Page 20 - The Sandbag Times Issue No:58

One Giant Leap... 50 Years On

As the world remembers that ‘First Step’ the UK extends it’s reach to the stars with it’s own project as recently
revealed by the former Defence Minister. The Sandbag Times reflects on history and looks to the future.

Article: Pablo Snow, SBT Image Credit: (1) BBC (2) Flight Global (3) Space Flight 101

One Small Step...

n 1969, History was made when Neil Armstrong became the programmes since 1952, eventually launching the Ariel satellite
first man to step foot on the moon. Those immortal words programme in 1959 using US rockets but it wasn’t until 2011
Iwere uttered which were to echo for the next fifty years. until the UK was to fund it’s first astronaut to the International
“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. This Space Station. The honour falling to Army Air Corps Apache
was just 66 years after Orvil and Wilbur Wright first got their pilot, Tim Peake when he rocketed off to the ISS in 2015.
Wright Flyer off the ground.
But as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing,
Getting back to 2019 we can look back over an incredible the former UK’s Defence Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, outlined
century of flight. In fact, as we mentioned, it is literally just the UK’s future space programme.
over a century since man first found a way to get off the ground
in the very first aircraft. Less than fifty years later, following Team ARTEMIS
the air campaigns of the second world war, the first jet aircraft
were produced adding a whole new dimension to flight. Jets (1) The small satellite demonstrator, which will be supported
gave aviators the ability to fly so much higher and faster than by a new transatlantic team of UK and US defence personnel,
before. In 1959, a rocket powered aircraft was produced known named Team ARTEMIS, will sit alongside a host of other
as the X15 which in 1967 would fly higher that ever imagined programmes that will demonstrate the UK’s leading future role
at an altitude of 102,100 feet at a speed of Mach 6.7. The pilot in space.
was officially the first Astronaut. Just two years later, man
stepped on the moon. These days, we have seen regular rocket Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, Chief of the Air Staff,
and shuttle launches, satellites launched to relay information said: “I am delighted that the Secretary of State has announced
in a myriad of ways, a manned space station and man has even our plans to take our space ambitions to the next stage through
reached Mars. Project ARTEMIS. When this is combined with our investments
in the training and development of our people, improved
But let’s talk about the UK. The UK has been involved in space command and control, greater space situational awareness, and
(1) Article exerpt from Air101.co.uk (2) Article exerpt from FlightGlobal.com

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