What role can—and should—the US government play in supporting the development of low-cost, responsive space transportation? That is the question tackled in a one-page statement released today that represents the consensus of over two dozen companies and organizations in the industry. The genesis of this document was a one-day meeting held at the request of the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in Los Angeles last October immediately before the Space Frontier Conference; AFRL wanted industry feedback on what it can do to promote the development of responsive space options by entrepreneurial firms. Those participants later decided to compile their opinions into a single document, although not at the request, nor with the endorsement, of AFRL.
The document lists a number of proposals for how the government, in particular the DOD, can support the entrepreneurial space transportation (EST) industry. Those ideas range from more interaction between government agencies and EST firms, to setting a minimum fraction of government space transportation research funding on projects that would “have broad utility” for both the government and industry, to everyone’s current favorite hobbyhorse, export control reform. Now that the document is out there, it will be interesting to see what sort of response (if any) it gets from the DOD, NASA, and Congress, and how quickly—if at all—people will move to try to implement these proposals.
Those participants later decided to compile their opinions into a single document, although not at the request, nor with the endorsement, of AFRL.
The main point here is that the DoD, specifically DARPA, is taking the lead in newer space launch technology.
Dr. Grffin’s Shuttle-derived launch missiles using those retro tech Thiokal boosters are going to be about as successful as the X-33.
It’s fantastic they took the time to put out this statement. The fact that they were motivated to do so when it was nobody’s job says something in its own right.
At least one part of DOD is in the process of reassessing space launch needs, so I guess we’ll see what transpires.