NOVEMBER 10, 2014 INSIDE Launch Report See page 16 www.spacenews.com VOLUME 25 ISSUE 44 $4.95 ($7.50 Non-U.S.) PROFILE/22> TORY COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT ACCIDENTS AFTERMATH BRUNO Twin Failures Draw Attention To PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE, UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE Regulator’s Limited Resources JEFF FOUST, WASHINGTON AST is supporting the investigations of INSIDE THIS ISSUE both accidents, but is not leading either. he low-profile approach that the U.S. Orbital Sciences is leading its investigation of Federal Aviation Administration’s the Antares failure, establishing an accident LAUNCH INDUSTRY Tcommercial space office had taken investigation board Nov. 3 whose membership to two launch accidents in less than a week includes current and former NASA officials Proton Concerns Slow Astra 2G Launch Prep has won praise from industry, but some as well as company executives. The National Insurance underwriters for the SES telecom satellite, scheduled for a Nov. 28 launch, continue worry the concurrent investigations may be Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is to raise questions about the Oct. 22 launch of Russia’s Express-AM6 satellite. See story, page 10 putting a strain on the small office. leading the SpaceShipTwo investigation under The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space terms of a memorandum of understanding Transportation (AST) licensed the Oct. 28 with AST last updated in 2004. ESA Outlines Ariane 6 Cost Savings launch of an Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares AST’s work has, as a result, been behind A 19-page response to questions posed by Germany says the new Ariane 6 will cost ESA governments rocket that failed seconds after liftoff from the scenes, with Orbital and NTSB being less to use than the current Ariane 5 and Europeanized Russian Soyuz rocket. See story, page 9 the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in the public faces of their respective investiga- Virginia. AST also issued an experimental tions. However, those in industry familiar Orbital Nears Settlement with Subcontractor permit to Scaled Composites for test flights with those efforts complimented the agency Integrated Systems and Machinery says it is turning over hardware needed for upgrades to the of SpaceShipTwo, which crashed Oct. 31 for its efforts. Virginia spaceport Orbital uses for space station cargo launches. See story, page 12 near Mojave, California, killing one of the vehicle’s two pilots and injuring the other. SEE FAA PAGE 6 MILITARY SPACE Raytheon Team Wins Range Support Contract Q Turbopump in AJ-26 Engine Implicated in Antares Rocket Failure The Launch and Test Range System Integrated Support Contract, potentially worth $2 billion, Q consolidates three contracts supporting the U.S. Air Force’s launch ranges. See story, page 4 Orbital To Accelerate Upgraded Antares, Use Other Vehicles for Cygnus U.S. Allies Generally Agree: WGS Cheaper Q SpaceShipTwo Investigation Focuses on Vehicle’s Feathering System Governments that purchased shares in the Wideband Global Satcom constellation support a U.S. Stories, pages 6-8 Air Force report saying bandwidth on commercial satellites is far more costly. See story, page 10 SATELLITE TELECOM Iridium Down to a Single On-orbit Spare Iridium is down to a single spare after losing the use of two more satellites. But with new satellites launching in 2015, the company doesn’t foresee service disruptions. See story, page 14 EchoStar Targets 2016 for Solaris Mobile Service EchoStar’s satellite-terrestrial broadband service, Solaris Mobile, will launch its EchoStar 21 satellite in early 2016, with commercial service to begin later that year. See story, page 14 Intelsat’s Africa Business Stabilizes Intelsat said its business in Africa has stabilized but that second-tier fleet operators are offering cut-rate transponder capacity that maintains pricing pressure. See story, page 15 >FEATURES 3 NEWS BRIEFS/ NTSB PHOTO Virgin Galactic pilot Todd Ericson (left) shares information at the SpaceShipTwo accident site with NTSB Acting 18COMMENTARY Chairman Christopher Hart (right) and investigators. PERIODICALS-NEWSPAPER HANDLING Launch Smart arianespace.tv @arianespace @arianespaceceo AN ELECTRIC LEAP FORWARD. The Boeing 702SP satellite is the first and only all-electric satellite, a game-changing technological leap. The all-electric propulsion system dramatically reduces spacecraft weight, creating more affordable launch options as well as the opportunity to add additional payload in the 3-8kW range. Two 702SP satellites can even be stacked on a single launch to reduce costs further. Now, that’s the power of innovation. www.spacenews.com 3 November 10, 2014 NEWS BRIEFS The test marked the 29th intercept in Eumetsat To Provide Ocean 35 attempts for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program since 2002, according Data for Copernicus Program to the MDA release. Europe’s meteorological satellite organization, Eumetsat, will provide ocean- altimetry data from the Jason-3, Sentinel-3 NASA Approves Exoplanet and follow-on satellites in support of the European Commission’s Copernicus Earth Mission for Development observation program under a contract with NASA announced Nov. 7 that it has given the commission signed Nov. 7. approval for development to proceed of U.K. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL PHOTO Under the contract, the commission will the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite U.K. Infrared Telescope pay Darmstadt, Germany-based Eumetsat (TESS), a spacecraft to search for extrasolar 229 million euros ($286 million) for planets around the brightest stars in the sky. Eumetsat’s exploitation of these satellites’ TESS passed a confirmation review, Telescope Gets Second Life as Part-time Debris Hunter data for the Copernicus marine service project officials said, which allows the A large ground-based telescope useful about our universe, as well as the space starting in 2015. mission to move into the development for studying orbital debris as well as tra- surrounding our planet.” The 30-nation Eumetsat has a major role phase. NASA selected TESS as part of its ditional astronomical targets has been Lockheed Martin said it is specifically in Copernicus alongside the commission, Explorer program of small astrophysics given a second life under a cooperative using the telescope to study orbital debris. which owns the program; and the 20-nation missions in April 2013. agreement involving NASA, Lockheed The U.K. Science & Technology European Space Agency, which is technical “After spending the past year building Martin Space Systems, the University of Facilities Council, citing budget con- manager of the satellite segment under a the team and honing the design, it is incred- Hawaii and the University of Arizona. straints, planned to shut down the 3.15-billion-euro contract signed Oct. 16. ibly exciting to be approved to move forward The 3.8-meter infrared telescope — telescope in 2013 unless someone stepped Among its other roles, Eumetsat has toward implementing NASA’s newest exo- one of the largest dedicated infrared forward to operate it. A call for proposals agreed to fly Copernicus’ Sentinel-4 and planet hunting mission,” Jeff Volosin, TESS telescopes in the world and once on track was issued and the Lockheed Martin and Sentinel-5 payloads on Eumetsat geosta- program manager at NASA’s Goddard for closure — is part of Hawaii’s Mauna University of Hawaii group submitted tionary and polar-orbiting meteorological Space Flight Center, said in a statement Kea Observatory. Built in the 1970s for one of two offers the council received. satellite missions as hosted payloads looking announcing the successful review. Great Britain, the United Kingdom “The telescope remains a very at atmospheric composition and air quality. The mission, scheduled for launch in Infrared Telescope was owned by the powerful instrument at the peak of its Philippe Brunet, director of aerospace, 2017, will place a spacecraft built by Orbital U.K. Science & Technology Facilities performance, and I am confident that it maritime, security and defence industries Sciences Corp. into a high Earth orbit. The Council until Oct. 31, when ownership will continue to produce exciting results at the commission’s Directorate General spacecraft’s cameras will look for small, transferred to the University of Hawaii. under the new operational arrange- for Enterprise and Industry, signed the periodic variations in the brightness of “Our team, composed of the universi- ments,” Pat Roche, chairman of the U.K. contract with Eumetsat Director-General stars caused by planets passing in front of ties of Arizona and Hawaii and NASA, Infrared Telescope board of directors, Alain Ratier. the star, a technique also used by NASA’s will extend the life of this important tele- said in a statement. Kepler spacecraft. scope,” Matthew Bold, Lockheed Martin The new operators are expected to TESS will monitor the brightness of program manager, said in a Nov. 6 press refurbish some of the telescope’s other Three Targets Intercepted more than 500,000 stars during its planned release. “We plan to grow capability and instruments, according to the University two-year mission. Scientists anticipate the continue addressing pressing questions of Hawaii. In U.S. Aegis ‘Raid’ Test mission will discover more than 5,000 Three missile targets were engaged potential exoplanets, including 50 the and destroyed over the Pacific Ocean by size of Earth. eliminating the need for solar panels. In two finalists around June. Final selection a like number of Raytheon-built intercep- the Discovery solicitation just released, is expected in September, according to tors fired from a U.S. Navy destroyer in an NASA took care to block a possible NASA’s announcement of opportunity. Nov. 6 exercise testing the Aegis missiles NASA Drops Discovery Mission loophole for nuclear-powered proposals shield’s response to a multitiered attack. by prohibiting technology demonstrations SEE NEWS BRIEFS PAGE 11 “This test showcases the U.S.’s ability Laser Comm Requirement of radioisotope power systems. to defend against numerous ballistic and NASA on Nov. 5 released the final The final solicitation also imposes cruise missile threats in ‘raid’ scenarios,” solicitation for its next Discovery-class strict limits on non-U.S.