May 2015 Minutes

OKLAHOMA SPACE ALLIANCE

A Chapter of the National Space Society

Minutes for May Meeting:

         Oklahoma Space Alliance met May 9 at Harry Bears All-American Grill in Moore, Oklahoma. In attendance were Steve and Brian Swift, Dave Sheely, Peggy and James McBride, Tim Scott, Dennis Wigley, Don Robinson, Richard Holtzschue, Will Decker, John Northcutt, Claire and Clifford McMurray, Vickey Richartz and Syd Henderson.
        Michael Coffman from Greg Rasnake’s office at FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation was our guest speaker. Mr. Coffman gave us an overview of Commercial Space Activity. Commercial space regulation was given in 1984 to the Aerospace Transportation (AST) office within the FAA, and apparently the proper abbreviation is AST rather than CSA. It's one of four sections of the FAA, the others being Aviation Safety, Airports, and Air Traffic Organization. AST is the smallest of these, and has 0.0018% of the FAA budget. [I think he may have slipped a decimal point or two there.] There are 80 people in the AST office. Greg Rasnake and Michael Coffman are under Strategic Planning.
        Title 51 of the US Code Subtitle V Ch. 509, the Commercial Space Launch Act (CSLA) authorizes the FAA to license commercial launch and reentry sites as carried out by citizens of the United States. Launch authority over commercial space flight was given to it in 1984, reentry authorization in 1998, and commercial human space flight in 2004. A permit is needed for launch, for vehicle operation, and for reentry. However, the AST has no authority over government launches. The CLSA does, however, have authority over US citizens or entities organized under US laws launching outside the US.
        The AST office is involved in

Commercial launch and reentry licenses
Commercial launch site licenses
Experimental permits
Safety approvals.
Inspection of launch operations and sites.

Tickets are $95,000 for XCOR, $250,000 for SpaceShipTwo, and $30 million for a Soyuz flight into orbit.
In 2014-15 the AST gave out 234 launch licenses. There were 38 permitted launches, 8 licensed reentries, and 8 launch operating licenses.
Stratolaunch can launch over land.
An east coast launch affected nearly 200 airplane flights. A west coast launch only affected 41.
AST presence in Oklahoma is at the FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City to develop relations and eventually programs with MMAC partners.

Business meeting:
        Claire announced that so many people are opting for the cheaper digital membership that the price of the print edition of Ad Astra is going up.
When we give out copies of Ad Astra, be sure to put our chapter code (661) in the membership signup form.
        Cliff McMurray spoke at the Lions Club to 30 to 40 people.

What's Happening in Space?
        The first test flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket went to 60 miles.
        SpaceX launched a satellite to GSO for Turkmenistan. When SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 to GSO, it doesn't attempt a landing of the capsule.
        The United Launch Alliance is trying an initiative called SMART which will capture a booster's engine by mid-air capture. They are also creating an Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage which will be capable of indefinitely many burns.
        Mars has glaciers! (That are buried by dust.)
                                                                -Minutes by OSA Secretary Syd Henderson

Notes on May 13 OSIDA Meeting:

        The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) met May 13 in the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Building in Oklahoma City. All seven board members were present. Steve Swift and Syd Henderson were present on behalf of Oklahoma Space Alliance.         OSIDA Executive Bill Khourie couldn’t make it this meeting because he was at the Air Traffic Control Symposium in Atlantic City, where Bill is participating in a Commercial Space panel. Nicola Borghini, Deputy Executive Director, Operations and Business Development Manager, presented the Executive Director’s material to the Board.
         The Taxi Way lighting rehabilitation and sealant is finally complete.
        Cessna continued flight testing on two weekends, including under wet conditions.
        Spirit Wing Aviation will be doing flight tests at the spaceport for at least one month and possibly up to twelve months.
        The Space Flight Corridor was under review on April 27th [and apparently passed]. This corridor was first approved for the Oklahoma Spaceport in 2003.
         Bill Khourie was invited to discuss integration of Commercial Space Launch and Re-Entry Operations in the National Aerospace System, which was a panel at the ATC Symposium in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
                                                                     -Notes by OSA Secretary Syd Henderson

Note: The June OSIDA meeting was canceled due to lack of a quorum.