SpaceFlight A British Interplanetary Society publication Volume 62 No.7 July 2020 £5.25 SPACE PLANES: back to the the future? 07> Probing the Kuiper Belt 634089 The man behind the ISS 770038 Remembering Dr Fred Singer 9 CONTENTS Features 16 Multiple stations pledge We look at a critical assessment of the way science is conducted at the International Space Station and finds it wanting. 18 The man behind the ISS 16 The Editor reflects on the life of recently Letter from the Editor deceased Jim Beggs, the NASA Administrator for whom the building of the ISS was his We are particularly pleased this supreme achievement. month to have two features which cover the spectrum of 22 Why don’t we just wing it? astronautical activities. Nick Spall Nick Spall FBIS examines the balance between gives us his critical assessment of winged lifting vehicles and semi-ballistic both winged and blunt-body re-entry vehicles for human space capsules, arguing that the former have been flight and Alan Stern reports on his grossly overlooked. research at the very edge of the 26 Parallels with Apollo 18 connected solar system – the Kuiper Belt. David Baker looks beyond the initial return to the We think of the internet and Moon by astronauts and examines the plan for a how it helps us communicate and sustained presence on the lunar surface. stay in touch, especially in these times of difficulty. But the fact that 28 Probing further in the Kuiper Belt in less than a lifetime we have Alan Stern provides another update on the gone from a tiny bleeping ball in pioneering work of New Horizons. the sky to an emissary of Earth now nearly 7 billion kilometres away is awe-inspiring. It tells us of 22 what we are capable and it must Regulars be an inspiration for us all in these unusual times. 2 Behind the news Remember, you can see NASA loses Moon boss – Project Artemis: triple recorded and streaming videos of lander line-up – Revamped plans for Lunar seminal talks by being a member of the BIS and, by the way, Vix Gateway – Stand by for Action! – Annie Glenn: Southgate wants to hear from you in memoriam – Rosalind gets a makeover about ideas for World Space 6 Opinion Week. See Society News. 8 Space UK 10 ISS Report 26 9 April – 8 May 2020 32 Obituary – Dr S. “Fred” Singer (1924-2020) David Baker 36 Letters to the Editor [email protected] 38 Multi-media The latest space-related books, games, videos 40 Satellite Digest 570 – April 2020 44 Society news / Diary 28 COVER: THE MCDONNELL DOUGLAS DC-X IN AN IMAGINED LIFT-OFF (SEE PAGE 22). / MCDONNELL DOUGLAS 22). / MCDONNELL (SEE PAGE LIFT-OFF AN IMAGINED DC-X IN DOUGLAS THE MCDONNELL COVER: What’s happened/ What’s coming up OUR MISSION STATEMENT Editor David Baker, PhD, BSc, FBIS, FRHS Sub Editor Ann Page Creative Consultant Andrée Wilson Design & Production MP3 Media Promotion Gillian Norman Advertising Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Email: [email protected] The British Interplanetary Society Distribution Warners Group Distribution, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH, England Tel: +44 (0)1778 promotes the exploration and 391 000 Fax: +44 (0)1778 393 668 SpaceFlight, Arthur C. Clarke House, 27-29 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ, use of space for the benefit England Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Email: [email protected] www.bis-space.com Published monthly by the British Interplanetary Society, SpaceFlight is a publication that promotes the mission of the British of humanity, connecting people Interplanetary Society. Opinions in signed articles are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of to create, educate and inspire, the Editor or the Council of the British Interplanetary Society. Registered Company No: 402498. Registered charity No: and advance knowledge in 250556. The British Interplanetary Society is a company limited by guarantee. Printed in England by Buxton Press Ltd. © 2020 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 62 July 2020 1 BEHIND THE NEWS NASA USAF LOSES MOON BOSS Douglas Loverro has gone – his replacement unknown. Just seven months into the job, amid mounting pressure from the White House to land astronauts on the Moon in 2024, NASA human space flight boss Jim Loverro has quit the agency. IN A SHOCK MOVE on 18 May, NASA human space worse time for NASA, his departure just days before flight boss Jim Loverro resigned from office, vacating the final flight readiness review for the first Crew the most important position at the agency for getting Dragon to carry astronauts, scheduled to lift off on 27 astronauts back on the Moon by the end of 2024. His May as this issue went to press. Once again, departure comes three weeks after NASA had Bowersox is standing in for Loverro until NASA sorts selected three teams to work toward a spacecraft out a replacement in what is becoming a bizarre which will carry humans to the lunar surface under “game of chairs” for what is arguably the most the Artemis programme, and seven months after important position at the agency’s flagship, highly Loverro was named as successor to long-time boss publicised Artemis programme. Bill Gerstenmaier. It is believed that Loverro stood down after reportedly stepping beyond boundaries A CRYING SHAME helping a contractor achieve an optimum proposal by The problems at NASA’s human space flight sharing proprietary information, not for personal gain programme began when President Trump gave the but for speeding the process. agency the order to head for the lunar surface by Capping several decades heading up NASA’s 2024, Gerstenmaier’s sacking being predicated on the human flight activities including the Shuttle, the ISS, belief (fostered at the White House) that NASA was Orion and several applications of deep-space goals to not moving with sufficient pace to make that happen. date, in July 2019 Bill Gerstenmaier was replaced in a Gerstenmaier is highly respected as a competent bid to push the Trump Administration’s goal of engineer, a good manager and a trusted hand at the fast-tracking astronauts back to the Moon. Deputy rudder of international human space flight activity. On human flight boss and former astronaut Ken hearing of his sacking, colleagues say that he was Bowersox stood in for Gerstenmaier until Loverro devastated and reduced to tears. While Loverro is was appointed as his successor. Gerstenmaier is also a highly respected professional, the sacking of now with SpaceX. Bill Gerstenmaier may be the one move that dooms The departure of Loverro could not have come at a NASA never to make the Moon by 2024. SF 2 Vol 62 July 2020 SpaceFlight BEHIND THE NEWS Project Artemis: triple lander line-up SPACEX DYNETICS BLUE ORIGIN Blue Origin has done a full lander concept. Dynetics’ proposal is a more radical departure. SpaceX is pitching all on its Starship concept. ON 30 APRIL NASA selected three followed by the second contender for flights for up to four crewmembers to teams to continue advanced studies a landing in 2025. This entire structure and from lunar orbit and for stays of on development of the lunar landing is new to NASA, demolishing up to about a week on the surface. vehicle with which it is planned to put administrative practices and speeding Despite the low-slung crew cabin astronauts on the Moon. Award assessment of contractor data. affording step-off access to the leaders are Blue Origin, Dynetics and The Blue Origin team groups surface, overall it is more technically SpaceX, each with a particular together Lockheed Martin, Northrop challenging than the Blue Origin approach to the technical challenge. Grumman and Draper and is a three- concept. Contracts for initial evaluation of stage Integrated Lander Vehicle (ILV) SpaceX seems the most difficult, requirements under the NextSTEP based on a descent element built using technology from the Falcon programme resulted in a formal around the Blue Moon concept and Heavy and the single-stage Starship, request for proposals in May 2019 with the BE-7, liquid hydrogen/oxygen only the first of which has yet flown. the selection of eleven contenders. rocket motor. The ascent element, or Musk claims that Starship could put The initial concept was to conduct a crew cabin, comes from Lockheed 80,000 kg on the Moon. This appears demonstration mission in 2024 and Martin’s Orion experience while to have excited NASA Administrator establish a sustainable presence on Northrop Grumman will use its Jim Bridenstine who holds fast to the the Moon by 2028. Worth a total $45.5 Cygnus experience for a transfer notion that the SLS might not be used million, the six-month contracts element and Draper covers guidance for sending the lander to lunar orbit resulted in a September 2019 call for and navigation equipment and from where it would support surface industry to submit proposals for a software. operations with crew delivered by human landing system. The three Dynetics has a different approach SLS/Orion. The three contracts end in winners have access to a total $967 and requires either the Space Launch February 2021, after which NASA will million for the ten month study. The System Block 1B or the United Launch select one to prioritise.