§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence (1) what improvement he estimates a Post-Apollo and Shuttle Transportation system will make in the field of naval navigation;
- (2) what improvement he estimates a Post-Apollo and Shuttle Transportation system will make in the field of strategic and tactical communications for the Navy;
- (3) what improvement he estimates a Post-Apollo and Shuttle Transportation system will make in the field of strategical and tactical communications for the air forces;
- (4) what improvement he estimates a Post-Apollo and Shuttle Transportation system will make in the field of strategical and tactical communications for the land forces;
- (5) what improvements he estimates a Post-Apollo and Shuttle Transportation system will make in the field of tactical on-orbit weapons;
- (6) what improvements he estimates a Post-Apollo and Shuttle Transportation system will make in the field of air force navigation;
- (7) what improvements he estimates a Post Apollo and Shuttle Transportation system will make in the field of surveillance and early warning;
150 - (8) what improvement he estimates a Post-Apollo and Shuttle Transportation system will make in the field of meteorology.
§ Lord LambtonAs my right hon. Friend the Minister for Aerospace told the House on 7th February, 1972, the Government are at present examining the merits of participation in the Post-Apollo programme and we are continuing discussions on this subject with our European Space Conference partners and jointly with them, with the United States authorities. Until this examination is concluded it would be premature for me to comment on the improvements, if any, a Post-Apollo and Shuttle Transportation system might make in the particular fields of activity referred to in the hon. Member's Questions.—[Vol. 830, c.243.]
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence what study he is making of the servicing and ratification and retrieval of in-orbit satellites.
§ Lord LambtonNone.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence (1) what study he is making of methods of updating satellite systems;
(2) what study he is making of updating the systems of, and extending the operational life of, satellites.
§ Mr. Ian GilmourA study is being made of a defence communications satellite which would have greater reliability and more traffic capacity than the Skynet II satellite due to be launched next year. Other studies of a more general nature are being made into satellite characteristics and environmental questions.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence what study he is giving to the incentive to recruitment of high grade personnel for the Royal Air Force, of the possibility of creating opportunities for United Kingdom military service passenger astronauts; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord LambtonNone.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence what medical research he is doing related to human functions in space.
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§ Lord LambtonNone specifically, but some of our medical aviation research has incidental relevance to manned space flight.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence what study he is making of the problems of close range observation of orbiting satellites.
§ Lord LambtonNone.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence how many members of the current course on air warfare at Royal Air Force Man by have chosen the Space Shuttle as their course project; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord LambtonThree.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence what study he is making of problems of observation of specific small earth targets for detailed examination.
§ Lord LambtonMy Department is involved in the technical management of a number of remote sensing projects, on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence what studies are being undertaken by the Staff College, Camberley, on Post-Apollo problems.
§ Mr. G. Johnson SmithNone. The implications of advances in the fields of science and technology are primarily studied at the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham, which all staff college students attend before going to Camberley.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence why the post of Director of Operations, Space Research, at the rank of squadron leader was discontinued.
§ Lord LambtonAlthough it did not bear this title I assume the question refers to a squadron leader post in the former Ministry of Aviation Supply. This post was civilianised in January, 1971, there being no longer any direct defence interest in the Black Arrow programme.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence to what extent problems of Post-Apollo co-operation with the United States of America feature in lecture 152W courses on aerospace studies at Royal Air Force, Manby.
§ Lord LambtonThe Post-Apollo programme features in lecture courses on aerospace studies at Man by, but not the problems, if any, of co-operation with the United States of America.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence what studies of the Post-Apollo programme are being made at Royal Air Force, Manby.
§ Lord LambtonPost-Apollo programme studies form only a small part of the Man by programme and are limited to the study of available unclassified material.