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Things may have seemed very silent for the last couple of weeks, but that has been due to a great deal of work going on with Senate staffers on finishing the rocketry exemption bill. This has involved a lot of work to ensure the transportation problems are solved by the bill as well as the ATF permit/license problem. Senate staffers have been working with various transportation companies like UPS to make sure we solve the transportation problem with the bill. All interested parties have seen draft copies of the bill, commented on the bill and in some cases made recommendations for improvements. This includes ARSA, TRA, NAR, ATF, UPS, Justice Department and others.

It is expected that the bill will have several Senators cosponsoring the bill when it is introduced to the Senate. The bill should be introduced very, very soon.

We have received numerous emails for people to be on this email list. We are working as fast as we can to get those people on this list.

You may repost this message to forums or newsgroups.

John Wickman

ARSA

[ reposted by iz ]

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John McKnight has an update on that space settlement summit last week.

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I've been in downtown San Francisco this week for the IETF. We have generally been in the epicenter for all of the performance art^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hprotests. Andrew Newton snapped some pictures of the surrounding neighborhood and some of the protesters. My main impression of San Francisco is that the homeless are some of the most aggressive I've ever run into.

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For just a couple of grand you can buy one of the few remaining TR-201 Apollo Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) Ascent Stage Thruster. The fact that it once belong to Robert Truax makes it even more collectible. The question being: would you actually build a motor around it?

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SpaceX performed the first test firing of its new low cost motor.

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Coalition of Space Groups and Leaders Unite in Call for Space Settlement as Core of Human Spaceflight Agenda

In the wake of the Columbia tragedy America has been engaged in a discussion as to the need for such activities and the real goals of our space program. To answer these questions, a group of space leaders, opinion makers, entrepreneurs and financiers met in Los Angeles this month to seek common agreement on guiding principles for the U.S. human space flight effort and begin coordinating strategies to provide a direction for a currently rudderless U.S. space program. The result was the formation of a strong consensus that the nationÂ’s human space agenda needs a unifying central goal, that the current climate is hindering the opening of space, and that top level space policies must be changed if we are to ever open space to the people.

To address these concerns, the group developed an over-arching declaration of purpose for the US human space flight agenda, developed the first of a set of principles they will work to incorporate into national space policy, and began planning for a set of follow on meetings and actions, designed to expand their circle and develop momentum .

The historic private meeting, held at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, was quickly organized in the few weeks following the shuttle disaster. Its central purpose was to bring together several citizen space organizations that had often been at odds in the past. Those attending included members and leaders of the Mars Society, the National Space Society, the X-Prize Foundation, The Space Access Society, the Space Frontier Foundation, the Space Studies Institute, the Mars Institute, Space Tourism Society, Space Generation Council, YuriÂ’s Night, California Space Authority and others. Each group and the individuals attending agreed to drop personal or organizational agendas such as planetary destinations, or technological fixes and work together to create a space exploration and settlement agenda for the nation that could be carried to the White House and Congress.

The event was Chaired by Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, citizen space explorer Dennis Tito and Rick Tumlinson of the Space Frontier Foundation, with Dr. John Lewis of the University of Arizona as Moderator. Notable participants included shuttle astronaut Rick Searfoss, authors Gregory Benford, and Jerry Pournelle and the CEOs and founders of several entrepreneurial space firms. In addition, the event drew an unprecedented and historic gathering of the top financiers of “alternative” space efforts, who between them have and are currently funding hundreds of millions of dollars of work in this area, including the private construction of new rockets and space hotels.

Based on the enthusiastic response of all those attending, and the new spirit of co-operation it has created, the coalition is looking to repeat and expand this initiative to include more organizations, policymakers, the broader space industry and media. The next meeting will occur in the next months in Washington D.C.

A First Step

The Summit was the first step of a drive to change our civil space policy, and create a legacy that is worthy of the lives of those who have sacrificed so much to open the frontier of space. Making our space agenda reflect our free enterprise system and pioneering heritage, and reflecting the partnership between the government and private sectors that has produced such great rewards for our citizens is the coalitionÂ’s core goal. The coalition believes this will not only change the decisions to be made in such areas as the space station, new destinations for human exploration and how that exploration is conducted, and space transportation policy, but by accelerating the opening of space, will also transform our nation and the world in years to come.

The following is the first (top level) statement produced by the coalition. More specific recommendations will flow during the coming months.

WHY SPACE SETTLEMENT

The human settlement of space is a noble cause that deserves the attention and support of people throughout the world for the following reasons:

• To enhance prosperity for all people and make use of the abundant resources of outer space;

• To fulfill the drive for discovery and exploration, which is an innate human quality at the core of progress and thriving civilizations;

• To ensure the survival of human civilization and the biosphere, and protect them from natural and man-made disasters.

Expanding boundaries to this new frontier is a pursuit of freedom, a fundamental element of progress essential to the fulfillment of human potential.

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March 18, 2003 - Gail Davis, chief of the ATF's public safety branch in Washington, D.C. stated in an article on the Space.Com web site that hobbyists can simply apply for a “Limited” permit that requires a background check, a $25 fee and get finger printed to buy rocket motors using over 62.5 grams of propellant. “There's a process for that and it's not an impossible process,” Davis said. While it may be possible for some, it is an impossible process for many and will force them out of the hobby. Second, even if consumers get a “Limited” permit, it is so limited that for most consumers it is useless.

All ATFE permits require the applicant provide storage for explosive materials. This can be an explosive storage facility on the applicants premises or a storage facility belonging to someone else, provided the applicant can prove they can use the other person's explosive storage facility. It has been proven through many tests that ammonium perchlorate composite propellant is not an explosive, but since the ATFE permit is to buy and use explosives, the ATFE requires permit holders to be able to store explosives. It is reasonable to assume that consumers living in apartments, condominiums and houses in residential areas are going to have difficulty providing their own explosive storage facilities. Their only alternative is to find someone willing to give them permission to store explosives. Most people would agree that this would not be simple or easy. In fact, it would be highly unlikely for someone to find another individual or company willing to let a stranger have access to their storage facility.

For those lucky enough to provide some means of storing explosives, pass the background check and are given an ATFE “Limited” permit, they face a second hard reality. The “Limited” permit only allows the holder to buy from dealers and manufacturers in their state of residence. Most states do not have manufacturers or dealers selling consumer rocket motors with over 62.5 grams of propellant. So even after going through the entire ATFE permit process, the hobbyist cannot find anyone to buy from in their state. For them, the “Limited” permit is useless.

[ from www.space-rockets.com/arsanews with permission ]

• iz

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By way of HobbySpace (which I strongly recommend) I found John Carter McKnight's new article on reasons for being in space. He suggests several benefits of a settlement mindset: Personal Economic Opportunity, Cultural Synthesis, Sociopolitical Innovation, Egg Baskets, Lebensraum, Curiosity and Adventure, God's Will and the Cost of Not Settling.

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This is kind of old but its worth noting anyway: HobbySpace has an interview with Paul Blase of TransOrbital. The only nit I have is that the Artemis Society is a little more than an online chat group. It has produced companies like CyberTeams and SimsHost. All are products of the Artemis Project along with TransOrbital. And the number of Artemis Project participating companies is growing.

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EIC's bond-and-release technology, called ElectRelease, includes a high-strength epoxy sandwiched between metal substrates. The epoxy can support more than 2,000 pounds per square inch. Applying between 10 and 50 volts of electricity to the mechanism causes the epoxy to disbond, cleaving the “sandwich” into two pieces–one clean substrate and one substrate with the epoxy still attached.

Interesting way to handle things like staging, etc. Simply put some positive force in place to push the parts apart and then apply 50 volts for 1 second. Clean. No explosives. Neat….

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