I can’t tell you how amazed I am to read an editorial in the Gray Lady on space policy that actually makes sense.
Category Archives: Space
That Was Fast
They must have had this ready to go, and were just waiting to find out if they were going to get the money they needed for Commercial Crew:
NASA intends to solicit proposals from all interested U.S. industry participants to further advance commercial crew space transportation system concepts and mature the design and development of elements of the system such as launch vehicles and spacecraft. NASA plans to use its ”other transactions” authority within the National Aeronautics and Space Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2451 et seq, to invest in multiple, competitively awarded, funded agreements. The funding available for awards will depend on the fiscal year 2011 appropriations; however, an anticipated funding level is expected to be provided in the Announcement. The agreements are expected to result in significant maturation of commercial crew systems with consideration given to NASA’s draft human certification requirements and standards or industry equivalent to those requirements and standards. This activity is referred to as Commercial Crew Development Round 2, or CCDev 2.
Finally, some real progress, assuming that the new Congress doesn’t try to kill it. I think that Boeing has even surprised themselves on how fast they can move, and cost effectively, when operating on this kind of contract. They’ve already developed an astonishing amount of hardware for the CST, relative to past programs.
[Update a while later]
Jeff Foust has more.
If Anyone Was Wondering
…why I was asking about ISS crew capacity, this is why:
The new space station would have an initial design life of about 15 years, Orbital Technologies officials have said. Soyuz spacecraft would ferry crews to the station, while unmanned Progress vehicles would keep it stocked with supplies.
The station will also fly in an orbit about 62 miles (100 km) from the International Space Station and in a similar inclination, or tilt, to make any transfers of crew or cargo between to two stations easier, the company said.
…The Russian space agency’s chief, Alexey Krasnov, added that a commercial space station could serve as a backup for International Space Station crews.
“For example, if a required maintenance procedure or a real emergency were to occur, without the return of the ISS crew to Earth, habitants could use the CSS as a safe haven,” Krasnov said.
If NASA was smart, they’d be buying a Sundancer or two from Bob Bigelow for the same purpose. With these kinds of co-orbiting facilities, you can have a true lifeboat, that doesn’t need to be able to enter. It might be Dragon based, or something else, but it’s basically a pressurized tug with life support and hatches (and perhaps an airlock), but it lives in space. And the ridiculous requirement that the entire ISS be capable of evacuating all inhabitants all the way back to earth goes away.
Getting Down To Space Business
Henry Spencer’s thoughts on the passage of the authorization bill.
Non-News In Space
People are making too big a deal of Lori’s statement yesterday that we are not abandoning the moon. This is not any different than NASA has been saying since February, though the message has been badly garbled, and the president didn’t help with his flip and foolish comment about how “Buzz has already been there.”
Flexible Path always meant just that — flexible, and that flexibility included the ability, eventually, to go to the lunar surface, just not as a first destination.
Now, as it happens, I don’t think that it’s as expensive to build a lander as NASA and the Augustine panel seemed to think, particularly if you have a depot at L1 or L2, and we could have even retained the VSE plan of return to the moon first, but it doesn’t really matter now, because some future administration and Congress is going to make that decision. The important thing for now is to focus on developing the technology and building the hardware that’s necessary for all BEO missions, regardless of ultimate destination, while the opportunity exists. And one thing that doesn’t include is a heavy-lift vehicle, but at least until we can get a sensible Congress (perhaps next year, but there’s a lot of education to be done on that front), we will have to waste money on it. But as long as there’s enough left over to do the things that do need doing, and we don’t starve them for funds (Mike Griffin’s greatest sin), at least we won’t have to waste any more time.
The Power Of Transterrestrial
I see that all four of the Republicans that I called out yesterday ended up voting for the Senate bill.
Is There An ISS Expert In The House?
Ignoring the lifeboat issue, what is the real crew capacity of the system, and what would it take to expand it (e.g, ECLSS)? How many could it comfortably support? What are the fundamental limits? I assume that power is not one of them, and hab volume could still be expanded.
[Update late afternoon]
OK, maybe I haven’t phrased the question properly. My question is not about requirements, but about design. That is, if I wanted to expand crew far beyond that currently designed for, and (once again) ignoring the lifeboat issue, what are the constraints? Dennis implies that it is power (presumably because, admittedly, that would probably be the hardest thing to expand much, absent a nuke in LEO). But if we wanted to (say) triple it, would that be possible, and what would we have to do, and what would be the first things to upgrade, and what would it cost?
The Senate Bill Passes
Thanks to everyone who did citizen lobbying to make this happen. Henry Vanderbilt offers his thanks as well, and discusses events to come (the next battle will be over the 2011 NASA appropriation). Clark Lindsey has thoughts there as well, and a lot of links here.
[Update a while later]
Lori Garver is going to do a press conference in a few minutes. You’ll be able to stream it here, at least in theory.
Conservatives In Name Only
I have a piece up at PJM this morning about space pork.
Who Would Have Guessed?
Mike Griffin is opposed to the Senate bill. That right there makes me support it. Kind of like how I vote for issues that I don’t know much about by going the opposite from whatever the LA Times endorses.
Mike Griffin should just take his own advice, and shut up.