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Acta Astronautica

Acta Astronautica 92 (2013) 131–137

0094-57

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journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/actaastro

Considerations on private human access to space from aninstitutional point of view

Bernhard Hufenbach n

ESA, Space Exploration Architecture Office, Keplerlaan 1, 2200 AG Noordwjk ZH, the Netherlands

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 17 April 2012

Received in revised form

7 June 2012

Accepted 11 June 2012Available online 15 July 2012

Keywords:

Private Human Access to space

Global Space Exploration Strategy

International Space Exploration

Coordination Group

65/$ - see front matter & 2012 IAA. Publishe

x.doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.06.011

þ31 71 565 5075; fax: þ31 71 565 4437.

ail address: Bernhard.Hufenbach@esa.int

a b s t r a c t

Private human access to space as discussed in this article addresses two market

segments: suborbital flight and crew flights to Low Earth Orbit. The role of entrepre-

neurs, the technical complexity, the customers, the market conditions as well as the

time to market in these two segments differ significantly. Space agencies take currently

a very different approach towards private human access to space in both segments.

Analysing the outcome of broader inter-agency deliberations on the future of human

spaceflight and exploration, performed e.g. in the framework of the International Space

Exploration Coordination Group, enables to derive some common general views on this

topic. Various documents developed by inter-agency working groups recognise the

general strategic importance for enabling private human access to space for ensuring a

sustainable future of human spaceflight, although the specific definition of private

human access and approaches vary.

ESA has performed some reflections on this subject throughout the last 5 years.

While it gained through these reflections a good understanding on the opportunities

and implications resulting from the development of capabilities and markets for Private

Human Access, limited concrete activities have been initiated in relation to this topic as

of today.

& 2012 IAA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In recent years some efforts are underway for enablingprivate human access to space, focusing initially on thedevelopment of systems which enable private passengersto experience sub-orbital flights but including also initia-tives for the development of privately operated systemsenabling human access to Low Earth Orbit. Definition ofprivate human access may vary between (a) enlarging theexperience of space to private passengers and (b) provid-ing transportation services by privately funded and oper-ated systems based on a sound business case. Thedevelopment of suborbital systems is primarily driven

d by Elsevier Ltd. All right

by the private sector and entrepreneurs while the devel-opment of orbital systems is strongly driven and finan-cially supported by NASA. While the business case forsuborbital systems relies strongly on private passengers,the key customers for planned crew transportation ser-vices to LEO are for the foreseeable future NASA andpossibly other space agencies. It is also interesting to notethat in the case of suborbital flight no institutionalprovided services are planned while for crew transporta-tion to LEO institutional systems may in future competewith private systems at global level. In both segments,market demand and the feasibility of a sustained businesscase still needs to be demonstrated.

This article will examine the views of space agencieson this emerging market. It will in particular assessto what extent agencies share common general views onthis topic, noting that at international level no common

s reserved.

B. Hufenbach / Acta Astronautica 92 (2013) 131–137132

definition for private human access exists as mentionedabove, and review the current role of ESA.

Furthermore, opportunities resulting from this marketfor future European institutional programmes related tohuman spaceflight and exploration are identified andanalysed.

The views of agencies on this topic have been derivedfrom broader inter-agency reflections on the future ofhuman spaceflight as notably performed within the Inter-national Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG).The views analysed and presented in this article cantherefore only be considered as an approximation of theagency’s specific position on this complex topic.

2. Common views of space agencies on private humanaccess

Throughout the years 2006 and 2007, 14 space agen-cies1 engaged in interagency discussions on the future ofhuman spaceflight and exploration. This discussion pro-cess led to the publication of the Global ExplorationStrategy (GES)2 in spring 2007 Fig. 1. This strategy out-lines a vision for robotic and human exploration, addres-sing destinations within the solar system which humanscan access in the foreseeable future, including Low Earthorbit, the cis-lunar space, Moon, NEA and Mars and itsenvirons. The role of private human access and entrepre-neurial activities in more general terms has been dis-cussed in this context. The strategy document assessesspecifically the role of these activities for the future ofhuman spaceflight and exploration. It recognises that

a)

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Human spaceflight and exploration offers entrepre-neurial opportunities by creating a demand for newtechnologies and services.

b)

Industry will have an increasingly important role inturning the new frontiers of space to economic oppor-tunity. Such economic opportunities may be realised ina first step and for the foreseeable future in Low EarthOrbit building on the accomplishments of past institu-tional programmes.

The GES develops 5 themes, providing a broad ratio-nale for institutional investments in exploration.

�

Securing new knowledge and solving global challengesthrough innovative technology; � Permanently extending human presence into space; � Enabling economic expansion and new business

opportunities;

� Creating global partnerships; � Inspiring society.

1 In alphabetical order: ASI (Italy), BNSC (United Kingdom), CNES

nce), CNSA (China), CSA (Canada), CSIRO (Australia), DLR (Germany),

(European Space Agency), ISRO (India), JAXA (Japan), KARI (Republic

orea), NASA (United States of America), NSAU (Ukraine), Roscosmos

ssia). ‘‘Space Agencies’’ refers to government organisations respon-

e for space activities.

These themes describe how human spaceflight andexploration can serve society in the future. Three of these5 themes can be related to private human access:

�

Permanently extending human presence into spacewill only be feasible in partnership with the privatesector and innovative companies may be able toincrease the cost efficiency of services for crew andcargo transportation. The actual realisation of suchcost-efficiencies in comparison to existing institutionalsystems available at international level has neverthe-less still to be proven. � Commercial space tourism is one important factor for

economic expansion.

� Enlarging the number of citizens experiencing space-

flight beyond the �500 explorers visiting Low EarthOrbit in the last 50 years and two dozen ApolloAstronauts who visited the Moon between 1968 and1972 will greatly contribute to inspiring society.

Overall the GES developed by 14 agencies is thereforerecognising a role of private human access in the futurescenario of human spaceflight.

Following the publication of the GES further intera-gency discussions on this topic have taken place withinthe framework of the International Space ExplorationCoordination Group (ISECG).2 This group has been set-up in late 2007 by the 14 agencies which developed theGES with the purpose to work collectively towards thefurther development and implementation of the GES.

ISECG has so far published two technical products withthe purpose to inform related near-term decision makingprocesses of ISECG participating agencies Figs. 2 and 3:

�

The ISECG Reference Architecture for Human LunarExploration in July 2010: the first multilaterally devel-oped human space exploration architecture; � The Global Space Exploration Roadmap (GER) in Septem-

ber 2011: a tool to facilitate coordination of agency long-term planning and near-term preparatory activities.

During the development of the latter product somediscussion among the representatives of the participatingspace agencies have taken place on the role of commercialactivities.

The GER proposes a long-range strategy for expandinghuman presence into the solar system, including destinationssuch as low Earth orbit, Moon and the cis-lunar space, NearEarth Asteroids and Mars. It creates a framework for inter-agency discussions on in particular on three topics

�

Common goals and objectives for space exploration; � Optional long-range mission scenarios which are tech-

nically feasible and programmatically implementable,including the definition of near-term internationalDesign Reference Missions;

� Opportunities for coordination of near-term preparatory

activities.

2 See www.globalspaceexploration.org

B. Hufenbach / Acta Astronautica 92 (2013) 131–137 133

building on the GES themes, of which the following 3 have

The GER introduces 8 common goals for exploration,

relevance for private human access:

1.

Extend Human Presence: Explore a variety of destina-tions beyond low-Earth orbit with a focus on continu-ally increasing the number of individuals that can besupported at these destinations, the duration of timethat individuals can remain there and the level of self-sufficiency.

2.

Stimulate Economic Expansion: Support or encourageprovision of technology, systems, hardware, andservices from commercial entities and create newmarkets based on space activities that will returneconomic, technological, and quality-of-life benefitsto all humankind.

3.

Engage the Public in Exploration: Provide opportu-nities for the public to engage interactively in spaceexploration.

Successful missions of privately operated systems forsub-orbital missions, and at a later stage, for humanmissions to LEO, can certainly contribute to achievingthe goals above. Such missions may in particular con-tribute to increasing the number of individuals which canexperience space or near-space conditions. Privatelydeveloped and operated systems for crew transportationto LEO may spur innovation and in turn drive increases incost-efficiencies of systems developed and operatedindustrially but under the management of a specificagency for institutional purposes.

The GER furthermore recognises that sustainablehuman space exploration is only possible if it results indirect benefits for society. An important factor for ensur-ing such benefits is that exploration must prepare andultimately lead to utilisation, with increasing participa-tion of the private sector. The transition from explorationto utilisation and from institutional dominated activitiesto increasing private sector participation is depicted inFig. 1 for the Low-Earth orbit (LEO). It is assumed thatutilisation of LEO, post the International Space Stationprogramme, enabled by both, public and private ventures,will continue in parallel to the initiation of humanexploration missions beyond LEO. The development of

Fig. 1. The Global Space Exploration Strategy.

capabilities and markets for private human access to LEOis certainly a key enabler for such a transition.

During the inter-agency discussions which led to thedevelopment of the GER the following basic principlesconcerning the role of the private sector and privatehuman access to space have been discussed:

1.

Agencies may want to consider how to leverage onprivate human access for creating new opportunitiesfor partnerships and enabling sustained human space-flight and exploration.

2.

Agencies should reflect on the interest and merits indeveloping agreement on areas benefiting from com-mercial/private sector initiatives.

3.

Agencies should be mindful of commercial interestsand capabilities and engage the private sector in thefurther development of the Global Exploration Road-map development.

Based on these principles and interactions with thebroader stakeholder community, further discussions onthis topic are planned for informing the 2nd iteration ofthe GER which is planned to be published by the endof 2012.

In summary, the documents introduced above expressthe following views on private human access to space:

�

Increasing the engagement of the private sector inspace activities is considered part of the explorationprocess of space encompassing the research, explora-tion and utilisation phase. � Successful introduction and sustained operations of

private systems enabling human access to suborbitalspace and in a later step to LEO contribute to achievingsome of the common goals of space agencies for futurehuman spaceflight and exploration: to extend humanpresence, stimulate economic expansion, engage thepublic and to inspire the society.

� If privately operated systems for human access to LEO

can demonstrate a successful business case, it is likelythat an increase in the cost efficiency of human accessto space can be realised. This would in turn contributeto enhancing the sustainability of future human space-flight and exploration undertaking and be an essentialfactor for releasing government resources for pushing

Fig. 2. ISECG Technical Products.

Fig. 3. The Global Exploration Roadmap.

B. Hufenbach / Acta Astronautica 92 (2013) 131–137134

further the bounds of human knowledge and enablehuman missions beyond Low Earth Orbit.

� Privately operated systems for suborbital and LEO

missions will lead to increased visibility and percep-tion of human spaceflight by making the space or near-space experience accessible to a larger community.

3. Current role and reflections of ESA

The current actions and role of agencies differ widely.Today only the US government and NASA programmesstrongly encourage and actively support commercial activ-ities for private human access. While NASA directlysupports the development of commercial orbital systemsthrough its Commercial Crew Development (CCDev)programme, it indirectly supports the emergence ofsuborbital systems by identifying future NASA needs whichcould be addressed through NASA sponsored sub-orbitalflights (see e.g. recent call to seek for small game changingtechnology payloads that could fly sub-orbital flights,http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/feb/HQ_12-047_Game_Changing_Payloads.html). Other governments andparticular space agencies take currently a more neutral orobservant position.

3.1. ESA policy framework

ESA has developed in 2008 a position paper onprivately-funded suborbital spaceflight. This paper recog-nises five impact areas on ESA:

1.

Development of Space Tourism will drive in particulartechnology development related to reusability androutine operations processes associated to the highflight rates.

2.

Privately developed and operated infrastructure ele-ments could become building block elements of awider space exploration scenario.

3.

Space tourism will impact the further development ofthe legal and regulatory framework for space activities.

4.

Space Tourism will certainly have a significant influenceon aerospace industry, in view of the opportunities itmay create, but also of the competition it may foster.

5.

Space tourism will have an impact on the visibility andperception of human spaceflight/exploration to thegeneral public.

Based on the impact assessment on ESA, the positionpaper developed five guidelines concerning the ESA posi-tion on specifically privately-funded suborbital spaceflight

1.

ESA should monitor the relevant technology activitiesand assess whether spin-ins and spin-offs could beenvisaged for/from European space programmes.

2.

ESA should further reflect on possible partnership withEuropean ventures or support actions.

3.

ESA should explore opportunities for providing todevelopers and operators of private human accessservices in the domain of human spaceflight, in parti-cular ‘‘Astronaut training’’ and ‘‘space medicine’’.

4.

ESA should contribute to the development of a reg-ulatory frame for Space Tourism in Europe for support-ing European industrial interests in a future globalcompetitive sector.

5.

ESA should establish a platform for facilitating the freeflow of ideas among all interested European players.

3.2. ESA request for information (RFI) on commercial

sub-orbital human flight platforms

Following the development of these guidelines, ESA hastaken some concrete initiatives for addressing the regula-tory frame for space tourism and assessing the potentialinterest of utilisation of suborbital flight opportunities bythe European scientific community for science andresearch. A Request for Information (RFI) on Commercial

B. Hufenbach / Acta Astronautica 92 (2013) 131–137 135

Sub-orbital Human Flight Platforms was issued in Decem-ber 2010 and was addressed to the European VehicleDevelopers or Spaceport Operators involved in the design,development and/or in the commercialisation of sub-orbital platforms. The RFI aimed at identifying the currentstatus of the development of sub-orbital vehicles in Europeand their possible use in the frame of space scientificprogramme of the ESA Human Spaceflight Directorate. Inparticular it sought information allowing to define theactual capabilities and limitations, the development sche-dule, the performance of the vehicles, the operationalscenarios, and the commercial conditions.

By February 2011, more than ten contributions werereceived from various vehicle designers, operators andspaceports. These contributions did not all have the samelevel of maturity, but they brought good insight in thecurrent on-going activities in Europe and abroad. Theoutput of the survey was collected in a database andevaluated with respect to the above defined objectives. Noattempt was made to establish a classification of theindividual merit of each received input.

A first conclusion which ESA has drawn from the RFI,given the advancement of the submitted projects, is thatit would not be possible to make use of European reusablesuborbital platforms for research and technology verifica-tion purposes before the end of the 2010s at best. Short-term access to suborbital space flight, if achievable,should therefore be through international cooperation,using US-developed vehicles operated from Europe.

A second conclusion from this RFI is that as of today,based on the information available and its maturity, it isnot possible to identify specific improvement featureswhich such flight opportunities could provide to science,as compared to existing means. The involvement of humanoperators during suborbital flights is judged neither parti-cularly valuable by the science community nor safe by thesafety experts. More generally speaking, the safety level ofthese vehicles is not considered to be sufficient to allowthe flight of ESA personnel on most of these platforms.

The recommendation was therefore to put the processon hold and not to proceed with the Call for Ideas (CFI)which was intended in the continuation of the RFI. In thecoming years, the status of the suborbital human flightprojects will however be regularly checked by ESA toverify if new opportunities are arising.

3.3. Longer-term perspectives

ESA started in mid-2009 a process for the analysis offuture scenarios for human spaceflight and exploration.This work is closely aligned with the work performed atinternational level within ISECG and other bi- and multi-lateral international fora. The process shall inform thedevelopment of a European roadmap for human space-flight and exploration.

The range of optional scenarios considered today differtoday primarily by

�

The political priority given to human spaceflight inEurope and resulting budget profiles;

�

The assumed first beyond LEO destination for interna-tional human missions (Moon versus a Near EarthAsteroid); � The scenario for utilisation of LEO beyond 2020; � The specific role of Europe in the development of

future human spaceflight infrastructure elements.

In all optional future scenarios considered the assump-tions are made that

�

Europe will continue to have an institutional interestin utilising and exploiting human-tended LEO infra-structures for research and application; � The future exploration of space and institutionally

funded human missions beyond LEO will require therealisation of major cost efficiencies for human accessto and human operations in LEO;

� The operations of future LEO infrastructures and asso-

ciated logistics and crew transportation will be furtherindustrialised/privatised sometime beyond 2020, withspace agencies acting as customers, among others.

Further reflections on ESA’s interest in commercialinitiatives and private human access are certainlyrequired in the process of developing a European road-map for human spaceflight and exploration. This is furtherunderlined when considering that the history of Europeanhuman spaceflight and all related programmes are basedon a strong partnership with NASA. It is clear that theemphasis in the US on Private Human Access to space asagain reflected in the NASA budget proposal for the fiscalyear 2013 will strongly impact future ESA NASA partner-ship opportunities for human spaceflight.

The broader topic of the role of the private sector infuture human spaceflight and exploration scenarios andthe US commercialisation initiatives in particular haverecently also been discussed in the context at an ESAorganised workshop on future human spaceflight andexploration scenarios held in Frascati, Italy on 2 and 3May 2011 as well as during a roundtable on implementa-tion aspects of human spaceflight and exploration scenar-ios held on 6 September 2011 in Darmstadt, Germany.

Attendees to the workshop and roundtable includedmainly representatives from European national spaceagencies, ESA and the European space industry.

Some of the conclusions of the discussion are that

�

Commercial initiatives are only meaningful in areaswith an existing or prospective market leading to thedelivery of services and goods at a better quality and/or lower cost. Commercial initiatives are an importantfactor and enabler for future human spaceflight andexploration. � The institutional market for human missions to LEO is

too small in Europe to drive the development of a fullyEuropean private orbital system.

� European industry welcomes the US commercialisa-

tion initiative and is prepared to join the competition.

� European industry views differ on the need and most

effective approach for agency support in this domain:

B. Hufenbach / Acta Astronautica 92 (2013) 131–137136

while some industry representatives call for applying asimilar approach as in the US for the ISS relatedCommercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) andCommercial Crew and Cargo Development (CCDev)programmes (guaranteed sales and upfront seed invest-ments), other call for ambitious technology develop-ments in areas of European interest to enhance theEuropean competitiveness at international level. Indus-try agreed in general on the need for enhancing theEuropean competitiveness through the development ofEuropean autonomous capabilities.

4. Future opportunities for ESA

While initial steps have been taken within ESA fordiscussing and reflecting on the interest in and implica-tions of private human access to space, further analysis willcertainly be required in the future, pending also on thesuccessful introduction of the first privately operated sub-orbital space planes as well as the future evolution of theNASA CCDev programme. Some of the questions whichmay be worthwhile to explored are discussed below.

4.1. Could private Human access (sub-orbital flights)

contribute to the maintenance of a well-trained European

Astronaut corps?

Significant effort is invested in training ESA Astronautsin preparation of each flight. But clearly, the best trainingis through acquiring real flight experience. Suborbitalflights offer a new opportunity for gaining some flightexperience. The value of this experience in preparing theEuropean Astronauts for future exploration missionshould be thoroughly assessed. Clearly, safety issues haveto be addressed and the safe operation of these vehicles tobe certified for this purpose.

4.2. To what extent does private Human access (access to

orbit)contribute to further increasing the cost-efficiency of

operating ISS and potential follow-on infrastructures in low

earth orbit?

Crew and cargo transportation to ISS are one of themajor cost drivers for operating and exploiting the ISS.The future will demonstrate whether any significant costsavings can be achieved through the introduction of thesystems developed within the NASA Commercial OrbitalTransportation Services (COTS) and CCDev programmes.Ultimately, such costs would also benefit European insti-tutional users of human LEO infrastructures and couldenable new utilisation scenarios.

4.3. Should ESA consider the future procurement of

commercial (orbital) flight opportunities for its Astronauts

and what would be resulting benefits?

A limited number of European Astronaut flights to ISSare secured through ESA’s participation to the ISS pro-gramme, roughly one increments flight/ year up to 2020.In the past ESA has always been interested to increase thenumber of Astronaut flights considering the value of these

flights for (a) increasing the visibility of the programmeand its benefits to decision-makers and the general public,(b) generating additional opportunities for research and(c) addressing the need to build-up and maintain humanexploration relevant expertise within the ESA astronautcorps. Additional flight opportunities have in the pastbeen secured within the frame of cooperation agreementswith NASA and Roscosmos. While the latter opportunityremains for the future, the first ended with the termina-tion of the Shuttle programme. No European plan for thedevelopment of an autonomous European capability forcrew transportation is currently existing. Cooperationwith space agencies operating crew transportation sys-tems will certainly remain an important factor for secur-ing European Astronaut missions in the future. In somecases, ESA may be confronted with the choice of procuringan Astronaut flight on a privately-operated system.Further reflections on the benefits and implications ofsuch commercial flight procurements are needed.

4.4. Should ESA be more proactive for facilitating access of

European industry to this new market opportunity (opened

up by orbital systems)?

For assessing the role of European industry in privatehuman access to space a distinction needs to be madebetween suborbital and orbit systems. Clearly, Europeanindustries are investing today private funds in the develop-ment of suborbital flight systems, largely targeting largelynon-institutional customers. For orbital systems the situationis different. The development of orbital systems is stronglyinstitutionally driven in the US and funded through NASAprogrammes. The European industry has developed signifi-cant capabilities which are relevant for realising privatehuman access to space. Some European industries leverageon these capabilities already today and act as subcontractorsto US companies which plan to provide logistic services toNASA. However, the potential role of European industry islimited today to providing existing capabilities developedlargely within the frame of former institutional programmes.Development of private systems for human access to space iscertainly a major driver of innovation. Without institutionalsupport, as provided in the US, the European industry risks tobe excluded from this innovation process.

Considering the different possible ESA interests inprivate human access analysed, the future role of ESAcould very well be to (a) act as customer of privatesystems offering human access to space and (b) supportthe development of innovative technology solutions forincreasing the competitiveness of European industry inthis global market.

5. Conclusions

While limited inter-agency discussion addressingexplicitly the future role of Private Human Access hasyet taken place, some common views on this topic can bederived from the broader inter-agency dialogue on futurehuman space and exploration strategies and roadmaps.Today primarily NASA actively supports the emergence ofprivately-operated systems for sub-orbital and orbital

B. Hufenbach / Acta Astronautica 92 (2013) 131–137 137

missions. Other agencies recognise a role for such initia-tives in the future long-term scenario for human space-flight and exploration. Further dialogue on this topic atinternational level could be useful for e.g. developing acommon definition of private human access and agreeingon areas where private sector engagement would be mosteffective for advancing the long-term global humanspaceflight exploration scenario.

ESA has performed some reflections on this topic in thelast 5 years. Limited concrete activities related to thistopic have so far been initiated by ESA. ESA will continueto closely monitor activities in this domain to assessopportunities and implications resulting from currentinitiatives in this domain for future ESA programmes.

Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge the constructive feedbackreceived from by B. Patti (Head of ISS and ExplorationDepartment) on draft versions of this article as well as thecontribution and valuable comments of P. Berthe (Head ofthe Transportation Aero-Science & Flight Dynamics Sec-tion) who summarised the outcome of the ESA Requestfor Information (RFI) on Commercial Sub-orbital HumanFlight Platforms.