| News of May 2001 |
- Commercial Launchers | Government Launchers | Small Launchers
Missile Systems | RLVs and Reentry Systems | Space Propulsion
Spaceports | Industry | Launch Market | Miscellaneous
| Commercial Launchers |
May 31 – New Ariane 5 Equipment Bay Undergoes Tests
- Astrium is conducting qualification tests of its improved Ariane 5 Vehicle Equipment Bay at Intespace’s testing facilities in Toulouse, France. The new bay, which features a composite structure and smoother pyrotechnic separation systems, will be introduced on the second production batch of Ariane 5 vehicles which due begin flying by mid-2002.
- Boeing‘s first Delta 4 Common Booster Core (CBC) stage was delivered in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station by Boeing’s Delta Mariner cargo ship. The stage was transported aboard the Elevating Platform Transporter to the Delta Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) near SLC-37 where it will be used for compatibility and mechanical testing. During the third quarter, it will be moved to the launch pad itself for further testing prior to the arrival of the first flight model of the Delta 4 vehicle in September.
- Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS was awarded a NOK64-million (US$7-million) contract by EADS Launch Vehicles to provide solid booster stages attachment and separation systems for the 20 launch vehicles of the second Ariane 5 production batch (P2). Ten shipsets have been firmly ordered and will be delivered through mid-2005, while the further 10 are in option.
- Boeing‘s first Delta 4 Common Booster Core (CBC) stage was transferred from its test stand at NASA‘s Stennis Space Center, Mississipi, onboard Boeing’s Delta Mariner ship for a cruise toward Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where it is scheduled to arrive on May 29. The stage will be used for compatibility and mechanical testing at the new SLC-37 launch facilities prior to the arrival of the first flight model of the Delta 4 vehicle in September.
- SpaceDev will work with Sea Launch to study the possibility to loft secondary payloads on Zenit 3SL vehicles under a US$175,000 grant from California Space Authority.
  Atlas 5/401 and Ariane 5ECA (ILS–Arianespace) |
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- Intelsat has contracted in April with Arianespace for a back-up launch reservation to loft its Intelsat APR-3 satellite in case the primary Chinese launch vehicle is unavailable due to ‘political reasons’. The Astrium-built spacecraft is currently planned for launch between March and May 2002 atop a China Great Wall Industry Corp. CZ-3B ‘Long March’ vehicle but, since it features major U.S.-built components, its shipment to China will require a U.S. export license to be awarded by the U.S. State Department.
- Lockheed Martin Astronautics has awarded a contract worth SEK100 million (US$10 million) to Sweden’s Saab Ericsson Space to provide two versions of a new Low Shock Separation System for its Atlas 5 launch vehicles during the next 10 years. The low shock separation systems will reportedly reduce the launcher induced shock environment for the satellite by several orders of magnitude. the system, available in two diameters, will also be capable of supporting future growth in satellite mass.
- Editor’s note: Saab Ericsson Space, which claims more than 260 successful in-orbit-separations, is also providing separation systems for the Atlas 2 and Atlas 3 vehicles, GKNPTs Khrunichev‘s Proton, Arianespace‘s Ariane, Boeing’s Delta 3 and Sea Launch‘s Zenit 3SL.
- India’s Antrix Corp. and Malaysia’s Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn Bhd will sign a memorandum of understanding on May 14 for the launch of Malaysian piggyback payloads on India’s PSLV and GSLV launchers depending on mission requirements. Malaysian missions will use the AeroAstro Small Payload Orbit Transfer (Sport) module to reach their operational orbit.
- Editor’s note: Astronautic Technology is working with AeroAstro to develop the NeqO messaging satellite constellation to be deployed in equatorial orbit.
- The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration‘s Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) and the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) have issued their yearly report on projected global demand for commercial space launch services over the next 10 years. The prospective report, which combines Comstac’s model for geosynchronous satellite launch demand and FAA’s own model for launch demand to non-geosynchronous orbits, concludes in an average of 32 commercial space launches per year worldwide expected through 2010, a 22% decrease from last year’s projections. This downturn in expectations is said to be the result of continued funding difficulties. The breakdown between the missions would be 25.5 flights of medium-to-heavy launch vehicles including 24 toward geosynchronous orbits (to loft an average 30.5 satellites) and 6.5 flights of small launch vehicles to non-geosynchronous orbits.
- Download the report (484 kb, PDF)
- The first series of static firing tests by the Common Booster Core stage of Boeing‘s new Delta 4 launch vehicle has been completed. The CBC and its Boeing Rocketdyne RS-68 engine ghave undergone four hot firing tests on the B-2 test stand at NASA‘s Stennis Space Center. From March 17 to May 6, the CBC logged 553 seconds of cumulated firing time in four burns. On its latest firing test, the CBC almost reached its full actual in-flight burn duration. The stage will be shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in early June onboard Boeing’s Delta Mariner freighter ship for a series of handling tests at the Delta 4 launch pad in SLC-37. These tests will last through August. The first flight model of the Delta 4 CBC is planned to arrive in Cape Canaveral in September to be prepared for a maiden flight now scheduled in March 2002. The RS-68 engine has logged more than 12,000 seconds of cumulated burn time and should be qualified for flight in September or October.
| CBC Test Campaign Summary | ||
| Date |
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Highlights |
| March 17 |
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First CBC firing test. |
| April 3 |
|
Automatic
shutdown at LH2 depletion. Nozzle gimballing and throttling. |
| April 23 |
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Automatic shutdown at hydraulics test limit. |
| May 6 |
|
Automatic
shutdown at LOx depletion. Nominal flight burn time. |
- Boeing plans to build no more than 20 Delta 3 launch vehicles as the market has evolved toward launch masses beyond the vehicle’s 3,800-kg payload capability to geostationary transfer orbit, according to Dave Schweikle, vice-president of Boeing Delta launch Services. No Delta 3 launch is currently due before 2003. Only five firm launches with identified payloads are on the launch manifest. All of these launches will be conducted on behalf of Boeing Satellite Systems for its customer ICO Global Communications.
- Editor’s note: The Delta 3 has flown three times since August 1998, logging only one partial launch success on its third launch attempt in August 2000.
| Government Launchers |
 Mayak 12 and Mayak 23 (Yuzhnoye) |
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- The Indian Space Research Organisation is studying a new launch vehicle which will be able to deliver 5 to 6 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit by 2005 or 2006 at a price of about US$50 million. This launcher, tentatively designated as GSLV Mk3, would feature two 200-ton solid rocket boosters flanking a core vehicle composed of a new 100-t storable propellant stage, powered by two Vikas engines, and an Indian-built cryogenic upper stage. The current GSLV, with its 12KRB upper stage, supplied by Russia’s GKNPTs Khrunichev, will be declared operational after its second flight (D2) in late 2002. The GTO payload capability of this Mk1 version would be capped at about 2,000 kg. An Indian-built C-12 cryogenic upper stage will be test-flown on the third GSLV (D3) flight and will boost the payload capability up to 2,600 kg.
- Boeing has decided to postpone the launch of its next Delta 2 vehicle by 24 hours, from May 17 to May 18 in order to replace three flexible hoses on the first stage’s Boeing Rocketdyne RS-27 engine after a leak was detected on a similar hose in production.
- The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) is developping a new upper stage for its stretched CZ-2C vehicle. According to Go Taikonauts, the CTS stage, apparently a derivative of the Smart Dispenser already flown on the CZ-2C/SD version for Iridium launches, would be a 3-axis stabilized stage powered by a FG-47 solid rocket motor. The CZ-2C/CTS combination, able to loft 1,400 kg to a 900-km high Sun-synchronous orbit, would be used to loft the two DoubleStar plasma science satellites in December 2002 and April 2003, as well as South Korea’s Kompsat 2 in April 2004. A larger ETS stage is also being developed as an upper stage for the CZ-2E vehicle.
- Editor’s note: The ETS might be similar to the proposed Top Stage (TS), apparently a larger design of the Smart Dispenser, initially due to be introduced in 1998. A CZ-2E/TS combination was selected in 1995 by Space Systems/Loral to loft a cluster of 12 Globalstar satellites. This contract was eventually cancelled in 1998 after the loss of another 12 Globalstar satellites in the failure of a Zenit 2 vehicle.
| Small Launchers |
- Russia’s NPO Mashinostroeniya (NPO-M) plans to conduct the first test flight of its Strela launch vehicle during the first quarter of 2002, from Baykonur, Kazakhstan. On its maiden flight, the Strela, a refurbished RS-18 ballistic missile with modernized avionics, will loft a dummy payload. Later in 2002, it is due to launch NPO-M’s first Kondor E remote sensing satellite. The Strela will be available commercially by late 2002 at a price of US$9 million per launch.
- Editor’s note: The RS-18 (SS-19) ballistic missile is also the base for Eurockot‘s Rokot launch vehicle which features an additional Breeze upper stage. NPO-M has earlier announced a partnership with Rosvoorouzheniye to market the Strela. A launch price of US$7-10 million was announced in June 1999.
- Russian and Ukrainian partners of the MKK Kosmotras venture are due to meet in Moscow on May 29 to discuss future strategic and commercial aspects of Dnepr launch system operations.
- Editor’s note: Kosmotras plans to launch its next mission on November 15, carrying University of Rome‘s Unisat 2 microsatellite and a cluster of at least 3 Cubesat nanosatellites for Stanford University on a multiple payload release system provided by One Stop Satellite Solutions (OSSS).
- Spacelift Australia, a venture proposing to operate Russian Start launch vehicles from Australia will complete its feasibility study late June.
- Editor’s note: One of the biggest challenge in operating Start launchers outside of Russia is export licensing of the vehicles since they are based on an operational, latest generation intercontinental ballistic missile, the RS-12 ‘Topol’.
| Missile Systems |
- The Indian Ministry of Defence has approved the development of a long range ballistic missile system to complement its new, 2,000-km-range, Agni 2 ballictic missile to be fielded in the coming year.
- Editor’s note: Plans for a 3,000-km-range Agni 3 vehicle have been reported since 1999.
- U.S. Navy has completed its 3,500th Fleet Ballistic Missile deterrent patrol as the USS Florida submarine returned to its home base in Bangor, Washington. Since November 15, 1960, U.S. Navy’s submarines have conducted 1,245 patrols carrying Polaris sea-launched ballistic missiles, 1,182 with Poseidon missiles, 826 with Trident 1 missiles and 247 with Trident 2. All six generations of sea-launched ballistic missiles operated by the U.S. Navy have been developed by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space in Sunnyvale, California: Polaris A1, Polaris A2, Polaris A3, Poseidon C3, Trident 1 (D4) and Trident 2 (D5).
- Russia will put its 4th regiment of Topol M intercontinental ballistic missiles on combat duty in December 2001.
- U.S. Navy has test flown a Lockheed Martin Trident 2 (D5) sea-launched ballistic missile from its USS Kentucky submarine off Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The test flight was the 91st successive success for the missile.
- Two Greenpeace activists were arrested within U.S. Army‘s Kwajalein Missile Range in Marshall Islands. The two went onto the base from Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior ship and displayed a "Stop Star Wars" campaign banner at an X-band radar site used for interception tests conducted under the U.S. National Missile Defense program.
- Editor’s note: In July, Kwajalein will be the target for a mock warhead to be launched by a modified Minuteman 2 missile from Vandenberg AFB, California, under the Integrated Flight Test 6 (IFT-6) operation. A prototype Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle will then be launched from Kwajalein atop a Lockheed Martin Payload Launch Vehicle to intercept the warhead.
- India has strongly denied a report by U.S. publication Defense News regarding the development and upcoming test flight of the Surya intercontinental ballistic missile.
- Editor’s note: Inconsistant claims regarding the application of cryogenic propulsion technologies from Russia to a military missile have been spreading from the United States since the inception of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle program in 1987. Cryogenic propulsion is unsuitable for ballistic missile applications. India is already manufacturing large solid propellant motors, like the 129-t S-125 used as first stage on the PSLV and GSLV vehicles, which are much more likely to be used for such purposes.
- During his visit to Europe, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il announced that his country intends to extend unilaterally its moratorium on ballistic missile testing to at least 2003.
- Editor’s note: The current moratorium has been standing since September 1999, one year after the first test flight of the Taepo Dong 1 intermediate range ballistic missile on August 31, 1998 which is still the last North Korean missile flight to date. North Korean officials threatened to resume missile testing when the new U.S. administration froze contacts shortly after taking office in January. U.S. president George W. Bush often refers to the threat from so-called "rogue states" like North Korea to justify the controversial U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) program.
- In a speech at the National Defense University, U.S. president George W. Bush officially took position for the development of a missile defense system to protect the United States from possible limited ballistic missile strike from so-called "rogue countries." However, he did not give any detail on a timetable to deploy such a system nor on its actual architecture. According to Mr. Bush, the current policy of nuclear deterrence is no longer adapted to today’s world. As a consequence the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty signed in 1972 with the Soviet Union has become obsolete and should be withdrawn to allow full scale development of ABM systems. Such missile defense systems would allow to reduce unilaterally the current U.S. nuclear arsenal of 7,295 warheads down to 1,500 units. The U.S. administration will send four consultation missions headed by top Defense and State Departments executives to tour the U.S. allies and try again to convince them for the need of the missile defense policy. Talks with Russia and China are also planned.
- Editor’s note: Under the Start 2 treaty, both the United States and Russia are already supposed to reduce their own arsenal to some 3,000/3,500 warheads each. Meanwhile, the next interception test of a dummy warhead by an Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle as part of the National Missile Defense (NMD) system development has slipped again, from June to July. According to analysts, the development of a missile defense system by the United States is only an element of a broader poltical involvement to ensure a U.S. military superiority in space as requested by a congressional commission earlier this year.
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| RLVs and Reentry Systems |
- NASA has decided to postpone its next space shuttle missions to the International Space Station due to a computer malfunction within the Canadarm2 remote manipulator system. The US$600-million robotic arm is needed to pick the 6,600-kg Airlock Module from Atlantis payload bay and connect it to the Unity module, out of reach from the shuttle’s own Canadarm. Unfortunately, the backup mode of the station’s arm is not operational. The launch of Atlantis on the STS-104 flight was thus postponed from June 20 to early July and that of Discovery, for STS-105, from mid-July to early August. Firm launch dates will be announced by mid-June.
- Workers at NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center have completed tile drying and waterproofing efforts on Atlantis and resumed final preparations to roll out the orbiter vehicle over to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The new launch date for the STS-104 mission remains set to no earlier than June 20.
- NASA had to delay the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-104 mission from June 14 to June 20 to leave enough time to dry moisture in about 600 thermal protection tiles on the vehicle’s belly which were soaked by rain during the transfer back from California after landing in Edwards AFB on February 20.
- Orbital Sciences Corp. was awarded two contracts under NASA‘s Space Launch Initiative program. Under a US$47.15-million contract, OSC will develop and launch the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) vehicle with Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. DART will be launched in 2004 onboard a Pegasus vehicle to conduct a series of rendezvous maneuvers with an orbiting satellite using technologies previously developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and tested in 1997 onboard the Space Shuttle. The second contract, worth US$5.98 million and due to last 19 months, will cover further architecture studies on Orbital’s "Space Taxi" concept for a crew transfer vehicle previoulsy studied with Northrop Grumman under a US$5-million contract on behalf of NASA’s Space Transportation Architecture Study (STAS) program in 2000.
- Editor’s note: In 1999, the "Space Taxi" was presented as an autonomous space plane which could serve as a crew rescue vehicle for the International Space Station or as a crew module for launch atop an expendable as well as a reusable unmanned launch vehicle. It would apparently be a 17,000-kg vehicle derived from the earlier HL-20 Personnel Launch System concept studied in the 1980s by NASA’s Langley Research Center and itself based on the aerodynamic design of Russia’s Bor-4 demonstrator.
- Reference: The initial SLI contracts are described here.
- Boeing‘s X-40A test vehicle has successfully completed its seventh and last free flight on behalf of NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center . The series of drop tests, which began on March 14, was planned to validate technologies for the future X-37 technology demonstrator. The 1,200-kg X-40A, a 85% subscale model of the X-37 on loan from the U.S. Air Force, was released by a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter at an altitude of 4,574 m above Edwards AFB, California, and conducted an autonomous landing after a 2-minute glide, reaching a speed of 487 km/h. This last flight was aimed at monitoring the vehicle’s performance during roll and yaw maneuvers to confirm results from earlier test flights.
- NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center has awarded a series of 22 contracts to the U.S. space industry to begin research & development effort under the new US$4.8-billion Space Launch Initiative. The 10-month contracts, which include options for one and two-year extensions, could be worth up to US$766.9 million and cover 37 different task awards. Additional contracts will be awarded in late 2001 and 2002. Technologies to be studied include crew survival systems, advanced propellant tanks, advanced propulsion systems and new thermal protection systems. Five contracts have been awarded for overall system studies and two for flight demosntrations, including a US$10-million contract to Kistler Aerospace with options worth US$125 million to complete the development of the K-1 reusable two-stage-to-orbit launch system before 2003 and to conduct four test flights to demonstrate technologies developed by other contractors. NASA plans to be able to select two designs for a 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle in 2006 and fly them before selecting a final operational design in 2010.
- Reference: The initial SLI contracts are described here.
| 2nd Generation RLV Task Awards (per Topic) | ||
| Topic | Amount | Contractors |
| Systems Studies | US$88.7 M | Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Orbital Sciences, Futron. |
| Airframe | US$130.2 M | Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Oceaneering, Lockheed Martin, Materials Research & Design, Southern Research Institute, North Carolina State University. |
| Vehicle Subsystems | US$40.5 M | Lockheed Martin, Boeing. |
| Operations | US$37 M | Lockheed Martin, PHPK Technologies, Boeing, Sierra Lobo. |
| Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring | US$46.4 M | Northrop Grumman, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin. |
| Upper Stages | US$4 M | Boeing Rocketdyne, Moog, Pratt&Whitney, General Kinetics. |
| Flight Mechanics | US$10.9 M | Universal Space Lines, Ohio University. |
| Propulsion | US$219.4 M | Pratt&Whitney, Boeing Rocketdyne, TRW, GenCorp Aerojet, Boeing, Andrews Space & Technology. |
| NASA Unique Requirements | US$7.3 M | Honeywell, Lockheed Martin. |
| Flight Demonstration | US$182.6 M | Kistler Aerospace, Orbital Sciences. |
- NASA is considering the use of a Space Shuttle Orbiter vehicle as a temporary research and habitat module for the International Space Station to compensate for the orbital outpost’s lack of accomodations for a larger crew than the current three. When fitted with the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) fuel cell system, the orbiter could remain attached to the ISS for 30 days.
- Boeing‘s X-40A test vehicle has successfully completed its sixth free flight under a campaign organized by NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center to validate technologies for the future X-37 technology demonstrator. The U.S. Air Force subscale version of the X-37 was released by a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter at an altitude of 4,570 m and performed an autonomous landing at Edwards AFB, California, after a 1-minute glide, reaching a speed of 415 km/h. A seventh drop test is planned.
 X-37 (Boeing – NASA) |
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- Boeing‘s X-40A test vehicle has successfully completed its fifth out of seven planned free flight under a campaign organized by NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center to validate technologies for the future X-37 technology demonstrator. The U.S. Air Force subscale version of the X-37 was released by a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter at an altitude of 4,579 m and performed an autonomous landing at Edwards AFB, California, after a 2-minute glide, reaching a speed of 146 km/h. The X-40A was released off centerline over the landing site in order to test the flight computer’s capability to conduct a straight approach.
 X-40A (NASA–DFRC) |
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  Da Vinci rocket and ballute (Da Vinci team) |
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| Space Propulsion |
 RD-180 (EnergoMash) |
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- GenCorp Aerojet was awarded an 18-month, US$5-million contract by NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center to conduct a feasibility study regarding the development of a channel wall nozzle for Boeing Rocketdyne‘s Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs), in replacement to the current tube nozzle. Under NASA’s requirements, the new, simpler nozzle should be capable of withstanding 55 flights, 27,000 seconds of operation and one abort flight.
- Andrews Space & Technology was awarded a US$3-million two-phase contract under NASA‘s Space Launch Initiative program. The first phase, to last through mid-March 2002, includes a feasibility and risk assessment study regarding its "Alchemist" Air Collection & Enrichment System (ACES) which would liquefy atmospheric oxygen for future air-breathing space propulsion systems. The second phase would derive detailed design requirements and develop a comprehensive risk reduction development plan.
- Editor’s note: Andrews Space & Technology had already been awarded a small business innovation research (SBIR) contract by NASA to study the Alchemist concept for space propulsion with Pratt&Whitney.
- Reference: The initial SLI contracts are described here.
- GenCorp Aerojet was awarded a US$3.1-million contract on behalf of NASA‘s Space Launch Initiative program to develop and test a dual-thrust reaction control engine for use onboard a future 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle. The contract includes two options which may bring its value to US$7.6 million if exercised. It covers manufacturing of three prototype engines as well as their static firing tests in White Sands Missile Range through September 2004.
- Reference: The initial SLI contracts are described here.
 HyShot experiment in flight (University of Queensland) |
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- Thiokol Propulsion has successfully completed a 123.2-second static firing test on a Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) in its facilities in Promontory, Utah. The Flight Support Motor-9 test, conducted on behalf of NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center was intended to qualify a new insulation design on the nozzle-to-case J-leg joint in order to improve flight safety and reduce costs. This upgrade is planned to be introduced in late 2004. The test also demonstrated a new adhesive to bond metal and phenolic parts in the nozzle, non-toxic solvents and a new nozzle ablative insulation. Next RSRM static firing is tentatively set for next October.
  Titan 2 and Titan 4 (LMA) |
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- NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center plans to award a R&D contract to CFD Research Corp. to continue the development and prepare the demonstration of an advanced laser ignition system for future hydrocarbon rocket-based combined cycle (RBCC) engines. This ignition system could later be used on other rocket engines.
- A Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) will undergo a 123.2-second firing test at Thiokol Propulsion‘s facilities in Promontory, Utah, on May 24, on behalf of NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center. The test, designated Flight Support Motor-9, is mainly intended to qualify a new insulation design on the nozzle-to-case J-leg joint in order to improve flight safety and reduce costs. This upgrade is planned to be introduced in late 2004. The test will also demonstrate a new adhesive to bond metal and phenolic parts in the nozzle, non-toxic solvents and a new nozzle ablative insulation.
- Editor’s note: The FSM-9 is a full-scale RSRM and its elements will be refurbished for actual flight activities.
- A Soyuz vehicle, featuring modernized versions of its NPO EnergoMash RD-107 and RD-108 engines on its core and booster stages, was flown on May 20, lofting a Progress M1 cargo ship toward the International Space Station. The modified engines have a specific impulse increased by 5%, as required to loft heavier Soyuz TMA manned spacecraft to the ISS. Reportedly designated Soyuz FG, the improved vehicle is also a pathfinder for Starsem‘s Soyuz/ST, currently planned to be introduced in late 2002.
- Editor’s note: In addition to improved propulsion on its first and booster stages, the Soyuz/ST will introduce a redesigned second stage, to accomodate the new mixture ratio of its new RD-0124 engine, and digital avionics to enable the use of a larger Ariane 4-derived payload fairing.
- Russia has proposed to Japan to expand their limited space cooperation, initiated in 1993, to new topics including joint work on space propulsion systems. Japanese authorities are reviewing the proposal and will provide an answer within 3 months.
- As part of the series of contracts awarded by NASA under the Space Launch Initiative, the Pratt&Whitney–Aerojet Propulsion associates joint-venture was awarded a combined two-year US$115 million contract to develop three reusable liquid-fueled engines for possible use on a future 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle. Pratt&Whitney will lead the effort on the Cobra and RLX engines while Aerojet will be in charge of the Ajax engine. Cobra is a 2,600-kN-class single preburner, staged-combustion cryogenic engine and the RLX is a 1,300-kN-class split expander, cryogenic engine. Ajax is a single preburner, staged-combustion hydrocarbon engine.
- One of the four upper separation rockets on Space Shuttle Endeavour‘s right solid rocket booster did not burn its full 35-kg propellant load and left about 2 kg of unburnt solid propellant after the launch of the STS-100 mission on April 19. NASA is investigating the mishap. More than 1,600 such separation motors have been fired in space shuttle flights since 1981 and it is the first time the problem occurs. The separation motors are built by Pratt&Whitney Chemical Systems Division (CSD).
 AJ26-58/59 (Aerojet) |
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- The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate has awarded a US$10.4-million contract to GenCorp Aerojet to develop a non-toxic Advanced Reusable Rocket Engine (ARRE) through November 2002. The contract includes options which could increase its value to US$29 million through April 2005. The ARRE, which will burn kerosene with hydrogen peroxide, is planned to power U.S. Air Force‘s future Space Maneuver Vehicles.
- Editor’s note: The SMV would be an operational military derivative of the Boeing X-37 orbital spaceplane under development for NASA. The main propulsion system of the X-37 is planned to be a 31-kN Boeing Rocketdyne AR2/3 non-toxic propellant engine also fed with kerosene and hydrogen peroxide.
- Andrews Space & Technology was awarded two contracts under NASA‘s small business innovation research (SBIR) program to study the Alchemist and Mini-MagOrion concepts for space propulsion. A proof of concept design analysis will be performed on the "Alchemist" Air Collection and Enrichment System (ACES), under study with Pratt&Whitney, which would liquefy atmospheric oxygen for future air-breathing engines to be developed for third-generation reusable launch vehicles. Andrews will also conduct proof of principle experiments on its Mini-MagOrion propulsion system, under study with Sandia National Laboratory and the University of Washington, which would use a micro-pulse fusion and a magnetic nozzle to provide efficient propuslion for future large interplanetary spacecraft.
- ECAPS (Ecological Advanced Propulsion System), the joint venture incorporated in January by the Swedish National Space Board and Volvo Aero, was awarded an initial SEK11-million (US$1.2-million) contract by SNSB to demonstrate a non-toxic, non-hazardous propellant for satellite thrusters. ECAPS’ HPGP 101 (High Performance Green Propellant) was developed to replace the highly toxic hydrazine storable propellant to fuel satellite thrusters. ECAPS will also begin the development of satellite thrusters using the new propellant.
| Spaceports |
- Arianespace and the European Space Agency will officially inaugurate their new S5 Payload Processing Complex in Kourou in early July but the facility is already partly operational for the preparation of ESA’s 8,100-kg Envisat polar platform for environmental monitoring. With 3,380 sq.m. of clean rooms, the new complex doubles the current payload processing capacity on the launch site. The S5 consists in three main halls, for integration and filling of up to four large satellites (up to 18-m-tall) in parallel, connected by ‘clean corridors’ which avoid to use containers to move the spacecraft from the integration to the filling stations. This design will enable to significantly reduce the duration of satellite processing campaigns, and thus to decrease their cost. The €75-million (US$70-million) investement was funded 2/3 by Arianespace and 1/3 by ESA. The S5 is operated by CNES.
- The California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency will award a US$1-million grant to the California Space Authority (CSA) to identify cost-effective projects for the development of activities related to future Reusable Launch Vehicles and NASA‘s Space Launch Initiative in California in order to prepare the state’s infrastructure for future launch systems.
  Aurora/Korvet and Start (APSC-NII-TT) |
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- An influent group of Brazilian congressmen is trying to convince the Brazilian government to step down from a technology safeguard agreement signed with the U.S. administration in April 2000 to allow the launch of U.S.-built satellites and launch vehicles from Brazil’s Alcântara Launch Center (CLA), in the Maranhão Province. According to Brazilian daily newspaper Gazeta Mercantil, the members of the International Relations Commission consider that the agreement includes provisions which may harm its aerospace industry, such as one preventing Brazil to invest money raised from the launch activity into its own space program. The agreement has to be ratified by the Brazilian parliament to come into force.
- CNES, the French space agency, has awarded a series of contracts worth about €40 million (US$35 million) contract to extend the Guiana Propellant Plant (UPG) facilities in Kourou where solid propellant is produced for the lower segments of Ariane 5‘s solid booster stages. Two new wells will be dug to cast propellant in the segments with only one fully equipped to support the increase of Ariane 5’s launch rate up to 8 missions per year in 2003. The second well will be kept for future use if required.
- Editor’s note: The UPG is run by Regulus, a joint-venture of Groupe SNPE and FiatAvio.
- NASA will dedicate an upgraded Launch Vehicle Data Center (LVDC) within its AE hangar of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 15. The new facility, with three control rooms, replaces an older single-room LVDC in use since the mid-1970s to support checkout and launch operations for expendable launch systems. It allows multiple test oparetions in parallel or a single large launch operation.
- Editor’s note: The new LVDC was actually inaugurated on April 7 with the launch of NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey probe.
| Industry |
- Thiokol Propulsion and Quantum Technologies plan to open an hydrogen storage testing facility at Thiokol’s Reusable Solid Rocket Motors manufacturing plant in Promontory, Utah. The facility will provide hydrogen cycling testing for compressed gas storage tanks and subsystems designed for aerospace and ground-based applications.
- The French Ministry of Finances is about to select a coinsultant bank to prepare for the privatization of Snecma. Currently, the French govrenment owns 97.3% of the aerospace motorist.
- Editor’s note: On several occasions, the French government has expresed its will to consolidate Europe’s aerospace propulsion industry around Snecma. Talks have already been held with Italy’s FiatAvio.
- Alcatel will acquire the 48.83% stake in Alcatel Space currently held by Thales for an amount of €795 million to be paid half in cash and half in Thales shares. The deal, which will turn Alcatel Space into a 100% Alcatel subsidiary, will have to be approved by the European Commission.
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems has laid off 125 workers from its satellite manufacturing activities in Sunnyvale, California, to cope with overcapacity. Most of the layoffs affected Lockheed Martin Commercial Space whose workforce was reduced to 1,400.
- Following the failure of its merger talks with Astrium, Italy’s Alenia Aerospazio is discussing with Alcatel Space and Boeing to form a strategic alliance in satellite manufacturing with one of the two. In an interview to the French aerospace newsletter Aéronautique Business, Giorgio Zappa, head of Alenia Aerospazio, presented the Alcatel option as "a strategic choice" while the Boeing option would be "a great industrial operation."
- Pemco Aviation Group Inc. has decided to close its Space Vector Corp. subsidiary due to its "lack of success in winning new contracts." During the first quarter of 2001, Space Vector, which provides suborbital launch services and specialized flight hardware for sounding rocket programs, lost US$700,000 for sales amounting to a mere US$800,000.
| Launch Market |
- The U.S. Federal Communication Commission has revoked the operating license it awarded in July 1997 to Ellipso Inc. as the company has failed to meet its deadline for beginning to build its satellites. Ellipso, which held licenses for two constellations, Concordia, in equatorial orbit, and Borealis, has recently teamed with ICO–Teledesic Global in March.
- Editor’s note: Ellipso (formerly Mobile Communications Holdings, Inc.) had planned to launch two constellations of satellites into medium Earth orbits, the 7-satellite Concordia and the 10-satellite Borealis, to provide mobile satellite telephony worldwide. Ellipso’s main partners include Boeing, which was selected in May 1998 to build the Ellipso satellites (based on the same satellite bus as U.S. Air Force‘s Navstar Block 2F satellites) , Harris Corp. and L-3 Communications. An agreement was also signed in June 1999 with Arianespace for the possible launch of four-satellite clusters on four Ariane 5 vehicles. ICO-Teledesic also plans to deploy a 12-satellite constellation of Boeing-built satellites, also in medium Earth orbits.
- European Space Agency‘s Science Program Committee has declined a request by Rosaviakosmos to provide another US$20 million to complete the development of the long-delayed Spektrum Roentgen-Gamma astrophysics satellite. The program is now likely to be cancelled. Built by NPO Lavochkin, the 6,000-kg Spektrum RG incorporates major science payloads from Denmark, Finland, Great-Britain, Israel, Italy, Switzerland and the United States. Launch was due on a Proton K.
- Editor’s note: Designed as a follow-on to Granat, Spektrum RG was initially due for launch in 1992. Recently, its earliest possible launch date was announced in 2006.
- RKK Energiya has completed the manufacturing and testing of the Docking Compartment (DC-1), a 4-m-long, 3,900-kg module which will be shipped to the Baykonour cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in late June or early July. The Docking Module will be flown to the International Space Station atop a Soyuz U booster in late August or early September.
- Editor’s note: The Russian Docking Compartment is not to be confused with the U.S.-built Airlock Module which will be launched in July onvboard Space Shuttle Atlantis.
- Satelites Mexicanos SA de CV (SatMex), plans to contract for launch services for its 6-ton-class SatMex 6 satellite by mid-to-late June. Two bids have been reported: one from Arianespace with its Ariane 5 heavy-lifter and the other by another company which has signed a confidentiality agreement with SatMex not to be identified publicly. Launch of SatMex 6 is due in early 2003.
- Editor’s note: The unidentified bidder is likely to be Sea Launch which has publicly stated that it will increase the payload capacity of its Zenit 3SL launcher beyond 6 tons to geostationary transfer orbit by late 2002.
- The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has agreed to postpone the deadlines for the completion and launch of GE Americom‘s Ka-band satellite systems and for the beginning of the manufacturing of NetSat 28 Co. LLC‘s similar system. However, the FCC refused similar extensions to Loral Space & Communications and VisionStar Inc. who may loose their own licenses later this year. It also refused to reinstate six cancelled licenses to PanAmSat Corp. and Morning Star Satellite Co. LLC which were revoked in June 2000 when the operators failed to meet their due deadlines. New operating licenses will be auctionned during the third quarter.
- NASA‘s Office of Space Science has given its go ahead to the development of a US$279-million automated probe designed to fire a 350-kg impactor at a comet nucleus in order to study its structure and composition. The 1,010-kg Deep Impact probe, the 7th in the Discovery series of low-cost Solar System exploration spacecraft, will be built by Ball Aerospace & Technology. Its launch is scheduled atop a Boeing Delta 2/7925 vehicle on January 2, 2004 to allow a flyby of comet P/Tempel 1 in July 2005.
- The Canadian Space Agency is reportedly planning a C$500-million (US$325-million) mission to Mars circa 2007-2009. Concepts and goals of the mission will be detailed later.
- All five major satellite manufacturers have bid to build Hispasat‘s Amazonas 1 communication satellite for the Brazilian market, due for launch in 2003. The tender was opened on May 10 and will close by mid-June. Alcatel Space, Astrium, Boeing Satellite, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space and Space Systems/Loral have joind the competition. A prime contractor should be selected in September. The total investment on the project is reportedly about US$300 million
- Editor’s note: Space Systems/Loral is already buiding Estrela do Sul, Loral‘s own entry on the Brazilian market through its Loral Skynet do Brasil venture.
- Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems was reportedly selected by Cablevision Systems Corp., to provide an all-Ku-band geostationary direct broadcasting satellite based on its A2100 satellite bus. Launch is planned in early 2003, presumably on an International Launch Services vehicle.
- Editor’s note: Cablevision’s contract was apparently signed to prevent the expiration of an operating license awarded by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to R/L DBS Co. LLC, a company now under control of Cablevision. The license requires the satellite to be launched before the end of 2003.
- Astrolink International LLC, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, Liberty Media, Telespazio and TRW, is still looking for investors to pour US$2.4 billion in its broadband communication satellites project. The venture has been failing to attract new investors since October 1999. The cost for the implementation of the initial four-satellite system is reportedly US$3.7 billion. The initial partners have agreed to invest US$1.33 billion and may be asked to invest more money.
- Editor’s note: Astrolink has reportedly commited to launch its four satellites with Lockheed Martin-led International Launch Services. Launch agreements ahave been signed for two Atlas and two Proton flights from late 2002 to mid-2004.
- Russian space industry, presumably NPO Prikladnoy Mekhaniki, has reportedly been selected for the development of Iran’s Telecommunications Corp. US$300-million Zohreh ("Venus") domestic communication satellite system. Six geostationary satellites are planned, with launches possibly beginning in 2002. Four satellite manufacturers from China, France (presumably Alcatel Space), India and russia were reportedly in competition.
- Editor’s note: Procurement of one or two Zohreh satellites has been announced and postponed almost every year since 1987. The initial project was actually drafted by the Shah’s regime in the 1970s. A US$500-million budget was quoted for a single satellite procurement in 1999
- The European Space Agency has signed an agreement with Russia’s Rosaviakomos to fly European astronauts onboard the Soyuz ferry flights to the International Space Station through 2006. About one flight per year is planned on missions to deliver replacement Soyuz crew rescue vehicles to the orbital outpost.
- Intelsat plans to order about 17 large communication satellites in the 2004 to 2009 period. Among them, 11 are planned to replace the current Intelsat 7 and Intelsat 8 series. They will be 5,000-kg class satellites fitting under a 4-m-diameter payload fairinng. In addition, up to six satellites are expected to be dedicated to broadband communication services. These will probably weigh more than 6,000 kg at launch and require wide 5-m-diamter fairings. A formal RfP for the launch of the two Astrium-built Intelsat 10s si planned during the 3rd quarter of 2001.
- Editor’s note: Eight Intelsat 9 satellites were launched from 1993 to 1996 and six Intelsat 8 from 1997 to 1998. Three of them have been transfered to New Skies Satellites, an Intelsat spinoff company, in 1998.
- Uzbekistan’s Uzbekkosmos space agency has plans to launch a military communication and observation satellite into low-Earth orbit in 2002.
- Editor’s note: The project was first announced in December 1999. It was then estimated to cost about US$200-250 million.
- Under its new policy toward space militarization, the U.S. Department of Defense is expected to revive some technologies program proposed by the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization that were shelved by the previous U.S. administration. Among these is the Clementine 2 probe designed to test sensors by intercepting a near-Earth asteroid. Also under consideration is the joint Russian American Observation Satellite (RAMOS) program which would fly experimental infrared sensors on two satellites, one built by the United States and the other by Russia.
- NASA‘s Office of Space Science releases an Announcement of Opportunity to select a principal investigator for its planned Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission in 2005. The probe is due for launch in August 2005 and would operate in orbit around Mars from March 2006 through May 2009.
- ASI, the Italian Space Agency, would like NASA to provide launch services for part of its Skymed/Cosmo four-satellite radar remote sensing constellation in exchange for the manufacturing of an habitation module for the International Space Station, according to Space News. As part of a potential future barter deal, launch of several Skymed/Cosmo satellite atop a U.S. vehicle is among several options included in the preliminary agreement signed on April 19 between ASI and NASA regarding the transformation of the Node 3 module into a crew quarters module. Other options include flights of Italian astronauts to the ISS and access NASA’s space sutation resources. Negotiations are expected to be completed by October.
- Editor’s note: Skymed/Cosmo will be the radar segment of an Italian/French remote sensing system with two Pleiades optical satellites provided by CNES. Italy had initially planned to launch its 1,000-kg-class satellites atop the Vega launcher but it will not be ready in time due to its late development start. The first satellite is tentatively planned for launch in late 2003, witth a second launched in 2004 and the last two in 2005.
 Herschel and Planck atop Ariane 5 (ESA) |
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- NASA is reportedly studying the possiblility to retrieve the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), a 10.36-m long, 6,500-kg observatory which was released into orbit by Space Shuttle Discovery in September 1991.
- Editor’s note: The spacecraft, which was built by GE Astro (now part of Lockheed Martin Commercial Space), was designed with a 3-year lifetime for a 1.5-year baseline mission and is still operational.
- The Indian Space Research Organisation and France’s CNES have signed a MoU for the joint design of the Megha-Tropiques climatology satellite. The 570-kg satellite, to be based on the Proteus platform developed by Alcatel Space for CNES, will carry three radiometers – one developed jointly by CNES and ISRO and the other two by CNES – to study the atmosphere’s behavior in the intertropical region. Launch is due in late 2005 atop an Indian PSLV launcher.
- Türk Telekom plans to launch a new satellite by 2004 in order to replace then then 10-year old Türksat 1B. A satellite could thus be ordered as soon as 2002 and a financing plan is being set up as the Turkish national satellite operator is about to be privatized.
- Editor’s note: All Turkish satellites to date have been built by Alcatel Space and launched by Arianespace but Turkey decided to rescind a series of contracts with the French industry in January as a retaliation after the French parliament eventually decided on January 18 to recognize the extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917 as a genocide
- Japan’s Institute for Space & Astronautical Science (ISAS) plans to launch an orbiter probe to Venus in 2007. The launch will be performed on a M-5 vehicle from Kagoshima.
- Hispasat SA plans to issue a RfP in September to select a prime contractor for its Amazonas 1 communication satellite for Brazil, according to Gazeta Mercantil. A selection is due late this year for a launch targeted in late 2003. Hispasat also plans to select a launch service for the satellite. The total investment on the project is reportedly about US$300 million.
| Miscellaneous |
- As part of an effort to restructure U.S. Air Force‘s space activities, the Space & Missile Systems Center (SMC), in Los Angeles AFB, will be transferred from the authority of the U.S. Air Force Materiel Command to the U.S. Air Force Space Command, effective on October 1st.
- Editor’s note: SMC is in charge of procuring space assets, like launch services and satellite systems, for the U.S. air force and other related agencies. Among other programs, it is in charge of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle development and procurement.