Chasing the vision

Delegates at the 63rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Naples, Italy attending the third Plenary session on Tuesday, 2 October heard of exciting developments in commercial space transportation.


Though still in its infancy, the Plenary heard that many problems were now being addressed in the fields of technology, engineering, physiology, regulations and business to bring the fledgling sector to full fruition.

Some studies agree that in a few decades, the number of people spending days, weeks, months or even years in low Earth orbit (LEO) could reach hundreds or thousands.

One member of the panel avidly chasing the vision was Alan Bond, Founding Director of Reaction Engines, who told delegates there was a difference between what is happening in space transportation terms at present and the revolutionary new kind of space system being developed in the UK by his company.

"Space transportation has got to move a lot further than where things stand at the present time," he said. "I would like to see over the next 10 to 20 years us moving to where operators ‘operate' and manufacturers ‘manufacture'. This is where the business has to go."

Describing the United States as a country that has always been very entrepreneurial, Bond said he thought Europe lagged behind in that vision because "we were locked into thinking mostly in terms of government backed programmes".

To illustrate the point he said that 90 percent of funding for current Skylon engine development came from the private sector.

At present the major focus on his Skylon single-stage-to-orbit craft is in proving the ground-breaking technology of the air-breathing rocket engines. He said testing over the past year had gone very well and, though slightly behind schedule, was nearing completion.

"It all means that single-stage-to-orbit vehicles are going to be possible," he stated. "We are now within months of saying we can provide that to the world. The question is what is the world going to do about that?"

Bond said that Reaction Engines was "open to talk" about how the technology can be pushed forward. "As far as we can see we have every reason to believe this is feasible and my view is that Skylon will change the future."

Asked by a delegate about the timing for a demonstration flight, Bond said the current schedule envisaged Skylon could become operational ten years from now in 2022. He estimated development costs at $14 billion.

He explained that an important part of the company's business model was not ‘traffic to orbit' but to sell the vehicle in volume to different operators around the world.

"Many nations want their own access to space and it is important to understand this model. We are probably looking at $5 million per launch to get 15 tonnes of payload into orbit," he added.

George Nield, Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), told delegates that now was the time of a very important transition in relation to commercial space developments.

He said there were currently eight FAA licensed sites in the United States but there was interest from six new Sates which wanted to create their own space ports, an indicator of strong potential growth in the future.

William Gerstenmaier, Associate Director, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, at NASA, said it was important to the United States that commercial launch services were successful.

"The SpaceX commercial demonstration flight was a tremendous success and it is important that governments do their best to enable that sort of activity," he said. "We need to continue to look for smart ways to do this and to pass on our expertise to the commercial space sector."

He said the approach of using a cargo demonstration phase for SpaceX was a good model as it substantially reduced risks - losing cargo might be disappointing but not catastrophic as it would be in human terms.

Gerstenmaier also revealed that NASA was now taking a more relaxed approach when agreeing spacecraft specifications with commercial space companies.

"We are telling designers that they don't necessarily have to build to the same default standards as NASA has done just because that is the way it happened in the past," he said.

Silvio Sandrone, Head of Business & New Programmes Development, Astrium Space Transportation, France, remarked that you could now tell the new NASA approach was working because "you have got old dogs like us doing new tricks".

He also said that as a major aircraft and space manufacturer, his company was looking at how to transfer some of the aircraft manufacturing skills to space manufacturing.

"It is also important to leverage a wider supply base," he said. "We need to move away from qualification driven development to certification driven development."

Georges Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said that the FAA had recognised that for the sub-orbital industry to get off the ground, we had to go through a different regulatory process than commercial air flight.

It meant allowing passengers to take a "bigger risk" – provided that they were better informed about the risks involved.

He said countries other than the United States were now starting to engage in addressing regulations and suggested it would be a very positive move if the world was able to set up a common regulatory framework.

"We don't have a basis to fly if we don't have a vehicle that is safe," he reiterated. "Spaceflight is always going to be riskier than commercial airliners."

Simonetta di Pippo, Head of European Space Policy Observatory, Italian Space Agency (ASI), moderator of the Plenary, highlighted problems caused by increasing numbers of space flights and Air Traffic Control, saying that in the future a more integrated system would need to be developed.

The Plenary event provided a snapshot of the current political, economic and technical landscape in commercial space exploitation and the statements from panel members hinted at the question of how well humankind is preparing to embark on futuristic scenarios based on massive space commercialisation.


The above is one of a series of daily reports from the International Astronautical Congress 2012 held in Naples, Italy, written by Clive Simpson for the Paris-based International Astronautical Association (IAF) and first appearing on the IAF website

New era of cooperation

Speaking on the first day of the 63rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Naples, Italy, today (Monday, 1 October 2012), the heads of the world’s leading space agencies ushered in a new era of international cooperation.

The leaders of agencies from the United States, Russia, China, Japan, Europe, Canada and India all provided an overview of their current programmes as well as an insight into future plans and potential international cooperation opportunities.

Speaking before an audience of around 2,000 delegates, they were welcomed to the IAC 2012, held in Naples’ Mostra d'Oltremare, by Enrico Saggese, President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

Charlie Bolden, NASA Administrator, described 2012 as "an extraordinary year for NASA", capped by the successful landing of Curiosity on Mars which he described as an international venture based on a US spacecraft, with five new nations ‘landing’ on Mars as a result.

Bolden, a former Space Shuttle commander, said NASA was also eagerly anticipating the forthcoming launch on Sunday of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the first commercial payload to the International Space Station (ISS) and heralding the start of a new commercial era for NASA.

"In general terms we are facing a fiscal crisis but at the same time trying to maintain a stable budget," he said. "As with most of us here, the ISS remains the centrepiece of our current human spaceflight endeavours."

He explained that in collaboration with its international partners, NASA was keen to increase the amount of scientific research carried out on the ISS.

Sergey Saveliev, Deputy Head of Russia’s Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), said Russia was also looking in difficult times to integrate the development of space technology to support the country’s economy.

"Space affects the economy and as such also has a powerful influence on economic development and growth," he stated.

He also indicated that on a global scale there was no large-scale problem that could not be solved in some way through international cooperation.

Saveliev stressed the importance of international cooperation based on mutual interests, citing the example of the development of new integrated space observatories alongside international partners.

He also reflected on recent Russian launch failures which he said were due to both human error and technical malfunctions, adding that steps had been taken to reduce the likelihood of any future accidents.

Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of ESA, described the European Space Agency as enjoying its most successful phase ever.

He said the accession of Romania and Poland to ESA - taking the number of Member States to 20 - was a real indicator of this progress.

Dordain also spoke about the ISS from a European perspective, meteorology and science satellites, ATV-4 and the success of this year’s Soyuz and Vega launches from French Guiana.

He said Vega was not only a new kind of launcher but in the background represented a completely new generation of engineers.

Keiji Tachikawa, President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), chose to highlight his agency’s recent achievements by providing very recent results from the Shizuku/AMRS-2 satellite which has confirmed depleting summer ice levels in the Arctic region.

He said JAXA would continue in the challenge to collect and provide data on climate change and global warming to help provide solutions to the crisis facing our planet.

He also spoke about the fourth JAXA astronaut currently on the ISS and said the project was a true symbol of international cooperation. Japan is also actively promoting cooperation across the Asia region in space endeavours.

Steve McLean, President of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and also a former astronaut, recalled the recent 50th anniversary of his country’s first satellite which was a catalyst for giving Canada ‘credibility’ in the worldwide space community.

Five decades later he said his country was also very proud of its latest delivery this August - the Fine Guidance Sensor for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is being built and launched as an international project to replace Hubble.

This year Canada also extended its commitment to the ISS to 2020 and at the end of 2012 astronaut Chris Hadfield will be launched on a Soyuz rocket to become the second Canadian to make a long duration mission.

He said it was Canada’s intention to expand the use of the ISS for science and also turn it into a test bed for new technology.

One key development under this heading is the development of medical diagnosis tools, initially to be used by astronauts in orbit but later anticipated to have many applications in hospitals on Earth. "It is not quite a ‘tri-corder’ as in the Star Trek TV series but we are certainly getting close," he quipped.

Yafeng Hu, Executive Vice-Chairman, Coordination Committee for International Cooperation, China National Space Administration (CNSA), China, said his country planned 21 launches in the coming year, some of which would be helping put in place a satellite-based navigation system for people in living China and neighbouring countries.

In the coming five years, China will continue to develop its interests in human spaceflight, lunar exploration and will work on delivering a coordinated plan for the further development of space technology and science, he explained.

P.S. Veeraghavan, Council Vice-Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), announced that his country had just completed its 100th space mission, following on from a number of successes in the past year.

He also emphasised the cooperation now beginning to take place in Asia and spoke about future missions, including the launch of the first in a series of satellites for an Indian regional satellite system.

Veeraghavan stated that India planned a Mars orbital mission that would be launched late next year.

The above is one of a series of daily reports from the International Astronautical Congress 2012 held in Naples, Italy, written by Clive Simpson for the Paris-based International Astronautical Association (IAF) and first appearing on the IAF website

Space conference record

The 63rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Naples, Italy, got underway on today (Monday, 1 October 2012) with a record delegate attendance of almost 4,000 people.

IAF President Berndt Feuerbacher, speaking at the morning’s Prologue meeting in Mostra d’Oltremare, the Congress venue, said he was also delighted to announce that a third of the new record attendance was comprised of young people.

Prof Feuerbacher said this was the fourth IAC to be held in Italy which is one of the leading European space nations and plays a key role in the international space arena.

The IAC, themed ‘Space science and technology for the needs of all’, is the premier international gathering of the space community and this year will see the presentation of 2,200 science and technical papers by delegates from 74 different countries at 166 technical seminars and 30 symposia.

Enrico Saggese, President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), also joined in the welcome and offered delegates a brief summary of Italy’s significant achievements and current involvement in the world’s space programmes.

"We will continue to make a significant contribution to the exploration of space," he said whilst emphasising how important it is to maintain the continued support of young people.

Luigi De Magistris, Mayor of Naples, offered a welcome on behalf of the city. "As you think and reflect about the future of the space industry in the coming days, I hope that the city of Naples will be an inspiration to all of you," he said.

The IAC Prologue also included messages from Luigi Cesaro, President of Naples Province, and Stefano Caldoro, President of the Campania Region, along with a presentation from Maurizio Maddaloni, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Naples, and Riccardo Monti, President of the Italian Agency for the promotion and internationalisation of Italian business (ICE).

Mr Monti said future IAC’s would grow to be even larger as more and more countries participated and he urged delegates to consider carefully the decisions of the future, saying that the space industry needed a clear blueprint that would carry things forward for the coming two decades.

The Prologue meeting concluded with a short message from Francesco Profumo, Italy’s Minister of Education, University and Research, and President of ESA Ministerial Council.

Part of the annual IAC is a Space Expo exhibition which this year attracted around 50 exhibitors from space companies and organisations all over the world.

The exhibition was formally opened by the European, Japanese and Canadian Heads of Agencies, heads of leading industry corporations and Prof. Feuerbacher, along with other VIP guests.

After a short tour of some of the key exhibitors - including ESA, the Italian Space Agency, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and representatives from China, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, Romania, Australia and the United States - they went on to formally open the IAF Global Networking Forum (GNF).

The GNF - with the vision to ‘meet, share and connect’ - is an evolution of the IAF Cluster Forum, transformed to further reinforce the networking and knowledge-sharing which have always defined it and bring an even wider and more global audience together.

The IAC runs throughout the week until Friday (5 October) and the Space Expo exhibition will also be open to the public between 10 am and 5 pm on Friday.　

The above is one of a series of daily reports from the International Astronautical Congress 2012 held in Naples, Italy, written by Clive Simpson for the Paris-based International Astronautical Association (IAF) and first appearing on the IAF website