the explorers journal - The Explorers Club

should be applied to future space vehicles.
What will become of the Space Shuttle and
the ISS This past summer I was invited to be a
member of a ten-person White House “Review
of United States Human Spaceflight Plans
Committee” to study these and other questions
about the future of the American space program.
Led by respected aerospace veteran Norm
Augustine, we came to be know simply as the
Augustine Committee. Our charter was to evaluate
the current NASA programs and to provide
option sets for moving forward. We were specifically
asked not to make
recommendations.
In all but one option
set we put forth,
the Space Shuttle
would be retired after
flying out the remaining
manifest, which
should occur within
the next year. In most
options, the ISS would
continue operations
through at least 2020.
We also presented
variations of forward exploration paths, which
would lead us out of Low Earth Orbit, with the
eventual goal of sustainable human exploration
of Mars. After the shuttle is decommissioned,
the United States will be totally dependent on
foreign—namely Russian—assets for astronaut
access to space, before the next U.S. vehicle
becomes operational. This gap will likely be at
least five to seven years. Recent U.S. budget
revelations indicate that there will be an effort to
encourage commercial efforts to launch astronauts
into space, which is a significant departure
from past American space policy. Although the
details are yet to be announced, this is an exciting
change in paradigm, which should open up
new opportunities.
P r i v a t e S e c t o r a n d t h e F i n a l
F r o n t i e r
When I left NASA a few years ago, I became
intrigued with the possibility of making the spaceflight
experience available to more people. When
Spaceship One (built by Burt Rutan’s Scaled
30
Composites team with financing from former
Microsoft executive Paul Allen) won the Ansari X
Prize in 2004, it proved that a privately built spacecraft
could fly to space. Although that effort was
a suborbital one, it was an important milestone.
Orbital flight is much more difficult, but several
individuals have flown commercially to space already
through the Russian space program. Private
commercial access to space is within sight, with
several commercial companies already working
toward that end (see The Explorers Journal, Fall 2008).
In 2006, I joined Excalibur Almaz, a private,
commercial space
company based on
proven, Russian hardware
from the Soviet
Almaz military space
project. The Soviets
successfully flew three
manned Almaz military
space stations, and
were developing a reusable
Almaz capsule
spacecraft before it
was canceled in favor
of the Soyuz spacecraft.
Excalibur Almaz has acquired the remaining
hardware from this program, which has been
flown on nine unmanned flight tests, and we are
in the process of refurbishing and modernizing
the spacecraft.
In addition to offering individuals the experience
of spaceflight, we are also working to become a
research platform provider. Our goal is to begin
offering one-week stays in Low Earth Orbit in a
few years. As our operations mature, we will explore
other flight profiles as well.
Spaceflight is a life-changing experience. The
idea is to bring it to as many people as possible.
A meaningful life involves dreams, challenge,
and exploration. This is what the Explorers Club
is all about!
b i o g r a p h y
A Fellow of The Explorers Club, Leroy Chiao served as a NASA astronaut
from 1990 to 2005. During his 15-year career, Chiao performed
six spacewalks in both U.S. and Russian spacesuits, and has logged
nearly 230 days in space. He is currently an executive vice president
of Excaibur Almaz, a private commercial space venture.
Chiao, in a Russian Orlan spacesuit, carries out a spacewalk during Expedition 10. Image courtesy NASA.