KSEVT

OBC Conference - May 1012

University of Maribor

Dr. Dusan Petrac

We start our space journey here

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Our world to explore – solar system

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Small community with big vision

KCEVT at completion

Architectural vision symbolizes Noordung’s space habitat

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Work in progress

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Work in progress

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It all stared

• The inspiration for KSEVT project goes

back to the first part of the last century.

• During a short respite between the two

world wars, a small group of intrepid

rocket enthusiasts from Austria and

Germany set out to formulate sound

engineering solutions to the problem of

space flight.

• Hermann Potocnik Noordung belonged to

this circle. 7

Hermann Potočnik – NOORDUNG

“Space travel should not be seen as impossible any longer, rather, it should be seen as technologically completely realizable. All obstacles which stand in the way will be overcome because of the profound human longing that underlies this challenge.

Hermann Potočnik Noordung, 1928 8

The man -1892 to 1929

• Rocket engineer

• Pioneer of cosmonautics – member of the Berlin club

• Slovenian national – mother from Vitanje

• Education- elementary school - Maribor

• Technical Military Academy - specialization in civil engineering - Austria

• Service in WW I - early disability retirement

• Post graduate studies – University of Technology - Vienna - specialization in

electrical engineering and aeronautics

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The devil is in details

Noordung’s rotating

space habitat

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Rotating wheel - space colony

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Community of kindred souls

• Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky - Russia

• German Society for Space Travel and

Rocketry - Hermann Oberth and his

German circle

• Count Pirquet and his Austrian circle

• Robert Goddard - USA

• Wernher von Braun - Germany

• Sergej Korolev - Soviet Union

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The new visionaries

The creative power engine behind the KCEVT project

S. Fijavz, D. Zivadinov, Dr. Oto Lutar of ZRC SAZU, S. Vetrih, Miha Tursic, D. Zupancic

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KSEVT mission

• The motive behind KSEVT project is to enable

young people as well as mature scientists to

access new modes of knowledge where

technology, culture and art are merged into a

humanistic vision of space exploration.

• The facilities will include an extensive library and

will host communication events, exhibitions,

guest lectures and visits of scientists/artists from

around the globe.

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Memorandum of Cooperation

S. Fijavz - Administrative Director of Vitanje

Dr. E. Kobal – Director of Slovenian Science Foundation

S. Vetrih – Mayor of Vitanje

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Sponsoring institutions

• EU Cultural Fund

• Municipality of Vitanje

• Slovenian Ministry of Culture

• Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences, and Arts

• The Slovenian Science Foundation

• Slovenska Matica

• Institute of the History of Science and Technology – Russian Academy of Sciences 16

Keeping the memory alive

• The municipality of Vitanje established Noordung memorial room in 2006 to honor the memory of the Hermann Potocnik Noordung.

• The room contains visual and auditory displays of Noordung’s engineering genius and its impact from the vantage point of culture and art.

• The exhibit was created by artists Dragan Zivadinov, Miha Tursic and Dunja Zupandic in collaboration with enthusiastic team of Major Slavko Vetrih and Vitanje’s municipal manager Srecko Fijavz.

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Astronaut Sunita Williams visiting Vitanje - Sept. 2009

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Astronaut Sunita Williams

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American astronaut of

Slovenian ancestry

Spent 195 days on ISS in

2006

Is a commander for an

upcoming flight to ISS

Launch scheduled with

Soyuz for mid-July

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Project Apollo

The greatest technological achievement in

human history

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Just get me to the Moon

I don’t care if it’s uncle Sam or Stalin, as long as I get the money …

Werhner von Braun and J. F. Kennedy

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His smile could win the cold war

Juri Gagarin

First man in space – April 12 1961

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The battle is on…

Address to U.S. Congress – May 1961

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Apollo program

• The Apollo program was the spaceflight effort carried out by the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that landed the first humans on Earth’s Moon.

• The program took off in earnest in the spring of 1961 after President John F. Kennedy proposed landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth ‘within this decade.’

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Cold war

• Apollo program was a desperate response to Russian preeminence in space during the early years of Cold War - Yuri Gagarin’s flight.

• Moon landings were to serve as conclusive demonstration of American superiority in space exploration and missile defense.

• Space exploration became a symbol of U.S. national prestige.

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Words of prophesy

• ‘I believe that this nation should commit itself

to achieving the goal, before this decade is

out, of landing a man on the Moon and

returning him safely to the Earth.

• No single space project in this period will be

more impressive to mankind, or more

important in the long-range exploration of

space; and none will be so difficult or

expensive to accomplish.

– John F. Kennedy

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What it took

• Landing men on the Moon within a decade

required the most sudden burst of

technological creativity and the largest

commitment of resources ever made by

any nation in peacetime - $24 B.

• At its peak, the Apollo program employed

400,000 people and required the support

of over 20,000 industrial firms and

universities. 27

Goal accomlished

• Kennedy’s goal was accomplished with

Apollo 11 mission in July 1969.

• Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

landed their lunar Module on the Moon

and walked on its surface while Michael

Collins remained in lunar orbit in the

command spacecraft.

• All three astronauts returned safely to

Earth. 28

Apollo 11 launch

As we lifted off,

you can imagine this rocket

– it’s a giant thing, but it’s

not bulky like an obelisk or

like the Washington

monument.

It is more flexible. Not

quite a whip antenna on

your automobile, but

somewhat like this…

So we were literally thrown

around. I felt like a rat in

the jaws of a giant terrier.

Bill Anders – Apollo 8

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It took a special breed of men

Neil Armstrong – the first man on the Moon – Apollo 11

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The second Genesis

To me the reading of the

Genesis was that we were

trying to say something sort

of fundamental.

Something that will stop and

grab people’s guts and say,

hey this isn’t just a little

whistle-around the Earth

space shot; this is man’s

first step away from his

home planet.

I mean, we are talking

about a second Genesis, if

you will.

Bill Anders – Apollo 8

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Moon walkers

• Five subsequent Apollo missions also

landed astronauts on the Moon.

• The last of the six (Apollo 17) completed in

December 1972, effectively ended the

manned lunar exploration for decades to

come.

• All counted, 12 men walked on the Moon.

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It’s spectacular…

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When Shepard came back

from Apollo 14…I said,

” Hey Al, what’s it really

like?”…

And all he could do was look

me in the eye, and I could

read it. And he said,

“It’s spectacular.” And that’s

all I needed to know.

Dave Scott –Apollo 15

I wish I had an artist’s eye

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I wish I could go back to the

Moon, step out, everybody

would go do whatever they

had to do, and I could look,

and talk about it, you know,

record it. Look-up sun. Look

for these things as an artist

would.

Alan Bean – Apollo 12

Earthrise

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You’re proud of what you

are doing.

I mean, you are proud of

the fact that, hey, I made

it to the moon.

And then you look out

and you see all that

darkness, and you also

feel pretty humble at the

same time.

Stu Rosa – Apollo 14

It’s crystalline…

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To me it’s crystalline.

Crystalline being it has

depth. I like to draw

analogy with someone

who has deep blue

eyes. It’s got a three-

dimensional feel to it.

And it’s really

beautiful.

Dave Scott – Apollo 15

Enduring monument to Man

Apollo 11 landing site on the Moon – Sea of Tranquility

As close as we ‘re able to come looking directly back into human past…

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The legacy and the future

• The photo shows Apollo 11 lunar module parked just where it landed over 40 years ago - it’s as if the time has stood still ever since.

• Such images document the simple grandeur of Apollo missions.

• We become aware, once again, of the enormous adventure having taken place and of formidable risks ventured. – There was a real possibility that after having landed,

the Eagle would be unable to lift off again and the astronauts would be stranded on the Moon.

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Money should have been spent

• Money should have been spent to find one

guy – and I don’t know how to pick them,

but you need someone – you need

Hemingway that can capture the feeling

and describe, to say, “I saw this. And I saw

that. And I saw this.” That would have

been worth the price of Apollo.

• Ken Mattingly – Apollo 16

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There’s no place like home

Earthrise – Apolo 8

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