Henry Spencer takes a look at the increasingly public problems with NASA’s Ares I and Ares V boosters, which are designed to carry the agency’s new Orion spacecraft to Earth orbit and the moon, respectively.
NASA thought it could easily adapt legacy shuttle hardware to the task. Not so much. Considerable upgrades were required, especially after Orion began to gain weight. That, in turn, caused the weight and cost of the rocket to grow as the schedule slipped. Meanwhile, Ares V might not be as cost effective to fly as NASA has stated.
Spencer believes that NASA’s savior could be its investment in the COTS program, which is providing funding to Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation to develop commercial transportation to the International Space Station. SpaceX is developing a human and cargo-rated versions of its Dragon spacecraft, which Musk says could also fly to the moon. Orbital’s program is building a robotic freighter.
“If COTS works out well and Ares continues to blunder on, I expect that Congress will quickly run out of patience and force NASA’s hand by cutting off Ares funding,” Spencer writes.
“The one ray of hope for NASA is that with the White House about to change hands, there will almost certainly be a new NASA administrator next year. Immediately upon assuming office, he or she might declare the Ares programme a write-off and order a major change of direction, blaming the problems on the previous administration. But this would have to be done quickly, while it’s still plausible to blame his or her predecessor.”
Spaceport plan ‘once in a lifetime’ for county
Carol Vaughn
The Daily Times
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for the county,” said Accomack Economic Development Director Larry Forbes of the Orbital project, adding that county officials will do everything they can to maximize the economic opportunity it brings.
“Who knows where all this is going to go?” Forbes said, citing a June 6 report in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report that suggests NASA may be considering accelerating the crew transport portion of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.
After months of weighing competing bids, Orbital Science Corporation has decided to launch its new Taurus II rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, instead of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Virginia Gov. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine made the announcement on Monday, ending months of uncertainty. The rocket will be launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.
Orbital Sciences, based in Reston, Virginia, is developing the Taurus II rocket to deliver cargo to the International Space Station under NASA’s COTS program. It will serve as an alternative to the space shuttle, which is due to be retired in 2010.
NASA’s decision to award the COTS contract to Orbital set off a competition between the two American states, which are promoting rival launch facilities. The decision is a setback for Florida, which is hoping to attract commercial companies in order to offset job losses resulting from the space shuttle’s retirement.
Deal for resupply rockets seen as chance for Wallops Island site to take off
Virginia Pilot
Wallops Spaceport wins $45M project
The Daily Times
Orbital Sciences chooses VA over FLA
Orlando Sentinel
Orbital Sciences Corp. seems to be taking its time in making a decision about where it will launch its new Taurus II rocket. WNDT-TV reports that officials at Wallops Island on are anxiously awaiting a decision on whether Orbital will stay in its home state of Virginia or go south to Florida.
Meanwhile, 20 members of Florida’s Congressional delegation have released a statement urging Orbital to locate its new launch facility at the Kennedy Space Center.
In other news:
- Russia and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement concerning joint cooperation in space exploration and the continued use of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
- Officials in New Mexico are moving ahead with plans to create a tax district to support development of Spaceport America.
Florida Today has a roundup of what the Florida Legislature has done during its current term to attract and keep aerospace companies. These measures include:
- $14.5 million to upgrade a launch complex for commercial flights;
- $1.25 million for space workforce retention and training programs;
- tax refunds for companies that retain workers; and,
- a measure limiting the liability of space tourism companies.
Ironically, the Legislature passed a budget that severely cuts funding for Space Florida, the organization that develops and promotes the state’s aerospace industry. Space Florida will receive $4 million this year, a reduction from its current $7 million budget. Gov. Charlie Crist had requested an increase to $8.5 million.
The cutback was apparently part of a general belt tightening effort in the midst of an economic downturn. A spokeswoman said Space Florida would cut back on trade shows and other promotional activities but does not anticipate any staff cutbacks.
Florida Today also reports that Space Florida is in negotiations with the U.S. Air Force over the use of Launch Complex 36, a deactivated Atlas rocket launch facility at the Cape Canaveral Air Station. The story does not indicate how the state would use the complex, but it could be related to efforts by Florida to lure Orbital Sciences Corporation to the state. The company is expected to make a decision soon on whether it will launch its new NASA-funded rocket from Virginia or Florida.
Below is an excerpt from a GAO Report titled, “NASA: Challenges in Completing and Sustaining the International Space Station,” that was presented to Congress last week. The except offers a succinct explanation of NASA’s COTS program and the challenges it faces over the next few years. As you will see, GAO is not real optimistic…
“NASA is working with the commercial space sector through its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to develop and produce vehicles that can take equipment and crew to and from the space station. NASA expects that these vehicles will be ready for cargo use in 2010 and crew use in 2012. However, these vehicles have yet to be successfully launched into orbit, and some NASA officials have acknowledged that their development schedules leave little room for the unexpected.
“Under the COTS program, NASA has pledged $500 million to promote commercial opportunities for space transportation vehicles. Using Space Act agreements instead of traditional contracting mechanisms, NASA will make payments to companies based on the achievement of key milestones during the development of their vehicles. These agreements are both funded and unfunded. For the two funded agreements that have been reached, NASA stated that the commercial suppliers for space transportation services will have customers outside of ISS, including NASA’s Constellation program, which plans to send humans back to the moon and eventually Mars. The COTS program will occur in phases. In the first phase companies will demonstrate the vehicle launch and docking capabilities with the ISS. The second phase is the procurement of services for transportation of cargo and crew to the ISS, which is scheduled to begin sometime in the 2010 time frame.
Continue reading ‘Construction Ahead: Expect Delays’
Andrei Kislyakov has an interesting analysis on the RIA Novosti website about Russia’s future role in the International Space Station project. Although there are fears in the West about the country’s growing role in the program, some in Russia worry their involvement could decline in the future.
The recent launch of Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle resupply ship has subtly shifted the balance among the partners. Europe will be playing a larger role in station operations, a role that could eventually expand to flying astronauts to the facility aboard a human-rated ATV.
To date, crew transfers and cargo resupply have been handled by the American space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. However, America plans to retire the shuttles in 2010, and it could be five years before the successor vehicle, Orion, flies crews to ISS.
Continue reading ‘Russia: Feeling a Tad Slighted?’
Ever wondered what the differences are between Europe’s ATV, SpaceX’s Dragon, and Orbital Sciences Cygnus spacecraft? If so, Taylor Dinerman has a few answers over at The Space Review.
All three vehicles are designed to ferry cargo to the International Space Station. ESA’s ATV is set to make its debut later this month; Dragon and Cygnus are commercial alternatives being developed by private industry with seed money from NASA’s COTS program. Dinerman takes a look at each vehicle’s capabilities and their prospects.
SPACEHAB Press Release
HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SPACEHAB, Incorporated (NASDAQ:SPAB), a provider of commercial space services, today issued a statement from SPACEHAB Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas B. Pickens, III, regarding NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) announcement on February 19, 2008.
“While we are disappointed that SPACEHAB was not selected as a winner of the COTS competition, we want to be certain to convey to our stockholders that the Company has been aggressively pursuing other valuable opportunities including growing our profitable Astrotech subsidiary, primarily through our expanded long term relationship with the U.S. Government Office of Space Launch and our announced end-to-end ALLSAT satellite service system. Also, by design, most of the costs and advanced engineering that were invested in the COTS ARCTUS Program are also being applied to advance our ALLSAT satellite system.
Continue reading ‘SPACEHAB Releases Statement About COTS Loss’