NASA is evaluating letting the private sector operate a smaller space station in low earth orbit (LEO) so it may focus on the region around the Moon, according to a key agency official.
NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier told a House panel July 10 the civil space agency is currently allowing companies to perform investigations on the International Space Station (ISS), located in LEO, to see if they get a “market return.” Gerstenmaier said focusing on the region around the Moon, which he called the proving ground of space, will allow NASA to prepare for its ultimate goal: Mars.
“We’re envisioning a lower Earth orbit (station) to essentially be more of a private sector activity,” Gerstenmaier told the House Science, Space and Technology space subcommittee during a hearing on the future of ISS. “We’ll use the remaining lifetime of (ISS) to let the private sector understand the benefits of micro gravity research to their terrestrial investigation.”
Gerstenmaier said companies would be able to access a private sector space station in LEO just like they access the ISS, via capsules like ones currently used for NASA’s Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) missions. Both current CRS contractors Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) and Orbital ATK [OA] use capsules to deliver cargo, food and supplies to ISS, while NASA’s Commercial Crew contractors, SpaceX and Boeing [BA], also plan to use capsules to deliver humans to ISS. NASA’s deep space rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), is also slated to launch a capsule, Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] Orion multi-purpose vehicle.
NanoRacks is one company doing business on ISS as the company says on its website it operates the only commercial laboratory in outer space with a full commercial spacelab on ISS. NanoRacks’ core payload hardware is the NanoLab, a powerful box in the cubesat form factor, measuring 1,000 cubic cm. Every NanoLab has a circuit board that activates the experiment, turns it off and can be functioned for other activities, according to the company.
Gerstenmaier said NASA took a roughly $110 million hit from the SpaceX CRS-7 launch failure in late June, minus a milestone payment the agency would had paid upon a successful mission. He said NASA is investigating advantages and disadvantages of having insurance for cargo on CRS missions. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) had asked Gerstenmaier whether NASA would have an effort to require contractors to reimburse the agency for equipment and materials lost in a launch failure.
“We haven’t made a decision yet on whether (insurance) is cost-effective for us or not,” Gerstenmaier said.
NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz said July 13 the mission pricing for the cargo deliveries is proprietary. However, she said, SpaceX will not receive the final 20 percent of mission price milestone payment for cargo delivery to ISS for SpaceX CRS-7.
Gerstenmaier said NASA lost an international docking adapter slated for Commercial Crew in the CRS-7 launch failure. NASA wanted to have two units in orbit, he said, and the agency will take parts from one unit being assembled as a spare or backup and will work to get that adapter delivered on time for the first Crew launch. He said, beside losing the adapter, the biggest impact on NASA is the cost associated with having to manufacture a third unit from remaining spare parts.
Gerstenmaier said the next docking adapter, a second one, is scheduled to go up in the next couple of months and that NASA will decide if either SpaceX or Orbital ATK will deliver it. Boeing spokesman Adam Morgan said July 13 the company has transferred possession of the second docking adapter over to NASA.
Boeing Vice President and General Manager for Space Exploration John Elbon testified July 10 that the second docking adapter will be ready to fly when NASA resumes CRS deliveries. Elbon also said parts for the third docking adapter are available at a company supplier and that Boeing is putting together a plan for assembling the third unit from spare parts.
NASA is aiming to move up Orbital ATK’s next CRS mission from December to October if the manifest allows. That mission would take place on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V as the company’s Antares launch vehicle is still out of service from October’s failure.
Lawmakers and witnesses discussed the future of ISS beyond 2024. While the Obama administration has proposed extending United States participation in ISS to 2024, new subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin (R-Texas) said in his opening statement that federal law limits the life of ISS to 2020 and that Congress must sign off on any further U.S. participation with ISS. Babin said NASA spends about $3 billion annually on ISS operations and that these costs are expected to increase.
Elbon said Boeing and NASA recently completed a technical assessment of the usable life of major ISS hardware components and that their study indicated that the station will be operable at least through 2028. Elbon said long-term viability of ISS is an important factor in continuing to attract researchers, who invest considerable time in preparing their experiments for operation in space.
NASA inspector general Paul Martin testified July 10 that a recent inspector general audit last September found no major obstacles to continued operations through 2024. However, he said, it found NASA must address a series of technical challenges, including ensuring adequate power generation in light of degradation of the station’s solar arrays, as well as a limited ability to transport large replacement parts to ISS.
Martin also said most of the international partners on ISS have yet to commit to station operations beyond 2020 and that a decision by one or more not to participate could drive up costs for NASA. ISS partners are the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.