Etherospermia: Conceptual art,science and allegory in the sky-seeding project

This paper presents the practice of the artist/researcher Ioannis Michaloudis. It showcases his use of a space technology nanomaterial, silica aerogel, and its potential in the cultural utilization of space. Since 2001, his projects have centered around the esthetic, sculptural and conceptual use of silica aerogel. For Michaloudis, this material is highly allegorical of what he terms ‘our breaking sky’. For the authors, the step towards space is a real ‘bridge moment’, analogous to the evolutionary progression of organisms from water to earth. In this current era of space exploration, it is clear that humans need to develop new organs and survival skills – or, cultivate new skies in response to the breaking of our atmosphere?s dome. It is also clear that science and art need to collaborate more productively. To this end, it is argued that allegory provides the link between imaginability, experiment and representation in both scientific and artistic practices. Etherospermia (εθεροσπερμ?α) is an invented word from ether and panspermia. The Etherospermia project pursues, allegorically, the creation of new atmospheres on other planets, in order to draw attention to the degradation and destruction of the earth?s protective veil. Imagine an astronaut who, during a space walk, scatters fragments of Michaloudis? silica aerogel as seed material to alter the atmospheres of other planets, making them habitable. The paper discusses nine artworks as a way of presenting the conceptual core of the etherospermia allegory.     

Space debris and the need for space traffic control

This report summarises the presentations which took place at the ‘Space Traffic Control – Is the Space Debris Problem Solvable?’ conference hosted by the Royal Aeronautical Society on the 2nd July 2013. The conference sought to promote discussion over methods to deal with the issue of space debris in particular and speakers included representatives from the European Space Agency, the United Kingdom Space Agency, practitioners and academia. Themes which emerged during the conference included the urgency of the problem of space debris, the need for short-term and long-term solutions, the necessity for the development and implementation of space debris remediation technologies to complement existing mitigation efforts and, last but not least, the wider applications of space traffic control. Regarding the sub-title of the conference, ‘is the space debris problem solvable?’, it would appear from the presentations that while there is the potential for future management of the issue through debris remediation and harmonised mitigation efforts, no comprehensive solutions exist at the time of writing.     

Man and space – The Isle of Man, the IISC and the new space economy

With the arrival of private entrepreneurs and the appearance of such things as prizes to stimulate space initiatives, the space economy is changing rapidly from its initial government-driven character. A number of countries and territories, such as the Isle of Man, have understood the growing role of this new space economy and are preparing the appropriate boundary conditions to support its further development. This article shows why the Isle of Man may be uniquely placed to take advantage of recent developments in the space economy, thanks to its business-friendly tax and regulatory regime, and discusses the island’s strategy to attract space businesses. The establishment of the International Institute of Space Commerce, a recently formed think-tank, is an integral part of this strategy.     

How far – if at all – should the USA cooperate with China in space?

China has engaged in a steady, long-standing effort to build and strengthen its space capabilities, achieving progressively more ambitious milestones and staking its claim as a major space power. It is also increasingly engaging in cooperative efforts. A number of issues must be weighed, however, before the USA should consider any collaboration with it. These include the essentially military nature of China’s space program, the fact that China’s intentions in space and decision-making process are far from ‘transparent’, and the way it uses its space activities to pursue foreign policy goals. While the latter could be useful in, e.g., reducing tensions on the Korean peninsular through a space-services-for-giving-up-missiles tradeoff, and while there is scope for collaboration in space science missions, there are no compelling reasons for the USA to pursue cooperation in human spaceflight with China.     

No deal in space: A bargaining model analysis of U.S. resistance to space arms control

Space systems are essential to the global economy and security. The possibility of disruptions arising from competition between the United States and China through the testing and deployment of weapons in space has led to concerns over an incipient space arms race that would threaten satellites, leading to international calls for a space arms control treaty. The paper presents a rationalist theory analysis on the lack of progress in establishing such a treaty, identifying the United States' position of primacy in the global order and its preeminence in space as a primary cause.     

The eagle eyes the dragon in space—A critique

China's space policy and its purpose have become an increasingly contentious subject. This paper critically examines the claims, made by Ashley Tellis, among others, that China has a space strategy decided and coordinated by the Chinese military and dedicated to defeating superior US power locally in an asymmetrical war, and that it is this military space strategy that drives China's single-minded pursuit of space science and technology and the development of China's space programme. To do so, the paper conducts two investigations: into the declining role of the Chinese military in China's foreign and security policy making and its limited influence in formulating China's grand strategy; and the other into the contingent history of China's two space programs, Shenzhou and Chang'e, which have largely been driven by civilian scientist communities, rather than the military. In so doing, I argue that the claims of China's ‘military space strategy’ are over-imaginative and serve a particular political purpose. The social imaginary of a threatening China produced by the US strategic gaze at China in space, I further argue, has dangerous policy implications.     

空间技术实验与空间技术发展

空间技术实验是空间技术发展的需要,是空间技术发展的先驱和阶梯。本文以美国、苏联、印度、巴西为例说明空间技术实验在过去和未来对空间技术发展的必要性和迫切性。文中研究了90年代世界空间技术实验的发展趋势和具体项目,探讨了我国空间技术实验的现状。     

A normal space power? Understanding ‘security’ in Japan's space policy discourse

With the enactment of its ‘Basic Space Law’ in 2008, a significant shift occurred in Japan's space policy away from a narrowly circumscribed interpretation of the concept of space for ‘peaceful purposes’ to a broad understanding of space for ‘security’. Viewed in a global context, Japanese space policy appears symptomatic of a broadened and more malleable understanding of space for security purposes, as already advocated by several other leading spacefaring powers, and proponents of this understanding of space for security argue that this is consistent with international standards and the expectations of a ‘normal’ space power. By attempting to redefine understandings of ‘peace’ and ‘security’, however, the Basic Space Law and subsequent direction of Japanese space policy raise complex and ongoing issues over the interpretation of Japan's ‘Peace Constitution’. This article reviews policy and academic discussions of the recent evolution of Japanese space policy in this respect, arguing that greater emphasis on ‘security’ – understood in a deliberately broad sense in policy terms – has been key to articulating and justifying the reformulation and redirection of Japanese space policy, but that this also brings with it room for ambiguity over the exact nature of Japan's space ambitions at both national and regional levels.     

The origin of the smaller, faster, cheaper approach in NASA’s solar system exploration program

The current emphasis on smaller, faster, cheaper (SFC) spacecraft in NASA’s solar system exploration program is the product of a number of interacting – even interdependent – factors. The SFC concept as applied to NASA’s solar system exploration program can be viewed as the vector sum of (1) the space science community’s desire for more frequent planetary missions to plug the data gaps, educate the next generation of scientists, provide missions to targets of opportunity, and enable programmatic flexibility in times of budgetary crisis; (2) the poor publicity garnered by NASA in the early 1990s and the resultant atmosphere of public criticism (creating an opportunity for reform); (3) The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization’s and the National Space Council community’s desire to advance the Space Exploration Initiative and their perception that the NASA culture at the time represented a barrier to the effective pursuit of space exploration; (4) the effective leadership of NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin; and (5) the diminishing budget profile for space sciences in the early 1990s. This paper provides a summary of the origin of the smaller, faster, cheaper approach in the planetary program. A more through understanding of the history behind this policy will enable analysts to assess more accurately the relative successes and failures of NASA’s new approach to solar system exploration.     

地月空间探索与开发的思考

提出了地月空间探索与开发的概念，对全球发展态势进行了总结，从人类文明、太空格局、战略安全、科技经济全方位发展等维度阐述了我国开展地月空间探索与开发的发展需求；并提出了地月空间探索与开发的体系组成、能力需求和技术难点，从科学、经济和工程三个方面分析了发展效益，最后给出了发展路线；研究成果可为未来大规模开展地月空间探索与开发提供参考。     

Role of the current young generation within the space exploration sector

The space sector gathers together people from a variety of fields who work in the industry on different levels and with different expertise. What is often forgotten is the impact and role of the current young generation. Their engagement is of great importance as undeniably today's young ‘space generation’ will be defining the direction of future space exploration.Today's vision of future human and robotic space exploration has been set out in the Global Exploration Roadmap (GER). This focuses on sustainable, affordable and productive long-term goals. The strategy begins with the International Space Station (ISS) and then expands human presence into the solar system, including a human mission to Mars.This paper presents a general overview of the role of today's youth within the space exploration sector and the challenges to overcome. To complete this perspective, we present results from a survey made among students and young professionals about their levels of awareness of the GER. The respondents presented their opinion about current aspects of the GER and prioritised the GER's objectives. It is hoped that the paper will bring a new perspective into the GER and a contribution to the current GER strategy.     

Overview of Hungarian space activity: Plenty of potential,not enough support

The era of modern space research and applications began with the 1945–46 Moon-radar experiments and with the successful launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. Hungary and Hungarian engineers/researchers were present at the birth of this new and important discipline. As a consequence of the Second World War Hungary became part of the Soviet bloc and, for the first 30 years of the Space Age, Hungarian space activity was carried out mainly within Intercosmos; however, some highlights were produced. After the collapse of the communist dictatorship Hungarian space activity was successfully rebuilt and the past 20 years have seen the beginning of the integration of Hungarian space activity into ESA and EU space policy. Hungarian society’s attitude to the country’s space activity is complex, as is that of its decision makers. This largely results from the simplified picture of global space activity and Hungarian participation therein in people’s minds and from the ignorance of the country’s decision makers. While this is basically a global problem, it has a special Hungarian aspect in the view that a small country has no real role in the world, in the EU, in ESA or in global space activity. We have a task: to change this mind-set.     

European space research in support of international partnership

The envisaged future space research programmes, whether in the field of space exploration or Earth observation are becoming more and more technically complicated and so costly that a single nation can hardly afford to realize them. Major non-European space-faring nations, China and India will progressively play an important role besides US, Russia and Japan. The Space Advisory Group of the European Commission recommended that the European Commission supports within Horizon 2020 a comprehensive Robotic Mars-Exploration Programme under European leadership that should become an essential element of a coordinated international space research programme. The International Space Station (ISS) experience shows that cooperative space programmes build links between industries and laboratories from around the world, which then further develop in non-space related activities, with positive impact on the economy and scientific research. Strategies need to be developed to mitigate the gradual increasing risks incurred by climate change. In order to lower their entry barrier to engage in space emerging and developing space nations need to be included in cooperative space programmes. We present the recommendations of the Space Advisory Group of the European Commission concerning Europe's participation to global space endeavours.     

Space technology transfer: Spin-off cases from Japan

Government organizations have to justify high expenditure during periods of financial crisis such as the one we are experiencing today. Space agencies have attempted to increase the returns on their investments in space missions by encouraging the commercial use of advanced technologies. This paper describes two technology transfer (TT) cases promoted by JAXA, in order to identify the organizational models and determinants of TT. The development of a TT process from space to Earth not only benefits the aerospace industry but also the network of national companies. The aim of the paper is to investigate who the actors are and the nature of their role, as well as the determinants of the TT process in the Japanese space sector. The case studies confirm the typical path of transfer as ‘Earth–space–Earth’.     

History of UK contribution to astronautics: Politics and government

In all developed countries, once it emerged from the amateur era, Space (and especially rocketry) moved on the public agenda because of its potential significance for both the civil and military policies of governments (coupled with its appetite for new money). In the UK the policy treatment of Space broadly paralleled that in other countries until the post-Empire trauma, the burn-out of the White-Hot Technological revolution of Harold Wilson, and the financial crises of the 1970s exhausted the public appetite for large scale publicly funded projects in high technology. The culmination for Space of these pressures came in 1986–1987 when the UK rejected the emerging international consensus and, almost alone, stayed outside the manned space commitments which developed into the International Space Station. In this paper, Colin Hicks will review the UK political developments which led up to the 1986–1987 decision and how the politics and organisation of UK space activity have developed since then to the point where in 2008 a major government review of the UK involvement in manned space was commissioned.     

空间科学规划及对航天运输系统的需求

空间科学不仅能够推动我国在基础科学研究领域取得重大科学突破,还能够有效牵引、带动航天高新技术的发展。中国科学院空间科学战略性先导科技专项是"十二五"时期我国空间科学领域最重要的系统性进展,开启了中国空间科学发展的新篇章。"十三五"时期,我国将继续研制、发射一系列新的空间科学卫星,这对航天运输系统提出了新的技术发展需求。发展空间科学必将推动我国的航天强国、世界科技强国建设进程。     

Administrative reform of Japanese Space Policy Structures in 2012

In Japan, there are several government ministries and agencies with important roles in the development and use of space. In 2012, Japan restructured its administrative organs related to the development and use of space through legal amendments to the original acts that established these organs. Although this was an important administrative reform that took four years of planning and discussion to accomplish, this restructuring has not been communicated well outside of Japan. This study provides the first comprehensive overview of the recent legal changes in Japanese space policy. In contrast to some reports, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) still has primary responsibility for the finances and personnel of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). This continues to be true even after the Cabinet Office begins its new role as the focal point for formulating Japanese space policy. It remains to be seen how the policy direction of the Cabinet Office will interact with the operational, financial, and personnel responsibilities of MEXT. I argue that knowledge of the roles of MEXT and the Cabinet Office in space policy, and the tension between the two organizations, is key to understanding Japan's future space policy decision-making process. By tracing the history of Japanese space policy since 2001, I also suggest that if bureaucrats had thought more deeply before making major reforms to space policy and its administration, there would have been less confusion over the development of national space policy this past decade. This paper concludes by identifying some key elements to monitor in the coming years of Japan's space policy.     

ESA strategic planning for space exploration

The European Space Agency (ESA) is pursuing an independent strategic planning process for consolidating a destination driven (LEO, Moon, Mars) space exploration strategy. ESA's space exploration strategy is driven by the goals to maximise knowledge gain and to contribute to economic growth. International cooperation is a key pillar of ESA's strategy as it is considered both, an enabler for achieving common goals and a benefit, opening new perspective for addressing future challenges. The achievement of ESA's space exploration strategy is enabled through international partnerships. The interagency coordination process conducted within the framework of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) plays an important role in laying the foundations for future partnerships. It has achieved so far the development of a common vision for space exploration, a common plan for implementing the vision in the form of the Global Exploration Roadmap, as well as a common approach for articulating the value of global space exploration. ESA has been a strong promoter and supporter of the interagency coordination process conducted within ISECG and thanks to its unique expertise in international cooperation the Agency has contributed to its success.     

空间态势评估初探

文章从空间态势评估的基本概念出发,指出了空间态势评估的主要任务和特点,对空间态势评估的过程进行了初步探讨,建立了空间态势评估的功能模型,简述了实现空间态势评估系统的关键技术,为进一步开发空间态势评估系统奠定了基础。     

任务空间内空间机械臂的一种鲁棒自适应控制

对于本体姿态受控而位置不受控的空间机械臂系统,考虑存在参数不确定性及非参数不确定性(包括扰动、未建模动态),本文在任务空间内提出了一种鲁棒复合自适应控制方法,证明了这种方法可以保证末端执行器在任务空间内的位置轨迹跟踪误差、关节空间内的角偏差和角偏差速率渐近收敛.仿真结果验证了算法的有效性.