Moon landings, space mining spark interest at SpaceCom
Nuclear propulsion, spaceport development and improved education in science, math and technical subjects are among priorities that the National Space Council should examine as it crafts policies for returning humans to the moon and spurring more commercial activity in space, according to attendees at Houston’s annual Space Commerce Conference and Exposition.
The National Space Council was revived on June 30, 2017, having previously operated between 1958 and 1973 and again from 1989 to 1993, to advise and assist the president with national space policy and strategy. The council has so far issued three Space Policy Directives. The first directed NASA to return humans to the moon. The second called for streamlined commercial space regulations, and the third related to space traffic management.
An afternoon session on Wednesday, the second and final day of SpaceCom, featured three panel members from the council’s advisory group. They’re charged with providing expertise and industry representation for the National Space Council chaired by Vice President Mike Pence. On Wednesday, they asked audience members to do the same.
“Today is about you doing for us what we do for the Space Council,” said Tory Bruno, CEO of rocket company United Launch Alliance. “So we are here to listen to you.”
An early priority named by audience members involved pro-
cesses and regulations that would allow commercial companies to bring nuclear power — used to move spacecraft or generate electricity — into space. NASA has a process for such activities, but there is no approved way for a commercial company, said Pamela Melroy, director of space technology and policy for the Australian professional services firm Nova Systems. She is also a former NASA space shuttle commander.
And audience members inevitably wanted to know about the Space Force that President Donald Trump directed the Department of Defense to establish as a sixth branch of the Armed Forces. Melroy said the National Space Council is discussing this, though it has not asked for opinions from the advisory group.
“I am thrilled that the topic is being discussed by the National Space Council right now,” she said.
Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and member of the Space Council’s advisory group, also supported the creation of a Space Force.
“Space is a war-fighting domain,” he said. “Just like the seas are, and we needed a Navy. Just like the air is, and we needed to control the high grounds. We needed an Air Force.”
As for the Space Policy Directives, George Sowers, a professor of space resources at the Colorado School of Mines, said they would have a large impact on growing the commercial space sector.
“Suddenly you have a mandate to go exploit the resources of the moon or near-Earth asteroids,” said Sowers, who is not on the Space Council’s advisory board.
Bruno, the chief executive of United Launch Alliance, also discussed the moon during his keynote speech Wednesday morning. The company expects to launch its new Vulcan Centaur system in 2021. This rocket is designed to offer a lower-cost ride for the increasingly popular small satellites as well as larger satellites.
Bruno outlined a potential vision where humanity would no longer worry about the Earth’s limited amount of resources, specifically industrial metals. Citing NASA research, he said there are roughly 17,000 near-Earth objects, or asteroids, in the cislunar region of space holding more than 1,000 years of Earth’s total annual production of industrial metals.
“Less than a week’s journey from where you and I stand in this very room resides such abundance it defies human imagination,” he said. “We are living in an age where you and I, in our lifetimes, are going to see that developed and exploited for the benefit of humanity and it will completely change everything here on Earth.”