Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee

1

• Commercial Space Transportation Advisory
  Committee
  
• (COMSTAC)
• May 18, 2007
• Brett Alexander
  John Gedmark
  
• President
  Executive Director

2
Enabling Personal Spaceflight

• The Personal Spaceflight Federation is the
  industry association of leading businesses and
  organizations working to make commercial human
  spaceflight a reality.
• Our mission
• Promote the development of commercial human
  spaceflight
  
• Pursue ever higher levels of safety
• Share best practices and expertise throughout the
  industry
  
• About the PSF
• Non-profit organization
• Based in Washington, DC
• CEO-level board of directors

3
Commercial Human Spaceflight

• What is commercial human spaceflight?
• Systems designed for passengers
• Developed by the private sector
• Using predominantly private funds
• Serving multiple markets, including government
  needs
  
• Two realms of activity
• Suborbital short flights above atmosphere,
  providing 3-5 minutes of weightlessness
  
• Adventure travel, scientific and industrial
  research, and astronaut training
  
• Orbital reaching orbit around Earth, providing
  hours or days of weightlessness
  
• Adventure travel, scientific and industrial
  research, manufacturing, Space Station servicing

4
PSF Membership

• Members include developers and operators of
• Spaceships
• Spaceports
• Orbital spaceflight facilities

5
Member Activities

• Suborbital systems
• Building upon success of SpaceShipOne and the
  Ansari X PRIZE
  
• Systems under development
• Piloted flight testing to begin in next couple
  years
  
• First commercial passenger flights possible
  thereafter
  
• Orbital systems
• Development of spaceships under way
• NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
  (COTS) investments
  
• Orbital habitats under development
• Bigelow Aerospace testbed in orbit, second to
  launch in next couple months
  
• First commercial orbital passenger launches
  possible early next decade
  
• Spaceports
• Commercial spaceports licensed in Mojave,
  California and Oklahoma
  
• State-sponsored spaceports under development in
  New Mexico, other states

6
Recent Member Activities

• AirLaunch LLC Successful full duration 2nd
  stage engine firing
  
• Armadillo Aerospace Air Force contract, record
  hover time
  
• Bigelow Aerospace Announcement of detailed
  business plan
  
• Blue Origin Successful test flight
• SpaceX Continued progress with DemoFlight 2
• Space Adventures Successful flight of Charles
  Simonyi to ISS
  
• Spaceport America First launch into space from
  facility
  
• XCOR Air Force RLV design contract, engine
  firings

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Focus on Safety

• Safety is fundamental
• Foundation upon which business depends
• Goal is industry safety standards to perpetuate
  best practices
  
• Passenger training and medical
• Operations
• Maintenance
• Manufacture
• Spaceports

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Participant Waiver and Release of Claims

• OBJECTIVE
• Provide measure of liability protection
• What needs to be accomplished
• Draft standard waiver and release of claims to
  be signed by participant
  
• Include general liability (slip and fall),
  training, and spaceflight
  
• Account for differing state laws and court
  histories
  
• Coordinate with insurance markets
• Pursue adoption of state legislation limiting
  liability
  
• Enacted in Virginia in April

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Virginia Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act

• Adopted into law on April 4, 2007
• Provisions
• Enshrines into law enforceability of liability
  waivers
  
• Based on similar laws for adventure sports
• Ties directly to federal fly at your own risk
  regime and regulations
  
• Designed to protect entire supply chain
• Federation working to spread to other states
• Working with Officials in California, Oklahoma,
  and New Mexico
  
• Planning to engage Texas, Florida

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Contact information

• Bretton Alexander
• President
• 703-627-1692
• brett_at_personalspaceflight.org

John Gedmark Executive Director 310-889-4409 jo
hn_at_personalspaceflight.org
Personal Spaceflight Federation
www.personalspaceflight.org 2011 Crystal Dr
ive, Suite 400 PO Box 28041 Arlington, VA 2220
2 Washington, DC 20038