Location
Holiday Inn, Manatee Rooms A & B
Start Date
23-4-1991 2:00 PM
End Date
23-4-1991 5:00 PM
Description
As the Space Age began in the '50's and '60's, new technologies were required to create a successful launch capability from scratch. As soon as it was possible to do so reliably, innovation became less important. As a result, commercial launches today may utilize 30 year old technology, but the price tag remains high. As long as the Cape remained the only launch site, no significant changes were required regarding launch methods and equipment. With the advent of Arianne, however, the cost of a launch became more open to price influenced competition. Today, the challenge is to create a costeffective launch capability, while maintaining or even enhancing safety. Better quality at lower cost. Innovative use of Off-The-Shelf technologies provide one of the fastest means to this end.
Paper Session I-C - Towards the Off-The-Shelf Launch
Holiday Inn, Manatee Rooms A & B
As the Space Age began in the '50's and '60's, new technologies were required to create a successful launch capability from scratch. As soon as it was possible to do so reliably, innovation became less important. As a result, commercial launches today may utilize 30 year old technology, but the price tag remains high. As long as the Cape remained the only launch site, no significant changes were required regarding launch methods and equipment. With the advent of Arianne, however, the cost of a launch became more open to price influenced competition. Today, the challenge is to create a costeffective launch capability, while maintaining or even enhancing safety. Better quality at lower cost. Innovative use of Off-The-Shelf technologies provide one of the fastest means to this end.
Comments
Commercial Space Development
Session Chairman: Edward A. O’Connor, Director, Spaceport Florida Authority, Cocoa Beach, FL
Session Organizer: George Mosakowski, NASA, Kennedy Space Center, FL