Section: Military Space Programs
 50 years ago today, the space age began when the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite. That little silver ball started something quite amazing - literally the beginning of the transformation of humanity into a space-faring society.
But, looking back over the last 50 years, we have to acknowledge that, in the grand scale of things, we have only just begun. Cheap, reliable access to space, and cheap reliable operations in the space environment, remain hard nuts to crack.
The work of decades and probably centuries lies ahead.
Writing at TCS Daily, Rand Simberg seems to think so. The piece is a good roundup of what has happened and what it means.
According to this report from Aviation Week, on January 11 the Chinese used a ballistic missile with a kinetic kill vehicle warhead to shoot down one of their own aging weather satellites, in what appears to have been a successful anti-satellite weapons system test.
The weather satellite was in a polar orbit circling the Earth at an altitude of over 500 miles. This is significantly higher than the orbit of the International Space Station. I bet there’s a lot of work going on right now to track the debris.
Elon posted a brief update on his company’s website not only promising some interesting data but covering news worthy developments on several fronts.
July 6, 2006 Update
My apologies for the long delay in providing an update. Between the Falcon 1 return to flight, Falcon 9 development and the NASA COTS program, this has been an inordinately busy period for SpaceX. I will post the findings of the DARPA/SpaceX Return to Flight Board on the SpaceX website in about two weeks. The final meeting of the board was last week and the results will be posted after the DARPA senior leadership is briefed. No major surprises were uncovered in the course of the investigation, so perhaps more interesting is the broader set of design & process improvements that constitute “Falcon 1.1″.
I will post whatever I can, excluding only proprietary or ITAR restricted information. At the end of July, I will post a detailed update on Falcon 9. We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress on that front. Except for the fairing (nosecone), we are 90% done with all the manufacturing tooling and should have serial number 1 of the first stage built within three to four months. We are targeting a stage hold down, multi-engine firing in about six months. On the business front, SpaceX now has ten launches on manifest and is on track to be cash flow positive in 2006, our fourth full year of operation. –Elon
I for one am certainly looking forward to these new tid-bits.
As you all probably know, Ken Murphy has been posting here on this blog, reviews of non-fiction, space-related books. What you may not know is on our companion forums, he has also be providing us with reviews of with lunar centric fictional books.
If it has a lunar theme, it is open for review so the books my be very science in nature or simply novelizations of space related movies or television shows.
For your convenience I’ve pulled them all together in one document with the most recent postings listed first. The results appear below:
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Our friend David Livingston will be hosting a round-table discussion which will include the topics of rockets, engineering, and cost effective space access on his Radio/Podcast program, The Space Show.
The LIVE broadcast will take place Sunday, April 9. 2006, from noon-1:30PM PDT (yeah, that pesky daylight savings time has kicked in). The scheduled panelists for the program are Dr. John Jurist, Monte Davis, and Patrick Stiennon with David Hoerr, authors of “The Rocket Company,” and I’m sure the listeners will be calling in to add their two-cents worth as well.
It should make for interesting listening.
For more information on this or future programs and how you can tune in, check out David’s Website.
 SpaceX have posted new still photos as well as video of last weekend’s failed Falcon launch. The views don’t show the rocket crash back into the sea, but what they do show is the beginnings of a beautiful launch. Alas, that day it was not to be, but there will be other days for Falcon, and I for one can’t wait to see SpaceX try again.
[Update]
In this recent NPR interview, SpaceX VP of business development Gwynne Shotwell explains that, though the official investigation has yet to release its findings, the company does know the cause of the Falcon launch failure. The interviewer in this piece is nursing an almost total misunderstanding of SpaceX’s approach to disclosure and public openness, but it’s well worth listening to for what Gwynne has to say:
The cause of the launch mishap was a “procedural problem,” “not an issue associated with the vehicle itself” and one that has a “very easy fix.” The next launch will likely be TacSat-1, in “three to five or six months from now.” That’s the amount of time needed to “pull the [TacSat] team back together, bring the satellite out of storage and get it ready for launch.” But SpaceX will also be taking advantage of that extra time to “go through, carefully, every other vehicle subsystem to make sure that the probability of success is as high as we can possibly make it on the next flight.”
 Andrews Space has announced two new contracts in the last couple of weeks. One is an award from DARPA to test components of their in flight propellant generation system, ACES. the other is to test thermal protection concepts for a ballute re-entry system, which they have been studying under an SBIR contract for NASA Dryden.
READ MORE…
Kimbal Musk relates an amazing story at kwajelein atoll and rockets. When Falcon 1 crashed into the sea, its Air Force Academy payload was clearly unimpressed with the change in destination, and decided to find a better resting place than the ocean floor:
“Amazingly, the satellite was thrown high into the air when the rocket impacted and came crashing down through the roof of our machine shop, landing mostly intact on the floor! One helluva’ return trip.”
He goes on to say that the hole in the machine shop roof was the only damage sustained on the entire island.
Despite crash, Genesis appears to be to have at least a partial payoff.
“We’ve managed to actually pull something out of this. We’ve done it,” said the mission’s chief scientist Don Burnett, from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
A failed parachute deployment put doubt in the recovery of samples from the $264 million project when it crashed into the high deserts of Utah back in September of 2004.
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Not really space related but these two articles (HERE and HERE) lead to stories discussing research efforts to recombine DNA strands. Hopefully this will lead to something useful other than tapping new grant moneys from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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On the subject of DNA a Space.Com article has an interesting piece of a recently discovered nebula with a unique twist … the familiar double-helix of a DNA molecule.
So we go from DNA woven maps measuring just a few hundred nanometers (billionths of a meter) across, smaller even than some bacteria - a scale of 1:200 trillion to the DNA nebula is about 80 light-years long. (See, I knew I could find a space tie-in.)
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The subject of this next item has become a big news story discussed just about everywhere but I’ll point you to another Space.com article. Lawmakers are taking a hard look at ways to put the science back into NASA’s budget. (On a side note I did get a chuckle from a pop-up advertisement promoting the next installment of the road-tripping brain-dead blondes, Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton in “The ‘SIMPLE’ Life 3.”)
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SpaceX posted this update in preparation for another static fire test.
Falcon 1 Maiden Flight Update: Posted March 15
Falcon 1 has been removed from its hangar and erected on the launch pad. All systems are currently go for a static fire on March 17 or 18, followed by a launch between March 20 and 25.
—Elon
If available we will try to provide live coverage of at least the launch attempt.
Sorry outside distractions kept me from posting recently so I’m going to do a bit of catch up. First up, is an article that appears to have taken a wonky turn posted a couple days ago on Wired News. Okay kids, adjust your tinfoil hats and take a look…
“The U.S. military still doesn’t have the capability to launch a spy satellite on demand,” said Marc Schlather, director of ProSpace, the lobbyist group coordinating March Storm. “We are seeking a cross-pollination.”
The quote above, taken out of context and stuck in with unrelated comments from the writer about “Star Wars” in attempt to connect spy satellite launches to weapons of mass destruction raining down from orbit. At the same time he is trying to paint the Strategic “Defense” Initiative as the Strategic “Offense” Initiative. (I guess the word “Defense” really was just something cooked up by the PR/Spin people in the Reagan White House.)
A response to the article came a few days later from none other than the aforementioned director of ProSpace, Marc Schlather, in a letter to the editors of Wired News which is reprinted at SpacePolitics.com which you can read HERE.
My only additional comment on this view of the March Storm activities is, if I could spare the time and the money, (since I’m niether employed nor sponsored by any major, minor or start-up aerospace companies…) I’d be “Storming” D.C. with the rest of them.
SpaceX has issued an update on a new launch window for the maiden flight of their Falcon 1 rocket. The five day window is less than a month away and another static fire test is planned a few days prior to that window as well.
The tentative launch window for the maiden flight of Falcon 1 is March 20 through 25. The gating items are receiving a shipment of liquid oxygen (LOX) from Hawaii and switching out the 2nd stage tank. Obviously, long term operations on Kwaj will require that we install a state-of-the-art, high reliability LOX plant on island. In the meantime, we will get through first launch with LOX shipments from Hawaii and whatever output we can generate from the sad, old clunker of a LOX plant that we currently own.
He goes on to explain of another issue regarding fuel tanks.
We are also replacing the 2nd stage tank, following discovery of a small leak. Fortunately, a Falcon 2nd stage tank just barely fits through the door of a standard cargo airplane (no C-17 required), so the flight is relatively inexpensive and readily available. Fixing the leak in the tank being shipped back is not a huge task, but also not something easily done far away from the factory. Countdown procedures have been modified to prevent such leaks from developing in the future.
The static fire performed during the last countdown attempt was really helpful as a preflight systems checkout, so we will be doing one again three or four days before the next countdown (most likely March 17). In addition, we are doing another systems review with DARPA, AF and NASA in early March. —Elon
We will keep a watch out for further updates and try to provide live coverage of these events where possible.
A tip of the hat goes to LaunchBlog for pointing out this Los Angeles Times, Sunday feature article. The article provides an extensive look at the various countries and their developing lunar programs.
[Updated]
After a frustrating day of glitches during their wet dress rehearsal yesterday, SpaceX have today successfully sorted out their gremlins:
We were very happy to be able to execute a flight countdown all the way to lighting the engine. Although there wasn’t a launch this time, we made a lot of progress refining the rocket and launch pad — all work that needed to be done anyway. I will post a longer update next week, after we have enough time to finish forensics of recent events and formulate next steps.
—Elon
You can view a short video of the engine firing here.
Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal posted a new report from the Kwajalein Atoll and in the process discusses the various definitions of the word “Crazy.”
When other rocket companies need something done, they requisition the right forms, talk to the right people, go back to the right forms, try again with another set of right people, go back to the forms (also known as the TPS reports), and eventually go a little more postal each day.
When SpaceX needs something done, they do it, and they do it fast.
Case in point:
On Saturday night it was discovered that the power distribution boards were not operating properly and that the capacitors needed to be upgraded. This is very difficult to fix on a remote tropical island 5,000 miles away from America.
He goes on to recount the “crazy” efforts made to get the needed pieces to do a component-level repair of the boards. There are a lot of interesting tidbits to digest as we wait for the approaching launch date.
He also added his disclaimer that nothing he says is official, and it is just as likely that he is really hiding in a basement in Boulder CO. (ED: Most likely watching the DvD box set of Firefly, I know I am.)
Stay tuned folks, either Rob or I (possibly both) will be on hand to provide semi-live coverage of the Falcon1 launch.
[remove] old date, date[/remove]…[insert] new date, date, (see above) [/insert] — ED: that post of the date change was accurate for about 10 mins. it seems.
My wife will be providing sandwiches, drinks and other refreshments…not that y’all are invited to come over and partake, it’s just to let you know I’ll be taken care of, while we “live blog” the event.
Eric Hedman thinks that alt.space startups should be asking themselves some tough questions to enhance their business plans and chances of success.
Jeff Foust reviews the latest space IMAX movie, about the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, in Review: Roving Mars in IMAX.
Andrew Turner describes the Aquarius system, which would provide low-cost transport of bulk items, like food and water, to the ISS or for future exploration missions.
OotC blogger-in-residence Mark Trulson concludes his interview with Patrick J. G. Stiennon and David M. Hoerr in The Men of The Rocket Company (part 2). [D’oh! If you are wondering what happened to part one, I forgot my usual ‘this week at the space review’ post last week, but it was indeed posted in last week’s Space Review. I’m putting this down to the pressure of having to go back to work after a really long and relaxing Christmas break. Others in the family have theories about early onset of senility, but we wont go there - Rob]
Taylor Dinerman examines a range of missile defense options and how they might theoretically be used to defend against an Iranian ballistic missile threat, in Missile defense in 2006: now more controversial than ever.
After the scrub of the December 19th launch attempt, Elon Musk CEO of SpaceX announced the decision to fly a whole new first stage to Hawaii via C-5 just in time to catch the barge from there to Kwaj a few days before New Year’s Eve. The new stage would arrive at Kwaj in about a week, whereupon they would switch it out with the damaged unit, then sending it back to California for repair.
Speaking with SpaceX spokesperson, Dianne Molina, she provides the update, “The new first stage did arrive last week on Omelek. All integration work (currently focused on stage prep for stage mate next week) is going flawlessly. We feel very good about the February 8 date.”
In reply to our asking the status of the second Falcon1 flight Molina explained, “We are projecting a quarter 2 launch for TacSat as the as the customer will need to reassemble their team.”
Called TacSat-1, the payload is a tactical communications & observation satellite built and integrated by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory for the Pentagon’s Office of Force Transformation.
We will continue to follow the developments as SpaceX prepares for the February 8th launch date with the following day held in reserve as the fallback window. Once again, we plan on providing coverage as we live blogcast the event.
Disccuss this further at the OotC forums
The Chinese lunar probe Chang’e I and its launch vehicle are now under construction. This announcement came at a press briefing by Jin Zhuanglong, spokesman for State Commission of Space, Technology and Industry for National Defense.
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Grant Bonin asks the question: Are heavy lift launch vehicles the best technology for opening space to humankind? He makes a cogent argument as to why they may not be.
Sam Dinkin reminds us of some radical but prescient predictions from Wiley Lay’s book, Rockets, Missiles, & Space Travel - and some not so radical ones that we’re still waiting on.
Taylor Dinerman reviews Doug Beason’s book, The E Bomb: How America’s New Directed Energy Weapons Will Change The Way Future Wars Are Fought. An interesting update on the transformation of laser and microwave beam weapons from ‘SF’ to ‘USAF’ - and how they are now much closer to the latter than the former.
Dwayne Day debunks the myth that John F. Kennedy was unaware of the real nature of the so-called “Missile Gap” until after he became president.
Anthony Young reviews Apollo astronaut Harrison Schmitt’s new book, Return to the Moon. (Note that Ken Murphy also has a review of the book right here at Out of the Cradle).
This is the final word on the subject for now, so I might as well let Elon have it…
Posted December 19, 2005 at 4:40 p.m. (pst)
Here is the apparent cause of structural damage (further analysis may change the conclusion):
Due to high winds, we placed the countdown on hold and began draining the fuel tank. As we drained fuel from the 1st stage tank, a faulty pressurization valve caused a vacuum condition in the tank. This caused a fuel tank barrel section to deform and suck inward. It is important to note that the root cause is an electrical fault with a valve, not structural design.
At this point, it appears that no other damage was sustained to the vehicle or the satellite. The rocket will be lowered down this afternoon and placed in its hangar for further inspection.
— Elon —
Posted December 19, 2005:
Launch is scrubbed until early next year, as there is a structural issue with the 1st stage fuel tank that will require repair. I will provide further comment as soon as this has been carefully analyzed.
Consistent with our policy, we must be 100% green for launch with no outstanding concerns whatsoever. It is not just a matter of repairing the damage, but also understanding at a fundamental level how to ensure it never happens again. We will also do another full review of all the vehicle systems, including propulsion, structures, avionics, software and ground support systems. Therefore, I expect that the earliest that launch would occur is late January. Third time’s the charm.
— Elon —
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Also join us at the forums where you can register, sign in, and post any questions for us or to submit to SpaceX. An earlier glich prevented people signing in to the forums but it has now been fixed. So join us.
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Falcon 1’s Tropical Island Aerie
SpaceX has firmed up the date and time for their launch attempt of the Falcon 1 rocket. With the various complications that arose to scrub the initial launch attempt now resolved, the Falcon 1 is scheduled to lift-off from the Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands on December 19th at 11:00 a.m. (PST).
Out of the Cradle will once again Live Blog the event with the help Gwynne Shotwell, VP of Business Development at SpaceX who will be moderating the live teleconference feed.
Our coverage will start approximately half an hour prior to the launch so stay tuned.
U.S. Air Force Colonel Jack Weinstein, commander of the 30th Space Wing and the Western Range at Vandenberg Air Force Base, said, it’s very easy to get focused on the booster going into orbit, “but the tail in order to do that is really huge.” Responsive space also means cutting red tape to see blue sky, in terms of lessening paperwork requirements when you come to any launch range, he said.
This is from a Leonard David piece for Space.com. Dubbed “Behind the Scenes: Vandenberg Air Force Base,” the article provides us with “the nickel tour” of the base and a chance to hear from the folks that run it, in the form of Colonel Weinstein.
Defining the Air Force’s catch phrase, “Responsive Space” as, a need to rapidly and affordably fly space missions, Weinstein said, “I think we’re making progress, but it’s an evolutionary progress not really revolutionary progress.”
A true “rocketman” at heart
“We do about 7,000 range operations a year,” Weinstein pointed out… “When I give the clear to launch poll…my blood pressure is a little high. The adrenalin is flowing. Watching the team put something into space. It’s inspiring. I love it,” Weinstein said. “To be honest, I’m like a little kid on launch. I think it’s one of the coolest things we do.”
Sounds like my kind of guy, doing my kind of job…some folks have all the luck.
An interesting article, check it out then,
Discuss it at the OotC Forums
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