alternatehistory.com
Europe, Zubrin, and Mars
"After an updated presentation of the post-Apollo project by a NASA team, the first meeting of the Joint Group on US-European cooperation was held in Washington from 30 November to 2 December 1971.
J.P.Causse and J.Dinkespiler acted as spokesmen for the European delegation which was composed of members of the ESC Secretariat as well as of experts nominated by the Member States, while Charles Matthews headed the NASA group.
As far as the space tug was concerned, the time did not seem ripe for a definite decision because it was so early in its development. It nevertheless seemed a logical area for European participation since it was an easily separable item with a relatively clean set of interfaces; moreover,ELDO in close cooperation with NASA, had elaborated a Phase-A work statement.
ELDO intention was to start a phase A tug study at about October/November 1971. For this study ELDO has begun together with NASA to discuss the task definition and to define the input documents with respect to interfaces, safety, operations and shuttle performance. Following this study it would be possible to enter into phase B during 1972 and to enter into phase C during 1973.
This timescale would fit very well into the present shuttle schedule which assumes a first shuttle flight for April 1978 and an IOC for mid-1979. It would give Europe time enough for a development start on the tug as a contribution to the Post-Apollo program up to 1975 when DOD and NASA want to decide whether to select an existing upper stage as expendable tug as an interim solution or to go with their European partners right from the beginning.
The described preparation in Europe shows that the problem has been seriously considered and that the project picks up speed in accordance with the shuttle project in the United States.
"When University of Rochester space biologist Wolf Vishniac says he's going south for the winter-he really means it. This past winter, Vishniac and graduate student Stanley E. Mainzer led what is believed to be the first Rochester expedition to Antarctica.
The two explorer-microbiologists spent six weeks alone in the Dry Valley region, about 800 miles from the South Pole, where they studied soil bacteria and tested instruments and techniques planned for the Viking unmanned landing on Mars in 1976.
On December 10, 1971 , the Rochester Antarctic expedition set out, only to grind to a three-day halt in Hawaii: plane trouble. There was another delay in New Zealand, and a final one at McMurdo Station, the main U.S. station in Antarctica and the operational base of National Science Foundation activities in the area.
The team returned January 26, 1972, convinced that the trip had opened up additional areas for future study. Both hope to go back some day. Despite delays, frustrations, cold, and wind, they strongly recommend going south for the winter."
Wolf Vishniac: a good friend of Carl Sagan.
December 5, 1971
Headquarters of the British Interplanetary Society
London
Owen Gordon had returned to England, perhaps for the first time since the end of World War Two.
In his days at Avro Canada he had known and befriended many British engineers, notably from Rolls Royce (the Arrow, at least initially, was to be powered by advanced British turbojets). His space background also helped - he somewhat knew Philip Bono, since both worked at McDonnell Douglas.
“… the Black Arrow worked superbly, and it’s a shame the government jettisoned it the day after it orbited Prospero. One of the reasons advocated was the payload is too small, although there is much room for improvement.”
David Andrews showed the assembly a photo. It featured a very recognizable Avro Vulcan bomber with its immense delta wing. On the belly was some cruise missile.
“Very ironically, the Black Arrow Gamma engines were developed for the Blue Steel cruise missile. The space launcher, however, did not used the full potential of these engines – the Stentor, which features eight combustion chambers. By salvaging Blue Steel missiles, thrust of the Black Arrow might be doubled.”
“Another reason given for cancellation was cost, and sure enough Woomera is half a world away. But we couldn’t launch from Britain… unless, of course, the Black Arrow or its improved variant would be air launched from an aircraft. In 1965 the French had a study of a Diamant air launched from a Vulcan bomber, and the Black Arrow is smaller thanks to H2O2 density.
Of course the Stentor variant would be heavier, exceeding the bomber capacity. In this case, we suggest to cut into the internal fuel to restore the payload. Range isn’t needed for air launch, and even if it was, the Vulcan could be refueled in flight, even just after takeoff, like the SR-71 or A-12 which tanks are leaking so much…”
David Andrews presentation ended and was followed by a barrage of technical questions. After all it was the cream of British (and American) rocketry that was gathered there today. The meeting had been introduced earlier in the morning on a mixed mood.
"Forty months ago in this very place I welcomed George Mueller, the father of the space shuttle concept - although he did not liked that title. It was a hot day of August 1968; a shiny future in space awaited us at the corner." Val Cleaver, who spoke those words, was not called the british Von Braun for nothing.
Kenneth Gatland continued the speech. "We had a glance at that future through Stanley Kubrick and Arthur 2001"
Kenneth Gatland nodded at Arthur Clarke, that stood beside him "2001 that was airing at the time, complete with Orion III, rotating space stations and nuclear-electric space cruisers flying to Jupiter and Saturn. That day of August Mueller disclosed what looked to be the first step in that future; NASA own Orion III, the space shuttle.”
There were evident regrets in Gatland voice...
“Forty months later it seems that the future will have to wait a little. Gentlemen, we are here to discuss the future of the shuttle and, at large, of reusable launch vehicles."
Clarke took over.
"Before the 70's had ended the cost of space travel had been slashed tenfold (...) The brief age of the rocket dinosaurs, each capable of but a single flight, was drawing to its close.
Instead of the thousand-ton boosters whose bones now littered the Atlantic deeps, men were building far more efficient aerospace planes-giant rocket aircraft which could- climb up to orbit with their cargoes, then return to Earth for another mission.
Commercial space flight had not yet been achieved, but it was on the horizon.”
“This is a part of my 2001 novel I did not retained in the final cut. I think it is still pertinent today.
In 1969, a year after Mueller communication to the BIS, Kenneth wrote a wonderful book called Frontiers of Space. He co-authored it with an American engineer which is present today; his name is Philip Bono."
In the room were the said Bono, and a pair of American engineers, Robert Salkeld and Gary Hudson. Veterans Gatland, Clarke and Cleaver hosted a whole generation of British rocket scientists: Alan Bond and Bob Parkisnson, Peter Conchie, David Ashford and David Andrews.
All these men all shared Clarke, Gatland and Mueller dream of a space airliner; a machine that could lift-off from a standard airport and climb to orbit and land at another ordinary airport. It was the astronautics Holly Grail as much as landing a man on Mars. Still, there were many ways leading to that Holly Grail; and each of the five men symbolized a different path.
Bono and Hudson went together pretty well. Gordon had known Bono for a very long time since they both worked at Douglas on reusable launch vehicles. He had been present the day Bono had presented his Rombus to the AIAA - the meeting at been held at Los Angeles infamous Ambassador Hotel later of The Graduate and RFK-assasination fame.
But so far the future of astronautics looked dire.
Not only NASA suffered from the lost of the shuttle. Europe space program had hit rock bottom, too.
The British government had canned David Andrews Black Arrow the very day it had succeded placing the Prospero satellite into orbit; Great Britain had been the sixth country in the world to achieve that notable feat, only to give up immediately !
The French hanged on to their Diamant, but it had been crippled by a failure.
Worse, the pan-european Europa based on Alan Bond and Val Cleaver Blue Streak, had also failed in a rather miserable way. With the british space program dead, Andrews and Bond (among others) had to work for the nuclear industry. Although the American party was more fortunate, the death of the shuttle meant a decade or more would be spent doing low-level studies.
But Cleaver and Gatland went unabated.
There was a luncheon afterwards, and Gordon was placed not too far away from Clarke.
The conversation was delightful; beside impeccable technical credentials, members of the British Interplanetary Society had a typical reputation of eccentricity.
Clarke was no exception, and the assembly had a very good moment learning of his - failed - efforts to recruit legendary writters C. S. Lewis and Tolkien (the very J. R. R. Tolkien of Lord of the Ring and Hobbit fame) into the BIS, in 1954.
"Go figure" Clarke said. "I managed to recruit the grand old George Bernard Shaw, aged ninety-one, but not these two. I did try to convince Tolkien and Lewis about the respectability of space travel, but in the end we fell appart over our respective opinions on christianity and faith."
Val Cleaver laughed. "I was there with Arthur, Tolkien and Lewis, in a famous pub. What a meeting that was."
"Surely, that was memorable. And my second meeting with Tolkien was equally good. With a glance at his diminutive publisher Stanley Unwin, he whispered in my ear - guess where I found idea for hobbits ?"
There was an eruption of laughter across the room.
During the luncheon a lot of informal ideas were exchanged. That brainstorming forged relations and friendships that would span for decades. The dream of the space airliner - with its prophets Bono, Salkeld, Bond, Andrews and Hudson and many other across the world - would not die.
University of Rochester, the same day
Robin Zubert was short of its twenty years and a sophomore pursuing a B.A in Mathematics. He also a deep rooted fascination for the space program, more specially for the planet Mars.
Well, over the last weeks he had been a happy young man. On November 14 Mariner 9 had disclosed a stunning world made of colossal volcanoes and canyons. To Robin surprise there had been a lot of informal meetings and discussions over the mission, as if Rochester University had a special connection to the space program.
Robin inquiry led him not too far from his mathematics hall, at the nearby biology department. There, he was told, was professor Wolf Vishniac, and the man had nothing less than a biology instrument to be flown to Mars surface aboard the Viking lander !
Before that, however, Vishniac and a student were preparing an expedition to Antarctica, because that place was Earth closest thing from Mars environment. Zubert did his best to made him useful to the incoming expedition. Antarctica and Mars - he loved that.
J.P.Causse and J.Dinkespiler acted as spokesmen for the European delegation which was composed of members of the ESC Secretariat as well as of experts nominated by the Member States, while Charles Matthews headed the NASA group.
As far as the space tug was concerned, the time did not seem ripe for a definite decision because it was so early in its development. It nevertheless seemed a logical area for European participation since it was an easily separable item with a relatively clean set of interfaces; moreover,ELDO in close cooperation with NASA, had elaborated a Phase-A work statement.
ELDO intention was to start a phase A tug study at about October/November 1971. For this study ELDO has begun together with NASA to discuss the task definition and to define the input documents with respect to interfaces, safety, operations and shuttle performance. Following this study it would be possible to enter into phase B during 1972 and to enter into phase C during 1973.
This timescale would fit very well into the present shuttle schedule which assumes a first shuttle flight for April 1978 and an IOC for mid-1979. It would give Europe time enough for a development start on the tug as a contribution to the Post-Apollo program up to 1975 when DOD and NASA want to decide whether to select an existing upper stage as expendable tug as an interim solution or to go with their European partners right from the beginning.
The described preparation in Europe shows that the problem has been seriously considered and that the project picks up speed in accordance with the shuttle project in the United States.
***
"When University of Rochester space biologist Wolf Vishniac says he's going south for the winter-he really means it. This past winter, Vishniac and graduate student Stanley E. Mainzer led what is believed to be the first Rochester expedition to Antarctica.
The two explorer-microbiologists spent six weeks alone in the Dry Valley region, about 800 miles from the South Pole, where they studied soil bacteria and tested instruments and techniques planned for the Viking unmanned landing on Mars in 1976.
On December 10, 1971 , the Rochester Antarctic expedition set out, only to grind to a three-day halt in Hawaii: plane trouble. There was another delay in New Zealand, and a final one at McMurdo Station, the main U.S. station in Antarctica and the operational base of National Science Foundation activities in the area.
The team returned January 26, 1972, convinced that the trip had opened up additional areas for future study. Both hope to go back some day. Despite delays, frustrations, cold, and wind, they strongly recommend going south for the winter."
Wolf Vishniac: a good friend of Carl Sagan.
***
December 5, 1971
Headquarters of the British Interplanetary Society
London
Owen Gordon had returned to England, perhaps for the first time since the end of World War Two.
In his days at Avro Canada he had known and befriended many British engineers, notably from Rolls Royce (the Arrow, at least initially, was to be powered by advanced British turbojets). His space background also helped - he somewhat knew Philip Bono, since both worked at McDonnell Douglas.
“… the Black Arrow worked superbly, and it’s a shame the government jettisoned it the day after it orbited Prospero. One of the reasons advocated was the payload is too small, although there is much room for improvement.”
David Andrews showed the assembly a photo. It featured a very recognizable Avro Vulcan bomber with its immense delta wing. On the belly was some cruise missile.
“Very ironically, the Black Arrow Gamma engines were developed for the Blue Steel cruise missile. The space launcher, however, did not used the full potential of these engines – the Stentor, which features eight combustion chambers. By salvaging Blue Steel missiles, thrust of the Black Arrow might be doubled.”
“Another reason given for cancellation was cost, and sure enough Woomera is half a world away. But we couldn’t launch from Britain… unless, of course, the Black Arrow or its improved variant would be air launched from an aircraft. In 1965 the French had a study of a Diamant air launched from a Vulcan bomber, and the Black Arrow is smaller thanks to H2O2 density.
Of course the Stentor variant would be heavier, exceeding the bomber capacity. In this case, we suggest to cut into the internal fuel to restore the payload. Range isn’t needed for air launch, and even if it was, the Vulcan could be refueled in flight, even just after takeoff, like the SR-71 or A-12 which tanks are leaking so much…”
David Andrews presentation ended and was followed by a barrage of technical questions. After all it was the cream of British (and American) rocketry that was gathered there today. The meeting had been introduced earlier in the morning on a mixed mood.
"Forty months ago in this very place I welcomed George Mueller, the father of the space shuttle concept - although he did not liked that title. It was a hot day of August 1968; a shiny future in space awaited us at the corner." Val Cleaver, who spoke those words, was not called the british Von Braun for nothing.
Kenneth Gatland continued the speech. "We had a glance at that future through Stanley Kubrick and Arthur 2001"
Kenneth Gatland nodded at Arthur Clarke, that stood beside him "2001 that was airing at the time, complete with Orion III, rotating space stations and nuclear-electric space cruisers flying to Jupiter and Saturn. That day of August Mueller disclosed what looked to be the first step in that future; NASA own Orion III, the space shuttle.”
There were evident regrets in Gatland voice...
“Forty months later it seems that the future will have to wait a little. Gentlemen, we are here to discuss the future of the shuttle and, at large, of reusable launch vehicles."
Clarke took over.
"Before the 70's had ended the cost of space travel had been slashed tenfold (...) The brief age of the rocket dinosaurs, each capable of but a single flight, was drawing to its close.
Instead of the thousand-ton boosters whose bones now littered the Atlantic deeps, men were building far more efficient aerospace planes-giant rocket aircraft which could- climb up to orbit with their cargoes, then return to Earth for another mission.
Commercial space flight had not yet been achieved, but it was on the horizon.”
“This is a part of my 2001 novel I did not retained in the final cut. I think it is still pertinent today.
In 1969, a year after Mueller communication to the BIS, Kenneth wrote a wonderful book called Frontiers of Space. He co-authored it with an American engineer which is present today; his name is Philip Bono."
In the room were the said Bono, and a pair of American engineers, Robert Salkeld and Gary Hudson. Veterans Gatland, Clarke and Cleaver hosted a whole generation of British rocket scientists: Alan Bond and Bob Parkisnson, Peter Conchie, David Ashford and David Andrews.
All these men all shared Clarke, Gatland and Mueller dream of a space airliner; a machine that could lift-off from a standard airport and climb to orbit and land at another ordinary airport. It was the astronautics Holly Grail as much as landing a man on Mars. Still, there were many ways leading to that Holly Grail; and each of the five men symbolized a different path.
Bono and Hudson went together pretty well. Gordon had known Bono for a very long time since they both worked at Douglas on reusable launch vehicles. He had been present the day Bono had presented his Rombus to the AIAA - the meeting at been held at Los Angeles infamous Ambassador Hotel later of The Graduate and RFK-assasination fame.
But so far the future of astronautics looked dire.
Not only NASA suffered from the lost of the shuttle. Europe space program had hit rock bottom, too.
The British government had canned David Andrews Black Arrow the very day it had succeded placing the Prospero satellite into orbit; Great Britain had been the sixth country in the world to achieve that notable feat, only to give up immediately !
The French hanged on to their Diamant, but it had been crippled by a failure.
Worse, the pan-european Europa based on Alan Bond and Val Cleaver Blue Streak, had also failed in a rather miserable way. With the british space program dead, Andrews and Bond (among others) had to work for the nuclear industry. Although the American party was more fortunate, the death of the shuttle meant a decade or more would be spent doing low-level studies.
But Cleaver and Gatland went unabated.
There was a luncheon afterwards, and Gordon was placed not too far away from Clarke.
The conversation was delightful; beside impeccable technical credentials, members of the British Interplanetary Society had a typical reputation of eccentricity.
Clarke was no exception, and the assembly had a very good moment learning of his - failed - efforts to recruit legendary writters C. S. Lewis and Tolkien (the very J. R. R. Tolkien of Lord of the Ring and Hobbit fame) into the BIS, in 1954.
"Go figure" Clarke said. "I managed to recruit the grand old George Bernard Shaw, aged ninety-one, but not these two. I did try to convince Tolkien and Lewis about the respectability of space travel, but in the end we fell appart over our respective opinions on christianity and faith."
Val Cleaver laughed. "I was there with Arthur, Tolkien and Lewis, in a famous pub. What a meeting that was."
"Surely, that was memorable. And my second meeting with Tolkien was equally good. With a glance at his diminutive publisher Stanley Unwin, he whispered in my ear - guess where I found idea for hobbits ?"
There was an eruption of laughter across the room.
During the luncheon a lot of informal ideas were exchanged. That brainstorming forged relations and friendships that would span for decades. The dream of the space airliner - with its prophets Bono, Salkeld, Bond, Andrews and Hudson and many other across the world - would not die.
University of Rochester, the same day
Robin Zubert was short of its twenty years and a sophomore pursuing a B.A in Mathematics. He also a deep rooted fascination for the space program, more specially for the planet Mars.
Well, over the last weeks he had been a happy young man. On November 14 Mariner 9 had disclosed a stunning world made of colossal volcanoes and canyons. To Robin surprise there had been a lot of informal meetings and discussions over the mission, as if Rochester University had a special connection to the space program.
Robin inquiry led him not too far from his mathematics hall, at the nearby biology department. There, he was told, was professor Wolf Vishniac, and the man had nothing less than a biology instrument to be flown to Mars surface aboard the Viking lander !
Before that, however, Vishniac and a student were preparing an expedition to Antarctica, because that place was Earth closest thing from Mars environment. Zubert did his best to made him useful to the incoming expedition. Antarctica and Mars - he loved that.
- Archibald
- Word Count: 1.9k