5' The student newspaper of Imperial College Issue 1060 FELIX June 7th 1996 £6 million blown in Ariane disaster BY BEN WILK1NS initial reaction was one of 'disbe- Scientists from Imperial watched lief. The overall cost of the with horror as 10 years' work was project was over £6 million and wiped out in seconds last scientists and engineers have Tuesday when the Ariane 5 been designing and building the rocket, on its maiden flight, the instruments in the Physics exploded during its launch. On department since 1988. board were the four Cluster Chris Carr, a research offi- spacecraft carrying instruments cer who helped to build the designed and built by a team led instruments, was watching the by Imperial. launch from the European Space Ariane 5 took off from Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Kourou in French Guiana at 1:35 where the mission would have GMT. But just 27 seconds into been controlled from. "We the flight, a guidance system didn't have a very good view. At fault caused the 750 tonne first a lot of us thought we had rocket to veer wildly off course. just lost the picture. When we The rocket started to break up saw the flaming fragments 30 seconds later and ground coming down, we realised that controllers decided to end the was it. Then there was complete mission for safety reasons. Two silence for what seemed like a explosions were triggered in the very long time" main fuel tanks, destroying the Ariane 5 was the first of a rocket and its £500 million cargo. new generation of satellite On the launch pad, jubilation launchers, the most powerful turned to dismay as scientists ever built by ESA. This, the first watched the burning debris rain flight, was officially experimen- back down to earth. tal, and the decision to launch Malcolm Dunlop from the the Cluster mission on it was Physics department, one of the partly in order to keep the cost investigators involved in the clus- down. But Malcolm Dunlop ter mission, was watching the insists that the decision to put launch via a satellite link up at the satellites on a test flight was the Rutherford Appleton the correct one. "Rocketry is a As it should have been: Ariane 501 in launch. Laboratory in Oxfordshire. His Continued on page two Stoic wins awards Disturbance for weeks Entertain us Stoic, the student television of Weeks Hall students have com- ICU Council has approved IC, has won two awards in plained that their exam revision proposals for a £109,000 refit of national atudent TV awards. has been disturbed by builders the entertainments lounge. The Robin Riley and Carlo Masser- constructing a path beside them. plans, which are due to go ahead ello won prizes for news cover- Work due to take a week has this summer, will increase the age and live broadcasts, page 2 lasted a month. page 3 capacity of the venue. page 3 TWO . FELIX FRIDAY JUNE 7TH 1 996 NEWS continued from front page only way to get details of the risky business" he said, compar- three dimensional structure of STOIC triumphs ing Ariane 5 to the Space Shuttle the magnetosphere is to have disaster. "There's no reason why four spacecraft. Previous this one should have been any missions with only one or two more dangerous than subsequent spacecraft could only give ones." limited results." The European Space Agency It is too early to say what Cluster mission was due to spend will happen to the Cluster the next two years in orbit mission next. According to Chris around earth to study the inter- Carr the fundamental need for action between the solar wind this research still exists and this and the earth's magnetic field - research cannot be done in any the magnetosphere - which other way "Its difficult to know protects the earth from sun's what will happen. Somebody will more violent outbursts. These have to decide whether this observations would give scien- science is important enough to tists a better understanding of launch another mission" space 'weather'. They hoped to Dr Dunlop is optimistic resolve unanswered questions on about the future. He pointed out how the sun causes phenomena that although the spacecraft were in earth's environment such as lost, allthe research and develop- the aurora, power surges in trans- ment has been done. "Its rather mission lines and disturbances in like paying someone to develop broadcasting. some software for ten years and PHOTO: MARK BAKER Cluster was a unique then throwing the computer out Carlo and Robin of STOIC with some of their award winning kit. mission described as a corner- of the window - luckily the soft- stone experiment by space scien- ware was backed up, but we need BY ALEX FEAKES stations in the country. tists. "It would have been enor- someone to pay for a new Members of STOIC, the Student "Compared to STOIC, GUST is mous." said Dr Dunlop. "The computer!" Television Of Imperial College, a much larger operation," said have been celebrating success in Robin Riley, Features Editor of the annual student TV awards STOIC. "STOIC's strengths are News in brief ceremony hosted by in Norwich in editing, which is at least five by the University of East Anglia's years ahead of everyone else," he steve: ace dence vote for the ULU student television station. continued, pointing out that IC Boat Club's coach, Steve Ellis, President Ghassan Karian. Mr STOIC have been singled out in whereas most student TV is done has been selected for the British Karrian left his job last week to two categories: Best Live by media students, often for part lightweight four entering this take up a position as a Coverage and Best News of their degree, STOIC's efforts summer's Atlanta Olympics. campaigner for the Labour Party. Coverage. were by relative amateurs. Trials were held in Lucerne last The anouncement of the Carlo Masserella, STOIC's Their entries into the weekend: Steve told Felix that it move less than a fortnight after Chair, said that the awards were competition were a bit of an after was '99% certain' he would be his successor, ICU president "good for STOIC," and that he thought, according to Mr Riley: chosen. "We rowed better on Sarah White, was elected has was pleased that people are "We were surprised to win Friday and Saturday than we been described as "cynical and getting some recognition for their anything this year, as we didn't have done in two years, though manipulative" by a ULU spokes- efforts. Mr Masserella himself go. The tapes were sent off out we almost ballsed it up on man. Ghassan was elected to won the Best News Coverage of tradition really." He explained Sunday," he said. Describing the continue in his present position award for a short article about that their absence from the selection as being 'unfeasibly until the end of July, and the Internet, while the other conference was due to a disagree- competitive' he explained that although he has resigned his award was won for the live cover- ment over the ethos of the there is only one lightweight salary, he retains his job status age of the band Urban Spice by a awards, and that while STOIC men's boat entering, providing whilst working full-time as team comprising Robin Riley, made TV for broadcasting - both only four spaces for Britain's top General Election Campaign Piers Williams, Eliott Parish and their entries were programmes 11-stone or under rowers. "You Coordinator for the West Mark Brown. The conference, which had been broadcast - some can't afford to have one bad London area for the Labour under the auspices of NaSTA, stations had "very obviously day," he said. Party. the National Student TV made programmes specifically to IC Boat club manager Bill Representatives at the Association, invited professional win awards." Mason's women's eight will be Council meeting were deterred journalists to judge the entries Mr Riley said that he felt competing for a place in Atlanta from pushing for a no-confidence for the 15 categories. that this went against the spirit in the Olympic regatta this vote only by virtue of the fact Other awards were scooped of NaSTA, and was not what weekend. that it would make the job up by Birmingham's student TV, they wanted to do in STOIC, handover for Sarah even more UEA's Nexus, and the rest by and whilst they were pleased to threat to Ghassan difficult than it is already. "I Glasgow University's GUST, win the awards, "they don't Delegates at Tuesday's Imperial think I would have had a nervous one of the largest and better really mean anything to us." College Union Council were breakdown," Miss White com- equipped student television mandated to support a no confi- mented. NEWS FELIX FRIDAY JUNE 7TH 1996 . THREE Weeks awakes to morning chorus BY ALEX FEAKES speaking loudly above the grind- Residents in Weeks Hall have ing of a paving slab being cut, "we relief from three weeks of build- raised a petition, and gave it to ing in sight this week, as a project the housekeeper, but we were to open up Imperial's newly told to take it further." acquired garden behind the hall Indeed, someone did take it draws to a close. Workmen are further, responding to a spoof creating a path alongside the poster placed about the hall Hall, but have raised the ire of showing the telephone number students in the hall who are for Ian Caldwell, "Director of trying to study for their summer Revision," and rang up the examinations.