Category: Commercial

Sierra Nevada to Continue Dream Chaser Despite CCtCAP Protest Loss

Sierra Nevada to Continue Dream Chaser Despite CCtCAP Protest Loss

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 5, 2015 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 5, 2015 6:36 pm ET

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) said today that it will continue developing and testing its Dream Chaser spacecraft even though it lost its protest of NASA’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCAP) awards to Boeing and SpaceX. 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled in NASA’s favor today, denying SNC’s protest that NASA did not evaluate its bid in accordance with the criteria specified in the request for proposals.  The company said GAO’s decision was “not what SNC expected” and is “evaluating” that decision.

GAO did not release the details of its decision, only a summary in a press release.  The complete text of the decision is under protective order and must be redacted before being made public.

NASA has been supporting all three companies in the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCAP) phase of the commercial crew program, a public-private partnership whose goal is to develop U.S. crew space transportation systems to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS).  NASA has been dependent on Russia to provide crew transportation services since the space shuttle was terminated in 2011 and is eager to restore an independent capability through this program. 

NASA was expected to choose only two of the three to continue into the CCtCAP phase.  Price was listed as the top criterion and SNC’s price was much lower than Boeing’s.  According to GAO’s summary, Boeing’s price was $3.01 billion, SNC’s was $2.55 billion, and SpaceX’s was $1.75 billion.  NASA awarded more than that to Boeing and SpaceX.  Boeing received $4.2 billion and SpaceX received $2.6 billion.  NASA explains that its award is the Total Potential Contract Value, which includes special studies and the maximum number of post-certification missions — six.  GAO’s figures are for the Evaluated Price as defined in the CCtCAP request for proposals, which has a guarantee of only two missions.

SNC said today that “we maintain our belief that the Dream Chaser spacecraft is technically very capable, reliable and was qualified to win based on NASA’s high ratings of the space system.”   Dream Chaser is a lifting body — a winged vehicle — that resembles a space shuttle orbiter and would be launched on an Atlas V rocket.   It is based on a design NASA developed decades ago for the HL-20 program. 

At the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Toronto shortly after SNC challenged NASA’s choice of Boeing and SpaceX in September, SNC made clear that it intended to proceed with Dream Chaser regardless of whether it won the protest or not.  Today’s announcement was in a similar vein.  “SNC firmly believes that the Dream Chaser will play a central role in shaping the future of space transportation with its unique capabilities which address a wide spectrum of needs,” it said, adding that it responded to NASA’s request for proposals for a second round of commercial cargo resupply services awards.   SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation currently provide commercial cargo services to NASA under contracts that expire in 2016.

NASA also issued a statement in response to the GAO ruling, saying simply that it is pleased it can move forward with the commercial crew program so America can end its reliance on Russia for ISS crew transportation.

Last Updated: Jan 05, 2015 6:36 pm ET
GAO Decision on Sierra Nevada Bid Protest Expected Monday

GAO Decision on Sierra Nevada Bid Protest Expected Monday

By Marcia Smith | Posted: January 4, 2015 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: January 4, 2015 6:21 pm ET

The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) decision on Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC’s) protest of the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCAP) contract awards to Boeing and SpaceX is expected tomorrow, January 5, 2015.

GAO has 100 days from the date the protest was filed to make its ruling.  That time period expires tomorrow.

SNC filed the protest on September 26, 2014 noting in a press release that it was the first time the company had taken such action in its 51-year history.   It said there were “serious questions and inconsistencies in the source selection process.”   Among them was the fact that NASA would spend “up to $900 million more … for a space program equivalent to what SNC proposed” even though price was the primary evaluation criteria in the CCtCAP solicitation.

Aviation Week reported in October that an internal document signed by Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, concluded that SNC’s design had “the lowest level of maturity” and “more schedule uncertainty” than its competitors and “the longest  schedule for completing certification.”  The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on December 23, 2014 that part of SNC’s protest is based on those comments because schedule was not one of the main criteria in the solicitation.  SNC is asserting that Gerstenmaier “overstepped his authority by unilaterally changing the scoring criteria” according to the WSJ.

The protest was filed 10 days after NASA awarded a total of $6.8 billion to Boeing and SpaceX —  $4.2 billion to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX — to develop commercial crew transportation systems to service the International Space Station (ISS).  NASA has been supporting all three companies in the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCAP) phase of the program and was expected to be able to support only two in the CCtCAP phase.  

Pursuant to regulations governing contract protests, NASA issued a stop- work order to Boeing and SpaceX once SNC filed the protest, but reversed course and lifted the stop-work order a few days later on the grounds that it was acting within its statutory authority to avoid significant adverse consequences.  SNC filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to have the stop-work order reinstated, but the court ruled in NASA’s favor.

If GAO decides SNC’s protest has merit, NASA may have to go through the solicitation process all over again with consequent potential delays in the availability of commercial crew systems.  NASA is hoping that at least one of the systems will be available by the end of 2017, two years later than its original plan because Congress did not provide all of the requested funding for the program.   Some members of Congress continue to question why, for example, NASA is funding two companies instead of one.

NASA has been dependent on Russia to take crews to and from the ISS since the space shuttle program was terminated in 2011 and must continue to rely on Russia until a new U.S. system is available.  By law, the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft must be designed to service the ISS as a backup in case the commercial crew program fails, but the first crewed launch of Orion is not scheduled until 2021.

Last Updated: Jan 04, 2015 6:21 pm ET
What's Happening in Space Policy January 1-9, 2015

What's Happening in Space Policy January 1-9, 2015

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 31, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 31, 2014 2:43 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy related events coming up for the first week-and-a-half of the New Year and any insight we can offer about them.   The 114th Congress convenes at noon on Tuesday, January 6.

During the Weeks

The New Year gets off with a bang in 2015 with three major conferences, a SpaceX launch that could demonstrate the Falcon 9 first stage returning to land on a barge, the beginning of a new Congress, and meetings of three NASA advisory groups.

The three conferences are:

Special sessions (e.g. Town Halls, lectures, plenaries) will be held at each. The conference organizers have varying policies on webcasting, so check at the links provided to determine if these events can be viewed remotely.

SpaceX’s fifth operational cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS), SpaceX CRS-5 or SpX-5, was postponed from December 19 to January 6 because a Falcon 9 static fire test did not go as planned.  Launch on January 6 is at 6:18 am EST.  While SpaceX cargo resupply missions to the ISS have become somewhat routine, SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk has been using them — with NASA’s concurrence — to test the reusability of the Falcon 9 first stage.  On two missions already, the first stage has returned vertically to “land” on the ocean — tipping over into the water, of course, at the end.   On this flight, SpaceX will attempt to land it on a specially designed barge as the next step towards reusability.

Later that day,  back in Washington, the 114th Congress will convene with the House and Senate both in Republican hands.   Will that mean less gridlock?   Post-election vibes suggest that in the Senate, at least, liberal Democrats may take pages from the playbook used by Tea Party Republicans to demonstrate that the minority party wields power, too, so there are no sure bets.

NASA’s advisory bodies — or “analysis groups” (AGs) in some cases — also get off to a fast start.  Two of the AGs are first up:  the ExoPlanet Exploration Analysis Group (ExoPAG) this weekend (January 3-4) and Small Bodies Analysis Group (SBAG) on January 6-7.  AGs are not officially allowed to give advice to NASA because they are not chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).  Only FACA-chartered bodies are supposed to give “advice,” but non-FACA groups can provide input that seems a lot like advice.  ExoPAG provides input to the NASA Advisory Council’s (NAC’s) Astrophysics Subcommittee and SBAG provides input to NAC’s Planetary Science Subcommittee.  Both of those subcommittees report to NAC’s Science Committee.  Another NAC Science subcommittee, Heliophysics, meets on Friday, January 9. 

These and other meetings scheduled for January 1-9, 2015 are listed below.

Saturday-Sunday, January 3-4

Sunday-Thursday, January 4-8

Monday-Friday, January 5-9

  • American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech 2015, Kissimmee, FL

Monday, January 5

  • SpaceX CRS-5 (SpX-5) pre-launch briefings, NASA Kennedy Space Center, FL (watch on NASA TV)
    • 12:00 noon EST, Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) Earth science instrument
    • 1:30 pm EST, science briefing
    • 4:00 pm EST, mission status briefing

Tuesday, January 6

  • SpaceX CRS-5 launch, Cape Canaveral, FL, 6:18 am EST (watch on NASA TV beginning at 5:00 am EST); post-launch briefing approximately 90 minutes after launch
  • 114th Congress convenes, noon EST, The Capitol, Washington, DC

Tuesday-Wednesday, January 6-7

Thursday, January 8

  • SpaceX CRS-5 arrives at ISS.  NASA TV coverage of grapple begins at 4:30 am EST (grapple is approx. 6:00 am EST) and of berthing at 8:15 am EST.

Thursday-Friday, January 8-9

Friday, January 9

Last Updated: Dec 31, 2014 2:43 pm ET
SpaceX CRS-5 Delayed to No Earlier Than January 6 – UPDATE

SpaceX CRS-5 Delayed to No Earlier Than January 6 – UPDATE

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 18, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 18, 2014 10:27 am ET

UPDATE, December 18, 10:25 am EST:  A link to the statement NASA finally put out is added, along with information on the status of the pre-launch briefings.

SpaceX confirmed to SpacePolicyOnline this morning that its fifth operational cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will be postponed from tomorrow (December 19) to no earlier than January 6, 2015.

SpaceX spokesman John Taylor said via email that the delay is due to an “abundance of caution” following a static fire test yesterday that did not achieve all of its objectives.  “While the recent static fire test accomplished nearly all of our goals, the test did not run the full duration.  The data suggests that we could push forward without a second attempt, but out of an abundance of caution, we are opting to execute a second static fire test prior to launch.”

The next launch opportunity is not until January 6 because of the time it will take to conduct the second test, limited launch opportunities during the holiday period, and a beta angle cutout period when the Sun’s angle to the ISS prevents certain on-orbit activities like berthing Dragon, he added.  The beta angle cutout period is December 28-January 7.

If the launch takes place on January 6, Dragon would arrive at the ISS on January 8, after the cutout period ends.  January 7 is a backup launch date.

The likelihood of a delay was first reported by Chris Bergin of NASASpaceflight.com yesterday via Twitter, but not confirmed by SpaceX (or NASA) until this morning.

SpaceX has a full launch manifest, including the January 23 launch of the NOAA-NASA-Air Force Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) on January 23.  What impact the SpX-5 slip may have on other launches is unclear at the moment.   NOAA will hold a media teleconference this morning at 11:00 am EST where more information about the DSCOVR launch may be made available.

NASA finally issued a statement at about 10:15 am EST confirming the postponement and clarifying that three pre-launch briefings scheduled for today will be rescheduled for January 5.  If the launch takes place on January 6, the launch time is 6:18 am Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Last Updated: Dec 18, 2014 10:27 am ET
Orbital Sciences to Use Russian RD-181 for Antares

Orbital Sciences to Use Russian RD-181 for Antares

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 17, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 17, 2014 10:54 pm ET

Orbital Sciences Corporation confirmed via Twitter a story published by Aviation Week & Space Technology that it has chosen a different Russian engine, RD-181, for its Antares rocket.  The last Antares launch, powered by Russian NK-33 engines (refurbished by Aerojet Rocketdyne and redesignated AJ26), exploded 15 seconds after liftoff on October 28.

Orbital confirmed after the launch failure that it would use a different engine for future Antares rockets, but as recently as last week, Orbital Chairman, President and CEO David Thompson declined to publicly identify the engine despite rumors that it would be Russian.

Aviation Week’s Frank Morring posted a story yesterday quoting Orbital’s vice president for space launch strategic development Mark Pieczynski as saying the RD-181, built by Energomash,
“is about as close as you could possibly get to replacing the current twin AJ-26 engines in Antares, so it minimizes the redesign of the core.”  The first set of RD-181s is expected in the summer of 2015, Morring reported, with a second set arriving in the fall.

Orbital has announced plans for recovering from the October 28 launch failure, which destroyed the Cygnus spacecraft that was carrying cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Orbital’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA.  The contract requires Orbital to deliver 20 tons of cargo to ISS by the end of 2016.  To fulfill the contract, Orbital will use another company’s rocket for at least one launch of Cygnus while getting the reconfigured Antares ready for launch in 2016.  That other company is the United Launch Alliance (ULA).  Orbital is buying one ULA Atlas V launch, with an option for one more.

In tweets yesterday and today, Orbital (@OrbitalSciences) said that the RD-181 is the “only propulsion system that enables us to complete cargo commitments to @NASA under #CRS contract by end of 2016.”  It also disputed reports on some media outlets that the value of its order for the engines is $1 billion.  “Total possible value (including options) of #RD181 order significantly below the $1 billion being reported by some media outlets.”

One of those media outlets is Russia’s Sputnik News, formerly RIA Novosti.  It reported today that the order is for 60 RD-181 engines, citing another Russian newspaper, Izvestiya.  According to that account, an official from Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said there is a firm contract for 20 engines with a commitment to deliver a total of 60.  A subsequent story from Sputnik News quotes Orbital’s Barron Beneski as saying the $1 billion figure is incorrect and “The full value if all the options were exercised would be significantly less.” 

Congress recently passed legislation prohibiting the purchase of a different Russian engine, the RD-180, for use in ULA’s Atlas V rocket.  Atlas V is used for many U.S. national security spacecraft and U.S. dependence on Russia for those engines became a significant issue after Russia’s actions in Ukraine.  The final version of the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) prohibits the Secretary of Defense from awarding or renewing a contract to procure rocket engines designed or manufactured in Russia for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.  Atlas V and Delta IV are the two EELVs, so the language does not affect Antares. 

Morring quotes Orbital’s Ron Grabe, executive vice president and general manager of the company’s Launch Systems Group, as saying the company “coordinated with all relevant congressional staffs” and notes that the ISS program itself is dependent on cooperation with Russia.  ISS is an international partnership among the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, and 11 European countries.  NASA has been dependent on Russia to launch crews to the ISS since the space shuttle was terminated in 2011.

Last Updated: Dec 17, 2014 10:54 pm ET
DalBello Leaving OSTP for Virgin Galactic

DalBello Leaving OSTP for Virgin Galactic

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 15, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 15, 2014 5:37 pm ET

Virgin Galactic announced today that Richard DalBello will join the company as Vice President of Business Development and Government Relations.  DalBello is currently assistant director for aeronautics and space at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

This is DalBello’s second stint at OSTP, having served there during the Clinton Administration.  He moved to the private sector thereafter and just prior to rejoining OSTP last year, he was Vice President for Government Affairs at Intelsat General.     

Richard DalBello

In the Virgin Galactic press release, DalBello says that he is “excited to be joining one of the true leaders of the commercial space era.”

Virgin Galactic is currently recovering from the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) crash on October 31, 2014.  The air-launched spacecraft was destroyed and one of the two pilots died.  The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is still investigating the accident. 

SS2 is intended to take people on suborbital flights, but the company also is building a two-stage launch vehicle, LauncherOne, for placing small satellites in orbit.   DalBello will be in charge of business development for LauncherOne and for managing Virgin Galactic’s interactions with the government.

DalBello’s career includes a mix of government and private sector positions.   In addition to his four years at OSTP during the Clinton Administration, previous government jobs include working at the congressional Office of Technology Assessment, for NASA as director of commercial communications where he was responsible for private sector experiments on the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS), and for the Department of Commerce as Director of the Office of Space Commercialization.  He also worked on the staff of the 1985-1986 National Commission on Space.    In the private sector, he was Vice President of Government Affairs for Intelsat General, president of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, president of the Satellite Industry Association, general counsel of Spotcast Communications Inc., and Vice President for Government Affairs, North America for ICO Global Communications.

 

Last Updated: Dec 15, 2014 5:37 pm ET
What's Happening In Space Policy December 15-31, 2014

What's Happening In Space Policy December 15-31, 2014

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 14, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 14, 2014 6:03 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy-related events for the rest of 2014 as the holidays approach.  This edition covers December 15-31, 2014.   The Senate will be in session tomorrow, at least, but the expectation is that the 113th Congress will come to a close very soon.

During the Week

The Senate is scheduled to be in session tomorrow for what may be the last day of the 113th Congress, though even at this late date it is difficult to say that with any certainty.   After a tumultuous few days, the House and Senate have passed and sent to the President the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 — the “CRomnibus” — which funds NASA, NOAA, DOD and most other government departments and agencies through the end of FY2015 (September 30, 2015).  Only the Department of Homeland Security is funded under another Continuing Resolution (CR), through February 27, 2015, because of the immigration debate.   We’ve published many stories about the debate, the angst, the uncertainty, etc. and will not reiterate it here (type “cromnibus” into our search box and you should be able to retrieve them).  Suffice it to say that it was a very nice holiday gift for NASA — a $549 million increase above the President’s request, or $363 million more than FY2014.  The question will be whether Congress will sustain that level of funding in future years.  A one-year plus-up is nice, but it’s the long haul that counts.   NOAA’s satellite programs also did well.  We’ll publish an article summarizing the DOD space program provisions shortly.

Outside the beltway, the highlight of this week certainly will be the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco.   AGU is webcasting many of its press conferences and those related to NASA are listed below and on our calendar on the right menu.   Among them — findings from MAVEN, Curiosity, and Rosetta are on tap for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, and a look forward at New Horizons’ arrival at Pluto next year is on Thursday.

And, if all goes well, SpaceX will launch its fifth operational cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday.  Three pre-launch briefings are scheduled for Thursday.   Arrival at the ISS will be on Sunday if the launch goes on Friday.  NASA TV will cover it all.

Those and other events we know about as of Sunday afternoon are listed below.

SpacePolicyOnline.com wishes all of you Happy Holidays and a fantastic New Year!

Monday-Friday, December 15-19

Monday, December 15

  • AGU Press Conferences on NASA Topics (webcast)
    • 9:00 am PST (12:00 noon EST), Early Results from MAVEN
    • 10:30 am PST (1:30 pm EST), X-rays and Gamma Rays in Thunderstorms
    • 1:30 pm PST (4:30 pm EST), Greenland’s Melt Dynamics

Tuesday, December 16

Wednesday, December 17

  • AGU Press Conferences on NASA Topics (webcast)
    • 8:00 am PST (11:00 am EST), Rosetta Comet Science Results
    • 11:30 am PST (2:30 pm EST), Arctic Heating:  15 Years of Sea Ice Loss — and Absorbed Solar Radiation Gains
    • 2:30 pm PST (5:30 pm EST), After the Pulse Flow: Greening the Colorado River Delta

Thursday, December 18

Friday, December 19

Sunday, December 21

  • SpX-5 Arrival at ISS (if launched on Friday), grapple approximately 6:00 am EST (NASA TV coverage begins 4:15 am EST)
Last Updated: Dec 14, 2014 6:03 pm ET
Senate Agrees to CR Through Wednesday, Still Debating Cromnibus

Senate Agrees to CR Through Wednesday, Still Debating Cromnibus

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 13, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 13, 2014 5:21 pm ET

This afternoon the Senate agreed to the second short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government open through Wednesday, December 17, after a morning of high stakes drama where the words “government shutdown” were once again heard.  If this second CR did not pass, government funding would have expired at midnight.

The Senate is trying to complete work on FY2015 funding and a few other measures before bringing the 113th Congress to a close.   One way or another, this Congress will end and the new 114th Congress — with Republicans in control of both the House and Senate — will convene in early January.

The FY2015 funding bill, called a “cromnibus” because it combines a CR (through February 27, 2015) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and a full-year (through September 30, 2015) omnibus appropriations for the rest of the government is very controversial because of policy provisions (“riders”) that were added by House and Senate negotiators in order to reach a compromise.  The bill narrowly passed the House on Thursday and is now struggling to win the support of enough Senators to secure passage there.

Tea Party Republicans Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) are seen as the leaders in opposing the cromnibus because it does not send a strong enough message to the President about Republican dissatisfaction with the President’s executive order on immigration.  Cruz is viewed as the architect of last year’s 16-day government shutdown, which many establishment Republicans opposed and have vowed to prevent from occurring again.  Several were quoted today questioning the Cruz-Lee strategy today.  Sen. Orrin Hatch (R), Utah’s senior senator, told reporters “I don’t see any end game that can be won, other than irritating people.”  Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said it was “not in keeping with our Republican commitment to return to normal order and to show the people of this country that we can govern responsibly.”

Tea Party Republicans are not the only ones unhappy with the cromnibus.  Liberal Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are equally unhappy with a provision that changes the Dodd-Frank financial regulations and members of both parties object to modifications to the campaign finance law.

Last Updated: Dec 13, 2014 5:21 pm ET
Senate Passes Cromnibus Assuring FY2015 Funds for NASA, NOAA, DOD – UPDATE

Senate Passes Cromnibus Assuring FY2015 Funds for NASA, NOAA, DOD – UPDATE

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 13, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 14, 2014 2:16 pm ET

Update:  Links to the text of the bill and joint explanatory statements for CJS (NASA and NOAA) and Defense have been added.

The Senate just passed the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, colloquially called the “cromnibus.”  It funds NASA, NOAA, DOD and most other government departments and agencies — except the Department of Homeland Security — through the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2015).

Demonstrating once again that it is always darkest before the dawn, the 56-40 vote came after a 24-hour period when it looked like the Senate was in for a long debate about the bill.   Senate Democratic and Republican leaders had hoped to spend the weekend at home and come back and vote on the bill Monday, but Tea Party Republicans led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) objected late last night and consequently the Senate was in session today.  

Throughout much of the day, many worried that the Senate could not even pass a new Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government operating until Wednesday (otherwise funding would have expired tonight).  That CR finally passed this afternoon, but it was unclear when a vote on the cromnibus would take place.

Cruz and Lee did force a vote on the constitutionality of President Obama’s immigration executive order “though it was badly defeated by bipartisan opposition, 22-74” according to Politico.   Politico goes on to point out that the Cruz-Lee delay opened an opportunity for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to bring a number of President Obama’s long-delayed nominations to the floor for a vote and now “there’s little Republicans can do to stop him.”

From the standpoint of funding the government, at least, it was good news.   The cromnibus — a combination of a CR to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through February 27, 2015 and the rest of the government through the end of the fiscal year  — includes a significant increase for NASA and strong support for NOAA’s satellite programs.  DHS is funded only by a shorter-term CR as a signal of Republican disapproval of the President’s immigration executive order.  Immigration is part of DHS’s portfolio.

The text of the bill was written as a Senate amendment to a House-passed bill on an unrelated topic (H.R. 83).   The joint explanatory statement (formerly a conference report) is separated into “divisions” for each of the regular appropriations bills.  Division B is Commerce-Justice-Science (including NASA and NOAA); Division C is Defense.

Last Updated: Dec 14, 2014 2:16 pm ET
Virginia's Senators Tout Money Added In Cromnibus for Wallops Launch Pad Repairs

Virginia's Senators Tout Money Added In Cromnibus for Wallops Launch Pad Repairs

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 12, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 12, 2014 2:40 pm ET

Virginia’s two Senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, issued a press release yesterday touting $20 million included in the  FY2015 “cromnibus” spending bill that just cleared the House.  The money is to help pay for damages to a launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility caused by the October 28 Antares rocket failure.  Wallops is on the coast of Virginia.

Warner and Kaine, both Democrats, thanked fellow Democrat and Maryland neighbor Barbara Mikulski for being a “supporter and advocate of NASA and the Wallops facility.”  Mikulski chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares is launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at Wallops.  Orbital is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC.  MARS is owned by the State of Virginia and state officials reportedly were unhappy to discover what their financial responsibility is for repairing MARS under these circumstances.

The Senators’ press statement said the money would “support repairs following a launch failure on October 28 that caused significant damage to the [MARS] launch pad.”  It added that the Senators would release a complete list of “Virginia priorities” included in the spending package after the bill clears Congress.  (They also issued a press release listing what they achieved for Virginia in the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act, also expected to clear Congress imminently.  None are space-related.)

The House passed the bill — the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, colloquially called the “cromnibius” because it is a combination of a Continuing Resolution (CR) and an omnibus appropriations bill — last night.  The Senate is expected to pass it today or tomorrow.  It includes $18.010 billion for NASA, an increase of $549 million above the President’s request.  It is not obvious where in the bill the $20 million is added, but presumably somewhere in that increase.

Antares exploded 15 seconds after launch on a mission to deliver cargo to the International Space Station under a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA.   Orbital and SpaceX both developed cargo space transportation systems through a public-private partnership often called “commercial cargo.”   Skeptics of the “commercial” nature of the effort are watching how Orbital and the government recover from the failure to see who ends up paying for what.  Orbital has announced its own recovery plan, which includes buying at least one launch from United Launch Alliance, and insists that it does not expect “any material adverse financial impacts in 2015 or future years” because of the failure.

Last Updated: Dec 12, 2014 2:40 pm ET

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