Space Access Update is Space Access Society's when-there's-news publication. Space Access Society's goal is to promote affordable access to space for all, period. We believe in concentrating our limited resources at whatever point looks like yielding maximum progress toward this goal.
Right now, we think this means working our tails off trying to get the government to build and fly a high-speed reusable rocket demonstrator, an "X-rocket", in the next three years, in order to quickly build up both experience with and confidence in reusable Single-Stage To Orbit (SSTO) technology. The idea is to reduce SSTO development cost while at the same time increasing investor confidence, to the point where SSTO will make sense as a private commercial investment. We have reason to believe we're not far from that point now.
One major current focus is on supporting the Department of Defense's Single Stage Rocket Technology (SSRT) program, DC-X and its funded (but so far stalled) followon, SX-2. We're also working on getting a healthy X-rocket development going at NASA, and on getting work underway there on suitable engines for the fully reusable orbital transports that should come after SX-2 and NASA's X-rocket.
With luck and hard work, we should see fully reusable SSTO testbeds flying to orbit toward the end of this decade, with production ships a-building shortly thereafter. Join us and help us make this happen.
Henry Vanderbilt, Editor, Space Access Update
[For more info on Space Access Society or on the *new* DC-X/SSTO video we have for sale, including footage from all five flights plus a White Sands Missile Range travelogue, email hvanderbilt@bix.com, or write us at: SAS, 4855 E Warner Rd #24-150, Phoenix AZ 85044.
Please forgive any delay in our reply; we're a couple weeks behind in answering non life-or-death email right now.]
We're nearing the final hurdle of this summer's Congressional funding season, the one where the actual money is allocated, the Defense Appropriations Bill conference. This calls for a maximum effort from all of us over the next, uh, anywhere from a few days to a month. Congress's schedule is very uncertain. See the "Appropriations" story for details.
And yes, SAS is still running on the ragged edge of insolvency; memberships and/or donations are hugely helpful. Thanks to everyone who's helped out already; we couldn't have gotten this far without you all.
(text of DOD Authorizations Space Launch language appended at end of Update)
According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, 8/8/94 p. 68, DC-X repairs should be complete sometime in October, costing approximately $2.5 million, most of the remaining current funding. Major items involved are new aeroshell sections from Scaled Composites of Colorado, and repair of a 2 inch crack in DC-X's liquid hydrogen tank.
As we've reported previously, NASA and BMDO both want DC-X reflown before turnover to NASA for the DC-XA upgrade and flight program. The minimum is one flight to prove out the repairs, the optimum is four flights to complete the baseline vehicle aerodynamic data gathering. Cost for this is estimated at $3-$4 million, including transporting DC-X back to White Sands and the WSMR range-time charges.
ARPA is reluctant to fund DC-X reflight out of the $34.9 million in reusable rocket money left from the $40 million we all fought for last year. ARPA at this point is in grave danger of getting to spend none of that money; the decision may be out of their hands already. See below.
The FY'95 DOD Authorizations Conference report and bill language are appended to the end of this Update. They could be better, but they are good enough to live with if we can get their equivalent into the final Appropriations bill.
The final Authorizations (roughly, the shopping list of what the Appropriators can then write checks for) allows for the following: The SSRT/DC-X people at USAF Phillips Lab get $30 million in new FY'95 money, plus transfer of the "unobligated balance" of the FY'94 SSTO money that's been stuck at ARPA for the last year -- $34.9 million, last we heard. We have to watch for attempts to obligate it by ARPA in the interim; they've been making noises about spending it on their own programs.
The money comes with restrictions. Phillips Lab is not allowed to start building SX-2 on their own (a loophole here is "..at least until the Administration changes its policy"); they have to do it in cooperation with NASA, with at minimum matching funds from NASA, at least for FY'95.
(SAS is of the opinion that Phillips Lab running SX-2 with NASA funding support and cooperation would be a good thing; NASA could then aim their main effort at a full orbital demonstrator to fly around the turn of the century, with both DC-XA and SX-2 experience to increase confidence levels.)
Phillips Lab also cannot spend any of the ARPA money on "..further development of the 'Delta Clipper' vehicle built by BMDO". The vehicle referred to has to be DC-X, as no other "Delta Clipper" vehicle has been or ever will be built by BMDO at this point. Given that fact, the ARPA money cannot be spent on "further development" of DC-X. IE it cannot be spent on the DC-XA -- but as best we can tell, this means the ARPA money CAN be spent on DC-X reflight before DC-XA conversion begins, and CAN be spent on an open-competition followon to DC-X. It's unclear whether the intent here was to forbid any DC-X followon or to forbid DOD money going to NASA's DC-XA upgrade, but the effect is clearly the latter.
The last major restriction is that none of the $30 million in new FY'95 money may be obligated until a joint NASA-DOD reusable/expendable development plan is submitted to the Congress. (Subsection F of the Bill language.)
The good news is that the FY'94 ARPA money does NOT seem to fall under this, the way the bill is written. Our interpretation is that ARPA money, once in hand, could be used for low-level preliminary work such as DC-X reflight and getting ready for release of an SX-2 RFP without unduly annoying the DOD Authorizers. Full-scale SX-2 program start would have to wait for the moment of submission of the DOD/NASA program plans to Congress. Not approval, mind, submission.
The bad news is that no deadline is given for this joint NASA-DOD plan. It could become the excuse for another year of foot-dragging. This is unlikely however; the White House's new space policy calls for NASA (plus whatever help they call in) to deliver a near-identical report by the first week in November. Chances are these two reports will be combined, with the November due date prevailing.
We are told, by the way, that the various restrictions on immediate SX-2 go-ahead in this Authorizations bill are the work of a staffer on the Senate Armed Services Committee named Kirk McConnell; it apparently took a running battle by SSTO supporters to water down these restrictions to a halfway acceptable level.
We are told that McConnell is one of a number of Congressional staff opponents of SSTO done right (quick, cheap, and "X") who have emerged over the last couple of years. We are told that Bob Davis, a staffer on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee is another such, and that Davis has in the past inserted anti-SSTO language that directly contradicted the express intent of his Subcommittee Chairman. We hope that this sort of thing won't be a problem in the upcoming DOD Appropriations Conference.
The House passed a DOD FY'95 Appropriations bill with $50 million for SX-2 back at the start of the summer. The Senate finished their version (with no SSTO funds) last week. The House-Senate conference to hammer out a compromise version could be starting before the end of this week.
And it could wait until September sometime. No way to tell; between the "Crime Bill" and the various health care bills, the next few weeks' schedule in Congress is completely up in the air.
Whenever the DOD Appropriations conference happens, we must get positive treatment for DOD SSTO work. Appropriations is where Congress writes the actual checks and sets the final spending conditions. This one looks like being the final push for pro-SSTO activists in this year's funding process.
What we're hoping is that the House version's $50 million, plus the $34.9 million remaining at ARPA, will both be sent to the DC-X/SSRT guys at Phillips Lab in New Mexico, with instructions to go ahead on a high-speed reusable rocket ATD (Advanced Technology Demonstrator, an "X"-vehicle), possibly in cooperation with (but not totally dependent on) NASA.
We have a good shot at getting this, if we work our tails off. We already have significant support on the House side, not least from the HAC Defense subcommittee chairman, John Murtha of Pennsylvania, and from a number of subcommittee members. We could use more supporters there, though, and we're not at all strong on the Senate side of the conference. Then too, there's the recurring problem of anti-SSTO staffer agendas. We can win, and win big here -- but it's no sure thing.
We know who the Senate conferees will be -- the nineteen members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee. The chair and ranking minority member of the full SAC are already members of this subcommittee.
We don't know for sure who the House conferees will be, but chances are it will be the thirteen members of the HAC Defense subcommittee, plus the chair of the full HAC.
It's time for a maximum-effort push. We need to persuade the DOD Appropriations conferees to do three things:
Call or write: Any Representative on the list whose district you live in or very near to. Any Senator on the list from your state. Senator Inouye, the SAC Defense chair, Senator Stevens, the ranking Republican, and Senator Byrd, the chair of the full SAC.
If you write or fax, keep it to one page. Mention right at the start you're writing about the FY'95 DOD Appropriations conference, tell them what you'd like to see done, then provide supporting details, why you think this is good for the country and so forth. (The person reading it will almost certainly be an overworked underpaid staffer. If yours is the only letter they get, it needs to be sensible and persuasive; if yours is the hundredth, it needs to be easy to categorize and add to their running total.)
If you phone, keep it short and polite -- you're likely talking to that same overworked staffer. Tell them you're calling about the DOD Appropriations conference, and that you support funding for Air Force Phillips Lab, to complete DC-X flight test this fall and to start development of the SX-2 high-speed reusable rocket ATD (Advanced Technology Demonstrator or "X-vehicle"). If they want to know more, fill them in as best you can, otherwise thank them for their time and ring off.
We especially need to get across that restrictions on completion of DC-X flight test before its handover to NASA are a bad idea, as are further delays in getting the SX-2 competition underway. Phillips Lab should be allowed to proceed ASAP.
By the way, legislators on the lists below with an "*" next to their name are as best we know already SSTO supporters. When calling or writing them, thank them for their past support and ask them to continue it in the upcoming DOD Appropriations conference, then give 'em the details. We'd also like to hear about it if anyone gets positive assurances of support on this from any of the other legislators listed.
-- Senate Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee list --
("Senator XYZ", office#, "Washington DC 20510" will get mail to them.)
(A * next to a Senator's or Representative's name means we're reasonably
sure they already support us on SX-2 funding and development.)
SENATOR PARTY/STATE PHONE FAX Office#
-----------------------------------------------------------
Bond, Christopher R MO 224-5721 224-7491 SR293
Bumpers, Dale D AR 224-4843 224-6435 SD229
Byrd, Robert D WV 224-3954 224-4025 SH311
Cochran, Thad R MS 224-5054 224-9450 SR326
D'Amato, Alfonse R NY 224-6542 224-5871 SH520
DeConcini, Dennis D AZ 224-4521 224-2302 SH328
*Domenici, Pete R NM 224-6621 224-7371 SD434
Gramm, Phil R TX 224-2934 228-2856 SR370
Harkin, Tom D IA 224-3254 224-9369 SH351
Hatfield, Mark R OR 224-3753 224-0276 SH711
Hollings, Ernest D SC 224-6121 224-3573 SR125
Inouye, Daniel chair D HI 224-3934 224-6747 SH722
Johnston, J.Bennett D LA 224-5824 224-2952 SH136
Lautenberg, Frank D NJ 224-4744 224-9707 SH506
Leahy, Patrick D VT 224-4242 224-3595 SR433
Nickles, Don R OK 224-5754 224-6008 SH713
Sasser, Jim D TN 224-3344 224-8062 SR363
Specter, Arlen R PA 224-4254 224-1893 SH303
Stevens, Ted RRM R AK 224-3004 224-2354 SH522
-- House Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee list --
("Representative XYZ", office#, "Washington DC 20515" will get mail to them.)
*Murtha, John D PA 225-2065 225-5709 2423 RHOB
Dicks, Norman D WA 225-5916 226-1176 2467 RHOB
Wilson, Charles D TX 225-2401 225-1764 2256 RHOB
Hefner, Bill D NC 225-3715 225-4036 2470 RHOB
Sabo, Martin D MN 225-4755 225-4886 2336 RHOB
Dixon, Julian D CA 225-7084 225-4091 2400 RHOB
*Visclosky, Pete D IN 225-2461 225-2493 2464 RHOB
Darden, George D GA 225-2931 225-0473 228 CHOB
McDade, Joseph R PA 225-3731 225-9594 2370 RHOB
Young, Bill R FL 225-5961 225-9764 2407 RHOB
*Livingston, Bob R LA 225-3015 225-0739 2368 RHOB
Lewis, Jerry R CA 225-5861 225-6498 2312 RHOB
*Skeen, Joe R NM 225-2365 225-9599 2367 RHOB
Henry Vanderbilt "Reach low orbit and you're halfway to anywhere
Space Access Society in the Solar System."
4855 E Warner Rd #24-150 - Robert A. Heinlein
Phoenix, AZ 85044
602 431-9283 voice/fax "You can't get there from here."
(hvanderbilt@bix.com) - Anonymous
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FY'95 DOD AUTHORIZATIONS BILL LANGUAGE, LAUNCH POLICY SECTION
SEC. 211 SPACE LAUNCH MODERNIZATION.
(A) POLICY.--- (1) It is in the Nation's long-term national security
and economic interest to regain preeminence in the area of space launch
technology and operations.
(2) Access to space at affordable costs is fundamental to maintaining
required command, control, communications, intelligence, navigation,
weather, and early warning support to United States and coalition forces.
(3) Encouragement of privately financed, cost effective expendable and
reusable launch vehicles is in the economic interest of the Department of
Defense and the United States Government.
(b) FINDING.---Congress finds that the current Department of
Defense space launch infrastructure has several deficiencies, including
high cost, excessive management overhead, inadequate operability and
responsiveness to satellite launch requirements, lack of standardization,
very large launch personnel requirements to support launch operations,
over capacity, and technology obsolescence.
(c) REQUIRED ACTIONS.---The Secretary of Defense shall take the
following actions in pursuance of the space launch modernization policy
set forth in subsection (a) and to correct the deficiencies described in
subsection (b):
(1) Develop an integrated space launch vehicle strategy that, if
implemented, would replace or consolidate the current fleet of medium
and heavy launch vehicles. Where prudent and cost effective, the strategy
should include a plan for the development of new or upgraded expendable
launch vehicles.
(2) Implement improved management practices including
streamlined acquisition approaches, small government program staff, and
minimal program overhead.
(3) Encourage and evaluate innovative acquisition, technical, and
financing (including best commercial practices) solutions for providing
affordable, operable, reliable, and responsive access to space.
(4) Centralize oversight of launch requirements to ensure integrated
evaluation of satellite requirements and launch capabilities.
(5) Encourage and provide incentives for the use of commercial
practices in the acquisition, operation, and support of Department of
Defense space operations.
(6) Establish effective coordination among military, civilian, and
commercial launch developers and users.
(d) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.---Of the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 201(3), $90,000,000 shall be available for research,
development, test, and evaluation of non-man-rated space launch systems
and technologies. Of that amount---
(1) $30,000,000 shall be available for a competitive reusable
rocket technology program.
(2) $60,000,000 shall be available only for expendable launch
vehicle technology development and acquisition, as appropriate.
(e) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.---The Secretary of Defense shall, to the
extent provided in appropriations Acts, transfer to the Department of the
Air Force the unobligated balance of funds appropriated for fiscal year 1994
to the Department of Defense for the Advanced Research Projects Agency
for single-stage-to-orbit rocket research and development.
(f) PROGRAM PLAN.---The Secretary of Defense and the
Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space [sic] shall jointly
develop an plan to coordinate the programs of the Department of Defense
and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for expendables
and reusable rocket technology demonstrations and technology
development and submit such plan to the Congress.
(g) LIMITATIONS.---(1) Funds authorized for appropriation in
subsection (d)(1) may be obligated only---
(A) to the extent that the fiscal year 1995 current operating plan of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration allocates at least an equal
amount for the its Reusable Space Launch program; and
(B) as specified in the program plan developed and provided to the
Congress pursuant to subsection (f).
(2) Not more than $30,000,000 of the funds authorized in subsection
(d)(2) may be obligated until 30 days after the Secretary of Defense submits
to the Congress program plans including objectives, milestones, future
years defense program funding, and government-industry cost sharing
considerations, as applicable.
FY'95 DOD AUTHORIZATIONS REPORT LANGUAGE, LAUNCH POLICY SECTION
From the Joint Explanatory Statement ("Statement of Managers"), The
Committee of Conference on the FY '95 DoD Authorization Bill
(H.R. 4301/S. 2182)
_Space launch programs (sec. 211)_
The Senate bill contained a provision (sec. 213) that would transfer
prior-year funds appropriated for single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) rocket
technology from the Department of Defense to the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), since the Secretary of Defense
submitted a report recommending that NASA be assigned lead
responsibility for developing reusable rocket technology. The Senate bill
would authorize no funds for reusable rocket technology for fiscal year 1995
and would authorize a total of $20.2 million for expendable rocket
technology development.
The House amendment contained a provision (sec. 211) that would (1)
establish DOD space policy; (2) require the Secretary of Defense to replace
current launch systems, conduct flight tests by 1998 of reusable launch
vehicles, and conduct flight tests of expendable launch vehicles; and (3)
authorize $200.0 million, equally divided, for reusable and expendable
rocket technology demonstrations.
The Senate recedes with an amendment.
The conferees agree to (1) authorize no funds for the national launch
system program; (2) authorize $10.0 million in PE 62601F to continue
concept development of simple, inexpensive expendable rocket systems that
do not require complex turbomachinery; (3) transfer prior-year SSTO funds
from the Advanced Research Projects Agency to the Air Force PE 63401F
and note that these funds would not be for further development of the
"Delta Clipper" vehicle built by BMDO; (4) authorize $30.0 million for the
Air Force in PE 63401F to initiate reusable rocket technology development
efforts, with the stipulation that DOD obligations shall not exceed amounts
made available by NASA for such efforts for fiscal year 1995; (5) authorize
$50.0 million for the Air Force in PE 35119F to initiate a competitive
program to replace existing launch capabilities; and (6) limit the obligation
of funds for both reusable and expendable rocket programs until
coordinated DOD/NASA program plans are submitted to Congress.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 required
the Administration to conduct another study of space launch capabilities,
because Congress was unsatisfied by the space launch Bottom-Up Review,
which concluded that acknowledged problems with current systems are
not serious enough to warrant displacing other defense programs. The
new study has resulted in the development of new national policy in this
area. This policy assigns lead responsibility for reusable and expendable
space launch vehicles to NASA and DOD, respectively. NASA has been
instructed to determine by 1996 whether a reusable vehicle flight
demonstration program is feasible and affordable, and by the end of the
decade, whether a development program should be pursued. The Deputy
Secretary of Defense is examining again whether a new launch initiative
is warranted and affordable within the Department of Defense.
Accordingly, the conferees direct that the Department of Defense will
not lead any government-financed reusable space vehicle flight
demonstration or acquisition programs, at least until the Administration
changes its policy. However, if the Department of Defense decides to
conduct a competition to replace current DOD launch capabilities, and if
DOD concludes that an industry proposal to build a reusable system to
meet requirements is realistic, affordable and cost-effective, the conferees
will consider a well-justified acquisition plan.
The conferees doubt that DOD can afford to finance any expensive
space launch acquisition program. The conferees are aware of claims that
the private sector is willing to finance all or most of a new capability. The
conferees encourage DOD to explore such claims. However, the conferees
expect that such proposals would require commitments from the
government, which may entail substantial risk, and therefore require
careful consideration by Congress and the Administration.
*end*