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Space Planes and Space Tourism: the Industry and the Regulation of Its Safety

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Space Planes and Space Tourism: The Industry and the Regulation of its Safety A Research Study Prepared by Dr. Joseph N. Pelton Director, Space & Advanced Communications Research Institute George Washington University George Washington University SACRI Research Study 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary…………………………………………………… p 4-14 1.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. p 16-26 2.0 Methodology…………………………………………………………………….. p 26-28 3.0 Background and History……………………………………………………….. p 28-34 4.0 US Regulations and Government Programs………………………………….. p 34-35 4.1 NASA’s Legislative Mandate and the New Space Vision………….……. p 35-36 4.2 NASA Safety Practices in Comparison to the FAA……….…………….. p 36-37 4.3 New US Legislation to Regulate and Control Private Space Ventures… p 37 4.3.1 Status of Legislation and Pending FAA Draft Regulations……….. p 37-38 4.3.2 The New Role of Prizes in Space Development…………………….. p 38-40 4.3.3 Implications of Private Space Ventures…………………………….. p 41-42 4.4 International Efforts to Regulate Private Space Systems………………… p 42 4.4.1 International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety… p 42-43 4.4.2 The International Telecommunications Union (ITU)…………….. p 43-44 4.4.3 The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).. p 44 4.4.4 The European Aviation Safety Agency…………………………….. p 44-45 4.4.5 Review of International Treaties Involving Space………………… p 45 4.4.6 The ICAO -The Best Way Forward for International Regulation.. p 45-47 5.0 Key Efforts to Estimate the Size of a Private Space Tourism Business……… p 47 5.1. NASA’s Initiatives —The COTS Program………………………………. p 47-50 5.2 Projecting the Space Tourism Business………………………………….. .. p 50-57 6.0 Current Corporate Effort to Develop the Space Tourism Market in the US… p 57 6.1 History of Space Planes & Alternative Ways to Access Low Earth Orbit. p 57-60 6.2 The X-Prize and Commercial Efforts to Develop Space Tourism………… p 60-69 6.3 Space Adventures…………………………………………………………….. p 69-70 6.4 Scaled Composites, The SpaceShip Corporation and Virgin Galactic p 70-71 6.5 Rocketplane-Kistler………………………………………………………….. p 71-72 6.6 Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)………………….. p 72 6.7 SpaceDev – Dreamchaser…………………………………………………… p 72-74 6.8 AERA SpaceTours – Altairis…………………………………….………… p 74 6.9 Kelly Space and Transportation Company……………………..…………. p 74-75 6.10 Alliant ATK Pathfinder……………………………………………………. p 75-76 6.11 XCOR (Xerus)……………………………………………………………… p 76-77 6.12 JP Aerospace – The “Other Space Program”………………………….… p 77-79 6.13 Blue Origin……………………………………………………………. p 79-80 6.14 The Transformational Space Corp (t/Space)………………….……. p 80-81 6.15 The Personal Spaceflight Federation……………………………….. p 81-82 6.16 Other Programs………………………………………………………. p 82-83 6.17 US Oversight of Space Tourism……………………………………… p 83-85 7.0 Other Initiatives to Develop Space Plan Capabilities…………………………. p 85 7.1 Russian Initiatives……………………………………………………… p 85 7.1.1 Energia Space Missile Corp……………………………………… p 85-87 7.1.2 Federal State Unitary Enterprise Myasishschev Design Bureau p 87 7.2 Argentine Commercial Launch Development Program……………… p 87-88 7.3 Australian Projects……..……………………………………………….. p 88-89 7.4 Canadian Projects………..……….…………………………………….. p 89 7.4.1 Canadian Arrow Project and Planet Space…………………….. p 89-90 7.4.2 The DaVinci Project……………………………………………… p 90 7.5 Chinese Space Program………………………………………………… p 91 7.6 European Private Space Initiatives……………………….…………… p 91 7.6.1 European Space Agency and Space Tourism…………………. p 91-92 7.6.2 ESA’s Future Launch Preparatory Program…………………… p 92-93 7.6.2.1 Phoenix and PreX projects of EADS……………………… p 93 7.6.2.2 Project Enterprise………………………………………….. p 93-95 7.6.3 Bristol Space Planes.......................………………………….. p 95-97 George Washington University SACRI Research Study 2 7.7 Indian Space Plane – RLV Initiative……………………………..……… p 97-98 7.8 Israeli Space Plane initiative……….. ……………………………………. p 98 7.9 New Commercial Space Plan Efforts in the Military Sector…………… p 98 7.9.1 Military Initiatives in the United States………………………….. p 98-99 7.9.2 Other Military Space Plane Programs…………………………… p 99 8.0 US Spaceports (Federally Licensed and Proposed)……………….………… p 99-103 8.1 California Spaceport………p 104 8.2 Kodiak Launch Complex………………………………………………….. p 103-105 8.3 Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport……………………………………….... p 105-106 8.4 Mojave Airport…………………………………………………………….. p 106-108 8.5 Space Florida……………………………………………………………….. p 108-109 8.6 Southwest Regional Spaceport, Upham, New Mexico…………………… p 109-110 8.7 Proposed or Currently Being Implemented Non-Federal US Spaceports p 110-112 8.7.1 The Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport (Brazoria County, Texas)… p 112 8.7.2 Oklahoma Spaceport…………..…………………………………... p 112-113 8.7.3 South Texas Spaceport…………………………………………….. p 113-114 8.7.4 Spaceport Alabama………………………………………………... p 114 8.7.5 Spaceport Washington……………………………………………. p 114-115 8.7.6 West Texas Spaceport…………………………………………….. p 115 8.7.7 Wisconsin Spaceport………………………………………………. p 116 8.8 Assessment of US Spaceport Safety……………………………………… p 116-117 9.0 International Spaceport Projects……………………………………………… p 117-118 9.1 Canadian Forces Meaford Range………………………………………….. p 118 9.2 Space Adventures Singapore and UAE Spaceports………………………. p 118-120 9.3 Woomera, Australia………………………………………………………... p 120 10.0 Inhabited Space Facilities…………………………………………………... p 120-121 10.1 Inflatable Spacehabs - Bigelow Aerospace……………………………… p 121-123 10.2 Neptune Space Station—InterOrbital Systems………………………… p 123-127 11.0 Longer range efforts to provide private access to space………………….. p 127 11.1 The Space Elevator Project……………………….……………………. p 127-130 11.2 Tethers Unlimited Inc…………………………………………………… p 130-132 11.3 Nuclear Propulsion, Ion Engines, Solar Sails and other space access.. p 132 12.0 New Approaches to Space Safety in the 21st Century…………………….. p 132-133 12.1 Impact of New Technologies……………………………………………. p 133-134 12.2 Innovations in Regulations and Best Practices………………………… p 134-139 12.3 Differences in Approach to Space Safety by Private Ventures & NASA p 139-140 13.0 Findings, Observations and Conclusions…………………………………... p 140-142 Bibliography and References…………………………………………………….. p 143-152 APPENDICES 1. Chronology of Space Tourism…………………………………………..p. A-1/A-6 2. International Space Projects and Launch Centers…………………….p. A-7/A-12 3. FAA Final Rulemaking………………………………………………….p. A-13/A-71 4. Glossary………………………………………………………………… p. A-72/A-76 George Washington University SACRI Research Study 3 Shuttle and the Russian Soyuz programs EXECUTIVE SUMMARY have demonstrated that human access to space is possible with some regularity, and now true mass access to space appears to Introduction be on the horizon. Indeed the most significant The space age is now a half- development in space activities in the last century old. Over the past fifty years, few years seems to be the emergence of since the launch of Sputnik, in October private enterprise as an important 1957 there have been remarkable stimulant to the growth of a new “space achievements. Astronauts have gone to the tourism” business. Remarkably we now Moon and returned. The Hubble and begin to see the realistic emergence of Chandra Telescopes have discovered new space commercialization as a serious secrets of the Universe at its most remote business enterprise. A number of high reaches. The International Space Station profile billionaire entrepreneurs are now has now been largely deployed and new bankrolling many of these new rockets are being built to allow longer- commercial space businesses. Notable term exploration of space. For decades, the individuals include Paul Allen, the advancement in space technology and Microsoft co-founder, Sir Richard space exploration has been spearheaded by Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic and the official national space agencies. The now head of Virgin Galactic, Elon Musk, National Space and Astronautics the founder of PayPal and now head of Administration (NASA) in the United Space X, Jeff Bezos, founder of States has made numerous strides, but has Amazon.com and now head of Blue stumbled with deployment of the Origin, and Robert Bigelow, heir to International Space Station and the Budget Suites and now the dynamic head Challenger and Columbia Space Shuttle of Bigelow Aerospace. These billionaire disasters. NASA Commercial Orbital backers of new space commercialization Transportation Service (COTS), by initiatives, and others of their ilk, have seeking active commercial leadership in become trailblazers in this remarkable new this development, may well have helped to industry where the sky is no longer the provide an important commercial boost to limit. the rapid development of the space tourism business. Arguably of equal importance is the stimuli created by several new and The world’s other space innovative space technology competitions. organizations have also made their These competitive space prizes—most contributions to space development and, in notably the Ansari X-Prize—have altered some cases are helping with the the landscape of contemporary space development of space plane vehicles and systems development. Literally dozens of even the space tourism industry. The new efforts to create viable space plane European Space Agency (ESA), the industries trace their origins to the X-Prize French Space Agency (CNES), the competition. The $10-million dollar X- German Space Agency (DLR), the Prize, that Burt Rutan and Paul Allen have Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), the now claimed, has done perhaps more to Japanese Space Exploration Agency create a new space commercialization (JAXA), the Chinese Space Agency, the industry than any other single factor. Peter Indian Space Research Organization Diamandis, who sees himself as the (ISRO), the Brazil Space Agency (INPE) ultimate entrepreneur, joined with fellow and other governmental space agencies graduate students Todd Hawley and Bob have all made contributions and, as Richards to found the International Space discussed later, some agencies such as University in 1983-1984. Along with Greg ESA and Roscomos have active programs Maryniak and others, Diamandis has long in the space tourism arena.
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