SpaceX and NASA are targeting November 30, 2011 for the next test of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and the Dragon capsule.

SpaceX issued a press release today restating what a NASA official said earlier that the two have agreed in principle to merging the next two tests into one, but a final decision is pending. SpaceX originally planned three test flights as part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The first, in December 2010, was so successful that the company asked permission to combine the other two. NASA has been evaluating the risks associated with combining the two tests for many months. SpaceX explained today that the remaining issues are related to additional payloads the company wants to deploy from the Falcon 9 after Dragon is released for its trip to the International Space Station (ISS). “NASA will grant formal approval for the combined COTS missions pending resolution of any potential risks associated with these secondary payloads,” the company said. The combined test includes berthing the Dragon capsule at the ISS.

NASA is anxious for SpaceX and its COTS competitor Orbital Sciences Corp. to demonstrate their systems for taking cargo to the ISS. With the space shuttle sent into retirement, and NASA’s agreement with Russia to launch cargo on Russia’s Progress spacecraft coming to an end, the only way for NASA to get cargo to the ISS will be aboard Europe’s ATV and Japan’s HTV spacecraft if the COTS systems do not materialize. NASA stocked the ISS with a year’s worth of supplies with the final shuttle flights to guard against any delays in the COTS program. COTS is a development program; the services the companies would provide to NASA are called Commercial Resupply Services (CRS). NASA hopes that CRS flights will begin early in 2012. These are only for cargo, not crew, although SpaceX plans to use the Dragon capsule to take astronauts to and from the ISS and other low Earth orbit destinations in the future.

Orbital planned only one test flight, in 2011, but it has not yet occurred and now two tests are expected. Its efforts are being slowed by construction for the launch site at Wallops Island, VA and suffered another setback in June when a Taurus II engine caught fire while being tested at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. Aviation Week reported on Friday that the fire was caused by a kerosene leak from the fuel manifold on the outside of the engine. Taurus II will use Aerojet’s AJ-26 engines, which are refurbished Russian NK-33 engines originally designed for the Soviet Union’s unsuccessful 1960s-era N-1 Moon rocket. The kerosene leak was from a 40-year-old part of the engine. Orbital plans two test launches of the Taurus II as part of the COTS program. Its current schedule calls for the first test launch in very late 2011, the second test in the middle of the first quarter of 2012, and two CRS missions later in 2012.

The companies and NASA reassured Congress at a May 26 hearing that the systems would be ready soon.

NASA announced today the seven winners of contracts to fly NASA payloads on suborbital missions.

The two-year indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts are worth a combined total of $10 million according to the press release. The payloads would be for technology development. NASA’s Chief Technologist, Bobby Braun, said they would open up opportunities for engineers, scientists and technologists to mature technologies for application to future NASA missions. The seven winners are:

• Armadillo Aerospace
• Near Space Corp
• Masten Space Systems
• Up Aerospace, Inc
• Virgin Galactic
• Whittinghill Aerospace, LLC
• XCOR

Boeing picked the Atlas V as the launch vehicle for its CST-100 commercial crew spacecraft today.

The CST-100 spacecraft is described by Boeing as being larger than the Apollo spacecraft, but smaller than the Orion spacecraft that Lockheed Martin is building for NASA. The plan is for CST-100 to take people to and from low Earth orbit (LEO) landing on the land rather than splashing down in the ocean.

Boeing has been working with Bigelow Aerospace on the commercial crew project for several years. Bigelow Aerospace is developing inflatable space stations for use in LEO that will require a crew transportation system. The companies also are hoping to market the system to NASA as part of the agency’s commercial crew program. Boeing received awards in both of NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) competitions.

Boeing’s press release today said that the CST-100 development schedule calls for an autonomous orbital flight, a transonic autonomous abort test, and a crewed launch, all in 2015.

Atlas V is produced by the United Launch Alliance (ULA), a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture that produces both the Atlas V and the Delta IV launch vehicles. NASA and ULA signed an unfunded Space Act Agreement last month that allows the two to share information on the Atlas V with the goal of ensuring that its meets all requirements for launching people int space (“human-rating”). ULA also received a CCDev award in the first round.

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee has postponed the hearing on LightSquared that was scheduled for tomorrow.

Companies involved in building commercial crew systems with financial support from NASA so far have taken advantage of a type of “other transaction authority” contracting tool called a Space Act Agreement (SAA). Now that the system designs are maturing and NASA needs to levy requirements on what those systems must do, the agency wants to change how they contract with these companies. The companies are not happy about it.

Jeff Foust has an excellent recap of the problems facing NASA and the companies in today’s Space Review. The companies essentially worry that being brought under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs) that government agencies like NASA typically use will sharply increase their costs. NASA feels that it is the only way it can ensure that safety requirements, for example, are met.

UPDATE: This hearing was rescheduled to September 8, 2011 from its original date of August 3. The witness list is the same.

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee today released the witness list for its hearing on LightSquared next week.

The committee’s press release says that the following people will testify:

Mr. Anthony Russo, Director, The National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing

Ms. Mary Glackin, Deputy Under Secretary, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Mr. Badri Younes, Deputy Associate Administrator, Space Communications and Navigation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Mr. Peter Appel, Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Department of Transportation

Dr. David Applegate, Associate Director, Natural Hazards, U.S. Geological Survey

Dr. Scott Pace, Director, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University

The topic is Impacts of the LightSquared Network on Federal Science Activities. LightSquared is trying to get permission from the Federal Communications Commission to build a terrestrial system to augment its existing satellite system for mobile broadband communications. Opponents of the terrestrial system assert that it will interefere with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. Several technical studies demonstrate that interference will indeed occur in at least part of the spectrum band LightSquared plans to use. The company blames GPS receiver manufacturers rather than its plan, but recently suggested that it initiate operations in only part of the band while a resolution is sought for the rest.

The hearing is on Wednesday, August 3, at 10:00 am in 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.

While funding for the U.S. space program remains an open question with budget talks at a standstill, Google is luring private firms and non-profits to the Moon with $30 million in prizes.

For companies investing upwards of $100 million in their entries, the prize money may not be much of a draw. Yet the prospect of taking the lead in what some expect to be the start of a new wave of lunar exploration – termed Moon 2.0 – may prove to be compelling nonetheless.

A primary driver for many of those involved in the Google Lunar X Prize is not prestige or science, but profit, with companies staking their claims based on a variety of business cases. Moon Express, which was awarded one of three $500,000 NASA contracts as part of the agency’s Innovative Lunar Demonstrations Data project late last year, “is positioning itself as a future FedEx for Moon deliveries,” according to the New York Times. Moon Express, which also plans to sell broadcasting rights and sponsorships to finance its lunar trips, has certainly been making waves. At the recent 2011 Lunar Science Forum, it announced that former NASA Associate Administrator for Science, Dr. Alan Stern, would join as its Chief Scientist and mission architect.

Not every one of the 28 teams in the running is hunting for profit, though. The Juxtopia Urban Robotics Brilliant Application National (JURBAN) team, for example, is made up of professional and student engineers and was formed by Juxtopia, a U.S. non-profit research organization. According to their Google X-Prize profile, the JURBAN team wants to show under-served and disadvantaged populations “that innovatively applying [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] STEM skills can be achieved not only to create something ‘cool’ and exciting, but to complete a product with world humanity impact and pride.”

Another team, the German-Chinese Selene, seeks to promote cooperation between the two countries and to “dispel the myth that China’s design and engineering prowess is merely the product of reverse engineering,” according to their website. They add that their success may contribute to the broader space science community and “provide support to the ongoing humanitarian efforts to achieve better living conditions here on Earth.”

Whether one of these or any of the active teams will make it to the finish line is anyone’s guess. Five teams have pulled out of the race in the last couple of years, often pointing out challenges of a non-technical nature, such as bureaucratic and organizational obstacles. A lot may change as the December 2015 deadline nears, but policy shifts in Washington are drawing attention to private ventures as a plausible alternative to government missions. Soon enough robotic spacecraft sporting company logos as they touch down on the lunar surface may be common….with billions of people around the world watching.

AIAA is sponsoring a meeting at lunchtime today from noon-1:30 in 2325 Rayburn House Office Building.

The “AIAA Defining Commercial Space Forum” includes speakers from Orbital Sciences Corp., NASA, FAA, Sierra Nevada, Boeing, and the United Launch Alliance.

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will join the ranks of those looking into LightSquared’s plans to implement a mobile broadband communications system that could interfere with Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation satellite receivers. It has scheduled a hearing for August 3.

LightSquared plans to offer “4G” mobile broadband services using a hybrid satellite-terrestrial system. Through predecessor companies, it has offered mobile satellite services since 1996 using the Canadian-licensed MSAT-1 and U.S. licensed MSAT-2 satellites. SkyTerra-1, launched last fall, is a replacement for MSAT-2 and the company wants to use it to expand its mobile broadband communications services in conjunction with a terrestrial network of 40,000 cellular base stations – formally called an “Ancillary Terrestrial Component” or ATC.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates use of radio frequencies by the private sector and its rules for this type of service require the satellites and ATC to work together to provide an “integrated service.” The purpose of permitting ATCs was only to fill gaps in satellite service in places where the satellite signals cannot penetrate or where there are too many users. LiqhtSquared wants the FCC to waive the integrated service requirement so it can offer services using its terrestrial component alone instead of necessarily in conjunction with its satellite signals.

The FCC granted LightSquared the waiver in January, but on the condition that LightSquared resolve questions about whether its terrestrial system would interfere with GPS receivers. The FCC directed the company to form an industry “technical working group” (TWG) with representatives of the GPS community to conduct tests and submit a report and LightSquared’s recommendation by June 15.

The prospect of the ATC terrestrial network has caused great consternation among GPS users, particularly in the aviation sector. Studies by groups including the RTCA, which functions as an advisory group to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the interagency National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Executive Committee, showed that GPS interference was a significant problem.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on June 23. When scheduled, it would have occurred after the industry TWG report was released, but at the last minute LightSquared requested a two-week delay in submitting the report, which the FCC granted. Thus the hearing was held before that report was out. With the exception of LightSquared itself, the witnesses at the hearing warned of near-calamitous consequences if LightSquared was allowed to proceed.

The day after the hearing, the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the FY2012 Financial Services Appropriations bill offered by Rep. Steve Austria (R-OH) and Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS) that would prohibit the FCC from spending funds to remove the conditions it placed on the license or to otherwise permit LightSquared to proceed until the FCC has resolved the GPS interference issues. The bill (H.R. 2434) has not yet passed the House.

The industry TWG released its report the following week. Like the other studies, it showed that interference is a problem. LightSquared, however, blamed the GPS industry, not its system. The company argues that the GPS receiver manufacturers did not properly design and build the receivers to protect them from picking up neighboring frequencies.

At issue are the L-band frequencies assigned to LightSquared by the FCC for downlinks from its satellite to ground stations, 1525-1559 MHz, which are also authorized for ATC. The company plans to use two 10 MHz-wide portions of that spectrum (1526-1536 MHz and 1545.2-1555.2 MHz) for the ATC. One of GPS’s frequency bands, L1, is at 1560-1610 MHz.

LightSquared’s report to the FCC based on the findings of the industry TWG agreed that transmissions in the top 10 MHz of its band definitely will interfere with GPS receivers, but the company insists that transmissions in the bottom 10 MHz will not interfere with 99 percent of GPS receivers, only with 1 percent used for specialized purposes. LightSquared’s recommendation is that it be allowed to proceed in the bottom 10 MHz of its band while coordinating and sharing the cost of underwriting “a workable solution” for the 1 percent of devices that would be affected. The company would delay using the top 10 MHz of its band while exploring options with the FCC and other government agencies. The RTCA report recommended that the company only be allowed to use the bottom 5 MHz of the band.

The FCC is requesting public comments on the industry TWG report and LightSquared’s recommendation. They are due July 30.

The House SS&T Committee has not released a list of witnesses for its hearing. The hearing’s title indicates only that it is looking at LightSquared’s impact on federal science activities.

Wheel stop for STS-135 (Atlantis) on Thursday will mark the end of the space shuttle program and NASA and its Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are accelerating their transition to the new era of commercial space.

The day before the launch of STS-135, KSC signed a Space Act agreement with Sierra Nevada, which is developing the Dream Chaser spaceplane. The agreement will allow KSC to work with Sierra Nevada to define and execute launch preparations and post-landing activities for Dream Chaser.

Today, three days prior to STS-135’s landing, an unfunded Space Act agreement was signed between NASA and the United Launch Alliance (ULA). ULA is a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture that builds and launches the Delta IV and Atlas V families of launch vehicles. The agreement will pave the way for consideration of using the Atlas V as a launch vehicle for future crew spacecraft. Right now, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. are developing new launch vehicles (Falcon 9 and Taurus II) to launch cargo and crews to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the commercial crew program. Some argue that the Atlas V and Delta IV, which already exist and are used to launch spacecraft for critical national security space missions, could be upgraded for human spaceflight, too.