Innholdsfortegnelse for YOU Gateway to Space i YOU Gateway to Space

IN THE early 1960s the Americanswerebecoming pretty concerned. The Cold War had been raging for more than a decade, spearheaded by the two superpowers: the United States of America in the west and the Soviet Union in the east. And in the Space Race the Soviets were in the lead. By 1961 they had already put a satellite into space and sent a dog and a person into orbit. This meant they could also launch a military attack from space. They were also at least two years ahead of the US in the race to reach the moon . . Then John F Kennedy became US president and gave his support to the plan to reach the moon. “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal,…

SPACE is an unfriendly place with lots of dangers in an environment vastly different from ours on Earth. Spacesuits are designed very carefully to protect crew members who have to venture out of a spacecraft on spacewalks. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR BODY IN SPACE WITHOUT A SPACESUIT? Lack of oxygen will cause you to pass out within 15 seconds. Even worse: your blood and other body fluids will bubble because of lack of air pressure. Your skin, heart and other internal organs will expand because of the bubbling blood and you’ll swell to twice your size! Temperatures vary vastly from 120 ºC in the sun to minus 120 ºC in the shade. You could also be killed by tiny flying dust particles that can strike at a speed of…

IT’S not easy to become an astronaut. In the 1950s no-one knew what to expect from space travel so the first astronauts were selected for their daring, courage and bravado. But today astronauts work in teams on the International Space Station (ISS) and in a spacecraft, so they must be able to get on well with others, be fair and adaptable and also be assertive when needed. The first astronauts were all military test pilots (people who fly aircraft to test them), but in the 1970s space laboratories such as Skylab, Mir and later the ISS became the focus of space programmes and space agencies also started accepting engineers and scientists as astronauts. However, being an astronaut does not mean you get to spend a lot of time in space!…

1 South Africa’s Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory in Gauteng has supported several space missions, including Apollo 15 in 1972. 2 South Africa has already launched three of its own satellites, with a fourth one set for 2019. 3 The South African National Space Agency (SANSA, sansa.org.za), monitors hundreds of satellites from Hartebeesthoek as they pass over Africa. If something goes wrong – for instance when a Soyuz rocket recently launched a satellite into the wrong orbit – they communicate with the satellite owner so the problem can be sorted out. 4 SA satellites will soon enable us to anticipate floods even before they happen! 5 SA’s satellite technology makes it much easier to respond to disasters such as fires, earthquakes and floods. For instance, our eyes in the sky can…

IF NASA has its way, humans will be living on Mars 25 to 30 years from now in a colony very much like the illustration above. A fleet of spacecraft and rovers roaming above and on Mars have increased our knowledge of the Red Planet hugely and scientists believe people can live there without being dependent on Earth. NASA’s plan to colonise Mars consists of three stages. Scan and watch an animation of how the habitat, equipment, and eventually the crew, will be transported to Mars and the colony set up. STEVE HERCHER 360CITIES.NET STAGE 1: EARTH RELIANT PLANNED FOR Now LOCATION International Space Station (ISS) This stage is already underway. A lot of research is happening on the ISS to find ways to work and live in space without…

IMAGINE an hotel where at bath time you have to float around in a room filled with water bubbles because there’s no shower, and where you have to strap yourself to a bed attached to the roof, wall or floor before you can go to sleep . . . Welcome to the world of space hotels! These are luxury spaceships expected to orbit Earth within the next decade or two and will cost holidaymakers anything from R4 million to R15 million per night. While we may have to wait a while for space’s first hotel, space tourism seems to be around the corner with companies promising (not for the first time!) that they’ll be ready to kick off within a year or two. There are two kinds of space travel…

NEIL ARMSTRONG (1930-2012) American astronaut and on 21 July 1969 the first person to walk on the moon. GUY BLUFORD (73) American astronaut and in 1983 the first African-American in space aboard Space Shuttle Challenger. MICHAEL COLLINS (85) American astronaut and pilot of Apollo 11 Command Module that circled the moon during the first moon walk on 21 July 1969. BUZZ ALDRIN (86) American astronaut and on 21 July 1969 the second person to walk on the moon. RICHARD BRANSON (65) British entrepreneur, founder of Virgin Galactic which is expected to be the first private company to send paying tourists into space. YURI GAGARIN (1934-1968) Soviet cosmonaut and first person in space aboard Vostok 1, which orbited Earth on 12 April 1961. MISS BAKER (1957-1984) One of a duo of…

HAVE you ever been to the Cape Town Science Centre in Observatory? If you have you would have seen the replica of a Soyuz capsule donated by Mark Shuttleworth, our own “afronaut” – the first South African and African to travel to space. Shuttleworth – a billionaire entrepreneur who currently lives on the Isle of Man – donated the replica to the science centre after his historic 2002 trip in a Soyuz to the International Space Station (ISS) where he spent eight days. The Soyuz is sometimes called the workhorse of space because it has undertaken more than 100 space voyages over close to 50 years. Considered the world’s safest and most cost-effective human spacecraft, it is currently the only way cosmonauts and astronauts can travel to the ISS. A…

ONLY 24 astronauts have flown the 400 000 km to the moon and of those only 12 walked on its surface. They all travelled in the Apollo spacecraft, which had three parts: the command and service modules (CSM) and the lunar module. Once in moon orbit, the lunar module took two astronauts to the moon surface while the third crew member circled the moon in the CSM. The top half of the lunar module (ascent stage) later returned the two astronauts to the CSM. On the way back to Earth the lunar module and service module were discarded and the command module with the three astronauts splashed down into the sea. SATURN V ROCKET The Apollo astronauts were blasted into space inside the nose cone of the largest rocket to…

THE EMU SPACESUIT The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) has been used since 1981 and is still worn by astronauts on the ISS. The EMU components include 1 Undergarments 2 Hard Upper Torso (HUT) Assembly 3 Arm sections 4 Gloves 5 Soft Lower Torso Assembly (LTA) 6 Extravehicular Visor Assembly 7 Primary Life Support System The EMU’S 13 layers of material consist of • Inner cooling garment with two layers containing water tubes to keep the body cool. • Pressure garment with two layers that keep the suit filled with air. • Thermal micrometeoroid garment that contains eight layers to protect against space dust and other objects. • One waterproof and fire-resistant outer layer. DRESSING TIME It takes 15 minutes to put on the entire suit. QUESTIONS ANSWERED Why are the…

THE International Space Station (ISS) is a microgravity laboratory stationed in space where astronauts and scientists live and work to conduct research about Earth and space. It orbits Earth 16 times a day (one day-night cycle lasts only 90 minutes!) Since the 1990s 16 countries have been involved in the construction of the station with spacecraft transporting sections, equipment and astronauts to the ISS. It has been occupied since 2000. About an acre (4 047 square metres) of solar panels provide power to the station – this makes it the second brightest object in the night sky after the moon. A GLOBAL EFFORT The USA, Russia, Japan, Canada and 11 European countries all built sections of the ISS. Brazil also made a few small contributions. 1 ZVEZDA Zvezda (Russian for…

IN 1997 Lottie Williams was on a late-night walk in the American state of Oklahoma when she saw a streak of light in the sky, then felt something drop down on her shoulder. It turned out to be a small chunk from a Delta rocket that had fallen from space. Luckily Lottie was not hurt – and just as fortunately this remains the only known case of a person being hit by a piece of space junk. In almost 60 years that humans have been going to space, we have left so much debris up there that it may be putting us all in danger. Space debris not only falls to Earth – it can also collide with a spacewalking astronaut or a working satellite. The International Space Station (ISS)…

THE famous Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Project is an international operation to build the world’s largest telescope worth more than R20 billion. It will survey the sky better and 10 000 times faster than any current imaging radio telescope. Phase 1 will start in 2018 by integrating the existing MeerKATin South Africa – which is still being completed – and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) precursor telescopes. Phase 2’s additional receptors will all become operational by 2024. MeerKAT The South African MeerKAT radio telescope being built near Carnarvon in the Northern Cape is a precursor to the SKA telescope. MeerKAT will be an array of 64 receptors (a complete antenna structure), 48 of which will be concentrated in the core area of about 1 km in diameter. WHERE…

THE Curiosity rover is one of NASA’s mobile robot laboratories used for exploration on Mars. It studies the planet to see to what extent it can support life forms, analysing soil and rock samples and checking for chemical elements important for life, such as nitrogen and oxygen. It takes about 90 people to operate a rover each day (the Opportunity rover is also on Mars). The Curiosity got its name from Clara Ma, a 6th grader from Kansas, America, who won a naming competition. Let’s explore the vehicle that landed on Mars in 2012. SIZE COMPARISON The Curiosity rover is a bit smaller than a large 4x4. LANDING PROCEDURE Curiosity was launched on an Atlas V rocket on 26 November 2011 and landed in Mars’ Gale Crater on 6 August…

AFTER the launch of the first artificial satellite into Earth’s orbit, the Sputnik 1 in 1957, we have sent thousands of satellites and spacecraft into space. Satellites help predict the weather and natural disasters such as hurricanes as well as beam signals for TV and Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) that are used to determine positions on the ground. They also take photographs of other planets, the sun, black holes and more. Spacecraft orbiting Earth and other planets have similar purposes – all aimed at helping us understand parts of the universe where humans are not able to venture. Yet.…

A space flight suit, an electronic Space Shuttle, a space model kit plus building blocks – all this could be yours! Three lucky readers will each win a hamper containing these space toys. The hampers are worth R1 000 each and the toys are not available anywhere else in South Africa, except at the Gateway to Space Exhibition in Johannesburg (see page 2)! EACH HAMPER INCLUDES 1 A Gateway to Space flight suit to fit ages 3-10 (We are unable to publish a picture of the flight suit because the suits were still in production at the time of going to print.) 2 A building blocks set to build your own spacecraft 3 A model to construct an Earth and its orbiting moon 4 An electronic Space Shuttle toy HOW…

Here are some of the most momentous events from the journey into space. From the pioneers to the achievements of countries such as the US and Russia who have competed to dominate spaceflight since 1955 and who, among others, have made huge strides in the exploration of the universe. We also look at some ambitious future plans to venture into space. 1903 Russian professor of physics Konstantin Tsiolkovsky publishes Exploration of Outer Space by Means of Rocket Devices, and influences the next generation of Russian rocket scientists and engineers. 1931 Romanian-born Hermann Oberth (right), one of the most influential theorists on rocket science, achieves a successful liquid fuel rocket launch in Germany. 1926 Robert Goddard (right) launches the world’s first liquid-fuelled rocket in the United States. 1944 Using Wernher von…

SPACECRAFT are not powerful enough to travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere on their own, so a rocket blasts them into space. Rockets are powerful machines that can break free from Earth’s gravity to reach outer space. There are two kinds of spacecraft able to carry humans: capsules and spaceplanes. Capsules are launched on top of a rocket, while planes can be launched in other ways. For example, the Space Shuttle planes were attached to the side of rockets (see page 42) and SpaceShip Two, a plane that will soon start taking tourists into space (read more on page 72) is launched by a second plane, White Knight. Right now the only way astronauts can get to the International Space Station, (ISS) is with a Russian Soyuz (saw-yooz) capsule which launches on…

SCIENTISTS believe the moon was once part of Earth – they theorise that a large object collided with Earth about 4 billion years ago and broke off large rocks that eventually melted together to form the moon. Gravity on the moon is about a fifth of Earth’s so astronauts have to wear special gear to prevent them floating away into space. That’s why you’ll weigh about six times less on the moon than on Earth! Over 100 spacecraft have been to the moon, which is Earth’s only natural satellite, and brought back rocks which are still being studied. But we won’t be setting up home on the moon anytime soon – its weak atmosphere and lack of water cannot support human, animal and plant life. MOST FAMOUS MOON CRATER When…

THE moon may be a desolate place, but it has no shortage of vehicles . . . Currently there are three American moon buggies on the surface, as well as two Russian ones and one from China. A Japanese one is expected to arrive in 2017 and one from India in 2018. The US Lunar Roving Vehicles (LRVs) were transported by the last three manned Apollo moon flights in 1971 and 1972 and were unpacked on the moon from the Apollo lunar module. The Russian Lunokhods (translates to Moonwalker) were transported by the unmanned Luna craft in 1970 and 1973. The LRVs, which are no longer operational, were small electric cars with four wheels and powered by batteries. They could carry one or two astronauts, plus their equipment and any…

NASA’S Apollo project was followed by its Space Shuttle programme (1981–2011) – with the world’s first reusable spacecraft and the only one that could carry large satellites to and from space. Shuttles launched straight up like a rocket, but to land glided onto a runway like a normal aeroplane and could be used again. FAST FACT Five Orbiters flew in the Shuttle programme (see right) but there was also a sixth one called Enterprise. It had no engines and could not go into space and was used for gliding test flights in the late 1970s. COMPONENTS Each Shuttle had three main components: 1 The Orbiter, a space plane that housed the crew and orbited Earth or flew to the International Space Station. 2 Two solid rocket boosters that provided most…

ZVEZDA ISS living quarters Russian module IT’S like a normal work day really – off to the bathroom, breakfast, work, some exercise, more work, dinner, maybe a movie or a phone call to a loved one and then a good night’s rest. Except that this place of work and home is aboard a microgravity satellite station, orbiting Earth 400 km away. Imagine going about your day – getting dressed, brushing your teeth, making lunch – in an environment where you and everything around you isn’t held down securely by a simple thing such as gravity . . . “When I take off my PJs they float around in the crew quarters until I gather them up and immediately fasten them down,” says NASA astronaut and engineer Sandra Magnus. “It’s easy…

NEDELIN: EXPLOSION DATE 24 October 1960 LAUNCH SITE Baikonur, Kazakhstan DEATH TOLL More than 150 people SOVIET defence force chief marshal of artillery, Mitrofan Nedelin, was in charge of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (a war rocket) called R-16. He wanted to gain favour with politicians so he sped up the launch schedule and important safety tests were not done. A fuel tank exploded, killing more than 150 engineers and military staff, Nedelin included. The Soviet Union covered up the incident until 1989 saying they died in a plane accident, most likely for propaganda reasons and to protect their reputation. WHAT HAPPENED? There were still many problems on launch day and engineers were on the launch pad trying to solve them. A short-circuit ignited the second stage of the rocket…

WE’VE seen images of it, we know that water has been found on it and that it has “favourable soil conditions” – it seems Mars really could be our future second home! If all goes according to plan, the first humans will visit Mars in the 2030s – so not that long to go. The journey from Earth to Mars will last about six months. Here’s more about the amazing Red Planet, which the ancient Romans named after their god of war because of its red colour. CAN WE LIVE ON MARS? Yes. But it won’t be easy. Mars is very cold and has a thin carbon dioxide atmosphere with almost no oxygen. A few people could survive on Mars with some supplies coming from Earth. In the long term,…

WHILE you’re reading this article, engineers at NASA are hard at work building the largest, most powerful rocket in the world at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The mighty SLS – which stands for Space Launch System – will be able to send people and cargo to places where no human has gone before. A capsule called Orion, similar to the Apollo capsule but twice its size, will sit on top of the SLS. In 2014 Orion was launched into deep space by a Delta IV rocket and travelled to a height of 5 794 km above Earth (further than any craft has flown in more than 40 years) to test its safety systems. Orion’s next test mission will be atop the SLS in 2018 when it…

DID YOU KNOW? YOU CAN’T GAIN WEIGHT IN SPACE In a weightless environment you can eat as much as you like without gaining weight – that will show up on a scale, that is. But when you return to Earth and get onto the scale, the extra kilos will show. That’s because our mass stays with us wherever we are, even in weightless conditions. But weight only exists when that mass is under the influence of a force such as gravity. YOU STAY YOUNGER FOR LONGER ON THE SPACE STATION Based on the theory of relativity, one ages slower while travelling at a high speed in space. So an astronaut won’t age quite as fast as he would if he were to remain on Earth. If you visit the ISS…