Nonetheless, the experts called on the Air Force to replace aging rocket tracking systems and simplify "overly cautious risk-avoidance" safety practices in a bid to cut costs and make American companies more competitive in an increasingly commercial global space launch business.
The failure to do so "could jeopardize the competitiveness of the nations space launch capability by raising the cost of launches from the United States compared with sites in other countries," said study chairman Robert Whitehead, a retired NASA associate administrator for aeronautics and space transportation technology.
"Launch-range operators can maintain todays high level of safety while reducing costs by using satellite technology, for example, which is more efficient than a conventional radar system and can track rockets just as accurately."
The Eastern and Western ranges both are made up of widespread networks of ground stations equipped with conventional radars to track rockets in flight and radio signals to activate destruct systems.
The latter are used to deliberately destroy space-bound launchers should they fly out of control and threaten populated areas in the U.S. or foreign countries.
The academys Committee on Space Launch Safety found that the Air Forces existing range safety standard is both appropriate and adequate, Whitehead and other panelists said in an interview with SPACE.com.
Dating back to the late 1940s, that safety standard was put in place to ensure the public would be subject to no more risk from space launches "than that imposed by the overflight of conventional aircraft."
More specifically, the standard limits the collective risk to the public on any given rocket or shuttle flight to one serious injury or fatality for every 33,000 launches, or one every 1,000 years at a launch rate of 33 per year.
The committees cost-cutting recommendations "all are based on making certain that the Air Force can definitely meet the existing standards that it has set for public safety," Whitehead said.
"We looked at things that were cost-considered but not cost-driven suggestions," added panelist Jimmey Morrell, a retired Air Force Major General who served as commander of the 45th Space Wing, which oversees Eastern Range operations.
"That means that if a suggestion saved money, that was nice, but the real emphasis was not to change the safety standard."
Among recommendations from the 12-member committee:
-- Proceeding "as rapidly as possible" with Air Force plans to use Global Positioning System navigation satellites to track rockets and shuttles in flight.
Doing so would enable the Air Force to replace 11 of 20 aging radars that are expensive to maintain and operate. Rockets would be equipped with GPS receivers that calculate position and velocity data and then send the information to ground controllers.
Initial Air Force development costs of such a system would be $30 million to $60 million. Individual companies would face an expenditure of $120,000 to $250,000 to certify as safe rockets equipped with GPS receivers. But the cost to equip NASA space shuttles with flight-qualified GPS receivers would be about $32 million.
However, total cost savings to the Air Force between now and 2018 could range up to $400 million, the panel said.
-- Eliminating ground stations on the south Atlantic islands of Antigua and Ascension.
Some rockets and shuttles launched from Cape Canaveral fly briefly over Africa just before they pass into space. Late in their climb to orbit, these rockets must fly through a "gate" or a predefined area along its flight path as an indication that they will safely pass over Africa.
Air Force ground stations on the islands of Antigua and Ascension are used to track rockets at this point in flight, and rockets that miss the gate are deliberately destroyed.
The idea is to make sure people in Africa will not be jeopardized if a rocket careens out of control and that flaming wreckage will fall in the ocean at least 50 miles offshore.
The panel, however, determined that its "highly unlikely that a rocket could go off course at this late stage." Consequently, the committee said the Air Force could shut down launch tracking and command destruct radars on Antigua and Ascension and still meet existing safety standards.
By doing so, however, the Air Force would not be able to track or deliberately destroy wayward rockets during the final portion of a flight into orbit, the panelists said.
-- Redefining restricted launch danger zones off the coasts of Florida and California.
The Air Force routinely clears air and sea space around the Eastern and Western ranges on launch days, but a relatively small number of flights are put on hold and subjected to costly delays if aircraft or boats stray into restricted danger zones.
The panel urged the Air Force to create new launch hazard areas that are surrounded by "buffer zones." Launches then could be allowed to proceed if an aircraft or ship in the buffer zone could not reach the more dangerous hazard zone before a rocket or shuttle clears the area.
In addition, the committee said the Air Force should "make better use of the news media to alert the public" when launches are scheduled. New, more efficient surveillance aircraft also should be used to quickly detect and clear stray aircraft and boats from restricted danger areas.
-- Revamping Air Force safety roles and responsibilities.
The Air Force in 1997 began transferring the responsibility for developing and testing range safety ground and flight systems to Air Force Material Command, or more specifically, the Air Force Space & Missile Center in Los Angeles.
Each of the launch ranges, however, still has safety offices that establish design, test and certification requirements for flight and ground safety systems.
The panel recommended consolidating all safety system design, test and certification work at a single independent safety office overseen by Air Force Material Command. Doing so would reduce a current overlap in responsibilities, the committee said.
Completing the ongoing transition of responsibility "would increase efficiency and reduce costs without compromising safety," the panel said.
Once delivered to the launch ranges, though, the actual operation of ground and flight safety systems would remain in the hands of safety offices at the individual bases.
A first of its kind, the $388,000 study was commissioned by Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which is responsible for operating the Eastern and Western Ranges.
Lt. Gen. Donald Cook, vice commander of Space Command, said in a statement the Air Force will review the panels recommendations and determine which can be implemented and when. Many of them will require additional analysis to consider other factors and weigh potential cost savings, he said.
"Well look at the roles and responsibilities for specific safety processes with the goal of making them more consistent, efficient and cost-effective," Cook said. "However, we intend to maintain our outstanding safety record."
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