SPACE NEWS Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page BEF Mags INTERNATIONAL

Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out For navigation instructions please click here Search Issue | Next Page SPACEAPRIL 19, 2010 NEWSAN IMAGINOVA CORP. NEWSPAPER INTERNATIONAL www.spacenews.com VOLUME 21 ISSUE 16 $4.95 ($7.50 Non-U.S.) PROFILE/22> GARY President’s Revised NASA Plan PAYTON Makes Room for Reworked Orion DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY FOR SPACE PROGRAMS U.S. AIR FORCE AMY KLAMPER, COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. .S. President Barack Obama’s revised space plan keeps Lockheed Martin working on a Ulifeboat version of a NASA crew capsule pre- INSIDE THIS ISSUE viously slated for cancellation, potentially positioning the craft to fly astronauts to the international space station and possibly beyond Earth orbit SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS on technology demonstration jaunts the president envisions happening in the early 2020s. Firms Complain about Intelsat Practices Between pledging to choose a heavy-lift rocket Four companies that purchase satellite capacity from Intelsat are accusing the large fleet design by 2015 and directing NASA and Denver- operator of anti-competitive practices. See story, page 5 based Lockheed Martin Space Systems to produce a stripped-down version of the Orion crew capsule that would launch unmanned to the space station by Report Spotlights Closed Markets around 2013 to carry astronauts home in an emer- The office of the U.S. Trade Representative has singled out China, India and Mexico for not meet- gency, the White House hopes to address some of the ing commitments to open their domestic satellite services markets. See story, page 13 chief complaints about the plan it unveiled in Feb- ruary to abandon Orion along with the rest of NASA’s Moon-bound Constellation program. CIVIL SPACE “There are … those who criticized our decision to end parts of Constellation as one that will hinder Obama Pledges 2025 Mission to Asteroid space exploration beyond low Earth orbit,” Obama U.S. President Barack Obama defended his decision to pull the plug on NASA’s proposed return to said in a much-anticipated April 15 speech at NASA’s the Moon. See story, page 4 Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “It’s precisely by investing in groundbreaking research and innovative

companies that we will have the potential to rapidly NASA PHOTO BY PAUL E. ALERS China Details Human Spaceflight Plan transform our capabilities, even as we build on the U.S. President Barack Obama A top Chinese space official says his country will conduct on-orbit rendezvous and docking experi- important work already completed through projects ments and develop a heavy-lift rocket in preparation for deploying a space station. See story, page 6 like Orion, for future missions. And unlike the pre- Orion, because it offers the possibility of dealing with vious program, we are setting a course with specific a large 2010 funding shortfall without widening the and achievable milestones.” U.S. human spaceflight gap following the cancella- Europe May Order More ATVs But while Obama said the effort to build a smaller tion of the space shuttle,” a senior NASA official said Managers of Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo-delivery spacecraft program are Orion would form the “technological foundation for April 13. expected to decide this year whether to order a sixth and seventh ATV. See story, page 12 advanced spacecraft to be used in future deep space John Stevens, director of strategic development missions,” he offered few details beyond pledging to for Lockheed Martin’s human spaceflight business, commit NASA to undertake “a set of crewed flights” said under the proposed restructuring, the company in the early 2020s to “test and prove the systems re- would develop variants of the crew capsule in a series SPECIAL REPORT quired for exploration beyond low Earth orbit.” of increments beginning with Block 0, which would Whether the White House envisions that job ulti- include flight tests of a stripped-down capsule in mately falling to a variant of Orion or some other ve- 2013 and 2014. Block 1 would follow in 2015 and hicle was not clear. 2016 with crewed demonstration flights to the space “It’s crew escape today, and preserving a founda- station and potentially an Apollo 8-style mission to or- 26th National Space Symposium tion for the future in the future,” White House bit the Moon. Block 2, Stevens said, would be able to spokesman Nicholas Shapiro said April 15, adding conduct longer-duration missions well beyond low Stories begin on page 7 that the nearly $6 billion Obama is proposing to help Earth orbit starting in 2017 and 2018. foster development of commercial space taxis over “The notion here is that initially you spend days the next five years would not be used to fund such a in orbit and then you spend weeks in orbit and you >FEATURES capability. “It’s not being funded to compete with extend that to months in orbit,” Stevens told Space commercial,” Shapiro said. News April 12. “We’re actually looking at Block 2 to A senior NASA official said Obama’s plan could go on near-Earth object missions or a mission to L2 3 NEWS BRIEFS/ mesh well with a recent Lockheed Martin proposal to [the second Lagrange point] … that would be six restructure the Orion contract as an incremental de- months’ duration. We can actually handle those in 17EARTH SCIENCE/CLIMATE MONITOR/ velopment program in order to get by with less mon- 2017 or 2018.” ey in the near term. Under the timeline Obama outlined in his speech 18COMMENTARY “We see significant potential merit to the Lock- heed Martin proposal to develop a Block 0 version of SEE ORION PAGE 4

PERIODICALS-NEWSPAPER HANDLING

USERS' CONFERENCE TOUR RegisterToday! Denver,May3 SaltLakeCity,May10 uc.agi.com

______

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 3 April 19, 2010 NEWS BRIEFS be provided by Thales Alenia Space of MDA Plan Entails Prototype France; the water vapor radiometer would be supplied by ITT Electronic Systems of Missile-tracking Satellite Clifton, N.J.; and the GPS precision receiv- The U.S. Missile Defense Agency er would be provided by Broad Reach En- (MDA) on April 13 unveiled its long-await- gineering of Golden, Colo., Brown said. ed acquisition strategy for a constellation Meanwhile, the Navy said last year it has of missile-tracking satellites, which in- worked out a deal with NASA and the cludes the development and launch of a French space agency, CNES, to use data prototype system in 2015 prior to begin- from their two jointly operated oceanogra- ning work on as many as a dozen opera- phy satellites, Jason 1 and Jason 2, until tional satellites. GFO-2 is operational. The stopgap The MDA for years has been interested capability is a downgrade from what the in the so-called birth-to-death tracking of first GFO satellite provided, but is good ballistic missiles from space. Last year the enough for now, the Navy said. agency launched three demonstration satellites — one classified and two unclassi- fied — under a program called the Space No Luck in the Final Attempt Tracking and Surveillance System. The un- classified satellites are going through on- To Raise Silent Mars Lander orbit check-out activities and have yet to NASA detected no signals during a third observe a ballistic missile flight test. and final attempt to listen for any signs that For the new Precision Tracking Space the Mars Phoenix Lander survived the long System (PTSS) announced by the agency winter that brought its five-month mission in 2009, the MDA will rely on the Johns to an end in late 2008, U.S. space agency of- Hopkins University Applied Physics Labo- ficials said the week of April 12.

ratory of Laurel, Md., to lead a prototyping Phoenix landed on Mars on May 25, STRDEL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES effort, according to a posting on the Fed- 2008 and operated two months longer than GSLV-D3 eral Business Opportunities Web site. As its planned three-month mission, which many as five industry teams will be chosen confirmed the presence of water ice under in 2011 to provide input for the design of the martian surface. But once the sun and ISRO’s Cryogenic Stage Fails in Maiden Flight the system. Other opportunities may exist temperatures dropped and winter set in, India’s space program suffered a ma- The cryogenic stage was built at to provide hardware for the PTSS proto- the spacecraft did not have enough power jor setback April 15 when the maiden ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Cen- type, the posting said. to keep operating. The lander went silent in flight of a satellite launcher outfitted tre in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. A single contractor will be chosen in November 2008. with the nation’s first home-built cryo- Nambi Narayanan, a former head of the 2014 to build between nine and 12 opera- Phoenix was not designed to withstand genic upper stage veered off course, center who was involved in the develop- tional PTSS satellites and ground-segment the extremely low temperatures and icy sending its payload — the experimental ment of the cryogenic engine, told Space software for integrating the satellites into conditions of the martian arctic winter. But GSAT-4 communications satellite — into News that the likely cause of failure is an the national ballistic missile defense archi- in the unlikely event that the lander’s com- the sea. explosion that can occur during a so- tecture, the posting said. Production will ponents survived and the spacecraft re- The Geostationary Satellite Launch called hard start when a rich mixture of not begin until after the prototype is ceived enough energy from the rising Vehicle (GSLV) lifted off at 4:27 p.m. lo- fuel and oxidizer is suddenly ignited in launched and demonstrated on orbit. spring sun, mission managers planned on cal time from the Satish Dhawan Space the vacuum of space. While the cryo- Unlike the Space Tracking and Surveil- listening for any signals that Phoenix was Centre on India’s southeastern coast genic engine had been extensively test- lance System that operates in low Earth or- waking itself up. and reached an altitude of 65 kilometers ed and reviewed by experts within and bit, each PTSS spacecraft will stare contin- Two attempts at listening were conduct- before plunging downward. Telemetry outside ISRO, it was not tested in condi- uously at one region from a position along ed by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter in Janu- was lost about 8 minutes into the flight tions simulating high altitude, he said. the geostationary belt, Army Lt. Gen. ary and February, neither of which turned that was expected to last 20 minutes until The GSAT-4 satellite that fell into the Patrick O’Reilly, the MDA’s director, told up any signals. The latest listening attempt payload separation. Indian Ocean carried a Ka-band lawmakers during an April 15 hearing. The was made the week of April 5. Indian Space Research Organisation transponder and a payload for a GPS- MDA has requested $67 million for PTSS (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan aided navigation system for civil aviation. in 2011. SEE NEWS BRIEFS PAGE 10 said in a televised statement that the first The failed GSLV launch originally two stages performed well and that the was intended to carry the Tel Aviv Uni- rocket’s cryogenic third stage also might versity Ultraviolet Explorer (TAUVEX) Ball Aerospace Tapped for CORRECTION have fired, but that the launch was done space telescope under a 2003 agreement in by a failure of the upper stage’s two between ISRO and the Israel Space Naval Oceanography Satellite vernier control motors to ignite. Howev- Agency, but the payload was subsequent- Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. The story “NASA Plans to Refuel Mock er, at a subsequent press conference, ly manifested for a later GSLV flight. was awarded a U.S. Navy contract that could Satellite at the Space Station” [April 5, Radhakrishnan said it was not certain “With hindsight I am obviously re- be worth as much as $500 million if the serv- page 12] should have said geosynchro- that the rocket’s upper-stage engine lieved that it (TAUVEX) remained safe- ice opts to proceed with construction of a nous orbit is approximately 36,000 kilo- fired during the ill-fated flight. ly on the ground,” Noah Brosch, princi- new ocean-altimetry satellite, according to meters above the Earth. “A detailed failure analysis will be car- pal investigator for the mission, told an April 14 Defense Department an- ried out,” Radhakrishnan said. ”We will Space News in an e-mail. “I have no idea nouncement. put all efforts to ensure that the next when the alternative launch will happen; Boulder, Colo.-based Ball Aerospace re- SPACE NEWS flight with the indigenous cryogenic en- I understand that this is being discussed ceived a $5.5 million contract from the (ISSN 1046-6940) gine takes place within a year.” by the Indian Space Research Organiza- Naval Space and Naval Warfare Systems Is published weekly, except for two weeks in August and two weeks in ISRO has spent 3.36 billion rupees tion and by the Israel Space Agency. December, by Imaginova Corp., 6883 Commercial Dr., Springfield, Va. Command to design a satellite dubbed 22159-0500, USA. Space News is not a publication of NASA. Annual ($76 million) over the last 17 years de- From my part, and on behalf of my sci- Geosat Follow-On (GFO)-2 that will meas- subscription rates: $189 U.S. Domestic mail; $209 Canada; $259 International veloping a domestic alternative to the entist colleagues, I certainly hope that mail. Periodicals postage paid at Springfield, Va., and at other mailing ure ocean height and thermal properties. offices. Postmaster: Send address change to Space News,POBox16, Russian-built cryogenic upper stage the launch will take place shortly so that Congers, NY 10920-0016. If change of address is due to official military Ball built and launched the first GFO satel- orders, please forward in accordance with DMM 159.223. Space News is used on the GSLV’s five flights since the Indian and Israeli astronomical registered with the British Postal System and Canada Post International lite at a cost of $85 million. The satellite op- Publications Mail (Canada Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 546046. To 2001. communities would benefit from the erated from 1998 to 2008. order Space News, to change an address or for subscription information, ISRO began its program to develop data gathered by TAUVEX.” call our toll free number (in the U.S.) 866-429-2199, or write to Space News, The firm’s design work is expected to be Customer Service, P O Box 16, Congers, NY 10920-0016 or email and build its own cryogenic engine in Brosch said that he and his TAUVEX [email protected]. For changes of address, attach an address completed in November, the press release label from a recent issue. Telephone numbers: Editorial: 703-658-8400, fax 1993 after Russia — under pressure colleagues watched the launch on their 703-750-8913; Library: 703-750-8696; Circulation: 866-429-2199, fax 845-267- said. If all options are exercised, the con- 3478; Advertising: 703-642-7330, fax 703-642-7386. Photocopy permission: from Washington — refused to transfer computers. “We prayed for a successful Contents of this publication are copyrighted by Imaginova Corp. The tract to build GFO-2 would be worth $499.6 Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, Mass., the technology. launch but instead saw the launch failure million through 2019. The satellite would 01923, has been granted a license to authorize the photocopying of any The April 15 launch failure is likely to as it happened,” he said. “We understand article herein. The fee is $2 per copy per article, limited to 500 copies. Send launch in January 2014 either on a com- payment directly to CCC specifying ISSN 1046-6940. For bulk reprint impact the proposed 2012 launch of the that such happenings are encountered mercially procured or government-provid- requests of more than 500, send to Space News Attn: Reprint Department. Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter mission by every nation that develops launchers ed launch vehicle, and have a six-year de- and planned communications satellite and satellites in the early stages of a pro- sign life, Ball spokeswoman Roz Brown launches. gram and are to be expected.” said. The radio altimeter instrument would

4 SPACE NEWS www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010 Obama Pledges 2025 Mission to Asteroid BRIAN BERGER, WASHINGTON tronauts will venture beyond Earth’s orbit in 2025, starting with a crewed mission to an Pledging to send astronauts to an aster- asteroid. oid by 2025, U.S. President Barack Obama “Early in the next decade a set of crewed defended his decision to pull the plug on flights will test and prove the systems re- 30 Years of Success NASA’s proposed return to the Moon, say- quired for exploration beyond low Earth ing the new course he is setting for the U.S. orbit,” he said. “And by 2025 we expect new space agency promises to take people be- spacecraft designed for long journeys to al- yond Earth orbit farther and faster than the low us to begin the first ever crewed mis- old plan. sions beyond the Moon into deep space. So “I understand that some believe we we’ll start by sending astronauts to an aster- should attempt a return to the surface of oid for the first time in history.” the Moon first, as previously planned,” Obama also gave a specific timeline for Obama told an invitation-only audience in embarking on human expeditions to Mars. an April 15 speech at NASA’s Kennedy “By the mid-2030s I believe we can send Space Center in Florida. “But I just have to humans to orbit Mars and return them safe- say pretty bluntly here. We’ve been there ly to Earth,” Obama said. “And a landing on before. ... There’s a lot more of space to ex- Mars will follow, and I expect to be around plore, and a lot more to learn when we do. to see it.” So I believe it’s more important to ramp up Turning to jobs, Obama said his plan our capabilities to reach and operate at a se- “will add more than 2,500 jobs along the ries of increasingly demanding targets [Florida] Space Coast in the next two years while advancing our technological capabil- compared to the plan under the previous ities with each step forward. And that’s what administration” and more than 10,000 jobs this strategy does. And that’s how we will nationwide. He also said he has asked for a ensure that our leadership in space is even plan by Aug. 15 for a $40 million initiative stronger in this new century than it was in for economic growth and job creation in ar- the last.” eas of Florida expected to be hard hit by the Obama’s 2011 budget request, submit- looming retirement of the space shuttle. The mobile gantry for Soyuz will ted to Congress in February, proposes the Some key details of the president’s ad- cancellation of the Moon-bound Constella- dress were released by the White House enable vertical integration of tion program in favor of extending NASA’s April 13, including a decision to continue payloads atop the launch vehicle support of the international space station development of a stripped-down version of through at least 2020 and investing in the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle to “game-changing” technologies aimed at serve as a crew lifeboat at the international speeding the human and robotic explo- space station. The White House also said ration of deep space. Obama’s initiative NASA will select by 2015 a design for a also puts a strong emphasis on relying on heavy-lift launcher that most experts agree an emerging commercial space sector for is necessary for human exploration beyond launching astronauts and their gear to the low Earth orbit. international space station. Obama said that under his plan, U.S. as- Comments:[email protected]

ORION FROM PAGE 1 neurial outfit that might not have a firm grasp of what it might cost to safely launch at Kennedy, NASA would not send astro- astronauts to the space station. nauts to a relatively close-in asteroid — of- John Gedmark, director of the Wash- ten referred to as a near-Earth object — un- ington-based Commercial Spaceflight Fed- til around 2025. eration, said the plan to use Orion for crew ASCENDING NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver escape could ease requirements for would- said April 13 that while Orion’s focus for now be commercial crew providers such as is crew escape, the capsule could eventually Hawthorne, Calif.-based Space Exploration The world’s most reliable medium-lift launcher play a role in NASA’s exploration plans. Technologies (SpaceX), which is develop- “Ultimately beyond low Earth orbit, ab- ing the Falcon 9 medium-lift launcher and is one step closer to its introduction at the solutely, and as decisions are made on Dragon capsule for both cargo and crew heavy [lift] then you have that capability,” missions to and from the space station. Spaceport. Soyuz’ new mobile gantry is she said. “But not immediately, because “Commercial crew vehicles can now be within the budget we’re focused on the a simpler, more straightforward develop- taking shape as preparations continue for technology development and so forth for ment effort and could potentially be much heavy-lift as well as the crew transportation faster at closing the gap” in U.S. human the workhorse vehicle’s maiden liftoff from for commercial.” spaceflight capability that will follow the Rather than canceling the Orion con- space shuttle’s upcoming retirement, Ged- French Guiana in the second half of this year. tract Lockheed Martin won in 2006, Garver mark said April 14. “If NASA separates the said NASA would modify it to meet the gov- lifeboat capability from the crew taxi capa- ernment’s new requirement for a crew-es- bilities, it will reduce some of the require- cape variant, a plan that could save the ments and technical complexity on com- agency from having to pay the company mercial crew vehicles.” hundreds of millions of dollars in termina- But Obama’s revised plan invited fresh tion fees. complaints that restructuring the Orion Garver said it would be up to Lockheed contract is not a wise investment of taxpay- Martin to decide whether to compete for er funds. NASA commercial crew development fund- “Developing an Orion-based lifeboat- ing with a variant of the Orion design. only is a costly, unnecessary capability that Having worked on Orion for more than would do nothing to reduce our depend- four years now, Lockheed Martin would ence on the Russian Soyuz,” a congression- seem well positioned for that work, but al aide said April 14. “Soyuz is still required Stevens said Lockheed Martin might be re- to ferry crews to the station, where it re- luctant to bid, especially if NASA intends to mains docked until the crews are ready to use a fixed-price contracting vehicle that is return even in an emergency situation. An typical of commercial procurements. He unmanned Orion does not contribute to said such an arrangement could put a large, advancing the goal of exploration beyond www.arianespace.com experienced aerospace contractor like low Earth orbit, and is a wasteful use of re- Lockheed Martin at a competitive disad- sources at a time when NASA has a very vantage against a relatively new entrepre- constrained budget.”

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 5 April 19, 2010 Intelsat Accused of Engaging in Anti-competitive Practices PETER B. de SELDING, PARIS ments filed at the FCC by the un- successful bidders for the CBSP Four companies that purchase have no merit and reflect a fun- satellite capacity from Intelsat are damental lack of understanding accusing the large fleet operator of the requirements of the OR- of anti-competitive practices, in- BIT Act. Intelsat is fully compliant cluding price manipulation on a with the ORBIT Act, as the FCC recent U.S. Navy contract that fa- has repeatedly found. We will re- vored an Intelsat subsidiary’s win- spond in due course in the FCC ning bid over competing offers proceeding. We believe that our that included Intelsat satellite solution for the CBSP program links. will provide the Navy with an effi- The companies, two of which cient and technically outstanding have filed separate protests of the solution, and we look forward to Navy contract, are asking the U.S. the expeditious resolution of the Federal Communications Com- CBSP protest process.” mission (FCC) to take a fresh look One industry official knowl- at Intelsat’s status a decade after edgeable of Intelsat’s post-privati- the fleet operator was privatized, zation regulatory status said the and specifically to consider a company is not a common carrier forced divestiture of the Intelsat and generally is not obligated to

General subsidiary that handles ARTEL INC. PHOTO GLOBECOMM PHOTO sell capacity to anyone. If Intelsat government contracts. Abbas Yazdani David Hershberg had restricted its satellites to the The FCC makes an annual re- Intelsat General bid for the Navy port to Congress on whether the Intelsat General, in turn, “has Navy bid satellite links from oth- live in the world with Intelsat. But contract, this would be permitted privatization of Luxembourg- begun to discriminate against, er fleet operators, both to save we want to know what’s going on. under the law, this official said. headquartered, Washington- and deny access to, independent money and to meet the contract’s We see smoke and we want to find The fact that Intelsat General ap- based Intelsat and mobile satellite distributors.” requirements. An optimal pro- out if there’s fire. We’d like the pears to have offered to other bid- services operator Inmarsat of Artel and CapRock further al- posal, CapRock says, would have FCC to take a look at it, because ders on the program a package of London has promoted “a fully lege that Intelsat has taken retal- included a mix of satellites from our concern is that all of us are capacity might be considered evi- competitive global market for iatory action against companies several operators and fewer Intel- going to end up on the outside dence that the company wishes to satellite communications servic- that protest Intelsat General’s sat satellites. looking in.” maintain a competitive market, es,” as it was intended to do under practices by refusing to renew CapRock estimates that ac- Hershberg said Globe-comm’s the official said. the Open-market Reorganization satellite leases and by quoting cepting Intelsat General’s forced dealings with other satellite fleet The fourth company filing In- for the Betterment of Interna- above-market prices to the bundling of capacity added about operators “have felt like they were telsat-related comments to the tional Telecommunications (OR- protesters. $40 million to the cost of the giving the same price to every- FCC is Spacenet Inc. of McLean, BIT) Act that accompanied the In an April 15 interview, CapRock bid. body.” Va., which did not bid on the Navy privatization. In preparation of its CapRock officials reiterated that “Despite multiple appeals and Abbas Yazdani, chief execu- contract but is concerned that In- annual report, the FCC asked for since their protest earlier this year complaints to Intelsat and Intelsat tive of Artel, echoed Hershberg’s telsat has gotten too big to serve comment on how privatization of the large Navy contract, Intel- General management that this remarks. the general interest. has affected “U.S. industry, jobs, sat has made it difficult for practice was … tantamount to In an April 15 interview, Yaz- “When Intelsat was privatized and industry access to the global CapRock to get access to Intelsat price-fixing, Intelsat General dani said Intelsat “has been our it had 22 satellites and was forced marketplace.” satellites. forced and insisted on the ap- partner — up until about a year to divest itself of some of its or- Intelsat and Inmarsat, estab- In its filing to the FCC, Artel proach,” CapRock says in its FCC and a half ago, when they started bital positions and satellites,” lished as intergovernmental co- says Intelsat has asked satellite filing. acting as a competitor, not a sup- Spacenet Chief Executive An- operatives, were privatized about services distributors to refrain “This bundle was so sub-opti- plier. Now they are taking on the dreas Georghiou said April 16, re- a decade ago. from bidding on contracts being mal that Intelsat General’s own di- role of a dominant power. They ferring to the creation of Intelsat Officials from two of the com- sought by Intelsat General. rect bid did not employ it,” the say they make the rules, and the spin-off New Skies Satellites, since panies that have complained to When these companies have re- CapRock filing says. rules made the day before they purchased by SES. “Now they the FCC said they would not rule fused, they have been “denied Intelsat General’s winning bid have broken the day after. It has have around 50 satellites. So with out separate appeals to the U.S. pricing for later opportunities, featured more capacity from become difficult to work with 22 satellites they were considered Justice Department based on apparently as retaliation for fail- SkyPerfectJSat Corp. of Japan them because they change the too big, and with 50 satellites they what they allege is Intelsat’s mis- ing to comply” with Intelsat Gen- than from Intelsat’s own fleet. rules. are not too big?” use of a dominant position. eral’s request. Also included was capacity from “When CBSP came, they [In- Georghiou said Spacenet, “Intelsat is engaging in a num- Artel and CapRock are among SES of Luxembourg and, in the telsat] flipped 180 degrees. They which uses Intelsat capacity to ber of strategic business practices the losing bidders for the Navy’s military X-band frequency, from started to control the market and provide data links to corporate … causing price escalation, di- Commercial Broadband Satellite Paradigm Secure Communica- they blocked everybody so that customers, is urging the FCC to rectly manipulating the procure- Program (CBSP), potentially tions of Britain. they became the only viable force Intelsat and other U.S.-li- ment process and restricting worth more than $500 million. David Myers, executive vice provider. I believe the intent was censed satellite operators to stop competition,” satellite services The two companies have since president and general manager to prevent any competition for what he called “orbital slot ware- provider CapRock Communica- filed protests of the award to In- of CapRock Government Solu- the U.S. Navy contract. That was housing,” a practice in which options Inc. of Fairfax, Va., said in an telsat General, and the contract is tions, said the Navy contract was not good for us, for the taxpayer, erators refuse to return the or- April 7 filing to the FCC. stalled awaiting U.S. government “the straw that broke the camel’s or for the Navy. They controlled bital position for use by someone In a separate FCC filing, Artel review. back. It has gotten to a point the pricing. I am not saying they else, but also refuse to develop Inc. of Reston, Va., said Intelsat in The CBSP protest documents where it’s really untenable.” He fixed prices, but the end result is the slot. the past two years has substantial- have not been made public, but said CapRock has turned to the the same. They had said [post- “You can’t claim the liberties ly changed the way it deals with Artel and CapRock officials said FCC and may seek U.S. Justice De- privatization] that they would of a free market when it suits you, outside companies, viewing them their FCC filings summarize what partment assistance because the continue their equal-access and and then ask regulators [who gov- now more as competitors to Intel- they view as the most striking ex- company has no choice. “Why non-discrimination practices. ern access to radio spectrum and sat General than as longstanding ample of Intelsat General’s al- would we want to irritate them?” They obviously have violated both orbital slots] to protect you,” Intelsat customers. leged anti-competitive practices. he said. “This is not because of the spirit and the letter of that. So Georghiou said. Spacenet, which Intelsat General, Artel says, The companies in particular one contract loss.” we filed our comments with the recently created its own govern- “has aggressively taken steps that say that when they requested In- Globecomm Systems of FCC to bring some of these prac- ment services division, is likely to restrict other users from directly telsat capacity as part of their sep- Hauppauge, N.Y., also a losing tices to light.” have more dealings with Intelsat accessing the legacy” satellite fleet arate CBSP bids, Intelsat General bidder in the Navy competition, Intelsat officials declined to re- General in the future. that Intelsat built as an intergov- responded by insisting that the says in its FCC filing that Intelsat spond to the allegations in detail, Georghiou said firewalls are ernmental organization before it companies purchase a bundle of General has become increasingly but Intelsat Chief Executive difficult to maintain when “it is was privatized. services, including Intelsat capac- opaque in its pricing policy in David McGlade said in a March supposed to separate people who Artel says it has been blocked ity that they did not want. They the past two years. Globecomm interview that the company has work in offices next to each other, from accessing Intelsat’s in-orbit say Intelsat General refused to Chief Executive David Hersh- set up firewalls that separate those who visit the same cafeteria and capacity directly, and instead has permit the companies to pick and berg said a full FCC review parts of Intelsat General that bid socialize together. If you want a been forced to deal exclusively choose the Intelsat capacity they should be undertaken. on contracts from those that sell true wall to be there, spin the with Intelsat General, which would include in their bids. “We are not going to make al- raw satellite capacity. company off.” competes with Artel for some of CapRock, in its FCC filing, legations without proof,” Hersh- Intelsat issued the following the same government business. says it wanted to include in its berg said April 15. “We have to statement April 15: “The com- Comments:[email protected]

6 SPACE NEWS www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010 Official Details 11-year Path to Developing China’s Own Space Station AMY KLAMPER, rendezvous and docking ma- stay in the station for long term neuvers with China’s Shenzhou to carry out in-space applica- COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. 9 and 10 spacecraft in 2012. tion experiments of a larger Launch of the Tiangong 2 scale,” he said, adding that the A top Chinese space official and Tiangong 3 space labs station’s service life would be shared new details of an ambi- would follow, using crewed mis- about 10 years. tious human spaceflight agenda sions to conduct additional ren- Wang said China has estab- that includes plans to conduct dezvous and docking experi- lished “a good working rela- on-orbit rendezvous and dock- ments with the space labs as well tionship” with space agencies in ing experiments and develop- as regenerative life support and Russia, France, Germany and ment of a new heavy-lift launch cargo supply experiments, other countries, and that Bei- vehicle in preparation for as- Wang said. jing looks forward to working sembling a 30-ton space station “Between 2014 to 2016, we with the United States to pursue on orbit by 2022. are planning to launch the cooperative space science and Wang Wenbao, director of Tiangong 3 space lab, two manned exploration efforts in the China Manned Space Engi- manned spacecraft and one car- the future. neering Office, said the effort go spacecraft to have docking “In November 2009, Presi- would begin with the launch of and rendezvous with the target dent [Barack] Obama visited a Tiangong 1 docking-target spacecraft in orbit and to carry China, and both leaders signed spacecraft slated for early out regenerative life support the American communiqué 2011. technology experiments as well among which it is specifically “According to our schedule, as the space cargo supply exper- stated that the United States we will launch Tiangong 1 tar- iments,” he said. and China look forward to ex- get spacecraft in the first half of Wang said the 3.35-meter di- panding discussions on space 2011 and then the Shenzhou 8 ameter space lab would weigh science cooperation and start- spacecraft in the second half of about 8.5 tons and have two sec- ing a dialogue on human space- 2011 to carry out China’s first tions. flight and space exploration docking and rendezvous of “One is the experiments based on the principles of trans- spacecraft in orbit,” Wang told module, the other is the re- parency, reciprocity and the an audience of government and source module, and the space mutual benefit,” Wang said,

industry officials at the 26th Na- lab will have the capability of in- SPACE NEWS PHOTO BY TOM KIMMELL adding that China is looking

tional Space Symposium here orbit refueling of the hosting of > Wang Wenbao, China Manned Space Engineering Office director, said in addition to being a platform for au- forward to a visit from NASA April 14. fuel,” Wang said, adding that tonomous rendezvous and docking experiments, Tiangong 1 would form the basis of a simple space laboratory. Administrator Charles Bolden Wang said in addition to the space lab would operate at later this year. serving as a platform for au- 400 kilometers with an inclina- From 2016 to 2022, China is ment. Wang said the station will “This forms an important tonomous rendezvous and tion of 42 to 43 degrees relative planning to construct a 30-ton operate at 340 to 450 kilometers foundation for both sides to docking experiments, Tian- to the equator. space station consisting of three above the Earth at an inclina- carry out manned space coop- gong 1 would form the basis of Wang said the spacecraft and pressurized modules to be tion of 42 to 43 degrees. eration,” he said. a “simple space laboratory” on space labs would be launched launched on China’s heavy-lift “The crew members will be orbit, conducting additional on Long March 2F rockets. rocket currently in develop- three, and the astronauts can Comments:[email protected] With High Launch Rate in Tow, China Great Wall Courts Western Business PETER B. de SELDING, PARIS two dominant commercial launch vehi- business was benefiting China’s missile next two years. cles — Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket and development, made it all but impossible European and Asian satellite manu- China’s launch-service provider ex- Russia’s Proton. for U.S.-made satellite components to be facturers for various reasons have not pects to conduct more than 10 missions The company says satellites are ex- exported to China. seen fit to attack the market opening per year over the next two years on the empted from Chinese customs inspec- Reinforced by the U.S. International and throttle up production using so- strength of continued strong demand tion, and that CGWIC literally gives for- Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) called “ITAR-free” parts built outside the from Chinese satellite owners and what eign satellite customers the keys to the regime that restricts technology exports, United States. Thales Alenia Space of appears to be a growing, if still modest, Xichang satellite processing facility the ban remains in effect. But it has had France and Italy has modified its Space- business of launching Chinese-built where the non-Chinese-built satellites limited effect on China’s launcher de- bus production line to accommodate satellites aboard Chinese rockets for for- are prepared for launch. velopment because it occurred just as customers seeking a Chinese launch op- eign governments, Chinese launch offi- “When the customer satellite team ar- China’s domestic satellite market was tion, but only four ITAR-free Spacebus cials said. rives at the launch site, the satellite pro- moving into takeoff position. satellites have been launched since 2005. Twenty years after its first commercial cessing facility is handed over for their According to the CGWIC presenta- Two more — one each for Eutelsat of launch—aU.S.-built telecommunica- control,” CGWIC Vice President and tion made during the users conference, Paris and APT Satellite Holdings of Hong tions satellite — and more than a decade General Manager Fu Zhiheng said in an it took 28 years, to 1998, for China’s do- Kong — are under construction and after its participation in the internation- April 15 e-mail following the users con- mestic market to launch its first 50 satel- scheduled for launch in 2011 and 2012. al commercial launch market was ference. “Without their permission, no lites aboard Long March vehicles. The In parallel with the development of sharply curtailed by U.S. technology-ex- one can enter the facility. Video moni- next 50 Chinese satellites were launched the Long March rocket series, China port restrictions, China Great Wall In- toring is also available for the satellite in just nine years, to mid-2007. Aerospace Science & Technology Corp. dustry Corp. (CGWIC) is making a fresh team while the satellite is in the process- Since July 2007, another 23 Chinese (CASC) has developed the DFH-4 attempt to attract Western business. ing facility as well as on the pad.” domestic launches have occurred. telecommunications satellite for domes- Beijing-based CGWIC on April 8 held In the event of a launch failure in CGWIC said the surge in domestic tic and international customers, includ- a conference for current and prospec- which the satellite debris falls on Chi- demand has enabled the company to or- ing Nigeria and Venezuela in 2007 and tive users and insurers of China’s Long nese territory, a joint Chinese and cus- der Long March vehicles in larger batch- 2008, respectively. March rocket series at the Xichang Satel- tomer team would be sent to collect it, in es, streamlining the production cycle. Four DFH-4 platforms coupled with lite Launch Center in China’s Sichuan keeping with a U.S.-Chinese technology The time needed from contract signing Long March launches are in CGWIC’s ex- Province, the launch base for the heavy- safeguards agreement signed in the mid- to launch today is about 24 months. A port backlog following agreements with lift Long March 3A, Long March 3B and 1990s. typical launch campaign, which took 50 Pakistan, Laos and Bolivia, plus a second Long March 3C versions that deliver From its first launch, in April 1990, of days a decade ago, is now 25 days. Nigcomsat satellite for Nigeria following commercial telecommunications space- a U.S.-built commercial satellite — the Domestic demand shows no sign of the in-orbit failure of the first model. craft to geostationary transfer orbit. AsiaSat 1 manufactured by Hughes, slowing. In addition to telecommunica- The Nigerian and Venezuelan satel- Space insurance officials say the whose satellite plant has since been pur- tions operators, Chinese customers in- lites each weighed about 5,100 kilo- record of the heavy-lift end of the Long chased by Boeing — to 1999, CGWIC clude the operator of China’s Com- grams at launch. But CGWIC says that March series — 29 successes in 31 launched 26 U.S-built satellites, includ- pass/Beidou satellite navigation given their optimized orbits, the Long launches since 1996, including a maid- ing 12 Iridium satellites placed into low constellation, which is designed to in- March 3BE has been qualified to lift a en-flight failure and one partial failure Earth orbit and manufactured by Mo- clude 30 satellites in medium Earth orbit satellite weighing up to 5,500 kilograms in 2009 — has helped reduce insurance torola and Lockheed Martin. and five in higher geostationary orbit. into geostationary transfer orbit. premiums for Long March launches to In 1999, the U.S. government, con- CGWIC said Compass/Beidou is a major rates not far from what is offered by the cerned that China’s commercial launch component of its launch forecast for the Comments:[email protected]

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 7 April 19,2010 <26th National Space Symposium> NRO Chief Aims To Restore Technology Development Funding TURNER BRINTON, Meanwhile, the NRO over the upgrade the ones that we have.” next 18 months will pursue its Carlson said the NRO is work- COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. most aggressive launch campaign ing with Air Force Space Com- of the last 25 years, Carlson said. mand to stabilize or potentially The budget for science and This will be a challenge because expand U.S. launch infrastruc- technology development pro- the nation’s space launch capabil- ture, but he provided no specifics. grams at the U.S. National Recon- ity has been scaled back in many The NRO is also making naissance Office (NRO) has been ways, he said. changes to how it is staffed. Estab- drastically reduced in recent “There are a number of very lished as a hybrid Defense Depart- years, and the spy satellite agency’s large and very critical reconnais- ment-intelligence community or- top official will push to reverse sance satellites going to orbit in the ganization, the NRO is staffed by that trend starting with the 2012 next year, year-and-a-half,” Carlson military and intelligence person- federal budget request. said. “We simply have to get these nel on loan from their respective NRO Director Bruce Carlson, a off and get them off on time. organizations. This is sometimes retired Air Force general, now has “Now we will do that at a time troublesome for program conti- nine months under his belt leading when the launch infrastructure is nuity, so Director of National In- the development and operation of not what it used to be. Through a telligence Dennis Blair recently the nation’s classified spy satellites. series of conscious decisions, this approved a program that will al- In that time, he has focused on country has downsized the indus- low for a limited number of per- some of the agency’s toughest trial base in the launch business. sonnel to be directly employed by problems, including a relatively We’ve downsized the number of the NRO, Carlson said. young and inexperienced work locations from which we can In addition, the NRO has initi- force and bottlenecks at the U.S. launch. We’ve downsized the num- ated a scholarship program in satellite launching ranges. SPACE NEWS PHOTO BY TOM KIMMELL ber of crews to take care of and op- which it pays for university gradu- > NRO Director Bruce Carlson said funding for NRO science and technology development programs was cut Though the NRO’s budget is in half over the last five years, but the 2012 budget request will begin down a path to restoring that funding. erate that equipment. We have lit- ates with general science and en- classified, Carlson has said fund- erally no or very little backup gineering degrees to go back to ing for science and technology decrease for the NRO. budget, it will have a road map to capability in the launch business.” school for space-specific degrees. velopment programs was cut in “Over that half a decade, get us up to the level we have his- Moreover, he said, the U.S. In exchange, each student will half over the last five years. The through a number of reductions torically been at the National Re- government has “made national owe six years of service to the NRO NRO’s 2012 budget request will and taxes and other things, that connaissance Office.” decisions to spend very little mon- after graduation. The office re- begin down a path to fully restor- investment has slackened, and Like other U.S. defense and ey on the development of new fa- cently selected its first class of four ing that funding, Carlson said that’s the seed corn of the future,” space agencies, the NRO has cilities and the recapitalization of scholars, to be followed by six next April 14 at the National Space Carlson said. “We just simply can- struggled with cost growth on its the ones that we have. We’re not year and eight in the years after Symposium here. He did not say not allow that continued erosion satellite programs in recent years, building new engines. We’re not that, Carlson said. whether that correlates to rein our science and technology which has exacerbated the budget building new rocket cores. In fact, questing a top-line budget in- base. So when I submit my 2012 pressures it faces. we’re not even spending money to Comments: [email protected]______Commercial Firms Press Case for More Government Space Work DEBRA WERNER, ington. In the future, commercial firms may a successful public-private partnership. cies from making multiyear commitments. offer additional services to help government “There is no question that we have found “The government spends $600 million a COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. agencies monitor weather on Earth, space success in the marketplace largely because of year to purchase commercial satellite band- weather or satellites in orbit, Hartman said. the investment that the government provid- width on the spot market — a very expensive Commercial firms are poised to offer When the government relies on private ed,” said Gwynne Shotwell, president of proposition,” Weston said. “But they find it U.S. government agencies a variety of new industry for products and services, one of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. very hard to get their heads around com- products and services to meet growing de- the primary advantages is rapid access to (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif. NASA is pay- mitting to leasing a military-frequency satel- mand for imagery, communications and new capabilities, according to members of ing SpaceX and Dulles, Va.-based Orbital to lite that will be built two-and-a-half years launch capabilities, but their efforts are be- the panel. “Despite the Defense Depart- develop new launch vehicles under the from now. Somehow the government is not ing impeded by restrictive acquisition rules ment’s dependence on military frequency Commercial Orbital Transportation Services able to make that shift in contracting.” and budget policies, according to industry communications, it cannot procure capaci- program. The space agency also awarded the Another obstacle is the government’s executives speaking April 14 at the Nation- ty in the right bandwidths fast enough to two companies Commercial Resupply Ser- aversion to risk, members of the panel said. al Space Symposium here. meet its needs,” said retired Air Force Maj. vices contracts with a combined value of ap- While commercial firms buy insurance to “I am absolutely convinced there is a Gen. Craig Weston, chief executive of U.S. proximately $3.5 billion to conduct space sta- cover launch losses or premature failure of golden opportunity here,” said Michael Space LLC of Dulles, Va., a business estab- tion cargo flights. a spacecraft, government customers try in- Hamel, a retired lieutenant general and for- lished last year to build and launch satellites That initial government support has stead to structure programs to guard mer commander of the U.S. Air Force to provide communications on dedicated helped SpaceX develop launch vehicles to against any possible failure. That approach Space and Missile Systems Center who is military frequencies. serve both government and commercial adds to the complexity of spacecraft de- now senior vice president for strategy and An increasing reliance on commercial customers. “We are seeing sales coming signs, lengthens development cycles and in- development at Orbital Sciences Corp. firms also would free up government agen- through,” Shotwell said. “We have got 32 creases cost, Hamel said. “Federal budgets aren’t going to grow, but cies to focus on those projects they are Falcon 9 missions on our manifest.” The Nevertheless, strong leadership in Wash- the government’s appetite for space capa- uniquely qualified to tackle. Private indus- Falcon 9 is scheduled to make its inaugural ington could help pave the way for greater bility will grow inexorably. It is imperative try is not going to build the James Webb flight in May. SpaceX also has seven mis- government reliance on commercial prod- for the commercial sector to deliver more Space Telescope, Hamel said. “The govern- sions on its manifest for the Falcon 1, a ucts and services, the panelists said. There government services.” ment should focus on state-of-the-art,” smaller rocket that has conducted two suc- are creative ways to structure long-term pro- U.S. government agencies already rely added retired Gen. Lance Lord, former cessful flights, Shotwell said. grams while still complying with federal ac- on private companies to provide high-defi- commander of Air Force Space Command In spite of the government’s strong sup- quisition regulations, Hamel said. Weston nition satellite imagery as well as 80 percent and chief executive of Astrotech Space Op- port of commercial launch providers, in- added that Congress could help smooth the of the satellite bandwidth used for commu- erations of Titusville, Fla. “Industry should dustry officials said there remain significant way for new public-private partnerships by nication in military theaters of operation, do the rest.” obstacles to selling new products and serv- including language in support of those said Josh Hartman, a senior fellow for tech- Several speakers pointed to NASA’s plans ices to government agencies, including de- projects in authorization bills. “I think the nology and public policy at the Center for to pay commercial firms to ferry cargo to the tailed federal acquisition regulations and Congress can certainly provide some en- Strategic and International Studies in Wash- international space station as an example of budgetary guidelines that discourage agen- couragement,” he said.

8 SPACE NEWS www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010 NEWS FROM THE 26TH NATIONAL SPACE SYMPOSIUM Public-private Partnership Targets Cyber-security Threats DEBRA WERNER, allow timely and successful de- operational capability will cision-making over a broad come this fall, he said. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. range of scenarios,” she added. By giving the Air Force Ultimately, the NSTAC Space Command authority over To address the threat that cy- seeks to establish a Joint Coor- cyber-security issues, the Air ber attacks pose to space- and dinating Center to operate Force is recognizing the nexus ground-based telecommunica- around the clock and assist between the space and cyber-se- tions networks, the commercial government and industry in curity missions, according to firms that make up the Nation- preventing, mitigating and re- government and industry offi- al Security Telecommunica- sponding to cyber-security inci- cials attending the conference. tions Advisory Committee dents of national consequence. “Space is largely about informa- (NSTAC) are testing new mech- “The Joint Coordinating Cen- tion flow,” said Air Force Lt. anisms for sharing information ter will be an authoritative ven- Gen. Larry James, commander on specific threats. ue for operational coordina- of the Joint Functional Compo- NSTAC, which includes top tion between government nent Command for Space. “It’s executives from network serv- representatives and private-sec- making sure the right informa- ice providers and telecommu- tor owners and operators of tion gets from the right sensor nications, information technol- critical infrastructure and key with the right content to right ogy, aerospace and finance resources across all sectors,” person at right time.” companies, began a pilot pro- Sears said. Cyber-security means keep- gram the week of April 12 to This effort underscores the ing that information flowing create a central repository for growing concern among gov- and protecting the networks information on cyber-security ernment and industry officials that operational commanders threats in specific sectors. That that space-based communica- rely upon, including communi- central repository will acknowl- tion networks are becoming in- cations networks, GPS, missile edge receipt of information re- creasingly vulnerable to attack warning networks and space ceived and maintain a list of li- from adversaries. “Our use of surveillance networks, James aisons from companies space can be severely limited said. In addition, military offi- involved, said Kay Sears, presi- through intentional and non- cials need up-to-date informa- dent of Intelsat General Corp. intentional jamming, interfer- tion on the status of their net-

of Bethesda, Md., and NSTAC ence and through unautho- SPACE NEWS PHOTO BY TOM KIMMELL works, whether they are under

co-chairwoman. rized access to our telemetry, > Intelsat’s Kay Sears, National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee co-chairwoman, said attack and how to protect them, The pilot program is the tracking and control systems, the pilot program will create a repository for information on cyber-security threats in specific sectors. he said. first step in establishing a gov- our teleports, our power sys- However, that does not ernment-industry partnership tems and denial-of-service in- tor of national intelligence and capability declared in January, mean that the military will be to identify and respond to any terruptions at the data level,” senior vice president of Booz the 24th Air Force commander able to defend all communica- activity that threatens commu- Sears said. “The threat picture Allen Hamilton of McLean, Va. gained authority over the Air tions networks at all times, nications networks, Sears said has really expanded, and cyber Last year, the U.S. Air Force Force network, which means he Kehler said. Instead, the offi- April 12 during the National is at the foundation.” gave responsibility for address- can determine what hardware cials will focus on mission as- Space Symposium’s first full- Moreover, those communi- ing threats in cyberspace to Air and software will be used to im- surance by determining which day session addressing cyber-se- cation networks underpin criti- Force Space Command. In ad- prove the network’s ability to elements are critical to the suc- curity issues. “Enhanced space cal elements of U.S. financial dition, the service established support ongoing operations as cess of a mission and how those situational awareness will pro- operations, transportation net- the 24th Air Force at Lackland well as to defend against cyber specific elements can be provide a clear and accurate un- works, energy infrastructure Air Force Base in Texas to over- threats, said Gen. Robert tected, he said. derstanding of what is happen- and military operations, said see the cyberspace mission. As Kehler, commander of the Air ing in the environment and Mike McConnell, former direc- part of the initial operational Force Space Command. Full Comments: [email protected]______Lockheed To Submit Proposal for Fourth U.S. Air Force AEHF Satellite Contract WARREN FERSTER, Newtown, Pa.-based Lockheed Martin work done under the T-Sat program, Bil- tions satellites per year and hopes to in- Commercial Space Systems, is retiring ger said. The upgrades would support crease that to up to four over the next COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. this summer, company officials said. applications including communications five years. Although the major satellite Lockheed Martin’s $6 billion AEHF for troops on the move, and could be in- operators are winding down their recent Having completed construction and contract covers the first three satellites corporated beginning with the fifth fleet-recapitalization cycles, Bilger said testing of the first of a new generation of plus long-lead components for the satellite, he said. Lockheed Martin’s relationships with super-secure military communications fourth. The reason for the gap in pro- Meanwhile, the first AEHF craft is in current and past customers, coupled satellites, Lockheed Martin is preparing duction — such gaps typically create in- Sunnyvale awaiting shipment to Cape with recent White House statements on to submit a proposal to build the fourth efficiencies that drive up the cost of Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida export-control reform, bode well for the spacecraft in the series, with an option programs — was that the U.S. Air Force for a scheduled July 30 launch aboard company’s commercial business. for a fifth, a company official said. previously intended to buy just three an Atlas 5 rocket. The second satellite is Lockheed Martin also is competing Kevin M. Bilger, vice president and AEHF satellites before moving on to undergoing final testing, Bilger said, to build a next-generation constella- general manager of global communica- the far more ambitious Transforma- while the third is in environmental test- tion of 66 low-orbiting satellites for tions systems at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based tional Satellite (T-Sat) communica- ing. The AEHF satellites are planned for Iridium Communications of McLean, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., tions system, but that program was can- launch at eight-month intervals, he said. Va. Lockheed Martin built the plat- said there was a four-year break in pro- celed last year. Lockheed Martin also is prime con- forms for the current Iridium satellites duction between the third Advanced Ex- In an interview here, Bilger said tractor on the U.S. Navy’s Mobile User in Nashua, N.H., and is eyeing poten- tremely High Frequency (AEHF) satel- Lockheed Martin expects to be under Objective System, a constellation of four tial manufacturing locations in the lite and the fourth. As a result, there will contract for the fourth AEHF spacecraft geostationary satellites that will provide southwestern United States should it be only about 70 percent parts com- sometime this summer. The Air Force communications to ships at sea and beat out Thales Alenia Space of France monality between the two satellites due intends to buy at least six AEHF satel- troops operating beneath vegetation and Italy for the contract to build the to obsolescence and the closure of com- lites, and Bilger said Lockheed Martin canopies and other hard-to-reach areas. Iridium Next system, Bilger said. He ponent production lines. could save the government money by or- Bilger said Lockheed Martin expects the added that the company is looking at Bilger recently took over manage- dering the components for the fifth and Navy to exercise an option late this year locations in Nevada, Arizona and New ment of Lockheed Martin’s reorganized sixth satellites simultaneously, but cur- or early next year for a fifth satellite, Mexico and that incentives provided by communications satellite business, a rently that is not part of the plan. which would serve as a spare. these states would be a factor in the move that combined the company’s gov- Lockheed Martin also is studying up- On the commercial side, Bilger said company’s selection. ernment and commercial programs. grades to the AEHF satellite platform Lockheed Martin over the past five years Marshall Byrd, who previously headed based on the research and development has averaged about two communica- Comments: [email protected]______

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 9 April 19, 2010 NEWS FROM THE 26TH NATIONAL SPACE SYMPOSIUM NASA Must Initiate Transition Plan for Heavy Lift, Maser Says DEBRA WERNER, impact on the work force and the heavy-lift launcher design by 2015. uncertainty ever since the ad- ability to try to rebuild that once Propulsion industry officials ministration revealed its 2011 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. it was gone.” attending the National Space budget plans. In light of that Moreover, the cost of propul- Symposium say 2015 seems like a uncertainty, Pratt & Whitney If NASA waits until 2015 to se- sion would climb for the U.S. De- long wait for NASA to select the Rocketdyne has been working lect a design for a new heavy-lift fense Department because mili- future heavy-lift design, although aggressively to trim costs and launch vehicle, it will be ex- tary customers would be forced they concede that the space overhead expenses. “Over time, tremely important for the space to pay the entire cost of main- agency is taking that time to ex- you can see we are bringing our agency to craft an interim pro- taining the U.S. propulsion infra- plore advanced technology that capacity down as our base gram in a way that does not cause structure and work force. “The could serve as the foundation of drops, but the base is dropping irreparable harm to the industri- ramifications to the Department future heavy-lift systems. faster than our ability to ration- al base for space propulsion tech- of Defense would be huge,” “If it were up to us, we would alize capacity,” Maser said. nology, said Jim Maser, president Maser said. “What NASA does pick an architecture today or in the As one step in that cost-cut- of rocket builder Pratt & Whitney and the decisions it makes have a near future, and evolve it with ting process, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. major impact on the liquid block upgrades as we mature the Rocketdyne is consolidating its “We don’t want to see any propulsion industrial base, the technology,” Maser told Space News. work in Canoga Park. Currently, Constellation contracts canceled cost of liquid propulsion and our Since that does not appear to the company has two facilities in until we have a transition plan ability to maintain critical access be the administration’s game Canoga Park, one on Canoga Av- and can transition the skill set,” to space.” plan, Maser said, the space enue where the firm built the Maser said April 14 during a me- In rolling out his budget re- agency can still help to maintain space shuttle main engines, and a

dia briefing at the National Space quest for 2011, U.S. President SPACE NEWS PHOTO BY TOM KIMMELL the propulsion industrial base if more modern facility on DeSoto Symposium here. “We think the Barack Obama unveiled plans to Jim Maser it launches a vigorous technology Avenue that housed all of the worst thing for the industry cancel the Constellation pro- program. “We are going to want a firm’s missile defense and related would be if all these contracts gram, which consists of rockets, Canoga Park, Calif., built the good portion of technology work attitude control propulsion sys- were canceled and then there was crew capsules and other hard- space shuttle main engine and to maintain our critical skills so tem work. All the work will be a pause of 12 to 18 months while ware needed to replace the was under contract to develop we are positioned to compete consolidated in the DeSoto Av- [NASA] considered what to do space shuttle, slated to retire at engines for Constellation’s Ares when an architecture is chosen,” enue plant, said company next. It would not only be devas- the end of the year, and later re- 1 and Ares 5 rockets. he said. spokesman Bryan Kidder. tating to us, it would be devastat- turn astronauts to the Moon. Obama announced April 15 in The U.S. space propulsion ing to the industry in terms of the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Florida that NASA will select a industry has been faced with Comments: [email protected]______

SDA Taps Analytical Graphics Financial Analysts See Rise in Space Industry Mergers, Acquisitions, Stock Offerings To Operate New Data Center Merger and acquisition activity among The Space Data Association (SDA), an space companies is increasing and a new orbital information sharing consortium of round of initial public offerings may be commercial satellite operators, has con- on the horizon, according to financial an- tracted with Analytical Graphics Inc. (AGI) alysts speaking April 13 at the Space Foun- to develop and operate a system to monitor dation’s National Space Symposium here. satellites along the geosynchronous belt, During the last six months, there has SDA announced April 13. been a significant increase in mergers The nonprofit SDA was founded in 2009 and acquisitions because companies that by Intelsat, SES and Inmarsat to better did not want to sell at the bottom of the share information on satellite locations to financial cycle are beginning to see the avoid on-orbit collisions and radio frequen- value of their stock going back up. “They cy interference. Eutelsat and Telesat have want to cash in their chips before anoth- announced plans to join the organization. er downturn,” said Chris Quilty, senior To date, satellite operators have relied vice president for equity research at Ray- on informal information sharing arrange- mond James & Associates of St. Peters- ments with one another and limited data burg, Fla. supplied by the U.S. Air Force to avoid ca- That opinion was seconded by Heidi SPACE NEWS PHOTO BY TOM KIMMELL tastrophes on orbit. Exton, Pa.-based AGI Wood, managing director and senior eq- > Chris Quilty, senior vice president at Raymond James & Associates, and Heidi Wood, managing director and senior equity analyst was put under contract to develop the uity analyst for aerospace, defense and de- at Morgan Stanley, said space company merger and acquisition activity is increasing and more initial public offerings may be coming soon. Space Data Center, which will process or- fense electronics for Morgan Stanley of bital data supplied by the firms and provide New York. Companies with strong bal- Those initial public offerings might be their projected returns for quarterly cash automatic notifications about possible con- ance sheets will be able to grow through interesting to investors who are willing to flow and earnings, she said. junctions and interference. acquisitions, she added. consider risky bets because they see stock The government could help space The Space Data Center will reach its ini- As the stock market rebounds from prices rising and they are eager to offset companies attract more investment by re- tial operating capability within six weeks, the serious declines of the past two years, the dramatic declines of 2008 and 2009, forming the acquisition process and eas- and full operating capability in eight companies also are considering offering Wood said. ing export controls, Quilty said. “The val- months, Tobias Nassif, SDA director and In- stock for the first time. “The window is If space companies want to appeal to a ue of space companies is directly telsat vice president of satellite operations, open for initial public offerings,” Quilty broader base of investors, however, in- proportional to the uncertainty,” he said. said at an April 13 press conference. said. “Companies will rush to get through cluding people who are less comfortable “If you fix some of those issues, the valua- The value of the AGI contract was not the window before the market collapses with risk, they should focus on steady tion of some of those companies would go announced. again. I would not be surprised if certain quarterly returns, Wood said. Pension up. Their ability to raise capital and make private companies go public in the next fund managers, for example, will only in- investments is all held back in some man- SES World Skies Combines six to 12 months.” vest in businesses that consistently meet ner by their government customer.”

Government Services Units bourg-based SES, was formed last year by the Tip Osterthaler, who led Americom Gov- government more flexibility in how it con- Satellite fleet operator SES World Skies merger of SES Americom of Princeton and ernment Services, has been appointed chief tracts for everything from pure commercial of Princeton, N.J., announced it will merge Netherlands-based New Skies Satellites, executive for SES World Skies U.S. Govern- bandwidth to managed network services. two government services divisions to form which SES bought in 2005. The firms’ gov- ment Solutions. Reflecting the coming changes in the the new U.S. Government Solutions divi- ernment services divisions had been kept sep- The U.S. government is revamping the government’s acquisition model, SES World sion that will focus more on bandwidth sales arate up to now because they had different way it contracts for commercial satellite com- Skies U.S. Government Solutions has than end-to-end network solutions, the business models, with SES Americom selling munications services. The new program, decided to move away from network inte- company said April 13. directly to the government and SES New called the Future Comsatcom Services gration activities and toward bandwidth-only SES World Skies, a division of Luxem- Skies selling only through U.S. partners. Acquisition, starting next year will allow the sales to the government, Osterthaler said.

10 SPACE NEWS www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010 NEWS BRIEFS NEWSBRIEFS FROM PAGE 3 Alaska, Fairbanks, will process and distrib- ute the PALSAR data, which will be used for detecting ground surface changes associat- NASA Human-like Robot To ed with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides, among other phenomena. Join Space Station Crew “The expanded [Advanced Land Ob- NASA intends to launch a human-like ro- serving Satellite] data flow will significantly bot to the international space station later improve our scientists’ ability to monitor re- this year to take up permanent residency gions at risk to earthquake hazards, such as aboard the orbiting lab, the U.S. space Haiti and Chile,” Craig Dobson, NASA’s nat- agency announced April 14. ural hazards program manager, said in a Called Robonaut 2, or R2 for short, the statement. “Now we will be able to see very 135-kilogram robot was jointly developed by small changes in surface elevation associat- NASA and General Motors and consists of a ed with the build-up and release of strain in head and torso with two arms. NASA plans to seismic zones over virtually the entire area of

launch R2 to the space station aboard Space the Americas, with measurements made as CREDIT: NASA/JPL/SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE Shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-133 mis- often as every 46 days. Scientists also will be Saturn’s moon Dione captured April 7 by NASA’s Cassini sion planned for September. Once the robot able to monitor seasonal changes in ground- is onboard the station, engineers will moni- water resources.” tor how it operates in weightlessness. Cassini Snaps Titan, Dione in Double Flyby Although R2 will be confined to opera- New images of the fractured terrain and small. tions inside the station’s Destiny laboratory New Venture Focuses on of Saturn’s little-visited moon Dione Scientists are poring over data from module, NASA said in a press release the ro- have been snapped by NASA’s Cassini Dione to discern whether the moon bot eventually could be enhanced to allow it Secondary Launch Market spacecraft as the probe performed a could be a source of charged particles to to move more freely around the station’s in- Seattle-based Andrews Space an- double flyby of Dione as well as Titan. the environment around Saturn and terior and possibly one day be modified to nounced April 14 the formation of a new The Titan flyby took place April 5, material to one of its rings. They are also operate outside the station. company called SpaceFlight Services to fo- and the Dione flyby occurred April 7. trying to understand the history of dark NASA said R2 is undergoing extensive cus on providing low-cost space access for The flybys were made without any ma- material found on Dione. testing — including vibration, vacuum and small payloads through the use of standard neuver in between the moons thanks to Cassini had made three previous radiation testing — in preparation for its flight interfaces and a streamlined inte- a fortuitous alignment of the two bodies. double flybys, and another two are flight. gration process. During the Titan pass, an unexpect- planned in the years ahead. The mis- “The use of R2 on the space station is just Andrews Space President and Chief Ex- ed autonomous reset occurred and sion is nearing the end of its first ex- the beginning of a quickening pace be- ecutive Jason Andrews said SpaceFlight Cassini obtained fewer images of Titan tension, known as the Equinox Mission. tween human and robotic exploration of Services will enable new missions and mar- than expected. But the cameras were re- It will begin its second mission exten- space,” John Olson, director of NASA’s Ex- kets by making it easier for small, second- set before reaching the icy moon Dione, sion, known as the Solstice Mission, in ploration Systems Integration Office, said in ary payloads to find rides while at the same which was the primary target on this October. One of the last planned activ- the press release. “The partnership of hu- time giving launch providers additional double flyby. Cassini has visited Dione ities of Cassini at the end of the Solstice mans and robots will be critical to opening revenue streams. only once before, in October 2005. Mission is to fly into an orbit between up the solar system and will allow us to go “This will enable a whole new class of Cassini swooped down to within Saturn and its rings in an effort to de- farther and achieve more than we can prob- missions and technology demonstration about 500 kilometers of Dione’s surface. termine how much mass is in the rings, ably even imagine today.” flights to rapidly mature technology as well The new raw images of Dione show the which will help scientists determine the as develop the next generation work- moon’s fractured terrain and craters big rings’ age. force,” Andrews said in a statement. NASA Starts Downloading SpaceFlight Services will provide standard interface options for a range of small spaceops crew capsules, human-rates rockets, up- Japanese Radar Imagery craft, including cubesats and nanospacecraft. grades launch infrastructure at Cape NASA Construction Contract NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite The new company also offers low-shock pay- Canaveral, Fla., manufactures launch vehi- System began downloading imagery April load adapter-mounts for deployed microsats cles and conducts demonstration launches. Awarded to Alabama Firm 12 of North and South America taken by the and payloads sized to launch as secondary In a pair of separate announcements, NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s payloads on the Atlas 5 and Delta 4 Evolved the Commercial Spaceflight Federation an- St. Louis, Miss., has awarded an indefinite- (JAXA) Advanced Land Observing Satellite, Expendable Launch Vehicles. nounced that Raytheon Company and Ja- delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to De- also known as Daichi, the U.S. and Japanese According to Andrews, SpaceFlight cobs Technology, a division of Jacobs Engi- catur, Ala.-based M&D Mechanical Con- space agencies announced the same day. Services has signed an agreement with neering Group Inc., had joined the tractors Inc. to provide general By combining U.S. and Japanese data-re- Hawthorne, Calif.-based Space Explo- Washington-based advocacy group as asso- construction services at the rocket-testing lay satellite resources, the two agencies ex- ration Technologies (SpaceX) to manifest ciate members. center, the U.S. space agency said April 12. pect to more than double the quantity of payloads using excess capacity on upcom- Garnett Stowe, Raytheon vice president The five-year contract is worth up to $25 Earth observation data collected to study ing Falcon 9 launches of SpaceX’s cargo- of national intelligence programs and space, million and covers maintenance, repair, al- earthquake hazards, forest declines and carrying Dragon capsule, with space avail- said in an April 14 statement that commer- teration, civil and mechanical engineering, changing water resources in the Americas, able starting in 2012. cial spaceflight “is a growth area” for piping and structural fabrication and erec- NASA said in a press release. Until now, Raytheon’s space sector, while Jacob’s Lon tion, and electrical work. JAXA Earth Observation Center has been Miller called commercial human spaceflight relying exclusively on Japan’s Kodama Data CSF Releases Job Numbers, “an exciting, rapidly emerging industry.” Relay Test Satellite to receive Daichi data. NASA Picks 5 Firms for “This is a great example of the value to be Gains 2 Corporate Members gained through international collaboration The Commercial Spaceflight Federa- Advanced PAC-3 Intercepts Aerospace Vehicle Work between the world’s Earth-observing nation (CSF) released results April 13 from a NASA’s Langley Research Center has se- tions,” NASA Earth Science Division Direc- study it commissioned showing that the Target in White Sands Test lected five companies to support analytical tor Michael Freilich said in a statement. “By NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Pro- An advanced version of the Patriot Ad- and experimental research and technology working together and sharing satellite re- gram proposed in the U.S. space agency’s vanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile inter- development primarily for aerospace vehi- sources like this, we can produce more data 2011 budget request will result in an aver- cepted a target simulating a tactical ballistic cles, the Hampton, Va.-based field center more rapidly and cost-effectively than if age of 11,800 direct jobs per year over the missile in a recent test conducted at the U.S. announced April 13. each of us went it alone.” next five years, nationwide. The study was Army’s White Sands Missile Range, accord- The companies selected to support The data transmission agreement con- done by the Tauri Group, an analytic con- ing to an April 13 press release from Aero- Langley under the five-year, $400 million cluded in 2009 gives NASA and U.S. gov- sulting firm based in Alexandria, Va. jet, the Sacramento, Calif.-based company Structures, Materials, Aerodynamics, and ernment-affiliated scientists access to data NASA intends to spend $5.8 billion on that provided the advanced solid rocket Acoustics Research and Technology con- gathered by the Advanced Land Observing commercial crew and an additional $312 motor propulsion system for the rocket. tract are: Analytical Services & Materials Satellite’s phased-array, L-band synthetic million on commercial cargo between 2011 The PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhance- Inc. of Hampton, Va.; ATK Space Systems aperture radar. The instrument, known as and 2015. ment missile used in the guided test flight of Beltsville, Md.; The Boeing Co. of PALSAR, precisely measures the distances to Brett Alexander, president of the Com- is meant to give the interceptor more Huntington Beach, Calif.; Lockheed Mar- the Earth’s surface under all weather condi- mercial Spaceflight Federation, said the range and maneuverability against faster tin Aeronautics Company of Palmdale, tions day and night. The Alaska Satellite Fa- Tauri Group analysis indicates a peak of and more sophisticated ballistic and cruise Calif.; and Northrop Grumman Corp. of cility, a NASA data center at the University of 14,200 direct jobs in 2012 as industry devel- missiles. Los Angeles.

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 11 April 19, 2010 Retrograde Planets Suborbital Training Center Gets FAA Safety Approval Test Formation Views The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration bital spaceflight. The FAA Safety Approval Or- Several extrasolar planets have (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Trans- der is effective until April 2015. According to been discovered to be orbiting portation granted April 7 the National Aero- the FAA Web site, “A safety approval enables backward — that is, they revolve in space Training and Research Center (NAS- launch and reentry vehicle operators to use an the opposite direction that their TAR) a safety pre-approval that permits the approved safety element within the scope host star rotates — challenging ac- Southampton, Pa.-based firm to offer FAA- specified in the safety approval without the cepted ideas of how planets form, qualified training services to prospective sub- FAA re-examining the element in a license or NASTAR CENTER PHOTO according to the astronomers who orbital space launch operators. experimental permit applications.” STS-400 space training simulator made the discovery. “The Safety Approval we have granted to Meanwhile, a Phoenix-based group called “This is a real bomb we are NASTAR is the first safety approval issued by Astronauts4Hire is eager to take advantage of carry flight test. dropping into the field of exo- the FAA for a suborbital spaceflight training NASTAR’s training services. The group an- Astronauts4Hire is trying to raise $40,000 planets,” said team member system,” George Nield, FAA associate adminis- nounced April 12 it had selected 11 initial as- to pay for the astronaut candidates to partici- Amaury Triaud, a doctoral student trator for commercial space transportation, tronaut candidates from industry and acade- pate in NASTAR’s three-day Suborbital Scien- at the Geneva Observatory in said in a statement. mia to train and subsequently work for private tist Training program. As of April 13, the Switzerland. NASTAR operates a space training simula- firms conducting research aboard suborbital group had raised $25 from one contributor. The team announced the dis- tor, STS-400, that the FAA says is capable of spacecraft, such as Virgin Galactic’s Space- Astronauts4Hire is accepting donations covery of nine new transiting exo- replicating the G-forces associated with subor- ShipTwo, which recently flew its first captive- through its Web site until Nov. 1. planets April 13 at the annual meeting of the Royal Astronomi- cal Society in Glasgow, Scotland. Transiting exoplanets are ones that were discovered as they 1st IISL-IAA Symposium In Partnership with Secure World Foundation, Arianespace and ESPI passed in front of their host star from the perspective of Earth, causing a dip in the light coming from that star. When the new results were combined with earlier observations of 18 other transiting planets, the astronomers were surprised to find that six out of that larger sample of 27 exoplanets were orbiting in the opposite direction of the ro- tation of their host star, called retrograde motion — the reverse of our solar system. Astronomers first discovered a backward-orbiting exoplanet in August 2009. The new finding suggests that astronomers might have to revise some aspects of planet formation. Planets are thought to form in the disc of gas and dust that sur- round a young star. This proto- planetary disc rotates in the same direction as the star itself, and it was thought that any planets that formed out of the disc would revolve in that same direction. The planets found in the new study are so-called hot Jupiters, which are Jupiter-size planets that orbit very close to their parent stars, experiencing extreme temperatures. It was originally thought that hot Jupiters formed far from their star and migrated inward over a few million years as a result of gravitational interac- 11th May 2010 tions with the disc of dust from which they formed. But this theo- ry doesn’t account for the new ob- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Building, Washington, DC servations, the team said. To explain the retrograde motion of the six exoplanets, the hot Space Law & Policy 2010 is a high level seminar that will examine the breadth Jupiters may have migrated in due to the gravitation tug-of-war be- and reach of space regulations on U.S. activities — civil, commercial and tween them and more distant government. The event will highlight the relevance of current space law issues planetary or stellar companions over the course of hundreds of to U.S. policymakers. Speakers will address the development of the international millions of years. After these dis- turbances have bounced a giant legal regime for space and evaluate if it is sufficient. exoplanet into a tilted and elon- gated orbit, it would suffer tidal Join top industry and government officials for an interactive discussion on friction, losing energy every time it swung close to the star. It would the space regulatory environment and its impact on spacecraft operations. eventually become parked in a Email [email protected] for registration information. near-circular, but randomly tilted, orbit close to the star. “The new results really challenge the conventional wisdom Media Partner: that planets should always orbit in the same direction as their star’s spin,” said team member Andrew Cameron of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

12 SPACE NEWS www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010 Europe May Order Two More ATVs To Fill Space Shuttle Void PETER B. de SELDING, The development of the first by Astrium Space Transportation ATV was led by Astrium Space up to now has made good on its BREMEN, Germany Transportation of Les Mureaux, promise to be able to produce France, because France paid near- about one ATV per year. ATV-2 was Managers of Europe’s un- ly 50 percent of the program’s de- originally scheduled for launch in manned space station Automated velopment budget. But Germany mid-2010 but was delayed for six Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo-de- is financing nearly 50 percent of months because of defects found livery spacecraft are expected to the cost of the serial production of in its latch valves. There are 48 of decide this year whether to order a ATV, so the integration and test of them on each ATV, and they had to sixth and seventh ATV as they posi- the vehicles are done at Astrium’s be redesigned and then requali- tion the program to take on facility here. Several major fied for flight. greater importance with the retire- French manufacturers of ATV Aside from this delay, ATV-3 is ment of the U.S. space shuttle. parts have been replaced by Ger- on track for delivery in late 2011, The ATV-2 is scheduled to leave man manufacturers. with ATV-4 and ATV-5 to follow at its assembly facility here in May for The transfer of control from one-year intervals. transport to Europe’s Guiana France to Germany has added to ESA is providing ATV services Space Center in French Guiana to the normal program personnel to the station in lieu of paying prepare for launch aboard an Ari- turnover that has also occurred at cash to NASA for Europe’s 8.3 ane 5 rocket in December. ESA. In a presentation at Astrium’s percent use of the station’s com- The inaugural ATV flight in ATV integration facility here April mon resources for the European mid-2008 was considered a success. 13, Dettmann said about 60 per- Columbus laboratory attached to ATV-2 nonetheless has been sub- cent of ESA’s current ATV-2 team is the station. jected to about 30 modifications to new to the program. The ATV upgrades, and its an- reinforce weaknesses that were no- The proposal by the five space nual launch rate, will mean it can ticed during that flight, and to in- station partners — the United carry more fuel and other supplies crease its payload-carrying power. States, Russia, Europe, Japan and to the station than what is needed — ATV upgrades that increase its NASA IMAGE Canada that the orbital com- to fulfill Europe’s obligations to

payload without increasing its total > Managers are expected to decide this year whether to order a sixth and seventh ATV (first ATV shown plex’s life be extended to 2020 NASA as the station’s general con- launch weight, coupled with a above docked to the ISS) as they position the program to take on greater importance with shuttle retirement. from 2015 opens new possibilities tractor. European officials have in- lighter, welded-joint enhancement for ATV that ESA governments will vited NASA to consider whether it to the Ariane 5 rocket’s strap-on Ariane 5 rocket. eight to 11 days in orbit before at- be asked to consider this year. The wants to avail itself of this capacity, solid-rocket boosters that allow the ATV teams needed eight taching itself to the Russian end of first is whether to purchase a sixth but no agreement has yet been rocket to lift heavier loads, will per- months of preparation once the the orbital complex. and seventh ATV for launch start- made. NASA has contracted with mit ATV-2 to deliver 6,600 kilo- first vehicle arrived at the launch Ten ESA governments, led by ing in 2014 or 2015. two commercial suppliers in the grams of fuel, air and dry cargo to site. ATV-2 will need just six Germany, France and Italy, paid With the U.S. space shuttle United States, who are building the space station — 40 percent months. To ease the concerns of about 1.1 billion euros ($1.5 bil- scheduled for retirement late this ATV-type vehicles of their own, for more than the first ATV carried. NASA and the other space station lion) to manufacture and launch year, the ATV will be the most pow- station resupply starting in 2012. Nico Dettmann, ATV-2 pro- partners about the safety of the the first ATV in a multiyear devel- erful delivery vehicle visiting the Olivier de la Bourdonnaye, gram manager at the 18-nation Eu- 20,000-kilogram ATV as it moved opment program that encoun- station. It also is the only vehicle in ATV program manager at Astrium, ropean Space Agency (ESA), said toward the station, the inaugural tered numerous delays and cost operation with enough power to said April 13 that the company and the experience of the first ATV also mission was put through a month- overruns. The agency has ordered de-orbit the station when its retire- its subcontractors will be submit- will enable ESA to reduce the time long series of collision-avoidance four other ATVs so far, with each ment date arrives, whether in 2020 ting a contract proposal for ATV-6 needed to prepare ATV-2 for and start-and-stop maneuvers be- mission budgeted at around 425 or later. and ATV-7 later this month. launch and to dock it to the space fore the successful docking. million euros including launch ESA has ordered five ATVs so station once it separates from the ATV-2 will need no more than and operations. far, and the contracting team led Comments:[email protected] Orbital Likely To Use COTS Funding Boost To Augment Taurus 2 Rocket Tests DEBRA WERNER, physical environment for the pay- To date, COTS and follow-on space station resupply missions, Elias said Orbital could devel- load and prove out the rocket be- Commercial Resupply Services said Ronald Grabe, executive vice op a Cygnus variant capable of re- COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. fore we go all the way” to the space flights account for the entire Tau- president and general manager of turning space station cargo safely station, he added. rus 2 manifest. But Orbital began Orbital’s Launch Systems Group. to Earth within two years if asked If Congress approves NASA’s Although no firm plans will be developing the vehicle before it Orbital plans to launch the to do so by NASA. He said that ve- plan to add $300 million to its made until the budget is approved, signed its COTS agreement to fill Taurus 2 rocket from NASA’s Wal- hicle would have to be equipped 2011 budget to develop commer- Orbital has evaluated how any what company officials character- lops Flight Facility on Wallops Is- with heat shielding and para- cial cargo delivery systems for the COTS budget increase could be ize as a gap in U.S. launch capa- land, Va. The company is expand- chutes, and that the extra weight international space station, Or- used to reduce program risk and bilities following the impending ing the launch pads and ground of those items would reduce by bital Sciences Corp. likely would accelerate program milestones. retirement of the Delta 2 medium- infrastructure at Wallops to pre- half the amount of cargo it could use its share of the funding to aug- During a media briefing April lift rocket. pare for those flights, Grabe said. deliver to the space station. ment ground testing of its 13 here at the National Space Thompson said he expects The Taurus 2 includes a first- “You don’t use that configura- planned medium-lift Taurus 2 Symposium, Thompson and oth- Taurus 2 to begin launching for stage core design by Ukrainian tion unless you absolutely, positive- rocket and possibly conduct an er Orbital executives said they other customers, including rocket builders Yuzhnoye and ly need that return cargo,” Elias additional test flight of the vehi- were not consulted by NASA on NASA’s Earth science program Yuzhmash, a first-stage engine said. He said a company analysis of cle, according to David W. boosting the budget of the COTS and the national security commu- built in Russia but modified by the type of return cargo that would Thompson, Orbital’s chairman program, which is currently val- nity, in 2013, possibly sooner. Aerojet of Sacramento, and a be valuable enough for NASA to and chief executive. ued at $500 million. That money Antonio Elias, executive vice stage-two motor built by Alliant give up 1,000 kilograms of cargo- Orbital is slated to conduct a is being divided between Dulles, president and general manager of Techsystems of Minneapolis. to-station delivery capacity identi- single demonstration flight of its Va.-based Orbital and Space Ex- Orbital’s Advanced Programs Orbital’s Cygnus module, fied only one item: the suits astro- Taurus 2 rocket and Cygnus cargo ploration Technologies of Group, said Taurus 2 would sup- meanwhile, is designed to deliver nauts wear during spacewalks. capsule next spring under NASA’s Hawthorne, Calif., both of which port the national security commu- 2,000 kilograms of cargo to the in- The re-entry module under Commercial Orbital Transporta- are contributing funding to de- nity by launching what he called ternational space station. Once on discussion is not designed to carry tion Services (COTS) program. velop their respective cargo-deliv- “disaggregated” missions. Typical- orbit, the cargo-carrying vessel, astronauts to and from the space The company would then fly eight ery systems. ly, the U.S. national security com- being built by Thales Alenia Space station. Orbital will not be able to cargo-delivery missions to the Thompson said the proposed munity flies large satellites with of France and Italy, would be pro- provide information on the cost space station through 2015 under COTS budget increase follows numerous sensor payloads, but pelled to the space station by the and capability of a commercial a separate $1.9 billion Commercial logically from U.S. President Elias said there is a trend toward Orbital-built Common Service crew vehicle until the company Resupply Services contract. Barack Obama’s plan to continue dividing that payload set and fly- Module. Once its cargo is un- knows how NASA would structure The additional test flight operation of the space station ing the sensors on separate, small- loaded by space station astro- the procurement of such a space- would loft an instrumented test through 2020, adding that once er satellites. nauts, the module would undock craft and what the requirements payload rather than the Cygnus that decision was made, reliable Orbital has room on its Taurus and be guided back into the at- would be, Elias said. module, Thompson said. The test cargo transportation became 2 manifest to add two to three mosphere, where it would burn package “would better define the “even more important.” flights a year in addition to the up upon re-entry. Comments:[email protected]

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 13 April 19, 2010 Arianespace Takes Timeout To Scrutinize Quality Control PETER B. de SELDING, PARIS ber and was determined to have been made an initial report April 16, but a more- What I am expecting is at least a prelimi- caused by a small leak in the helium-pres- precise estimation of when the Ariane 5 will nary set of conclusions from the quality au- Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket likely will be surization system. Helium is used to main- resume its launch campaign will await fur- dit before we proceed with the launch.” grounded until May as the Arianespace tain pressure in the Ariane 5’s main stage ther review the week of April 19, he said. In addition to its Ariane 5 schedule, Ari- launch consortium investigates a helium- tanks that hold the liquid hydrogen and liq- Nonetheless, Le Gall said the launch is anespace is preparing for the inaugural pressurization issue that stopped the most uid oxygen the rocket burns on its way to or- unlikely to occur before the first half of launch — now expected no sooner than recent launch attempt and conducts a par- bit. The Helios 2B satellite was successfully May. While it will be Arianespace’s first Ari- late September — of the European version allel inquiry into quality control following launched on Dec. 18, nine days after the ane 5 launch of the year, the company still of Russia’s Soyuz rocket from the Guiana delays affecting the last two launch cam- problem was discovered. plans seven launches in 2010 and likely will Space Center. paigns, Arianespace Chief Executive Jean- In an April 16 interview, Le Gall said the shorten or eliminate a planned mid-sum- The helium-pressure anomaly discov- Yves Le Gall said April 16. company has identified the defective part in mer break to reach the target. “Recall that ered April 9 forced a third postponement The Evry, France-based company has the April 9 postponement as a helium pres- we launched nine times between August of the launch of the Astra 3B commercial di- created a board of inquiry and a separate, sure regulator that adjusts pressure between 2007 and August 2008, so performing seven rect-broadcast television satellite, owned by outside committee to review overall quality the Ariane 5’s helium tank and its feed lines. campaigns this year, even starting in May, is SES of Luxembourg, and the COMSATBw- control following three postponements of An unacceptably high pressure reading in certainly within our reach,” Le Gall said. 2 military telecommunications satellite to the first Ariane 5 launch in 2010 and a sim- the feed lines forced the automatic shut- The separate quality-control audit be- be operated by the German Defense Min- ilar series of delays in last December’s down of the April 9 launch sequence. ing managed by outside experts will deter- istry in partnership with a commercial con- launch of France’s Helios 2B reconnais- Le Gall said the regulator was removed mine if any of Arianespace’s procedures sortium made up of Astrium Services and sance satellite. from the Ariane 5 at the Guiana Space Cen- needs review following the series of launch ND Satcom, both of Europe. The latest launch cancellation occurred ter spaceport in French Guiana and re- postponements. The two satellites have been insured for April 9 less than a minute before the sched- turned to its manufacturer in Italy the week “In light of what happened with the He- a total of more than $700 million, making uled liftoff, when the helium tank that of April 12. He said the problem is unlikely lios 2B delays and now these recent post- it the most highly insured commercial keeps the Ariane 5 rocket’s main cryogenic to be related to the device’s design insofar ponements, I would like to have an outside launch mission ever, according to insur- stage pressurized showed a pressure level as it has been used on 49 previous launches team look at our practices to see where we ance officials. that was outside of permissible bounds. without incident. can improve,” Le Gall said April 12. “There A similar problem occurred in Decem- The task force looking into the issue have been a few too many issues of late. Comments:[email protected]

foreign providers to operate. Is- USTR Criticizes Closed International Satellite Services Markets rael’s foreign-ownership limits and the requirement of a local pres- PETER B. de SELDING, PARIS entry into the market of foreign es to install gateway Earth stations tion had called USTR’s attention ence are contrary to international satellites. But the market access oc- on their territories in exchange for to the fact that Egypt, which has its trade agreements, the association The office of the U.S. Trade curs only through the owner of the landing rights, a requirement that own domestic satellite provider, says, while Venezuela, which now Representative (USTR) has sin- Insat system, the Indian Space Re- USTR also says is contrary to inter- Nilesat, apparently has no estab- has its own domestic satellite sys- gled out China, India and Mexico search Organisation (ISRO), national trade agreements. lished regulatory regime for satel- tem, is favoring that satellite in its as nations not meeting interna- which may add its own cost to the The Satellite Industry Associa- lite services, making it difficult for market-access regulations. tional commitments to open their service. ISRO also has on occasion domestic satellite services markets reserved the right to terminate the and maintain coherent regulatory foreign operator’s contract once Formed in 1986 and regimes. domestic ISRO-provided satellite comprising 24 European Quality Assurance Engineer In its annual report on how na- capacity is available. member states, tions that have signed World USTR says in its report that In- EUMETSAT's role is to Trade Organization and other dian regulations ostensibly “man- In this role, you will support the programmes of the Low Earth Orbit agreements that liberalize trade in date non-discriminatory, reason- establish, operate and telecommunications hardware able access” to cable landing exploit European (LEO) Programmes Division, in particular and initially, the Global and services have met their com- stations in India, but that Indian meteorological satellite Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme. You mitments, USTR elected not to regulations continue to be difficult systems. Data from these will be involved in the definition and implementation of the related mention regulatory barriers to to understand and subject to systems are essential for QA processes. You should have a University degree in relevant foreign-owned satellite services in change. precise and accurate Egypt, Israel and Venezuela. China operates in a similar way, weather forecasting; they disciplines, along with a minimum of five years experience in the These three nations, along with China DBSat, a satellite oper- also assist global earth area of space systems development. In addition, candidates are with China, India and Mexico, ator, assigned the role of gatekeep- observation and required to have knowledge and experience of ISO 9000 series were cited by the U.S. Satellite In- er to the Chinese market. With the climatological programmes dustry Association in the associa- exception of AsiaSat and APT and ECSS standards series. and directly benefit national tion’s comments to USTR. Satellite Holdings, both of Hong Based in Darmstadt, Germany, the post is offered on an initial The USTR’s 2010 “Review of Kong, non-Chinese satellite opera- economies by enabling Telecommunications Trade Agree- tors are not allowed to offer servic- marine, agricultural, four-year contract. We offer an attractive remuneration package ments,” dated April, notes that In- es directly to Chinese end-users. aviation and other including a highly competitive salary, private social security and industries to plan and dia’s satellite services regulations Regulatory confusion is a health coverage, generous allowances, as well as financial have been an ongoing concern for problem in China as in India. “A act more effectively. support and practical assistance in relocating your family the United States, which has lack of transparency in the rules Currently the systems (where applicable). pressed Indian authorities in the governing the provision of satel- include two generations of past to open their market to non- lite capacity in these countries is geostationary Meteosat Indian satellite fleet operators. ... a concern,” USTR says. “USTR EUMETSAT is committed to providing an equal opportunities Aside from making their con- will continue to raise” the issue satellites whose global work environment for men and women. Please note that only overview is now cerns known through satellite as- with its Indian and Chinese coun- applications from nationals of one of the EUMETSAT Member sociations in the United States terparts, the report says. complemented by the States can be considered. and Europe, the satellite fleet op- The problem in Mexico, ac- detailed observations erators themselves generally have cording to USTR, is the govern- provided by polar orbiting Further information on the position, salary and benefits, and elected not to raise their voices on ment’s insistence that a foreign MetOp satellites and how to apply can be found on the EUMETSAT web site: India’s restricted market, in part satellite service provider create a Jason-2. out of concern that protests local presence in Mexico before www.eumetsat.int. would backfire. being granted an operating li- Several satellite fleet operators cense. Mexico has maintained this Closing date: 10 May 2010 (Reference: VN-10/09) have been able to enter India in requirement despite signing the recent years because of that na- World Trade Organization’s Gen- tion’s exploding direct-broadcast eral Agreement on Trade in Ser- television market, whose growth vices treaty. That treaty includes no has outstripped India’s Insat satel- requirement for a local presence lite fleet’s capacity. in return for providing cross-bor- In these cases — when demand der telecommunications services. Member states: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Finland, France, cannot be met by India’s own satel- Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Mexico and India also require Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom lites — India has authorized the operators of mobile satellite servic-

14 SPACE NEWS www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010 Space Hardware Firm Doubles Down On Ship Tracking Service TURNER BRINTON, WASHINGTON as a way for ships to avoid colli- to integrate its AIS data with sions by providing data on other information and create Satellite hardware builder other ships in the immediate customized screen displays, SpaceQuest Ltd. entered the vicinity. Any ship weighing which will be more valuable to space-based services market more than 300 tons is required customers than raw data, Loren- with the launch of two ship by the United Nations to carry zini said. tracking satellites last year, and an AIS transmitter, which sends “The thing we find most in- has contracted to launch two out a signal every six seconds teresting is the commodity more satellites for the constella- with information including the traders, who are very interested tion in December, a company of- ship’s position, direction, in knowing about the flow of ficial said. speed and contents. Nations energy around the world,” he Fairfax, Va.-based Space- also use AIS data to monitor said. “There’s a lot of work be- Quest claims to be the only firm which ships are approaching ing done all the time looking at in the world with a global space- their coastlines. ships leaving and arriving at var- based Automatic Identification The U.S. Coast Guard has a ious ports, and this gives them System (AIS) capability, and two need for a space-based AIS ca- some additional insight.” more satellites will allow it to de- pability to track ships in the In addition to tracking liver even more-precise ship middle of the oceans. The serv- ships, SpaceQuest hopes to tracking data, according to ice contracted with Orbcomm market other capabilities, such Dino Lorenzini, the company’s Inc. of Fort Lee, N.J., to put AIS as monitoring the levels of chairman and chief executive. receivers on six satellites that propane tanks. There are about The company plans to launch were launched in 2008. Four of 17 million propane tanks in the two additional pairs of satellites these satellites failed on orbit, United States, and many of in 2011 and 2012. but the other two are providing them are monitored manually SpaceQuest was founded in operational AIS data to the by dispatched workers, Loren- 1994 by Lorenzini and Mark Coast Guard and Navy, Orb- zini said. Sensors could be in- Kanawati, and has delivered comm spokeswoman Jennifer stalled on propane tanks that satellite platforms, GPS re- Lattif said in an e-mailed re- transmit fuel level information ceivers, communications pay- sponse to questions. These satel- up to SpaceQuest’s satellites, loads and other space-hardware lites are in inclined orbits that which would relay that infor- systems to a variety of govern- provide coverage between 65 mation to a ground station and ment, commercial and academ- degrees north and 65 degrees automatically send a message to ic customers. south latitude. the customer. The company saw a growing Orbcomm is building at least “We’ve analyzed some of the market for machine-to-machine 18 satellites for its next-genera- data from our propane tank messaging and AIS data trans- tion constellation of two-way partners, and on average the

mission so it financed the con- messaging spacecraft, each of SPACEQUEST PHOTO tanks are still 55 percent filled

struction and launch of the which will have an AIS receiver. > SpaceQuest saw a growing market for machine-to-machine messaging and AIS data transmission so it when they go to fill them,” he AprizeSat-3 and AprizeSat-4 The first few of these satellites financed construction and launch of AprizeSat-3 and AprizeSat-4 with retained earnings and home equity loans. said. “To be able to get down to satellites with retained earnings are slated for launch between 15 or 20 percent with confi- and home equity loans, Lorenzi- December 2010 and March lation covers any given mid-lati- lites are on orbit, he said. dence will enable them to make ni said in an interview. The satel- 2011, Lattif said. Other firms tude region four or five times a SpaceQuest has only one cus- fewer trips.” lites were lofted in July 2009 as have also announced plans to day, Lorenzini said. The satel- tomer now paying for AIS data, The company estimates it secondary payloads on a Russian launch AIS satellites. lites are collecting some 460,000 but it hopes a larger constella- needs $3 million to $5 million to Dnepr rocket out of Kaza- SpaceQuest’s 13-kilogram AIS transmissions from 22,000 tion with more-frequent revisits launch the service on a large khstan. The next two satellites AIS spacecraft are in near sun- ships each day. The number of will attract more business from scale, and it is still looking for an will also launch on a Dnepr, a synchronous polar orbits that AIS transmissions collected government and commercial investment partner. converted ballistic missile. circle the globe 14 times each each day should well exceed 1 customers, Lorenzini said. The AIS originally was conceived day. From this orbit, the constel- million after the two new satel- company is looking for partners Comments:[email protected] CSA Begins Studies for First Canadian Microsatellite Launch System DAVID PUGLIESE, VICTORIA, British Columbia ect would be on a subscale but would fo- of this.” launch capability. cus on demonstrating and validating Dubuc said the CSA study includes Robert Zee, director of the Universi- The Canadian Space Agency is study- that Canada could develop a propul- an indication of how much it would cost ty of Toronto’s Space Flight Laboratory, ing the possibility of developing a sion system for its own launch capabili- to build a launch system, but he de- said Canada is totally reliant on other launch system for microsatellites, a ca- ty, he said. CSA’s focus is on a rocket clined to discuss those details. nations when it comes to orbital launch- pability that if approved by the govern- sized to put a 150-kilogram satellite into Kevin Shortt, president of the Cana- es, even though its industry is capable ment would be a first for the country. an 800-kilometer sun-synchronous or- dian Space Society, said the issue of of developing a launch system. “I think Canada has facilities for launching bit, he added. whether Canada should build its own it’s a valid goal,” Zee said of the devel- rockets to suborbital altitudes but has Dubuc said another study also is un- launch system has been discussed on opment of an indigenous launch capa- relied on various other nations for der way to examine how many mi- and off since the 1960s. He noted, how- bility. “As to whether it would have suf- launches beyond that. The Canadian crosatellites are expected to be built in ever, that the CSA’s research and devel- ficient political backing to see it all the Space Agency already has conducted the future. In addition, that study will opment plan for propulsion systems way through to completion, that’s an- feasibility studies that found it would be look at the pros and cons of various could indicate that this time the space other thing.” possible, but challenging, to develop an ways to develop a launcher, dealing with agency is serious about the issue. An indigenous launch capability indigenous launch capability. issues such as the value of public and “Canada could carve out a niche for it- geared specifically toward smaller satel- A plan outlining research and devel- private partnerships in such a venture. self in microsatellite launches,” Shortt lites would be useful, Zee said. opment into propulsion systems has But Dubuc said even if Canada were said, adding that the country’s geo- Dan Goldberg, president of Telesat, now been put forward for Canadian to proceed — and at this point that is graphic location is ideal for particular the world’s fourth-largest fixed satellite Space Agency (CSA) management to not a given — it could take as much as launches such as for polar orbits. services operator, said that he is in favor examine, said Eric Dubuc, a manager of 10 years before a system was in place. But Shortt also said the CSA’s esti- of more launch capability being avail- technology development at the agency. “We’re talking a lot of money here and mate of a 10-year development is too able to the aerospace industry. “We tried to design an R&D program to very long time frames,” he explained. long. He noted that there are existing But he noted that the costs of devel- address very specific and very basic “Developing a launcher is not easy, it’s facilities for suborbital launches in oping an indigenous launch capability questions regarding those key enabling not trivial. Churchill, Manitoba that could be would be very significant. “Unless technologies,” Dubuc said. “The next “There are a lot of unknowns, but we quickly adapted for orbital launches. there’s very compelling reasons, it step is waiting for a decision on whether have very good minds in this country to In interviews with Space News, Cana- doesn’t seem to be a fruitful endeavor,” we as an organization decide to move address those. It’s just a matter to make dian space specialists and aerospace in- Goldberg said. forward on that.” sure we do it in such a fashion that we dustry members appeared divided on The research and development proj- actually build capacity and knowledge whether the country needed its own Comments:[email protected]

There’s only one thing that covers space as completely as we do.

Space News is your satellite on the ground. As the space industry’s leading news source, our well respected, seasoned editorial staff provides multiple outlets to gather the valuable information your business needs to succeed in today’s ever changing universe.

We help you navigate through the clutter of cyberspace with our re-designed web site. The same great writing and analysis found in print is available online, so you won’t miss a beat.

Our trade show supplements, written during the event by our dedicated team of reporters, provide you with meaningful information from upcoming launches, new technology breakthroughs and issues around the world.

To keep you ahead of the game, our e-newsletter is blasted every Friday to give you a preview of the hottest headlines being printed Monday morning.

Contact a Space News sales representative today and go to the source where all systems are go.

Call toll free 1 (866) 429-2199 or visit us on our web site and click on subscribe. Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/Space_News_Intl.

spacenews.com

GO TO THE SOURCE.

16 SPACE NEWS www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010 Draper, MIT Students Test Lunar Hopper with Eyes on Prize

AMY KLAMPER, WASHINGTON other challenges is [the fact] that could add a new dimension to ro- these craters are very deep. And botic planetary exploration, one Students at the Massachusetts sending a rover from the crater that Tuohy said could inspire a Institute of Technology (MIT) in edge down into the crater to try to new generation of engineers, tech- Cambridge are testing a prototype touch the ice is pretty challenging, nologists and scientists. planetary explorer that would cov- whereas in a hopper it’s just a new “Not that it’s getting boring, er large swaths of alien terrain by landing site.” but there is an established level of hopping from one landing site to Moreover, sophisticated technology that is accepted and is another. The testing of the second- navigation and control systems mature,” he said. generation lunar hopper is being used to negotiate a lander’s de- The hopper concept also has carried out under the supervision scent and pick up landmarks at or the potential to maximize science of engineers from the nearby near the touchdown zone add “a experiments and observations in a Draper Laboratory with an eye to- lot of power and a lot of mass” to a single mission. Because the hop- ward competing for the Google spacecraft, Tuohy said. Although a ping vehicle is designed to operate Lunar X Prize in 2012. hopper would land in the same in a “very controlled hover-hop” in Draper and MIT have been manner as a traditional lander or which it ascends a short distance

working with Sparks, Nev.-based NEXT GIANT LEAP ARTIST’S CONCEPT rover, the accuracy of the landing above the surface and hovers at a Sierra Nevada Space Systems and Next Giant Leap Moon lander is not as critical, Tuohy says. consistent altitude to its next land- Manassas, Va.-based Aurora Flight “Once you land you can use the ing site, it could conduct experi- Sciences Corp. as part of the Next that counters the effects of Earth’s ing long distances while carrying navigation systems you have on ments or make observations and Giant Leap team, one of 20 vying gravity. A second cold-gas propul- scientific payloads. Earth to locate yourself very pre- measurements en route. for the Google Lunar X Prize, a sion system uses impulsive, self- “It provides an alternate way of cisely,” he said, adding that even if “The reason we went this way is $20 million purse that will be contained propellant to simulate doing what I’ll call regional sci- the hopper arrives a kilometer or you can actually do science along awarded to the first privately fund- operations in the space environ- ence, as opposed to very local sci- more off target, it would be only “a the way,” Tuohy said, adding that ed group to send a robot to the ment and will verify Draper Lab’s ence,” Tuohy said, using Spirit — hop or two” away from reaching Draper and MIT have demonstrat- Moon. To qualify for the prize, the guidance, navigation and control the NASA Mars rover that is now that target. ed Talaris in various stages of com- robot must travel 500 meters algorithm in reduced gravity. bogged down in sand after six However, the hopper concept pletion to officials at NASA’s God- across the lunar surface and trans- The four large fans attached to years of traversing the red planet does have at least one drawback: dard Space Flight Center in mit video, images and other data the corners of the hopper counter- — as an example. The distance it can cover depends Greenbelt, Md. back to Earth. act five-sixths of the Earth’s gravity “If you look at the rover that on the amount of propellant it can “They’ve given us some kind of The team’s Moon hopper de- “such that the cold-gas control sys- just got stuck on Mars after years of carry. hints … it’d really be neat if you sign is based on existing spacecraft tem feels like it’s operating in a low- operation, one thing I think that’s “The bigger the tank, the big- can do science along the way,” he built by Sierra Nevada, while Au- er-gravity environment like the not commonly known is just how ger the hop, so there is a trade said, adding that the hopper con- rora Flight Sciences is contribut- Moon,” said Seamus Tuohy, direc- little distance it covered. What an there,” he said, adding that the cept “actually opened up what we ing experience gleaned from de- tor of space systems at Draper Lab. achievement it was … but it only amount of propellant required to think may be a new operational veloping small MIT expects to complete ini- covered kilometers,” he said, fuel the hopper would likely affect way of doing science that you vertical-takeoff-and-landing air- tial test flights of the Talaris hop- adding that hopping vehicles are the cost to launch it. couldn’t do before, or that you craft. Draper Lab is offering per this summer with the hope able to traverse much larger areas. Tuohy said Draper and MIT wanted to do before but didn’t navigation and control expertise, that the Earth-bound prototype A hopping vehicle also does evolved the hopper concept while have the mechanisms to do.” and the students, led by former could lead to a new class of robot- not require a complex navigation searching for technical and engi- Tuohy said he hopes Talaris NASA astronaut Jeff Hoffman, ic precursors capable of traversing system, because unlike a surface- neering challenges that could and the Next Giant Leap effort will built the prototype vehicle. long distances in short periods of bound rover, the hopper has no spark student interest in space. breed confidence in the emerging Dubbed the Terrestrial Artifi- time, gathering scientific data and need to navigate over and around Talaris, he said, combines students technology and that “at some cial Lunar and Reduced Gravity even collecting samples at multi- craters, boulders or valleys. from a variety of engineering and point in the near future there Simulator, or Talaris, the Moon ple sites. “You could go into a crater on science backgrounds to study “es- would be a funded mission that hopper prototype uses two propul- Rather than competing with the Moon,” Tuohy said. “So the sentially cool things that haven’t would incorporate this opera- sion systems, including a primary traditional orbiters, landers and places where we’re thinking of be- been done before.” tional approach of hopping.” system using an air-breathing elec- rovers, hoppers could comple- ing able to find and trap water ice Although planetary rovers are tric ducted fan propulsion system ment these vehicles, quickly cover- on the Moon, among the many not new, the hopper concept Comments: [email protected]______Commercial Spaceflight Seen as a Potentially Lucrative, but Long-term, Investment DEBRA WERNER, SAN FRANCISCO Investments of Abu Dhabi, United Arab will bring more investors to commercial vestors to the commercial spaceflight indus- Emirates, bought a $280 million stake in the space companies. “If the new NASA budget try. The combination of federal government A flurry of new commercial space activi- company. passes, there will be more investment op- support and the emergence of new technol- ty is attracting interest from investors seek- The space tourism field also includes portunities and people will be more aware ogy that could decrease the cost of space ing to profit from the fledgling suborbital XCOR Aerospace and Masten Space Sys- of them,” Dyson said. transportation makes the field ripe for long- tourism trade and cargo transportation tems, both of Mojave, Calif., Blue Origin of The 2011 NASA budget proposes spend- term investors who can look far ahead to a business. Space industry executives and fi- Kent, Washington, and Armadillo Aero- ing $6 billion over five years to seed time when asteroids are mined for precious nancial analysts caution, however, that some space of Rockwall, Texas. These companies development of commercial vehicles capa- metals and tourists visit orbiting hotels. of those opportunities are best suited for pa- do not list stock shares on major indices, but ble of taking astronauts to and from the in- “Not all investors can look that far ahead, tient, long-term investors. they do welcome investors. “You can invest ternational space station. The NASA spend- but there is a category of investors that rec- “In terms of making money in the short $10,000, $20,000 or $100,000 in one of these ing plan also adds $300 million to an ognizes that many of the things we hold in run, I think the most viable option is some companies,” said Esther Dyson, an investor ongoing effort by Orbital Sciences Corp. of value on Earth — minerals, energy, real es- of these space tourist projects where there and entrepreneur with holdings in several Dulles, Va., and Space Exploration Tech- tate — are in infinite quantity in space,” Dia- seems to be a large number of wealthy peo- space companies including Space Adven- nologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, mandis said. In that category of investors, ple who want to go to the edge of space,” tures of Vienna, Va., and XCOR. Calif., to develop and demonstrate space- Diamandis places the 1,000 to 2,000 living said Armand Musey, former president of Armadillo Aerospace sets the initial in- craft capable of delivering cargo to the space billionaires. “Some of these people are long- Near Earth LLC, a boutique investment vestment level higher. Armadillo states on its station. In 2008, NASA awarded SpaceX and term, patient investors,” he said. bank in New York. Web site that it is not seeking investors but Orbital contracts with a combined value of Financial analysts including Musey are On March 23, Virgin Galactic’s subor- adds, “If you have millions of dollars you’d $3.5 billion to use their resulting vehicles to skeptical of space mining projects. “There bital space tourism plane, the VSS Enter- like to spend on civilian access to space, we’ll each deliver a minimum of 20 tons of cargo are not really any known substances that are prise, conducted its first test flight attached listen.” to the space station through 2016. worth the cost of going up there to get,” he to its mothership. Virgin Galactic, part of While this type of investment is not at- These government programs offer con- said. the London-based Virgin Group, is the most tracting institutional venture capital, it does crete evidence that NASA will provide the As the cost of space travel drops, Dia- well-known in a pack of firms eager to offer lure patient, long-term angel investors who initial market for commercial space services. mandis said, that equation may change. Gov- paying customers rides in suborbital or or- are eager to participate in and profit from “The market is becoming more visible,” ernment support will help to create a com- bital vehicles. The company already has emerging space enterprises, Dyson said. In Dyson said. “Investors can see it.” petitive market with multiple commercial signed up more than 300 customers for addition, recent moves by the administra- Peter Diamandis, chairman and chief ex- firms offering space transportation, he said. flights costing $200,000 a piece. Virgin tion of U.S. President Barack Obama to turn ecutive of the X Prize Foundation of Playa “There is no question that there is tremen- Galactic states on its Web site that it is not the job of carrying space station-bound car- Vista, Calif., also believes the Obama admin- dous risk,” Diamandis said. “But at the same seeking outside investors. In August, Abaar go and astronauts over to the private sector istration’s proposed budget will draw new in- time, these are huge potential markets.”

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 17 April 19, 2010 EARTH SCIENCE and Climate Monitoring NASA Researchers Aim To Keep ‘Infinite CERES’ Instrument Going Strong DEBRA WERNER, SAN FRANCISCO joint civil and military project peratures, floods and droughts, could carry the program mended by the National Science canceled by the White House in occurs every three to seven years, through 2025. Foundation’s Decadal Survey. After more than a decade in February. No launch date has causing large fluctuations in The two CERES sensors CLARREO, which is expected to orbit, the Clouds and the Earth’s been announced for the two cloud and radiation patterns that launched in 1999 on Terra are launch between 2016 and 2019, Radiant Energy System JPSS spacecraft. However, the can mask cloud and radiation providing useful data after more is designed to improve the accu- (CERES), an instrument first first satellite with CERES on- changes associated with increas- than a decade in orbit, and the racy of climate models by collect- launched in 1997, is becoming board is expected to be complet- ing levels of greenhouse gases. two sensors on Aqua, launched ing data on atmospheric, land more useful with each passing ed in 2015, according to NOAA’s To provide evidence of the ongo- in 2002, also continue to func- and sea-surface temperature, year. “Like wine, CERES gets bet- National Environmental Satellite ing changes in the Earth’s cli- tion well, Loeb said. The first cloud properties, ocean color, so- ter with time,” said Norman Data and Information Service mate, CERES needs to gather CERES sensor flew on NASA’s lar irradiance and aerosols. In Loeb, CERES principal investiga- Web site. data over a much longer period Tropical Rainfall Measurement addition, CLARREO will include tor at NASA’s Langley Research CERES measures solar energy of time, Loeb said. Mission. That instrument collect- onboard calibration to obtain Center in Hampton, Va. “The reflected by Earth and Earth’s “For climate measurements, ed data continuously for eight highly accurate data records, longer your data record, the emitted thermal energy, key ele- we are talking about measuring a months in 1998 before problems Loeb said. more you learn.” ments that make up the Earth’s few tenths of a degree changes in with the instrument’s power con- Nevertheless, CLARREO will Four CERES instruments are radiation budget, an important Earth over decades,” said Mark verters forced mission planners not replace CERES. The two gathering data aboard the NASA factor in helping scientists un- Folkman, Northrop Grumman’s to use the instrument only spo- CLARREO satellites will fly in a Earth-observing system’s Terra derstand the complex global cli- director of products and sensing. radically. polar orbit and will not provide and Aqua satellites. While those mate system. “To do that, you’ve got to make Because of the CERES pro- the type of daily, global coverage sensors continue to function Already, scientists have well-calibrated measurements gram’s multi-decade, multi-sen- offered by the CERES instru- well, scientists are eager to send learned about the role clouds for multiple decades.” sor approach, some NASA offi- ments carried by Aqua and Ter- up additional instruments to en- play in causing variations in the What’s more, CERES is mon- cials attending a celebration of ra. “You still need CERES to con- sure a continuous data record, amount of solar energy reflected itoring extremely small changes Terra’s 10-year anniversary in tinue,” Loeb said. “CERES and Loeb said. and thermal energy emitted in the Earth’s energy budget December dubbed the program CLARREO are complementary.” Another CERES instrument from Earth by looking at CERES that, over time, can lead to seri- “infinite CERES.” That’s not en- As Northrop Grumman com- has been integrated on a NASA- data in conjunction with meas- ous consequences, including ice tirely accurate, but “it would be pletes construction of the led mission set for launch in Sep- urements from the Moderate caps melting and sea levels ris- great to go on as long as we can,” CERES instrument ordered for tember 2011, the National Polar- Resolution Imaging Spectrora- ing. One particularly useful as- Loeb said. the NPOESS program, company orbiting Operational Environ- diometer (MODIS), which also pect of CERES is its ability to He compares CERES and its engineers are looking for ways to mental Satellite System flies on both Terra and Aqua. help evaluate and refine the ongoing data-gathering mission improve the technology for fu- (NPOESS) Preparatory Project, “Coincident observations from computer models used to pre- to annual medical checkups per- ture sensors. Much of the CERES known as NPP, said Sean Kelly, CERES and MODIS instruments dict the consequences of global formed by doctors. Ongoing technology was developed dur- CERES program manager for in- provided unprecedented data climate change. “If we are going checkups give doctors a chance ing the 1990s, so it is a good time strument builder Northrop on how variations in the Earth’s to try to have informed policy to monitor vital signs and identi- to modernize the instrument, Grumman Aerospace Systems of radiation budget are associated decisions, let’s make sure those fy problems before they become Folkman said. Redondo Beach, Calif. with variations in cloud proper- decisions are based on facts,” serious. Similarly, CERES pro- “In the process of moderniz- The final sensor being built ties such as cloud height, thick- Loeb said. vides a long-standing record of ing, we want to be careful that we by Northrop Grumman is sched- ness and amount,” Loeb said. CERES and its predecessor, the Earth’s radiation budget, don’t have any discontinuity in uled for delivery to NASA Lang- “With a 10-year record we are the Earth Radiation Budget Ex- which helps scientists identify the data record,” he added. “It’s ley in 2012, Kelly added. That starting to see that.” periment, also built by Northrop changes in the global climate. an interesting challenge to im- sensor is expected to fly onboard However, 10 years of data is Grumman, have provided a Another suite of instruments prove the measurements, im- the National Oceanic and At- not enough to give scientists a record of solar, thermal and redesigned to provide detailed prove the noise performance mospheric Administration clear picture of global climate flected radiation stretching back data on Earth’s climate is expect- with new technology, without (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite Sys- change because of the natural to 1984. If all goes well, the ed to fly aboard the Climate Ab- making a change that causes you tem (JPSS), a mission that will variables. For example, El Niño, CERES instrument being built solute Radiance and Refractivity to lose your baseline.” take on a portion of the climate- a climate pattern associated with for JPSS may continue gathering Observatory (CLARREO), a monitoring work of NPOESS, a changes in Pacific Ocean tem- data for a decade or more, which wide-ranging mission recom- Comments: [email protected]______GLOBAL SNAPSHOT

Location: The border of Namibia and the Republic color image (at right) on Feb. 15. A network of of South Africa bright rectangles of varying shades of green contrasts with surroundings of gray, beige, tan Data gathered by: NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) and rust. Immediately south of a large collec- satellite tion of irrigated plots, faint beige circles reveal center-pivot irrigation fields apparently al- Instrument used: Advanced Land Imager lowed to go fallow. Namibia is Africa’s most arid country south Source: NASA’s Earth Observatory Web site with of the Sahara Desert, according to the United data from the NASA EO-1 team and the U.S. Ge- Nations Environment Programme. Even ological Survey though South Africa has a generally temperate climate, 65 percent of the land is too arid to sup- Greening the Desert port agriculture. Irrigation projects such as this support agriculture that rainfall alone could not The Orange River serves as part of the bor- sustain. der between Namibia and the Republic of This irrigation project occurs along a section South Africa. Along the banks of this river, of the Orange River where the waterway turns roughly 100 kilometers inland from where the north on its general westward path to the sea, river empties into the Atlantic Ocean, irriga- and the area is not far from the eastern margin tion projects take advantage of water from the of the Namib Desert. Grapes are the primary river and soils from the flood plains to grow agricultural product of this area. Thanks to lo- produce, turning parts of a normally earth- cal climatic conditions, grapes from Namibia toned landscape emerald green. are often ready for market two to three weeks The Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s before those of the main grape-producing re-

Earth Observing-1 satellite captured the true- gions of South Africa’s cape. NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY IMAGE

18 SPACE NEWS www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010 COMMENTARY < EDITORIAL > LETTERS Much to Learn in Mars Sample Return Fueling Innovation The Mars sample return (MSR) mission being investigated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is he technical wizards behind last May’s ing NASA’s decision to cancel a shuttle mis- Dragon capsule, both of which offer the un- a fundable module that provides a golden opportu- fifth and ostensibly final servicing mission that had been planned for that purpose. pressurized flight accommodations the nity to accomplish several crucial goals of the pilot- sion to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope The team took the proposed robotic servic- hardware needs. ed mission to Mars within one compact mission. T The mission development time is consistent with have been keeping busy planning an in-orbit ing mission through preliminary design re- But an even more pressing issue is readying the nuclear rocket for MSR propulsion. satellite refueling demonstration that with a view before NASA reversed course and rein- funding. This would validate nuclear propulsion for the pi- little luck — and support from the stated the shuttle mission. Congress established Mr. Cepollina’s of- loted mission to Mars and is a perfect opportunity — fice with a $20 million earmark for 2009 and to incorporate biological samples in the MSR mis- agency’s upper echelons could be blaz- Today Mr. Cepollina runs the Space Ser- sion, which would expose selected flora and fauna ing an important trail by this time next year. vicing Capabilities Office as a Goddard $50 million for 2010, money that has been to the Mars journey environment and provide a Engineers at NASA’s Goddard Space deputy center director, where he continues used to build flight hardware and conduct base for the piloted mission requirements. Flight Center are working to meet an end-of- to champion on-orbit satellite repair and ground-based tests. The overriding challenges of MSR are landing, scooping up the sample, transferring to the ascent the-year schedule for delivering 300 kilo- refueling. NASA’s 2011 budget proposal currently vehicle, reaching Mars orbit and handing off the grams of experimental flight hardware to “The time for study is over,” Mr. Cepolli- before Congress is awash with technology sample to the orbiting Earth return vehicle, then Cape Canaveral, Fla., for delivery to the in- na said at a NASA-sponsored satellite serv- money. Some of it should be used to finish returning to Earth orbit and to Earth’s surface. This architecture is fraught with risk, but some can be ternational space station. The hardware icing workshop in Maryland in March. “We and fly the space station-based satellite re- mitigated. consists of a mock satellite and the tools have now got to move forward.” fueling demo and to allow Mr. Cepollina’s Upon reaching Mars, an economical method to needed to demonstrate that controllers in Moving forward, at this point, depends team to get started on the next step: show- enter Mars orbit is via aerodynamic capture, where- ing that satellites operating 36,000 by repeated “dipping” into the atmosphere pro- Houston can command the space station’s on Mr. Cepollina and his government- duces drag to lower the apogee. Mars is known to be specially equipped robotic arm to grapple industry team finding a suitable launch to kilometers from Earth in geosynchronous subject to global dust storms, and if the aero-cap- and refuel a satellite with inert propellant the space station for the demo hardware, orbit — the operating location of most ture process is then occurring, it is fairly simple to to specified volume and pressure level. As- which is designed to be mounted to an Ex- communications spacecraft — also can be scoop up samples of the dust-laden upper atmosphere and return that to Earth, thereby avoiding tronauts onboard the space station will press logistics pallet on the station’s refueled and repaired. the landing, sampling and return to Mars orbit have no part in the experiment beyond that exterior. By some estimates, operational satel- (which still would need to be addressed in readiness of passive observers. The ideal vehicle is the space shuttle. lites commonly forfeit two or three years of for the piloted Mars mission). All in all, MSR is presenting an outstanding op- Preparations for the demo, including But with the experiment hardware not ex- productive and potentially lucrative service portunity to reduce risk to the piloted Mars building and testing the necessary hard- pected to be ready to leave Goddard until life in order to preserve enough fuel to mission. ware, are being led by the Space Servicing the end of the year, the only way Mr. Cepol- boost themselves into higher disposal or- Capabilities Office established at Goddard lina’s team will be able to hitch a shuttle bits where they won’t pose a threat to other Ernest Y. Robinson, Retired nuclear engineer, Aerospace Corp. last year to preserve the expertise NASA has ride is if at least one of the three remaining satellites. Altadena, Calif. built up through a half-dozen satellite re- orbiter flights slips into 2011, or if the White The follow-on demo the Goddard group pair missions, starting with a 1984 space House or Congress directs NASA to fly more has in mind entails building and launching a shuttle mission to retrieve and repair the shuttle missions. Under either scenario, robotic spacecraft to boost one or two fail- SPACE SHOT ailing Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft. making room for Mr. Cepollina’s payload ing geosynchronous satellites into grave- The engineer in charge of that pioneer- should be treated as a high priority. After yard orbits to prove the servicing craft’s So the point is what we’re looking for is not ing mission, Goddard’s Frank Cepollina, went all, satellite servicing has at least as many rendezvous and grappling capability. Having “ on to lead the first Hubble repair mission in near-term applications as the 135-kilogram demonstrated this, the craft could then be just to continue on the same path ---we want 1993 as well as three subsequent service humanlike helper robot that NASA is plan- sent on to replenish the nearly empty tanks to leap into the future; we want major break- calls to the popular telescope. Perhaps ning to launch to the space station this fall of an otherwise healthy spacecraft to ex- throughs, a transformative agenda for NASA. more significantly, it was Mr. Cepollina and on the shuttle’s last scheduled flight. tend its useful life. “ his team of engineers who just a few years Besides shuttle, relatively near-term op- Surely there’s a commercial operator Barack Obama ago expended considerable brainpower — tions for getting the demo gear to the space — and perhaps the U.S. Defense Depart- not to mention funding — figuring out how station are Japan’s H-2 Transfer Vehicle and ment as well — that has a satellite or two U.S. President to repair Hubble without astronauts follow- Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s that fits the bill. in an April 15 speech at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Deputy Editor: WASHINGTON STAFF WRITERS: EDITORIAL OFFICES: CORRESPONDENTS: Russia San Francisco Nabi Abdullaev Debra Werner SPACE NEWS Brian Berger Washington India [email protected]______Military Space, Apt. 436, 92 Korpus 3, 180 29th Ave., Missile Defense 6883 Commercial Drive K.S. Jayaraman Kashirskoye Shosse San Francisco, CA 94121 Tel: 1 (703) 658-8416 Turner Brinton Springfield, VA D-208 Jardine Block Jay Kirsch ______Moscow, 115551 Tel: 1 (415) 412-5819 [email protected] 22159-0500 U.S.A. Brigade Gardenia Enclave Russia [email protected]______President, Chief Executive Officer Copy Chief: Tel: 1 (703) 658-8424 Tel: 1 (703) 658-8400 J.P. Nagar 7th phase Todd Windsor Tel: 7 (495) 234 3223 Fax: 1 (703) 750-8913 Bangalore 560078 Fax: 7 (495) 232 6529 Canada William A. Klanke [email protected] NASA, Policy India Vice President, General Manager — [email protected] David Pugliese Tel: 1 (703) 658-8419 Amy Klamper Paris Tel: 91-80-2696-6579 Tel: 1 (250) 592-8354 Trade Publishing [email protected] 56 rue du Faubourg St. [email protected] [email protected] Japan [email protected] Copy Editor: Tel: 1 (703) 658-8423 Antoine Paul Kallender-Umezu Tom Wiseman 75012 Paris, France 150-0002 Shibuya Ku Editor: ______Web Producer/ Tel: 33-1-53-33-09-08 Israel Warren Ferster [email protected] Shibuya 1-20-17 Tel: 1 (703) 658-8414 Staff Writer Fax: 33-1-53-33-00-99 Barbara Opall-Rome Shibuya Mitake Hime 408 [email protected]______Clinton Parks 51A Ben Yehuda St. Tel: 1 (703) 658-8418 Japan [email protected]______Subscriber Services Herzeliya 46403, Israel Tel.: (81) 3-3232-2430 Paris Bureau Chief: Toll free: 1 (866) 429-2199 Tel: 972-9-951-8258 ______paul.kallender@newstand Peter B. de Selding Tel: 1 (845) 267-3023 Fax: 972-9-951-8257 ______ardjapan.com [email protected] Fax: 1 (845) 267-3478 ______opallrome@barak- _____online.net SPACE NEWS is a registered trademark of

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 19 April 19, 2010 Human Spaceflight: Diversify the Portfolio < S. ALAN STERN > he American people ex- United States is to lead in space. its great strengths — for no single cost-control options that mono- than just a flexible path. We pect big things from our One longstanding character- mission, no individual develop- lithic (single-legged) transporta- need parallel paths. Tnation’s human space- istic of human spaceflight efforts ment, no single charge number, tion access does not. Multiple ef- To be more specific, we need flight enterprise. in the United States is that they and no single launch, risks the forts also provide a kind of to be funding a diverse suite of Tragically, however, for the have consistently revolved fate of the entire program. robustness in the event of acci- individually lean but exciting past 20-plus years, our country’s around a monolithic architec- This diversity of science mis- dents that domestic human space- human space exploration civil human spaceflight effort ture-destination combination sion efforts, just like the diversity flight has never before enjoyed. efforts, perhaps fielded by dif- hasn’t been able to deliver big that requires the efforts of tens of in other forms of aerospace de- The administration should be ferent NASA centers as we do in things, such as achieving historic thousands of individuals and con- velopment — from airliners to commended for this fresh and robotic spaceflight. These ef- exploration milestones at far- sumes virtually the entirety of missiles, to combat aircraft to promising approach, and Con- forts should be aimed to put in away destinations or dramatically NASA’s human spaceflight devel- transports — is a trait that civil gress should endorse it in the au- place simultaneous projects in- advancing the cause of easy hu- opment budget. But it’s no secret human spaceflight could well thorization and appropriation volving lunar and asteroid ex- man access to near-space locales. that if you own only one stock, benefit from. processes. ploration, high Earth orbit and Instead, human spaceflight in you probably deserve what you Fortunately, in President But could that same approach Lagrange point servicing, and the United States has struggled get when it’s in trouble. Barack Obama’s vision for NASA, be further extended to human perhaps the first forays to fly by just to keep its sole domestic By contrast, in NASA’s science we already see the seeds of a di- exploration of the solar system? the planets with humans. transportation system — the program, which I formerly diversified portfolio for human There are no laws of man or Of key importance to success- space shuttle — flying a few times rected, dozens and dozens of spaceflight. In its 2011 NASA physics that require human ex- fully exploiting this approach is per year, and to complete the as- concurrent spaceflight projects budget request, the Obama ad- ploration systems to cost tens of the recognition that these new sembly of its sole destination — are always in development, from ministration requests funds to billions of dollars and take mul- systems — developed in most cas- the international space station. brief suborbital missions, to small use multiple human-carrying tiple decades to field. Indeed, es via nontraditional “New And new programs, with names Earth orbiters, to small-, medi- suborbital vehicle designs to con- there is now ample empirical ev- Space” economic practices — such as the Orient Express, the um- and large-scale planetary duct research and education mis- idence that old-style, Apollo- cost pennies to dimes on the dol- Space Exploration Initiative, the missions, to vast multibillion-dol- sions, and to initiate two or more like development practices to- lar compared with the old-style, Orbital Space Plane and now Ori- lar efforts such as Cassini, Hubble systems to transport crew to the day produce more commotion “so big they always fail” human on/Ares, in every case became and the James Webb Space Tele- international space station. than forward motion, and have spaceflight efforts. As just one ex- politically or fiscally unsustain- scope that require thousands of Such multipronged efforts only stymied the pace and ample, Burt Rutan’s Scaled Com- able, yielding only hallucinations individuals to develop. promote competition, drive inno- achievement of human space posites invented and fielded a for space exploration. This is The diversity of NASA’s sci- vation and design diversity, and exploration. something we must change if the ence mission portfolio is one of give the government valuable What we need now is more SEE STERN PAGE 21 The Tipping Point < RIKI ELLISON > .S. President Barack Obama recent- A version of shared deterrence is in play Cold War ideology of limited amounts of reducing it to a technology experiment? ly announced a strategic arms con- today in the case of nuclear-capable North missile defense so as not to upset the “bal- In the military world of offensive and Utrol agreement with Russia in which Korea. It has been inherent in the preven- ance of nuclear terror” between the Unit- defensive systems, defense always costs he refused to give in to demands of limita- tion of Japan and South Korea from taking ed States, Russia and possibly China, while more than offense. When a technological tions on U.S. missile defense, thereby pre-emptive military action or becoming continuing to live in a proliferating world? change allows the defense to become reaching the tipping point of a successful nuclear in order to respond to threats from U.S. taxpayers are spending around cheaper and more numerous than the of- mutual conclusion with Russia on reducing North Korea. The ability of the United $10 billion a year on missile defense, fense, the offensive system becomes inef- strategic weapons and platforms. The defi- States to provide defenses through shared which is equal to less than 2 percent of the fective. It would seem that the current ance to include limitations on U.S. missile deterrence to its partners and friends in total defense budget. They also have paid amount of tax dollars invested in our na- defense is similar to President Ronald Rea- the Middle East, including the western Per- close to $6 billion over the past decade on tion’s directed energy development pro- gan’s stance on missile defense with the sian Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Is- developing the Airborne Laser, a directed grams does not reflect the future cost ben- former Soviet Union in 1985. This gives the rael, is critical for the deterrence of Iran, energy defensive weapon that recently in- efits, let alone revolutionary United States a significant tool to defend the security of the United States and re- tercepted and destroyed two ballistic mis- game-changing technology, that it could national security and protect our troops gional stability in a future where a nuclear siles. The cost of firing the current Air- provide. At only 1 percent of the missile and allies in the Middle East and Asia from Iran is a foreseeable reality. borne Laser, a single-beam system that has defense budget, directed energy is not ad- current and future missile threats by North Placing no limits on U.S. growth of mis- the capability to fire multiple shots, is ap- equately funded, and as such its develop- Korea and Iran. These efforts also can be ment and deployment will be slowed con- applied to stabilize future international siderably. crises driven by proliferation. With a cost-efficient land-, sea-, air- or space-based chemical With a cost-efficient land-, sea-, air- or A new concept called “shared deter- space-based chemical or solid-state laser rence” was put forth by Marine Corps Gen. technology developed and deployed, James Cartwright, vice chairman of the or solid-state laser technology developed and deployed, could we not make ballistic missiles obso- Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the 8th annual U.S. lete? Could we not share that technology Missile Defense Conference in Washing- could we not make ballistic missiles obsolete? to ensure that no one lives under the ter- ton as a replacement for the current ex- ror of nuclear ballistic missiles that we con- tended deterrence policy of the U.S. nu- tinue to live with today and into tomor- clear umbrella. This new concept has a sile defense in follow-on Strategic Arms proximately $70,000. That is 28 times less row? When President Reagan first proposed mixture of defense, with one of Reduction Treaty (START) talks provides a than the cost of firing the least-expensive, introduced the idea of missile defense, he those defensive elements being missile de- significant opportunity that opens the currently deployed short-range missile de- stated, “We seek neither military superior- fense assets from both the United States core debate about the revolutionary tech- fense interceptor, the PAC-3, and 700 ity nor political advantage. Our only pur- and allied nations. Non-nuclear offense is nology being developed to destroy ballistic times less than the currently deployed pose — one all people share — is to search included in this mixture and combined missiles in flight. Does the United States long-range ground-based interceptor. for ways to reduce the danger of nuclear with its defensive counterpart makes the continue to press forward technologically Only 1 percent of the annual funding war.” Those comments are as true today as case for deterrence much stronger and to eventually eliminate the threat of ballis- for missile defense now goes to the Direct- they were in 1983. A tipping point for our more credible to proliferating nations tic missiles, as was put forward by President ed Energy Research program, which the nation and the world is within President such as North Korea and Iran. Shared de- Reagan 27 years ago, to provide a parallel Airborne Laser and other laser systems fall Obama’s grasp. terrence is especially important when deal- path or hedge for President Obama and under. Why would our nation not vigor- ing with Iran, a nation that may not be dis- the global arms control community to ously pursue, develop and eventually de- Riki Ellison is chairman and founder of the suaded or deterred by U.S. nuclear force achieve and sustain global zero? Or does ploy this revolutionary cost-efficient tech- Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance or conventional military strength. the United States hold to a self-imposed nology, instead of cutting the program and (www.MissileDefenseAdvocacy.org).

20 SPACE NEWS MARKETPLACEApril 19, 2010

RF Channel Simulation When communications really count 27th September – 1st October, Prague, Czech Republic The major space conference and exhibition of 2010 – hosted by Czech Space Office and organised by the International Astronautical Federation in cooperation with the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law. Registrations and bookings open from April 2010 ______

The RT Logic T400CS Channel Simulator adds dynamic, ______phase-continuous, physics-compliant signal and carrier Doppler shift, delay, path loss, noise and interference to the signals you test with.

round system assurance Hosted by Partner organisations

an Integral Systems Company (719) 598-2801 Space for human benefit and exploration [email protected] ______www.rtlogic.com

______

SpaceOps 2010 Conference

25–30 April 2010 Von Braun Center DELIVERING Huntsville, Alabama on the An Innovative Forum for Space Operations Professionals Dream

Hosted by: Organized by: NASA Marshall www.SpaceOps2010.org Space Flight Center

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 21 On The www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010 Fax: 01-703-750-8913 VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Horizon William A. Klanke ADVERTISEMENTS 01-703-750-8651 ON THE MOVE E-mail:[email protected] APRIL JUNE REPRESENTATIVES of Thales Alenia Space. NORTH AMERICA June 8 - 13, 2010 Since 1987, Pratx has held ILA Berlin Air Show various positions within Thales ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, Berlin, Germany Alenia Space, including vice STRATEGIC PRODUCTS AND June 14, 2010 president of on-board electron- MANAGER, ADVERTISING SALES CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum ics from 2004 to 2010. He pre- Candance “Candy” Maness We’re bringing our users’ conference to Singapore, Asia viously worked at Thales Alenia Cell: 01-318-550-1727 you! Each one-day event includes hands-on Space ETCA from 2003 to 2004 Fax: 01-325-202-3100 software demos, virtual expert sessions, JULY as industrial director. E-mail: [email protected]______developer kiosks and user discussions. EDDIE KATO is appointed senior Dates and Locations: DISTRICT MANAGER July 19 - 25, 2010 vice president of sales and mar- April 20, Boston Farnborough International keting for Thales Alenia Tiina Neifert April 26, Dayton Air Show Space’s telecommunications ac- Phone: 01-517-788-6913 April 29, St. Louis Farborough, England tivities based in Cannes, Fax: 01-517-905-5922 REGISTER AT France. Kato succeeds OLIVIER Cell: 01-571-723-3259 uc.agi.com BADARD. E-mail:[email protected] “All of the excitement, none of the travel.” SYMPOSIUM Prior to his appointment Kato was vice president and gen- RECRUITMENT & CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING eral manager for the Asia Pacif- April 25 - 30, 2010 Small Satellites Systems å Northrop Grumman ic Region, where he headed the Juanita Clark SpaceOps 2010 Conference Corp., Woodland Hills, Calif., marketing and sales activities. Phone: 01-703-658-8365 Huntsville, Alabama and Services appoints PAUL K. RUSSELL (above) Fax: 01-703-750-7426 The 4S Symposium 2010 vice president of the newly cre- å Norsat International Inc., E-mail:[email protected] ated space business area within Vancouver, British Columbia, MAY 31May-4June2010 the company’s navigation sys- appoints TREVOR GREENE chief fi- OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA tems division. nancial officer. Greene suc- CHINA, GERMANY, INDONESIA, ISRAEL, Pestana Conference Centre In his new roll, Russell is re- ceeds EUGENE SYHO, who will re- KOREA, MALAYSIA, Funchal, Madeira sponsible for overall leadership main on board during a RUSSIA, TAIWAN, SINGAPORE of the division’s inertial meas- transition period and then will AUSTRIA, DENMARK, FINLAND, INDIA, Portugal urement unit programs and be leaving to pursue other op- NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM, products for space applications. portunities. LUXEMBURG, NORWAY, http://conferences.esa.int/ Russell joined Northrop Greene, a chartered ac- SOUTH AFRICA, SWEDEN, We’re bringing our users’ conference to Grumman in 2005 as director countant, has worked for Ernst SWITZERLAND, UNITED KINGDOM you! Each one-day event includes hands-on of the company’s Azusa, Calif., & Young Chartered Accoun- software demos, virtual expert sessions, site, where he was responsible tants since 2005, and has ob- Sue Parker developer kiosks and user discussions. for oversight of all functional tained substantial experience Tony Kingham Dates and Locations: Toulouse Space Show KNM Media LLP activities and facilities. in financial reporting of both May 3, Denver TSS2010 Unit 1, Brooksmarle Farm, Canadian and U.S. publicly list- May 10, Salt Lake City International Week å JEAN-MAX PRATX Ham Lane, Burwash, May 18, Santa Clara, CA is appointed ed companies. on chief executive officer of East Sussex, TN19 7ER, UK Space Applications: Thales Alenia Space ETCA, a Comments: Tom Wiseman, Tel: +44 1435 884027 REGISTER AT uc.agi.com ______Charleroi, Belgium, subsidiary [email protected]______E-mail:tony.kingham@ “All of the excitement, none of the travel.” worldsecurity-index.com - SPACE APPLI FRANCE, ITALY, SPAIN - TECHNO DIS May 11, 2010 - SPACE ECO Defense and Communication FROM PAGE 19 for decades, expensive, mono- Space Law & Policy 2010 - Workshop NEREUS STERN Fabio Lancellotti lithic development efforts have The Carnegie Building - S@TCOM 2010 Emmanuel Archambeaud fledgling human spaceflight ca- been singularly unproductive in Washington, D.C. - Space for the Mediterranean Conference Melanie Villard pability for many times less than delivering actual exploration. This high level IAA-IISL symposium will (under the patronage of the President 48 Boulevard Jean-Jaures, examine the breadth and reach of space NASA expended on space shut- Of course, because human regulations on U.S. activities — civil, of the French Republic) with an 92110 Clichy, France tle brakes alone. Achieving such spaceflight is harder and more commercial and government. The event will international exhibition combined with Phone: +(331) 47307180 highlight the relevance of space law issues lower costs is fundamental, for it expensive than robotic space- business meetings. Fax: +(331) 47300189 to U.S. policymakers. To register e-mail is only the combination of a mul- flight, there will likely never be [email protected]. E-mail: [email protected] 8-11 June 2010, Toulouse, France tiplicity of efforts and break- nearly as many projects in JAPAN through price points that makes NASA’s human spaceflight pro- http://www.toulousespaceshow.eu a diversified human spaceflight gram as in NASA’s Science Mis- Kazuhiko Tanaka portfolio viable. sion Directorate. But perhaps Phone: 81 03 (3584) 6420 So let’s give industry incen- we can imagine the day when at Fax: 81 03 (3505) 5628 ADVERTISERS LIST E-mail: [email protected]______May 18, 2010 tive to produce safe systems for least a few separate human Aerospace 2010: Challenges and human exploration inexpensive spaceflight exploration mis- Shinono International, Inc. Opportunities at the Dawn of a Advertiser Page enough for NASA to afford mul- sions are simultaneously being Akasaka Kyowa Building 2F New Decade WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION tiple parallel efforts. And let’s fielded, rather than one. 1-6-14, Akasaka, Minato-ku Hyatt Regency-Capitol Hill AGI 1 ask how, more than 40 years af- It is time to reinvent human Tokyo 107-0052 Japan 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. www.uc.agi.com ter Apollo —as far in Apollo’s space exploration, to make it si- Washington, D.C. SUBSCRIBER SERVICE Women in Aerospace presents its first-ever, Arianespace 4 future as Charles Lindbergh was multaneously affordable, sus- day-long conference on topics of importance www.arianespace.com in its past — American ingenu- tainable, exciting and robust. It Phone: Toll free in U.S. to women and to the aerospace industry world wide. The conference includes morn- ATK 2 ity can produce a lunar return may be hard, but it is time to find 1-866-429-2199 ing sessions of particular relevance to by Americans for a $3 billion to a new way forward that can serve Fax: 1-845-267-3478 women in the industry, a day-long career www.atk.com $5 billion development, a high- the future rather than the past. Outside North America fair and a reception celebrating 25 years of Women in Aerospace. Keynote speaker: Eumetsat 13 orbit satellite servicing capabili- So let’s diversify our human 01-845-267-3023 Jane Poynter, Biosphere 2 Crew Member and www.eumetsat.int ty for a still lower development spaceflight portfolio in the President, Paragon Space Development Fax: 01-845-267-3478 Integral Systems 23 cost, and a first mission to a United States, let’s reinvent how Corporation; luncheon speaker Dr.Regina E-mail:______spacenews@ Dugan, Director, Defense Advanced Research www.integ.com near-Earth asteroid that costs we do things, let’s turn some cambeywest.com Projects Agency. For a complete no more than 10 times what a heads, and let’s make history list of speakers and panelists please see: Lockheed Martin 24 — — http://www.womeninaerospace.org/events/ www.lockheedmartin.com decade-long robotic mission to and lead again and again SEND ADVERTISING _____current.html Pluto does — say, for $7 billion and again. MATERIAL TO: Secure World Foundation 11 to $8 billion. www.iaaweb.org Yes, the developments that S. Alan Stern is an aerospace consultant and Mary Poston, Production Manager JUNE Space News 15 result may be limited in their ca- NASA’s former associate administrator in Phone: 01-703-750-8991 www.spacenews.com pability compared with what $40 charge of science. He is chairman of the Space News June8-9,2010 billion and $100 billion develop- Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital 6883 Commercial Drive AFCEA USSTRATCOM Cyberspace Visit our advertisers today ment efforts might promise, but Applications Researchers Group. Springfield, Va. 22159 USA Symposium at their online site listed above. [email protected] Omaha, Nebraska

22 SPACE NEWS www.spacenews.com April 19, 2010

PROFILE Gary Payton DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE FOR SPACE PROGRAMS Managing Change he U.S. Air Force has a busy year ahead of it in gress Feb. 1, and with it came several directives that will af- space, as it aims to launch the first satellites of sev- fect the Air Force in the years ahead. The administration Teral critical constellations, formulate plans to buy proposed canceling NASA’s Moon-bound Constellation new weather and space surveillance satellites, and under- program, a decision that will affect the cost and availabili- stand the ramifications of a handful of policy reviews and ty of the solid-rocket motors used for space launch and changes in NASA’s human spaceflight program. strategic missiles. The White House also terminated a Space acquisition troubles have dogged the Air Force troubled military-civilian weather satellite program, and for much of the past decade as it has plodded through ef- the Air Force is now planning a replacement program. forts to replace its Cold War-era constellations. The serv- The White House is also expected to soon complete a ice has made some headway in recent years with the suc- Space Policy Review addressing topics including space pro- cessful launches of its first three Wideband Global Satcom tection, cooperation, acquisition reform and export controls. communications satellites. The Pentagon will follow that with its own Space Posture Re- This year the service hopes to continue that progress by view, an interim version of which was delivered to Congress launching the first of its new generation of highly pro- in March. And the forthcoming Nuclear Posture Review tected communications satellites, the first of a new block could inform decisions about the nation’s strategic arsenal of GPS satellites, and the first Space Based Space Surveil- that may affect how rocket motors are bought and used. lance (SBSS) satellite. Early next year is now the target for Gary Payton is responsible for overseeing the military’s launching the long-awaited first Space Based Infrared Sys- space acquisition plans and research and development. tem (SBIRS) missile warning satellite. Payton, a former astronaut, spoke recently with Space News

SPACE NEWS PHOTO BY SHEILA VEMMER The White House sent its 2011 budget request to Con- staff writers Turner Brinton and Amy Klamper.

What does the cancellation of Constellation mean for the Air gram for years. We may have to change that. costs for keeping something even as inexpensive as an un- Force? manned aerial vehicle continuously on orbit are high. What is in the interim version of the Space Posture Review, and For each orbit I have, I have to have one aircraft in the If there are increases to the Evolved Expendable Launch what was left out? sky, another flying to the orbit, then another on the Vehicle (EELV) annual launch rate, that’s a good sign. Well it’s not a finished product. It went around for intera- ground getting ready to go. So to maintain one orbit, I re- Right now we have a plan for United Launch Alliance to gency coordination before it went to Congress, and it had to ally have to have two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half air- do eight launches a year, notionally five for the Air Force, be signed by the director of national intelligence and the sec- craft. If you need 24/7 coverage for months or years, cost- two for the National Reconnaissance Office and one for retary of defense. What it really does is set the environment. wise, that is best served by a satellite. But if it’s a surge and NASA. So if we can increase that one for NASA up to two It’s a congested and contested environment, and some peo- I just need it for a few hours, airplanes are probably a or three per year, that would be great for everybody, be- ple add that it’s a competitive environment. We’ve migrated great idea. cause we would be buying more rocket engines per year from the Cold War era where there were two dominant space and flying more rockets per year, and that helps with the players, and we had a tacit agreement that if you don’t play You plan to hold an open competition to build the next SBSS proficiency of the launch crews. with our satellites, we won’t play with yours. There are more satellite. Why would you not sole-source this contract to Boe- If some commercial company or companies want to use players nowadays. The interim report says there are 60 na- the EELV for human access to the space station, we’d have to tions that have assets in orbit. So the tacit agreement that we ing and Ball Aerospace, who built the first system? look very closely at changes to the rockets’ design in order to shared with the Soviet Union doesn’t apply anymore. The next satellite will not be a carbon copy. If you look accommodate people. And any of those changes we’d have There’s plenty of evidence that shows there are lots of back, the first satellite was designed as a pathfinder, to manage very closely so that they don’t ripple in to the Air folks who can do signal jamming, lasers and kinetic anti- meant to get something on orbit before the Midcourse Force design, which has been very successful with 31 suc- satellite attacks. And satellite technology is shrinking, so Space Experiment stopped functioning. But the program cesses out of 31 attempts. My view is, if it works, don’t fix it. they’re getting harder to keep track of. The interim review was delayed. It is now sitting in a clean room awaiting One way to safely use these rockets is to build “white tail” sort of lays out that environmental picture, and the final re- launch. EELVs that are the same for everybody. After you assemble sults will come after the White House completes its Space We are developing new requirements for the follow- them, then you add different things to allow crew inside the Policy Review. It will not be done in time to inform the 2012 on satellite. We want to see if perhaps it could have some launch vehicle. We’d be building more rockets per year, budget request. sort of relationship with the Missile Defense Agency’s and the critical parts are the same for all users. What I don’t planned missile tracking constellation. In essence, there want to see is two separate assembly lines, one that is unique Will you include funding to purchase commercial communica- are several different designs we have to look at for the to NASA and another unique for the Air Force and intelli- tions capacity in the 2012 budget and beyond? long-term suite of mission requirements. It’s really not gence community. That doesn’t help anybody because about the performance of any particular contractor on their RS-68 engine is different from our RS-68 engine, and If you look at the demand curves for communications, no the first satellite. their RL-10 engine is different from our RL-10 engine. matter where we are the demand curve is going up. We cannot satisfy that demand just with government satellites. So we The first SBSS satellite was ready last fall, but difficulties with Are you concerned about the Constellation decision’s impact will be in the business of using commercial capacity for the its Minotaur 4 launcher have kept it on the ground. Have those on the solid-rocket motor industrial base? foreseeable future. Are there better ways to buy and lease it? Sure. The Defense Information Systems Agency and the Of- issues been fully resolved? We’ve come to find out that it has a trivial impact on space fice of the Secretary of Defense for Networks and Informa- I think so. In April we’re going to launch the Hypersonic launch because we don’t use the big three-and-a-half meter tion Integration are doing a study to quantify everything that Test Vehicle-2, which is a cooperative program between the segmented solids on our EELVs; we use solids that are about has to go over communications links of all types, whether Air Force and Defense Advanced Research Projects one-and-a-half meters in diameter. There is a small ripple ef- they are terrestrial, airborne or satellite. To satisfy those de- Agency. Then we should be able to launch the SBSS satel- fect into space launch, but the dominant industrial base mands, we could work on better compression algorithms to lite in June. concern according to the Office of the Secretary of Defense have to transmit less data. Or you can pipe data from the air- for Industrial Policy is on the ballistic missile side for the craft to a gateway on the ground and use fiber to get it where What will it take to assure you that a new rocket like SpaceX’s Navy and Air Force. We build 30 to 40 stages for the Trident it needs to go. Or you pipe it over the horizon through a gov- Falcon 9 is ready to launch operational military payloads? D5 submarine-launched missile every year, and there are ernment or commercial satellite. That’s all a part of our mil- about a dozen motors built each year to sustain the Minute- satcom way ahead. I would predict the amount of commer- We have a set of criteria called the New Entrant Evaluation man 3 industrial base. We already know these sustainment cial capacity we buy will continue to increase. Plan. One of those requirements is a design review to show costs will go up, but we don’t yet know by how much. margins and the design of the launch vehicle. Both Orbital When we understand the ramifications, we’ll have to ad- You mentioned airborne communications nodes as a possible Sciences and SpaceX will satisfy the new entrant criteria as just to it. It may mean buying fewer stages per year. It might solution for the bandwidth crunch. Why do you think this has they progress through NASA’s Commercial Orbital Trans- mean using these stages for other applications. Right now never really been implemented? portation Services program. I don’t have any problem see- we pull solid-rocket segments out of storage for use in Mino- We’ve done some demonstrations of it, and it works as ing a future where, for the right size satellites, SpaceX taur launch vehicles, and that’s been a very successful pro- you would expect. But the operations and maintenance should be a competitor.

ExtendingCapabilitytotheForefrontoftheBattlespace. Lightweight, SATCOM terminals enabling rapid activation of robust, secure communications on-the-move, no matter your position. Bottom line: the difference between mission success and mission failure. Learn more about Integral Systems’ acquisition of CVG-AVTEC at www.integ.com.

THE INTEGRAL FAMILY OF SOLUTION PROVIDERS.

BETWEEN ONE SPACECRAFT AND 900,000 EXPOSURES, THEREISONEIMPORTANTWORD:HOW.

Nowcelebrating20yearsofachievement,NASA’sHubbleSpaceTelescopecontinuestounveilthemysteriesoftimeandspace. Lockheed Martin is proud to be part of this milestone. We designed, built and integrated Hubble, and worked with NASA on all ﬁve servicing missions. Harnessing technology in service to science. It’s all a question of how. And it’s the how that makes all the difference.

______lockheedmartin.com/how