Aerospace America logo, click or touch this logo to return to the homepage Aerospace America - click or touch the Aerospace America logo to return to the homepage.
Search Access the Aerospace America search by clicking or touching here Menu Access the Aerospace America menu by clicking or touching here
⟵ Back to the 2017 Year in Review Landing Page
Space and Missiles

Potential for more affordable exploration

By Koki Ho|December 2017

The Space Logistics Technical Committee fosters development of integrated space logistics capabilities that enable safe, affordable and routine space-faring operations.

Commercial space logistics marked significant milestones in 2017. One of the largest events was SpaceX’s reuse of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket in March. The reused Falcon 9 booster B1021 was first used to deliver a Dragon spacecraft on the CRS-8 mission April 8, 2016; after its recovery on a drone ship, it was refurbished and reused for the SES-10 mission March 30, 2017. After delivery of the SES-10 mission, B1021 was recovered a second time. This achievement could revolutionize next-generation space logistics by enabling launches at a substantially lower cost.

Blue Origin revealed its design for the Blue Moon lander in April at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Blue Moon lander would leverage the capability of vertical takeoff; the plan is for it to deliver cargo to the lunar surface in the 2020s. The lander will be optimized for launch by NASA’s Space Launch System but could also be launched by other rockets, such as United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 or Blue Origin’s New Glenn. This lander could help open the doors to settlements on the moon.

In addition to commercial space logistics activities, in March, NASA revealed a plan for a phased exploration approach with the next steps being a Deep Space Gateway and Deep Space Transport. According to the plan, during the first phase of the exploration, a crew-tended spaceport would be built in cislunar space with an electric propulsion system, repurposed from the canceled Asteroid Redirect Mission, for its mobility. The gateway would support activities in cislunar space and could serve as a staging point for access to the lunar surface or farther destinations. Space Launch System rockets and Orion spacecraft would deliver and assemble the Deep Space Gateway. During the second phase of exploration, the Deep Space Transport would be developed as a reusable transportation capability for crewed missions to farther destinations, such as Mars. The fruition of these plans would be a significant step toward expanding humanity’s presence beyond low Earth orbit. Space logistics planning and implementation will be a key consideration for the Deep Space Gateway and Deep Space Transport development and operations.

On the academia side, in August the Space Systems Optimization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign completed a one-year study funded by United Launch Alliance to analyze the transportation architecture for cislunar resource economy. The study analyzed the technical and economic impact of lunar resources and other infrastructure systems in two case studies: regular delivery of payload from LEO to geosynchronous Earth orbit using lunar resources, and regular delivery of crew to the moon and back. This study could be an important stepping stone toward space commercialization using cislunar infrastructure.

Koki Ho works at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Contributors: Lauren Paunescu, Robert Shishko and Kandyce Goodliff

2017 Year in Review

Aerospace Design and Structures

A glider is flying low over a runway with a forested, mountainous background.

Orion module undergoes acoustic testing

A colorful lines with a white circle.

Shape memory materials begin to take shape

A large automated machine applies material layers onto a long, streamlined metallic surface in an industrial workshop setting.

New computing tools, international collaboration spell design progress

Aerospace Outreach

Three astronauts inside a spacecraft greet another astronaut entering through a hatch, capturing a moment of camaraderie in space. Equipment and an American flag are visible in the background.

Astronauts again launch from U.S. soil

Aerial view of nasa langley research center with people forming the number

A nod to tragic and triumphant events

A space station with solar panels orbits above Earth's atmosphere, with the vast blue planet and clouds visible in the background.

Celebrating 50 years since the launch of Skylab and other anniversaries

Aerospace Sciences

Interior view of a large industrial wind tunnel with intricate machinery, acoustic tiles, and a model aircraft being tested in the center.

Addressing future noise requirements in civil aviation

A 3D model showing fluid flow around an object with red and blue streamlines indicating different flow paths.

New software releases headline year’s achievements

Close-up of a dual-propeller aircraft model in an anechoic chamber, designed to reduce sound reflections, with sound-absorbing foam panels on the walls.

Increasing power, speed and mobility without the negative impacts of noise

Aircraft Technology, Integration and Operations

Several KLM Royal Dutch Airlines aircraft are parked in a row on a runway at an airfield, with urban buildings and industrial infrastructure visible in the background.

Covid-19 pandemic hits air transportation hard

A yellow seaplane with the

Electrified aircraft ground and flight tests continue progress toward sustainable aviation

A NASA drone flies against a clear blue sky, displaying the number 870 on its tail and a NASA logo on the wing. The landscape below is visible but blurry.

Building a structure for urban air mobility

Engineering and Technology Management

British F-35Bs

Vertical flight continues to grow

Atmospheric picture of space

A century ago, aviation became an industry

Solar Impulse 2

A year that caught public’s notice

Information Systems

A digital illustration of Earth with the visible African continent, surrounded by a network mesh and numerous small satellites in orbit, depicting global satellite communication.

An intriguing year for communications satellites

Technicians in lab coats and hairnets work on assembling or inspecting a satellite in a clean room environment. One technician adjusts a component while others observe.

CAPSTONE software bug, Russian hacking Ukraine computer systems and data integrity advances among the year’s highlights

A large missile is being launched into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke, with a military aircraft flying nearby. The sky is clear with some clouds below.

Artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons drive sensing, fusion research

Integration

A white and black drone with multiple propellers is flying over a dry, grassy field with trees in the background under a clear blue sky.

Transformational flight prepares path to operations

A futuristic concept airplane with a sleek, wide body design and angled wings flies above the clouds.

Hybrid electric concepts move toward demonstration

Engineers and workers inside a large industrial facility assembling sections of a rocket or space vehicle with various equipment and machinery visible around.

Space exploration focuses on asteroids

Program Committees

Atmospheric picture of space

Hypersonics changing the world

NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed in Sandusky, Ohio

Electric efforts gaining power

130-foot-long fuel tank test article for NASA’s Space Launch System

Mars, Jupiter and the human factor

Propulsion and Energy

A person in protective clothing performs maintenance on a large, circular solar panel array, viewed from the underside.

Photovoltaic-powered exploration punctuates the year

A Ampaire-branded small aircraft is flying over a body of water near a coastline with city infrastructure in the background.

Electrified aircraft flight tests moving at full throttle

NASA’s Orion Launch Abort System

Solid propellants make civil, military contributions

Space and Missiles

A spacecraft with solar panels emits blue thrusters as it flies near a cratered surface, possibly the moon.

Gateway leads the era of deep space infrastructure development

A dark background with Earth visible as a small bright dot slightly off-center, part of a satellite or spacecraft structure is visible along the right edge of the image.

Small satellites capable of big science

Three-panel image showing fluid flow patterns. The left and right panels depict experimental setups with swirling fluids, while the center panel shows a colorful simulation of fluid dynamics.

A year of space station experiments, commercial launches and education initiatives

PreviousNext

Potential for more affordable exploration