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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 0009.PDF
Europe approves space science plan by Tim Furniss Britain's, withdrawal of its objec tions to the cost management of the European Space Agency's mandatory science programme, Horizon 2000, has allowed the ESA Council to agree the next steps in the $3 billion pro gramme. All ESA member states have agreed to increase their con tributions to Horizon 2000 by 5 per cent a year to 1992. Britain objected to this increase at the Council meeting in The Hague last year. Britain was, however, the prime mover in the agreement that the costs and management of ESA's science programme be studied by independent consul tants before the end of 1989. Arthur Pryor, director- general of the British National Space Centre, says the UK is committed to Horizon 2000, "as the centrepiece of our space science research". He also welcomes ESA's resolve to maintain cost discipline. Horizon 2000 is ESA's basic programme of scienced-based space research. In a mandatory programme, all member states contribute according to their gross national products. The UK provides 16-5 per cent which, by 1992, will be worth about £2-3 million a year. Britain's major concern was not the scientific content of the Horizon 2000 programme, but that it needed to be con ducted in a cost-effective manner, the BNSC stressed. Horizon 2000 was initiated in 1985, and will run to 2007, costing £3 billion. The programme comprises four major cornerstone projects, starting with Soho-Cluster and some smaller missions, of which the first will be the Cassini probe to Saturn. Britain could play a leading role in Cassini, as Marconi Space Systems is the lead contractor in a study of a lander called Huygens, which will explore the planet's moon, Titan. Cluster forms part of the European Space Agency's 20-year plan. Four space craft will investigate the evolution and properties of solar plasma from 1995 Soviets turn from Mars to Moon A Soviet plan to land an unmanned roving vehicle on Mars in 1994 has been dropped. A 1992 mission to land an unmanned laboratory on the Moon has been revealed. The Mars rover may still fly in 1996, but the 1994 mission will now, involve only orbital reconnaissance and the deploy ment of a "special balloon and several long-duration research sondes". France will participate in development of the balloon. The 25m-diameter, 5,000m3, helium-filled -balloon will be deployed from a Mars orbiter and will enter the atmosphere using aerodynamic braking and a parachute. It will descend towards the Martian surface during the night and ascend to a height of 4km during the day, as the heat builds up. Weighing 15kg, the balloon's instrumented gondola, which will be protected from hitting the surface by a 10kg guide rope, will take close-up photo graphs of Mars with a resolution down to a few centimetres. The gondola will also carry out chemical analysis and elec tromagnetic sounding of the Martian soil. Its mission is expected to last ten days, the balloon covering between 100km and 200km. Soviet scientists decided to eliminate the rover from the 1994 mission because they needed more detailed informa tion on a proposed landing site. This could be provided by the US Mars Observer mission to be launched in 1992, and by the Soviet 1994 expedition. A rock only lm in diameter could destroy a landing capsule, says Prof Garri Rogovsky of the Babakin .science centre. The Martian surface is known to be strewn with rocks, and delaying the rover mission will give the Soviets time to develop a system enabling the capsule to descend to 10km to 20km before hovering and choosing the landing spot. Prof Yuri Surkov of the Soviet geochemistry and analy tical chemistry institute has revealed plans for a 1992 mission to land an unmanned laboratory on the Moon. This would be equipped with tele vision cameras, gamma and X- ray spectrometers to analyse the soil, an infrared spectrometer to study its mineral composition, and other instruments. E-Prime looks ahead Florida-based E-Prime Aero space is closer to marketing a private-venture commercial satellite launcher, following the successful launch of its Loft 1 pathfinding vehicle from Cape Canaveral in November. Loft 1, the USA's first commercial launch, carried five microgravity payloads to a height of about 5,000m from Cape Canaveral's pad 37. The payload canister was recovered despite failure of the main para chute. Loft 1 is the first of three sounding rockets to be marketed commercially by E- Prime. These will be followed by four satellite launch vehicles based on the Peacekeeper ballistic missile first stage and Star 92 upper stage. E-Prime's first satellite launch vehicle, EPAC-SI, could fly in late 1990. Comprising one Peacekeeper and one Star stage, it could place 1,133kg into low Earth orbit, 544kg to polar orbit, 442kg into geosynchronous transfer orbit, and even 306kg on a planetary trajectory. An EPAC-SI launch would cost $25 million, and E-Prime believes it can win a $5-24 billion share in the launch market through to the year 2000. Israeli boosters interest USA At least two US companies, one already in the space booster business, are negotiating a possible joint venture with Israel Aircraft Industries and Israel Military Industries to develop satellite launches. ;> Negotiations began soon after the successful launch, Von September 19, of Israel's first satellite, Offeq 1, by a two-stage booster designed and manu factured by IAI and Israel Mili tary Industries. Israeli sources say the solid-fuel motors used are of an advanced type. One US company has already been briefed on Israel's capability, Flight understands. An Israeli source says that one option is a joint venture to produce a booster to compete with Ariane and US launches. US experts who have visited Israeli's production facilities were impressed by the tech niques and designs used, the source says. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 7 January 1989 7
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