The orbiting of the
privately-bankrolled Genesis-1 expandable spacecraft by Bigelow Aerospace is a
step forward in the company's vision to provide a low-cost, low Earth orbit
human-rated space complex that is accessible to the commercial sector.
The general concept for
"inflatable" space habitats was initially developed by NASA for use
in a proposed mission to Mars, hence the name, "Transit Habitat" or
"TransHab" as it was commonly referred to. That
work was curtailed in 2000, falling victim to NASA budget cuts.
Since that time, Bigelow
Aerospace took the basic concept, redefined it, moved the technology
generations ahead and in many different directions, and ultimately brought the
idea to fruition in the form of the Genesis-1 Pathfinder vessel.
Launched
earlier this month, the Bigelow Aerospace Genesis-1 has taken the deflated NASA
idea and puffed new life into the use of what Bigelow Aerospace refers to as
'expandable' space-based structures--spending some $75 million in the process,
so far.
Still, obtaining U.S. permission to shoot Genesis-1
into orbit atop the Dnepr
booster--a converted Cold War, silo-launched SS-18 intercontinental
ballistic missile from Russia--was no trouble-free task.
Second only to gravity
The U.S. Department of
State is responsible for the control of the permanent and temporary export and
temporary import of defense articles and services. Under what's called the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR),
the job is clear-cut: Control of arms sales to foreign parties is an integral
part of the U.S. ability to safeguard national
security and further foreign policy objectives.
"One of the most
difficult aspects of conducting a mission like Genesis-1 is surviving all of
the red-tape involved in export control. Without working with Defense
Technology Security Administration (DTSA) and Defense Trade Control (DTC)
officials, I don't know if we would have made it," said Mike Gold,
Corporate Counsel for Bigelow Aerospace in Washington, D.C.
Gold confirmed that there
was a "long document trail" before Bigelow Aerospace workers at the
launch site in Russia opened the sea container that
contained Genesis-1 in preparation for its July 12 blastoff.
"Second only to
gravity, the force that had the greatest potential to keep Genesis-1 on the
ground was the ITAR," Gold explained to SPACE.com. "I think
there is a consensus in the industry that some reforms in this arena are
warranted and potentially overdue."
Red Tape and Reform
"It was extremely
difficult for us. The amount of red tape and regulations are enormous,"
said Robert Bigelow, founder and president of Bigelow Aerospace at a press
briefing last week at the company's central location in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In Bigelow's view, the ITAR
seems designed to discourage any kind of interaction between U.S. companies on a space effort with
other countries. His advice is to return such decision-making to the Department
of Commerce.
For his part, Gold also had
some near-term solutions, while saluting how DTSA, in particular, handled the
Genesis-1 launch. Echoing his employer's sentiments in regard to the Department
of Commerce, he also had some additional near-term suggestions.
"We're big supporters
of export control. Ballistic and militarily sensitive technologies should
unquestionably be protected," Gold said. "However, when it comes to
projects that don't involve any such information or hardware, and like Genesis,
are composed virtually completely of commercially available technology, a
different regime is required."
Gold said that within
existing law, licensing officers should be encouraged to look hard at
applications, and, if they do not involve militarily sensitive hardware, act
accordingly.
More discretion
"I've worked with DTSA
in particular for two years now, and there are some very smart people there...it
would be beneficial if the system encouraged them to make more commonsense
judgments in regard to monitoring and other requirements, particularly when dealing
with off-the-shelf technologies," Gold explained.
In Gold's view, there needs
to be more discretion built into the system, a bifurcated process, so that
commercially available technology is not treated in the same way as militarily
sensitive hardware.
"The key is to take
the time to distinguish one from the other. That way, DTSA and DTC can focus
more of their scarce resources on technologies that legitimately need
watching."
Very thin line
There is ongoing debate
regarding ITAR and whether this regulatory muscle impedes U.S. trade, an
ability to compete in the global marketplace and hinders science exchange--a
claim voiced by many U.S. industries and academia.
From their perspective, the
Department of State contends ITAR is a must-have security benefit with the
various rules and regulations imposed having limited impact.
"There is a legitimate
national security concern on proliferation of missile technology and launch
technology, and all the know-how that goes around that," explained Robert Brumley, former chairman of Reagan's commercial space
working group. He is also former general counsel for the U.S. Department of
Commerce.
"You only have to look
as far as North Korea, Iran and China to really see sort of the cause and
effect. It has always been a concern...and it's a very thin line," Brumley told SPACE.com. "There is a line you
cannot cross by essentially selling the rope to our enemies and they will come
over here and hang us with it."
There's a good reason for
both sides of the line, Brumley said. "There is
a process in place, a bureaucratic process, but it's a process," he
advised, and Bigelow proved it can be done.
"That's just the way
it's going to have to be until we're in a safer world," Brumley said. "The consequences of not having a
process are too extreme to imagine."
Remove impediments
Bigelow's boost on a
Russian ICBM for launch was done as a cost-saving and needed measure.
An early rocket of choice
by Bigelow Aerospace for tossing its test modules into space was the Falcon 5,
offered by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX),
based in El Segundo, California. But the firm's Falcon 1 booster
has been trouble-plagued, failing last March in its maiden flight.
Elon Musk, SpaceX
chairman and chief executive officer said his firm's booster is slated to orbit
one of Bigelow's larger, still under design prototype modules in late 2008 on a
Falcon 9.
The Genesis-1 design that
went on the ISC Kosmotras Dnepr was too large for a
Falcon 1, but too small for a Falcon 5 or Falcon 9, Musk explained to SPACE.com.
Bigelow's blastoff courtesy
of the Dnepr also underscored the impediments for launching within the United States, Brumley
observed. "We still have third-party liability insurance issues. We still
have access to launch facility problems. We still have certified vehicle
issues," he noted.
U.S. launch firms do not crank out production model
boosters like the Russians do, Brumley added. Rather,
American providers build a "build-to-suit" launch vehicle, he said.
"The way to avoid the
ITAR problem is to remove impediments in the United States to the kind of launch services and
payload integration that is now being done offshore," Brumley
observed. "That's the better solution."
advertisement
