Advance Australia Fair
Aug-71 Overseas
NASA launches Apollo 14/S to Spacelab 3. The three crew complete a 91 day mission, including a 7 day extension to conduct additional flare observations using the lab's solar observatory cameras. Their flight includes half and full rest days, alternating weekly. Mission commander Jim Lovell uses several of these to make short video recordings of simple science experiments in zero gravity, which are later broadcast in schools across America.
Aug-71
Christmas Island A2 (253 Sqn RAF) and Ascension Island (251 Sqn RAF) Black Anvil missile sites are declared operational. Each site has only two missiles when activated, a number that will grow to 6 when the sites are completed in 1973.
Sep-71
The British Government's guarantee to sustain Orion engine production comes back to bite. Treasury appointed auditors at the new company Rolls-Royce (1971), find that the development and production cost of Orion engines has been severely understated over a period of years. The merger of Bristol-Siddeley and Rolls-Royce in 1966 was poorly managed and the cost bases have never been properly amalgamated or accounted for. In addition, increased requirements for testing and operational modifications to the engines have never been allowed for in the price (Rolls simply agreed to keep delivering the engines for the original contract price, even when changes were needed).
The result of all this is that Rolls Royce will need an additional £41M to cover Orion development and tests that are already underway. The engines are being sold for £215,000 each. They cost the firm at least £341,000 to build and test.
The Government have no alternative, they agree to meet the costs and to raise the price paid for each engine to £375,000, effective immediately. As a consequence, costs to the Selene Project (which are met by the Government), are likely to rise by £34.6M in the period to the end of 1973.
Aurora 9 commander John Roberts leads the first group of Selene astronauts to the US to train with NASA personnel in Nevada. The US has offered to allow Selene crews to use some of their Apollo training facilities and systems. In return, NASA experiments will be carried to the Moon on Selene flights. Later crews will receive more specialist training in the deployment of these experiments.
Aurora 10
The longest and perhaps the dullest of all the Aurora missions begins at 10:53 local time. Cdr Armand Laplane and Navigator James Aldworth spend 19 days 8 hours in space, testing the longevity and reliability of “l’Esprit”, their VDL and PROM.
The flight does include the first test deployment of the VDL's landing legs in zero-gravity and sets a record for the number and duration of spacewalks. Over 8 separate walks, the crew spend a total of 19 hours 8 minutes outside the ship and spend 6 "nights" in the VDL's surface hab.
With little fuel on board (to save weight for supplies and the landing legs, this VDL-B is not fitted with a main engine), no major manoeuvres are attempted until the PROM separates on day 15. The crew spend the next 4 days in a real-time simulation of a return from the Moon, making brief engine burns at the appropriate times.
The only significant anomaly on the flight is the failure of one of the three landing parachutes. The RM splashes down hard but safely in the Indian Ocean.
Princess flying boat No.1 is damaged on landing at Halifax. The boat struck a submerged object, causing significant flooding. Quick thinking by the pilot saves the boat and the Black Anvil missile on its back; he beaches it on a nearby shoal. There are no facilities at Halifax to unload the missile from the boat's back so it has to be patched and re-floated as is. A temporary repair is made to allow a flight back to the UK. An engine failure on the way home only adds to list of faults, although the Princess safely lands back at Filton.
The first "stage and a half" of a Constellation booster is erected on the pad at Rainbow Beach. This consists of three live, flightworthy cores linked by the complex structure of the Constellation Stage Adaptor (CSA) at the top and the Propellant Transfer Assembly (PTA) at the bottom. Early concepts of simply "strapping three Silver Star cores together" have long since proven to be naïve. All three cores of the Constellation’s first stage are significantly different from "ordinary" Silver Stars. The central core is strengthened with thicker tank walls and a revised upper structure to accommodate the CSA. A set of secondary fuel lines allow it to accept the transfer of propellants from the two outer cores during flight.
These outer cores are fitted with short aerodynamic nose cones and each carries a 20'x6' fairing on their lower sides. This accommodates an HTP tank and turbopump which is used to transfer fuel from the outboard tanks to the central core, approximately balancing the fuel being used by the core's engines. This means that when the outer cores shut down and separate at about 50km altitude, the central core is still almost fully fuelled and able to carry its payload much higher and faster than if all three cores burned out together.
Oct-71
Damage to Princess No.1 is found to be more extensive than first thought. Several structural ribs of the hull are distorted and other inspections have found (unrelated) fatigue strains in wing roots and engine mounts. The aircraft is declared a write-off. The accident at Bermuda leaves only one Princess still flying. Fortunately this is the modified No.2 boat, which is equipped with more modern engines and a strengthened wing structure.
The MoD issues orders for a backup plan to be implemented to guarantee delivery of deterrent missiles to their launch sites. Two naval supply ships are put on standby to transport the missiles inside a special shroud which can be fitted to the deck.
European Economic Community governments open discussions with the ultimate goal of forming a pan-European space agency. The idea is to build on the existing European Space Research Organisation, of which all EEC countries are members. To date, this has produced few results as both Italy and France are pursuing independent national programmes, while the Germans are building a set of probes in co-operation with NASA. To date, ESRO’s only notable project is the development of a small scientific satellite, which the French have offered to launch on a "Diamant" rocket in 1972.
All parties except the French support the idea of including the UK in these discussions. Nevertheless, French opposition is implacable as they do not wish to be drawn into another space programme in which they are seen to be subordinate to British interests and technology. Without British involvement, the other nations regard ESRO as a very limited entity with little ability to promote European capabilities in space. Without French support, any idea of expansion will never make any progress at all. Negotiations are set to continue.
Hermes-C1 / SSLV-17
TV and radio relay satellite launched for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Silver Star’s core engine looses hydraulic power at T+323s. Pressure decay in the system results in the engine drifting slightly off centre, pushing the nose of the rocket down. 98 seconds later, the core shuts down and stages normally despite the unusual pitch rate. The upper stage’s guidance system pitches up but is unable to fully correct the error, and the stage shuts down at 152km altitude for a 16 minute coast - planned altitude was 185km. Pre-programmed GTO and GSO burns take place, but the low initial altitude throws off all the settings. The satellite is released into a 33,760x34,220km orbit, inclined at 1.4 degrees, far lower than the geostationary orbit that is required (planned to be 35,800x35,900km at 0.1deg).
However, the satellite is in orbit and its systems respond to ground commands. Over the next month, controllers use about 45% of the satellite’s on board fuel to achieve the intended orbital position. Signal quality from the TV relay system is poor. It is suspected that the antenna or its feed system suffered thermal damage during the very low initial orbit, which would have seen the unprotected satellite skimming through the upper atmosphere. Adequate relay performance is achieved by operating the amplifiers above their rated levels, with the result that two of them fail in the first 18 months of operation. Two of six generators also loose fluid pressure and fail in the first year.
TV operations end in February 1974 when fuel runs low. Satellite switched off on 23 April 1974.
Launch preparations for Hermes-A2 are halted pending a review of the faults in the C1 flight. Hermes A1, the first Australian TV satellite launched in 1968, is still performing well so there is little need to rush to launch its sister satellite.
Nov-71 Overseas
The Soviets triumphantly announce the flight of "Zond 9". This unmanned test of their new N-1 super rocket is reported to be a complete success. A large trans-lunar injection stage was placed into an Earth orbit, which boosted itself and an instrumented payload towards the Moon four hours after liftoff. Several photographs of the launch appear in the Soviet press the next day, while bombastic reports state that the rocket’s thrust of over 3,500 tonnes makes it nearly twice as powerful as the American Saturn III.
[Technically, quite true, of course what they didn’t say is that the much more efficient design of the 3 stage Saturn gives it much the same LEO and TLI payload as the “more powerful” 4 stage N-1]
Two days later, NASA announces that its probe Mariner 9 has entered orbit around Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. Early images show a featureless surface and there is concern that the optical systems are faulty (earlier Mars missions showed that the surface is cratered and mountainous). It is later realised that the entire planet is covered in a dust storm, sparking much greater interest in the planet. Mars is clearly a much more active world than was first thought.
Nov-71
The lower stages of the CLV-4 launch vehicle are test fired together on the pad at Rainbow Beach.
All 21 engines ignite in a 3.3 second sequence and fire together for 3.8 seconds. Thrust reaches a maximum of over seven million pounds once all the engines reach full power. The stages are then de-fuelled and both pad and rocket are checked for damage.
Telemetry points towards an auxiliary gearbox failure on the centre engine of SSLV-17 which left the hydraulic system without power. The next time the engine was commanded to move a few seconds later, the hydraulic system lost most of its remaining pressure, leaving the engine locked in one position. No cause can be isolated from the flight data, however inspections of other engines show that several have been filled with the wrong grade of hydraulic fluid. The much lighter fluid found in those engines would have caused higher loads on the hydraulic pumps and gearbox, potentially leading to the failure. The launch report concludes that it was extremely lucky that the launch vehicle reached orbit at all; just a few tenths of a degree of additional gimbal would have sent it crashing back into the atmosphere.
In response to a question from the Department for Trade and Industry, engineers from BAC explain that the Silver Star launcher cannot be directly controlled once it leaves the ground. The guidance system follows a pre-planned flight path and has some ability to correct for errors during the various manoeuvres (i.e. if the vehicle is to low, it tries to "steer up"). What it cannot do is "think for itself". As an example, the recent fault on SSLV-17 led to the upper stage achieving a 152 km orbit; much lower than the planned 185km. Once in orbit the guidance system did not "know" that that it was too low, it operated on the basis that these last manoeuvre (the ascent) had been completed successfully. It then followed its pre-programmed instructions, with timings and velocity changes calculated before the flight based on a 185km starting point. Consequently, every burn was just a bit off and the satellite was injected into an orbit that was lower than originally planned.
Officials ask why the system cannot be reprogrammed in flight, or just be controlled from the ground. It is explained that ground control is not possible as the rocket flies out over the Pacific, beyond the reach of direct radio command.
A guidance system that is capable of being updated is under development as part of the Selene Project, but is a French project for the much larger ECPS upper stage. Installing a similar system on Silver Star would cost in the region of £1M per flight, with a further £4-6M for the additional facilities required to update the system as it orbits over the Pacific. The additional mass needed to carry the system would reduce the payload capability by 200-250kg, which would be a problem when launching the heavy Hermes satellites.
Dec-71
Launch vehicles for Aurora 11 and Hermes-A2 are cleared for flight following hydraulic system checks in the assembly building.
Dec-71 Overseas
The Soviets announce that their Mars 3 lander has successfully touched down on the Martian surface, but that telemetry ceased after just a few minutes [actually only seconds]. No significant data was returned, beyond confirmation of touchdown. In the West, the reports are widely dismissed and it is assumed that the lander crashed, or maybe it never even reached Mars.
In the US, two journalists, Walter Fennel and Martin Reisman, are prosecuted over the leak of USAF plans for the Space Shuttle. Documents found in their possession show that the Air Force is planning a system to rapidly retrieve or deploy satellites from the Shuttle, as well as a mission kit to allow an unspecified payload to be released “at an ultra-low orbital altitude”. In later published articles, they speculate that the Shuttle could be used as an orbital bomber.
[After the Cold War, the entire story was revealed as being a disinformation plan. Fennel and Reisman had been deliberately given information that would lead to these misleading conclusions, in one of several attempts to convince the Soviets that the Shuttle had “other uses”. It was hoped that they would divert some of their limited resources into countering this non-existent threat. In 1972 both journalists were found guilty of espionage, but were given relatively light sentences. They were pardoned in 1995. The “orbital bomber” story ran on and off for years after 1971, and a fictionalised version of the leaks and a lone journalists’ attempts to alert the world to this dangerous new weapon featured as the plot of Robert Redford's 1981 espionage thriller “Star Wars”*].
Dec-71
A second test firing of the CLV-4 first stages produces an unexpectedly high level of stress on the Stage Adaptor during the engine start sequence. Neither core nor adaptor is damaged, but measurements show that peak stresses were 32% greater than expected. The adaptor was designed with a 40% safety factor, meaning that the margin before failure was perilously small on this test. A margin of 30% above actual measured loads is regarded as the absolute minimum that is acceptable before a manned flight can be considered.
Hawker Siddeley propose a small satellite launch vehicle (named "Black Prince" in the firm's glossy brochure for the concept). The launcher is based on a surplus Blue Streak missile, topped with a Methane-fuelled stage derived from the PROM’s PM. Performance would be very similar to the old Blue Star Mk.3. The Department for Trade and Industry expresses no interest, beyond offering to assist the firm in finding an international partner for the venture.
Aurora 11 / S-139
The “Adventure” lifts off from Rainbow Beach carrying the first Australian astronaut. Cdr James Lyon and his French navigator Xavier Tigges reach orbit seven minutes later and proceed to a 202x205km orbit using the VDL's thrusters. Their primary mission begins on day 2 with a spacewalk from the PROM to the VDL’s Hab. Once there, Tigges removes his PROM flight suit and, with Lyon’s help, puts on a new design of spacesuit, a prototype of the version that will be used on the lunar surface.
The new suit has a hard shell from the waist to the neck, with hard upper arm coverings attached by flexible joints. The lower arms and complete lower body assembly are more traditional multi-layered fabrics, with one piece boots added on twist-lock joints. Unlike earlier Selene suits, the upper body area includes liquid cooled panels which make contact with the astronaut's back and chest to provide direct cooling to the body during strenuous activity. The rest of the suit features an improved air cooling system.
Earlier suits had to be put on much as ordinary clothes are. This new design is entered through a hatch in the back of the upper body shell. On the outside, the hatch carries a life support backpack which provides oxygen, cooling, communication and power while the astronaut is outside. The newly designed helmet has a wider field of view and allows two tubes to poke up from the torso, which will allow the astronaut to drink water and a high-energy fruit juice during longer spacewalks.
On a second spacewalk lasting over 3 hours, Tigges tests the flexibility of the suit and does "zero-G push ups" in which he uses his own body’s inertia to provide the exercise needed to test the suit's improved cooling system. He reports that he feels warm, but not badly overheated. Once he has finished “pumping vacuum” (as Jim Lyon puts it), the crew re-enter the VDL's hab for their night’s rest.
Day 3 is given over to testing the procedures for refuelling the PROM. It is not possible to practice every detail of the fuel transfer (this is zero-G, not the low gravity of the Moon's surface), however Lyon and Tigges work together to move a water filled tank attached to the side of the VDL, clamp it in a new position and attempt to attach two lines to the tank and to connectors on the VDL.
Everything takes longer than expected as the pair struggle to handle the bulky tank and obstinately springy lines in zero gravity. At the end of a 30 minute extension to their spacewalk, they abandon the task of attaching the second line and return to the Hab. A series of camera tests are cancelled while the crew talk to engineers and other astronauts on the ground to help devise a plan for the following day.
On day 4 they succeed in attaching the second line, using straps from the Hab's interior storage compartments to hold it in place while they clamp two liquid tight flange seals together. Valves are opened and the lines and seals are shown to be liquid and gas tight. The pair then move a second tank which contains an automated fluid transfer experiment.
The next two days are fully occupied by navigation tests using both the VDL and PROM controls. The crew make a series of minor orbit adjustments and practice sighting landmarks and reference stars. A new design of film camera that will be used on the Moon is briefly tested at the end of the Day 5 spacewalk. Poor weather in the recovery area forces the crew to extend their mission by 4 orbits and land further East than originally planned. They splash down safely at the end of a six and a half day flight.
James Lyon, formerly a Lt-Commander in the Royal Australian Navy, is cheered aboard HMAS Melbourne less than an hour later.
* I couldn't resist turning that one on its head.
Aug-71 Overseas
NASA launches Apollo 14/S to Spacelab 3. The three crew complete a 91 day mission, including a 7 day extension to conduct additional flare observations using the lab's solar observatory cameras. Their flight includes half and full rest days, alternating weekly. Mission commander Jim Lovell uses several of these to make short video recordings of simple science experiments in zero gravity, which are later broadcast in schools across America.
Aug-71
Christmas Island A2 (253 Sqn RAF) and Ascension Island (251 Sqn RAF) Black Anvil missile sites are declared operational. Each site has only two missiles when activated, a number that will grow to 6 when the sites are completed in 1973.
Sep-71
The British Government's guarantee to sustain Orion engine production comes back to bite. Treasury appointed auditors at the new company Rolls-Royce (1971), find that the development and production cost of Orion engines has been severely understated over a period of years. The merger of Bristol-Siddeley and Rolls-Royce in 1966 was poorly managed and the cost bases have never been properly amalgamated or accounted for. In addition, increased requirements for testing and operational modifications to the engines have never been allowed for in the price (Rolls simply agreed to keep delivering the engines for the original contract price, even when changes were needed).
The result of all this is that Rolls Royce will need an additional £41M to cover Orion development and tests that are already underway. The engines are being sold for £215,000 each. They cost the firm at least £341,000 to build and test.
The Government have no alternative, they agree to meet the costs and to raise the price paid for each engine to £375,000, effective immediately. As a consequence, costs to the Selene Project (which are met by the Government), are likely to rise by £34.6M in the period to the end of 1973.
Aurora 9 commander John Roberts leads the first group of Selene astronauts to the US to train with NASA personnel in Nevada. The US has offered to allow Selene crews to use some of their Apollo training facilities and systems. In return, NASA experiments will be carried to the Moon on Selene flights. Later crews will receive more specialist training in the deployment of these experiments.
Aurora 10
The longest and perhaps the dullest of all the Aurora missions begins at 10:53 local time. Cdr Armand Laplane and Navigator James Aldworth spend 19 days 8 hours in space, testing the longevity and reliability of “l’Esprit”, their VDL and PROM.
The flight does include the first test deployment of the VDL's landing legs in zero-gravity and sets a record for the number and duration of spacewalks. Over 8 separate walks, the crew spend a total of 19 hours 8 minutes outside the ship and spend 6 "nights" in the VDL's surface hab.
With little fuel on board (to save weight for supplies and the landing legs, this VDL-B is not fitted with a main engine), no major manoeuvres are attempted until the PROM separates on day 15. The crew spend the next 4 days in a real-time simulation of a return from the Moon, making brief engine burns at the appropriate times.
The only significant anomaly on the flight is the failure of one of the three landing parachutes. The RM splashes down hard but safely in the Indian Ocean.
Princess flying boat No.1 is damaged on landing at Halifax. The boat struck a submerged object, causing significant flooding. Quick thinking by the pilot saves the boat and the Black Anvil missile on its back; he beaches it on a nearby shoal. There are no facilities at Halifax to unload the missile from the boat's back so it has to be patched and re-floated as is. A temporary repair is made to allow a flight back to the UK. An engine failure on the way home only adds to list of faults, although the Princess safely lands back at Filton.
The first "stage and a half" of a Constellation booster is erected on the pad at Rainbow Beach. This consists of three live, flightworthy cores linked by the complex structure of the Constellation Stage Adaptor (CSA) at the top and the Propellant Transfer Assembly (PTA) at the bottom. Early concepts of simply "strapping three Silver Star cores together" have long since proven to be naïve. All three cores of the Constellation’s first stage are significantly different from "ordinary" Silver Stars. The central core is strengthened with thicker tank walls and a revised upper structure to accommodate the CSA. A set of secondary fuel lines allow it to accept the transfer of propellants from the two outer cores during flight.
These outer cores are fitted with short aerodynamic nose cones and each carries a 20'x6' fairing on their lower sides. This accommodates an HTP tank and turbopump which is used to transfer fuel from the outboard tanks to the central core, approximately balancing the fuel being used by the core's engines. This means that when the outer cores shut down and separate at about 50km altitude, the central core is still almost fully fuelled and able to carry its payload much higher and faster than if all three cores burned out together.
Oct-71
Damage to Princess No.1 is found to be more extensive than first thought. Several structural ribs of the hull are distorted and other inspections have found (unrelated) fatigue strains in wing roots and engine mounts. The aircraft is declared a write-off. The accident at Bermuda leaves only one Princess still flying. Fortunately this is the modified No.2 boat, which is equipped with more modern engines and a strengthened wing structure.
The MoD issues orders for a backup plan to be implemented to guarantee delivery of deterrent missiles to their launch sites. Two naval supply ships are put on standby to transport the missiles inside a special shroud which can be fitted to the deck.
European Economic Community governments open discussions with the ultimate goal of forming a pan-European space agency. The idea is to build on the existing European Space Research Organisation, of which all EEC countries are members. To date, this has produced few results as both Italy and France are pursuing independent national programmes, while the Germans are building a set of probes in co-operation with NASA. To date, ESRO’s only notable project is the development of a small scientific satellite, which the French have offered to launch on a "Diamant" rocket in 1972.
All parties except the French support the idea of including the UK in these discussions. Nevertheless, French opposition is implacable as they do not wish to be drawn into another space programme in which they are seen to be subordinate to British interests and technology. Without British involvement, the other nations regard ESRO as a very limited entity with little ability to promote European capabilities in space. Without French support, any idea of expansion will never make any progress at all. Negotiations are set to continue.
Hermes-C1 / SSLV-17
TV and radio relay satellite launched for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Silver Star’s core engine looses hydraulic power at T+323s. Pressure decay in the system results in the engine drifting slightly off centre, pushing the nose of the rocket down. 98 seconds later, the core shuts down and stages normally despite the unusual pitch rate. The upper stage’s guidance system pitches up but is unable to fully correct the error, and the stage shuts down at 152km altitude for a 16 minute coast - planned altitude was 185km. Pre-programmed GTO and GSO burns take place, but the low initial altitude throws off all the settings. The satellite is released into a 33,760x34,220km orbit, inclined at 1.4 degrees, far lower than the geostationary orbit that is required (planned to be 35,800x35,900km at 0.1deg).
However, the satellite is in orbit and its systems respond to ground commands. Over the next month, controllers use about 45% of the satellite’s on board fuel to achieve the intended orbital position. Signal quality from the TV relay system is poor. It is suspected that the antenna or its feed system suffered thermal damage during the very low initial orbit, which would have seen the unprotected satellite skimming through the upper atmosphere. Adequate relay performance is achieved by operating the amplifiers above their rated levels, with the result that two of them fail in the first 18 months of operation. Two of six generators also loose fluid pressure and fail in the first year.
TV operations end in February 1974 when fuel runs low. Satellite switched off on 23 April 1974.
Launch preparations for Hermes-A2 are halted pending a review of the faults in the C1 flight. Hermes A1, the first Australian TV satellite launched in 1968, is still performing well so there is little need to rush to launch its sister satellite.
Nov-71 Overseas
The Soviets triumphantly announce the flight of "Zond 9". This unmanned test of their new N-1 super rocket is reported to be a complete success. A large trans-lunar injection stage was placed into an Earth orbit, which boosted itself and an instrumented payload towards the Moon four hours after liftoff. Several photographs of the launch appear in the Soviet press the next day, while bombastic reports state that the rocket’s thrust of over 3,500 tonnes makes it nearly twice as powerful as the American Saturn III.
[Technically, quite true, of course what they didn’t say is that the much more efficient design of the 3 stage Saturn gives it much the same LEO and TLI payload as the “more powerful” 4 stage N-1]
Two days later, NASA announces that its probe Mariner 9 has entered orbit around Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. Early images show a featureless surface and there is concern that the optical systems are faulty (earlier Mars missions showed that the surface is cratered and mountainous). It is later realised that the entire planet is covered in a dust storm, sparking much greater interest in the planet. Mars is clearly a much more active world than was first thought.
Nov-71
The lower stages of the CLV-4 launch vehicle are test fired together on the pad at Rainbow Beach.
All 21 engines ignite in a 3.3 second sequence and fire together for 3.8 seconds. Thrust reaches a maximum of over seven million pounds once all the engines reach full power. The stages are then de-fuelled and both pad and rocket are checked for damage.
Telemetry points towards an auxiliary gearbox failure on the centre engine of SSLV-17 which left the hydraulic system without power. The next time the engine was commanded to move a few seconds later, the hydraulic system lost most of its remaining pressure, leaving the engine locked in one position. No cause can be isolated from the flight data, however inspections of other engines show that several have been filled with the wrong grade of hydraulic fluid. The much lighter fluid found in those engines would have caused higher loads on the hydraulic pumps and gearbox, potentially leading to the failure. The launch report concludes that it was extremely lucky that the launch vehicle reached orbit at all; just a few tenths of a degree of additional gimbal would have sent it crashing back into the atmosphere.
In response to a question from the Department for Trade and Industry, engineers from BAC explain that the Silver Star launcher cannot be directly controlled once it leaves the ground. The guidance system follows a pre-planned flight path and has some ability to correct for errors during the various manoeuvres (i.e. if the vehicle is to low, it tries to "steer up"). What it cannot do is "think for itself". As an example, the recent fault on SSLV-17 led to the upper stage achieving a 152 km orbit; much lower than the planned 185km. Once in orbit the guidance system did not "know" that that it was too low, it operated on the basis that these last manoeuvre (the ascent) had been completed successfully. It then followed its pre-programmed instructions, with timings and velocity changes calculated before the flight based on a 185km starting point. Consequently, every burn was just a bit off and the satellite was injected into an orbit that was lower than originally planned.
Officials ask why the system cannot be reprogrammed in flight, or just be controlled from the ground. It is explained that ground control is not possible as the rocket flies out over the Pacific, beyond the reach of direct radio command.
A guidance system that is capable of being updated is under development as part of the Selene Project, but is a French project for the much larger ECPS upper stage. Installing a similar system on Silver Star would cost in the region of £1M per flight, with a further £4-6M for the additional facilities required to update the system as it orbits over the Pacific. The additional mass needed to carry the system would reduce the payload capability by 200-250kg, which would be a problem when launching the heavy Hermes satellites.
Dec-71
Launch vehicles for Aurora 11 and Hermes-A2 are cleared for flight following hydraulic system checks in the assembly building.
Dec-71 Overseas
The Soviets announce that their Mars 3 lander has successfully touched down on the Martian surface, but that telemetry ceased after just a few minutes [actually only seconds]. No significant data was returned, beyond confirmation of touchdown. In the West, the reports are widely dismissed and it is assumed that the lander crashed, or maybe it never even reached Mars.
In the US, two journalists, Walter Fennel and Martin Reisman, are prosecuted over the leak of USAF plans for the Space Shuttle. Documents found in their possession show that the Air Force is planning a system to rapidly retrieve or deploy satellites from the Shuttle, as well as a mission kit to allow an unspecified payload to be released “at an ultra-low orbital altitude”. In later published articles, they speculate that the Shuttle could be used as an orbital bomber.
[After the Cold War, the entire story was revealed as being a disinformation plan. Fennel and Reisman had been deliberately given information that would lead to these misleading conclusions, in one of several attempts to convince the Soviets that the Shuttle had “other uses”. It was hoped that they would divert some of their limited resources into countering this non-existent threat. In 1972 both journalists were found guilty of espionage, but were given relatively light sentences. They were pardoned in 1995. The “orbital bomber” story ran on and off for years after 1971, and a fictionalised version of the leaks and a lone journalists’ attempts to alert the world to this dangerous new weapon featured as the plot of Robert Redford's 1981 espionage thriller “Star Wars”*].
Dec-71
A second test firing of the CLV-4 first stages produces an unexpectedly high level of stress on the Stage Adaptor during the engine start sequence. Neither core nor adaptor is damaged, but measurements show that peak stresses were 32% greater than expected. The adaptor was designed with a 40% safety factor, meaning that the margin before failure was perilously small on this test. A margin of 30% above actual measured loads is regarded as the absolute minimum that is acceptable before a manned flight can be considered.
Hawker Siddeley propose a small satellite launch vehicle (named "Black Prince" in the firm's glossy brochure for the concept). The launcher is based on a surplus Blue Streak missile, topped with a Methane-fuelled stage derived from the PROM’s PM. Performance would be very similar to the old Blue Star Mk.3. The Department for Trade and Industry expresses no interest, beyond offering to assist the firm in finding an international partner for the venture.
Aurora 11 / S-139
The “Adventure” lifts off from Rainbow Beach carrying the first Australian astronaut. Cdr James Lyon and his French navigator Xavier Tigges reach orbit seven minutes later and proceed to a 202x205km orbit using the VDL's thrusters. Their primary mission begins on day 2 with a spacewalk from the PROM to the VDL’s Hab. Once there, Tigges removes his PROM flight suit and, with Lyon’s help, puts on a new design of spacesuit, a prototype of the version that will be used on the lunar surface.
The new suit has a hard shell from the waist to the neck, with hard upper arm coverings attached by flexible joints. The lower arms and complete lower body assembly are more traditional multi-layered fabrics, with one piece boots added on twist-lock joints. Unlike earlier Selene suits, the upper body area includes liquid cooled panels which make contact with the astronaut's back and chest to provide direct cooling to the body during strenuous activity. The rest of the suit features an improved air cooling system.
Earlier suits had to be put on much as ordinary clothes are. This new design is entered through a hatch in the back of the upper body shell. On the outside, the hatch carries a life support backpack which provides oxygen, cooling, communication and power while the astronaut is outside. The newly designed helmet has a wider field of view and allows two tubes to poke up from the torso, which will allow the astronaut to drink water and a high-energy fruit juice during longer spacewalks.
On a second spacewalk lasting over 3 hours, Tigges tests the flexibility of the suit and does "zero-G push ups" in which he uses his own body’s inertia to provide the exercise needed to test the suit's improved cooling system. He reports that he feels warm, but not badly overheated. Once he has finished “pumping vacuum” (as Jim Lyon puts it), the crew re-enter the VDL's hab for their night’s rest.
Day 3 is given over to testing the procedures for refuelling the PROM. It is not possible to practice every detail of the fuel transfer (this is zero-G, not the low gravity of the Moon's surface), however Lyon and Tigges work together to move a water filled tank attached to the side of the VDL, clamp it in a new position and attempt to attach two lines to the tank and to connectors on the VDL.
Everything takes longer than expected as the pair struggle to handle the bulky tank and obstinately springy lines in zero gravity. At the end of a 30 minute extension to their spacewalk, they abandon the task of attaching the second line and return to the Hab. A series of camera tests are cancelled while the crew talk to engineers and other astronauts on the ground to help devise a plan for the following day.
On day 4 they succeed in attaching the second line, using straps from the Hab's interior storage compartments to hold it in place while they clamp two liquid tight flange seals together. Valves are opened and the lines and seals are shown to be liquid and gas tight. The pair then move a second tank which contains an automated fluid transfer experiment.
The next two days are fully occupied by navigation tests using both the VDL and PROM controls. The crew make a series of minor orbit adjustments and practice sighting landmarks and reference stars. A new design of film camera that will be used on the Moon is briefly tested at the end of the Day 5 spacewalk. Poor weather in the recovery area forces the crew to extend their mission by 4 orbits and land further East than originally planned. They splash down safely at the end of a six and a half day flight.
James Lyon, formerly a Lt-Commander in the Royal Australian Navy, is cheered aboard HMAS Melbourne less than an hour later.
* I couldn't resist turning that one on its head.
