Kistler Aerospace is hoping a NASA contract, potentially worth $135 million, will attract sufficient private investment to restart development of its K-1 reusable launch vehicle (RLV).
NASA has awarded Kistler the contract under its Space Launch Initiative (SLI) programme to develop technology for a second-generation RLV. The initial $10 million award buys the US space agency access to data on the K-1. Options worth up to $125 million cover access to data from the first four flights. NASA also has options to fly SLI technologies on the K-1, beginning with the first flight.
Kirkland, Washington-based Kistler halted work on the K-1 in 1999 when it ran out of money. The company is trying to raiseup to $500 million, having already spent $500 million on the project.
The booster was scheduled to fly in 1998, and NASA has the option of cancelling its contract in March 2003 if Kistler has not made progress towards flying the K-1. "By Spring 2003, we need to show we are moving forward," says Kistler. Flights will be from Woomera, Australia.
"The first four flights will provide NASA with invaluable insight on how 13 embedded technologies perform in the operation environment of a fully reusable two-stage RLV," says Kistler chief executive Dr George Mueller. "The options in the contract for flying technology experiments as secondary payloads on commercial K-1 missions provide NASA with access to an inexpensive flying testbed." As well as receiving data from the flights, the space agency will be able to fly primary payloads at a reduced price, he says.
The K-1 is fully reusable, the first stage returning to the launch site and landing using parachutes and airbags. After deploying its payload, the second stage remains in orbit for 24h, then re-enters, returns to the launch site and lands using parachutes and airbags. The stages are refurbished and reused. Launch costs are reduced by using off-the-shelf components, including Russian NK-33 and NK-43 engines supplied by Aerojet.
Orbital Sciences has received a $47 million contract under the SLI to build and launch a space manoeuvring vehicle derived from the firm's Pegasus air-launched booster. Under the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology programme, a modified Pegasus upper stage will rendezvous in 2004 with an orbiting satellite to demonstrate autonomous proximity operations. Orbital has also received a $6 million SLI contract to continue studies of its "Space Taxi" crew transfervehicle concept.Source: Flight International
