WASHINGTON
-- Executives from several private space companies said Wednesday that they
could provide cheaper, more reliable launch systems than those of NASA's
Constellation program.
The executives
made their comments about alternatives to NASA's plan for sending astronauts
to the moon and on to Mars during the first meeting of the Review of U.S.
Human Space Flight Plans Committee created by President Barack Obama.
After the
daylong meeting, committee
Chairman Norm Augustine, a former CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp., said some
commercial launch efforts appear "further along than I thought."
Michael
Gass, the CEO of United Launch Alliance, told the committee that the company
could use an existing Delta rocket to launch the Constellation project's Orion
capsule into space sooner and at a lower cost than NASA's planned Ares I
rocket.
And Gary
Pulliam at Aerospace Corp., which was hired to look at other ways to launch
Orion, said a modified Delta IV Heavy rocket could save between $3 billion and
$6 billion compared with the Ares I.
But Pulliam
also noted that NASA has said canceling the Ares I project would add $14.1
billion to $16.6 billion to the cost of developing the larger Ares V rocket,
which NASA hopes to use to take the Orion capsule farther into space, including
to Mars.
Executives
with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences told committee members that they could help
NASA ferry astronauts to the International
Space Station, filling the gap between the end of the shuttle program in
2010 and the start of Constellation.
SpaceX CEO
Elon Musk also said that using private firms to service
the space station -- both for supplies and people -- would free up NASA to
spend its funds on more ambitious space exploration. NASA has contracted with
both firms for a total of 20 missions to service the station.
Steve
Metschan, part of a group called Direct, offered the most provocative
presentation, which proposed using existing shuttle components to create a new
launch system that would be cheaper and already tested.
He added
some drama by imploring panel members to allow people working on the Ares I
rocket to talk to the panel anonymously about problems with the project.
Earlier in
the day, NASA officials told the committee that they're dealing with concerns
about the lift capacity of the Ares I rocket, its ability to safely clear the
launch tower and potential vibration issues during launch.
Augustine
cited the vibration problem as among the most striking issues brought up on the
first day. Others, he said, included the availability of commercial rockets as
an alternative way to launch the Orion and the concept of reusing the shuttle
launch system.
He said the
committee is developing a set of criteria -- including cost, risks involved and
the impact on jobs -- to evaluate options. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson told the
group that its
recommendations
could be "the significant influence for the White House and the Congress
for where the space program is going."
The
committee's report is due by the end of August. The panel also includes former
astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and Lester Lyle, a
retired Air Force general who was on Obama's short
list for NASA administrator.
Published under license
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