End Of The Shuttle Program, Advances In Commercial Space Efforts Highlight The Year

This year saw the beginning of the passing of the low-orbit manned space program baton from NASA to commercial space companies ... though not everyone thought that was such a great idea. 

The venerable space shuttle saw its final flight, and there were many advancements towards the eventual replacement of that transportation system with one run by for-profit companies. In the meantime, NASA continued its research into launch systems and crew modules for future deep-space missions, leaving the Russian Soyuz system as the only means of transport between Earth and the ISS. The failure of two unmanned Soyuz missions this year may serve as a catalyst for pushing other efforts forward, but that remains to be seen. Here are the highlights of the year in Aerospace for 2011

January

In support of its mission to broaden public awareness of the benefits of space exploration, the Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute, Inc. is giving the public the opportunity to take the ride of a lifetime to the edge of space. This event is designed to give the opportunity for a member of the public to fly aboard a commercial spacecraft who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity by raising funds to cover the cost of the flight.

NASA managers were evaluating potential launch dates for space shuttle Discovery in late February and working to see if International Space Station on orbit operations would allow a launch as early as Feb. 24.

Commercial spaceflight company Space Adventures said it concluded an agreement with the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation (FSA) and Rocket Space Corporation Energia (RSC Energia) to commercially offer three seats on the Soyuz spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS), beginning in 2013.

An invitation-only, two-day forum, which featured more than 60 of the world's top aerospace experts, was held in Boulder, CO. The first "Commercial Human Spaceflight Technical Forum" was hosted by Special Aerospace Services, a woman-owned aerospace company committed to developing and providing innovative aerospace solutions to the aerospace industry, U.S. government agencies, Department of Defense, and the emerging commercial spaceflight sector.

February

Numerous reports indicated that both Russia and China are working on autonomous spacecraft similar to the X-B launched and recovered by the U.S. Air Force last year. The blog Defense Talk and the Canadian Press report that Russia's Space Minister Oleg Stank has been quoted in Russian news agencies as saying they have a spacecraft similar to the X-B in development, but that the work is preliminary.

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver (pictured) traveled to Las Vegas and Boulder, CO, to meet with leaders of two commercial space companies, Bigelow Aerospace and Sierra Nevada Corp., and tour their facilities. NASA is partnering with the commercial sector to develop innovative technologies to ensure that the U.S. remains competitive in future space endeavors.

The International Space Station partner agencies met by videoconference to discuss coordinating the increased use of the space station as a research laboratory. The agencies want to continue using the station as a test-bed for exploration and find innovative ways to reduce costs while increasing use.

A Pittsburgh-based company which is building a lunar rover has purchased a slot to travel to the moon from SpaceX, and could undertake the mission as early as 2013. Astrobotic Technology, which was spun off from Carnegie Mellon University, is a contestant for the Google Lunar X Prize.

The first Orion crew module spacecraft structure was shipped out from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, LA, on its way to Lockheed Martin's Denver, CO. facilities. There, it will undergo a series of rigorous tests to confirm Orion's ability to safely fly astronauts through all the harsh environments of deep space exploration missions.

NASA  requested $18.7 billion for fiscal year 2012 in a budget the agency says supports a reinvigorated path of innovation, technological development and scientific discovery. The budget supports all elements of NASA's 2010 Authorization Act, which was passed by a strong bipartisan majority of Congress and signed into law by President Obama.

Space Operations announced plans to build a two-seat manned orbital spacecraft for commercial and government use. The company plans a test launch on February 20, 2012, with a regular flight schedule beginning in late 2012 or early 2013. The Eclipse spacecraft will utilize the highly successful legacy Gemini technology that was developed by NASA to allow SOI to bring this product to market in a very short time frame.

Space shuttle Discovery soared into orbit on its final mission. The launch came after a last-minute technical glitch with the Air Force's Eastern Range that left only four seconds in the launch window and a practical limit of two seconds because of draining requirements with the external fuel tank.

In a first for the reusable suborbital launch vehicle industry, XCOR Aerospace said that the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), a commercial entity, has purchased six suborbital flights to carry SwRI experiments and payload specialists. This is the first such contract SwRI has issued.

March

In a speech to the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, Dr. George C. Nield, the FAA Associate Administrator For Commercial Space Transportation, said there needs to be an honest assessment about the risk involved in commercial spaceflight. But he added that should not deter private companies from moving forward in their efforts.

Discovery landed for the final time at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after 202 orbits around Earth and a journey of 5,304,140 miles on STS-133. Discovery’s main gear touched down at 1157 EST. At wheels stop, the mission elapsed time was 12 days, 19 hours, four minutes and 50 seconds.

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and the City of McGregor, TX, today signed a lease agreement allowing SpaceX to expand the size of its rocket development facility. Under the deal, SpaceX will lease 631 acres for its test facility. The new lease will more than double the size of the current 256 acre site on the Western edge of the City of McGregor, and will last roughly 10 years

A report by the Roscosmos Technical Management on Human Space System Flight Testing mentioned an "in compliance in operation" of the Kvant-V equipment in Soyuz TMA-21 detected during the current launch preparations at Baikonur. The agency announced that due to the problem, and the necessity to run additional analysis, it was delaying the launch of Soyuz TMA-21.

NASA ushered in a "new era of space exploration" at its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia with a ribbon cutting ceremony opening the new Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF). The HIF will support medium-class mission capabilities. The first customer to use the facility will be Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, VA, with its Taurus II launch vehicle.

April

Elon Musk, CEO and chief rocket designer of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) unveiled the final specifications and launch date for the Falcon Heavy, what will be the world's largest rocket. "First launch from our Cape Canaveral launch complex is planned for late 2013 or 2014."

Johnson Space Center's Engineering Directorate got testing underway on its prototype lander as part of Project Morpheus- a vertical test bed designed to integrate technologies that could be used to build future spacecraft intended to land on the moon, Mars, asteroids or any other foreign surface. The last time a prototype spacecraft was flown at Johnson, man hadn't yet landed on the moon.

After 30 years of spaceflight, more than 130 missions, and numerous science and technology firsts, NASA's space shuttle fleet will retire and be on display at institutions across the country to inspire the next generation of explorers and engineers. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Tuesday announced the facilities where four shuttle orbiters will be displayed permanently at the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program. Facilities in Florida, California, Washington, DC, And New York City will display the spacecraft.

NASA awarded four Space Act Agreements in the second round of the agency's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2) effort. Each company will receive between $22 million and $92.3 million to advance commercial crew space transportation system concepts and mature the design and development of elements of their systems, such as launch vehicles and spacecraft.

Fifty years after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel into outer space, the Vostok 3KA-2 Space Capsule that paved the way for his historic mission sold for $2,882,500 to Evgeny Yurchenko, chairman of the investment fund AS Popov. Mr. Yurchenko purchased the icon of space history during an auction at Southeby's with the intention of returning it Russia.

A high-ranking Russian space official says Russia will not permit SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to dock with the ISS until its "safety is fully tested." The remarks were published by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, as well as the Roscosmos English-language website.

The Multilateral Coordination Board (MCB) for the International Space Station partner agencies met Wednesday, April 27, to discuss increased efforts to use the station as a test-bed for exploration. The MCB also congratulated the European Space Agency (ESA) on its recent decision to continue station operations to at least 2020.

May

In the skies above Mojave Air and Spaceport CA, SpaceShipTwo demonstrated its unique reentry ‘feather’ configuration for the first time. This test flight, the third in less than two weeks, marks another major milestone on the path to powered test flights and commercial operations.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued a statement about the 50th anniversary of United States human spaceflight. On that date in 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to fly in space, which Bolden says set our nation on a path of exploration and discovery that continues to this day.

The official ceremony marking ESA's handover of the Soyuz launch site to Arianespace took place at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, after the site was declared ready for the first flight and the completion of a simulated launch campaign. The French space agency, CNES, as prime contractor for the building work, along with its European and Russian partners, has spent recent months qualifying the site.

NASA reached an important milestone for the next U.S. transportation system that will carry humans into deep space. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced that the system will be based on designs originally planned for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. Those plans now will be used to develop a new spacecraft known as the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV).

June

After three years in development and one unsuccessful launch attempt, a rocket built by two Danish inventors made a successful unmanned test flight. Copenhagen Suborbitals Group had hoped the rocket would achieve an altitude of about 9 miles, but it was unclear if that objective was reached. The launch was made from a launch pad built on a barge off the island of Bornholm.

Boeing issued 60-day advance layoff notices to approximately 510 employees in its Space Exploration division, resulting primarily from the planned completion of the Space Shuttle program. The notices include an estimated 260 employees in Houston, 150 at Kennedy Space Center, FL, and 100 at the company’s Huntington Beach, CA, facility.

The Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) announced that it had received support from the State of Florida in its efforts to transform Cecil Airport into a 21st century commercial spaceport when Space Florida officially designated Cecil as a "Space Territory" on June 9. The Space Territory designation affords a number of opportunities.

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) CEO Fatih Ozmen announced that Sierra Nevada Space Systems has completed two significant milestones as part of the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) Program. SNC is building the Dream Chaser, a Space Shuttle-like human spacecraft for NASA to provide astronaut transport to the International Space Station (ISS).

July

NASA launched its final Space Shuttle mission. Atlantis and its four astronauts left Earth for the final space shuttle mission, which will cap off an amazing 30-year program of exploration, which launched great observatories, built an International Space Station, and taught us more about how humans can live and work in space.

SpaceX CEO and chief rocket designer Elon Musk was joined by California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, 30th Space Wing Commander Colonel Richard W. Boltz and Lompoc Mayor John Linn to break ground on a new launch site for the Falcon Heavy–Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Wrapping up 30 years of unmatched achievements and blazing a trail for the next era of U.S. human spaceflight, NASA's storied Space Shuttle Program came to a "wheels stop" at the conclusion of its 135th mission. Russia said the end of the U.S. Space Shuttle program marks the beginning of the "Era Of Soyuz" for transportation to the International Space Station.

August

NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to begin a five-year journey to Jupiter. Juno's detailed study of the largest planet in our solar system will help reveal Jupiter's origin and evolution.

When the United States again undertakes manned spaceflight, the CST-100 spacecraft designed by Boeing will launch atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, according to the company.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) issued a subpoena to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon August 7 as part of its investigation into NLRB action against the Boeing Company.

NASA  selected XCOR Aerospace to provide suborbital flight and payload integration services for research and scientific missions in a program that will offer up to $10 million dollars in contracts to match payload customers with flight vehicle services.

The Russian Progress cargo spacecraft which launched on a re-supply mission to ISS failed to separate from its third stage booster about six minutes into its flight, and impacted the ground in the Altai Republic in South Siberia. It was the first reported loss of a Russian Progress freighter.

Following the failure of the Russian Progress resupply mission to reach orbit, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Senator Richard Shelby renewed their call for a quick decision and announcement of the design of the next U.S. human-rated launch vehicle.

September

The FAA granted a Commercial Space Transportation Launch License to Orbital Sciences Corporation to conduct the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program demonstration mission in early 2012.

The test of an unmanned spacecraft funded by Internet billionaire Jeff Bezos ended with the vehicle being destroyed shortly after launch. U.S. Government and industry officials said the sub-orbital vertical launch vehicle being tested by Blue Origin LLC went out of control at about 45,000 feet and was destroyed as a precaution.

Construction began on the first new NASA spacecraft built to take humans to orbit since space shuttle Endeavour left the factory in 1991, and marked a significant milestone in carrying out the ambitious exploration vision President Obama and Congress have laid out for the nation.

The NRC warned that the number of astronauts currently employed by NASA, 61, is too low. The number was almost 150 as recently as 2000.

NASA selected the design of a new Space Launch System that it says will take the agency's astronauts farther into space than ever before, create high-quality jobs here at home, and provide the cornerstone for America's future human space exploration efforts.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a NASA budget that includes $500 million for the development of commercial crew capacity for transporting U.S. and other astronauts to the ISS. The summary of the appropriation, provided by the committee, indicates that NASA is funded at $17.9 billion, a reduction of $509 million or 2.8 percent from the FY2011 enacted level.

NASA unveiled an outline of its acquisition strategy to procure transportation services from private industry to carry U.S. astronauts to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station. The agency also announced the addition of optional milestones for the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) initiative.

China launched its Tiangong-1 module from the Jiuquan launch center in the Gobi Desert, the first step in what the government there hopes will be a Chinese space station 2020. The module, whose name translates to "Heavenly Palace," is part of a program developed to refine spacecraft docking technology.

October

SpaceX Founder Elon Musk outlined a fully re-usable commercial space system in a speech that was webcast from the National Press Club in Washington, DC and archived by C-SPAN.

With two companies planning demonstration flights of commercial cargo hauling capabilities to ISS, NASA administrator Charles Bolden said during a roundtable discussion with other space agency leaders at the annual congress of the International Astronautical Federation that the first deliveries of supplies by a commercial carrier could come within months, rather than years.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour officially has a new owner. The title transfer to the California Science Center was finalized with former NASA astronaut and STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly, the STS-134 crew, NASA Associate Deputy Administrator Richard Keegan and California Science Center President Jeffrey N. Rudolph.

In another sign that NASA will begin to rely sooner rather than later on commercial space ventures to complete its missions, the agency has signed a deal with Virgin Galactic for up to three charter flights on its privately-built spacecraft to provide opportunities for engineers, technologists, and scientific researchers to conduct experiments in suborbital space.

The ‘Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space’ and New Science and Education Customers to Bring Benefits of Space Access to Students and Researchers was dedicated. Some 800 guests joined Sir Richard Branson and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez for the festivities.

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) successfully completed the preliminary design review of its revolutionary launch abort system, a system designed for manned missions using its Dragon spacecraft. This represents a major step toward creating an American-made successor to the Space Shuttle.

The first Soyuz launch vehicle to lift off from Arianespace's facility in French Guiana successfully placed Europe’s first two Galileo navigation satellites into orbit.

NASA's industry partners continued to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities that will ferry U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station, reducing the amount of time America has to depend on Russia for launch services.

Virgin Galactic's chief pilot said that its new timetable for the first commercial suborbital flights have been pushed to 2013, and the operation will ramp up more slowly than originally projected. And, after an intense selection process with more than 500 applicants including some of the best pilots in the world, Virgin Galactic selected former USAF test pilot Keith Colmer as the first astronaut pilot to join the commercial spaceline's flight team.

An unpiloted ISS Progress 45 cargo craft launched, successfully, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Less than nine minutes later, the Progress reached its preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas.

November

Boeing announced plans to consolidate its Commercial Crew program office, manufacturing and operations at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Boeing, in partnership with Space Florida, has an arrangement to use the Orbiter Processing Facility-3 (OPF-3) to manufacture, assemble, and test the company’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft.

The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing to provide aerospace companies and NASA an opportunity to testify about progress being made toward the goal of establishing a commercial capability to fly humans to and from low Earth orbit and the long-term non-Government commercial market for private launch services.

Two Chinese spacecraft successfully docked, marking China's first step in an ambitious plan to build and man its own space station by 2020. The Shenzhou VIII spacecraft docked with the Tiangong-1 module. The Shenzhou spacecraft, which translates to "Divine Vessel," is a variant of the capsule which China developed for its nascent manned space program in 2003.

NASA announced plans to add an unmanned flight test of the Orion spacecraft in early 2014 to its contract with Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the multi-purpose crew vehicle's design, development, test and evaluation. This test supports the new Space Launch System (SLS) that the administration says will take astronauts farther into space than ever before, and provide the cornerstone for America's future human spaceflight efforts.

The Chinese Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, which twice docked successfully with the Tiangong 1 module launched separately, returned to Earth. China says it is working towards building its own space station, after being denied participation in the ISS program.

NASA and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum announced the official transfer of title of Space Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise from NASA to the museum in New York City.

NASA began a historic voyage to Mars with the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), which carries a car-sized rover named Curiosity, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard an Atlas V rocket.

December

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul G. Allen announced that he and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan have reunited to develop the next generation of space travel. Allen and Rutan are developing a revolutionary approach to space transportation: an air-launch system to provide orbital access to space with greater safety, cost-effectiveness and flexibility.

NASA officially confirmed that SpaceX will be allowed to complete the objectives of COTS 2 and COTS 3 in a single mission. This means Dragon will perform all of the COTS 2 mission objectives which include numerous operations in the vicinity of the ISS, and will then perform the COTS 3 objectives. These include approach, berthing with the ISS, astronauts opening Dragon and unloading cargo, and finally, astronauts closing the spacecraft and sending it back to Earth for recovery from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

NASA announced a modified competitive procurement strategy to keep on track the agency’s plan to have U.S. companies transport American astronauts into space. Instead of awarding contracts for the next phase of the Commercial Crew Program, the agency plans to use multiple, competitively awarded Space Act Agreements.

A Soyuz 2 launch vehicle failed to place a communications satellite in orbit, the second unmanned launch vehicle failure for the Russians in five months.

FMI: www.aero-news.net