I just got a press release from the Space Frontier Foundation. They seem as determined to be as much of a thorn in the Sean O'Keefe's side as they were in Dan Goldin's.

The following statement was released today by Space Frontier Foundation spokesman Rick Tumlinson on the subject of NASA?s request for a budget modification to develop a new Orbital Space Plane:

?The Space Frontier Foundation opposes funding for the new NASA Orbital Space Plane or any other development programs at the agency at this time. We will call on Congress to with hold any new funds for this venture until there is an investigation into the reasons for the failure of past much vaunted then cancelled programs and the resulting billions of taxpayer dollars that have been wasted.

?For over two decades the agency has put forward first one then another space vehicle program as the One Right Way to proceed, spent billions of dollars, and then cancelled or simply dropped the projects. The failure of these projects to deliver on the promises of the agency has kept the cost of entering space at an astronomical level, hamstringing all space activities including exploration programs, commercial enterprises and the operation of the International Space Station. Another major result of this erratic and inconsistent behavior has been to maintain uncertainty in the commercial space investment community, wreaking havoc on private sector initiatives that could lower costs through competition.?

I basically agree. I think that OSP is a waste of money, and simply helps maintain the status quo situation of not doing very much in space, while spending a lot of money on it.

Unfortunately though, it may be the only politically-viable option right now.

[ I basically agree. I think that OSP is a waste of money ... ]

Rand, would you please state your reasons for objecting to the OSP? I don't necessarily disagree with you. I would like to hear your reasons why you don't like the OSP.

Me? I would feel better about the OSP if they specify that the OSP will start with a reusable launch vehicle. Launching one on a Delta or an Atlas sounds like an unexciting dead end.

Besidea, NASA doesn't have the mechanical and structural interface ready to stack an OSP/mini shuttle atop an Atlas or a Delta. Getting the the OSP/minshuttle to work with an an Atlas or a Delta may turn out to be a big project in itself.

On the other hand, I think a fully reusable mini-shttle launch system, something like the HL-20 carrying aloft as few a four humans at a time, is a good idea.

Clarification and a question:

Clarification: When I say the OSP atop an ELV sounds like a dead end, I mean that this configuration won't lower the cost of spaceflight very much; and that it qualitatively sounds rather retro -- as if we're now going to do Project DynaSoar from the early 1960's.

Question: Is "Orbital Space Plane" supposed to imply a vehicle that can be refueled in orbit so as to be able to change orbits?

Your reasons are mine. It will cost a lot of money, and won't do much to reduce the cost of access. There are also issues in mating it to an existing expendable that wasn't designed with it in mind (man rating, and bending loads induced on the vehicle by a lifting body on top of it, which can really only be addressed by a shroud, which adds weight and complicates aborts).

I think it's called an orbital space plane because it's a plane that goes into orbit (and space...). It may have a capability for orbit changes (in fact it almost certainly will, because that's what rendezvous is, which it will certainly have to be capable of), but I don't think that's the reason for the name.

As to it being refuelable on orbit, that would be pretty sensible, so I doubt if NASA will do it. ;-)

Who's willing to place a bet on the length of time it will be until the OSP is cancelled? I'll go with 3 years.

I agree on the 3 years until cancellation, they will then come up with a new name for the project and start all over again spending a couple more billion dollars. All that will have been accomplished is a pile of paper (or CD?s), a bunch of PowerPoint presentations and a couple of plywood mockups. I just wish they would stick to one project and keep working on it until they came up with something. Heck if they just took the money they spent the last twenty years on paper and spent it on the Space Shuttles they could make a lot of improvements.