[Senate Hearing 114-613]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 114-613
NASA AT A CROSSROADS: REASSERTING AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN SPACE
EXPLORATION
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE, SCIENCE,
AND COMPETITIVENESS
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JULY 13, 2016
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking
ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
MARCO RUBIO, Florida CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
TED CRUZ, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska CORY BOOKER, New Jersey
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TOM UDALL, New Mexico
DEAN HELLER, Nevada JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia
CORY GARDNER, Colorado GARY PETERS, Michigan
STEVE DAINES, Montana
David Schwietert, Staff Director
Nick Rossi, Deputy Staff Director
Rebecca Seidel, General Counsel
Jason Van Beek, Deputy General Counsel
Kim Lipsky, Democratic Staff Director
Chris Day, Democratic Deputy Staff Director
Clint Odom, Democratic General Counsel and Policy Director
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE, SCIENCE, AND COMPETITIVENESS
TED CRUZ, Texas, Chairman GARY PETERS, Michigan, Ranking
MARCO RUBIO, Florida EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts
JERRY MORAN, Kansas CORY BOOKER, New Jersey
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska TOM UDALL, New Mexico
CORY GARDNER, Colorado BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
STEVE DAINES, Montana
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on July 13, 2016.................................... 1
Statement of Senator Cruz........................................ 1
Statement of Senator Peters...................................... 2
Prepared statement........................................... 4
Statement of Senator Nelson...................................... 5
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Prepared statement of George Whitesides, CEO, Virgin Galactic 59
Prepared statement of Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy,
The Planetary Society...................................... 60
Statement of Senator Daines...................................... 54
Witnesses
William H. Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator, Human
Exploration and Operations, NASA............................... 7
Prepared statement........................................... 9
Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, Executive Director, Coalition for Deep
Space Exploration.............................................. 15
Prepared statement........................................... 16
Michael Gold, Vice President, Washington Operations and Business
Development, Space Systems Loral............................... 30
Prepared statement........................................... 31
Mark N. Sirangelo, Corporate Vice President, Space Systems,
Sierra Nevada Corporation...................................... 38
Prepared statement........................................... 41
Daniel L. Dumbacher, Professor of Engineering Practice, School of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, College of Engineering, Purdue
University..................................................... 44
Prepared statement........................................... 46
Appendix
Letter dated July 13, 2016 to Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Gary
Peters from Scott Lehr, President, Flight Systems Group,
Orbital ATK.................................................... 101
Response to written questions submitted to William H.
Gerstenmaier by:
Hon. Marco Rubio............................................. 110
Hon. Bill Nelson............................................. 114
Hon. Richard Blumenthal...................................... 115
Hon. Gary Peters............................................. 115
Response to written questions submitted to Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar
by:
Hon. Marco Rubio............................................. 116
Hon. Gary Peters............................................. 119
Response to written questions submitted to Michael Gold by:
Hon. Marco Rubio............................................. 120
Hon. Bill Nelson............................................. 123
Hon. Richard Blumenthal...................................... 123
Response to written questions submitted to Mark N. Sirangelo by:
Hon. Marco Rubio............................................. 124
Hon. Bill Nelson............................................. 126
Hon. Richard Blumenthal...................................... 127
Response to written questions submitted to Daniel L. Dumbacher
by:
Hon. Marco Rubio............................................. 127
NASA AT A CROSSROADS:
REASSERTING AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN SPACE EXPLORATION
----------
WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness,
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:47 p.m. in
room SR-253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Ted Cruz,
Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding.
Present: Senators Cruz [presiding], Peters, Nelson, Daines,
and Gardner.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. TED CRUZ,
U.S. SENATOR FROM TEXAS
The Chairman. This hearing is called to order. Good
afternoon and welcome. I apologize for the delay of the start
of the hearing. We had a vote scheduled at 2:30, and so that
delayed our beginning this hearing. But welcome. I want to
thank each of the witnesses for coming and testifying.
Exploration, the need to seek out the unknown, to expand
our civilization, and to create new enterprise. Nearly 400
years ago, some of our Nation's first pioneers, the pilgrims,
set out across the white-tipped Atlantic Ocean in search of the
New World. William Bradford, speaking in 1630, of the founding
of the Plymouth Bay Colony said that all great and honorable
actions are accompanied by great difficulties, and both must be
enterprised and overcome with answerable courage. It is that
same answerable courage and restless desire to seek out the
unknown that led our country to expand westward, to create new
industries, and eventually to look toward the heavens to chart
out a new course for American discovery and free enterprise.
With names like Armstrong, Aldrin, Shepard, and Lovell, we set
off through the vistas of space and inspired a nation.
However, this journey hasn't always been easy, and it has
come at great cost as we remember fallen heroes like Grissom,
Husband, and McAuliffe. Today we pay our respects to the
achievements and lessons of history, but we also seek out a
hopeful future that has its roots in our Nation's frontier
history and the promise of new discovery.
We have come together in this committee room to reassert
American leadership in space. My priority for this subcommittee
is to ensure that the United States remains the leader in space
exploration in the 21st century. We began last year by
committing our Nation to fostering the continued development of
a strong commercial space sector through the passage and
enactment of the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness
Act. Now we look to build on that foundation by focusing NASA's
energies on continuing to make progress in exploring space and
redoubling its partnerships with the private sector.
Human space exploration and innovation are integral to the
mission of NASA. That's why this subcommittee will work to
provide NASA with the security and stability that is necessary
as the agency transitions from one administration to the next,
and I look forward to working with Ranking Member Peters
throughout this process.
We have unfortunately seen what can happen to NASA and the
spirit of its employees when worthy missions and programs are
clouded in uncertainty and cancellations, cancellations to
programs such as Constellation, which sought to return
astronauts to the Moon and beyond, or the retirement of the
shuttle program have had lasting consequences that NASA and the
broader space community are still grappling with today. These
cancellations have left our country completely dependent on the
Russians to get American astronauts to and from low Earth
orbit, at a cost of $82 million per seat. If we can keep NASA
on its current path, it is likely that the Commercial Crew
Program will finally launch American astronauts from U.S. soil
by the end of 2017. Additionally, as we set our sights on a
Journey to Mars, it is imperative that we continue to build the
Space Launch System and Orion, which will take NASA into deep
space and lead us to new discoveries.
Our path forward is not easy, but it is necessary for the
future of our American space program. We must continue to
expand the domain of free enterprise deeper into space, to do
it first, and to lead the world, and to ensure that we don't
squander the opportunity before us today.
With that, I'll recognize Senator Peters for an opening
statement.
STATEMENT OF HON. GARY PETERS,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MICHIGAN
Senator Peters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And good afternoon. And I want to thank Chairman Cruz for
calling this hearing today. I'm very pleased to be here to
discuss the future of NASA, and I want to thank each of our
distinguished panelists in advance for your testimony here
today and your willingness to answer our questions on this very
important topic.
You know, being from Michigan, the epicenter of the
automotive world, I can't help to notice but some very striking
similarities between human space exploration and the automotive
industry. The auto industry enjoyed a long period of growth and
prosperity during the 1990s and early 2000s, and then in 2007,
what has been called the ``Great Recession'' occurred, and at
the same time, the price of gasoline skyrocketed. That led to
factories being shut down and thousands of employees being out
of work, and the outlook for the American auto industry at that
time was, as you recall, particularly grim.
But Detroit automakers responded by doing what Americans do
best, they endured, they innovated, and they rose to the
challenge. With U.S. auto sales now reaching a new high in 2015
and expected to be even higher this year, the U.S. automotive
industry is emerging as a great American comeback story.
Similarly, we've seen highs and lows in the space business.
We've had a hiatus in human spaceflight after the end of the
very triumphant Apollo program. We had amazing successes with
the iconic space shuttle program, but we also unfortunately
endured the Challenger and Columbia tragedies.
We have constructed a football field-sized space station
and maintained a continuous human presence in space for over 15
years. But following the retirement of the space shuttle and
challenges and false starts in fielding the successor program,
our human spaceflight program hit a low similar to what the
auto industry hit in 2007. But now, just like the American auto
industry, human spaceflight is making a comeback, and it's
making a comeback in a very big way. NASA and American industry
are working together with a common goal of leading to more
efficient, safer, and more capable systems. We must continue to
innovate, find new efficiencies, meet new deadlines, and
maintain the highest standards of excellence. These are the
same elements that helped bring the automotive industry back to
where it is today, and I believe that these elements will
continue to bring the U.S. human space exploration to a new
high.
Pushing out to the frontier of space certainly inspires the
next generation of engineers and scientists, creates
technologies and scientific advances that make life better here
on Earth, and helps power the dynamo of American industry. The
SLS and Orion programs alone engage thousands of suppliers and
small businesses all across this great country. I've spent time
with several of these suppliers in Michigan, including
Futuramic, a company that has transitioned from the auto
industry to the space industry. Investments in space don't only
help us understand the universe, they create jobs and drive
innovation in Michigan and communities all across the Nation.
A great deal of progress has been made since NASA
Authorization of 2010, and with the first commercial crew
flights to ISS, the first launch of the massive SLS rocket, and
the launch of the massive James Webb Space Telescope, all
planned for the next 2 years, there are some huge milestones
just around the corner.
Just about anyone who was alive at the time vividly
remembers, as I do, watching the Apollo missions on TV.
Achieving Kennedy's goal of putting a man on the Moon by the
end of the decade is certainly one of the most significant
technological achievements in human history. Since we last left
the Moon nearly 45 years ago, we are now on the cusp of
journeying once again into deep space, and we are not going to
just cautiously dip our toes in the water and then pull back,
we're going to go boldly and we're going to go there to stay.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to reauthorize
NASA and provide the agency with the stability and consistency
of purpose that is needed to achieve the ambitious goals that
we have set for our space program, and this hearing is an
important step in that direction. And once again I would like
to thank our witnesses for your testimony and for your
leadership on this important journey.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Senator Peters follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Gary Peters, U.S. Senator from Michigan
Good afternoon. Thank you Chairman Cruz for calling this hearing. I
am very pleased to be here to discuss the future of NASA. I'd also like
to recognize and thank Ranking Member Nelson for his leadership on
these issues.
Being from Michigan, the epicenter of the automotive world, I can't
help but notice some striking similarities between human space
exploration and the automotive industry. The auto industry enjoyed a
long period of growth and prosperity during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Then, in 2007, what has been called the ``Great Recession'' occurred.
At the same time, the price of fuel skyrocketed. This led to factories
being shut down and thousands of employees being out of work. The
outlook for the American auto industry was grim.
But Detroit responded by doing what America does best--they
endured, they innovated, they rose to the challenge. And with U.S. auto
sales reaching a new high in 2015, the U.S. automotive industry is
emerging as a great American comeback story.
Similarly, we've seen highs and lows in the space business. We had
the hiatus in human spaceflight after the end of the triumphant Apollo
program. We had amazing successes in the iconic Space Shuttle program,
but we also endured the Challenger and Columbia tragedies. We've
constructed a football field size space station and maintained a
continuous human presence in space for over fifteen years. But,
following the retirement of the Space Shuttle and challenges and false
starts in fielding a successor program, our human spaceflight program
hit a low similar to what the auto industry experienced in 2007.
Now, just like the American auto industry, human spaceflight is
making a comeback in a very big way. NASA and American industry are
working together with a common goal leading to more efficient, safer,
and more capable systems. We must continue to innovate, find new
efficiencies, meet our deadlines, and maintain the highest standards of
excellence. These are the same elements that helped to bring the
automotive industry back to where it is today, and I believe that these
elements will continue to bring the U.S. human space exploration to a
new high.
Pushing out to the frontier of space inspires the next generation
of engineers and scientists, creates technologies and scientific
advances that make life better here on earth, and helps power the
dynamo of American industry. The SLS and Orion programs alone engage
thousands of suppliers and small business all over the country. I've
spent time with several of these suppliers in Michigan, including
Futuramic, a company that has transitioned from the auto industry to
the space industry. Investments in space don't only help us understand
the universe, they create jobs and drive innovation in Michigan and in
communities across the Nation.
A great deal of progress has been made since the NASA Authorization
of 2010, and with the first commercial crew flights to ISS, the first
launch of the massive SLS rocket, and the launch of the massive James
Web Space Telescope all planned for the next two years, there are some
huge milestones right around the corner.
Just about anyone who was alive at the time vividly remembers
watching the Apollo missions on TV. Achieving Kennedy's goal of putting
a man on the moon by the end of the decade is one of the most
significant technological accomplishments in human history.
Since we last left the Moon nearly 45 years ago, we are now on the
cusp of journeying once again to deep space. And we are not just going
to cautiously dip our toes in the water and then pull back--we are
going boldly, and we are going to stay.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to reauthorize NASA
and provide the agency with the stability and constancy of purpose
needed to achieve the ambitions goals we have set for our space
program. This hearing is an important step in that direction. I would
like to thank our witnesses and I look forward to your testimony.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Peters.
Senator Nelson, would you care to make a brief opening?
STATEMENT OF HON. BILL NELSON,
U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA
Senator Nelson. Thanks. And I want to thank you, Senator
Cruz, for calling the hearing.
We're going to Mars, and we're going with human beings, and
it's going to be in the decade of the 2030s, and we're starting
to do the things that we need to do and develop the
technologies and systems in order to support life, to get
there, to stay there, and to return. All of this goes back to
when my colleague from Texas Kay Bailey Hutchison and I had the
opportunity of bringing in for a landing, the new direction of
NASA in the 2010 NASA Authorization.
Recently, I visited Stennis and Michoud, and I saw that
they're getting ready to test that new core that is being
built, as we speak, in Michoud. We have Orion being put
together at the Kennedy Space Center. Mind you, what they are
putting together is the second because we've already put an
Orion together and sent it out about 3,600 miles for a
ballistic reentry.
So we're going to Mars, and the rockets and the engines and
the spacecraft that are the building blocks of that mission are
now being assembled and getting ready to test. And you can
imagine what the day is going to be like in 2 years, only 2
years, when the largest, most powerful rocket ever, the Space
Launch System, rolls out of the vehicle assembly building and
then lifts off into that first full-up test. And so we are on
our way.
Now, all of that is being complemented by the fact that
late next year we're going to start flying American rockets
with American astronauts on them to and from the Space Station
just like we have been flying the cargo on American rockets.
And so this committee, which has always worked in a bipartisan
manner and is committed to continuing the tradition that we
work together as we advance and pass another NASA
reauthorization. So thank all of you witnesses for being here.
Your testimony is exceptionally important.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Senator Nelson follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Bill Nelson. U.S. Senator from Florida
Good afternoon, and thank you, Senator Cruz, for calling this
hearing. I greatly appreciate our coming together to work toward a bill
that will keep NASA moving forward in an exciting and productive
manner.
It's notable that July 20, one week from today, marks the 40th
anniversary of the first landing on Mars by NASA's Viking 1. And the
legacy of that mission, and subsequent missions to the Red Planet, is
that we now know that Mars was once warm and wet and may very well have
supported life. There's even evidence of flowing water at the surface
of Mars today.
In 2010, we passed a bipartisan NASA Authorization Act calling on
the agency to explore beyond the Earth's orbit, with the long term goal
of a human mission to Mars.
I recently visited Stennis Space Center and the Michoud Assembly
Facility on the Gulf Coast, as well as the Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, and I can tell that progress toward that goal is real.
We also have Orion at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida being
prepared for its first journey beyond the moon. We are going to Mars,
and the rockets and engines and spacecraft that are the building blocks
of that mission are being assembled and tested right now!
And if all continues to go well, by the end of next year, we will
once again have American astronauts launching to space from Florida
soil on American rockets, thanks to the partnerships NASA has forged
with SpaceX and Boeing.
It is truly an exciting time for our space program.
This committee has always worked in a non-partisan manner, and I am
pleased to be a part of continuing that tradition in this Congress as
we work toward advancing and passing a NASA reauthorization.
Thank you all for being here, and I look forward to your testimony.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Nelson.
I will now recognize and introduce the witnesses on the
panel.
We have Mr. William Gerstenmaier, who is the Associate
Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations at NASA. A
graduate of Purdue University and the University of Toledo, Mr.
Gerstenmaier began his career at NASA in 1977 and has been
integral in the strategic direction for all aspects of NASA's
human exploration of space and cross-agency space support
functions of space communications and space launch vehicles. He
provides programmatic direction for the operation and
utilization of the International Space Station, development of
the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, and is providing
strategic guidance and direction for the Commercial Crew and
Cargo Programs that will provide logistics and crew
transportation to the space station.
Our next witness is Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, who is the
Executive Director for the Coalition for Deep Space
Exploration. Dr. Dittmar has spent her career specializing in
strategy, business development, stakeholder engagement, and
space policy and planning working with defense, aerospace,
research, and technology firms. Dr. Dittmar previously worked
for the Boeing Company, where she oversaw new technology
development, managed the flight operations and space flight
training integration groups for International Space Station
assembly flights, and served as Chief Science and Senior
Manager for Commercial Payloads.
Mr. Mark Sirangelo is the Corporate Vice President of the
Space Systems Group for the Sierra Nevada Corporation and is a
long-time voice within the aerospace industry. Mr. Sirangelo
has helped build and grow Sierra Nevada's product portfolio,
including small satellites, space technologies that have
enabled more than 450 planetary missions, such as the Mars
Curiosity Rover and New Horizons Pluto Mission, rocket motors,
including motors that won the Ansari X Prize, and perhaps most
notably he is responsible for developing the Dream Chaser
spacecraft, which is the only reusable, lifting-body, low Earth
orbit vehicle capable of landing on commercial runways around
the world. I would also note that Mr. Sirangelo served our
country proudly with distinction as an officer in the United
States Army.
Professor Dan Dumbacher is a Professor of Engineering
Practice at Purdue University. A graduate of Purdue University
and the University of Alabama, Professor Dumbacher spent 35
years with NASA prior to joining Purdue. While at NASA,
Professor Dumbacher served as Deputy Associate Administrator in
the Exploration Systems Development Division for Human
Exploration, and Operations Missions Director at NASA
Headquarters. In that capacity, he provided leadership and
management as the Program Director for Exploration Systems
Development, encompassing the Space Launch System, Orion, and
ground systems development and operations development and
integration efforts. Professor Dumbacher also served as the
Director of the Engineering Directorate at NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center, which provided support to the space
shuttle program as well as the area's launch vehicles. During
his career at NASA, Professor Dumbacher was awarded the coveted
Silver Snoopy Award, NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, and
the Presidential Rank for Meritorious Service.
And I will now recognize Senator Daines to introduce Mr.
Michael Gold, who is a former resident of the great state of
Montana.
Senator Daines.
Senator Daines. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I get to formally welcome Mr. Gold here today. Mike
Gold grew up in Montana, and I've got to believe it was
nighttimes and night skies in Montana seeing those stars that
probably gave you interest in space.
Mr. Gold. I felt like I was in space already, Senator.
[Laughter.]
Senator Daines. Mike is originally from Poplar. He
graduated from high school--from Billings Senior High. So did
my dad--``Go Broncs!'' As a young lawyer, he took his Montanan
ingenuity and began his career representing commercial space
clients in the early days before SpaceX.
In 2008, Mike was appointed to the FAA's Commercial Space
Transportation Advisory Committee, where he presently serves as
the Chair. Now Mike is Vice President of Washington Operations
and Business Development for Space Systems Loral, responsible
for business development of emerging space technology.
It's a pleasure to see a fellow Montanan be successful in
the tech industry, and I look forward to his testimony.
Welcome, Mr. Gold.
Mr. Gold. Thank you, sir, and it has been terrific working
with you and your staff. You're making me homesick.
[Laughter.]
The Chairman. And with that, Mr. Gerstenmaier.
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM H. GERSTENMAIER,
ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, HUMAN EXPLORATION
AND OPERATIONS, NASA
Mr. Gerstenmaier. Thank you very much for allowing me to
represent the men and women of NASA here at this hearing.
The workforce at NASA and its support base is part of the
most talented, dedicated, innovative workforce in the world.
Moving human presence into the solar system is not an easy
task. If you look at the robotic success rate at Mars and the
number of spacecraft that were lost in that endeavor, it shows
that this is not an easy task, and it is extremely difficult.
Mars is really the right long-term destination, as the
Martian environment has resources that can be directly used to
support human presence without requiring all of the resources
to be brought from the Earth. Today, for almost 16 continuous
years, crews have lived and worked on the International Space
Station. Again, this is a difficult task, but in the Earth-
Reliant region, resupply is possible many times a year with
cargo vehicles, and crew rescue can occur in a matter of hours.
This region allows for development of long duration space
systems. The systems can be improved and repaired in low Earth
orbit. This region is also important to the private sector. A
meeting with the terrestrial-based companies is occurring in
San Diego this week, and there are 200 new companies that are
associated with doing research in space at that event in San
Diego. The purpose of this event is to expose the private
sector to low Earth orbit research, enabling research off the
Earth for the benefit of the Earth.
The next activity in human spaceflight will occur in the
region between the Earth and lunar orbits, called cislunar
space, or the Proving Ground, and this is a great Proving
Ground where crew rescue can take days and commercial companies
can still assist in resupply. The Space Launch System and the
Orion systems are designed to enable deep space travel, and the
Proving Ground enables testing and verification of these
systems for their ultimate role in moving human presence into
the solar system. Operating in the cislunar space enables
significant lunar activities if desired.
Moving human presence into deep space and breaking the ties
with Earth requires three basic capabilities: transportation,
staying healthy, and working in space. The current activities
at NASA support these capabilities through a variety of
projects and programs: the Space Launch System, Orion, the
Asteroid Redirect Mission, Electric Propulsion, Laser
Communication, the NextSTEP, Deep Space Habitation Development,
the Human Research Program, Space Station, Ground Operations at
Kennedy, and Commercial Crew. Future areas needing work for
Mars will be Mars entry, descent, and landing, Mars ascent and
return to Earth, and in situ resource generation on the surface
of Mars.
The agency is well positioned on this long-term mission or
journey and is focused on executing the plan that we have laid
out. We intend to continue earning the continued support of the
administration and congresses for this plan.
The progress to date is nothing short of amazing. While a
number of Government Accountability Office and Office of
Inspector General findings have highlighted areas for concern,
the good news is none of these findings are things that the
programs were not already working on. They are the normal
activities that occur as part of development. You know, space
flight systems development is difficult and demanding, but we
are overcoming the challenges. Around the U.S. and the world as
we speak, real hardware is being fabricated and assembled, test
facilities are being utilized, and people are working together
to expand human presence into the solar system.
Manufacturing and development of this magnitude involves a
large variety of contractors, partners, and small businesses.
There are substantive strides on this Journey to Mars. NASA is
positioned for a vibrant future, and we continue to lead the
world in space through a balanced program of exploration,
science, technology, and aeronautics research. We look forward
to your continued support for these activities by working
together and by not overly specifying requirements.
If President Kennedy would have challenged NASA with the
specific requirements commonly levied today, there would have
been no lunar landing. President Kennedy did not specify the
type of rocket or the orbit maneuver planned. He simply stated,
send a man to the Moon and return him safely to the Earth by
the end of the decade. He simply stated the requirements that
mattered to the administration and let the technical experts
work out the details.
The technical experts had the authority within these
requirements to change the plan as needed to accomplish the
goal. The technical experts started with a plan for a direct
lunar landing without needing a risky rendezvous in lunar
orbit, but this approach required a huge rocket development.
The teams had the flexibility to change to a lunar orbit
rendezvous that lowered the requirements for rocket development
and allowed us to reach the Moon.
Specifying the right level of requirements and allowing for
technical changes are critical to successful execution of the
ultimate goal. Moving human presence into the solar system over
the next several decades will take the best efforts of all
involved. Your past support is appreciated, and your future
support is absolutely needed. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Gerstenmaier follows:]
Prepared Statement of William H. Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator,
Human Exploration and Operations, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I am pleased to have
this opportunity to discuss NASA's human space exploration efforts,
which will expand humanity's presence in the solar system in an
evolving sequence.
Our human space exploration efforts are part of a balanced
portfolio of programs being undertaken by the Agency that enable the
U.S. to be the world leader in aerospace research, development, and
exploration. We are planning for significantly accelerated Aeronautics
Research that will support a vigorous flight demonstration program to
validate technologies to dramatically improve the aircraft of the
future. In Science, the Juno Spacecraft entered Jovian orbit just last
week. Starting in late 2016, the Cassini spacecraft will begin its
dramatic ``Grand Finale'' orbits of Saturn. The Solar Probe Plus (SPP),
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the Interior Exploration
using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight)
mission to Mars, and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are all on
track to launch over the next two years, and a new Mars rover is in
development for a 2020 launch on its way to join the spectacular
Curiosity rover now exploring the planet; InSight and Mars 2020 will
join the five NASA-led missions already at Mars. NASA's Earth Science
missions continue to advance our knowledge of how our home planet
functions as a system. In the area of Space Technology, we are
conducting rapid development and incorporation of transformative space
technologies, such as solar electric propulsion and optical
communication, to enable NASA's future missions and address aerospace
industry challenges.
NASA's Journey to Mars is guided by the strategic direction this
Committee incorporated into the NASA Authorization Act of 2010. The
Agency is well positioned to continue on this long-term mission, and we
look forward to maintaining this constancy of purpose by earning the
continued support of future Administrations and Congresses. Beginning
with the Earth-Reliant phase in low Earth orbit (LEO) aboard the
International Space Station (ISS), we will then move into the Proving-
Ground phase deeper into cislunar space around the Moon with the Orion
crew vehicle and Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket (as well
as the ground systems that support them), and future deep-space
habitation capability. Once we have developed the required technologies
and practiced the techniques necessary in these environments, we will
move on into the Earth-Independent phase, in which we will send our
crews on missions of exploration to visit a multi-ton asteroid boulder
we have brought to cislunar space and then into deep space, and on to
Mars in the 2030s. NASA, in cooperation with its industry and
international partners, has made significant progress in pushing the
boundaries of human spaceflight, and we appreciate the Committee's
support of our efforts. The challenges associated with the Journey to
Mars will require continued contributions from all parties and require
us to work together.
ISS and Commercial Transportation: Research and Economic Development in
LEO
The ISS supports research across a diverse array of disciplines,
including high-energy particle physics, Earth remote sensing and
geophysics, molecular and cellular biotechnology, human physiology
(including bone and muscle research), radiation, plant propagation and
cultivation, combustion, fluids, materials science, and biology. In
addition, the ISS is an invaluable platform for research and
development for next-generation technologies, not only in areas
directly related to NASA's exploration efforts, but also in fields that
have numerous terrestrial and commercial LEO applications. As of May of
this year, the estimated number of investigations conducted aboard ISS
was 2,184 (this includes 103 new investigations in Expeditions 47/48),
with over 800 investigators represented, and over 1,200 publications of
scientific results. Through Expedition 42, over 90 countries and areas
had participated in ISS research and education activities.
The ISS--which has been home to a continuous human presence on
orbit for almost 16 years--is humanity's only long-duration flight
analog for future human deep-space missions. The ISS is vital to NASA's
mission to extend human presence into the solar system. In order to
prepare for human expeditions into deep space, we must first use the
unique environment of ISS to conduct the research and technology
demonstrations necessary to keep our crews safe and productive on long-
duration spaceflights. NASA is planning to dedicate the equivalent of
four research racks on ISS to test exploration-class environmental and
life support hardware needed for deep space missions. NASA's Human
Research Program continues to develop biomedical science, technologies,
countermeasures, diagnostics, and design tools to keep crews safe and
productive on long-duration space missions. The progress in science and
technology driven by this research could have broad impacts on Earth as
it advances our ability to support long-duration human exploration.
This past March, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail
Kornienko returned from their year in space aboard ISS. They conducted
investigations in areas known to be important to safe and productive
long-duration spaceflight, including: functional behavioral health,
visual impairment, metabolic and nutritional health, physical
performance, microbiology, and human factors. Researchers expect data
from the mission to inform our understanding of biomedical,
performance, and behavioral changes and challenges astronauts will face
when they embark on longer-duration missions. Data from the expedition
will be used to find ways to further reduce the risks on all long-
duration deep space missions.
Under the auspices of the ISS National Laboratory, managed by the
Center for the Advancement of Science In Space (CASIS), NASA is
encouraging broader use of the ISS by non-traditional companies and
other Government agencies. Use of the ISS as a National Laboratory has
increased significantly since FY 2012, which was the first full year of
operations by CASIS, and users include the commercial sector, other
Government agencies, and academic institutions. The ISS National
Laboratory has reached full capacity for allocated crew time for
research and will help establish and test the market for research and
technology development in LEO beyond the needs of NASA.
Under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contracts our two
commercial cargo partners, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and
Orbital ATK, have demonstrated not only the ability to provide cargo
deliveries to ISS, but also the flexibility to recover effectively from
mishaps. Both companies have worked closely with NASA to understand the
anomalies they experienced over the last two years. In developing the
launch vehicles for their cargo spacecraft, SpaceX and Orbital ATK have
also helped to bring a significant portion of the commercial satellite
launch market back to the U.S., and helped to significantly lower
launch costs. This January, through CRS-2, NASA contracted with SpaceX,
Orbital ATK, and Sierra Nevada Corporation to ensure that critical
science, research, and technology demonstrations will be delivered to
the ISS from 2019 through 2024.
Our commercial crew partners, SpaceX and the Boeing Company, are
developing the Crew Dragon and CST-100 Starliner spacecraft,
respectively. The work, being done under two Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR)-based, fixed-price Commercial Crew Transportation
Capability (CCtCap) contracts, is currently expected to result in
flight certification for SpaceX in 2017, and for Boeing in 2018. In
2015, NASA ordered the initial post-certification missions, and in
2016, milestone completion and work are progressing well. U.S.
commercial crew capabilities will enable the Station crew to be
expanded from six to seven astronauts and cosmonauts, resulting in a
doubling of on-orbit research time to almost 80 hours per week. This is
because the additional work time equivalent of the seventh crew member
will be dedicated almost exclusively to conducting experiments, rather
than on Station operations and maintenance.
As you know, NASA plans to continue ISS operations and utilization
through at least 2024. The Agency expects to support continued research
needs in LEO after the end of the ISS program. The Agency will work
with industry, academia, and other government agencies through
consortia and other means to establish long-term LEO demand investment
and research/technology development. Encouraging the emergence of
economic activity in LEO has significant implications--and offers
significant opportunities--for the Nation. Enabling the effective use
of this unique environment will call upon expertise resident across the
U.S. Government in areas including commerce, science, and
transportation. NASA and other relevant agencies are working in a
unified manner towards the important National objective of realizing
the economic potential of this new frontier.
Orion and SLS: Traveling Beyond LEO
As we extend further into cislunar space, from LEO out into the
Proving Ground, we will employ new deep space exploration systems,
comprising the heavy-lift SLS, Orion crew vehicle, the Exploration
Ground Systems (EGS) that support them, new deep space habitation
capabilities and new commercial and international partnership
opportunities. We also have proposed increased investment in
exploration research and development and space technologies, which are
critical for making future missions safer, more reliable, and more
affordable.
NASA's initial deep-space mission, Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), is
on track to launch to a distant retrograde orbit in the Proving Ground
around the Moon in 2018. The three-week flight without crew will
provide the program with data to validate spacecraft design and
operations. In 2015, the Agency baselined the Orion program plan,
establishing an Agency baseline commitment for Orion that supports a
launch readiness date for the first crewed flight on EM-2 no later than
2023. Current planning continues to support an EM-2 launch in 2021. In
the initial phase of our Proving Ground operations, NASA will use this
region of space to test and demonstrate flight and mission operations
and staging of human-rated vehicles farther from Earth than ever
before. These crewed Orion missions launched on the SLS in the 2020s
will establish our capability to operate safely and productively in
deep space.
Orion, SLS, and EGS provide the foundational components critical to
human spaceflight beyond LEO, and the vehicles are being designed to
enable multiple deep space missions and destinations rather than being
optimized for one particular mission or architecture. The Orion
spacecraft includes both a Crew Module and Service Module designed
specifically for the rigors of missions far from Earth and outside
Earth's protective radiation belts, and a Launch Abort System. Orion
alone can support a crew of up to four, with enough internal stowage
for 21 days of food, water and air, and its systems are designed to
operate for over a year if necessary. The SLS is a heavy-lift,
exploration-class launch vehicle that will transport Orion, as well as
cargo and other systems, with a range of lift capabilities from 70
metric tons to LEO, evolving to up to 130 metric tons. Studies have
shown the benefit of such a large, single-flight lift capability. EGS
launch infrastructure design, development, and refurbishment at Kennedy
Space Center (KSC) will support SLS and Orion.
Subsequent missions in the Proving Ground will target challenges
and strategic knowledge gaps while helping develop the core
capabilities necessary to expand human activity farther into deep
space. NASA is planning an early SLS and Orion mission to rendezvous
with a multi-ton asteroid boulder that will be stationed in lunar orbit
using a demonstration of advanced solar-electric propulsion. In this
mission, our astronauts will use deep-space Extravehicular Activity
(EVA) technologies to select, extract, and contain samples from the
multi-ton primordial planetary mass. This Asteroid Redirect Mission
(ARM) also provides demonstration of a deflection technique called the
enhanced gravity tractor that could be used on potentially hazardous
asteroids and help us assess the potential for asteroid resource
utilization for both exploration and commercial purposes. In addition,
ARM provides a demonstration of advanced solar-electric propulsion to
move multi-ton masses, advanced autonomous rendezvous and proximity
operations at a microgravity planetary body, complex crew operations in
the Proving Ground of lunar orbit, and a power/propulsion bus asset in
cislunar space that may be used after this mission. ARM is developing
technologies and capabilities necessary for deep space exploration by
crews. Moving large objects such as a boulder presents essentially the
same technical challenges as moving large cargo vehicles to support
long-duration deep space crewed missions.
The NASA-Industry teams building SLS and Orion have made tremendous
progress over the last year in building and testing vehicle components.
For SLS, core stage production is accelerating at the Michoud Assembly
Facility (MAF) in Louisiana. After a delay to correct a structural
alignment issue with the weld tool, the largest friction stir weld
machine of its kind in the world, the Vertical Assembly Center is now
operational and has completed production of the qualification article
for the 131-foot-tall liquid hydrogen core stage tank and the first
flight article engine section. The giant structural test stands at the
Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama and the B-2 core stage test
stand at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi are nearing
completion. In June, SLS conducted the final qualification test of the
five-segment solid rocket motor, and while the results are still being
analyzed, the early indications are that the booster passed this
critical test. The first three EM-1 booster motor segments have been
cast and production of the remaining flight motors continues on
schedule at the Promontory facility in Utah. Core stage engine testing
has continued its success with the first test of a flight engine, and
the next engine test series will begin later this month.
For Orion, the EM-1 flight article has entered the assembly phase.
The Crew Module primary structure, which is the pressure vessel to hold
the crew's atmosphere against the vacuum of space, is at KSC undergoing
outfitting and integration after having completed pressure testing. The
European Service Module primary structure is undergoing outfitting in
Bremen, Germany. The Service Module, which provides propulsion, power,
and life support to the Crew Module, is being provided for EM-1 through
a partnership agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA). In March
2016, NASA exercised an option for ESA to provide the Service Module
for EM-2. ESA recently completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for
the Service Module. While the NASA and ESA teams continue to assess a
three-month delay in delivery of the EM-1 Service Module to KSC, the
CDR board confirmed that the Service Module design is cleared for
manufacturing, and the teams continue to hold for an EM-1 launch in
2018. In addition to the EM-1 flight article, Orion is also conducting
extensive ground testing to demonstrate the systems for deep space.
Software testing is underway in the Integrated Test Lab in Denver. A
dedicated Crew Module structural test article is undergoing
manufacturing at MAF. Meanwhile, the European-built Service Module
structural test article is undergoing acoustic, vibration, solar array
deployment, and thermal tests at Plum Brook Station in Ohio. Water
landing tests are underway at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia,
and parachute qualification testing is starting in Arizona. Between the
EM-1 flight article assembly and the thorough ground test campaign,
Orion is progressing methodically toward the first crewed flight on EM-
2.
In Exploration Ground Systems, four of the ten giant platforms in
High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building have been installed, and
the remaining platforms continue to arrive at KSC. Mobile Launcher
structural modifications are complete and outfitting is underway, while
modifications to the Crawler Transporter are nearly complete. The
umbilical systems used to interface the Mobile Launcher with SLS and
Orion are also being tested at KSC. Software development and
integration continues to be a major focus for all the programs and the
exploration enterprise, and the successful validation of Spacecraft
Command and Control Software version 3.4 is a major milestone in this
effort.
Orion, SLS, and EGS teams are using the latest in systems and
manufacturing technology with the intent of developing a safe system
capable of extending human presence to cislunar space and to Mars. For
example, the Orion team is using time-triggered Ethernet and is taking
advantage of the standards for this technology that are used in the
automotive industry. Both Orion and SLS are utilizing friction-stir
welding (including on large structures, such as the SLS core stage),
with the largest friction-stir weld machine in the world. The EGS team
has stripped out the old copper cables from Pad 39B and replaced them
with the latest in fiber optics. Orion and SLS plans take advantage of
advances in additive manufacturing, or ``3D printing.'' For example,
Orion is using this technology to reduce testing costs by printing test
versions of flight hardware for use at the Integrated Test Lab in
Denver, while SLS is assessing the use of 3D printed parts in future
RD-25 engine production. These are just some examples of how NASA's
Exploration Systems are utilizing and advancing the latest in
technology.
In developing the Orion, SLS, and EGS, NASA is working toward
building a sustainable national capability for the long-term human
exploration and pioneering of space. Necessary to this is working to
ensure that post-development operating costs will be affordable, and
making the necessary investments in technology and other development
efforts that will be fundamental for extending human presence to Mars.
NASA is keeping each element of the program--Orion, SLS, and EGS--
moving at its best possible speed toward the first integrated launch,
optimizing each element effort's schedule while being aware of the
overall plan. This is best achieved when each element is allowed to
progress on its own schedule, rather than being linked too tightly to
the others. When tasks related to EM-1 are completed, the workforce can
progress to EM-2. NASA is on a solid path toward an integrated mission
and making progress in all three programs every day. With the EM-1
flight just over two years away, and with flight hardware for the
mission arriving in about one year, there is real sense of flight
preparation cadence building.
Preparing for Mars: Deep Space Habitation Capability and New
Technologies
Among the additional capabilities needed for human exploration is
long-duration habitation. Validation of this capability in cislunar
space will mark our readiness to begin Earth-Independent exploration
beyond the Earth-Moon system. An effective habitation capability is
comprised of a pressurized volume, and an integrated array of complex
systems and components that include a docking capability, environmental
control and life support systems, logistics management, radiation
mitigation and monitoring, fire safety technologies, and crew health
capabilities. NASA's current strategy is to test these systems and
components on the ground and in LEO on ISS, then as an integrated
habitation capability for long-duration missions in cislunar space and
Mars transit. NASA plans to conduct a long-duration (one-year-plus)
mission in cislunar space by the end of the 2020s; this will be
critical preparation for crewed missions to Mars. NASA will utilize
public-private partnerships to the extent possible for these
activities.
One example of habitation technology being tested on ISS is the
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which was launched to ISS on
the commercial SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on April 8, 2016, installed on
April 16, and expanded on May 28. BEAM will undergo a two-year
demonstration period, during which Station crew members and ground-
based engineers will gather performance data on the module. While the
BEAM demonstration supports a NASA objective to evaluate design options
for the development of a long-duration, deep space habitat for human
missions beyond Earth orbit, the results of the demonstration will also
have applications to private space stations/habitats, which is why
Bigelow has co-funded the development of this module.
NASA has been undertaking substantial private-sector and
international engagement to define habitation concepts, systems, and
implementation approaches to cost-effectively achieve NASA's goals for
deep space and enable progress towards LEO commercial space station
capabilities. The Agency's Next Space Technologies for Exploration
Partnerships (NextSTEP) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is an effort to
stimulate deep-space capability development across the aerospace
industry. NASA issued the original NextSTEP BAA to U.S. industry in
late 2014. In March 2015, NASA selected 12 awardees--seven in
habitation, three in propulsion, and two in small satellites. NASA has
since entered into fixed-price contracts with the selectees. During
this same timeframe, NASA has also been conducting architecture studies
with our international partners to define the potential areas of
contribution from other space agencies, continuing to build on the
successes of ISS in exploration.
In April 2016, NASA issued a NextSTEP-2 BAA, an omnibus
announcement covering all aspects of basic and applied supporting
research and technology for human space exploration and robotic
precursor activities. The April release of the NextSTEP-2 BAA included
Appendix A: Habitat Systems, which is focused on developing long-
duration, deep space habitation concepts, resulting in ground prototype
units. This ground-based effort will support development of deep space
long-duration habitation concepts and demonstrate systems that NASA
will later need to test in the microgravity environment of space. The
objective is to identify habitation concepts that can support extensive
human spaceflight missions in the Proving Ground and beyond while
encouraging application to commercial LEO habitation capabilities. One
goal of this public-private approach is to enable the United States to
develop the deep space habitation capability at a lower cost than
through a cost-plus procurement approach. The Agency plans to select
multiple proposals under NextSTEP-2, Appendix A, in the near future,
with an estimated period of performance to begin in September 2016 and
extend out to about April 2018. NASA intends to integrate functional
systems into a prototype habitat for ground testing in 2018.
Our missions into deep space will require the development of an
array of new technologies in a variety of areas, including advanced,
high-thrust, in-space propulsion, environmental control and life
support systems, in situ resource utilization (ISRU), and
communications. NASA is working to develop and demonstrate highly
efficient solar electric propulsion through ARM. The same spacecraft
``bus,'' and extensions of it, could be used in the future to transport
large masses of systems and cargo to the vicinity of Mars in advance of
the crewed expedition to the planet. Advances in ISRU will one day
allow exploration crews to utilize space resources to manufacture fuel
and oxidizers for propulsion systems, provide water for human
consumption, produce materials for additional radiation shielding, and
even serve as the building blocks for additive manufacturing. The Mars
Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE), which will fly on Mars 2020, will
verify that ISRU technologies can produce oxygen from the atmosphere of
Mars to supply both human breathing needs as well as propellant
oxidizer for Mars ascent vehicles. Optical (i.e., laser-based)
communication will enable the transfer of data from distant missions
back to Earth at much higher rates than are attainable using current
radio-frequency communications systems. The Agency is also testing on-
board systems to keep crews safe, including fire detection,
suppression, and cleanup technologies. In order to better understand
fire in space, in June 2016, NASA conducted the Spacecraft Fire
Experiment (Saffire-1), which intentionally lit a large-scale fire
inside an empty Cygnus cargo vehicle after it left the Station, but
before re-entering Earth's atmosphere. Instruments and cameras measured
flame growth, oxygen use, heat generated, and more, improving
understanding of fire growth in microgravity and safeguarding future
space missions.
Ensuring Astronaut Health
The spaceflight environment includes hazards and stressors that are
unique and whose effects on humans are not always well understood, due
largely to the limited data set generated during the relatively short
time that humans have been flying extended missions in space. NASA has
presented a legislative proposal to Congress that would allow the
Agency to perform enhanced annual medical monitoring and provide
diagnosis and treatment for former astronauts for medical conditions
which are deemed to be associated with human spaceflight. The
comprehensive preventive screening would enable NASA to minimize
catastrophic issues through early detection and the additional data
acquired would enable NASA to better understand the risks of
spaceflight, minimize these risks, and enable future long-duration
missions to Mars and beyond. The Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of
the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, has issued
three reports in the last two decades, emphasizing NASA's ethical and
moral imperative in taking care of our astronaut corps. We would
greatly appreciate Congress' support for this important proposal.
Conclusion
NASA's exploration strategy aims to pioneer multiple destinations
in the solar system in an affordable and sustainable manner. In the
2020s, we will extend our capabilities deeper into cislunar space,
beyond our continuous presence in LEO on ISS, to begin testing deep
space exploration systems during this Proving Ground Phase of the
Journey to Mars. From there, we will develop a better understanding of
the risks and mitigations of sustained deep space travel, and we will
continue to expand human presence in the solar system and to the
surface of Mars. We will partner with industry in this endeavor and
leverage private sector activity to gain key insight into technologies
such as Mars entry, descent, and landing. We will also partner with the
private sector in addition to SLS and Orion to support activity in
cislunar space and lower the cost of space activities, and lead an
international community in this activity. With constancy of purpose and
support from the Congress, we look forward to extending human presence
into deep space over the course of the next decade.
The Agency is well positioned to continue on its long-term mission,
and, by focusing on executing the plan we have laid out, we intend to
continue earning the support of future Administrations and Congresses
for this plan. The progress to date has been nothing short of amazing.
Findings from our partners at the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) and Office of Inspector General (OIG) have highlighted areas for
concern and issues that we were already working to resolve. They did
not discover any problems that we were not already working. Spaceflight
systems development is difficult and demanding, but we are overcoming
the challenges. Around the U.S. and the world, real hardware is being
fabricated and assembled, test facilities are being utilized, and
people are working together to expand human presence into the solar
system. These are substantive strides on the Journey to Mars. NASA is
positioned for a vibrant future, and we continue to lead the world in
space through a balanced program of exploration, science, technology,
and aeronautics research.
I would be happy to respond to any questions you or the other
Members of the Subcommittee may have.
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Gerstenmaier.
Dr. Dittmar.
STATEMENT OF DR. MARY LYNNE DITTMAR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
COALITION FOR DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION
Dr. Dittmar. Chairman Cruz, Senator Peters, and members of
the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss with
you my thoughts on U.S. leadership in space exploration.
I would first like to say it's an honor to be asked to
testify both before you and as a member of this august panel.
My own background is diverse, but in my current role, I serve
as the Executive Director of the Coalition for Deep Space
Exploration, which is the voice of America's industry working
on a range of human exploration and science missions.
With more than 50 members across the Nation, we are proud
to be a part of America's deep space programs, and we're
grateful for the support of this committee and the Congress,
who sustain them.
NASA stands at the cusp of a new era of exploration in deep
space. For the first time in human history, we are poised to
answer some of humanity's biggest questions. Where did we come
from? Where are we going? Are we alone? Under NASA's
leadership, an architecture is developing that will maximize
the use of industry, international partners, scientists,
operations experts, entrepreneurs, engineers, and program
managers working in collaboration to answer the big questions
and to generate a range of other returns to the Nation.
Despite challenges driven by budget disconnects between the
administration and Congress, the programs underpinning this
architecture have made tremendous progress over the last 7
years. Like you, Senator Nelson, I was recently at Michoud,
where the Space Launch System and the Orion-crewed spacecraft
are being developed, and they will carry humans into deep
space, and I was blown away. The last time I had been around so
much hardware was in the late 1990s when I stood in a high bay
at the Marshall Space Flight Center, which housed all at one
time, five modules prior to launch. At Michoud, there is a
similar excitement palpable on the factory floor, only now it's
focused outward toward Mars. We are going somewhere.
In a real sense, NASA's job is to plan for what is
ultimately an optimistic vision of the future. Negotiating and
executing programs for space exploration and science over
decades is even more challenging than the engineering and
technology upon which they rest. As we enter the election
season, we are keenly aware of the potential for change. Change
can be good, but let me state unequivocally that it's the
position of the Coalition that major disruptions stemming from
abrupt shifts in space policy risk derailing all of the
progress that's been made and jeopardize our future as a
nation.
With regard to my membership, which is made up in large
part by small companies, such rapid shifts result in shuttered
offices, abandoned factory floors, and ruined firms. Yet these
same companies are the ones most likely to generate new
inventions, drive most job creation in the United States, and
exemplify the enterprising spirit that powers our economy and
our Nation.
NASA's SLS and Orion programs alone have sustained hundreds
of companies in this sector, enabling innovation, new
technology, new production methods, and the achievement of
entrepreneurial dreams. In return, these companies have
provided critical components needed to lead the way back to
deep space. Constancy of purpose is critical.
In my written testimony, I detailed the critical roles
played by various components of NASA's architecture, beginning
with the ISS as a hub of commercial development, and,
importantly, as an indispensable facility for the development
and testing of deep space exploration systems.
With regard to deep space systems, the long awaited moment
when our solar system is reopened to human exploration and
development is approaching and will become real in a little
more than 2 years with the first integrated flight of Orion and
SLS. In 2021, NASA will return American astronauts to deep
space.
These initial flights will open up a new era as NASA and
its industry and international partners begin assembling a true
deep space infrastructure, leading to new possibilities in
human exploration and science. Like the generations of
explorers before us, we will learn as we go. Eventually, once
we've developed sufficient skills and validated the systems,
we'll push deeper into space to Mars.
NASA's diverse portfolio represents consensus and
compromise among many stakeholders. It has been painstakingly
developed on a bilateral, bicameral basis across 2005, 2008,
and the 2010 NASA Authorization Acts. Looking back across a
decade characterized by transition, progress, and opportunity,
it is evident that this course has been a wise, measured, and
effective one. In my written testimony, I offered some
suggestions regarding essential elements I believe should be
addressed for our continued progress.
I wish to thank the Congress and this committee for your
commitment to SLS, the Orion-crewed exploration spacecraft, ISS
crew and cargo transportation, the James Webb Space Telescope,
the start of deep space habitat development, as well as ongoing
operations of the ISS and the recent triumphs of science
missions, such as New Horizons and Juno. I encourage you to
review the Coalition's recent paper, ``A Space Exploration
Roadmap for the Next Administration,'' which I respectfully
submit for the record.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Dittmar follows:]
Prepared Statement of Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, Executive Director,
Coalition for Deep Space Exploration
Chairman Cruz, Senator Peters, and Members of the Committee, thank
you for the opportunity to discuss with you my thoughts on U.S.
leadership in space exploration. Our daily lives are inextricably
interwoven with space-based assets, including GPS, communications,
systems for weather monitoring and prediction, and intelligence and
defense. Beyond these applications, our national human spaceflight and
space science programs directed by NASA and executed in partnership
with industry provide opportunities for discovery, scientific
advancement, geopolitical influence, emerging technology, space
commerce, and education. In addition, NASA stands at the cusp of a new
era of exploration in deep space. For the first time in human history,
we are poised to answer some of humanity's biggest questions: ``Where
did we come from?'' ``Where are we going?'' ``Are we alone?''
This hearing is entitled ``NASA At the Crossroads.'' I think of it
as ``NASA In Transition''--or actually, transitions. By this I do not
mean the upcoming Presidential and Congressional transitions--to which
I will return--but first, a transition that is reflective of the
constant change that is all around us--in technology, manufacturing,
business models, science, and regional interests, and the global shifts
in governance, geopolitical dynamics, the exercise of power, and
changes in international economic strength. NASA's space exploration
programs have been impacted by or have impacted every one of these
global factors. Against this changing backdrop NASA must plan for what
is, ultimately, an optimistic vision of the future. A disruption in
programs stemming from abrupt change in space policy derails this
process and jeopardizes that future. Our national destiny and our
ability to guide it rests on decisions made yesterday, today and
tomorrow to sustain and advance a flexible and multifaceted exploration
architecture--such as the one currently being put into place--that will
assure U.S. leadership in space over the decades ahead.
I am pleased to share these perspectives in my capacity as
Executive Director of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, which
is the ``voice'' of America's industry working on a range of human
exploration and space science missions. The Coalition represents nearly
50 large and small businesses building these deep space capabilities. I
also bring the perspective of a small business owner and entrepreneur,
a former human spaceflight operations manager for the International
Space Station (ISS) Program (Boeing, a member of the Human Spaceflight
Committee at the National Research Council, and a current member of the
Executive Committee, Space Studies Board of the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
The International Space Station
America's architecture in deep space begins near the Earth, in Low
Earth Orbit (LEO), where a second transition is taking place. Across 50
years of government investment in space exploration and science, and in
collaboration with industry partners, NASA has matured technologies,
techniques and capabilities that are being transitioned to the private
sector. New transportation systems dedicated to shuttling cargo to the
ISS have come on line. Crewed flights will begin in 2017-2018. The
transition of space transportation services to industry, under a NASA
program where industry partners have benefited from government
development funding and technical support, coupled with the
availability of the ISS as a research and development platform, has
attracted investors interested in establishing commercial enterprises
in LEO. The growth of these entrepreneurial interests is laying the
groundwork for finally expanding the sphere of human economic activity
off the Earth, into LEO. As this happens, NASA can turn its attention
more fully to deep space exploration.
Here, too, the ISS plays a crucial role. In addition to its
facilitation of science, international collaboration, and commercial
activity, the ISS is a mission-critical technology and engineering test
bed for deep space systems--for example, the development of a next-
generation Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) needed
for deep space habitats. It is also a living laboratory for studying
how human beings live, work, thrive and survive in space. Ensuring the
fullest utilization possible of the ISS through 2024, with continued
study of the feasibility of extension beyond that time, is of paramount
importance.
Deep Space Exploration
Since the end of the Shuttle program, NASA human spaceflight has
been in yet another transition--from two operational programs (Shuttle
and ISS) to one of long-duration operations on the ISS and another
engaged in development of deep space exploration systems and the ground
infrastructure needed to support them. Though tremendous activity is
ongoing, development programs lack the visceral or visual punch of
Shuttle launches. Virtually all of the planning and development
activity is under the radar, invisible to the public--and to policy
makers--until major milestones are reached, such as the successful
Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) of the Orion spacecraft in December of
2014 and the final test of the five-segment Space Launch System (SLS)
boosters last month. On behalf of the companies that I represent here
today, I wish to thank the Congress and this committee for your
sustained commitment to development of the SLS super-heavy rocket, the
Orion crewed exploration spacecraft, ISS crew and cargo transportation,
the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the start of the deep space
habitat development, as well as the ongoing operations of the ISS and
the recent triumphs of science missions such as New Horizons (Pluto)
and Juno (Jupiter). Such support takes foresight and patience, and I
believe the American people will soon begin to see the full range of
benefits and tremendous impact of these investments in our future in
deep space.
Looking ahead, we see a continuing need for constancy of purpose,
vision, and commitment to pursue steady progress toward America's
future in deep space across all of the transitions NASA faces. The
long-awaited moment when our solar system is re-opened to human
exploration and development will become real in a little more than two
years as the first integrated test flight of Orion and SLS, Exploration
Mission 1 (EM-1), lifts off in 2018. In 2021, NASA will return American
astronauts to deep space as they travel in Orion, powered by the mighty
SLS with an Exploration Upper Stage, past the Moon and farther into
space than any human being has gone before. These initial flights will
open a new era as NASA and its industry partners begin assembling a
true deep space infrastructure, with habitats enabling crewed missions
in the lunar vicinity, and the development of long distance cargo
carriers powered by solar electric propulsion (SEP). Transit of cargo
and people between the Earth and cislunar space will commence, inviting
participation from current and new international partners and enabling
commercial interests in deep space as new capabilities come on line.
Eventually, once we have developed sufficient skills and validated our
systems, procedures, operations concepts, and technologies, we will
push deeper into space, to Mars.
SLS and Orion are being built for decades of use, not just a
mission or two. The Orion crew vehicle is capable of sustaining
astronauts for up to 1,000 days--a mission to Mars--provided sufficient
consumables are available. In addition, there are powerful reasons for
the use the super-heavy lift SLS for exploration missions. Future Mars
landings, for example, require at least the equivalent mass of the ISS
launched from Earth. Assuming NASA is able to incorporate new
technologies such as 3D printing and technical approaches to reduce
propellant boil off during transit, this mission would require 6 to 7
SLS vehicles with 130 metric ton lift capability. In contrast,
considering only the mass requirements, it would take up to 30 launches
of smaller, commercially available rockets to conduct a similar
mission. The cumulative risk of mission failure from that many launches
compared to the number of SLS launches is significantly increased,
assuming similar launch probabilities Simply put, the more launches,
the higher the overall probability of failure. In the case where the
mission is dependent upon the order in which launches occur--as in an
assembly sequence--the problem is amplified; failures early in a launch
sequence may disrupt the rest of the sequence until a workaround can be
found or a replacement payload developed. As a result of these factors
and others, the SLS--and the Orion crew vehicle--are key enablers for
America's deep space future.
As EM-1 draws near, the opportunities for human exploration and
planetary science mission that these systems will make possible are
inspiring the imagination and interests of governments, industry, and
the public. There is talk of international lunar science missions,
lunar surface operations, concept development of a Mars base camp in
orbit, plans for joint science and exploration missions, and proposals
for new technologies to enable humans to explore Mars sooner rather
than later. Planetary missions, harnessing the unparalleled capability
of SLS to cut travel time to outer planets in half, such as the Europa
mission, are on the drawing boards. Human missions, making use of the
capabilities of the Orion crewed vehicle to carry crewmembers to
multiple destinations in the solar system, provide tremendous
flexibility over the next 20 years. As we lift our gaze beyond the ISS
into deep space--to the Moon, to asteroids, and to Mars, to planetary
science missions and deep space telescopes that will not only see all
the way back to the Big Bang, but tell us for the first time in human
history whether we are alone on the Universe -the realization of these
opportunities and more that we cannot yet imagine has never been closer
than it is right now.
Political Transition: Preserving the Industrial Base
In my current position, I represent a segment of the U.S.
industrial base focused on aerospace, with members that range from
large scale systems engineering and development companies with decades
of in-space experience--such as our founding members Lockheed Martin,
Boeing, Orbital ATK, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Northrop Grumman--to
entrepreneurial startups such as Made In Space, currently testing the
potential for using 3D printing in space missions onboard the
International Space Station. Our members also include Jacobs
Technology, an experienced aerospace company supporting upgrades to the
launch and processing capabilities at the Kennedy Space Center; Axiom
Space, a commercial space company focused on orbital habitats; Cain
Tubular Products, a very small, family-owned company with a 50 year
heritage in the space program, and Futuramic, a Detroit company that
retooled and rebuilt itself after auto manufacturing left that city
into an engineering and manufacturing firm that contributes
substantially to NASA's deep space programs.
Our membership is rich with capabilities, innovation, technologies,
and dedication to programs that they see as the ``the tip of the
spear'' of United States achievement and leadership in the 21st century
and beyond. The U.S. space industrial base is key to enabling our
national security, civil, and commercial space programs, with skill
sets that overlap all three of these domains. The supply chain for
human space exploration alone--SLS, Orion, and Exploration Ground
Systems--is distributed across all 50 states and is made up of hundreds
of companies, ranging from large contractors with thousands of
employees to hundreds of small, privately owned businesses. This large
and diverse industrial base ensures the kind of competition that drives
technological innovation and ensures American competitiveness.
Small businesses, in particular, bring technical innovation,
creativity, expertise and rapid adoption of new approaches to the
American deep space enterprise. Space exploration is exacting and
technically challenging, requiring years to build workforce expertise.
Large companies may have some flexibility to adjust to fluctuations in
program funding; however smaller businesses often do not. As a business
owner and entrepreneur I can attest to the vulnerability of small
firms. It is not unusual for such businesses to have an operating
window of only 90 to 120 days before cash flow becomes critical. Major
changes in space policy and direction, such as happened between 2009-
2011, inevitably result in shuttered offices, empty factory floors, and
the ruination of many businesses. Yet, with consistency of policy and
contracts, these same firms are the ones most likely to generate new
inventions and patents. They also represent the vast majority of new
company startups, drive most job creation in the U.S., and exemplify
the enterprising spirit that powers our economy and our Nation. NASA's
SLS and Orion programs have sustained hundreds of companies in this
sector, enabling innovation, new technology, new production methods,
and the achievement of entrepreneurial dreams. In return, these
companies have provided critical components needed to lead the way back
into deep space.
The Rationale for a Government-Led Space Exploration Program
Recently, an argument for transition from government to private
sector programs for deep space exploration has been put forth. This is
not a good idea. In its most common form it reduces the entire value of
NASA's human space exploration programs to an economic equation. It
disregards the intangible and incalculable benefits that have been
conferred on the Nation by a government-led program: Collaboration
between governments, the free return of scientific, engineering and
technical data to all citizens, the establishment of a pre-eminent
national presence in deep space (with implications for national
security), preservation of the aerospace industrial base, and national
aspiration and pride stemming from collective, extraordinary
achievements. It is true that these benefits are impossible to assess
by economic means. But the counterargument is too narrow in scope,
focused on the cost of a launch vehicle, the cost of a crew capsule,
the cost of operations, and the cost of a mission. In a time of
downward pressures on discretionary accounts, cost is certainly an
important factor. But it is clear that a robust human space exploration
and science program has returned benefits to the Nation that go far
beyond a simple cost equation or Return on Investment (ROI)
calculation.
It may be worth pointing out that none of the opportunities before
us now--in LEO or in deep space--would have been possible without
government programs in human exploration and science over the past
decades. To continue building upon the progress we have made, the
bilateral, bicameral support that has characterized these programs must
continue. To those who would ask, ``what has the money bought us?'', we
can answer: America is the only nation on Earth to have visited every
planet in our solar system. America is the only nation on Earth that
has leveraged 50 years of investment in human space exploration into
the private sector, where it has disrupted industries and opened the
door to entrepreneurial interests in space. America is the only nation
on Earth striving as a matter of policy to expand the sphere of human
economic influence beyond the Earth. America is the only nation on
Earth bold enough to envision and then build a deep space
transportation and infrastructure system for the solar system. America
is the only nation that has successfully led an international coalition
to build and operate a multi-decade space station. And soon, America
will be the only nation capable of transporting astronauts to the Moon
and beyond.
The Coalition I represent endorses full funding for NASA's ISS
cargo and crew transportation services and includes members who
participate in both. We also support government-led programs pushing
human presence into the solar system over distances and at a scale for
which no business case exists. This is not an ``either/or'' scenario;
rather it is a case-in-point for the evolving roles of government and
private industry in the American space program. The funding for SLS,
Orion, JWST and other systems also pays for facilities, refinement of
engineering expertise and technique, development of new technologies,
stimulation of commerce, a rich international collaboration, and
educational opportunities, among other core NASA functions. Our
national space program enjoys--and must sometimes negotiate among--a
wide range of stakeholders. NASA's challenging and diverse portfolio
represents an attempt at consensus and compromise among those
stakeholders that has been painstakingly developed on a bilateral,
bicameral basis across the 2005, 2008, and 2010 NASA Authorization Acts
in which this committee has played a significant role. Looking back
across a decade characterized by transition, progress, and opportunity,
it is evident that this course has been a wise, measured, and effective
one.
Going Forward: Essential Elements
A government-led program that opens the frontier beyond Earth for
ourselves, our international partners, commerce, and science is crucial
if we wish to control our national destiny and lead the way to a future
guided by American values and freedoms. For the past decade there has
been bipartisan consensus on the path forward for human exploration of
deep space, using NASA's new Orion crewed spacecraft powered by the
super-heavy Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. In my view, there are
some essential elements that should be maintained, and other that may
be considered, in order to ensure that U.S. leadership in deep space
human exploration and science continues:
That to the greatest extent possible, close alignment
between the new Administration and Congress should be developed
and maintained on space policy, priorities and funding levels
that build on the bipartisan consensus reflected in the 2010
NASA Authorization Act and in the annual appropriations adopted
over the past six Fiscal Years. Budget instability has been a
tremendous challenge, requiring rework and--across each year of
development. For the last several years the President's budget
request and Congressional appropriations have been out of sync,
forcing NASA and its contractors to work at a slower pace under
greater budget pressure for the first part of the year until
Congressional appropriations are set at the necessary levels.
This draws out the program and drives up costs. Reduction of
political uncertainty together with budget stability would
significantly reduce costs and clarify planning.
That a restatement be made that it is the policy of the
United States to expand permanent human presence beyond low
Earth orbit. . .and that it shall explore beyond Earth orbit
using the national assets developed for such purpose: The
super-heavy exploration rocket--the Space Launch System--and
the exploration crewed spacecraft, Orion.
Ensure funding sufficient to complete development of NASA's
human exploration systems: SLS (including the Exploration Upper
Stage beginning on EM-2), Orion, and Exploration Ground
Systems, and maintain the schedule for EM-1 in 2018 and EM-2 in
2021.
Ensure funding for development of a Deep Space Habitat, with
sufficient follow on funding to carry out testing and eventual
deployment of that habitat while the International Space
Station is still operational, so that there will be no ``gap''
in human spaceflight missions.
Enable NASA to fund mission planning using SLS and Orion for
EM-3 through EM-10 throughout the 2020s, with funding that
permits investments to be made for early development of
capabilities important to the successful completion of these
missions.
Provide NASA the authority to negotiate with international
partners on contributions to EM-1 through EM-10..
Extend indemnification for SLS and Orion, extending coverage
as provided to the Space Shuttle program in a manner similar to
the coverage provided for commercial launch providers under the
CSLCA.
Restate authorization for NASA operations on the
International Space Station through 2024, ensuring its use as a
critical test bed for deep space exploration, science, and as a
catalyst for commercial development of LEO, and encourage
continued analysis of extending ISS utilization beyond that
time.
Ensure that cargo and crew transportation services for LEO
are fully funded. Focus these programs on supporting NASA's
low-Earth orbit activities and missions without sacrificing
safety and mission assurance.
Ensure robust funding for successful planning, execution and
completion of space science missions, including completion of
the James Webb Space Telescope and Mars Insight mission for
2018 launches, as well as continued execution of missions such
as Juno and New Horizons, and development of upcoming planetary
missions to Mars, Europa, and other bodies in the solar system.
Ensure increased funding for Planetary, Astrophysics, and
Heliophysics space science accounts.
Where appropriate due to payload mass or reductions in
travel time, make use of SLS to launch space science missions.
Adopt the highest possible authorization levels drawn from
the House and Senate FY 2017 Commerce-Justice-Science
Appropriations bills, including a NASA top line of at least
$19.5B, with increases in the out years to keep pace with
inflation, at a minimum.
Mr. Chairman and Senator Peters, thank you again for the
opportunity to address the Committee on this important topic today. I
encourage you to also review the Coalition's recent white paper, ``A
Space Exploration Roadmap for the Next Administration,'' which I
respectfully submit for the record. Our members are deeply committed to
the success of NASA's human exploration and space science programs, and
we couldn't be more excited about the upcoming milestones on the road
to returning American astronauts to deep space and exciting scientific
discoveries in the years ahead. Thank you for this opportunity to
speak, and thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to
your questions.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The Chairman. Thank you, Dr. Dittmar.
Mr. Gold.
STATEMENT OF MICHAEL GOLD, VICE PRESIDENT,
WASHINGTON OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT,
SPACE SYSTEMS LORAL
Mr. Gold. I would like to thank you, Chairman Cruz; Ranking
Member Peters; Commerce, Science, and Transportation Ranking
Member, Senator Nelson; members of the Subcommittee; and the
talented and hardworking staff of this subcommittee for this
opportunity to further discuss the future of NASA.
My name is Mike Gold, and I am the Vice President of
Washington Operations and Business Development for Space
Systems Loral, or SSL. SSL is America's most prolific
commercial satellite manufacturer, a global leader in space-
based robotics, and an innovator for spacecraft technologies,
such as solar electric propulsion.
America's human spaceflight journey began with Alan
Shepard's first foray into the final frontier, and while NASA
has and will continue to push far beyond the historic flight of
Friendship 7, the low Earth orbit environment, or LEO, has
never been more important. Per the title of this hearing, NASA
is indeed at a crossroads. The ISS is aging, and while NASA
intends to maintain the Station through 2024, the end of the
ISS era, particularly in terms of the long lead-times required
by major aerospace projects, is nearly upon us.
Although the ultimate path forward remains uncertain, it's
clear that NASA will not build another government-sponsored LEO
space station. Therefore, the future of LEO remains squarely on
the shoulders of the private sector, which presents both an
extraordinary challenge and an equally extraordinary
opportunity. Thus far, LEO human spaceflight in general, and
the ISS in particular, have been able to depend upon funding
from governments to support operations. This will change
substantially as LEO is transitioned from government to private
sector auspices, and the greatest hurdle that America will face
in maintaining human presence in LEO is developing the robust
private sector demand necessary to fund such space-based
activities.
A potential solution to this funding challenge can be found
just above the ISS in geostationary orbit, or GEO. Hundreds of
billions of dollars are pouring into GEO every year to support
and purchase satellite services. NASA and the private sector
should abide by the old Washington adage to follow the money.
Specifically, manufacturing satellites in space could
revolutionize the telecommunications industry. Freed from the
constraints of rocket fairings and the launch environment,
numerous large radio frequency reflectors could be affordably
fabricated in space leading to dramatic increases in radio
frequency reflector sizes, which would substantially bolster
satellite capabilities, increase satellite fleet resilience,
and lower customer costs. The hundreds of billions of dollars
spent on telecommunications could be the fuel for a new era in
LEO human spaceflight. And SSL stands ready to unite these two
endeavors, joining with NASA to demonstrate a vital new
capability.
This subcommittee's purview includes both space and
competitiveness, and I can assure the Subcommittee that the
competition in the global marketplace, and particularly in the
satellite sector, is fierce. The primitive days of building a
satellite, launching it, and throwing away a piece of hardware
worth hundreds of millions of dollars simply because it ran out
of fuel is coming to an end.
As I described at a House hearing just last month, we are
now entering a new era of ``Satellite 2.0,'' wherein satellites
are refueled and restored while still in orbit. The companies
and countries which master satellite servicing will gain a
critical economic and military advantage over international
competition. DARPA already recognizes this fact and has
initiated the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites,
or RSGS, program to create new domestic satellite servicing
capability for both defense and commercial satellites. NASA has
its own satellite servicing program, Restore-L, which will
service the Landsat 7 satellite.
While both RSGS and Restore-L are worthy endeavors, much
more needs to be done in this arena. Less than 2 weeks ago,
China's National University of Defense Technology successfully
refueled a satellite in orbit. America cannot afford to lose
the satellite servicing race, and NASA has a critical role to
play by using its power as a customer to execute contracts with
domestic providers to service the agency's fleet of satellites.
This would not only save NASA money, it would enhance the
agency's capabilities, all while creating new private sector
jobs.
Again, NASA is indeed at a crossroads, and all of those
roads lead toward more robust collaborations with the private
sector. NASA must search out an intersection of public and
private sector interests and leverage those points of
intersection both to lessen its own financial burden and to
bolster American competitiveness abroad.
An example of this is the work being done via the Next
Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships' habitat
initiative. NASA needs a habitat to support beyond LEO
exploration, and the private sector needs a habitat to support
commercial activities in LEO. Both needs could be met by NASA
and the private sector sharing the cost of development for a
habitat and subsequently launching it to the ISS to test a
vital piece of NASA's beyond LEO architecture while validating
the business case for the commercial activities needed to
sustain a private sector space station successor to the ISS.
NASA and the private sector must move forward together hand-in-
hand because, to quote the great entrepreneur and statesman
Benjamin Franklin, ``We must all hang together or most
assuredly we will all hang separately.''
Thank you for this opportunity to testify, and I look
forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Gold follows:]
Prepared Statement of Michael Gold, Vice President, Washington
Operations and Business Development, Space Systems Loral
Thank you Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Peters, distinguished
members of the Subcommittee, as well as the Subcommittee's dedicated
and hardworking staff, for this opportunity to discuss the future of
NASA. My name is Mike Gold and I am the Vice President of Washington
Operations for Space Systems Loral. Space Systems Loral (``SSL'') is
America's most prolific commercial satellite manufacturer, a global
leader in space-based robotics, and an innovator for spacecraft
technologies such as solar electric propulsion.
I would like to begin by taking a moment to acknowledge my fellow
witnesses, starting with the Atlas of NASA, William Gerstenmaier. Mr.
Gerstenmaier's unparalleled leadership and unflagging devotion to
NASA's human spaceflight program has been the foundation which the
Agency, this Congress, and the American people have consistently relied
upon. Those of us who care about NASA and space exploration owe a great
debt to Mr. Gerstenmaier whose consistent, calm, and steady hand has
helped steer the Agency through extraordinary and challenging times.
Similarly, it's an honor to testify with Mark Sirangelo. Mr.
Sirangelo has been doing no less than transforming dreams into reality
via the design and development of Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream
Chaser spacecraft. Like Mr. Gerstenmaier, Mr. Sirangelo has provided
vital leadership within the human spaceflight community, both as a Vice
President of Sierra Nevada Corporation and as the former Chair of the
Commercial Spaceflight Federation. It has been a privilege to work with
Mr. Sirangleo over the years and to appear with him at this hearing
today.
Mary Lynne Dittmar has also provided critical leadership in the
space world throughout her august career, first as an executive with
Boeing, and later as an expert advisor to the Center for the
Advancement of Science in Space (``CASIS''), the National Academies,
and the American Astronautical Society. Now, as the Executive Director
of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, it has been a pleasure to
continue to work with Dr. Dittmar to support NASA's efforts to push
further into the final frontier.
Finally, few people have contributed as much to the future of deep
space exploration as Dan Dumbacher. The cornerstones of America's
beyond LEO exploration efforts, the Space Launch System and Orion
spacecraft, would not be where they are today without the tireless
efforts and leadership of Professor Dumbacher, both at Marshall
Spaceflight Center and at NASA Headquarters and, again, it's a
privilege to join him and our fellow witnesses at today's hearing.
Technology and Policy are important, but ultimately, the success of
America's space exploration program is dependent upon people, and my
fellow witnesses and our colleagues in government and industry are why
I continue to remain optimistic regarding this country's future in
space. However, now more than ever we will need every bit of creativity
and perseverance that America's space workforce and leadership can
muster, since the challenges that this Nation faces in space
exploration are both numerous and robust, starting in Earth orbit.
I. Maintaining an American Presence in LEO
America's human spaceflight journey began with Alan Shepard's first
foray into orbit, and while NASA has and will continue to push far
beyond the historic flight of Freedom 7, the environment in and around
Earth orbit has never been more important. Specifically, the
International Space Station (``ISS'') is the crown jewel of not only
NASA's but the world's human spaceflight capabilities. I fear that the
general public and even those of us in the space industry far too often
take the ISS for granted, and fail to acknowledge the titanic
accomplishment that the station represents. Per the title of this
hearing, we now stand at a crossroads, with Congress and NASA asking
what comes next. Although NASA should and must push forward into the
final frontier, it's just as vital that the Agency and America not
abandon space's first frontier, low Earth orbit (``LEO'').
The ISS is aging, and while NASA intends to maintain the station
through 2024 the end of the ISS era, particularly in terms of the long
lead times required by major aerospace projects, is nearly upon us.
Although the ultimate path forward remains uncertain, it's clear that
NASA has no desire or intent to build and launch another government
sponsored LEO space station. Therefore, the future of LEO remains
squarely on the shoulders of the private sector, which presents both an
extraordinary challenge and an equally extraordinary opportunity.
Thus far, LEO human spaceflight in general, and the ISS in
particular, have been able to depend upon funding from governments to
support operations. This will change substantially as LEO is
transitioned from government to private sector auspices. The greatest
challenge that America will face in maintaining a human presence in LEO
is developing the robust private sector demand necessary to fund such
space-based activities. NASA, as well as various other organizations
and associations, have held numerous discussions regarding ``LEO
commercialization'' and what the path forward will look like.
Microgravity research and development has certainly shown promise, but
it's highly unlikely that scientific activities alone can generate
sufficient near-term revenue to meet the relatively high costs of
orbital crewed operations.
A. Orbital Satellite Manufacturing
A potential solution to this funding challenge can be found just
above the ISS in geostationary orbit (``GEO''). Although NASA and the
domestic space industry have struggled to identify revenue generating
activities in LEO, hundreds of billions of dollars are pouring into GEO
annually to manufacture and launch satellites, construct ground
stations and related hardware, and pay for satellite services. The
answer to NASA's question of LEO commercialization could be as simple
as abiding by the old Washington adage to follow the money.
No one doubts the importance of GEO telecommunications activities
or its strong financial underpinning. The potential opportunity that
NASA has before it is to merge this robust, existing industry with
crewed LEO activities, and this should be explored as expeditiously as
possible.
The satellite telecommunications industry is in a constant
competition with terrestrial capabilities. Innovation in the satellite
world isn't just a luxury, it's a necessity, and it's this dynamic that
has resulted in the consistent improvement of telecommunications
services even while costs to the consumer are dropping. This ongoing
need for innovation may actually drive the next evolution of satellite
innovation off of Earth and into LEO.
Currently, telecommunications satellites face numerous constraints.
The number and size of a satellite's radio frequency (``RF'')
reflectors are limited by the dimensions of a launch vehicle's fairing.
Moreover, due to high launch costs, satellites are usually designed to
last for at least fifteen years, a period of time that is a virtual
eternity when compared with the rapidly changing pace of customer
demand, evolving population centers, and constant technological
innovation. GEO satellite operators need to be able to refresh their
technologies with much greater frequency while increasing their RF
reflector sizes, and on-orbit satellite manufacturing via a platform
such as the ISS presents a potentially attractive solution to address
both of these needs.
In any future reauthorization bill, Congress should encourage NASA
to work jointly with the private sector to conduct a near-term
demonstration of satellite manufacturing and assembly aboard the ISS.
Working together, NASA and the private sector could execute a pilot
program that would validate orbital satellite manufacturing techniques
and demonstrate the value of such operations to private sector
satellite manufacturers. Subsequent to demonstrating the genuine
economic value of satellite manufacturing aboard platforms such as the
ISS, the private sector could move forward in a robust fashion
establishing a long-term and sustainable commercial activity.
Specifically, in cooperation with the private sector, NASA could
demonstrate the viability of fabricating large, shaped surfaces capable
of reflecting millimeter-wave RF energy, as well as the ability to
produce milli-degree level accuracy relative to surfaces as defined by
transcendental equations. Additionally, such an initiative should
demonstrate the manufacture and/or installation of tight tolerance
joints to allow for the reliable installation of large reflectors to
in-space assembled truss structures. This demonstration will require
NASA, possibly in conjunction with an organization like CASIS, to
provide a private sector partner with (1) the transportation of
relevant material and/or components for the orbital manufacturing
process to the ISS, (2) sufficient crew time to conduct the
demonstration, and (3) external robotics support for the assembly of
various satellite components that were manufactured inside the ISS.
Again, this demonstration would validate the benefits of orbital
satellite manufacturing and assembly, while also refining various
techniques and establishing the proper balance between the
contributions of people and robotics. Orbital satellite manufacturing
could be the anchor activity that the private sector has been searching
for to fund the expense of crewed commercial operations in LEO. Unlike
many potential commercial LEO activities that I have explored over the
course of nearly two decades, the market for commercial satellites is
already mature and robust. Orbital manufacturing of satellites could
unite this strong, existing market with crewed operations in LEO,
potentially transforming both activities and entire industries, while
providing the U.S. with a unique and nontrivial economic advantage over
international competition.
B. Microgravity R&D and Space Tourism
While orbital satellite manufacturing has great promise, NASA
should also continue and expand efforts to support microgravity
research and development aboard the ISS. The Agency and partners such
as CASIS should focus on projects and concepts that have the potential
to deliver near-term economic value. When I last testified before this
Subcommittee in 2012, I noted the potential for breakthroughs in
biotechnology that the microgravity environment offers. I still believe
this is true and recommend expanding biotech research aboard the ISS to
include stem cell production, agricultural engineering, and the
development of niche drug treatments. NanoRacks, led by Jeffrey Manber,
the only CEO who has actually run a commercial space station, is
leading the way in commercial biotech R&D and NanoRacks has already
created a business for cubesat deployment from the ISS. SSL and
NanoRacks teamed on a recent proposal to NASA under the NextSTEPs
program and, if selected, I'm eager to see what America's most prolific
commercial satellite manufacturer can do in combination with the
country's leader in LEO utilization.
NASA should also take whatever actions it can to enable the orbital
tourism market. The Agency initially spurned space tourism forcing
Americans to go overseas and fly with the Russians. As we have seen all
too often in the space world, despite its history as a former communist
regime, Russia has been far more successful at commercializing its
human spaceflight program than America. Working in cooperation with
companies such as Space Adventures, it's my hope that NASA will
continue the recent trend of being more supportive of space tourism,
since tourism, as well as flying professional astronauts from foreign
nations, could play an important role in the ability of the private
sector to maintain an American presence in LEO.
C. Benefits to Beyond LEO Activities
NASA support for these commercial activities is critical, since in
the very near future, responsibility for maintaining an American human
presence in LEO will be left to the private sector. Our great nation
must not and cannot abandon its presence in LEO. Active and robust
public and private sector operations in LEO is the foundation that all
future human exploration missions, including beyond LEO exploration,
will be built upon. Traveling to LEO is the terrestrial equivalent of
going to the airport, once you're there, you can easily be transported
to a wide variety of destinations both near and far. Countries that
have a strong LEO infrastructure will be able to move crew and cargo
quickly, safely, and affordably to orbit, where large spacecraft and
supplies can be assembled and staged for future missions to the Moon,
Mars, and beyond. In drafting a future NASA reauthorization bill or any
other legislation related to NASA, I urge the members of this
Subcommittee to recognize that LEO and beyond LEO activities are not in
conflict, and are both required for either endeavor to be successful.
However, I am not blind to the funding shortfall that NASA faces.
NASA has been given numerous missions, and not nearly enough funding to
execute them all. Unfortunately, this is an inevitable product of the
fiscally constrained environment that the U.S. finds itself in, and far
from blaming Congress, I'm grateful to the members of this Subcommittee
as well as your colleagues on the Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee for their generosity
towards NASA despite an overall paucity of available Federal funds.
Since NASA cannot and should not count on anything more than stable
funding in the future, and perhaps not even that, the Agency must find
creative ways to leverage private sector investment in conjunction with
its own funding to ensure that America does not abandon its presence in
LEO.
D. AES's NextSTEPs Habitat Initiative
An excellent example of how NASA can husband its resources with
private sector financing and capabilities is the habitat initiative
under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships
(``NextSTEPs'') program. NextSTEPs, which falls under the auspices of
NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Advanced Exploration Systems
(``AES'') division, is run by Jason Crusan, one of Mr. Gerstenmaier's
best and brightest executive managers. Mr. Crusan has a longstanding
reputation for innovation and leveraging private sector resources to
vastly multiply the impact of a relatively meager amount of Federal
investment. For example, the current NextSTEPs habitat procurement is
crafted to identify and support the intersection between NASA's needs
for beyond LEO human exploration missions, and the private sector's
plans for LEO commercialization. Specifically, the NextSTEPs
solicitation envisions the possibility of a private sector habitat
being developed, launched, and attached to the ISS. Such a habitat
would serve as a critical testbed for the discrete validation of
systems and technologies that NASA needs for ambitious beyond LEO human
exploration missions. Moreover, such a habitat would not only
demonstrate new technologies but, just as importantly, the habitat
could serve as a hub for demonstrating the business case for private
sector LEO operations including satellite manufacturing and deployment,
microgravity research and development, and space tourism. A NextSTEPs
habitat attached to the ISS could be a laboratory for commercial
development, identifying and maturing the most promising activities
that can later be transitioned to a future private sector space
station.
The brilliance of NextSTEPs is that by leveraging the intersection
of public and private sector interests, AES will be able to gain
commercial support for a key piece of human exploration hardware that
the Agency would otherwise bear the costs for on its own. However, even
under NextSTEPs, some government support will be required. For example,
at a minimum, NASA should commit to launching the habitat and paying
the private sector partner for the right to utilize some its volume and
resources. For its part, a private sector partner should also be
responsible for contributing a nontrivial percentage of the financing
for the habitat's development, and the private sector partner must also
fund the vast majority of the habitat's ongoing operation expenses via
commercial activities. Leveraging and combining public and private
sector interests in this manner is the future of NASA, and a NASA
reauthorization bill or other relevant forms of legislation should
embrace this ideology, bolster the NextSTEPs program, and encourage
similar activities throughout the Agency.
Moreover, as stated previously, LEO and beyond LEO activities are
not in conflict. An important reason to turn LEO over to the private
sector is to ensure that NASA has the funding that it needs to conduct
ambitious beyond LEO missions. NASA cannot sustain the existing costs
of the ISS while supporting robust beyond LEO human exploration.
However, NASA cannot and should not abandon LEO. Therefore, the only
option available to the Agency is to lower its costs by leveraging
commercial support whenever and wherever there is an intersection
between public and private sector interests. Again, I implore the
members of this Subcommittee to recognize the necessity for NASA to
collaborate with the private sector via partnerships such as NextSTEPs,
and to weave this concept into the fabric of a future reauthorization
bill.
II. Emulating DAR PA's Use of BAAs
Government agencies leveraging private sector funding and
capabilities is not a new concept, and instead of reinventing the
wheel, NASA would do well to learn from and even imitate the
methodologies of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(``DARPA''). DARPA has a longstanding tradition of working closely with
the private sector to develop new technologies and capabilities that
are equally important to the government and the private sector. For
example, via the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites
(``RSGS'') program, DARPA is seeking to service defense and
intelligence satellites by establishing a private sector capability
that will meet government needs without requiring as large a government
investment as would otherwise be necessary since the system will be
sustained primarily by commercial missions.
DARPA's robust partnerships with the private sector can be
attributed in large part to the Agency's unique contractual strategies.
There has been a great deal of discussion of Space Act Agreements
(``SAAs'') by NASA officials and policymakers, and DARPA does indeed
use a form of `Other Transactional Authority' to execute many if not
most of its programs. However, what has largely been ignored due to the
prominence of the SAA debate is the importance of the contractual
vehicle that is used to solicit proposals, and this is an area where
DARPA excels. Specifically, DARPA uses standing Broad Agency
Announcements (``BAAs'') as its primary means of outreach to the
private sector community. At NASA, the private sector has to wait for
specific procurement opportunities to be announced, such as the
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, or the Space
Technology Mission Directorate's (``STMD's'') Tipping Point program.
Conversely, DARPA uses standing BAAs which are so broad that the
private sector is able to submit any relevant idea to DARPA at any
time. Moreover, instead of being forced to immediately submit lengthy
proposals for Agency consideration, the DARPA BAA process begins with
the submission of a short executive summary, and then moves on to a
white paper and eventually a full proposal if DARPA is sufficiently
interested in the activity. This saves the contracting community a
great deal of time and effort since the private sector can quickly
bring a concept to DARPA's attention and does not need to commit a
great deal of resources to proposal writing unless there is already a
nontrivial interest by DARPA to support the project. DARPA's use of
BAAs has encouraged creativity, broadened the amount and type of
companies that can work with the Agency, and increased the flexibility
and pace of the government procurement process.
NASA AES has already been using BAAs to great effect, for example,
both phases of the NextSTEPs habitat initiative used BAAs. NASA should
increase the utilization of BAAs throughout the Agency, and STMD in
particular should establish a DARPA-like BAA system as NASA's primary
means of engaging with the private sector. As a member of the National
Academies Space Technology Industry-Government-University Roundtable, I
have recommended this concept to STMD leadership, and they have been
receptive to the idea.
III. American Competitiveness
A. Satellite Servicing
This Subcommittee's purview includes not just space and science,
but American competitiveness, and this is an arena where NASA has a
critical role to play. Last month, I testified in the House regarding
``Satellite 2.0''. I described a new era wherein satellites are no
longer built on the ground, launched, and then thrown away at the end
of their lifetimes, but will instead be refueled, refurbished, and
enhanced while in orbit. Currently, only about 20 percent of a
satellite's mass generates revenue. This equation can and inevitably
will change dramatically when satellite servicing becomes a reality.
The companies and countries that develop this critical capability will
not only become leaders in space exploration, but since satellite
technology impacts nearly every aspect of our daily lives, the first
nation to perfect and implement these systems will enjoy substantial
economic and military advantages over its global competition. I implore
this Subcommittee and this Congress not to sit idly by and let other
nations surpass America in this vital technological capability.
I have already described DARPA's RSGS program, and NASA also has
its own satellite servicing activity, Restore-L, which is being
developed to refuel and relocate the Landsat 7 satellite. However,
NASA, and the U.S. Government in general, need to do much more than
sponsor two relatively limited programs to bolster this critical
capability. America cannot afford to lose the satellite servicing race,
and we are already falling behind.
China's National University of Defense Technology recently
announced the successful orbital refueling of a satellite, enhancing
both its maneuvering capabilities and functional lifetime. This was
accomplished using the Tianyuan-1 refueling system which was deployed
on July 2nd by a Long March 7 rocket. During this mission, China tested
various processes and validated Tianyuan-1's operations via telemetry
and video. China is now a leader in satellite servicing providing the
Nation with a substantial advantage over the U.S. for both commercial
and national security operations.
If the U.S. is to match and hopefully surpass Chinese capabilities,
new programs, opportunities, and additional funding should be directed
toward satellite servicing and, most important of all, NASA should use
its power as a customer to inspire the development of private sector
systems. The private sector is willing to make substantial investments
in next-generation satellite servicing but, like in any new business
endeavor, potential customers remain somewhat wary of unproven
concepts. NASA could help the private sector overcome such challenges
by acting as a catalyst via the execution of contingent contracts with
domestic companies to service its own fleet of satellites. NASA would
thereby support the demonstration of private sector satellite servicing
systems, providing the assurances and predictability that commercial
satellite operators need to become customers for these services,
leading to the development of a firm and large private and public
sector market. By acting as a customer for commercial satellite
servicing capabilities, NASA would also benefit by saving vital funding
at a time when its budget is being stretched thin, all while
simultaneously creating new private sector jobs and bolstering American
competitiveness. Therefore, I strongly recommend that in any future
NASA reauthorization bill or related legislation, the Senate should
commend NASA for its existing satellite servicing activities, while
also encouraging the Agency to do more and, in particular, to act as a
robust customer for domestic commercial satellite servicing
capabilities.
B. Solar Electric Propulsion
Another technology that is vital to NASA's future is solar electric
propulsion (``SEP''). SEP and electric propulsion (``EP'') systems in
general, are a critical capability for commercial satellites, NASA
robotic spacecraft, and such systems even have an important role to
play in LEO and beyond LEO crewed spacecraft. America can ill afford to
fall behind in SEP, and I applaud NASA for moving forward with programs
such as Psyche (a Discovery Mission currently in Phase A) which will
test and demonstrate SEP capabilities. Other space agencies are already
funding their private sector contractors to develop new and better EP
systems for commercial satellites. SSL finds itself competing against
these entities and we need NASA to do more to level the playing field
and ensure that American companies are not shut out of the global
marketplace by subsidized international competition. Similar to the
NextSTEPs habitat initiative, SEP represents an intersection between
government and private sector interests, and in future legislation, I
hope this Subcommittee will encourage NASA to identify and develop new
means to bolster domestic SEP capabilities while supporting ambitious
NASA missions to exciting beyond LEO destinations such as the moons of
Mars, Europa, and Titan.
Whether it's utilizing EP, executing contracts for commercial
satellite servicing, or releasing BAAs to support broader and more
efficient STMD outreach, NASA must find new and better ways to work
with the private sector. Again, per the title of this hearing, we are
indeed at a crossroads, and clearly every road leads toward more
private sector engagement. In today's competitive global economy,
America is not only in a race to destinations such as the Moon or Mars,
but we're in a race for the economic and national security advantages
that new space technologies will engender. Therefore, NASA must remain
vigilant in every one of its activities to find ways not only to
achieve its own goals, but to bolster American domestic private sector
capabilities in the process. Moreover, NASA can actually save money
while doing this without sacrificing safety or quality. For example,
SSL recently submitted a bid for Landsat 9 which leveraged our
company's low-cost, heritage capabilities to achieve an extraordinarily
affordable price point. By taking advantage of private sector products
that are already being sold commercially, NASA can bolster domestic
businesses and job creation while reducing its own expenses.
IV. American Leadership
America must lead. Nowhere is this more true than in the global
space community where nations across Europe and Asia are clamoring for
America to join with them in executing a clearly articulated space
strategy. NASA's future in LEO after ISS retirement remains uncertain
both domestically and abroad. Since no future government station will
be built, NASA should fully commit to an ISS transition and redouble
its efforts via NextSTEPs and similar programs, while reaching out to
the private sector to bolster customer demand via collaborative
projects such as the demonstration of orbital satellite manufacturing,
assembly, and deployment.
At a time when policymakers are decrying American dependence on
Russia for crew transportation to the ISS, we are already in the
process of creating another capability gap for the space station
itself. Far too soon after American human spaceflight systems begin
delivering crews to LEO the ISS will be retired. As Mr. Gerstenmaier
and his colleagues at NASA can tell you, deploying a space station,
even one that is smaller than the ISS, will take time, and it will
already be difficult to develop, build, deploy, and test an operational
station before ISS retirement. If America fails to field a new space
station U.S. leadership in this arena will quickly be subsumed by
China, which has plans to deploy its own space station using a new
heavy-lift rocket capability. The Chinese station will likely become
operational in the early 2020s, nearly matching the anticipated time-
frame for ISS retirement. China has made overtures bilaterally and in
the United Nations for the world to join its space station effort
while, again, the U.S.'s future in LEO remains uncertain. America
should embrace international cooperation and even a collaboration with
China could be beneficial under the right circumstances. However, while
cooperating with another country is commendable, being dependent upon
another country is deplorable, and NASA must avoid abandoning LEO to
China, Russia, or other nations.
The greatest success of the ISS has nothing to do with technology.
The station's most important achievement was demonstrating that over a
dozen nations, representing a diverse array of cultures and ideologies,
could come together as one to deploy and operate the most complex
spacecraft in the history of humanity. The ISS partnership was hard
earned over several decades and must be preserved. NASA and this Nation
should provide a clear vision to its international partners for what
will come after the ISS, and if the path forward is a private sector
station, or stations, then we must move forward with alacrity to build
the necessary commercial demand for such space platforms to become a
reality.
Moreover, NASA should reach out to new entrants into the space
arena. For example, the Senate should commend the recent execution of a
Memorandum of Understanding between the United Arab Emirates Space
Agency and NASA as an example of NASA showing leadership abroad by
engaging with a new, ambitious, and capable space agency. NASA should
deepen relations with the UAE and reach out to other new national
players in space, demonstrating that America is a ready and willing
partner, and is fully prepared to lead the world into the final
frontier.
Whether in LEO or beyond, it's vital that America show both
consistency and clarity of purpose. The rewards of America reasserting
its leadership in space exploration are only exceeded by the financial
and political challenges we will face along the way. Achieving success
will demand the contributions, creativity, and perseverance of every
one of us in the space sector, public and private institutions, large
established companies, and entrepreneurial newcomers alike. America has
never faced more competition in space than it does today and the stakes
have never been higher. The domestic space sector, both public and
private, can ill afford divisiveness and discord at this critical
juncture. I urge this Subcommittee to use any future legislation to
bring us all together, as an industry and as a people. We must follow
the advice of the great American entrepreneur and statesman Benjamin
Franklin, that if we in the domestic space sector do not hang together,
we will assuredly all hang separately.
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Gold.
Mr. Sirangelo.
STATEMENT OF MARK N. SIRANGELO, CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT, SPACE
SYSTEMS, SIERRA NEVADA CORPORATION
Mr. Sirangelo. Good afternoon. Thank you, Senator Cruz and
Senator Peters, for coordinating this, and to all the Senators
on the Committee. This is a wonderful opportunity to talk about
what we're going to be doing in the future, and it is exciting
for all of us to be thinking about it.
I also wanted to thank the staff for putting this together.
It's not easy to bring this group of people together, and I'm
honored to be here with these four distinguished members of our
committee--and those who are here from our community.
For a long time, this industry has been growing. And I
remember at the very beginning of what is now called the
commercial space industry. There were less than 10 of us
sitting around a table in a restaurant deciding what we wanted
to do, and that discussion eventually became known as something
called now the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, and over the
course of what has only been about 12 years, it has now grown
into an industry that is worth billions of dollars and employs
tens of thousands of people. It is something that is uniquely
American and something that is amazing, that we can do this in
our industry and in our world.
Sierra Nevada designs and manufactures all sorts of things
for space: spacecraft, space vehicles, rocket motors,
spacecraft systems, and components. We've been doing this for
quite a long time now, over 25 years, and have produced over
450 successful space missions, over 4,000 things that we've
built for space. And that's a wonderful record, we've been
recognized for it in many ways, but what it really says is that
we know how hard it is to be in space, we know how hard it is
to do what we're doing, and how hard it is to be successful.
Our diverse technologies are used in many areas--
telemedicine, navigation, threat detection, security,
commercial aviation, science, infrastructure, and protection of
the United States--and currently we employ a workforce
corporate-wide of about 3,000 people in 34 locations in 19
states, and all that has come from a very, very small start. We
are still an entrepreneurial company. We know what it's like to
grow a business. We know how hard it is to build a company up.
As the head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems as well as a
founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Commercial Spaceflight
Federation, I hope to share with you a little bit of our
industry's insight and my perspective as you chart your course
ahead.
The current National Space Policy in the United States and
the current NASA Authorization Act were both established in
2010, and that was a really pivotal year, I believe, for our
space industry. Many of the things that we had talked about in
principle began to turn into reality. Several foundational
programs, such as the Cargo Resupply Services effort began to
take hold, and that was really built on a bipartisan effort
between Congress, the White House, and these enabling policies
significantly advanced the strength and leadership of the
United States, NASA, and other key department and agencies. And
just as importantly for us, I think, is creating jobs and
expanded our U.S. industrial base.
The imperative is clear in this National Space Policy. The
utilization of space has created new markets, helped save lives
by warning us of natural disasters, expediting search and
rescue operations, making recovery efforts faster and more
effective, made agriculture and natural resource management
more efficient and sustainable, and expanded our frontiers. It
really has enabled so many different industries, and I think
that's one thing that sometimes gets lost about space, is how
many industries space is involved with.
More than anything, I think, though, our growing space
program provides excitement for our young people. I'm sure
every one of us can remember something about the space program
that fascinated us. I know I did. One day I had that awe in my
childhood that said someday I'm going to be involved in it. And
the idea that someone like me, coming from a background that
did not have space associated with it, could be in this room
talking to you today is really what we are here to talk about.
We can't forget, as we do this, our young people and the
inspiration that what you do in your choices and what we do in
space provides to them.
Out of the many things I think that can divide us, the one
thing we can all agree upon in this room, I think in our
country, and indeed throughout the world, is that we want the
future of our children to be better than our lives are today.
We want to remember the wonder we had as being that child of
looking up in the stars, as you said, Senator, and seeing what
the future would be and thinking about it and going there and
flying there. And in my view, we never want to lose that inner
child or the importance of it because that's what exploration
is based on. We want to feel something we don't feel today.
As I like to say, dreams don't have an expiration date and
they do sometimes come true, and they certainly have for me, in
part because of the work that you have done over the last 5
years and the last NASA Authorization Act.
Our space program provides amazing technical achievement,
but equally as important, it provides hope for our next
generation, enabling them to do something remarkable like
perhaps building a new space company, becoming a respected
leader at NASA, or even becoming a Member of Congress who might
go to space one day as a Senator here has. These dreams are
started, in part, through the thousands of internships and
entry level jobs that my company and those of my colleagues
provide. These opportunities fuel the demand and drive for
education and careers in science, technology, engineering, art,
mathematics, something which I prefer to call STEAM instead of
STEM. This, in turn, enables, I believe, our U.S. global
leadership in technology and other key fields.
Bold moves like our country's space program excites
students and uplift all elements of society. Isaac Asimov, one
of our country's famous space writers, once said, ``If I was in
heaven, I would do what I'm doing right now forever.'' And for
me, space is not just a job, and for many in my industry, it's
also human instinct, it's also art, and it's also passion. It's
really important for us to look at this in that way.
In the last few years, the United States has imagined and
defined the next phase of global commercial space environment,
which has a market value now over $300 billion annually by our
most recent Space Foundation Report. This success has not gone
unnoticed around the world. Lots of countries are coming after
us. They're seeing what we're doing. They're seeing what we've
been about. And they're also seeing the benefits that accrue to
society from this.
And today, because of these rapid advances, we have a
position of leadership, we have a position of leadership in
this area and the world. We need to continue, however, our
joint government, academia, and industry efforts if we want to
further extend this bold path and continue this leadership in
the future. Even though it has been 47 years since the Moon
landing, there's a reason why U.S. space leadership, the Moon
landing, or shuttle program are still talked about all around
the world, and there's a reason why our landings on Mars and
our flights to Pluto and the most recent flight to Jupiter are
covered by every media in the world.
As a personal connection, I believe that these enabling
policies that we've had have supported us in creating
groundbreaking agreements, such as the one that my company just
signed with the United Nations to utilize Dream Chaser for
global research.
America is a world leader in this area, and it's critical
to our country that we remain that way. Space achievements take
full years to realize, but the extraordinary is worth waiting
for.
A truly self-sustaining low commercial--sustaining
commercial market in low Earth orbit does not yet fully exist.
I believe it can and should be led by the United States.
Collaborative action by the Congress, by White House, by NASA,
industry, and academia are needed to bring this to reality.
At SNC in particular, we know the value of this
collaboration. Our journey with Dream Chaser, which is the only
reusable commercial lifting body in the world, has taken over a
decade. It's lived the American dream of believing that the
impossible is possible. Ten years ago, eleven years ago now, we
looked at it and said, ``Is it really possible for a company of
our small size to build the next space shuttle, effectively
working out of a garage in California?'' Many people laughed at
us; many people said it wasn't going to happen. You know,
some--it was famously said, ``Some look at the world and say,
`Why?' and others look at the world and say, `Why not?' '' We
looked at it and said, ``Why not?'' and believed with the help
of our country that we could get there.
Dream Chaser is now in test flight as a true multi-mission
space utility vehicle. It can safely execute new expanded
missions. And it's NASA's strategic investments and our very
successful public-private partnership that has really enabled
this. It's the way that we're now thinking in this new world of
commercial space. The confidence that NASA had brought forth
and the investment that NASA had made has spurred us to make
the same type of investment, a commercial investment worth
hundreds of millions of dollars to create something new for our
country. It is now I think the future.
Thank you for listening, and I look forward to your
questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Sirangelo follows:]
Prepared Statement of Mark N. Sirangelo, Corporate Vice President,
Space Systems, Sierra Nevada Corporation
Thank you Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Peters, distinguished
Members of the Subcommittee as well as the Subcommittee Staff for this
opportunity to address the Subcommittee.
My name is Mark Sirangelo from the Sierra Nevada Corporation and I
am here today to speak with you about the importance of a competitive
and diverse U.S. commercial space industry as a vital component of our
broad national space enterprise. It is my honor to be here testifying
along with these respected leaders of our space industry all of whom
have contributed significantly to our Nation's space program and to
what we are going to talk about today.
Congress and NASA have played pivotal leadership roles in
stimulating, creating, sustaining, and expanding U.S. commercial
exploration space missions, markets, and opportunities. I wanted to
thank you for all the support that has been provided. The balanced and
enabling positions taken to date by Congress have served us well should
be maintained as a key strategic element of the NASA Authorization
considerations. These policies have established the United States as a
global leader in commercial space and have opened many new markets to
American industry and ingenuity.
Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems designs and manufactures
advanced spacecraft, space vehicles, rocket motors and spacecraft
subsystems and components for the U.S. Government, commercial
customers, as well as for the international market. We have more than
25 years of space heritage and have participated in more than 450
successful space missions through the delivery of over 4,000 systems,
subsystems and components. During our history we have concluded more
than 70 programs for NASA. SNC has been honored as one of ``The World's
Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Space,'' and one of America's
fastest growing companies. Our diverse technologies are used in
applications including telemedicine, navigation and guidance systems,
threat detection and security, commercial aviation, scientific
research, and infrastructure protection. We have a corporate wide
workforce of nearly 3,000 personnel in 34 locations in 19 U.S. states
and three countries.
As the head of Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems as well as
a founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Commercial Spaceflight
Federation, I hope to share with you some of my industry insight and
perspective as you chart the course ahead. In my testimony today, I
will provide comment on the recent growth of the commercial space
industry and the policies that have helped enabled it, the need to
sustain a U.S.-led global commercial space market and the key future
enabling elements that will provide ongoing success for America in this
area. Finally, I will highlight the importance of continuity and
stability for NASA and our National Space Policy as we move forward in
these dynamic and challenging, yet exciting times ahead. Your continued
visionary leadership in the development of NASA's next Authorization
will be pivotal to unleashing the true potential of the U.S. commercial
space industry at this unique point in history.
The Impact of U.S. Policy and Law
The current National Space Policy of the United States of America
and the current NASA Authorization Act were both established in 2010,
which I believe was a very pivotal year for the U.S. space industry.
Several important foundational programs such as the Cargo Resupply
Services effort began to take hold. Building on a strong bipartisan
partnership between Congress and the White House, these enabling
policies significantly advanced the strength and leadership of the
United States, NASA, other key Departments and Agencies, and just as
importantly, created jobs and expanded our U.S. industrial base. The
imperative is clear, as stated in the current National Space Policy:
``The utilization of space has created new markets; helped save lives
by warning us of natural disasters, expediting search and rescue
operations making recovery efforts faster and more effective; made
agriculture and natural resource management more efficient and
sustainable; expanded our frontiers; and provided global access to
advanced medicine, weather forecasting, geospatial information,
financial operations, broadband and other communications, and scores of
other activities worldwide.''
More than anything a growing space program also provides excitement
for our young people. I am sure that every one of us here can remember
some element of our space program which fascinated us. My own childhood
awe about space led me to this room today. Out of the many things that
may divide us, one thing we can all agree upon in this room, in our
country and indeed throughout the world is that we want the future for
our children to be better than our lives are today. We want to remember
the wonder as a child of dreaming about the stars and wanting to fly
there. We never want to lose that inner child nor the importance of it
to exploration. Dreams do not have an expiration date and do sometimes,
as they have for me, come true with the help of the creative thinking
that both NASA and Congress have demonstrated.
Our space program provides amazing technical achievements but
equally as important, it provides hope for the next generation enabling
them to do something remarkable perhaps like building a new space
company, becoming a respected leader at NASA or maybe even becoming a
member of Congress who gets to go to space. These dreams are started,
in part, through the thousands of internships and entry level jobs that
my company and those of my colleagues provide. These job opportunities
fuel the demand and drive for education and careers in Science,
Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics, which in turn has helped
enable the continued U.S. global leadership in technology and other key
fields. Bold moves, like our country's commercial space program, excite
students, fuel these lifelong dreams and uplift all elements of
society. Isaac Asimov, one of our most famous science writers, once
said, ``If I were in heaven I would be doing what I am doing now
forever.'' For many, including me, space is not just a job but it is
also human instinct, art and passion.
Our U.S. Space Policy highlights ``A robust and competitive
commercial space sector is vital to continued progress in space. The
United States is committed to encouraging and facilitating the growth
of a U.S. commercial space sector that supports U.S. needs, is globally
competitive, and advances U.S. leadership in the generation of new
markets and innovation-driven entrepreneurship.'' The NASA
Authorization Act of 2010 and subsequent NASA Appropriations by
Congress have begun to bring this to reality and have created a broad
portfolio of NASA commercial space initiatives. Most prominent and
positive amongst them have been the NASA Commercial Cargo and Crew
Transportation Services programs. Using both NASA Space Act Agreements
in the beginning and now Federal Acquisition Regulation Firm Fixed
Price contracts, NASA has awarded Commercial Cargo Resupply contracts
and Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities contracts that have
succeeded in stimulating a globally-exceptional and truly extraordinary
renaissance of space launch, spacecraft, space operations, and space
commerce capabilities. These successes, funded and supported by
Congress, have incurred less cost and time to the government than
historical traditional programs and have forever changed the space
landscape for the better while providing the needed incentives for
companies like ours to invest and take risk.
In the span of just a few years, the United States has imagined and
defined the next phase of the global commercial space environment, a
market valued at over $300 billion annually by the most recent Space
Foundation Space Report. This success has not gone unnoticed and has
spurred committed competitive efforts around the world to try and catch
up or keep pace with the U.S. The benefits of commercial space are
widespread and countries and organizations around the world are all
putting time, money and effort into increasing their positions. Today,
because of our rapid early advances, we have a position of leadership.
We need, however, to continue our joint government, academia and
industry efforts if we want to further extend this bold path and
continue to hold this leadership in the future. Beyond the money, the
impact of your decisions importantly effects how the U.S. is viewed
around the world. Even though it has been 47 years, there is a reason
why U.S. space leadership, the moon landings and our Space Shuttle
program are still talked about with admiration. And there is a reason
why our landings on Mars and our flights to Pluto and Jupiter are
covered by the media in detail in virtually every country. And, in a
personal connection, I believe that there is a direct connection to how
these enabling policies have supported SNC in developing and signing a
ground breaking agreement with the United Nations to explore utilizing
Dream Chaser for global research missions. America is a world leader in
this area and it is critical to our country that we remain that way.
Space achievements take years to fully realize but the extraordinary is
worth waiting for.
A truly self-sustaining commercial market in low Earth orbit does
not yet fully exist. I believe that it can, should and will be led by
the United States. Collaborative future action by Congress, the White
House, NASA, industry, and academia are needed to bring this to
reality. At SNC in particular, we know the value of this collaboration
firsthand. Our journey with Dream Chaser, which is the only reusable
commercial lifting body and runway-landing capable spacecraft in the
world, has taken over a decade. We have lived the American Dream of
believing in the impossible. As was so famously said, ``Some look at
the world and say why. Others look at the world and say why not?'' We
were a handful of people in a garage who said ``why not?'' and believed
that we could build the next generation Space Shuttle when few others
did. Dream Chaser is now in test flight as a true multi-mission Space
Utility Vehicle that can safely and affordably execute new and expanded
earth orbit missions. NASA's strategic investments and our very
successful Public Private Partnership have brought this 21st Century
spaceplane to flight. The confidence we had in NASA provided the basis
for our ownership to invest and risk hundreds of millions of dollars
alongside the critical investment of time, talent and money made by
NASA.
But there is more. Now that we are in test flight, we see ourselves
carrying the torch that was passed on to us by the Space Shuttle
program and the thousands of people throughout America who made it
successful. Space is multi-generational. One must respect and embrace
the past as a key to the future. As my generation seeks to honor those
who came before us by taking their achievements to the next level we
must, at the same time, create the path forward for the next generation
who, I am certain, will do amazing things that I can only imagine.
Creating ``Real'' Markets and Missions
A core element of NASA's charter is to create and transfer
knowledge and technology to the Nation. SNC's Dream Chaser is an
excellent example of this technology transfer as it started its life as
a continuation of NASA Langley's HL-20 Lifting body program from the
1990s. Years of tests and significant design and aerodynamic work by
NASA paved the way for development of the current Dream Chaser
spacecraft and, without which, we could not have been successful. This
broadly applicable research and development, collaborative public-
private work and applied technology transition should remain a core
aspect of NASA's mission. NASA's role as a facilitator and as a
foundational launch customer should be used strategically to enable
nascent American science and technology to be developed to market. But,
from my perspective, a competitive and diverse commercial space
industrial base pursuing multiple opportunities is fundamentally
important to a self-sustaining market ecosystem that exists beyond
government support alone.
Diversity and Innovation
Due to the current state of the industry, different approaches are
necessary to ensure an innovative and self-sustaining marketplace. This
diversity in our national space ecosystem right now leads to
opportunity and creates an unbeatable combination for global
competitiveness and national mission success. This includes continued
and expanded use of appropriate contracting and procurement approaches,
including: Space Act Agreements, Public Private Partnerships, Other
Transactional Authorities, Firm Fixed Price contracts, Enhanced Use
Lease Authorities and others. In addition to these proven approaches,
the Congress and NASA should remain committed to acquisition reforms.
Since government contracting and procurement remain barriers to some of
our Nation's most innovative and agile small businesses we must fully
harness the power of all types of suppliers in our industrial base in a
way that balances risk and benefit.
Embracing new and enabling technologies across a broad range of
applications is essential to achieving our national space goals. NASA
remains a major enabler to technology stimulation and spinoffs from
both providing new technology to using it. Significant breakthroughs
are occurring at the intersection of different fields or through the
application of existing systems in new and creative ways. For example,
the use of space robotics in the next generation of human prosthetics
or space enabled agriculture to help grow food in challenged areas on
Earth. Within SNC, we are harnessing the technologies and capabilities
across our portfolio of Mars robotic rovers, small satellites,
innovative propulsion systems, environmental life support systems,
space plant growth capabilities, and diverse special mission aircraft
experience to bring space technologies to many other industries and to
enhance society. A successful space program is not a solo act. There is
power in partnerships. Already we are working with large, small, and
disadvantaged organizations in 25 states and together we are expecting
to hire hundreds of people this year. This would not be possible
without that NASA catalyst and partnership.
Continuity, Stability, and Balance
With the upcoming elections this Fall, I believe it is necessary to
re-affirm the importance of stability in the space enterprise at this
critical time in history through a broadly supported NASA Authorization
Act of 2016. For NASA and the United States, expanded utilization of
the International Space Station through at least 2024 is fundamentally
important. We have invested much into the creation of the Space Station
and need to leverage this still valuable investment for the longest
time possible. The development of real commercial markets and missions
may wisely warrant extension of the ISS to 2028 as the International
Space Station also serves as the cornerstone of exploration. During
this period I fully expect new platforms and capabilities, both
domestic and international, to emerge. In turn, these capabilities will
accelerate the critically important beyond low Earth Orbit, or deep
space, exploration activities of both NASA and industry. I strongly
believe synergy between commercial low Earth orbit and deep space
exploration activities are vitally important and essential to the
Nation's success. All too often, some people would like to create
conflict between commercial and government, low Earth orbit and deep
space activities, crewed and robotic, science and exploration, public
versus private, and domestic versus international where no conflict
needs to exist. True mission success, sustained benefits, and broad
achievement of all of our national goals related to space will only
come from a balance and mutually-beneficial approach that includes all
of these elements in a well-integrated, prioritized, and appropriately
resourced plan. Building on this concept on an even broader level, I
would like to drive home the importance of a U.S.-led low Earth orbit
commercialization initiative that creates and sustains diverse
commercial markets and missions so that NASA can focus vital resources
to the pursuit of beyond low Earth orbit human and robotic exploration.
As part of this very-achievable vision, I expect new breakthroughs
in commercial communications, remote sensing, weather, on-orbit
servicing, research and development, testing, production/manufacturing,
tourism, resource extraction, energy production, and many other real
economic and value driving activities from our commercial space
efforts. Our nation must continue to invest and stimulate the space
commercialization business environment and in doing so it will realize
a substantial return on investment. We also must do so in a timely
manner as our global competition has firmly grasped the importance of
this period in space history. Space opens new frontiers, new resources,
new markets, and new opportunities for our youth and together we need
to act strategically as this is a priceless investment in our future as
a nation.
Summary
In closing, I want to sincerely thank Congress and the Committee
for this opportunity to provide our thoughts and project the voice of
the commercial space industry. The stability, diversity, and continuity
of the current Authorization are the hallmarks that must form the core
of NASA's next Authorization. Balance among human and robotic
spaceflight, low Earth orbit commercial utilization and deep space
exploration, science and technology development, and evolutionary
development of a robust and diverse U.S. space industrial base will
deliver revolutionary results that will launch the dreams of our Nation
both now and in the foreseeable future. We must be bold, we must be
smart, and we must provide the resources necessary to deliver that
value to fulfill the tremendous potential of space. At SNC, our dream
is alive through the Dream Chaser and our broad portfolio of space but
we are only one piece in a constellation of U.S.-developed capabilities
that are poised and prepared. We look forward to serving the needs,
ambitions, and worthy goals of the United States.
Thank you and I would be happy to answer any of the Committee's
questions.
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Sirangelo.
Professor Dumbacher.
STATEMENT OF DANIEL L. DUMBACHER, PROFESSOR
OF ENGINEERING PRACTICE, SCHOOL OF AERONAUTICS
AND ASTRONAUTICS, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
Mr. Dumbacher. Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Peters,
Senator Nelson, and members of the Committee, thank you for the
opportunity to discuss my thoughts on leadership in space
exploration. I believe reasserting leadership in space
exploration involves the broader space exploration community:
NASA, industry, emerging space companies, space research
communities, the general public, and, most importantly, future
generations of explorers, to whom we are accountable.
We live today on the shoulders of those that have taken us
to the Moon, extended our view into deep space, robotically
explored the solar system and beyond, and developed the
International Space Station. We owe it to the next generation
to do for them that which our predecessors accomplished for us.
We are at a crossroads, a crossroads where NASA is on the
cusp of transition, not just transition in the political sense,
but a transition in exploration. The capabilities to again get
humans beyond low Earth orbit, to the Moon, Mars, and beyond
are nearing completion in design and development. These
capabilities will enable return of humans to the area around
the Moon, the human exploration of Mars and beyond, and the
possibility of answering the three big science questions.
NASA's 40-plus years of investment in low Earth orbit have
blazed a trail that has opened up economic possibilities,
rewritten science textbooks, not to mention all the
applications that have spun off from this investment to make
things better here on Earth.
Space exploration requires long-term focus, commitment, and
investment. Using the roles of government and commercial
entities in the correct balance, technical risks are reduced,
eventually opening up new markets in space for investment.
Through space exploration, we gain new scientific knowledge for
application on Earth, new technologies to further U.S. economic
leadership, and develop innovative global markets. In addition,
exploration serves to continually challenge human capabilities
and feed human curiosity.
In the past, major financial and programmatic disruptions
to NASA's exploration activities have misspent taxpayer
resources, confused the general public, demoralized a talented
workforce, and diminished or wasted technical and economic
capability. Also, I believe that improvement must be
continuous, challenge the status quo, and enhance our
capabilities for the future.
My lessons learned in the 2009 to 2011 timeframe, as well
as program planning and implementation challenges through 2014
are: Why we continue to explore space can be better
communicated; number two, debates over specific destinations
generate ``camps'' and an unhealthy environment of ``our'' plan
versus ``their'' plan; three, continuity of purpose and
execution is essential for efficient use of resources and
timely, tangible accomplishment. Budget stability and
appropriate funding growth is critical to keeping exploration
programs on schedule.
We can address these lessons by, number one, a dedicated
and transparent effort which works toward building and
maintaining consensus on why we explore. This should build from
the 2010 Authorization Act, which provides clear goals and
objectives, the 2014 NRC ``Pathways to Exploration'' report,
and efforts such as the Pioneering Space Summit. We must
combine this with an associated top-level strategy. This is a
continual effort with the needed perspectives represented:
NASA, industry, including emerging space companies,
researchers, politicians, communications experts, cultural
thinkers and writers, and the general public.
Number two, focus on what needs to be accomplished and how
to accomplish it in order to develop a sustainable strategy
leading to a thriving space economy. Destinations are secondary
to what should be accomplished. A sustainable strategy is well
communicated, requires executable and affordable programs, and
includes international partners on the critical path. Clear
expectations and use of appropriate roles for government and
private industry will support building a consensus strategy.
Number three, continuity of purpose and execution is needed
to avoid loss of momentum, massive replanning, and lost of
talent. Space exploratory goals should be adjusted only based
on what is discovered through progress and innovation.
Number four, assure budget stability. Dr. Wernher von Braun
once said, ``Conquering the universe, one has to solve two
problems: gravity and red tape. We could have mastered
gravity.''
Budget stability results in efficient program
implementation. Continuity across administrations and stable
budget requests and appropriations will provide the strong
foundation for building an executable consensus strategy that
can be well communicated with all stakeholders. Stable budgets
that allow for program planning over the budget horizon,
including inflation to maintain purchasing power, are critical
to continued progress. Stable budgets include minimizing the
annual NASA budget debate, as well as the national budget
debate brinkmanship. Budgets should grow and be commensurate
with the work required in any given year.
In conclusion, I can attest through personal experience
with students, researchers, and the general public that space
exploration is relevant across the globe. Today, there are over
8,000 talented workers across all 50 states developing and
building our space exploration elements. With so many on Earth
eager to explore, it is imperative that we take lessons from
the past, benefit from that knowledge, and fashion a space
exploration strategy that is continuous, communicated,
sustainable, and suitably funded.
Thank you for your past and present support. Thank you for
this opportunity to present my views. Thank you for your time
and attention. And I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Dumbacher follows:]
Prepared Statement of Daniel L. Dumbacher, Professor of Engineering
Practice, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, College of
Engineering, Purdue University
Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Peters, and Members of the Committee,
thank you for the opportunity to discuss my thoughts on leadership in
space exploration. First, I must be clear: in my mind, reasserting
leadership in space exploration involves more than just NASA, it
extends to the broader space exploration community-industry, emerging
space companies, space research communities, the general public and,
most importantly, future generations of explorers, to whom we are all
accountable. This community, those of us on this Earth who are lucky
enough to share a passion for space exploration, live today on the
shoulders of those that have taken us to the moon, extended our view
into deep space, robotically explored the solar system and beyond, and
developed the International Space Station. We owe it to the next
generation to do for them that which our predecessors accomplished for
us.
Yes, we are indeed at a crossroads as the title of the hearing
suggests--but a crossroads where NASA is on the cusp of transition. Not
just transition in the political sense, but a transition in
exploration. NASA has focused on LEO for the past 40 years but the
capabilities (Orion, SLS, GSDO) to again get humans beyond LEO to the
Moon, Mars, and beyond are nearing completion in design and development
putting us on the cusp of a new era in exploration that we have spent
decades dreaming about. The capabilities being built today will enable
the return of humans to the area around the Moon, the human exploration
of Mars, and beyond, and the possibility of answering the Big 3 science
questions: Where did we come from? Where are we going? Are we alone?
At the same time, NASA's 40+ years of investment in low earth orbit
have blazed a trail that has opened up economic possibilities,
rewritten science textbooks, and is beginning to address ageing issues
as we learn from zero-gravity--not to mention all the applications that
have spun of from this investment to make things better here on Earth.
Space exploration requires long-term focus, commitment and
investment. I emphasize commitment because exploration is both
challenging and risky, and the payoffs are spread over the longer term.
Using the roles of government and commercial entities in the correct
balance, technical risks are reduced, eventually opening up new markets
in space for investment. Through space exploration we also gain new
scientific knowledge for application on Earth, as well as new
technologies to further U.S. economic leadership and develop innovative
global markets. In addition, exploration serves to continually
challenge human capabilities and feed human curiosity.
In my opinion, it is imperative that the United States, and its
international partners, continues to pursue and build upon their
existing commitments of space exploration to extend humanity's reach
into deep space. In the past, however, there have been major financial
and programmatic disruptions to NASA's space exploration activities.
These changes have: misspent taxpayer resources, confused the general
public, demoralized a talented workforce, and diminished or wasted
technical and economic capability. The result left exploration efforts
slowly creeping, rather than boldly going forward . . . a position
significantly below this Nation's capability. Let me state
unequivocally, I believe that improvement must be continuous, challenge
the status quo, and enhance our capabilities for the future. My
experience at NASA, and now preparing the next generation, has taught
me that change is often needed, but also that disruption often yields
changes, but not necessarily improvement.
My lessons learned in the 2009-2011 timeframe, concerning the
changes to the NASA human exploration budget and associated program
adjustments, were many. In addition, program planning and
implementation challenges through 2014 provided further lessons. I
would like to discuss these lessons and provide suggestions for moving
forward.
The key lessons and their impacts are:
(1) ``Why'' We continue to explore space has not been well
communicated. The result is a lack of understanding and
``buy-in'' from the American public and all .. This
directly leads to an unhealthy state of individual ideas
being argued with minimal possibility of consensus and
integration.
(2) Debates over specific destinations generate ``camps'' and an
unhealthy environment of ``our'' plan versus ``their''
plan. In reality, the destinations are, at best, secondary
to the real need of near and far term benefits for society.
(3) Continuity of purpose and execution is essential for efficient
use of resources and timely, tangible accomplishment.
Cancellation of major programs, or making significant
changes to programs, thwarts continuity.
(4) Budget stability and appropriate funding growth is critical to
keeping exploration programs on schedule.
All of these lessons must be addressed to maintain U.S. leadership
in space exploration and efficiently execute the programs.
It is imperative that as a nation, and a global community, we
address these lessons to obtain the benefits of space exploration.
With similar and coordinated actions, we can address the lessons of
communicating the ``why we explore'' and the related debate over
destinations. A dedicated, and transparent effort, which works toward
building AND maintaining consensus on why we explore is needed. This
must be combined with an associated top-level strategy. This is not a
one-time activity, this should be a continual effort with NASA, the
aerospace industry--including emerging space companies, researchers,
politicians, marketing and communications experts, cultural thinkers
and writers, and representatives of the interested general public. This
effort must consider what is needed to enlarge a space economy, engage
the general public and their representatives, and how NASA and
government investment can best support space exploration. The 2014
National Research Council, ``Pathways to Exploration'' report provides
a sound starting point for this activity. This report engaged the
needed perspectives and cross-sections to arrive at its conclusions.
Secondly, we need to focus on what needs to be accomplished, and
how to accomplish it, in order to develop a thriving space economy. To
get past the destination discussion, a coordinated strategy for this
development is required. Comments circulated during previous
transitions, in reference to the Moon as a ``been there, done that, got
the t-shirt'' destination are unproductive. There were also incorrect
claims that NASA did not plan on going to Mars. Finally, the often
intoned ``Moon'' versus ``Mars'' versus ``asteroids'' argument, led
only to a fight between the respective camps. The space exploration
community was ``shooting inward'', not communicating an organized
strategy.
A sustainable exploration strategy is what is needed. This requires
an immediate cessation of ``shooting inward'' and recognition of what
is sustainable. Sustainability requires a communicated strategy and
that implementation programs be executable and accomplish milestones.
The strategy must be affordable and include international partners on
the critical path. Clear expectations and use of the appropriate roles
for government and private industry will support building a consensus
strategy.
Continuity of purpose and execution pairs well with budget
stability. When the NASA Constellation program was cancelled in FY
2011, significant progress had already been made. Unquestionably, there
was need for improvement in the planning and execution of
Constellation. However, effectively canceling a five-year, $9 billion
effort resulted in loss of momentum in all projects (Ares, Orion,
Ground Systems), massive re-planning of the on-going Constellation
activities, and loss of talent across the Agency, particularly at
NASA's Johnson, Kennedy, and Marshall Centers. Hundreds of prime and
support contractor jobs, along with those at suppliers, were eliminated
due to this major policy change.
Paired with continuity is budget stability. This was a key topic in
my testimony to the House Science Committee in October 2015. As part of
the effort to respond to the 2010 NASA Authorization Act (Public Law
111-267), the Office of Management and Budget directed NASA to plan
human exploration efforts (what became Orion, the Space Launch System
or SLS, and Ground Systems) within a $3B annual funding level, without
inflation over the budget horizon. This established the SLS
configuration, and programmatic phasing for the Exploration Systems
efforts. However, the annual budget requests were consistently less, FY
2012--$2.81B, FY 2013--$2.76B, FY 2014--$2.73B. Each year, Congress
increased appropriations to near the $3B level, and in FY2014
appropriated over $3.1B. This annual appropriations debate results in
continuous re-planning, loss of team focus on very challenging
technical tasks, programmatic delays, and confusion and
miscommunication across the team, and among all stakeholders.
Continuing resolutions, government shutdowns, brinksmanship in the
national appropriations process, and tardiness in receiving final
appropriations all adversely impact budgetary stability. These national
level budget debates lead directly to program cost and schedule
changes. They serve to increase confusion, and result in loss of focus
due to constant revision. For example, the fifteen-day government
shutdown in October 2013 resulted in overall Exploration System
inefficiencies of at least $240M, accounting for 1 week of phase down,
2 weeks of shutdown, 1 week of ramp up.
``Conquering the universe one has to solve two problems: gravity
and red tape. We could have mastered gravity.''--Dr. Wernher von Braun
For space exploration leadership, it is essential to maintain
continuity of purpose, coupled with budgetary stability. This results
in efficient program implementation. Continuity across Administrations,
and stable budget requests and appropriations, will provide the strong
foundation for building an executable consensus strategy that can be
well communicated with all stakeholders. Stable budgets, that allow for
program planning over the budget horizon, including inflation to
maintain purchasing power, are critical to continued progress. Budgets
should grow and be commensurate with the work required in any given
year and then grow as needed to develop and operate the essential
exploration elements--currently to include SLS, Orion, and habitats.
Today, there are over 8000 talented workers across all 50 states
developing and building these systems, in addition to the European
Orion service module.
Additionally, it should be recognized that Administration changes,
driven by the voice of the voters, can adjust exploration priorities
and strategies due to economic or security concerns. Such adjustments,
however, should not indiscriminately eliminate or alter major programs
without addressing proper and sufficient coordination among all
stakeholders. Space exploratory goals should adjust based on what is
discovered through progress and innovation.
In conclusion, I can attest through personal experience that space
exploration is relevant across the globe. Researchers, rocket
scientists, academics, both University and elementary students and
stargazers from all walks of life, express enthusiasm for emerging
launch systems, be they built by NASA, Blue Origin, ULA, or SpaceX.
International Space Agencies eagerly host groups of engineering
students keen to become the next trailblazers, improving our awareness
of the universe. With so many on Earth eager to explore, it is
imperative that we take lessons from the past, benefit from that
knowledge and fashion a space exploration strategy that is unanimous,
continuous, communicated, sustainable and suitably funded.
Thank you for this opportunity to speak, thank you for your time
and attention, and I look forward to your questions.
The Chairman. Thank you, Professor Dumbacher, and thank you
to each of you for your learned testimony.
Before 2005 and 2010, NASA spent roughly $13 billion on the
Constellation program before it was canceled in 2011. The first
question I would like to ask the members of this panel is, What
are the lessons we can learn from the cancellation of the
Constellation program? And what steps should Congress take to
ensure that the Space Launch System and Orion don't face the
same fate in years to come?
Mr. Gerstenmaier?
Mr. Gerstenmaier. Again, I think we're at a very different
posture this time with the current programs. As has been
described earlier, the amount of hardware that's getting ready
to go fly, the amount of development that's behind this, the
teams have made tremendous progress in moving forward. We're
essentially roughly 2 years away from launch of really the next
generation of launch systems that allow us to go to deep space.
We've made tremendous progress, and I think we need to all
recognize that progress.
We also need to recognize that it's difficult making that
progress. Development is not easy. There will be problems
discovered as we build this hardware, and we need to look that
we're building a system and not just focused on a single launch
or a single two launches, we're actually building a system for
the future. And I think if we all collectively keep those
things in mind, we'll see the long-term vision of what we need
to go forward with and we'll be not tempted to jump to the next
shiny object or to make a change in direction, as occurred in
the past.
So I think we need to look at these systems. They clearly
are world-leading systems. Every nation around the world is
determined they need a heavy-lift launch vehicle. We are
building a heavy-life launch vehicle. We are not designing, we
are not talking about it, its hardware is available to go be
seen, touched in New Orleans. The capsule is in Florida. The
hardware is there. Our systems are there. We need to continue
the course, stay where we're moving forward, and we'll continue
to be a leader in space.
The Chairman. And let me ask you, What is the impact of SLS
and Orion deep space capability, what does that mean for United
States leadership in space?
Mr. Gerstenmaier. We will be the only nation that has the
ability to take crews beyond low Earth orbit to the vicinity of
the Moon on a regular basis with this system. And eventually
with the additional work we're starting on habitation systems,
we can add those to Orion, and we can then essentially move
human presence beyond the Earth-Moon system into the solar
system. So we will be the only nation really going beyond low
Earth orbit with humans moving into the solar system as we
described through this methodical process, heading ultimately
toward Mars.
The Chairman. And if a subsequent administration were to
cancel SLS or Orion, as we did with the Constellation system,
what would the consequences of that be?
Mr. Gerstenmaier. Again, you've described the dire
consequences that occurred when we canceled Constellation, and
you described the impacts--to the auto industry and what
occurred in this huge downturn. We've essentially recovered
from all that, we're moving forward. Cancellation of
Constellation [sic] and SLS would essentially put us back in
that start-all-over-again posture to begin again with all the
negative consequences that you've described earlier as you
talked to us before, and all those would be realized again. You
know, even the workforce that I work with, you know, it was a
devastating blow to them when this work got pulled away from
them, as you've described.
I think people in our industry, as described by these
panelists, maybe work for more than just the paycheck. There's
a passion that sits below us, and when you cancel a program or
you take something that's your life work, that you've really
sacrificed, and you take that away for seemingly a trivial
reason, that is very devastating to our workforce, and that can
have huge implications to this Nation, to our culture, to our
psyche, and to our world leadership, and I don't think we
should go through that again if we can avoid it.
The Chairman. Would anyone else care to amplify?
Mr. Gold?
Mr. Gold. Senator Cruz, if we don't develop heavy-lift, I
assure you the Chinese will. They're working on it today, and
China will use that system to deploy their new space station,
which, by the way, will be introduced while our space station
is being retired. So if we do not develop this critical
capacity, we will be behind China, who is making, frankly, all
of the right decisions.
And I think what you need to do with SLS, and, frankly,
with any of our space systems, is link them to the private
sector, make sure there is a connectivity there, because I
can't tell you who is going to be in charge of NASA eight, 9
months from now, but I can tell you who is going to be in
charge of Space Systems Loral. And I think the private sector
brings stability and support to the space program that can
allow NASA's initiatives to move forward without interruption.
The Chairman. And what are the consequences to our national
interest if we were to remain dependent on Russia for low Earth
orbit and access?
Mr. Sirangelo. Senator, I'll take that. In your opening
statement, you talked about what we are spending outside the
United States, and I think one element of the beyond low Earth
orbit system that Bill Gerstenmaier talked about that isn't so
much recognized is that by turning over low Earth orbit
activities to the commercial sector, one of the things we have
been able to do is enable NASA to look beyond low Earth orbit,
take their resources, take their energy, take the ability that
their people have and look towards, ``What else could we do?''
which is really most definitely a government sector operation.
We've received that benefit by enabling companies like mine and
others to start operating in low Earth orbit.
At the same time, we're getting the dual benefit of being
able to bring back home those dollars that would be spent
outside of the United States. We're launching our astronauts
and our services and our supplies from American soil with
American spaceships on American rockets, and that's what we
believe we should be doing.
Mr. Gold. However, Senator, I think it's also important to
ask the question, will we have an American station for Mr.
Sirangelo's spacecraft to go to? It's good that we're concerned
about U.S. dependence on launching with the Russians right now,
but, unfortunately, what we also have to worry about right now
is whether there will be a U.S. platform in orbit for them to
go to. And as I mentioned in my testimony, we're already
potentially behind schedule in trying to figure out what that
transition will look like.
The countries and companies that can operate in LEO will
have the greatest impact economically, that's where our
satellites are, that's where our commercial and military
interests are. So while we ask about getting people to LEO, I
also hope that we don't forget about LEO utilization, what
we're doing there, and what the competitive industry and
markets look like in that environment.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Senator Peters.
Senator Peters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you
again to our panelists.
Actually, Mr. Gold, I just want to pick up on the statement
you made about the SLS rocket and public-private partnerships
having commercial investments in that as well. There are some
folks who have argued that NASA probably shouldn't be leading
that, that there might be commercial companies that will pick
that up. I don't think that's what you were saying, but could
you explain what you are implying by that statement? And is
NASA on the right track as being the leader in developing this
initial SLS rocket? Or what are your thoughts?
Mr. Gold. So, as Benjamin Franklin was trying to counsel
us, Senator we need to hang together--and thank you for this
question, because I think this is the conundrum that we all
struggle with. You heard every one of us talk about the
industry trying to come together, that we all share this spark
of inspiration that Mr. Sirangelo and Mr. Gerstenmaier
mentioned.
I think what we need to do is the all-of-the-above solution
here, to stop dividing ourselves, believing that there is only
one way to get this done, that there is only one solution. As I
described in my testimony, we need to seek out those
intersection points where the private sector and government
interests are aligned, and feed those. I don't see any problem
in proceeding with the SLS system, which could potentially
benefit the private sector with its capabilities, and if we do
have a presence in cislunar or the Moon or Mars, that's going
to open up all kinds of opportunities for the private sector.
You could have a second Commercial Cargo program for bringing
cargo out to cislunar locations or the Moon or Mars. So I don't
see a conflict here, I see the potential for great synergy and
complementary activity.
Senator Peters. All right.
Mr. Gerstenmaier. Yes, I would surely echo the same
sentiment. I think by using the private sector who are there,
in some sense, they can be more nimble than we can on the
government side. We need to go do that. We're seeing the
innovation occur in both Commercial Cargo and Commercial Crew.
That's very important for them coming online.
We just put out a unique proposal to industry, it's called
a Request for Information, where we essentially have one of the
ports on board the Space Station that we're going to make
available to the private sector to go utilize how they want to
go utilize it. So we asked them for ideas. We said, ``We'll
provide power to you, we'll provide atmosphere to you, you can
attach your module to station. So think of it as having a piece
of land somewhere in some prime city and we're saying that
piece of land is available for you, you can build what you want
there. You can use cargo transportation to get there, you can
buy that on the private sector market, you can get crew
transportation privately to this location.'' And we asked them
for ideas of how they would use this port.
So it will be exciting to see what the private sector tells
us in this response. How can they use this unique aspect? They
could put their station there, they could operate for a while
as a separate entity with purely private sector demand to this
research facility. And then at some point when this station's
life is exceeded, it could undock from station and be the basis
for the next private sector station.
So we are actively working to bring the private sector
along. It enables us to do these harder, more difficult things
that I think are the right things to do for the government
until there's a proven market, until there's demand shown. It's
the right thing for the government to do those harder things
that don't quite make sense to the private sector, but then as
soon as we can, bring the private sector behind us so they can
follow along with us, and we can use them in a very effective
manner to keep advancing into space. Because these challenges
we describe, they can't be done by one nation, they can't be
done by one government entity, they have to be done with the
best of all of us, and that includes the private sector as well
as international partners.
Senator Peters. And I think as you make the statement about
how we have to be together, both private sector, other nations
coming together, it's not just technical, it's really
financial. In fact, I think the ``Pathways to Exploration''
report from the National Academies noted that our biggest
challenge is not technical to do these wonderful things that we
want to do, it's really financial and how we have the
wherewithal to fund these kinds of projects.
And all of you are aware that funding for NASA has not kept
pace with the trajectory that was envisioned in the 2010
Authorization, and yet given that, you still have been able to
make significant progress with the SLS, Orion, and other
related systems for deep space exploration as well.
But I guess that leads to a question, and I'll ask Dr.
Dittmar first, in your view, is NASA on a sustainable
trajectory financially? Or quite simply put, can we fund a
human mission to Mars on this course without sacrificing some
other types of programs?
Dr. Dittmar. Those are two little bit different questions.
Let me just put on my Human Space Flight Committee hat,
because, as you know, I was on the NRC ``Pathways'' report. The
first thing I would say is that what we found in the report is
that where NASA is now it is sustainable. It's developing these
programs. It's eventually going to need us to sort of say,
``Okay, we're going to go do this, this, and this, but right
now the focus is on developing those capabilities.'' And the
budget that Congress has provided has allowed that progress to
continue to be made. There is no question, however, that as you
move forward and really begin to start rolling on this stuff,
you probably are going to need an increase.
One of the things that would really help would be for the
funding to keep track with the rate of inflation, because if it
doesn't keep track with the rate of inflation, you're in a
decreasing situation. It looks like flat funding, but it's
really not, because your buying power actually decreases over
time. So maintaining the rate of inflation is the very first
thing that needs to be addressed. Over time, you're definitely
going to need modest increases.
But another thing that we noted in the report, and this one
gets lost a lot, and so I want to just make the point, is that
technology is increasing by leaps and bounds all around us.
Every week something new happens, things are changing. And one
of the assumptions that we made, and it's one of the reasons we
didn't tag a dollar figure on this, is that over time what
would happen is technologies would improve to the point where
NASA was able to incorporate some of those technologies and
reduce costs as it goes forward. Also, there will be
relationships with international partners, where partners are
basically bringing parts to that whole architecture, and we
assume, as Mike was just talking about, that commercial
enterprise will also begin to pick some of this as we're moving
forward.
So is it on a sustainable trajectory? Yes, for now, it is
on a sustainable trajectory, but in the outyears, you will need
modest increases in funding.
Senator Peters. That's to achieve the Mars mission, you
would need modest increases, in your estimation?
Dr. Dittmar. Well, you need--it's very difficult to say
because some of this depends on where it is that you're going
and in what order you're doing what you decide to do there. If
we're talking about--we start here, we launch, we go to Mars--
then that's one funding profile. If we say--we're going to
start here, we're going to go into cislunar space, we're going
to take some time and figure out what it is that we need to
know that we don't know that we need to know, which is part of
what exploration is about, we'll need to be learning as we go--
then that's a different funding profile. If you do what the
``Pathways''--what I refer to in the Pathways Report as the
``go everywhere and do everything'' model, which is essentially
a whole lot of steps on the way the Mars, that's yet another
funding profile. That funding profile is going to be the most
expensive but it's also going to be the least risky because
you'll have been learning at each step that you take.
So there's not a single answer to your question. It depends
on what choices get made at what point along the line. Do I
think that you're at a place right now to be moving out on that
program? Yes, I do.
Senator Peters. OK. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Peters.
Senator Daines.
STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE DAINES,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA
Senator Daines. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you for testifying here today. There's a lot of
conversation about the future of space travel, as we've heard
today, and this public-private-commercial kind of partnerships,
and I think this whole problem is frankly for future high-tech
job growth, coming from somebody who's spent a lot of time in
the high-tech sector. And I want to really direct my questions
thinking about, how do we inspire the next generation of
engineers and so from the partnerships of building an upstream
farm team, if you will? I heard a lot of conversation about
STEM and STEAM. I'm the only chemical engineer on the Hill, so
I hold down a caucus by myself, but a big, big proponent on the
sciences and engineering.
My alma mater, by the way, at Montana State University,
they've got an eclipse ballooning project. They're guiding 60
student teams across 30 states to build and launch the hardware
to send live video from the edge of space to NASA's website
during next summer's total solar eclipse. What's great about
that is they're working--students working on projects will have
tangible results, something they can really see, which I think
is very exciting.
I'm going to start with Mr. Gold, a graduate of Billings
Senior High, a Bronc. I know you've had both a personal and
familial connection to NASA and have helped bring their
outreach activities to Montana, which I thank you for that.
Could you elaborate on the HUNCH program? And for those who
don't know what HUNCH is, it's High Schools United with NASA to
Create Hardware. Tell me about that. And it really is getting
into this, how do we inspire more technically trained students
for the future here?
Mr. Gold. Thank you so much for that question, Senator.
HUNCH, in my opinion, is one of NASA's most important programs.
Although in the interest of full disclosure, my mother runs it,
so I'm anything, if not biased.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Gold. HUNCH is operated out of Billings, Montana, as
you noted. And what it does is it partners NASA Johnson Space
Center, in Senator Cruz's great state of Texas, and five other
NASA facilities with schools in Montana and across the country
for the purpose of inspiring students to pursue careers in
science and engineering by linking them up with NASA to provide
real world products to the Agency for their use. For example,
the galley table that the astronauts are using on the ISS today
was built by HUNCH. The astronauts are eating off a table built
by the students. And I cannot overstate the impact that I think
it would have on a student for them to be able to say that, ``I
worked on a piece of the International Space Station that
astronauts are eating off of today.'' I think if something like
that had been available when I was at Billings Senior High, I
might have been a useful engineer instead of a useless lawyer.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Gold. Not that lawyers are useless, as Senator Cruz and
I know.
Senator Daines. I think you turned out OK.
Mr. Gold. Absolutely. I turned out. Thank you. I appreciate
that, absolutely.
Senator Daines. Mr. Gerstenmaier, in your testimony, you
didn't talk a lot about engaging younger generations. I know
you have a lot to say about that. Would you also elaborate on
experiences with this HUNCH program and other programs to
inspire this next generation of engineers and astronauts?
Mr. Gerstenmaier. I think the HUNCH program is unique in
the fact it focuses on high school students, and the fact it
also reaches out to more of the vocational side of the high
school students, so it's not necessarily the high engineering
college students, but it's more the vocational side. So they
actually get hands-on experience working with our engineers
manufacturing hardware, like Mike described, the table on board
Station. They've built 150 crew transfer bags, so when you see
the crew transfer bags going across the hatches, those were
manufactured by high school students.
It's also exciting to actually visit with the students and
talk to them and hear their personal stories of where they
weren't sure what they wanted to do with their careers, and now
all of a sudden they're building hardware, they're in the
trainers in Houston working side-by-side with an astronaut,
understanding how a transfer bag should be manufactured, how to
put handholds on it, how it can be used in microgravity. All of
a sudden, they've got a real purpose for what their career
trajectory is and what they want to go do. So it's a tremendous
program to get young folks excited, especially high school age.
I would say another group that I just got a chance to meet
with are young professionals. Those are college age students.
You know, sometimes we think of ourselves as the Apollo
generation, where we were motivated by what occurred in Apollo.
It's interesting talking to this college group of students;
they see it as the Space Station generation. So they see the
Space Station and this international activity as an
unbelievable motivating force for them and their careers and
the chance that they get to work internationally and globally
with people on this Space Station. It's as large as a football
field, that was talked about.
So I think sometimes we discount the benefit of what we're
actually doing today or the preciousness of the activities
we're doing, and we take them for granted, and we don't see
them in the context of where they are, but I think they are
tremendously motivating to our students. If you look when we do
activities now, we do social media activities where we have
tweetups where we have a bunch of college students come in and
talk about our programs. They are probably more knowledgeable
about our programs than the general population in general.
So I think we have a tremendous ability and a tremendous
responsibility to educate both the younger students all the way
from grade school through high school all the way into college.
Mr. Sirangelo. And if I could just add, Senator, if it
wasn't for Bill Gerstenmaier, there wouldn't be a HUNCH, it
wouldn't be in Montana, and that's true of many of these
educational programs.
So thank you, Mr. Gerstenmaier.
Senator Daines. Thank you. And I'm out of time, but I'll
just conclude, I really appreciate also how we motivate and
encourage students who may want to go to a two year vocational
training. We need to be training a generation of folks who know
how to make things work and to celebrate two year institutions
just like we do the four year. That's an issue. I think we need
to elevate the 2 years to the 4 years in many ways and
celebrating that for those who don't want to go for a full
four-year education.
Mr. Gerstenmaier. And I think that's again the real
advantage we get. The benefit is by celebrating diversity and
bringing a large population, it's amazing what support we can
get and what we can accomplish.
Senator Daines. Yes. Thank you.
Mr. Sirangelo. Senator, if I could maybe add to that.
Senator Daines. Yes.
Mr. Sirangelo. One other thing I think is as important to
what my colleagues have been talking about is that when you
speak to the young people, not only do they want to go out and
build something and hold it, as you said, and be able to touch
it, they want to know that there's a future for this. They want
to know that future is going to be longer than a year or two or
three or four because if they're going to commit to going into
these industries and doing what we want them to do, they need
to see that that future for NASA and for this industry is one
that's going to last for 10 or 20 years as they look forward to
the next couple of generations. And I think in doing that, the
continuity, taking the space program outside of what might be a
year-to-year concept and putting it into a place where people
can look at it and say there is going to be a long-term future
is going to be one of the most motivating things we can do for
our young people, and I'm not just talking about the rocket
scientists of the world. We value the electrician who wires our
spaceship as much.
What we're really doing in many ways, at least in our
business, is creating the infrastructure, the equivalent, the
Internet equivalent of creating an iPad or a laptop, and being
able to say the next group of people coming through are going
to create the apps in the industry behind that, and that's what
we want to motivate them to, and in doing that, I think we need
to show them that there is going to be a long-term path for
this, and that's going to create the inspiration. Many of them
want to be entrepreneurs. Many of them don't just want to come
out and go work for a company, they want to create their own
company. And I think showing them that path and realizing
that's what sparks that inspiration is quite important for us
as well.
Senator Daines. Thank you, Mr. Sirangelo.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Senator Nelson.
Senator Nelson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This has been an excellent panel, and each of you have
brought a lot to the table. For example, in your talking about
the future of commercial putting a module on the Space Station.
Now, that begs the question, we certainly ought to expand the
authorization of the Space Station. It wasn't too many years
ago that the authorization was only to 2016, the present year.
We have it out to 2024, but there's a lot more that we can do
on that platform, it ought to be extended. And I will predict
that shortly, in the next few years, if not immediately, you
will see an extension even on out to the end of the decade.
That will give part of the certainty of what you all have been
talking about, and the certainty of funding is certainly key.
Now, what you said, Dr. Dittmar, is so important; that
we're going to develop all these technologies that we don't
know about today. But in order to get to the goal of getting to
Mars, we're going to have to develop them, sustain life, and
then bring that life back.
Mr. Gerstenmaier, it would take us under conventional
technology 6 to 8 months to get there, and then because the
planets would be out of alignment, you'd have to stay on the
surface a long time, then to come back, another 6 to 8 months.
Now, under present technology, how are you going to sustain
life that long? It's going to be very difficult. So what we
need to do is to sprint to Mars, stay a week or two, come home.
Have you got anything in mind in the way of those new
technologies?
Mr. Gerstenmaier. We're looking at electric propulsion and
specifically higher thrust electric propulsion. The VASIMR
activity, which we're investigating is one area we're looking
at. Actually, we're under a NextSTEP Phase 1 activity in
propulsion to take a look at the next generation of propulsion,
and the idea is to actually run one of these VASIMR engines in
a chamber on the ground for 100 hours to prove the technology,
to understand that the system can actually operate for those
kinds of durations, and if that test is successful, I think
that proves to a lot of skeptics out there that this technology
is ready to then be fielded and moved.
Again, the high thrust electric propulsion makes sense at
the greater than 100 kilowatt thrust levels. The smaller
electric propulsion is fine for things like the Asteroid
Redirect Mission, but for the bigger missions, this potentially
has a lot of benefit. But we're actually proving today, there's
a group at Ad Astra that's actually working on this technology,
they're going through a series of gates that lead up to this
ground test that I described, and when we see that, I think
that will clear the way for this new technology, and that's one
area that we're pursuing to try to get there faster, as you
described.
Mr. Gold. And if I may, Senator, solar electric propulsion
is another area of intersection between the private and public
sector. SEP is the future for satellite systems, which is
already arriving, and the European Space Agency is subsidizing
SEP systems, not just for exploration, but for commercial
pursuit of the satellite business. As you say, we should be
leveraging the International Space Station, and part of that
could be a SEP demonstration on the ISS.
Senator Nelson. OK, now, we're talking about different
payloads here because with solar propulsion, it's going to be
that you can move a big mass very slow. I don't want to get
bogged down in the details. We're talking about a sprint. But
what Mr. Gerstenmaier said is we're testing one on the ground.
Eventually, you're going to have to go to space. It's another
reason we need the Space Station up there, as a platform to do
the testing.
All right, let's talk--I want to get to you, Dr. Dumbacher,
but let me ask Mr. Gerstenmaier first. Asteroid Redirect: now,
I don't know why that has gotten some political commentary in
it. You said something I think prophetic a while ago. You said
what we did when Kennedy said we're going to the Moon and back,
and then leave it to the technicians, the engineers, and the
scientists to decide how we're going to do it. All right, we
said we're going to Mars, the President said that. You all came
up with an Asteroid Redirect, and yet we've had political
commentary that that's not the thing to do. Do you want to
comment about that?
Mr. Gerstenmaier. Yes, when we looked at the Asteroid
Redirect Mission, we knew we needed to look at electric
propulsion to potentially position large cargo in the vicinity
of Mars because even with the advanced propulsion, it's still
going to take a while to get to Mars, you're going to have to
generate propellant on the surface of Mars to come back, but
that's a very long journey. So we're going to have to carry
supplies in some way. So we need electric propulsion to move
large masses.
The Asteroid Redirect Mission does that, it builds electric
propulsion. It builds off of communication busses, that Mike is
aware of, to actually move those large masses. We move a large
boulder to simulate effectively a cargo that we could be
moving. We also bring that back to the vicinity of the Moon,
where we can then do activities with crews to interact with
that large asteroid boulder. We can remove samples with crews.
We need to learn how to do spacewalks where there is not
continuous communication with the crews like there is in low
Earth orbit. We'll do that around the Moon, where there are
periodic comm outages, the crews will have to be more
autonomous. Those crew interactions remotely and being
independent are direct actions that we need to understand when
we go to Mars.
So when we took all of those capabilities and we looked at
what we needed to go do, this Asteroid Redirect Mission became
a very excellent way to realistically demonstrate and learn the
skills and develop the hardware, techniques, and capabilities
that will be needed for Mars. So that's the genesis of how the
mission came up and that's how it fits in the vision for Mars.
We may not have done as good a job at the beginning
explaining what we did, maybe that's some of the problems, but
I think we've crisped that discussion up. Our teams are moving
forward, we're making good progress. We're understanding the
benefits of this directly, and it has direct application to
what we're trying to do in the Journey to Mars activity we're
pursuing.
Senator Nelson. May I impose on the Chairman to have
Professor Dumbacher comment?
The Chairman. Sure.
Mr. Dumbacher. Yes, Senator, I think the Asteroid Redirect
Mission is one of those things that is in the system. Back to
my point that we need to figure out what needs to be
accomplished and go accomplish it. In the list that Bill, Mr.
Gerstenmaier, just gave you, I think is an excellent list. I
would add one thing to it, and that is, we have to learn how to
live and work in space further and further away from home.
Right now, our astronauts are an hour and a half away, 2 hours
away, from getting home safely. When we go to the Moon, in our
past experience with Apollo, we were 3 days away. In the
distant retrograde orbits, and eventually working our way out
to Mars, we're going to be 9 days away from home, and that sets
a whole new standard for operations, how you handle abort
scenarios, how do you handle the human life and maintaining
human life in abort scenarios, as well as developing and
designing hardware that has much better reliability than we
have today.
We have to have the ability to repair that hardware in
place. We can't just call the guys up back on Earth and say,
``Send me something up on the next ship,'' because we're
further away from home and we have to learn--that changes the
whole thought process, the whole mentality, and activities in
the cislunar space gives us that experience base that we can
build from to go on to Mars.
Senator Nelson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you very much. I want to thank all of
the members who testified. Before we close, I want to ask for
unanimous consent to insert the following letters into the
hearing record: a letter from Virgin Galactic, and a letter
from Planetary Society. Without objection, they'll be admitted
to the record.
[The information referred to follows:]
Prepared Statement of George Whitesides, CEO, Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic, along with a number of other innovative companies
in the commercial space sector, is aiming to provide cost-effective,
frequent, and responsive access to space for small payloads within the
next two years. This next generation of launch capabilities will
advance our country's leadership in space, and will strengthen our
industrial base and national security.
U.S. companies combined invested nearly $1 billion to develop these
new launch capabilities. We have been able to make such a significant
investment because for decades, successive Administrations have worked
with Congress, on a bipartisan basis, to support the commercial space
transportation industry and to prevent government programs from
unnecessarily competing with industry.
One issue--the potential commercial use of refurbished ballistic
missile rocket motors--has been examined multiple times over the last
25 years and has been determined to be against our national interest.
However, once again, a few companies are now arguing that the U.S.
Government should make up to 900 excess ballistic missile assets
available to private companies to be used for commercial launch
services. Such a decision would have lasting, negative impacts. In
particular, it would:
Flood the market with artificially cheap launch vehicles,
just as several U.S. companies are fielding their own launch
vehicles;
Discourage further investment in small satellite launch, and
in other aerospace capabilities where there is a risk of
government competition; and
Pick winners and losers in the marketplace, with one company
receiving a windfall and the rest being forced to compete
unfairly.
Virgin Galactic urges that Congress maintain its longstanding
policy in support of commercial launch capabilities. We believe it
would be especially unwise to make any changes before this issue is
examined by the Department of Commerce, the Department of
Transportation, and other involved agencies.
Failing to limit the use of excess ICBMs will stifle innovation for
emerging commercial space companies while favoring a few established
aerospace businesses and damage our country's space industrial base. A
radical change in U.S. space policy now would have significant negative
impacts on these commercial companies while increasing cost of services
to the Government.
______
Prepared Statement of Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy,
The Planetary Society
Today, the United States leads the world in space exploration. No
other nation has landed humans on the Moon. No other nation has
successfully landed on Mars or driven rovers on its surface. No other
nation has visited every planet in the Solar System. The International
Space Station (ISS) is the largest international civilian science
project and most complex spacecraft in history. The ISS would not exist
without U.S. leadership. There is a growing commercial space sector in
the U.S. that has launch capability to low-Earth orbit for cargo and
soon for humans. No other nation has accomplished as much, explored as
many places, or advanced as far into space as has the United States.
While U.S. leadership and accomplishments over the past several
decades are clear and demonstrable, the outlook ahead is far less
certain and will depend more on political will than technological
ability.
For the first time in human history the technical tools are within
reach to directly search for life (or signatures of past life) at
Europa or Mars. Such a discovery would represent a turning point in
human history, and would help unlock answers to fundamental questions
about the origin of life and the extent of life beyond our own solar
system. Congressional rejection of proposed budget cuts to planetary
exploration have ensured that NASA will continue to be the leader in
deep space exploration. Similar congressional and White House support
has been critical to the health of NASA other leading science
divisions: Earth Science, Astrophysics, and Heliophysics. NASA's
sciences are actively working on next generation missions such as the
Mars 2020 sample-caching rover, the James Webb Space Telescope, and
Solar Probe Plus that will all return unprecedented science. Missions
beyond these will depend on continued bipartisan support of Congress
and the White House.
U.S. is the clear leader in human spaceflight, not just by NASA to
the ISS, but through an advanced commercial sector that has developed
(and is developing) its own independent launch capability with
ambitions for humans and commerce for low-Earth orbit and beyond.
NASA's human space exploration program, however, faces far greater
uncertainty. While there is widespread support for the goal of sending
humans to Mars--a goal we strongly support--NASA has yet to define a
plan and strategy for how and when it hopes to achieve this goal. To be
clear, NASA is making progress developing some of the key components,
such as the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion crew vehicle, and
NASA has adopted Mars as its organizing principle for human
exploration. But an intent to send humans to Mars is not enough to
sustain what will be a multi-decadal, multi-Administration program.
The Planetary Society believes that NASA should, and can, develop a
sustainable, affordable, and executable human exploration program
leading to Mars, and should do so soon. To help advance the debate on
how NASA might move forward, The Planetary Society convened a workshop
last year that brought together key leaders in industry, NASA, and the
scientific and public policy communities. The workshop provided a
broad-based, expert synthesis of the technical, programmatic, and
policy issues necessary to create a sustainable program of human Mars
exploration.
A key conclusion of the workshop was that the goal of sending
humans to Mars is attainable and affordable if NASA develops a minimal
architecture focused on sending humans to Mars. We evaluated one
proposed plan in the Society's Humans Orbiting Mars report (attached),
which would send an orbital mission to Mars in 2033 as a critical step
to safely landing humans on the surface shortly thereafter. The
workshop found that such a program made excellent use of existing
hardware programs, was technically feasible with existing technology,
and would fit within a human spaceflight budget that grows only with
inflation. We do note that this is only possible if NASA hands off
primary funding responsibility for the International Space Station in
the 2024-2028 timeframe. More recently, Lockheed-Martin released a
similar minimal architecture concept called Mars Base Camp, which
embraces many similar ideas as our report, though it advances the first
human mission to Mars orbit to 2028.
No matter which ultimate strategy is selected, a key component for
any future Mars architecture is a deep space habitat to sustain humans
during the long voyage to the Red Planet. Fortunately, Congress has
provided NASA with funds in FY 2016 to begin initial formulation of
such a habitat, and we encourage NASA to focus its near-term human
spaceflight efforts on developing and validating this hardware in cis-
lunar space. A cis-lunar habitat can serve as a testbed for long-
duration, closed-loop life support, deep space operations, and provide
enabling support for international or commercial partners should they
wish to explore the lunar surface. This allows NASA to enable broad
access to the Moon while maintaining a hardware development path
focused on Mars.
The United States has an opportunity to lead the world to Mars--and
in doing so U.S. leadership in human space exploration will be assured.
NASA's scientific efforts already demonstrate clear vision and
leadership, and congressional actions have been crucial to enabling
this success. The future for human and scientific exploration is a
matter of political will, and Congress has an opportunity to
demonstrate strong support for both as the White House transitions in
2017.
Attachment
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Senator Nelson. Mr. Chairman, may I ask one more question?
I didn't know you were ready to adjourn.
The Chairman. Sure.
Senator Nelson. I thought we were going back through
another round, and so I'll just cut it real short.
I want to ask Mr. Gerstenmaier if he could tell us, what
have we learned from the two failures of the cargo resupply?
Mr. Gerstenmaier. Cargo, yes. Again, I think when we set up
the cargo resupply program, it's important to recognize we set
it up and we recognized we could take more risk with our cargo
than we could with crew flights. So it was purposely designed
where NASA protected really the Space Station to make sure
these vehicles could not damage the Space Station, but we
essentially let the private sector manage the launch
requirements, manage the launch reliability, manage the launch
safety.
So this was a chance for us to see what industry could
really do with minimal NASA involvement. And we recognize we
might have some failures, but that would not be a problem to us
overall because we had robust planning and we had enough cargo
flights and enough diversity that we could keep stations
supplied, so we could tolerate failure.
I think what we learned is that the private sector can
recover from these failures fairly quickly. You know, we didn't
have to stand down for an extended period of time for 2 years
to go do an investigation to write a big report. They
understood what failure occurred, they were very motivated to
get back flying again.
In the case of the Orbital ATK vehicle, they knew they were
going to have to redesign their launch vehicle, so they went
out to the market and they found another launch vehicle to go
launch on. They found the Atlas 5 that was available to go
launch on to keep their cargo vehicles flying, and so they were
able to fly two flights on the Atlas 5 vehicles and keep the
Station resupplied.
So that showed the innovation, that they could take a
spacecraft that was designed to fly on one rocket, move it to a
different rocket, and still supply the Station with really no
NASA involvement. They did that on their own. They did that
based on their own knowledge. And that shows the resilience of
the private sector to recover from those failures.
In the case of SpaceX, again, they turned around very
quickly. They understood what their problem was. Within a
matter of days, they were actually in a test facility on the
ground testing the failure that they thought had occurred on
orbit to verify that that failure occurred. That getting into
test was much faster than I could have ever done on a NASA
side. By the time I would have had the ability to get contracts
written and done the proposals and put the test sequence in
place, it would have been a half a year. They did that in 2
days. They were very quick getting back. They involved us in
that. We got to see the activity. And again they returned to
flight.
So I think we provided them some comments on ways they can
get better, some things they can think about from a systems
engineering standpoint, but I think what we really learned is
the private sector, if we give them the right incentives and we
have the contracting structure set up, they can deliver the
capabilities that we, NASA, need in a very effective manner.
The Chairman. Senator Peters wanted to give a brief closing
statement.
Senator Peters. Right. Thank you. I just want to say that,
because of time constraints, we have many questions. I'll look
forward to have an opportunity to following up with each of
you. And thank you so much for your testimony.
I just want to leave with one thought, Mr. Gerstenmaier.
You mentioned about the Space Station generation. I'm part of
that Apollo generation with all of you, but I had an
opportunity to see this firsthand, which is why it's so
important that we continue to focus on this with NASA. Is one
of the programs you had with a high school in Michigan where
the students all came in, in a big assembly and had an
opportunity to talk directly to the Astronauts on the Space
Station as they were floating in the Station. And I was up on
stage looking out at the audience, and the look on the faces of
those young people, how excited they were. They were asking
fabulous questions, and then after the program was over, I
asked them, ``How many of you would like to go into engineering
or science?'' and the whole auditorium raised their hand.
So it is an incredibly powerful thing. Thank you for what
you're doing. Thank you all for inspiring our next generation
to be great scientists and explorers.
The Chairman. Well, thank you very much. And I will say if
we truly want to inspire our Nation, we could have a program to
launch Congress into space----
[Laughter.]
The Chairman.--but that may be a more ambitious endeavor,
and the nice thing is it would only be a one-way trip.
[Laughter.]
The Chairman. With that, I want to thank all the witnesses
for being here, for your learned testimony. And the hearing
record is going to remain open for 2 weeks. During that time,
Senators are asked to submit any questions for the record. Upon
receipt, the witnesses are requested to submit their written
answers to the Committee as soon as possible.
And with that, I want to thank you again for being here.
And this hearing is now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:11 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Marco Rubio to
William H. Gerstenmaier
Question 1. Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida is the
world's space capital with the largest concentration of aerospace
launch providers and suppliers. We've already seen Apollo, Shuttle, and
ISS cargo launches from there and soon both Commercial Crew and SLS/
Orion will be launching. Could you discuss what this means for the
future of Florida's Space Coast, and what you foresee happening in the
State in the next few years?
Answer. Under NASA's human spaceflight plans, Kennedy Space Center
(KSC) will continue to be a vibrant hub of activity, serving as the
launch site for future human deep space missions (using the Space
Launch System [SLS] and Orion) and Commercial Crew missions to the
International Space Station (ISS), and as one of the launch sites for
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) flights to ISS. We also expect
commercial launch service providers under contract to NASA's Launch
Services Program (LSP) to continue to use the Cape as a launch point
for NASA's planetary robotic probes and the civil sector's
geosynchronous communication and weather satellites.
In addition, NASA has been working with both the State of Florida
and commercial entities to provide a number of assets for use by the
commercial space industry (e.g., Orbiter Processing Facility 3 and
associated Processing Control Center, Launch Complex 39A, and the
Shuttle Landing Facility and associated land).
KSC is being transformed from a government-and program-focused,
single-user launch complex to a more capability-centric and cost-
effective multi-use spaceport, enabling both government and commercial
space providers. NASA's 21st Century Space Launch Complex (21CSLC),
extending from FY 2011 through FY 2017, has been modernizing and
transforming the Florida launch and range complex at KSC, Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), and Wallops Flight Facility (WFF)
in Virginia into a more robust launch capability that can support
multiple users. Beneficiaries of this activity included current and
future NASA programs, other U.S. Government agencies, and commercial
industry.
For further information on planned developments at KSC through
2032, please see the KSC Master Plan at: http://
masterplan.ksc.nasa.gov/.
Question 2. During the birth of the Apollo program, the United
States, under the leadership of President John F. Kennedy, was
determined to beat the Soviets to the moon. Is the United States still
in a position to remain competitive and challenge the likes of other
global powers?
Answer. The Administration and Congress share the goal of
sustaining U.S. leadership in space exploration, and NASA is working to
extend human presence into the solar system and to the surface of Mars
through an integrated human and robotic exploration strategy that
yields a series of tangible milestones and capabilities that lead
toward future human missions to Mars. This strategy embraces
international and commercial partnerships and maintains America's role
as the world's leader and foundational partner in space exploration. In
building the SLS and Orion, as well as supporting ground systems,
developing deep space habitation concepts, and proposing investments in
technology development programs that are critical to any sustainable
and affordable space exploration program, the U.S. is creating
capabilities for mounting deep space missions that no other nation
possesses.
In low Earth orbit (LEO), the International Space Station (ISS) is
helping to cement continuing U.S. leadership in human spaceflight, with
over 15 years of humans living off the planet, and Station is a clear
demonstration of the benefits to humankind that can be achieved through
peaceful global cooperation. Through the encouragement of a LEO
economy, NASA is supporting the development of competitive American
industrial capabilities and markets. The ISS partnership, with America
as its leader, is very important; leadership in space brings with it
economic growth, technological prowess, and national pride, and
contributes to American global leadership more broadly.
Question 3. As the Senate looks to reauthorize NASA in the coming
year, what reforms do you suggest?
Answer. The legislative proposals noted below, which were approved
for the 113th Congress, are still of great interest to NASA:
Astronaut Occupational Healthcare--would provide the
Administrator the authority to allow NASA to perform medical
monitoring and treatment of occupational diseases for current
and former crew members.
Retention of Intellectual Property Rights by Users of the
ISS National Lab--clarifies the ownership of intellectual
property resulting from commercial research projects on the ISS
that are conducted under the auspices of the 501(c)(3) entity
managing this research.
Authority for Negotiated Disposal of Property for Use by
Commercial Space Industry--would provide a mechanism for
Federal agencies, including the NASA and DoD, to transfer
surplus Federal property directly to commercial space companies
when the property is no longer needed by the United States
Government.
Authority to Protect Certain Technical Data from Public
Disclosure--would align Freedom of Information Act Requests
with the requirements of Export Control Laws.
Detection and Avoidance of Counterfeit Electronic Parts--
this proposal mirrors language contained in the FY 2012 NDAA
legislation, and affords NASA the same protections as DoD for
the use of trusted suppliers.
Confidentiality of Voluntarily Provided Safety Information--
would protect the confidentiality of witness statements taken
by mishap investigation boards. This is the same authority FAA
and DoD currently have.
Confidentiality of Medical Quality Assurance Records--would
amend the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (P.L. 85-
568) to establish that records created by NASA as part of its
medical quality-assurance program are confidential and
privileged and may not be disclosed to any person. This is the
same authority Department of Veterans Affairs and DoD currently
has.
Authority to Support Commercial Space through Acquisition
and Joint Infrastructure Development--would provide a mechanism
for DoD and NASA to accept funding from the private sector to
develop, enhance and maintain the Federal Government's launch
range sites. DoD was given this authority in the FY13 NDAA
legislation.
Improvements to Baselines and Cost Controls Breach Reporting
Process--changes the timeline to better align the breach
reporting process to the existing NASA processes on budget
formulation.
Removal of Sunset to NASA's Enhanced Use Lease (EUL)
authority--Would enable NASA to continue to enter into EUL
agreements for underutilized but non-excess NASA real property.
NASA's current EUL authority (51 U.S.C. Section 20145(g)) is
set to expire in December 2017.
Question 4. What programs within the agency pull its focus away
from its intended main goal of placing humans on the surface of Mars?
Answer. The National Aeronautics and Space Act (as amended) sets
out diverse yet complementary objectives of aeronautical and space
activities. The shared underpinning of these objectives is two-fold:
recognized national needs that can best be met via aeronautics and
space research and development, and NASA's unsurpassed scientific,
technical and systems engineering expertise. NASA works to maintain a
balanced portfolio of programs that enable the U.S. to be the world
leader in exploration, science, technology, and aeronautics research.
Question 5. Just last year, the President signed into law the U.S.
Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, which I proudly
cosponsored in the Senate. This law clarifies the private right to
space resources for commercial companies. One of these companies, Moon
Express based in Cape Canaveral, has made an application to the FAA for
authorization of its planned maiden mission of its robotic lander in
2017, which will make them the very first commercial space company to
land on the lunar surface. How can NASA work with commercial space
companies, leveraging private sector investment, to increase future
mission success for NASA from both a scientific and operational
standpoint?
Answer. NASA has partnered with U.S. commercial entities to
transport cargo, and soon crew, affordably to LEO and has focused ISS
operations and research to enable the development of a demand-driven
commercial ecosystem. The commercial crew and cargo systems that
support ISS will also enable NASA to focus its own development efforts
on the Orion and SLS, which will send U.S. astronauts on missions of
exploration beyond LEO. It is NASA's intention to transition LEO to
private platforms and capabilities enabled by commercial markets and
Government agencies with interest in LEO research and activities, while
NASA's primary focus for exploration shifts toward deep space beyond
LEO. Private enterprise and affordable commercial operations in LEO
will enable a truly sustainable step in our expansion into space.
In 2014, NASA introduced an initiative called Lunar CATALYST
(``Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown'') and
entered into competitively awarded partnerships with three U.S. firms
(Astrobotic Technology, Masten Space Systems, and Moon Express) to
provide in-kind support to develop commercial lunar robotic landing
capabilities. The purpose of the initiative is to encourage the
development of U.S. private-sector robotic lunar landers capable of
successfully delivering payloads to the lunar surface using U.S.
commercial launch capabilities. Commercial lunar transportation
capabilities could support science and exploration objectives such as
sample returns, geophysical network deployment, resource utilization,
and technology advancements.
NASA is assisting SpaceX in developing the capability to land an
uncrewed Dragon spacecraft on the Martian surface (``Red Dragon'').
This partnership began in 2014 as part of the Collaborations for
Commercial Space Capabilities initiative. In October 2015, SpaceX
requested an expanded level of support from NASA to pursue a 2018
flight opportunity to Mars. NASA performed an internal feasibility
study which determined that the support was feasible, would cost
approximately $30 million, and would benefit NASA with flight data in
the Mars environment on supersonic retro-propulsion, a candidate
technology for human-scale Mars entry, descent, and landing (EDL). NASA
approved proceeding in January 2016, resulting in a Space Act Agreement
(SAA) amendment being executed in April 2016.
NASA learned in 2014 and 2015 through a Request for Information and
studies solicited through a Broad Area Announcement of emerging
commercial interest in the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) to answer
questions in and act as a catalyst for future asteroid mining
opportunities. Commercial industry was represented on the Formulation
Assessment and Support Team in late 2015 and early 2016 which provided
critical assessment for requirements formulation and partnership
strategy. NASA released in early September 2016 a Broad Area
Announcement soliciting partnerships for hosted payloads on the ARM
robotic spacecraft and an investigation team to define investigations
and exploit opportunities for the mission to benefit broad interests.
NASA has also been undertaking substantial private-sector and
international engagement to define habitation concepts, systems, and
implementation approaches to cost-effectively achieve NASA's goals for
deep space and enable progress towards LEO commercial space station
capabilities. The Agency's Next Space Technologies for Exploration
Partnerships (NextSTEP) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is an effort to
stimulate deep-space capability development across the aerospace
industry.
NASA issued the original NextSTEP BAA to U.S. industry in
late 2014. In March 2015, the Agency selected 12 awardees--
seven in habitation, three in propulsion, and two in small
satellites. NASA has since entered into fixed-price contracts
with the selectees.
In April 2016, NASA issued a NextSTEP-2 BAA, an omnibus
announcement covering all aspects of basic and applied
supporting research and technology for human space exploration
and robotic precursor activities. The April release of the
NextSTEP-2 BAA included Appendix A: Habitat Systems, which is
focused on developing deep space habitation concepts, resulting
in ground prototype units. This ground-based effort will
support development of deep space long-duration habitation
concepts and demonstrate systems that NASA will later need to
test in the microgravity environment of space. The objective is
to identify habitation concepts that can support extensive
human spaceflight missions in the Proving Ground of cislunar
space and beyond while encouraging application to commercial
LEO capabilities. One goal of this public-private approach is
to enable the United States to develop the deep space
habitation capability at a lower cost than through a cost-plus
procurement approach. In August 2016, NASA announced the
selection of six proposals from U.S. companies under NextSTEP-
2. NASA intends to perform integrated ground testing using
habitation capabilities developed by the commercial partners in
2018.
Question 6. NASA's Viking Lander 1 successfully reached the Martian
surface on July 20, 1976. Exactly seven years before that, man landed
on the moon. It has been 40 years now since Viking 1 reached Mars. Has
NASA appropriately used its funding since then to put man on Mars?
Answer. Since the Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s, NASA has
learned a great deal--both about the Red Planet and about how to live
and work in space for extended durations. Through a robust program of
robotic exploration, the Agency has sent a dozen missions to Mars since
Viking and collected data about many aspects of the planet, including
its varied surface features (including evidence of past and present
water on Mars) and atmosphere--a critical foundation for future human
exploration. The Space Shuttle Program enabled the conduct of science
and technology research and development by astronauts in LEO, the
launching of key science missions, and the construction of the ISS, the
foundation of our Journey to Mars.
NASA's robotic missions since Viking have paved the way for greater
understanding of Mars' surface and atmosphere that informs where and
how humans will get to Mars. Understanding of resources needed for in
situ resource utilization, radiation environments, terrain features,
landing techniques, and autonomous operations have all aided the
decisions being made today in architecture trade studies to reach Mars.
Now, NASA's strategy is to make human exploration of the solar
system affordable and sustainable. Our Journey to Mars is guided by
Administration policy as well as the strategic direction included in
the NASA Authorization Act of 2010; the Agency is well positioned to
continue on this long-term mission. Today on the ISS, we are already
conducting research and evolving the critical technologies necessary to
support humans on the Journey to Mars. From this Earth-Reliant phase in
LEO aboard the ISS, we will then move into the Proving-Ground phase
deeper into cislunar space around the Moon with the Orion crew vehicle,
SLS (as well as the ground systems that support them), and other
commercial and international capabilities. We will demonstrate key
capabilities such as high power solar electric propulsion, deep space
docking and crew EVA interacting with a natural space object through
the Asteroid Redirect Mission, as well as deep-space habitation
capability. Once we have developed the required technologies and
practiced the techniques necessary in these environments, we will move
on into the Earth-Independent phase, in which we will send our crews on
missions of exploration and on to Mars in the 2030s.
Question 7. As you know, earlier last week the Juno Spacecraft
entered into Jupiter's orbit. It is my understanding that NASA plans to
terminate Juno in CY18 to avoid contamination of Jupiter's environment.
Do you feel NASA's plans for this $1.1B mission after its completion in
February 2018 is an efficient use of Federal funds, or could Juno's
mission be extended until it experiences hardware failure?
Answer. Juno's primary goal is to reveal the story of Jupiter's
formation and evolution. Using long-proven technologies on a spinning
spacecraft placed in an elliptical polar orbit, Juno will observe
Jupiter's gravity, magnetic fields, atmospheric dynamics and
composition during its planned primary mission.
While facilitating the science goals, Juno's close orbit also
enables it to avoid the most intense region of Jupiter's harmful
radiation, which is concentrated in a belt around the planet's equator.
In this region, ions and electrons zip around at nearly light speed and
can damage a spacecraft's electronics. Even with this special orbit and
the titanium vault that houses the electronics, the amount of radiation
that's expected to bombard Juno over 20 months of science operations is
the equivalent of more than 100 million dental x-rays. This extreme
dose of radiation is destructive to electronics and is the main
limiting factor for the length of the mission.
The baseline plan for the end of mission is to purposely steer Juno
into Jupiter prior to a loss of control due to radiation damage to the
computers, so as to not risk any chance of contaminating Europa or the
other potentially habitable moons. However, NASA is already evaluating
alternative plans that would potentially allow for an extended mission.
This includes the idea of making minor orbital adjustments so that Juno
would eventually enter Jupiter on its own, even if control of the
spacecraft is lost due to the radiation damage to the spacecraft
components. This would allow for additional science data above and
beyond what is expected from the primary mission, if an extended
mission is approved.
Question 8. How often have our space exploration programs been able
to conduct operations beyond the forecasted end date?
Answer. Science missions that have successfully completed their
primary objectives are eligible to enter into extended operations to
continue conducting science. Such missions are reviewed by a panel of
established and respected senior scientists from the community, to
assess the scientific value and cost effectiveness of the proposed
extension. SMD is currently flying 46 extended science missions, and
since 1990 has extended over 40 more.
Question 9. NASA recently conducted a successful expansion of the
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) aboard the International
Space Station (ISS). Can you elaborate on how technology such as this
can help alleviate some of the payload obstacles created by sustaining
human life during deep space exploration and possible extraterrestrial
surface landings?
Answer. NASA is investigating concepts for habitats that can keep
astronauts healthy during space exploration. Expandable habitats are
one such concept under consideration--they require less payload volume
on the rocket than traditional rigid structures, and expand after being
deployed in space to provide additional room for astronauts to live and
work inside. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) is the first
test of such a module attached to the ISS. It will allow investigators
to gauge how well it performs overall, and how it protects against
solar radiation, space debris and the temperature extremes of space.
In late May, BEAM was filled with air and expanded. Astronauts
enter BEAM on an occasional basis to conduct tests to validate the
module's overall performance and the capability of expandable habitats.
After the testing period is completed, BEAM will be released from the
space station to eventually burn up harmlessly in the Earth's
atmosphere.
Through the NextSTEP activity, noted in the response to Question
#5, above, NASA is engaged with several commercial partners to advance
and test a variety of habitation technologies. This activity, plus
related technology developments and partnerships, will enable
deployment of a deep space habitation capability in the mid-2020s,
which in turn will validate systems needed for the long journey to Mars
in the 2030s and beyond.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Bill Nelson to
William H. Gerstenmaier
Question 1. Congress recently authorized an extension of the
International Space Station until 2024. Mr. Gerstenmaier, what human
spaceflight capabilities or services will NASA need in low-Earth orbit
after we retire the space station?
Answer. ISS operations in LEO constitute a foundation for future
exploration missions, but once key research and technology development
efforts have been completed, NASA plans to begin operating at greater
distances from Earth. NASA is actively working transition strategies
for the post-ISS era and is engaged with the private sector to foster
both commercial demand and supply for LEO services. It is NASA's
intention to transition LEO to private platforms and capabilities
enabled by commercial markets, academia and government agencies. NASA
has no specific plans or requirements to conduct human spaceflight
activities in LEO after the conclusion of ISS operations, but should a
requirement arise, NASA would obtain services from commercial
capabilities on the same basis as other users.
Question 2. Mr. Gerstenmaier, what is preventing NASA from more
actively monitoring, diagnosing, and treating former astronauts for the
long-term health effects from space travel?
Answer. The present monitoring authority was derived from limited
testing performed under NASA's Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health
(now known as the Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health (LSAH)).
NASA does not believe that existing authorities are sufficient to
provide ongoing comprehensive medical evaluation, diagnosis, and
treatment of former astronauts.
NASA has not been authorized to use appropriated funds to provide
on-going medical care for retired astronauts that may be result of
exposure to space. Without this authority, NASA is unable to provide
preventive health monitoring that should be accomplished for retired
astronauts following their space flight exposures or to appropriately
remedy such conditions.
In the absence of an accepted covered injury, the existing Federal
Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) does not provide for medical
monitoring and testing of the type needed here. If given the authority,
NASA can readily apply national level space medicine and disease
specific expertise to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of
potential causation, with the goal of much earlier detection.
While the Space Act gives the Administrator broad authority to
``plan, direct, and conduct aeronautical and space activities,'' the
Agency does not believe the Space Act expressly provides it the
authority to diagnose and treat former employees.
Pursuant to 29 U.S.C. Sec. 668, it is the responsibility of each
agency to establish an occupational and safety program and provide a
safe environment for its employees. NASA's authority to provide
occupational safety and health programs is limited to current Federal
employees.
______
Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Richard Blumenthal to
William H. Gerstenmaier
Question. In the recent debate on the defense bill, we took a close
look at the role that Russian-made rocket engines play in lifting
military payloads into space. The House and Senate-passed versions of
the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) both permit the U.S.
Air Force to award contracts for up to eighteen national security space
(NSS) launches powered by Russian-made rocket engines. They also
establish that no Russian-made rocket engines may be used for a NSS
launch after 2022. It is my understanding that no such restrictions
currently apply to commercial or civilian launches. I am very concerned
about relying on Russian-made rocket engines for access to space and am
eager to see American-made rocket engines become the means of taking
defense-related, civilian and commercial payloads into orbit.
What steps is NASA taking to ensure that Russian-made rocket
engines are phased out of civilian and commercial space flight? As
additional American-made rocket engines are developed, is your agency
committed to contracting with launch firms that only use domestically
produced rocket engines? What is the timeline for a full transition to
American-made rocket engines for NASA launches?
Answer. NASA follows U.S. law and policy for its acquisitions. NASA
is supportive of the Department of Defense's strategy to transition to
domestic launch systems by 2022, and is providing NASA expertise and
access to NASA facilities to support the DoD-led efforts.
NASA relies on the U.S. space transportation industry, and what it
is able to offer, for the commercial launch services NASA acquires, and
expects its commercial providers to provide launch solutions that meet
their contractual commitments.
______
Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Gary Peters to
William H. Gerstenmaier
Question. We are going to need a ``Mars Ascent Vehicle''--a rocket
that can lift astronauts off the Martian surface back into space for
the journey home. Additionally, the National Academies identified the
need to return a sample from Mars as a top priority for NASA's
planetary science program. This would also require a Mars Ascent
Vehicle of sorts. Mr. Gerstenmaier, What progress is there on
developing a Mars Ascent Vehicle for a human mission? Does it make
sense to prove out the technologies for a crewed Mars Ascent Vehicle on
a robotic sample return mission from Mars?
Answer. At this time it is premature to begin developing a Mars
Ascent Vehicle. As part of Mars architecture studies, NASA is studying
the full range of architectural elements required for such a mission,
including: in-space power and propulsion; entry, descent and landing;
in situ resource utilization (ISRU); Mars landing site selection;
surface and mobility operations; life support systems; and ascent from
Martian surface, etc. ISRU can yield very different systems design and
mission considerations, and shows large potential gains from an overall
mission design standpoint. NASA is beginning to understand options to
pursue ISRU technology development. Given the difference in scale and
performance between a robotic mission and a human mission, it is not
obvious that the two vehicles would be based upon exactly the same
technologies.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Marco Rubio to
Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar
Question 1. Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida is the
world's space capital with the largest concentration of aerospace
launch providers and suppliers. We've already seen Apollo, Shuttle, and
ISS cargo launches from there and soon both Commercial Crew and SLS/
Orion will be launching. Could you discuss what this means for
the future of Florida's Space Coast, and what you foresee happening in
the State in the next few years?
Answer. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Florida are indeed critical
to U.S. development and use of launch capabilities, and competitiveness
vis-a-vis launch markets across the world. The entrance of new players
into launch markets has had disruptive effects in both the positive and
negative sense. On the positive side, innovation appears to be driving
down cost, which will in turn make U.S. markets more competitive,
assuming that performance follows. On the negative side, uncertainty
regarding outcomes poses challenges for the government, industry,
customers, and investors who have been and may continue seek entree to
what they see as a growing space sector. It is imperative that we
leverage new opportunities to the benefit of U.S. taxpayers and the
economy without compromising core capabilities and missions that are
essential to national security and civil missions, including NASA's
exploration program.
Assuming that current trends continue in a positive direction,
KSC's work--including spacecraft prep and payload integration,
development of ground systems, and the actual launch operations
themselves--are an integral part of both government and non-government
(private) programs. As the Nation's most active spaceport, KSC (and
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station/CCAFS) are crucial enablers of the
economic development of low-Earth orbit, and for launching the new
generation of exploration-class super-heavy launch vehicle--the Space
Launch System--carrying the Orion crew vehicle farther into space than
ever before. The state of Florida should continue to benefit as it
recovers from earlier reductions in force at the Space Coast following
the end of the shuttle program and will attract more aerospace workers
who are contributors to the local economy. Thus KSC is a `launch pad'
in more than one way, returning benefits locally and regionally as well
as supporting U.S. leadership in the peaceful exploration of deep
space.
Question 2. During the birth of the Apollo program, the United
States, under the leadership from President John F. Kennedy, was
determined to beat the Soviets to the moon. Is the United States still
in a position to remain competitive and challenge the likes of other
global powers?
Answer. The United States is still in a position to remain
competitive. However, our ability to maintain our global leadership is
dependent upon political will and sufficient funding for what are long-
lead-time programs, with horizons that stretch across multiple
Congresses and Administrations. It is said that Rome wasn't built in a
day--indeed it wasn't; it was built over hundreds of years. The same
goes for the pyramids of Egypt. Those governments operated on a very
different set of values and principles from those of the U.S. in the
21st century. However, successive leaders in those days were able to
grasp the vision and importance for their nations (or nation-states) to
build such monuments, establishing them as centers of their regions
and--in the case of Rome, for a time--the world. Surely we are capable
of the same vision, and understand the value of global leadership. The
architecture we are building--in low Earth orbit, and in deep space--
these are our pyramids.
History teaches us that great nations explore, and that those that
turn away from exploring, flounder. The case of China burning its
massive exploration fleet and falling back, away from the burgeoning
global trade routes and eventually turning inward into feudal states
may be instructive. It is critical that the U.S. Administration(s) and
Congress(es) work together to build upon the extraordinary achievements
of NASA and her industry partners over the past 50 years. Together we
have taken men to the Moon, furthered detente and the peaceful use of
outer space with Apollo-Soyuz, built and flown the space shuttle--
establishing knowledge and experience that continues to inform
innovators struggling to address reusability today--assembled and
operated the International Space Station that has now involved over 90
countries in the peaceful pursuit of knowledge and the establishment of
nascent economic development in low Earth orbit.
We are now at the cusp of a new era of exploration, one that will
take humans farther, faster than ever before, and will open the door to
new scientific missions using the Space Launch System and the Orion
crew vehicle--leveraging the expertise and leadership that only the
American space program can provide the world. These systems are pushing
the limits of technology, employing new manufacturing methods to
extraordinary tolerances, inventing solutions to the challenges of deep
space. Just as Apollo did 50 years ago, the knowledge gained by NASA's
``pushing the envelope'' will be returned to all American citizens,
eventually spurring even more innovation and advancing U.S.
competitiveness. It is imperative that the U.S. not turn back. We must
look ahead and beckon the future with the type of vision and commitment
we as a nation have demonstrated so many times before. Our
international partners will follow us, and support our exploration
goals, if we continue to demonstrate continuity of purpose and
opportunity for them to join America on its journey in space.
Question 3. As the Senate looks to reauthorize NASA in the coming
year, what reforms do you suggest?
Answer. The 2010 NASA Authorization Act (PL 111-267) defines the
primary goal of NASA's human space exploration program as ``to expand
permanent human presence beyond low earth orbit and to do so, where
practical, in a manner involving international partners.''
To this I would add ``. . . in a manner involving international and
industry partners.'' (To be clear, all industry partners are
``commercial'' by their very nature, returning profit to shareholders
or investors.) The key thought here is that this vision--wherein the
United States leads humanity into the solar system on a permanent
basis--will require collaboration, technology, innovation, industry,
other nations, new technology development, and the ability to manage
technology acquisition and programs with a degree of complexity the
agency has never before attempted (although the International Space
Station program is an excellent precursor and teacher). A new
Authorization Act should reaffirm this as a goal, and state explicitly
that continuing to expand our scientific technical, human exploration
and habitation, and economic spheres beyond low Earth orbit is
imperative if the U.S. wishes to control its own destiny. Human space
exploration has for 50 years been an indicator of global leadership; we
dare not cede that leadership and our ability to guide the rules of
engagement in space. Particularly at transitions in Administration--
such as the one upcoming--Congress should reaffirm these goals and our
national commitment to them.
In addition, I would offer the following recommendations:
1. Continuity of purpose for NASA's strategic direction, and its
core exploration programs, including the Space Launch System,
Orion and Exploration Ground Systems, to restore our ability to
send humans to deep space in 2021, following an un-crewed
``shakedown cruise'' in 2018.
2. Support the development of key exploration capabilities, such as
deep space habitats and in-space propulsion, to enable robust
Exploration Missions on SLS and Orion during the 2020s.
3. Reaffirmation of the current path for human space exploration,
with the horizon destination of Mars as the eventual goal, but
with emphasis upon a ``learn as you go'', discovery-based
approach that emplaces the next capability (for example, a deep
space habitat), and then the next, as we learn to operate,
explore, and conduct science capitalizing on the unique
capabilities of human beings. A ``race to Mars'' that may ensue
should the focus shift solely to boots on that surface is not
consistent with the goal to ``expand human presence'' on a
permanent basis. Rather than a race--which we had with Apollo,
and for good reason--we are embarked upon an American epoch in
deep space, more akin to the opening of the West in our
Nation's history. This approach should be to emphasize
meaningful progress with milestones that are demonstrable to
Congress, the Administration, and in particular the American
people.
4. Focused investment in key technologies that will be necessary to
undertake opening a new epoch. These have been identified in
many studies; most recently in the National Research Council's
Pathways to Exploration report (2014) and include (a) radiation
mitigation, (b) advanced in-space propulsion, and (c) the
capabilities an technologies required for entry, descent,
landing, and ascent through the Martian atmosphere of hundreds
of tons of equipment, consumables, and habitats enabling human
presence.
5. Sufficient resources and direction to share the journey with the
American people to the fullest extent possible--through video,
documentaries, digital publishing, social media, remote
viewing, and virtual reality participation in missions, real-
time mission information and updates, opportunities to
capitalize on the increasing availability of technology and
decreasing transaction costs for such interaction and
participation. NASA leads all other agencies in its use of
social media, but if this is our ``pioneering'' into space, as
many of our citizens who can participate, should participate.
As a side benefit, this approach will create missions that are
more interactive and open up opportunities for science,
education, and inspiration of the next generation of explorers.
6. Create an organization with a free hand to further develop and
hone NASA's capabilities in technology scanning, selection,
harvesting, acquisition, development, and rapid fail
approaches. The world has changed, and is continually changing.
NASA does not and cannot lead the world in the development of
all technologies beneficial to and needed by science,
aeronautics, and exploration; instead it must develop methods
to identify and select technologies with clear potential to
advance its missions, and to rapidly partner to bring these in
house or establish reciprocal relationship with the owner or
developer of that technology. This is all much easier said than
done as it requires changes to procurement, contracting,
technology requirements assessment, technology identification,
and (probably) further evolution and refinement of the NASA
``Technology Readiness Level'' (TRL) successful pioneered by
the agency many years ago and widely adopted since.
7. Authorize funding for NASA's exploration programs at the level
required to avoid drawing out development beyond the point
where costs necessarily rise as a result. In addition,
authorize full funding for continued development and operation
of the International Space Station, including acquisition of
new equipment and capabilities as may be useful to private
interests intent upon developing successful space-based
businesses in low-Earth orbit. Similarly, continue full funding
for NASA's ``Commercial Crew'' and ``Commercial Resupply
Services'' that enable provisioning of the ISS and that will
return American astronauts to flight to low-Earth orbit even as
the Space Launch System will return American astronauts to deep
space.
8. Fully fund and streamline the accounts associated with the
Exploration Systems portfolio. Multiple accounts associated
with Orion, SLS and Ground Systems reduce the flexibility of
program managers to allocate funding as needed to buy down risk
or, alternately, to speed development of elements or sub-
elements in order to maintain an integrated program schedule,
cost, and risk management approach. In addition, multiple
accounts encourages additional overhead both within the agency
and within extra-agency overseers, inevitably resulting in
increased costs.
9. Reduce the number of duplicative studies demanded of NASA each
year to the minimum required to provide sufficient oversight of
NASA activities and expenditures.
Question 4. What programs within the agency pull its focus away
from its intended main goal of placing humans on the surface of Mars?
Answer. With respect, this question is driven not by content of
NASA's portfolio, but by competition within the portfolio engendered by
NASA's funding profile, which numerous reviews, studies, assessments,
reports, and evaluations have determined to be insufficient relative to
its mission(s). In a budget-and-budget-process-constrained environment,
it is difficult to argue for additional funding for the agency, yet
additional funding is precisely what is needed. On the whole NASA
manages its broad portfolio of science, human exploration, aeronautics
and technology development/management well, arguably achieving more
``bang for the buck'' than any other agency.
The National Research Council's Pathways report recommended an
increase of double the rate of inflation + another small percentage
increase in NASA's exploration budget in order to achieve the goal of
reaching Mars by the 2030s. This recommendation should be extended to
the agency as a whole. At minimum NASA's funding should track
inflation. NASA's funding is now less than \1/2\ of 1 percent of GDP,
yet NASA is the only agency in the government that is tasked
specifically to create and bring about the vision of an optimistic
future. As a nation we rely on all of NASA's portfolio to advance
scientific knowledge, streamline and advance mass transportation
technology, teach us about our own planet, find and fund promising
technology, and push human presence into the solar system.
At the same time, NASA can and should continue to look for
duplication, obsolescence, and for opportunities to streamline
bureaucracy and acquisition approaches, as recommended by the
``Pathways to Exploration'' report.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Gary Peters to
Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar
Question 1. We are going to need a ``Mars Ascent Vehicle''--a
rocket that can lift astronauts off the Martian surface back into space
for the journey home. Additionally, the National Academies identified
the need to return a sample from Mars as a top priority for NASA's
planetary science program. This would also require a Mars Ascent
Vehicle of sorts. Dr. Dittmar, what opportunities do you see for
synergy between NASA's science and human exploration programs, be it
for Mars Sample Return or elsewhere?
Answer. There is tremendous opportunity for synergy between NASA's
science and human exploration programs.
In Congressional testimony in both 2009 and 2013, Dr. Steve
Squyres, the Principal Investigator for Mars Exploration Rovers, stated
that human beings are far superior to robots for identifying novel
features, processing complex information, and exploring new
environments and can conduct science at a far faster rate with much
great efficiency than robots. Further, when one accounts for the cost
associated with maintaining an operations center, developing, testing
and uploading software upgrades, and the elapsed time associated with
piecing together scientific returns that come in bits rather than in
whole, the ``higher costs'' of human-aided scientific research in space
are not as sharply delineated from robotic missions as is commonly
believed.\1\ There is no doubt but that human exploration and
scientific investigation of Mars will yield scientific returns beyond
that of robotic missions, which is why so many scientists with interest
in Mars are eager for humans to go.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Crawford, I.A. (2012). Dispelling the myth of robotic
efficiency: Why human space exploration will tell us more about the
Solar System than will robotic exploration alone. Astronomy and
Geophysics, 53, 2.22-226.
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With regard to science enabling exploration, this has already
happened, notably in the years leading up to Apollo. The U.S. first
sent probes to the moon in the early 1960s beginning with the Ranger
series, which finally succeeded in sending back detailed photographs
and television. The Russian Luna 9 probe soft-landed--the first human-
made object to do so--and demonstrated that the soft regolith would not
act as a lunar ``sand trap'' into which a lander might sink. The U.S.
Surveyor series of missions began in 1966, and sent television pictures
back to Earth that showed the Moon's surface and its physical
properties in detail. Importantly, Surveyor also collected data on soil
properties, including chemical features.
The Surveyor data led directly several discoveries about the Moon's
composition. Once astronauts were on the surface collecting samples and
returning them to Earth, the Surveyor data joined the sample data to
inform new theories about its origins and the origins of the Earth Moon
system. In addition, the robotic missions provided information that was
fed directly into the design of missions--including the design of
crewed lunar landers and ascent vehicles that served the crews of
Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17- as well as to help define the
parameters of surface operations and sojourns.
With regard to Mars, early work on soil characterization has
revealed chemical compounds (perchlorates) that will need to be
addressed via system or procedure designs supporting human exploration.
The Mars 2020 rover, currently in development, will carry instruments
that will conduct research and acquire information about Martian
geology, atmosphere, environmental conditions, and potential
biosignatures. In addition to the science returns, these studies will
provide critical information to help determine habitability of Mars for
human beings.
With regard to sample return from Mars--as on the Moon, human
sample return will speed scientific discovery. Sample return can be to
Earth, or to an orbiting laboratory near Mars or one of its moons.
There, samples can be researched and guidance provided to humans on the
surface for additional fieldwork.
These and other synergies are pervasive throughout the history of
exploration, and will continue to develop. Together, human exploration
and science each enable the other.
Question 2. Mr. Gold's testimony discusses using the International
Space Station and eventually a future commercial LEO outpost as an
assembly facility for commercial satellites. Of course, from a NASA
perspective, we wouldn't have the world changing science of the Hubble
Space Telescope without human servicing nor would the Space Station
have been possible. Dr. Dittmar, could you discuss the potential for on
orbit assembly and servicing techniques in conjunction with the game
changing lift capabilities of SLS to enable paradigm shifting
scientific missions, such giant space telescopes that could possibly
detect life on planets outside our solar system?
Answer. On orbit assembly has been performed with great success by
NASA, most notably with the International Space Station. Techniques and
technology were developed to enable astronauts working in space suits
to assemble the largest structure ever put in space. The success of the
system design and production, and the development of procedures for
assembly, activation, and checkout of the ISS in many phases of
development, can best be measured by the on-orbit performance of the
ISS over the past 16 years of human habitation. It has performed in an
exemplary manner.
Servicing the ISS--and the Hubble telescope--has been done on
several occasions by astronauts engaged in ExtraVehicular Activity
(EVA). In each case, these servicing missions were conducted in a
relatively benign environment--Low Earth Orbit--shielded from much of
the radiation found in deep space. Nonetheless the techniques learned
during assembly and servicing missions will have direct applicability
to future missions where human beings must manipulate objects both
large and small for different purposes in locations much more remote
than LEO.
Use of the Space Launch System to emplace large aperture telescopes
in deep space is a very real possibility. The National Research Council
has identified several flagship missions with large telescopes that
would be enabled for the very first time by a super-heavy lift vehicle
such as SLS. These telescopes require massive shrouds and cannot be
lifted by existing launch vehicles. Depending upon the complexity of
the assembly task, SLS could carry a crewed Orion spacecraft and a
telescope for assembly. (The engineering strengths and weaknesses of
this approach would need to be `traded' against risks to humans v. the
risk of loss of mission should an unattended telescope run into
problems.) The speed of the SLS enables rapid transit through the solar
system, which reduces risk to crewmembers and brings great distances
within closer ``reach''. Crewmembers could then assemble such
instruments. In the case of human-aided deployment, servicing could
also be ``built in'' to the design (see above comment re: trades.) Once
in place, such instruments would enable us to peer into the origins of
not only our galaxy, but other galaxies, to investigate dark matter,
and to provide information about the origins and working of the
universe--and therefore, our own origins. In the case where human
servicing was possible, the ability of crew members to address
disruptions or malfunctions could save the viability of the instrument
(as was done with Hubble), resulting in loss avoidance of unique and
powerful scientific observations, and maximizing the benefits of
national investment in both science and exploration programs.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Marco Rubio to
Michael Gold
Question 1. Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida is the
world's space capital with the largest concentration of aerospace
launch providers and suppliers. We've already seen Apollo, Shuttle, and
ISS cargo launches from there and soon both Commercial Crew and SLS/
Orion will be launching. Could you discuss what this means for the
future of Florida's Space Coast, and what you foresee happening in the
State in the next few years?
Answer. I believe that the future is extraordinarily bright for
Florida's Space Coast. Due in no small part to the vision and
leadership demonstrated by NASA Kennedy Space Center leadership and
personnel such as Robert Cabana, Amy Houts-Gilfriche, and Doug
Gruendel, as well as the tireless efforts of Frank DiBello and his
staff at Space Florida, the sunshine state has become a hub for
commercial space activity. SpaceX's operations and footprint continues
to grow on Florida's Space Coast and new additions such as Blue Origin
and Moon Express have added even greater vitality and potential to a
region that is already synonymous with space exploration.
However, the renaissance that Florida's Space Coast is experiencing
could be ephemeral if the United States Government (``USG'') does not
take decisive action to ensure that the fundamental underpinnings of
public and private sector launch activities remain strong.
Specifically, the United States must not abandon human spaceflight in
low Earth orbit (``LEO''). Although NASA and the private sector should
continue to leverage the benefits of the International Space Station
(``ISS'') for as long as possible, the ISS era will soon come to an
end. Even with an additional extension for the ISS beyond 2024, work
must begin immediately to develop a commercial replacement. America is
currently dependent on Russia for launching astronauts, and if NASA and
the private sector don't address this issue with alacrity, soon after
the U.S. regains its ability to send its own astronauts to orbit, the
only destination for those astronauts to travel to could be a Chinese
space station. Although international cooperation is commendable,
international dependence is deplorable, and policymakers must take
action to avoid repeating the same mistakes that were made with crew
transportation.
Without an American destination in LEO for astronauts, the growing
demand for crew and cargo launches from Florida's Space Coast could
quickly atrophy. Moreover, as demonstrated by SpaceX, there is a
synergistic relationship between the development of human spaceflight
transportation systems and the ability of domestic companies to
successfully compete for global commercial space launch opportunities.
Beyond the need to continue to support human spaceflight, the USG
must take expeditious action to bolster domestic satellite
manufacturers. If the U.S. falls behind other nations, particularly
China, in next-generation satellite technologies such as satellite
servicing, optical communications, and high throughput satellites, a
great deal of launch activity could shift back overseas.
Moreover, Congress must continue to aggressively support the
development and launch of the SLS. The heavy-lift capacity provided by
the SLS is critical to implementing robust beyond LEO human spaceflight
exploration missions. Other nations are striving to develop heavy-lift
capabilities and the U.S. cannot fall behind its global competitors in
this critical arena.
If these public and private sector activities receive sufficient
support from NASA and the USG generally, the future of Florida's Space
Coast will remain bright. However, international competition remains
fierce and neither Florida nor the country as a whole can afford to
rest on its laurels.
Question 2. During the birth of the Apollo program, the United
States, under the leadership from President John F. Kennedy, was
determined to beat the Soviets to the moon. Is the United States still
in a position to remain competitive and challenge the likes of other
global powers?
Answer. The U.S. is still in a position to challenge other global
powers but the Nation's ability to be successful remains in question.
As described previously, the competition in the commercial satellite
marketplace is fierce. Rival satellite manufacturing companies in
Europe and China receive direct funding and subsidies from their
national governments not just to conduct scientific or military
missions, but also to support commercial activities. If the U.S. is
going to continue to be able to compete and challenge other global
powers much more must be done to bolster domestic private sector
capabilities. Specific concepts and strategies are described in
response to the following question.
Question 3. As the Senate looks to reauthorize NASA in the coming
year, what reforms do you suggest?
Answer. Per my testimony, NASA should leverage its influence as a
customer to encourage the private sector to invest in, develop, and
operate commercial satellite servicing systems. Specifically, the
upcoming NASA Reauthorization bill should instruct the Agency to
identify when and which satellites will require servicing and release
contingent contracts for domestic companies that can execute the
requisite missions. As described previously, this will drive private
sector investment into satellite servicing systems obviating the need
for further substantial government investments and leveraging private
sector efficiencies. America will become a global leader in a vital new
technological and economic arena while simultaneously saving NASA money
by avoiding the need for the purchase and replacement of existing
satellite systems. Several domestic companies are already developing
such capabilities in response to DARPA's Robotic Servicing of
Geosynchronous Satellites (``RSGS'') program and NASA's Restore-L
mission. If the NASA Reauthorization bill leverages this progress with
the introduction of contingent contracts to service NASA satellites,
America could quickly develop a vital new capability that would enhance
scientific, commercial, and military operations.
Moreover, NASA must do more to bolster American technological
innovation and even the playing field with subsidized foreign
competition. DARPA has already demonstrated how a government agency can
play an important role in supporting domestic innovation. DARPA uses
standing Broad Agency Announcements (``BAAs'') to ensure that any
company or entrepreneur with a good idea can quickly bring it forward
without having to wait a year or more for a relevant NASA Request for
Proposal to be developed, approved, and released. The NASA
Reauthorization bill should direct the Agency's Space Technology
Mission Directorate (``STMD'') to adopt this approach and establish a
series of standing BAAs to support domestic technological innovation.
Congress should also encourage STMD to mimic DARPA's process which
begins with the submission of a one-page executive summary. Requiring
only a single page executive summary substantially reduces the barrier
to entry that other NASA programs suffer from and will ensure that
small businesses can participate in the program without immediately
dedicating substantial resources to proposal development.
In regard to human spaceflight, again, NASA cannot abandon LEO. In
order to avoid becoming dependent on a foreign space station the Agency
must act now to bolster the development of crewed, private sector LEO
platforms. The first and best way to do this, is to direct the Agency
to develop a node that can be attached to the ISS that will accommodate
several commercial habitats while also providing additional docking
opportunities for crew and cargo delivery systems. This node would
support the demonstration of multiple habitat technologies and
commercial operations, preventing the need for NASA to select winners
and losers and instead properly leaving such decisions to market
forces.
The NASA Reauthorization bill should also direct the Agency to, in
conjunction with a private sector partner, support the demonstration of
orbital satellite assembly as an ISS pilot program. Like satellite
servicing, this is another critical capability for domestic companies
to develop for the U.S. to remain competitive in the global
marketplace. If NASA can demonstrate the value of orbital satellite
assembly it will quickly lead to substantial private sector investment
in such capabilities. Orbital satellite assembly would not only lower
costs and increase the capabilities of future NASA satellites, but such
operations could provide substantial commercial and national security
benefits as well.
Finally, the Reauthorization bill should provide strong support for
robotic exploration missions. Robotic missions will play a vital role
in exploring the Moons of Mars, Europa, and destinations throughout the
solar system. Robotic exploration can gather critical data to support
human exploration missions to Mars and other destinations in an
affordable and effective fashion. Moreover, the technologies developed
for robotic space exploration also have commercial applications and can
help bolster the ability of the American aerospace sector to compete in
an increasingly challenging global marketplace.
Question 4. What programs within the agency pull its focus away
from its intended main goal of placing humans on the surface of Mars?
Answer. Most if not all of NASA's activities can play some role in
contributing toward the goal of placing humans on the surface of Mars.
However, some programs certainly have greater relevance than others.
For example, a Mars mission will require robust propulsion capabilities
in general and the further development of solar electric propulsion in
particular. Similarly, developing affordable habitat systems will also
be necessary to execute a crewed mission to Mars of any kind. NASA
should focus on low-cost options such as repurposing upper rocket
stages to serve as habitats. Robotics also have a vital role to play in
supporting a Mars mission. The technologies being developed for
satellite servicing via Restore-L and DARPA's RSGS program will make
strong contributions to a future Mars mission.
Beyond technological developments, NASA should also focus its
global outreach efforts on assembling an international coalition to
support a human mission to Mars. This coalition should not only involve
all of the traditional ISS partners, but should also focus on
developing strong relationships with emerging space powers such as the
United Arab Emirates which is already planning a historic robotic Mars
exploration mission.
It's also worth considering the role the Moon has to play as a
stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of a human mission to Mars.
Almost the entire international space community supports a return to
the Moon and such a mission could also create some excellent
opportunities for robust commercial participation. Additionally, the
technologies and lessons learned from establishing a permanent human
presence on the Moon would have both direct and indirect relevance to
supporting missions to Mars. Mars remains an important horizon goal for
NASA and the entire world's human space exploration efforts. However,
the Moon may represent a critical stepping stone to develop the
technologies, knowledge base, and global partnership necessary to
execute a successful human landing on the surface of Mars.
______
Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Bill Nelson to
Michael Gold
Question. Mr. Gold and Mr. Sirangelo, what are the biggest
impediments that stand in the way of a robust commercial human
spaceflight environment?
Answer. The greatest single impediment to a robust commercial human
spaceflight environment is insufficient emphasis, funding, and progress
on revenue generating private sector LEO activities. There has been a
substantial focus by NASA and the private sector to develop
transportation systems. Transporting crew and cargo to LEO,
particularly in an affordable fashion, is of course critical for
commercial human spaceflight to succeed. However, even affordable crew
and cargo transportation will not result in a robust commercial human
spaceflight environment if there isn't a substantial increase in demand
for space-based activities.
Although NASA and the domestic space industry have struggled to
identify revenue generating activities in LEO, hundreds of billions of
dollars are pouring into GEO annually to manufacture and launch
satellites, construct ground stations and related hardware, and pay for
satellite services. Per my written and oral testimony, a combination of
human and robotic support could be used to manufacture and/or assemble
satellites in orbit. Orbital satellite manufacturing and assembly has
the potential to revolutionize the industry, enhancing the ability of
domestic companies to compete in an increasingly challenging global
marketplace while simultaneously bolstering NASA's scientific
capabilities.
A first step toward creating a robust commercial human spaceflight
environment via orbital satellite manufacturing and assembly would be
for Congress to include language in the upcoming NASA Reauthorization
bill encouraging the Agency, in collaboration with a private sector
partner, to conduct a demonstration of robotic orbital assembly
techniques via the ISS. The ISS is a tremendous resource for
demonstrating innovative new commercial strategies and NASA should be
directed to fully utilize the value the Station provides.
Moreover, regulatory barriers hinder the development of a robust
commercial human spaceflight environment. The U.S. Government's failure
to craft a predictable, efficient, and transparent process to implement
its obligation under the Outer Space Treaty to provide ``continuing
supervision'' for private sector activities hangs over the industry
like the proverbial Sword of Damocles. Congress, in consultation with
relevant leadership within the FAA's Office of Commercial Space
Transportation (``FAA AST''), the Department of State, and the
Department of Defense, must address this issue with alacrity.
Congressman Jim Bridenstine has already introduced an attractive
strategy to resolve the matter by establishing an `enhanced payload
review' process within the FAA AST. Again, within the upcoming NASA
Reauthorization bill, this issue could be quickly addressed by
including language providing the FAA AST with enhanced payload review
authority.
Finally, while substantial progress has been made over the last
several years, obsolete export control policies continue to burden the
private sector while also harming American national security interests
by reducing the domestic defense industrial base. Congress should
applaud and support the work being done within the Department of
State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to review and update
Category XV, ensuring that benign, commercial technologies that are
available in the international marketplace are removed from the United
States Munitions List (``USML''). Additionally, since technology is
constantly evolving, a regular and mandatory process should be
established to continuously review and revise the USML to ensure its
ongoing relevance and efficacy
______
Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Richard Blumenthal to
Michael Gold
Question. Russian-made rocket engines, specifically the RD-180, are
commonly used to bring commercial payloads to space. Are American
satellite manufacturers and commercial space firms committed to
supporting the expeditious development of safe, reliable and cost-
effective American-made rocket engines? As additional American-made
rocket engines are developed, are your firms committed to contracting
with launch firms that only use domestically produced rocket engines?
Answer. SSL strongly supports the development of safe, reliable,
and cost-effective American-made rocket engines. SSL is constantly
attempting to innovate new domestic capabilities both unilaterally and
via partnerships with other domestic entities as well as the U.S.
Government. However, the selection of launch providers are made by
satellite owners and operators, not by satellite manufacturers such as
SSL, and therefore I cannot address the question directly.
However, it's worth noting that whether it's rocket engines or
satellite manufacturing, foreign firms often receive direct subsidies
from their governments making it difficult for U.S. companies to
compete in an increasingly challenging global marketplace. The U.S.
needs to do much more to support its domestic aerospace capabilities as
outlined in my written testimony and responses to Senator Rubio's
questions for the record.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Marco Rubio to
Mark N. Sirangelo
Question 1. Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida is the
world's space capital with the largest concentration of aerospace
launch providers and suppliers. We've already seen Apollo, Shuttle, and
ISS cargo launches from there and soon both Commercial Crew and SLS/
Orion will be launching. Could you discuss what this means for the
future of Florida's Space Coast, and what you foresee happening in the
State in the next few years?
Answer. SNC will continue the long pedigree of launches from and
landings on Florida's Space Coast with both its Dream Chaser reusable
lifting body spacecraft, the launch of its small satellites and space
technology products, and as part of the propulsion systems for new
launch vehicles. SNC's Dream Chaser activities expects to leverage
Florida's capabilities throughout the lifecycle starting with: final
integration and test at Kennedy Space Center; payload processing;
launch from Cape Canaveral; landing at the former Shuttle Landing
Facility; payload, experiment, and cargo processing in the Space
Exploration Park and nearby areas; refurbishment and reprocessing in
NASA and Air Force facilities; and finally re-launch activities again
from Florida's Space Coast. With preparation ongoing now, a first
launch being planned, and multiple subsequent flights each year, SNC
will be a regular and frequent customer, user, provider, and employer
in the state of Florida.
Question 2. During the birth of the Apollo program, the United
States, under the leadership from President John F. Kennedy, was
determined to beat the Soviets to the moon. Is the United States still
in a position to remain competitive and challenge the likes of other
global powers?
Answer. Absolutely yes--if we remain bold and committed. The Dream
Chaser is the only commercial, reusable lifting body in the world. It
embodies the 21st Century capabilities of the United States in space by
leveraging over 40 years of NASA and U.S. X-plane experience and
operations, while harnessing the significant advancements in materials,
systems, propulsion, and other technologies. Safe, affordable,
flexible, evolvable, and reliable Dream Chaser space services and
commercial transportation operations will create, enable, and sustain
new missions and markets that generate significant value for the Nation
while advancing U.S. leadership in this vitally important sector to our
global economic and national security.
Question 3. As the Senate looks to reauthorize NASA in the coming
year, what reforms do you suggest?
Answer. SNC supports a strong level of bipartisan and bicameral
support for a NASA reauthorization that provides stability, balance,
continuity, and enabling policy leadership for the United States in the
globally competitive space arena. Specifically, SNC recommends the
following reforms in order to more efficiently and effectively enable
U.S. leadership through NASA in aerospace: (1) Grant NASA the ability
to do multi-year program planning and funding to provide stability for
its strategic programs, (2) Apply International Traffic in Arms
Regulations (ITAR) reform for human spaceflight such that commercial
human spacecraft are governed by the Export Administration Regulations
and the Commerce Control List rather than the ITAR control regime, thus
enabling broader use of the Dream Chaser being developed under NASA
contract, (3) Ensure the long-term continuity of the Commercial Cargo
and Crew programs supporting the International Space Station in
addition to a balanced portfolio of deep space exploration directives,
(4) Stimulate the development of multiple commercial space platforms
and capabilities in low Earth orbit in order to firmly establish and
sustain U.S. leadership and jobs in these areas and to enable a later
budgetary focus on inherently government missions, (5) Emphasize
hypersonics as a national priority and provide the DoD and NASA a
mandate for hypersonics research and development and leverage use of
the Dream Chaser as a hypersonics testbed.
Question 4. What programs within the agency pull its focus away
from its intended main goal of placing humans on the surface of Mars?
Answer. We have no direct view on the question. Placing humans on
the surface of Mars is a compelling and challenging main goal for NASA
that will require steady advancements, stability of purpose and
programs, along with effective leadership and management of the
programs necessary to develop the requisite capabilities and competency
necessary to achieve this worthy goal. NASA must focus on cost and
schedule execution consistent with the priorities provided to them as
part of a balanced portfolio. It must also have the ability to plan and
budget for the long-term so that enabling programs such as NEXTStep-2
are able to funded concurrently along with the Orion and SLS programs.
Question 5. It has come to my attention that basic infrastructure
challenges are impacting the growth of the commercial space marketplace
at Cape Canaveral. These infrastructure challenges range from gaseous
Nitrogen and Helium pipelines to support launch operations, to
deteriorating bridges and roads. Has Sierra Nevada encountered any
infrastructure challenges in the development of your new role in the
Commercial Cargo contract?
Answer. SNC agrees that a national investment in the Nation's vital
launch and range infrastructure on the Space Coast, and particularly at
Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral is essential to mission success
and global leadership in this area. SNC seeks to avoid costly delays
and high infrastructure costs for both basic and specialized
capabilities by supporting early and sustained operations and
maintenance activities that enable safe, timely, and affordable
execution of commercial launch and landing operations on Florida's
Space Coast. Specifically, transportation, bridge fortification,
facilities, and range capabilities have been identified as early
elements requiring attention.
Question 6. Would you be supportive of more innovative solutions to
meeting those basic infrastructure needs, such as better partnerships
with the state?
Answer. Yes--SNC is always open to creative and innovative
partnerships that serve as win-win relationships for all parties. As a
firm fixed price commercial services contract provider, we are strongly
motivated to control costs while maintaining an extremely high level of
safety and mission assurance. The hallmarks that SNC seeks for any
relationships, including the State of Florida or any other entity, are
responsiveness, flexibility, agility, excellent communication, robust
resourcing, simplicity, and timely decision-making. SNC is open to
expanding existing partnerships or forging new ones.
Question 7. Can you speak to how policies need to be reformed in
order to accommodate a robust and competitive U.S. commercial space
sector, especially in low Earth orbit (LEO)?
Answer. Creating a robust and competitive U.S. Commercial space
sector, especially in low Earth orbit (LEO) is fundamentally important
to the United States. The U.S. must preserve and extend its lead in
this area through smart incentives (space investment tax credits,
access to national facilities and capabilities on a use basis instead
of full cost basis, third party liability insurance), aggressive
national policy making (elements of the House-proposed Space
Renaissance Act) to create the ``Most Conducive National Business
Climate'', and assertive and forward-leaning leadership in the
international law arena (Property rights, space salvage law, orbital
debris mitigation). International Traffic in Arms Reduction (ITAR)
reform should continue to specifically include human spaceflight.
Specifically, the Senate should eliminate ITAR barriers to our ability
to sell Dream Chaser missions commercially to those interested in
buying into a launching and landing both uncrewed and crewed vehicles
throughout the world. The Dream Chaser and similar commercial vehicles
should be placed on the Commerce Control List under EAR control, rather
than ITAR control.
The government's stimulation of a competitive U.S. commercial space
industrial base and NASA's use of public-private partnerships (PPPs)
has been very successful by reducing the cost of NASA programs such as
crew and cargo transfer to ISS by hundreds of millions of dollars and
also in stimulating a growing commercial space industry sector that is
creating jobs and economic benefits in many states. Continue the
emphasis on, and use of, PPPs, Firm Fixed Priced contracts, streamlined
acquisition activities, and Enhanced Use Lease (EUL), allowing U.S.
industry to apply innovation and lower government costs.
Additive Manufacturing, both terrestrially, and in-space, should be
a key focus area for investment and broad application to enhance U.S.
domestic manufacturing capabilities and associated business benefit.
Investment tax credits, shared use of government facilities and
equipment, plus national research and development grants and funding
should be focused in this area. Similarly, advanced materials,
nanomaterials, biomaterials, and advanced coatings/films should also be
the focus of strategic investment and PPPs. Investments and PPPs
focused on autonomy, Artificial Intelligence, and human-machine teaming
should be an important focus area for research and development,
investment, incentives, and collaborative government-industry focus.
Finally, creation of a supportive policy, liability, international law/
treaty, and economic environment for the control, mitigation, and
active removal of orbital debris in LEO and GEO is critical for use of
space in and around the Earth.
______
Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Bill Nelson to
Mark N. Sirangelo
Question. Mr. Gold and Mr. Sirangelo, what are the biggest
impediments that stand in the way of a robust commercial human
spaceflight environment?
Answer. A robust commercial human spaceflight environment must be
founded on a sustainable mission and market demand that is met by
competitive and capable market capabilities and offerings. To address
the biggest impediments that stand in the way of this, one must first
address the underlying commercial market it LEO as the fundamental or
driving foundation. The U.S. Government has long been a global leader
in enabling the commercialization of space industries. From earth
observation, to satellite communications as well as to launch vehicles
today, NASA and the Government have set the gold standard in pioneering
new fields; developing technologies, demonstrating their feasibility
and eventually transitioning from Government to commercial hands. This
is reflected in the U.S. National Space Policy which calls for a
``robust and competitive U.S. commercial space industry'' and directs
various U.S. departments and agencies to utilize and advance the U.S.
commercial space sector.
The benefits for pursuing a commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) market
are clear. Increased utilization of space creates new markets and
stimulates economic growth and demand for high paying science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics jobs with broad benefits for
the U.S. through advances in science and technology. The transition to
commercializing LEO could free up NASA's resources to move on to their
broader objectives of deep space exploration and the Journey to Mars.
As an important part of a robust LEO ecosystem, commercial human
spaceflight capabilities will emerge to fill real and compelling
mission and market demands.
In 2005, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin challenged U.S. private
industry to develop cargo and crew space transportation capabilities
that could meet the needs of the International Space Station (ISS).
Since then, NASA, under Administrator Charlie Bolden, has supported the
commercial space sector through its COTS, CCtDev, CCtCap, and CRS1
programs. This approach has resulted in three commercial companies
contracted to provide cargo services to the ISS; the SpaceX Dragon
which also provides crew services, Orbital ATK's Cygnus, and most
recently the Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser and an additional
one Boeing providing crew services.
In 2005, Congress advanced public use of LEO through its
designation of the U.S. portion of the ISS as a National Laboratory
(NatLab), followed by the 2010 NASA Authorization bill that articulated
the establishment of an independent non-profit group to manage this lab
for public use. The hope was that the ISS NatLab would leverage the
significant investments in the ISS program to become an anchor platform
for attracting, encouraging, and enabling commercial uses of LEO.
Together all of these activities have stimulated market demand driven
by the U.S. Government in order to develop this emerging sector. At
present, a focus on LEO commercialization is most prudent, given the
greater market and mission challenges and complexities associated with
beyond LEO commercial activities, including human spaceflight.
There is no question that a robust U.S.-led commercial LEO market
is budding, but still in its development stage. The stage is set, but
there is not a clear substantive national strategy among all of the
stakeholders for harnessing the collective public and private assets of
the country with a clear objective and national rationale. There is an
opportunity between to create a continued fertile environment for
success. Although there are government initiatives to address some of
these concerns, government lacks the capability to truly solve the
problem alone and must look to industry for leadership in a shared
solution. However, the private sector must have a clear understanding
of what it needs to be successful and provide clear guidance so the
government can develop policy and incentives that help enable the
market, including addressing: barriers, liability, export control, tax,
and the financial incentives to make strategic use of resources.
We believe the time has come to consider a new approach to
leveraging the investments made by both the U.S. Government and the
private sector bringing the opportunities identified in these studies
to life. SNC alone has invested many millions of dollars into Dream
Chaser alongside of NASA. Although government stimulus funding may be
required, it must be led by the private sector with the goal of
creating a robust demand for an ecosystem of space assets that include
ISS and other LEO destinations.
The SNC Dream Chaser is the only reusable commercial lifting body
spacecraft in the world capable of a responsive runway landing, the
first spacecraft in history to use all non-toxic consumables and
propellants, and a true multi-mission Space Utility Vehicle platform
that can safely, affordably, and flexibly execute new and expanded
missions. NASA's strategic investments in this American-built 21st
Century spaceplane (through the CRS2 program) has formed a key multi-
mission platform element of a broader constellation of space
capabilities that will achieve our national goals, foster an ecosystem
of ideas and innovation, and serve as an instrument of global
diplomacy. SNC's strategy is to fully harness the Dream Chaser's
multimission capability. In assembling our strategic partner network,
now over 50 entities in over 20 states, we have found the need for an
enabling capability that harnesses this constellation of providers,
suppliers, users and governments.
Exploiting nascent LEO markets requires innovative approaches to
structuring and coordinating public and private space related
capabilities. In the near term, there are several actions the Congress
and the White House can take to contribute to this effort:
______
Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Richard Blumenthal to
Mark N. Sirangelo
Question. Russian-made rocket engines, specifically the RD-180, are
commonly used to bring commercial payloads to space. Are American
satellite manufacturers and commercial space firms committed to
supporting the expeditious development of safe, reliable and cost-
effective American-made rocket engines? As additional American-made
rocket engines are developed, are your firms committed to contracting
with launch firms that only use domestically produced rocket engines?
Answer. SNC cannot speak to the activities of the industry at large
but as a company and buyer of launch we support and benefit from a
vibrant and competitive U.S. launch industry. SNC buys complete turn-
key launch systems and not individual subsystems such as motors so the
decision to which motors are used is an internal one of the launch
providers. Often it is our ultimate client who direct rocket purchase
however when we are the prime our general practice is to issue request
for proposals (RFPs) for our launch that require many factors to be
provided by the bidder. Some of these factors are which are evaluated
and scored are suitability to the mission, complete launch price and
pricing terms, ability to meet schedule, launch success history,
production schedule, need for customization, insurability and cost of
insurance, special requirements of our clients as well as many other
factors. For example, SNC has opened up our launch procurement
informational process for our Dream Chaser missions to all current or
future U.S. launch providers. We support and encourage all viable U.S.
launch companies to advance their technology and hope that they will
respond to our future launch needs. We certainly agree that the U.S.
needs to be developing new and innovative rocket engines for the
future. Our company is focused on building new American-made rocket
engines that may be used in such systems. They incorporate next
generation technology to improve performance and reduce cost and are
competitive with engines built anywhere in the world.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Marco Rubio to
Daniel L. Dumbacher
Question 1. Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida is the
world's space capital with the largest concentration of aerospace
launch providers and suppliers. We've already seen Apollo, Shuttle, and
ISS cargo launches from there and soon both Commercial Crew and SLS/
Orion will be launching. Could you discuss what this means for the
future of Florida's Space Coast, and what you foresee happening in the
State in the next few years?
Answer. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the state of Florida is, and
will continue to be, the primary space launch ``hub'' for United States
space endeavors as the Nation's Spaceport. The work of preparing
spacecraft, preparing launch vehicles, and launching vehicles to orbit
is on the critical path to establishing a permanent human presence in
space and expanding our economic sphere. KSC and the state of Florida
are ``launching'' the majority of exploration and commercial activities
needed to continue development of space for the future. Providing
launch infrastructure for emerging space utilization activities and
exploration beyond low Earth orbit will expand United States
leadership, and the peaceful uses of space for global society.
Question 2. During the birth of the Apollo program, the United
States, under the leadership from President John F. Kennedy, was
determined to beat the Soviets to the moon. Is the United States still
in a position to remain competitive and challenge the likes of other
global powers?
Answer. The United States is definitely in a position to remain
competitive based on its current and long-time leadership of human
space exploration. The principle threat to not being competitive is the
United States abdicating this leadership through lack of commitment,
inattention, or naivete. Therefore, the United States, must continue to
act, develop the commercial cargo and crew opportunities for
transportation to and from low Earth orbit, maintain productive use and
permanent presence at the International Space Station, lead development
of capabilities for astronauts to explore, and extend permanent human
presence beyond low Earth orbit.
The United States won the race to the moon (Mercury, Gemini,
Apollo), initiated routine access to space (Space Shuttle), learned how
to live and work in space (Skylab, Spacelab, ISS), developed
International Partnerships (Apollo-Soyuz, Spacelab, Shuttle-Mir, ISS),
and is now building the strategic relationship between government
exploration and enabling the commercial development of space
(Commercial Cargo, Commercial Crew, NextSTEP). Each of these steps
builds upon the previous phase, was difficult to accomplish, and was a
vital step. The United States and NASA were successful in each and will
be successful in the future. United States leadership continues to
build the narrative to establish permanent human presence in space.
With this hard earned experience, the United States, with continued
Administration and Congressional leadership, can remain the global
space exploration leader. This leadership needs to be demonstrated with
clear political communication on the value and ``why'' we explore
space, and building the narrative for permanent human presence in
space.
History clearly shows that the nations continuing to explore new
horizons, solving new challenges, and leading other nations to settle
new lands, maintain their leadership and prestige in the world. The
United States is at a key crossroads, one that will determine whether
we continue to take on new challenges, enhancing our global leadership,
or whether we will build walls and focus internally. It is essential
that the United States political leadership recognize and clearly
communicate the goals and objectives, and shape the clear narrative for
long term sustainability and investment in space exploration. In
today's environment, the narrative must be built upon the value of a
nation continuing to search beyond the next horizon. In doing so, our
Nation can garner the enormous political, national defense, scientific,
technological, and economic value from space exploration.
There is also an urgency in maintaining and building the United
States leadership in space. We are the global leader in the space
economy and thus in a position to establish the precedents that others
will follow. With the number of international and commercial actors and
activities rapidly increasing in numbers and scope, the United States
must actively engage and stay in the lead to establish the space
frontier ``rules of the road'' based on American values. Permanent
human presence in space is required to do this.
For the benefit of the generations that follow us, the continued
excellence of the United States, we MUST push ourselves to explore and
utilize space, grow our industrial and technological base and skills,
lead and work with other countries, continue to take on the hard
challenges, and expand the human neighborhood in and beyond low Earth
orbit.
Question 3. As the Senate looks to reauthorize NASA in the coming
year, what reforms do you suggest?
Answer. The next NASA Authorization bill is extremely important for
the future of space exploration to build on current programs and
achievements. A clear reaffirmation of the goals and objectives from
the 2010 NASA Authorization Act (Public Law 111-267), particularly ``to
expand human presence beyond low Earth orbit, and to do so, where
practical, in a manner involving international partnerships.''
Reaffirmation and building on this long-term goal will drive space
exploration enterprise stability, sustainability, and prepare for the
next steps, thereby minimizing the ``stop/start'' churn NASA has
experienced in the past.
Congress at every opportunity, particularly following a national
election, needs to clearly state and reaffirm the guiding goals and
objectives for the use and exploration of space and avoid a major
``reset'' that can lead to policy confusion, programmatic uncertainty,
and accompanying wasteful and inefficient use of valuable human and
financial resources. The goal should not be just for NASA to place
humans on the surface of Mars or, like Apollo, it will be perceived
that boot prints mean exploring is done. The next NASA Authorization
Act must clearly delineate the goal of humans permanently in space and
beyond low Earth orbit.
It is also essential to continue the 2010 Authorization Act
mandates on Key Objectives to deliver value to the Nation in key areas
such as building the foundation for sustainable economic activities in
space, supporting U.S. security and global competitive posture,
advancing knowledge of the universe, and inspiring young people. United
States permanent human presence in space, with the rapidly growing
international and commercial activity, is required for the United
States to lead the establishment of the space frontier ``rules of the
road'' in a manner consistent with American values. This is the source
of the urgency, as other actors take on greater activity in space, the
window for U.S. leadership in establishing the ``rules of the road'' is
closing.
Specific suggested NASA Authorization Act reforms include:
1. Build on and refine the 2010 NASA Authorization Act's long term
goal to be:
The long term goal of the human spaceflight and
exploration program of the United States is to expand
permanent human presence beyond low-Earth orbit in a
way that will enable human settlement and a thriving
space economy.
This will be best achieved through public-private
partnerships and international collaboration.
This goal was a consensus statement of a diverse group of over 100
space leaders from academia, government and industry at the 2015
Pioneering Space National Summit. All of the participants agreed that
this statement is consistent with, and builds upon, the 2010 NASA
Authorization Act. This national journey will serve many national
interests and benefit the American people.
2. Mandate that NASA specifically address this goal in its strategic
planning;
3. Mandate that NASA on a yearly basis report to Congress its
progress in pursuing this goal, and report on policy or other
impediments that stand in its way of doing so;
4. Mandate that NASA on a yearly basis report to Congress its
progress in implementing recommendations of the 2014 National
Academy's Pathways to Exploration Report, and report on policy
impediments that stand in its way of doing so, or provide sound
rationales for different direction than that recommended by the
report;
5. Based on the selected goals and objectives for NASA, Congress
needs to clearly define the resources to be made available for
space exploration. The resources must grow consistent with the
expected work to be accomplished on a reasonable schedule and
account for inflation to avoid loss of buying power.
6. Provide NASA the ability, within its Budget Authority, to have a
single appropriations line for Exploration Systems to permit
the efficient use of resources for attaining the necessary
technical and schedule objectives. Multiple appropriations
lines greatly complicate the program management of the SLS,
Orion, and Ground Systems development. Further fragmentation of
funding into smaller and smaller accounts effectively inhibits
sound program management and inevitably drives up the cost of
programs while introducing greater risk. As additional elements
such as habitats are added to the exploration portfolio, the
ability to efficiently address programmatic issues is essential
for efficient use of valuable taxpayer resources;
7. Provide NASA the programmatic and technical discretion to
implement the plans necessary to meet the goals and objectives
consistent with available resources, and appropriate
Congressional oversight;
8. Require NASA to evaluate and use programmatic and technical best
practices from other industries and government agencies.
Consideration should be given to a NASA version of DARPA to
allow new methodologies to be tried unencumbered by the
traditional and bureaucratic approaches. It is imperative that
NASA remain at the forefront of technology and program
management. NASA developed the systems engineering and program
management tools necessary for Apollo. These tools have served
this Nation well as programs have increased in complexity. The
landscape is evolving with emerging space companies and the
government role of tackling the technical challenges, and NASA
must be flexible while assuring the safety and appropriate use
of taxpayer resources. This necessitates a continual learning
organization, willing to experiment and test new technical and
program management methods.
Question 4. What programs within the agency pull its focus away
from its intended main goal of placing humans on the surface of Mars?
Answer. The 2010 NASA Authorization Act clearly states the goals
and objectives for NASA and its respective mission directorates. These
goals and objectives are defined for human space exploration, Earth
Science, Space Science, Aeronautics, and Education. Relative priority
is established by the Administration and Congress based on the
respective value provided to the Nation.
Consistent with the long-term goals and objectives to expand human
presence beyond low Earth orbit to enable human settlement and a
thriving space economy via public-private partnerships and
international collaboration, Congress should consider increasing the
investment in NASA to at least double the expected inflation rate. This
would be a rational investment for the future within the constraints of
the current and expected fiscal environment, provide an improved
foundation for our Country's future, and assure U.S. leadership in
space.
Even in the difficult current fiscal environment, with many needs
and demands placed on the Federal Government, a steadily increasing
investment for our future is appropriate. Not only do such investments
help grow the economy through advancements in competitiveness and
innovation, and thus pay for themselves in the long run, they ensure
the realization of future economic opportunities for our citizens and
our children, which are essential. As all U.S. citizens see more
opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities,
hope for the future is increased, and provides the foundation for an
optimistic and engaging vision of the future for all our citizens.
Space exploration, is and will continue to be an important pathway
towards new economic opportunities, and the development of new
technologies, all leading to a better future for all.
It is imperative that Congress and the Administration demonstrate
the leadership required to build a better future with the benefits of
space exploration. NASA's accomplishments and lessons learned through
the decades have provided inspiration, new economic opportunities and
new technologies that are an important part of our international
leadership, national defense, and emerging commercial opportunities.
Would we be satisfied if we turned off GPS for a day, did without
weather satellites or space based communications, did not have
astronauts running experiments for new medicines, new materials, and
learning how to live and work in space with direct application to the
human ageing process, understanding our solar system through our rovers
and planetary probes, obtaining a better understanding of the cosmos
through our telescopes, and providing more efficient means for
commercial air travel? I think not.
I believe a modest increase in NASA's funding at double the
expected rate of inflation is the appropriate funding level to be
included in the next NASA Authorization Act.
[all]
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