ISPCS Session: Crew Transportation Systems

ISPCS Session:
Crew Transportation Systems: The Game Changer in Human Spaceflight

Brett Alexander – President, Commercial Spaceflight Federation
Mark Sirangelo – Corporate Vice President and Chairman, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Chairman, Commercial Spaceflight Federation
Keith Reiley – Program Manager, Commercial Crew Development, The Boeing Company
Ken Bowersox – Vice President of Astronaut Safety and Mission Assurance, SpaceX
Kenneth Reightler – Vice President, NASA Program Integration, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
Robert Bigelow – Owner and Founder, Bigelow Aerospace

Keith Reiley – Program Manager, Commercial Crew Development, The Boeing Company

–4.5 meter capsule…slightly larger than Apollo, slightly smaller than Orion
— pusher abort system – not new – open some valves and it takes off – extra fuel that can be used to reboost space stations
— 7 people – crew and cargo
— compatible with multiple vehicles but will choose one to start with…Atlas, Delta, Falcon 9 and some other partners
— Capsule and a service module….uses air bags to land….looking at White Sands for landings…
— Very simple – dock on the first day….limits launch opportunity
— Automated docking system based on Orbital Express
— Building a test article and doing testing….pressurization, drop tests and rollover tests (for unintended water landings)
— Will be bidding on next round CCDEV that is coming out on Monday.

Kenneth Reightler – Vice President, NASA Program Integration, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

–Orion Crew Exploration vehicle…
–Other organizations interested in using the Orion design
— Making a great deal of progress…approaching the vehicle PDR…
— Ground test article has been manufactured…pressure testing done and additional tests underway for vibrations and acoustics

Robert Bigelow – Bigelow Aerospace Founder and Owner

–Can’t fight a two front war…just focus on destination with space station
–wanted a race horse, not something that was overly complex
–wanted seven crew vehicle – not all would carry full crew…would have margins, room for cargo
— acquire target within 24 hours – eliminates solar panels, extra weight and supplies
— get a vehicle as safe as Russian Soyuz
— worked with Lockheed for Orion Lite…
— First station – several launches on assembly…one will be heavy lift, others medium lift
— First station – six flights per year
— Second station – 10 assembly flights plus 2 flights per month for grew and cargo
— Very vested in what happens with CCDEV – cheering on Congress and Administration to provide funding…
— Could easily outpace launch complex capability….need facilities without DOD/Air Force oversight..

Mark Sirangelo – Sierra Nevada Corporation

–Dream Chaser lifting body is based on NASA HL-20 which was based on Soviet BOR-4 experimental vehicle
— 7 crew members and cargo to orbit
— Working on it for six years – NASA worked on it for 10 years previously
— Reconfigurable interior – crew, cargo and combination…
— Less than 2 Gs…can land on any runway of 10,000 feet
— 1,500 kilometer cross range – has rocket propulsion
— Can bring experiments home and get them out of that vehicle quickly
— Quick turnaround time…fly on an Atlas V
— Servicing options – EVA options, servicing and deploying satellites
— Orbital test bed for other companies – can stay on orbit, work in automated mode…
— Same rocket technology as with SpaceShipTwo…
— Could be used as a rescue vehicle for ISS astronauts…
— Composite shell is being worked on…will start testing in December
— Thanked Lori Garver and folks at NASA and FAA for helping to make this happen

Ken Bowersox – SpaceX

–Philosophy – start with a simple capsule (Dragon) and improve it for human transport
— Autonomous return with a water landing
— Launch abort system – pusher concept that would allow them to transition to a system to land
— Take 2.5 years from start to flying a crew aboard the vehicle
— A lot of people think this is a very aggressive time line, and SpaceX likes an aggressive schedule
— Company was founded with goal of sending humans into space…have been working on it for many years

Q&A Session

Bigelow:

— Boeing is one of the companies that got us to the moon…they are capable of producing a safe human space vehicle
— Commercial space business includes small companies like Bigelow Aerospace and massive ones like Boeing

Bowersox:

— Don’t over-engineer systems
— Soyuz is a very robust vehicle whose systems are very simple
— U.S. tends to make things very complicated, and it doesn’t always produce a lot off safety benefits

Bigelow:

— Orion is unnecessary and redundant

Kenneth Reightler:

— Orion is being designed for being a deep space vehicle…different from a simpler taxi…

Keith Reiley

— Agreed with Reighler
— Boeing’s big concern is not wanting to compete with a cost-plus vehicle built by Lockheed Martin..

Bowersox

— Cost for Dragon launch would be $140/$150 million — $20 million per seat x 7 seats

Bigelow

— Interested in contracting with multiple providers for transportation

General comments: cost will depend upon flight rate —