Commercial Development Of Space Research Articles

NASA's in-space technology experiments program: Status and plans

Experience with the Shuttle and free-flying satellites as technology test beds has shown the feasibility and desirability of using space assets as facilities for technology development. Thus, by the time the space station era arrives, technologists will be ready for an accessible engineering facility in space. Along with the scientific and commercial space development communities, the technology development community has been participating in defining requirements for this in-space facility. As the 21st century is approached, it is expected that many flights to the Space Station Freedom will carry one or more RT&E experiments. The experiments are likely to utilize both the pressurized volume, and the external payload attachment facilities. Based on the success of instrumenting the Shuttle itself to obtain ascent and descent aerothermodynamic data a unique, but extremely important, class of experiments will use the space station itself as an experimental vehicle.

Commercial involvement in the development of space-based plant growing technology

Considerable technological progress has been made in the development of controlled environment facilities for plant growth. Although not all of the technology used for terrestrial facilities is applicable to space-based plant growth facilities, the information resident in the commercial organizations that market these facilities can provide a significant resource for the development of the plant growing component of a CELSS. In 1985, NASA initiated an effort termed the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS). This program endeavors to develop cooperative research and technology development programs with industrial companies that capitalize on the strengths of industry-university working relationships. One of the these CCDSs, the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR), deals with developing automated plant growth facilities for space, in cooperation with several industrial partners. Concepts have been developed with industrial partners for the irradiation, water and nutrient delivery, nutrient composition control and automation and robotics subsystems of plant growing units. Space flight experiments are planned for validation of the concepts in a space environment.

Consort 3 flight experiments

The third sounding rocket payload in the Consort program was launched from the White Sands Missile Range on May 16, 1990. It carried 12 experiments designed to investigate materials processes in low gravity. All of the experiments were reflights from the Consort 2 payload that was launched on November 1989 but failed to achieve microgravity because of a malfunction in the launch vehicle. Four national Centers for the Commercial Development of Space participated in the mission. The payload included five experiments and two accelerometer systems that flew on Consort 1 and seven new experiments, designed and developed since Consort 1. Experiments from Consort 1 incorporated hardware modifications and changes in experimental parameters based on mission results. The new experiments covered a variety of polymeric and biological investigations. A new power distribution and control system designed to provide discrete, computer-supervised, experiment power monitoring and control was flight qualified on Consort 3. Consort 3 featured very late access (3-5 h before launch vs 27-30 h for Consort 1) for installation of sensitive biological specimens. The integrated payload and mission sequence of events are described. Changes in the Consort 1 experiments are defined and the objectives, methods, and expectations for new experiments are discussed.

Third-party liability insurance and space launches

This article discusses a number of issues related to the US commercial expendable launch vehicle (ELV) industry and government's role in ensuring its competitiveness, particularly third-party liability insurance for space launches. The author finds that the space insurance industry has become a major constraint on the commercial development of space. The future implications are considered of US government involvement with the launch services industry, initially through providing third-party insurance itself. The author concludes that, for a stable commercial ELV industry, it will be necessary for the USA either to establish fair-trade agreements with other space-capable nations, or to maintain a significant government involvement to support the industry.

Commercial space development

A panel session on ‘Creative approaches to commercial joint ventures in space’ took place at the American Society of Public Administration National Conference, 28 March 1 April 1987. This report highlights the comments made by the panelists 1 on the steps NASA and US industry can take together to ensure US space leadership.

NASA selects new space research centers

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the selection of seven new Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) on July 28, 1987. The centers will be eligible for NASA grants of as much as $1 million annually for the next 5 years to carry on scientific and technical research related to the commercial development of space. The locations and concentrations of the new centers are as follows: The University of Tennessee Space Institute‐Center for Advanced Space Propulsion, Tullahoma, Tenn. Auburn University‐Center for the Commercial Development of Space Power, Auburn, Ala. Environmental Research Institute of Michigan—Center for the Commercial Development of Autonomous and Man‐Controlled Robotic Sensing Systems in Space, Ann Arbor, Mich. Pennsylvania State University‐Center for Secretion Research, University Park, Penn. University of Colorado‐Center for Bioserve Space Technologies, Boulder, Colo. Case Western Reserve University‐Center on Materials for Space Structures, Cleveland, Ohio. Texas A&M Research Foundation‐Center for Commercial Development of Space Power, College Station, Tex.

Dynamic forecasting of urban shopping travel demand

A time-dependent model for commercial activity location and travel demand is developed based on the assumptions that instantaneous interzonal shopping travel demand can be described by a gravity formulation, whereas the incremental individual zonal retail space allocations are such that they maximize the aggregate, net resulting profit from retail sales. Over time, link travel costs are updated as a function of the current link volumes, whereas commercial space development costs are updated as a function of current zonal activity levels. Constraints on commercial space allocation are at the individual zonal level, as well as at the aggregate level of the overall area. The objective function for the corresponding mathematical program is then linearized, and the model programmed for implementation using a linear programming routine. The results of several simulations illustrate the dynamic impacts various urban development policies have on commercial activity location. In particular, periodic oscillations in zonal activity levels, as well as sudden changes in the spatial pattern of interzonal shopping travel, may appear for certain model parameter values. Several directions for future refinement of the model, including inclusion of economic variables and interaction with other urban activities, are discussed in conclusion.

Microgravity Materials Processing for Commercial Applications

AbstractMaterials processing in a microgravity environment is aimed at developing commercial materials as well as investigating basic phenomena to improve earth-based processing. Materials research in space has dealt with glasses and ceramics, crystal growth, electronic materials, metals and alloys, polymers, composites, and biological materials. Battelle has been conducting research in this area since the early-1970s. Several important results have been obtained in: immiscible alloys, containerless under-cooling of clustering alloys, sol-gel glasses, and collagen fibers.More recently, Battelle's Advanced Materials Center for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) has been established to utilize the microgravity environment in the commercial development of composite and mixed-phase materials with substantially improved properties. Currently, the Center is conducting research in catalysts (variant-phase chlorides, zeolites, and mixed oxides), polymer systems, electronic materials (float-zone crystal growth on Type II-VI semiconductor crystals, particularly CdTe), and con-trolled- porosity glass. The present program focuses on a proof of principle for each research thrust, utilizing ground-based and suborbital facilities, together with modeling to demonstrate the potential for producing commercially important materials.Each of these research programs is outlined. In addition, the more important developments in each of the major categories of microgravity materials research is reviewed.

In brief

An advanced materials research centre for the commercial development of space has been proposed by Battelle's Columbus Laboratories, in conjunction with the US state of Ohio, ten leading companies and six universities. The centre would conduct preliminary research on materials in earth-based microgravity facilities, under the auspices of NASA, thus enabling the US government and industry to design more sophisticated experiments for space flight.

Tackling the barriers to progress

Abstract Over 200 people attended the ‘International Business in Space’ conference, organized by the Center for Space Policy Inc, Cambridge, MA, USA, in Washington, DC, 9–11 January 1985. The official focus - commercial space developments in the USA, Canada, Europe and Japan - was somewhat of a misnomer. While US, Canadian and European views and interests were well represented, the Japanese element was almost completely absent. Virtually every category of organization likely to be involved in the ‘industrialization of space’ was strongly represented: government agencies, major and medium-sized aerospace companies, entrepreneurial space firms, and service organizations, eg consulting groups, law firms and financial institutions. Not surprisingly at this stage, attendance by non-aerospace potential users of space was very weak. This report highlights two major themes - international cooperation and the role of overnments.

An Inner City in Decline: St. John's, Newfoundland

Le centre de la ville de St. John's a connu, entre 1971 et 1976, le plus fort taux de dépeuplement d'un noyau urbain au Canada. Cette dépopulation est attribuable en partie à la baisse de la natalité, phénonène qui touche toute l'Amérique du llord, mais elle s'explique aussi par la détérioration du milieu commercial et résidentiel et par le constant aménagement de nouvelles aires résidentielles et commerciales dans la banlieue. Certaines des principales causes de la dégradation du centre de la ville sont étudiées, y compris la non-planification de l'aménagement par l'administration municipale. Sont examinées également les conséquences, tant salutaires que néfastes de différentes politiques du gouvernement fédéral.