Transcript The Royal Aeronautical Society View of Space

The Royal Aeronautical Society
Discussion Paper on Human Spaceflight
Pat Norris
Chairman, RAeS Space Group
http://www.raes.org.uk/space
June 2006
Space Activities at RAeS
• magazines, journal, lectures, workshops, conferences
– at RAeS HQ in London W1
– at Branches across the UK and world-wide
• events in 2005 included:
– March: John Zarnecki on Huygens
– April: Will Whitehorn on Virgin Galactic
– May: Bob Chesson on manned spaceflight
– June: Stuart Eves on military space
– September: Ruy Pinto on Inmarsat 4
– November conference on near earth objects
– December: David Southwood on Mars, Titan and beyond
• recent events:
– May 10th: Venus Express
– May 30th: GNSS & air traffic management
– June 7th: space tourism conference
RAeS Discussion Paper on human spaceflight, June 2006
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Human spaceflight
• Phase out of the Shuttle and the success of
SpaceShipOne mark a turning point in manned
spaceflight
• RAeS has produced a Discussion Paper on the
subject to help inform UK policy*
• factors we consider relevant:
– technology developments (e.g. Moore’s law) continue
to make robotic satellites more cost effective
– exploration out to and on the moon can largely be
done robotically with man-in-the-loop via radio link:
telerobotics
How will Burt Rutan’s technology evolve?
– if exploration of Mars needs man-in-the-loop then
you would require human presence on the spot:
• but by the time men get to Mars, robotics will be
able to do considerably more than today
• especially if you spend even a small proportion
of the funds foreseen for human exploration on
robotic improvements
* Aerospace Professional, December 2005, pp14-16
What comes after the Shuttle?
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Humans in space – conclusions for discussion
1.
use robotic exploration of the moon to assess
the need for man-in-the-loop on Mars
2.
an astronomical observatory on the moon is a
scientifically interesting objective of lunar
missions:
•
and an area of particular UK expertise
3.
high cost “prestige” manned spaceflight
programmes are out of step with UK public
opinion, but
4.
there is intense public interest in human
spaceflight and in planetary exploration
•
5.
Beagle 2: for the cost of
an astronaut’s glove
International Space Station
– $100B well spent?
affordably
the Virgin Galactic initiative, building on
SpaceShipOne, warrants serious government
support, e.g. on the regulatory front, and by
supporting related technologies and services
DARPA’s Grand Challenge
- technology for planetary rovers?
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Your views are sought
• the Royal Aeronautical Society Discussion Paper on human
spaceflight is available at www.raes.org.uk/space with
instructions on how to respond
• or email me at [email protected]
• we anticipate that this subject will attract continued and
increasing attention over the next few years, so we welcome
views on how best the UK can participate
• the July issue of Aerospace Professional will include a report on
feedback from RAeS members
• will test opinion in the USA at Space 2006 in September
• aiming for a comprehensive review of the feedback and issuing
an updated Discussion Paper in late 2006
Thank you
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