Space Access 2010

Overview
Thu April 8 afternoon
Thu April 8 evening
Fri April 9 morning
Fri April 9 afternoon
Fri April 9 evening
Sat April 10 morning
Sat April 10 afternoon

Other coverage
RLV News

These are notes I took from the presentations at the Space Access 2010 Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thursday evening, April 8, 2010

Alan Ladwig, NASA HQ

Alan Ladwig, "A New Space Enterprise", NASA HQ

* NASA commercial space policy overview
* intro to cultural influences inspiring interest in space travel over the decades
* current change in manned space flight policy was not because of change in administration, but rather because Constellation was unsustainable
* showed this picture of STS-131 launch from Disney Parks blog
* NASA budget was increased including Space Science
* "NASA is a poster child for international cooperation"
* impressive Hubble telescope pics, Hubble 20th anniversary coming soon
* money in NASA budget to extend International Space Station to 2020
* commercial cargo aqnd crew has been discussed the most

• old-school types tend to be critical
• newer thinking supports it
• serious risk to purse usustainable old system
• "old companies do not have a divine right to all the contracts"
• "new companies do not have a divine right to all the innovation"

* lesson from X-33 was not to put all your development budget in one project
* enabling technology development
* prizes and competitions
* participatory exploration
* STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education
* impact of suborbital flights and space tourism
* Human exploration beyond LEO

• 3 phase development program
• build the foundation: commercial sector, robotic precursors, game-changing technologies
• construct the infrastructure: heavy-lift and in-space activities
• sustainable exploration of the solar system

* comparing sustainabilty of older plans and newer plans

• Augustine Commission found Constellation plans would not have facilitated NASA return to the moon before 2028; 2020 was planned but found to be unrealistic - not much going on
• incremental development, commercial development - lots going on

* open space for humanity - Augustine Commission said this had to be the country's goal
* "let's salute Apollo" but "it's time to move on" (applause at this statement)

Jeff Patton, United Launch Alliance

Jeff Patton, "ULA's Support for NASA's Commercial Crew Development Program", United Launch Alliance

* video of big-government rockets launched from KSC

• wonder if this is the right audience for this

* "If you don't know what ULA is, I don't know where you've been"

• may not go over well with new attendees, and this conference has them

* ULA - joint venture between Lockheed and Boeing for launch of expendable rockets at KSC
* Atlas & Delta capabilities to support Human spaceflight

• used to fly crew in Mercury/Atlas Gemini/Titan
• selected for others including CCdev in 2010

* Atlas & Delta Human rating history

• planned to take the project commercial when NASA started Constellation
• began working with Bigelow Aerospace (space hotel startup with 2 commercial space station test modules in orbit now)
• Bigelow launches to start in 2014, rate picks up after 2016
• demonstrated reliability: ULA launched 83 vehicles since forming in 2003

* system-level human rating

• "triangle of truth"
  • LV reliability
  • LV emergency detection
  • intact abort capability
• "black zones" (abort scenarios where crew would be lost) not acceptable

* "drive up the reliability curve before you fly the first crew"
* interesting safety metrics for determination of place on development curve before declaring a system as human rated
* also supports Sierra Nevada Corporation

• developing Dreamchaser vehicle
• wind tunnel and other analysis in progress

* Boeing - ULA supporting launch planning for new manned capsule under development
* ongoing human rating studies
* intended as common-sense approach to human rating of Atlas and Delta
* studies show human rated EELVs can achieve IOC (Initial Operating Capability) within 4-4.5 years
* From Q&A

• want to leverage the cargo missions for experience and demonstrated reliability
• Q: 36 launches per year? can the Cape handle that? A: ULA may have to consider multiple sites - it would stress the current system at the Cape

Panel: High-Payoff LEO & Deep Space Transportation Technologies

Panel: High-Payoff LEO & Deep Space Transportation Technologies - Jeff Greason, Jon Goff, Jordin Kare, Henry Spencer, Rand Simberg

* Jordin Kare (LaserMotive and Intellectual Ventures)

• getting beyond Earth/Moon will require nuclear power

* Jeff Greason (CEO/co-founder XCOR Aerospace)

• "I had an interesting Summer vacation last year" (laughter - member of the Augustine Commission reviewing NASA Human Spaceflight plans)
• The US is getting an unhealthy situation where single vendors make significant programs one bankruptcy away from inability to maintain a space program
• US industrial base has decayed so much that we'reon the verge of not being a space power any more
• Need to restore diversity of our nation's capabilities through commercial competition

* Jon Goff (propulsion engineer/co-founder Masten Space Systems)

• most interested in afterburning rocket nozzles, cryogenic propellant depots and MHD aerobraking
• will save most of the propellant depot comments for the panel on that topic tomorrow
• MHD aerobraking - vehicles which operate only in space

* Henry Spencer (U of Toronto)

• current interest is current entry heat shielding issues
• refurbishment of a vehicle is a headache
• one-shot devices invalidate some of the effectiveness of tests on previous copies
• heat sink heat shields - used on early capsules, big slab of metal that just absorbs the heat, disadvantage is that it's heavy
• could use some organized flight tests of these technologies
• transpiration cooling, film cooling
• approaches that look like regenerative cooling
• ultra-low ballistic coefficient solution (large surface area to slow down higher up with lower heat loads)
• all the approaches have advantages and disadvantages

* Rand Simberg (Transterrestrial Musings blog)

• ISRU - in-situ resource utilization

* Greason: Jon's interest in thrust augmented nozzles is part of a larger topic of technologies applicable to large boosters

• this is an area where the Russians have the lead
• we need something cheap to produce and good enough to do the job

* Spencer: misconception that chemical rocket engines reached the limit of natural laws in 1965

• only seems that way because no one has tried
• prefers non-toxic propellants - working with hydrazine is too costly

* Simberg: haven't done an X-plane/vehicle for beyond LEO
* Greason: no other industry pretends to be able to plan 30 years out - we do not know what 2040 will be like
* lots of interesting technical banter on high-payoff technologies - but difficult to take coherent notes
* Greason: the US gov't has dropped the ball one too many times - the ball is in our (commercial aerospace's) court. The country has no Plan B.

Lee Valentine, Space Studies Institute

Lee Valentine, Space Studies Institute

* interest in high leverage technologies
* time to re-energize study of non-terrestrial materials (i.e. moon, asteroids, etc) before transportation capability catches up
* most recent technology projects funded by SSI were investment in XCOR Aerospace for piston pump development

• funds matched by DARPA
• led to second pump-fed rocket technology this century

* SSI is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, all volunteer
* currently seeking more opportunities to educate wider audience about economic need for these technologies
* SSI archive library moved from Princeton to Mojave Air & Space Port
* accepting donations of reference materials for the library
* SSI space settlement and development conference will be held at NASA Ames Oct 30-31

Barry Smith, Future of Flight Innovation Center

Barry Smith, Future of Flight Innovation Center

* 501(c)3 non-profit corp located 22 miles north of Seattle
* air museum and Boeing factory tour at Paine Field in Everett WA
* kids at the museum ask more about access to space than construction of airliners
* "scrambling all the time for exhibits"
* we have a common audience interested in aviation and aerospace
* aerospace exhibits that museums can get their hands on are usually old stuff - need anything this community can provide