Jul 25 1985
From The Space Library
At the third in a series of hearings on assured access to space NASA and Defense Department officials said today before the House Science and Technology space science and applications and Armed Services research and development subcommittees that available data did not support the need for a fifth Space Shuttle orbiter in the early 1990s. But the officials acknowledged that there could be a period around 1992 and beyond in which unforeseen launch demands would strain capability, Aerospace Daily reported.
Rep. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) pointed out that earlier testimony had revealed a launch demand for 26 to 33 Space Shuttle equivalent flights per year in the post-1992 timeframe, and Jesse Moore, NASA associate administrator for spaceflight, acknowledged that a flight capability of 30 per year would require a fifth orbiter. He said that NASA projected the annual launch capability of a four-orbiter fleet in the 1990s timeframe to be 24 flights, 20 from Kennedy Space Center and four from Vandenberg AFB, with the ability to surge temporarily to 28 flights per year.
When asked to factor in potential extended downtime of one orbiter, Moore replied that NASA had not made a projection of lost flights because it would be directly related to the length of the downtime and when it occurred. He added that NASA could probably fly 20 to 24 flights with the three remaining orbiters if one were out of service for periods up to one year; a sustained launch capacity for three orbiters would be in the range of 15 to 20 flights per year, he said.
Edward Aldridge, undersecretary of the Air Force, said that, although the Department of Defense (DOD) was committed to at least eight Space Shuttle missions per year, its current known requirements through the mid-1990s averaged 10 launches per year. Including the one-to-five Space Shuttle-equivalent launches per year projected through 1995 for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) research, he said the total DOD requirement became roughly 11 to 15 Space Shuttle-equivalent launches per year. Those numbers excluded any mission supporting potential deployment of SDI-related systems, he added. At the same hearing, Gen. Robert Herres, commander of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), said he thought the "time had passed" during which the U.S. might have built a fifth orbiter. He pointed out that resources needed for it might better be devoted to new technology and options, "which afford us more flexibility and versatility." Offering an opposing view, Hans Mark, chancellor of the University of Texas System and former NASA deputy administrator, said that the argument for a fifth orbiter could not be based either on currently projected flight rates or on backup requirements. He said only the proposed space station and SDI requirements could increase space operations to the point where a fifth orbiter was necessary. (A/D, July 26/85, 137)
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