Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC
NASA HAS received bids in the first round of its $4.5 billion competition for a second-generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV).
The space agency plans to award mutiple small contracts to begin defining requirements for the system and initiate risk-reduction activities. These will feed into the first major procurement round, set for September, says programme manager Dan Dumbacher. This will result in the award of "more than two" contracts covering the first two years of the five-year risk-reduction programme.
Initial contracts, to be awarded next month, will be the first step in defining system requirements to meet NASA's stated safety and cost goals: a 1 in 10,000 probability of loss of crew; and a $2,200/kg ($4,845/lb) payload to orbit cost. "We don't know if the cost and safety goals can be met," says Dumbacher. "They're aggressive."
The risk-reduction phase will involve a number of technology demonstrations intended to ensure there are at least two viable commercial competitors. The requirements definition process "will tell us what demonstrations we need to do", Dumbacher says, adding the priorities are crew escape, main propulsion and full-scale integrated structure demonstrations.
Studies will try to "maximise convergence" between NASA, government and commercial launch requirements. Plans call for development of second-generation RLVs to be fully funded by private enterprise, except for NASA-unique requirements such as crewed missions. "We know there will be some amount of government funding, but we don't know the number or the mechanism," Dumbacher says.
Recognising NASA is already funding the X-33 technology demonstrator for Lockheed Martin's proposed VentureStar single-stage-to-orbit RLV, the risk- reduction programme will be structured "to get as level a playing field as possible", he says. "We will maintain competition." Options include two-stage-to-orbit, towed launch and horizontal take-off concepts, he says.
Source: Flight International
