Res Communis

Hearing: Full Committee Hearing – Impacts of the LightSquared Network

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

Source – House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology:

Full Committee Hearing – Impacts of the LightSquared Network
2318 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 | 09/08/2011 – 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Impacts of the LightSquared Network on Federal Science Activities

Witnesses

Mr. Anthony Russo, Director, The National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing

Ms. Mary Glackin, Deputy Under Secretary, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Mr. Badri Younes, Deputy Associate Administrator, Space Communications and Navigation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Mr. Peter Appel, Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Department of Transportation

Dr. David Applegate, Associate Director, Natural Hazards, U.S. Geological Survey

Dr. Scott Pace, Director, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University

Orbital Recieves FAA License for COTS Demonstration

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

Source – Orbital Sciences:

Orbital Receives FAA Commercial Space Launch License for Taurus II COTS Demonstration Mission
— Company Secures Required Authorization to Conduct Launch After Extensive Technical and Management Review —

(Dulles, VA 31 August 2011) — Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced that it received a Commercial Space Transportation Launch License from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program demonstration mission in early 2012. An expanded license covering the test flight of the company’s Taurus® II rocket in late 2011 is expected to be granted in the near future.

To secure the license, Orbital was required to submit extensive technical and program management data to the FAA about its Taurus II rocket and Cygnus™ spacecraft to ensure that all necessary operational requirements and safety precautions are met. Among the many items reviewed by the FAA were the rocket’s planned trajectory, ground tracking procedures, onboard safety and flight termination systems, and the experience and training of the launch operations team.

“We are very pleased to have been granted the Commercial Space Transportation Launch License by the FAA well in advance of our scheduled launch date in early 2012,” said Mr. Brent Collins, Orbital’s Senior Vice President and Taurus II Program Manager. “While we are very knowledgeable of the FAA licensing process because of our extensive experience with Pegasus and Taurus space launch vehicles, securing the FAA’s approval for a new rocket system is always challenging because of the rigor of their oversight. We feel this is a great vote of confidence in our launch vehicle design, the robustness of its subsystems, the thoroughness of our processes, and the training and operational experience of our launch team.”

For the COTS demonstration mission, Orbital will launch a Taurus II rocket carrying an operational Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft that will autonomously rendezvous with and operate in close proximity to the International Space Station (ISS) until it is grappled with a robotic arm and berthed to the Station. For the earlier Taurus II test flight, an instrumented Cygnus simulator will be onboard to accurately characterize the launch environment.

United Nations Treaties and Principles on Outer Space: Travaux Préparatoires

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The United Nations Office on Outer Space Affairs has launched a new resource page for accessing the Travaux Préparatoires of the space treaties and principles. Currently they have the travaux préparatoires for Outer Space Treaty, The Rescuse and Return Agreement, and the Liability Convention, as well as the Declaration of Legal Principles, and the rest are to be added.

Federal Register: Office of Commercial Space Transportation Notice of Intent To Publish Current and Future Launch, Site, and Reentry Licenses and Permits and Their Orders Online

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The FAA has published an Office of Commercial Space Transportation Notice of Intent To Publish Current and Future Launch, Site, and Reentry Licenses and Permits and Their Orders Online (PDF) in today’s Federal Register (76 Fed. Reg. 52732-52733):

SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is changing the way the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) makes its permits, licenses, and all accompanying orders (authorizations) available to the public. The FAA intends to post all current and future authorizations online on the AST Web site \1\ beginning on October 24, 2011. The FAA will not publish license or permit applications or evaluations. The FAA has determined that posting authorizations online will allow it to more effectively and efficiently inform the public of its commercial space transportation permit and license determinations.

Federal Register: Notice of availability and request for comments on the draft environmental assessment (“Draft EA”) for launch of NASA routine payloads on expendable launch vehicles.

by P.J. Blount wit the blog faculty

NASA published a Notice of availability and request for comments on the draft environmental assessment (“Draft EA”) for launch of NASA routine payloads on expendable launch vehicles (PDF) in today’s Federal Register (76 Fed. Reg. 52694-52696):

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and NASA NEPA policy and procedures (14 CFR part 1216 subpart 1216.3), NASA has prepared a Draft EA for launch of NASA routine payloads on expendable launch vehicles. For purposes of this Draft EA, NASA routine payloads include science instruments, spacecraft or technology demonstrations. This EA updates the Final Environmental Assessment for Launch of NASA Routine Payloads on Expendable Launch Vehicles from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base California published in June 2002. NASA missions covered by this Draft EA would be scheduled for launch at one of the proposed launch sites and would be within the total number of launch operations previously analyzed in launch vehicle and launch site NEPA documents. The proposed launches would occur from existing launch facilities at CCAFS, Florida, VAFB, California, the United States Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site (USAKA/RTS) in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), Virginia, and the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC), Alaska. The Cooperating Agencies on this Draft EA include the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The Draft EA analyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with preparing and implementing launches of missions that are designated NASA routine payloads on U.S. expendable launch vehicles from existing U.S. facilities using established procedures. The NASA routine payloads meet rigorously defined criteria ensuring that the spacecraft and their operation would not present any new or substantial environmental and safety concerns. A Routine Payload Checklist is used to exclude missions from consideration as routine payloads if they: (1) Include any extraterrestrial sample return; (2) would be launched on a vehicle or from a launch site for which NASA has not completed NEPA compliance; (3) carry radioactive sources that could not be approved by the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance Nuclear Flight Safety Assurance Manager or designee; (4) cause the manifested launch rate (per year) for a particular launch vehicle to exceed the rate previously approved and permitted at the launch sites; (5) require the construction of any new facilities (or substantial modification of existing facilities); (6) utilize hazardous materials in quantities exceeding the Envelope Payload Characteristics (EPCs); (7) utilize potentially hazardous material whose type or amount would not be covered by new or existing local permits; (8) release material other than propulsion system exhaust or inert gases into the atmosphere; (9) suggest the potential for any substantial impact on public health and safety not covered by this Draft EA; (10) have the potential for substantial effects on the environment outside the United States; (11) utilize an Earth-pointing laser system that does not meet the requirements for safe operations according to American National Standards Institute analysis techniques; (12) carry live or inactive disease-causing biological agents beyond Biological Safety Level 1; or (13) have the potential to create substantial public controversy related to environmental issues.

Payloads that fall within the Routine Payload Checklist would utilize materials, quantities of materials, launch vehicles, and operational characteristics that are consistent with normal and routine payload preparation and flight activities at these specified launch sites. Therefore, the environmental impacts of launching routine payloads would fall within the range of routine, ongoing, and previously documented impacts associated with approved programs that have been determined not to be significant. The purpose and need for this proposed action is to fulfill NASA’s mission for Earth exploration, space exploration, technology development, and scientific research. The scientific missions associated with NASA routine payloads could not be accomplished without launching orbital and interplanetary spacecraft.

H.R. 2712: Shuttle Workforce Revitalization Act of 2011

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

H.R. 2712: Shuttle Workforce Revitalization Act of 2011 was introduced on July 30, 2011 by Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL24):

112th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2712

To ensure that all of Brevard County, Florida, is treated as a HUBZone, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 30, 2011

Mrs. ADAMS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business

A BILL

To ensure that all of Brevard County, Florida, is treated as a HUBZone, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Shuttle Workforce Revitalization Act of 2011′.

SEC. 2. BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA.

(a) In General- During the covered period, any portion of Brevard County, Florida, that is not otherwise a HUBZone, as such term is defined under section 3(p) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)), shall be treated as a HUBZone for purposes of that Act.

(b) Covered Period Defined- In this section, the term `covered period’ means the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on January 1, 2020.

Disasters Charter: Landslide in Seoul and Chuncheon, Republic of Korea

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The Disasters Charter has been activated for a Landslide in Seoul and Chuncheon, Republic of Korea:

Landslide in Seoul and Chuncheon, Rep of Korea

Type of Event: Landslide, Floods
Location of Event: South Korea
Date of Charter Activation: 28/07/2011
Charter Requestor: NIDP (Rep. of Korea)
Project Management: TBC

Description of the Event:
Seoul and Chuncheon, South Korea, were hit by severe landslides and flooding due to heavy rainfall (500mm) on 27 July, 2011.
– At least 17 residents were killed and 24 were injured by landslides from Mt. Umyeong in Seoul
– About 800 houses were flooded and 23 roads were closed
– A total of 66,093 households were hit with power failures
– A total of 13 voluntary students were killed at the Chuncheon landslide

Results for public consultation concerning a possible EU Space Programme

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The European Commission has released the results from its public consultation concerning a possible EU Space Programme:

This consultation was part of an impact assessment on a possible Commission proposal for an EU Space Programme concentrating on the protection of space infrastructures and space exploration.

The objective of the consultation was to obtain the views of the European public, as well as concerned European stakeholders, on the adequacy and the scope of possible EU measures in these fields.

All citizens and organisations were welcome to contribute to this consultation. Contributions were particularly sought from space policy stakeholders, including public authorities and space industry.

In response to the public consultation concerning a possible EU Space Programme we have received 608 responses from companies, national administrations, non-governmental organisations, business associations and individuals from European Union and elsewhere.

The results are summarized in two files, one contains raw statistical data representing the 608 responses, while the second displays the same data in graphics.

Click through to see the documentation.

NASA to change CCDev from SAAs to Traditional Procurement

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

Source – Space News:

Fri, 22 July, 2011
NASA Shifts Procurement Plan For Upcoming Round of CCDev
By Dan Leone

WASHINGTON — Breaking from the strategy it used in the first two rounds of its commercial crew development (CCDev) program, NASA said it intends to use a traditional procurement process governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulations to fund its contribution to the next phases of work on privately owned human spaceflight systems.

NASA awarded Space Act Agreements (SAA) for the first and second phases of CCDev. Under those arrangements, companies developing launch or crew transportation systems are paid upon meeting self-imposed milestones developed with NASA input. . . . [Full Story]