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Columbus—a step forward
2.16. ESA CREATES THE GIUSEPPE COLOMBO FELLOWSHIPa’
The European, and indeed the world-wide, space science community suffered a severe loss with the death, in February 1984, of one of its staunchest supporters, Professor Giuseppe Colombo. Professor Colombo was associated with ESRO/ESA activities from the earliest days up until the end of his life. To mention but two projects, Professor Colombo played a very active part in the inception of Giotto, ESA’s mission to Halley’s Comet due to be launched in early July this year, and he can also be considered as the father of the tethered satellite concept which has now become a joint Italy/NASA programme. In order to commemorate Professor Colombo’s valuable contribution to space science, space flights and space navigation, ESA has created a “Giuseppe Colombo Fellowship” to be awarded to a European scientist or engineer of a very high level in an area relating to space mechanics, basic and applied sciences. The fellowship will be awarded, following a competitive selection process, for a tenure of one year in either a European or an American Institute, preferably one where Professor Colombo himself worked.
2.17. COLUMBUS-A
STEP FORWARD’=
Amongst the many ambitious decisions taken by the ESA Member State Ministers at the Council meeting in January 1985, perhaps one of the most exciting was their acceptance of the offer by the President of the United States to participate in the American Space Station programme on the understanding that Europe was given responsibility for the design, development, exploitation and evolution of one or several important elements of the Station. A new milestone has now been reached in the Columbus Preparatory Programme under which Space Station studies are being carried out. Following negotiations between ESA and NASA, a plan of activities to be undertaken on both sides of the Atlantic over the next two years has been drawn up. During this period each partner will carry out, in parallel, detailed definition studies (phase B studies) on a number of Space Station elements. According to present planning, NASA intends to develop a permanently manned Space Station consisting of several pressurized modules and unpressurized areas. Potential elements of ESA’s contribution could consist of a pressurized module that could be used as a manned laboratory, of free-flying payload carriers for both low inclination and polar orbits which will be used for experimental purposes, of a servicing vehicle and a resources module ‘“‘ESA “Information Note for the Press” of 17 April 1985. ““ESA News Release No. 7 of 26 April 1985.
65
which could provide both the pressurized module and the platforms with electric power, and cooling and stabilizing systems. In addition, ESAmanaged studies will also cover such aspects as ground facilities for mission preparation and support, and a data transmission system. The ESA Council, at its meeting on 24/25 April 1985, unanimously authorized the Director General to sign with NASA the Memorandum of Understanding which lays down the terms and conditions under which the cooperative effort will be carried out. The cost of the Phase B studies carried out by European industry under ESA management, together with the corresponding technology programme amounts to 80 MAU(“) (mid-1983 price levels, 1984 exchange rates).
2.18. AN INTERESTING EXAMPLE OF INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION ‘241
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today announced that the United States has agreed to lend ESA one of its standby geostationary weather satellites (GOES-4) as a temporary substitute for ESA’s Meteosat-1 spacecraft. Launched in 1977, Meteosat-1, which has long outlived its originally planned three-year lifetime, has now run out of station-keeping fuel and is expected to drift out of view of ESA’s ground station network in July this year. GOES-4, which has been located at 140” West longitude over the Pacific Ocean, will be moved westwards by 4” a day to bring it to its new position at 10” West longitude above the Atlantic Ocean by mid-June. Since ESA ground equipment is not compatible with the GOES-4 command system, NOAA will operate the satelhte for ESA from its satellite guidance facilities at Suitiand, Maryland, and Wallops Station, Virginia. Data from the spacecraft will be received at ESA’s Meteosat Ground Facilities at ESOC in Darmstadt. The loan of the GOES-4 spacecraft is an example of international cooperation which, while not yet commonplace, will help in laying the groundwork for a future exchange of satellites and data among the spacefaring nations of the world. On similar lines, in 1984, Meteosat-2 provided US weather watchers with data, including information on the Eastern Atlantic hurricane breeding grounds, when NOAA’s Atlantic-area GOES-East satellite lost its imaging capability. ESAls Meteosat Pmgramme
As well as meeting the needs of the European meteorological services, the Meteosat System forms part of a network of five geostationary meteorological ~23’MAU=Million “%SA
66
Accounting
Units. 1 Accounting
News Release No. 8 of 7 May 1085.
Unit=$O.B
(1985
exchange rates).
The European, and indeed the world-wide, space science community suffered a severe loss with the death, in February 1984, of one of its staunchest supporters, Professor Giuseppe Colombo. Professor Colombo was associated with ESRO/ESA activities from the earliest days up until the end of his life. To mention but two projects, Professor Colombo played a very active part in the inception of Giotto, ESA’s mission to Halley’s Comet due to be launched in early July this year, and he can also be considered as the father of the tethered satellite concept which has now become a joint Italy/NASA programme. In order to commemorate Professor Colombo’s valuable contribution to space science, space flights and space navigation, ESA has created a “Giuseppe Colombo Fellowship” to be awarded to a European scientist or engineer of a very high level in an area relating to space mechanics, basic and applied sciences. The fellowship will be awarded, following a competitive selection process, for a tenure of one year in either a European or an American Institute, preferably one where Professor Colombo himself worked.
2.17. COLUMBUS-A
STEP FORWARD’=
Amongst the many ambitious decisions taken by the ESA Member State Ministers at the Council meeting in January 1985, perhaps one of the most exciting was their acceptance of the offer by the President of the United States to participate in the American Space Station programme on the understanding that Europe was given responsibility for the design, development, exploitation and evolution of one or several important elements of the Station. A new milestone has now been reached in the Columbus Preparatory Programme under which Space Station studies are being carried out. Following negotiations between ESA and NASA, a plan of activities to be undertaken on both sides of the Atlantic over the next two years has been drawn up. During this period each partner will carry out, in parallel, detailed definition studies (phase B studies) on a number of Space Station elements. According to present planning, NASA intends to develop a permanently manned Space Station consisting of several pressurized modules and unpressurized areas. Potential elements of ESA’s contribution could consist of a pressurized module that could be used as a manned laboratory, of free-flying payload carriers for both low inclination and polar orbits which will be used for experimental purposes, of a servicing vehicle and a resources module ‘“‘ESA “Information Note for the Press” of 17 April 1985. ““ESA News Release No. 7 of 26 April 1985.
65
which could provide both the pressurized module and the platforms with electric power, and cooling and stabilizing systems. In addition, ESAmanaged studies will also cover such aspects as ground facilities for mission preparation and support, and a data transmission system. The ESA Council, at its meeting on 24/25 April 1985, unanimously authorized the Director General to sign with NASA the Memorandum of Understanding which lays down the terms and conditions under which the cooperative effort will be carried out. The cost of the Phase B studies carried out by European industry under ESA management, together with the corresponding technology programme amounts to 80 MAU(“) (mid-1983 price levels, 1984 exchange rates).
2.18. AN INTERESTING EXAMPLE OF INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION ‘241
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today announced that the United States has agreed to lend ESA one of its standby geostationary weather satellites (GOES-4) as a temporary substitute for ESA’s Meteosat-1 spacecraft. Launched in 1977, Meteosat-1, which has long outlived its originally planned three-year lifetime, has now run out of station-keeping fuel and is expected to drift out of view of ESA’s ground station network in July this year. GOES-4, which has been located at 140” West longitude over the Pacific Ocean, will be moved westwards by 4” a day to bring it to its new position at 10” West longitude above the Atlantic Ocean by mid-June. Since ESA ground equipment is not compatible with the GOES-4 command system, NOAA will operate the satelhte for ESA from its satellite guidance facilities at Suitiand, Maryland, and Wallops Station, Virginia. Data from the spacecraft will be received at ESA’s Meteosat Ground Facilities at ESOC in Darmstadt. The loan of the GOES-4 spacecraft is an example of international cooperation which, while not yet commonplace, will help in laying the groundwork for a future exchange of satellites and data among the spacefaring nations of the world. On similar lines, in 1984, Meteosat-2 provided US weather watchers with data, including information on the Eastern Atlantic hurricane breeding grounds, when NOAA’s Atlantic-area GOES-East satellite lost its imaging capability. ESAls Meteosat Pmgramme
As well as meeting the needs of the European meteorological services, the Meteosat System forms part of a network of five geostationary meteorological ~23’MAU=Million “%SA
66
Accounting
Units. 1 Accounting
News Release No. 8 of 7 May 1085.
Unit=$O.B
(1985
exchange rates).