Newsgroups: sci.space,talk.politics.space Path: geraldo.cc.utexas.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!hela.iti.org!aws From: aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer) Subject: Rebuttal to recent Senate handout on SSRT Message-ID: <1993Sep24.182918.10724@iti.org> Followup-To: talk.politics.space Organization: Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1993 18:29:18 GMT Lines: 176 Xref: geraldo.cc.utexas.edu sci.space:21205 talk.politics.space:1973 When the full Senate voted on the DOD Authorization bill an amendment was added to fully fund the SSRT program. When Senators went to the floor they where given a one page handoug consisting of several bullets on the program. The hadnout had several errors in it and saveral pro-space organizations prepared rebuttals. This is from the Space Frontier Foundation. Later tonight I will post the rebuttal from NSS. I will also be posting an alert for a key vote next week. you can use this as background for any calls you make. Allen ------------------ SPACE FRONTIER FOUNDATION A White Paper on... Single Stage Rocket Technology Program Summary Several members of the United States Senate were misled by an inaccurate and biased flyer handed to them immediately before a vote on DOD's highly successful Single Stage Rocket Technology program. This white paper corrects the record, point by point, so that this vital program may be considered on its merits in future Senate deliberations. Who we are The Space Frontier Foundation is a grass roots organization of American citizens dedicated to opening the space frontier to human exploration and settlement as rapidly as possible. We are an independent, volunteer-run organization and do not receive funding from the SSRT program or its contractors. Background During consideration of the FY94 Department of Defense Authorization bill, an amendment (#853) was introduced by Senators Domenici and Bingaman to provide initial funding for Phase Two of the Single Stage Rocket Technology Program (SSRT). The first phase of this program has been successfully managed by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, producing the DC-X test vehicle which has flown twice successfully in recent weeks on-time and within budget. The second phase, which would probably be transferred to the Advanced Research Projects Agency, would continue the quick prototyping approach of phase one, after which a decision could be made to go ahead with phase three: building a fully-capable single stage to orbit demonstrator. The three year total cost of phase two would range from $350-400 million. Misinformation During the Tuesday, September 14th debate on the Domenici-Bingaman amendment an anonymous handout was distributed to Senators as they entered the chamber to cast their votes. The Space Frontier Foundation has evaluated this handout and believes it contains serious errors and represents a lack of understanding of the SSRT program specifically and space transportation issues generally by the unknown author or authors. The handout was divided into two parts: weak arguments in favor of the Domenici-Bingaman amendment, and strong (and inaccurate) arguments against it. The remainder of this white paper is a point by point analysis of the handout's arguments, which are quoted verbatim in italics. Damned by faint praise [SSRT] Has captured public imagination Many of our members flew out to White Sands recently to witness the second test flight. The public demand to view this historic vehicle was so great that the base was opened up to a large group from the general public for the first time to watch a test of this nature. It is safe to say that among pro- space Americans, this is by far the most popular space effort currently underway. [SSRT is an] Efficient new way of doing business This project has set an example for federal procurement and is a model for President Clinton's drive to reinvent government and make it work. Total BMDO overhead has been less than 3% of expenditures, which is a fine standard for other DOD projects to live up to. [SSRT] Could possibly make space flight as common as air travel We agree. This is why the program is so popular with our members. [SSRT] Aims to reduce cost from $5,000 per pound to $50 This is overstating the case a bit. It may be that the SSRT program's breakthroughs in technology and operational approach will bring about costs of $50 per pound, but that is well into the future, and has never been claimed by the program. The declared goal of $500 per pound is achievable and will bring about significant cost savings for the government. In addition, it will allow the U.S. to recapture 100% of the world launch market (2/3 of which has been lost to foreign competition). Lies, damn lies, and statistics [the SSRT] Program will cost $6 billion The phase of the SSRT program you are currently considering for funding will only cost $400 million over about 3.5 years. Far less than $6 billion and given the programs track record, there will be no overruns or schedule slips. This phase and the resulting SX-2 vehicle will answer all open questions and pave the way to significant cost reductions in US launch costs. [the SSTO will be a] 700 ton spaceship that flies up and back That weight makes it smaller than a medium airliner and far less than the Space Shuttle. It isn't a large vehicle by aerospace standards. The fact that it flies up and back means it is reusable and will save the government billions in launch costs. It is hard to see why this is considered a disadvantage. [SSRT program] Risks are very great. Requires new engines, new engineering Independent assessments done by other airframe companies and consultants (like the Aerospace Corporation) have concluded that it can be done with todays technology and materials. Yes there is risk (as in any project) but the rapid prototyping approach used by BMDO allows the program to come to an easy end if the results don't pan out. Since DC-X is working as expected, we should continue with the SX-2. If it fails, we can end the program cleanly at that time. If [vehicle] weight growth is even 1.5%, payload would be zero Part of the conservative approach taken by BMDO includes a 15% allowance for weight growth. Even with a 20% growth in weight, a working SSRT vehicle would lift as much as the existing Atlas launcher for 10% the cost. To get the above numbers, the author of the handout incorrectly assumes increases in the structure of the spacecraft will cause the fuel to get heavier. This is not only incorrect, but probably dishonest, as the author should know better. Wrong vehicle for DOD The DOD space launch budget is just as large as NASA's. It will benefit just as much as NASA by the drastic cost reductions possible with this technology. In addition, the ability to rapidly launch payloads and conduct reconnaissance granted by this approach is of far greater use to DOD operational requirements than NASA. Possible right vehicle for NASA Cost savings in launches and easy access to the International Space Station do make this a win for NASA. However, NASA is about three years behind BMDO and valuable time would be lost if this project where turned over to NASA. At the same time, the SSRT technologies should be transferred to them. The Space Frontier Foundation believes competing programs culminating in a fly off is the best approach. Conclusion The Space Frontier Foundation is very disturbed that this error-filled handout was allowed to muddy the waters of the debate on this important program. That the author or authors of this document didn't sign their names to it seems to us clear evidence that even they are not willing to stand behind their arguments. We hope you won't either. For additional information, please contact: Allen Sherzer Space Frontier Foundation 16 First Avenue Nyack, NY 10960 1-800-78-SPACE -- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Allen W. Sherzer | Mordecai: "What do we do after we do it?" | | aws@iti.org | Marshall Duncan: "Ya live with it." | +--------------------1161 DAYS TO FIRST FLIGHT OF SX-2----------------------+