The availability is extremely limited, so book your ticket today via Spaceport Sweden – and get ready for space!

Spaceport Sweden is a proud reseller of the sensational flights of airZeroG. This is not only the single opportunity to fly in Europe, it is also the largest aircraft in the world license to perform this advanced flying.

During a full day you will be prepared and learn about simulating weightlessness in an Airbus A300, highlight it with the 2.5 hours experience of 12 parabolas in no gravity.

First public flight ever was performed in March 2013, next will be in June 2013 and 25th of October is still on sale!

Location is in France, Paris or Bordeaux-Merginác.

For more details, visit http://www.spaceportsweden.com/booking/ or contact us  – booking@spaceportsweden.com

“I’m king of space!”

The intermittently reliable New York Post has this space tourism item out of France:

One lucky Cannes Film Festival-goer will get to go into outer space with Leonardo DiCaprio. Page Six has exclusively learned one of the auction prizes at tonight’s amfAR gala at Cannes will be a trip on Virgin Galactic’s space flight with “The Great Gatsby” star. Seats on the world’s first commercial space flight cost $200,000, but sources say this auction item was “priceless” because the highest bidder will be personally escorted by DiCaprio.

This will likely be a really good deal for DiCaprio. The bidder will send many times the cost of the ticket to ride with the star of “Titanic” (in which he died) and “The Great Gatsby” (ditto, I think).  Mmmmm….I wonder if that’s really such a good idea…

The proceeds will be more than enough to cover Leo’s ticket to space, meaning that in all likelihood the flight won’t cost him a penny. It’s not that he couldn’t easily afford a ticket, but what’s the point of being a celebrity if you can’t take advantage of these deals. And it’s for a good cause, I guess.

Peter Diamandis achieved the same thing a few years back during X Prize Foundation’s “Radical Benefit for Humanity” gala. In that case, he was the celebrity that someone bid a lot of money to fly into space with aboard SpaceShipTwo. The proceeds were enough to cover his ticket.

Yes, I have made it out of the Mojave Desert for a few days — far away from the big bad winds that threaten to blow my house down, the dust storms that clog up my sinuses, and the suicidal rabbits that jump in front of my car. (I’m serious; it’s the most disturbing thing about that place. That…and all the meth labs.)

But, I digress.

I will attempt to cover this conference as best I can, but it’s not going to be that easy. The session rooms lack Internet wireless, work tables and electrical power strips for one’s laptops and electronic gadgets. I can barely Tweet because my wireless phone gets almost no signal.  It’s mind boggling. I’ve stood in the middle of the Mojave Desert — surrounded by nothing by sagebrush and snakes and God knows what else — and gotten better signals than I have here.

They had the same problems four years ago at ISDC in Orlando. At the time, I was told the luxury hotel there was charging too much for Internet service. So, I would cover a talk and then walk over to another part of the hotel to file a story.  It’s just surreal to listen to folks talk about sending people to Mars and we can’t get wireless in the session rooms.

It’s a major annoyance to me, but it’s a bigger loss for NSS and broader space community. Organizers go through years of preparations to hold this conference, then the coverage of it is diminished by a lack of basic services one would expect in 2013. Not just by me and other media folks, but by anyone who wants to use social media to let others follow what’s going on here. These media outlets are a great magnifier for any conference.

This is something that needs to be corrected for future conferences.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL., May 22, 2013 (CASIS PR)

The Request for Proposals (RFP) seeks to identify projects studying the effects of microgravity on non‑embryonic mammalian stem cells for one of two research emphasis areas: (1) rapid turn-around spaceflight experiments to be performed on the National Lab or (2) ground-based research that will pave the way for improved spaceflight experiments in the future. CASIS will support selected projects through grant funding, facilitation of service provider partnerships and flight coordination to and from the ISS.

Stem cells are cells that have not yet completed differentiation, the change that occurs when cells and tissues become more specialized in their functions. They display remarkable plasticity in their ability to give rise to a spectrum of cell types and ensure life-long tissue rejuvenation and regeneration. A breadth of experiments on the ground utilizing simulated microgravity, and a smaller number of experiments in space, have shown that microgravity induces changes in the way stem cells grow, divide and differentiate. Exploiting these changes may allow acceleration of traditional ground-based research studies. Stem cell biology in microgravity is thus poised to transform broad fields from discovery science to tissue engineering to regenerative medicine.

“CASIS is excited to support research in an area with such broad implications,” said CASIS Interim Executive Director Jim Royston. “Awarded projects will help demonstrate the utility of the National Lab for stem cell research and ultimately enable improvements in drug screening techniques and regenerative medicine.”

For additional information about this RFP, including instructions and information regarding stem cell research, CASIS and the ISS please visit:

http://www.iss-casis.org/Opportunities/Solicitations/RFPStemCellsResearch.aspx

Proposals must be submitted electronically by 5pm EDT on July 25, 2013 via the CASIS solicitations website page.

Editor’s Note: AEB — the Brazilian Space Agency — has published a Q&A with Pedro Henrique Doria Nehme, an agency trainees who recently won a trip to space aboard XCOR’s Lynx suborbital vehicle. The interview is reproduced below, translated from Portuguese via Google Translate.

Pedro Henrique Doria Nehme, 21, will go down in history. He will be the first Brazilian civilian to go to space. The future space tourist won the World Space Flight promotion, undertaken by KLM, which awarded the winner with a spot on the ship Lynx, operated by Space Expedition Corporation (SXC) of the Netherlands.

The student demonstrates he has not realized the significance of the prize he won. A trainee of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) and eighth semester student of electrical engineering at the University of Brasilia (UNB), Pedro says he is very interested in the space, “as a child, I liked airplanes.” He worked at Goddard Space Flight Center , the American Space Agency (NASA), and studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington , D.C.

In addition to his aerospace work, Pedro plays bass and guitar. The student likes Brazilian music and composers such as Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, Nando Reis, and Gilberto Gil.

AEB – Why did you decide to study electrical engineering?

Pedro - My father started studying electrical engineering, but did not finished. He always encouraged me to take interest in engineering. In my house, we were encouraged to open things up and see how they worked. For these reasons, I decided to take the course.

AEB – How did you become interested in space?

Pedro -  As a child, I liked airplanes. My mother gave us LEGO to play around with, and I always preferred aircraft. Before college, there is plenty to do in the area. In high school, we see something about it, but nothing too palpable. When I entered college, I was really interested in the topic. In mid 2011, I was doing a winter course at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), for a month. It was on aerospace research, and the classes had as their theme space missions. The last week of the course was a short stage. I made ​​the Integration and Tests Laboratory (LIT), in the area of interference and electromagnetic compatibility. From there, I really became interested in the area.

AEB – How was your experience in the INPE course?

Pedro - The course was phenomenal. Some speakers took part in Brazilian missions and others had practical experience with systems. After attending the course, I realized that society does not know much this sector. Before the course, I had no idea what was the LIT. The laboratory is sensational.

AEB – At the College of Engineering at the University of Brasilia (UNB), did you participate in any lab or research group?

Pedro – When I started engineering course, I know the labs and enjoyed the automation and robotics, which is perhaps one of the few laboratories in Brazil that develops such technology. The laboratory operates on several fronts: medical robotics, robotic air, mobile robotics, rehabilitation, among others. It’s a large space, which has partnerships with companies and where many people work. At the time (first half of the course), there was a vacancy in aerial robotics project. Since then, I have participated in the research group.

AEB – How did you get the internship at NASA?

Pedro - I already knew how to speak English and always wanted to go to the United States (U.S.). In late 2011, there was the launch of the Science Without Borders Program, which had exchanges to the U.S. and I always wanted to do the exchange. So, I decided to sign up. In the meantime, the teacher Duília de Mello, who is Catholic University of America in Washington and researcher at NASA, some selected students of the program through the curriculum for an internship at NASA. I was one of them. In total, seven Brazilians were chosen, three from the University of Brasilia, one from the University of São Paulo (USP), one of Southern Cross University and two of the Aeronautics Technological Institute (ITA).

AEB – How was your experience at NASA?

Pedro - The experience was very good, I learned a lot. I spent a year in the United States. I had no notion of both things happening at NASA. Many projects. At the center where I interning, which was the largest of all, were being made ​​more than 200 aerospace projects, with all its complications and specificities. In that time, I learned things that we may never learn to be in Brazil. Well worth you going out, learn and then bring that knowledge to Brazil. I consider myself privileged to have interned at NASA.

AEB – You developed some projects at NASA?

Pedro - At NASA, I  worked at Goddard Space Flight Center , where I was part of the project BETTI ( Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry ) – developed by a team of astronomers and engineers from NASA, the University of Maryland, and the Institute for Johns Hopkins University. It is a projection and building an observatory balloon to study the cosmos in infrared sharper detail. I and four interns developed a camera. At the time, I was thinking about how researchers had the courage to put materials worth $30,000 in the hands five trainees. Over time, I realized that they have confidence in students.

AEB – How did you end up in AEB?

Pedro - In October, I watched a video on YouTube of the Programme Manager AEB School, Eduardo Quintanilla, giving a lecture at Campus Party . He spoke about the Brazilian Space Program, and in the end, talked about the Olympiad Cansat, which would be launched. I found the lecture interesting and I sent an email to him, telling a bit of my story and asking if they had stage in AEB. When I returned to Brazil, he interviewed me and started the stage.

AEB – As you work with the Agency?

Pedro - Work on the development of the Olympics and Cansat, developing software and hardware for Cansat.

AEB – How did you learn the tender KLM?

Pedro - From a video on YouTube. Before the videos, go shopping and promotional ads. Then I saw the campaign for KLM. It was a very well done video. The entire campaign to publicize the contest was well developed, especially the graphical interface. I often say that I decided to participate because of this.

AEB – Do you watch many videos? Do you think YouTube disseminates knowledge?

Pedro - I am a person who learns a lot by watching, watching videos and lessons. I learn more watching than reading. YouTube is full of lessons, mainly from universities outside. With Youtube , there are literally no boundaries. A person can be anywhere from Brazil and attend classes at the best American universities.

AEB – What did you do to guess where the balloon would fall?

Pedro - It was a kick. I had no information balloon. But that kick was different because all my experience helped me hit him. It’s like a stay-at-home making food. It has revenues of things, but it is all very well, because cooking for several years. So the food “comes out good.” How long worked in the area, I have more sense than a layman.

AEB – How did you know the outcome?

Pedro - On Sunday, KLM e-mailed to all participants of the contest, stating that the result would leave the next day (Monday). In the next morning, I completely forgot the contest. I went to the defense of a master’s degree from a friend about the spatial area. Then for the lab work. It was when I opened my email and saw a message from KLM announcing that I had won the contest.

AEB – What was your reaction?

Pedro - At first I thought it was SPAM, default email because my email filters messages of the day and that had ended up in my inbox the priority inbox. When I started reading, I remembered the contest. So, I thought, is not it possible that I got this deal . For me, it was extremely unlikely that I won. I read the e-mail ten times. It was crazy. I answered the email asking if it was true. They replied: “you won. We will contact you as soon as possible, pass me your contact. ” The next day, they called congratulating me. The staff of KLM São Paulo was very surprised because it was a Brazilian and they told me that they had made ​​the disclosure to some media and I give some interviews. It’s kind of shocking, because today, this type of travel is not something common. I believe the future will be like buying a ticket to São Paulo. But today, it’s weird, it’s different.

AEB – What is the prize you won?

Pedro - I was awarded a place on the ship Lynx, the company Space Expedition Corporation (SXC). Space travel will start in Curacao in the Caribbean. The flight will be suborbital (does not go into orbit around the Earth) and will reach a height of 103 km, crossing the call Kármán line. The trip will take one hour – from takeoff to landing. I’ll be about five minutes in microgravity. Besides the trip to space, won two airline tickets to Curacao in the Caribbean, where the ship will leave, and lodging for two in a luxury hotel.

AEB – When is the trip?

Pedro - There is still no definite date, because the spacecraft is still in the process of certification and go through a testing period. Depends on the response of the spacecraft to these tests. It is expected to be in early 2014.

AEB – You have no idea how the flight will be?

Pedro - I know there is a workout which involves a spacecraft and flight simulator this game. I guess I’ll have to do physical tests and medical examinations. From here to the trip, there is still a little time and lots of things to happen. The time of flight – one hour – it will be extremely intense. The spacecraft will rise and fall very fast. Will exceed three times the speed of sound and will stand approximately five minutes in microgravity (sensation of zero gravity).

AEB – What you plan to do after graduating?

Pedro - My future is still somewhat uncertain. I intend to do a master’s degree in space. Do not know where, in Brazil, the United States or anywhere else. I want to work in the area. Like embedded systems – that is making and designing circuits for aerospace systems.

AEB – Regarding the space issue, where do you see Brazil in a few years?

Pedro - I can see the positive and negative sides of being here and being outside. One of the things I think is key is that the Brazilian bureaucracy hinders the project immensely and engineer. There are people who are dealing with difficult projects that are trying to make things work and, at the same, I need to play the role of administrator, signing paperwork, get involved with the political part. The engineer has to devote himself exclusively to the development of your project. Another negative factor is the investment in the area. When we compare Brazil with the U.S., the difference is absurd. The resources of the American projects are immense, despite the spending cuts in recent years. I think that if Brazil wants to do something important in the area and have ambitious projects, more investment is needed and the support of society.

AEB – What is the positive side of Brazil in this topic?

Pedro - The good thing here is that Brazil is a very good country to live. In the United States, in winter, at 16h hours it’s already dark. People get discouraged, which ends up hindering performance on projects. Brazil has many intelligent and competent wanting to develop the sector. Here, there are many opportunities for that. The competition out there is great. There are countries that are already well developed in the area. The United States is an example. When I returned to the U.S. I felt much, because Brazil is still a country very “raw” in this area. I’m talking about basic things like using the Internet for shopping. The Brazilian still uses very little pen and paper and the computer. This has to change ASAP. Things need to be less bureaucratic. In the United States, there are a lot of government bureaucracy, but it is amazing how everything works on the internet, because people need to devote to work. It is with this thought of dedication that goes into question the functioning of American universities. There are no desks for doctoral students and master’s degrees, free food. Everything is done for the student to have an environment conducive to work and study.

Bothell, WA, 22 May 2013 (TUI PR) -

The “Trusselator” effort will develop a system for on-orbit fabrication and integration of solar arrays using a combination of 3D printing and automated composite layup techniques. The Trusselator™ system will leverage the patent-pending “SpiderFab™” additive manufacturing technologies for on-orbit fabrication that TUI has invented under funding from DARPA and NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program. The Trusselator system will enable affordable deployment of large solar arrays providing many tens or hundreds of kilowatts of power to support solar-electric propulsion missions and space solar power systems.

The “Sensing and Positioning on Inclines and Deep Environments with Retrieval” (SPIDER) effort will develop technologies to enable robotic exploration systems to use launchable, anchored tethers to traverse craters, ravines, and other difficult terrain on asteroids and planetary bodies.

The “SWIFT-NanoLV” effort will develop a suite of economic, lightweight, compact, and reliable avionics to enable nano- and micro- launch vehicles to deliver small spacecraft into orbit with affordable costs.

The “SWIFT-HPX” effort will develop a high-speed Ka-band transceiver for CubeSats and nanosats to enable these small, low-cost spacecraft platforms to perform missions requiring high-speed cross-links and downlinks. The SWIFT-HPX communications system will combine TUI’s high-performance SWIFT™ software-defined radio with an innovative conformal antenna to enable 100 Megabit-per-second data transmissions between smallsats as well as to ground stations.

Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (NASA PR) – NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida has signed a new partnership agreement with United Paradyne Corporation of Santa Maria, Calif., for use of the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility, or HMF.

The HMF previously was used during NASA’s Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs. Because of NASA’s transition from the shuttle to future commercial and government mission activities, this agreement allows NASA to preserve the unique facility capabilities for future spaceflight projects.
United Paradyne will utilize the HMF to provide offline processing support services in the storage, delivery, handling and maintenance of hypergolic and green propellant commodities and satellite fueling operations. The company also will provide services to refurbish, manufacture and assemble test ground support equipment.

“Kennedy continues to work with the commercial community to find innovative ways to use and preserve our unique capabilities,” said Kennedy Director Bob Cabana. “With the support of organizations such as the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Kennedy Space Center is well on its way to becoming a world-class multiuser launch complex. We look forward to our partnership with United Paradyne and its contributions to America’s space program.”

Under a 15-year lease agreement, United Paradyne will operate and maintain the facility at its own expense. The company, which will access the facility in June, will employ approximately 12 aerospace workers within the first year and has a goal of achieving 50 new jobs over the next four years.

Kennedy’s center planning and development team and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast worked with the company to establish the agreement.

United Paradyne Corporation is a privately held business specializing in hypergolic storage facility operations and satellite fueling services.

Kennedy is positioning itself for the next era of space exploration, transitioning to a 21st century launch facility with multiple users, both private and government. A dynamic infrastructure is taking shape, designed to host many kinds of spacecraft and rockets sending people on America’s next adventures in space.

For more information about United Paradyne Corporation, visit:

Artist’s conception of a Bigelow lunar habitat. (Credit: Bigelow Aerospace)

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) – NASA and Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas are holding a media availability at 1:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, May 23, to discuss the agency’s Space Act Agreement with the company for its insight on collaborating with commercial industry on exploration beyond Earth orbit. Journalists can participate in-person or by teleconference.

The media availability participants are:

• William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator, human exploration and operations, NASA
• Robert Bigelow, founder and president, Bigelow Aerospace

Under the agreement, Bigelow will work with a variety of commercial space companies to assess and develop options for innovative and dynamic private and public investments to create infrastructure to support domestic and international governmental exploration activities alongside revenue generating private sector enterprises. Bigelow will deliver its analysis by the end of this year.

The agreement includes a two-phased approach that will help NASA assess potential opportunities for collaboration. During the first phase, Bigelow will leverage its existing relationships with other private companies and its expertise from continuing operations in space to form common objectives between the private sector and NASA. In the second phase, Bigelow will create a series of options for public-private collaboration that lower costs and takes advantage of rapid implementation.

For more information on Bigelow Aerospace, visit:

http://www.bigelowaerospace.com

For more information on NASA’s exploration goals, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and XCOR Chief Pilot Rick Searfoss examine a mockup of the Lynx. (Credit: XCOR)

Via Clark Lindsey over at NewSpaceWatch, here’s the latest news from Hollywood:

Cinipix, a vertically integrated production, acquisition and distribution company headed by CEO Todd Slater (Ray, Raze), announced today that it has joined forces with Patricia A Beninati and Michael K Anderson’s Centerboro Productions to produce the sci-fi action film “Newcomers” and will send XCOR Aerospace’s commercial spacecraft, the Lynx, into space to shoot exclusive footage for the film.

The Lynx will be piloted by former NASA Astronaut Col. Richard A. Searfoss on an expedition marking the first Hollywood involvement for a privately owned space company, as well as first-of-its kind brand integration.

Specific plot details are being kept under wraps, however “Newcomers” will tell the story of a former NASA Astronaut who saves the Earth from an alien invasion with help from the commercial space industry (XCOR Aerospace).

Read the full story.

Here are the translated NOTAMs for the Mojave Air and Space Port and Edwards Air Force Base on the flight:

!MHV 05/013 MHV AIRSPACE SEE EDW 05/005 UNMANNED ROCKET Effective from 1305211600-1305212359

!EDW 05/005 EDW AIRSPACE UNMANNED ROCKET .5 Nautical Mile Radius EDW268021/MHV 300 AGL/BLW Effective from 1305211600-1305212359.

That translate to Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4:59 p.m. PDT.

My guess is that it’s a Masten flight, but I can’t say that for sure.

Video Caption: Jack Fischer was one of four NASA astronauts to fly approach and landing simulations of Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser spacecraft at the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. The three-day simulations evaluated the spacecraft’s subsonic handling in support of NASA Commercial Crew Program efforts.

Scaled Composites conducted a static fire of an engine on Friday that startled everyone who heard it at the Mojave Air and Space Port the other day. The nozzle and engine casing ended up separated from the test rig and was on the floor outside the small fence that surrounds the test site.

Scaled says that is exactly what they planned to do. The company is describing it as a “a non-flight experimental rocket motor in which flaws had been intentionally introduced to improve knowledge of different design components. Tested experimental grain to destruction. This unique test, which was necessary to perform during the test program, successfully collected data for several key safety systems.”

Meanwhile, Scaled says Sierra Nevada Corporation conducted an extended burn on a RocketMotorTwo engine the same day down in Powoy, Calif. The test log provides no idea how long the burn lasted; like every other entry in the log going back about seven months, no time is given. But, it doesn’t appeared to have blown up.

The test log entries follow after the break.

RocketMotorTwo Hot Fire Summaries
Via Scaled Composites

Fire: 28
Date: 17 May 13

Objectives:
Perform hot-fire of off-nominal, non-flight configuration motor at Scaled’s test facility.
- Safety systems evaluation
- Test stand evaluation
- Data Acquisition system evaluation
- Rocket Motor Controller performance
- Pressurization System Controller performance
- Rocket system performance
- Valve / Injector / Igniter evaluation
- Fuel formulation evaluation
- CTN structural evaluation

Results:
Firing at Mojave test site by Scaled Composites of a non-flight experimental rocket motor in which flaws had been intentionally introduced to improve knowledge of different design components. Tested experimental grain to destruction. This unique test, which was necessary to perform during the test program, successfully collected data for several key safety systems.

Fire: 29
Date: 17 May 13

Objectives:
Twenty-ninth full scale hot-fire. Test of flight-design RM2. Continued evaluation of all systems and components:
- Extended burn duration in flight configuration
- Pressurization
- Valve/Injector
- Fuel formulation and geometry
- Nozzle
- Structure
- Performance

Results:
SNC successfully fired the flight motor for SpaceShipTwo at its test facility in Poway, testing an extended burn and further advancing the program towards full spaceflight later this year. This test built upon excellent results achieved in SpaceShipTwo’s first supersonic, rocket-powered flight with motor of the same design. All objectives completed.

1. Monday, May 20, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST): We welcome KIMBERLY ARCAND & MEGAN WATZKE regarding their book, “Your Ticket To The Universe: A Guide to Exploring The Cosmos.” Find out more about this exceptional book and our authors at www.amazon.com/Your-Ticket-Universe-Exploring-Cosmos/dp/1588343758/ref=onegiantlea20.

2. Tuesday, May 21, 2013 2013, 7-8:30 PM PST (10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST): OPEN LINES discussion. All space, science, STEM calls welcome. First time callers are welcome and encouraged to call in.

3. Friday, May 24: , 2013, 9:30-11 AM PST (11:30- 1 PM CST, 12:30PM-2:00 PM EST): We welcome DR. JEROME KLINGAMAN to discuss and focus on astrophotography.

4. Sunday, May 26, 2013, 12-1:30 PM PST (3-4:30 PM EST, 2-3:30 PM CST). We honor the 20th anniversary of the DC-X with guests BILL GAUBATZ, CATHY HARPER, CHRIS ORWOLL, AND NINO POLIZZI.

Poised on the cusp of these new systems, we run the risk of being penny wise and pound foolish as we make the same mistake that doomed the space shuttle to much higher cost operations: starving a spacecraft development program in the name of saving a few pennies for today’s budget bottom line resulting in the compromised systems that, if they fly at all, will not be cheap enough to enable business in space….

Currently, the commercial space effort stands uncomfortably close to the brink of financial starvation. Deep space transportation development is being stretched out by similar restrictions. Business is looking to see if the government is serious about providing the critical support or whether this effort will be wasted as so many earlier government programs which withered away on the very cusp of success: National Launch System, Orbital Space Plane, and others.

Hale’s full testimony is reproduced after the break.

Testimony of N. Wayne Hale, Jr.
before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Science and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
May 16, 2013

I thank the committee for inviting me to testify concerning the growth of the space industry including the private sector space transportation.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am hardly a disinterested party in this topic. I am and have always been a passionate believer that space exploration and the industries that may derive from it will benefit humanity in ways beyond our imagining. I have spent most of my professional life working in the large government space programs of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. During those years I have seen NASA at its very best and at its worst. The hard working dedication of my colleagues at NASA personnel is nothing short of phenomenal, and their talent and creativity is second to none. However, their endeavors have frequently been stymied due to the inherent bureaucratic inefficiencies of government work and the frequent shifts in priorities and funding that whipsaw most space initiatives. This has led me to believe there must be a better way to develop and operate space systems.

In my last assignment before retirement from government service, I worked with Frank Bauer, the Chief Engineer of the Exploration Systems Directorate, to define the management philosophy, protocols, and processes for the then new Commercial Crew Program within NASA. After my retirement, my work has continued as a consultant. My company, Special Aerospace Services,and I are paid advisors to a number of entities involved in the commercial crew and commercial space cargo enterprises. And I have volunteered my time to work with the Commercial Spaceflight Federation to establish safety, management, and engineering standards for all the members of this fledgling industry. So the committee can see that I am hardly a disinterested party and should weigh my testimony as such.

Establishing good, effective safety, engineering, and management standards in a voluntary industry association is the hallmark of any reputable and mature industry. I am pleased to report that the CSF is making good progress in setting up voluntary processes which will ensure public safety and promote general success in this difficult business. Industry group standards can alleviate the need for government regulations by allowing the members of a trade association to tailor best practices specifically for their industry. Evolution of these industry standards inevitably proceeds more rapidly than the development of government regulations and can therefore take rapid advantage of best practices as they emerge.

The most singularly vexing problem with space flight is the high cost of getting to low earth orbit. As the noted science fiction writer Robert Heinlein once observed, ‘when you are in earth orbit you are half way to anywhere in the universe’ which accurately reflects the physics of the
situation.

The lack of low cost transportation to that point located just above the earth’s atmosphere and moving at 17,500 mph forward velocity has prevented potential space entrepreneurs more than any other factor. Hundreds of potential business opportunities in the limitless resources of the solar system have floundered on the high cost of transportation to low earth orbit. Asteroid mining, energy production, zero gravity manufacturing are all within our grasp technologically but will not be profitable until reliable and reasonably affordable transportation systems are in place.

New systems for transportation to low earth orbit have enormously high development costs. Private investors, with a few exceptions, are loath to provide the capital needed to develop low earth orbit transportation without clear and immediate business ready to purchase tickets.

So we are in a ‘chicken or the egg’ paradox. Space business needs low cost transportation to become profitable, while potential private transportation
services need established business to justify the cost of construction. This is not the first time that America has been in this situation. Both the early railroads and fledgling air transportation industries found themselves becalmed in similar straits. In both these cases, and others, the federal taxpayers stepped in to provide critical resources to help new industries develop. Those investments have been paid back myriad-fold in tax revenues when the new industries caught fire and provided transportation systems that were the envy of the world.

NASA and its predecessor agency the NACA provided needed aeronautical research to make air transportation as inexpensive and safe as we find it today. The federal investment in aeronautics development has paid off handsomely in the development of a multi-billion dollar industry. Indeed, one of the largest sectors of net exports in the American economy is aerospace with billion dollar sales a common occurrence.

The history of space flight – after the first early steps to demonstrate that space flight was even possible – has been marked with the goal of decreasing the cost of transportation to low earth orbit. In my home I have an entire shelf of books populated by volumes of studies and proposals from a multitude of thinkers spread over decades on that subject: how to provide reliable safe space transportation on the cheap.

The space system that consumed much of my professional career, the space shuttle, was established to achieve just such a low cost goal. But the technologies of the 1970s, harnessed to a risk adverse government apparatus resulted in a system that was only slightly less expensive than those which went before.

In the last decade, the United States embarked on a bold new experiment to turn over the creative reins of spacecraft development to entrepreneurial, nimble, flexible, creative private commercial teams. Bolstered with a modicum of taxpayer resources, these businesses have leveraged private investment to create the critical mass to develop new, much cheaper transportation systems. We see the first fruits of success today with cargo carrying craft: the SpaceX Falcon and Dragon, and the Orbital Antares and Cygnus. These cargo carrying privately developed vehicles are starting to supply our government outpost, the International Space Station. In future years others, the Boeing CST-100 and the Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser will be added to the fleet to carry human beings as well as cargo.

Poised on the cusp of these new systems, we run the risk of being penny wise and pound foolish as we make the same mistake that doomed the space shuttle to much higher cost operations: starving a spacecraft development program in the name of saving a few pennies for today’s budget bottom line resulting in the compromised systems that, if they fly at all, will not be cheap enough to enable business in space.

This is not to devalue the development of truly deep space exploration systems by the government. Those high risk, high cost systems payback over such are long term that they would never be funded by private investment. But, like the expenses incurred by Lewis and Clark, Captain Zebulon Pike, and a host of other government expeditions in our history, the payback from exploration will be enormous for both the country and for all of humanity. Just at a more distant point in the future than business spreadsheets normally run. The SLS and the MPCV should be developed in conjunction with the commercial low earth orbit transportation systems. Flying to cis-lunar space to inspect a captured asteroid is an engineering and operations test worthy of a first deep space mission. But that mission can only be a first step. More should follow.

The commercial systems will enable the deep space exploration initiative in substantial ways. First of all because the ISS is our space test laboratory for the technologies and systems that deep space exploration will need. Operation in space, aboard the ISS, is the most effective means to wring out life support, communications, propulsion, and other technologies. Commercial transportation of cargo and crews to the ISS directly support deep space systems development. As deep space exploration proceeds, commercial cargo and crew vehicles will likely be called upon to aid with assembly and fuel delivery to low earth orbit where we will finalize preparations to head into the vast deep. Cost effective commercial transportation to low earth orbit can make a vital difference in equipping the deep space fleet.

So the two efforts go hand in hand. Funding equity between the two programs is necessary to ensure the timely success of both. Currently, the commercial space effort stands uncomfortably close to the brink of financial starvation. Deep space transportation development is being stretched out by similar restrictions. Business is looking to see if the government is serious about providing the critical support or whether this effort will be wasted as so many earlier government programs which withered away on the very cusp of success: National Launch System, Orbital Space Plane, and others.

I urge the Congress to fully fund these vital activities, both the commercial crew program and the exploration systems. They will allow America and American industry to lead in the exploration and development of human activity in our solar system. When the historians of the future look back on our era, they will recognize the movement of humanity from planet earth into the solar system as the pivotal event of our times. There is no project that is so important for the long term success of humankind. I would hope that those historians record that at this crossroad of history that a creative, enterprising, farsighted nation called America led the way.

The prizes both economic and historic are too great to bypass. If America does not lead in these enterprises, somebody else will. And the leader will reap the greatest rewards both in the near term and in the longer term.

For all our limitations, America is a very rich country. There are many things which America needs to do for the present moment: provide for a strong military to protect us in a dangerous world, educate our children, care for our elderly and infirm, revitalize our transportation infrastructure of roads, bridges, airports, and more. All of these activities are of vital importance today. Space exploration is about the future. Space exploration is possibly the only line item in the federal budget that is all about the future. Currently we spend one half of one percent of our nation’s treasure on the future. Isn’t the future worth that investment?

Above, Eric Dahlstrom (in hat) watches two children control lunar rovers at the X Prize booth.

There were many forms of getting around the Maker Faire, including this pedal powered cupcake.

Run, Dr. Who! Run!