Last week I blogged about the Space Launch System heavy lifter program that NASA is working on. One of the missions of the SLS will be to launch the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle into Earth orbit and beyond. The Orion is intended to carry up to six astronauts on missions to the International Space Station and interplanetary exploration. The MPCV version of the Orion was announced by NASA in mid-2011. Its design was based on the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle which was intended to be carried by the cancelled Constellation heavy lifter program that preceded the SLS program. Three different capsule designs intended for three different types of missions were rolled into a single design for the Orion MPCV.
       The Orion MPCV has two main modules. The Orion command module is being constructed by Lockheed Martin. The Orion Service Module is being built by Airbus Defence and Space. The first uncrewed test launch of the Orion was carried out by a Delta IV Heavy rocket in December of 2014. It landed in the Pacific Ocean at the designated location. The first Orion crewed mission is not expected to take place until 2021.
       The OCM is similar to the Apollo command module based on the same truncated squat cone shape. It will provide living space for the crew, storage of consumables and research instruments. It will also serve as a docking port for transferring crews to and from other space vehicles such as the ISS. It is about sixteen feet in diameter and about ten feet tall. It masses about eight and a half metric tons.
       The OCM has about fifty percent more crew space than the Apollo module. Other improvements include an automatic docking system, improved waste management, a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere that can be maintained at sea level pressure. The computers on the OCM will be much more powerful than those on the Apollo. The control panels are based on the new “glass cockpit” design which display information on LCD panels. The displays can be reconfigured to show different types of information. The OCM will be the only part of the Orion spacecraft that will land after each mission and be reusable.
         The OSM will serve as the power and propulsion section of the Orion spacecraft. The OSM is cylindrical in shape with a diameter of around sixteen feet and a length of about sixteen feet, including the thrusters.  It will provide the water and oxygen for crew life support. It will also store electrical power for operations and maintain a livable temperature within the crew module. It masses about three and a half metric tons with a capacity for eight metric tons of fuel. The OSM will provide thrust for changing obits, docking and extra orbital missions. It will be jettisoned at the end of each mission before the OCM capsule lands.
        There is a new Launch Abort System which will fire a solid rocket to blast the crew module free from the launch vehicle in case of an emergency during launch.
         The Orion MPCV in combination with the SLS will allow the United States to begin the serious and sustained exploration of the solar system including missions to the Moon, Mars and asteroids.
Artist’s exploded drawing of Orion MPCV:

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               I have been blogging recently about commercial space companies and foreign launch services. Today I am going to focus on recent and current major projects of NASA in the United States.
        From 2005 to 2009, NASA worked on the Constellation Program for human spaceflight. The three major goals of the program were to aid in the completion of the International Space Station, return astronauts to the moon by 2020 and to carry human beings to Mars. The project was launched with the NASA Authorization Act of 2005. The Act directed NASA to “develop a sustained human presence on the Moon, including a robust precursor program to promote exploration, science, commerce and US preeminence in space, and as a stepping stone to future exploration of Mars and other destinations.” The Augustine Committee reported in 2009 that the Constellation Program could not be completed without substantial increases in funding. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 effectively shelved the program but left current contracts in place.
       In 2011, NASA announced adoption of the Space Launch System design to replace both the Ares 1 and Ares V Constellation launch vehicles. NASA envisions a series of SLS vehicles. The first version is called Block 1 and it will be able to launch seventy metric tons into low Earth orbit. Then the Block 1b will follow with the ability to take one hundred and five metric tons into LEO. The engines of the Block 1 vehicles will be based on the Space Shuttle.
      The Exploration Upper Stage will be developed as a more powerful second stage for the Block 1b. The EUS will complete the launch phase for the payload insertion into orbit. It will then be able to carry the payload beyond Earth orbit to other destinations such as the Moon.
        The Block 2 version of the SLS will be constructed with much more powerful engines. It will be designed to carry one hundred thirty metric tons into LEO. It will be the most powerful heavy launch vehicle ever constructed. It will also utilized the EUS.
         Block 1 will carry the Orion space capsule on a circumlunar mission as part of Exploration Mission 1. Block 1b will carry out Exploration Mission 2 to rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid. Block 2 is intended for a Mars mission.
         In 2011, ten billion dollars was allocated for work on the SLS through 2017. Independent analysis suggested that this budget estimate was optimistic. An unofficial NASA document estimated that the total cost of the SLS program would be over forty billion for four launches by 2025. Block 2 would not be ready until 2030. In 2014, estimated costs from 2014 up to the first planned launch in 2018 were seven billion dollars.
        Critics of the SLS say that it would be more cost effective to use cheaper commercial launch systems to ferry sections of spacecraft to LEO for assembly in orbit. They complain that the expenditure of so much money on the SLS will consume funds that could be better spent on other NASA projects.
Artist’s rendering of the launch of a Block 1 SLS:

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               The European Aeronautic Defence and Space company was formed in 2000 by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG, and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA. In 2014, the company name was changed to Airbus Group.  It has three business divisions, Airbus which manufactures airplanes, Airbus Defence and Space which works on weapons and space systems and Airbus Helicopters which manufacturers helicopters.
         Since 2010, ADS has been secretly working on a radical new design for first stage rocket boosters which they have just made public. The Advanced Expendable Launcher with Innovative Engine Economy is a reusable first-stage rocket that can land on a runway like an airplane. The ADELINE system is being designed to be integrated with an Ariane rocket manufactured by a company called Arianespace that is based in France.
Currently, first stage rockets splash down in the ocean after each launch. This practice adds up to five hundred million dollars to the cost of each launch. SpaceX is currently working on the reusable Falcon 9 launch system which is intended to land vertically back on the pad it was launched from.
       The basic idea behind ADELINE is to recover the most expensive parts of the first-stage including the avionics, engines and propulsion bay. This would recover about eighty percent of the value of the first-stage which would reduce the overall cost of launches by thirty percent. Airbus hopes to have the ADELINE system operational by 2025.
        ADELINE has an aerodynamic heat shield to protect the motor and avionics and make the craft more streamlined. It also has two small wings and turbofans to enable it to land on a runway like an airplane. The stubby ADELINE module sits below a cylinder that contains the fuel tanks. The multistage launch vehicle takes off and drops the first-stage. The ADELINE module is protected during launch by the fuel tanks above it. The ADELINE module drops away from the bottom of the first-stage fuel carrying cylinder and returns to the launch site to land on a runway. The fuel carrying section falls into the ocean like other first-stage rockets. The ADELINE module should be able to make ten to twenty flights.
       So far, Airbus has spent over sixteen million dollars on the design of the ADELINE system but no hardware has been built. In order to move forward with the ADELINE project, Airbus will need major government support. Arianespace has also invested in the ADELINE project but completion of their new Ariane 6 rocket is their first priority.
      Reducing the cost of launches is a high priority for governmental and private space launch firms. There is a thriving global business today in launching satellites for companies or countries that do not have their own launch capability. This marker will only grow and any system that reduces the cost of launches will give that system a competitive edge in the launch business. SpaceX and Airbus are two of the first companies to explore reusable launch vehicles but they will not be the last.
ADELINE diagram:

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          Russia has a thriving business launching satellites for other nations. It has even been ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station. Russia handles a lot of launches every year for its own space program and under contract to other countries. For the most part they can deliver on their obligations but they have been having a series of problems in the last few years.
         The Proton-M is a three-stage Russian heavy lift vehicle that was developed from the design of the Soviet Proton rocket. It has a seventy feet first stage with six engines, a forty six foot second stage with four engines, and a twenty one foot third stage with one engine. All engines burn a combination of dinitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine. There are different fourth stages that can be added as needed for specific missions.
         The first launch of a Proton-M occured in mid-2001. A Proton-M can carry up to forty six thousand pounds into low Earth orbit, sixty six hundred pounds into geosynchronous orbit and about twelve thousand pounds into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Proton-Ms are launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Proton-M launch services are marketed by International Launch Services.
         Since the 2001 maiden launch, over one hundred Proton-M have been launched with eleven of those launches failing. Four of those launch failures were caused by problems with the Proton-M rockets, six failures were the fault of optional fourth stages that failed to deliver the satellites to correct orbits and the final failure was caused by improper fueling of an optional fourth stage.
         In 2007, the first Proton-M failed to deliver a Japanese satellite to orbit because the second and third stages failing to separate. In 2013, three Russian satellites failed to achieve orbit due to the first stage angular velocity sensors being installed with the wrong orientation. In 2014, a Proton-M failure was a result of one of the third stage turbopumps breaking off its mount and rupturing a fuel line. This was an attempt to launch a communication satellite. Just this month, a fourth Proton-M launch failed because of another tubropump breaking off as in the third Proton-M failure. This time, it was a Mexican telecommunication satellite that was destroyed when the launch failed.
        As a result of the third failure in 2013, the Russian space launch service was reorganized. The Russian government formed the United Rocket and Space Corporation as a joint-stock corporation to consolidate the Russian space launch business. A Russian official said ” the failure-prone space sector is so troubled that it needs state supervision to overcome its problems.”
        Critics of the Russian launch service say that the UDMH fuel burned by the Proton-Ms and the debris that is created when the stages detach and fall to Earth are contaminating large areas in Russia and Kazakhstan. There are claims of acid rain falling after launches as the UDMH fumes and smoke contaminate the clouds. The director of a government research agency denies these claims.
        Between 2001 and 2009, there were only three Proton-M launch failures due either to a Proton-M or forth stage problem. Starting in 2010, the failures started coming once a year or more often. It seems as if the Russian quality control efforts on the Proton-M and optional forth stages are slipping despite the reorganization of their commercial launch agencies. This could be bad for the Russian launch business.
Proton-M on the launch pad:

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               Last week I blogged about a Chinese space launch that was feared to be a weapon of some sort. China is not the only country that may be working on space weapons. The U.S. military has been launching “robotic spaceplanes” on multiple test missions lately. The term spaceplane refers to the fact that these craft land on a runway like a conventional airplane after being launched into orbit atop a rocket booster.
        The two X-37B Orbital Test Vehicles are reusable, unmanned spacecraft. They were built by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems at the Boeing Phantom Works facility in California. The shape is based on the U.S. Space Shuttle and the X-37B was originally intended to be carried into orbit by the Space Shuttle until it was determined that that would be too expensive. The craft was redesigned to launched by rocket boosters. The X-37Bs are carried into orbit by Atlas V rockets with Centaur second stages. The X-37B is twenty nine feet long and weights about eleven thousand pounds. It utilizes hydrogen peroxide and kerosene for fuel. It has a small payload bay about four feet by seven feet.
         One of the stated purposes for the craft was to test rendezvous with and repair of orbiting satellites. The X-37B was also said to be intended to deliver astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The project started under NASA supervision in 1999 and then was transferred to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense in 2004 as part of the independent space program that DoD started in 1986.
       In 2006, the X-37B’s ability to land on a runway was tested after it was dropped from a carrier aircraft. The first orbital test flight was in 2010. Starting with the first test flight in 2010, the two X-37B spacecraft together have spent over thirteen hundred days in space during three different missions. The third mission was in orbit for six hundred and seventy four days, the longest flight of a reusable spacecraft. The fourth mission of the X-37B was launched on May 20, 2015 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
         In 2010, there was an article published in Space Daily by Tom Burghardt which speculated on the purpose of the X-27B. He said that it could be used as a spy satellite or that it could deliver weapon strikes from space. The Pentagon has denied that the X-37B is being used to develop space weapons. The Chinese claimed in 2012 that one of the X-37Bs was used to spy on the Tiangong-1 space station. This claim was later disputed on the basis of the different orbits of the two spacecraft.
       Whatever the stated purpose of the X-37B is, obviously it could be used for spying or testing space weapons. In any case, you cannot expect the Pentagon to reveal details about classified projects such as the X-37B.

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               I began this blog with a series of articles about the Chinese space program. There was a recent Chinese launch that caught the attention of the global media. The U.S. Department of Defense has issued a warning about what they consider to be a Chinese “destructive” space program. The warning came in an annual report released on May 8, 2015 titled ‘Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2015.’ The U.S. DoD report pointed to Chinese space missions aimed at stalling or destroying the satellites of other countries. The report specifically mentioned the Chinese launch of a “mysterious” object into a ballistic trajectory with a maximum altitude of about nineteen thousand miles.
       The trajectory of this object took it near geosynchronous orbit where there are many communication and earth-sensing satellites. About ten hours after launch, the object reentered the Earth’s atmosphere. DoD was unable to identify the type or mission of the Chinese launch. “The launch profile was not consistent with traditional space-launch vehicles, ballistic missiles or sounding rocket launches used for scientific research. It could, however, have been a test of technologies with a counterspace mission.”
        The DoD report said that China is working on a “variety of capabilities” that could damage or destroy the satellites of countries they considered to be enemies. These capabilities include directed energy weapons that could destroy satellites and “jammers” that could interfere with the operation of satellites. The DoD considers these Chinese space weapons to be a “threat to all peaceful nations”. Of special concern is the possibility that the Chinese could destroy or neutralize communications satellites launched by other nations to coordinate their military forces in a conflict.
       India has a record of disagreement and even small armed conflicts with China over disputed border areas. They have GSAT-7 satellites which are advanced multi-band military communication systems for use in patrolling the Indian Ocean. China has recently begun deploying nuclear powered attack submarines carrying nuclear missiles in the Indian Ocean. China is becoming more aggressive in the past few years in projecting Chinese military power in Southern Asia, including the Indian Ocean. India, which has no nuclear armed submarines sees the Chinese actions in the Indian Ocean a clear provocation and challenge.
       If the tension between China and India escalates into open conflict, there is the possibility of an exchange of nuclear missiles between the two nations. If China was able to disable or destroy the Indian GSAT-7 military communication satellites, this would  give it a distinct strategic advantage in even without nuclear weapons being involved.
      While China is getting negative publicity for the militarization of space, it is certain that other space-faring nations such as the U.S. and Russia are also developing their own space weapons systems. So far they have been successful in keeping it out of the headlines but that will pass as the Space Weapons Race heats up.
Artist’s concept of Chinese space weapon:

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               I have been posting lately about private space companies. The exploration and exploitation of space has caught the imagination of some extremely wealthy people who appear to be engaging in a sort of “billionaire’s space race.” This post is about the space enterprise of Jeff Bezos, the entrepreneur behind Amazon, the hugely successful online retail company. 
         Bezos founded his new company named Blue Origin in 2000 with headquarters in Kent, Washington, but it was only revealed publicly in 2003 when Bezos acquired a series of lots in Culberson County Texas for a test facility. The goal of Blue Origin is to develop and manufacture new aerospace technologies which will permit private access to space at a much lower cost than current space missions as well as increasing the reliability of space craft. As Bezos put it, he wants to allow “anyone to go into space.”  Bezos said that Blue Origin was going to start with suborbital flights and then move on to orbital flights and beyond in an incremental process. Blue Origin wants to develop space craft that can take off and land vertically.
        Blue Origin launched the Charon test vehicle powered by Rolls Royce jet engines in 2005. In 2006, the Goddard test vehicle was launched in November. It flew successfully and was test flown two more times. Blue Origin is currently developing the New Shepart space craft which consists of a launch vehicle powered by the BE-3 engine and a space capsule that is intended to carry up to three astronauts.
         Until last Wednesday, not much was known about his plans for testing the New Shepard space vehicle. In mid-April of 2015, Bezos announced that testing of his BE-3 engine was complete. Initially planned for launch in 2010, the New Shepard was launched on its first test flight on April 29, 2015 with little advanced publicity. Blue Origin reported that the new launch vehicle engine worked “flawlessly.” Although the craft’s “propulsion module” was designed to be recovered and reused, a problem in the hydraulic system prevented recovery. The unmanned crew capsule parachuted safely back to the launch site in West Texas following the launch.
        Blue Origin is currently working on the BE-4 engine that will be able to carry up to forty thousand pound payloads into orbit.  Bezos claims that the BE-4 will be “the highest-performing, most cost-efficient rocket on the market.” The fuel for the new engine will be liquid natural gas which is less expensive than fuel now used to supply power for missions in space. The engine is intended to be used for weeks in space as opposed to the current engines which are used for hours. Blue Origin is developing the engine for use by the Boeing-Lockheed Martin new Vulcan space capsule being developed for their United Launch Alliance.
         Blue Origin is investigating a number of different possible launch sites on the East Coast of the U.S. The new site will be used to manufacture and launch large space vehicles. This effort is called Project Panther. Blue Origin had been negotiating with NASA for use of a mothballed launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center but dropped out of such talks after a disagreement with NASA about Elon Musk’s SpaceX company possible acquisition of the launch pad. Now Blue Origin would prefer to have a private launch site not under control of NASA or the U.S. government.
New Shepard spacecraft:

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Part Two of Two Parts   
         In the first part of this post, I talked about the formation and some of the history of XCOR, a private space company in Mojave, CA. I am going to dedicate this part of the post to the new Lynx suborbital launch vehicle being developed by XCOR. XCOR says that it ” is now in the phased development of its next generation vehicle, the reusable launch vehicle Lynx. In addition to taking a pilot and one spaceflight participant to the edge of space, the vehicle will provide affordable suborbital launch services to academic, scientific, engineering, and observation-related markets.  XCOR designs, engineers, assembles, builds, maintains and operates these vehicles on a wet lease basis for spaceflight providers.”
        The Lynx could be called a space plane because it can take off and land horizontally, like a regular aircraft but it is rocket powered and can carry a pilot, passenger and/or payload to  the nominal edge of space at sixty two miles above the Earth. The Lynx was preceded by design and development of a space plane called the Xerus which was undertaken in 2003. The Lynx project replaced the Xerus project in 2008. Initially, the Lynx project was to take two years and launch in 2010. However, construction of the Mark 1 version did not begin until mid 2013 and now has a projected first launch sometime in 2015.
        The Lynx is a small craft with a body length and a wingspan both under thirty feet. It has four rocket engines based on the XCOR proprietary rocket propellant piston pump and engine which is compact, light, reliable and powerful. The fuel will be kerosene and liquid oxygen. It has a wrap-around front window for maximum visibility. The passenger seat can be removed and replaced with a payload if needed.
        The Lynx Mark I Prototype will be able to climb to forty two miles and carry a primary payload of two hundred and sixty pounds. Top speed will be over fifteen hundred miles per hour. The Mark II production model design has a maximum altitude of sixty six miles which is just above the altitude considered as the “edge of space.” It has the same top speed and payload capacity as the Mark 1. The Mark III is essentially the same as the Mark II but with the addition of the External Dorsal Mounted Pod which can carry a payload of about fourteen hundred pounds. This pod is designed to carry a two stage launch vehicle for a microsatellite.
       The Lynx launch vehicles can utilize any runway that is at least eight thousand feet long. They should be able to fly up to four missions a day. Launch capacity will be sold commercially and space tourists will be taken for suborbital rides. After 2016, tourists will be flown from a new spaceport on the Caribbean Island of Curacao.
Artist’s concept of the Lynx suborbital launch vehicle:

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Part One of Two Parts       
         Continuing my coverage of commercial space enterprises, this blog is going to focus on a company called XCOR Aerospace. The company was founded in 1999 as a privately-held California C Corporation. From a staff of four working in a small hanger, XCOR has grown to a staff of fifty housed in a ten thousand square foot hangar located in Mohave, CA. XCOR is “focused on the research, development, project management, production and maintenance of safer, more reliable, reusable suborbital and orbital launch vehicles, rocket engines and rocket propulsion systems.” The company has designed and built thirteen different rocket engines. It has built and flown two manned aircraft powered by rocket engines.
       The EZ-Rocket was the first XCOR demonstration rocket-powered aircraft and it was completed in 2001. It was the first vehicle of its type that was built and flown by a non-governmental organization. The twin engines were fueled by liquid oxygen in an internal tank and isopropyl alcohol in an external fuel tank. The small aircraft body is shorter than the wingspan. The engines are easy to stop and restart and the plane can glide for long distances without the engines on. Maximum speed is two hundred and twenty five mile per hour with a ceiling of over eleven thousand feet. Operation is reliable and inexpensive.
       XCOR expertise contributed to the passage of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004. This U.S. Congressional bill applies to private space flight which is considered to be flight above the nominal edge of space at sixty two miles above the earth undertaken by an entity other than a government agency.
       In 2008, XCOR built the X-Racer under contract with the Rocket Racing League. The airframe was purchased from the Velocity company in Florida. Its single engine is fueled by kerosene and liquid oxygen. The maximum speed is around two hundred and thirty miles per hour and maximum altitude reached is almost thirteen thousand feet. One of the important features of the X-Racer is the ability to be refueled in under ten minutes which allows it to make multiple flights in a day. The X-Racer was the first XCOR vehicle to employ their proprietary rocket propellant piston pump.
       Most conventional rocket engines use turbo-centrifugal pumps to mix the fuel and oxidizer and feed the mixture to a separate engine. XCOR began developing a piston based pump in 2003. After years of development with the help of DARPA grants they evolved a free piston pump and engine combination that was light, compact, efficient and inexpensive. It can be turned on and off easily during flight. It was designed to mix liquid oxygen and kerosene but can also be used with other fuels and oxidants. The XCOR revolutionary propellant piston pump allowed them to create a light and efficient vehicle.
       In Part Two of this post, I will discuss the Lynx suborbital launch vehicle, the latest project of XCOR.
XCOR X-Racer in flight:

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        Sputnik was launched when I was a kid. I have always been fascinated with space exploration and read a lot of science fiction. As I grew up, I watched the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. We landed on the moon in 1969 but we have not been back since. NASA has done a great job of exploring the solar system on a limited  budget and participated in the creation and maintenance of the International Space Station. I always knew that unless space exploration could be commercialized and excite the interest of for-profit enterprises, it would remain a minor program of national governments. In the past ten years, there have been a rising interest in the commercial possibilities of space. Some countries with heavy lift capacity have been renting out launch capability to put satellites in orbit for other countries. Telecommunication has been a major driver of commercial space development. Major federal contractors have provided research and development of space technologies for years including the Boeing company in Seattle.
         In the past few years, a number of companies have been created to actually launch satellites on their own space craft. SpaceX, a company founded by Elon Musk, recently announced that it was opening a major office in the Seattle, Washington area. SpaceX has been launching missions to the International Space Station. Also recently announced was the establishment of the Space Trade Association which will be based in Seattle. With the announcement of Vulcan Aerospace by Paul Allen to be headquartered in Seattle, it appears that the Puget Sound area has become a major battleground in the new billionaire entrepreneur space race.
        A representative of the new company said, “Vulcan Aerospace is the company within Vulcan that plans and executes projects to shift how the world conceptualizes space travel through cost reduction and on‐demand access.” “Vulcan Aerospace has its heritage in SpaceShipOne and oversees the Stratolaunch Systems project.”
        SpaceShipOne was a project that won the Ansari X Prize of ten million dollars in 2004. The project was a joint undertaking of Paul Allen and Scaled Composites run by Burt Rutan. It won the prize for being the first privately funded manned vehicle to be launched into space twice within two weeks.
       Allen and Rutan formed Stratolaunch Systems in 2011 to launch satellites from a huge carrier aircraft. The carrier airplane will be developed by Scaled Composites and Vulcan Aerospace will create the launch vehicle. It is hoped that the Stratolaunch carrier airplane will be ready to make its first test flight in 2016.
       With the ability to launch from a plane, Stratolaunch will be able to launch the satellites out over the ocean and away from populated areas. It will also allow launches to be optimized in a way that a land based launch system cannot. The Stratolaunch  system will eventually be adapted so that it will be able to carry a variety of different types of launch vehicles.
       I have to say that I am pleased that Seattle, the city that has been my home for decades, is on its way to becoming a major center for the nascent private space industry.

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