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COMSTAC RLV Working Group Meeting Report

Presentation to the COMSTACMichael S. Kelly

Chairman20 May 2004

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Action Items From Last Meeting

• RLVWG to provide comments on Guidelines for Crew Safety– Status: Complete

• RLVWG to provide R&D topics to FAA/AST– Status: Complete

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Congratulations

• To FAA/AST for issuance of the world’s first RLV license to Scaled Composites, and the second RLV license to XCOR– Historic events– Monumental accomplishments, given the startup pains

associated with the activity

• To Scaled Composites, for:– Having obtained the first RLV license– Having flown a manned spacecraft to within a few hundred feet

per second of the energy state required to reach space, on (small) private investment

• To XCOR for having obtained an RLV license ahead of having hardware

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AST Presentation:Alternative Methods for Meeting Ec Criterion

• Assessment based on Paul Birkeland’s (Kistler Aerospace) approach

• Opens the door to alternative means of establishing safety equivalent of Ec = 30 x 10-6

• RLV WG voted unanimously to form subgroup to work with AST on alternative methods– Leader not chosen– Open action to work with RMWG to find confluence

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AST PresentationSuborbital Launch Market Analysis

• Focused on near-term suborbital launch market• AST wants input from industry• How many vehicles, what types of launches• Similar to Commerce Department report• Updated frequently

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AST Presentation:RLV O&M Guidelines

• Update on work in progress to define RLV O&M guidelines for industry

• Draft guidelines from May 2003 now on AST website• Existing Draft Guidelines cover propulsion, flight safety

system, communications, and thermal protection systms• Ongoing work has examined these and other safety-

critical systems such as electrical, structural, and System Engineering approaches

• Senior management to be briefed on results of ongoing work

• RLVWG comments to be turned within 1 month of draft guidelines receipt

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AIAA Presentation:AIAA RLV Working Group on Safety Critical Items

• Tasked by FAA/AST-300 to form RLV industry working group• The working group was formed to:

– define criteria for identifying potentially safety-critical systems for RLVs

– develop a list of potentially safety-critical RLV items

• X-15 analysis performed based on MIL-STD-882• Consensus reached on core set of “guidelines” for identifying

potentially safety-critical systems• Agreement made to focus on only hardware items for this iteration• Initiated development of a list of potentially safety-critical items• Good industry participation and support• Standards a work in progress

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CAMI Presentation:FAA/CAMI Guidelines for ECLSS

• Significant study presented by Dr. Arnold Angelici of CAMI on Environmental Control and Life Support Systems for Manned Commercial RLVs for Suborbital Spaceflight

• Study is a work in progress, but already has yielded a significant amount of data for use by RLV developers

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AST Presentation:Environmental Review Process

• FAA study to support a Categorical Exclusion for RLV R&D flights

• Scope expanded to cover Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement– Creates “grandfather” status

• Work in progress, with significant progress made already

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Open Discussion of HR-3752

• Reauthorization of AST, and Commercial Space Act update

• (Very) open discussion• Majority of industry in favor of getting bill through ASAP,

as written

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Last Plea to Change the Lexicon

• “I told you so” presentation by the Chairman on the consequences of speaking “launch” in the world of spaceships– Childbirth-like pain of licensing

• Admission by the Chairman that prior plea was premature

• Request that we now, in the wake of experience, aggressively reorient our conceptual framework and thinking

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Action Items

• Form Subgroup to work Ec alternatives with FAA/AST

• Turn O&M Guidelines comments in 1 month from receipt• Unofficial action by Chairman to provide forum for

change of lexicon