| News of July 2001 |
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| Commercial Launchers |
 Ariane 5G  EPS upper stage (ESA–CNES–Arianespace) |
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| Missile Systems |
July 15 – NMD Interception Test Success
- The U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization reports that the fourth interception test to be carried out on behalf of the development of the U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) system was successful. eventually set for July 15 (July 14 local time). Under the Integrated Flight Test 6 (IFT-6) mission, a Minuteman 2 ballistic missile, refurbished by Lockheed Martin Astronautics, was launched from Vandenberg AFB, California, and delivered a dummy warhead and decoys on a ballistic trajectory toward the Ronald Reagan Missile Site in Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. Some 21 minutes later, a Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space Payload Launch Vehicle was fired from Kwajalein and sent an Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) on an interception course. The midcourse interception reportedly took place 10 minutes later, at an altitude of more than 225 km.
- Editor’s note: This is the second successful interception in four attempts. The first success was on October 3, 1999, but apparently relied on the warhead navigational data to succeed. The other two attempts failed due to a faulty cooling system on a critical sensor, on January 19, 2000, and to a launch vehicle anomaly, on July 7, 2000. A fifth test is tentatively planned for November.
- The U.S. State Department has notified its diplomats all around the world that the current test campaign of the controversial U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) system "will come into conflict with the ABM treaty [within] months." The conflict could come from the opening of a new test site in Fort Greeley, Alaska, with launch facilities for up to 10 Ground-Based Interceptors. Construction of such a test site, which could begin next summer, might be considered as an attempt of "undercover" deployment. Moreover, the ABM treaty, signed in 1972 with the Soviet Union, restricts U.S. missile defense testing to only two sites, namely the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands. According to a 14-page memorandum sent to all diplomatic agents, the NMD could be partly operational with an interim ground-based system deployed in Alaska as soon as 2004.
- The fourth interception test to be carried out on behalf of the development of the U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) system is eventually set for July 15 (July 14 local time). The mission, designated Integrated Flight Test 6 (IFT-6), will involve a refurbished Minuteman 2 ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg AFB, California, to send a dummy warhead and decoys toward the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands. There, a Payload Launch Vehicle will loft an Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) on an interception course. On the three previous interception tests, only the first was successful but apparently relied on the warhead navigational data to succeed. The other two failed due to a faulty sensor and to a launch vehicle anomaly, respectively. A fifth test is tentatively planned for November.
- Editor’s note: The Minuteman 2 missile is provided by Lockheed Martin Astronautics under the Multi-Service Launch System (MSLS) program while Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space is prime for the PLV, which is made of the second and third stages of a Minuteman 2.
- Boeing has conducted a launch rehearsal of its long delayed Ground Based Interceptor, an all-solid three-stage booster developed on behalf the U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) program. The test was conducted in Vandenberg AFB, California. According to Logicon, which provides the vehicle’s control software, all onboard systems performed correctly clearing the way for an actual test flight later this year.
- Editor’s note: The GBI is intended to boost the Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) toward incoming ballistic warheads. It is based on an Alliant Techsystems GEM-46 motor as firt stage and two Pratt&Whitney Chemical Systems Division Orbus as second and third stages. Due to the delays in the availability of the GBI, U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization recently had to order 7 additional Payload Launch Vehicles, based on the second and third stages of Minuteman 2 ICBMs, from Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space to launch prototype EKVs on Integrated Flight Test (IFT) interception tests #7 to #13.
- North Korea has conducted a static firing test of a large rocket engine in late June according to the Washington Times. The test, which was detected by U.S. intelligence satellites, apparently involved a full-scale first stage of a Taepo Dong vehicle, presumably the new, larger, Taepo Dong 2.
- Editor’s note: This is the first major rocket development event reported since the test flight of a Taepo Dong 1 ballistic missile, presented as a satellite launch attempt, in August 1998. The test does not violate the current moratorium on missile testing which covers only test flights.
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| RLVs and Reentry Systems |
- NASA has decided not to activate the Ben Guerir transatlantic abort landing site in Morocco during the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on July 12 citing concerns about possible terrorist actions. In case of propulsion failure during the early phases of the flight (between 142 and 276 seconds after liftoff), the shuttle would be redirected to Moron AFB or Zaragozza AFB, both in Spain.
- NASA was awarded an additional US$415-million to its budget for fiscal year 2002 by the U.S. House of Representatives‘ appropriations subcommittee for the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and the independent agencies. On this extra funding, US$275 million will be devoted to the development of the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station. The subcommittee also asked NASA to preserve the hardware developed for the X-34 reusable hypersonic testbed until June 2002 or until the U.S. Air Force decides whether to take over the program. The proposed extra budget still has to be approved by the full U.S. Congress and by the U.S. president to become effective.
- Editor’s note: The CRV development, which is required for the increase of the ISS crew from 3 to 7 astronauts, has been shelved since February when the U.S. administration decided several cuts in the ISS program to compensate for a US$4-billion cost overrun. Actually, the overrun was recently revealed to exceed US$4.8 billion. The CRV will be derived from the current X-38 demonstrator.
- An advanced scale-model of NASA‘s X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) demonstrator successfully completed an autonomous landing test at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards AFB, California. The V-131R test vehicle was released from its NB-52B carrier aircraft at an altitude of 11,400 m. The 13-minute-long glide allowed to evaluate European Space Agency‘s guidance and navigation software to be used on the actual CRV. It was also the second test flight to deploy a full scale 700-sq.m. parafoil for the final approach and landing phase.
- Editor’s note: V-131R is the former V-131 test vehicle which flew twice in March 1997 and February 1999 and has been refurbished to the final X-38 aerodynamic shape, designed by France’s Dassault Aviation. Its first flight as V-131R occured in November 1999.
- NASA is still evaluating a proposal by Boeing PhantomWorks to build a second X-37 demonstrator vehicle. The proposal was included among Boeing’s bids for the first round of the Space Launch Initiative program in late 2000. If approved, the second test vehicle would be designed for orbital and reentry test flights while the model currently under construction would be dedicated to atmospheric drop-tests. The orbital vehicle would also include several U.S. Air Force requirements to serve as a full-scale prototype for the proposed Space Maneuvering Vehicle (SMV). The bid was deferred while NASA, Boeing and the U.S. Air Force are still discussing the funding plan for the original X-37 program. A decision is expected before late September as no funding has been decided yet for FY2002 spending. The program is now treportedly two-year beyond schedule and significantly over budget.
- Editor’s note: Under a 1999 agreement, NASA agreed to pay US$72 million for the X-37 development while Boeing invested US$85 million of its own money. The U.S. Air Force contribution amounted to US$16 million. The initial plan was to fly the vehicle to low-Earth orbit onboard the U.S. space shuttle and perform an autonomous reentry and landing in late 2002 in order to complete the whole testing program in 2003. If transferred to a commercial expendable launch vehicle, the launch cost would have to be added to the budget as the shuttle was supposed to carry the vehicle to orbit at no cost for the program.
 RVT (ISAS) |
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| Space Propulsion |
| Spaceports |
- The French government is ready to support Russia’s proposal to launch Soyuz vehicles from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou "as long as Soyuz does not compete with Ariane" said French president Jacques Chirac durinhg his visit to Russia. This support is linked to an expected decision by Russia’s Aeroflot to buy 36 Airbus aircraft, a deal reportedly worth some US$1.5 billion. In parallel to the visit, French presidential advisers explained that they would support the proposal during ESA‘s council meeting at ministerial level, to be held in Edinburg in November, if a solution can be found to raise the US$250 million needed to fund the building of a dedicated launch pad. According to these advisers, "the Soyuz vehicle will not compete with Ariane 5 as the two are addressing different market segments." According to some analysts, the Soyuz launch capability from Kourou would also allow to prepare the launch site for manned missions to the International Space Station.
- Editor’s note: From Kourou, the new Soyuz/ST vehicle with a Fregat upper stage will be able to loft up to 2 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit. This class of satellites currently represents some 20% of Arianespace‘s backlog. However, with the introduction of more powerful versions of Ariane 5 (Ariane 5ECA in 2002 and Ariane 5ECB in 2006), Arianespace might less rely on this class of satellites to form pairs of payloads to be launched together. Moreover, the Soyuz might be used primarily to launch Russian communication satellites.
| Industry |
- The European Commission has cleared Alcatel to take over the 48.83% stake detained by Thales in Alcatel Space. The ¤795-million deal turns Alcatel Space into a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcatel.
| Launch Market |
- Belgium will sign an intergovernment agreement with France on July 13 to officialize its contribution to the Helios 2 optical military observation satellite system. Spain is expected to join shortly too. Belgium will contribute 2.5% to the ¤2.13-billion program. Two satellites are being manufactured by Astrium under the program. the fisrt one is tentatively planned for launch in March 2004.
- Echostar Communications Corp. plans to initiate the construction of a Ku-band spot beam satellite which will be used both by StarBand for high-speed Internet delivery services over the United States and by Echostar for direct broadcasting. The satellite’s construction is expected to begin by late 2001. In parallel, Echostar invested US$50 million in StarBand to increase its stake from 19% to 32%. Echostar’s shareholding is planned to increase to 60% as the manufacturing of the satellite begins.
- Editor’s note: StarBand Communications Inc. (formerly Gilat-to-Home) is a joint-venture of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., Echostar, Microsoft Corp. and ING Furman Selz Investments. In November 2000, it had announced plans to procure two satellites (one active and one in-orbit spare) for launches in 2003.
- Spanish newspaper ABC reports that Space Systems/Loral was selected to build the US$150-million Hisdesat military communication satellite, defeating Alcatel Space. The satellite will be operated by a new venture, Hisdesat SA, held by Hispasat (45%), INSA (30%), EADS CASA Espacio (13%), Indra (7%) and Sener (5%).
- Editor’s note: Hisdesat’s launch is due in late 2003. No launch provider has been selected yet.
| Miscellaneous |