Private spaceflight

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An astronaut holding a For Sale sign.
An astronaut holding a For Sale sign.

Private spaceflight is flight above 100km Earth altitude conducted by an entity other than a government. As space agencies grapple with budgets, changing political priorities and wavering public support of the value and risk of space exploration, a greater number of private companies are taking over. Private spaceflight from Earth to space includes space launchers and suborbital spaceplanes. Private spaceflight in Earth orbit includes telecommunication satellites, satellite television, and satellite radio. Planned private spaceflights beyond Earth orbit include solar sailing prototypes, deep space burial and personal spaceflights around the Moon while private orbital habitats are planned for Earth orbit.

Contents

[edit] History of commercial space transportation

Main article: Expendable launch system
Launch of a Proton rocket. (NASA)
Launch of a Proton rocket. (NASA)

During the early years of spaceflight only nation states had the resources to develop and fly spacecraft. Both the U.S. space program and Soviet space program were operated using mainly military pilots as astronauts. During this period, no commercial space launches were available to private operators, and no private organization was able to offer space launches. Eventually, private organizations were able to both offer and purchase space launches, thus beginning the period of private spaceflight.

The first phase of private space operation was the launch of the first commercial communications satellites. The U.S. Communications Satellite Act of 1962 opened the way to commercial consortia owning and operating their own satellites, although these were still launched on state-owned launch vehicles.

[edit] European sponsorship

On March 26, 1980, the European Space Agency created Arianespace, the world's first commercial space transportation company. Arianespace produces, operates and markets the Ariane launcher family. By 1995 Arianespace lofted its 100th satellite and by 1997 the Ariane rocket had its 100th launch.[1] Arianespace's 23 shareholders represent scientific, technical, financial and political entities from 10 different European countries.[2]

[edit] American deregulation

From the beginning of the Shuttle program until the Challenger disaster in 1986, it was the policy of the United States that NASA be the public-sector provider of U.S. launch capacity to the world market.[3] Initially NASA subsidized satellite launches with the intention of eventually pricing Shuttle service for the commercial market at long-run marginal cost.

On October 30, 1984, United States President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Commercial Space Launch Act.[4] This enabled an American industry of private operators of expendable launch systems. Prior to the signing of this law, all commercial satellite launches in the United States were limited to NASA's Space Shuttle.

On November 5, 1990, United States President George H. W. Bush signed into law the Launch Services Purchase Act.[5] The Act, in a complete reversal of the earlier Space Shuttle monopoly, ordered NASA to purchase launch services for its primary payloads from commercial providers whenever such services are required in the course of its activities.

[edit] Russian privatization

The Russian government sold part of its stake in RSC Energia to private investors in 1994. Energia together with Khrunichev constituted most of the Russian manned space program. In 1997, the Russian government sold off enough of its share to lose the majority position.

[edit] American subsidization

In 1996 the United States government selected Lockheed Martin and Boeing to each develop Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV) to compete for launch contracts and provide assured access to space. The government's acquisition strategy relied on the strong commercial viability of both vehicles to lower unit costs. Since this anticipated market demand did not materialize for the new vehicle, Boeing pulled the Delta IV EELV from commercial service in 2003. The Lockheed Martin Atlas V EELV has had five commercial launches through the end of 2005.

[edit] Launch alliances

Since 1995 Khrunichev's Proton rocket is marketed through International Launch Services while the Soyuz rocket is marketed via Starsem. Energia builds the Soyuz rocket and owns part of the Sea Launch project which flies the Ukrainian Zenit rocket.

In 2003 Arianespace joined with Boeing Launch Services and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to create the Launch Services Alliance. In 2005, continued weak commercial demand for EELV launches drove Lockheed Martin and Boeing to propose a joint venture called the United Launch Alliance to monopolize the United States government launch market.[6]

Today many commercial space transportation companies offer launch services to satellite companies and government space organizations around the world. In 2005 there were 18 total commercial launches and 37 non-commercial launches.[7] Russia flew 44% of commercial orbital launches, while Europe had 28% and the United States had 6%.

[edit] Commercial orbital transportation services

Computer rendering of Rocketplane-Kistler K-1 approaching ISS (RpK)
Computer rendering of Rocketplane-Kistler K-1 approaching ISS (RpK)

On January 18, 2006 NASA finally announced an unprecendented private sector opportunity.[8] Instead of flying payloads to the International Space Station (ISS) on government operated vehicles, NASA would spend $500 million through 2010 to finance the demonstration of orbital transportation services from commercial providers.

This is more challenging than extant commercial space transportation because it requires precision orbit insertion, rendezvous and possibly docking with another spacecraft. The commercial vendors[9] will compete for four specific service areas:

  • External unpressurized cargo delivery and disposal
  • Internal pressurized cargo delivery and disposal
  • Internal pressurized cargo delivery, return and recovery
  • Crew Transportation.

After years of keeping orbital transport for human spaceflight in-house, NASA concluded that firms in a free market could develop and operate such a system more efficiently and affordably than a government bureaucracy. NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin has stated that without affordable commercial orbital transportation services (COTS), the agency will not have enough funds remaining to achieve the objectives of the Vision for Space Exploration.

Furthermore, if such services are unavailable by the end of 2010, NASA would be forced to purchase orbital transportation services on foreign spacecraft such as the Russian Federal Space Agency's Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle or the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle since NASA's own Crew Exploration Vehicle may not be ready until 2014.

On August 18, 2006, NASA announced that Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Rocketplane-Kistler (RpK) are the two winners for Phase I of the COTS program.[10]

NASA anticipates that COTS services to ISS will be necessary through at least 2015. The NASA Administrator has suggested that space transportation services procurement may be expanded to orbital fuel depots and lunar surface deliveries should the first phase of COTS prove successful.[11]

[edit] Emerging personal spaceflight

Main article: Space tourism
SpaceShipOne has a 5-meter wingspan and a 3-person cabin. (Scaled Composites, LLC)
SpaceShipOne has a 5-meter wingspan and a 3-person cabin. (Scaled Composites, LLC)

Before 2004 no privately operated manned spaceflight had ever occurred. The only private individuals to journey to space went as space tourists in the Space Shuttle or on Russian Soyuz launch vehicle flights to Mir or the International Space Station.

All private individuals who flew to space before Dennis Tito's self-financed International Space Station visit in 2001 had been sponsored by their home governments. Those trips include US Congressman Bill Nelson's January 1986 flight on the Space Shuttle Columbia and Japanese television reporter Toyohiro Akiyama's 1990 flight to the Mir Space Station.

The Ansari X Prize was intended to stimulate private investment in the development of spaceflight technologies. The June 21, 2004 test flight of SpaceShipOne, a contender for the X Prize, was the first human spaceflight in a privately developed and operated vehicle.

On 27 September 2004, following the success of SpaceShipOne, Richard Branson, owner of Virgin and Burt Rutan, SpaceShipOne's designer, announced that Virgin Galactic had licensed the craft's technology, and were planning commercial space flights in 2.5 to 3 years. A fleet of five craft is to be constructed, and flights will be offered at around $200,000 each, although Branson has said he plans to use this money to make flights more affordable in the long term.

In December 2004, United States President George W. Bush signed in to law the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act.[12] The Act resolved the regulatory ambiguity surrounding private spaceflights and is designed to promote the development of the emerging U.S. commercial human space flight industry.

On July 12, 2006, Bigelow Aerospace launched the Genesis I subscale prototype of an orbital hotel.[13] Bigelow Aerospace plans to have a full-scale orbital hotel by 2015.

On September 28, 2006, Jim Benson, SpaceDev founder, announced he was founding Benson Space Company with the intention of being first to market with the safest and lowest cost suborbital personal spaceflight launches, using the vertical takeoff and horizontal landing Dream Chaser vehicle based on the NASA HL-20 Personnel Launch System vehicle.

[edit] Space launch organizations

Ariane 42P rocket with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite (Kourou, August 10, 1992) (NASA)
Ariane 42P rocket with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite (Kourou, August 10, 1992) (NASA)

[edit] Commercial space transportation companies

[edit] Personal spaceflight ventures

See also: List of private spaceflight companies

[edit] Government space transportation

[edit] Non-profit teams

[edit] Failed spaceflight ventures

Lockheed Martin VentureStar (NASA)
Lockheed Martin VentureStar (NASA)

In the 1990s the projection of a significant demand for communications satellite launches attracted the development of a number of commercial space launch providers. The launch demand largely vanished when some of the largest satellite constellations, such as 288 satellite Teledesic network, were never built. The historic tendency of NASA to compete against the private sector and the Department of Defense's preference for the traditional military industrial complex has discouraged many new space launch ventures.

[edit] VentureStar

In 1996 NASA selected Lockheed Martin Skunk Works to build the X-33 VentureStar prototype for a single stage to orbit (SSTO) reusable launch vehicle. In 1999, the subscale X-33 prototype's composite liquid hydrogen fuel tank failed during testing. At project termination on March 31, 2001, NASA had funded $912 million of this wedge shaped spacecraft while Lockheed Martin financed $357 million of it.[14] The VentureStar was to have been a full-scale commercial space transport operated by Lockheed Martin.

[edit] Beal Aerospace

In 1997 Beal Aerospace proposed the BA-2, a low-cost heavy-lift commercial launch vehicle. In March 4, 2000, the BA-2 project tested the largest liquid rocket engine built since the Saturn V.[15] In October 2000, Beal Aerospace ceased operations citing a decision by NASA and the Department of Defense to commit themselves to the development of the competing government-financed EELV program.

[edit] Rotary Rocket

In 1998 Rotary Rocket proposed the Roton, a Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) piloted Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) space transport.[16] A full scale Roton Atmospheric Test Vehicle flew three times in 1999. After spending tens of millions of dollars in development the Roton failed to secure launch contracts and Rotary Rocket ceased operations in 2001.

[edit] Future plans

Many have speculated on where private spaceflight may go in the near future. One possibility is for paid suborbital tourism on craft like SpaceShipOne. Additionally, suborbital spacecraft have applications for faster intercontinental package delivery and passenger flight.

[edit] Private orbital spaceflight, space stations

A photograph of a full-size mock up of the expanded BA 330 module on the ground at Bigelow Aerospace's North Las Vegas plant, to give an impression of its size.
A photograph of a full-size mock up of the expanded BA 330 module on the ground at Bigelow Aerospace's North Las Vegas plant, to give an impression of its size.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, scheduled to be first launched in mid 2008, is designed to be man-rated. This would be the first American orbital vehicle since the Space Shuttle to receive this designation, in principle allowing the vehicle to transport paying customers to orbit. Plans and a full-scale prototype for the SpaceX Dragon, a manned capsule carrying up to 7 passengers, were announced on March 6, 2006.[17]

An early flight of the Falcon 9 is planned to carry the a prototype expandable space complex module (based on the formerly NASA-owned Transhab design) constructed by Bigelow Aerospace. Bigelow Aerospace expects such modules to be used for activities like microgravity research, space manufacturing, and space tourism (with modules serving as orbital hotels). To promote private manned launch efforts, Bigelow has offered the $50M America's Space Prize for the first US-based privately funded team to launch a manned reusable spacecraft to orbit on or before January 10, 2010.

Excalibur Almaz plans to launch a modernized Almaz space station, for tourism and other uses. It will feature the largest window ever on a spacecraft.

[edit] Asteroid mining

Main article: asteroid mining
Asteroid mining spacecraft (NASA)
Asteroid mining spacecraft (NASA)

Some have speculated on the profitability of mining metal from asteroids. According to some estimates, a one kilometer-diameter asteroid would contain 30 million tons of nickel, 1.5 million tons of metal cobalt and 7,500 tons of platinum; the platinum alone would have a value of more than $150 billion at current prices.[18] While the potential rewards from asteroid mining are indeed huge, the technical challenges are equally large and it seems likely that the private sector will wait for the publicly funded space program to solve them (e.g. by establishing experimental mines on the Moon).

[edit] Energy from space

Future energy development may use energy sources in space and on other planets. Examples include Helium-3 extraction from the Moon, and solar power satellite systems. See space manufacturing for more on extraterrestrial economic development.

[edit] Space Elevators

A Space Elevator system is a possible launch system, currently under investigation by at least one private venture.[19] There are concerns over cost, general feasibility and some political issues. On the plus side the potential to scale the system to accommodate traffic would (in theory) be greater than some other alternatives. Some factions contend that a space elevator - if successful - would not supplant existing launch solutions but complement them.

[edit] References

  • Harvey, Brian (2001). Russia in Space: The Failed Frontier. Springer Praxis. ISBN 1-85233-203-4. 
  • Lewis, John (1997). Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets. Perseus Books Group. ISBN 0-201-32819-4. 
  • Heppenheimer, T. A. (1997). Countdown: A History of Space Flight. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-14439-8. 

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

[edit] Government

[edit] Corporate Ventures

[edit] Media Coverage

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