Thirteen people who have flown in space argue in favor of commercial human spaceflight in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. The group includes 10 former NASA astronauts (Buzz Aldrin, Ken Bowersox, Robert Gibson, Hank Hartsfield, John Herrington, John “Mike” Lounge, Rick Searfoss, Norman Thagard, Kathryn Thornton, and Jim Voss), and three former payload specialists (Byron Lichtenberg, Charles Walker, and former U.S. Senator Jake Garn).

“While it’s completely appropriate for NASA to continue developing systems and the new technologies necessary to take crews farther out into our solar system, we believe that the commercial sector is fully capable of safely handling the critical task of low-Earth-orbit human transportation.”

“As astronauts, we know that safety is important. We are fully confident that the commercial spaceflight sector can provide a level of safety equal to that offered by the venerable Russian Soyuz system, which has flown safely for the last 38 years, and exceeding that of the Space Shuttle.”

An assessment of the national security risks that would result from removing satellites and related components from the U.S. Munitions List (USML) is required by the conference version of the FY2010 Department of Defense (DOD) authorization bill (H.R. 2647, Sec. 1248).

The conferees direct that the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State, in consultation with other departments and agencies as appropriate, submit a report within 180 days of the bill’s enactment that:

• Reviews the space and space-related technologies now on the USML;
• Assesses the risk of removing them from the USML;
• Examines the degree to which other countries control or limit export of those technologies for national security reasons; and
• Recommends which should be on or off the USML, any safeguards or verifications needed, and improvements to the U.S. space export control policy and processes that do not adversely affect national security.

In accompanying report language (p. 212), the conferees say that “believe the time has come” to analyze the risks and benefits of satellites and related components remaining on the USML. They note that maintaining a robust satellite industrial base is one aspect of U.S. national security and satellite manufacturers in other countries have used the U.S. export control policy to their competitive advantage. They did not make any commitments about revising export control policy, however, saying only that they hope the report “will serve as a basis for future discussion about possible revisions to U.S. export policy.”

Masten Space Systems qualified for Level 1 of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Landing Challenge today by flying its Xombie vertical-takeoff vertical-landing craft for 90 seconds between two pads 50 meters apart at an altitude of 50 meters and then repeating it within two hours according to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. The company reportedly plans to try to qualify for Level 2 of the challenge before the closing of the 2009 competition on October 31.

Armadillo Aerospace already qualified for Level 2 of the challenge as reported earlier. Each level has a first and second place prize. Armadillo won the first place prize for Level 1 for $350,000. Masten now is qualified to win the second place prize of $150,000. Level 2 has a first place prize of $1 million and a second place prize of $500,000. Level 2 requires 180 seconds of flight time instead of 90 seconds. Two other teams also plan to compete before the end of this month, so the winner of the second place Level 1 prize and the Level 2 prizes is not yet determined. The competition is managed for NASA by the X-Prize Foundation where additional details can be found.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has passed “acceptance testing” for the first and second stages. The first test flight of the Falcon 9 is scheduled for “one to three months” after it arrives at Cape Canaveral, FL next month, according to a company press release. Considerable attention is focused on the Falcon 9 as both a commercial cargo transport vehicle to the International Space Station, and possibly for taking crews back and forth to ISS as well. The Augustine committee’s report on options for the future of human space flight gave the concept of “commercial crew” a boost.

Satellite phone company Iridium appears to be the comeback kid following its acquisition by GHL Acquisition, which took the company public this week with an expectation of raising at least $160 million. The company needs funding for a new generation of satellites, Iridium NEXT, estimated to cost about $2.5 billion.

After spending $5 billion on building and launching a constellation of 66 satellites (plus spares), the original Iridium declared bankruptcy in 1999. It was purchased by investors for $25 million in 2000. The new Iridium Communications, Inc. developed a business plan focused on government and industrial markets, not consumers. News reports estimate that the company currently has about 325,000-350,000 users.

As reported by Digital Trends, satellite phone service is quite expensive ($1.50 – $1.75 per minute) compared to terrestrial cell phones, but it is a premium willingly paid by users with few options because of their location or special circumstances. Satellite phones were brought into New Orleans for emergency services after Hurricane Katrina destroyed that city’s telecommunications infrastructure, for example.

Iridium has most recently been in the news because of the collision of one of its satellites with a defunct Russian satellite on February 10, 2009, creating a cloud of debris expected to plague satellite operators for many years to come. Iridium services were barely affected, however, with an in-orbit spare replacing the lost satellite within weeks of the collision.

The Marshall Institute and the Space Enterprise Council of TechAmerica will hold the fourth and final seminar in their series “A Day Without Space” on Thursday, October 1, from 8:30-10:00 am in B-338 Rayburn House Office Building. The agenda is available here. RSVP to info@marshall.org or call 202-296-9655.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has announced the names of its195 new Associate Fellows in the United States and abroad. Washington, D.C. is part of AIAA’s National Capital Section, which welcomes 18 individuals to the prestigious rank of Associate Fellow. Among them are three who are particularly well known in space policy circles: Clay Mowry of Arianespace, Vincent Sabathier of CSIS, and Merrie Scott of AIAA (and President of Women in Aerospace). Congratulations to all!

Women in Aerospace (WIA) will honor its 2009 award winners at a banquet at the National Press Club on October 27, 2009. Details are on WIA’s website. The seven outstanding women who are being recognized for their contributions to the aerospace profession are listed below. Congratulations to all!

• Linda Billings (George Washington University), Lifetime Achievement Award
• Eleanor Aldrich (AIAA), Aerospace Awareness Award
• Lynn Cline (NASA), Outstanding Member Award
• Valerie Neal (National Air and Space Museum), Aerospace Educator Award
• Rebecca Emerle (Ball Aerospace), Achievement Award
• Melinda Ann Burkhart Tate (Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs), International Achievement Award
• Beverly Seay (SAIC), Leadership Award

FINAL UPDATE

Frank DiBello, acting President of Space Florida, has been selected as its new President, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

UPDATED

As first reported on NASAWatch, the Orlando Sentinel now reports that Ms. Dale has declined Space Florida’s offer.

ORIGINAL STORY

The Orlando Sentinel reported yesterday that former NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale was the unanimous choice of the search committee seeking a new president for Space Florida. A new story in that newspaper today, however, says that supporters of Space Florida’s acting president, Frank DiBello, are fighting to have the decision overturned and give the job to DiBello permanently. A Space Florida Board meeting reportedly is scheduled for tomorrow to further discuss the issue.

Armadillo Aerospace succeeded yesterday in completing the necessary flights to qualify for a $1 million prize in NASA’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge according to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

Two other companies plan to compete for the prize before the October 31 deadline, so Armadillo has not yet officially won. Nonetheless, its Scorpius launch vehicle did what was needed to qualify as a winner: ascend to a height of 50 meters, translate to a pad 50 meters away, land safely on a rocky surface after at least 180 seconds of flight time, and then repeat the flight. The prize is part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges program and is managed by the X-Prize Foundation.

Armadillo won Level 1 of the challenge last year (which required 90 instead of 180 seconds of flight time), winning $350,000.