SECTION II

KSC SPECIFIC ROLES IN SUPPORT OF THE AERONAUTICS AND SPACE TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY (ASTT) ENTERPRISE

The realignment of NASA Headquarters has resulted in the merging of organizations and their distribution of responsibilities. More specifically, the Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technologies enterprises have been merged. This enterprise now includes Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) and Advanced Space Transportation Technology Programs. KSC supports these space transportation technology activities in the following ways:

ASTT GOAL 1

Global Civil Aviation: NASA's objectives for improving air transportation system safety, affordability, and environmental compatibility include technology for a ten-fold improvement in the safety of flight, a 50 percent reduction in the cost of air travel, and equally aggressive reductions in aircraft noise and emissions over the next 20 years. Another objective is to reduce the cost of access to space.

KSC Implementation Plans and Future Plans:

• Continue the development and implementation of human factors tools and techniques which are being shared with NASA Ames/Federal Aviation Administration/Department of Defense (DoD) in a proactive effort to reduce the number of aircraft accidents and close calls caused by maintenance errors
• Develop potential wind sensors for small airports
• Provide Shuttle Landing Facility and systems as a testbed for research
• Transfer industrial engineering and operations research technologies developed for Shuttle maintenance activities to commercial and DoD aircraft maintenance centers and benchmark common processes
• Develop automated quality control for radar wind profilers
• Develop techniques/instrumentation to precisely measure low level winds along the glide path
• Develop techniques/instrumentation to directly measure electric fields aloft to reduce the risk of triggered lightning on newer aircraft
  

ASTT GOAL 3

Access to Space: Low-cost space access is the key to unleashing the commercial potential of space and greatly expanding space research and exploration. Through integration of aeronautical principles with commercial launch vehicles, a ten-fold reduction in the cost of placing payloads in Low Earth Orbit is anticipated within the next decade. An additional ten-fold cost reduction in the decade beyond is the far-term goal for low-cost space access.

KSC Implementation Plans:

• In partnership with the space launch industry, KSC will support the development of an economical, safe, and fully-reusable launch system that will meet the future access-to-space needs
• Perform systems engineering and concept analyses, develop ground-based technologies, and validate the performance of key technology products in support of a series of flight demonstrators (X-34 small demonstrator and the X-33 advanced technology demonstrator) to substantially reduce the risk associated with developing a full-scale operational RLV
• Through the use of innovative management, cooperative agreements, and procurement mechanisms, actively consider Government and commercial needs in the business and technology planning of the RLV
• Support the development of high-risk reusable advanced space transportation technology
• Support launch concept definition and architecture studies, including single-stage-to-orbit, two-stage-to-orbit, vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing, and horizontal-takeoff options using air-augmented rocket, as well as rocket-only, propulsion
• As a member of an Industry/Government Team, develop the technology to dramatically reduce the cost of space access to enable affordable access for commercial and university space technology experiments
• Continue teams efforts to provide safe, efficient, and cost-effective Expendable Launch Vehicle services
• Participate with local industry and provide KSC resources and expertise to promote commercialization and sensor technology (Florida/NASA Business Incubation Center)
• Coordinate and provide excess equipment to advanced programs to minimize development and flight demonstration costs
• Support development of optimum weather constraints to launch, landing, and ground processing of the RLV

KSC Future Plans:

• Perform and participate in advanced studies to determine feasibility, compatibility with launch capabilities, and cost effectiveness of low-cost transportation and payload processing options for future advanced launch vehicles
• Conduct concept analysis for a next-generation, large-scale flight demonstration vehicle to ensure system technology concepts compatibility with current launch site capabilities
• Establish aggressive commercialization programs that successfully transfer NASA technologies to private industry
• Manage and administer contracts with small businesses performing research and developing innovative technologies that offer promising application to our space programs and potential in commercial market
• Continue to promote and enhance the existing technology transfer program
• Consolidate acquisition and management of operational launch services with eventual transition to KSC for all operational space launches
• Investigate aerospace technologies that offer the potential of forecasting weather and climate variability with more accuracy, shorter lead times, and increased cost effectiveness
• Partner with other research organizations to utilize KSC and KSC weather data in the conduct of research
• Support the definitions and new requirements delineation for new space flight vehicles

KSC Implementation Plan Home Page

Author: Saul Barton
Curator: Carol Valdes (Carol.Valdes-1@ksc.nasa.gov)
Updated: June 10, 1997