Spaceflight A British Interplanetary Society Publication Britain back in Space

Vol 58 No 1 January 2016 £4.50

www.bis-space.com

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Editor: Published by the British Interplanetary Society David Baker, PhD, BSc, FBIS, FRHS Sub-editor: Volume 58 No. 1 January 2016 Ann Page 4-5 Peake on countdown – to the ISS and beyond Production Assistant: As British astronaut Tim Peake gets ready for his ride into space, Ben Jones Spaceflight reviews the build-up to this mission and examines the Spaceflight Promotion: possibilities that may unfold as a result of European contributions to Suszann Parry NASA’s Orion programme. Spaceflight Arthur C. Clarke House, 6-9 Ready to go! 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, England. What happens when Tim Peake arrives at the International Space Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Station, where can I watch it, listen to it, follow it, and what are the Fax: +44 (0)20 7582 7167 broadcasters doing about special programming? We provide the Email: [email protected] directory to a media frenzy! www.bis-space.com 16-17 BIS Technical Projects ADVERTISING Tel: +44 (0)1424 883401 Robin Brand has been busy gathering the latest information about Email: [email protected] studies, research projects and practical experiments now underway at DISTRIBUTION the BIS, the first in a periodic series of roundups. Spaceflight may be received worldwide by mail through membership of the British 18 Icarus Progress Report Interplanetary Society. Details including Library First came Daedalus, now Icarus and Spaceflight catches up with subscriptions are available from the above address. progress in the last two years on concepts for a starship, one of the most exciting possibilities facing mankind. * * * Spaceflight is obtainable from UK newsagents 20-23 Unseen challenges in a Mars colony and other retail outlets in many countries. In the event of difficulty contact: Warners Konrad Szocik examines the psychological and social challenges facing Group Distribution, The Maltings, Manor Lane, humans in a Mars colony and looks at the kind of society that could Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH, England. develop in an autonomous settlement separated from Earth. Tel: +44 (0)1778 391 000 Fax: +44 (0)1778 393 668 24-27 IAC 2015 at the Holy City * * * David Todd reports from Jerusalem on the atmosphere at the 66th Spaceflight is a publication which promotes the International Astronautical Congress and reviews projects, programmes mission of The British Interplanetary Society. and future projects discussed. Opinions in signed articles are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or the Council of the British 32-33 Birthplace of the V-2 Interplanetary Society. Alan Marlow and BIS members were with a tour group visiting several * * * places where German rocketry began and matured in the 1930s, taking in the remains of production facilities in the Harz Mountains. Back issues of Spaceflight are available from the Society. For details of issues and prices go to www.bis-space.com or send an sae to the address at top. Regular Features * * * 5 Letter from the Editor Published monthly by the British Interplanetary Society. Registered Company No: 402498. 10-11 ISS Operations Summary – 1 to 31 October 2015 Registered Charity No: 250556. Printed in the UK by Latimer Trend & Company Ltd. 12 Briefing notes – news shorts from around the world * * * 13-15 Satellite Digest – 516 October 2015 Copyright © British Interplanetary Society 2016 ISSN 0038-6340. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced 28 Obituary – George E Mueller (1918-2015) or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo- 29 Off the Shelf – Sacramento’s Moon Rockets – Breaking the Chains of Gravity copying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission 30 Correspondence – Setting the record straight – Life Force – A promise for the from the Publishers. Photocopying permitted future? by license only. * * * 31 Flashback – A regular feature looking back 50 years ago this month The British Interplanetary Society is a company limited by guarantee. 34-37 Society News – The BIS at Autographica – Jim Lovell at Space Lectures – The Martian – A visit from NASA Mission The British Interplanetary Society promotes the 38 What’s On exploration and use of space for the benefit of humanity, by connecting people to create, educate and inspire, and advance knowledge in Cover image: Tim Peake gets ready for his six-month mission to the International Space Station (see all aspects of astronautics. pages 4-9). ESA

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Astronauts try out the Orion mock-up during a test of the ergonomics for NASA’s next crew vehicle which could one day be flying ESA astronauts beyond the Moon. Lockheed Martin

t has been a long time coming but the UK’s spacecraft, to the Mir space station on 18 May such as telecommunications, remote sensing first official government-supported human 1991. Since then attitudes to human space and the more recent Galileo navigation satellite space flight (HSF) will begin when Tim flight have changed, largely as a result of the programme. Materials science was the way IPeake is launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft involvement of the European Space Agency in in for British participation in the ESA human from the Baykonur cosmodrome at 11.13 GMT the International Space Station, the fabrication space flight programme, a field in which the on Tuesday 15 December. His mission to the of modules and cargo supply vehicles and the UK had already achieved strong recognition for International Space Station is scheduled to last routine assignment of European astronauts the limited amount of work which had received approximately six months. In that time he will as crewmembers. Now, the UK joins an elite ESA support on the reciprocal arrangement of conduct a wide range of scientific experiments, group of astronauts who have visited the ISS. fees-in/work-out. carry out a number of research tasks, may But will Tim Peake have another crack at conduct EVA, will certainly be monitored Prime slots going into space on behalf of the government? closely by physicians and will definitely be Tim Peake was one of six astronauts selected Future participation depends upon sustained watched by children across the UK on a range on 20 May 2009, a group known as The involvement between the UK and Europe’s of educational programmes and activities. Shenanigans, which also included Samantha HSF programmes and that is by no means It is hoped by many organisations, Cristoforetti and Luca Parmitano from Italy, certain. Which is why support for Peake’s companies and universities that Tim Peake’s Alexander Gerst from Germany, Andreas mission over the next several months could be mission will also result in a reinvigoration of Mogensen from Denmark and Thomas crucial to the national debate, which must not interest in UK space activities and in a more Pesquet from France. After Peake’s launch, rest solely on the fascination held by children enlightened awareness of the benefits to only Pesquet remains from the 2009 group yet and young people, who are still some way off accrue from this work. The UK has prevailed to fly. He is assigned a slot on the Expedition being the decision-makers of the near-term. as a leading member of the European Space 50/51 mission to launch in November 2016. What is needed now is a transfer of load Agency despite vacillation and indifference Although recruited as ESA astronauts, two of from the backs of school teachers to the from past governments. But that is behind us only three women selected never flew; Claudie responsibilities held by universities and now and a more vigorous attitude from the UK Haigneré resigned before assignment and research institutes to apply pressure on Space Agency, still pitifully low on resources, Marianne Merchez left to pursue a career in government to capitalise on future potential has propelled interest in space from a remote medicine. by consolidating the links now. In this way, backwater to prime time television and media Current UK involvement has been based on extending the volume of work on materials coverage. a readjustment of funding support for human science and research into human physiology The second British astronaut to fly in space, space flight, a non-obligatory programme to in space to new levels of international it has been more than 24 years since Helen which previous governments had declined to cooperation and development fully integrating Sharman was launched, also in a Soyuz contribute, instead firmly backing applications UK science and engineering into the European

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mix, which has proven so strong in these fields However, few believed that the single element internationally. contract for EM-1 (Exploration Mission-1, the Beyond the immediate future, and not first SLS flight) would be anything other than a necessarily to the end of the current agreement one-off but that is changing. to support the ISS through 2024, there are Few now doubt that ESA will probably get the possibilities which rely on continued European contract to build successive Service Modules involvement with the United States in its for future reusable Orion spacecraft. And if that national human space flight programme. If the happens, Europe will be fully integrated into UK achieves solid integration in a sustained NASA’s next-generation spacecraft capable support for European HSF, it will leave the door of carrying humans beyond Earth orbit. It will open for participation in missions beyond low also be a “first”, because in the past only US Earth orbit. This is something Tim Peake has companies have built major elements of a already expressed as a personal desire and US people-carrier. Bids to share contracted the reality of achieving that may be closer than work on the Shuttle were disallowed when the many people imagine. Pentagon refused to back NASA for military use of the vehicle if any element was built by a Onward and upward foreign country. When NASA suggested removing the Orion Potentially, the European Service Module Service Module from the Lockheed Martin (ESM) is a long-term project which will see contract to build the spacecraft designed to an evolution rather than pure replication. The carry astronauts into deep space, few at the configuration of the ESM for EM-1 is incapable company believed it was going to happen and of supporting crewed missions and is built Airbus Defence & Space deliver the first Orion personnel were reluctant to align themselves purely for the initial test flight on the SLS Service Module for a flight in 2018 which just with management of the work. But a reciprocal rocket. The ESM module for EM-2, the first may eventually open a door for Tim Peake to reach Mars. NASA exchange of Automated Transfer Vehicle for crewed flight, will support a launch in 2023. production of a single Service Module for the Subsequent Orion flights are expected to fly no first spacecraft launched on the Space Launch more than one a year, albeit a rate which is expeditionary crew lists for work done on the System went ahead, leaving Lockheed Martin an increase on the previous ESA contract for ISS programme under the original agreement, smarting under the shift of work. delivery of the Automated Transfer Vehicle. when Orion starts carrying humans from 2023 Separation of elements within an integrated, If work to provide the Orion programme a reciprocal deal flying ESA crewmembers is international programme is not new. It with a production-line of expendable Service a natural progression. In which case, if the happened with Spacelab and the Shuttle, with Modules goes ahead it will provide a door UK listens to what Tim Peake is saying about the sharing of US space station plans among to European astronauts flying to the vicinity inspiration – he may one day be heading for an several partners and with several planetary of the Moon and to places beyond. Just as asteroid or even to the vicinity of Mars. Now missions, notably the Cassini-Huygens project. ESA astronauts get to make up part of the that really is something to tell the kids!

ew Year and a new start, with are practical and a few are placing the BIS in the beneficial and productive value of the resolutions and pledges dominating space – literally. We should shout about these space programme at large but also about good intentions. While looking activities, for they represent the finest in what what belonging to the BIS should mean to Nforward is always productive, using the our members can achieve. members, what the Society is doing and past as a base from which to project future The way in which Tim Peake’s mission to where it is going. actions, sometimes it helps to reflect on what the ISS is motivating national interest in space Too often comes the cry “what does the can be done to make existing things better. should be an inspiration for the Society itself Society do for me?” This is negative, for Which is where Spaceflight comes in. to come together and productively support a the question must surely be “what can I do There is considerable talent locked away in the public information campaign. Not only about for the Society?” It is hoped that over the British Interplanetary Society. With a core staff at next several months Spaceflight will open its London headquarters keeping the machinery a window on the several projects already moving and the wheels lubricated, a wide range under way which would welcome additional of volunteers give time and considerable energy support, hopefully attract more participants to framing the way the Society projects itself and and generally show the wide range of talent promotes the peaceful exploration of space. across our membership. That got me thinking about what Spaceflight can Keen-eyed readers will also notice some do to unite staff, volunteers and members, who subtle changes, of which there will be more sadly sometimes see little reason to be in the over the coming months, including dropping BIS at all. the use of Imperial units for measurement. Accordingly, starting with this issue, there Most readers around the world where metric will be regular progress reports on the units are not the “first language” will hopefully technical groups and what they are doing. accept this shift in what many regard as timely Some of these studies are academic, others and long overdue. Meanwhile, happy holidays.

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Training, testing, simulations and more training…That’s all over now with just a few days to go before Tim Peake (left) joins Yuri Malenchenko (centre) and Tim Kopra aboard their Soyuz spacecraft for a fast ride to the International Space Station. ESA

ll appears set for Tim Peake to lift shows that this early link is vital for crew rather than purposefully using muscle to shift off in Soyuz TMA-19M on a Soyuz orientation, establishing a connection that will location, even early science experiments are FG launch vehicle from the Baikonur be maintained throughout the next six months. aligned with this susceptibility. CosmodromeA at about 11.03am GMT on 15 After that, bets are off as to how the crew will One of the first tasks for Tim Peake will be December. Separation from the second stage adapt to weightlessness. to fill out a questionnaire from ESA on space will occur at 11 minutes elapsed time. The There is no known test which can reliably headaches and this will be completed each trajectory flown will facilitate a fast closure on predict whether an individual gets space day for the first week. It all helps with moving the fourth revolution, rendezvous expected at sickness or not. Unrelated to other forms of inexorably toward a physiological map of his 5hr 56min into flight. Hatch opening should motion sickness (sea or air), it is caused by reactions and responses to weightlessness, occur at 7hr 31min elapsed time, around the unique micro-g environment and each analysis of which is one of the reasons he 6.34pm GMT. person is an individual on that account. Space is there. The first “night” in space is always Thereafter, induction procedures should sickness rarely lasts more than a couple of days a restless event – at least for most, who follow a template “norm” for new arrivals, on and while the initial orientation and adaptation find it akin to the first teenage “camping out” this occasion Malenchenko, Peake and Kopra to living in a weightless environment is more experience as an adolescent. Excitement, greeted by three crew members. Shortly after about learning how to move around and “float”, anticipation, wonder, awe – all the combined informal welcome ceremonies, safety briefings human emotions of being re-born into a and familiarisation procedures fall into play. Training included familiarisation with the completely unfamiliar environment – dominate First, they will locate the fire extinguishers, Extravehicular Mobility Unit which Peake could the senses. breathing apparatus, pressure gauges and be called upon to wear for an EVA, scheduled or There will be no respite, however, in getting escape paths from different elements of the not! NASA down to work, notwithstanding the adaptation station, encountered for the first time in the which Tim may or may not have to go through “real” environment of the ISS in space rather physiologically, and that heightened pace than in the full-size simulator in the Johnson of activity and responsibility as a functional Space Center, Houston. member of a team, will help the psychological An early event will be for the new arrivals process of adaptation and integration. Beyond to speak with their friends and families still that, a busy few months lie ahead and much at Baikonur, an activity which takes place in science and many station maintenance tasks Russia’s Zvezda Service Module. An important await, including the possibility of EVAs. aspect of the psychological blending to the new environment and that could come as Nationwide celebrations early as 6.39pm on launch day. Experience On 6 November Jo Johnson, the Minister for

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Flight schedule during Tim Peake’s mission 1 October 2015 61P Progress M-29M/Soyuz U ISS Logistics Supply 21 November 2015 62P Progress MS-1/Soyuz U ISS Logistics Supply 3 December 2015 Cygnus CRS-5 Orb-4/Atlas V ISS CRS Flight Orbital-4 (OA-4) 9 December 2015 Dragon C12(CRS-9)/Falcon 9 ISS CRS Flight 9 45S Soyuz TMA-19M/Soyuz FG Crew Transport 15 December 2015 Expedition 46 Crew: Yuri Malenchenko, Timothy Peake, Timothy Kopra 3 January 2016 Dragon C11(CRS-8)/Falcon 9 ISS CRS Flight 8 12 February 2016 63P Progress MS-2/Soyuz U ISS Logistics Supply 13 February 2016 Dragon C13(CRS-10)/Falcon 9 ISS CRS Flight 10 46S Soyuz TMA-MS-01/Soyuz FG Crew Transport 18 March 2016 Expedition 47 Crew: Jeff Williams, Alexey Ovchinin, Oleg Skripochka 30 March 2016 Cygnus CRS-6 Orb-5/Antares ISS CRS Flight Orbital-5 (OA-5) 5 April 2016 Dragon C14(CRS-11)/Falcon 9 ISS CRS Flight 11 29 April 2016 64P Progress MS-3/Soyuz 2.1a ISS Logistics Supply ? May 2016 6R Progress M-UM/Soyuz 2.1a ISS Assembly Supply Rehearsing for space requires a lot of 47S Soyuz TMA-20M/Soyuz FG Crew Transport 26 May 2016 underwater training, including NEEMO (NASA Expedition 48 Crew: Anatoli Ivanishin, Takuya Onishi, Kathleen Rubins Extreme Environment Mission Operations) where astronauts stay in an underwater habitat off Key Universities and Science, announced four with experiments and demonstrations using Largo, Florida. Tim Peake was a member of the large launch-day events and 16 smaller events actual and simulated space equipment. NEEMO-16 team, 11-22 June 2012. ESA at science and discovery centres across the The range of events is driven by a desire to UK. These facilities are located in Bristol, motivate families and young people in both project, perhaps with local connection, Cambridge, Newcastle, Dundee, Glasgow, an educational and entertaining involvement integrating within the local community to show Cornwall, Halifax, Macclesfield, Leicester, and in that they appear to have succeeded relevance to Peake’s mission. Greenwich, Aberdeen, London, Cardiff, already. This mission is a flagship opportunity for Wrexham, Hailsham, Birmingham, Belfast, Stimulating the next generation of scientists ESERO-UK to maximise opportunities for Winchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. and engineers is a primary goal of the Principia disseminating educational materials embracing Planned activities are part of Destination mission ethos and ESERO-UK (European a wide range of teaching aids for all levels Space, a calendar of family shows and live Space Education Resource Office-UK) is in UK schools. The organisation contributes events which began in October and will run moving to the second round of the Tim Peak widely to STEM teaching and integrates through from January 2016 during Tim Peake’s Grant Scheme. This is aimed at primary, resources from across all ESA platforms in all mission aboard the ISS. Events will vary secondary and post-16 schools throughout the member countries to support individual teacher and the range of participating organisations UK. Schools and educational establishments requirements as well providing a pool of “space are sometimes unique to local availability will be able to apply for an award of up to ambassadors” to enter schools and colleges but there will be hands-on engagement £1,000 to create an imaginative educational and present profile materials. One of the most difficult tasks has been to integrate endless media frenzies with the serious and far The first round of Grant Scheme entries more important job of preparing for the mission. But there was time to sample sauce with Heston showed many innovative and creative ideas Blumenthal. ESA and has stimulated responses from several schools which have been joined in the second round. This has been boosted by additional funding from the British government with a deadline of 5.00pm UK time on 14 December, the evening before Tim Peake lifts off from Baikonur.

Where to watch and listen The BBC will host a wide range of programmes covering the launch, with regular updates. These include Horizon Tim Peake Special in December on BBC Two, Blast Off Live: A Stargazing Special on BBC One in December and Live Docking Show (BBC Two) on 15 December, The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: How To Survive In Space (BBC Four) and Stargazing Live (BBC Two) in January 2016. On CBBC, Blue Peter and Newsround will be covering the mission in depth and CBeebies Stargazing returns.

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Television Hosts Professor Brian Cox and Dara O will be a part of the lectures from on board the BBC Breakfast Briain will be joined in the studio by a team International Space Station. Over the course of presenters and experts, as the clock ticks of the three lectures, Dr Kevin and his other On Friday 6 November BBC Breakfast brings down to the lift off at 11.05am. astronaut guests tackle the unique challenge a space special, 8.35 – 9.15am, talking to Tim of protecting fragile human life against the on his last time in the UK before he goes to Stargazing Live Special: hazards of space, revealing the surprising the international space station in December. ways that science, medicine and engineering Tim will also be doing a Q&A with kids as part Tim Peake Docking allow us to achieve the remarkable feat that is of the 40-minute special. BBC Breakfast will Transmission: 15 December on BBC Two human space travel. also be live from the Science Museum on 15 A special live event covering Tim’s capsule docking with the ISS and him entering the December ahead of his launch. Stargazing Live station that same evening. The programme Transmission: January 2016 on BBC Two will give viewers a unique perspective of Tim’s Horizon Tim Peake Special Stargazing Live returns for its sixth season, mission, and the scale of the achievement Transmission: December on BBC Two following the successful Aurora and Total behind the International Space Station. For the last two years, Horizon has had Eclipse-spotting spectacles of the last two Presented by Dara O Briain and Professor unprecedented and unique behind-the-scenes series. This time, the highlight will be Tim Brian Cox, the live broadcast will come from access as Tim trains for this six-month mission Peake on-board the ISS. Time and technology the Science Museum in London which will be and for his launch. Horizon also has exclusive allowing, Tim will chat with Professor Brian Cox the focus of national events to celebrate the access to Tim’s own video diary. He has filmed and Dara O Briain, and share his experiences Astronaut’s launch. every aspect of his training for launch in a of life in space. Stargazing will go behind Soyuz rocket, life on board the ISS, spacewalks the scenes at the European Space Agency’s The Royal Institution and the science he will be performing. The Astronaut training Centre in Cologne, where programme also exclusively features Tim’s Christmas Lectures: viewers will experience the kind of training that wife, Rebecca and his two sons as they prepare How to Survive In Space Tim Peake went through before taking off into for life without husband and father. Narrated Transmission: December on BBC Four space, including venturing into a centrifuge live by Tim Peake, this Horizon gives us both an In this year’s Royal Institution Christmas on air. intimate portrait and remarkable insight into the Lectures, How to Survive in Space, space world of an astronaut. doctor Kevin Fong takes us on a ride from CBeebies and CBBC launch to orbit and to the cosmos beyond, When Tim arrives at the ISS he will be taking a Blast Off Live: A Stargazing Special following the mission of British astronaut Tim part of Blue Peter with him, because last year Transmission: 15 December on BBC One Peake. Space and technology allowing, Tim he chose 13-year-old Troy’s Mission Patch

Not long now! Peake (left), Malenchenko and Kopra (right) don Orlan suits for a Soyuz simulation. But nothing prepares you for reality. ESA

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NASA Television Schedule Video File of the ISS Expedition 46-47 Crew’s Final Fit Check and Soyuz TMA-19M Spacecraft Encapsulation Friday, 11 December 8.00pm at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (all channels). Video File of the Soyuz TMA-19M Rocket Mating, Rollout to the Launch Pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome Sunday, 13 December 5.00pm in Kazakhstan and Launch Pad Interviews (all channels). Video File of the Russian State Commission Meeting and Final ISS Expedition 46-47 Pre-Launch Crew Monday, 14 December 5.00pm News Conference in Baikonur, Kazakhstan (all channels). Tuesday, 15 December 9.30am B-Roll Feed of ISS Expedition 46-47 Crew Launch Day Pre-Launch Activities (Starts at 9:45 a.m.). ISS Expedition 46-47 Soyuz TMA-19M Launch Coverage (Launch scheduled at 11.03am; includes video Tuesday, 15 December 10.00am B-roll of the crew’s pre-launch activities at 10:15am. Video File of ISS Expedition 46-47 Soyuz TMA-19M Pre-Launch, Launch Video B-Roll and Related Tuesday, 15 December 1.00pm Interviews (all channels). ISS Expedition 46-47 Soyuz TMA-19M Docking Coverage (Docking scheduled at 5.23 pm) (Starts at Tuesday, 15 December 4.30pm 4.45pm). ISS Expedition 46-47 Soyuz TMA-19M Hatch Opening and Other Activities (Hatch Opening scheduled at Tuesday, 15 December 6.00pm approximately 7.00pm). Tuesday, 15 December 8.30pm Video File of ISS Expedition 46-47 Soyuz TMA-19M Docking, Hatch Opening and Other Activities.

design for his space suit from thousands iWonder Guides Space Race, which details how Britain’s of Blue Peter viewers’ competition entries. There will be a selection of BBC iWonder original space flight ambitions withered Barney Harwood meets Tim in the ESA content available at bbc.co.uk/iwonder through but were replaced by satellite brilliance astronaut training facility in Cologne and in the November and December. and a key technological role in European New Year Barney will travel to ESA Mission In Tim Peake: How I Became A British space exploration, culminating in the recent Control in Munich to find out how the ISS is Astronaut, Tim Peake writes a timeline about Rosetta comet mission and Tim Peake’s supported from the ground. He will tour the his life and career, including his time as a ‘Principia’ mission to the ISS. It is produced facility and control room and meet the team school army cadet, flying Apache helicopters in collaboration with the Science Museum. who keep spaceships in space. for the British Army, becoming a test pilot and Published on 7 December. For younger viewers, CBeebies Stargazing his selection for the ESA astronaut corps, Viewers and listeners are reminded that the returns in January with specially shot footage featuring exclusive personal footage, including BBC has embarked on a major upgrade to its of Tim sharing with the young Stargazers his time in the military. iPlayer services for sound and vision. If you what training involves. Throughout the week, In the guide Do You Have What It Takes miss any of these programmes, go to BBC Tim will give updates on his mission. Pre- To Be An Astronaut? Tim Peake hosts the iPlayer and check out the backlog. schoolers can get involved by downloading programme Star City and lets listeners know The Tim Peake mission will generate the mission patch from the CBeebies the basic criteria for astronaut selection. considerable coverage not only on the Website, colouring it in and asking a grown Participants can then try three ESA approved networks announced above but also here at up to upload their picture, giving Tim a sample tests of physical health, decision the BIS where full audio-visual coverage of “Thumbs Up!” making and spatial ability. launch, rendezvous and docking and the crew There will also be an historical timeline welcome aboard the ISS will be available for Radio available, Britain’s Hidden Role In The members on the BIS website. On the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show Tim Peake raises the flag at the Farnborough Air Show for youth involvement in space. ESA (weekdays 6.30am to 9.30am), Chris Evans will be catching up with Tim Peake at the start of his six-month mission. In February, BBC Radio 3 will have Great Leap Forward, five essays exploring how humans might live on other planets. On BBC Radio 6 Music, there will be a Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour space special on Sunday 13 December, 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Tim Peake will be suggesting tracks for the Songs For Guy feature – music he thinks Guy might not have heard and would love. In When Britain Had The Right Stuff (BBC Radio 4 on 12 December) Richard Hollingham draws on little-heard radio and television archive from the 1950s as well as new interviews, and uncovers the forgotten history of Britons in space. He also asks why – after decades of indifference – the British government is now supporting space flight.

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The International Space Station Operations Summary 1 October – 31 October 2015 By George Spiteri FBIS

Photographed from the ISS on 18 October, the city of New York shines out 400km below. NASA

Expedition 45 is into its second month of operations aboard the 61, with his Russian colleagues resuming International Space Station (ISS). The orbiting outpost is commanded by unloading items and stowing them the following Scott Kelly who, together with Russian flight engineer Mikhail Kornienko, day. has completed nearly seven months of their planned year-long odyssey. Volkov downloaded data from the Russian The rest of the crew is comprised of flight engineers, Oleg Kononenko, Seismoprognoz earthquake monitoring Sergei Volkov, Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui. study on 8 October, while Kelly conducted maintenance to the MELFI inside Kibo and rogress M-29M/61P made a flawless track civil aircraft and ships at sea. Payload Kornienko worked on several Russian medical launch from Baikonur at 16:49 UTC controllers were troubleshooting why the experiments. (22:49 local time) on 1 October and final pair of CubeSats failed to deploy due to The highlight of 9 October was Yui and Kelly Pdocked to Zvezda’s aft port at 22:52 UTC interference with a latch on the deployer. working in tandem with the SPHERES-Vertigo delivering 3.1tons of supplies including Ground controllers manoeuvred the Special experiment inside Kibo and Volkov loading 1,540kg of spare parts and hardware, 880kg of Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (Dextre) arm new software to the main Russian computer propellant, 420kg of water and 50kg of oxygen. to continue another session of Robot Refuelling in Zvezda. Kornienko and Kononenko worked Volkov and Kononenko opened the hatches Mission (RRM) tasks outside the complex in Zarya and continued to unload items from to the cargo craft the following day and began between 5 and 8 October. Yui, Lindgren and Progress, whilst Lindgren spoke via Ham radio unloading its Kelly resumed to students in Kuala Lumpur. contents, which ‘…controllers were troubleshooting five further days The crew had an extended light-duty included “candy, why the final pair of CubeSats failed of routing cables weekend 10/11 October with the US crew waffles....fresh to deploy…’ inside Unity on 5 celebrating Columbus Day on 12 October. apples, oranges, grapefruit, onions and garlic”. October and Volkov spent four days working Kelly worked with the Russian Pilot-T Kelly devoted five and a half hours on with the Kulonovskiy Kristall experiment experiment on 13 October which tests the 2 October conducting maintenance to the while Kornienko and Kononenko performed effects of long duration spaceflight on a Water Processing Assembly, whilst Yui maintenance work to the treadmill inside the crewmember to complete manual spacecraft ended a week’s worth of work with two plant Russian segment the following day. control tasks. Lindgren joined his commander growth experiments and Lindgren resumed On 7 October, Volkov conducted Earth to continue EVA preparations. The Russian preparations for the next EVA. observation studies courtesy of the Russian cosmonauts continued with the Kulonovskiy Following the crew’s light-duty weekend Vizir experiment, Kelly, Yui and Lindgren Kristall study and Yui participated in a 3/4 October, between 5 and 7 October they continued to prepare for the spacewalk by conference with JAXA ground control. deployed the first pair of 14 CubeSats from scrubbing the EMU coolant loops and Lindgren On 14 October, Kelly and Lindgren resumed Kibo, the first two being from Denmark to unpacked US hardware delivered by Progress the cable routing tasks inside Unity and

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together with Yui worked in the Quest airlock Sleep ISS-12 experiment, which studies took longer than anticipated and ground on further spacewalk preparations. Lindgren disturbances in sleep patterns during long controllers decided to forego the lubrication of also devoted time to the Plant Gravity Sensing duration missions. one component, as they were satisfied that the experiment and had another Ham radio pass Kononenko, Lindgren and Yui conducted a work sufficiently enhanced the performance of with US students. standard Soyuz evacuation drill on 23 October, the LEE. Lindgren and Yui continued with a second whilst Kelly and Yui performed a robotics The crew also began work to rig power and day of eye tests on 15 October, whilst Lindgren review for the forthcoming spacewalk. data system cables outside Harmony for the joined Kelly with spacewalk preparations. The crew enjoyed a light-duty weekend future installation of the International Docking 24/25 October and resumed EVA preparations Adaptors. With Kelly and Lindgren back inside Record breaker on 26 October with Kelly and Lindgren Quest after 7hr 16min outside, capcom Tracy On 16 October Kelly became the US cumulative checking out their SAFER jetpacks they Caldwell Dyson radioed the crew that they had space record holder passing Mike Fincke’s 381 would use if they became untethered from the done “a great job” to which Kelly replied with days 15 hours 11 minutes in space. Fincke ISS. Lindgren also conducted maintenance thanks and “we really appreciate it”. having flown three missions, one less than inside Tranquility, removing and replacing On 29 October, Yui worked for two days a critical pump with JAXA’s Plant Kelly, said he was “really proud of Scott” and ‘…simulating a component on the rapid Gravity Sensing 2 over the weekend of 17/18 October called Kelly depressurisation and a fire…’ to congratulate him. Even President Obama Water Recovery experiment which sent Kelly his congratulations on 19 October System (WRS), whilst Volkov worked with the studies how plants grow in weightlessness, during the annual White House Astronomy Russian MORZE biological experiment and while Kornienko wrote up his log for the Sleep Night events. Kononenko used the KONTUR-2 study aimed ISS-12 study and Kononenko had another On 29 October, Kelly also passed Mike at remotely controlling a rover on the ground session with the Russian Plazma Crystal Lopez-Alegria’s individual record for the from space. experiment. longest single space mission by a US astronaut Kelly and Lindgren made final EVA checks No sooner had they completed their first of 215 days eight hours 22 minutes, achieved on 27 October, Kornienko worked on the EVA, on 30 October Kelly and Lindgren began on Expedition 14 in 2006/07, and at the same Cardiovector experiment which looks at preparations for their next spacewalk scheduled time Kelly and Kornienko surpassed Lopez- changes in the heart during long duration for 6 November. Kornienko worked on two Alegria and Russian Mikhail Tyurin’s record to missions, and Kononenko took part in a human research experiments. Volkov used the make their flight the longest ISS mission thus Russian physics experiment, performed Russian Pilot-T study to better understand how far. maintenance and transferred items from a crewmember adapts to piloting a spacecraft Yui assisted Kelly and Lindgren with five Progress. in zero gravity and Kononenko took his turn further days of EVA preparations on 19 with the Cardiovector experiment. October, including a fit check of their EMU First spacewalk The weekend of 31 October witnessed suits and later conducted further eye tests Kelly and Lindgren exited Quest at 12:03 UTC another milestone in ISS operations, marking th with Kornienko under the Ocular Health on 28 October to begin their first spacewalk, the 15 anniversary of Expedition One, experiment. All six crewmembers conducted placing a thermal blanket over the Alpha launched on 31 October 2000, and the a routine on board emergency exercise, Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). AMS had subsequent continuous occupation of the simulating a rapid depressurisation and a fire, experienced cooling problems in recent orbital outpost. According to NASA, by that which was followed up by a de-briefing with months and the insulation should help improve date 220 people had lived and worked aboard ground controllers. temperature control. Kelly used a grease the ISS for 5,478 consecutive days, over 1,700 gun and a long custom applicator to grease experiments have been conducted and crews The crew conducted more eye examinations a number of components to Canadarm2’s have consumed 26,500 meals since the first on the following day and Kelly retrieved the Latching End Effector (LEE), however this occupants arrived. CubeSat deployer mechanism into Kibo to find out why two of 16 CubeSats failed to deploy Protracted and extensive EVA checks under way involve meticulous examination and testing of each due to a secondary latch mechanism that item of equipment which will be a vital lifeline to survival when the crewmembers are outside. NASA hung up inside the deployer slot. Kononenko and Volkov worked on a Russian medical experiment and the ongoing Proboy study which uses sound waves to determine the location of micrometeroid impacts. Kelly and Kornienko conducted more eye tests on 21 October using ultrasound techniques, whilst Yui set up a mouse habitat inside JAXA’s Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF). On 22 October, Kornienko resumed work with the Russian DAN medical experiment, stowed more items into Progress 61 and conducted maintenance on the Russian life support systems. Kelly and Lindgren took time out to answer questions from US regional radio stations and later focused on NASA’s

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Briefing notes • Plans are tentatively coming into focus for flights with the Space Launch System (SLS) in support of crewed Orion missions toward the end of the 2020s, in an extended long range • BAE Systems has taken a 20% share in programme plan which is informing the pace at which crucial hardware elements are being Reaction Engines Ltd (REL) as part of a developed. While early flights with Orion could see circumlunar missions and associated partnership deal which will bring a major rendezvous with an asteroid, NASA would like to mount a year-long mission in Moon orbit in aerospace player to the organisation and 2029. To achieve this it would be necessary to develop a habitat which would be carried in the provide a much needed stimulus to break payload adapter of the SLS, extracted and used for crew occupation during the mission. The through to the next level of development. purpose of this would be to demonstrate a mission to Mars using hardware which could double The £20.6million investment will push as interplanetary habitat for a four-person crew and keep the crew within three days of Earth in the pace of testing and development of the event of a malfunction or a medical programme. Most NASA human space flight managers the SABRE (Synergistic Air-Breathing see a period of Mars mission simulation at the vicinity of the Moon an essential precursor to Rocket Engine) propulsion system which flights to and from an orbit of Mars where experience with asteroid rendezvous could come into has great promise for space and aviation. play for an inspection of one of Mars’ moons. REL has also received permission from NASA’s SLS rocket may get a more powerful EUS stage carrying astronauts on a year-long mission to the European Commission to receive a Moon orbit. NASA £60million research and development grant from the British government as a direct consequence of an internal assessment from the European Space Agency which validated and verified the technical data from the project. BAE Systems has openly acknowledged that they see great potential for the SABRE as a propulsion system for satellite launchers and for hypersonic aircraft. In exclusively air-breathing mode, the SABRE engine can propel aerospace vehicles to Mach 5.5 before transitioning to rocket mode for space or trans-atmospheric travel. REL was formed in 1989 by Alan Bond, John Scott-Scott and Richard Varvil after the then British Aerospace chose to close down the HOTOL concept when the British government withdrew all funding for Ariane 5. After this, Rolls-Royce shut down Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner cargo version for 2018 or early 2019. There is also the funding for experimental development of has been dropped from the competition and possibility of flying this mission around the the revolutionary propulsion system. it is likely that Lockheed Martin has also Moon. The structural test article of the ICPS been rejected, although that has not been has been moved to the Marshall Space • NASA has announced a deferral in the officially denied. Submitted in December Flight Center where it will join other structural award of the second round of Commercial 2014, the bids had already been delayed test articles for integration prior to loads Resupply contracts for the International twice and this latest postponement is testing. Based on the Delta IV Cryogenic Space Station. Several delays had already probably tied to the need to get both Orbital Second Stage, the ICPS has a longer liquid postponed the award but now this will not ATK and SpaceX back in space following hydrogen tank, additional hydrazine for the happen before 30 January 2016 to allow, multiple failures which has grounded stage attitude control system and changes says the agency, time to properly evaluate Cygnus and Dragon modules. The CRS-2 to the avionics system. The ICPS will be the several proposals on offer. These contracts will cover the period 2018-2024 powered by a single Aerojet Rocketdyne RL- now include SpaceX, Orbital ATK, Sierra with up to 16,750kg of pressurised and 10B2 rocket motor. Nevada Corporation and Lockheed Martin. 4,000kg of unpressurised cargo delivered annually for a cost of $1.0-1.4billion per • In related news, delays to the first crewed annum. flight of the Space Launch System from 2021 to 2023 may open a window • United Launch Alliance has completed of opportunity to move directly from a structural test article for the Interim the ICPS (see above) on EM-1 to the Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) and Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), which is has been delivered to Boeing, which has being developed. The EUS is critical to the prime contractor role for the Space advanced missions beyond Earth orbit Launch System core stage. The Block 1 and the rocket motors for that stage are configuration of the SLS will have a 70-metric still to be decided. Candidates include the ton payload capability and the initial ICPS Aerojet Rocketdyne J2-X, the Blue Origin SNC Dream Chaser is in the running for will push the Orion spacecraft to a highly BE-3 and the Aerojet Rocketdyne RL-10. adaptation to a cargo lifter in delayed CRS-2 elliptical trajectory beyond low Earth orbit on At present NASA favours using four RL-10 decisions. SNC the Exploration Mission-1 flight scheduled engines in the EUS.

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Satellite Digest is Spaceflight’s regular listing of world space launches. It is prepared by Geoff Richards using orbital data from Satellite Digest-516 the United States Strategic Command Space-Track.Org website.

Spacecraft International Date Launch Vehicle Mass Orbital Inclin. Period Perigee Apogee Notes Designation Site kg Epoch deg min km km Progress M-29M 2015-055A Oct 1.70 Baykonur Soyuz-U 7,283 Oct 2.48 51.64 92.56 401 409 [1] Morelos 3 2015-056A Oct 2.44 ETR Atlas V 421 5,325 Oct 17.56 7.12 1,436.06 35,770 35,805 [2] Jilin 1 JY 2015-057A Oct 7.18 Jiuquan Chang Zheng 2D 50 Oct 7.36 98.05 97.74 641 664 [3] Jilin 1 Shipin 1 2015-057B 92 Oct 7.36 98.04 97.73 640 664 [3] Jilin 1 Shipin 2 2015-057C 92 Oct 7.49 98.04 97.73 639 664 [3] Jilin 1 Guangxue A 2015-057D 420 Oct 7.42 98.04 97.72 639 664 [3] USA 264 (A) 2015-058A Oct 8.53 WTR Atlas V 401 2,000? Oct 10.15 63.43 107.37 1,014 1,202 [4] Aerocube 5C 2015-058B 2 Oct 22.44 64.78 97.61 494 801 [5] Aerocube 7A 2015-058C 2 Oct 22.51 64.79 97.61 493 801 [6] Fox 1A 2015-058D 1 Oct 9.50 64.78 97.62 493 802 [7] Bisonsat 2015-058E 1 Oct 22.51 64.78 97.61 494 800 [8] ARC 1 2015-058F 1 Oct 22.51 64.78 97.62 495 801 [9] SNaP 3 Alice 2015-058G 5 Oct 22.51 64.78 97.61 494 800 [10] LMRST-Sat 2015-058H 3 Oct 22.51 64.78 97.63 496 801 [11] SNaP 3 Eddie 2015-058J 5 Oct 22.51 64.78 97.64 496 801 [10] PropCube 3 2015-058K 1 Oct 22.52 64.79 97.65 497 802 [12] SINOD-D 1 2015-058L 2 Oct 22.52 64.78 97.65 497 802 [13] SNaP 3 Jimi 2015-058M 5 Oct 9.45 64.79 97.66 496 803 [10] PropCube 1 2015-058N 1 Oct 22.52 64.78 97.70 500 803 [12] SINOD-D 3 2015-058P 2 Oct 9.75 64.79 97.71 501 804 [13] GRACE 2015-058Q 2,000? Oct 10.41 64.76 97.31 483 783 [14] USA 264 (R) 2015-058R 2,000? Oct 10.15 63.43 107.37 1,014 1,202 [4] Apstar 9 2015-059A Oct 16.68 Xichang Chang Zheng 3B 5,235 Oct 26.75 0.14 1,436.07 35,786 35,790 [15] Türksat 4B 2015-060A Oct 16.86 Baykonur Proton-M-Briz-M 4,928 Oct 27.70 0.02 1,436.04 35,769 35,805 [16] Tianhui 1-03 2015-061A Oct 26.30 Jiuquan Chang Zheng 2D 1,000? Oct 26.60 97.35 94.49 490 501 [17] Navstar 72 2015-062A Oct 31.68 ETR Atlas V 401 1,630 Nov 3.98 54.98 729.53 20,443 20,492 [18]

A cylindrical projection of Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, showing the jets of material observed by the Rosetta spacecraft, which was moved closer to the comet by 7 October. ESA

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Notes 1. Unmanned freighter mission to the International Space Station, mission ISS-61P, with 2,369 kg of cargo. Spacecraft docked at ISS/Zvezda port October 1.95. 2. Morelos, also known as Mexsat 2, is a telecommunications satellite using a Boeing 702HP GEM bus, launched for SCT by ULA. Mass quoted above is at launch, mass on station is 3,200 kg. The satellite is located over 113.1°W for test and will be located over 116.8°W to provide a service to Mexican government mobile users. 3. Group of four resource survey satellites, named for the Jilin district, built by the Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co for the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics. Main payload is Guangxue A (Optical A) with high-resolution panchromatic and multi- spectral push-broom scanners for Earth observation. Purpose is to “monitor land resources, land surveying and mapping, mineral resources development, smart city construction, transportation infrastructure construction, agricultural yield estimation, forest resources survey, environmental monitoring, disaster prevention and mitigation, public health emergency”. Jishu Yanzheng (Technical Verification), also known as LQSat, carries a video camera, new systems for performance test, an amateur band UHF transmitter and a high-authority attitude control system. Shipin (Video), also known as Lingqiao, each carry a video camera for real-time Earth observation. 4. USA 264, also known as NROL-55, is a classified payload for the NRO launched by ULA, apparently the seventh pair of Intruder third-generation Naval Ocean Surveillance System satellites to track shipping and aircraft. Orbits are classified, those given for USA 264 and GRACE are from amateur trackers. 5. AeroCube 5C technology development 1.5U Cubesat built by Aerospace Corporation for USAF carries three cameras, instruments to monitor launch environment and a deployable drag sail to hasten decay. Apart from Fox 1A and Bisonsat, it is not clear which Cubesat orbit applies to which object. 6. AeroCube 7A, also known as OCSD A (Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration), is a technology development 1.5U Cubesat built by Aerospace Corporation for NASA carrying a laser communications system, retro-reflectors for laser tracking, four cameras for the Earth, stars, near-by objects and laser-link detection and a steam thruster orbit control system. A problem with attitude control has been reported. 7. Fox 1A is an amateur radio 1U CubeSat built by Amsat with a UHF receiver and VHF transmitter for amateur communications, a MEMS gyro for performance test and memory chips to detect radiation hits. Given the Amsat name AMSAT-Oscar 85. 8. BisonSat (Nwist Q̓ʷiqʷáy̓ in Salish) is an educational and scientific 1U Cubesat built by Salish Kootenai College, Montana, with a wide-field CMOS camera for atmospheric aerosols and cloud formation. 9. Alaska Research Cubesat is an educational and scientific 1U Cubesat built by the University of Alaska Fairbanks for the Alaska Space Grant Program with accelerometers and temperature sensors (LEDL) to measure the launch environment and a wide-band communications system. 10. SMDC Nanosatellite Program 3U Cubesat communications satellite for the US Southern Command carrying a store-and-forward SDR transponder to relay data from remote ground stations. 11. Low-Mass Radio Science Transponder Satellite technology development 3U Cubesat built using a Pumpkin bus by JPL for NASA carrying an X-band transponder for performance test in support of future deep-space missions. 12. Propagation Cubesats, also known as Flora and Merryweather after Disney characters, are a pair of technology development 1U Cubesats each built using a Tyvak bus by the Naval Postgraduate School and carrying a dual-frequency UHF/S-band transmitter for ionospheric electron density. Intended to measure artificial ionisation effects of high-power terrestrial transmitters such as HAARP, Sura and Arecibo. 13. SINOD-D are a pair of technology development 2U Cubesats built using a Tyvak bus by SRI International and are each carrying a wide-band SDR for performance test. 14. Government Rideshare Advanced Concepts Experiment, which remained attached to the Centaur stage, carried eight P-POD Cubesat deployers for the NASA ELaNa 12 payload (ARC 1, Fox 1A, LMRST-Sat and BisonSat) and the remaining nine Cubesats which were sponsored by NRO. 15. Telecommunications and direct broadcast satellite built using a CAST DFH-4 bus for APT Satellite, replacing Apstar 9A (Zhongxing 5A). Mass quoted above is at launch. The satellite is located over 136.5°E for test and will be located over 142°E to provide a service to China, southern Asia, Australia, the Middle East and East Africa. Part of payload is owned by TS Global Network who will operate it as MySat 1. 16. Telecommunications and direct broadcast satellite built using a Mitsubishi DS2000 bus and launched for Türksat by ILS. Mass quoted above is at launch. The satellite is located at 50°E, co-located with NSS 5, to provide a service to Turkey, the Middle East, Europe, western Asia and Africa. 17. Cartographic satellite built by DFH probably using a CAST 2000 bus for State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, with a mapping camera to produce stereo-topographic data and a lower resolution multi-spectral camera for land resources data. Manoeuvred to match period of Tianhui 1-01 and 1-02, which are in close orbital planes. 18. Also called USA 265, eleventh Navstar Block 2F satellite (SV-12, SVN-73) in the Global Positioning System, built by Boeing and launched by ULA. Launched into orbital plane E of the GPS constellation.

Additions and Updates Designation Comments 1978-079A ISEE 3 last contact was on 2014 September 16. 1995-060A Milstar 2 (USA 115) has manoeuvred off station at 150°W and is drifting to the east, according to amateur trackers. 1996-022A MSat 1 was manoeuvred off station at 106.5°W October 4 and relocated at 107.5°W October 10. 1997-007A Intelsat 26 was manoeuvred off station at 65.8°E October 15 and relocated at 62.2°E, co-located with Intelsat 902, October 30. 1997-042A ABS 3 was relocated at 16°W October 29. It does not appear to be currently operational. 1997-061A Cassini performed its 20th targeted fly-by of Enceladus, passing 1,838 km from the satellite, on October 14.45 and its 21st, passing 49 km from the satellite, on October 28.64. 2000-013A Ekspress A2 was manoeuvred off station at 145°E October 27 and is drifting to the west. It has been retired. 2000-081A ASTRA 2D was manoeuvred off station at 5°E October 14 and is drifting to the east. 2001-018A XM 1 (Roll) was manoeuvred off station at 115.25°W October 16 and is drifting to the east. 2001-042A Eutelsat 8 West A was manoeuvred off station at 8°W October 1 and relocated at 12.5°W, co-located with Eutelsat 12 West A, October 8. It has been renamed Eutelsat 12 West B. 2002-038A Eutelsat 8 West C was manoeuvred off station at 8°W October 2 and relocated at 33°E, co-located with Eutelsat 33C, October 23. It has been renamed Eutelsat 33D. 2002-051A Eutelsat 33B was manoeuvred off station at 33°E October 18 and is drifting to the east. 2003-012A Milstar 6 (USA 169) was relocated at 120°W in late August, according to amateur trackers. 2004-006A Rosetta returned to within 500 km from the comet by October 7. 2005-050A Kosmos 2419 (Uragan-M 714) developed a problem that halted operations October 17.

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2006-001A New Horizons carried out four manoeuvres October 22, 25, 28 and November 4 to target 2019 January 1 fly-by of Kuiper Belt

object 2014MU69. 2007-043A Dawn manoeuvred to leave its high altitude mapping orbit about Ceres October 23. 2010-034A Echostar 15 was manoeuvred off station at 45°W October 15 and is drifting to the west. 2012-019A AEHF 2 (USA 235) was manoeuvred off station at 16°W in mid September and is drifting to the east, according to amateur trackers. 2013-032A Kosmos 2487 (Kondor) radar has apparently failed and perigee has been lowered 10 km to hasten decay. Add orbit: Sep 29.40 74.73° 94.24 min 479 km 489 km 2014-058A Luch (Olimp-K) was relocated at 24°W October 5. 2015-007A DSCOVR was transferred to NOAA control October 28. 2015-010B Eutelsat 115 West B was declared operational October 15. 2015-011 The four MMS satellites began their operational science mission August 31 and manoeuvred to a 10 km tetrahedral formation October 15. 2015-020D Kosmos 2504 manoeuvred to approach its final stage again on October 8. Add orbit: Oct 8.75 82.49° 112.42 min 1,173 km 1,506 km 2015-025A OTV 4 X-37B has manoeuvred to a higher orbit, according to amateur trackers. Add orbit: Oct 25.14 38.03° 91.41 min 346 km 354 km 2015-036A WGS 7 was declared operational October 13. 2015-038A AAUSat 5, GomX-3 and twelve Flock 2b satellites were deployed from ISS/Kibo in pairs on October 5.59, 6.05, 6.19, 6.36, 6.49, 7.01 and 7.52 from NRCSD deployers. Flock 2b-11 and 12 failed to deploy on October 7. Add objects and orbits: AAUSat 5 1998-067GZ Oct 5.89 51.64° 92.51 min 395 km 409 km GomX-3 1998-067HA Oct 6.20 51.64° 92.51 min 396 km 409 km Flock 2b-1 1998-067HB Oct 7.17 51.64° 92.52 min 398 km 408 km Flock 2b-2 1998-067HC Oct 7.17 51.64° 92.52 min 398 km 407 km Flock 2b-3 1998-067HD Oct 6.85 51.64° 92.51 min 400 km 405 km Flock 2b-4 1998-067HE Oct 7.17 51.64° 92.52 min 400 km 406 km Flock 2b-5 1998-067HF Oct 6.85 51.65° 92.52 min 396 km 409 km Flock 2b-6 1998-067HG Oct 6.85 51.65° 92.52 min 396 km 410 km Flock 2b-7 1998-067HH Oct 6.90 51.64° 92.52 min 397 km 409 km Flock 2b-8 1998-067HJ Oct 6.90 51.64° 92.52 min 397 km 408 km Flock 2b-10 1998-067HK Oct 7.94 51.64° 92.52 min 396 km 409 km Flock 2b-9 1998-067HL Oct 8.40 51.64° 92.51 min 396 km 409 km Flock 2b-13 1998-067HM Oct 9.10 51.65° 92.51 min 396 km 409 km Flock 2b-14 1998-067HN Oct 9.09 51.65° 92.51 min 396 km 409 km 2015-042A Inmarsat 5 F3 has manoeuvred to circularise its orbit. Add orbit: Oct 27.58 0.06° 1,436.08 min 35,784 km 35,792 km 2015-045A,B Galileo FOC FM05 and FM06 have manoeuvred into slots A5 and A8 of the Galileo constellation. Add orbits: Nov 1.98 57.38° 844.66 min 23,212 km 23,233 km Oct 23.23 57.39° 844.66 min 23,214 km 23,231 km 2015-048A Ekspress AM8 was manoeuvred off its test station at 80.15°E October 16 and is drifting to the west. 2015-049E Xiwang 2A has manoeuvred to a lower orbit. Add orbit: Oct 25.51 97.45° 93.86 min 454 km 476 km 2015-052A,B The identities of AstroSat and LAPAN A2 are confirmed. LAPAN A2 has been given the Amsat name Indonesia-Oscar 86. 2015-052C to G These objects are now identified as Lemur 2-Joel, Chris, Jeroen and Peter and EV 9, in that order. 2015-054A Sky Muster was located at 140°E October 17. Add orbit: Oct 20.91 0.03° 1,435.96 min 35,775 km 35,796 km 2015-054B ARSAT 2 was located at 81°W, co-located with AMC 2 and AMC 5, October 15. Add orbit: Oct 16.28 0.02° 1,436.00 min 35,782 km 35,791 km

International Space Station activity The first post-manoeuvre orbit was printed incorrectly in Satellite Digest 515. It should read: Post-manoeuvre orbit: Sep 7.53 51.64° 92.51 min 402 km 403 km There were no orbital manoeuvres of ISS during October. End-of-October orbital data: Oct 31.99 51.64° 92.52 min 398 km 408 km

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft conducted Recently detailed orbital decays two close fly-bys of Saturn’s moon International Enceladus on 14 and 28 October. This Object name Decay Designation view was taken during the second 2013-064K NPS-SCAT Oct 28 encounter at a distance of 96,000km, displaying a surface resolution of 548m. 1998-067FN Flock 1b-27 Oct 14.66 Enceladus is rotated 23deg to the right in 1998-067FQ Flock 1b-21 Oct 12.6 this view, with north at the top. ESA 1998-067FR Flock 1b-22 Oct 2.9 1998-067FX Flock 1b-6 Oct 16.3 1998-067FU Flock 1d’-1 Oct 13.3

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13-15.indd 15 11/26/2015 8:32:45 AM projects BIS Technical Projects

By Robin Brand

urrently, the BIS has several technical projects in various stages Project Alpha Centauri Prize of progression. Of these, Icarus, SPACE and KickSat have active Started 2013, the original initiative has been completed, although prize teams of BIS members working on them, and Project Tsiolkovsky awards are continuing. Cis under way. Following on from the Spaceflight article “Paths to the future” by Summary Richard Osborne (Vol 55, No 10, pages 384-389, 2013), the request for A set of five awards that sees students around the world compete for an help on Technical Projects (Vol 57, No 3, page 116, 2015), and drawing award, as part of an interstellar based engineering exercise. on the list of projects on the BIS website (www.bis-space.com/what- The long-term goal is to stimulate innovative breakthroughs in design we-do/projects/), this article summarises the current state of these BIS concepts, while educating students into the possibilities of space projects. exploration. Although the prizes are for current technology initiatives the The intention is to feature some of the projects individually in very long term nature of the goal means that the Prize has a perpetual life forthcoming issues of Spaceflight. Meanwhile, if members wish to help throughout the remainder of this century at least. with any of the projects, please contact the leaders listed below via the The Prize is organised by the BIS in conjunction with The Institute for contact facility on the BIS website at www.bis-space.com/contact. The Interstellar Studies (I4IS) and the UK Students for the Exploration and author of this summary, Robin Brand, is also keen to hear from BIS Development of Space (UKSEDS). The Alpha Centauri Prize Committee members already working on any of the projects. Please email him meets three times annually, and includes two BIS members, one of whom directly at [email protected]. is the chair. BIS leader/contact is Kelvin Long. Future Technology Futher Information Project Icarus www.i4is.org/the-alpha-centauri-prize Started 30/9/2009 as a five year project, aiming for a major update in www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/alpha-centauri-prize 2016. Project SPACE Summary Started 2013 with no fixed end date, and may run for several years. A study to design an interstellar probe that is a credible design Derives its name as the acronym for “Study Project Advancing Colony for a potential mission in the coming centuries. AKA “Project Engineering”. Icarus: Son of Daedalus – flying closer to another star”. Design reports have appeared in the form of a major series of academic Summary style papers for JBIS and semi-technical articles for Spaceflight. In the 1970s a number of designs were produced for large-scale The long-term goal is to reinvigorate the study of interstellar research space colonies. Project SPACE is a BIS study to re-examine and and the project envisages a long-term (2100+) BIS involvement. Icarus update the original studies in view of advances over the last 40 years. was initiated by the BIS and the Tau Zero Foundation (TZF) and is now As part of their investigations the project team has developed a new a collaborative project with Icarus Interstellar Inc., a US based nonprofit Seen from the Apollo 15 spacecraft orbiting the Moon in 1971, the crater foundation formed from the original members of Project Icarus. Tsiolkovsky is the focus for a BIS technical project. NASA Possibly the most active BIS project, with individual members putting in many hours a week, there are weekly team meetings via Skype which have taken place for a year or more. In progress so far, following a concept design workshop in October 2013, four primary-propulsion variants plus a common systems design are being actively worked on (see page 19 this issue). The BIS leader/contact is Rob Swinney FBIS, project leader and director Icarus Interstellar.

Further information: www.icarusinterstellar.org/projects/project-icarus/ www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-icarus JBIS, Vol 64, No 1/2, January/February, pp.17-23, 2011 (Update & review) JBIS, Vol 64, No 11/12, November/December, pp.358-371, 2011 (Project definition) JBIS, Vol 65, No 7/8, July/August, pp.225-254, 2012 (Design studies) Spaceflight, Vol 55, No 10, p.385, 2013 (Summary) Spaceflight, Vol 55, No 10, pp.476-477, 2013 (Design update) JBIS, Vol 68, No.3/4, March/April, pp.68-80, 2015 (Propulsion variant)

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concept for a space structure that will make use of simulated gravity. Summary The goal is to demonstrate an improved feasibility for the construction A hands-on practical project for BIS members that involves experimenting of large-scale space habitats and the project has a technology timeframe with the design, building and testing of very small and inexpensive of 2060-2100. spacecraft called “Sprites”. This represents the first involvement by our Current BIS activity involves a team of about a dozen BIS members members into putting some hardware into orbit. busy with the study, with additional expertise being sought from external This is a proof of concept (low cost, unshielded, multiple redundancy) personnel. The team engages in a continuous exchange of emails and endeavour for swarm satellites, with the objective to have the BIS meets on a monthly basis, usually via Skype. As well as examining Sprites launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for a few hundred dollars aspects of the original studies, team members have produced a number each. The long-term goal is to demonstrate a cheap alternative to of ideas for improvements or new ways of tackling various issues. some satellites. Potential applications include the acquisition of high In addition, a new concept has been developed for a low-cost atmospheric scientific data with a potential for gathering atmospheric precursor structure which would provide experience of working and living data from Mars (and other planets) before atmospheric entry or under simulated gravity, and also allow experience to be gained with landing of larger equipment. To reduce size from 3.5cm² square to processing materials in space and in the construction of components. sub-1cm². Jerry Stone is the BIS leader/contact and presented a poster and a The BIS is collaborating in the main KickSat project which is based in briefing about this at the Reinventing Space conference in 2014, and the USA. Originally around a dozen members of the BIS pledged money continues to give public lectures on space colonies and the project. to purchase a BIS fleet of spacecraft. The Sprites were made in bulk in the US, and several were programmed by BIS members. Some Sprites Further information were received by BIS members, upgraded to be fully functioning, and www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-space used to test the receiving equipment. www.bis-pace.com/2014/12/11/13981/space-colonies-project-update- In current activity, about 10-15 BIS members are involved (see for session-no-1 instance the photo in Spaceflight Vol 55, No 10, p. 386). Currently the Spaceflight Vol 55, No 10, p.387, 2013 group waits for details of the second launch. With progress so far, BIS members programmed two Sprites, and the Current technology code was incorporated in at least one other. These were on board the first KickSat (CubeSat mothership), which reached orbit via a Falcon 9 Project Tsiolkovsky rocket in April 2014 (see Spaceflight, Satellite Digest 510, Vol 57, No 7, p.250, 2015) and transmitted beacon signals that were received by radio Started 2013, with anticipated completion in 2021, deriving its name from amateurs. Telemetry data allowed the prediction of the orbit and the re- the crater on the far side of the Moon. entry on 15 May 2014 at about 01:30 UTC. Due to a clock reset however, unfortunately the Sprites were not deployed but burned up inside the Summary KickSat mothership. This is a feasibility study on landing a rover, a sample and return However BIS members Andrew Vaudin and Kelvin Long (and possibly probe and a radio telescope on the far side of the Moon. The project others) did at least get their names into space for a short while. (See www. anticipates a feasibility report, and aims to use Earth based test models kickstarter.com/projects/zacinaction/kicksat-your-personal-spacecraft- to demonstrate principles and plausibility. in-space/posts/730745). A KickSat-2 has been approved for launch by The long-term goal is to develop the rationale for a seismic network NASA, launch date awaited, earliest will be summer 2016. and a radio observatory on the far side of the Moon, to determine local The BIS leader/contact is Andrew Vaudin. physical and chemical properties, and to retrieve samples of far side lunar material. Current BIS activity includes Nick Yeomans as project lead who directs Further information the constant process of information gathering, and refining payload and www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-kicksat design. http://zacinaction.github.io/kicksat/ www.bis-space.com/2013/01/02/8276/project-kicksat-update Further information www.bis-space.com/2013/04/02/9620/kicksat-update-01 www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-tsiolkovski Spaceflight, Vol 55, No 10, p.386, 2013 Spaceflight, Vol 55, No 10, p.387, 2013 Project BEETLE Project 2033 Started September 2012 with the objective of designing, building and Started 2013 as a study for interested BIS members to produce different flight testing an engineering prototype atmospheric planetary lander visions for the state of space exploration around the 100th anniversary and explorer or deep space probe. Using the latest technology, it of the BIS (2033). The project anticipates delivering a study report and is would be extremely small, (45mm), light (a maximum of 30grams) and framing its objective around technology in the period 2020-2060. cheap. The current BIS leader/contact is Kelvin Long. Deriving its title from the acronym for “BIS Experimental Extra Terrestrial Landing Explorer”, the projected development is to test (on Further information Earth) hardware which could be deployed in space through a public and www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-2033 educational engagement programme. Spaceflight, Vol 55, No 10, p.388, 2013 Current activity is temporarily on hold to avoid withdrawing resources from Project KickSat. A planning and design meeting will be held once Project KickSat Project KickSat has successfully launched the Sprite spacecraft into Started 2011 but the end date depends on NASA’s second launch date orbit. and deployment result. The BIS leader and contact is Richard Osborne.

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to ensure that the complete system design remains feasible. Icarus Progress Report As a very brief summary, a typical Icarus mission would comprise; • An initial boost phase, lasting perhaps 10 ince the last report on Project Icarus, a common spacecraft bus or components years, while the spacecraft accelerates in the December 2013 edition of where necessary. The intention was that away from Earth, Spaceflight, work has continued on either propulsion system could be included • A coast phase, lasting around 60 years, Sthe detailed design of the Icarus mission and as a modular component of the overall while the spacecraft continues on its spacecraft. Work has continued on four of design. Interestingly the Zeus design created journey at full speed, the concept designs reported in December by a team based at Drexel University in • A deceleration phase, in some designs 2013, and a fifth (Zeus) has also “entered the Philadelphia is based on another propulsion with the assistance of a magnetic sail, fray”. scheme; Plasma Jet Magneto Inertial Fusion lasting up to another 30 years, while For some time, now, Project Icarus has (PJMIF) and has been worked up subsequent the propulsion system is again used, to been a collaboration between the BIS and to the workshop. decelerate the spacecraft and to bring it Icarus Interstellar. The concept designs can From the 2013 workshop the Ghost design to its destination within the Alpha Centauri be allocated to those organizations, roughly as (ICF fast ignition using D/D), despite being star system, and follows; identified as the most promising design, has • The on-station phase when several • Firefly is Icarus Interstellar, struggled to constrain its all up mass and the scientific probes will be deployed, in order • Ghost is BIS and Icarus Interstellar but Resolution design (ICF shock ignition using to investigate both stars of the binary primarily from a team originally at the D/He3) is undergoing a root and branch system and any planets. Technical University in Munich WARR update. The UDD (Ultra Dense Deuterium) group, design is relatively parked awaiting further In fact scientific experiments and • Zeus is the Icarus Interstellar chapter at developments in the nascent field of UDD observations are planned throughout the Drexel University, research. mission, requiring an active communications • Resolution is most closely identified with Firefly is the most progressed of the current link at all times. However, since the the BIS, and designs, and a paper has just appeared in transmission delay will be significant for almost • UDD spacecraft design is the work of Dr JBIS Vol 68 No 3/4, providing the most recent the entire mission, it will not be possible to detailed description of this mission and the Milos Stanic. command the spacecraft in real time and on- spacecraft design to support it. board autonomy will be essential. It will also Despite this differentiation there is an Since the initial concept designs were not be possible to build sufficient redundancy extremely high level of co-operation between presented at the 2013 workshop many into the system design, as for current satellites, the individuals with collaborative effort put in technical trade-offs have been conducted, since the mission lifetime is so long (100 to each design and especially the common and design concepts reviewed, in order to years). As a result, and as with Daedalus, systems. The critical difference is simply the bring the detailed design of the spacecraft on-board maintenance and repair will also be selected fusion propulsion schemes. to a successful conclusion. The constraints essential. Following the October 2013 workshop, resulting from each candidate design option It will also be necessary to construct it was decided to progress the individual must be evaluated and compared with the an antenna farm, once the spacecraft has spacecraft designs, with either the ICF capabilities of the other subsystems, to ensure reached its destination. At the distance of (Internal Confinement Fusion) or the mutual compatibility. The mass, power and Alpha Centauri, a very large antenna (of z-Pinch propulsion systems, but based on thermal budgets must be monitored rigorously the order of 1km diameter) will be required to maintain a communications link to Earth. Dominated by a 1km diameter communication antenna, Icarus will require smaller antennas for It will not be possible to use that antenna communicating with probes exploring the target star system. Michel Lamontagne during the earlier mission phases because, at the spacecraft’s high velocity, any dust or other particles will destroy any unprotected structure. Smaller antennas must be used during the early mission phases, within the protection offered by the spacecraft body, to prevent such damage. Since the data rates will be lower, such smaller antennas will not constrain the mission. There will also be a need for smaller antennas to maintain communications with the scientific probes within the star system. The current plan is to produce a set of papers during 2016 and roll them out, grouped if possible. The papers will describe the designs for each aspect of the mission and of the spacecraft subsystems, and the choices that have been made in order to arrive at a feasible system design.

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18.indd 18 11/26/2015 8:33:14 AM 19.indd 19 11/26/2015 8:33:33 AM mars colony Unseen challenges in a Mars colony

By Konrad Szocik

Mars colonists visit the Viking lander in this depiction of the first successful survey from the surface of the Red Planet. Note that in this rendition, the artist has failed to show the multiple trenches dug by the remote sampling arm. NASA

umans have explored, discovered very difficult psychological experience. This pressurized environments, but they know that and conquered almost all the world. stressful environment may cause particular usually after several months they will always But the unsatisfied human appetite for unexpected events, such as the death of a return to Earth. Hexploration requires new regions, including crewmember. Such an occurrence could have This point mixes physical and psychological these beyond Earth. In some respects Mars two consequences. First, physically the rest of problems. Physically, a constant life in artificial One is a project which realizes this human the team will have to separate the body from conditions without direct access to atmospheric desire to explore outer space. It is proposed the main cabin. Despite this psychologically air may be troublesome for human health. that four human volunteers fly to Mars in 2024 challenging situation, the second great Psychologically, people on the Mars One and never return. The project leaders probably problem will be associated with the lost abilities project will be aware that they will never come plan to send new teams in the following years. and skills of the dead crewmember. back to Earth. This awareness may create Maybe in the future these people will reproduce In the Mars One programme, it appears stressful psychological conditions which may on Mars. that the main aspect of the training is the not have beneficial impact on the common In this context, we usually think about the specialization of each member of the crew to welfare of the rest of the community on Mars. technical challenges. We want to provide particular skills or capabilities. It is not clear Stress can be especially dangerous in technological security and we assume if the lack of a crewmember will enable the particular difficult situations, which probably indirectly that humans are machine-like correct balance of workload to be maintained will happen during this mission. The natural beings, as Julien Offray de La Mettrie stated but also the division of labour when preparing biological reactions are based on the [1]. However, humans are more complex and assembling installations on the surface of mechanisms of flight or flight response. An than machines and, consequently, the more Mars. activation of one of them could be fatal for the important questions may be those which are This prospect of cosmic death also involves crew. This raises difficult questions. How can associated with morality and ethics, human an evolutionary question. When the rest of the these humans calm their natural psychological psychology and biology, as well as with social crew discharge the body from the spacecraft is reactions such as aggression, aversion, hate or and political biases of human nature. In their it possible that the bacteria which exists in the fear? How will they resolve conflict situations? context, the technological issues may be the body could begin a new evolutionary sequence In these situations will they remember that their easiest part of this adventure. in a completely different cosmic homeland? psychological reactions decide the survival of When the crew complete their long journey the crew? Biological issues and arrive at the Red Planet they will live Humans are influenced by constant The first, and very difficult, challenge for the on Mars in special capsules. Is it possible biological mechanisms, some kind of tribal Mars-bound crew will be the very long flight, for humans to live for extended duration instinct, which have caused lethal conflicts which will last about seven months. It is obvious without direct access to natural air? We know throughout human history. I am not entirely that long travel in a small spaceship will be a that astronauts may live a short period in sure if this new community on Mars will not

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have to repeat the evolutionary development of naturally occurring antisocial human instincts. This potential for conflict and aggression may be strengthened by the unpredictable impact of the new environment on human physiology. In the Earth’s environment, climatic factors affect human nature and behaviour. The human body function is partially determined by complex factors involving temperature and pressure, as well as correlation between the Earth and the Moon and the 24hr circadian system. This totally new environment may impact the human physiological condition, for instance on hormone regulation. The most important aspect will be the impact of the environment on the feedback between body and mind. Settling on Mars will meet with another factor which is at variance with the Earth, the great difference in the field A room with a view, the surface of Mars viewed through the porthole of a surface habitat on this alien of gravitation between two planets (Earth: world. NASA 9,8m/s2, Mars: 3,7m/s2) which will negatively affect human physiology in long-term time However, if the settlers decide on this to lose their difficult and artificial conditions of frames. isolation there is a high risk that people born life on Mars and to abandon the project. on Mars will at some point discover information People born on Mars probably will interpret Cultural issues about the Earth and their mission. What will their new homeland as the pinnacle of Beside these crucial biological and be their reaction and their feelings? Will they desirability and order. The long temporality of physiological issues, we find there are more understand the nature of images illustrating evolution will work against the fast psychological important cultural and social issues. Let us places on the Earth? How will their genetic adaptation to the new environment. On the one assume that in the case of survival these first memory work when they see some images side, the ability to adapt is a natural feature of settlers will plan to reproduce. They will need from the Earth associated with positive humans. Indeed of the entire animal world. an educational programme which potentially situations and desirable phenomena? When All species evolved and humans can live in could be the most useful for the purpose of these people can recognize laudible qualities different environments. On the other hand, living on the new planet. This programme in these images, they may want to visit Earth, these different environments were always the should prepare the children for realizing all

essential duties and behaviour which survival In the early 1990s NASA was planning a Mars expeditionary force using temporary habitats which would requires. It is worth bearing in mind that living double as research facilities for stays of up to 18 months. Mars One advocates were planning to remain on Mars will require more levels of cooperation on the planet and start new generations of Martians – humans in artificial environments. NASA than living on the Earth. This is why it is so important to prepare a special educational model for future generations on Mars. When we look at the history of humans we can suppose that democratic and liberal approach works the best. However, this current democratic period was followed by the long history of conflict and wars and it is not clear if humans can introduce democracy a priori, without this lethal historical prelude. It seems that preparation of the new educational programme which will include new contents and ideas will be an essential task. In this context it is important to explore the attitude of the new generation towards the Earth and the origin of the first settlers – their parents. It is not clear how the children of these settlers can react when they know their origin and the idea of the mission. It seems that no access to this past just might be the best way, because the knowledge about the Earth could cause more frustration than happiness, among these children born on Mars.

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Mars will never support human life and colonies will forever live in enclosed habitats or space suits, carrying out research and scientific investigations on a hostile planet likely to incur psychological as well as physical challenges. NASA

parts of the Earth which had a similar range of still have a problem to take control over tribal conditions which are required for the successful parameters such as temperature, air pressure, instincts which do not work appropriately on natural group selection which are essential or insolation. But most important in this context, the level of current large groups. for living in a small group, intensive selective access to the open air and the grand vistas of Humans share some moral emotions with pressure and very limited intergroup migrations. nature. other mammals, especially with bonobos and It is worth bearing in mind that natural selection In this context it is not at all clear if humans other apes [2, 3]. These common patterns on the lower level of competition may favour can adapt to life on Mars. This is a question were developed under high natural selective defectors over cooperators [5]. It may be that involving the limits of evolution, especially the pressure on the Earth. It seems crucial to the great puzzle concerning the tendency limits of mutation and natural selection. We can predict the history of moral development in the to defection, supported by the idea of the suppose that full physiological adaptation will settlers on Mars? This community will involve selfish gene and the selfish individual may be require the same lengthy period as evolution very small groups which will live in a difficult neutralized by a highly developed concept of on the Earth. The most important part of the and challenging environment. A specific feature network reciprocity. biological adaptation seems the possibility will be the extremely high level of awareness In this sense, settling on Mars may be the to breathe open air, without any technical of the potential for sudden disaster. What place for the evolutional struggle between old equipment. This is impossible for humans values, norms, and attitudes will dominate habits and new selective traits. The evolution on Mars, where the atmosphere is thin and in these conditions? It seems that the idea of cooperation on Earth was based on is predominantly carbon dioxide. It is not of direct reciprocity and network reciprocity cultural group selection, which was resolved clear how this very uncomfortable condition could be the best solutions. However, strong in inter-group conflicts and competition. The will affect everyday life in the long term. The emotional arousal can negatively affect the community on Mars will be a community constant awareness of high dependence on idea of cooperation and it can activate more without any other competing group. We can technology in the most important existential selfish than altruistic parts of the human moral have doubts on the ability of individuals to matters, and the risk of death in the case of compass. cooperate or to evolve to the same extent technical error (especially the source of air), on the lower level of competition without any could introduce a constant state of stress and Moral issues reference to the other competing groups. anxiety. Humans inherit moral features and behavioural These moral and behavioural patterns will This high level of anxiety and stress will strategies [4]. These inherited strategies were affect social and political organization. After require an appropriate strong ethical and moral evolutionally “designed” for living on the Earth. the Agricultural Revolution, large human counter and this topic involves questions of Even if the settlers on Mars have evolved and population centres became highly stratified natural and cultural selection. The best solution shaped moral patterns, they will meet new and hierarchical [6]. They was no equality [7]. is that morality and ethics, understood as environments in which these patterns cannot Political and social strategy will be influenced aesthetics of the public sphere, are influenced work. It is not clear what the mutual interactions by the behavioural and moral preferences by natural moral emotions and intuitions. will be between intuitive and emotional moral outlined above, which will be shaped on Mars. Human morality evolved by natural and strategies and the new intensive selective This is why it seems impossible to predict cultural selection, as states the culture-gene, pressure on Mars. if people born on Mars will inherit features co-evolutionary approach. However, humans Residential missions to Mars will fit all appropriate for living in the large stratified

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populations on Earth, or if they will create new It appears that this care about resources may Mars religion could be a theoretically useful strategies appropriate to the small groups be the constant psychological background tool. However, by depriving new generations of defined by humans before the introduction of which can indirectly affect the life of people on information about the Earth – the planet of wars farming. Mars. and conflicts – could improve this educational The stable feature in the social life of Humanity has tried to solve these troubles, process. humans is the fight about resources [8]. An especially access to resources, by preparing access to resources on Mars will be at once cultural phenomena. Religion was one of Conclusion both difficult and uncertain, permanently them. Some scholars suggest that religion Assume that all the above-mentioned threatened by the risk of sudden disaster or was developed to strengthen the human biological and cultural problems are illusory. technical failures, new diseases or the very cooperation on the level of large groups. An interesting question is the nature of natural limited resources of food and water which Its cultural evolution by the concept of human evolution in this new environment. theoretically could be destroyed by technical the high moralizing gods and the idea of People will live all the time in an unnatural or natural catastrophes. This state of constant being watched by a supernatural agent is and artificial environment, without access to existential anxiety may cause disproportionate associated with the development of large open air. It is not clear if humans on Mars will concern about access to resources. What social groups [10]. evolve to the form which will have an ability to political and social solution will be preferable Perhaps implementation of the same breathe carbon dioxide instead or in common in this stressful framework? solution could be appropriate way as a part with oxygen. This ability would be a very We know that similar situations on Earth of educational programme on Mars. The new new and useful adaptation. It is interesting to almost always provoke an explosion of religion dedicated for the children born on Mars consider how humans would evolve on Mars criminality, conflicts and wars. When we refer could explain difficult conditions of life, the risk compared to human evolution on the Earth, to alleged human moral nature, we can find of sudden catastrophe, the sense of suffering not only in a biological but also in a cultural that some humans are inevitably going to (if any), and the purpose of their mission. First sense. It is impossible to predict how their take an advantage over other humans [9]. of all, religion could be used to develop the attitude towards the inhabitants of the Earth Existentially risky situations lead to chaos and common idea of cooperation and altruism or, at will be transformed. Perhaps in the future strengthen individual selfishness. In the case least, the feeling of disgust towards defection. they too may develop hostile and warlike of our small community on Mars, this conflict Probably the most important moral aim on tendencies. situation will have catastrophic consequences. Mars will be avoiding all conflicts. Special Finally, it is not clear if four volunteers now anticipating the Mars One expedition are Much discussion has surrounded the possible terraforming of Mars, depicted here with Valles aware of the level of difficulty of their future Marineris a vast elongated lake, and open seas and oceans on a world transformed by building up the mission. It sounds incredible that any human atmosphere and preventing its loss to space. Recent discoveries by NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft show that the loss of Mars’ atmosphere is due to interaction with the solar wind, making such a prospect could really want to go into outer space forever dauntingly implausible. NASA and never return. It seems that this desire does not comply with what we know about evolution, which has programmed human physiology and psychology to live on the Earth.

References 1. Julien Offray de La Mettrie, “L’Homme Machine”, Princeton, 1960. 2. F.B.M. de Waal, “Putting the Altruism Back into Altruism: The Evolution of Empathy”, Annual Review of Psychology, 59, pp.279- 300, 2008. 3. F.B.M. de Waal, “The Bonobo and the Atheist”, New York, 2013. 4. R.L. Trivers, “The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism”, The Quarterly Review of Biology, 46, p.37, 1971. 5. M.A. Nowak, “Five Rules for the Evolution of Cooperation”, Science, 314, pp.1560- 1563, 2006. 6. A. Norenzayan and F. Shariff, “The Origin and Evolution of Religious Prosociality”, Science, 322, pp.58-62, 2008. 7. P. Seabright, “The birth of hierarchy”, in Cooperation and its evolution, K. Sterelny, R. Joyce, B. Calcott and B. Fraser (eds.), MIT, Cambridge, MA, 2013. 8. J. Diamond J. 1999. “Guns, Germs, and Steel”, New York, 1999. 9. K. Szocik, “Roots of self-domestication”, Science, 346, p.1067, 2014. 10. A. Norenzayan, “Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict”, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2013.

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20-23.indd 23 11/26/2015 8:33:50 AM congress IAC 2015 at the Holy City

By David Todd

Security was tight, as it had to be, at the 66th annual International Astronautical Congress in Jerusalem. IAC

The city of Jerusalem played host to the 66th International Astronautical ten-minute walk, or a thirty Shekel (€7) five- Congress (IAC 2015), held 12-16 October. Due to concerns about minute taxi ride away. The paid-for final Gala security, attendance was about 30% down on usual years, although night at least seemed better value at €80 as with over 2,000 participants attending from 58 different countries the it included an Arabic-style dinner and belly Congress remains the pre-eminent space conference for the world’s dancing girls (this writer was not actually able space agencies. to attend). The Congress organisers also laid on part from public discussions between expensive. Overall the venue was slightly too paid-for trips either to the main historic sites the parties, private meetings often small. Some conference technical strands had of Israel or to Israeli space firms, although take place in which international bi- to take place in ballrooms in the basement one would have thought the latter should Alateral and multi-lateral agreements are started of the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel – a five- have been free. This writer felt much safer or finalised. For example, during the Congress, minute walk away. going around Old Jerusalem on his Ben NASA and the Israeli Space Agency Security was tight at the main Congress Harim organised tour. The second half of (ISA) announced a cooperative agreement entrance, with entry via a metal this trip took him to the small church over the on educational and technology exchanges, detector. However, many soon found an upper reputed birthplace of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem. while ESA and Roscosmos decided to door which, while still guarded, did not have the It was really quite sweet and moving. Others cooperate on a landing mission (Luna 27) hassle of having to go through this detector. took bus trips to swim/float in the Dead Sea or to the Lunar South Pole. In addition to these As is traditional, the first day begins with visit the Masada fort, famous as the site of a pow-wows, the technical lectures expound a colourful opening ceremony involving Jewish rebellion against the Romans. on the cutting edge of space technology and dignitaries, singers and dancers. The agenda The Congress exhibition area was spaced policy, ranging from astrodynamics to methods included a forum of space agency heads out over several rooms, with main conference of landing humans on Mars. as well as several press conferences and sponsor Lockheed Martin and the Israeli firms IAC 2015 had the (sometimes maze-like) private meetings. The day ended with the IAI and Rafael having an especially good Jerusalem International Convention Center traditional welcome gala, with lots of good food showing. Apart from there being not enough US (ICC) as its venue. Thanks to the signs and and drink – albeit after enduring interminable space firms, the only thing obviously missing helpers, most delegates could find their way queues. was a really good set of rocket models. Only around. There were plenty of notice boards Other paid-for “fun night” events were laid on the Italian Space Agency (ASI) appeared to but more tables should have been set aside for later in the week, although most were poor have one which seemed to be the new Vega C. for leaflets – a few of the coffee tables were value. For example, one cost the equivalent There were, of course, the usual parties and soon heaving with paperwork. The toilets were of €65 to visit the famous Mahane Yehuda booze-ups at national groups of stands. The clean and the food outlets were acceptable, if street market when, in reality, it was only a free German DLR’s stand soon had something

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to celebrate when the city of Bremen was selected as host city for IAC 2018, beating competition from Austria and Paraguay. Guadalajara in Mexico has already been selected for next year’s venue with Australia’s Adelaide set for 2017. The Mexican Space Agency had a special reception and dinner, with a sound and vision show that even eclipsed the opening ceremony. However, such was the demand that they soon ran out of tables and chairs as attendance was much higher than expected given the hostile conditions outside. There was a last minute rethink over the proposed admission of North Korea (DPRK) into the International Astronautical Federation, given that its space programme is thought to be primarily military. Similarly, a vote for the next president of the International Astronautical Federation was also controversial. It was won Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin receives a replica facsimile of the Dead Sea Scrolls from Ido Sharir, by the unopposed Jean-Yves Le Gall, former director-general of the Ministry of Science Technology and Space on the opening day of the Congress. head of Arianespace and current head of the IAC French Space Agency CNES. In what was seen by some as a “stitch up”, the popular back home. For example, while NASA’s late for some spacecraft designs. NASA’s new former head of ESA, Jean-Jacques Dordain, Administrator Charles Bolden is personally in Orion exploration craft has a non-standard port withdrew his candidacy after ESA withdrew its favour of stronger international cooperation on it and would probably not be able to carry support for him with concerns about his age with China, he can do nothing as long as the anything else given its weight limits. being the alleged cause. US Congress bars it. With respect to longer range space China talks of wanting to take part in exploration, ESA head Jan Woerner said Debating the future international efforts such as the space station, Europe’s unmanned EXOMARS mission was The Congress should be the one place where but in reality seems happy to go its own way. due to launch next year, although he continued the heads of agencies can meet without fear or It showed off a design for a mini-international to promote the concept of a human lunar base/ favour. Recent Congresses have been marred space station all of its own. Having said village on the Moon. Bolden was cooler on the by delegations from China or Russia not being that, there were signals from Xu Dazhen, prospect, noting that operations in Cis-Lunar allowed into the host country. While this year Administrator of the China National Space space were being planned, if not any actual all the “majors” attended, including NASA, Administration (CNSA) that China might be in manned landings. China, Russia, ESA and India, the heads of favour of cooperating on a universal docking Good progress was being made on the some of these had their hands metaphorically system which could greatly help in-orbit very large SLS rocket, which is being built to tied by their governments’ policy decisions rescue. However, this signal was probably too carry NASA’s manned Orion spacecraft. Test firings of its stage engines were already taking The British presence was evident at the exhibition attached to the Congress, the UK Space Agency place although, in a later press conference, representing what is now a credible government commitment. IAC he resisted the idea that his nation was in a race back to the Moon with Russia or China. NASA’s sights remain set on landing mankind on Mars, and it does not want any distractions or financial drains (e.g. from a Moon base project) to prevent this. ESA hopes the ISS will be extended, as does fellow ISS partner Japan. The president of JAXA, Naoki Okumura, specifically mentioned his support for the ISS. Many of the space agency heads noted that they were looking to new launch vehicles, with Russia’s Roscosmos head Igor Komarov planning Angara A5 flights, China’s Xu Danzehn looking forward to the Long March-5 and Okumorua planning JAXA’s first flight of the H-3 in 2020. China is also planning a soft-landing mission on the planet Mars in 2020, but is not neglecting the Moon either with a Chang’e 4 lunar rover mission to the far side in 2018.

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become economic. Robert Hauser, of the United Launch Alliance, said: “It is not a question of if… it is a when.” Nevertheless, some doubted whether the current state of technology would allow for its economic operation. Lin Shen, Deputy Chief Researcher of China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT): “How much will SpaceX pay for its reusability?” For the time being Arianespace thinks that with its planned new expendable Ariane 6, it will have a competitive rocket in its fight against the Falcon 9, whether this SpaceX’s offering is partially reusable or not. When it comes to what happens after Ariane 6, of course, ESA has supported research into air-breathing rocket technology for Reaction Engines’ Skylon single-stage-to-orbit rocket plane design. When asked if the Skylon spaceplane would become an ESA launcher, Johann-Dietrich (Jan) Woerner, Director UK industry was represented by several companies from all corners of the British Isles, including SSTL. IAC General of ESA, replied in both a positive and non-committal way: “I have visited Skylon. India at least had the record of the PSLV that their delegations withdraw from I have visited also a test there. Impressive! to crow about which has now strung together Jerusalem. Thankfully, only the last two days Impressive! Impressive! Let’s see.” 30 launches without a failure. Meanwhile, as of the conference were significantly affected While ESA and CNES are aware of Skylon chairman of the relative minnow, the Israeli and most of the main business had been done. as a potential contender the new head Space Agency, Isaac Ben Israel noted that his Overall the Congress can be regarded of Arianespace, Stephane Israel, said country preferred to concentrate on smaller as successful – albeit held under wartime he had not heard of Reaction Engines communications satellites conditions and cut short for many. While or the Skylon concept. He said that his The city of Jerusalem has a history going most conference business was completed, organisation was considering developing a back thousands of years and is venerated Jerusalem’s already shaky reputation as a microlauncher with a payload capability of 50- by three different world religions: Christianity, conference venue was further weakened, 300kg. Islam and Judaism. The city has a very healthy with trickle-down economic and social On a similar tack, Isaac Ben-Israel, tourism industry as a result, as Christians wish repercussions to the city as a result. Whatever Chairman of the Israel Space Agency to visit the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the the other political and economic trends affecting previously described the political and Holy Sepulchre, where Christ was said to be the region, until Palestinians accept Israel’s right safety difficulties in making eastward flights crucified and buried. Jews wish to visit the to exist, and until Israelis treat Palestinians as (in the direction of the Earth’s spin) from Israel Wailing Wall – the remaining site of its original they would be treated themselves, then both (their Shavit launchers have to fly westwards temples. Meanwhile, Moslems head for the Al- these peoples and their holy city will be the severely limiting their performance). Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. losers. Virgin Galactic put a bit more flesh on the As hatred and tit-for-tat violence has bone of its decision to upsize its air-launched escalated between Israelis and Palestinians, Technical papers LauncherOne concept in IAC-2015.D2.7-2. the Holy City of Jerusalem has ended While SpaceX had a major exhibition stand at According to the firm’s Sirisha Bandla, the up looking like an armed camp. Soldiers and the IAC 2015, the firm was strangely quiet in not enlarged Liquid Oxygen (LOx)/RP1-grade civilians walk around, even when pushing baby- having many presentations at the Congress. kerosene rocket launch vehicle will now have carrying prams, with assault rifles or machine Nevertheless, it remains the “elephant in the to be carried by a commercial airliner with the guns strapped to their backs. At the opening room” via its low prices and attempts to perfect rocket wing mounted. ceremony, in a surprisingly political speech, a reusable landing stage. Even the French The speculation is that the aircraft will be an Israel’s science minister, Ofir Akunis, branded Space Agency, CNES, is now undertaking ex-Virgin Galactic Boeing 747. An extra pod the Palestinian attacks as acts of “terrorism” serious studies into what a reusable launch can be carried on a 747 to ferry a spare engine forgetting that some of Israel’s founding fathers vehicle should look like. between stations and a LauncherOne rocket mounted similar attacks on the British during Chistophe Bonnal of CNES presented a very could be similarly located. It is more likely the 1940s. interesting paper (IAC-2015.D2.5.1) on the for mass reasons, that the 25,000kg launch The murder by stabbing of a 70-year-old benefits and downsides of the different vehicle will replace one of the four jet engines Israeli woman on a bus just 200m from the reusable launch and landing techniques altogether. If this is the case, then the Boeing Congress and her alleged killer’s subsequent possible for vertically launched rockets. The 747 would only have three engines to take immediate “execution” by shooting, techniques had a variety of strange and off with and would probably need a very long caused Congress participants to be “locked amusing names including the “Dead Leaf and runway. The two-stage all composite launch in” for their own safety. These random acts Glide” and the “Pseudo-Ballistic Impact”. vehicle will subsequently be air dropped of violence prompted the governments of There was a general acceptance at the from the aircraft at an altitude of 10,700m some nations (Italy, Japan) to recommend conference that reusable rockets will eventually and accelerate to orbital velocity. Virgin

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Galactic’s orbital operation is based at the 19kg to a Sun-synchronous orbit, at a price use 2D-gimballing combined with differential firm’s Long Beach facility, although launch of circa US$2 million per flight. Cost is the throttling to provide control authority. operations are likely to take place from the driving factor in the engineering for the The balloon would carry instruments to Mojave Desert. design. When asked why the firm was using provide a communications relay. The firm Another small launch vehicle likely to come stainless steel tankage over lighter types, his plans to make an initial orbital trial launch into operation is the Firefly Alpha, which has single-word reply was “Cheaper”. The firm in 2018 and estimates that it will be able to a projected first flight in 2017 and a launch estimates that it needs US$40 million to launch payloads for US$4 million per launch. price of only US$5 million. Andy Bradford, complete the vehicle. The development of the rocket engines is representing the Firefly firm, noted that the The Bloostar concept (IAC- reportedly under way. rocket, which will initially use LOX/kerosene 2015.D.2.7.8) was formally announced at the Haoliang Yang, of the Beijing Institute of engine technology on its two stages, will be IAC. This uses a three-stage orbital vehicle Astronautical Systems Engineering (IAC- able carry 500kg to LEO and has already carried into the air by a balloon similar to the 2015.B4.5.5) described China’s plans to get been awarded a contract by NASA to carry old Rockoon studies. The Zero2Infinity firm around part of the ITAR ban on US technology cubesats on a dedicated launch. The rocket building the system plans to use six pressure- being flown on rockets launched from Chinese uses an unusual plug-cluster aerospike engine fed LOX/liquid methane burning regenerative territory. It is designing a small launcher called arrangement on its first stage. cooled engines on each of the first two stages, Naga-L, which can be launched from sites One-time NASA Ares rocket project with a final single engine on the final stage. All outside China. guru, Doug Cook of Dynetics (IAC 2015.D.2.7- tankage would use common bulkheads The two-stage launch vehicle would use 2), has moved to a launch vehicle on a much allowed by the closeness of LOX and liquid LOX/kerosene propellant technology for smaller scale as he described his firm’s plans methane temperatures. The Bloostar system the first stage and LOX/liquid hydrogen for a small three-stage 15.85m launch vehicle would be launched from a boat/ship on the technology, developed for the Long March (a combined five core first stage), which leeward side of the Canary Islands where high 5/6/7 family, for the second stage. It would would be carried inside the container of a six- ground provides a natural wind break. be able to launch an 820kg payload into a wheeler lorry. The rocket and container would The boat/ship itself would match any wind Sun-synchronous orbit for less than US$10 be erected vertically for launch, with blow-out velocity before launch to allow a stable initial million. panels designed into the launch container to release. The rocket is projected to carry up The firm plans to launch from Indonesia, reduce noise/vibration. The engines would use to 150kg to LEO and should be capable of Tanzania and possibly Sweden if the liquid injection thrust vector control. carrying 80kg into a Sun-synchronous orbit. overflight of Norwegian air space can be Each core of the first stage would The short stubby rocket system was cited negotiated. Whether US authorities will allow have three of the 13.5kN thrust ablatively as having better controllability while, at the their satellites or satellite technology to be cooled engines. The second stage would same time, providing 2m-diameter payload flown on a Naga-L in this way remains to be again have three core 13.5kN engines, while accommodation under the Teflon coated fibre- seen. the final stage would have a single 1,000lb glass fairing.

(4.5 kN) thrust H202/Kerosene engine. The While twisting of the launch vehicle would be Next month: David Todd looks at the SLS/ rocket is projected to carry 40kg to LEO or an issue at balloon release, the rocket would Orion programme.

While space tourism seems to be waning, the technology that made it plausible is morphing into the small satellite market, not least by Virgin Galactic’s LauncherOne rocket carried by White Knight 2. Virgin Galactic

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officers, eventually more than 400, to introduce George Mueller 1918-2015 a new “systems engineering” approach. To head them all, General Samuel Phillips who knew exactly how to crack skulls and get the n 10 August 1968 the one man who he worked on airborne radar. Receiving a job done in a manner unheard of before in had already done more than any other doctorate in physics in 1951, Mueller moved NASA. person to ensure astronauts touched to Ramo-Woolridge, at the time heavily The reorganisation of the agency sent Othe surface of the Moon in that decade arrived involved in missile technology. It was there he seismic waves through all the field centres, at the Physics Theatre, University College, developed his ideas about all-up testing, where particularly when Mueller had them all report to in Gower Street, London. That day was the entire integrated system is run to determine the new Office of Manned Space Flight which typical of an English summer. Cloudy, wet where associated or propagated failures were he created. His application of all-up testing and and with north-easterly winds. But none of occurring outside the narrow focus of attention the new breed of systems-engineers upended that mattered to George E. Mueller who was on the particular element under examination. traditional NASA ways of building and testing there to receive Honorary Fellowship by the Ramo-Woolridge evolved into TRW and rockets and spacecraft. But Mueller muscled British Interplanetary Society and afterward Mueller became increasingly involved with them through and acquired converts when give an address titled “The US Manned Space NASA which, by 1963 was finding it difficult to his ideas bore fruit, saved time, cut costs Programme”. In that address, Mueller made manage the mission they had received from and improved performance. With new lines the first public reference to a passion of his President Kennedy two years earlier to land of communication linking common disciplines to dramatically cut the cost of space flight astronauts on the Moon by the end of the between specialists in separate centres and at by developing a reusable launch vehicle – a decade. Webb knew that NASA had little or no shuttle as he called it. chance of achieving that. Leaked rumours of Headquarters, Mueller bypassed bureaucracy As NASA’s Associate Administrator for discord and dissention reached the ears of the and won over sceptics. Manned Space Flight since 1963, Mueller was President, who began to campaign for halting It was a very different way of getting ready for on his way to Vienna to join his boss, James work on Apollo or giving it to a joint effort with the Moon and accelerated qualification in a way Webb, at a UN conference on the peaceful the Russians, thereby burying failure. which would dominate the space programme uses of outer space. The significance of his Bracing the agency for having its flagship thereafter. The result was the first manned presentation was not lost on the BIS that programme pulled away, Webb brought in Saturn V flight, and a circumlunar mission, on evening but it would be less than a year before Mueller to completely reorganise the agency only the third launch and the Apollo 11 Moon NASA began studies of what was then known with a free hand to merge offices, bring in landing three flights later. But he needed new as the Integral Launch and Re-entry Vehicle. whomsoever he deemed necessary to re- challenges and was not part of the race-to- The rest is history and the ILRV became the establish confidence and literally shake the the-top characteristic of many officials, so he Space Shuttle. organisation to its foundations, which Mueller left NASA in December 1969 and returned to George Mueller was born on 16 July 1918 proceeded to do. private industry – for new challenges, and not in St Louis, Missouri, studied electrical and Out went some of the “old guard” from the least to obtain the kind of salary he had given mechanical engineering before graduating early days before the Moon goal and in came up for government service. to a research job at Bell Laboratories where an increasing number of talented US Air Force George Mueller was at the forefront of the drive to the Moon and brought outstanding Shortly after the launch of Apollo 11 on his 51st birthday, George Mueller (second from right) stands in management and leadership qualities which the Launch Control Center next to Wernher von Braun and Charles Mathews, with Samuel Phillips to his he took to other industries. Never again would left. NASA he play such a seminal role in the great events of 20th century history. Some have attributed to him sole responsibility for the Shuttle but that is too much responsibility to place on one man. He is also remembered for his participation in bringing together interests from several countries through the International Academy of Astronautics, of which he was president from 1982 to 1999. He received the Academy’s highest award, the Von Karman Award, in 1999. To those who knew him, and the writer is privileged to have been in that group, George Mueller was a “steely-eyed missile man” to be sure but in day-to-day dealings he was warm-hearted and committed, self-effacing yet undaunted by rebuttals. He was receptive too when approached about new ways of looking at policies he had already implemented and listened to opposing arguments. Always encouraging and generous, he left a gap in NASA which is still there today. George Mueller died on 12 October 2015. David Baker

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book is that Germany developed rockets to avoid Breaking the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles Sacramento’s but that is not so. By 1922 the German military was working closely with Russia testing tanks, Chains of Gravity developing aircraft and training pilots in secret Moon Rockets Author inside the Soviet Union without the knowledge Author Amy Shira Teitel of the Allied powers. Rockets became an Alan Lawrie Publisher opportunistic addition but Teitel leaps directly Publisher Bloomsbury from asserting that the 1919 Treaty stripped Arcadia Publishing ISBN Germany of weapons to the recruitment of von ISBN 978-1-4729-1117-9 Braun in the early 1930s as though liberating a 978-1-4671-3389-0132 Price cowed nation. Price £16.99 304 pages There are several rather odd sentences $22.99 96 pages leaving this reviewer wondering if it was perhaps the fault of sloppy editing, especially when in his book covers the development of lan Lawrie has been in thrall to the discussing Project Manhigh (sic!) involving a rocketry in the United States preceding Saturn V for a very long time. But, gondola suspended from a balloon, the author the formation of NASA in October 1958. as every rocket engineer knows, claims that “…balloons could only float so high TIt is a commendable effort in parts but one sometimesA the stuff that gets left on the ground and couldn’t give a capsule the speed it needed which generally falls far short of making a is just as important as the fire-tailed projectiles to go into orbit.” Teitel also claims that the meaningful contribution to the literature, being a that make it into space. It is precisely because so NACA was “…bridging the gap between military very general, quick-read, of the turbulent period few space-watchers recognise the importance and civilian clients…”, and that putting space between the early 1930s and the end of the of ground facilities such as firing pits and test exploration in the hands of the NACA allowed 1950s, but factual errors proliferate. stands that in many places they have fallen into the military to work alongside the civilians, “…a The layout is somewhat adrift from the disrepair, sad examples of the fickle nature of single way of working that promised to translate actual sequence of events which resulted in the public interest. Until, that is, someone comes nicely into space”. I doubt the military would missile era of the 1950s and its subsequent role along to rescue them and reassemble the have agreed as they competed fiercely in the in the dawn of the Space Age. However, Amy evidence of former glory-days that time works late 1950s for control of the space programme. Teitel does well to stay focused on the book’s hard to erase with rust and decay. Despite these strange and incongruous outline objective but chooses to skip around statements, the author does show evidence of This worthy tribute to such an effort is a and adopt a form of writing more akin to a novel proper research and has concisely conveyed to delightful dip back in time to the age, now than a straight-forward history. And there are the reader the full extent of the Air Force’s plans almost a lifetime ago, when Saturn rockets big omissions, including the story of American for putting men into space and eventually on the were being developed and when these rocketry, which is completely absent in this book Moon. Few non-specialist books cover those behemoths of the Apollo era were – for one until the Germans arrive in the United States late concepts and the author goes into some detail brief period – firing off the launch pad every two in 1945. to explain how that was expected to happen. months. Such pace was possible only because In fact Goddard only gets a mention in the But the focus is out of balance. Nowhere are US of places such as Sacramento, California, preface where the author says that “notable Army plans under Project Horizon mentioned. where Douglas tested its S-IV and S-IVB stages figures like American engineer(!) Robert Although Horizon was completed in 1959, it straight out the box. Stages which were crucial Goddard…” are excluded in the urge to prevent began life in 1957, well inside the period covered to the Apollo programme and getting astronauts the book becoming “…an opus accessible only by the book. on the Moon. to initiates.” We are to believe therefore that his This is clearly not an academic treatise and it Renowned worldwide as the Saturn expert, contribution to the history of American rocketry does not pretend to be one but there are many Alan was approached by an architectural belongs to a literature which she dismisses as areas where hurried and catchy phraseology historian who knew that he had an interest, and constituting “…a tome that only die-hard space hinders the narrative which proceeds in jerks great knowledge, in Saturn rockets, facilities and fans would have the patience to sift through.” toward rushed conclusions. The popular test installations. The result is a documented Apparently he has no place in a general history assertion that the A-4 (V-2) was a “Nazi” rocket history of the Douglas Missile Test Facility of American rocketry. is akin to saying that the UK’s Trident weapon and a book packed with fascinating colour The story of German rocketry up to 1945 gets system is a “Tory” missile, or the US atom bomb photographs and informative captions, including 77 pages and is equally rushed in the author’s was a “Democrat weapon”. The book fails to an introduction from Don Brincka, the former desire to get in as much information as possible. really reflect the uncertainties with which the chief test conductor at SACTO, who had the job Unfortunately, it appears to have merged with development of the A-4 progressed, for the most of fulfilling NASA’s requirement that every stage her life as a professional blogger and not that part outside the political machine and firmly should be ground tested before flight. of the historian, a role she aspires to. While under wraps and in the hands of the military for The site originated with the purchase of land purporting to write the “prehistory of NASA” she several years. Only in the final year was it seized to begin tests with the Thor missile in 1955 and ignores the work conducted by companies such by the SS. ended with the last Saturn test runs. This book as Reaction Motors Inc and Aerojet and other There is danger in trying to write history like is an outstanding tribute to a vital part of the American rocket pioneering organisations, not a novel, to try to make it exciting and to give Apollo story, packed with facts and information. to mention JPL and the emergent Rocketdyne. it the sense of urgency and pace which rarely All too little is known about sites such as this There is too much of the novelesque in this conforms to reality, clipping corners with catchy and Sacramento’s Moon Rockets will help put book. When describing how Wernher von Braun phrases aimed at bridging short attention spans. the record straight and get this important site lay hiding in early May 1945, determined to With those caveats this book is worth reading but back on the map, and not before time! The give himself up to the Americans, his brother only as a spur to more measured coverage of the British Interplanetary Society is working with Magnus was apparently sent out to look for period, which is still awaiting proper treatment, Alan to produce a sumptuous book containing them “…because he was young…and the most missed here unfortunately by the rush to retain a new archive of historic material beyond that expendable…” Not sure Wernher, or Magnus, the reader when in fact the writer should relax; contained in this beautifully produced little book saw it that way. the subject sells itself. which is heartily recommended. A commonly held belief perpetuated in this David Baker David Baker

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Setting the record straight Sir: In the Flashback-November 1965 article in between liquid and solid propulsion for the Spaceflight Vol 57, No 12, pages 430-431, the MSBS/SSBS strategic missiles, as well as French part has some assertions which are to test guidance and hypersonic nosecone not correct and I would like to provide some re-entry and recovery. These included VE additional information as well. Eventually 120 8 with air-dropped nosecone, VE 9 with German engineers settled in France, in 13 recoverable nosecone and equipment bay, VE companies and state bodies. CASDN was 10 Aigle with a new booster using aluminium created in 1948 and LRBA’s Project 4213 perchlorate/polyvinyl chlorine propellant, VE Véronique first flew in 1950. But it was not 110 Agate with a 800mm diameter Mammouth based on the V 2. Unguided (as the V 2 was), booster, VE 111 Topaze (inertial guidance its motor had a 4t thrust and used nitric acid/ and rotating nozzles, Soleil motor with kerosene propellant (versus 25t thrust, with modern aluminium perchlorate/polyurethane LOX and alcohol for the V 2). Note its initial propellant), and VE 121 Emeraude (Vexin ascent was stabilized by four unreeling wires, motor with nitric acid/turpentine), VE 231 a Wolfgang Pilz idea. (Emeraude + Topaze). Véronique was not cancelled to the But in 1960 there was already the idea of benefit of Monica, as the latter was a failed adding a third solid, filament-wound, P0,65 programme, with only about 15 launched, stage to Saphir creating Diamant. The latter while the former soldiered on until 1975, stage was tested with VE 210 Rubis, on top of including inaugurating the Kourou space an Agate. Rubis then was indeed later used centre in 1968. as a sounding rocket, with a European record Testimony to France’s prowess in the There were 94 other rocket programmes of of 2,000km peak altitude. development of liquid and solid propellant rockets, a display at the Musee du Bourget of various types and 118 guided and recoverable As you say, while France is the only missiles and satellite launchers. SNCASE (later Sud Aviation) SE 1500 target nation, together with Russia and Israel, to Musee du Bourget drones, flown in 1946, even before the arrival have succeeded at the first orbital attempt, of the German engineers. The latter also the Diamant record is to this day the best of inaugurated the Colomb-Béchar range in any nation, with four successes out of four first neutron bomb in June 1980, preceded by October 1948. (satellites A 1 n° 65-096A, D-1 Diapason n° a test in the United States in 1962. Also forgotten today is the first successful 66-013A, D-1C Diadème 1 n° 67-011A and Finally, on page 434 Alistair Scott says that French modern rocket programme, the D-1D Diadème 2 n° 67-014A). Peter Conchie was programme manager for 81 SE 4100 which developed from 1949 The success of Diamant, save for the Meteosat but this is not so. That was Laurent all essentials of rocketry (parallel/tandem American preliminary help with inertial Fiorito from Aerospatiale, the prime contractor staging, solid/liquid propulsion, guidance, guidance (soon embargoed), was a fully for the satellites. Maybe Peter Conchie was electromagnetic and optical seekers, French affair, based on 20 years of essentially programme manager for the losing MESH recovery) – except inertial guidance – truly military research (about 6,000 rockets of all proposal? Diamant’s mother. types launched, plus 346,000 anti-tank and SEREB’s VE series (Véhicule d’Essais) air-to-air missiles!). Philippe Jung were a range of technology development Also, there were 17 nuclear bomb tests in President History Commission 3AF rockets progressively leading to the two-stage Algeria before moving to the Pacific, where Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de VE 231 Saphir basic test vehicle to choose 193 tests were performed. France tested its France A promise for the future? Sir: On 14 March 1931 the first European the Soyuz 5.3, has a mass of 690,000kg with launch vehicles will be in use powered by the liquid propellant rocket was launched. a payload mass pf 26,000kg. For each 1 ton promising combination of liquid oxygen and The HW1 (Huckel-Winkler) was propelled of payload mass the Soyuz 5.1 needs 30 ton liquid methane. by a combination of liquid oxygen and of lift-off mass and the Soyuz 5.3 needs 26.5 liquid methane. After a very long silence ton of lift-off mass for each 1 ton of payload Kris Goedemont MBIS a regeneration of interest started in liquid mass. Not bad if you compare this with the Antwerp Belgium methane. In the 1980s Energomash carried living dinosaur of the launch vehicles, the R-7 out research which resulted in experimental Semyorka. rocket engines test -fired in the 1990s with The Soyuz 2.1b (LOX/kerosene) The editor welcomes letters and emails for different thrust values. Russia has now configuration can place an 8,200kg payload publication but regrets that he is unable to announced preliminary designs for launch mass in orbit and the lift-off mass is acknowledge or reply individually. Those vehicles propelled by liquid oxygen and liquid 307,000kg, each 1 ton of payload needing sending letters via email to methane. 37.4 ton lift-off mass. [email protected] The Soyuz 5.1 has a lift-off mass of Maybe, before the 100th anniversary of should remember to include their address. Letters may be edited. 270,000kg with a payload mass 9,000kg. And the launch of the HWl, sub-orbital and orbital

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FLASHBACK – January 1966

A regular feature looking back 50 years this month

his month in 1966 marked the midway point in the 10-mission Gemini manned space flight programme. Five successful Tmanned missions had been launched in 1965 and confidence was high that the coming year would finally see a docking take place between two vehicles in space. Rendezvous by orbital manoeuvring had already been achieved for the first time during the Gemini 7/6A flight of December 1965, and EVA had been demonstrated in June 1965, on only the second manned Gemini mission. This was an even greater achievement given that it was only America’s sixth orbital space flight. But the month saw the winds of change begin to blow, not only within the US space programme but in the Soviet Union too, with the death on 14 January of Sergei Korolev, the “father” of modern Russian rocketry and cosmonautics. As part of a close-knit team of trusted colleagues Korolev Reflecting the urgency of creating spectacular space “firsts”, Russia sent three men into orbit in October had built for himself a formidable reputation with 1964 in the Voskhod 1 spacecraft, re-engineered from Vostok and now in London at the Cosmonauts Premier Khrushchev, a closeness with the man exhibition in the Science Museum until March. Vix Southgate but not his office, which was to push him further into the shadows after the ousting of the Soviet extended-duration J-series flights (Apollo 15- the study period. MORL, it was envisaged, leader in October 1964 – while Voskhod 1 was 17) and in Skylab. would be launched by a Saturn IB and receive in orbit. Under this FY1967 budget, NASA would astronauts and cargo by Apollo. Today Korolev is remembered with pride see a decline in its funds for the second year While NASA’s Marshall (Huntsville) and and high regard as much for his engineering in a row, albeit from a lofty height of more Manned Space Flight (Houston) centres also skills as for his endurance in adversity, when than $5billion, which in 2015 money would be conducted parallel work on space station condemned to a life in the gulag and only $38billion – more than twice NASA’s current concepts, it was the work conducted by Douglas liberated so that he could serve the communist budget. Back then that was almost 3.5% of all on the Langley MORL station which would lead cause. US government spending, whereas NASA’s directly to the contract to build Skylab. It also But Korolev was denied the centralised budget today is a mere 0.5%. To maintain that resulted in Douglas getting the contract in August control for which the regime had achieved same percentage of total government spending 1966 to fabricate the highly classified Manned notoriety and competitive elements in the today NASA’s budget would be $126billion! Orbital Laboratory (MOL) for the Air Force. MOL rocket and spacecraft industries sent future But if NASA was not to get an extension had replaced the X-20 (previously Dyna-Soar) plans into disarray, made worse by a general of Apollo Moon missions there was one side spaceplane when that was cancelled in 1963 lack of direction and absence of essential to that work which was studied intensively by but would itself be abandoned in 1969 when resources. When Korolev died it left a vacuum the Langley Research Center and the then Skylab received formal approval. filled by acrimony and a desire to pull the entire Douglas Missile and Space Systems Division In that regard, January 1966 was a pivotal programme under tight military control and the – the Manned Orbital Research Laboratory month for unanticipated consequences to both future direction of the Soviet space programme (MORL). Submitted in January 1966, the MORL the Russian and American space programmes. changed course forever. study envisaged a space station serviced by NASA kept alive its hopes for a permanently But changes too were taking place in the Apollo spacecraft which were then considered manned space station and in 1969 reopened United States. On 24 January 1966 NASA as potential workhorses for the future space formal studies with definition contracts going deputy administrator Robert C Seamans programme after Moon landings. to McDonnell Douglas and North American said that cuts to the amount of money NASA Begun in 1963, the MORL concept was Rockwell for a 12-man complex. That was wanted for the financial year starting 1 July intensively studied by this government- rendered unaffordable by sustained cuts to that year made it impossible to start an industry team and the design grew in size with the NASA budget. In 1972 the Shuttle was Apollo Applications Programme (AAP) for each year, the proposed crew increasing from approved instead, plans for a space station extended activity around the Moon and on its four to nine and projected lifetime rising from only re-emerging with a declaration by surface after the first landings. NASA never one to five years. With its increased size and President Reagan in January 1984, assembly would get formal approval for AAP missions, sophistication the proposed year of launch beginning 14 years later. Everything comes to only elements of those plans surviving in the for the MORL went from 1968 to 1972 over he who waits!

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Monday was spent travelling north to the island of Usedom on the Baltic coast, location of the Peenemunde rocket research and Birthplace development centre where the A-4/V-2 ballistic missile was developed. Following a quick “whistle-stop” tour of the area, we headed for the pleasant coastal resort town of Zinnowitz, of the V-2 which would be our base for our two nights By Alan Marlow spent in the area. Tuesday for me was perhaps the highlight of the trip, offering at last the opportunity to visit Prufstand VII, the test stand from which the first successful A-4 was sent to an altitude of 84 km on 3 October 1942. It was following this successful test that Walter Dornberger, the military head of the rocket programme is said to have declared “…this is the first day of the space age”. Actually reaching Prufstand VII was something of an adventure in itself. Around The small museum at the Berlin suburb of Kummersdorf-West where the early rocket experiments of the twenty of us squeezed into a Soviet era, four VfR were conducted in the early to mid-1930s. Alan Marlow wheel drive minibus, which, driven like a rally car by our guide Herr Joachim Saathoff, ermany is justifiably regarded as what remains of the Raketenflugplatz (rocket then proceeded down a maze of rough, the cradle of modern rocketry. So airfield), the site in northern Berlin used by the unmade tracks through the now overgrown the opportunity to visit a number group of enthusiasts who called themselves Peenemunde East area, until we finally Gof the key sites involved in that history on a the VfR (Verein für Raumschiffahrt, or Society reached Prufstand VII. coach tour organised by Dr Thompson’s Tours for Space Travel), for testing their fledgling All of the rocket testing infrastructure was was one that was eagerly grabbed by both rockets. destroyed by the Soviet Army who occupied members of the British Interplanetary Society Unfortunately no tangible remains of the the site after World War II, but the area is and non-members, from such diverse places Raketenflugplatz survive today. The western marked by a stone monument and there was a as the United Kingdom and Canada, Denmark half of the site now lies under the busy Tegel real sense of history to be standing in the spot and Australia. airport, while the eastern side lies under a which had seen the first successful test of a Arriving on the 19 September, for me the pleasant housing estate. There is a passing technology which has fundamentally changed trip started with a short excursion which was acknowledgement to the area’s history in the our world. not part of the organised trip, to try to find form of plaques of the rocket pioneers Rudolf Behind the Iron Curtain for so many years, Nebel, Herman Oberth and Werner von A replica of one of the two A2 rockets developed for West Europeans on the “other side” of the Braun in the main concourse of Tegal airport, and tested in 1934 by the von Braun group. dividing line between political camps, the ability although bizarrely, there is no explanation with A development of the A1, it had a gyroscope the plaques as to who these people were and assembly located between the alcohol and Tour guide Dr Andrew Thompson and interpreter oxygen tanks. Alan Marlow what they did! The first organised “excursion” of the trip was Janet Berridge. Alan Marlow a walking tour of historic sites around central Berlin. This was the first glimpse we had of the encyclopaedic knowledge of our guide, Dr Andrew Thompson, not only of the history of rocketry, but of German social, political and cultural history. The following day, Sunday, was our first visit to an historic rocketry site. In the early 1930s the VfR was wound up and many of its key members were employed by the military to continue their work on rocket development at an ordnance site at Kummersdorf, south of Berlin. Many important areas of interest still exist at Kummersdorf, but because of health and safety considerations these areas are now no longer accessible. Consequently, our visit to Kummersdorf was limited to the small museum where the curator Herr Schnittler, explained the history of the site via our interpreter, Janet Berridge.

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all over Europe. In addition to extending the tunnel complex, slave labourers were also used to assemble not only the V-2 missiles, but also V-1 flying bombs and jet engines. Hundreds of people (both German engineers and slave labourers), died during the RAF air raids on Peenemunde in August 1943, but the number of people who died at the Mittlewerk was on a completely different scale. It is estimated that around 60,000 people were involved in the construction of the tunnels and the assembly of the various weapons at Nordhausen, of which around 20,000 died of disease and malnutrition. Only a small portion of the tunnel complex is now accessible. Again, the majority of the complex was destroyed by Soviet forces in the period after World War II. But even that small section of tunnels gives some sense of the sheer scale of the enterprise which took place Many of the tunnels still contain large amounts of discarded hardware left by the Americans when they there. departed in 1945. Alan Marlow Returning home on Friday, I for one felt a real to visit this place is a unique experience which Hartz Mountains a few miles from the town of sense of having followed the German rocket has only recently become possible. Because of Nordhausen, was in many ways a much more programme through from its humble genesis that it is all the more exciting to walk around a sombre affair than any of our other visits. in the hands of a few idealistic enthusiasts in site prohibited to so many for so long. Assembly of the V2 had moved here after the a then quiet corner of Berlin, to the triumphant Wednesday was spent travelling to Leipzig RAF’s bombing of Peenemunde in August days on the Baltic coast at Peenemunde, to via Potsdam, where we visited the Cecilienhof 1943. Part of the preparations for this move its final, dark days, in the tunnels beneath the Palace, venue of the 1945 Potsdam was for the already extensive underground beautiful Hartz mountains in Central Germany. Conference which effectively created the complex to be developed further until It is worth remembering that the expertise political landscape of Europe for almost fifty ultimately it consisted of almost 22 kilometres developed in those places in little more than a years. of tunnels. decade would go on to provide the basis of a Thursday’s trip to the vast underground This work was undertaken in appalling technology that would shape the would we now complex called the Mittlewerk, dug into the conditions by slave labourers drafted in from live in.

The tour group which visited the German rocket sites enjoyed clement weather and excellent opportunities to see the places where the Space Age really started. Alan Marlow

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his historic role as Capcom for the Apollo 11 Moonwalk. Al Worden, who also appeared at the BIS-organised Reinventing Space (RISpace) Conference in Oxford during November, was another now-familiar face. On 5 August 1971 Al performed the first deep-space walk, from the Apollo 15 Command Module during the return flight to Earth, retrieving film cassettes from the Service Module. He is one of the most gregarious of the astronauts, always raising a laugh with everyone he meets. Rusty Schweickart played an important part in the Apollo programme, flying in Earth orbit with Apollo 9 during which on 6 March 1969 he exited the Lunar Module and tested the lunar EVA suit in space for the first time. Rick Searfoss was a three time

Vix Southgate and Steve Salmon host visitors and old friends at the BIS stand during Autographica over the weekend Shuttle astronaut, piloting two of 11-13 September. Colin Philp missions (STS-58 and STS-76) and commanding a third (STS-90). utographica is a unique event, not far away, promoting his ShareSpace Of related interest to aviation and space with its mix of actors, media stars Foundation. Bruce McCandless also took the enthusiasts was “Dambuster” George and astronauts, and once again the time to visit us and pose for photographs. He “Johnny” Johnson, who flew on the famous BISA had a presence at the latest jamboree is famous for perhaps one of the most unsung mission by 617 Squadron to bomb three at Heathrow on 11-13 September. At the major achievements in space exploration with dams in the Ruhr on the night of 16/17 May stand with me were Steve Salmon, Vix the first untethered space walk on 7 February 1943. Now well into his 90s, George was a Southgate and her daughter Laura, greeting 1984 during the STS-41B mission, producing pleasure to talk with. Thanks to everyone and welcoming visitors. A few existing BIS one of the most famous photographs of the who visited the BIS stand, and to our two new Members and Fellows came up to say hello Shuttle programme as he looked back at the Members. and the Society welcomed two new Members orbiter Challenger. He is also remembered for Colin Philp who joined at the event. Colin Philp (left) and Bruce McCandless with Steve Salmon during the Autographica gathering at Of most interest to BIS Members, and Heathrow. Colin Philp the reason for the Society’s presence, were the space celebrities, with a turn out of five American astronauts from the heroic era of human space exploration: Buzz Aldrin (Gemini 8 Pilot, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot), Al Worden (Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot), Rusty Schweickart (Apollo 9 Lunar Module Pilot), Bruce McCandless (STS-41B, STS-31), and Rick Searfoss (STS-58, STS-76, STS- 90). Quite naturally, Buzz Aldrin attracted a long queue of enthusiasts looking for autographs from arguably the most famous living astronaut, and some brought models and other three dimensional objects for him to sign, including one with a huge 50cm tall cast iron model of an Apollo Lunar Module. Aldrin signed the top panel near the docking hatch, thereby increasing its value somewhat. Buzz visited the BIS stand a number of times, interested in particular in the Society’s studies of Martian bases. His own stand was

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Brian Cox moderates a Q&A session for Jim Lovell during the Space Lectures appearance at what may be Jim Lovell’s last formal visit to the UK. Rick Mulheairn

ach time I support a Ken Willoughby “Bobby’s helmet”. Circumstantial evidence had a problem….again!” Thankfully, prior Space Lectures event the same suggested that a certain PC Fred Haise had warnings of traffic jams in the area meant that ringing endorsement usually prevails, tipped him off. The traditional British head the majority made it in good time. A notable Ean endorsement from team and audience gear has become a regular gift from the casualty was Prof Brian Cox who was joining members alike: “That was the best yet!” So it Space Lecture team but none the less Jim us for the first time. He eventually managed to was with Eileen Collins, Fred Haise before her and Marilyn were clearly delighted. Goodness slip in to the dining room and was greeted by and so on. So it is only right and proper that knows what Space Lectures are doing for the a round of applause. the same old cliché be trotted out once more. average age of an officer on Humberside! The raffle and auction saw several bargains But this encounter with Capt. James Lovell on The formal dinner followed the next day. As go under the hammer but Ken Willoughby 30-31 October 2015 was so much more than usual the traffic conspired against us. As had and Space Lectures still managed donations that. occurred on the evening of the Eileen Collins totalling £2,100 shared between UNICEF and From the moment Jim stepped out of the dinner, a major incident on the nearby A1 had the Foundation Fior di Loto. car at his hotel I knew this was going to be closed one carriage way. “Pontefract, we’ve For the first time this event saw two something special. For many, Capt. Lovell is lectures, on Saturday and Sunday. Carleton a favourite. His compelling story telling and Recruited! Jim Lovell gets the customary Community High School again the location. easy sense of humour place him at the top of “Bobby’s” helmet, a tradition now at Space Both were packed. Both well served by Lectures. Rick Mulheirn many an enthusiasts “Top Ten” suppliers and food stands. And the queues for Ken Willoughby had tried unsuccessfully photographs with Capt. Lovell started early. to entice Capt. Lovell to Pontefract six years Contrary to what had been advertised “the ago. “I’ve done my research”, Jim exclaimed real” Jim Lovell spoke about his entire NASA as he made his way to the foyer. “I googled career. It came as no surprise that Jim quickly you Ken” before adding “Freddo speaks very had the audience captivated. As one guy later highly of you. I’m delighted to be here and I’m posted on twitter, “I didn’t blink for an hour”. feeling very comfortable”. He may have been He recounted reaching the final 32 from comfortable but he and Marilyn both were which the original 7 Mercury astronauts clearly tired so they retreated to their rooms. were chosen. “Whatever happened to those Later that evening, at a private dinner guys?” he quipped. He moved on to Gemini with the Space Lectures team, Humberside 7 in which he and Frank Borman endured Constabulary inducted their newest… or 8-g at launch en route to a “medical mission”. should that be their oldest…new recruit in to He and his partner became guinea pigs for the force. PC James Lovell was genuinely calcium bone loss experiments, the same thrilled to be presented with an authentic experiments currently taking place aboard

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ISS. Then Apollo 8, in his opinion the highlight Apollo 13 was the greatest moment of As a committed Apollo fan he brought with him of his career, and of course Apollo 13. potentially the greatest team that the world an innate ability to draw out of the audience At one point he eluded to something Alan has ever seen. a variety of interesting and clearly informed Bean mentioned when he was in Pontefract He closed by saying “There are three types questions. He did so against the backdrop two years ago: That we live in the Garden of of people in this world. People that make of a magnificent seven-foot tall Apollo 13 Eden; a grand oasis in the vastness of space. things happen; people that watch things spacecraft model very kindly provided by Jim’s take on it was “People hope they go happen; and people that just wonder what professional model maker Mike Conroy. Just to heaven when they die. I then thought… you just happened.” Mission Control MADE things one more piece in the Space Lectures jigsaw go to heaven when you are born.” A notion happen!” Following a brief comfort break, that came together to form a memorable acknowledged by billions of people in the Prof Cox joined Capt. Lovell on stage for a 30 event. years that followed as the iconic blue marble minute Q&A that had the microphone guys I finish with a moment shared with Jim, Earthrise image taken on Apollo 8 became scampering to all four corners of the theatre Marilyn, OWL and his much better half at absorbed irrevocably and subconsciously in and most places in between. breakfast on the Sunday. Jim was telling tthe global consciousness. All of the questions were answered with us about his grandfather. Originally from He then wondered… what would have candour and humour. Did flying in space affect Czechoslovakia, he went to the US to seek his happened had Apollo 13 successfully landed your sense of taste? “No…. the food did”. fortune, much like Gene Cernan’s grandfather. on the Moon? There would have been no Would you have liked to fly in space again? He too was from Czechoslovakia. “Gene and I “Houston…we’ve had a problem”, no “Failure “Well, when John Glenn flew on STS-95 I are very good friends” he said. I couldn’t help is not an option” (attributed but never actually asked NASA if I could be his back-up?” he myself; I quipped: “Does that make Gene your said until after the flight). replied. “They said NO: you’re too young!” Check Mate!?” Thankfully, Jim and Marilyn Apollo 13 was the catalyst that brought Brian was clearly used to conducting laughed more than they groaned. Mission Control to the fore. The crisis on interviews in front of a captivated audience. Rick Mulheirn The Martian n the final day of World Space Week Leicester, where she is studying meteorites the possibility of finding fossils of life on Mars. 2015, we were able to organise a from Mars and samples from NASA’s Stardust Jane talked about her studies of a small part special event thanks to a couple of comet probe; and Jerry Stone, a well-known of the 1.4 grams of Martian meteorite owned Olucky coincidences. First, that “The Martian”, Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, by the University of Leicester. A question from Ridley Scott’s latest film was a couple of weeks who is also President of the Mars Society in the audience penetrated to a major point: why into its UK run. The Martian as you’ll know from the UK and has appeared on BBC and Sky TV does NASA not just put a petri dish on a probe previous editions of Spaceflight is the most as a space expert. to Mars and film it to see if bacteria grows? realistic film set in space since Apollo 13 and The film, as many of you will have seen The point wasn’t answered directly, but the tells the story of an astronaut stranded on Mars. by now I’m sure, is excellent – both as a responses talked about how NASA’s robot The second coincidence is that I have been human drama, and as a portrayal of what a explorers were investigating things one step working with Odeon cinemas for several Mars mission in twenty or thirty years’ time at a time, and this was contrasted to the UK’s months, and that Odeon has an active social could actually look like. As the ending credits Beagle 2 attempt to probe for life more directly. responsibility programme which in particular rolled, we prepared the stage for the panel. This discussion enabled us to show that looks to use the “big screen” for educational I moderated, first with some questions I had the robot explorers were programmed for a purposes. I spotted the opportunity and agreed prepared, and then taking several from the specific mission and hence limited to answer with them that they would donate a screening of audience. We had a wide range of age and the next questions in a series. In contrast, The Martian and time afterwards for a question- technical knowledge in the audience, and I hope human explorers, with intelligence and and-answer panel session, and we would offer I did a reasonable job of translating some of the adaptability could react to what they learned half the seats to BIS Members and half to local more complex points into everyday language. on the spot and so progress much quicker. secondary and A-level school children. Several questions covered the difficulties This linked neatly back to the film, which Thanks to the BIS staff and a couple of of a Mars mission. The panel described well started with a manned scientific exploration, active volunteer members, by 10 October how the most difficult parts were not just the and concluded as a testament to the we had an audience of about 60, split obvious ones of launch, oxygen and food, but adaptability and perseverance of humans. about evenly between BIS Members and also radiation, physical weakening in micro- We convey our thanks to Odeon for hosting schoolchildren, with a few parents and gravity, and the psychological pressures of a us. At the end of the event I heard positive teachers there to chaperone. We had also long mission in a confined space. We talked a feedback from both BIS members and teachers assembled a great panel of experts for the lot about Earth-bound analogue missions and from one of the schools. The teachers thought Q&A: Michael Morris Franks, London lawyer I learned with interest that when these failed it it was great how the film linked to the whole with an interest in space law, but also in was often due to a system failure rather than a range of STEM subjects (Science, Technology, extraterrestrial geology and biology; Maggie human failure, in one case for example a fire Engineering and Maths) and thought that the Lieu, an Astrophysicist at the University of that required evacuation. discussion had been at a good level. For BIS Birmingham, who was also an astronaut We also had an interesting discussion about members, Stuart Eves summed it up very candidate for the ‘Mars One’ programme, until what I called the “David Bowie question”: Is neatly: “It was a brilliant film, and a thoroughly she withdrew earlier this year; Jane MacArthur, there life on Mars? With the recent discovery interesting discussion afterwards”. a Planetary Scientist at the University of of water on the surface, Michael talked about Robin Tucker

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the Constellation programme prior to its cancellation. Along with his engineering responsibilities, A visit from NASA for eight years up to 2010 Mike served as chair to the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society and his knowledge of international programmes is very evident. During lunch after our “tour” of the BIS and its collections, Mike said how engaged he was with working on the cooperative programme involving Europe in America’s flagship human space flight initiative and that he anticipated this activity to keep him busy well into the future. Mike and Julia are getting their Euro- connections consolidated, with their son doing a semester at a London university, and there is no better way to cement those relations. David Baker NASA safety engineer Mike Ciancone and his wife Julia visited the BIS on 2 November at the invitation of Spaceflight editor David Baker (right). Mary Todd New BIS Members Lord Dover, Hatfield, UK ASA Johnson Space Center Human that he viewed the BIS collection in its library Gianluca Perini, Trecastelli, Italy Spaceflight Safety manager and at HQ in London. Maggie Lieu, Coventry, UK engineer Mike Ciancone and his wife For two years Mike has been the Safety Dylan Clarke, Michigan, USA NJulia visited the BIS on 2 November as my and Mission Assurance (S&MA) lead to the Timothy Parson, Haslemere, UK guest for the day. NASA/ESA study team on the European Vin Perry-French, Coventry, UK Mike is on the Board of the IAF History Service Module for the Exploration LF Brown, Nottingham, UK Committee and is an avid collector of pre- Mission-1 flight atop the first Space Launch Nelly Ben-Hayoun, London, UK WW2 astronautical publications and books. System currently scheduled for launch in Simon Taylor, Retford, UK His knowledge of the subject is immense 2018. Malcolm Hook, Hanham, UK and he has in his personal library at home in This work carries him to Bremen where Zachery Travers-Calvert, Houston a valuable collection of rare books he is involved with the European project as Tunbridge Wells, UK connected with rocketry and space travel from a successor to its activity on the Automated Anna Ross, Norwich, UK the days when it was a dream. Transfer Vehicle. Before that he was Maria Chiara Corbucci, Rome, Italy So it was with a great deal of enthusiasm on the safety team monitoring work on Ernie Willems, Hoboken, Belgium David Cullen, Cranfield, UK Kai Staats, Arizona, USA Journal of the British John Stott, Warrington, UK Interplanetary Society Linden Davis, London, UK JBIS Stefano Barra, Latina, Italy Ernst de Groot, Delft, The Netherlands Edoardo Caroselli, Rome, Italy Valentina Giacinti, Rome, Italy Nick Potts, Essex, UK Patrick Moniz, Surrey, UK Nathan Raj, Sheffield, UK The July 2015 issue of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society is now available and David Cooper, Tasmania, Australia contains the following papers: Nicholas Boyde, Wanchai, Hong Kong Giles Shilson, London, UK Investigations of a Combustible Inertial Launch Vehicle Design Abigail Ochello, Gibraltar Nuclear Energy for Space Propulsion Christie Maddock, Glasgow, UK Dust Grain Damage to Interstellar Vehicles and Lightsails Stefano Morellina, Foggio, Italy Creating Materials for the Starship Aleksandra Mir, London, UK Colin Wernham, Surrey, UK Does General Relativity Permit Superluminal Travel? Kayleigh Johnson, East Sussex, UK Self-Fuelling Fusion Hybrid Propulsion System for Interstellar Missions Julian Blundell, East Sussex, UK Copies of JBIS, priced at £15 for members, £40 to non-members, Gian Maria Viglianti, Priverno, Italy P&P: UK £1.50, Europe & Rest of the World £3.50 Back issues are also available and can be obtained from The British Interplanetary Society Sarah Cook, Surrey, UK 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, England Michael Phillips, Milton Keynes, UK

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BIS Lectures and Meetings Christmas Get-Together 10 December 2015, 6.30 - 8.30 pm This informal event provides an excellent opportunity to meet with friends again and talk with Society representatives. Each member may obtain a ticket for one guest. Interstellar Flight: An Update on Progress and Developments, and Scenario Analysis for this Century 21 January 2016, 7 - 8.30 pm Speaker: Kelvin Long This lecture will report on the developments and progress within the interstellar community over the last few years. It will explore the significant activities for which its members are involved and paint a picture of the future scenarios that may or may not see interstellar flight realised some time this century, and in what form. This includes developments within the global space community, including governmental and commercial, which have an impact on the strategic and technological roadmaps for becoming an interstellar capable society, as part of a critical path analysis. The talk will also include a broad overview of the existing options for the first unmanned and manned missions, in terms of plausibility and technological readiness.

L.J. Carter Memorial Lecture Nell, Esther and Aunt Effie - The Story of the World’s First Liquid-Fuelled Rocket 16 March 2016, 7 - 8.30 pm Speaker: Jerry Stone All of the rockets that have been used to send craft into space, to the Moon and planets can be traced back to March 16, 1926, when Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fuelled rocket. Dr Robert Goddard was one of the great pioneers of rocketry, and although his work was totally misunderstood and ridiculed by the New York Times and neglected by the government for many years, they both came to apologise and acknowledge Goddard’s expertise years later, and NASA named one of its major research centres after him. 16 March 2016 will mark the 90th anniversary of the launching, and in this commemorative presentation you can discover the significance of Nell, Esther and Aunt Effie. Lectures Venue: BIS HQ, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, unless otherwise stated. Members can attend free of charge. Places must be booked in advance, online or by post. Each member may also obtain a free ticket for one guest subject to availability of space. Non-Members are able to attend the Society’s lectures for a fee. You can order a ticket online or by post (please make cheques payable to the British Interplanetary Society). If oversubscribed Society Members will be given priority. If applying via our website the confirmation receipt is your entry ticket. If, for reasons outside its control, the Society is required to change the date or topic of a meeting, every effort will be made to avoid inconvenience to attendees either by notice of change in Spaceflight/JBIS, on our website or by special advice to each participant.

Readers are reminded that these Notices contain only a reduced description of the event. Full details can be found online: www.bis-space.com/whats-on

Coming next month • Neil Armstrong’s heart scare • David Todd on SLS/Orion • Dwayne Day on LM restoration at the NASM ...and MUCH MORE!

38 Spaceflight Vol 58 January 2016

38.indd 38 11/26/2015 8:38:38 AM The British Interplanetary Society From Imagination to Reality Join online by going to www.bis-space.com/join or fill in this form Why not take a digital subscription where a PDF version of your chosen publication(s) is delivered to your inbox each month? Go to www.bis-space.com/digital

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Your BIS membership includes: • Monthly issues of Spaceflight, the world’s leading space magazine, or JBIS, the global leader in peer-reviewed astronautical papers and our seminal history journal Chronicle is available for a supplementary fee • Access to a members-only website page with frequent new material including videos, lectures and reports • Membership of a worldwide network of like-minded people, uniting space industry professionals, enthusiasts and students • The opportunity to meet leading figures in space science, technology and exploration, including astronauts, with free entry to exciting evening talks (also available to members online) • Reduced rates to BIS workshops and social events meeting astronauts, scientists, engineers and opinion shapers at regular meetings • Access to the BIS library, one of the world’s most comprehensive astronautical collections including books, technical reports, journals and a full backlog of all the BIS’ publications • Odyssey, the BIS members’ e-magazine featuring interviews and articles, Society news and events with special articles covering sci-fi, art and a range of subjects linked to space and astronautics. Four issues per year. See p39 for an application form, visit our website or write for an application form to: British Interplanetary Society, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, UK Join online at www.bis-space.com

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