Remarks by Paula Trimble

"Love and Rockets" Suborbital Space
Education Event

February 10, 2003
Russell Senate Office Building, Room 118
Washington, D.C.

Good morning. I'd like to thank the SubOrbital Institute and Sen. Inhofe for the opportunity to speak to you today. Thank you for your continuing interest in the Office of Space Commercialization's study on Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles and Applicable Markets.

The words Love and Rockets may seem an unlikely pair. But the public reaction to the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy serves as a reminder to all of us just how much love and passion there is for space and for those who dare to explore it. While most Americans dream of space as it has been revealed to them through NASA, the space industry is progressing toward a day when average, paying citizens can see and experience space themselves.

In the wake of tragedies such as the Columbia and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to step forward and offer modern technologies that will improve our economic and national security. Suborbital reusable launch vehicles would offer the ability to provide services that will fulfill both national security needs for surveillance and missile defense, and commercial niches, such as imagery, adventure travel, and cargo delivery.

Suborbital approaches serve to some extent as prototypes to test technologies without the technical demands of an orbital vehicle, reducing some of the technical risk at a lower cost than orbital designs would require. Suborbital vehicles offer an incremental approach that will ultimately lead to the development of commercial orbital reusable launch vehicles. In fact, they are the continuation of an incremental approach that started with the development of the Wright Flyer in 1903. That success, which we celebrate with the Centennial of Flight this year, has encouraged improvements that now provide us with safe, reliable, fast, and economical jet aircraft. Similarly, the entrepreneurial development of suborbital reusable launch vehicles pick up where the military X-15 left off in 1969.

In 2001, the Office of Space Commercialization co-hosted a workshop on near-term market opportunities in space at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. One of the conclusions we drew from the workshop at that time was that the rapid development of suborbital RLV's and spaceports could facilitate the growth of potentially lucrative markets -- primarily adventure travel but also cargo delivery and other transportation-based services. Suborbital initiatives could benefit from a greater reliance on existing technologies, shorter development time, and lower start-up costs, when compared to orbital alternatives. Suborbital commerce would not displace orbital commerce but rather help lay the commercial, legal/regulatory, and technical foundation upon which later orbital space businesses would be built.

Soon after the workshop, we launched a study, with the help of The Aerospace Corporation, to survey and characterize the various suborbital reusable launch vehicles currently in development around the world. The report describes the vehicle parameters, price per flight, development costs, schedule, and payload and passenger capabilities of suborbital RLV's being developed by 10 U.S. firms and four non-U.S. companies. The report also identifies current and emerging suborbital market opportunities that these systems may enable.

Current suborbital markets are served mostly by expendable sounding rockets, and include national missile defense tests, as well as high-altitude, astronomical, and micro-gravity research missions. Emerging or potential suborbital markets identified in the report include military surveillance, commercial/civil earth imagery, fast package delivery, high-speed passenger transportation, media, advertising, sponsorship, and space tourism.

Our report suggests that in addition to meeting these current and emerging markets, the operation of reusable suborbital vehicles would raise public awareness about space tourism, and help reduce perceived market risk for the industry. This is assuming, of course, that the new vehicles operate successfully and safely. The lower costs and reduced technical risk could offer suborbital space tourism the potential for quicker financial returns as well. This is evident already by Space Adventures' waiting list of passengers for suborbital flights.

The developers of suborbital RLV's also recognize the advantages of using the same vehicle for civil and military applications. The economies gained from dual-use technology will benefit the private and public sector with lower prices.

Having noted the potential for these vehicles and the markets they would enable, we acknowledge that there is a tough road ahead for attracting investment and financing. Capital investments have plummeted since the height of the Internet boom, from a high of $103.8 billion in 2000 to $37.6 billion in 2001. In the first half of 2002, that number was $11.9 billion. And that doesn't take into account the chilling effect that the Columbia disaster will likely have on space launch financing.

Despite all that, we hope the conclusions of this report will be a catalyst not only for discussions about this emerging industry but also for investment and further research. The office plans to pursue future market studies that look at the barriers to market entry and investigate various options for financing.

As Commerce Secretary Don Evans said recently at the Symposium on Competitiveness and Security, it is the government's job to create the right environment for innovation and investment. "Still, no matter what public policies we make... no matter what trade alliances we form... at the end of the day, it's up to the private sector to make it all work."

I know the Department of Commerce will do what we can to work with others in government, such as the FAA, to promote the best environment for development of this industry, as we are already doing. But we need the industry to keep reaching for the stars.