Commercial Space Transportation Industry Research Articles

Exploration to Exploitation: An Industry Analysis of Suborbital Space Tourism

Abstract Commercial human access to suborbital space tourism as a segment within the commercial space transportation industry has been rapidly evolving. This study uses a competitive analysis appro...

FAA Safety Approvals in Commercial Space Transportation

A regulatory tool used by the United States called a safety approval may be appropriate for use internationally to enhance safety, enable the commercial space transportation industry, achieve greater interoperability, and streamline license applications. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) licenses, regulates, and promotes U.S. commercial space transportation, including launch and reentry operations and the operation of spaceports. A safety approval can be issued by the FAA for a particular safety element of a launch vehicle, a reentry vehicle, a safety system, process, service, or any identified component thereof, and qualified and trained personnel performing a process or function related to licensed launch activities. The FAA determines whether use of a safety element will jeopardize public health and safety, or safety of property, when used or employed within a defined envelope, parameter, or situation. A safety approval is voluntary. It does not provide any authority to conduct activities for which an FAA commercial space transportation license is required. One of the primary advantages of a safety approval is that launch and reentry vehicle operators can use an approved safety element without having to go through a re-examination of the element's fitness and suitability for a proposed launch or reentry operation as part of a license application process. This also allows a company or organization to develop an element independently as a potential business product and obtain a government stamp of approval. From a business perspective, an FAA safety approval can aid in the marketing of a unique space product that might traditionally be seen as an ordinary component or process in the larger scheme of a government space program. It can also spur innovation by creating a path for alternative approaches and enable a second-tier supplier or service new industry growth opportunities in commercial space transportation. From an international perspective, adopting a safety approval regulation similar to the FAA may increase interoperability with U.S. vehicles, including spaceports operations. There are seven active FAA safety approvals in the United States in areas such as training for crew and spaceflight participants and technician credentialing. This article will provide an overview of the FAA safety approval regulation and its potential advantages, details of the FAA guide to apply for a safety approval, and examples of existing safety approvals.

Space Travel: Risk, Ethics, and Governance in Commercial Human Spaceflight

Human spaceflight presents new challenges for traditional approaches to risk assessment. From the onset human, spaceflight has been recognized as an inherently dangerous activity. Consequently, U.S. laws and regulations have grown in tandem with space launch activities and operations to protect public health and safety. The recent development of the commercial space transportation industry is now seeing the burden of risk shift from government and government-sponsored missions to private commercial entities and individuals, and yet ethical frameworks are lacking for the private space sector. Opening access to space to the public inherently raises novel concerns for increased risk awareness, communication, and management among commercial entities and voluntary participants. This also highlights the need for evaluating and clarifying social perspectives on issues of risk, uncertainty, and standardization. This article offers a multidisciplinary analysis in ethics, law, and business organization to support responsible decision-making and risk assessment for commercial spaceflight activities.

Industry Structural Analysis of the Commercial Suborbital Research Market

In support of the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation's goal to “encourage private sector launches, reentries, and associated services,” the analysis described in this article is a continuation of a series of reports that are based on management theory of industry structure and innovation dynamics as applied to different segments of the emerging commercial space transportation industry. These studies are being performed to inform the output of policy and acquisition decision makers. This report specifically analyzes the commercial suborbital research industry segment using the industry structural analysis framework based in management theory and developed by Michael Porter of Harvard Business School. This analysis intentionally avoids detailed proprietary data within the commercial suborbital research market in order to avoid potential financial or political sensitivities held by members of the industry. Of the five forces, the Bargaining Power of Buyers (Force 4) is estimated to be High in strength solely due to the power of the U.S. government as a buyer in this emerging market segment. The remaining four forces are estimated to be Moderate or Low in strength. Based on the varying strengths of these five forces, which are estimated overall to be Moderate, the profitability of the suborbital reusable launch vehicle (sRLV) research market could be expected to be moderate as well. Even this level of profitability could entice new entrants into the market segment in pursuit of profits, increasing the market forces and ultimately driving industry profitability down.

FAA Role in Encouraging the Development of the U.S. Commercial Space Transportation Industry

FAA Role in Encouraging the Development of the U.S. Commercial Space Transportation Industry

Status of NASA's commercial cargo and crew transportation initiative

To stimulate the commercial space transportation industry, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is facilitating the demonstration of Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) by private-sector companies. In 2006, NASA entered into funded agreements with two such companies to share NASA's $500 million investment, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Rocketplane Kistler (RpK), each of which proposed to obtain the additional private financing needed to complete its flight demonstrations. In 2007, NASA terminated the agreement with RpK because it failed to meet a series of technical and financial milestones which were necessary to receive the incremental NASA payments. In 2008, NASA conducted another competition for the remaining $170 million of NASA funding and entered into a funded agreement with Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC). This paper provides an overview of the COTS approach of SpaceX and OSC and the status of their efforts to develop reliable and cost-effective commercial transportation to serve the LEO marketplace.

Evaluating a Complex Debris Dispersion Model Using Experimental Design Techniques

ver the past several years there has been a steady increase in space launch operations and forecasters conservatively predict slight growth in future launch rates. New technologies, national security, and the development of new markets in the commercial space transportation industry could further accelerate this growth. Although the September 11, 2001 attacks have reduced the current level of operations, the FAA expects the longterm growth in air travel to resume in the 2004 to 2013 timeframe. These trends will require a safe and efficient integration of both air and space transportation vehicles operating in shared airspace. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA are developing operational concepts that will seamlessly integrate air and space launch/reentry operations while ensuring that the highest levels of safety, security, and efficiency are maintained. The current procedure for ensuring aircraft are safely distanced from the spacecraft during a launch is to restrict all air traffic from flying in a very large region of Special Use Airspace (SUA) and/or Altitude Reservations (ALTRV) within the range. Figure 1 presents a debris hazard zone within a hypothetical SUA/ALTRV. During a launch, aircraft that would normally fly through this airspace simply take a longer, alternate route to their destination. This procedure accommodates today’s launch rates and the air traffic around the launch site. However, this procedure will probably not be acceptable if launch rates significantly increase, or when