Policy In Space

Where the United States' Space Policy Stands Now

Think back to 2004, when President Bush outlined his administration's vision for U.S. space policy: retire the space shuttles, and complete the ISS by 2010, develop a new crew exploration vehicle (Orion) for a manned spaceflight by 2014, planning for a moon landing by 2020, and then on to Mars. NASA responded to President Bush's plan by creating the Constellation Program. Fast forward to 2010, and the landscape (Note: the author realizes the irony of using the previous term in this article) has changed. President Obama in his FY 2011 budget cancelled the Constellation Program. The Obama administration's vision for space policy is largely different from his predecessor.

What does the Obama Space Policy Do?

• Increased reliance on private spaceflight
• Private spaceflight to service the International Space Station
• Extends the life of the ISS "until 2020 or beyond"
• Funds R&D for the "next generation launch systems" including new U.S. rocket technologies.
• Reach an Asteroid by 2025
• By the mid 2030's send astronauts to orbit Mars and return them safely.

Source


What does this mean for U.S. Spaceflight?
It means, coupled with the Constellation cancellation, that for the foreseeable future the United States will be relying solely on private spaceflight companies to conduct its missions. Since the space shuttle is still set for cancellation in 2011, and relying on Russian Soyuz spacecraft isn't an ideal option, NASA needed to fill the void to continue servicing the ISS. Enter the COTS Competition, where NASA solicited private spaceflight companies to demonstrate (with NASA funding) their crew and cargo space transportation capabilities. NASA selected two companies as the winner of its first round of COTS awards SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler (RpK). NASA's contract with RpK was later cancelled because of problems on RpK's side, and a new contract was awarded to Orbital Sciences. In December of 2008 it was announced that SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft would replace the Space Shuttle's cargo transporting duties to the ISS after the shuttle decommissions in 2011. 


SpaceX
Established in 2002 by PayPal founder Elon Musk, SpaceX is a spaceflight corporation based out of Hawthorne, California. SpaceX's design philosophy is based on less managerial levels, less sub-contracting, and conducting the vast majority of manufacturing in-house. SpaceX is the designer and manufacturer of the Falcon 9 launch system, and the Dragon spacecraft. Under their contract with NASA SpaceX will perform a minimum of 12 flights with Falcon 9 and Dragon to the ISS, with an option for up to $3.1 billion in flights.

Falcon 9 Launch System

The Falcon 9 is SpaceX's latest launch system building off of the Falcon 1 design. The first stage is powered by 9 Merlin engines, also designed by SpaceX, and the first stage provides just over 1.1 million lbs-f of thrust. The second stage is just a shorter version of the first stage, and uses the same material, tooling, and manufacturing techniques, leading to a reduction in cost. The Falcon 9 is also the title picture of this article. The nine engine architecture is based upon the design of NASA's Saturn I and V rockets. As mentioned above the Falcon 9 was the launch system chosen by NASA to re-supply the ISS after the space shuttle is no more.

Dragon Spacecraft

The Dragon Spacecraft is reusable and free-flying. It contains a pressurized cabin with an unpressurized trunk for carrying pressurized/unpressurized cargo, and crew. While it was initiated internally by SpaceX in 2005, it is being developed in part under the NASA COTS program. In addition to its future duties with the ISS, the Dragon could be used for in-space technology demonstrations, or scientific experiments.

So, after all that, Where do we stand?

I must admit, after reading that the Constellation Program was cancelled, I was pretty disappointed. I tended to agree with Neil Armstrong that the private corporations were not ready for spaceflight. This inchoate opinion however, changed when I began research on the subject. This is a good example of the type of thinking espoused here at The Scientific Politico, summed up as such: short sound bytes of information, even when they come from revered astronauts, aren't always based in fact, as much as they are based in sentimental attachment, so always check the data. SpaceX has the capability to service the ISS, and should be supported in that endeavor. I think that private space flight isn't the harbinger of the end of American spacefaring dominance, it is the future of it.

The next edition of The Scientific Politico will be a brief Abstract on HR5781 and its implications on the future of commercial spaceflight. Look for it on Tueday.