Posts Tagged ‘Terminal Hangar Facility’

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Todd G. Dickson

On the eve of a week of activities related to new space entrepreneurs, Spaceport America’s two primary customers – Virgin Galactic and UP Aerospace – have made major announcements.

UP Aerospace, the company that has conducted a number of traditional sounding rocket launches from the spaceport 45 miles north of Las Cruces, announced this week that it will conduct up to nine new missions from Spaceport America in 2012 and 2013.

The launches will be for NASA and the Department of Defense. If all the planning launches from contracts are conducted, they will be twice the number of missions UP Aerospace has flown from Spaceport America since 2006.

“Spaceport America has an established history with UP Aerospace, and we congratulate this forward-thinking company on its new launch contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense,” said New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) Executive Director Christine Anderson. “UP Aerospace has been launching here since 2006 and we are looking forward to hosting UP Aerospace and other commercial space launch providers as they continue to meet the needs of our nation.”

NASA’s Office of Chief Technologist Launch Opportunities Program awarded UP Aerospace a contract to integrate technology payloads and launch them into space on up to eight flights using its SpaceLoft rocket. This contract reserves two launches with options on purchasing up to six additional flights in 2012 and 2013.

The first launch for NASA is still in the planning phase, but is expected in the first quarter of 2012, according to a news release from NMSA. The second contract was issued by the Defense Department’s Operationally Responsive Space Office, and will be a suborbital flight also planned for the first quarter of 2012.

“We have a great relationship with Spaceport America,” said UP Aerospace President Jerry Larson. “We are excited to see business ramping up for our SpaceLoft launch vehicles, and look forward to meeting the needs of our customers.”

UP Aerospace has provided launch services for the Defense Department previously, although this will be the company’s first fully dedicated launch for the military. UP Aerospace has teamed with Schafer Corporation of Albuquerque to provide comprehensive launch and payload integration services for the NASA launches.

At Spaceport America, UP Aerospace has conducted launches test rocket vehicle or booster concepts for companies that do business with the Defense Department.

Virgin Galactic gets the keys

On Monday, Oct. 17, which is the start of Space Week in New Mexico, Virgin Galactic will host a hangar dedication ceremony at Spaceport America, where work on its Terminal Hangar Facility is nearly completed where Virgin will be housing its fleet of spaceliners. Virgin Galactic is calling the hangar dedication ceremony “Keys to a New Dawn.”

Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic has a new Vice President of Operations Michael Moses, a former NASA executive. Moses will oversee the planning and execution of all operations of the company’s commercial suborbital spaceflight program.

“Following a distinguished career in NASA’s recently retired Space Shuttle Program, Moses brings to Virgin Galactic a proven record of safe, successful and secure human spaceflight missions, spaceport operations, and human spaceflight program leadership,” Virgin Galactic stated in its announcement. “He served at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the Launch Integration Manager from 2008 until the landing of the final Shuttle mission in July 2011. He was responsible for supervising all Space Shuttle processing activities from landing through launch, and for reviewing major milestones including final readiness for flight.”

Moses also served as chair of the Mission Management Team, providing ultimate launch decision authority for the final 12 missions of the Space Shuttle Program, directly overseeing the safe and successful flights of 75 astronauts. According to Virgin Galactic, Moses will develop and lead the team responsible for its spaceship operations and logistics, flight crew operations, customer training and spaceport ground operations, with overall operational safety and risk management as the primary focus.

“Bringing Mike in to lead the team represents a significant investment in our commitment to operational safety and success as we prepare to launch commercial operations,” said Virgin Galactic President and CEO George Whitesides. “His experience and track record in all facets of spaceflight operations are truly unique. His forward-thinking perspective to bring the hard-won lessons of human spaceflight into our operations will benefit us tremendously.”

Prior to his most recent NASA role, Moses served as a flight director at the NASA Johnson Space Center, where he led teams of flight controllers in the planning, training and execution of all aspects of space shuttle missions. Moses also has more than 10 years experience as a flight controller in the Shuttle Propulsion and Electrical Systems Groups.

“I am extremely excited to be joining Virgin Galactic at this time, helping to forge the foundations that will enable routine commercial suborbital spaceflights,” Moses said. “Virgin Galactic will expand the legacy of human spaceflight beyond traditional government programs into the world’s first privately funded commercial spaceline.”

Moses holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Purdue University, a master’s degree in space sciences from Florida Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Purdue University. He is a two-time recipient of the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal as well as other NASA commendations and awards.

Carolyn Wincer, who is Virgin Galactic’s head of travel and tourism, recently said the company will soon be opening an office in Las Cruces. Wincer said more than 70 flight tests have made of Virgin’s system that launches a six passenger rocket from mid-air to reach 70miles above the Earth’s surface.

Some 500 experienced test pilots have applied to fly for Virgin Galactic, according to Wincer. Meanwhile, more than 500 potential passengers have made down payments for the $200,000 tickets, totaling close to $60 million in deposits. Virgin Galactic also will host the first-ever “Industry Day” for potential suppliers and partners at Spaceport America on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The invitation-only event is designed to educate potential companies on the type of goods and services that will be needed as commercial space travel becomes a reality at Spaceport America.

“Virgin Galactic and (its sister) The Spaceship Company are looking to create relationships with local, regional and global suppliers to support their operations at Spaceport America,” Anderson said. “The organizers of this event have stated their intention to hire locally as much as possible, which is good news for New Mexico companies.”

The daylong event will include presentations by Whitesides, Anderson and New Mexico Department of Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela. Attendees will have an opportunity to see the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo vehicles in their new home at the spaceport.

Space gathering an international event

After the Virgin Galactic event, the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) begins at New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Spring Road.

A Growing Community Partnership Luncheon will be held Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Commercial Space Exhibit Hall inside the museum. The $50 luncheon includes a talk by Allan Lockheed, son of the aviation pioneer who created what is now Lockheed Martin. Lockheed will talk about how the space industry will coalesce around Spaceport America – an industry that is currently supported by $60 billion just in government spending.

More than 500 people – mostly key movers in the private space industry – are expected to attend ISPCS Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 19-20. Panel discussion will cover a host of topics, including creating the supply chain support.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Todd G. Dickson

Armadillo Aerospace – which has been the leader in developing rocket technology for vehicles to take off and land vertically – will be conducting three NASA-funded tests this winter at Spaceport America.

Photo courtesy of Armadillo Aerospace

Programmer John Carmack, who made his fortune creating computer games such as “Doom,” started Armadillo in 2000 to pursue advances first tested at White Sands Missile Range in the 1990s. In the past two years, one of his vehicles has successfully accomplished the first levels of a NASA-sponsored contest for designing a new lunar lander.

The demonstration vehicle built by Armadillo of Rockwell, Texas, has previously flown at the Las Cruces International Airport for the now-dormant X PRIZE Cup spaceflight expo. Rick Homans, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, said these new tests illustrate the research and development capabilities of Spaceport America, which is being constructed in the desert 45 miles north of Las Cruces.

“These launches mark an important step in NASA’s plan to empower the emerging commercial spaceflight industry to assume a greater role in the nation’s space program,” Homans said. “Spaceport America is the launch pad for this new industry, and Armadillo’s decision to launch here affirms our important position.”

Armadillo is developing new vehicles that can launch small payloads to suborbital “near space,” which NASA defines as altitudes between about 19 and 106 kilometers, and return them safely to earth.

“Armadillo is proud to pioneer reusable rocket technology for the commercial space industry and Spaceport America provides the perfect place for our launches,” said Neil Milburn, vice president of program management at Armadillo Aerospace. “We selected Spaceport America because of its geographic advantages, dedicated staff, technical experience, flexibility and its low cost. We need exactly this kind of support to be successful.”

Milburn said Armadillo will move its test operations to Spaceport America for two NASA-funded Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program (CRuSR) flights to 15 kilometers, under the Amateur Class III waiver, and a subsequent fully licensed or permit flight to at least 40 kilometers this winter.

NASA’s CRuSR program envisions a series of suborbital flights that will provide access to a few minutes of microgravity for experimentation, discovery and testing. According to Homans, NASA wants to help private firms develop suborbital spacecraft that will eventually provide the nation with lower-cost and much more reliable access to orbital space. Spaceport America anticipates playing a critical role in the CRuSR program, Homans said.

The Armadillo announcement comes just two weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded at least $5 million to New Mexico State University to develop a Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation.

“These announcements, coming one on top of another, are big news for Spaceport America,” Homans said.

Southern road deal

The Armadillo news also comes as Homans had finished brokering a deal with Sierra and Dona Ana counties to pave the southern road to Spaceport America. The route to Spaceport America that starts from the Upham exit off Interstate 25 is a graded dirt road about 24 miles long. Currently, the only paved road to Spaceport America comes from Elephant Butte via Truth or Consequences.

Technically, Spaceport America’s operations are in Sierra County, and the unpaved road travels some seven miles in Dona Ana County before crossing the county line. Voters in both counties have passed a small increase in gross receipts taxes (GRT) to support the spaceport’s construction, and the estimated $13 million for the road will come from the next $19 million the spaceport GRT brings in, Homans said.

The counties – primarily Dona Ana County – will provide services for designing and permitting of the paved road. Homans said he is finalizing the contracts and expects meetings soon to start the preliminary work.

Water well worries

When contractors for Spaceport America tapped a former train well to provide water for the construction of its two-mile-long runway and Virgin Galactic’s Terminal Hangar Facility, it wasn’t expected to have any adverse effect on the neighboring open range ranching.

But earlier this summer, neighbors complained their wells were running dry because spaceport construction firms were using the well for the massive amounts of concrete needed for the runway and other facilities.

Since the spaceport stopped using the well, water levels have returned for most of the surrounding wells, Homans said, and the spaceport’s operations will be depending on two other wells that get their water from a different aquifer source by the end of this month.

Homans said he promised the surrounding ranchers that the spaceport would find a “fair and reasonable solution for all parties, I feel we’ve kept our word.”

Article Courtesy of Spaceport America

New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) officials announced a successful launch today for aerospace manufacturing company Moog-FTS at Spaceport America. The launch was a test of a ground-launched UAV prototype. All test objectives were met during the vehicle’s low altitude suborbital trajectory. The specially designed research and development vehicle was launched by UP Aerospace. “Moog-FTS is an important player in space research and manufacturing technology, and we are excited to be in a position to provide low-cost, fast-turnaround launch operations for their R&D projects,” said UP Aerospace President Jerry Larson.

This latest launch from Spaceport America demonstrates the versatility of UP Aerospace at Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport now under construction. NMSA Executive Director Steve Landeene said, “This is another example of delivering on the unique capabilities of the commercial space sector. Major players in the space industry like Moog-FTS and other aerospace companies are increasingly becoming aware of the opportunities available at Spaceport America. I’m proud that we continue to set the standard for safe, low-cost commercial spaceflight.”

Progress at Spaceport America continues at a rapid pace. Road improvements to the spaceport are now complete, and after a successful groundbreaking ceremony in June, bids are being reviewed and awarded for various aspects of the construction. The latest Requests for Proposal (RFP) and Invitations to Bid (ITB) can be found online at http://www.spaceportamerica.com/. Spaceport America will have a 10,000-foot runway complete by late summer 2010 with the Terminal Hangar Facility projected to be complete by early 2011.The NMSA has been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Lockheed Martin, UP Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, Microgravity Enterprises and Payload Specialties to develop commercial spaceflight.