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2005 U.S. Commercial Space Transportation Developments and Concepts Spaceportstract for Delta 4 class 4- and 5-meter (13- and16-foot) payloads. This contract complements an existing10-year NASA payload-processing contract forDelta 2 class 3-meter (10-foot) payloads. SSI isworking with several launch providers for NationalMissile Defense support.The National Reconnaissance Office has contractedwith SSI to provide space vehicle processinguntil 2011. This includes Delta 4 and Atlas 5EELV-class payload processing support for multiplemissions to be launched from VAFB. NASA andcommercial Delta-class payloads are also processedat the IPF for launch on the Delta 2 and launchedfrom SLC-2W on VAFB. In 2003 through 2004, theCalifornia Spaceport continued improvements tothe IPF and supported USAF Pathfinders, includingthe EELV 5 M Pathfinder. In 2004, SSI was awardedthree new Minotaur launches for 2005 and a newIndefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract tosupport future Minotaur task orders. 32Kodiak Launch ComplexKodiak Launch ComplexIn 1991, the Alaska state legislature created theAlaska <strong>Aerospace</strong> Development Corporation(AADC) as a public company to develop aerospace-relatedeconomic, technical, and educationalopportunities for the state of Alaska. In 2000, theAADC completed the $40-million, 2-year constructionof the Kodiak Launch Complex at NarrowCape on Kodiak Island, Alaska. The first licensedlaunch site not co-located with a federal facility,Kodiak Launch Complex was also the first newU.S. launch site built since the 1960s. Owned bythe state of Alaska and operated by the AADC, theKodiak Launch Complex received funding from theUSAF, U.S. Army, NASA, the state of Alaska, andprivate firms. The launch complex is located on a12.4-square kilometer (4.8-square mile) site about419 kilometers (260 miles) south of Anchorage and40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the city ofKodiak. The launch site itself encompasses a nearly5-kilometer (3-mile) area around Launch Pad 1.Kodiak facilities currently include the LaunchControl Center; the Payload Processing Facility,which includes a class-100,000 clean room, an airlock,and a processing bay; the Integration andProcessing Facility/Spacecraft Assemblies TransferFacility; and the Launch Pad and Service Structure.These facilities allow the transfer of vehicles andpayloads from processing to launch without exposureto the outside environment. This capabilityprotects both the vehicles and the people workingon them from exterior conditions, and allows allweatherlaunch operations. The Kodiak LaunchComplex Range Safety and Telemetry System(RSTS) was delivered in September 2003. TheRSTS consists of two fully redundant systems: onefor on-site, the other for off-axis. Each part of theRSTS consists of two 5.4-meter (17.7-foot) disheswith eight telemetry links featuring commanddestruct capabilities. The Kodiak RSTS number 1system will be located on a newly constructedmulti-elevation antenna field that also supports customer-uniqueinstrumentation.The AADC is also supporting development ofground station facilities near Fairbanks, Alaska, incooperation with several commercial remote-sensingcompanies. The high-latitude location makesthe Fairbanks site favorable for polar-orbiting satellites,which typically pass above Fairbanks severaltimes daily.Located at latitude 57º North, Kodiak providesa wide launch azimuth and unobstructed downrangeflight path. Kodiak’s markets are military launches,government and commercial telecommunications,remote sensing, and space science payloads weighingup to 990 kilograms (2,200 pounds). These payloadscan be delivered into LEO, polar, and Molniyaelliptical orbits. Kodiak is designed to launch Castor120-based vehicles, including the Athena 1 and 2,and has been used on a number of occasions tolaunch military suborbital rockets.Federal Aviation Administration/Office of Commercial Space Transportation 35
Spaceports2005 U.S. Commercial Space Transportation Developments and ConceptsKodiak has conducted seven launches to date.The first launch from Kodiak was a suborbital vehicle,atmospheric interceptor technology 1, built byOrbital Sciences for the USAF in November 1998.A second launch followed in September 1999. InMarch 2001, a Quick Reaction Launch Vehicle(QRLV) was launched from the Kodiak LaunchComplex. A joint NASA-Lockheed MartinAstronautics mission on an Athena 1 was the firstorbital launch from Kodiak, taking place onSeptember 29, 2001. In November 2001, a StrategicTarget System vehicle was launched. However,because of a launch anomaly, the vehicle wasdestroyed. In April 2002, Orbital Sciences launcheda second QRLV for the USAF.Most recently, on December 14, 2004, MDAlaunched the first of several rockets from Kodiak totest the U.S. missile defense system. This followedthe 2003 signing of a 5-year contract betweenMDA and AADC to provide launch support servicesfor multiple launches in connection with tests ofthe nation’s missile defense system. The secondlaunch under this contract is scheduled to take placein the spring of 2005.Mid-Atlantic Regional SpaceportMid-Atlantic Regional SpaceportMARS 33 traces its beginnings to the Center forCommercial Space Infrastructure, created in 1992at Virginia’s Old Dominion University to establishcommercial space research and operations facilitiesin the state. The Center for Commercial SpaceInfrastructure worked with WFF to develop commerciallaunch infrastructure at Wallops. In 1995, theorganization became the Virginia Commercial SpaceFlight Authority (VCSFA), a political subdivision ofthe Commonwealth of Virginia, focused on promotinggrowth of aerospace business while developing acommercial launch capability in Virginia.On December 19, 1997, FAA/AST issuedVCSFA a launch site operator’s license for theMARS. This license was renewed in December2002 for another 5 years. The MARS is designed toprovide “one-stop shopping” for space launch facilitiesand services for commercial, government, scientific,and academic users. In 1997, VCSFA signedwith NASA a Reimbursement Space Act Agreementto use the Wallops center’s facilities in support ofcommercial launches. This 30-year agreement allowsVCSFA access to NASA’s payload integration,launch operations, and monitoring facilities on anon-interference, cost reimbursement basis. NASAand MARS personnel work together to providelaunch services, providing little, if any, distinctionin the areas of responsibility for each.VCSFA has a partnership agreement withDynSpace Corporation, a Computer Sciences Corp.company, of Reston, Virginia, to operate the spaceport.Funded by a contract with the state and throughany spaceport revenues, DynSpace operates theMARS for the VCSFA. The state maintains ownershipof the spaceport’s assets. MARS is located atWFF under a long-term use agreement for realestate on which the Goddard Space Flight Centerhas made real property improvements. The VCSFAreceives the majority of its funding from operations.The remainder of its support comes from the state.VCSFA owns two launch pads at Wallops.Launch pad 0-B, its first launch pad, was designedas a “universal launch pad,” capable of supporting avariety of small and medium ELVs with gross liftoffweights of up to 225,000 kilograms (496,000 pounds)that can place up to 4,500 kilograms (9,900 pounds)into LEO. Phase 1 construction of launch pad 0-B,including a 1,750-square-meter (18,830-square-foot)pad made of reinforced concrete, above-ground flamedeflector, and launch mount, took place betweenMarch and December 1998. In 2003, MARS committedto the design and construction of a new 113-foot Mobile Service Structure. The new $1.3 millionMobile Service Structure offers complete vehicleenclosure, flexible access, and can be readily modifiedto support specific vehicle operations. The sitealso includes a complete command, control, andcommunications interface with the launch range.36 Federal Aviation Administration/Office of Commercial Space Transportation
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