The Mammoth Book of Space Exploration and Disaster

by Richard Russell Lawrence

  I have seen a test flight, and it works. We were in a supermarket car park a few weeks ago in the Mojave desert, 100 miles (160km) north of Los Angeles. Nearby, in one of the world’s largest airliner storage depots, dozens of jumbos were waiting patiently for a global economic upturn, their windows whited out. But it was not one of these that appeared suddenly over the flat horizon of the supermarket’s roof. It was something alarming and jurassic: a mutant pterodactyl with two tails, papery wings and portholes covering its snout. It gave out an alien rasp and seemed to climb as fast as a kite in a gale without ever actually pointing skyward. It kept climbing, spiralling above the desert until it disappeared into a do. Before it did I grabbed my toddlers in turn and made them look. They seemed irritated, but some day they will thank me.

  They will do so even though I am exaggerating what we saw. It was not the rocketplane, it was the mother ship. The spacecraft, being built largely in secret by Burt Rutan, America’s most remarkable aerospace designer, is dropped from a mother ship at 50,000ft (15,200m) and ignites its rocket engine there. And it is almost ready to go. Since that day in the car park it has been carried up, dropped and guided successfully back to Earth. All that remains is the space shot itself, a 120-mile parabolic flight that gives the pilot and his passengers three minutes of weightlessness and an extraordinary view. It is said that there are 10,000 people willing to pay $100,000 each for such a trip.

  In a sense we have been here before. In the 1960s NASA built a spaceplane called the X15 that broke its own speed record repeatedly and almost killed Neil Armstrong before being grounded in the shadow of the giant ballistic missiles that became the preferred method of slipping Earth’s surly bonds in both the US and the Soviet Union. But that was a government effort. The race now being run is to put the first non-government astronauts in space, and we flight geeks know all about the other entrants. They are scattered across America, Russia, Australia and even Britain, competing for the X Prize, a $10 million wad being offered by a St Louis consortium to the maker of the first private reusable spacecraft.

  They are tinkering with old German V2 designs, high-altitude balloons and sleek space taxis that look magnificent on paper. But they are mostly dreamers, which is what makes Rutan’s effort so remarkable. The signs are that he will actually pull this off. He recently chose a rocket-engine supplier after letting two rivals duke it out for a year with cheap, simple and apparently revolutionary designs that literally burn rubber. He has also won certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for Mojave’s remote municipal airport to double as a spaceport. Rutan’s spaceship is fetchingly called SpaceShipOne – and if it goes where it is meant to, it could be as history making as the Mayflower. Its first brush with the cosmos will be the moment decisions about the shape, size, use, risk and ultimate destination of manned spacecraft are yanked from politicians, bureaucrats and taxpayers and taken on by tycoons, visionaries and egomaniacs. A coalition of the ultra-cautious will give way to a rabble of the driven.

  The comparison Rutan likes to make is not with a 17th-century boat but with the age of magnificent men in flying machines (c 1908–12) “when the world went from a total of ten pilots to hundreds of airplane types and thousands of pilots in 39 countries”. Either way, he sees his mission in grand terms.

  And why not? He has an unmatched record of building and testing experimental aircraft without the loss of a single life: 23 different planes over a period of 21 years, including the Voyager, which circumnavigated the globe without refuelling in 1986.

  He also has “the customer”. This is the man paying for SpaceShipOne. At least, we think he is a man, and we think he is Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who no longer works there and instead spends his time investing in an eclectic and often blatantly fun array of West Coast projects, ranging from Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks studio to the resuscitation of the Portland Trailblazers, a pro basketball team. But this is only a rumour. Rutan’s people only ever refer to the customer as “the customer”, rather as if he were Ernst Stavro Blofeld and they were building Moonraker.

  Eventually the customer will take delivery and bounce around near the edge of space until he gets bored. Or, like many wealthy people, he may just like to watch.

  There will be carping. Cynics have noted that none of the X Prize entrants offers the prospect of orbital spaceflight and few could be used to launch even the smallest satellites. Initially the only commercial use would be for joyrides for the ultra-rich, and even these could end in tragedy. “This is dangerous stuff,” the X Prize’s organiser said last month. “People might die.”

  Rutan admits that his goal is not to push back the frontiers of science or make billions by mining asteroids, but only to inspire. That vague, that simple. If NASA had admitted as much about the Shuttle, the loss of two crews might not have seemed such a tragic waste. As it is, the people who put Armstrong on the Moon are out of the hero business. It has been privatised.

  Hubble: the Next Generation Space Telescope

  NASA has extended Hubble’s operations until 2010, but a successor may be launched as early as 2008. This will be the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST).

  Scientists using NGST hope to discover and understand even more about our fascinating universe, such as:

  • the formation of the first stars and galaxies;

  • the evolution of galaxies and the production of elements by stars;

  • the process of star and planet formation.

  In order to peer back toward the beginning of the universe, NGST will make observations in the infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. NGST is designed to operate in the infrared wavelengths, particularly the mid-infrared part of the spectrum. Its detectors and telescope optics must be kept as cold as possible (excess heat from the telescope itself would create unwanted “background noise”). In addition, NGST’s larger primary mirror will give it ten times Hubble’s light-gathering capability.

  China joins the space race

  On 17 October 2003 Oliver August reported in The Times:

  As China’s first man in space returned to cheering crowds yesterday, Beijing announced plans for a permanent Space laboratory manned by Chinese scientists in competition with the US-Russian station.

  “The maiden manned space-flight is the first step of China’s space programme,” said Xie Mingbao, a leading engineer. The next stage would be a space station, he said.

  The announcement hints at the country’s growing confidence following the successful launch of the Shenzhou 5, which has triggered feverish interest across China. “Great Leap Skyward,” the China Daily newspaper enthused.

  The astronaut Yang Liwei, 38, touched down in his Russian-designed space capsule near the intended landing zone on grassland close to the Mongolian border after circling the Earth 14 times in 21 hours.

  “It is a splendid moment in the history of my motherland and also the greatest day of my life,” he said. “The spaceship operated well.”

  After only two hours on Earth, Lieutenant Colonel Yang was put on a plane and flown to the capital for interviews, congratulatory photographs and handshakes with China’s leaders. Thousands gathered at Beijing’s millennium monument to cheer his return and hail him a national hero.

  The story was splashed across the front pages of most newspapers and many television and radio stations carried blanket coverage of Colonel Yang’s return in his bronze capsule. On the Internet, Chinese expressed feelings of pride, mixed with a few voices warning China could not afford a space programme.

  “As a Chinese person, I am very proud of my country,” said one of more than 40,000 messages posted on Chinese portal Sina.com. “Long live the motherland! Long live the Chinese nationality!” State media showed children marvelling at a life-sized model of the Shenzhou 5 during a field trip to the China Science and Technology Museum.

  In private, some Chinese are more circumspect. “What is there to be proud of? The Americans are taking strolls on the moon. We’ve
just circled the Earth a few times,” said Wang Changlin, a driver. “We’ll never catch up with America.”

  China has decided to issue 10.2 million sets of stamps to commemorate the country’s success in putting a man into space. The stamps will show motifs such as “astronaut at work” and “triumphant return”.

  Despite its many plans for further space exploration, China has ruled out building an American-style space shuttle. It also disputed foreign estimates of the cost involved in building and launching the craft, claiming the price tag was a mere £1.5 billion. Western analysts have suggested the 11-year programme will so far have cost China close to £13 billion.

  Mr Xie said 60 per cent of China’s budget was spent on “consumable equipment” such as rocket boosters, while 40 per cent paid for control centres and other technology infrastructure that can be used on future missions.

  But despite talk of a permanent space laboratory China has no plans to rush back to the cosmos. Space officlals said the next manned flight was a year or two away. On the list for future flights are spacewalks and exercises in docking two spacecraft.

  Among the first to congratulate China was Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, who went on to address fears of military competition in space. He said:

  “I am sure that China’s full membership in the family of space powers will serve the cause of peace, security and stability on Earth, the development of science and technology and the progress of world civilization.”

  The Russian government sold Beijing the Soyuz design for a three-man space capsule, cutting short development time. Mr Putin played down the extent of well-paid Russian help, which China has kept secret from its people to enhance national pride.

  President Putin said:

  “This is the well deserved and significant result of the Chinese people’s labour, of the succesful progress of your country on the path of comprehensive development and transformation into a modern world power.”

  It was one small, throwaway remark for Yang Liwei, but one giant gaffe for millions of his compatriots.

  When China’s first astronaut emerged from his capsule yesterday, touching down near the Mongolian border after orbiting Earth 14 times in 21 hours, there was only one question on the lips of those who gathered around him.

  An eager television interviewer asked:

  “Is it true that you can see the Great Wall of China from space?”

  Yang’s answer? “Erm, no.” with those two words, Lieutenant Colonel Yang dispelled a modern myth which has become a staple of pub quizzes, been repeated in schools and even found its way into the Trivial Pursuit game.

  Yang’s answer came as no surprise to NASA, whose astronauts have said for decades that all that can be seen is the white of clouds, the blue of the oceans, the yellow of deserts and a few green patches of vegetation. Despite being 1,500 miles (2,400km) long and 30ft wide at the base, the wall cannot be seen at all.

  It is unclear where the myth began, but some at NASA believe that it started with some boastful after-dinner claims during the early days of the manned space programme.

  There was some consolation for China, and for the rest of us, from Yang, however. Asked how Earth looked from orbit, he replied: “It’s truly beautiful.”

  2014: the Rosetta space odyssey

  On 2 March 2004 a European spacecraft that will chase down a comet in search of clues to the origin of life on Earth lifted off from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. An Ariane-5 rocket carrying a European Space Agency probe set course for the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

  The Rosetta probe will take 12 years to catch the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. When it does it will become the first spacecraft to make a soft, controlled landing on the nucleus of one of the solar system’s enigmatic icy wanderers.

  The mission aims to unlock the secrets of the solar system’s beginnings 4.6 billion years ago, of which comets are largely unchanged relics, containing the same materials from which the planets were formed.

  It will answer important questions about what the “dirty snowballs” are made of, and even whether comets could have “seeded” Earth with the water and organic chemicals required for the genesis of life.

  Rosetta will use three Earth fly-bys and another of Mars as a “gravity slingshot” to catapult it towards Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which has a core about the size of Heathrow Airport.

  On completing its 7 billon-mile journey in 2014, Rosetta will orbit the comet’s nucleus and drop a lander named Philae, the size of a washing machine, on to its surface.

  The mother ship takes its name from the Rosetta Stone which was discovered in Egypt in 1799 and provided the first key to deciphering hieroglyphics. Scientists hope the data it gathers will offer equally critical insights to the origins of the solar system and terrestrial life. Its Philae lander is named after an island in the Nile where an obelisk critical to the understanding of the Rosetta Stone was found.

  The probe was delayed several times because of problems with the Ariane-5 rocket and had originally been scheduled to visit a different comet, named Wirtanen. The European Space Agency changed its target when the Wirtanen launch window was missed early in 2003.

  Britain has contributed £70 million towards the probe’s £600 million cost, and it was partially built by the Stevenage-based satellite company EADS-Astrium. British scientists have also contributed to 11 of the 21 instruments it will fly.

  Professor Ian Halliday, chief executive of the Partide Physics and Astronomy Research Council, said:

  “This mission will turn science fiction into science fact. Every aspect of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko will be analysed, resulting in the most comprehensive set of scientific measurements ever obtained of a comet and the UK can be justly proud of the significant part it has played. This ground-breaking mission benefits from considerable involvement by talented scientists from UK universities.”

  Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the Science Minister, said:

  “It is hoped the Rosetta mission will provide us with an understanding of the origins of the Sun and the planets, including Earth. It could provide answers to how life actually began.”

  Rosetta will start orbiting the comet in May 2014. Once it has identified a landing site, it will release Philae, which will hit the ground at walking speed.

  Philae will drill into the comet’s core to take samples, and take close-up pictures, thus becoming the first probe to make a controlled landing on a comet. A NASA spacecraft to be launched in December, named Deep Impact, will crash into a comet in 2005, but will be destroyed in the process.

  Both the European lander and orbiter will operate for more than a year, collecting information on the comet’s composition, and on the way in which its icy core starts to melt as it approaches the sun.

  One British-led experiment, named Ptolemy, will analyse the chemical composition of samples from the comet’s core. If these match those found on Earth, it would be possible that water and organic materials first reached Earth on comets.

  Ian Wright of the Open University, principal investigator for Ptolemy, said:

  “The study of these biologically important elements is strongly implicated in our quest to understand the origin of life on Earth.”

  The oldest stars ever seen

  On 10 March 2004 The Times reported that the Hubble telescope has peered deeper into space than ever before to picture the Universe in the flush of youth. It had captured images of stars which are more than 76,254,048,000,000,000,000,000 miles from Earth.

  Their light was generated more than 13 billion years ago, and has taken that long to reach Hubble. The light from Mars, which is at present more than 125 million miles from Earth, takes ten minutes to reach us. The images open a window on to some of the oldest objects ever seen, many of which were formed 400 million years after the Big Bang, approximately 14 billion years ago.

  Masilmo Stiavelli of the NASA Space Telescope Science Institute said:

  “Hubble takes us to within a stone’s thro
w of the Big Bang itself.”

  Astronomers are now combing the pictures for the galaxies that date back to when the Universe was emerging from a mysterious era known as the cosmic “dark ages”.

  Appendix – Space, Fact and Fiction

  The Mammoth Book of Space Exploration and Disasters has an additional theme running through it. This theme is the interaction of fact and fiction. Science fiction has inspired numerous scientists. Later some of these scientists made that fiction into reality. Many pioneering rocket scientists were inspired by the novels of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

  Jules Verne’s novel From the Earth to the Moon was published in 1865 and was the first story to be based on scientific principles – science fiction. There had been earlier stories about interplanetary travel. Perhaps the earliest known story was written during the Second Century AD. It was the “True History” by Lucian of Samos. At that time it was widely thought that the earth was the centre of the universe (the Geocentric theory). After Lucian, stories about interplanetary travel were neglected until the invention of the telescope.

  The telescope was invented in the Netherlands in 1608 but was made famous by Galileo Galilei. The original design was easy to copy. It was a three-powered instrument that magnified the image three times. Galileo constructed his own instruments, making them increasingly more powerful. Using a twenty-powered instrument he observed the Moon, discovered four satellites of Jupiter, and resolved nebular patches into stars. He published his findings as Sidereus Nuncius (The Celestial Messenger) in 1610.