Space Transportation - mmmt_transportation.pdf - Moon Society

— — —
Entry — “Open” Space Frontier
“A future in which people of all walks of life have access to, and live, work, and play
in various settings off Earth.”
The NSS Mission Statement reads: “to promote change in social, technical, economic, and political conditions
to advance the day when people will live and work in space, through public education, political and local chapter
activism, and the publication of the bimonthly Ad Astra Magazine.“
The NSS “Mission-centered goal: by 2010: human settlement in space with 25 people, launch costs under
$50/lb to orbit, and space-generated revenues of $60 billion.“
This reflects crucial influence of former L5 Society members who chose to stay on board at the time of the L5
- National Space Institute merger in 1987 which created NSS.
As NSS seems overtly preoccupied with reacting to one crisis after another in which political pressures would
erode the current socialized space program (in the direction of no program at all) it might seem to the unfamiliar
outside observer that NSS’ sole purpose is to promote the continuance of the government’s “closed” frontier policy
(“astronauts only, government outposts only, scientific activities only)” in effect since the dawn of the Space Age with
Sputnik in 1957. The NSS Board, however, is firmly on record in support of an “open” frontier. Given its preoccupation,
however, it is clear that the rest of us must work that much harder at strategies that Open the Frontier — outside NSS,
if need be.
— — —
Entry — “Commercial Space”
“any for-profit endeavor or enterprise which increases the amount, scope, feasibility, and/or
sustainable economic viability of robotic and/or human presence in Earth orbit and beyond.”
One might get the idea from many space activists that commercial space means private launch companies and
small satellite manufacturers - only! Even if this is qualified with an “at this stage of the game” this short list betrays a
troubling lack of imagination, coming as it does, from people who say they want to live somewhere other than on
Earth!
While it may be easier, and safer, to restrict one’s ambitions to the “toy space” of microsats and small
launchers, our goal is to create a self-sustaining human economy beyond Earth’s atmosphere. This clearly requires
commercial entry into man-rated rockets and habitat hardware. This has already begun. The for-profit SpaceHab
shuttle payload bay module is already a reality, but has faced a rocky road.
Early plans for commercial tourist modules were ill-fated because they depended either on paper study
spacecraft, or upon the government owned shuttle. Any effort to piggyback commercial for-profit activity on profitbe-damned
agency programs is at the mercy of political pressures and bureaucratic procedures — hardly a place to
put dearly acquired capital.
Many put all their hopes on the X-33 program. But the dream of Cheap Access from NASA seems troublingly
self-deceptive. Meanwhile, would-be commercial players stall.
We clearly need commercial manned access to space. Yet the very presence of the shuttle system works in a
highly preemptive manner to prevent such access from materializing. What is needed is to tie in with a commercial
manned destination: a commercial space station. With the adoption for the International Space Station Alpha of the
high inclination orbit favored by the Russians, there has never been more reason than now for an alternative, a
commercial station-depot in a low inclination orbit vastly superior as a staging and refueling place for deep space
missions. Alpha would serve Moon and Mars missions at a severe handicap in comparison. There will also be need in
orbit for more lab space at commercial disposal than ISSA can or will provide.
We also need to dust off the “Space Cartage Act” proposed many years ago whereby anything once in orbit
and without its own motive power, could be moved to another space location or orbit only by a commercial vehicle.
Yet there is another kind of entrepreneurial activity which has the potential to accelerate the realization of an
open space frontier. It is not at the mercy of bureaucratic, administrative, or congressional whim. Why not? Simply
because it is a path that does not threaten powerful vested interests. We are talking about “spin up” research &
development.
“Spin up” works like this. The entrepreneur considers the many and varied technologies that will someday be
needed on the space frontier. Next he/she considers what profitable terrestrial applications there may be for each of
these. There follows a business plan, and ultimately a for-profit terrestrial enterprise which has the happy effect of
pre-developing and debugging and putting “on the shelf” a technology which will one day help open the frontier -
sooner and at less cost.
The Essence of the Frontier:
“Readiness to Reinvent Everything”
(including Space Transportation)
21