance of great days and in our current era of elevated existential risk. heroic times. Humanity is a new species on a young planet. If Two months before his tragic death, in The Great Silence intelligence has been absent from the history of the September 1963 the President turned to NASA – Science and Universe until now, we should ask why. Administrator Jim Webb during a private Philosophy of Fermi’s The book’s beating heart is the challenge meeting in the Oval Office and said of the Apollo Paradox the paradox presents to Copernicanism, the programme: “This looks like a hell of a lot of dough by Milan M. Cirkovic philosophy that shifted Earth away from the centre to go to the Moon when you can go – you can Oxford University Press of all things to being just one planet orbiting its learn most of what you want scientifically through 9780199646302 parent star, which we now know as one of many instruments and putting a man on the Moon is $25 hundreds of billions of suns in our Milky Way, really a stunt and it isn’t worth that many billions.” 432 pages which in turn is one of many hundreds of galaxies Yet the day before his death, on 21 November in the Universe. Copernicanism brings with it the Kennedy delivered an address at Brooks Air cosy assumption that we are not special – that the Force Base, Texas, in which he invoked a sense of same laws of nature which apply here apply equally inevitability in the decision he always felt he had throughout the cosmos. For centuries this weaving been forced to make: “This nation has tossed its cap of the scientific narrative has held sway, but how over the wall of space and we have no choice but to is the circle squared with the implication of the follow it.” The book’s beating paradox that we are very special indeed? While being intensely absorbing in its own heart is the The Association of American Publishers right, for the serious student of both politics and shortlisted The Great Silence for its 2019 Prose the evolving space programme, this book is honest challenge the Awards (for extraordinary merit that makes in directing the reader to the very core of this a significant contribution to a field of study – President’s thinking about the dilemma he faced. paradox presents Cosmology and Astronomy). Ćirković’s book is a For having crafted a unique record of a remarkable tour de force. He is one of the deepest thinkers on visionary, a President who left undone at his to Copernicanism this question. To him, many of the conclusions are assassination so much that he aspired to achieve, stated as obvious, and you may find yourselves re- the authors have collected an outstanding record reading the text a few times because to the reader of less than three years in which the way the world they need weighing up. But persevere and, as well would see the United States was changed forever. as likely reaching the same conclusions, you will be I know of no other book which provides this richly rewarded. Keith Mansfield window on the space-faring life of President Kennedy. It is very special. If there is one new book you pick up during this anniversary year it should be this one. David Baker Where are all the aliens? nyone familiar with the Fermi paradox, the apparently mysterious absence of extraterrestrial intelligence, is likely also familiar with the story of the question A Enrico Fermi posed over a 1950 Los Alamos lunch. At that time it could be argued this was an open question. Milan Ćirković details why this is no longer the case. Advances in astrobiology and cosmology in the decades since elevate the issue of the missing aliens to one of the Great

Questions facing humanity in the early years of the SHUTTERSTOCK

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 41 SATELLITE DIGEST Satellite Digest 557 Satellite Digest is SpaceFlight’s regular listing of world space launches using orbital data from the United States Strategic Command space-track.org website. Compiled by Geoff Richards

Spacecraft International Date Launch Launch vehicle Mass Orbital Inclin. Period Perigee Apogee Notes designation site (kg) epoch (deg) (min) (km) (km) Crew Dragon Demo 1 2019-011A Mar 2.33 KSC Falcon 9FT 13,000? Mar 3.42 51.64 92.64 406 411 [1] Zhongxing 6C 2019-012A Mar 9.69 Xichang Chang Zheng 3B 5,000? Mar 19.60 0.12 1,436.01 35,772 35,802 [2] Soyuz MS-12 2019-013A Mar 14.80 Baykonur Soyuz-FG 7,220 Mar 15.58 51.64 92.64 406 411 [3] WGS 10 2019-014A Mar 16.02 ETR Delta-4M+(5,4) 5,987 Mar 28.40 0.21 1,436.23 26,482 45,100 [4] PRISMA 2019-015A Mar 22.08 CSG Vega 879 Mar 22.41 97.90 97.03 617 620 [5] Lingque 1B Mar 27.40 Jiuquan OS-M1 8 Failed to reach orbit [6] R3D2 2019-016A Mar 28.98 Mahia Electron 150 Mar 29.32 39.52 93.04 422 438 [7] Tianlian 2-01 2019-017A Mar 31.66 Xichang Chang Zheng 3B 5,000? Apr 1.37 27.13 631.03 194 35,812 [8] NOTES

1. Test of Crew Dragon spacecraft, ISS Mission SpX-DM-1, built launched by ULA for the USAF. Block 2 version modified for higher and launched by SpaceX as part of NASA’s CCDev programme bandwidth. Mass quoted is at launch. Satellite is in an elliptical for transport of crews to ISS with a dummy astronaut (ATD) orbit centred over 122°W for test. instrumented to measure crew environment and 204 kg of cargo. 5. Precursore Iperspettrale della Missione Applicativa (Precursor First stage successfully landed on the Of Course I Still Love You Hyperspectral Application Mission) Earth survey satellite built by barge 492 km downrange. Spacecraft docked at ISS IDA-2/PMA-2 OHB Italia using a modified MITA bus and launched by Arianespace port March 3.45. Following completion of evaluation by ISS crew, for ASI carrying a 0.21 m telescope with a visible/infra-red undocked with about 150 kg of return cargo March 8.31. Spacecraft hyperspectral scanner and panchromatic camera for Earth imaging was de-orbited March 8.54. Landed in the Atlantic Ocean about 450 and atmospheric and surface characteristics. km from the coast of Florida March 8.57. 6. Technology development 6U Cubesat built by Beijing Zero G Lab 2. Zhongxing 6C is a direct broadcasting and telecommunications carrying a high-resolution camera for Earth observation of moving satellite, built by CAST for China Satcom using a DFH-4 bus. Mass objects and a system for inter-satellite communications. First launch estimated above is at launch. The satellite is located over 130°E for attempt by OneSpace using new four-stage launch vehicle. Gyro service to China and neighbouring countries. failure in guidance system led to loss of attitude control shortly after 3. Spacecraft with two-man, one woman crew launched to the ignition of second of three solid-motor stages. International Space Station, mission ISS-58S. Crew comprises 7. Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration Aleksei Ovchinin (Soyuz Commander, ISS flight engineer, ISS technology development satellite built by Northrop Grumman using Commander), Nicklaus Hague (Soyuz/ISS flight a Blue Canyon Technologies FleXbus and launched by Rocket Lab engineer, NASA astronaut) and Christina Koch (Soyuz/ISS flight for DARPA with a deployable reflectarray antenna 2.25 m in diameter engineer, NASA astronaut). Spacecraft docked with Rassvet port and a software-defined radio for communications tests. March 15.04. Crew are to be part of ISS Expeditions 59 and 60, with possible participation in subsequent Expeditions due to current 8. Tianlian is a data relay telecommunications satellite using a CAST scheduling uncertainty. DFH-4 bus, first of a new generation. Mass estimated above is at launch. The satellite has reportedly manoeuvred to geostationary 4. Also called USA 291. Wideband Global Satcom SV-10 military orbit to provide support for low-orbit satellites and future manned telecommunications satellite built using a Boeing 702HP bus and missions. ADDITIONS AND UPDATES DESIGNATION COMMENTS DESIGNATION COMMENTS

1986-096A FltSatCom 7 (USA 20) was manoeuvred off station at constellation to a disposal orbit March 28. 100°E March 19 and is drifting to the west. It appears 1998-019A Iridium 55 was manoeuvred from a reserve orbit to a to have been retired. disposal orbit March 13. Add orbit: 1988-091B TDRS 3 was relocated back at 49°W March 11. Mar 20.96 86.72° 92.89 min 157 km 679 km 1994-084A DSP 17 (USA 107) is drifting away from its station at 1998-019C Iridium 58 was manoeuvred from a reserve orbit to a 49°W. disposal orbit March 23. Add orbit: 1997-082A Iridium 45 began manoeuvring out of the Iridium Mar 29.22 86.72° 92.67 min 158 km 656 km

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DESIGNATION COMMENTS DESIGNATION COMMENTS

1998-019E Iridium 60 was manoeuvred out of the Iridium Feb 13.59 4.85° 5,038.44 min 2,000 km 180,057 km constellation to a disposal orbit March 1. Add orbit: Feb 19.56 5.08° 5,039.07 min 2,018 km 180,055 km Mar 8.59 86.65° 92.96 min 153 km 690 km Feb 12.30 4.79° 5,039.10 min 1,999 km 180,075 km 1998-021C Iridium 64 was manoeuvred from a reserve orbit to a Mar 9.11 6.52° 5,038.61 min 2,246 km 179,808 km disposal orbit March 15. Add orbit: 2018-065A Parker Solar Probe carried out its second solar Mar 21.47 86.43° 93.15 min 160 km 701 km encounter March 30 to April 10. 1999-071A Galaxy 11 was manoeuvred off station at 45°E March 6 2018-084 2018-084J is now identified as Aoi (STARS-AO) and and is drifting to the west. 084H as Gama Kyubu (AUTCube 2). 2000-068A Intelsat 12 was relocated at 64.2°E, co-located with 2018-092G KickSat 2 apparently failed to deploy antenna, Intelsat 906, March 12. resulting in faint signals and problems with receiving 2001-033A DSP 21 (USA 159) was relocated at 49°W, replacing commands. However, with use of a large ground DSP 17, March 8. antenna, command to deploy Sprite chipsats was 2002-005D Iridium 95 was manoeuvred out of the Iridium successful March 19.15. Sprites, initially released at constellation to a disposal orbit March 7. Add orbit: 270 km altitude, decayed about March 23 and were not Mar 14.35 86.63° 93.07 min 161 km 692 km catalogued. 2002-007A Intelsat 904 was manoeuvred off station at 45°E March 2018-112B Y unhai 2-02 has manoeuvred to reach same altitude 1 and is drifting to the west. as Yunhai 2-05, but with an orbital plane 60° away. It 2003-020A Hellas Sat 2 was relocated at 95°W March 19. seems likely that the remaining four Yunhai 2 satellites are in drift orbits and will eventually manoeuvre to the 2014-076A Hayabusa 2 descended from its 20 km station to 22 m same altitude with six equally-spaced planes. Add above Ryugu March 8 to examine potential second orbit: touchdown point and descended again to 1.7 km March 22 to survey planned location for SCI impactor Mar 8.25 50.01° 100.77 min 796 km 803 km test. 2019-003A RAPIS 1 was declared operational March 31. 2015-011A-D MMS 1 to 4 have manoeuvred to raise apogee and 2019-006A Microsat-R was used as target for anti-satellite test reduce inclination, presumably for a new phase of by DRDO and destroyed over the Indian Ocean March 27.24 by a PDV-II science operations. Add orbits: missile launched from Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Island.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ACTIVITY There was the following orbital manoeuvre of ISS during March, boosted by Progress MS-10: Pre-manoeuvre orbit: Mar 23.37 51.64° 92.64 min 406 km 411 km Post-manoeuvre orbit: Mar 24.22 51.64° 92.66 min 408 km 411 km End-of-March orbital data: Mar 31.86 51.64° 92.66 min 408 km 411 km

RECENTLY DETAILED ORBITAL DECAYS International Object name Decay Designation

1997-051B Iridium 32 Mar 10.64 1998-019A Iridium 55 Mar 31.34 1998-019D Iridium 59 Mar 11.46 1998-019E Iridium 60 Mar 17.21 1999-032A Iridium 14 Mar 15.22 2002-005A Iridium 91 Mar 13.36 2002-005D Iridium 95 Mar 25.80 1998-067LJ SOMP 2 Mar 19.88 1998-067LM CXBN 2 Mar 1.13 1998-067ME Zidingxiang 1 (LO 90) Mar 28.9 1998-067MG SNUSAT 1b Mar 31.3 1998-067MK SUSat Mar 21.11 1998-067MN SNUSAT 1 Mar 14.88 1998-067NL OSIRIS-3U Mar 7.29 2017-051A IRNSS 1H Mar 2.81 1998-067PM DebrisSat 1 and net Mar 2.4 Italy’s PRISMA satellite for visible and infra-red Earth observation.

2019-011A Crew Dragon Demo 1 Mar 8.57 ISA

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 43 SOCIETY NEWS

The Master (left) presents The Way It Should Have Been, an example of his work (above right), and is thanked by BIS President Gerry Webb (above). SPACE MASTERCLASS Master artist David A, Hardy packs out his talk at BIS HQ on the history of space art.

A LONG-TIME AND VERY LOYAL friend of the BIS, On this, the latest of many visits to the Society, David A. Hardy, a Fellow of the Society, gave a David gave a talk in which he portrayed the field of seminal talk to a packed room at headquarters in art from 1874 to the present day, taking us across London on 3 April and addressed one of the largest the Solar System as he did so. David pointed out audiences ever to hear a lecture at this venue. that the real Moonscapes, as photographed by the A renowned space artist with a truly international Apollo astronauts, were rather dull compared to the following, David is the European Vice-President and imaginings of early pre-space flight artists, such as former President of the International Association of Bolton and Rudaux, who produced haunting visions, Astronomical Artists and was until recently Vice often using plaster models, of jagged lunar President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists. landscapes. Always crossing from science fact to science David introduced himself by remarking that he fiction, David never compromises scientific first heard of the British Interplanetary Society as a plausibility and insists on at least a demonstrated 14 year-old, when he received a book entitled evidence of infinite possibility. Flights into the Future including a piece by Prof A.

44 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight SOCIETY NEWS Droitwich delivers – yet again! THE WEST MIDLANDS gave a talk based on his work BRANCH of the BIS held its latest on Polaris and Chevaline (the UK talks on Saturday 16 March in the improved front end for Polaris). Gardeners Arms in Droitwich. The John’s talk covered such topics committee set up the room with as why it was thought that Britain BIS display material and then set needed Polaris and why it had to about the serious matter of the day be updated. He also covered the – welcoming attendees and talking UK’s earlier nuclear deterrents, about all things space-related! As the Skybolt fiasco, Polaris vehicle usual, a series of films on various description and operations, aspects of rocket propulsion, original payload delivery and made by the film unit at the former the UK Chevaline system. With Rocket Propulsion Establishment John’s background in Propulsion Westcott, were shown on a PC in Engineering, the Chevaline system the background. was covered in some detail. M. Low, a former President of the Society. In 1951, Gurbir Singh was on first Both talks prompted plenty of he read Interplanetary Flight and The Exploration of with an excellent and insightful questions – always a good sign! Space by Arthur C. Clarke, with illustrations by the comparison of the Indian and As the audience contained quite BIS’s R. A. Smith. He also became acquainted with Chinese Space programmes. By a few people (including me) who The Conquest of Space by Willy Ley, containing art way of introduction, Gurbir covered had worked on the Chevaline by Chesley . David joined the BIS in 1952, India’s history of rocket propulsion programme, John’s talk triggered and soon was creating posters and paintings for the and then went on to describe the a lot of reminiscing and comic Midlands Branch, meeting Arthur C. Clarke, R. A. key sites and notable characters tales about rocket testing from Smith, and H. E. . past and present. Details of the audience. Consequently, we launch vehicles, international overran by a considerable amount! UNDER THE INFLUENCE collaboration, commercial space What could be better than an David was influenced by Chesley Bonestell and our activities, geopolitics, human afternoon of rockets and ? own Ralph Smith, and in 1954 was introduced to space flight and, of course, how all Look out for more West Patrick Moore, who asked him to illustrate his book, this is integrated into the economic Midlands Branch events on Suns, Myths and Men. He continued to work with ambitions of both countries were the BIS website or the West Patrick, and the two planned a book together to be covered. For further info on the Midlands Facebook group (BIS called The Challenge of the Stars, showing space Indian Space Programme see - WM) British Interplanetary stations, Moon bases, and expeditions to Mars. This Gurbir’s book The Indian Space Society - West Midlands Branch was considered too outlandish to publish, and it Programme, www.astrotalkuk.org https://www.facebook.com/ was not until 1972 that a book of that title finally left ISBN: 10 956933734. groups/569776719819420/ the printers. David also produced cartoons and After a short refreshment break Mark Perman cover art for early issues of Spaceflight magazine. John Harlow, our branch Chair,

IMAGES: RACHEL MEGAWHAT (FAR LFET) / ALISTAIR SCOTT (LEFT) / DAVID A. HARDY (ABOVE) A. HARDY (LEFT) / DAVID SCOTT ALISTAIR / LFET) (FAR MEGAWHAT RACHEL IMAGES: As at all his talks, David thoroughly engaged the audience by giving us a fascinating insight into the complexities of space art. For several decades now, thanks to his talent and productive output, he has ranked as the UK’s greatest living space artist – an international figure, highly respected throughout the art world. David’s talk wasn’t his only engagement to make it into the pages of Society News this month. On 21 April, while making his 60th appearance at EasterCon, he was presented with an Honorary Fellowship on behalf of the Council by BIS President Gerry Webb. In giving the award, Gerry noted David’s “tremendous contribution to astronautical art” and acknowledged “the immense support” that he has given to the Society over the decades. An Honorary Fellowship is the highest award that the British Interplanetary Society can bestow and David Hardy becomes the seventh recipient. The other Honorary Fellows are Professor Freeman Dyson, Colonel Al Worden, Dr Helen Sharman, Major Tim Peake, Sir Martin Sweeting and Alan Droitwich hosted another West Midlands Group lecture on 16 March.

Bond. SF Griffith Ingram GURBIR SINGH

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 45 SLUG

World Space Week 2019 It’s almost that time again – and help is needed.

Ex-astronaut and BIS Honorary Fellow Al Worden joins the fun in 2014 (above), while facepainters (below right) find inspiration among the planets.

IN 1999, THE UNITED NATIONS General Assembly the 4-10 October timeframe. Use the World Space declared October 4-10 annually as World Space Week name and logo into your publicity materials. Week. Its purpose is “to celebrate each year at the You may want to coordinate with other events international level the contributions of space organizers in your area and your national science and technology to the betterment of the coordinator. You can download posters and logos human condition”. Today, this event is celebrated in directly from our website, free for you to use. To about 70 nations each year by schools, space help develop a strong ‘Festival Brand’, we are organisations and others. The aim is to inspire encouraging all organisations to co-brand events children, educate the public and government with “World Space Week”. This helps people leaders about space, and to demonstrate public become aware of the festival, and will help build a support for space activities. brand for future years. It also allows your event World Space Week is an excellent opportunity for attendees to become aware of other events being organizations across the world to come together organised in your area. This is a win-win scenario, as and help collectively inspire and stimulate interests people attending other events will similarly hear

in space exploration, space sciences and education. about yours. VIX SOUTHGATE VIA LEFT) AND BELOW (ABOVE IMAGES Your organization can participate in the celebration How to advertise: To make it an official World of World Space Week each October 4-10. By doing Space Week event it is important to add your event so, you will leverage the public and media attention to the global calendar. After adding it to the surrounding the largest annual public space event database you should let people know about your on Earth. event! Start by telling local media about your event What to do: You determine what you want to do. plans. Send a press release to your local newspaper Any activity related to space will do, from a short or TV/radio station, and announce it on social media, classroom drawing activity for a handful of toddlers using the World Space Week hashtag (e.g. to a stadium-size all-week lecture programme. #WSW2014 or #WSW2015). If you have a website Programmes can be for any audience, such as the for your event, add a link to the World Space Week public, employees, government leaders, the media, page and make their website and social media teachers, or students (see our materials for channels. schools). These programmes can be existing or World Space Week Association is an international new. We recommend you contact your National non-profit organization, which supports the global Coordinator for ideas, or use the event ideas pages coordination of UN-declared World Space Week, on this website. held October 4-10 annually. http://www. How to do it: Schedule space-related activities for worldspaceweek.org/ SF

46 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight SOCIETY NEWS

Do you have the “right stuff”? After two years spent successfully steering JBIS towards its new look, Editor Roger Longstaff is moving on to fresh challenges. The Society is now looking for someone to replace him. This is a part-time position, typically taking two days a week, that would suit someone who is either in part-time employment, self-employed or retired but still takes a keen interest in the field of astronautics, and who has a background in related academia, astronautics or the space industry itself. Administrative help PUTTING ASTRONAUTS IN will be provided and the position attracts remuneration for each issue published. If you think you might fit the bill, please contact Executive IMPOSSIBLE LOCATIONS Secretary Norman at [email protected] for more details. A one day technical symposium 9:00 am – Wednesday 27 November 2019 BIS HQ, 27/29 South Lambeth Road New for 2019 CALL FOR PAPERS While the human exploration of the Moon and AFTER A SLIGHT HIATUS, the Mars has been extensively examined, serious production lines are now rolling for technical consideration of the rest of the solar system Volume 72 of JBIS, with nine more has been largely ignored. This symposium is designed papers of astronautical interest – to explore the limits of where human exploration can five General papers in January and go in the solar system and how to overcome the four more focused on Interstellar challenges involved. subjects for February. March will be The symposium is open to papers on the transportation requirements, the practicalities of coming shortly – oh, and the comet’s habitation in extreme environments and any other back, albeit slightly smaller than it aspects of a solar system wide civilisation. used to be! Submissions should be on the basis that there will be a completed paper delivered before the symposium as well as giving a presentation on the day. All papers will be considered for publication in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. CORRECTION Proposed papers should be described in an Ray Ward emailed to tell us that the article on Apollo 10 in the Vol 61, No 5 abstract of no more than 400 words, and submitted p 22 issue of SpaceFlight asserted that the Peanuts comic strip was to the Society at [email protected]. Submission created by George Schulz. It was in fact Charles, and his inherited name deadline 31 July 2019 was Schulz, not Schultz as we printed it. Whoops! Ed

WESTCOTT WELCOME FORMER EMPLOYEES of the Rocket Norman Carr, 9 Roger Neal, 10 Brian Lindsay, 11 Propulsion Establishment Westcott celebrated Jan Glasspoole,12 Les Glasspoole, 13 Michael the 73rd anniversary of the site’s establishment Weedon, 14 Colin Phillips, 15 Andy Rickard,16 at the Westcott Sports and Social Club (formerly Les Cracknell, 17 Ron Hoare, 18 Ed Andrews, 19 the V100 club), on the 13 April 2019. Over 50 Brian Askham, 20 Don Pointer, 21 Dave Rolls, 22 people turned up, some of whom had travelled Mike Larlham, 23 Chris Gray, 24 Paul Burnham, a long way, and members of the BIS West 25 Bob Wood, 26 John Butterworth, 27 Ray Midlands Branch were of course in attendance. Pound, 28 Geoff Peveral, 29 Pete Cowley, 30 Revisiting Westcott: 1 Ron Sullivan, 2 Roy Paul Robinson, 31 Stuart Marsh, 32 John Rolfe, Mapley, 3 Molly Dickson, 4 Maureen Shipley, 5 33 Mick Sandermann, 34 Liz Perman, 35 Mark Barbara Hood, 6 Di Hickman, 7 Robin Jarvis, 8 Perman, 36 Bruce Hiscock, 37 Adrian Phillips.

SpaceFlight Vol 61 June 2019 47 SOCIETY NEWS

BIS LECTURES & MEETINGS MEMBERSHIP NEWS APOLLO 10 – DRESS REHEARSAL FOR THE MOON LANDING 22 May 2019, 7.00pm VENUE: BIS, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ Jerry Stone continues his coverage of Apollo with the first flight to carry both the Apollo spacecraft and the Lunar Module on a full dress rehearsal of a landing.

Call for Papers RUSSIAN-SINO FORUM 1-2 June 2019, 9.30 am to 5pm (tbc) VENUE: BIS, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ The BIS has now scheduled its 39th annual Russian- Sino Forum – one of our most popular and longest running events. Papers are invited. APOLLO MISSIONS: LANDING ON THE MOON BY DAVID BAKER 12 June 2019, 7.00pm VENUE: BIS, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ SpaceFlight's editor looks at the systems evolved by Countdown to the 50th NASA for calculating optimum lunar landing trajectories, and at the descent procedures needed to BIS MEMBERS ARE FILLING UP the celebration diary for Apollo@50 achieve the maximum chance of success. with a wide range of television, radio, podcast and live events up and down the country. CASSINI- AND THE LORD OF THE To date, Apollo veteran Keith Wright is deeply involved in the RINGS production of “Apollo – One Giant Leap” and Keith will be giving a talk 20 June 2019, 7.00pm at the Royal Photographic Society’s HQ in Bristol on 18 July. Spaceflight VENUE: BIS, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ contributor Nick Spall is helping the storytelling production company Dr Shelia Kanani invites you to join her in celebrating Adverse Camber with its planned “Moon” STEM outreach project. this incredible spacecraft’s amazing mission and some Keith and Apollo veteran Tony Errington are assisting with a TV documentary for BBC Newsnight and both are heavily involved in of the breathtaking discoveries it made. helping younger space enthusiasts to understand the momentous APOLLO 11– MOON LANDING events of 50 years ago. Keith was on the One Show on 3 April talking 17 July 2019, 7.00pm about the little hand-drawn Union flag that he put on the seismometer VENUE: BIS, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ left on the Moon by Neil Armstrong. Meanwhile, SpaceFlight Editor David Baker has recorded interviews Jerry Stone continues his series of ever-popular Apollo for a 10-part BBC series on the history of the space programme and is lectures with a celebration of the first lunar landing. delivering a weekend residential course on the history and events of

TH the Apollo programme at Knuston Hall Residential College, Irchester, 74 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Northants on 17-19 May. David will also be co-hosting a live countdown 27 July 2018, 1 pm event with Dr Michael Warner on the evening of 20 July in Henley-on- VENUE: Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire (TBC) Thames. Giant open-air screens will display NASA films while the pair Admission to the AGM is open to Fellows only but all recall the events surrounding Apollo 11 before an audience outside the Members are welcome to join the discussion after the town hall, where local streets will be closed to support a massive formalities conclude around 1.15 pm. Please advise in public celebration of the first Moon landing. SF David Baker advance if you wish to attend (attendance to this part of the afternoon is free). The AGM will be followed by the BIS Summer Get-together at the same venue; tickets Space at a premium! are £20 and will be on sale on our website soon. Council nomination forms are obtainable from the Executive THE BIS HAS RECEIVED NOTICE from several members looking to Secretary or from the BIS website and must be donate copies of Spaceflight to anyone who can give them a home. returned not later than 1pm 4 May 2019. Maureen Ilott ([email protected]) has copies from 2004 to July 2018 and would like to give them a decent home but, due to their weight and volume, she requires them to be collected from her in person in Thaxted, Essex. Mike ([email protected]) has what he believes is a NEW MEMBERS complete collection from January 1970, when he joined the BIS, and is keen to find a home for them as well. A total of 32 new members from far and Wolfgang Richter ([email protected]) has a complete set of wide joined the Society in March – 23 SpaceFlight from 1970 to 1997, bound volumes up to 1988 and loose copies from the UK, 2 from the USA, 2 from from 1989 for anyone who is prepared to collect them from his home in Australia, 1 from Italy, 1 from China, 1 southwest Germany. from Egypt, 1 from Qatar, and 1 from For general enquiries and any other readers interested in donating their New Zealand. A warm welcome to all! collections, be they Spaceflight, JBIS or Space Chronicle, please send an email to [email protected]. SF Gill Norman

48 Vol 61 June 2019 SpaceFlight

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