Category: Commercial

What's Happening in Space Policy January 10-15, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy January 10-15, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 10, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 10, 2016 1:12 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy related events for the week of January 10-15, 2016.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

During the Week

President Obama’s final State of the Union Address will take place on Tuesday night at 9:00 pm Eastern.   No idea whether space will be mentioned, though Obama has done so in the past,  Last year astronaut Scott Kelly was in attendance just prior to launching to ISS on his “year in space” mission and got a shout-out from the President along with NASA and NOAA climate scientists.

Also in the political realm, another Republican presidential primary debate is on tap this week, on Thursday in North Charleston, South Carolina.   The national media who run these debates have not asked questions about the space program so far, although the topic has arisen during campaign events for some of the candidates, notably in New Hampshire (most recently for Jeb Bush).   With the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger tragedy coming up in less than three weeks (on January 28), it is possible the national media could use it as an opportunity to query the candidates about their positions on space exploration.  Not to mention the next Democratic debate on January 17 in Charleston, SC.  Or the subsequent Republican debate on January 28 itself in Iowa.

Apart from that, a number of interesting meetings are scheduled this week, including the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS).   Unfortunately the sessions will not be livestreamed.   A panel discussion of particular note to readers of this website will take place on Wednesday concerning “The Weather Value Chain of the Future” that will discuss “innovative data sources” — commercial and crowdsourced data including commercial weather satellites.   Rob Kursinski of PlanetIQ will be there and the company’s Dan Stillman tells SpacePolicyOnline.com that a video of the panel will be posted “in the days after.”   Other panelists are from IBM, Weathernews, Panasonic, Weather Analytics, and Ignatia.  AMS past president and the Weather Channel’s WeatherGeeks host Marshall Shepard is the moderator.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday morning are listed below.  Check back throughout the week for additional events we learn about later and add to our Events of Interest list.

Sunday-Thursday, January 10-14

Monday-Wednesday, January 11-13

Tuesday, January 12

Thursday, January 14

  • Republican Presidential Primary Debate, Fox Business Network, 6:00 pm ET (“undercard”), 9:00 pm EST (main group)

Friday, January 15

  • ESA Director General Annual Briefing, ESA HQ, Paris, France, 09:00 Central European Time (3:00 am Eastern Standard Time), followed at 11:30 CET (5:30 am EST) by briefing on European Data Relay System (webcast)
  • Jason-3 Pre-Launch Briefings, Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, 1:00 pm and 1:45 pm Pacific Standard Time (4:00 pm and 4:45 pm EST) (watch on NASA TV)

Last Updated: Jan 10, 2016 1:12 pm ET
Job Alert: SIA Looking for New Director of Policy

Job Alert: SIA Looking for New Director of Policy

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 8, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 8, 2016 7:04 pm ET

The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) is looking for a new Director of Policy to succeed Sam Black, who is leaving SIA to join the government.

SIA is a trade association that represents the commercial satellite industry.   Its members include the key U.S. satellite manufacturers and service providers, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, SSL, Orbital ATK, SES, DirecTV, EchoStar, Intelsat, Iridium, and many more. 

It is involved in a wide range of policy issues ranging from spectrum allocation to export control policy to international trade.

The position description is posted on the SIA website.  Applications are due by January 20.

Last Updated: Jan 08, 2016 7:04 pm ET
Jeb Bush Reiterates Need for Aspirational Goals As Challenger Anniversary Approaches

Jeb Bush Reiterates Need for Aspirational Goals As Challenger Anniversary Approaches

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 7, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 7, 2016 1:35 pm ET

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said yesterday in New Hampshire that NASA has “lost its purpose” and needs an “aspirational purpose.”   Although he did not reference it, his comments come just before the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger accident that claimed the life of New Hampshire Teacher-in-Space Christa McAuliffe.

As reported by CBS News, Bush made an unannounced campaign stop at a Portsmouth, NH diner and engaged in conversations on a broad range of issues with local patrons.  A 13-year old boy asked about the space program and the boy’s mother said she was “upset that NASA has kind of like — closed.”  Bush replied that it was not closed, “but it’s lost its purpose.  There is no big aspirational purpose.”   CBS said he then began talking about Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, concluding by saying “I’m not obsessive about space but I think it’s part of our identity as a culture.”

The comments are similar to those Bush made at a New Hampshire campaign event in October 2015.  In that case, he was speaking at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, NH and praised lunar colonization ideas expounded in 2012 by then-presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.   Bush called Gingrich’s ideas “cool” and argued “what’s wrong about having big, lofty aspirational goals?”

The Discovery Center is named after two New Hampshire astronauts:  Alan Shepard, the first American in space who later walked on the Moon; and Teacher-in-Space Christa McAuliffe.

McAuliffe perished in the 1986 space shuttle Challenger tragedy along with five NASA astronauts (Dick Scobee, Mike Smith, Judy Resnik, Ron McNair, and Ellison Onizuka) and Hughes Aircraft payload specialist Greg Jarvis.  The 30th anniversary of that tragedy occurs on January 28 — three weeks from today.

Neither the Challenger nor the 2003 Columbia space shuttle tragedies deterred the United States from having bold human spaceflight goals.   Bush’s father, President George H.W. Bush, announced plans to return astronauts to the Moon and someday go to Mars in 1989, three years after Challenger, and Bush’s brother, President George W. Bush, announced similar plans in the aftermath of Columbia.

Achieving such goals within the resources the United States is willing to allocate for them has been the problem.  Bush did not indicate in October or yesterday whether he believes the government space program needs more funding, but in a July interview he said he was a “space guy” who would increase NASA funding.  His enthusiasm for Musk and Bezos indicates, at a minimum, that he appreciates entrepreneurial private sector efforts and in October he stated that NASA should “partner with the dreamers” in the private sector.

 

Last Updated: Jan 07, 2016 1:35 pm ET
Big Changes at Space News, Inc.

Big Changes at Space News, Inc.

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 5, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 6, 2016 12:01 am ET

Editor’s Note:  I received word today that two highly respected colleagues at Space News are leaving that publication.

An email from Space News Publisher Bill Klanke last month announced that the “must read” newspaper/website for anyone who wants to know what’s happening in the space business (apart from SpacePolicyOnline.com, of course!) was changing from a weekly newspaper to bi-weekly magazine format.   The difficulties facing news publications in today’s digital/social media age are well documented and that alone was not much of a surprise.   But farewell messages today from Executive Editor Warren Ferster, a 21-year Space News veteran, and reporter Dan Leone, who covered the NASA beat, were stunning.

I wish Warren and Dan the very best wherever they land and one can only hope no more shoes are about to drop over there.  I have enormous respect for everyone associated with Space News and any downsizing in its coverage would be a loss to all of us in the space community.

Last Updated: Jan 06, 2016 12:01 am ET
What's Happening in Space Policy January 3-8, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy January 3-8, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 3, 2016 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 3, 2016 12:53 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy related events for the week of January 3-8, 2016 and any insight we can offer about them.  The 114th Congress 2nd session convenes this week and the House meets for legislative business (the Senate returns to work next week).

During the Week

Washington gets back to work this week with the President returning from his Christmas vacation in Hawaii and the House and Senate officially convening for the 2nd session of the 114th Congress tomorrow (Monday).  The “official” convening is only in pro forma session, though.  The real work begins for the House on Tuesday and for the Senate on January 11.  No space-related hearings are on the committee schedules posted as of now.

Outside of Washington, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) annual meeting in Kissimmee, FL and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech 2016 conference in San Diego promise to be full of interesting sessions on space science, engineering and policy.   The AAS offers real-time webcasts only of press conferences and those are only for registered journalists, so the Town Hall meetings with NASA and NSF, for example, will not be available remotely from AAS at least.  If we hear of any other organization providing livestreaming, we’ll post it on our Events of Interest list.

AIAA, on the other hand, generously offers livestreaming for many of its key sessions, including one tomorrow (Monday) that features former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin along with a stellar panel of other government, former government, and non-government experts.  The topic is “Aerospace Science and Technology Policy in the 2016 Political Arena” and two of the other panelists — Courtney Stadd and Mark Albrecht — are veterans of the White House National Space Council during the Bush/Quayle years (among their many other government and non-government positions).   It wouldn’t be surprising if someone asks the perennial question of whether whoever becomes the next president should reinstate the Space Council, which still exists in law, but has not been staffed or funded since the end of the Bush/Quayle term.

Remember that all the times posted on the AIAA livestream list are in Pacific Standard Time (PST).  Add three for Eastern Standard Time (EST).  That panel is at 8:00 am PST/11:00 am EST. 

Two other especially interesting sessions tomorrow are the Durand Lecture for Public Service by Ron Sega at 12:30 pm PST/3:30 pm EST and a panel moderated by Michael Moloney of the Space Studies Board and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. (What a mouthful!  It sure was easier when we could say National Research Council.)  That panel is on “Research Enabling and Enabled by a Cis-Lunar One-Year Mission” and begins at 2:00 pm PST/5:00 pm EST.  Several other interesting lectures and sessions also will be webcast throughout the week.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday morning are listed below.  Check back throughout the week for anything we learn about later and add to our Events of Interest list on our main page.

Sunday-Monday, January 3-4

  • ExoPAG, Kissimmee, FL (in conjunction with the AAS meeting)

Monday-Friday, January 4-8

  • American Astronomical Society annual meeting, Kissimmee, FL, includes meetings of NASA’s three astrophysics Program Analysis Groups (PAGs) – ExoPAG, COPAG, PhysPAG
  • AIAA SciTech 2016, San Diego, CA (key sessions will be livestreamed)

Tuesday, January 5

  • First legislative business day for the House of Representatives, 114th Congress, 2nd session

Thursday, January 7

Last Updated: Jan 03, 2016 12:53 pm ET
What's Happening in Space Policy December 28, 2015 – January 8, 2016

What's Happening in Space Policy December 28, 2015 – January 8, 2016

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 27, 2015 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 27, 2015 7:41 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy events for the next TWO weeks as we transition from one year to the next:  December 28, 2015 – January 8, 2016.   The 114th Congress officially begins its second session next week and the House will meet for legislative business, but the Senate is not scheduled to be back until January 11.

During the Weeks

We all have one more week to relax and get to the bottom of the piles of stuff on our desks before 2016 starts off with fervor.  As usual, two big annual meetings are on tap for the first week of January that promise to be full of news about space science and engineering — the American Astronomical Society’s meeting in Kissimmee, FL and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech 2016 conference in San Diego.  Most of these big conferences offer key sessions via webcast either in real time or for later viewing.  Check their websites for details.

The 2nd session of the 114th Congress officially begins on January 4, though the House and Senate meet only in pro forma sessions that day.  The first legislative business day for the House is January 5.  House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has not yet posted the House schedule for January 5-8. The Senate goes back to work on January 11 (and the State of the Union address is on January 12). 

It being a presidential election year, the House and Senate will meet for fewer days than usual in 2016 and the schedule is front-end loaded.  They will be busy through early July, but then have an extended summer break — from July 18 to September 6 — because the party conventions to select their presidential tickets are the last two weeks of July (Republicans in Cleveland the week of July 18; Democrats in Philadelphia the following week).   Both return for most of September — when they will have to do something about FY2017 appropriations before the end of the fiscal year on September 30 — and the House will recess for the entire month of October to allow members to focus on reelection campaigns.  The Senate currently plans to meet the first week of October only.  They both return briefly in mid-November after the elections and for part of December.   What all that means is the lion’s share of congressional action will be in the first six months of the year.  In total, the House is scheduled to be in session for just 111 days in 2016, the fewest since 2006 according to the AP. The Senate plans to be in session for 149 days.

Following are the events for the next two weeks that we know about as of Sunday morning, December 27.  Check back throughout the weeks for anything we learn about later and add to our Events of Interest list on our main page.

In the meantime, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

January 4-8, 2016

January 5

Last Updated: Dec 27, 2015 7:41 pm ET
International Institute of Space Law OK With U.S. Asteroid Mining Law

International Institute of Space Law OK With U.S. Asteroid Mining Law

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 24, 2015 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 24, 2015 7:05 am ET

The Board of Directors of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) has issued a position paper concluding that a new U.S. law that grants property rights to resources mined from asteroids or other space objects by U.S. companies does not violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.  The United States is a signatory to that treaty and whether or not the law complies with the treaty is matter of some debate in space law circles.

The law’s provision applies to extraction and use of resources from space objects generally, but is commonly referred to as asteroid mining because two U.S. companies are proposing to do that.  It is part of the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act that was signed into law by President Obama on November 25.  While the law affects a variety of commercial space activities, the space resource mining provision is receiving the most attention.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) was negotiated long before the technical feasibility of mining asteroids existed.  Some question today whether it is technically or economically feasible, but two U.S. companies, Planetary Resources Inc. and Deep Space Industries, are promoting the idea.   Planetary Resources is widely credited with getting the legal issues on the table and convincing Congress to include the provision in the law and the President to sign it.  The argument is that while it may be many years before anyone actually mines resources from asteroids, investors are needed now and they want clarity before putting their money into such ventures.

Two provisions of the OST underlie the debate about the U.S. law’s international standing.  Article II states that no nation may claim sovereignty over the Moon or other celestial bodies.  Article VI requires countries that agree to abide by the Treaty (“States Parties”) to authorize and continually supervise the activities of their non-governmental entities, such as companies.

Section 402 of the law states that: “A United States citizen engaged in commercial recovery of an
asteroid resource or a space resource under this chapter shall be
entitled to any asteroid resource or space resource obtained, including
to possess, own, transport, use, and sell the asteroid resource or
space resource obtained in accordance with applicable law, including
the international obligations of the United States.”  Section 403 states that:  “It is the sense of Congress that by the enactment of this Act, the
United States does not thereby assert sovereignty or sovereign or
exclusive rights or jurisdiction over, or the ownership of, any
celestial body.”

The IISL position paper stops short of endorsing the U.S. law, but agrees that it is “a possible interpretation” of the OST, but “[w]hether and to what extent this interpretation is shared by other States remains to be seen.”   It points out that the law explicitly does not make any claims of sovereignty over celestial bodies and further states that the resources must be obtained in accordance with U.S. international obligations, which include adherence to the OST.  “The Act thus pays respect to the international legal obligations of the United States and applicable law on which the property rights to space resources will continue to depend.”

The position paper ends on a cautionary note: “It is an open question whether this legal situation is satisfactory.”   However, it considers the U.S. law to be a “starting point for the development of international rules to be evaluated by means of an international dialogue…”

Rep. Brian Babin, chairman of the Space Subcommittee of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, recently expressed support for international discussions while ruling out creation of any international body to regulate space resource mining.   Two congressional staff, one from the House and one from the Senate, who were deeply involved in crafting the bill, confirmed that both chambers are open to an international dialogue.

Such a dialogue can take place on a bilateral basis or through international fora such as the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).   COPUOUS has a Scientific and Technical subcommittee that meets in February and a Legal Subcommittee that meets in March/April.  The full committee meets in June.  All the meetings are held at the U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) in Vienna, Austria.  

Washington sources say the United States is already talking with some of its traditional space program partners about these topics and will begin informing COPUOS about the new law at its meetings next year.

The law also addresses the questions posed by Article VI.  Today, no U.S. agency has responsibility for authorizing or continually supervising the activities of all U.S. non-governmental entities involved in space.  The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation regulates space launches and reentries, but has no authority over activities such as space resource mining, for example.   The law requires the President to submit a report to Congress within 180 days of enactment recommending the allocation of responsibilities among Federal agencies to meet the Article VI requirement.

Last Updated: Dec 24, 2015 7:05 am ET
ULA Orders More RD-180 Rocket Engines

ULA Orders More RD-180 Rocket Engines

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 23, 2015 8:30 am ET | Last Updated: December 24, 2015 5:38 am ET

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced today that it has ordered more RD-180 rocket engines to power its Atlas V rockets.  The number of RD-180s ULA is allowed to procure has been the subject of intense controversy in Congress.

ULA said the new engines would be used for “potential civil and commercial launch customers.”   The restrictions that were placed on the number of RD-180s the company could obtain in the FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) applied only to national security space launches, but in any case they were superseded by language in the Consolidated Appropriations Act enacted last week.   Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and primary architect of the NDAA’s restrictive language, lambasted two members of the Senate Appropriations Committee who championed ULA interests — Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).  ULA builds its rockets in Shelby’s state of Alabama.   ULA is a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin and Boeing is headquartered in Durbin’s state of Illinois.

McCain wants to end U.S. reliance on Russian rocket engines to launch national security satellites and payments to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his “cronies” as McCain often says.  He also supports SpaceX and its determination to compete against ULA for national security launch contracts.  ULA has held a virtual monopoly on Air Force launch contracts since it was created in 2006.  it launches the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, referred to as Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV).  The Delta IV does not use Russian engines, but is very expensive and ULA concedes it is not cost competitive with SpaceX’s Falcon rockets.

ULA, the Air Force and McCain all agree on the need to develop an American engine to replace the RD-180.  The question is over timing.  McCain wants ULA to begin using an American alternative by 2019 while ULA and the Air Force insist that it will take until 2021 or 2022 until a new engine is developed, tested and certified.  ULA and Blue Origin announced a partnership last year to use Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine for a new version of the Atlas V, called Vulcan.  ULA later announced that it also is working with Aerojet Rocketdyne on that company’s AR1 engine in case the BE-4 does not perform as planned.

ULA said today that it is “moving smartly” with Blue Origin and Aerojet Rocketdyne “but this type of development program is difficult and takes years to complete” and a smooth transition to a new engine is essential.

The announcement did not state the contract value or when the engines will be delivered.  The engines are made by Russia’s Energomash and sold to ULA via

ULA primarily launches military and intelligence satellites, but also launches spacecraft for NASA and NOAA and occasionally for commercial customers.  The national security launch market is expected to decline in the next several years and ULA is seeking more civil and commercial customers.  Boeing, for example, plans to launch its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle on Atlas V.  Starliner is being developed as a NASA-Boeing public private partnership with the goal of taking crews to and from the International Space Station (ISS).  Sierra Nevada planned to Atlas V for its Dream Chaser spacecraft.  Although it lost out to Boeing and SpaceX on NASA’s commercial crew program, it is competing in the second round of NASA’s commercial cargo contracts to service the ISS and would need Atlas V for those launches if it is successful.

Clarification: An earlier version of this article stated that ULA is buying the engines from Energomash.  Strictly speaking, ULA’s contract is with the U.S. company RD AMROSS, which contracts with Energomash on ULA’s behalf.  ULA’s announcement does not specify who it contracted with, but Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, tweeted that Energomash and RD AMROSS have entered into an agreement for more RD-180s.

Last Updated: Dec 24, 2015 5:38 am ET
Spacewalk Succeeds in Getting ISS Ready for New Version of Russian Cargo Craft – UPDATE

Spacewalk Succeeds in Getting ISS Ready for New Version of Russian Cargo Craft – UPDATE

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 21, 2015 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 23, 2015 6:32 pm ET

A hastily planned spacewalk by two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) went smoothly today, getting the ISS ready for the docking of a new version of Russia’s venerable Progress cargo spacecraft.  Docking is scheduled for Wednesday. [UPDATE:  Progress MS successfully docked on December 23, 2016.]

Today was a busy day in the space business. 

It began with Russia launching a new version of the robotic Progress cargo spacecraft — Progress MS — at 3:44 am Eastern Standard Time (2:44 pm local time at the launch site in Kazakhstan).  Russia has used Progress spacecraft to resupply space stations since 1978.  Several iterations have been launched over the decades, most recently the Progress M__M series (for example, Progress M-28M, which just undocked from the ISS, and M-29M, which is there now).  The spacecraft has been upgraded again to Progress MS.  One of the improvements is that Russian ground controllers can communicate with the spacecraft at all points along its orbit through Luch communications relay satellites.  Previously, they could only talk to the spacecraft when it was over Russia.  Progress MS also has improved navigation systems and a compartment from which up to eight microsatellites can be deployed.  (NASA refers to the Progress spacecraft sequentially in terms of when they began supporting ISS.  Progress MS therefore is referred to by NASA as “Progress 62” because it is the 62nd Progress to be launched to the space station.)

A few hours after Progress MS launched, at 7:45 am EST, NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra began a short spacewalk to fix the ISS Mobile Transporter (MT).  The MT is used to position the robotic Canadarm2 for various tasks.  It became stuck on December 16 when ground controllers were trying to move it from one location to another.   It needed to be correctly positioned and latched into place before Progress MS docks at 5:31 am EST on Wednesday.

Kelly has been on ISS since March 2015 as part of a year-long mission (along with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko) to assess how humans adapt to spaceflight conditions over longer periods of time than a typical 4-6 month ISS mission.  Kopra just arrived on December 15, but he has flown in space before.  This was the third spacewalk for Kelly and the second for Kopra.  The two made quick work of fixing the MT by releasing its brake handles.  They performed a few other chores — rerouting cables and retrieving tools — and were done in just 3 hours and 16 minutes. 

This evening, SpaceX succeeded not only in returning its Falcon 9 rocket to duty, but landed the first stage back on Earth at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.   This was the first Falcon 9 launch since a June 28, 2015 failure that destroyed a Dragon spacecraft loaded with supplies for the ISS crew.   Today’s launch was not directly related to the ISS or NASA, but paves the way for the next SpaceX ISS cargo launch (SpaceX-8 or SpX-8) in February.  The ISS is constantly resupplied by Russia’s Progress, Japan’s HTV, and two U.S. commercial cargo spacecraft — SpaceX’s Dragon and Orbital ATK’s Cygnus.  A Cygnus is currently attached to the ISS.

 

Last Updated: Dec 23, 2015 6:32 pm ET
SpaceX Falcon 9 Returns to Duty, Delivers Satellites, Lands Safely

SpaceX Falcon 9 Returns to Duty, Delivers Satellites, Lands Safely

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 21, 2015 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 21, 2015 11:26 pm ET

SpaceX achieved three significant objectives tonight:  the return to flight of its Falcon 9 rocket, the successful delivery of 11 ORBCOMM OG-2 communications satellites to orbit, and a historic landing of the rocket’s first stage back to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), FL.  SpaceX is not the first to return a rocket or spacecraft to land on Earth, but it is the first private company to conduct a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) of a rocket on an orbital (rather than suborbital) trajectory successfully.

This was the first flight of a Falcon 9 since a June 28, 2015 failure.   The rocket launched today is an upgraded version with a number of improvements, including the use of supercooled liquid oxygen that provides additional thrust.

The first launch of any rocket following a failure is an exciting event in the space community, but SpaceX reached for a higher level by deciding to attempt to land the rocket’s first stage back at CCAFS on this flight, too.   The company has tested landing several times, including twice on an autonomous drone ship at sea. Those tests were unsuccessful, but the second time was close.  

Tonight, they landed on terra firma just a few miles down the coast from where the rocket had launched just 10 minutes earlier.  SpaceX East Coast launches take place from Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) at CCAFS, which is adjacent to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.  SpaceX has converted a different Launch Complex, LC-13, into its  “Landing Zone 1.”  That is where the first stage landed this evening.  The Air Force Space & Missile Museum has a map showing where all the CCAFS launch pads are located.


SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage lands at Landing Zone 1, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, December 21, 2015.
Image clipped from SpaceX webcast.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk later tweeted a composite “there and back again” photo:


SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket composite “there and back again” photo tweeted by @elonmusk, December 21, 2015

The landing test is part of Musk’s drive to create a reusable rocket.  He believes reusability will lower costs.  That was one of the goals of NASA’s space shuttle program, but over its 30 years of operation (1981-2011), its costs remained very high.  There are at least three methods for calculating launch costs — marginal cost, average cost, or full cost — so varying figures are used for the cost of a shuttle launch, but the program was funded at $3-4 billion a year for between one and four flights in the final years, so $1 billion per launch is a commonly used figure.

The technical challenges of returning a vehicle to Earth are one hurdle, but the economic challenges may be even greater.   Many analysts conclude that a high launch rate is needed to make a reusable system economical.  A high launch rate allows fixed costs to be amortized over a large base.

Tonight’s test was of the technology and it proved out.  Whether a reusable Falcon 9 is economical remains to be seen.

The Falcon 9 is not the first rocket to land safely back on Earth.   Last month, for example, Blue Origin, owned by Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos who also believes in reusablity, launched and landed a New Shepard suborbital rocket.  That feat received considerable publicity, although Blue Origin did not reveal the test had taken place until the next day — after it knew the test was a success.

Bezos tweeted congratulations to SpaceX tonight, but with a reminder that his rocket did it first.

Musk and others pointed out at the time that as impressive as the Blue Origin achievement was, the challenges are greater with a rocket traveling on an orbital trajectory.

Space aficionados can debate what vehicle deserves the honor of being known as the first reusable rocket — the X-15, DC-X and SpaceShipOne are candidates — but NASA’s space shuttle was the only operational reusable launch vehicle.

Excitement over the landing almost overshadowed what is perhaps the more important near-term achievement of getting the Falcon 9 back in business.  The company has a long backlog of government and commercial customers waiting their turns.  Three more Falcon 9 rockets are scheduled for launch in the next two months, including a cargo mission to the International Space Station for NASA.  The June 28 failure destroyed a Dragon capsule full of ISS supplies.  NASA is anxious to get the next Dragon to ISS and launch is currently scheduled for sometime in February.  Before that, SpaceX has launches of a commercial communications satellite for SES (SES-9) and a NOAA/Eumetsat/NASA/CNES ocean altimetry satellite (Jason-3) on its schedule. Jason-3 will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA; the others are from CCAFS.

SpaceX not only is one of two competitors that launch commercial cargo missions to the ISS for NASA (Orbital ATK is the other), but was chosen by NASA to be one of two companies to build commercial crew vehicles to take crews back and forth as well (Boeing is the other).   In the just-passed FY2016 omnibus appropriations bill, Congress provided NASA with the full $1.244 billion requested to support the commercial crew program with a goal of the first crew launches in 2017.  Those SpaceX launches also will use Falcon 9 rockets.

 

Last Updated: Dec 21, 2015 11:26 pm ET

SPACEPOLICYONLINE.COM

About | Contact | Privacy