One Small Step - The Australian Story

I just finished watching a YouTube link that Colin Mackellar passed to me.
It is about the Apollo 11 Moon landing and the part that Australia played in receiving those first pictures of the stepping off of the lunar lander.
I still have tears in my eyes as I write this.
I had watched those first steps on my own black and white TV while being stationed at Andrews Air Force base in the Naval Air Reserve.
So many memories.
Thanks much Colin.
- LRK -

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Hi Larry and Dave,

Think you would enjoy it.

I had the privilege of helping the producers with content and the story.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF04z8L0WJg>

with best wishes

Colin
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If you have not already had a chance to watch this moving production, I hope you find the time to do so.
It is 54:49 minutes and great behind the scenes action.
This story is told by the folks that were there as it happened.
Thanks much to the crews at the tracking stations in Australia.
- LRK -

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF04z8L0WJg
Uploaded by freehandtv on Dec 5, 2011

Forty years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, the one-hour documentary One Small Step: The Australian Story explores the front-line role Australian radio astronomers and technicians performed in bringing to the world a 'giant leap for mankind'.
On July 20th 1969, Australia had just twelve and a half million inhabitants and was known more for its kangaroos than its space program. But the moment Neil Armstrong planted the first human footstep on the moon all that changed.

With host Peter FitzSimons, we meet some of the characters who were directly involved in bringing live pictures from the moon to the rest of the world, and hear about the dramas of this most remarkable day.
Their stories are interwoven with snapshots of Australia from July 20th 1969 as we relive the day leading up to one of the most significant events in this country's brief history.

It was Australia that beamed the clearest pictures 'live from the moon' to the rest of the planet and so were the first to witness this momentous footstep. This was no ordinary television signal. After travelling 384,000km, it would inspire Australians from all walks of life and bring a sense of future possibilities to the nation.

Neil Armstrong's "one small step" was the giant leap that put man on the moon and Australia on the map.
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Maybe after you watch the YouTube link you would like to learn more about the tracking stations in Australia.
- LRK -

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http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/index.html
A Tribute to
Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station
Canberra, Australia
and all who worked there

http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/about.html
Acknowledgments and info about this site
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About this website

This site is an ongoing work by Colin Mackellar as a tribute to the pioneering work of all who were involved with NASA’s Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station.

I was too young to be personally involved in Apollo (if you look at the photo on the opening page, that’s me in the foreground – standing outside the Honeysuckle gate in 1971. I was nearly 15). But I have always been very interested in both astronomy and manned space exploration. (On holidays our family will often just “happen” to find ourselves at places like Honeysuckle, Tidbinbilla, Parkes or Siding
Spring.)

During the Apollo Program, both Honeysuckle Creek and Tidbinbilla were household names in Australia (as was the Parkes Radio Telescope) and I followed any media references to them closely.

It is surprising that there is not more information readily available about Honeysuckle (other than the tremendous resources of Hamish Lindsay’s book and Mike Dinn and John Saxon’s websites).
http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/the_book/main.html
http://members.pcug.org.au/~mdinn/apollomem/index.htm
http://www.jsaxon.org/

For that matter, there is very little on the Internet about Tidbinbilla, Goldstone or Madrid from the Apollo days. This website is the beginning of an attempt to help correct that.
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It was moving to watch the Moon landing on my BW TV and it was very moving to watch again from Australia by way of the YouTube link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF04z8L0WJg

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
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http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/
       Mission Overview
The mission plan of Apollo 11 was to land two men on the lunar surface
and return them safely to Earth. The launch took place at Kennedy
Space Center Launch Complex 39A on July 16, 1969, at 08:32 a.m. EST.
The spaccraft carried a crew of three: Mission Commander Neil
Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module
Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. The mission evaluation concluded that all
mission tasks were completed satisfactorily.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight which landed the first humans, Neil
Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr, on Earth's Moon on July 20,
1969, at 20:17:39 UTC. The United States mission is considered the
major accomplishment in the history of space exploration.

Launched from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 in Merritt
Island, Florida on July 16, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission,
and the third lunar mission, of NASA's Apollo program. The crew
consisted of Armstrong as Commander and Aldrin as Lunar Module Pilot,
with Command Module Pilot Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin landed
in the Sea of Tranquillity and became the first humans to walk on the
Moon on July 21. Their Lunar Module, Eagle, spent 21 hours 31 minutes
on the lunar surface, while Collins remained in orbit in the
Command/Service Module, Columbia.[2] The three astronauts returned to
Earth on July 24, landing in the Pacific Ocean. They brought back 47.5
pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar rocks.

Apollo 11 fulfilled U.S. President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching
the Moon before the Soviet Union by the end of the 1960s, which he had
expressed during a 1961 mission statement before the United States
Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to
achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the
Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."[3]

Six additional Apollo missions flew to the Moon and five landed
between 1969 and 1972.
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http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo-11/apollo-11.html
Apollo-11 (27)

Pad 39-A (5)
Saturn-V AS-506 (6)
High Bay 1
MLP 1
Firing Room 1
Crew:

Neil A. Armstrong (2), Commander
Edwin E. Aldrin (2), Jr., Lunar Module Pilot
Michael Collins (2), Command Module Pilot
Backup Crew:

James Lovell (3), Backup Commander
Fred Haise (0), Backup Lunar Module Pilot
William A. Anders (1), Backup Command Module Pilot

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

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Dawn Explores Vesta’s Chemistry

When you read science fiction it seems easy to travel to the stars.
Warp drive engaged and you are there in almost no time at all.

We don't have warp drive yet nor have we been able to use the materials of an asteroid to build spaceships off planet.

It is easy to say we should send humans to far away places to explore, but harder to achieve.
Testing our tools with spacecraft missions sounds good too and here at least we have a beginning.
Ion propulsion is being put to the test to provide long term acceleration.
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ion_prop.asp

If you have thought about going to the stars you should find Paul Gilster's blog most informative.
http://www.centauri-dreams.org/

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http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=21450
Dawn Explores Vesta’s Chemistry

by Paul Gilster on January 20, 2012

The Dawn spacecraft, orbiting Vesta since July of last year, reached its lowest altitude orbit in December, now averaging 210 kilometers from the asteroid’s surface. Ceres is Dawn’s next stop, but that journey won’t begin until the close-in work at Vesta is complete, with the craft in its low altitude mapping orbit for at least ten weeks and then another period at higher altitudes before Dawn leaves Vesta in late July. The spacecraft’s Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND) instrument is already telling us much about the giant asteroid’s surface composition.

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Much at JPL's web page as well.
- LRK -

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http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/
DAWN A Journey to the Beginning of the Solar System

http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/
Dawn, as a mission belonging to NASA’s Discovery Program, delves into the unknown, drives new technology innovations, and achieves what's never been attempted before. In Dawn’s case, it is orbiting  one member of the main asteroid belt, Vesta, before heading to gather yet more data at a second, Ceres.

Dawn's goal is to characterize the conditions and processes of the solar system's earliest epoch by investigating in detail two of the largest protoplanets remaining intact since their formations. Ceres and Vesta reside in the extensive zone between Mars and Jupiter together with many other smaller bodies, called the asteroid belt.  Each has followed a very different evolutionary path constrained by
the diversity of processes that operated during the first few million years of solar system evolution.

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You can follow the DAWN mission at NASA.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/main/index.html
DAWN Journey to the Asteroid Belt

PASADENA, Calif. – NASA's Dawn spacecraft has sent back the first images of the giant asteroid Vesta from its low-altitude mapping orbit. The images, obtained by the framing camera, show the stippled and lumpy surface in detail never seen before, piquing the curiosity of scientists who are studying Vesta for clues about the solar system's early history.

At this detailed resolution, the surface shows abundant small craters, and textures such as small grooves and lineaments that are reminiscent of the structures seen in low-resolution data from the higher-altitude orbits. Also, this fine scale highlights small outcrops of bright and dark material.
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The flight isn't over yet either.
- LRK -

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http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Dawn
DAWN

Goals: Dawn is designed to study the conditions and processes of the solar system's earliest epoch by investigating in detail two of the largest protoplanets remaining intact since their formations. The orbiter will visit both the asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, two main asteroid belt worlds that followed very differently evolutionary paths.

Accomplishments: Dawn arrived in orbit at asteroid Vesta on 16 June 2011. It will depart for Ceres in 2012.
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Ooops, Last chance to send your name to the Asteroid Belt, November 4, 2006.
- LRK -

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http://www.dawn-mission.org/dawncommunity/sendname2asteroid/nameentry.asp
DAWN Community

Send your name to the asteroid belt on the Dawn spacecraft. Your name will be recorded onto a microchip that will be placed aboard the spacecraft accompanying it on its mission to the asteroid belt. After entering your name below, you will have the opportunity to print a document that verifies your journey aboard the spacecraft.

We are experiencing unusually high volume. If you receive an error message on your certificate, please wait a short while and resubmit. Please note, the database does not recognize entries with apostrophes.

After you hit submit a new page will appear. Print this page as it will be your only opportunity.
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[Note: Error, error, error - looks like my name won't catch up with DAWN. :-) - LRK -]
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If you went to the web site above you will find some broken links.
If you chose to go on a 50 year mission to a star I wonder if your adventure would be forgotten.
- LRK -

Even planetary missions take a long time to plan and launch.
You need to be dedicated to work your way through the many parts of making it happen.
- LRK -

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http://www.esa.int/esaSC/120391_index_0_m.html
BepiColombo overview
Status
Being built and tested

Objective
One of ESA’s cornerstone missions, it will study and understand the composition, geophysics, atmosphere, magnetosphere and history of Mercury, the least explored planet in the inner Solar System.
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http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=11813
PR 40-1999: ESA's Mercury Mission Named BepiColombo in Honour of a Space Pioneer

29 Sep 1999
Meeting in Naples 20-23 September, the European Space Agency's Science Programme Committee recognised the achievements of the late Giuseppe Colombo of the University of Padua by adopting his name for the Mercury project now being planned. Almost everything known until now about the planet Mercury comes from three passes by NASA's Mariner 10 in 1974/75, which were inspired by Colombo's calculations. He suggested how to put that spacecraft into an orbit that would bring it back repeatedly to Mercury. The Italian scientist also explained, as an unsuspected resonance, Mercury's peculiar habit of rotating three times in every two revolutions of the Sun.
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http://www.parabolicarc.com/2011/06/22/ion-propulsion/
Aerojet and Partners to Market Ion Propulsion Internationally
Posted by Doug Messier on June 22, 2011, at 7:35 am in News

PARIS, Le Bourget and SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 21, 2011 – Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, QinetiQ, (LSE: QQ.L) and EADS Astrium Crisa, an EADS (PAR:EAD) company, announced today that the companies have entered into a joint agreement to supply the XENITH(TM) (Xenon Ion Thruster) ion propulsion system to the worldwide commercial spacecraft market. The agreement will enable customers to benefit from the combined expertise of independent market leaders in design, manufacture and supply of space propulsion systems, who are collaborating to deliver the XENITH(TM) system.

Built around the ultra high-efficient T6 ion thruster developed by QinetiQ, the XENITH(TM) propulsion system will provide a reduction in propellant consumed by more than a factor of 12 over conventional chemical propulsion systems. Ion propulsion systems have been used for orbit raising and station keeping of satellites, as well as for primary propulsion for deep space missions.

The T6 ion propulsion technology is based on the lower power T5 system, which provides precision atmospheric drag compensation for the highly successful GOCE gravity mapping mission operated by ESA. A T6-based propulsion system is being qualified for the European Bepi-Colombo mission to Mercury and has been selected to provide onboard propulsion for the Alphabus communications satellite platform. QinetiQ provides the thruster and flow control subsystem, while Crisa provides the thruster power and control electronics.

“The joint effort with Aerojet and Crisa to market the XENITH(TM) propulsion system is a significant step toward delivering QinetiQ’s proven ion propulsion technology for much wider use worldwide,” said Neil Bevan, QinetiQ Technology Solutions, Managing Director of Aerospace.

Aerojet’s electric propulsion products are currently flying on more than 150 operational satellites and span a broad range of electric propulsion products. For the XENITH(TM) system, Aerojet will perform some of the manufacturing, under a licensed arrangement with QinetiQ, and then integrate and deliver the system to spacecraft primes.

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And when you include humans on a space mission there are a lot more new products that need to be developed to provide a safe, habitable environment.
Wouldn't that be nice, and might they just be useful for those that remain on an ever crowded Mother Earth.
Just think of us living on Spaceship Earth and what would you like from the food synthesizer?
What would you like for a beverage?
Shields up, incoming asteroid.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
WordPress: http://lrkellogg.wordpress.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://mailman1.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
I am enjoying reading Paul Gilser's book, "CENTAURI DREAMS - Imagining
and Planning Interstellar Exploration".
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3AP34JGP0MT3Z/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R3AP34JGP0MT3Z
By
Kermit Ellis
This review is from: Centauri Dreams: Imagining and Planning
Interstellar Exploration (Hardcover)
It will be surprising to many people that the initial planning of
humanity's first voyages to the stars has already begun. Those of us
who grew up in the early days of the American space program, and whose
vision of the future assumed that by the end of the twentieth century
space flight would be commonplace and relatively easy, and who assumed
that manned missions to Mars and further would be the next step within
several years after the Apollo moon landings, became impatient with
the slow and methodical pace of space exploration carried out in the
immediate vicinity of Earth and by robotic probes sent about the Solar
System- even though these missions were usually brilliantly planned
and executed.

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http://www.tauzero.aero/

Imagine the historic moment when the first Earth-like planet is
detected deep across interstellar space. Like an inaccessible jewel it
will beckon us. Is this a future home for humanity? What forms of life
are already there? How do we get there? What happens when we arrive?

Based on today's technology, traveling to the stars is a long-term
proposition. While existing space agencies grapple with sending
astronauts beyond Earth orbit, and entrepreneurial firms bring the
thrill of spaceflight to the people, no one has taken on the challenge
of reaching other habitable worlds; until now.

The Tau Zero Foundation is a volunteer group of scientists, engineers,
entrepreneurs, and writers who have agreed to work together toward
practical interstellar flight and to use this quest to teach you about
science, technology, and our place in the universe. By posting the
latest developments and unfinished advancements here, we give students
the starting materials to begin their own discoveries. By showing both
how daunting and incredible this challenge is, we hope to increase
attention on protecting the habitability of Earth while planning
journeys into the galaxy. By reaching for the stars we will create
benefits every step of the way.

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http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast15jun_1/
The Incredible Ions of Space Propulsion

June 16, 2000 -- In the not so distant past when spacecraft designers
had to choose a means of propulsion for their ships, ion engines were
not among the viable options for long-range space travel. But today,
thanks to the pioneering efforts of scientists at the NASA Glenn
Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), ion
propulsion systems are a reality.

Dr. John Brophy, of JPL, discussed the past, present and future of ion
propulsion systems during a session last week at the 11th annual
Advanced Space Propulsion Research Workshop in Pasadena, CA.

After a development history spanning nearly 40 years and following the
successful flight of Deep Space 1 in 1998-1999, ion propulsion has now
entered the mainstream of propulsion options available for deep-space
missions, according to an abstract written by Brophy.
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

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