Ellen Thomas
</paraindent>
On October 12, 1997, WSpaceport@aol.com wrote prop1@prop1.org:
Background Note: WhiIe offline and on the road last week on business
with
Celestis, Inc., this gem of an article came out in the L.A. Times.
I've posted it -- in hopes you'll be motivated to take action on it --
since
the author takes a wide swipe with a broad brush at everything we (NSS,
SFF,
CSDC, International Coorperation in Space, etc.) all stand for in
developing
commercial space launch capabilities.
Essentially what happened was this: Former congresswoman Andrea
Seastrand,
executive director for the California Space & Technology Alliance --
and
other key commercial space players in and around the Vandenberg area --
hosted Jonathan Weber, editor of the "Cutting Edge" column of the Los
Angeles
Times' Business section. The all-day event also included viewing the
most
recent, on-time launch of the Delta II - IRIDIUM communications
satellite
system.
After reading his ensuing article (in fact, the first couple of
sentences),
you'll be asking yourself the same question: Was Mr. Weber reporting on
the
same planet?
In A Nutshell: Vandenberg rolled out the Red Carpet for Mr. Weber -- and
he
took a dump on it.
Those of you receiving this posting (either openly or via BCC) can submit
a
rebuttal to Mr. Weber at: <<jonathon.weber@latimes.com> Feel free to
re-post
far and wide.
Please CC: me any correspondence you send him (for future "Inside NSS"
and/or
"SpaceFront" article).
Regards,
Jim Spellman - NSS/Western Spaceport Chapter (Region 1 Chapter
Organizer)
President - California Space Development Council
***********************************************************************
Monday, October 6, 1997 Technology Special (L.A. Times Business
Section)
Page D1 - Right Column
"INNOVATION"
Launch Industry In California: 'All Systems Maybe'
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE -- Scattered almost invisibly across 98,000
acres
of central coast scrubland, the gawky metal towers, massive cement
platforms
and other accouterments of the rocket-launching operations at this vast
military outpost represent the military-industrial complex at its
finest.
Thousands of engineers and technicians, working mostly for the Air Force
and
for Boeing and Lockheed Martin, put together the delicate mixture of
electronics, sheet metal and explosive rocket fuel that makes it possible
to
lift nuclear warheads -- or communications satellites -- into the sky.
There is billions of dollars' worth of infrastructure: eight launch
sites,
for starters, and rocket assembly buildings and railroad tracks and a
radar
tracking system that can see much of the Eastern Pacific.
So the question I kept asking myself as I toured the base recently was:
Is
this any place for entrepreneurship?
The question is important, because the state of California is renewing
its
efforts to encourage the development of a commercial space industry on
the
central coast, partly in response to competition from other states and
other
countries. It's an effort that seems like a good idea in theory, but
carries
lots of risks in practice.
The theory sounds right because a new generation of commercial satellites
is
creating enormous demand for satellite-launching capabilities.
An international consortium, led by Motorola, is building a
66-satellite
system called Iridium to provide wireless phone service anywhere on the
planet. (Five of the satellites were launched by a Boeing Delta rocket
here
late last month). About half a dozen groups, including one backed by
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and cellular telephone mogul Craig McCaw,
have
plans for massive satellite "constellations" for phone and data
services.
Because Vandenberg sits at a bend in the coastline, a rocket fired south
from
the base flies over nothing but water until it reaches Antarctica --
making
it a very good spot for putting satellites into a polar orbit required
by
most of the new communications systems.
There is, however, a lot of competition for satellite launches of all
kinds.
Arianespace, a European consortium, is the world leader, and Russia
and
China -- building on their military missile capabilities -- are major
players. Domestically, there's Cape Canaveral in Florida, and Kodiak
Island
in Alaska and even sites in Virginia and New Mexico that hope to get in
on
the action. Boeing is modifying an oil-drilling platform to serve as a
mobile, sea-based launch platform based in Long Beach.
California officials, and especially local politicians in Santa Barbara
and
San Luis Obispo counties, are eager to assure that Vandenberg gets its
share.
They want to support development of cheaper launch vehicles and
facilities,
and help jump-start futuristic projects such as those aimed at space
tourism.
To this end, a nonprofit group called the Western Commercial Space Center
was
formed in 1992 and designated as the California Spaceport Authority by
the
state Department of Trade and Commerce. The aim was to support
commercial
space initiatives at Vandenberg, and provide a vehicle by which the
state
might match Air Force and NASA space commercialization grants.
The group and its for-profit affiliate negotiated a lease on a
multibillion-dollar Vandenberg launch complex that was built for the
space
shuttle but never used -- the post-Challenger revamp of the shuttle
program
cut out Vandenberg, dealing a huge blow to the local economy -- and
began
developing a private satellite preparation and launch facility.
But a despute broke out over whether WCSC was unfairly favoring its
affiliate
in the competition for state and federal grants. Another nonprofit
entity,
the California Space Technology Alliance, emerged on the scene.
Legislation
passed last month in Sacramento was supposed to clarify the situation,
but
instead produced an illogical compromise: CSTA has authority over
something
called the California Space Flight Competitive Grant Program, and WCSC
is
given authority over the Highway to Space Competitive Grant Program.
The
descriptions of the two programs' objectives are identical.
Fortunately, there isn't much money involved at the moment. Each group
will
get $200,000 for operating expenses and $500,000 to disburse as grant
funds
-- and the final decision on who gets that money will actually be made by
the
Trade and Commerce agency.
Now, consider all this in the context of an industry that by its very
nature
is dominated by big business and the military. The newest launch pad
at
Vandenberg, built by Lockheed Martin for the Air Force, cost a cool
$240
million. The commercial launches at the base don't contribute a penny to
the
enormous overhead costs: Under federal rules, they have to pay only
the
"direct costs" imposed on the launch site operators -- the Air Force
and
NASA.
While private ventures -- with help from government grants --- have
carved
out a role in the business of preparing satellites for launch and
developing
small launch vehicles, it's not clear that a commercially funded launch
site
that really paid its own way would be viable. The shuttle site project
has
financial backing from ITT -- in addition to the grants that helped get
it
going -- but work is stalled for the moment as the company awaits firm
launch
commitments.
The communications companies, the Air Force and NASA all support
commercial
initiatives that might reduce launch costs and expand capacity.
Taxpayers
would benefit if military payloads and scientific missions could be
lofted
more cheaply. But there is a clear danger of government-backed
commercial
space initiatives descending into boondoggles that benefit a few
well-connected companies.
The final irony, of course, is that the big defense contractors that
dominate
the commercial space arena are just as happy to work with their
erstwhile
enemies -- the Russins and the Ukrainians and the Chinese -- as they are
to
supporting a strong industry in California.
There's no doubt that Vandenberg, as well as Edwards Air Force Base and a
few
other facilities, is an important asset, and that the space business
represents a big opportunity for California. But Andrea Seastrand, the
former congresswoman who heads the California Space Technology Alliance,
and
other commercial space advocates have their work cut out for them in
demonstrating that locally based public-private partnerships are
effective
vehicles for promoting this most unusual industry.
-- Jonathon Weber (jonathon.weber@latimes.com) is editor of The
Cutting
Edge