Orbit issue 82 (June 2009) by kiwi36

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Editorial

ISSN 0953 1599 THE JOURNAL OF THE ASTRO SPACE STAMP SOCIETY Issue No 82 June 2009

Returning to the Moon ?

As we go to print, the future of the American space programme is once again in the news with discussions between President Obama and NASA’s likely new administrator, former astronaut General Charles Bolden regarding finances and direction. Perhaps the Shuttle will not be retired, after all.

Patron:

Cosmonaut Georgi Grechko, Hero of the Soviet Union

COMMITTEE Chair :

Margaret Morris, 55 Canniesburn Drive, Bearsden, Glasgow GS1 1RX (E-mail: MMorris671@aol.com)

We also note with pleasure and just a soupçon of irony last month of the appointment of the first British ESA astronaut, Timothy Peak. Let us hope the U.K. can find the money in these difficult times to make his dream come true sometime in the next few years.

Hon. Secretary: Brian J.Lockyer, 21, Exford Close,Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset BS23 4RE (E-mail : brian.lockyer@tesco.net)

Compiler of Checklist / Hon Treasurer / Postal Packet Organiser Harvey Duncan,16, Begg Avenue, Falkirk, Scotland FK1 5DL (E-mail: duncan1975@btinternet.com)

Orbit : Editor

Jeff Dugdale, Glebe Cottage, Speymouth, Mosstodloch, Moray. Scotland IV32 7LE (E-mail: jefforbited@aol.com)

Webmaster

Derek Clarke, 36 Cherryfield Road, Walkington, Dublin 12 (E-mail: dclarke@utvinternet.com)

Postal Auction Organiser:

David Saunders, 42 Burnet Road, Bradwell, Great Yarmouth. NR31 8SL.

Overseas Representatives:

Australia: Charles Bromser, 37 Bridport Street, Melbourne 3205. Germany:Jurgen P. Esders, An der Apostelkirche 10, 10783 Berlin Eire:Derek Clarke, 36 Cherryfield Rd, Walkinstown. Dublin 12. France: Jean-Louis Lafon, 23 Rue de Mercantour, 78310 Maurepas Netherlands: Bart Beimers, NJ Haismasrt 7, 9061 BV Gierkerk Russia: Mikhail Vorobyov, 31-12 Krupskaya Str, Kostroma United States: Dr Ben Ramkissoon, 3011 White Oak Lane, Oak Brook, Il 60521 USA

Life Members: UK - Harvey Duncan, George Spiteri, Ian Ridpath, Margaret Morris, Michael Packham, Dr W.R. Withey, Paul Uppington, Jillian Wood. Derek Clarke (Eire,) Charles Bromser (Australia.) Tom Baughn (U.S.A.,) Ross Smith (Australia,) Vincent Leung Wing Sing (Hong Kong.) Mohammed K.Safdar (Saudi Arabia)

Whatever, we must certainly applaud the amazing job done by the crew of the last shuttle (STS-125) in servicing and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope so giving it an extended lifespan of a further ten years or so. By any accounts the work of Scott Altman and his crew has been utterly astonishing and a credit to human endeavour. We celebrate in this issue in as an original way as possible the achievements of three men and a huge back-up crew in 1969, something which now seems to be just a footnote in history. How old do you have to be for this event to have any real meaning to you rather than just being a source of answers to quiz questions ? This will probably be the case until someone else gets to the Moon and the chances are they will not be speaking English as their first language For all these space missions—we must just wait and see.

ASSS website at URL:

www.asss.utvinternet.com/ ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES Members in UK—£15 in Europe (EU and non-EU) - €30 Elsewhere - $45 equivalent Juniors (under 18) £6.50 ADVERTISING RATES We invite advertisers to use ORBIT to reach Astro -Philatelic enthusiasts worldwide. If readers have a commercial source they think they would like others to benefit from please let the firm know of us:. Rates are: Full page Display - £24 Half Page - £12 Quarter Page £6 One eighth of a page - £4. Camera ready copy required with remittance by the above stated copy deadline for inclusion in our next edition.

Copy Deadline for the October 2009 issue is September 14th by which time all material intended for publication should be with the Editor.

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FROM ATOM TO NUCLEAR POWERED SPACECRAFT PART 4: NUCLEAR ENERGY Conclusion by John Beenen

Nuclear reactors after 1960 The third nuclear reactor in the United States and the first large scale commercial PWR of 250 MW was constructed in 1960 by Westinghouse in Yankee Rowe, New England and stayed in service until 1992 when it was detected that the pressure vessel was severely corroded reducing the safety margins to undesirable levels and that also steam generators showed severe stress corrosion cracking and needed replacement. Complete dismantlement was only completed in 2005. The site, however, will continue as a high level storage facility as all fuel remains will stay on the site. In the meantime a BWR was built in Argonne National Laboratory and this one, the ‘Dresden-1’ also of MW level and designed by General Electric also went into service in 1960. The Canadians went in another direction with their Candu-design which was constructed in 1962. All these developments lead to a total of 103 reactors in the United States today supplying about 20% of the energy demand. By 1984 nuclear energy achieved second place in energy producing systems, after coal but before hydroelectric power and natural gas. France started with a gas-graphite design based upon the Magnox process operational in 1956. Based upon the PWR design during the following decades they constructed a series of very successful power plants. At this moment in France 59 nuclear reactors are in operation supplying 75% of France’s energy demand. Relatively speaking with this amount France is still not the largest user of nuclear energy : that is Lithuania with 80% of its demand. The use of nuclear energy is not always accepted positively by the general public; In the area of Tricastin south of Lyon for instance four nuclear reactors have been constructed within a relatively small area. The wine originating from this area ‘Côte du Tricastin’ today bears the name ‘Côte Nucleaire’ as it is popularly called. In 1956 also in England the first nuclear reactor was at Calder Hall, a 50 MW Magnox-type. This reactor supplied energy until 2003. Calder Hall has the same location as the Windscale (later aka Sellafield) reactors. At this moment in Britain some 19 reactors are active supplying 20% of the energy demand. It is expected that most of these reactors will be outdated in 2023.

426. Nuclear Power Plant Rio III, Cordoba, Argentina 1982, Y1310 427. Nuclear Power Plant Trombay, India 1965 428. Nuclear Power Plant Douglas Point, Canada 1966, Y373 (428. Nuclear Power Plant, Atommasch, USSR 1981, M5041) In 1964 two Soviet power plants came into service, one of 100 MW RBMK in Beloyarsk in the Urals and one in Novovoronezh in the southwest of Russia close to the Ukrainian border. A larger RBMK was built in 1973 in the neighbourhood of Petersburg. At the moment 31 reactors are in operation and three under construction. There are plans for some replacements and many more to be built. In summary, at the present there are 435 reactors in 31 countries (a figure which can vary somewhat due to the sources you consutl) in service supplying altogether about 17% of the energy demand. All these reactors together need 66.529 tons of uranium. 28 reactors are already under construction and plans have been made for another 64. Proposals have been introduced for a further 158. (429. Nuclear Power Plant Qinshan, China 1990, Y3003) But most of the 31 countries possess only one or two power plants. Apart from France (59), the United States (103) and Japan (55), which are top of the bill, some other countries are also pointed to nuclear power. So, India possesses 16, and Canada 24 of which recently 6 have been suspended. South Korea has 20 power plants, Germany 3

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17, Ukraine 15, Sweden 10, Spain 8 and Belgium 7.

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At the moment especially the Peoples Republic of China follows an ambitious plan for the construction of 30 nuclear power plants to supply their expected need of energy above their 10 active reactors, giving a fivefold increase in nuclear capacity. Some countries also possess power plants explicitly constructed for research and development. However in some countries even for this application the amount is considerable such as: UK: 23, USA: 53, Japan:16, and Canada:18.

Literature (References for all parts of this series) De Volkskrant, 25 February 2006, Michael Persson, The eternal reverse side of the nucleus (Dutch) http://en.wikipedia.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactor Nuclear Reactor http://hep.uchicago.edu/cpl.html The First Pile http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/ Fermi I, breeder reactor a.o. http://nova.nur.umr.edu/ The History of Nuclear Energy www.aboutnuclear.org/ A brief History of Space Nuclear Power … www.anlw.anl.gov/anlw_history/general_history/gen_hist.html Nuclear History www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/ NERVA www.fusie-energie.nl/nieuws/ ITER www.iter.org/ Short history ITER www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/ Cold Fusion for Dummies, E.Storms www.nrg-nl.com/public/hfr/22,html Radiation Normes www.pppl.gov/projects/ Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor www.thebulletin.org/ Atoms for Peace www.thinkquest.org/3471/nuclear_energy.htm Nuclear energy www.uic.com.au/ Uranium information center www.uic.com.au/nip50.htm Outline History of Nuclear Energy www-fusion.ciemat.es/fusion/ Cold Fusion, a Review (Dutch), N.J.Lopes Cardozo, B.P.van Milligen, Intermediair 26(1990);4:47 www-personal.umich.edu/~jmoilane/nuclear/Accidents.html Nuclear Power Plant Accidents

Some Bits and Pieces New Logo for ASSS

Our Romanian member Alec Bartos who has been responsible for the design of several recent sets of stamps for the Romanian postal authorities has very kindly designed a new black and red logo for our Society, with which the Committee members are delighted. Red “SSS” flames power the black “A” rocket and in the full name of the Society around the initial letters are in red. Thanks very much to Alec for this beautiful design. Alec, of course, has also designed our current Apollo XI air mail etiquette. Incidentally Alec has just become a father for the first time and he is so proud of his son that he has made him a member of the Society, by far our youngest yet !! Amza-Stefan was born on 24th March : see below left

Society’s Youngest Member Ever !! Amza-Stefan Bartos (b 24.3.09) with his first collection.

Recovery and Tracking Ship Cover Site

Australian member Dr Ross J. Smith writes to inform us of a change of location of his popular website…… My Recovery and Tracking Ship Cover site ran out of room so I've moved it to a larger and hopefully permanent site. It is now at http:// recovery_ships.rossjsmith.com/ . This site will allow me to eventually add much more content to the site. Presently, I've added the main cachets and some covers from the Mercury program and I've also added Tracking Ship Covers to all the missions. The old site will still forward viewers to my new site, at least for a while.

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IYA 2009 — International Year of Astronomy In a feature originally aimed* at Scottish postcard collectors to encourage them to think about Astronomy as a theme, our Chair Margaret Morris traces the history and scope of one aspect of our hobby. 2009 has been designated by UNESCO as International Year of Astronomy. Perhaps you have never thought of Astronomy as a postcard collecting theme, but it has a lot to commend it. I never cease to be amazed at the number of cards that exist for this subject – and from nearly all categories such as street scenes, glamour, photographic, humour, Cynicus, etc., etc. As with any large subject, it really needs to be subdivided to get it into some kind of manageable order. Over some sixty-five years of collecting this theme I have worked out three main sections which seem to be logical and I title these: 1. The Observables (the various sky objects which have always existed for mankind to see), 2. The Observers (the people who, from all epochs, have searched the skies and tried to make sense of what they saw) and 3. The Observations (the instruments and equipment used by the observers). 1. The Observables This section includes a great variety of objects and phenomena. The closest sky object is our beautiful Moon and there are many types of cards which can be included. Starting with humorous ones of courting couples with all sorts of captions, you

can work your way right up to telescopic views of the Moon in various phases with particularly fine detail being shown at, for example, first quarter. A very interesting class of postcards showing the Moon consists of hold-to-light cards and I have a number of street scenes in various cities with Moons in the sky. One of these days, when I have a little more time, I would like to sit down with a town plan of the various places and just work out whether it would have been physically possible to see the Moon in the particular position shown. For your own amusement, you can try this out with the Glasgow card showing George Square! W. Hagelberg card, undivided back. Postally used 1902 August 27.

Before leaving the vicinity of our home planet, we should take a look at some phenomena visible from Earth. One class might be termed atmospheric and here I would include the beautiful Aurorae (borealis and australis). Also within the atmosphere are the tracks of Meteors (or shooting stars) which have burned up in the atmosphere. The other class can be termed phenomena of motion and these would include Eclipses and Transits. Quite a few cards depict a total solar eclipse which is one of nature’s grand spectaculars. Unused card. © 1993 Visual Vacations, Ink. “made on Mars”.

Left: Joseph Asher card of courting couple and smiling moon. Postally used 1914 August 3.

Going a little further out, it is possible to find postcards of all the Planets of the Solar System. Some of these have been produced from the gorgeous images sent back by various spacecraft and provide a record of our increasing knowledge of our near neighbours in space. There is even a set of cartoon cards produced by an American company – Visual Vacations, Ink (yes, “Ink”). The example shown here includes the whole Solar

Right: Photographic card published by the Astronomical Society of Belgium. This shows the Mare Nectaris as the flat-looking circular feature at top, measuring some 300 km in diameter. Just below and to * Reprinted from the Newsletter of the Strathclyde Postcard Club by the right is a prominent crater named Theophilus which is about 100 kind permission of the Commissioning Editor, Kenneth E. Norris. km in diameter. There is no date of posting, but the card is an undivided back type. 5

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System while other cards in the set home in on individual Planets. Still within the Solar System one attractive part of this section consists of Comets – and of course especially Halley’s Comet. Most of you will remember its last predicted visit in 1986 and everyone was well prepared for it and knew what was involved. However during the 1910 visit there was consternation when it was discovered that Earth would pass through the tail and enterprising people were selling Comet Pills which would supposedly ward off any ill effects. Comic postcards exist and a typical French example is shown with people trying to escape into space.

Unfortunately there are not many individual astronomers depicted on cards. This is in marked contrast to the philatelic side of my collecting activities where numerous astronomers have appeared on stamp designs.

I would like to show you one “worthy” – Henry Andrews (1743-1820). He was born of poor parents but at the age of ten he had the opportunity of using a telescope and quickly developed a natural gift for astronomical calculation. Employed in very humble jobs of various kinds, he managed to calculate when to see the total solar eclipse of 1764 April 1 and was able to demonstrate this to a distinguished company which gained him much card. Postally used 1905 favour. He later became for October 16 London over 40 years one of the Stereoscopic Company calculators for the Nautical Publisher unknown. Perhaps the name or logo has been covered by the Almanac and was also consulted on entries in Moore’s stamp. Divided back with message which translates as “Last greetings Almanac. He made it to the Dictionary of National before death”. Biography.

Much further out, there are a number of cards with beautiful images of Constellations and Galaxies. Many of them are photographic. Indeed, some recent sets issued by or available from large observatories or similar establishments, show images produced in various wavelengths which demonstrate striking differences to the photographic images. 2. The Observers If you wish to go back to earliest times, then it is possible to include some of the many postcards of such sites as Stonehenge, Callanish and so on. Even individual Valentine & Sons Real Photograp h card ref. 218644. Unused.

standing stones may have acted as markers for various astronomical events which had been noted over centuries of patient observation. Egyptian cards showing the temple at Abu Simbel where the Sun penetrates on only one day of the year demonstrate that early civilisations tracked its apparent motion in the sky. The same applies for cards showing New Grange in Ireland 6 and other sites.

The second astronomer is represented by his monument and this might come as a surprise. The austere granite monolith was unveiled 1934 September 10 by Princess Arthur of Connaught and dedicated by Sir James Jeans in Inverey near Braemar to commemorate John Lamont (1805-1879) who later achieved fame as Johann von Lamont, Astronomer Royal of Bavaria. Born in Unused card, divided back. Corriemulzie, his Inscribed “J. J. Bisset, Photographers, Ballater”. extraordinary story is that when he was only 12 his father (a forester) died and he was sent to be educated at the Scottish Benedictine monastery in Regensburg in Germany. He took his doctorate in mathematics and physics in 1830, was appointed director of an observatory near Munich in 1835 and professor of astronomy in 1852. He devised new instruments for astronomy, meteorology and terrestrial magnetism and it was in this last field that he perhaps became most famous. He was made a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Court and was thereafter known as Johann von Lamont. He received many other honours from the various foreign

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Academies of Science. There is a statue in Munich and a crater on the Moon is named in his honour.

stable, therefore permanent, mounting is required as well as a proper shelter which can still permit the telescope to be turned easily to various sectors of the sky. It is now that the choice of site becomes important.

3. The Observations Astronomy may be said to be the oldest of all the sciences and yet uses instruments and techniques that are at the cutting edge of technology. For this reason, the range of instruments is extremely broad – from just a simple stick in the ground for measuring the Sun’s shadow and gaining an appreciation of the passage of time, right up to the giant telescopes of today which study radiation from the sky in all wavelengths with the aid of powerful computing equipment.

At first astronomers used towers or the roofs of buildings and this tradition developed (especially through the 19th century) into the present fashion for mountain-top astronomy. It is desirable that expensive instruments should be sited as far above the adverse effects of Earth’s atmosphere as possible. The great difficulties of construction and subsequent supply are compensated by the quality of what is called “seeing”.

Some of the e a r l y instruments are objects of g r e a t craftsmanship as may be seen from the card showing an Astrolabe. These were Unused card published by the Adler Planetarium and Astronomical Museum, Chicago. Front and produced in back of a “Moorish” Astrolabe of the 16th century what one might call the Islamic period of Astronomy. Following the flowering of Greek philosophy (science), it was the Islamic astronomers who kept the lamp of learning alive during the Dark Ages. Astrolabes in various forms continued in use and were augmented by other tools – also used by navigators and surveyors – such as the back-staff and Jacob’s staff. Examples of all these can be found on postcards as well as beautiful Armillary Spheres (skeleton models of the universe).

Some of the earliest observatories on mountain-tops were the Pic du Midi in the Pyrenees, the Lick Observatory in California and of course the famous Palomar Mountain Observatory also in California. A large number of cards exist for Mount Palomar Observatory and the famous 200-inch Hale Telescope. More recently there have been two other favoured locations. One of these is in Chile and several major facilities have located here including the European Southern Observatory (or ESO in the fashion for initials). The other is on Hawaii where the most expensive collection of facilities is clustered round the rim of what they hope is an extinct volcano on Mauna Kea. This includes such elements as The United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT) and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). Many of these exciting structures have appeared on postcards. It becomes a bit difficult to divide the cards between Observatories as such and the Telescopes which they house – especially when a dome has been custom-built for a particular telescope. I would like to cite one example – the Yerkes Observatory and its 40inch Refracting Telescope. The earliest telescopes were refractors (using two lenses) and the first reflector (using a mirror to gather the light) was invented and made by Isaac Newton. Over several centuries it was found that there was a limit to the size of the refracting type (mainly due to problems of grinding a large glass lens and engineering problems with a long metal tube) and the largest telescopes are

Telescopes of various kinds appear on postcards and of course it should not be forgotten that 2009 is the 400 th anniversary of the first telescopic observations. Invention of the telescope is obscure but it is known that a Dutch spectacle-maker, Hans Lippershey, produced a spy-glass c. 1609 and shortly afterwards James Harriot in England and Galileo Galilei in Italy began looking at sky objects. Some of the cards are photographic and from around 1910-1930 include such scenes as cutely-posed small dogs perched on a stool supposedly looking through a telescope and proud amateur astronomers standing beside their treasured instruments in the back garden. The card I have chosen to illustrate Telescopes is a “Gruss Aus” card from Leipzig (opposite) demonstrating what one might call a commercial enterprise. Here we see two handsome brass refractors set up at a street corner and advertising a day-time peep at Venus for 10 pfennig. Similar London scenes can be found on cards. At a certain stage a telescope is no longer really portable or easily moved from one site to another. More

Undivided back. Postally used Leipzig 18 99 March 19.

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nowadays of the reflecting type (but with amazing innovations such as segmented mirrors, adaptive optics and so forth). When funds were sought for the building of a very large refractor, the sponsor was Charles Tyson Yerkes (pronounced “Yur-kees”) who had made his money in streetcars. This handsome instrument installed in 1897 with objective measuring 40 inches in diameter is still the largest refractor in the world and still in use. The statistics speak for themselves. The tube is 63 feet long and weighs six tons. The card (see opposite) showing the telescope cannot fully take it in but I chose this card specially to show the rows of people sitting round the edge as this gives a good impression of scale. The revolving dome is 90 feet in diameter. The floor may be elevated through 23 feet up to the balcony. It is seen here in fully raised position which conceals the massive pier supporting the telescope.

V. O. Hammon Publishing Co., Minneapolis & Chicago. Postally used 1910 September 4. C. R. Childs Co., Chicago. Postally used 1950 August 15.

The final card shows the buildings of Yerkes Observatory and the surprisingly graceful large dome for the 40-inch telescope is contrasted with the more modest housings of the other instruments on this site. Another specialised type of telescope is the Radio Telescope which does not require the shelter of an observatory dome. From the early pre-war beginnings of this branch of Astronomy, construction of the great 250foot diameter dish aerial at Jodrell Bank was completed just in time for it to pick up the signals from Sputnik I. Since then, individual larger radio telescopes have been constructed as well as huge arrays of dishes. This type of telescope also can be found on cards. This has been the merest overview of a vast subject but I hope you found it interesting and at least you now know you are in International Year of Astronomy.

(Incidentally for anyone who has been racking their brains for a Cynicus card related to Astronomy, I was thinking of the drawing of a large, drunk female being stretchered off by two policemen and captioned “ The Transit of Venus” !!

A fainter “Echo” than expected

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Auction Price Disappoints

Some Bits and Pieces

No one knows for sure if the world financial crisis was the cause, but the fact is that the scarce US lot "Essays of the first US stamp issued in 1960 for Echo 1", offered in the December Auction In Beverley Hills, California, did not realize a high price.

Typos US Member John Macco enjoyed our last edition but points out some typos in the Shuttle series. On page 22 of #81 the launch date of STS 105 should have been given as 10.8.2001 with the landing on 22nd of August. On page 23 the launch date for STS 108 should have been given as 5.12.2001 with the landing on 17th December. These errors occurred because your Ed was using the shell of the previous edition to create the new one and did not change the dates properly. Apologies— must try harder. 8

In Orbit No. 80 of last January this item was announced under the title "Scare US Item on the Market" in Asteroids page 34.The famous lot had a estimated price of $7500 -$10.000 'The lot sold for $6000 plus 17% buyer's premium of $7020.00", wrote Alan Lipkin, Senior Vice President of Recency-Superior, Ltd. to Dutch ASSS member Bert van Eijck

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Collecting U.S. Space Covers

working day is valid. - 3.3.3 Postmarks for launches should be shown only from the post office nearest to the site of the launch. - 3.3.4 Postmarks of the launching sites and different rocket test sites in the USA are valid. From 1965 - 1975 an official NASA cachet was applied to some covers and cards at the post office in Kennedy Space Centre (KSC). - 3.3.5 Envelopes and cards recording splashdowns (landings) should have the postmark of the post office on board of the main recovery ship with the date of recovery of the astronauts and/or space capsule. If not available on the ship, the postmark of the port of landing or of the nearest supply base after arrival of the ship is valid. Mail from ships. helicopters and/or airplanes participating in the recovery shall be postmarked with a date during the mission. Additional official cachets, referring to the mission, are also applied on recovery ships covers. Space Shuttle landings shall be recorded by the postmark of the post office nearest to the landing site. - 3.3.6 For the different missions (after the takeoff), within the scope of the US space programmes, the postmarks of the corresponding mission control centre responsible for the supervision are valid for manned programmes, for earth orbiting satellites, and for lunar and space probes. Postmarks from tracking stations and ships participating in the mission may be shown as a supplement. Envelopes and cards with the official cachet are of primary interest. - 3.4 e) Manned Space Programmes Manned spaceflights of the USA, the USSR/ Russia and multinational flights as well as the missions performed by the astronauts/ cosmonauts form the basis of this study. The space events of the countries may be shown in a chronological order either alternatively, or of each country separately. The related precursors e.g. scientific and medical manned stratosphere balloons and rocket plane flights; rocket experiments with animals, capsule recovery, tests of survival equipments; test flights of satellites and rocket carriers; etc. as well as of space probes exploring the Moon may be included.@{FIP}

Introduction Collecting space covers in the United States (U.S.) involves knowledge in many different areas. This document identifies 13 areas and provides the introductory information you need for collecting space covers. The 13 areas are keyed to the following sections: 2) Definition of space covers. 3) Postal organizations. 4) Stamps and postage. 5) Cancellations. 6) Major event sites and organizations. 7) Cachets. 8) Envelopes and postcards. 9) Philatelic organizations. 10) How covers are made. 11) Short history of space cover types. 12) Sources for space covers and major suppliers. 13) Making your own space cover. 14) Sources for information. Space cover production started with the launch of U.S. satellites in 1958 and continues today. The production may have reached its peak in the late 60's are early 70's with the APOLLO program. Today, space cover collection has decreased in popularity, now that spaceflight has become common place. The current focus is on manned STS and unmanned launches, anniversaries, and autograph covers (especially astronaut autographs). With the decline in popularity, there has also been a decline in the number of space covers manufactured. The number of U.S. launches peaked in 1966 at 73 and decreased to about 20 in 2001 with manned launches accounting for less than one quarter of the launches. The number of manned launches has fluctuated considerably in the last 50 years. Today the total number of launches is about what it was in 1958 (17 in 2007 vs. 17 then). Today, many more people have traveled into space annually on the STS in 2002, (at total of 34) than in GEMINI in 1966 (10). The causes are numerous and include reduced government funding, larger space launch vehicles, lighter weight satellite materials, larger and more complex satellites performing multiple missions, longer satellite life, multiple satellite launches, and stiffer foreign competition. What has increased is the number of private sector-funded launches, especially in the area of communications and Earth observation satellites.

Definition of space covers The American Philatelic Society (APS) defines Astrophilatelic material as "... philatelic material relating to space exploration"{APS Judging} The F.I.P., in their section on Guidelines for Judging Astrophilatelic Exhibits provides an international perspective and states: AUSA Space Programmes - 3.3.1 Envelopes and cards recording takeoffs (launches), landings or other space activities shall be postmarked with the exact date on which they took place. ď&#x201A;ˇ 3.3.2 Where the post office was closed at the time when launches, landings or other space activities took place, the postmark of the next

by Bruce Cranford Part One

Space covers, for the Astrophilatelic materials, Appendix, Space Covers. U.S. refers to the first day

purpose of this document, are ad defined by the APS and the The term First Day Cover in the of issuance of a new stamp.

Many examples of U.S. Space Covers are shown in my Space Covers Dictionary and Identifier, 2006, and will not be repeated here.

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Postal Organizations The United States Postal Service (USPS) (http:// www.usps.gov/) regulates postal operations, operates most post offices, and operates the mail service throughout the U.S. Some post offices are operated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) or other government and private organizations, but all are regulated by the USPS. The USPS is the only organization that issues postal stamps and cancels mail. However, private organizations, authorized by the USPS, operate meter postage and computer postage. Postage stamps, postal stationery, meter or computer postage must be on a cover (e.g., envelopes, post card) in order for the cover to receive postal markings. Postal markings are only applied to the cover as the cover travels through the U.S. postal system. The USPS issues space theme stamps as well as space theme postal stationery envelopes. Stamps and postal stationery are available from the local post office, USPS Stamp Fulfillment Service, and philatelic stores. The proper amount of postage must be on the cover in order for it to go through the postal service and receive a post mark. Excess postage is acceptable. The USPS offers many types of postal services, depending on the size, weight, content, speed and security the postal customer wish to utilize. The most common service is first class and cost (as of 2004) $0.37 per ounce (28 grams) and $0.23 for each additional ounce (28 grams). Before the first satellite was launched in 1957, the USPS was known as the United States Post Office (USPO). The name was changed on 1971/ 01/07, and became the United States Postal Service (USPS). Other organizations that deliver materials from many space event locations include FEDEX, UPS, DHL. However, collecting mailing containers (envelopes, boxes), from these organizations is not very popular in the U.S.

Stamps and postage The USPS recognizes several types of postage; stamps, meter, computers (E-stamps, Netstamps), personal postage. Stamps issued by the USPS, both regular issue and commemorative, must be for the proper amount, depending on the type of service and weight. (Note, the USPS offers several types of service which are explained on the USPS web site, at a local post office, or by writing the USPS. See section 14.) Many collectors try to use a stamp or stamps with a space theme. The USPS has issued more than 80 space theme stamps and 4 space theme envelopes (Figure 387, Official USPS Space Theme Envelope) since 1957, all of which can be used, provide they total face value is at least the proper value necessary for postage. (Note, the face value of the stamp is the value in U.S. dollars, printed on the stamp). The USPS will accept postage in excess of the minimum required. The most common type of space cover has stamps placed on the envelope, which is usually less than 1 ounce, for first class postage. Multiple stamps can be used as long as the total face value is sufficient to mail the envelope. If the envelope is to be sent to another country, it must have sufficient postage for international mail. The first class domestic postage rate has changed over the years, starting at $0.03 per ounce in 1957 to $0.44 in 2009. Postal stationery with the postage stamp impressed or printed on it is considered official USPS or US Government envelopes, since

the USPS and the U.S. Government are the only organizations that can print and sell it. Other organizations may purchase and resell USPS postal stationery.{Miller1} The USPS and licensed private companies can use meter postage, which identifies the amount of postage on the envelope. This is less popular among collectors since the meter postage generally does not have a theme. Computer postage and personal postage may be used, but both are currently in an experimental phase of development. Computer postage is also known as E stamps (Electronic), PC (personal computer) postage and Net (Internet) Stamps. T h e program within the USPS the authorized computer stamps or computer postage is the Information Based Indicia Program (IBIP). On 1999/98/09, the USPS authorized computer postage nationwide. Several companies provide computer postage. The franking imprint part of the postage, contains information or date, that is encrypted to make each imprint unique that cannot be duplicated.{Kelsey1}. The postage can be printed from a PC.

Cancellations or Postmarks. The USPS uses several types of cancellations, including; machine (Figure 24), hand (Figure 21), pictorial (Figure 67), and space theme (Figure 67), or a combination of these. The USPS started using Inkjet cancelers in 2003, and will start removing the die-hub cancelling machines in 2004.{Blanks1}{McAllister1} Cancellations contain the location of the facility where cancelled, and the date of the cancellation, and usually the ZIP Code (Figure 35). The USPS is beginning to use color postmarks, but only on a limited number of official FDC and inaugural covers the USPS sells. All other postmarks are typically black. {McAllister2} It is illegal for a post office to change the date or location of the cancellation. Unfortunately, some individuals and organizations have backdated or changed the locality of cancellations on space covers, creating counterfeit, fraudulent, bogus, or suspect covers. Examples of the fraudulent covers include some Orbit Covers, and some by Riser. Most manufacturers of space covers are reputable. {Bulver Suspect}

The date format used in the U.S. is typically Month, Day, Year (Figure 20). Other format used in the US included day, month, year (Figure 25), and month, day, time (AM or PM) and year. The month may be Hindu-Arabic numbers, or roman numbers or letters, abbreviations or entire words. As an example the month of February could be February, Feb. 2, or II. Postmarks are often used on space covers traveling through the USPS mail system. The USPS also use 30 different types of bar codes on mail (Figure 97).{Allister2}

Major event sites and organizations The cancellation sites for launch, tracking and recovery events are primarily government facilities, with a post office on site or nearby and have their own designated address and postal code, in the U.S., it is known as the ZIP Code. The major U.S. space events include: a) research and test, b) development c) manufacturing of launch vehicles and spacecraft d) assembly of launch vehicles and spacecraft payloads, e) launch,

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Figure 24, 23337 Zip Code, cancellation, machine.

Figure 21, 20771 ZIP code, cancellation, hand.

Figure 20, 20770, Zip Code, cancellation, hand. Figure 67, 77058 Zip code, cancellation, hand, space theme.

Figure 25, 236 Zip Code, cancellation, machine.

Figure 103, Jon Cartier Cover

Figure 35, 32782, Astronaut Trail Station, Titusville, FL, Cancellation, 32782, Hand

Figure 97, Bar Code

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f) monitoring, tracking, communications, g) activities in space, h) recovery.

mission

control,

and

The names and locations of many of these sites have changed over the last 50 years, making collecting older space covers, challenging. In general, the greater interest in manned space events results in a larger number of space covers for manned events than for unmanned events. As an example, almost every event for the development, test, assembly, and flight of the STS is recorded by space covers. This is seldom done for unmanned satellites/spacecraft. One of the major challengers to the space cover collector is the identification of a space event, who, what, when, where, how, and why. The first step is to decide what interest you, the second is to identify the source of the space event information, and third is to gather and digest the information. Several sources are available for identifying past, present, and future space events: Space Unit, National Aeronautics and Astronautics Administration (NASA), DOD, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), contractors, periodicals, and web sites. Contact the organization by phone, through letters, web sites, subscriptions to periodicals. See section 14, sources of information and references. No single method may be sufficient to gather all the information on space events.

Research and Tests

Research and tests are performed at different sites throughout the U.S. Most of the sites are federal government owned (e.g., Edwards Air Force Base, California; White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; numerous NASA centers, Army, Navy, and Air Force centers). However, many privately owned company and corporations (also known as contractors) use their own test sites. Activities may include drop tests, flight tests, engine tests, static firing, or any number of equipment tests. Spacecraft recovery is typically limited to manned space vehicles and early spy satellites. From Mercury through the Apollo missions, the recovery sites were the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The U.S. Navy deployed ships at the recovery site to retrieve the astronauts and their capsule. This changed when the Space Transportation System (STS) was developed. The STS Space Shuttles were designed for conventional aircraft landing. The two major sites are Edwards Air Force Base, California, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Early spy satellites required the recovery photographic film in the air over the ocean to prevent damaged to land based structures and humans, and to prevent the film from falling into the wrong hands if the Air Force missed the recovery capsule. Newer communications technology has eliminated the need to recover spy satellite film capsules. NASA has several new programs that will return material from space and will require recovering of the returning payload. Nearly all earth orbiting satellites, and those less fortunate that never made it into orbit, will eventually renter the atmosphere. Depending on the size and materials, some will burn up, and some may make it to the ground (e.g., SKYLAB).

Development

Development activities are similar to Research and Test, and are often performed at the same sites by the same organizations.

Manufacturing of launch vehicles and spacecraft

The vast majority of launch vehicles and spacecraft are manufactured by private companies, corporations, and research organizations. Very little is actually built by the federal government. However, the federal government funds most of the research, hardware, and manned flights. Exceptions are the nonmilitary communications equipment and satellites, which are funded and operated by private companies and corporations. The launch vehicles and spacecraft manufacturing were initially limited to a few large defense companies that contracted with the federal government (e.g., Aerojet, Boeing, Chrysler, Comsat, Ford, GE, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Motorola, Northrop, RCA, Rocketdyne, Rockwell, TRW, United Technologies). Today, many of these companies no longer exist, due to mergers, and/or sales of their space technology divisions. Some are no longer in business. New manufacturing companies include GenCorp, Globalstar, and Orbital Science Corporation. Today, the major launch vehicle manufacturers are Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Orbital Science Corp. They are also the major satellite/spacecraft manufacturers. Activities may include completion of the manufacturing of a launch vehicle or spacecraft, special tests, or transfer to the launch site facilities.

Assembly of the Launch spacecraft payloads

vehicle

with

the

Since the 1950's, the assembly of the launch vehicle with the spacecraft, have been accomplished at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Kennedy Space Center in Florida (both part of the Eastern Test Range at Cape Canaveral, Florida); Vandenberg Air Force Base in California (part of the Western Test Range); Wallops Island in Virginia. Added in 2001, was Kodiak Alaska. Newly built assembly facilities allow assembly of the satellites and launch vehicles at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Activities may include assembly of specific components, completion of assembly, and transfer from the assembly building to the launch pad.

Launch

Actual launches take place at the Eastern Test Range, Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center, and Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Western Test Range which includes Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Other sites include Wallops Island, Virginia; Kodiak, Alaska. Boeing is involved in satellite launches at sea (Sea Launch, location 154o W, 0o N). Orbital Science Corp. with an airplane launch capability can launch satellites from just about anywhere in the world. Activities include launches into space (space being 50-80 miles above the surface of the earth). The launch may be commemorated whether or not it was successful. Attempted launches, whether the launch vehicle left the launch pad or not, may also be documented. Occasionally an event that occurred on the launch pad, during testing, may also be documented, such as the Apollo 1 fire which killed 3 astronauts. With international cooperation, the definition of a U.S. event becomes complicated. Other countries may launch U.S. Satellites or satellites with U.S. manufactured components. Also, the foreign manufactured satellite or components, may be launched by a U.S. company, at a U.S. launch site.

To be concluded in our October edition

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A Mission Impossible By Bert van Eijck

“So close and yet so far away !” w ere my thoughts in May 2008 when I was on the Italian island of Sardinia and hoped to visit the old space rocket base near the village of Perdasdefogu in the southeast part. It is called Salto di Quirra and for years it was an inter-service missile test centre operated by the Italian Air Force. In my collection are two very nice launch covers from 1968. Both are cancelled on the launch date at the post office of Perdasdefogu. Both ‘covered’ the Sounding Rocket Campaign Skylark of ESRO (European Space Research Organization), the forerunner of today’s ESA (European Space Agency). The first 40 years old cover is dated with the hand cancel 7.10.68. It was mission ESRO S47/1 Ultraviolet Astronomy with a apogee of 200 km. The second one is machine cancelled 3.12.68, mission ESRO S27/1, again Ultraviolet Astronomy, apogee 198 km. Both covers were sent to Germany. And now about the disappointment. After visiting the French island of Corsica (famous for Napoleon Bonaparte), our tourist group went by ferry from Bonifacio to Santa Teresa di Gallura in northern Sardinia. Moby Lines crossed the 18 km water to Sardegna, as the Italians say, in one hour. Our hotel stop for three days was near the coast in Castelsardo at the Gulf dell’ Asinara. A picturesque village with a impressive castle built in the year 1102. This three day stay was the opportunity to visit the former rocket base in Perdasdefogu. I thought, but I was wrong. Men of Castelsardo bend over the Sardegna map, looked for the place in the southeast and concluded it was a six hour drive to go and six hours back, because of the very bad situation of the roads with a lot of rockiness and boulder. Yet, there was a young man who was kind enough to drive me, for …… 500 euros ! Of course it was too much, so I cancelled the trip. Later that same day I heard the former base now is a NATO base, strictly forbidden to enter, with fences and watchdogs. So, I was after all not disappointed I did not go there. San Lorenzo was the name of the launch pad of Salto di Quirra, one can read in the Encyclopedia Astronautica. The first launch was on January 12, 1961, the last one on March 18, 1992. NASA launched here Nike Asps and Nike Cajuns sounding rockets in 1961 en 1963. ESRO launched a wide range of sounding rockets (Skylarks, Centaures, Beliers, Zenits) from 1964 to 1972. Bert at the Castle of Castelsardo on Sardinia

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Philately in Fujairah By Bert van Eijck

It was a disappointment. Strolling in the National Museum of Fujairah, I could hardly find the stamps of this desert state near the Gulf of Oman. The guide had told us before entering the modest building, “There are stamps as well”. It was January of this year, winter in Europe with snow and ice-skating, but here about 5200 km away in the Middle East the sun was shining, the sky blue. One did not need a jacket—short sleeves de rigueur Finally in a small corner between the sections on Archaeology and on Ethnography in the museum (founded and inaugurated in 1991 by his High Highness Sheik Ramad Bin Mohammed AlSharqi, the Ruler of Fujairiah) I found what I was looking for. But again what a disappointment. In a glass display case there were about ten cancelled stamps without any link to Fujairiah. The stamps showed portraits of famous world leaders in the past, like Napoleon, Churchill de Gaulle and others. Paintings had been used for the production of the stamps. You can hardly call this display a National Treasure !

Bert near the Al Bidiya Mosque and watch tower in Fujairah Museum entry ticket

One can not say, “Fujairah had no stamps”. Look in the philatelic world catalogue or the French Lollini catalogues and you will see hundreds of issues with the name of this state on them, including very many space stamps. The first stamp issued in this emirate (in 1964) shows a portrait of the sheik and a camel. Two years later a series of eight stamps called Space Achievements saw light of day. Satellites from the 1960’s were shown in 1966, the first of a lot of space issues. From 1967 stamps were issued not for regular postal use and were not available to the public in reasonable quantities at face value. Mosst of these issues on space well) were designed, printed agencies abroad especially for bought the rights for issuing government for good money.

topics (but other themes as and distributed by stamp collectors. These agencies stamps from the emirate

It all ended on July 18, 1971, when Fujairah and six other sheikdoms around the Persian Gulf formed the state of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), The UAE Ministry of Communication took over the Fujairah Postal Service on August 1 1972. Further released stamps (by “Fujairah”) were without authority and had no validity, one reads in Stanley

Gibbons catalogue notes !!! Editor’s note : see related article in Orbit #72, p30 ff Above Apollo 16 issue (1972), below Apollo 14 (1971)

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Part 2 of 3 From Bert van Eijck This time we look at more or less official fraud made by a philatelic society, to be precise the Gmuender Weltraumfreunde, our sister society in Austria. This occurred almost thirty years ago and it was justified to get enough money to organise an exhibition. Here is the story. The stamp show in 1980 was dedicated to the 100th birthday of the Austrian rocket pioneer Guido Pirquet (1880-1966). His most famous work Interplanetaire Fahrroute of 1928 made it possible to set out planning for probes to the planets in our Solar System. In fact one sent to Venus in 1961 followed exactly Pirquet’s route. The Austrian postal authorities honoured the pioneer with a large postal cancel in Vienna on March 30, (his birthday) in 1980. In the cancel we see his portrait and craters on the Moon, one of them named after him. So far so good. At the same time stamps were manipulated — not by the official Austrian Post but by the Gmuender Weltraumfreunde. What did they do ? They bought a lot of sheets of the one schilling definitive at the post office and with blank se-tenant labels. These labels which came in pairs were overprinted, one with the Society’s logo and the text “100 Geburstag des Österr Pioniers der Raketentechnik” (100th birthday of the Austrian Pioneer of Rocketry), followed by his signature Guide Pirquet Dipl. Ing. (Diploma Ingenieure). The other stamp was over printed with “Fahhrroutezur Venus” same calculations plus the birthday 1880.03.30, Hirschstetten (his birthplace) and the day and place of death 1966.04.17 Wien. There were two versions of the labels: one printed over the stamps with the other below them. There were 1500 sets printed @ 30 Schilling. These were called Allongenaudruck: Allogen overprint (from the French verb allonger (to make longer) And that is exactly what happened to make the stamp look longer. There was a lot of criticism, even from Austrian Post who refused to cancel the allongestamps with the special Pirquet cancel. The Society said, “This was the only way to get money for the Pirquet exhibition” Was it to blame, do you think ? However the fact is—it was a fraud. Alongside the stamps there was Aerogramme illegally printed with a Pirquet text and “Fahhrroute zum Mars” Not only was the Society’s logo on it but the FISA one as well. This of course was also unofficial.

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Un-manned Satellites on Postage Stamps : 30 By Guest Contributors Don Hillger and Garry Toth

The D-Series

Portions of this article and accompanying table were revised following its publication in Astrophile, based on feedback received from Gert Meinl. This is the thirtieth in a series of articles about unmanned satellites on postage stamps. This article features the French D-series satellites. Seven Dseries satellites were successfully launched, starting with D-1A on 18 February 1966, and ending with D2B / SIGNE-3 on 17 June 1977. Two of the D-series satellites failed. The first of the D-series, D-1A / Diapason, was a small satellite designed to make geodetic measurements using the Doppler delay of radio signals. The spacecraft body was a flat cylinder 20 cm high by 50 cm in diameter, with four solar panels, each attached to the body of the cylinder by two thin arms, like crabs attached by their pincers. Four antennas extended outward from one end of the cylindrical body. This general design was used for the rest of the D-1 and D-2 series, including D-1B which was cancelled as obsolete and unnecessary due to the extremely successful D-1A mission. D-1C / Diademe-1 and D-1D / Diademe-2 were experimental geodetic missions as well, with dualfrequency Doppler transmitters and a retro-reflector array for laser telemetry. D-2A (Tournesol and Polaire) were scientific satellites designed to detect hydrogen and measure solar ultraviolet radiation in outer space. They were larger versions of the D-1 series with cylindrical bodies 80 cm high by 70 cm in diameter. The solar panels extended 130 cm from the spacecraft axis. Polaire, intended to complement Tournesol using a moreinclined polar orbit, unfortunately failed to reach orbit. D-2B / Aura carried both EUV (Extreme Ultra-Violet) experiments for solar and atmospheric investigations and UV experiments for stellar, zodiacal, and sky background observations. The Aura name for D-2B should not be confused with EOS-Aura which is one of the three U.S. Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites. The D-3 and D-4 names in this series either evolved into other spacecraft or were canceled outright. D-5A / Pollux and D-5B / Castor were a pair of piggyback satellites. D-5A was a polyhedron with 26 faces, each containing a laser reflector. It had a diameter of 80 cm and was designed to study upper

atmospheric density variations, gravity field perturbations and micrometeoroid impacts. D-5B was a polyhedron with 14 faces, for testing of hydrazine propulsion systems. Eight of the faces were covered with solar cells. SIGNE-3 (Solar Interplanetary Gamma-Neutron Experiment) was a D-2B type satellite placed into orbit by the Soviet Union under a cooperative agreement with France. One of the two experiments aboard was for gamma-ray astronomy and the other was for solar monitoring in two UV bands. SIGNE-3 was the last of the D-series spacecraft. Predecessors SIGNE-1 and SIGNE-2, instead of being independent spacecraft, were payloads on the Soviet Prognoz-2 and (possibly) Prognoz-6 spacecraft, respectively. Many postal items show either the D-1 satellite or the D -2 and SIGNE-3 satellites. Most of the items showing D1 were issued as a common design by different countries with varying denominations. Only three stamps show the D-5 satellites: D-5A on two stamps from French Southern and Antarctic Territories (Scott C49 and C52), and D-5B on a souvenir sheet from Upper Volta (Scott C184). A checklist of postal items showing D-series satellites (http://www.cira .colostate.edu/ra mm/hillger/D series.htm) is available on the Un-manned Satellite Philately website developed by the authors (http:// www.cira.colostate.edu/ramm/hillger/satellites.htm). Email correspondence is welcome. Don Hillger can be reached at hillger@cira.colostate.edu and Garry Toth at garry_toth@hotmail.com. A version of this article first appeared in The Astrophile for May/June 2008 16

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Shuttle Story : 2002 STS –109, -110, -111, -112, -113 STS-109 was the second last—at one point the last—mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Flown aboard Columbia in March 2002, the five spacewalks to replace and install equipment were a complete success. It would also prove to be Columbia's final successful mission from start to finish.

Flight

STS-109

Commander Pilot

Scott Altman Duane Carey

This was Columbia's first flight following an extensive two and a half year modification period (its most recent mission being STS93). During the mission they installed a new science instrument, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), new rigid Solar Arrays (SA3), new Power Control Unit (PCU) and a new Cryocooler for the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). STS-109 also re-boosted HST to a higher orbit.

MS MS MS MS MS

John Grunsfield Nancy Currie James Newman Richard Linnehan Michael Massimino

The STS-109 astronauts performed a total of five spacewalks in five consecutive days to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. The spacewalkers received assistance from their crewmates inside Columbia. Currie operated the Shuttle's robot arm while Altman was her backup. Carey and Altman documented the EVA activities with video and still images that had silly parts. The video was shown on NASA TV. Accomplishments of the spacewalks included the installation of new solar arrays, a new camera, a new Power Control Unit, a Reaction Wheel Assembly and an experimental cooling system for the NICMOS unit. STS-109 accumulated a total of 35 hours, 55 minutes of EVA time. Following STS-109, a total of 18 spacewalks had been conducted during four Space Shuttle missions to service Hubble (the others being STS-61, STS-82, STS-103 and STS-125) for a total of 129 hours, 10 minutes by 14 different astronauts

KSC Launch Date KSC Landing Purpose / Main Payload

1.3.02 12.3.02

Hubble Servicing & Modification

Above 2002 State issue for Florida showing shuttle taking off on right

The Mission Patch shows HST and Columbia over It was also the last successful flight of the Columbia orbiter, as on North America. Inside the Hubble aperture is a its next mission, STS-107, it disintegrated on re-entry, killing all portrayal of the spectacular Hubble Deep Field Image, symbolising all the major discoveries made on board. so far in the previous ten years and many more to come after the Advanced Camera for Surveys was STS-109 is considered a night launch, as sunrise was at 6:47 AM, installed. The ACS is the major upgrade element and Columbia launched at 6:22 AM EST, 25 minutes before to dramatically increase HST’s ability to see deeper into the universe. Also shown are the smaller, sunrise. sturdier and more efficient solar arrays which will permit the simultaneous use of more equipment.

Cover signed by STS 109 Pilot Duane “Digger” Carey and NASA’s Dr Neal Pellis, Chief Scientist, Advanced Programs, Space Life Sciences Directorate when they visited Elgin High School on 21.6.06 and pictured with your editor, above left.

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Illustration showing the new Truss section, bottom right quadrant Below cover created by ASSS member Ken Woods cancelled in London for this flight. This mission began the third and final phase of construction of the ISS. The crew patch is patterned after the cross section of S0 Truss and includes a silhouette of how the ISS will look after the installation.

STS-110 was a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. The main purpose was to install the S0 Truss segment to the Destiny Laboratory Module. It forms the backbone of the station to which the S1 and P1 truss segments were attached (on the following missions STS-112 and STS113, respectively). STS-110 also delivered the Mobile Transporter (MT), which is an 885 kg (1,950 lb) assembly that glides down rails on the station integrated trusses. During the next shuttle mission, STS-111, the Mobile Base System (MBS) was mounted to the MT. This Mobile Servicing System (MSS) allows the Canadarm2 to travel down the length of the installed truss structure. Notably veteran astronaut Jerry Ross was making his seventh launch into space, equalling John Youngâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s record.

Flight

STS-110

Commander Pilot

Michael Bloomfield Stephen Frick

MS MS MS MS MS

Jerry Ross Steven Smith Ellen Ochoa Lee Morin Rick Walheim

KSC Launch Date KSC Landing Purpose / Main Payload

8.4.02 19.4.02

ISS S0 Truss Installation

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STS-111 was a mission to the ISS flown by Endeavour to re-supply the station and replace the Expedition 4 crew with the Expedition 5 crew. It was launched on June 5, 2002, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. In addition to providing supplies, the flight rotated the crews aboard the ISS, exchanging the three Expedition 4 members (1 Russian, 2 American) for the three Expedition 5 members (2 Russian, 1 American). The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) carried experiment racks and three stowage and resupply racks to the station. The mission also installed a component of the Canadarm2 called the Mobile Base System (MBS) to the Mobile Transporter (MT) (which was installed during STS-110); This completed the Canadian Mobile Servicing System, or MSS. This gave the mechanical arm the capability to "inchworm" from the U.S. Lab fixture to the MSS and travel along the Truss to work sites. STS-111 was the last flight of a CNES astronaut, the French agency having disbanded its astronaut group and transferred them to the ESA and the record-equalling seventh flight of Franklin Chang-Diaz, commemorated in this 2003 Costa Rican se-tenant pair.

Flight

STS-111

Commander Pilot

Kenneth Cockrell Paul Lockhart

MS MS MS up MS up MS up MS down MS down MS down

Franklin Chang-Diaz Philippe Perrin Valery Korzun Peggy Whitson Sergei Treschev Yuri Onufrienko Carl Walz Daniel Bursch

KSC Launch Date EAFB Landing Purpose / Main Payload

5.6.02 19.6.02 ISS Crew rotation MPLM

Launch cover bearing Mission Patch with the names of the ISS up and down crews at bottom. The shuttle appears at the top of the astronaut symbol which grows naturally out of the number 111. Orbiting around it in a red white and blue tricolour is the ISS. Landing cover carrying photo of the ISS up and down crews which readsâ&#x20AC;Ś...

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Launch cover with blue and yellow mission patch depicting the ISS from the aspect of the departing shuttle with the new truss (in red) just to the right of the nine pointed star. â&#x20AC;&#x153;9Aâ&#x20AC;? is the denomination of this element of construction of the ISS. The star represents the combined on-orbit team of six shuttle and three ISS crew members. The trajectory ends in another smaller star representing the STS 112 crew, returning to Earth

STS-112 was flown to the ISS by Atlantis as a 10-day assembly mission in October 2002 to attach the 30,000 lbs Starboard S1 Truss segment. Atlantis would not fly again until STS-115 on September 9, 2006.

Flight

STS-112

The S1 Truss was to provide structural support for the Space Station radiators. It also delivered the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart to the Space Station. The CETA cart was attached to the Mobile Transporter (launched on STS-110) to be used by assembly crews on later missions. STS-112 also carried several science experiments to the station including the Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (PGBA), Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA), the Protein Crystal Growth Single-locker Thermal Enclosure System housing the Protein Crystillization Apparatus for Microgravity (PCG-STES-PCAM) and samples for the Zeolite Crystal Growth Furnace (ZCG) experiment.

Commander Pilot

Jeffrey Ashby Pamela Melroy

MS MS MS MS

David Wolf Piers Sellers Sandra Magnus Fyodor Yurchikhin

A camera mounted to the shuttle's external tank captured Atlantis' ascent to orbit. This was the first time such footage was recorded.

Purpose / Main Payload

KSC Launch Date 7.10.02 KSC Landing 18.10.02 ISS Construction S1 Truss

In the response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (STS-107), the camera was also used on STS-114, STS-121, STS-115, STS116, STS-117, and STS-118. The Cameras may be used on all remaining Space Shuttle missions.

A photo taken from the ISS showing Atlantis carrying the Truss in Payload Bay and right an illustration of where it was added in the construction of the ISS

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STS-113 was a 14-day mission flown to the ISS during which Endeavour and its crew extended the ISS backbone with the P1 truss and exchanged the Expedition 5 and Expedition 6 crews aboard the station. With Commander Jim Wetherbee and Pilot Paul Lockhart at the controls, Endeavour docked with the station on November 25 to begin seven days of station assembly, spacewalks and crew and equipment transfers. This was Endeavourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last flight before entering its Orbiter Major Modification period until 2007, and also the last shuttle mission before the Columbia disaster. This was an Assembly Mission (11A) delivering the P1 Truss segment, which provides structural support for the Space Station radiators. Mission Specialists John Herrington and Michael Lopez-Alegria performed three spacewalks to activate and outfit the P1. The STS-113 crew and both Expedition crews transferred about 1,969 kilograms (4,340 pounds) of cargo between the shuttle and station. STS-113 delivered the Expedition 6 crew to the station for a four-month increment. The Expedition 5 crew returned to Earth aboard STS-113, ending an 185-day stay in space.

Flight

STS-113

Commander Pilot

James Wetherbee Paul Lockhart

MS MS MS up MS up MS up MS down MS down MS down

Michael Lopez-Alegria John Herrington Nikolai Budarin Ken Bowersox Donald Pettit Valery Korzun Peggy Whitson Sergei Treschev

KSC Launch Date EAFB Landing Purpose / Main Payload

23.11.02 7.12.02

ISS Crew rotation P1 Truss installation

STS-113 came to a close when Endeavour glided in to a landing at Kennedy Space Center on December 7. It was the 19th flight of Endeavour, the 112th shuttle mission, and the 16th shuttle mission to the station. The landing was the first time a mission ended on the fourth day of landing attempts. Also carried aboard STS-113 was the Micro-Electromechanical System (MEMS) based Pico Satellite Inspector. This payload deployed two small satellites which are connected via a 50 ft (15 m) tether. STS-113 was the final mission during which Russian cosmonauts flew on the Space Shuttle and the last successful mission until late July 2005, nearly 30 months after the loss of Columbia returning from STS 107 in January 2003. Oppositeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the P1 truss in the cargo bay and below an illustration of the component in situ on the ISS. The almost luridly colourful mission patch depicts Endeavour docked to the ISS with the robotic Canadarm moving the new segment into position. The seven brightest stars in the constellation Orion, below the star of the Astronaut symbol represent the crew as it made its way to the ISS. The three stars to the right represent the ISS on-board crew. The number of the flight is given, unusually, in Roman numerals and the US and Russian flags complement the design either side of the ISS rotating crew names.

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Apollo XI Retrospect This anniversary is a chance to look back at the stamp issues from forty years ago. All three crew members were featured on stamps either as individuals or as shown in a group.

by Harvey Duncan “Where the hell am I ?”

‘Houston reply – There are no signposts on the moon, mate – just get on with it’

All the designs originated from a mixture of fact, (Photographs) Information or artistic inspiration

Blast off , the journey and descent to the surface by the moon Lander (EAGLE) is depicted on several stamps. This historic moment was also commemorated with a few overprints After landing came the descent of Neil Armstrong down a ladder attached to one of the Landers legs, prior to stepping upon the surface of the moon for the first time. This was televised by a camera attached to the Lander and transmitted in black and white, the designers sharpened up their versions and added colour. Despite the view being taken on Neil’s left side many designers preferred to show it taken from the right with some opting for a rear view

That all important first step unto the surface of the moon left a historic footprint which was represented on some issues. Does it still exist – I very much doubt it as a lot of activity occurred at that spot.

One thing that still remains on the moon is the memorial plaque attached to a leg of the Moon Lander. NASA failed to appreciate space suits all look the same, until they looked at the photographs taken by the astronauts on the surface of the moon. Then once the film was developed and printed it was a case of “Who’s Who” Note - The identity problem was highlighted by Apollo 12 and in subsequent missions all the astronauts wore different coloured arm bands A favourite with designers was this one taken by Neil Armstrong showing his reflection in the visor of Buzz Aldrin.- that one was obvious

I particularly like this one from Ajman where the designer implies that Neil is thinking as he looks around before stepping onto the moon’s surface. 27

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The American flag was a prerequisite of course but the moon failed to co-operate, and gravity took over

Two experimental packages were deployed on the surface with one being shown on a sheet from Sharjah. This was a laser reflector to enable scientists to measure the distance to the moon more accurately Lift off from the moon is depicted with the first televised recording of the event being via the Lunar Rover of Apollo 16 in 1972. Previous designs of this show a remarkable similarity to the real thing The landing ba ck on e a rt h is recorded in v a r i o u s fashions; one favorite was the crew speaking to President Nixon from inside the isolation chamber on board the USS Hornet

Not shown full size : this is a very large stamp indeed The designers came up with a variety of designs to the extent of producing Gold, Silver and 3D stamps along with two of the largest stamps ever produced for good measure Those together with the various anniversary issues to appear since, have covered just about every aspect of the mission.

They brought back 48.5 lbs of moon rock and a design on the ½ cent and £1 stamps from Grenada show one of the astronauts holding a rock. Note the he appears to be standing in a hole he has excavated in order to obtain it Also worth noting is that the ½ cent stamp the lowest value from a set of nine is larger than the rest contrary to normal practice

Spot anything odd in this design ? Count the astronauts on the surface—and , mind you, isn’t the Command module a bit low !!! 28

So what will they come up for this anniversary I wonder?

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ASSS Memberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2009 Designs for Romania In partial answer to Harveyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s question at the end of his article here are the draft and annotated designs from Alec Bartos who was asked to design them for the Romanian P.O.

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THE MOONLANDINGS: Did they really happen? John Beenen interrupts his UFO The “whistle-blowers” speculations series to investigate the In order to get everything in perspective you need to know something about the most well-known people above old chestnut…. who started all the fuss. Introduction When I studied the subject of lost Soviet astronauts, from time to time I looked at some other hoaxes such as, doubts about the reality of Gagarin’s flight on 12th April 1961 and the moon landings by the Americans at the end of the sixties and early seventies. This last hoax persists on the Internet and at least some of the observations there need a more serious investigation. What, if it finally appear to be all faked? What does it mean for our hobby? Let’s start with the fact that most of the allegations are originating from only a few sources. The most important being: a pamphlet by Bill Kaysing and Randy Reed, ‘We never went to the Moon, America’s thirty billion dollar swindle’ (Health research, 1976, ISBN 07-8730-487-5) a book called ‘Dark Moon: Apollo and the whistleblowers’ of Mary Bennet and David S.Percy (1999, ISBN 1898541108) a book ‘Somebody else is on the Moon’, George Leonard (2001) a TV programme of FOX of February 15, 2001, ‘Conspiracy theory: Did we land on the Moon?’ a book by Gerhard Wisnewski, ‘Lügen im Weltraum, von der Mondlandung zur Weltherrschaft’, 2005, ISBN-13: 978-3-726-77755-8.

One of the first dealing with the Moon hoax was Bill Kaysing (1922-2005). a librarian/writer of technical publications. After his military service he worked as a furniture maker and from 1956-1963 as a head of technical publications at advanced research at Rocketdyne Systems where the Saturn V rocket engines were built. He was neither an engineer nor a scientist. In 1959 he had stated that there was only a 0.0014 chance of landing men on the Moon and returning them safely. He, in fact, started the Moon hoax controversy. David Percy is an award winning television and film producer, a professional photographer and a member of the Royal Photographic Society. Together with Mary Bennett (pictured below) he is the co-author of the book ‘Dark Moon’. Percy, however, seriously believes that sentient beings are living on Mars and other nonsense about the Egyptian Sphinx and he also suspects incidents and accidents at every occasion. Some of their ideas can be found back on www.aulis.com . Bart Sibrel is an amateur filmmaker who is a strong believer of the Apollo hoax. He even hunted after the Apollo astronauts to let them swear on the Bible that they really went to the Moon. In a famous incident he was hit on the chin by Buzz Aldrin after Aldrin refused to swear and was called names by Sibrel such as, a coward, a thief and a liar. Although he claimed the astronauts never have left earth orbit, he scored a certain point when he stated that the Apollo 13 mission was manufactured by the government to force

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people to pay attention to the space programme. And I would add, to force the American Parliament to raise the funds needed. Gerhard Wisnewski is a German journalist specialized in conspiracy theories. He wrote also books about the German RAF and the conspiracy theories around 9/11. All these sources claim that the moon project was a total fake and that the astronauts never left Earth orbit and that all photo’s were taken in a studio. They support their opinion with a lot of ‘proof’. One source (www.ufos-aliens.co.uk/cosmicapollo,html) cites 33 questions to be answered, most of which can be answered scientifically soundly and will be handled separately. Wikipedia has listed 23 different subjects divided into four categories. I will categorize the most relevant questions into these categories and add some more.

A. Problems with the photo’s. B. Problems with radiation and heat C. Problems on radio transmission

Mechanical and chemical problems

The photo’s were made on Earth Questions The shadows in the Lunar images indicate more than one light source There are no stars visible in the sky You can see the tops of the astronauts helmets despite having the cameras mounted on their chest Daytime temperatures on the Moon would melt film in the cameras The shadow lengths are not consistent and point in different directions. Why is the Sun so big? The Apollo TV pictures were lousy but the photo’s made by the astronauts are brilliant and of optimum composition in spite of the camera on their chest. Why, in the Apollo photo’s, there is a clear of definition between the rough foreground and the smooth background? Why some cross hairs are hidden by the subject? The number of photo’s was far too high for the time left to the astronauts The most important allegations are certainly made regarding the photo’s. It is a fact that the astronauts carried their camera’s on their chest, (Bhutan WB 67), were not able to look through the mirror and had their cameras adjusted on a fixed setting certainly not always suitable for the conditions on the Moon. However they were able 31

to take pictures which were not only excellently framed, but also very well exposed. The counter-argument to these remarks was that we only got to see a selection of a selection and that only the very best pictures were presented to the general public. However, this argument is not completely true. Some persons have searched the whole bunch of photo’s and established that in some series nearly all photo’s were of optimum quality. However, NASA still opposes this opinion (www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ frame.html). Looking at the numerous pictures at the NASA site I must admit that also many failures appear and unintended and badly exposed pictures have been taken. Other discussions are about the crosshairs behind the objects, invisible stars in the sky, inconsistent shadows, identical backgrounds in photo’s taken miles apart. All these questions could be refuted relatively easy with sound scientific and photo-technical arguments. One photo contains an artefact such as a ‘C’ on a rock, normally a sign in a movie to show the centre of the frame. This ‘observation’ mainly is considered as a printing imperfection, but at least some doubt exists if some of the moon photo’s are not made in a studio. Such an opinion can be supported further by the presence of more than one light source in some pictures. It also has been shown that pictures of the Sun could actually be pictures from a photographic spotlight Some sources on the Internet also show that some photo’s certainly are made in training situations and not in space as they show anomalies pointing to building structures or, e.g. in the case of a photo of Michael Collins, it is completely the (Aiman WB575/13) same as another photo with the background still present only turned 180 degrees and the partly brushed away. To me one of the more important allegations is the amount of pictures taken. The supporters of the hoax theory calculated that such an amount (5571) could not have been taken as it required at least one photo every 50 seconds and sometimes much less. The answer to the calculations of the hoax believers is not too strong and mainly comes to the fact that the astronauts were well-trained and many photo’s belong to a twin set. In some photo’s it seems if two light sources present. This has his origin in the fact that also Moon surface shows some reflection. One of references (www.braeunig.us/) demonstrates that

are the the the

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Moon has a reflection comparable to about the light of a 35 W light bulb, which can explain some illumination in the Apollo photographs. However, 35 W is very little in the ambience of the moon. The advocates of the hoax theory discuss some photo’s because of their inconsistent shadows. The background showing completely black but the astronaut is easy to see. The same reference as before explains very clearly that such a thing is also an effect of the reflection of the Moon on their white suits. Manama, WB132/2

Astronauts cannot stand the radiation within the van Allen Belt and the and heat on the Moon.

Wisnewski’s book shows. He therefore uses this also as an argument that the Apollo crews never have left the Earth orbit. But in general a radiation dose of 1 or 2 Rem (10-20 milliSievert) for the Apollo Macao 2004, Sc.1152b, cosmic radiation astronauts is accepted, which makes the assumptions of Wisnewski very unlikely. It is also claimed that the film emulsion which was not especially protected against radiation could not resist its effect, but the metal case in which the film was held ought to have had enough protection against radiation and heat. It also is claimed that the film emulsion would melt on the moon because of the temperature but this only takes place when there is a direct connection between the heat source and the object which in the vacuum of the Moon is not the case.

Question 11. Would not Radiation in space kill the crew ?

Retardation of radio transmission is not Many people argue against heard the moon landings because of the fact that astronauts could not pass the van Allen radiation belts without sustaining serious radiation damage.

This is opposed by the fact that the astronauts only remain in the van Allen region for about 30 minutes. Pickering, van Allen and von Braun with Explorer I During that time they should have been exposed to a dose equal to the amount of one roentgen photo (1 milligray: 1 Gray = 1 J/kg = 100 Rad or Rem). The fact that 33 of the 36 astronauts involved sustained an early stage of cataract is also used to prove that the astronauts crossed the van Allen belts indeed. Ref. Braeunig mentions the radiation dose to have been 1 Rem (Roentgen Equivalent Man) (= 0,01 Gray) i.e.10 times higher. Wisnewski calculates in his book that the astronauts in total got a dose of about 1 Sievert, - 1000 times higher than officially announced. With such an amount the astronauts already come into the region of serious effects on their body (change of blood structure, redness of the skin, feeling of discomfort, fainting). This also could explain the early cataract cases as mentioned before and the light flashes in their eyes astronauts often saw NB. In this comparison a Sievert can be considered to be equal to a Gray. A Sievert is the amount of ionized radiation received and is equal to 1 J/kg. But the average radiation dose for flights in Earth orbit and to the Moon are more or less equal which a table in 32

Question 12. Why the 2 seconds delay between the messages is never heard?

Mission Control, Ras al Khaima WB 211

To me a subordinate point of discussion is the effect of radio transmission. Over a distance of 400.000 km to the Moon the radio waves are just over 2 seconds retarded. This retardation ought to have been heard on tapes but isn’t. The answer is that the periods of silence were simply left out, and on the original tapes they of course are present. Also other claims on the transmission and receiving of the signals could be sufficiently challenged.

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Together with Pioneer 8, NASA launched a small (40 kg) TETR-A satellite (TEst and TRaining satellite,13-121967). The proclaimed purpose was to simulate transmissions coming from the moon so that the ground crew (‘Houston’) could rehearse the first moon landing. The site ‘ufos-aliens’, however, states that the satellite relays voice, fuel consumption, altitude, and telemetry data as if the transmissions were coming from an Apollo spacecraft, but this also may refer to the TETR-B (8-11-1968) which actually was used in the transmission of Apollo 11 data. Against what the hoax believers are suggesting the satellite in the preset case (TETR-A) re-entered the Earth atmosphere on 28 April 1968, eight months before the first lunar flight.

no wind. Still some dust must have been there and NASA claims that looking at other photo’s shows there is. An exhaust flame is not present because of the kind of fuel used in the Lander (hydrazine with di-nitrogentetroxide) which nearly shows no flame in stead of the combination oxygen-kerosene used in the Saturn rocket. With regard to this effect most stamps depicting this event are Burundi WB 78 one of wrong in showing- a clear many to present a major error in detail re lunar lift-off flame.

No dust, no flame, no noise, no wind, no A fact which is a little strange is the absence of sound data Questions 13. There is no blast crater from the rocket module on the LM 14. There is no dust on the footage of the LM after landing 15. No exhaust sound was heard when the astronauts landed and left the Moon 16. How could NASA have gotten astronauts to the Moon when their computers took up entire rooms? 17. How could Apollo land with a computer of the level of a Commodore 64? 18. Tracks in the Lunar dust should not be well formed without water 19. Why is there no exhaust flame to see 20. Why did the flag not stop fluttering? 21. Why could a ‘C’ mark be seen on one of the rocks? 22. Why blue prints and plans for the LM and Moon buggy are missing? An important claim is that the landings on the Moon showed no visible craters and no dust clouds. But, although there was no crater because of the very low landing speed and weight of the Lander, the astronauts did complain about the dust. However, it is known from the experiment of the falling hammer and feather (on the Apollo XV Mahra State WB6 mission), that in vacuum all dust particles show an equal speed, and no dust cloud of finer particles hangs around. (Manama WB 322)

Some detailed photo’s show no dust at all on the footage of the LM. That is a bit strange, but dust behaves completely differently in a vacuum with

during landing and take-off. This is contradicted by the fact that all communication with the astronauts took place through the microphones in their helmet and suit and therefore was disconnected from surrounding noise. On the other hand the astronauts were closely connected to their machine and some noise should have been heard. Samoa WB28

Another p o i n t w h i c h comes up e v e r y time is t h e waving of the American flag. As the Moon has no atmosphere a flag cannot wave. The apparent waving is only the unfolding of the flag. Also, because the lack of an atmosphere on the Moon, the waves the flag is making at unfolding are much less quenched. This picture also shows a strange footprint transverse on most of the other footprints but from a different size (just under the middle of the perforated stamp, below the “$3”). The footprint shows clearly 12 rib marks, but all other prints have only nine ribs. Who made this footprint? (page 6, photo AS11-490-5874 in magnification) It also is claimed that important data such as the blueprints of the Saturn V rocket, the lunar module and the lunar rover and some telemetric data are missing. However, this is not proven, it is only said that the persons interviewed did not know where they were at that time. Moreover, the designing was a complicated 33

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operation with many parties involved. Hence, blueprints Thus, if we leave out the exceptional results, (of are scattered all over the country. The most important some Mercury and Gemini flights) instead of what design data are microfilmed and stored properly. Wisnewski is saying, there is nothing exceptional with the Apollo series. The only thing we can say is that And finally it is claimed that the power of the computer - they show no extreme landings which in itself is quite of the level of an early Commodore 64 - was absolutely an achievement. As the Apollo flights landed not from insufficient to do the job. However, this computer has to an orbit, but directly from space it seems that in this do no more than to take care of the guidance. All other way the accuracy of the landing was increased. tasks are carried out by the mainframe at Mission Control. Even in that case the computers of the LM were The Moon rocks came from Antarctica overloaded several times and Armstrong had to take over Question 23. Moonrocks are originating from control by hand. Antarctica

Dropped from an Aeroplane ?

Some people claim that the ‘moon rocks’ were actually co lle cte d fr om Earth. After all Wernher von Braun visited Antarctica in As a mean most of the 1967. previous return capsules Grenada WB 26 Grenada WB 23 landed rather far away This claim can be from their target area but suddenly all the Apollo craft refuted relatively easily. The astronauts brought 382 landed very accurately some even close to the carrier ship. kg of moon rocks back to Earth. The Russians This gives support to the opinion that the Apollo’s were brought back altogether 326 grams. The first lunar not returning from the Moon but were simply dropped rock in Antarctica was found in 1979 and its origin from an aeroplane. Actually such a practice in test was established only in 1982. Still, they are extremely conditions had been carried as observed by several pilots. rare and only 30 kg have been found until today. So, Wisnewski’s book (cf. page 237 and 238) a list of the its most unlikely that 382 kg had been collected on deviation of several space craft from the planned landing Earth before. point. Moon landing hoax theorists assert there is something odd with the return of the Apollo crafts to Earth.

Freedom 7

9,2

Gemini 3

Liberty Bell 7

9,2

Gemini 4

111,1 81,4

Apollo 7

3,5

Apollo 8

2,6

Apollo 9

5,0

Friendship 7

Gemini 5

Aurora 7

400

Gemini 6A

12,9

Apollo 10

2,4

Sigma 7

8,2

Gemini 7

11,8

Apollo 11

3,1

Faith 7

6,4

Gemini 8

Apollo 12

3,7

Mean 1)

170,3

330

Gemini 9A

0,7

Apollo 13

1,9

Gemini 10

6,2

Apollo 14

1,1

Gemini 11

4,9

Apollo 15

1,9

Gemini 12

4,8

Apollo 16

5,6

Apollo 17

1,9

8,3

6,9

G.Wisnewski, Lügen im Weltraum, p.237,238 1) Mean without large exceptions

The three Skylabs landed respectively at 9,6 and 8 km distance.

3,3

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Analysis shows that the moon rocks showed a composition which is identical to the Russian samples and the samples from Antarctica but of course showed no sign of atmospheric friction. The samples are easily distinguishable from both meteorites and terrestrial rocks in that they show a complete lack of hydrous alteration products. Further, they show evidence of having been subjected to impact events on an airless body and they have unique geochemical characteristics e.g. in their oxygen isotopes. Today no scientist disputes the origin of the moon rocks.

Somebody else is on the Moon ! Questions 24. What about the UFO’s the astronauts have seen 25. There are hidden messages in some of the images

In his book of the same title the author, George Leonard, uses NASA photos to “show” that the Moon has been colonized by an alien race who left the surface littered with huge structures and machines. Either the NASA is too blind to see it, or is covering it up. Leonard sees such structures in the Sea of Tranquillity (NASA photo 66-H-1612) and the Crater Tycho. He even talks about a giant screw. But even this is not the most exciting assertion. Some people believe that during the flight of Apollo 11 the astronauts saw alien spaceships and some interesting UFO’s. The following I took from: The Apollo 11 UFO incidents, James Oberg www.debunker.com/texts/apollo11.html “For only shortly after the astronauts returned to earth in mid-1969, a bootleg "tape" and voice transcript of what was really said on the moon has been circulating clandestinely in UFO circles. The headline on the cover of National Bulletin magazine (distributed in Canada but printed in New York City) for September 29,1969 cries out that "Phony Transmission Failure Hides Apollo 11 Discovery. . . Moon is a U.F.O. Base!" Author Sam Pepper gave this version of the "Top Secret Tape Transcript" from "a leak close to the top," as follows: What was it, what the hell was it? That's all I want to know.... These. . . (garbled) . . .babies were huge, sir, they were enormous.... No, No, that's just field distortion.... Oh, God, you wouldn't believe it.... What...what...what the hell's going on? Whatsa matter with you guys . . . ? They're here, under the surface....

What's there.. .malfunction. . .Mission Control calling Apollo 11.... Roger, we're here, all three of us, but we've found some

visitors.... Yeah, they've been here for quite a while judging by the installations.... Mission control, repeat last message.... I'm telling you, there are other spacecraft out there. They're lined up in ranks on the far side of the crater edge.... Repeat, repeat.... Let's get that orbit scanned and head home.... In 625 to the fifth, auto-relays set...My hands are shaking so bad.... Film...yes, the damned cameras were clicking away from up here... Did you fellows get anything? Had no film left by the time. . . (garbled) . . . three shots of the saucers, or whatever they were. . .may have fogged the film. Mission Control, this is Mission Control...are you under way, repeat, are you under way? What's this uproar about UFOs? Over. They're set up down there...they're on the moon... watching us.... The mirrors, the mirrors . . . you set them up, didn't you? Yes, the mirrors are all in place. But whatever built those spacecraft will probably come over and pull 'em all out by the roots tomorrow.... “

In his long article Oberg, who does not believe in this nonsense at all, analyses all ‘observations’ step by step. It’s a fact that the original tapes from the Apollo 11 do not show any sign of such a conversation whatsoever. Also the Apollo astronauts reveal that they do not know of any UFO or other alien encounter. They declare it to be utter nonsense. That the text is possibly ‘made up’ can also be extracted from the word ‘Mission Control’. In their conversation the astronauts never address their counterparts on Earth as ‘Mission Control’ but only as ‘Houston’. Oberg states that the UFO’s, which were seen by the astronauts according the ufologists, could be easily explained by light scatterings in the windows of the craft which is clearly shown when looking at the original pictures from the film. The ufologists are very good in editing such pictures in such a way that every defect looks at last like an UFO. Even Dr.Hynek, the UFO guru, is convinced that these stories are made up and comparable to those of the “Canals” and the “face” on Mars And then even there are the jokers who love to play records backwards to listen if some secret information can be obtained. And some of them claim that when you play the first sentence of Armstrong on the Moon backwards: ‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’, it sounds like: ‘Man never space walk’. OK, Elvis lives for ever and has been recently seen in London!

Suspicious deaths of Apollo personnel

Questions 26. Why the NASA administrator resigned just days before the first Apollo mission ? 35

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27. Some opponents of the Moon landings are suddenly killed Some sources think that the death of certain astronauts and some technical personnel is part of a cover up. The death of astronaut James Irwin (Apollo 15) is discussed especially. It is said that he was at the edge to uncover the Apollo hoax. But in fact Irwin died in after a heart attack in 1991. Also, when walking on the Moon doctors found some irregularities in Irwin’s heart rhythm already and advised him to see a doctor after his return on earth. Another discussion Maldives WB 26 is brought up about the death of Virgil Grissom in the Apollo 1 fire. In this test a series of defects (?) occurred leading to the death of the three astronauts, Virgil Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Edward White on January 27, 1967

Finally, Scott claims to have found the origin of the sabotage, a piece of metal causing a short-circuited switch. Wisnewski shows photo’s of the culprit. He even claims that the piece of metal used in the shortcircuiting was sawn out of one of the posts of the craft itself. As, unfortunately, no independent commission investigated the event, only NASA themselves, a final and decisive answer, unfortunately, cannot be given. But to me, this accident happened because of the haste necessary to reach the Moon before the Sovjets and before the end of 1969. .

Even politics With all these allegations it‘s no surprise that some political reasons are given for the moon flights. Wisneweski shows that after every negative political issue for the United States shortly after a Moon subject is started to neutralize its effect on the general public. I give you his review:

Scott Grissom, the Apollo 1 commander’s son, investigated the accident thoroughly and came to the conclusion that it was framed because of the fact that Grissom had heavily criticized the design of the craft and called it a ‘bucket of screws’. According to Wisnewski already in 1966 about 20,000 design errors had been listed. Scott Grissom not only mentions the oxygen rich atmosphere from which the designers already could have known that it was dangerous, but also the hatch which was very difficult to open and the electrical design which easily could lead to sparks. Further, the craft was full of inflammable material such as plastic mats and nylon tape. The astronauts had mentioned the development of smoke 10 minutes before the fire started, so why did no one stop the test then? When finally the hatched was hauled open five minutes after the conflagration, no doctor was present. It was officially announced that the crew was found dead at that time, though Scott Grissom states that they were still alive after 10 minutes and no attempts were made to save them. However, this is very unlikely. The craft contained rather large amounts of nylon tape. When nylon burns some very toxic gases such as prussic acid gas are released. In such circumstances the astronauts would have perished much more quickly.

North Vietnam, 1965, Scott 374 USA, 1999, Scott 3188g

Date

Event…...Moon flight

Moon su

May ‘69 June‘69 July ‘69 Nov.’69 May ‘70 Jan.’71 July’71 April’72 Dec’72

Illegal bombardment in Cambodja….Apoll10

Apollo 10 Apollo 10 Apollo 11 Apollo 12 Apollo 13 Apollo 14 Apollo 15 Apollo 16 Apollo 17

Withdrawal of troops from Vietnam..Apollo 10/11 Foltering scandal in Vietnam..Apollo 11 Massacre My Lai….Apollo 12 US enters Cambodja…..Apollo 13 Accusation My Lai……..Apollo 14 Pentagon Papers…...Apollo15 Start attack of North Vietnamese….Apollo 16 Rupture of the peace talks…...Apollo 17

It certainly looks if every negative event for America is covered by a success in space and as such influencing public opinion. It is certainly the case that the Moon flights were also used as a good opportunity to influence public opinion and to cover up some of America’s failures in the Vietnam War, but the Apollo’s were not launched especially for this purpose. I think that every historian is able to draft an identical list with other negative or even positive events happening at the same times. But the Apollo launchings just happened in a politically hectic period for the US. This is just a very good example of conspiracy thinking.

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Some loose ends

Questions 28. There are unknown things reflected in visors 29 Meteors would be dangerous 30 How could man get to the Moon when a simulated Moon landing was never tested? 31. Why were the steps of the astronauts on the Moon equal in length as on Earth despite the 1/6th gravity? 32. The fabric space suits had a crotch to shoulder zipper? How was air leakage prevented? 33 How could the astronauts bend their fingers and arms in pressurized suits? 34. A photo in the book of Wisnewski shows a serious damage on the LM of Apollo 16, how did this happen? Most of the questions above received scientific sound answers. There certainly were Micrometeorites there but because of their low mass only a little bit of shielding was sufficient to stop these dust-sized particles. The LM was shielded by a thin aluminium outer shield and the astronauts’ spacesuits included a micrometeoroid garment. Niuafo’ou

Still there remain some observations where an easy answer was not forthcoming. So, there exist some photo’s of the Moon Rover besides the Lander. There are tracks seen in a distance, but strangely enough the Rover stands just in the sand, with no tracks seen directly under or behind the wheels (page 1, photo AS17-14—21354).

before finding a new way of walking. The stamp as above shows that certainly the later astronauts found other ways of walking such as the ‘kangaroo jump’ by Eugene Cernan from Apollo 17. When some of the pictures were viewed in more contrast it could be established that they were crudely retouched. Possibly these pictures were made at training sessions and unwanted background had been removed. Although retouching is not so easy as today, even at that time retouching was well-known also from the Soviets (page 4 and 5). And then a photo of Apollo 17 shows in magnification a bizarre rectangular frame (page 8, AS17-145-22169 enhanced by Jack White). However, all these remarks originate from an Internet site called: www.aulis.com/further_findings.htm a site mainly made by David Percy and Mary Bennett. Reliable? Believable? Not at all!

USA WB19,20

The same article tries to establish that one Apollo 12 photo of the sun over the Moon surface (photo AS17134-20410) was actually not the sun but a large artificial source. Computer enhancements should support the opinion that we look at a light reflector or light bulb in stead of the sun (page 1-5).

Umm al Qiwain WB 351

Another point is the saluting jump of Neil Young with Apollo 16. A French researcher has studied the photo’s made from this event and found out that the astronaut remained Congo WB 39 re Apollo 17 suspended for 0,3 seconds before returning back to the Moon. The dust, however, commences its fall back again after 0,1 seconds. How come ? (page 5, http://speedge.free.fr/ nasa/jumpflag.htm). It also had been found strange that the astronauts on the Moon walked the same way as on Earth in spite of the lower gravity. It is clear that one has to adjust first 37

One also refers to a conversation of Conrad and Bean during their stay on the Moon with Apollo 12. When Conrad walked out of the shadow of the LM he should have said: ‘Well, how bright is that

Sun, it looks if somebody has a spotlight in his hand…’ And collecting soil samples he says: ‘I say to you … you know … that Sun … looks really if somebody has turned on a super bright light… ‘

Ajman WB 247

. He also amazes himself about the lack of a crater: ‘The landing exhaust – it is just like Neil, it shows no crater at all’. And then he jokes: ‘That American flag shows good, isn’t it? Looks like a model’. The book mentions also some other remarks. Of course all words of the astronauts are important and are worth to consider carefully. But first, Conrad is well-known for his jokes and second, most

astronauts walked in high spirits on the Moon. It’s just And so every argument ‘in favour’ becomes refuted. their way of expressing their feelings. Another relatively strong argument is that such a fake cannot be kept secret for such a long time with so Oman WB many people involved. Some disbelievers come up with 178; so-called insiders, but most of them worked at a large Penrhyn distance from the actual place and are mostly of the WB 7 level of the neighbour of the son of a worker who worked at a company manufacturing accessories for the Saturn rocket. On the Internet there exists a series of photo’s where Buzz Aldrin is walking with the seismic experiment package. The enhancements of those photo’s show 18 anomalies, not all of them very clear, but the fact is that some of those differences in the photo’s are hard to explain (Photo 40-5942 until 405946, www.aulis.com/jackstudies_5a.html). The reply to this point is not very strong. As a matter of fact the whistle-blowers are accused of having introduced those anomalies deliberately as they cannot occur on their own, nor are ‘accidents’. But the most probable answer is that some of the photo’s originate from training sessions.

What should we make of all this? Perhaps, in the course of this article, I have not touched all questions, but some of them are so obvious that I consider an answer unnecessary. And I must admit, I do not consider the whistle-blowers as the most reliable source with respect to this subject. Generally, they are no scientists, no specialists and some of them present, to say the least, odd ideas. Others I suspect of just making money from such subjects, confusing people’s minds. Still 6% of all Americans today think that the moon landings are fake. I expect that that number in Europe is much less.

Even when the circle of real insiders finally was small, one guy should have come up with the real story. That no one did to me is the real evidence that the flights a c t u a l l y w e r e c a r r i e d o u t . A very strong point in favour of the moon landings I found also in the recently issued book ‘Moon Dust, in search of the last moon travellers’, by Andrew Smith (ISBN 90 414 0895 9, 2006) from which it becomes quite obvious that their trip to the Moon has influenced the lives and minds of most of the moon astronauts considerably. This would not have been the case if they had just been actors in a staged drama.

Ajman WB 575-6 Davaar Island (local)

Still I believe that not the all arguments of the disbelievers are completely unfounded. I think that some of the moon photo’s actually were made on Earth in a studio or at training situations or are, let’s say, edited in some way for publicity reasons. But, Anyhow, it is interesting to see to which wild theories doing so, some mistakes could have been introduced emerge when people are starting to use or even which fed the arguments. manipulating information for their own good. I further think that the Americans reaching for the At least, until today, no one has come up with a decisive Moon took outrageous and irresponsible risks with the proof that the moon landings were faked. On the other lives of their astronauts. That, with exception of the hand there exists overwhelming evidence that they really Apollo 13, nothing went fatally wrong to me is the real took place. With respect to the disbelievers it all comes miracle. Hoorn, 1 November 2008 to assumptions, and attacks on details based upon sometimes very incredible and close-minded argumentation. As one of the debunkers says: ‘ The hoax Literature

-believers create a delusional fantasy in which they are the heroes’.

If the landings were faked, certainly Soviet intelligence would have known this and would have made propaganda with it. But then, if the Gagarin flight also was a fake it would have been better to keep their mouth shut, the disbelievers argue.

Bill Kaysing, Randy Reid, We never went to the Moon, America’s thirty billion dollar swindle, Health research 1976, ISBN 07-8730-487 -5 Mary Bennett, David S.Percy, Dark Moon, Apollo and the whistleblowers, 1999, ISBN 1898541108 Gerhard, Wisnewski, Lügen im Weltraum (German, Lying in space), 2005, ISBN 10: 3-426-77755-X., ISBN 13: 978-3-426-77755-8. Maanstof (Dutch, Moon Dust), Andrew Smith, 2006, ISBN 90 414 0895 9 George Leonard, Somebody else is on the Moon, 1976, ISBN

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