alternatehistory.com

August 9 1982


Vienna

Since the beginning of the space age, triggered by the launch of Sputnik I in 1957, the United Nations has accorded significant importance to the promotion of greater international collaboration in outer space. The potentials of space technology for socioeconomic development were immense and that the best way to reap these benefits were through international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, facilitated by the United Nations. Recognising this immense potential of space technology for socioeconomic development, the United Nations organized three unique global Conferences on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space - UNISPACE Conferences - to engage States and international organizations to further their cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.UNISPACE Conferences provided a platform for a global dialogue on key issues related to space exploration and exploitation that have yielded tremendous scientific as well as economic and societal benefits for humankind.

UNISPACE I, held from 14 to 27 August 1968, was the first in a series of three global UN conferences on outer space, which focused on raising awareness of the vast potential of space benefits for all humankind. The Conference reviewed the progress in space science, technology and applications and called for increased international cooperation, with particular regard to the benefit of developing nations. The Conference also recommended the creation of the post of Expert on Space Applications within UNOOSA, which in turn led to the creation, in 1971, of the UNOOSA Programme on Space Applications.

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"The first-ever United Nations space mission will launch in 1986 allowing United Nations Member States to participate in a 14-day flight to low-Earth orbit on Lockheed’s Agena spacecraft, the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) announced at the International Astronautical Congress today.

The dedicated DIAGONAL mission, the first-ever space mission for the United Nations, will be targeted at providing developing countries the opportunity to develop and fly microgravity payloads for an extended duration in orbit; however, all United Nations Member States will be able to propose payloads for the mission.

The announcement builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in June 1981 between UNOOSA and Lockheed to collaborate on this historic United Nations space mission. “One of UNOOSA’s core responsibilities is to promote international cooperation in the peaceful use of outer space, I am proud to say that one of the ways UNOOSA will achieve this, in cooperation with our partner Lockheed, is by dedicating an entire microgravity mission to United Nations Member States, many of which do not have the infrastructure or financial backing to have a standalone space program.”

Lockheed’s owner and president stressed that the company goal is “to pay it forward. That means leveraging the creation and success of our Agena space tug to benefit future generations of innovators like us all around the world.”

Funding of the mission will come from multiple sources. “We will continue to work closely with Lockheed to define the parameters of this mission which, in turn, will provide United Nations Member States with the ability to access space in a cost-effective and collaborative manner within a few short years. The possibilities are endless.”

Countries selected to provide mission payloads will be asked to pay a pro-rated portion of the mission cost, based on the resources required to host the payload and their ability to pay. In addition, major sponsors are being sought to finance a large portion of the mission costs.

Over the next year, mission partners will conduct briefings to United Nations Member States and potential payload providers about the goals and framework of the mission and to solicit proposals for payloads. To make the program more accessible to nations without a highly developed space industry, UNOOSA will offer technical support to countries that lack expertise or experience in developing microgravity payloads. Payloads will be selected to allow time for development and integration into the Agena spacecraft for launch expected in 1986.

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UNISPACE II was held from 9 to 21 August 1982, attended by 94 Member States and 45 intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.

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Without doubt, the "US Night" at Vienna Opera House was already memorable and quite unparalleled, featuring the writer James Michener (Space) and and three astronauts. The evening culminated with an address to the conference by President Reagan on a very large screen.

In an alternate reality, the second UNISPACE conference held that day of August, 1982, might have seen men walking on Mars. Maybe NASA communications with the crew would have been relayed from Mars to Houston, then to Vienna; or, more likely, the conference would have been overshadowed by the greatest event in History.

A day of August, fourteen years before : as Soviet tanks crushed a revolt in Prague, not that far way in Vienna the first UNISPACE meeting was held in presence of James Webb and George Mueller. Down in Houston, Texas, George Low was forming the idea of sending Apollo 8 around the Moon.

Another day of August, a year later.

August 4, 1969

The day Werner von Braun gave a 30-minute Mars presentation to the Space Task Group.

“The plan you see is incremental; it spreads over twelve years and ultimately lead to Mars in the year 1982. It consists of five pieces of hardware, none of which – except the Mars Lander of course– is for Mars only.

These five elements are a) the Space Shuttle, b) a multi-role space habitat called the Mission Module c) the NERVA engine, d) a nuclear Earth-Moon shuttle and e) the Mars Excursion Module.

Here’s a tentative time line leading to Mars.

NERVA is funded first, in 1970. Then in the 1972-1977 era a robust low-earth orbit infrastructure is build, consisting of the space shuttle to a Mission Module space station. An Earth-Moon nuclear Shuttle is funded (1973) and tested (1977) pioneering manned nuclear space missions and expanding Apollo.

Note that, to this point, no commitment to Mars has been made - we have a space shuttle flying to a space station from which nuclear shuttles commute crews and cargo to the Moon.

Starting in 1974 development of the Mars Excursion Module would be the first and only commitment to Mars !

Flight tests of the shuttle and Mission Module start in 1975. In 1978, a reinforced Mars Excursion Module lands at Edwards after re-entering the Earth atmosphere. Mars sample probes based on MEM design are funded and tested in parallel, in 1979.

Then, on November 12, 1981, the voyage to Mars begins, departing Earth orbit during the minimum-energy Earth-Mars transfer opportunity. Each Mars mission employs two identical six-man spacecraft comprising at Earth departure three Nuclear Shuttles and a Mission Module. An unpressurised forward compartment houses the two-stage conical MEM, an airlock for spacewalks, six Mars Sample Return Probes, and two Venus probes. The compartment measures 33 feet in diameter while the MEM measures 30 feet across its bowl-shaped heat shield.

The four-deck Mission Module - derived from the space station - contains quarters for six people, but might support the entire 12-man expedition crew complement in an emergency. Measuring 22 feet in diameter and 110 feet long, it includes labs, the spacecraft control center, and a radiation shelter. A sterilized, isolated bio-lab for handling Mars surface samples is mounted below the Mission Module's lowermost deck.

A docking mechanism links the Mission Module to the front of the center Nuclear Shuttle. Two other Nuclear Shuttles are attached to the center Nuclear Shuttle's sides. Each measures 33 feet in diameter by 160 feet long. At Earth-orbit departure, the complete spacecraft measures 100 feet across the three Nuclear Shuttles and 270 feet long.

For economies the port and starboard Nuclear Shuttles for each spacecraft might be drawn from the fleet of Lunar Nuclear Shuttles. The Mission Module, center Nuclear Shuttle, and MEM, for their part, would be built new for each Mars spacecraft. All new hardware would reach assembly orbit on upgraded Saturn V rockets. Space Shuttles would launch water, food, some propellant, and astronauts to the Mars ships, themselves stacked at the space station.

At launch from Earth orbit, each Mars ship has a mass of 1.6 million pounds, of which 75% is liquid hydrogen propellant. The port and starboard Nuclear Shuttles fire first. Once Trans-Mars Injection achieved, they shut down, separate from the center Nuclear Shuttle and Mission Module, turn around, and fire their engines again to slow down and enter an elliptical Earth orbit. A few days later, they reach perigee at the original assembly orbit altitude, fire their engines to circularize their orbit, and rendezvous with the Space Station for refurbishment and reuse. The Mars ships would each mass 675,000 pounds after port and starboard Nuclear Shuttle separation.

The nine-month coast to Mars won’t be "by no means an idle phase" for the astronauts. The ships each serve as "a manned laboratory in space, free of the disturbing influences of the Earth. The fact that there will be two observation points, Earth and spacecraft, permits several possible experiments."

On August 9, 1982, the twin ships fire their NERVA engines to slow themselves so that Mars' gravity could capture them into an elliptical orbit about the planet. An elliptical orbit requires less propellant to enter and depart than a circular one. Spacecraft mass at Mars orbit insertion would be 650,000 pounds.

For two days the crews observe Mars to select landing sites for the expedition's 12 automated Mars Sample Return Probes. These would land, retrieve samples uncontaminated by human contact, and lift off to deliver the samples automatically to the sterilized bio-labs on the Mars ships for study. If the samples are find to contain no hazards, one of the expedition's twin 95,000-pound MEMs would descend to the surface carrying three astronauts.




Men land on Mars, August 12 1982 !



The astronauts would then spend from 30 to 60 days exploring Mars – seeking life, water and raw materials for future expeditions, and studying Martian geology before departing toward Earth late October.

On February 28, 1983, the expedition spacecraft will use fly past Venus to use its gravity to slow their approach to Earth. This detour trims the amount of propellant the ships need to slow down and capture into Earth orbit. During the Venus swingby, the astronauts use radar to map the planet's cloud-covered surface and deploy a total of four automated probes into its atmosphere.

Return to Earth would occur on August 14, 1983, with additional Mars expeditions in 1983-1984, 1986-1987, and 1988-1989. NASA might establish a 50-person Mars Base in 1989. Gentlemen, be sure that man's first step on Mars will be no less exciting than Neil Armstrong's first step on the moon."