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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1112.PDF
214 FLIGHT, 17 August 1961 I congratulate "Flight" on this special issue—the first of its kind in which you have been able to contemplate the real possibility of Europe playing an important part in space activities. Blue Streak is the product of the combined skill and ingenuity of scientists and engineers both in Government establishments and industry. It provides a powerful basis for the development of a versatile launcher capable of putting a wide range of satellites into orbit. Some of the potentialities of space can be foreseen. Many cannot, for despite the magnificent achievements of the United States and Russia, we are still only at the frontiers of human knowledge in this field. By building satellite launchers in co-operation we in Europe can, within our own formidable resources both technical and manufacturing;, help to push out these frontiers and play our part in exploiting the possibilities which are opening up before the world. I believe that Europe cannot, if she is to remain in the front rank of engineering technology, afford to leave the exploitation of space exclusively to others; and it is my earnest hope that the Anglo-French proposals for a European organization to develop space vehicle launchers will find wide acceptance. THE RT HON PETER THORN' EVCROfT, MINISTER OF AVIATION SPACE CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE WITHIN a few weeks, the date and location will be announcedof a forthcoming conference of European governmentscalled to plan the framework of Europe's space-launcher programme. The first step will be the formation of a European space-launcher organization—already the initials ESLO have been brought into use—which will as an inaugural project develop the three-stage launch vehicle described on pages 220-226 of this issue. This move into space by the countries of Europe follows MrThorneycroft's international sales tour on behalf of a co-opera- tive vehicle based on Blue Streak, and the subsequent formaldiscussion of the official Anglo-French proposals to this effect put forward at the Strasbourg intergovernmental conference inFebruary. Development of the launch vehicle is expected to take about fiveyears, including the provision and launching of three test satellites in order to prove the efficiency of the rocket. Member-countries ofESLO will initially be committed only to this first phase of the co-operative programme, with the question of the real use to whichthe launch vehicle will be put being left open for the time being. Although there is no shortage of ideas on the possible applicationsof European satellites and probes, these have not yet been presented as firm proposals. A comment made in a leading article in Flight in February thisyear is particularly relevant now that West Germany has agreed in principle to the Anglo-French proposals in favour of the formationof ESLO. This stated: "Though there is relief in Britain at the probable rescue of Blue Streak, the difficulties involved in theprogramme must still be squarely faced. There is the complication of one country developing the first stage, another country thesecond stage and a group of several others the third. There is the factor of reliability when all three are joined together, even ifindividually they function well (which at present can be assumed for none of the three). And it is true that a rocket similar to BlueStreak would not be the type which would ideally be developed if Europe were now starting from scratch. This is recognized as partof the restrictive framework which must be accepted if there is to be any programme at all. "We must not delude ourselves that Europe's space programmewill be wholly rational in concept or easy in execution. It remains simply as a workable compromise and a worthy challenge. Eventu-ally, if the peaceful exploration of space is permitted to take place at all, it will be on the basis of global co-operation." In the scientific field it is recognized that ESLO would co-operateclosely with the proposed European Space Research Organization (ESRO), which is concerned with the scientific applications ofsatellites and space probes as opposed to rocket engineering. There could be advantages (for ESLO, at least) in the two organizations'sharing a European headquarters. On the other hand it is also recognized that ESRO will almost certainly begin its operations byembarking on a short-term programme involving sounding rockets, which could not be supplied by ESLO; and could well follow thiswith a medium-term programme of modest-size satellites launched by relatively economical rockets such as Scout. Only after buying sounding rockets and small satellite-launchingvehicles elsewhere, then, might ESRO come to Europe's own shop to satisfy its long-term rocket requirements. Nonetheless Europe'sscientists are obviously likely customers for the three-stage product of Europe's rocket engineers. A second likely customer, it was considered at Strasbourg, mightbe a European communications satellite organization, for which Flight might as well accept right away the inevitable abbreviationECSO. In view of current industry/government projects under way in this field in the United States, the sooner ECSO gets inbusiness the better. The British GPO agreed recently that "the launching of satellites for communications purposes is one ofseveral important uses of a launcher based on the Blue Streak rocket, developed in the way envisaged by the European LauncherDevelopment Organization" (note for the confused: ELDO equals ESLO). Another obvious future possibility is that the launch-vehicleorganization might generate its own requirements in satellite applications. It is envisaged that regular meetings of the govern-ing body of ESLO would be held to decide policy and review pro- gress, at which this type of major change in status—from vehicle-supplier to vehicle-supplier-cum-satellite-operator—could be dis- cussed. Navigational satellites are clearly on the cards, whoever may bethe "operator." Such satellites, in particular, could form a com- plementary part of the very-low-frequency system being developedat the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborqugh, for worldwide navigational coverage. Positions taken at intervals from thesatellites would be used to cross-check the continuous information supplied by the VLF stations. For economy-minded Europeans, two techniques by which unitlaunching costs might be reduced will doubtless be considered. One of these is the multiple shot by which several satellites areplaced in orbit (preferably but not invariably their own separate orbits) by one launch vehicle. The second is the "streetcar" or•'omnibus" approach in which two or more different pieces of equipment are carried as "passengers" in one satellite. One mightenvisage, for example, a combined navigation-meteorological satellite which might also carry the pet brainchild of at least oneprofessor of physics.
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