Spaceflight A British Interplanetary Society Publication James Webb Telescope The BIG ONE is coming! Icarus with steel wings Vol 59 No 1 January 2017 £4.50 www.bis-space.com INBOX When deployed in 2018 to a position in space four times the distance between Earth and Moon, the James Webb Space Telescope will turn its infrared eye on the earliest objects in space, pushing back our understanding of the universe even further. NASA 2 Spaceflight Vol 59 January 2017 CONTENTS Editor: Published by the British Interplanetary Society David Baker, PhD, BSc, FBIS, FRHS Sub-editor: Volume 59 No. 1 January 2017 Ann Page 6-7 Trump on Space Production Assistant: With the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the USA and Ben Jones an all-Republican Congress, the Editor looks at prospects for the space Spaceflight Promotion: programme under the new administration Gillian Norman Spaceflight 11 ISS Rescoped Arthur C. Clarke House, The Russians are downsizing their presence on the ISS so how does the 27/29 South Lambeth Road, manifest look for 2017? London, SW8 1SZ, England. Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Fax: +44 (0)20 7582 7167 Email: [email protected] 13 To Mars via HoloLens www.bis-space.com Buzz Aldrin has helped launch a new virtual experience at the Kennedy Space Center. Is this the way for Earthlings to experience Mars? ADVERTISING Tel: +44 (0)1424 883401 Email: [email protected] DISTRIBUTION 14-15 Webb Telescope optics complete! Spaceflight may be received worldwide by With two years to go before launch, the mirror is complete on the world’s mail through membership of the British biggest space telescope. Interplanetary Society. Details including Library subscriptions are available from the above address. * * * 16 German women for space Spaceflight is obtainable from UK newsagents The search is on to find the first woman astronaut from Germany, with and other retail outlets in many countries. finalists vying for a seat on a Soyuz. In the event of difficulty contact: Warners Group Distribution, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH, England. Tel: +44 (0)1778 391 000 18-23 The Big One is Coming! Fax: +44 (0)1778 393 668 With increasing attention to the risk from Near Earth Objects, just how is * * * the impact probability assessed? Spaceflight is a publication which promotes the mission of The British Interplanetary Society. Opinions in signed articles are those of the 24-25 Massimino on the Road contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or the Council of the British Rick Mulheirn caught up with retired astronaut Mike Massimino to find Interplanetary Society. out what motivates him and what he is planning to do now. * * * Back issues of Spaceflight are available from the Society. For details of issues and prices go 27-29 Icarus Spacecraft Designs – Part 2 to www.bis-space.com or send an sae to the Peter Milne brings us up to date with continuing activity on starship address at top. studies with coverage of Resolution, Zeus and IDD designs. * * * Published monthly by the British Interplanetary Society. Registered Company No: 402498. Registered Charity No: 250556. Printed in the Regular Features UK by Latimer Trend & Company Ltd. 4-5 News Analysis – Beagle 2 New Evidence * * * Copyright © British Interplanetary Society 2016 ISSN 0038-6340. All rights reserved. 8-10 ISS Report – 16 October 2016-15 November 2016 No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, 12 Briefing notes – news shorts from around the world electronic or mechanical, including photo- copying or recording by any information storage 30 Flashback – A regular feature looking back 50 years ago this month or retrieval system without written permission from the Publishers. Photocopying permitted by license only. 31 Shelf – Reality Check – Bugs in Space – Be careful… * * * The British Interplanetary Society is a company 32 Satellite Digest – 528 October 2016 limited by guarantee. 33-37 Society News – BIS and IAASS sign MOU – Belgian branch meets – Ordnance Mission Survey on Mars – Sir Arthur Clarke Awards 2016 – NLV working day The British Interplanetary Society promotes the exploration and use of space for the benefit of humanity, by connecting people to create, 38 What’s On educate and inspire, and advance knowledge in all aspects of astronautics. Cover image: The James Webb Space Telescope is now mirror-complete (see pages 14-15). NASA Spaceflight Vol 59 January 2017 3 NEWS ANALYSIS Beagle 2 New Evidence Imaging evidence from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that Beagle 2 did land intact on the surface of Mars, with additional verification now which implies it just may still be operating and collecting information. NASA/University of Leicester cientists in Leicester have moved one of the lander and the resolution of the HiRISE visualisation specialist Teodora Kuzmanova step closer to understanding exactly camera on the MRO, the exact configuration had to create a physically accurate 3D model what happened to the ill-fated Mars of the lander on Mars was not clear, despite of the Beagle 2 Mars Lander with surfaces SLander Beagle 2, thanks to an innovative collection of eight images of the lander and the that would accurately reflect virtual sunlight. research technique. The probe was discovered use of advanced image processing techniques. The angle of the sun had to be simulated on the Red Planet in November 2014 but Now the researchers from De Montfort along with position of a virtual camera that uncertainty surrounded what had caused its University and the University of Leicester have could take pictures equivalent to NASA’s failure to communicate with Earth. worked together to come up with a new way to Reconnaissance Orbiter. Finally these images Now, a collaboration between De Montfort detect the configuration of the lander. had to be pixelated to match the resolution of University and the University of Leicester, has Professor Mark Sims, former Beagle the Orbiter’s images. used 3D modelling technology to reveal for 2 Mission Manager and Professor of “The visual comparison between the real the first time that Beagle 2 deployed at least Astrobiology and Space Instrumentation at and simulated images could then begin to three, and possibly all four, of the solar panels the University of Leicester came up with the identify which landing configuration was the it was supposed to after touching down on concept of “reflection analysis”, of matching best fit. This was originally a proof of principle the planet’s surface. The finding will rewrite simulated and real images of Beagle 2. The project. However, we are delighted to say that scientific knowledge about the stricken Lander technique is based on simulating possible we have gone way beyond this original plan to – it was previously thought that perhaps only configurations of the lander on the surface and reach this exciting conclusion that Beagle 2 did as few as two of the four solar panels had comparing the light of the Sun reflected by the not crash but landed and probably deployed deployed. simulated lander with the unprocessed images most of its panels. Hopefully these results help Beagle 2 was part of the ESA Mars Express available from the HiRISE camera at a number to solve a long held mystery and will benefit Mission launched in June 2003. Mars Express of different sun angles. any future missions to Mars.” is still orbiting Mars and returning scientific Professor Sims turned to a team at De Professor Mark Sims added: “Although the data on the planet. Beagle 2 was successfully Montfort University to realise his concept. concept of the ‘reflection analysis’ was mine I ejected from Mars Express on 19 December Commercially available software used for didn’t know it would work. Thanks to the effort 2003 but failed to send a signal on Christmas 3D modelling, animation, visual effects and of the team at De Montfort University they Day, its scheduled landing day on Mars. It was simulation design was adapted to enable this proved that this concept could work and we presumed lost until over a decade later when analysis. Nick Higgett leader of the De Montfort have gathered more information on the failure the mystery of what happened to the mission University Simulation team said: of Beagle 2 to communicate and we are one was solved through images taken by NASA’s “The De Montfort team were responsible for step closer to knowing what happened. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). all the 3D simulation work to test the reflection work shows frustratingly that Beagle 2 came Despite its detection, due to the small size analysis concept. In order to do this, our so close to working as intended on Mars. 4 Spaceflight Vol 59 January 2017 NEWS ANALYSIS A perfect fit Nick Higgett, leader of the MA Digital Design group at DMU, together with 3D specialists Teodora Kuzmanova and Dr Eric Tatham, used 3D software to model the scene in three dimensions, adjusting the position of the Sun and the resting angle and orientation of the Beagle 2, unfolding the four solar panels at different angles taking in the illumination conditions on the planet until they found the best visual match to what the NASA original images showed. These simulations were then adjusted to reproduce the resolution and view Careful analysis indicates that the spacecraft is deployed almost flat on the surface with at least three point of the NASA spacecraft. petals deployed. De Montfort University Mark Sims, Professor of Astrobiology and Space Instrumentation at the University of as conducted by Professor Jan-Peter Muller to additional funding and ideally other images Leicester (UL), former Beagle 2 Mission and his team at University College London at a variety of Sun angles, might further define Manager who derived the concept and Dr Jim announced in April 2016.