DOCSLIB.ORG

GNSS Trilogy: Our Story Thus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
GNSS Trilogy: Our Story Thus GNSS Trilogy: Our Story GLEN GIBBONS EDITOR, INSIDE GNSS Thus Far “Tell me, O muse, of Oops! Wait a minute! Hold your the labyrinths of Brussels and that ingenious hero who horses there, Homer; it’s not Washington, and that most that Odyssey. We’re talking frightful ogre: the Office of traveled far and wide after about the GNSS odyssey. Management and Budget. he had sacked the famous More than 30 years in the No, it’s not The Lord of town of Troy. .” making, not a mere decade. the Rings or even the first And its heroes didn’t simply three installments of Harry drift idly about the wine- Potter’s adventures, but the dark Mediterranean enjoying GNSS trilogy has produced the rosy-fingered dawn like a fascinating story line and Odysseus and his buddies. The introduced a kind of magic to GNSS crew — GPS, GLONASS, the real world. It has created a and now Galileo — has traveled vast popular utility as profound from California to Colorado in its own right as the Internet to Brussels, Moscow, India, or mobile phones — with the Kazakhstan, Beijing, Tokyo, and ability to discover connections beyond! among people, places, and Oh, sure, Circe and things that were heretofore Polyphemus and the ghost of impossible and nearly Agamemnon made for some unimaginable. rough customers, but try launch But getting there hasn’t failures, dissolution of a nation, been easy. Read on… Russian Federal Space Agency/LockheedMartin/ESA www.insidegnss.com JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 • PREMIERE ISSUE InsideGNSS 25 igm_025-031_11.indd 25 2/8/06 8:48:47 AM GNSS TRILOGY falling below its fully operational Will Success Spoil GPS? capability (FOC) of 24 space vehicles sometime between 2007 and 2012 as The more that the Global Positioning System has exceeded the 20–40 percent. Indeed, the task force expectations of its creators, the more challenges it has faced. argues for a 30-satellite constellation to ensure robust coverage in “challenged ike some behemoth rocket environments.” ship launched in the 1970s, The timelines for the last three the Global Positioning System GPS satellite development and launch L sails on through an expanding programs — Block IIR, IIR-M, and III universe of users and applications, — all slid to the right, as they describe seemingly imperturbable, successful schedule delays these days. beyond the expectations of its creators, Intermittently starved for fuel, with an enormous momentum carrying it sporadic guidance from the helm, will into the third millennium. new resources reach the system before To all appearances, GPS is its speed inevitably begins to slow, prospering more than ever: a second threatening its being overtaken by other full signal (L2C) is becoming available GNSS vehicles? to civil and commercial users, a Okay, that’s the bad news. denser ground monitoring system The good news is that no one being built out, improved accuracies connected to the program wants to let squeezed out of the algorithms and one of the world’s leading U.S.-branded operational practices at the Master utilities slip into the shadow of the Control Station in Schriever Air Force other GNSSes under development. Base, prices dropping on products And steps are under way to ensure that with more features and functions than doesn’t happen. ever, hundreds of millions of receivers in use around the world. A follow-on New Game Plan generation (Block IIF) of satellites with A long-awaited next-generation a third civil signal (at the so-called L5 program, GPS III, spent well more than frequency) is being built by Boeing for hundred million dollars on conceptual launch beginning in 2007. studies and several years jogging in Since its first satellite launch 28 place before receiving a renewed go- years ago, GPS has blazed a trail for ahead from the Department of Defense satellite-based positioning, navigation, NASA (DoD). The Fiscal Year 2006 (FY06) and timing. Thanks to GPS, global navigation satellite systems federal budget allocated $87 million for GPS III. The FY07 have gone from being a technological unknown to becoming budget will be finalized soon in Washington, and current a widely recognized utility. GPS, a model and inspiration to indications are that GPS Block III will receive at least $237 its imitators across the oceans. million, according to the GPS Joint Program Office (JPO). Of Or is it? course, GPS III funds have been zeroed out before. In fact, for some years now GPS has been a victim of its Current plans call for GPS JPO decision this summer that own success. Performing better than advertised, the system chooses among proposals submitted for separate space vehicle has suffered from budgetary pilfering for other defense (SV) and operational control (OCX) segment contracts. Once programs and risks getting lost in the shifting maze of diffuse acquisition strategies are formally approved in Washington, dual-use management responsibilities. release of the GPS Block III SV request for proposals (RFP) “History has shown that the Air Force has had chronic are expected to be released by mid-February and later in the difficulty in adequately funding GPS, even in the absence spring for the OCX RFP, according to JPO. of the more expensive GPS III satellites,” observes a high- “Minor adjustments are being implemented in the program level Defense Science Board (DSB) task force report on GPS planning to reflect an incremental development and delivery issued late last year. “If the Air Force continues to use its approach for both acquisitions that will provide increased GPS investments as a funding source to offset other space/ GPS capability sooner and more frequently over the life of the aircraft programs, then GPS service continuity will remain in program,” the JPO told Inside GNSS. Nonetheless, an upgrade jeopardy even without the more costly GPS III.” (See article in the control segment to accommodate the new generations on page 42.) of satellites is behind schedule, which means that the capability Meanwhile, an Air Force Space Command projection to operationally control those signals will not be available until puts the worst-case probability of the GPS constellation 2009 at the earliest, according to the DSB task force. 26 InsideGNSS JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2006 • PREMIERE ISSUE www.insidegnss.com igm_025-031_11.indd 26 2/8/06 8:48:53 AM Modernizing Technology National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (formerly the In terms of its fundamental design, the Global Positioning National Imagery and Mapping Agency) have been folded System is nearly 35 years old. More recent spacecraft designs into the existing five Air Force GPS monitoring stations using modern electronics, new rubidium clocks, better (which includes the Master Control Station at Shriever AFB, satellite management techniques, and navigation message Colorado.) This will eliminate blank spots in coverage and enhancements have improved performance. But the design of support Air Force plans to monitor the integrity (or health) of the key resource for manufacturers and users, the GPS signals- civil signals as well as military signals. in-space, is essentially the same as when the first satellite was launched in 1978: a C/A-code on L1 (centered at 1575.42 New Political Structure MHz) and P/Y-code military signals at L1 and L2 (1227.60 Under a presidential national security policy directive MHz) (NSPD) released in December 2004, a National Space-Based Over the next five years, however, this situation will change Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Executive dramatically. Committee and Coordination Office have taken over from the Beginning with SVN53/PRN17, the first modernized Interagency GPS Executive Board (IGEB). Mike Shaw, a long- Block IIR (IIR-M) satellite built by Lockheed Martin and time GPS hand on both sides of the civil/military interface, launched last September 25, GPS has gained a new open civil stepped in toward the end of 2005 as the first director of the signal at L2 (centered at 1227.6 MHz). A third civil signal, PNT coordination office. L5 (centered at 1176.45 MHz) will arrive with the Block IIF satellites now scheduled to begin launching in 2007. The good news is that no one connected to the program wants to let one of the world’s leading U.S.-branded utilities slip into the shadow of the other GNSSes under development. Gordon EnglaNd Maria Cino Both IIR-M and IIF satellites will offer new military Establishment of the PNT committee — now cochaired M-code signals at L1 and L2 with “flex power” capability of by deputy secretaries of defense and transportation, Gordon transmitting stronger signals as needed. The L5 civil signal England and Maria Cino, respectively — kicked GPS will be broadcast both in phase and in quadrature, with the leadership up a notch from that of the IGEB. Other members quadrature signal being broadcast without a data message. include representatives at the equivalent level from the Air Force Space Command expects to have a full complement departments of state, commerce, and homeland security, the of satellites transmitting L2C and M-code signals by 2013; for Joint Chiefs of Staff and the National Aeronautics and Space L5, fully operational capability is expected by 2014. Administration. Generally, the new signals will be characterized by longer The committee had met once shortly after its formation code sequences broadcast at a higher data rate and with under President Bush’s NSPD, but a January 26 gathering slightly more power. Beginning with the IIR-M satellites, the marks its first with the current leadership. In addition to Air Force will be able to increase and decrease power levels getting acquainted with one another and the PNT topic in on P-code and M-code signals to defeat low-level enemy general, the agenda covered such issues as the DSB task force jamming — a capability known as “flex power.” report, modernization and funding of GPS, and the new UN These new signal features will support improved ranging International Committee on GNSS (see article on page 61).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Russia Nuclear Chronology
    Russia Nuclear Chronology 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 2002 | 2001-2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997-1993 Last update: July 2010 This annotated chronology is based on the data sources that follow each entry. Public sources often provide conflicting information on classified military programs. In some cases we are unable to resolve these discrepancies, in others we have deliberately refrained from doing so to highlight the potential influence of false or misleading information as it appeared over time. In many cases, we are unable to independently verify claims. Hence in reviewing this chronology, readers should take into account the credibility of the sources employed here. Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation 2010 10 January 2010 UNIT OF VOLGODONSK POWER PLANT UNDERGOES EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN The first power unit of the Volgodonsk nuclear power plant in south Russia was shut down by an emergency protection system. Problems with a steam generator were the likely cause of the protection system activation. Rosenergoatom reported a normal level of background radiation at the plant. The Volgodonsk power plant began operating in 2001. It is situated some 1,000 km (621 miles) south of Moscow and has a single pressurized water reactor. —"Radiation Level Normal at Volgodonsk NPP After Emergency Shutdown," RIA Novosti, 1 January 2010, http://en.rian.ru; "Volgodonsk NPP Shuts Down First Power Unit in Emergency Mode," RIA Novosti, 1 January 2010, http://en.rian.ru.
    [Show full text]
  • An Assessment James Oberg July 2007
    The following report will be published early in 2008 as a chapter in the National Defense University series on space power. See http://www.ndu.edu/inss/press/nduphp.html for details on availability of the entire volume. Meanwhile it is copyright @2007, James Oberg and the NDU. Russia’s Space Program at Fifty – An Assessment James Oberg July 2007 After half a century of space activities, Russia will be spending 2007 celebrating anniversaries of its space past, but with good reason will also be celebrating improving prospects for its space future. The past events include the 150th birth anniversary of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the birth centenary of Sergei Korolev, and 50 years since the world's first artificial satellite was launched in the Soviet Union. Lamentable hangovers from the more recent “space slump” have been fading away, although not entirely. Not far from the main launch pad at the Baykonur cosmodrome, a pad that hosted the Sputnik blastoff on October 4, 1957, the Gagarin blast-off on April 12, 1961, and still hosts ‘Soyuz’ booster launches, stands a simple obelisk. It is surmounted by a full-size metal sculpture of the ‘Sputnik’, and supports a small plaque. “Here through the genius of Soviet man began the relentless assault on space,” reads the plaque. But the succeeding fifty years saw a mixture of relentless assault and single-minded perseverance with wasteful detours, dead-ended spectaculars, desperate gambles, and shriveling budgets. Interplanetary probes pioneered the routes to nearby planets, but could reach no further. Operating lifetimes of affordable satellites were so short that mass quantitites had to be successively launched into orbit – with the unintended benefit of providing a major surge (or casualty replacement) capability for military systems.
    [Show full text]
  • Behind the Scenes All About the Chinese Space Programme GO TAIKONAUTS!
    Issue 3 January 2012 MISSION DOCKING Behind the Scenes All about the Chinese Space Programme GO TAIKONAUTS! Editor’s Note The year 2011 may become a key turning point in the Chinese space programme. In this year, China surpassed the United States in annual space launch rate , start- ed initial Beidou positioning service, re- vived commercial launch ... page 2 Quarterly Report July - September 2011 Launch Events As in previous years, Chi- nese launch activities ac- celerated in the second half of the year. There were nine space launches in the third quarter of 2011, eight of which were suc- Mission Docking: Behind the Scene cessful, which established a string of re- The Shenzhou 8 and the Tiangong 1 rendezvous and docking mission was cords in the history of the Chinese space undoubtedly one of the most important space events in 2011. It becomes programme ... page 3 especially dramatic now that the US has retired its shuttle fleet and lost its capability to send humans into space, and Russia has recently encountered a string of disappointing launch failures and the loss of the high-profile Pho- Analysis bos-Grunt probe ... page 6 When Two Became One International Cooperation As media both inside and outside China have reported, the Shenzhou 8 docking Harmonious Interference Dissolves mission with Tiangong 1 towards the end Galileo “Misunderstandings” of 2011 was a full success. What does suc- People often like to talk about the “new space race to the Moon”. But in cess mean in this context? What are the the background, almost un-noticed by the public, another more tangible direct consequences for China’s ambi- race is taking place.
    [Show full text]
  • Russia's Posture in Space
    Studies in Space Policy Marco Aliberti Ksenia Lisitsyna Russia’s Posture in Space Prospects for Europe Studies in Space Policy Volume 18 Series editor European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria Editorial Advisory Board Jean-Jacques Tortora, European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria Genevieve Fioraso, Former Minister and Member of the French Parliament, France Gerd Gruppe, Bereich Raumfahrtmanagement, Mitglied des DLR-Vorstands, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Pavel Kabat, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria Sergio Marchisio, Full Professor of International Law, Sapienza University, Italy Dominique Tilmans, YouSpace, Wellin, Belgium Ene Ergma, Former President of the Estonian Parliament, Estonia Ingolf Schädler, Austrian Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology, Austria Gilles Maquet, Former Senior Vice President of Astrium, France Jaime Silva, Former Minister, Advisor to the Director General for Internal DG GROW, Portugal Per Tegnér, European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria Edited by the European Space Policy Institute Director: Jean-Jacques Tortora The use of outer space is of growing strategic and technological relevance. The development of robotic exploration to distant planets and bodies across the solar system, as well as pioneering human space exploration in earth orbit and of the moon, paved the way for ambitious long-term space exploration. Today, space exploration goes far beyond a merely technological endeavour, as its further development will have a tremendous social, cultural and economic impact. Space activities are entering an era in which contributions of the humanities—history, philosophy, anthropology—, the arts, and the social sciences—political science, economics, law—will become crucial for the future of space exploration. Space policy thus will gain in visibility and relevance.
    [Show full text]
  • Icons on the International Space Station
    religions Article Eternity in Low Earth Orbit: Icons on the International Space Station Wendy Salmond 1, Justin Walsh 1 and Alice Gorman 2,* 1 Department of Art, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA; [email protected] (W.S.); [email protected] (J.W.) 2 Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia * Correspondence: alice.gorman@flinders.edu.au Received: 15 October 2020; Accepted: 10 November 2020; Published: 17 November 2020 Abstract: This paper investigates the material culture of icons on the International Space Station as part of a complex web of interactions between cosmonauts and the Russian Orthodox Church, reflecting contemporary terrestrial political and social affairs. An analysis of photographs from the International Space Station (ISS) demonstrated that a particular area of the Zvezda module is used for the display of icons, both Orthodox and secular, including the Mother of God of Kazan and Yuri Gagarin. The Orthodox icons are frequently sent to space and returned to Earth at the request of church clerics. In this process, the icons become part of an economy of belief that spans Earth and space. This practice stands in contrast to the prohibition against displaying political/religious imagery in the U.S.-controlled modules of ISS. The icons mark certain areas of ISS as bounded sacred spaces or hierotopies, separated from the limitless outer space beyond the space station walls. Keywords: International Space Station; iconography; hierotopy; material culture; sacred space; cosmonaut 1. Introduction How the perspective of being outside the world—that is, in space—changes personal approaches to spirituality among space travelers has been the subject of numerous studies (e.g., Suedfeld 2006; Weibel 2016, 2020; Weibel and Swanson 2006).
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing Russia's Space Cooperation with China And
    ASSESSING RUSSIA’S SPACE COOPERATION WITH CHINA AND INDIA Opportunities and Challenges for Europe Report 12, June 2008 Charlotte MATHIEU, ESPI DISCLAIMER This Report has been prepared for the client in accordance with the associated contract and ESPI will accept no liability for any losses or damages arising out of the provision of the report to third parties. Short Title: ESPI Report 12, June 2008 Editor, Publisher: ESPI European Space Policy Institute A-1030 Vienna, Schwarzenbergplatz 6 Austria http://www.espi.or.at Tel.: +43 1 718 11 18 - 0 Fax - 99 Copyright: © ESPI, June 2008 Rights reserved - No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without permission from ESPI. Citations and extracts to be published by other means are subject to mentioning “source: © ESPI Report 12, June 2008. All rights reserved” and sample transmission to ESPI before publishing. Price: 11,00 EUR Printed by ESA/ESTEC Layout and Design: M. A. Jakob/ESPI and Panthera.cc Ref.: C/20490-003-P13 Report 12, June 2008 2 Russia’s Space Cooperation with China and India Assessing Russia’s Space Cooperation with China and India – Opportunities and Challenges for Europe Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………….. 5 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………….... 8 1. Russia in 2008.................................................................................................... 9 1.1. A stronger economy……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10 1.2. An economy very dependent on the energy sector…………………………………………………… 10 1.3. Political stability…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12 1.4. A new posture and the evolution towards a more balanced foreign policy……………… 12 2. Russia and Space……………………………………………………………………………………… 14 2.1. Space as a strategic asset…………………………………………………………………………………………… 14 2.2.
    [Show full text]
  • Updated Version
    Updated version HIGHLIGHTS IN SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS 2011 A REPORT COMPILED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUTICAL FEDERATION (IAF) IN COOPERATION WITH THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE, UNITED NATIONS. 28 March 2012 Highlights in Space 2011 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 5 I. OVERVIEW 5 II. SPACE TRANSPORTATION 10 A. CURRENT LAUNCH ACTIVITIES 10 B. DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 14 C. LAUNCH FAILURES AND INVESTIGATIONS 26 III. ROBOTIC EARTH ORBITAL ACTIVITIES 29 A. REMOTE SENSING 29 B. GLOBAL NAVIGATION SYSTEMS 33 C. NANOSATELLITES 35 D. SPACE DEBRIS 36 IV. HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT 38 A. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION DEPLOYMENT AND OPERATIONS 38 2011 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OPERATIONS IN DETAIL 38 B. OTHER FLIGHT OPERATIONS 46 C. MEDICAL ISSUES 47 D. SPACE TOURISM 48 V. SPACE STUDIES AND EXPLORATION 50 A. ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS 50 B. PLASMA AND ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS 56 C. SPACE EXPLORATION 57 D. SPACE OPERATIONS 60 VI. TECHNOLOGY - IMPLEMENTATION AND ADVANCES 65 A. PROPULSION 65 B. POWER 66 C. DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT 67 D. MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES 69 E. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND DATASETS 69 F. AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS 72 G. SPACE RESEARCH FACILITIES AND GROUND STATIONS 72 H. SPACE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS & MEDICAL ADVANCES 74 VII. SPACE AND SOCIETY 75 A. EDUCATION 75 B. PUBLIC AWARENESS 79 C. CULTURAL ASPECTS 82 Page 3 Highlights in Space 2011 VIII. GLOBAL SPACE DEVELOPMENTS 83 A. GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES 83 B. COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES 84 IX. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 92 A. GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS AND ORGANISATIONS 92 B. EUROPE 94 C. AFRICA 101 D. ASIA 105 E. THE AMERICAS 110 F.
    [Show full text]
  • Lessons from the Soyuz Rocket Failure and Return to Flight Hearing Committee on Science, Space, and Technology House of Represen
    LESSONS FROM THE SOYUZ ROCKET FAILURE AND RETURN TO FLIGHT HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE AND AERONAUTICS COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011 Serial No. 112–43 Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 70–589PDF WASHINGTON : 2011 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HON. RALPH M. HALL, Texas, Chair F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas Wisconsin JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California ZOE LOFGREN, California ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland BRAD MILLER, North Carolina FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona W. TODD AKIN, Missouri DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas MARCIA L. FUDGE, Ohio MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas BEN R. LUJA´ N, New Mexico PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia PAUL D. TONKO, New York SANDY ADAMS, Florida JERRY MCNERNEY, California BENJAMIN QUAYLE, Arizona JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland CHARLES J. ‘‘CHUCK’’ FLEISCHMANN, TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama Tennessee FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida E. SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia HANSEN CLARKE, Michigan STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi MO BROOKS, Alabama ANDY HARRIS, Maryland RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana DAN BENISHEK, Michigan VACANCY SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE AND AERONAUTICS HON.
    [Show full text]
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Committee on Science, Space, and Technology U.S
    SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE AND AERONAUTICS COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The International Space Station: Lessons from the Soyuz Rocket Failure and Return to Flight Wednesday, October 12, 2011 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. 2318 Rayburn House Office Building Introduction On August 24, 2011, a Russian Progress unmanned cargo vehicle carrying supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) crashed during launch from the Baikonur Space Center, Kazakhstan. The crash was caused by a malfunction of the Soyuz-U third stage booster, which is nearly identical to the Soyuz-FG booster used to launch astronaut crews in the Soyuz capsule to the ISS. As a result, use of the Soyuz launch vehicle for astronaut transportation to the ISS has been suspended until the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) completes its failure investigation, and the international partners reach agreement on recertification and return-to-flight plans. Both NASA and Roscosmos would like to launch two unmanned Soyuz boosters before recertifying the system to fly humans. The launch failure highlights the risks of dependence on non-US means for the strategically important capability of access to space. Since the termination of the Space Shuttle program, the Soyuz rocket with its Soyuz crew capsule is the only way to transport NASA and international partner crews to the ISS. The Soyuz crew capsule also serves as a lifeboat for ISS crews. Even with the Shuttle (which could only stay at the ISS for about two weeks), ISS crews relied on the Soyuz capsule to serve as a lifeboat in the event of an emergency to return to Earth.
    [Show full text]
  • Space Exploration - Russian Style
    Space Exploration - Russian Style By Vladimir Voronov Translated by Arch Tait May 2016 This article is published in English by The Henry Jackson Society by arrangement with Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The article refects the views of the author and not necessarily those of The Henry Jackson Society or its staf. SPACE EXPLORATION – RUSSIAN STYLE 1 Here a failure at the launch of a carrier rocket, there a satellite lost in orbit ... What has happened to Russia’s space industry? The chief spokesman on space is Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who has a degree in journalism from Moscow State University. It is uncertain how much he learned aBout space there but, judging by his announcements, he didn’t learn much about good journalism. At one moment he is informing us that, ‘Space exploration is integral to Russia’s sense of identity: it is synonymous with the Russian world’, because ‘Russia cannot live without its space aspirations, outside its space aspirations. It cannot blunt its dreams of conquering the unknown, which beckons the Russian soul.’ Then he is announcing that for Russia colonizing the moon is a strategic objective (‘We are intending to arrive on the moon forever’), and that this is to be followed by ‘exploiting the resource potential’ of Mars. Admittedly, in December 2015 Rogozin suddenly changed his tune, presumably under the impact of the economic crisis, and stated that henceforth ‘the main focus is not on the moon or Mars, but on cheap space.’ Of interest here is not Rogozin’s linguistic aberrations, but the fact that they accurately reflect semantic aberrations, and primarily the absence of any coherent government strategy in respect of Russia’s activities in space, or of any realistic approach to developing the country’s space industry.
    [Show full text]
  • Space Security Index Annual Report
    SPACE SECURITY 2006 SPACESECURITY.ORG SPACE SECURITY 2006 SPACESECURITY.ORG PARTNERS Governance Group Simon Collard-Wexler International Security Research and Outreach Programme, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada Amb. Thomas Graham Jr. Cypress Fund for Peace and Security Dr. Wade Huntley Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-proliferation Research, University of British Columbia Dr. Ram Jakhu Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University Dr. William Marshall Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University and Space Policy Institute, George Washington University John Siebert Project Ploughshares Sarah Estabrooks Project Manager, Project Ploughshares Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publications Data Advisory Board Space Security 2006 Amb. Thomas Graham Jr. (Chairman of the Board), Cypress Fund for Peace and Security ISBN 13: 978-1-895722-53-6 Philip Coyle III ISBN 10: 1-895722-53-5 Center for Defense Information Air Marshall Lord Garden © 2006 Spacesecurity.org House of Lords, UK Design and layout by Graphics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Theresa Hitchens Center for Defense Information Cover image: ESA-J.Huart Dr. John Logsdon Space Policy Institute, George Washington University Printed in Canada Dr. Lucy Stojak Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University First published July 2006 Dr. S. Pete Worden Brigadier General USAF (ret.) TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 8 Acronyms PAGE 11 Introduction PAGE 13 Executive Summary PAGE 26 Chapter One: The Space Environment
    [Show full text]
  • Highlights in Space 2008
    International Astronautical Federation Committee on Space Research International Institute of Space Law 8-10 rue Mario Nikis c/o CNES, 2 place Maurice Quentin 8-10 rue Mario Nikis UNITED NATIONS 75735 Paris, Cedex 15, France 75039 Paris, Cedex 01, France 75735 Paris, Cedex 15, France Tel: +33 1 45 67 42 60 Fax: +33 1 42 73 21 20 Tel: +33 1 44 76 75 10 Fax: +33 1 44 76 74 37 Tel: +33 1 45 67 42 60 Fax: +33 1 42 73 21 20 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] OFFICE FOR OUTER SPACE AFFAIRS URL: http://www.iafastro.com URL: http://www.cosparhq.cnes.fr URL: http://www.iafastro-iisl.com Highlights in Space 2008 Prepared in cooperation with the International Astronautical Federation, the Committee on Space Research and the International Institute of Space Law The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) is responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space and assisting developing countries in using space science and technology. FOR UNITED NATIONS USE ONLY United Nations publication Sales No. E.09.I.4 ISBN 978-92-1-101190-6 Printed*0859018* in Austria ST/SPACE/42 V.08-59018—February 2009—825 UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR OUTER SPACE AFFAIRS UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT VIENNA Highlights in Space 2008 Prepared in cooperation with the International Astronautical Federation, the Committee on Space Research and the International Institute of Space Law Progress in space science, technology and applications, international cooperation and space law UNITED NATIONS New York, 2009 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No.
    [Show full text]