Dušan Petrač, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, Pasadena, USA About the Cultural Center of the European Space Technology-KSEVT http://obc2012.outofthebox.si/

1. KSEVT
OBC Conference - May 1012
University of Maribor
Dr. Dusan Petrac

2. We start our space journey here
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3. Our world to explore – solar system
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4. Small community with big vision
KCEVT at completion
Architectural vision symbolizes Noordung’s space habitat
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5. Work in progress
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6. Work in progress
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7. 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

8. 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
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9. 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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10. The devil is in details
Noordung’s rotating
space habitat
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11. Rotating wheel - space colony
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12. 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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13. 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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14. 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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15. 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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16. 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

17. 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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18. Astronaut Sunita Williams visiting Vitanje - Sept. 2009
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19. Astronaut Sunita Williams
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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20. Project Apollo
The greatest technological achievement in
human history
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21. 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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22. His smile could win the cold war
Juri Gagarin
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First man in space – April 12 1961

23. The battle is on…
Address to U.S. Congress – May 1961
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24. 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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25. 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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26. 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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27. 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.
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28. 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.
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29. 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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30. It took a special breed of men
Neil Armstrong – the first man on the Moon – Apollo 11
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31. 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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32. 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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33. It’s spectacular…
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
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34. I wish I had an artist’s eye
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
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35. Earthrise
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
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36. It’s crystalline…
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
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37. 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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38. 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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39. 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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40. There’s no place like home
Earthrise – Apolo 8
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