Your Spaceflight, Your Safety - Dr Andy Quinn Andy - Dr Safety Your Spaceflight, Your the essential primer on the second race YOU’RE FLYING It’s over a decade since SpaceShipOne was air-dropped from WhiteKnight AT 2500 MPH, One and successfully rocketed to the edge of space to win the Ansari X-Prize. Even though it’s been more of a marathon than a sprint, the second FLOATING IN space race is well under way, and thousands of prospective commerical ZERO GRAVITY, astronauts have signed up with companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. Dr Andy Quinn, an aerospace veteran of 30 years and internationally 100KM ABOVE renowned safety expert, is working with industry partners like the Civil Aviation Authority and UK Space Agency to help answer one simple THE EARTH question: Is it safe? BRING IT ON Your Spaceflight, Your Safety has been written to help prospective astronauts ask the right questions of operators, regulators - and themselves. Do you have the right stuff? THIS IS With accessible space travel nearing reality, Your Spaceflight, Your Safety is a timely analysis of the current forerunners of commercial spaceflight, relevant for participants, commentators & journalists. YOUR SPACEFLIGHT THIS IS YOUR SAFETY The Essential Primer on the Second Space Race DR ANDY QUINN Your Spaceflight Your Safety The Essential Primer for the Second Space Race THIS IS A PRE-PRINT VERSION OF THE BOOK, NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT THE PRIOR CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR. Contents To keep up to date on the latest happenings in the second space race, check out the website accompanying this book over at The Author 7 yourspaceflight.com Introduction 9 (or use the code below with a QR reader) About this book 11 The Golden Question 13 The 2nd Space Race 17 Suborbital Spaceports 33 The Medical; Am I Fit To Fly? 39 The Training; What Should Be Provided 45 The Spaceflight 57 Next Steps for Suborbital 65 The Big Question – How Safe Is It? 73 Regulators; What Do They Say About Safety? 89 THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY 96 BEFORE THE FLIGHT 100 BEFORE YOU SIGN THAT WAIVER 101 THE FLIGHT 105 POST FLIGHT 106 SPACEFLIGHT CHECKLIST 107 Websites 109 Glossary 110 Your Spaceflight, Your Safety © 2017 Dr Andy Quinn ISBN XXXXXXXX All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. The Author DR ANDY QUINN I’ve been involved in the Aerospace industry for over 30 years and like you I’ve been inspired and excited by the suborbital spaceflight bug for the last 10 years since the Ansari X-Prize flights. To be fair this excitement has ebbed and flowed over the years with the delays and accidents and here we are on the brink of commercial suborbital flights. So although this short ‘handbook’ has been brewing for some time, now more than ever does it seem appropriate to open up about the exciting flights ahead. As we know, with excitement comes risk and so we will discuss the risks so that you are fully informed when you sign that waiver – the informed consent. I’ve worked as an aircraft engineer in the Royal Air Force and then as Flight Crew. This meant undertaking flight training and some of this is relevant to suborbital astronaut training experiences. Additionally, I’ve flown in a Hawk to analyse the relevance of g-force training for suborbital astronauts as part of my Thesis, as well as carrying out research in centrifuge runs; and having fun along the way. In terms of safety, I’ve worked on military fast jet analysis and worked for the Civil Aviation Authority on the risk assessment of suborbital flights from the UK. I’m also working for Reaction Engines Limited on the SABRE engine and Skylon spaceplane. More recently I’ve provided safety and regulatory inputs for a consortium task for the UK Space Agency in relation to small satellite launchers (vertical and air-launched). On the international front, I’m Chair of the Commercial Human Spaceflight Safety Technical Committee for the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety and this includes suborbital spaceflight. We are providing an international perspective on guidelines and position papers for the emerging industry. I’m also a member of the ICAO/UNOOSA Space Learning Group which is just starting to look at the commercial suborbital spaceflight activities. Photo by Jack Cain on Unsplash 6 THIS IS A PRE-PRINT VERSION, FOR REVIEW ONLY THIS IS A PRE-PRINT VERSION, FOR REVIEW ONLY 7 Photo by NASA on Unsplash Introduction So you want to fly to space? What is it that makes us want to strap ourselves on top of a rocket and head towards the stars? Is it the need for speed? Is it the desire to drink in that once-in-a-lifetime view of the Earth? Could it be the risk and thrill of the ride? Perhaps it’s a bit of all that. Astronauts always say it’s the view of the Earth; astronaut Mario Runo once said to me that the view of the Earth is the most humbling and life-changing experience ever I imagine this Earth-view would indeed be life-changing when orbiting the planet, taking in the splendour and appreciating the fragility of our planet, as Mario did. Typically, space agency missions last several months and are the culmination of years of training and study, after which your ‘office’ window suddenly has the best view in the solar system. We are now on the cusp of a new era of space travel, one where space travel will be (more or less) accessible to the public. Through the efforts of private companies, Cost The first private spaceflight participant was Dennis Tito, who paid $20 million to fly into space in 2001. At the time of writing, it looks like a ticket from Virgin Galactic costs around $250,000. For those of us who do want to fly to space, we’d like this cost to keep coming down! There’s no denying that people are paying a premium to be part of the first wave of participants. What’s important is that the commercial spaceflight industry lays the foundations for a long and prosperous ecosystem of companies that can compete fairly and bring that ticket cost down. The suborbital spaceflight market looks to be a lucrative market to many companies already; they need look no further than the hundreds of people (some of whom should absolutely reading this book!) who have paid for their tickets in full, before the first flights have even taken off. We can see that space is the final frontier and that we should explore the Moon, Mars and beyond (manned of course). Pollution Compared to the booming aviation and shipping industries, not to mention road traffic, the polluting effects of a limited number of space flights fall into insignificance. In the longer term, spacecraft designers are developing ‘greener’ systems for their spacecraft, from cleaner propulsion systems to more sustainable composite materials. Credit: Dr Carole Norberg, August 2005. Mario Runco of STS-44/STS 54 and STS 77 said to me Risk that the view of the Earth is the most humbling and life-changing experience ever and overrides We also don’t appear to mind the dangers involved in the spaceflight. Those of us who all other motives. Runco is a great ambassador for space, as are all astronauts, and after being want to strap ourselves to a rocket are risk takers and pioneers with the ‘right stuff’! our guest speaker on the Manned Spaceflight Course in Kiruna Sweden (2005), he was heading We’re also not stupid and we would expect to be informed of the level of risk, what off to be part of a NASA team looking at Lunar Habitats. I’m sure we will see the fruits of his safety measures the vehicle has, what personal protective equipment we will have and labour on the Moon in the 2020’s – it’s the only logical outcome. Live long and prosper Mario. what training we will be given, especially for emergency events. rather than governments, an individual can experience the wonder of space travel; albeit to suborbital heights, and for a matter of minutes, rather than months. About this book What moment of that journey will stand out the most? Will the brief glimspe of our Part 1 sets the scene for suborbital flights: who are the players, where can I fly from planet still command the greatest reverence? Perhaps the most memorable moment and can I actually fly? Parts of this analysis consider the unthinkable – what could go will be the thrilling launch phase; or maybe pulling some serious G-Force, reaching wrong? – and a further look at wha we mean when we talk about ‘the right stuff’. terminal velocity during the ‘re-entry’ phase on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip2 or Blue Part 1 will look at the different suborbital spacecraft (including those that don’t have Origin’s New Shepard. rockets) and look ahead to the potential of the suborbital market! Lastly, the section will help you determine the answer to a crucial question: ‘am I fit to fly?’, also breaking Maybe some will recall the intense centrifuge and zero-g training sessions, or the down what experiential training is essential for your spaceflight. stomach-churning twists and turns of a jet-powered G-Force training flight. Whatever moment stands out most though, in the end though, I can’t imagine anyone not wanting Part 2 then provides some additional information on the management of your safety to frame their portrait, spacesuit-clad and grinning in front of the spacecraft waiting to in terms of what regulations are in place and what that means for insurance.