Category: Commercial

House SS&T Committee to Hold Hearing on Orion and SLS

House SS&T Committee to Hold Hearing on Orion and SLS

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 4, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 4, 2014 8:28 pm ET

The House Science, Space and Technology (SS&T) Committee’s Space Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing next week on the status of NASA’s Orion and Space Launch System (SLS) programs.

The hearing will be on December 10, 2014 at 10:00 am in 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.  Witnesses are:

  • Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations
  • Cristina Chaplain, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
  • David Radzanowski, NASA Chief Financial Officer (or designee), invited

The full title of the hearing is “An Update on the Space Launch System and Orion:  Monitoring the Development of the Nation’s Deep Space Exploration Capabilities.”

SLS and Orion are congressional favorites and there has been significant tension between Congress and the White House — and therefore NASA — on whether the Obama Administration is giving them the priority Congress intended when it passed the 2010 NASA Authorization Act.   The Obama Administration wants to focus on the commercial crew program to facilitate the development of new crew space transportation capabilities by the private sector to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

With all the intense NASA publicity associated with the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) launch, it is difficult to imagine that NASA is anything but supportive of Orion, but ultimately the question is about how NASA’s money is allocated.  In a constrained budget environment, does the money go to SLS/Orion or commercial crew?  Congress thinks the Obama Administration is favoring commercial crew even though the Administration knows SLS/Orion is their priority.

The versions of the FY2015 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill that passed the House in May and was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee in June leave no doubt that SLS/Orion has priority over commercial crew in Congress.  Whether the Obama Administration’s human spaceflight priorities will be the focus of this hearing or if it is just an update on where SLS and Orion stand is not clear from the committee’s announcement.   Having the NASA CFO at a programmatic hearing is a little unusual, however, and the announcement indicates that he has not yet agreed to participate (or that NASA or the White House has not yet agreed to allow him to participate).

Launch of the EFT-1 mission, scheduled for today, was scrubbed due to weather and technical issues and has been rescheduled for tomorrow.  Even if there is another delay, presumably it will be completed prior to the hearing.

Last Updated: Dec 04, 2014 8:28 pm ET
Orion EFT-1 Launch Scrubbed, May Try Again Tomorrow – UPDATE

Orion EFT-1 Launch Scrubbed, May Try Again Tomorrow – UPDATE

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 4, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 4, 2014 1:40 pm ET

This article is updated throughout following a post-scrub press conference at Kennedy Space Center.

NASA’s attempt to launch the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) mission this morning (December 4) was scrubbed due to weather and technical issues. NASA, Lockheed Martin and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) plan to try again tomorrow, although they are still looking at weather and technical issues.  If the launch proceeds tomorrow, the launch window is the same (7:05 – 9:44 am EST).  The weather forecast has deteriorated and now is only 40 percent favorable.

Today’s 2 hour 37 minute launch window opened at 7:05 am EST.  Launch was initially delayed for a few minutes because a boat entered restricted waters off Cape Canaveral.  Then two launch attempts were scrubbed because automated sensors detected wind gusts exceeding the 21 knot limit for northerly winds and halted the countdown.  Then technical issues arose with the fill and drain valves for the Delta IV Heavy’s three core boosters (the three orange cylindrical tanks in the photo below).

United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle for NASA’s Orion EFT-1 mission.   Photo credit:  ULA

Each of the three core boosters is fueled by liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX).  There are LH2 and LOX fill and drain valves for each booster – a total of six.   Although initial reports indicated that two of the LOX valves did not close and later that it was LH2 valves causing the problems, ULA’s Dan Collins said at the post-scrub press conference that all the LOX valves operated perfectly; only the LH2 valves were problematical.   Troubleshooting efforts did not solve the problem before the launch window closed, and ULA continues to assess the issue. 

Collins, who is ULA’s Chief Operating Officer, said he is confident the valves will be ready for tomorrow, however.  He said ULA encountered this in a previous Delta IV Heavy launch and believes it is related to the valves getting too cold during long countdowns.  LH2 is -423 degrees F (-253 degrees C). 

The launch is being conducted by Lockheed Martin and ULA, not NASA (which is buying the resulting data from Lockheed Martin).  While ULA was assessing weather and valves, Lockheed Martin was looking at how many times it could cycle the Orion spacecraft on and off and still conserve enough battery power for the rest of the mission. Orion uses external power until a certain point in the countdown (T-9 minutes) when it switches to internal power and begins drawing on its battery resources.  That happened this morning each time the countdown passed that mark.  Lockheed Martin Orion program manager Mike Hawes added that there are additional issues regarding how much data can be stored, so there are a finite number of times the countdown can be stopped and started from the Orion perspective.

As of the time of the post-scrub press conference at noon EST, the plan is to try again tomorrow, December 5.   However, Collins explained that the Delta IV can launch two of any three days in a row because of fueling constraints.  If they try again tomorrow and there is another scrub, they would not be able to try on Saturday.  Sunday would be the earliest date to reschedule.  Right now they only have permission to use the Eastern Test Range (of which Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is part) today, tomorrow and Saturday.  They will continue to assess the technical issues with the Delta IV, the Orion recycle issues, and the weather outlook before they fuel the vehicle in case they decide to wait until Saturday.  

The weather forecast for tomorrow has deteriorated to only 40 percent favorable (it had been 60 percent).  On Saturday it is 70 percent favorable.  The concern about wind speed and direction is because the wind can push the Delta IV — as massive as it is — once it lifts off and it could hit into surrounding structures near the launch pad.

When it does launch, the EFT-1 mission will last just 4.5 hours as Orion makes two orbits of the Earth and then reenters through the atmosphere at high speed to test its heat shield, splashing down in the Pacific off the coast of Baja California.

Last Updated: Dec 04, 2014 1:40 pm ET
ESA Approves Ariane 6, Vega-C

ESA Approves Ariane 6, Vega-C

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 3, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 3, 2014 3:56 pm ET

The Council of Ministers of the European Space Agency (ESA) approved development of a new Ariane 6 rocket yesterday.  As ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain stressed, Ariane 6 is not just a new rocket, but a new governance model where industry accepts more of the risk.  The ministers will have an opportunity at their next meeting in 2016 to relook at the program and decide if any changes are needed.

ESA is an international organization with 20 member countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) and one cooperating country (Canada).

The Council of Ministers, comprised of the top officials responsible for their country’s participation in ESA, meets every two or three years to determine what programs to pursue and how much money each member will contribute.  ESA has “mandatory” programs to which all members must contribute (e.g. space science), while other programs are “optional” and countries participate only if they wish to (e.g. space transportation and the International Space Station).

Under its optional programs, ESA pays for the development of launch vehicles, while the French-based company Arianespace provides launch services using them.   Arianespace’s current launch fleet consists of Ariane 5 for large payloads, the Russian-built Soyuz for medium payloads, and the European Vega for small payloads.

Ariane 5 is very reliable, but Europe has been debating for years what changes are needed to ensure Ariane and other European rockets can meet future market demands, especially lower prices spurred by competition from SpaceX.

Germany preferred an evolution of Ariane 5 (Ariane 5 ME) while France advocated a new Ariane 6 “family” of launchers with two versions:  one for large payloads and one for medium payloads.  Just prior to the ministerial meeting, Germany agreed to support the Ariane 6 proposal.  Meanwhile, the ministers also agreed to develop an upgraded version of Vega.  Ariane 6 and the new Vega-C will share the same first stage and thus all of Europe’s launch vehicles will “have the same DNA,” Dordain explained at a press conference after the meeting.   That should reduce costs through simplified manufacturing and launch operations.

A key aspect of the Ariane 6 decision is that industry will take on some of the financial risk instead of it resting with the governments.   Earlier this year, the two primary companies that manufacture Ariane, Airbus and Safran, announced they would form a joint venture, Airbus Safran Launchers, to participate in Ariane 6.

The resolution adopted by the ESA Ministers states that ‘the Joint Venture will bear all commercial market risks during exploitation without support from Member States” while ESA provides a guaranteed “institutional” market of five launches per year.  Those launches would be for ESA itself, its member governments, the European Union (EU), and Europe’s meteorological agency, EUMETSAT.   The joint venture will be responsible for finding any additional customers.   It will also have the design authority for Ariane 6, rather than ESA.

In a press release today, Airbus and Safran said they welcomed ESA’s approval of Ariane 6, but added that their decision to create the Joint Venture  (JV) “naturally assumes an in-principle agreement for the transfer to the JV of shares in Arianespace held by” the French space agency, CNES.  A decision on that issue has not yet been made. CNES owns 34.68 percent of Arianespace.  The remainder is owned in varying amounts by 20 European entities, including Safran and Airbus (Astrium is part of Airbus). 

Dordain said he foresees no difficulty in delivering five institutional launches per year. The EU, for example, is launching a navigation satellite system, Galileo, similar to the U.S GPS system, that requires 24 operational satellites (plus in-orbit spares), which should guarantee a continuing demand for launch services.

Dordain said that at yesterday’s meeting ministers committed €4 billion for the development of Ariane 6 and Vega-C, which is enough to pay for their development through first launch (Vega-C in 2018, Ariane 6 in 2020).  He added, however, that they will have an opportunity to relook at the program at the next ministerial council in 2016:  “Participating states … will decide to continue Ariane 6 on the same track or to change it once again, but we have commitments to take Ariane 6 to its maiden flight. …. We will be able to sign contracts until the end of the development phase.”

At today’s exchange rate, 1 Euro is $1.23, so the  €4 billion commitment for Ariane 6 and Vega-C is approximately $5 billion.

Last Updated: Dec 03, 2014 3:56 pm ET
Orion EFT-1 Go for Launch on Thursday

Orion EFT-1 Go for Launch on Thursday

By Marcia Smith | Posted: December 2, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 3, 2014 12:03 am ET

The Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) launch was given the green light today for launch at 7:05 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Thursday, December 4, 2014.  The weather
forecast is 60 percent favorable for launch that day.  December 5 and 6 are backup launch days.

The approximately 4.5 hour flight’s main purpose is to test the spacecraft’s heat shield.  This Orion test spacecraft — which has no one aboard — is the first vehicle ultimately intended to carry humans further from Earth than the International Space Station (ISS) since the Apollo program, which ended in the 1970s.  EFT-1’s highest point (apogee) of 3,600 miles is 15 times higher than the ISS orbit.

The first flight of an Orion carrying a crew is not expected until at least 2021.   In 2017 or 2018, another unoccupied vehicle will be flown on the first test of the Space Launch System (SLS), a new “heavy lift” rocket under development by NASA.  SLS and Orion are designed to take astronauts beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) — to orbit the Moon and someday to orbit Mars.   NASA has been holding a number of media events highlighting that Orion is part of a “journey to Mars,” even though that destination is decades in the future.

Orion is built by Lockheed Martin and NASA stresses that this is a commercial launch — not a NASA launch.  NASA is buying data from Lockheed Martin about the spacecraft’s performance.  Lockheed Martin procured the launch on a Delta IV rocket from the United Launch Alliance (ULA).  Lockheed Martin and Boeing co-own ULA.

Launch is from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the launch window is 2 hours and 40 minutes long.   After two orbits of the Earth, the EFT-1 mission will splash down in the Pacific, where the spacecraft will be recovered and returned to NASA for use in a later test flight.  

 

Last Updated: Dec 03, 2014 12:03 am ET
What's Happening in Space Policy December 1-5, 2014

What's Happening in Space Policy December 1-5, 2014

By Marcia Smith | Posted: November 30, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: December 1, 2014 2:47 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy-related events coming up in the next week, December 1-5, 2014, and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

During the Week

First, it is important to note that two meetings we mentioned in our last edition have been postponed:  the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee and the NAC Human Exploration and Operations Committee.  Both were supposed to take place this week, leading up to the meeting of the full NAC next week, but that also has been postponed.  NASA said in its Federal Register notice that senior agency officials were tied up with other activities, including the Orion Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) launch on December 4.  (Two other NAC committee meetings this week–Aeronautics, and Technology, Innovation and Engineering–are still on track as far as we know.)

The Orion EFT-1 launch certainly will be one of the highlights this week.  It is scheduled for Thursday, December 4, at 7:05 am EST from Cape Canaveral.  NASA is pulling out all the stops in terms of media activities and even has Sesame Street characters involved. Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover and Slimey are sharing what item they would pack to go to Mars, describing what the journey to Mars would be like as a crew member, and using their ABCs to better understand the Orion spacecraft.  Elmo will be present at the launch, NASA says. The EFT-1 mission lasts only about 4.5 hours from liftoff to splashdown in the Pacific. The launch window is 2 hours 40 minutes long, dictated by the need to have daylight to observe various events during the launch and for recovery operations in the ocean.  December 5 and 6 are backup dates if needed.

Before that, however, another significant launch is expected — Japan’s Hayabusa2 is currently scheduled for launch on Tuesday, December 2, at 11:22 pm EST (Wednesday, December 3, 1:22 pm local time in Japan).  The launch has been postponed twice in recent days due to weather, and could slip again, but whenever it occurs, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to provide live video coverage.  This is Japan’s second asteroid sample return mission and will reach its target, asteroid 1999JU3, in mid-2018, returning the sample at the end of 2020.

The European Space Agency (ESA) will hold a critical “ministerial meeting” on Tuesday in Luxembourg.  The meeting brings together the ministers of each of ESA’s 20 member countries who oversee their country’s participation in ESA.  Ministerial meetings typically are held every three years, but this one is taking place just two years after the last one.  The ministers will make formal decisions on three resolutions regarding:

  • access to space (the future of Ariane and Vega);
  • space exploration strategy for ESA’s “three destinations (low-Earth orbit (LEO), Moon and Mars” including funding ESA’s ISS exploitation activities for the next three years (through 2017); and
  • evolution of ESA itself.

A press conference is expected after the meeting concludes about 18:30 Central European Time (CET), which would be about 12:30 pm EST.  It will be streamed live on ESA’s website.  (Note:  an earlier version of this article incorrectly showed the end time as 16:30, rather than 18:30 CET, which also changes the time in EST to 12:30 pm)

Those are just a few of the many activities on tap this week.  Here is what we know about as of Sunday afternoon.

Monday, December 1

Tuesday, December 2

Tuesday-Wednesday, December 2-3

Wednesday, December 3

Thursday, December 4

Friday, December 5

Correction:  An earlier version of this article stated that the ESA ministerial meeting would decide whether to continue participating in ISS through 2020.  The situation with regard to ISS is complicated.  At the December 2 meeting, the ministers will be deciding on funding ESA’s ISS exploitation activities through 2017.  They decided — in principle — to support ISS through 2020 at their last meeting (in 2012), but did not commit to the associated funding and therefore it was not a definitive commitment.

Last Updated: Dec 01, 2014 2:47 pm ET
What's Happening in Space Policy November 24-December 5, 2014

What's Happening in Space Policy November 24-December 5, 2014

By Marcia Smith | Posted: November 23, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: November 23, 2014 1:45 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy related events for the next TWO weeks, November 24-December 5, 2014.   Congress is in recess this coming week for the Thanksgiving holiday and will return on December 1.

During the Weeks

The United States celebrates Thanksgiving this week (on Thursday), so after the launch and docking of three International Space Station ISS) crew members today (Sunday), there is nothing on the docket until the first week of December in terms of space policy. 

However, on November 29 (November 30 in Japan), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch its second asteroid sample return mission, Hayabusa2, which should be of great interest.  JAXA will provide live TV coverage of the launch and spacecraft separation.

The first week of December is chock full of events.  To pick just two to highlight, ESA’s ministerial meeting on December 2 will decide the future of European launch systems and participation in the ISS program through 2020, and NASA’s December 4 launch of a test version of the Orion spacecraft  (EFT-1) on a 4.5 hour flight is a step forward for the future of the U.S. human spaceflight program.  Not everyone may agree on the next destination for the U.S. human spaceflight program — President Obama’s Asteroid Redirect Mission still has not captured much enthusiasm — but Orion is likely to be the NASA spacecraft to take astronauts wherever it is they will go beyond low Earth orbit.

Under the current schedule, Congress will meet during the first two weeks of December and then bring the 113th Congress to a close, with the 114th Congress convening on January 3, 2015.   What’s going to happen in those two weeks is, as always, completely unclear, and the two weeks could stretch through the holidays and even into the first two days of January if need be (which happened in 2012-2013 with the “fiscal cliff” showdown for those who remember).

The FY2015 Continuing Resolution (CR) now funding the government expires at midnight on December 11.  Under the best of circumstances (in terms of fiscal solvency and the ability of agencies to know how much money they have for FY2015), Congress will pass an omnibus appropriations bill before then combining all 12 regular appropriations bills and fund the government through the end of FY2015 (September 30, 2015).   Republican angst over President Obama’s immigration executive order (EO) is a complication, however.  Some Republicans insist that Congress not appropriate funds that could be used to implement the EO, but the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Hal Rogers (R-KY), publicly explained that the immigration office that will implement the EO is funded by fees, not appropriations, so it is “impossible” (in his words) to do that.  Republicans could devise a surgical approach to defunding some part of the government to demonstrate their displeasure or hold up the entire bill or something in between.  The key is that not only must a bill get enough votes to pass Congress — the Senate remains in Democratic hands until January —  but the President must be willing to sign it, which would seem unlikely if it defunds something he deems of critical importance. 

It’s anybody’s guess as to what will happen.  Our best guess, for what it’s worth, is that Congress will pass a short term CR to carry the government through to mid- or late-January when the Republicans will be in control of both chambers rather than risk a government shutdown over the holidays because either Congress can’t pass a bill or it passes a bill the President won’t sign.   But we will keep our fingers crossed that an omnibus bill funding the government through September 30, 2015 is still a possibility.

Meanwhile, here is a list of all the events we know about for the next two weeks as of Sunday morning, November 23.

Sunday, November 23 (November 24 local time at the launch site in Kazakhstan)

Saturday, November 29 (November 30 local time at the launch site in Japan)

Monday, December 1

Monday-Wednesday, December 1-3

Tuesday, December 2

Tuesday-Wednesday, December 2-3

Thursday, December 4

Friday, December 5

 

Last Updated: Nov 23, 2014 1:45 pm ET
Get Your Cube Quest Challenge Entries Ready!

Get Your Cube Quest Challenge Entries Ready!

By Marcia Smith | Posted: November 22, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: November 22, 2014 8:46 am ET

Registration for NASA’s Cube Quest (CQ) Challenge opens on December 2, 2014.  Prizes are offered for putting a cubesat into stable lunar orbit or for communicating the most amount of data in certain time frames or for the longest period of time or from the greatest distance in cis-lunar or trans-lunar space.

The CQ Challenge is part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges program and has a total prize purse of $5 million.

Prizes will be awarded for:

  • putting a cubesat into a stable lunar orbit
  • communicating the largest amount of data from the lunar distance in
    • a 30 minute time frame and
    • in a 28 day time frame
  • communicating the largest amount of data from 4 million kilometers from Earth
    • in a 30 minute time frame and
    • in a 28 day time frame
  • for being the last cubesat communicating and
  • for communicating from the furthest distance from Earth

The opening of registration for this challenge is announced in the November 24, 2014 Federal Register (distributed electronically on November 22), which directs interested individuals to a website that, as of the time of publication of this article (8:30 am November 22), is not working [http://www.nasa.gov/cubequest].  Presumably it will be working by the time registration opens on December 2.  Until then, the main website for the Centennial Challenges program may be helpful, though this particular competition does not seem to be posted there yet, either.

The competition ends one year after the “NASA-provided launch opportunity is launched for the challenge.”

Last Updated: Nov 22, 2014 8:46 am ET
ATK Continues To Support Merger with Orbital Sciences

ATK Continues To Support Merger with Orbital Sciences

By Marcia Smith | Posted: November 19, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: November 19, 2014 5:51 pm ET

In an investors call this afternoon, ATK confirmed that its Board of Directors continues to support its merger with Orbital Sciences Corporation despite the October 28 Antares launch failure.  The shareholder vote has been postponed to January 27, 2015, but the ATK Board recommends that the merger go forward.

ATK has concluded that risks associated with Orbital’s recovery plan are “manageable,” and successful execution is “likely.” 

“ATK Board of Directors continues to support the merits of the transaction and recommends shareholders vote to approve issuance of ATK shares to Orbital shareholders in connection with the merger,” the company said in its presentation.

The two companies announced a “merger of equals” in April, but the explosion of Orbital’s Antares rocket on October 28 at Wallops Island, VA is a complicating event. Antares was launching a Cygnus spacecraft filled with cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Orbital’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. 

Just one week after the accident, Orbital revealed its recovery plan to fulfill that contract, which requires Orbital to launch 20 tons of cargo to the ISS by the end of 2016.  To do that, Orbital will consolidate the remaining tonnage of cargo into four rather than five more launches, made possible by already planned upgrades to Cygnus and Antares.  The upgraded Cygnus was already scheduled to be introduced on the next launch, and Orbital will accelerate bringing a new version of Antares on line with a different rocket engine.  Until that new rocket is ready, expected in 2016, Orbital will use other companies’ rockets to launch Cygnus.  Those details are still pending.

What new engine will be used for Antares is a matter of considerable speculation.  Neither Orbital nor ATK has said what it is.  Antares has been using AJ26 engines, which are Russian NK-33 engines built more than 40 years ago, purchased and refurbished by Aerojet Rocketdyne.   During an investors call on November 5, Orbital Chairman, President and CEO David Thompson referred to ongoing technical and supply problems with the AJ26. 

Though there was no hard news today during the ATK investors call about what new engine has been selected, the presentation did note Orbital’s plan to “accelerate the introduction of a new Antares propulsion system upgrade in 2016” before summarizing its assessment of Orbital’s plan as being reasonable.  The company did add, however, that it would continue to “work closely with Orbital to monitor progress on the recovery and go-forward plan.”

Last Updated: Nov 19, 2014 5:51 pm ET
What's Happening in Space Policy November 17-21, 2014

What's Happening in Space Policy November 17-21, 2014

By Marcia Smith | Posted: November 16, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: November 16, 2014 2:43 pm ET

Here is our list of space policy events in the coming week, November 17-21, 2014, and any insights we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session.

During the Week

Congress is in session this week, but anything they are working on regarding space policy and funding is taking place behind the scenes.  One set of negotiations is over a compromise version of a FY2015 omnibus appropriations bill that is expected to combine all 12 regular appropriations bill into one and fund the government through the rest of FY2015 (September 30, 2015).   Word has it the bill will be publicly released the week of December 8, just in time to get it passed – hopefully – by midnight December 11 when the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires. 

It’s not a sure bet, though. House Appropriations Committee chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) warned this past week that if President Obama issues an Executive Order on immigration (i.e., takes action without waiting for Congress to act) before a deal is done on appropriations, there will be an “explosion.”   He’s worried appropriations will get caught in the crossfire.  If a new appropriations bill is not enacted by December 11, the government will shut down like it did in October 2013.  Some Tea Party Republicans consider government shutdowns a useful tactic and might try to cause another one in reaction to any Presidential action on immigration.  Even absent that, some have been arguing in favor of passing just another CR to fund the government for the first few weeks of the New Year when Republicans will control both the House and Senate and have more power to decide funding matters.  (We talked about the road ahead for appropriations in an earlier article.)

Negotiations also are underway on a FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).  It is the only annual authorization bill that Congress routinely passes, even if that happens at the very last minute.  The House passed its version in May, and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) approved a version in June, but it has not gone to the Senate floor for debate yet.  They will probably skip that step and just bring the compromise to the floor.  Congress hasn’t missed passing an NDAA for more than 50 years no matter how high the political tensions.  Senate John McCain (R-AZ), who likely will chair SASC in the next Congress, included a provision in the SASC-version of the bill prohibiting DOD from contracting with space launch services providers that use Russian suppliers — aimed at the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA’s) use of Russian RD-180 engines for the Atlas V.   ULA President Tory Bruno said last week that congressional staffers now understand the “very harmful” unintended consequences of that language and are revising it as part of the NDAA negotiations.

Like appropriations, the NDAA probably won’t become public for a while yet.   Congress will be in recess next week for Thanksgiving, then return for two more weeks to finish what they can for the 113th Congress.  

Off the Hill, three NASA Advisory Council committees or subcommittees will meet this week in person or virtually (Planetary Protection on Monday and Tuesday, Institutional on Wednesday and Thursday, and Planetary Science on Friday).   The NSF-NASA-DOE Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee meets at NSF on Monday and Tuesday.   Alan Ladwig and Courtney Stadd’s ISU-DC Space Café discussion is on Tuesday evening (rescheduled from last Tuesday, which was Veterans Day and HBO’s Concert for Valor essentially took over DC).   And the Secure World Foundation and American Astronautical Society will host a briefing on space weather on the Senate side of the Capitol Visitor Center at lunchtime on Thursday.

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

Monday-Tuesday, November 17-18

Tuesday, November 18

Tuesday-Thursday, November 18-20

Tuesday-Friday, November 18-21

Wednesday-Thursday, November 19-20

Thursday, November 20

Friday, November 21

Last Updated: Nov 16, 2014 2:43 pm ET
ULA's Tory Bruno Vows To Transform Company

ULA's Tory Bruno Vows To Transform Company

By Laura Delgado | Posted: November 14, 2014 12:00 am ET | Last Updated: July 27, 2017 12:27 pm ET

Alluding to what he described as a moment of exciting change for the commercial launch industry, the newly appointed head of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) discussed how his company, the primary U.S. national security launch provider, will adapt to remain on top.

At an event Thursday hosted by the Atlantic Council, Salvatore “Tory” T. Bruno, ULA president and CEO, described his sense of “irrational optimism” at the future of the commercial launch industry. Widespread accessibility will be the key feature of a new environment, he explained, one where government and new commercial customers will need access to space to accomplish “missions we couldn’t conceive of in the past.”

ULA, the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture established in 2006 with a record of 89 successful launches, is banking on experience to remain ahead in an industry facing new competition and possible constraints from foreign policy pressures.  Last April, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) filed a complaint against the U.S. Air Force for awarding an $11 billion block buy contract to ULA for five years’ worth of launches on its Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV). ULA has stated this block buy saved the government $4 billion, cutting launch prices in half. SpaceX has argued it can offer the same service for much less and is vying to compete for national space security launch contracts.

Although not referring to SpaceX directly, Bruno cited ULA’s “perfect record of mission success,” and “great heritage” as the benefit of doing business with the company.  But the country is demanding new things, he said, and “I am going to transform this company.” Bruno vowed to “cash in” the company’s decades of experience, reorganize to make it more agile, and establish new business models to adapt to the new environment. These changes will lead to improvements in how ULA interacts with its customers, both governmental and commercial, shorter launch cycles, and launch costs cut in half again.

Among the changes already under way, in September ULA announced a partnership with Blue Origin for the development of an alternative to the Russian-built RD-180 engine which ULA uses on its Atlas V vehicle.  In light of deteriorating diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia, for the past several months policymakers and industry leaders have been debating alternatives to reduce U.S. reliance on Russia for putting critical national security assets in orbit.

ULA intends to phase out the RD-180 over time and transition to an “American solution” to launching satellites using Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine.  Bruno said that transition is coming “very soon,” but ULA will continue buying RD-180s under its existing contract with RD-AMROSS and is accelerating their delivery.  ULA wants to have eight rather than five delivered next year, he acknowledged.

Senator John McCain (R-AZ), expected to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) in the next Congress, included language in the Senate version of the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2410, sec. 1623) prohibiting DOD from contracting for space launch services from companies using Russian suppliers.  Asked about his reaction to the language, Bruno replied that, as originally drafted, the language would have been “very harmful” to ULA in ways “the drafters did not intend” and is being revised as part of negotiations over the final version of the bill.

When asked by a reporter for Russia’s news agency, Itar-TASS, why the RD-180s were being phased out and deliveries accelerated, Bruno made no reference to the tense geopolitical circumstances, however.   Instead, he framed it strictly as a business decision.  Praising the RD-180 as a “great” engine that is very reliable with “terrific performance,” he nonetheless said it was time to move past the technologies of the 1970s and 1980s and build a lighter engine with improved thrust.  As for moving up the delivery timetable, he said that was in response to anticipated market demand for more Atlas V launches.

The Atlantic Council has posted the webcast of the event on its website.

Last Updated: Jul 27, 2017 12:27 pm ET

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