NASA and the Private Sector - Page 218

March 28 (Reuters) - SpaceX has ended production of new Crew Dragon astronaut capsules, a company executive told Reuters, as Elon Musk's space transportation company heaps resources on its next-generation spaceship program.

Capping the fleet at four Crew Dragons adds more urgency to the development of the astronaut capsule's eventual successor, Starship, SpaceX's moon and Mars rocket. Starship's debut launch has been delayed for months by engine development hurdles and regulatory reviews.

It also poses new challenges as the company learns how to maintain a fleet and quickly fix unexpected problems without holding up a busy schedule of astronaut missions.

"We are finishing our final (capsule), but we still are manufacturing components, because we'll be refurbishing," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told Reuters, confirming the plan to end Crew Dragon manufacturing.

She added that SpaceX would retain the capability to build more capsules if a need arises in the future, but contended that "fleet management is key."

Musk's business model is underpinned by reusable spacecraft, so it was inevitable the company would cease production at some point. But the timing was not known, nor was his strategy of using the existing fleet for its full backlog of missions.

Crew Dragon has flown five crews of government and private astronauts to space since 2020, when it flew its first pair of NASA astronauts and became the U.S. space agency's primary ride for getting humans to and from the International Space Station.

After each flight, the capsules undergo refurbishment at SpaceX facilities in Florida, which the company calls "Dragonland."

"There's lifetime cycle issues, where once you start using it the third, fourth, fifth time, you start finding different things," said retired NASA astronaut and former SpaceX executive Garrett Reisman, who now consults for the company on human spaceflight matters.

"SpaceX is really good about identifying these issues quickly and then acting quickly to fix them," Reisman added, pointing to an investigation in 2021 in which SpaceX discovered and fixed within months a toilet leak aboard a Crew Dragon capsule that had flown humans twice.

NASA has given SpaceX some $3.5 billion to help develop and subsequently use Crew Dragon for six flights to the space station. It added three more missions to fill in for delays with Boeing Co's (BA.N) Starliner capsule. read more

SpaceX has flown four crews of astronauts to the space station under its NASA contract at roughly $255 million per flight. The company carried out a fully private mission last year with four passengers, including a billionaire entrepreneur who funded the flight, for a three-day trip in Earth orbit.

At least four more private astronaut missions on Crew Dragon are planned with Houston-based space station builder and spaceflight manager Axiom Space, with the first so-called Ax-1 mission scheduled for April carrying four entrepreneurs to the space station to conduct scientific research.

Musk, SpaceX's founder and chief executive, has focused intensely in recent years on the company's hasty development of a re-usable Starship, the centerpiece of Musk's aim to eventually colonize Mars.

Like Crew Dragon, SpaceX's workhorse reusable rocket, the Falcon 9, and its more powerful variant Falcon Heavy are also refurbished after each flight, and not every component is able to fly to space more than once.

"The goal is to get more and more like aircraft operations, where you can take the vehicle after it lands, fill it back up with gas and oxygen, and go again very rapidly," Reisman said.

"Starship, if it achieves its design objectives, would be able to affordably replace everything that Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon can do."

Amazon on Tuesday announced what it says is the biggest rocket deal in the commercial space industry’s history, signing on with three companies for up to 83 launches of its Project Kuiper internet satellites.

The technology giant signed contracts for 38 launches with United Launch Alliance (ULA) – a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin; 18 launches with European company Arianespace; and 12 launches with Blue Origin, with an option for as many as 15 additional launches with the private venture that’s owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Project Kuiper is Amazon’s plan to build a network of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit, to provide high-speed internet to anywhere in the world. The FCC in 2020 authorized Amazon’s system, which the company has said it will “invest more than $10 billion” to build.

Amazon is set to begin testing a pair of Kuiper prototype satellites with a launch scheduled for late this year, launching on ABL Space’s RS1 rocket, before moving on to launch operational satellites. Although Amazon has not said when the Kuiper launch campaign will begin, FCC rules require the company to deploy half of its planned satellites within six years – meaning about 1,600 in orbit by July 2026.

“We still have lots of work ahead, but the team has continued to hit milestone after milestone across every aspect of our satellite system. These launch agreements reflect our incredible commitment and belief in Project Kuiper,” Dave Limp, Amazon senior vice president of devices and services, said in a statement.

The terms of the contracts announced Tuesday were not disclosed.

ULA will use its Vulcan rockets for the 38 Kuiper launches, in addition to the nine Atlas V rocket launches for Kuiper that Amazon purchased last year. ULA’s Vulcan rocket has yet to launch, but its debut mission is set for late this year. While ULA has not disclosed the base price of a Vulcan launch, the U.S. government purchased launches on the rocket for about $112 million each.

Arianespace will fly its 18 Kuiper missions on its coming Ariane 6 rockets, which are also set to debut later this year. The European rocket builder has also not specified Ariane 6′s price structure, but has previously said it was targeting a base price tag of $77 million per launch.

Blue Origin will use its New Glenn rockets to fly the 12 Kuiper missions it will host. While Blue Origin does not currently have an official target date for New Glenn’s first launch, CNBC has previously reported the rocket is expected to debut in 2024 or later. The company has not publicly revealed a price for New Glenn launches, but an Arianespace estimate two years ago put the Blue Origin rocket at $68 million per launch. While both companies were founded by Bezos, Blue Origin is separate from Amazon.

In total, Amazon’s Kuiper launch contracts are easily worth billions of dollars, though it’s not clear what impact competitive bidding and possible bulk order discounts would have on the overall pricing. All four companies declined to comment on the cost.

LOUISVILLE, Colo. – April 5, 2022 – The Orbital Reef team, led by principal partners Sierra Space and Blue Origin, has successfully completed its Systems Requirements Review (SRR) in just three months. The SRR is an important program milestone marking the baselining of the requirements for the mission and design of Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, owned, and operated space station to be built in low Earth orbit (LEO).

The SRR reviewed Orbital Reef specifications to ensure they reflect the current knowledge of the mission and market requirements to serve as a stable baseline to proceed with development. The Orbital Reef team, including Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, Amazon Distribution & Fulfillment Solutions, Amazon Web Services and Arizona State University, is maturing the design of its space station in partnership with NASA under the agency’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Development (CLDP) program. NASA awarded the agreement in December 2021 to shift NASA’s research and exploration activities in LEO to commercial space stations and help stimulate a growing space economy.

The review assessed Orbital Reef’s ability to meet safety and mission requirements and evaluated the technical readiness of the design, the concept of operations, the feasibility of project development plans, and planned verification activities. Representatives from Blue Origin, Sierra Space, team members, and NASA participated in the review, which was conducted virtually.

“At Sierra Space we are building a platform in Space to benefit life on Earth, and forming a catalyst for disruptive technological breakthroughs and innovations that will shape the world of tomorrow,” said Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space. “It is clear that having achieved this key program milestone - and the maturity of the system we are building with Blue Origin - that we are a step closer to realizing that vision.”

“This SRR is a significant milestone toward commercializing low-Earth orbit,” said Brent Sherwood, Senior Vice President of Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin. “What’s especially exciting is how the Orbital Reef team is combining NASA’s goals with the needs of others to promote new commercial markets.”

Orbital Reef will open the next chapter of human space exploration and development by facilitating the growth of a vibrant ecosystem and business model for the future. Designed to open multiple new markets in space, Orbital Reef will provide anyone with the opportunity to establish their own address in orbit. This unique destination will offer research, industrial, international, and commercial customers the cost competitive end-to-end services they need including space transportation and logistics, space habitation, equipment accommodation, and operations including onboard crew. The station will start operating in the second half of this decade.