Minutes of October Meeting
Oklahoma Space Alliance met at Harry Bears All-American Grill on Sunday, October 12. Attending were Steve, Karen and Brian Swift, Vickey Richartz, Greg Rasnake, Dave Sheely, Greg, Caitlyn (?) and Stephanie Thibodeaux, Don Robinson, Russ Davoren, Penny McBride, Craig Crawford and Syd Henderson.
This was our Space Week celebration, a couple of days late to accommodate our speaker. Mr. Rasnake is Deputy Director of Strategic Planning for FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation, and our guest speaker. The purpose of the office is ensuring public property and national security and foreign policy of the United States during commercial launch and re-entry.
The FAA has 40,000 employees, most of them being air traffic controllers followed by security. The Office of Commercial Space Transportation had eighty people.
Insurance for commercial space flights can go up to a billion dollars. The CST can issue fines but has never had to issue one to the space industry. The commercial space industry effectively regulates itself.
The number of commercial space launches per year was 4 in 2010, 5 in 2011, 3 in 2012 and 18 in 2013. The number is expected to rise rapidly, and projections for 2023 are a baseline of 120, with 50 being conservative and 230-330 being expansive. There could be 50 next year. [That seems doubtful now with the twin accidents to the Cygnus cargo craft and SpaceShipTwo.--Syd]
The CAMI medical institute is in OKC. Mr. Rasnake will be staying in the area for several months and hopes to attend OSA meetings.
Other news: The “vomit comet” can use the Oklahoma Spaceport’s air corridor.
Sierra Nevada is developing a 3-astronaut suborbital spacecraft, a scaled-down version of the Dream Chaser vehicle being developed as part of the Commercial Crew project.
Minutes by OSA Secretary Syd Henderson
Contact person for Oklahoma Space Alliance is Claire McMurray.
PO Box 1003
Norman, OK 73070
Webmaster is Syd Henderson.
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