An Almaz space station module being transported on the Isle of Man. (Credit: Excalibur Almaz)

There’s some good news for Chris Stott:

The Chief Executive of MannSat, Chris Stott, has been dismissed from a lawsuit which had been filed in the United States.

A woman from Houston in Texas had brought the case against Excalibur Exploration Chairman Arthur M. Dula and CEO J. Buckner Hightower.

Donna Beck alleged Mr Dula defrauded her and her late husband out of $300,000 by claiming his company had a ‘special rocket engine’ to ‘travel in space to a distant asteroid and mine precious metals’.

Mr Stott – who married NASA astronaut Nicole Stott at St Peters in Onchan – is a Director of Excalibur. His lawyers said claims against him had been “totally unfounded”.

Read the full story.

Houston, Oct. 1, 2012 (Excalibur Almaz PR) –

Most recently he was Vice President & General Counsel of United Space Alliance, LLC (USA) from its inception until his retirement in January of 2009, at which time he was responsible for the audit, export control, legal, security & technology protection functions.  USA was NASA’s prime contractor of its Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC) which operated the Shuttle and International Space Station for NASA beginning in June, 1996.

“While with USA, my team and I worked closely with Excalibur Almaz in their process of acquiring the Russian space assets that EA now has in its Isle of Man facilities,” stated Mr. Diemoz. “I decided to come out of retirement after watching the Moon landing film featured in connection with the memorial services for Neil Armstrong and the renewed interest in the exploration of the Moon. Those memories and the Orlando Sentinel’s exclusive article quoting  current NASA Administrator, Gen. Charlie Bolden, that ‘NASA wants to send astronauts beyond the moon’ (September 22, 2012) convinced me to come out of retirement and assist in EA’s efforts and abilities to achieve that stated desire.”

“Knowing that EA currently has access to proven space hardware that can achieve that goal is an exciting adventure!   The space hardware, and the current focus of relying on commercial space companies to achieve such goals and objectives, presented an opportunity I could not avoid,” added Diemoz. “Putting individuals, and or countries, in space and on the Moon at a reasonable cost is EA’s business. EA will continue to work closely with NASA, the State of Florida and other interested parties to bring commercial Human Space Flight back as a National objective.”

Previously, Diemoz was with Lockheed Martin Space Operations (LMSOC) from 1982 until 1996 when, as LMSOC’s Company Counsel, he joined USA. While he was with LMSOC, he negotiated the NASA Shuttle Processing Contract (SPC) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Florida.  He has been associated with the NASA’s Manned Space Flight programs since 1982, and has worked closely with NASA astronauts. The addition of Dennis Diemoz to lead the EA USA team will provide seasoned, proven top management and expedite accomplishment of the Company’s goals.

Donna Beck sued Houston patent attorney Arthur Dula, his companies Excalibur Exploration Limited, Excalibur Limited, Excalibur Almaz Limited and Excalibur Almaz USA Inc., and Excalibur directors J. Buckner Hightower and Christopher Stott, in Harris County Court.

“Dula defrauded Beck by inducing her and her husband (since deceased) to advance $300,000, and later purchase an investment in Excalibur Exploration Limited, one of the Excalibur entities, with the fundamental false representation that the company had the technical expertise and associations to develop a business to fly the first commercial prospecting space flight to an asteroid,” the complaint states.

“Dula bolstered his lies by representing that his other companies had the spacecraft to accomplish the job, as well as associations with other necessary contractors.

“In fact, the entire operation was a sham and never accomplished anything of substance.

“Dula spent Beck’s money even before Excalibur Exploration Limited was formed to pay for a project that Dula and his associates had previously earmarked as an expense for another related company, until they got lucky and got Beck’s check and switched the obligation to her.”

This is the first I have heard that Excalibur Almaz was working on asteroid mining. The company’s plans for its Soviet-era space station and capsule hardware have changed several times over the years. Proposals have included an orbiting space station/tourism destination, transportation for NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, and (most recently) a plan for servicing cis-lunar space.

Interestingly, the suit claims that Dula said he had already raised $50 million for the venture. It also alleges that Excalibur Mines had the “right of first refusal” for using the VASMIR engine being developed by Ad Astra Rocket Company for asteroid mining.

Buckner Hightower was appointed CEO of Excalibur Almaz USA in May 2011. Defendant Chris Stott is the husband of American astronaut Nicole Stott.

Read the full story.

NBC News

[UPDATE: Here's Alan's story]

The Wall Street Journal‘s intermittently reliable Andy Pasztor quotes “industry officials” as saying that Boeing and SpaceX “are expected” to receive full awards and that Sierra Nevada “seemed likely” to receive half an award for its Dream Chaser shuttle. Boyle acknowledged the story and Tweeted:

By the way, WSJ is reporting SpaceX and Boeing, and likely SNC. But our sources are “knowledgeable” as of today.

SpaceX has developed the Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule to carry seven astronauts to the International Space Station. Boeing is building the CST-100 spacecraft, which will launch on a modified Atlas V rocket built by United Launch Alliance. Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser will also launch on an Atlas V.

Many of the modifications required to human-rate the Atlas V would benefit both Boeing and Sierra Nevada. This approach would allow NASA to fund development of both space vehicles and the launch system.

Other competitors include ATK, Blue Origin and Excalibur Almaz.

We will post further updates as we get them.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Charles now tells me that NASA is likely to inform the companies of their decision on Thursday morning. There is usually a lag between that action and a public press conference.

UPDATE: NASA will publicly announce the winners on Friday morning.

Charles Lurio of The Lurio Report has emailed me saying that he has heard from a very reliable source that NASA will announce the next round of commercial crew funding on Thursday or Friday. This is no independent verification of this report.

NASA is expected to make two full awards and one half award under Space Act Agreements to mature commercial launch systems and their spacecraft to transport crews to the International Space Station. This phase would be followed by one during which NASA would procure services using more rigorous Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contracting methods.

The competitors include:

• ATK Liberty
• Blue Origin Orbiter/ULA Atlas V
• Boeing CST-100/ULA Atlas V
• Excalibur Almaz
• Sierra Nevada Corporation Dream Chaser/ULA Atlas V
• SpaceX Dragon/Falcon 9

I had heard from a source during the NewSpace 2012 Conference that NASA’s announcement had been delayed from July because White House officials are not happy with one of the awards. It’s not clear precisely what that means, but speculation has focused on the possibility of ATK receiving an award for its Ares I-derived Liberty system.

Such a decision would complete the near total revival of NASA’s Constellation program, which the Obama Administration had attempted to cancel outright. After a Congressional push back, work has continued on the other elements of  Constellation — the deep-space Orion capsule and the heavy-lift Space Launch System.

Meanwhile, ATK has used the work it did on Constellation’s Ares I as the basis of a commercial launcher. Liberty’s first stage is a five-segment solid rocket motor derived from the system used on the space shuttle. It is topped with an Ariane 5 first stage. The capsule is a composite version of the deep-space Orion spacecraft that subcontractor Lockheed Martin is building for NASA.

An ATK award would anger many in the “NewSpace” community, who do not see the company as being very commercial and not impressed with the Liberty system. They will attribute such a decision to ATK’s lobbying efforts rather than the merits of its proposal.

I caution that this only speculation; there has been no confirmation.  It’s simply a possibility at this point.

Excalibur Almaz's space tourism vehicle concept. (Credit: Excalibur Almaz)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) – Excalibur Almaz Inc. (EAI) has successfully completed its Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Through CCDev2, NASA is spurring innovation and development of safe, reliable and cost-effective spacecraft and launch vehicles capable of transporting astronauts to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

EAI, based in Houston, began exchanging technical information with NASA about its human spacecraft concept for low Earth orbit crew transportation in October 2011 under an unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA). The company and NASA reviewed the design of the spacecraft, its systems requirements and compatibility with launch vehicle alternatives. Additional milestones included presentations on how the company plans to test and integrate its spacecraft in advance of a crewed launch. All of the EAI SAA milestones were completed by June 19.

“During this unfunded Space Act Agreement with EAI, NASA learned valuable information about how the company plans to upgrade the existing capsule with modern flight capabilities,” CCP Manager Ed Mango said. “We commend the EAI team for completing all of their established milestones during this partnership.”

EAI plans to upgrade human space capsules built and tested decades earlier with new internal systems and a service module. The spacecraft can accommodate three crew members and accompanying cargo during trips to low Earth orbit. It will consist of a reusable reentry capsule, launch abort system and expendable service module. EAI plans to outfit the spacecraft with the ability to land on the ground, rather than in the ocean.

“The interchange of technical information between the EAI team and the NASA Commercial Crew Program during the past year has been a very positive and important step toward the completion of our commercial transportation system,” said Buckner Hightower, EAI chief executive officer. “NASA’s feedback related to clarification of commercial crew transportation requirements was of significant assistance to support our efforts to provide safe, reliable and cost effective space transportation for both commercial and government customers.”

All of NASA’s industry partners continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities.

For more information about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

Excalibur Almaz's space tourism vehicle concept. (Credit: Excalibur Almaz)

By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

Art Dula was at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s 3rd European Space Tourism Conference in London this week, promoting Excalibur Almaz (EA) and announcing an agreement with XCOR Aerospace for crew training.

Based upon what I have read, EA’s latest plan for using surplus Soviet-era space stations and capsules sounds pretty awesome. A flight to the moon and back for the low, low price of $150 million. Pricey, but definitely on the mega-cool side of the spectrum.

But, then again, the company’s plans always sound pretty cool. And then…well…

The problem is that this is at least the third iteration of the company’s plan to use its left-over Cold War hardware for a commercial space venture. The first involved space tourism trips into Earth orbit. But, there is apparently not enough of a market there and the competitors, specifically Bigelow Aerospace, are offering roomier, up-to-date accommodations.

The company then pitched the system as a solution for NASA’s commercial crew needs, but that prospect seems to have faded lately. NASA’s evaluation during the last funding round was that although the proposal was clever, it was also deficient in a number of areas. One key problem could be that the capsule only carries four astronauts whereas the other proposals have seven crew members.

And now Dula is promising the moon. Literally. He has a market study from Futron showing a market exists. And he’s ready to sell tickets.

Throughout all the years and iterations, one nagging question has never gone away. Does this company have any actual money behind it? My sense is not very much. Or at least not enough. It appears that they are still chasing investors and ticket holders.

I could be wrong, but the lunar travel market seems even further off than the Earth orbit market. I can’t even recall how long Space Adventures has been promoting its plan to send a pair of billionauts around the moon in a modified Soyuz. To date, they have managed to sell only one of the two tickets needed to make the flight a reality.

I wish EA all the luck in the world. I mean it. For even one of these companies to succeed, that legitimizes the entire industry. It’s good for everyone. What I’ve seen to date, however, makes me skeptical about EA’s prospects. And I hope I’m wrong.

CCDev milestones status, June 2012. (Credit: NASA)

NASA PR – NASA’s commercial crew partners continue to achieve exciting milestones as the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) Space Act Agreements enter their home stretch. Since the agreements were awarded in April 2011, the partners have achieved 48 of the 62 planned test, demonstration, and technical review milestone events. With the maturation of spacecraft and launch vehicle designs being accomplished under CCDev2, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is well positioned to move into the integrated capability design and testing phase. Awards for new Space Act Agreements are expected in July/August 2012.

An example of a recent significant CCDev2 accomplishment is the Boeing Company’s CST-100 parachute drop test. The company successfully completed the second of two tests that validated its parachute and latest landing airbag systems designs. During the test, a helicopter lifted the CST-100 crew capsule to 9,400 feet above the desert floor in Nevada, about a hundred miles north of Las Vegas. After the capsule was released, drogue parachutes immediately deployed to orient the capsule, followed by the three main parachutes. Airbags on the bottom of the capsule then inflated, and the capsule settled to a soft landing. This demonstrated how the CST-100 will be able to return crews from the International Space Station safely with land-based landings, simplifying crew recovery relative to water-based landings.

Blue Origin's pad escape capsule. (Credit: Blue Origin)

Another example of a recent CCDev2 milestone is Blue Origin’s “pusher” escape system test vehicle, which has now been assembled and shipped to the company’s test range near Van Horn, Texas. This is a significant milestone in preparation for Blue Origin’s pad escape flight test planned for later this summer. The pusher escape system protects crew in the event of a catastrophic failure of the launch vehicle, enabling the crew vehicle to carry the crew to safety. The upcoming test campaign will validate the system’s rocket motor and thrust vector control.

Excalibur Almaz's space tourism vehicle concept. (Credit: Excalibur Almaz)

LONDON, United Kingdom (XCOR/EA PR) — Excalibur Almaz Limited (EA), a commercial aerospace company based on the Isle of Man, British Isles, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with California-based XCOR Aerospace for suborbital flight services. The agreement signed in conjunction with the Royal Aeronautical Society’s 3rd European Space Tourism Conference calls for XCOR to provide suborbital flight familiarization and training using its Lynx vehicle for Excalibur Almaz crews traveling on Earth orbit, circumlunar, and deep space missions.

“Suborbital flight experience will serve as an integral preparatory step for the safety, education and enjoyment of our customers traveling on crew expedition missions,” said Art Dula, Excalibur Almaz Founder and Chairman. “The XCOR flights will enhance the overall spaceflight experience of our program and will help ensure that our passengers are both mission and medically qualified to fly in space.”

“The Lynx is uniquely suited for the orbital manned space flight training market,” said Andrew Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of XCOR Aerospace. “Being able to tailor each Lynx flight to the needs of the participant, scientist and/or orbital astronaut trainee, and then flying those missions up to four times per day for a price that is less than one sixth the main competitor, now that is a significant benefit to the customer.”

XCOR Aerospace is developing the world’s first reliable, fully reusable, high performance winged piloted launch vehicle called Lynx for suborbital flights. The company’s schedule calls for a first Lynx flight later this year or in early 2013, expanding to several missions per day by 2015. XCOR’s suborbital flights will be included as a requirement in pre-mission training for Excalibur Almaz expeditions, also scheduled to begin as early as 2015.

]]> http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/06/20/xcor-excalibur-almaz-sign-suborbital-training-agreement/feed/ 0 http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/05/27/excalibur-almaz-shoots-for-the-moon-and-beyond/ http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/05/27/excalibur-almaz-shoots-for-the-moon-and-beyond/#comments Sun, 27 May 2012 21:42:50 +0000 Doug Messier http://www.parabolicarc.com/?p=39344

Excalibur Almaz's space tourism vehicle concept. (Credit: Excalibur Almaz)

Excalibur Almaz is looking beyond sending its Soviet-era space vehicles and stations into Earth orbit and is actively working on human missions to the moon, asteroids and lagrange points.

Excalibur Almaz CEO Art Dula outlined the company’s plans on Sunday during the International Space Development Conference in Washington. Based upon Twitter posts by attendees, here are the highlights:

• The company has four reusable capsules (with four seats) and two space station pressure vessels that it is upgrading with modern technology
• Planned services include crew and cargo transportation from Earth to LEO, lunar orbits and lagrange point 2 (L2)
• EA is working with: MDA and Ad Astra (VASIMR engine) on asteroid rendezvous scenarios; ULA (launchers); Astrium (ATV-based propulsion system); NASA (Space Act Agreement on commercial crew); and Futron (marketing studies)
• Company appears to be no longer interested in providing commercial crew services to ISS
• Possible launch vehicles include Atlas V, Falcon 9 and Zenit
• EA had looked at buying Sea Launch (Zenit boosters) a while back (Sea Launch is now 95 percent owned by Energia)
• Based on Futron studies, total 2013-2023 market demand is 29 lunar passengers paying $100 million apiece
• Key flight element (manned spacecraft) has been flight tested with re-entries (albeit without people on board)
• EA will discuss its business plan and display a twice-flown re-eentry capsule during a Royal Aeronautical Society space tourism meeting in London on June 19
• EA will display cis-lunar spacecraft during a space conference on the Isle of Man in July
• Dula has spent as much time on U.S. ITAR (export control) issues as he has on engineering (American company using Russian technology now based on the Isle of Man).

Story based upon the Tweets of:

• jeff_foust
• A.C. Charania
• Marc Boucher

Thanks guys! Great work!

NASA PR — Steady progress continues for industry partners in maturing their commercial crew transportation systems. Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) completed milestones over the past two months while SpaceX, Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Excalibur Almaz Incorporated prepared for future milestones to get them closer to fielding operational crew transportation systems. The recently completed milestones bring the total number of completed milestones to 38 of the 62 planned for Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) activities.

Test of abort motor for Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft. (Credit: Boeing)

Boeing recently completed mission-duration static fire tests of their Launch Abort Engine, a critical component of an overall crew transportation system (see photo below). Their spacecraft service module and integrated launch abort propulsion system are designed to push the crew capsule to safety if an abort becomes necessary during launch or ascent. The static fire testing validated operating conditions during engine start-up and shut-down, providing key data that will be used to inform and refine Boeing’s system design.

Sierra Nevada main landing gear testing. (Credit: Sierra Nevada)

Sierra Nevada continued preparations for their unpiloted Dream Chaser test spacecraft free flight test planned for later this year. Recently Sierra Nevada conducted ground testing of their main landing gear, which consists of refurbished F-5E landing gear (see photo below), evaluating its capability to ensure adequate performance during landing. Fourteen landing gear drop tests in total were performed, conducted in different configurations and at various speeds to collect data at specified landing conditions. Data gathered during the testing were used to update their simulations, improving their ability to characterize actual landings.

Among the recent milestones was Sierra Nevada’s delivery of their Dream Chaser spacecraft Engineering Test Article (ETA) structure at their facility in Louisville, Colorado. The all-composite structure was designed by the Sierra Nevada team and built in collaboration with composite industry experts. When competed, the Dream Chaser ETA will be a full-scale prototype of the company’s planned orbital spacecraft. It will be used for several tests, including a free- flight test of the vehicle in the summer. These upcoming test milestones are critical to further understanding aerodynamic and control qualities to validate computer models used to finalize the design of the Dream Chaser.

Another recent milestone was SpaceX’s “Crew Accommodation Concept Prototype and In-Situ 1” milestone. For this event, SpaceX completed prototypes of the Dragon spacecraft’s crew cabin, seats, and control panel layout. NASA astronauts participated in trial evaluations of the crew cabin and provided feedback to SpaceX. The data will be used to refine their prototype designs to improve usability, reduce the chance of human error, and improve functionality in preparation for a second astronaut evaluation trial scheduled later this year.

A summary schedule showing all completed and planned CCDev2 milestones can be found at:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/

Just as every race car driver has a pit crew to keep them on track on the way to a victory quickly and safely, the seven aerospace companies that have teamed up with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program have their own PIT Crews, called Partner Integration Teams, to help guide them in their race to space.

They’re not packing an arsenal of air compressors, fuel, or even spare tires, though. Instead, NASA PIT Crews are equipped with the intimate knowledge of what is takes to design, develop, manufacture, process and launch space transportation systems. Lately, those teams have been making significant progress under Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2).

“We call this insight,” said Scott Thurston, who is leading the PIT Crews as chief of the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) Partner Integration Office. “We’re there to glean the information and then watch, and help, if needed. Be a part of their program, but not get in the way.”

Each PIT Crew is made up of about 10 to 15 dedicated spaceflight experts, supported by 10s if not 100s of system expert engineers, who are available to help industry partners meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities. Their expertise ranges from engineering and safety to health and medical and mission operations. Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA’s Astronaut Office also are members of the seven PIT Crews, one for each of the seven funded and unfunded CCDev2 partner companies.

Thurston said CCP is very much like a venture capitalist endeavor because NASA is investing in systems and laying out expectations, but not dictating how companies make their systems work.

“You know, it’s funny, it’s the companies telling us why they feel comfortable about their systems,” Thurston said. “It’s not them telling us why it’s OK to buy their spacecraft or launch vehicle, but why it’s OK to invest money in them.”

“The milestones are really the mile markers of each one of these companies,” Thurston said. “It’s based on each company’s development plan, not what the government wants, so each company is a little bit different.”

Some of the spacecraft and launch vehicle designs are infant in nature while others have been proving their experience and reliability for many years.

United Launch Alliance (ULA), for example, has 28 successful launches under its belt with the Atlas V rocket. For CCDev 2, ULA and NASA are working under an unfunded Space Act Agreement to assess human rating that system.

“Many want to know why the Atlas V needs to be assessed to fly humans, after all, they’ve been flying high-value robotic, science and defense missions for years,” said Cheryl Malloy, the NASA partner manger for ULA.

Malloy’s answer is simple: “If there’s a problem with the spacecraft or rocket during ascent, options must be available to abort the mission and bring the crew back to Earth safely.”

To develop that abort capability and keep the cost of human spaceflight affordable, NASA and ULA are exploring “kitable” solutions that would only be added to a rocket when launching humans.

During ULA’s recent Tailored System Requirements Review, NASA received an in-depth look at what it would take to get a crew in and out of a spacecraft on the launch pad, a dual engine configuration on the upper stage that would improve performance, an emergency detection system, and vehicle structural modifications that would accommodate unique spacecraft designs.

Blue Origin also completed two milestones for the development of its Space Vehicle. First, the company completed a Mission Concept Review in which NASA was able to look at the goals and objectives, high-level requirements, mission feasibility, concept evaluation criteria and risks associated with the spacecraft. The second was a review of the company’s plan to hot-fire its Reusable Booster Stage Engine Thrust Chamber Assembly (TCA).

“The teams reviewed the TCA interface control diagram requirements, test plan and systems requirements document for testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi,” said Bill Lane, the NASA partner manager for Blue Origin. “After that hot-fire, Blue Origin will deliver a test report to NASA.”

Lane said the company’s pusher escape team continues to make progress toward the upcoming motor ground firing and pad escape testing milestones. Blue Origin’s space vehicle team also is continuing with spacecraft system designs that will lead to the System Requirements Review milestone scheduled for May.

Boeing recently completed a simulation between the launch vehicle emergency detection system and avionics system integration facility for its CST-100 spacecraft. The spacecraft also underwent wind tunnel testing.

“We are looking forward to several other significant milestones,” said Gennaro Caliendo, the NASA partner manager for Boeing. “Next will be the launch abort engine fabrication and hot-fire demonstration, and then a full-up landing system air drop demonstration test where the capabilities of the parachutes and air bags are tested.”

Excalibur Almaz Inc. (EAI) is considered the newcomer to CCDev2, but has jumped into the space race full throttle with plans to upgrade its heritage hardware with American-made life support systems.

“This whole program is really like a portfolio,” Thurston said. “We’re not just going with people we know, we’re also enticed to work with people who might do things considerably different.”

“Both EAI and the PIT Crew currently are preparing for the upcoming System Requirements Status Review,” said Sarah Waechter, EAI’s partner manager for NASA. “We also are looking forward to the Launch Vehicle Compatibility Review where we will discuss the initial spacecraft to launch vehicle integration.”

Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC), which is the only CCDev2 company building a winged spacecraft, just delivered the structural pieces for its Dream Chaser Engineering Test Article (ETA) to its plant in Louisville, Colo.

“The company can now begin assembly and integration of their secondary structures and subsystems,” said Valin Thorn, SNC partner manager for NASA. “This will lead to the ETA captive carry flight test scheduled for this spring.”

During that test, a Virgin Galactic White Knight 2 carrier aircraft will drop the Dream Chaser test article over NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., to measure its performance.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) has been focusing its attention on TIMs, which are Technical Interchange Meetings. The first focused on preliminary models and design analysis planning of the Liberty launch vehicle, including certification, requirements allocation, safety and mission assurance, as well as failure and hazard analysis data. Ken Tenbusch, NASA partner manager for ATK, said his team is looking forward to the second TIM, which likely will include more details of ATK’s upper stage design.

“Our NASA team is excited about working with ATK’s French partner, Astrium, and supporting their efforts in converting the core stage of the Ariane V rocket that will become Liberty’s upper stage,” Tenbusch said.

Jon Cowart, NASA partner manager for SpaceX, said he and his PIT Crew are working with the company while it develops a launch abort system and outfits the Dragon capsule with interior systems, such as seats, displays, air circulation, and air conditioning and heating.

“When you add humans into the mix it really complicates things,” said Cowart. “We need to keep the crew alive and informed about what’s going on around them.”

The most recent milestone SpaceX completed was the second Design Status Review, which gave CCP an overview of the entire system, from the Falcon 9 rocket and capsule to the Merlin engines that help loft the system into space. The company also completed a full-duration, full-thrust firing of its new SuperDraco development engine in preparation for the ninth milestone to be completed under its funded Space Act Agreement with NASA.

“We’re actually seeing smoke and fire, which is pretty exciting,” Thurston said.

Much like the person in a pit crew who washes the windshield during a race, the CCDev 2 partner managers are keeping their industry partners on a clear path toward ferrying U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station in just a few years.

“We make sure that they’re channeled and focusing in on the things that we’re most concerned about,” Cowart said.

Dream Chaser cockpit simulator. (Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation)

NASA PR — NASA’s industry partners continue to demonstrate design and development progress for their commercial crew transportation systems. During the past two months, five more SAA milestones and one formal interim step for a future milestone were accomplished on the road to eventual commercial space transportation services. In total over the past eight months, NASA’s Commercial Crew Development Round 2 partners have completed 26 of the 62 milestones. (Five planned milestones were added since our last Return on Investment Report due to the new partnership with Excalibur Almaz, Inc.)

The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) successfully completed the System Definition Review for their Dream Chaser spacecraft. This major design maturation event, which took place over a period of three months, enabled SNC to assess how their design will meet low Earth orbit (LEO) transportation mission needs. Additionally, SNC successfully activated their Flight Control Integration Laboratory, which will test the Dream Chaser’s electronic and mechanical hardware that controls the vehicle’s flight path and attitude. The initial lab system was built to be adaptable, and will first be used to test actuators and control surfaces in preparation for an unpiloted free-flight test scheduled for next year.

A scale model of Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft in a wind tunnel at NASA Ames. (Credit: Boeing)

Boeing successfully completed wind tunnel testing of a scale model of their CST-100 spacecraft to measure aerodynamic factors during ascent to low Earth orbit (LEO) and emergency aborts. The data will improve computer models and analysis tools for further CST-100 design maturation and eventual certification. Additionally, Boeing accomplished an important step for their upcoming Emergency Detection System (EDS) testing milestone by completing design of the software needed to interface between the CST-100 systems and the launch vehicle’s EDS. They also verified the test plan for the EDS simulation early next year. An EDS is critical during human launches, as it provides an early warning of problems that could require a launch abort.

For this work, Boeing obtained a prototype Atlas V EDS emulator from United Launch Alliance (ULA) and is providing ULA with feedback that will help improve the EDS system. ULA is working on their EDS system under a separate unfunded SAA with NASA, so this interim milestone progress is a great example of cooperation between industry partners. ULA completed the tailored Systems Requirements and Design Review for developing a human-rated version of their existing Atlas V expendable rocket. The review included their program’s status, certification planning, requirements, and baseline conceptual design.

Excalibur Almaz's space tourism vehicle concept. (Credit: Excalibur Almaz)

NASA and Houston-based Excalibur Almaz, Inc. (EAI) have entered into a new agreement for collaboration on furthering the development of EAI’s spacecraft concept for low Earth orbit crew transportation. The agreement is an unfunded SAA, which means that NASA will provide limited technical support to EAI but no funding.

“We are pleased to add Excalibur Almaz to the group of CCDev2 companies and look forward to a productive partnership,” said Brent Jett, Commercial Crew Program deputy manager.

EAI’s concept for commercial crew transportation to the International Space Station is to use the company’s planned tourist space vehicle in concert with an intermediate stage, and to launch on a commercially available rocket to be determined in the near future.

As part of this agreement, EAI will conduct reviews of their systems requirements, compatibility with potential launch vehicles, spacecraft testing plans and overall design plan status. NASA will participate in these reviews by providing expert feedback based on 50 years of spaceflight experience. NASA and EAI kicked-off these activities in late October, and scheduled milestones will continue through May 2012.

A summary schedule showing all completed and planned CCDev2 milestones can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/.

There were no details made available, but Space News obtained a few details from NASA officials:

“We’re providing limited technical support consistent with the purpose of the CCDev 2 activity, which is to advance orbital commercial transportation concepts enabling significant progress on maturing the design and development of the system,” NASA spokesman Michael Braukus wrote in an Oct. 25 response to questions about the Excalibur Almaz agreement.

Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA headquarters here, would not provide any details about the agreement with Excalibur Almaz, except to say that “they have a credible concept.”

Excalibur Almaz is an American offshoot of a company of the same name based in the Isle of Man. The company has access to reusable Soviet-era spacecraft technology that was part of military space stations.

NASA has unfunded SAAs with United Launch Alliance and ATK to provide assistance on the Altas V and Liberty rockets, respectively. An unfunded agreement means that each side pays for its own costs with no exchange of funds.

The space agency has funded SAAs with: Boeing Space Exploration of Houston, Tex.; Blue Origin of Kent, Wash.; Sierra Nevada Corp. of Sparks, Nev.; and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne, Calif.