Space Startup Scorecard 2009 January 17, 2009
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in ARCA, Armadillo Aerospace, Bigelow Aerospace, Blue Origin, Canadian Arrow, PlanetSpace, Rocketplane Kistler, Space Startups, SpaceDev, SpaceX, Starchaser, Tspace, UP Aerospace, X Class Orgs, XCOR.1 comment so far
The last time I did the scorecard was in 2007. Surprisingly, not a lot has changed. This was caused by two factors. First, not all of the companies are still pursuing private manned spaceflight. Instead Xcor and Planetspace are becoming engine and other parts suppliers to aerospace businesses. Others, like Transformational Space would like to be prime contractors and project managers rather than really hardware guys.
The second reason is that the milestones I have listed are extremely challenging. A few years ago, I don’t think most of us realized just how challenging they would be. ARCA, for example, has had multiple drop tests and balloon flights with various hardware configurations. They’ve also designed and test fired several engines and fuel combinations. They just haven’t fired a rocket after launching it on a balloon. They are progressing, but it’s painfully slow when viewed from the outside.
One other thing became clear as I read over company websites and profiles filling in the scorecards. Almost every one of these businesses submitted a proposal for NASA’s COTS program. We’ll dig a little deeper into that at a later date.
I’ve highlighted the few changes to the scorecard to make it easier to read.
Aerospace Startup Scorecard 2009
A Very Merry Christmas at SpaceX December 24, 2008
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in Armadillo Aerospace, Space News, Space Startups, SpaceX.add a comment
Santa has been very good to SpaceX this year. They just received the 1.6 billion dollar Cargo Resupply Service (CRS) contract from NASA. This means that they will start delivering supplies to the ISS in 2010. This also places the company of firm financial footing so they can pursue their plans to ramp up the Falcon 9 production lines to full capacity. With options to extend the contract for up to $3.1 billion, this is a juicy award, and it represents a substantial percentage of NASA’s $16 – $20 billion annual budget.
I don’t know how many SpaceX employees are celebrating though. With their first Falcon 9 arriving at Cape Canaveral in sections, they have a log of work ahead of them. They claim they will complete vehicle integration before the first of the New Year, but I think they have their work cut out for them.
With Falcon 9 at Space Launch Complex 40, White Night 2 performing test flights, and Armadillo Aerospace holding the Lunar Lander Challenge prize, it’s an exciting time for the New Space businesses.
Year in Review April 27, 2008
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in Armadillo Aerospace, Bigelow Aerospace, ESA, JAXA, NASA, Orbital SCiences, Rocketplane Kistler, Russia, Space Startups, SpaceX.add a comment
Yes, it’s been twelve months since my last post. So, I thought I’d give a quick run down of spaceflight activities for the past year. It’s been a busy one with many exciting developments.
Let’s start with the ISS’s growth spurt. The installation of ESA’s Columbus module, and JAXA’s Kibo Pressurized Logistics Module, and NASA’s Node 2 Harmony greatly expanded that habitable volume of the orbital outpost. It also means that. ESA and JAXA activated their own control rooms to support their modules. ESA also wins bonus points for finally getting Jules Vern, their first ATV cargo ship off the ground last month. After several rendezvous tests, the unmanned vehicle automatically docked to a Russian port. Just the other day, Jules Vern fired two of its four engines to boost the Space Station’s orbit.
Canada also has new hardware on orbit. Dexter, a two-armed extension for the Canada Arm II, accompanied the Kibo module on STS-123. It’s designed to complete some of the maintenance and repair tasks usually handle by space walking astronauts. Considering how dangerous those activities are, Dexter is a welcome contribution to this great experiment in space.
The ISS also played host to numerous international astronauts. Germany’s Hans Schlegel helped install ESA’s Columbus module on STS-122. Frances’s Leopold Eyharts also rode up on STS-122 and remained on orbit for a month to configure Columbus before returning on STS-123. Japan’s Takao Doi flew aboard STS-123 to deliver and install the Kibo PLM. South Korea also sent its first astronaut into space. Engineer Yi So Yeon joined Russia’s most recent Soyuz taxi flight. She spent ten days on orbit, and introduced the crew to some Korean foods including spicy kimchi, and fermented soybean paste. Both of which I can personally confirm are delicious, as I currently reside just north of Seoul. Soon the ISS may boast both an international cuisine as well as an international crew.
In other news, NASA’s project Orion is proceeding. The mockup capsule for the launch abort test is complete. Orbital Sciences is building the abort tower that will cap the module. Launch pad modifications are under way for the Ares I-X test. The dummy upper stage for the test is also complete. NASA also conducted numerous airbag tests to see if the vehicle can safely perform a landing on dry ground. They performed drop tests for the larger parachutes needed for the extended five segment solid booster. It’s great to see real hardware under construction and in tests.
The private sector hasn’t been sitting on its laurels either. Bigelow Aerospace successfully launched Genesis II, and is pushing forward with plans for full-scale inflatable orbital modules.
Armadillo Aerospace again failed to capture the Lunar Lander Challenge at the XPrize Cup. However, they were the only team to field a vehicle, and their repeat attempts were the highlight of the Cup. They also posses an experimental launch permit which has allowed them to log a great deal of low altitude flight time beyond tethered flights. They also have a modular sub-orbital design, which looks like it could be a commercial success.
SpaceX still hasn’t orbited any hardware, but progress continues on the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9. Flights of both are still scheduled for this year, and the company has plenty of paying customers lined up. They’ve improved their Merlin engine with a regeneratively cooled version that increases the available thrust, and their engine test stand has been keeping their neighbors on their toes. SpaceX is still on track for the COTS program, and has past several critical reviews and funding milestones. NASA also awarded them an indefinite quantity, indefinite time contract for launch services to be specified as needed.
Scaled Composites/ The Spaceship Company has had the roughest year. They had an engine blow up on a test stand. The accident resulted in two deaths, and has slowed down development work on SpaceShip II. Burt Rutan is in it for the long haul, and is an experienced aircraft designer. They will investigate the causes of the accident, and prevent it from occurring again. This will not end the SpaceShip II program. One interesting idea to come out of Virgin Galactic is that this model could be used for point to point supersonic flights as well as space tourism.
One last note: NASA finally managed to get rid of Rocket Plane Kistler and re-award their portion of the COTS contract to Orbital Sciences. RPK failed to make required funding deadlines. Few space insiders really believed RPK had the muscle to launch any hardware into space. Their K-1 vehicle has been “90% complete” for the past five years, and they haven’t done anything in that time but burn money. Orbital Sciences was a new aerospace startup during the Reagan administration. They still think like a small, young organization, but they have a successful development track record including three launch vehicles.
Upcoming Launches April 5, 2007
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in Armadillo Aerospace, Bigelow Aerospace, NASA, News and politics, Rocketplane Kistler, Space Startups, SpaceX, UP Aerospace, schedule.add a comment
Of the seven launch vehicles mentioned below, three have experienced terminal failures in the past twelve months. This is just a reminder that what these people do is difficult, and success cannot be taken for granted.
April 7 – ISS Expedition 15 launches in a Soyuz-TMA From Baikonur Cosmodrome. The crew includes Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, and Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi.
April 19 – Bigelow Aerospace will launch Genesis II, their second subscale inflatable demonstrator aboard a dnepr rocket from ISC Kosmotras Space and Missile Complex near Yasny, Russia.
April 28 – UP Aerospace’s SpaceLoft will carry commercial and student payloads, including the remains of Gordon Cooper and James Doohan on a suborbital flight from New Mexico’s Space Port. This will be their second attempt after their launch failure in January.
Also in April, Armadillo Aerospace plans several test flights of Pixel, their Lunar Lander Challenge vehicle. The flights will take place at the Oklahoma Space Port.
In May or June, Space Shuttle Atlantis mission STS-117 should lift off From Cape Canaveral. The flight will flesh out the space station with the addition of new solar arrays.
SpaceX has two more launches scheduled for this year from their facility on Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll. The first could be as early as August and will carry TacSat 1, a US military demonstrator. Their second flight, in the fourth quarter, will carry a Malaysian communications satellite.
After their last launch ended in a launch pad explosion, Sea Launch is repairing their floating facility and plans to be ready for their next launch in October.
Space Startup Scorecard March 25, 2007
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in ARCA, Armadillo Aerospace, Bigelow Aerospace, Blue Origin, Canadian Arrow, PlanetSpace, Rocketplane Kistler, Space Startups, SpaceDev, SpaceX, Starchaser, Tspace, UP Aerospace, XCOR.1 comment so far
Although many of the aerospace startups have differing goals, which make them difficult to compare, I thought it might be fun to take a quick look at how they all stack up. From my perspective, Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites/The Spaceship Company is still the most advanced business since they have the only manned flights under their belts. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and John Carmack’s Armadillo Aerospace have also made impressive strides in the past few years. Bigelow Aerospace is much more difficult to compare because they are not building rockets, and simply purchasing launch services from other vendors. I assume Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin have actually conducted static fire tests, but with their secretive ways, it’s difficult to tell.
If I’ve missed anything, feel free to add it in a comment, and I’ll update the chart. Thanks.
This Year in Space January 1, 2007
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in Armadillo Aerospace, Bigelow Aerospace, ESA, India, JAXA, NASA, Orbital SCiences, Rocketplane Kistler, Russia, Space Startups, SpaceX, UP Aerospace.add a comment
2006 was a pretty good year in space. The international launch community averaged over one orbital launch per week. U.S. and Russian providers carried out the bulk of the operations but the E.U., Japan, Israel and China also had successes under their belts. With four failed launch attempts, the failure rate was a mere 6%, which is considerably better than the historical average of 10%.
Manned spaceflight had a banner year. The International Space Station returned to a three-person crew and played host to astronauts and cosmonauts from the U.S., Russia, Germany, Sweden, and Japan. Although U.S. citizens, Astronauts born in Australia and England also visited the ISS and truly put the “International” in the International Space Station. Anousheh Ansari, perhaps the most famous space tourist to date, traveled to the station on one of two Soyuz flights this year. Her blog carried many dreamers with her on the ten-day journey.
NASA also managed to conduct two ISS construction flights. Space walkers and the robotic arm installed the P4 solar arrays, the P5 spacer truss, and rewired the electrical system to its permanent configuration. For the first time several years, the ISS actually looks different from the outside. Not only that, the increased power supplied by the new photovoltaic cells sets the stage for the installation of Japanese and European modules over the course of the next two years.
The emerging aerospace companies had more of a mixed year. SpaceX attempted to launch a partly reusable Falcon 1 at the start of the year, but suffered a major engine failure. Even with the loss of the vehicle, NASA still awarded them $278 million to develop cargo delivery and possibly human taxi services to the ISS. Rocketplane-Kistler won the other COTS development contract for $207 million to develop the same services.
UP Aerospace and Armadillo Aerospace both struggled with suborbital flights. UP Aerospace lost their launcher the New Mexico’s innaugerral spaceport flight, when it veered off course and disappeared into the White Sands Missile Range. It took them over a week to recover the broken hardware so they could analyze the failure.
Armadillo conducted several spectacular flights at the X Prize Cup in October. In an attempt to secure the Lunar Lander Challenge, a golf cart sized LH/LOX rocket vehicle named Pixel had to traverse 100 feet, land, and then return to its launch pad. The team made three tries at the event, and accomplished the first half of the challenge, but suffered equipment malfunctions and other difficulties at the landing site. If their vehicle had been a bit more robust, they certainly would have succeeded.
Bigelow Aerospace impressed most space watchers with the launch of their first test of an inflatable orbital habitat. The subscale vehicle was launched on a Russian Dnepr rocket and surpassed expectations. The inflation was flawless, and the mini-space station established contact with Beigelow’s ground station. The on-board thrusters stabilized the initial tumbling, and the solar cells fed power to the systems. Video cameras mounted inside and outside let the world witness this privately funded success.
In the next installment we’ll take a look at the accomplishments of our unmanned explorers over 2006.
Generation X, The Internet Revolution, and Aerospace Startups October 25, 2006
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in Armadillo Aerospace, Space Startups, SpaceX.add a comment
I don’t know if you can remember the early 1990’s. It’s ancient history after all. Back then I was attending the University of Rochester, and there was a buzz in popular media about dangers posed by Generation X. Those GenX’ers were a bunch of slackers and drifters. They had no plans for the future, were disengaged from the values of previous generations, and had no desire to enter the traditional corporate world. Being a member of Generation X, I was grumpy about all of these reports. Sure, I had no idea what I was going to do with myself, but that didn’t mean it was the end of Western Civilization.
Then something unexpected happened. GenX’ers attending colleges and universities across the country were introduced to the fledgling Internet. At that point there was no global system, but most universities were connected by email and a few other basic utilities. Outside of school electronic bulletin boards popped up. All over campus, young men crowded around new pieces of computer hardware, and anyone with the labeled “hacker” also wrote his own code.
Fast-forward five years. Bulletin boards evolved into the first Internet Service Providers. Anyone with right-of-way was laying down fiber optic cable as fast as possible. ISP’s doubled in size overnight, and bought new hardware as soon as it came out, and new websites with new services popped up every day. Those slacker GenX’ers fueled this explosive growth. We were the front-line troops, answering angry phone calls when stock quotes were unavailable. We installed routers in a cage in the thirds floor men’s room. We configured dial-up modems for grandpa who was born before WWII. We transformed the communications landscape of the world.
This revolution generated amazing profits for new generation of millionaires. These men and women had no connection to traditional sources of wealth, and a few articles at the time wondered if they would learn how to employ the capital at their command. It was even reported that some had hired consultants to teach them the basics of philanthropic donation.
Well, They’ve figured out what to do with their money. They’re creating new aerospace businesses and fueling new space based industries.
John Carmack of Armadillo Aerospace made a bundle creating Doom, and now he and his team are building and testing rockets. They recently attempted to claim a $350,000 prize at the Wirefly X Prize Cup by demonstrating a lunar lander design. While unable snag the prize, their vehicle still took off, hovered, and landed several time.
Paul Allen from Microsoft reportedly funded Burt Rutan’s development of Spaceship One to the tune of $20 million.
Elon Musk, creator of Paypal, is the owner and impetus behind SpaceX. Their first test flight may have failed, but they are continuing work on the Falcon family of rockets, and won a $250 million development contract from NASA for cargo shipments to the ISS.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com founded Blue Origin. The company is chasing the single stage to orbit (SSTO) dream at their facility in Texas.
From slackers to space pioneers, Generation X underwent an impressive transformation over the last fifteen years. Private spaceflight is still a fledgling industry, but if GenX could guide the Internet from an esoteric field to an integral component of everyday life, then we may yet do the same
Congratulations Armadillo…almost October 20, 2006
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in Armadillo Aerospace, Space Startups.add a comment
Today at the Wirefly X Prize Cup, Armadillo flew its Pixel rocket in an attempt to snag $350,000 purse for the Lunar Lander Challenge. The team had several technical issues they had to overcome before liftoff. Rain from last night caused one of the LOX lines to freeze. Fortunately, the judges stopped the clock to allow them to deal with the problem. More critical was a GPS error. Originally, they planed to just pop the coordinates for the landing pad into the flight computer and let the autopilot fly the mission. When they check the coordinates against a GPS receiver at the landing pad, they discovered a significant discrepancy. John Carmack, Armadillo’s leader and primary backer, took the joystick in hand and prepared for manual control. Initially, the flight looked good. Pixel completed the 90-second hover and headed for the landing zone. Unfortunately, Carmack misjudged the descent rate and broke one of the landing legs, causing a small fire. The return flight had to be scrubbed for today.
Even with this setback, Armadillo has proven that it has a substantial lead on all the other teams. They even brought a complete second vehicle, named Tixel, to the event. Unlike many exhibitors at the X Prize Cup, the team members of Armadillo have been building and testing hardware since the first days of the X Prize. They are no Power Point organization, and have more operational experience than most scratch-built teams. Let’s hope they get a second chance to show what they can do. Go get’em Widget!
I’d like to thank the posters on the Space.com forums, especially racer7 and SpaceLifeJunkie, for providing information not yet available trough other sources.
Armadillo Aerospace: Profile September 25, 2006
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in Armadillo Aerospace, Profile.add a comment
This is the first installment of a series on former X Prize teams. Although Burt Rutan claimed the prize in October 2004, many of the teams founded to chase after it are still in business, and building hardware. With the X Prize no longer available, what strategies are they undertaking in their dual quest for spaceflight and profitability?
One of my favorite teams from the beginning of the X Prize is John Carmack’s Armadillo Aerospace. Bankrolled by Carmack’s success creating such games as Doom and Quake, this team of volunteers has been building and testing hardware right from the start. They are wedded to neither one fuel/oxidizer combination, nor attitude control method. They try everything, to see what works best for their current vehicle.
Like the Wright brothers, their flight tests focus on control rather than power. They run every vehicle through tethered flight tests that may only fly a few feet above the ground, but they focus on attitude and roll control. Only after many successful (and failed) tethered tests do they take their vehicles to the open field.
After Scaled Composites bagged the X Prize, they returned to their earlier plans for a single passenger vehicle, and preparing demonstrations for the first Countdown to the X Prize Cup. In March 2006, that changed once more as a new prize became available. The Lunar Lander Challenge is almost tailor made for their current flight vehicle. The contest will take place at the X Prize Cup in October, and the Prize purse is provided by NASA’s Centennial Challenge program.
The competition consists of two levels. For level 1, a rocket must launch to an altitude of 50 meters, and hover for 90 seconds before landing at a designated site 100 meters from the launch pad. After refueling, the vehicle makes the same flight in reverse. The first prize for achieving this goal is $350,000. The level 2 competition increases the hover time to 180 seconds and the landing site is a simulated uneven rocky terrain. The first prize for this more difficult challenge is a hefty $1.25 million.
In August, Armadillo Aerospace secured sponsorship from NVIDIA to carry the project through the first X Prize Cup. If they can win both competitions, which Carmack believes is possible, they expect to turn their team of volunteers into paid staff. This will allow them to put in the time they need to turn their projects into saleable hardware or possibly services. If they fail to bring home the brass ring, they expect to continue their slow paced operation indefinitely until another opportunity presents itself.
It’s a simple strategy. Current development is sustainable. Winning the Lunar Lander Challenge would provide both funds and recognition that they could convert into a profitable business. In a few short weeks, we’ll know what the future holds for team Armadillo Aerospace.
