Space News Roundup January 3, 2011

• Canada is looking to build and launch their own rocket. To be honest, I understand their desire to reach an important space milestone, but I think they would be better served by building the infrastructure for launches and buying launches from private companies, such as Boeing and SpaceX. Of course ITAR is always an issue...
• NASA's Mars rover Spirit is still not talking.
• Some band I've never heard of wants to play in space aboard Virgin Galactic.
• NPR has a roundup of NASA's plans for manned space.

Obama Pushes Private Space Ferries

The Obama administration, in one of its few nods to private industry, is asking NASA to fund private companies on the order of $3.5 billion to develop private transport to orbit. It is rumored that they may add $1 billion to NASA's budget begging in October of 2010.

This is good news to companies like SpaceX, who are already set to receive $1.6 billion to develop and test their Falcon 9 rocket under the COTS program.

They are also, not surprisingly, seeking international support in developing rockets to land on the Moon and Mars.

Like the old Vulcan proverb, Only Nixon can go to China...

2010 NASA Budget Request Released

The 2010 NASA Budget Request has been released. For more information check out NASA's budget site. RLV and Space Transport News has comments specific to COTS.

Astronauts Get It

In an interview with Jeffrey Hoffman, MIT professor and former space shuttle, MIT News ask him about the shuttle retirement. He said he thinks it is time to retire the shuttle and get on with exploration. With respect to the private space industry, he said:

The only thing we need a spaceship for during the next few years is to get up to the space station, but the Russians will do that for us, and maybe even Elon Musk [founder of SpaceX, which is building the privately-funded Falcon 9 rocket] will do that for us. In fact, I'd love to see private industry take over maintaining the low-Earth orbit infrastructure. If private industry could support that on the basis of tourist travel and however else they can make money, then NASA could buy their services at the marginal cost of doing business instead of maintaining the whole infrastructure. I mean, NASA spends a third of its budget just supporting a transportation infrastructure, and if that could be obtained from the private sector, NASA would save a lot of money, which could be used for exploration, which is what I think NASA's real goal should be in the future, not running a transportation system.

Exactly.

COTS-D Gets Started with Stimulus Money

The COTS-D program, the human flight phase of the COTS program, has been given $150 million of the $400 million allocated to NASA for human spaceflight in the stimulus package.
SpaceX and Orbital Science are currently competing on the COTS-A and COTS-B phases, but only SpaceX has negotiated rights to try for all COTS phases.

The $150 million is divided into $80 million for a "crewed launch demo," $42 million for a docking system to the international space station, $20 million for a cargo transportation demo and $8 million for miscellaneous costs, such as human rating.

The remaining $250 million will go to NASA's constellation program.

PlanetSpace Whines about Losting COTS

PlanetSpace, which to our knowledge has never launched actual hardware, is protesting the award of the COTS money to SpaceX and Orbital Sciences.

SpaceX Introduces DragonLabTM -- a Free-Flying, Reusable Spacecraft Offering Fast Track to Orbital Flight for Pressurized and Unpressurized Payloads

SpaceX to Host (Invitation-only) Users Workshop on November 6
Hawthorne, CA - November 3, 2008 – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is introducing a new commercial product called DragonLab™, a free-flying, reusable spacecraft capable of hosting pressurized and unpressurized payloads to and from space. DragonLab will launch to orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

DragonLab provides a platform for in-space experimentation, including recovery of pressurized and some unpressurized payloads, as well as deployment of small spacecraft. As a complete system, DragonLab provides for all aspects of operation: propulsion, power, thermal control, environmental control, avionics, communications, thermal protection, flight software, guidance, navigation and control, entry, descent and landing and recovery.

SpaceX will host a DragonLab Users Workshop on November 6, 2008. This workshop will be an opportunity for potential customers to fully explore DragonLab's capabilities, as well as present customer-specific interests and requirements. The workshop agenda includes an overview of the Dragon spacecraft, concept of operations, payload accommodations and cost parameters.

"Just as importantly," said Max Vozoff, Product Manager for Dragon and DragonLab and host of the Users Workshop, "we will hear from potential users about their applications, requirements, and concerns, as well as discuss contracting mechanisms. We will also include a tour of our 550,000 square foot SpaceX manufacturing facility where we design and build all major systems for SpaceX launch vehicles and spacecraft."

SpaceX is currently manufacturing the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 launch vehicle to provide the U.S. with cargo services to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) competition. The maiden flight of Dragon/Falcon 9 is currently scheduled for June 2009 from SpaceX's Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Two subsequent flights will be completed by 2010, culminating with Dragon berthing with the ISS.
Contact dragonlab@spacex.com to request further information or an invitation to attend. All participants must register in advance to attend this workshop.

About SpaceX

SpaceX is developing a family of launch vehicles intended to increase the reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation, ultimately by a factor of ten. With its Falcon line of launch vehicles, powered by internally-developed Merlin engines, SpaceX offers light, medium and heavy lift capabilities to deliver spacecraft into any altitude and inclination, from low-Earth to geosynchronous orbit to planetary missions.

On September 28, 2008, Falcon 1, designed and manufactured from the ground up by SpaceX, became the first privately-developed liquid fuel rocket to orbit the Earth.

As a winner of the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services competition (COTS), SpaceX is in a position to help fill the gap in American spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) when the Space Shuttle retires in 2010. Under the existing Agreement, SpaceX will conduct three flights of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft for NASA, culminating in Dragon berthing with the ISS. SpaceX is the only COTS contender with the capability to return cargo to Earth and demonstrate the capability to carry crew to and from the ISS.

Founded in 2002, the SpaceX team now numbers over 550, located primarily in Hawthorne, California, with four additional locations: SpaceX's Texas Test Facility in McGregor near Waco; offices in Washington DC; and launch facilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the Marshall Islands in the Central Pacific.

Photo Caption: SpaceX DragonLab™ - a free-flying, fully-recoverable, reusable spacecraft capable of hosting pressurized and unpressurized payloads.

Falcon 1 Launch Number 3 Live Blogging

[update 10:39 CDT] The rocket is off and supersonic.

[update 10:26 CDT] We are at T-10 and counting.

[update 10:23 CDT] The turbopump purge pressure was off by 0.5 psi. They are resuming countdown at T-10 minutes shortly.

[update 10:19 CDT] There was an abort at T-0 seconds. They are deciding whether or not to recycle and launch tonight or not. They have 50 minutes in the launch window.

[update 10:00 CDT] The rockete didn't take off. Not sure what happened yet.

[update 9:56 CDT] 5 minutes to go. The arms are open. All is a go!!!!!

[update 9:51 CDT] T-10 minutes and counting.

[update 9:44 CDT] Everything looks good for a 10pm CDT launch.

[update 9:16 CDT] The fuel is being reloaded and they have restarted T-55. They are currently at T-44 and expect to launch about 10pm CDT.

[update 8:06 CDT] Webcast has been put on hold until 8:30 CDT. The helium tanks need more cooling.

[update 7:59 CDT] They have left the hosts and we are now hearing the ground crew talking.

[update 7:53 CDT] According to Kimbal, the hold is due to the Hold is due to extended time needed to cryochill the helium.

[update 7:41 CST] There is another hold at T-16 minutes. Hopefully it is nothing big.

[update 7:40 CDT]They are currently showing a video of Elon Musk giving a tour of the Hawthorne, CA SpaceX facility. The webcast will be posted at http://www.spacex.com/ after the flight if you miss it.

[update 7:25 CDT] The countdown has continued. They are topping off the LOX. Launch expected at 7:55 CDT.

[update 6:37 CDT] LOX loading is complete. They are still on hold but there are two people giving an overview about what we are going to see. Hosts are Max Vozoff and Emily Shanklin.

[update 6:28 CDT] The first stage is full of LOx, the second stage is 50% full. They are on a hold at T-55 minutes.

[update 6:06] They have begun loading the liquid oxygen.

[update 6:03 CDT] There is currently about 1 hour until launch time.

I will be blogging as the night goes on about SpaceX's third launch of the Falcon 1 rocket. You can view the webcast here.

SpaceX Sets August 2 for Falcon 1 launch

Hawthorne CA – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has scheduled the launch of the Falcon 1 Flight 3 mission for Saturday, August 2nd. The launch window will open at 4:00 p.m. (PDT) / 7:00 p.m. (EDT) / 23:00 (UTC) and remain open for five hours. Webcast will begin approximately 30 minutes before launch. If launch is delayed for any reason, SpaceX has range availability to resume countdown through August 5.

Lift-off of the vehicle will occur from SpaceX’s Falcon 1 launch site at the Kwajalein Atoll, about 2500 miles southwest of Hawaii. Falcon 1 launch facilities are situated on Omelek Island, part of the Reagan Test Site (RTS) at United States Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) in the Central Pacific.

Designed from the ground up by SpaceX at headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., Falcon 1 is a two-stage, liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene powered launch vehicle. The first stage is powered by a single SpaceX Merlin 1C Regenerative engine – flying for the first time on this Flight 3 mission. A “hold before liftoff” system enhances reliability by permitting all systems to be verified as functioning nominally before launch is initiated. The Falcon 1 second stage is
powered by a single SpaceX Kestrel engine.

Falcon 1 is the first new orbital rocket in more than a decade. Merlin is the first new American hydrocarbon engine for an orbital booster to be flown in more than 40 years and only the second new American engine of any kind in more than a quarter century. After achieving orbit, Falcon 1 will be the first privately developed, liquid fuel rocket to orbit the Earth.
The primary customers for the Falcon 1 launch are the Department of Defense, Government of Malaysia and NASA. Falcon 1 is carrying a payload stack of three separating satellites that will orbit at an inclination of 9 degrees:

The Trailblazer satellite was developed by SpaceDev of Poway, Calif., for the Jumpstart Program of DoD’s Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office, as a test platform to validate the hardware, software and processes of an accelerated microsatellite launch. Trailblazer is deployed from the Falcon 1 second stage shortly after the shut-down of the second stage engine, about 10 minutes into flight.

Deploying four to eight minutes later will be two NASA small satellites: PRESat, a micro laboratory from NASA’s Ames Research Center, and then NanoSail-D, which will unfurl an ultra-thin solar sail, developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, in collaboration with NASA Ames Research Center.

The three separating satellites attach to the Falcon 1 second stage via the Secondary Payload Adaptor and Separation System, (SPASS), developed by ATSB, a company owned by the Government of Malaysia that develops and commercializes space technology. The SPASS was engineered by Space Access Technologies of Ashburn, Va.

SpaceX will provide live coverage of the Falcon 1 Flight 3 mission via webcast at: www.SpaceX.com . The webcast will begin 30 minutes prior to launch and will include mission briefings, live feeds and launch coverage from the launch site at the Kawjalein Atoll, as well as a special video tour of SpaceX facilities by Elon Musk, CEO and CTO.

Post-launch, high resolution B-roll video footage and photos will be available for download by contacting: media@spacex.com .

About SpaceX
SpaceX is developing a family of launch vehicles intended to increase the reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation, ultimately by a factor of ten. With its Falcon line of launch vehicles, powered by internally-developed Merlin engines, SpaceX offers light, medium and heavy lift capabilities to deliver spacecraft into any altitude and inclination, from low-Earth to geosynchronous orbit to planetary missions. SpaceX currently has 12 missions on its manifest, excluding the two previous Falcon 1 demonstration flights, plus indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts with NASA and the US Air Force.
As a winner of the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services competition (COTS), SpaceX is in a position to help fill the gap in American spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) when the Space Shuttle retires in 2010. Under the existing Agreement, SpaceX will conduct three flights of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft for NASA, culminating in Dragon berthing with the ISS. NASA also has an option to demonstrate crew services to the ISS using the Falcon 9 / Dragon system. SpaceX is the only COTS contender that has the capability to return pressurized cargo and crew to Earth. The first Falcon 9 will arrive at the SpaceX launch site (complex 40) at Cape Canaveral by the end of 2008 in preparation for its maiden flight.
Founded in 2002, the SpaceX team now numbers over 500, located primarily in Hawthorne, California, with four additional locations: SpaceX's Texas Test Facility in McGregor near Waco; offices in Washington DC; and launch facilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the Marshall Islands in the Central Pacific.

SpaceX Conducts Full Thrust Firing of Falcon 9 Rocket

Video of Engine Firing

McGregor TX – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) conducted the first nine engine firing of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle at its Texas Test Facility outside McGregor on July 31st. A second firing on August 1st completed a major NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) milestone almost two months early.

At full power, the nine engines consumed 3,200 lbs of fuel and liquid oxygen per second, and generated 832,000 pounds of force (lbf) – four times the maximum thrust of a 747 aircraft. This marks the first firing of a Falcon 9 first stage with its full complement of nine Merlin 1C engines . Once a near term Merlin 1C fuel pump upgrade is complete, the sea level thrust will increase to 950,000 lbf, making Falcon 9 the most powerful single core vehicle in the United States.

"This was the most difficult milestone in development of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and it also constitutes a significant achievement in US space vehicle development. Not since the final flight of the Saturn 1B rocket in 1975, has a rocket had the ability to lose any engine or motor and still successfully complete its mission,” said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX. “Much like a commercial airliner, our multi-engine design has the potential to provide significantly higher reliability than single engine competitors."

"We made a major advancement from the previous five engine test by adding four new Merlin engines at once," said Tom Mueller, Vice President of Propulsion for SpaceX. "All phases of integration went smoothly and we were elated to see all nine engines working perfectly in concert."

About SpaceX

SpaceX is developing a family of launch vehicles intended to increase the reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation, ultimately by a factor of ten. With its Falcon line of launch vehicles, powered by internally-developed Merlin engines, SpaceX offers light, medium and heavy lift capabilities to deliver spacecraft into any altitude and inclination, from low-Earth orbit to geosynchronous to planetary missions. SpaceX currently has 12 missions on its manifest, excluding the two previous Falcon 1 demonstration flights, plus indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts with NASA and the US Air Force.

As a winner of the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services competition (COTS), SpaceX is in a position to help fill the gap in American spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) when the Space Shuttle retires in 2010. Under the existing Agreement, SpaceX will conduct three flights of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft for NASA, culminating in Dragon berthing with the ISS. SpaceX is the only COTS contender that has the capability to return cargo and crew to Earth. NASA also has an option to demonstrate crew services to the ISS using the Falcon 9 / Dragon system. SpaceX is the only COTS contender that has the capability to return pressurized cargo and crew to Earth. The first Falcon 9 will arrive at the SpaceX launch site (complex 40) at Cape Canaveral by the end of 2008 in preparation for its maiden flight.

Founded in 2002, the SpaceX team now numbers more than 500 full time employees, primarily located in Hawthorne, California, with four additional locations: SpaceX's Texas Test Facility in McGregor near Waco; offices in Washington DC; and launch facilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the Marshall Islands in the Central Pacific.

SpaceX Dragon to be Completed this Year

SpaceX will be finished with their first Dragon capsule by the end of the year. SpaceX is one of two COTS finalists for NASA, which will begin purchasing private for cargo to the ISS in 2010. The Dragon capulse will be paired with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

PlanetSpace to go for ISS Resupply Contract

Even though PlanetSpace lost the COTS competition to SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, they still plan to compete for the ISS resupply contract, estimated at $3.1 billion. They submitted the first proposal for it on Monday.

SpaceX to Work With NASA on Space-To-Space Communications

NASA and SpaceX have signed an agreement to work with "space-to-space communications directly between Dragon and ISS."

[hat tip to RLV and Space Transport News]

Video of the SpaceX Rocket Test

There are two videos of the recent SpaceX Engine:

• Closeup
• Video from the Report

The Falcon 9 should be delivered to Cape Canaveral and ready for flight the end of the year.

Launch Complex 40 is Gone to Make Way for SpaceX

Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral has been demolished. SpaceX will launch their COTS resupply rockets from this launch pad in the future.

SapceX Dragon Demo Schedule Official

NASA and SpaceX have come to an official agreement for the schedule of the Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule demonstrations. SpaceX reported a six month slip last February. The schedule for the demonstration appears to be:

• Sept.2008 - 9 engine test
• Manifest shows three Falcon 9 flights before the first COTS demo
• June 2009 - COTS Demo 1
• November 2009 - COTS Demo 2
• March 2010 - COTS Demo 3

(hap tip to RLV and Space Transport News)

NASA May Speed Up COTS Program

NASA has just finished a study at the possibility of speeding up the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to include crew transport as well as cargo. Currently SpaceX and Orbital Science have been funded to build phase 1, or cargo to orbit, of the COTS program . SpaceX has said they plan to try for the crew portion as well with their Dragon capsule.

This could be very good news for the American space program.

Press Release: SpaceX Conducts First Three-Engine Firing of Falcon 9 Rocket

McGregor TX – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) conducted the first three-engine firing of its Falcon 9 medium to heavy lift rocket at its Texas Test Facility outside McGregor, on March 8, 2008. At full power the engines generated over 270,000 pounds of force, and consumed 1,050 lbs of fuel and liquid oxygen per second. This three-engine test again sets the record as the most powerful test yet on the towering 235-foot tall test stand. A total of nine Merlin 1C engines will power the Falcon 9 rocket.

The test series continues with the addition of two engines for a total of five, then finally the full compliment of nine engines. With all engines firing, the Falcon 9 can generate over one million pounds of thrust in vacuum - four times the maximum thrust of a 747 aircraft.

“The incremental approach to testing allows us to closely observe how each additional engine influences the entire system,” said Tom Mueller, Vice President of Propulsion for SpaceX. “This ensures that we obtain as much data, knowledge and experience as possible as we approach the full nine engine configuration. To date we have not encountered any unexpected interactions between the engines.”

The Merlin 1C next generation liquid fueled rocket booster engine is among the highest performing gas generator cycle kerosene engines ever built, exceeding the Boeing Delta II main engine, the Lockheed Atlas II main engine, and on par with the Saturn V F-1 engine. It is the first new American booster engine in a decade and only the second American booster engine since the development of the Space Shuttle Main Engine thirty years ago.

The first Falcon 9 remains on-schedule for delivery to the SpaceX launch site at Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral, Florida, by the end of 2008.

About SpaceX

SpaceX is developing a family of launch vehicles intended to increase the reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation, ultimately by a factor of ten. With its Falcon line of launch vehicles, powered by the internally developed Merlin engines, SpaceX is able to offer light, medium and heavy lift capabilities to deliver spacecraft into any inclination and altitude, from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit to planetary missions.
As winner of the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services competition, SpaceX will conduct three flights of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft for NASA. This will culminate in Dragon berthing with the International Space Station and returning safely to Earth. Falcon 9/Dragon will have the opportunity to provide crew and supply services to the Space Station, and fill the gap in US resupply capability when the Shuttle retires in 2010.
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Test firing of three Merlin 1C engines at the SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas. A total of nine Merlin 1C engines will power the Falcon 9 rocket. (Click images to play streaming videos from these views in Windows Media Player.)

Earth's Space Fleet

The British paper, the Independent, has a roundup of all the crafts going into space over the coming year. It is an exciting time.

I hope they have all thought about common communications standards in case of an emergency. The CCSDS may have some ideas.

COTS is NASA's Only Hope for Space Access

With the Shuttles retirement in 2010, NASA may be forced to rely on the Russians for access to the ISS. The Commercial Orbital Transportation Service may save their bacon, however. According to Elon Musk, founder of one of the COTS companies SpaceX , they may have a manned spacecraft capability by the end of 2011 if NASA exercises its option under a 2006 agreement to provide cargo service.

So private industry may provide the only option to buying Russian seats. Lets hope NASA makes the right choice when the time comes.