“West Could Win Space Race—-As A Team”

Press, Volume C, Issue 29554, 1 July 1961, Page 14

“West Could Win Space Race —-As A Team”

[By LEONARD J. CARTER*

Russia’s sensational achievements in space show that mankind is on the verge of entering a vast new phase of exploration and development. We shall see changes comparable to those of the Industrial Revolution —but vastly exceeding them in scope.

Great new surges of technical progress are being made in such varied fields as the use of rare metals, control engineering and computation (techniques—-as well as in (spheres more directly related ito space research. By itself, sending a man into space means nothing, but its future significance may obviously be great. Soon we shall see further steps into space, prolonged orbital flights and then manned probes to the moon and later to the planets. The next few years will bring a growing number of young men into the ranks of those who have journeyed into space.

These events are going to accelerate still further the flood of discoveries flowing from space developments. Only The Start

Instruments can—and frequently do break down soon after they are pushed into orbit. But having a man to control and direct, to repair ithe instruments if necessary and to carry out more sophisticated tasks, is going to mean that the whole process of finding out about space will receive a tremendous boost. This is only the beginning. Space technology is not an isolated thing; it affects every other type of industry: and it affects the ordinary man. too.

It has an impact on the chemical. electronics and engineering industries, both immediately and in the future, for all are inter, related. Once in space, a trained astronaut can experiment with materials and techniques in conditions which cannot be duplicated on earth. Not only will this result in many new discoveries, but it will also provide a head start for the construction of quite ambitious laboratories and. later, to factories in space. Among the new techniques which already look very promising are those involving the development and construction of new types of spacecraft which will displace the present chemical rocket for long space journeys. Cheaper Power

New and advanced methods of propulsion could utilise atomic power. electrical energy, or even the light from the sun, to provide a cheaper and quicker method of propulsion than that available from the chemical rocket.

As an example, the Americans have already developed for one of their rockets an atomic-propelied top stage which weighs only one-third as much as a conventional top-stage. This is for a vehicle which will, have a longer life-time and yet be more flexible in operation. And if. in the near future, it becomes possible to use satellites and space vehicles over and over again, the present astronomical cost will come tumbling down. This, together with new methods of propulsion, would mean a space journey being priced In hundreds of pounds rather than hundreds of thousands as at present. Up to quite recently, it was impossible to envisage manned space travel as an economic proposition—or. indeed, to regard rockets as anything other than enormously expensive and wasteful weapons of war. Now all that is being

changed. Rockets to launch satellites for television, radio and telephone communication are likely to be a sound commercial investment over the years, heavy though their development costs may be. Further uses for navigation and weather satellites, to mention just a few, should make them very profitable. These "fringe” benefits, by themselves, have not yet received serious consideration—so how many other "prizes” are there which time will bring forward. Moving Further Ahead

At present, Russia has the edge on America —probably by four years. She can launch much heavier satellites and probe rockets and it is likely that she already has rockets generating up to a million pounds of thrust. Such vehicles will not be available in America tor some years yet. In itself, that may not seem very important at this stage, particularly when one appreciates that we are seeing only the opening events in the space age. Nevertheless, it is important to realise that progress is .itself accelerating. A country already in front stands a good chance of moving even farther ahead and the task of catching up becomes increasingly difficult.

In fact the United States can’t really hope to match Russia on her own. American scientists and engineers are already very heavily committed in a space programme involving no less than 25.000 firms. Yet the gap has not narrowed perceptibly since 1957.

This is something of real interest to America's allies. It means the whole of the West is being left behind in space developments. At this stage few people may understand how such a situation affects them, but it will certainly have serious repercussions on both the employment and standard of living of their children Concentration or immediate comforts will mean that the children will not inherit a leading technological nation. Useful Start

Expenditure on space research in America is about 70s a head of population. In Russia it is probably more, say 80s. In the United Kingdom it is only about Is. A modest but useful programme could be started by European countries for about 10s a head. Is that too much to pay for a stake in such a promising field? We surely must have learned by now that investment in new fields of science and technology has a way of paying off handsomely. The Americans would undoubtedly greatly welcome more active participation in space by all the West European nations—but what form should this take? Should it be restricted to transferring a few "brains.” or accepting sub-contract * work? Neither would be to the advantage of America or Europe. What is needed is the existence of strong design-teams among America's allies with fre. iquent interchanging of ideas Ito produce stimulating new ' approaches. A start could be made immediately through an Anglo-French venture with other interested nations joining in later if they wished Such a programme should be : fully co-operative with the American one, but not subservient to it. Time to Act It should not be necessary to hold up these plans any longer. Joint ventures’ with other nations are not without their difficulties, but if the first two countries determined to make a going concern

of it, little persuasion would be needed to get other nations to join in subsequently. In Britain, it is particularly important to halt at once the gradual drifting away of the sadly-disillusioned design teams from the ill-fated Blue Streak project. They must be revitalised as the nucleus of a new and more ambitious programme. Surely the latest Russian attempt should stimulate this.

Some years ago. the Duke of Edinburgh had this to say: “I personally cannot believe that the British people or the people of the Commonwealth will be content to sit by and watch others explore the universe around us.” If this is really so, then it si time for action now.— (Central Press, All Rights Reserved.