Agreement Details And Reaction:

The agreement to establish clear criteria for certification – of commercial providers of launch vehicles used for national security space and civil space missions – relates to a “new entrant launch vehicle certification strategy” in a cooperative effort by the Air Force, NASA and NRO, in order to take advantage of new launch capability for the three agencies missions.

The new entrant launch vehicle certification strategy is the latest step in a cooperative effort by the Air Force, NRO and NASA to further enable competition and expand the number of companies who are qualified to launch these missions.

The three agencies previously signed a Letter of Intent in October 2010, signalling their collaboration on launch requirements, and a Memorandum of Understanding in March, which outlined their plans for future EELV-class launch vehicle acquisition, including the need to coordinate their strategies for certifying new entrants into the field.

“This strategy is the best balance of ensuring reliable access to space while encouraging competition and innovation in the launch industry,” said Under Secretary of the Air Force Erin Conaton. “We are committed to providing a level playing field to all competitors in the interest of ensuring the best capability for our warfighters and the best value to the American public.”

The risk-based certification framework allows the agencies to consider both the cost and risk tolerance of the payload and their confidence in the launch vehicle. For payloads with higher risk tolerance, the agencies may consider use of launch vehicles with a higher risk category rating and provide an opportunity for new commercial providers to gain experience launching government payloads.

Within a given risk category rating, if new entrants have launch vehicles with a demonstrated successful flight history, then the government may require less technical evaluation for non-recurring certification of the new launch system. This new strategy further enables competition from emerging, commercially developed launch capabilities for future Air Force, NASA, and NRO missions.

The MOU will be followed by detailed guidance for prospective new entrants, which can be applied to any company, such as Orbital, or SpaceX - who immediately welcomed to the agreement’s announcement.

“SpaceX welcomes the opportunity to compete for Air Force launches. We are reviewing the MOU, and we expect to have a far better sense of our task after the detailed requirements are released in the coming weeks,” said Adam Harris, SpaceX Vice President of Government Affairs.

SpaceX are likely to offer their Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles as options for USAF launch services.

Currently, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) EELV fleet of Deltas and Atlas’ carry out the vast majority of USAF launches, which SpaceX class as a “monopoly provider whose prices have consistently risen”.

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Such language stems back to the legal arguments which resulted in court action in 2005, where SpaceX tried to block the formation of the ULA between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

In a 44 page formal Complaint and Summons, SpaceX alleged a long history of anti-competitive conspiracy between the Atlas V and Delta IV launch programs. SpaceX claimed that Boeing and Lockheed Martin were guilty of manipulating the US Government-sponsored Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) rocket procurement program.

The anti-trust lawsuit continued through until 2006 – sandwiched by a dismissal – with SpaceX claiming it was being damaged by its exclusion form the USAF 2006 “Buy 3″ EELV Launch Services contracts, receipt of past and future Air Force subsidies, and the USAF’s “pre-allocation” of EELV launches through 2011.

However, the case was dismissed – for a second time – in May, 2006, with Judge Florence-Marie Cooper of the US District Court of Central California noting that “SpaceX’s alleged injuries arise either from past awards for which it was not eligible to bid or future claims that are speculative and unripe.”

Now in 2011, SpaceX are back to prove their worth in competing for the launch service contracts, an open competition which they claim would save the American taxpayer billions of dollars.

“Fair and open competition for commercial launch providers is an essential element of protecting taxpayer dollars,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO. “Our American-made Falcon vehicles can deliver assured, responsive access to space that will meet warfighter needs while reducing costs for our military customers.”

Next up in the process will be the implementation plan, with the Air Force set to publish a new entrant certification guide, which will describe the process for reaching certified status.

In addition, the service is seeking opportunities for future missions that could be made available for new entrants and which would be used to collect technical data needed for their certification.

(Images via SpaceX, USAF)

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Preview:

Whilst the details of the payload are classified, it is rumoured to be one of the NRO’s most expensive to date.

The Delta IV’s upper stage is expected to perform three burns, suggesting that the satellite will be placed into geosynchronous orbit. NRO satellites currently believed to be operating in geosynchronous orbits include SDS communications satellites, and two types of Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) spacecraft, known as “Mercury” and “Advanced Orion” or “Mentor”.

Because SDS satellites are typically launched on smaller rockets, tonight’s payload is expected to be the latter, a SIGINT satellite. It may be a continuation of one of the older series, or the first of a new generation of satellites – possibly the much delayed IOSA or “Intruder” satellite, designed to combine the roles of the two previous satellite classes, however it is unclear whether this programme is still active.

The Delta IV Heavy is the largest carrier rocket in the EELV fleet operated by ULA for the US military, and has been seen as a potential alternative to the Ares I as a Crew Launch Vehicle for Project Constellation.

The first stage, or Common Booster Core (CBC), is propelled by a cryogenically-fuelled RS-68 engine. In the Heavy configuration, two more CBCs are used as liquid rocket boosters, separating around four minutes after launch.

Less than two minutes later, the first stage will separate, and the RL-10B engine of the second stage will ignite for the first of what is expected to be three burns.

After the separation of the payload fairing, around twenty seconds later, coverage of the launch will cease, and no further information will be released until spacecraft separation.

It will lift off from Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral. The pad was originally built as a backup launch complex for the Saturn I and IB rockets in the 1960s. After the launch of Apollo 5, it was mothballed and eventually demolished. In the late 1990s, it was rebuilt for the Delta IV, and has been used on six out of eight previous flights. The other two were launched from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Rollback of the Mobile Service Structure this afternoon took about half an hour, with the tower, used to access the rocket on the pad, arriving in its parked position away from the rocket at about 14:00 GMT. The terminal phase of the countdown began five an a half hours before the scheduled launch, at 19:03.

This is expected to be the first orbital launch to be conducted in 2009, and the ninth flight of the Delta IV across all configurations.

Although the Delta IV has not suffered an outright failure, the first Delta IV Heavy, launched in December 2004, reached an incorrect orbit due to the premature shutdown of its boosters and first stage. It is the first of four Delta IV launches currently scheduled for 2009, the next of which will be a Medium+(4,2), with the GOES-O weather satellite.

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