The challenges and opportunities of a commercial human spaceflight mission to the ISS

ESA astronauts' ISS flight opportunities are considered as a vital source to meet the utilisation, operation and political objectives that Europe has established for participating in the International Space Station programme. Recent internal ESA assessments have demonstrated that a rate of three flights per year for European Astronauts should be maintained as a minimum objective. The current flight rate is lower than this. In order to improve this situation, in the context of the activation of the ESA ISS Commercialisation programme, ESA is developing the conditions for the establishment of commercially based human spaceflights with the financial support of both ESA and the private sector or, in the future, only the latter. ESA is working in a Partnership with the space industry to facilitate the implementation of such projects and support customers with a range of end-to-end commercial services. The opportunities and challenges of a "commercial human spaceflight", involving a member of the European Astronaut Corps, or a privately employed flight participant, are discussed here.     

Space: a challenge for Europe

This Viewpoint presents an industrial perspective of the policies needed to support and advance the capabilities and competitiveness of the European space industry. It is argued that Europe needs a coordinated longterm space policy to help create the climate in which industry can invest in and exploit space. Europe must also accelerate the development of advanced technology products and services, improve its competitiveness in applications and commercial markets including launchers, and secure fair and reliable international partnerships in in-orbit infrastructure and manned space activities. To this end European governments are urged to acknowledge the increasing political, economic and military importance of space and their continuing governance of space activities, and to establish mechanisms that promote industrial competitiveness; the development of the commercial sector; autonomy in key technologies; and international partnerships which are fair and affordable.     

新一代高速反舰导弹对舰载电子对抗的挑战

反舰导弹和舰载电子对抗系统是矛与盾的关系,随着反舰导弹的更新换代,电子对抗系统必须做出针对性的调整,才能满足未来海战的需要。新一代高速反舰导弹具有速度快、抗干扰能力强和弹道可编辑等特点,给舰载电子对抗系统带来了挑战。在分析了新一代高速反舰导弹的主要性能的基础上,提出了舰载电子对抗系统的应对措施。     

The regulatory challenges of ensuring commercial human spaceflight safety

Space tourism is the term commonly used to refer to ordinary members of the public buying tickets to travel to space and back, but has recently become more broadly associated with “any commercial activity offering customers direct or indirect experience with space travel”. The nascent commercial human spaceflight market presents a challenge to regulators with regard to the potential certification and licensing of the flight vehicles and their use (both within and outside the atmosphere), from the perspective of the operator, the flight participants, and third parties who might be affected by the operations. The UK is currently reviewing the issues posed by this emerging sector and its licensing/certification authorities are considering how best to balance their statutory responsibilities with the need to facilitate the development of this new industry and the favour positioning of UK players, eliminating unnecessary regulatory barriers to participation.     

INTELSAT and the challenge of competitive systems

If one accepts the overriding economic and social importance of telecommunications, then the importance of major shifts in international satellite policy becomes clear. In particular, proposals within the USA to redefine its relationship to the INTELSAT global satellite system take on broader significance than might be initially assumed. To understand why this is so, one must first focus on the role of INTELSAT and how it has changed the world of global telecommunications, at the national, regional and international levels.     

National subsidies in the international commercial launch market

The agreement by the USA and Cocom to allow the export of US-built satellites for launch on Chinese launchers raised the national subsidy issue. The international commercial launch market is multinational and highly competitive; launch suppliers have accused each other of being unfairly subsdized. Currently the US government is engaged in various negotiations to establish a ‘level playing field’. A clear study of the subsidy issue is essential. This article examines some of the charges and the current situation associated with each country and suggests a possible approach for the USA to remain competitive in the international commercial launch market.     

The impact of culture on human and space development--new millennial challenge

The Space Age is causing new applications to the concept of culture, a human coping tool. The exploration and exploitation of outer space resources are altering human culture both on Earth and in orbit. For the first time in history, our species need not merely react and adapt to environment, but plan for a space culture appropriate for extraterrestrial migration. The impact of culture can be analyzed in terms of how space developments alter human perceptions and behavior on this planet; the emergence of a new culture to suit the orbital environment; the organizations that build spacecraft and deploy people aloft; and the technological systems created for spacefaring. This article presents a paradigm for analyzing some of the non-technical human factors involved in space undertakings. It also offers a method for classifying a culture according to ten categories which may be applied both to a macroculture, such as a lunar base; or a microculture, such as a space agency or crew. Human enterprise in space is viewed as both altering the species, and providing a challenge for expanded behavioral and biological scientific research on living and working in space.     

Globalization, commercial space and spacepower in the USA

Economic and commercial spacepower is about market dominance and control. The USA is still the largest investor in space in the world and the technological and commercial leader in many areas but its leadership is being challenged. When other nations have similar capabilities, control becomes a problem, assuming, as is the case with space, that control is also a critical issue in security. Moreover, exerting spacepower may be inconsistent with expanded commercial developments in space, raising investment risks and creating incentives for foreign competitors. To the extent that global market opportunity is denied by restrictive commercial policies, spacepower from a purely international economic competitive perspective is diminished. Though it is encouraging that the US commercial space policies have been in Presidential Documents over the past 20 years, they have been unintentionally undermined to a large extent by other policies, with security almost always trumping commerce. This paper examines the way globalization and commercial space developments have changed the nature of spacepower and suggests that the USA's reactions to these changes have not thus far served it well.     

Faster conception of radically innovative systems: the strategic and organizational challenge for space agencies

Are space agencies able to reform the way they are organized? Attempts to reduce the time it takes to conceive new systems and adapt project management while fostering innovation have so far shown mixed results. In this paper, we describe some of the intellectual, strategic and organizational challenges the agencies are about to face in the coming years: managing the ever growing complexity of space systems; defining a knowledge-based strategy as the basis of a renewed organization; and assuming a central role in the innovation process in relation to industry. This thesis is illustrated with a case study of the CNES Microsatellite Myriade program.     

高频燃烧不稳定性的试验研究方法及面临的挑战

采用特征时间法分析了液体火箭发动机燃烧子过程的响应特性,指出了高频燃烧不稳定性试验研究的重点。介绍了国内外典型的高频燃烧不稳定性模拟实验方法与试验装置,认为推力室声学、低压燃烧不稳定性模拟试验以及喷嘴动力学试验研究是目前指导工程设计的主要途径,高压燃烧过程试验和光学测量技术是未来充分认识其激励机理的关键。     

Space law conference 2001 : Legal challenges and commercial opportunities for Asia

Many eminent space lawyers gathered in Singapore to attend the first space law conference to be held in South East Asia. Topics for discussion—which included commercialization of space activities and its effect on the needs of developing countries, and the legal issues of expanding communications and navigation satellite services—were of particular interest to the region. This report summarizes the presentations in each session and presents the conclusions and recommendations—such as the need for a legal instrument to regulate remote sensing—produced.     

Mission success regulations,their effect on ELV launch success and the applicability to regulating commercial human spaceflight

As the human spaceflight industry grows the agencies charged with regulating that industry meet significant challenges. An improvement in launch success would improve the safety for the crew and passengers of a commercial human spaceflight. With respect to ELV launches, NASA's regulations over civil launches are mission success oriented while commercial launches regulated by the FAA-AST, the agency that will also be charged with human spaceflight, takes a more public safety oriented stance. A comparison of the launch success between civil and commercial launches is used to inform the decision on whether or not mission success would be an appropriate regulatory stance for the FAA-AST. The results show that there is no significant difference in launch success between civil and commercial ELV launches. Because of this and because the industry is wary of over regulation, there is indication that a mission success oriented stance might not be appropriate for regulating commercial human spaceflight.     

Shaping a legal framework for the commercial use of outer space: recommendations and conclusions from Project 2001

Private and commercial activity in outer space still poses challenges to space law and policy. Within ‘Project 2001’—a legal research project by the University of Cologne's Institute of Air and Space Law and the German Aerospace Center (DLR)—six international expert working groups examined international and national laws, in order to identify gaps and, where necessary, propose improvements to the present legal framework for private space activities. The results were presented and discussed at an international colloquium in May 2001 in Cologne, Germany, where final conclusions have been drawn. This report presents a summary of the project's work and main conclusions, which are documented in full in a comprehensive book to be published in May 2002.     

预警体系面临新型目标的严峻挑战

未来战争威胁主要来自空天,超高声速武器等新型目标的发展给预警体系提出了严峻挑战。在分析常规雷达探测技术与新型航空航天目标特征的基础上,重点就现代雷达探测新型目标的关键技术与核心问题进行了研究,并给出了相关仿真结果。     

The International Space Station: a pathway to the future

Nearly six years after the launch of the first International Space Station element, and four years after its initial occupation, the United States and our 6 international partners have made great strides in operating this impressive Earth orbiting research facility. This past year we have done so in the face of the adversity of operating without the benefit of the Space Shuttle. In his January 14, 2004, speech announcing a new vision for America's space program, President Bush affirmed the United States' commitment to completing construction of the International Space Station by 2010. The President also stated that we would focus our future research aboard the Station on the long-term effects of space travel on human biology. This research will help enable human crews to venture through the vast voids of space for months at a time. In addition, ISS affords a unique opportunity to serve as an engineering test bed for hardware and operations critical to the exploration tasks. NASA looks forward to working with our partners on International Space Station research that will help open up new pathways for future exploration and discovery beyond low Earth orbit. This paper provides an overview of the International Space Station Program focusing on a review of the events of the past year, as well as plans for next year and the future.     

Informed consent v. ITAR: Regulatory conflicts that could constrain commercial human space flight

The Human Space Flight Requirements (promulgated by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration) seek to protect the fledgling commercial space flight industry by shifting risk from the operator to the space flight participants. However, in order to do this effectively the regulations require a great deal of information to be given to the participants. The information required might be extensive enough that it could be considered “technical data” under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. If this is the case then commercial spaceflight companies will have to get export licenses for non-U.S. participants on their flights which could cause additional costs as well as other problems.     

US government policy - the major factor shaping the international commercial space launch marketplace

In this Viewpoint — an edited version of a statement made to the US House Committee on Science's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics' hearing on ‘US launch strategy’ — the President of Arianespace, Inc analyses the overriding importance of US government policies and executive decisions on the shaping and behavior of the international market in commercial space launch services. Chief among these is the overruling of commercial imperatives by foreign policy and national security interests and the consequent regular intervention of the US government in launch decisions. The ability of Arianespace successfully to compete in a market severely distorted as a result of these interventions, including the encouragement of joint ventures between US and Russian or Ukrainian companies, is explained.     

Whose jurisdiction over the US commercial satellite industry? Factors affecting international security and competition

Within a global economy, export controls play a large role in hindering the proliferation of high technology. A company operating in a country that operates under more strict export controls than others is at a serious disadvantage in competing. This has been the case for commercial satellite (comsat) manufacturers in the USA since 1999, when Congress redefined comsats and all technologies associated with them from a dual-use export under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce to a munitions export that falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of State. Following this, there was a drastic drop in the market share of US comsat manufacturers in comparison to European manufacturers, who continued to define satellites as a dual-use technology. This paper examines the various factors that have affected US industry competitiveness and tackles the question of whether or not it continues to make sense to keep comsats under the more restrictive International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) controls. To accomplish this, comsats are subjected to a litmus test created by George Zaphiriou in 1992 to determine whether a technology should be placed under ITAR controls.