State of Alaska Will End Up Paying Entire 125 Million Dollar Bill for Launch Pad

There have been various news releases recently regarding the Alaska Aerospace Corporation and Kodiak Launch Complex funding for Launch Pad 3 construction. Gov. Parnell recently approved $25 million on top of the $8 million inserted into the state’s operating budget for the AAC for the remainder of 2012 ($33 million total) and the governor and AAC would like the public to believe Lockheed Martin will finance $100 million out of the $125 million needed for Launch Pad 3 and future KLC infrastructure.

However, the State of Alaska Capital Project Summary Fiscal Year 2012 Supplemental (March 8, 2012) proposed budget list for FY13 and FY14 shows the state’s proposed designated general funding of $100 million to the AAC “to complete the facility.” While lying to the public the state is prepared to foot the whole bill. The AAC is back to square one before the launch complex was built, when it had no funding and former CEO Pat Ladner said, “Build it and they will come.”

The Missile Defense Agency (via the Air Force) gave $80 million in 2010 to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for defense programs and for the AAC and Kodiak Launch Complex. How much did the AAC receive?

Regarding larger vehicle launches from the KLC the AAC board of directors is sitting on important environmental hazard information that it does not want the Kodiak public to know, especially those people living in close proximity to Narrow Cape. Concerned residents should check out the Kodiak Launch Complex section in NASA’s Environmental Assessment for Launch of NASA Routine Payloads, dated November 2011, as the hazards are listed. Before any further KLC infrastructure takes place, the public should demand a site-specific environmental impact statement for Narrow Cape because of future contamination to the island and human health risks.

By Carolyn Heitman

Read more: Kodiak Daily Mirror - State will end up footing whole bill for new launch pad

Kodiak Launch Complex - Lockheed Martin Athena 2 Launches Not As Definite As Claimed

After 10 Years in Storage, Athena Rockets Will Attack Small-Sat Launch Backlog Apr. 4, 2012 - 04:20PM | By DEBRA WERNER 
Lockheed Martin was building an Athena rocket to launch a NASA Earth science satellite when space agency officials called back in 2000 with a question. Instead of flying a single, large satellite into orbit, could the rocket deliver four small spacecraft into four distinct orbital slots for NASA and the Pentagon?
After 11 months of engineering work, Lockheed Martin responded in September 2001 with the Kodiak Star mission. The Athena 1 rocket blasted off from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska, placed three Pentagon technology experiments in 800-kilometer orbits, sank down to an altitude of 500 kilometers, dropped off a NASA upper atmospheric research satellite, and used its remaining fuel to deorbit.
The impressive mission turned out to be Athena’s swan song. Lockheed halted the Athena program in 2001, after it became clear that the commercial communication industry’s plans to fill low Earth orbit with constellations of satellites were faltering in the face of cellular towers and mobile phones. Now, officials at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colo., are planning to revive Athena, citing new markets, including in the defense and intelligence areas.
Top defense and intelligence officials have made no secret of their frustration with high launch costs and their desire to introduce competition into the market. Small satellites featuring commercially produced electronic components are becoming increasingly capable and inexpensive. In addition, the U.S. National Security Space Strategy, approved in 2011 by the then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, suggests that constellations of small satellites might be more resilient than large, monolithic spacecraft.
Lockheed is pushing ahead with its revival plan, despite recent evidence suggesting the possibility of hard times ahead for small satellite advocates in the defense and intelligence arenas. The Obama administration’s 2013 budget would terminate the Defense Department’s Operationally Responsive Space office, which was working on plans to rapidly build small satellites for crisis responses. Elements of the ORS initiative would be moved to the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base. In the intelligence realm, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has rejected a proposal made on the Senate side to shift to smaller satellites for the country’s next-generation imaging spy satellites.
“Small satellites do not fit the prevailing paradigm for collection of imagery and signals intelligence,” said consultant Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute by email. “The prevailing approach favors billion-dollar spacecraft that collect massive amounts of information in exquisite detail over long periods.”
Even so, Lockheed Martin sees a healthy defense and intelligence market for smaller spacecraft in the science and technology area. Many such spacecraft have been sitting in clean rooms waiting for an affordable ride to space, said Gregory Kehrl, Lockheed Martin’s Athena mission manager. “We are offering customers a chance to buy a seat on a plane instead of the whole plane,” he added.
Starting in 2014, Lockheed plans to establish an annual rideshare service, filling up the Athena rocket with small satellites. Customers will pay only for their portion of the launch cost and obtain a ride to their desired orbital location. “We like Athena because it was built like an F-150 pickup truck,” said Kehrl. “It’s reliable for moving stuff from here to there.”
For the first flight, set to occur in about two years, Lockheed Martin plans to launch an Athena 2 from Kodiak to carry about six small spacecraft (in the 50 kilogram to 170 kilogram range) into two circular orbits. Remaining payload space will be filled with a collection of government-sponsored cubesats, the miniature satellites that measure 10 centimeters on a side. The Athena 2 flight will feature 32 separation events, “more than anyone has tried before,” Kehrl said.
Athena rockets can perform all those separations because the launch vehicle is designed to remain on orbit for hours, continually reorienting itself and resetting onboard computers in preparation for the next event.
“It can change altitude by hundreds of kilometers and still reserve enough propellant to deorbit the upper stage,” Kehrl said.
The Athena rocket derives its ability to place multiple small payloads into distinct orbital slots from the precision pointing systems company engineers refined while working on the Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile program, said Al Simpson, Lockheed Martin’s Athena program manager. That feature is the rocket’s primary selling point for customers seeking to send a single satellite to a precise location or to deploy a satellite constellation. For example, a government agency might opt to use Athena to place four, 200-kilogram surveillance payloads into a single orbital plane to provide persistent coverage of an important target, Kehrl said.
A launch customer focused exclusively on finding the lowest-cost ride for a small payload might choose to fly as a secondary payload on larger rockets built by United Launch Alliance or Space Exploration Technologies. Customers in the market for an entire rocket also may find that buying Athena is more expensive than purchasing a Minotaur rocket, which Orbital Sciences Corp. assembles using retired Minuteman and Peacekeeper missile stages.
For small satellites seeking a dedicated ride, the four-stage, solid-fueled Minotaur 4 has been the vehicle of choice. Orbital Sciences does not publicly discuss the costs of Minotaur rockets, but industry officials said it typically costs $50 million to launch a Minotaur 4, which can carry 1,730 kilograms into low Earth orbit. By comparison, the three-stage Athena 2, which has an advertised price of $65 million on the commercial market, is designed to fly 1,712 kilograms to low Earth orbit.
In spite of the higher cost for the entire launch vehicle, Lockheed is banking on government program managers’ ability to save money by participating in the proposed rideshare program. Government agencies also may support the revived Athena program due to concerns about the U.S. commercial launch industry and solid-rocket motor industrial base, Simpson said.
The National Space Policy unveiled in 2010 cites a goal of “energizing competitive domestic industries,” including space launch. In May, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics sent a report to Congress on efforts to preserve the “engineering and design skills and production capabilities” of the solid-rocket motor industry. “The DoD needs to sustain the solid-rocket motor industry because the United States will continue to rely on solid-rocket motors over the long term,” the report added.
When Athena was produced in the 1990s, United Technologies built the upper stage. Since that motor is no longer in production, Lockheed is equipping new Athenas with Castor 30 upper stages built by Alliant Techsystems (ATK), one of the nation’s two remaining solid-rocket manufacturers. Athenas could launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Vandenberg Air Force Base and NASA Wallops Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Annual rideshare flights will originate from the Kodiak Launch Complex because it offers access to circular and highly elliptical polar orbits, which make extended arcs to maximize surveillance time or communications coverage for specific regions.
The Lockheed Martin-ATK team is keeping close tabs on upcoming Air Force competition for space-launch vehicles of varying sizes, known as the Orbital Suborbital Program-3 (OSP-3). The OSP-3 is designed to provide performance and system design data on launch vehicles for national security and civil space missions “while providing an on-ramp for emerging capabilities,” according to a draft request for proposals published June 16. The new entrant portion of the OPS-3 stems from a pact the Defense Department, NRO and NASA signed in October to enhance launch-vehicle competition and to give government officials greater flexibility in choosing rockets for specific missions based on cost and risk, according to the Air Force Space and Missile System Center's Space Development and Test Directorate. For billion-dollar satellites, agencies are likely to rely on rockets with long histories of success. Program managers seeking inexpensive rides for smaller spacecraft opt to fly newer, less-expensive rockets.
The Air Force was scheduled to release a final OSP-3 RFP in March seeking rockets in two categories: those capable of lifting 400 pounds to 5,000 pounds into low Earth orbit and those designed to place 5,000 pounds to 20,000 pounds into low Earth orbit. The OSP-3 also will enable government agencies to buy rockets for suborbital missions. Program managers plan to award multiple contracts that do not limit the government to specific quantities or delivery dates. Rocket builders who win OSP-3 contracts will be able to compete for specific launch missions.
The Air Force plans to award contracts by September, Air Force Space and Missile System Center’s Space Development and Test Directorate officials said via email.
When the final OSP-3 RFP is released, Lockheed Martin will make a decision on whether to compete, Simpson said. In the meantime, the company is inviting potential customers to participate in its 2014 demonstration flight. Those invitations, which were extended to the Army, Air Force, NRO, NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory, garnered a “huge response,” Kehrl said.
While Kehrl has high hopes for Athena’s future, he acknowledges that it will take time for the rocket’s rideshare service to attract a steady stream of paying customers. Many Defense Department program managers are eager to test hardware and software in space flight, but few have money in their budgets to cover launch cost. Since 1965, government program managers turned to the Pentagon’s Space Test Program for free rides on expendable rockets or space shuttles. President Obama’s 2013 budget sent to Congress in February proposes terminating the Space Test Program and turning the responsibility for finding room for extra payloads over to the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.
So while Lockheed Martin plans to keep costs as low as possible by launching multiple payloads on annual rideshare flights, those flights won’t be free. If customers begin designing payloads to fit the mass and volume requirements for the Athena rideshare program, “they will be able to fly very inexpensively and we can fit them on any flight,” Kehrl said. Still, “it’s a new capability that customers will have to build into future budget cycles,” Simpson said. “That takes time.”
This story appeared in the April 2012 issue of C4ISR Journal.

Kodiak Launch Complex only launch in 2011 (no further launches scheduled until 2013) TacSat IV

One launch in 2011; one launch in 2010, no launches in 2009;
No launches scheduled for 2012, but Alaska Aerospace Corporation wants the State of Alaska to bail them out with ten million dollars in 2012 to keep 28 jobs in Kodiak.  One wonders what those KLC employees do for an entire year with no launches.

Restarting the "Tiime Since Last Launch" timer

The KRLIG crew is off-line - if the one and only launch for 2011 (for a total of two in the last three years) at the KLC on 27 Sept is successful, we will restart the timer upon our return.

Kodiak Launch Complex One and Only Launch for 2011 (Minotaur-IV+)

From Space Daily:
NRL TacSat-4 Spacecraft Encapsulated by Staff Writers Washington DC (SPX) Sep 22, 2011

TacSat-4 is an experimental spacecraft that will test advances in several technologies and SATCOM techniques. Ultimately, TacSat-4 will augment the existing fleet by giving the SATCOM Support Centers (SSC) an additional space asset to provide communications to otherwise under-served users and areas that either do not have high enough priority or do not have satellite visibility.

The Naval Research Laboratory's Tactical Satellite IV (TacSat-4) has been encapsulated inside the fairing (nose cone) of an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur-IV+ launch vehicle in preparation for a Sept. 27 launch from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation's Kodiak Launch Complex.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored the development of the payload and the first year of operations. The Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office funded the launch that is managed by the Space Development and Test Directorate (SD), a directorate of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC).
TacSat-4 is a Navy-led joint mission which provides 10 Ultra High Frequency (UHF) channels and allows troops using existing radios to communicate on-the-move (COTM) from obscured regions without the need for dangerous antenna positioning and pointing.
To augment current geosynchronous satellite communication, the TacSat-4 spacecraft will be deployed into a unique, highly elliptical orbit with an apogee in the high latitudes of 12,050 kilometers.
"Communication is a critical warfighting requirement," said Dr. Larry Schuette, ONR's director of innovation. "Developed, more rapidly and at lower cost, TacSat-4 supplements traditional communications satellites and provides much needed support to forward deployed forces at sea and Marines on the ground."
TacSat-4 provides flexible up and down channel assignments, which increase the ability to operate in busy radio-frequency environments and will cover the high latitudes and mountainous areas where users currently cannot access UHF satellite communications (SATCOMs).
The NRL Blossom Point Ground Station provides the command and control for TacSat-4. The Virtual Mission Operations Center (VMOC) mission planning system allows dynamic reallocation to different theaters worldwide that enables rapid SATCOM augmentation when unexpected operations or natural events occur.
TacSat-4 is an experimental spacecraft that will test advances in several technologies and SATCOM techniques. Ultimately, TacSat-4 will augment the existing fleet by giving the SATCOM Support Centers (SSC) an additional space asset to provide communications to otherwise under-served users and areas that either do not have high enough priority or do not have satellite visibility.
The project also helps define future options for launching one or more smaller, highly elliptical orbit (HEO) satellites allowing the military to achieve the benefits of a combined HEO and geosynchronous orbit constellation.
The spacecraft bus was built by NRL and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) to mature ORS bus standards. It was developed by an Integrated (government and industry) System Engineering Team, the "ISET Team," with active representation from AeroAstro, Air Force Research Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Laboratory APL, ATK Space, Ball Aerospace and Technologies, Boeing, Design Net Engineering, General Dynamics AIS, Microcosm, Microsat Systems Inc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, Orbital Sciences, NRL, SMC, Space System Loral, and Raytheon. The Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR and E) funded the standardized spacecraft bus.
TacSat-4 is managed by the Naval Research Laboratory Naval Center for Space Technology and will be the 100th NRL built satellite launched into a celestial orbit.

Funding shuffle hides money going to Launch Complex (by Carolyn Heitman)

(Note that it's been over 9 months since a launch has occurred at the KLC and only one launch is scheduled for 2011 (27 Sept) as of 24 August 2011)
The Alaska State Legislators recently cut $4 million dollars to the Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC) to cover operating costs for the rest of 2011. However, the governor’s fiscal year 2012 budget still includes $4 million out of the $8 million AAC is requesting for operating and sustainment funding. Currently AAC has $29 million in its account for the remainder of 2011 and should use its own funds rather than ask for more handouts from the state. Perhaps if it did not pay its top employees such high wages it would have more operating funds. Annual salaries are over $2 million.

In order to finance AAC and the Kodiak Launch Complex through the rest of 2011 Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Mark Begich and Rep. Don Young have requested $9.5 million from Congress.

Since AAC is set up as a private corporation with corporate bylaws, it is time the state and federal government (using taxpayers’ money) stop funding it and the Kodiak Launch Complex. Without federal funding neither would be operating. Since 1993 the AAC has received a minimum of $305.7 million dollars in revenue — $144.8 million in federal grants, $134.3 million launch revenues and $26.6 million from the state of Alaska (mostly flow-through federal monies) — and to date AAC has not paid any dividends to the state, which was the original agreement. It would be interesting to know how many other private corporations are financially supported by the federal government, thereby adding to the national debt.

Last year when the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) stopped funding the Kodiak Launch Complex, it left a nice parting gift to the state by giving $80 million to the Air Force. In turn the Air Force funneled the same amount to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a portion of which will be appropriated to AAC.

Starting in July AAC will operate under the Alaska Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, while at the same time intending to establish an Alaska Aerospace and Missile Defense Technology Center through the University of Alaska, which would make it more difficult to track Department of Defense/federal funding to AAC, Kodiak Launch Complex and Fort Greeley. It doesn’t hurt having retired military employees working for AAC, UAF (president) and ex-employees of the AAC working for the University of Alaska to rubber-stamp and push through Department of Defense funding for missile defense programs without the public’s knowledge. Talk about a stacked deck!

AAC also intends to use the National Guard Cooperative Agreement for further Kodiak Launch Complex infrastructure development (Alaska Aerospace Corporation Financial Statements, June 30, 2010) and much needed federal funding could be directed away from the needs of the National Guard. In past years federal funding for the Kodiak Launch Complex was earmarked and funneled via of the Army National Guard at Elmendorf Air Force Base — again to make funding more difficult for the public to track.

AAC is a private corporation which will operate through both the state of Alaska and the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, doing Department of Defense activities on state public land (Narrow Cape). Where else has the Department of Defense launched missile targets and defense satellites from public-use lands? Something is wrong with this picture.

In October 2010 the Alaska Aerospace Corporation received $227,195 from the Federal Aviation Administration (the agency who licensed the KLC and is also a cooperating agency with the AAC) for the First Commercial Space Transportation Infrastructure Matching Grant for a Rocket Motor Storage Facility for the Kodiak Launch Complex (now the FAA is helping fund construction projects at the KLC). The AAC is always claiming to be broke and asking for hand-outs so where did it get the matching funds? The storage facility is not one building but will consist of 5 ‘Earth Covered Magazines’ (dirt covered structures). The first structure was completed last year and the second is scheduled to be completed this year. The Kodiak Launch Complex was never intended or developed to be a commercial launch site but a government/military facility. The AAC’s goals also include the creation of a Kodiak Economic Development Zone. Who will most benefit from that action remains to be seen.

This summer the AAC is planning preparation work for the installation of a ‘Liquid Oxygen Air Plant’ at the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) for larger ‘medium-lift’ launch vehicles that require liquid fuel. The vehicles would take off from Launch Pad 3 which will be located on the Cliffside above Fossil Beach. The AAC has consistently told the Kodiak public from the beginning that NO liquid- fueled vehicles would be launched from the KLC, only solid fuel vehicles. The liquid fuel plant could potentially leave the door open for launching interceptors from the KLC in the future, depending on new U.S.-Russia treaty agreements.

The previous U.S.-Russia ‘Start Treaty’ prevented the launch of interceptors from the KLC. However, the 2011 AAC ‘Proprietary and Competition Sensitive’ report mentions just that. An excerpt from the report states: “With the maturing of the missile defense industry, there will be a need to provide sustainment testing of the system to insure that the mission readiness of the interceptors does not degrade. Test launches of interceptors from the KLC can accomplish such testing without taking the missile defense system off-line. This sustaining aspect of missile defense is possible at KLC and AAC may have an opportunity to regain missile defense operations at KLC.” Are missile silos in Narrow Cape’s future?

When I contacted the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (AAC’s landlord) to find out if the Alaska Aerospace Corporation had provided an updated detailed plan of operations or a permit application for the liquid fuel plant, I was told that the DNR transferred land management rights and authority to the AAC and that the DNR is a ‘cooperating’ agency. Being a cooperating agency the DNR should be well informed of what is transpiring out at Narrow Cape, however, the department had no knowledge of the liquid fuel plant or was not willing to release the information. There has been no updated DNR/AAC Land Management Agreement or Development Plan since 2009, nor when contacted, did the Federal Aviation Administration admit to receiving a permit application from the AAC for the installation of the liquid fuel plant. Apparently the AAC is blatantly going ahead with whatever development it chooses at Narrow Cape without applying for permits or notifying the DNR or the Kodiak public of any proposed plans. No thanks to Senator Stevens the AAC was never required to do a Narrow Cape/KLC ‘site-specific’ environmental assessment.

Kodiak has a local representative (retired military) sitting on the Alaska Aerospace Board of Directors along with Rep. Austerman (a non-voting member) but residents as a whole very seldom get any updated reports or feedback in the local paper on what the AAC is proposing for Narrow Cape. When it comes to Alaska state public lands any development is suppose to be for the maximum benefit of the people and Kodiak does not need another Vandenberg or Cape Canaveral. From the AAC’s actions all these years it appears to have been originally set up as a military entity under disguise of a state agency, hiring mostly military retirees and their NASA friends and taxpayers should not be stuck with financially supporting it and the KLC and it is time to take away the Golden Fleece.

Carolyn Heitman is a 44-year Kodiak resident.

Read more: Kodiak Daily Mirror - Funding shuffle hides money going to Launch Complex

Friday, 22 April 2011: KLC Launch Delayed by California Mishap

(Note the number of days since the last launch in the timer to your right;  over 5 months since the last launch.)   Jacob Resneck/KMXTThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it             A spectacular mishap in which a $424 million NASA research satellite was lost in the Pacific has caused the launch of a military satellite from the Kodiak Launch Complex to be delayed for several months.              The U.S. Air Force had initially announced it would launch a Minotaur IV rocket in May. But now an Air Force spokesman says the launch won't be until mid-summer or early fall. The spokesman asked not to be named.             The cause of the delay can be traced to a malfunction of a similar rocket last month. An apparent malfunction of a launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California destroyed NASA's Glory mission, a climate research satellite that had been mounted on a Taurus XL rocket.             Spaceflight Now reported this week that the Glory mission had failed to separate properly in mid-flight and the payload was lost in the Pacific Ocean.             While of a different design, the Taurus XL shares some of the same components as the Minotaur IV causing the Air Force to ground the mission as a precaution.             The Minotaur IV is based on the Peacemaker ICBM missile and is the same type of rocket that successfully launched from Kodiak's Narrow Cape last November.             The Air Force says the "exact nature of the problem" that occurred is still unknown and it's still awaiting the facts before committing to a launch date in Kodiak.             The Air Force added that the military satellite is the only mission currently booked for the Kodiak Launch Complex which is owned by the state-owned Alaska Aerospace Corporation.

12 April 2011: No Bailout for Alaska Aerospace in 2011 Alaska State Budget?

SB46 is the Alaska Senate proposed capital budget for 2011.
According to KMXT news, all funding for the Alaska Aerospace Corporation has been removed from this draft. 
      "But eliminated from the Senate's capital budget is any funding for the Alaska Aerospace Corporation. The governor's budget had allotted $4 million. That was less than the $10 million requested by the state-owned corporation that operates the Kodiak Launch Complex. But those funds didn't survive the Senate Finance Committee."
            "Sen. President Gary Steven's chief of staff Katrina Metheny said it was not Steven's doing. She said the senator does support the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, adding there would be opportunities to re-insert the funding at a later date though she offered no commitment it would happen."
      I confirmed this elimination with KMXT news personnel today.
Perhaps our elected officials are finally realizing what a colossal waste of money it is to keep the Kodiak Launch Complex (aka "The Little Launch Complex That Couldn't" aka "Space Pork Kodiak") open for business when it has little or no business. No more handouts; no more corporate welfare.

Op-ed Compass Piece on Alaska Aerospace Corporation & Kodiak Launch Complex Published Online in Anchorage Daily News

Original title:  "The Little Launch  Complex That Couldn't"

http://www.adn.com/2011/04/05/1794506/launch-complex-gobbles-money-but.html

Taurus XL Failure Investigation Could Delay TacSat-4 Launch at Kodiak Launch Complex

Fri, 18 March, 2011     By Turner Brinton  

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Department this month shipped an experimental satellite communications payload and its spacecraft platform to the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska, where they were mated in preparation for launch as early as May 5, a Navy official said March 14.

However, the launch date for the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)-developed TacSat-4 satellite could be affected by an investigation into the March 4 launch failure of a Taurus XL rocket, said Mike Hurley, head of spacecraft development at NRL. The Minotaur 4 vehicle that will carry TacSat-4 to orbit shares some hardware in common with the Taurus XL; both vehicles are built by Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences Corp.

In addition, the military may decide to launch the ORS-1 operational surveillance satellite ahead of TacSat-4 if it is ready in time, the Air Force has said. Although ORS-1 is launching from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, both launch campaigns share some personnel. 

Complete story here

The Little Launch Complex That Couldn't: Kodiak Launch Complex and Alaska Aerospace

 

            Imagine a school district asking the state for money to build a new high school when they cannot prove any students will attend.  “Build it and they will come!” the district claims. The state says no, but a powerful U.S. Senator funnels construction funds to the project through a federal government agency.  The school is built and fully staffed from administrators to teachers to custodians.  Unfortunately, only a few students ever show up and then, only occasionally.

            So, the district, using state and federal handouts, decides to add a gym and a pool and more lockers to attract students. They still show up infrequently; sometimes the school is empty for over a year.  The feds pay the cost for a few years, but finally pull out.  The district appeals to the state for money to keep the school open just in case some students decide to show up.  Who would support funding for such a school?

            The State of Alaska would not loan money to build the Kodiak Launch Complex in the mid-1990s because AAC could not produce confirmed launch business. Senator Ted Stevens, however, directed construction money through the Department of Defense to build it. AAC expanded KLC infrastructure with state and federal handouts based on a business plan of “Build it and they will come”.  The Missile Defense Agency propped it up for a few years while Senator Stevens was in office, then finally abandoned use of the facility.

            Since launch revenues have never covered the cost of keeping the KLC open, Alaska Aerospace has continually asked for state and federal bailouts from its inception in 1998.  Despite no launches in 2009 and only one in 2010, AAC expects Alaska to fork out a ten million dollar handout this year.  Corporate welfare is counter to the fiscal responsibility we, the voters, demand from our elected representatives. 

            The KLC is like an old truck I owned that started falling apart.  With each repair, I figured that now the truck would run fine and I was done.  Yet, it continually broke down and I kept pouring money into it, thinking that each repair would be the last.  I loved that old pickup and didn’t want to let it go.  But I finally realized that I was throwing my money away on a truck that hardly ever ran and got rid of it.

            It is time to stop throwing money away on “Space Pork Kodiak.” It has sat at Narrow Cape for thirteen years, never breaking even, costing the state more and more money while providing minimal returns and economic benefits to our community and our state.  It is time to invest state funds in businesses and ventures that will produce solid returns for the state.

            Let’s return Narrow Cape entirely to the uses for which it is best suited: hunting, hiking, camping, fishing, birding, subsistence activities such as berry picking, and whale-watching.

Kodiak Launch Complex Begs For Bailout:: Ten Million Dollars!!

JUNEAU, Alaska — Executives at the Alaska Aerospace Corporation say the Kodiak Launch Facility requires $10 million in state funding next year for maintenance and operations.
Aerospace Corporation chief executive officer Dale Nash says the $4 million allocated in Gov. Sean Parnell's budget proposal is insufficient and could lead to maintenance on the facility being deferred.
Nash says the additional funding became necessary after the Missile Defense Agency declined to renew a contract with the facility last year and decided against further launches from the island.
Aerospace Corporation President Craig Campbell says his agency is looking to diversify the facility's clientele and collaborate with the private sector.
The Alaska Aerospace Corporation has managed the facility since it opened in 1998.

By CHRIS STEIN
Associated Press

How long will the state and the feds pour money into the "Launch Pad to Nowhere"?  Alaska's infrastructure needs improvement and upgrades and we waste our money on an unprofitable white elephant.  For fifteen years Alaska and the feds have propped the KLC up - it's time for the facility to sink or swim on its own.  Stop the corporate welfare.

NASA burdened by rising launch costs and delays

Considering the burdensome cost of transporting equipment, rockets, and launch personnel to Kodiak in addition to housing launch technicians, this report does not bode well for the Kodiak Launch Complex. 

Publish Date: 24 November 2010
US: The next generation of NASA remote sensing satellites and space science probes could be burdened by rising launch costs and delays as the agency incorporates new medium-lift rockets, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

The uncertainty surrounds 12 to 14 science missions through 2020 that have not yet received launch vehicle assignments, the government watchdog report said.

NASA is ending its use of the Delta 2 rocket, a workhorse launcher that has delivered nearly 60 percent of the agency's scientific satellites to space since 1998.

NASA is shifting future medium-class missions to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and the Taurus 2 launcher being developed by Orbital Sciences Corp. The GAO found both vehicles serve the same market as the Delta 2 and have similar costs. But the Falcon 9 and Taurus 2 are not certified to launch NASA's most expensive and important science missions.

United Launch Alliance has three more NASA missions on its Delta 2 manifest. Parts for producing five more Delta 2 rockets are also available, but there are high costs of modifying and maintaining launch pads to host any extra flights, according to the GAO.

The report addressed NASA's efforts to support the remaining Delta 2 flights and the agency's medium-class launch strategy.

Read the rest of the article here.

KLC Minotaur IV Launch = Enormous Waste of Money

Air Force spokesman Joe Davidson is in Kodiak helping coordinate the launch. He reported Thursday that the total cost of the seven satellites is $120 million. The cost of the Minotaur IV rocket including a new propulsion system is $50 million. (source: KMXT, Kodiak public radio)
This one launch would have paid for two brand new high schools in Kodiak; instead, local property owners will bear the burden of paying for the new school.

Orbital Minotaur IV launches with multiple satellites

November 19th, 2010 by William Graham Orbital Sciences Corporation used their Minotaur IV launch vehicle to loft eight satellites for the United States Government and university research programmes on Friday night. The mission, designated STP S-26, launched from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska one minute into a 90-minute window, with a lift-off time of 20:25 pm Eastern (01:25 UTC).

Alaska Aerospace Once Again Begs Alaska for Handouts

Click here for a link to the Kodiak public radio station KMXT's story on Alaska Aerospace's request for an exorbitant amount of space pork from the state of Alaska.
AAC is dragging out their tired and false claim that if "we build it, they will come".  Their record of launches up to now clearly belies this tired adage.
Click on the title of this post to read about AAC's declining revenues and why, yet again, "Alaska Aerospace will turn to the state of Alaska for sustaining funding needs."   Even the Feds don't seem to want to waste any more taxpayer funds on the rusting, obsolete white elephant Kodiak Launch Complex.

Inside next week’s launch from Narrow Cape

For another local launch news story from public radio KMXT, click here.

The STP-S26 launch includes military and NASA experiments

Article published on Wednesday, November 10th, 2010 in Kodiak Daily Mirror

By SAM FRIEDMAN

Mirror Writer

The Kodiak Launch Complex has its first launch in almost two years Nov. 19, and it’s a new type of launch.
Instead of the missile defense-related work the complex has done over the last decade, the new launch is for the military’s Space Test Program and will bring 16 experiments into low earth orbit.
The experiments range from high-priority military projects to NASA technology trials and experiments built by college undergraduates. They investigate subjects including electronics, space weather, navigation and biology. But a common thread throughout the mission is projects that are small and inexpensive by aerospace standards.
The mission’s name, STP-S26, comes from the fact that it is the 26th launch carried out by the Space Test Program and contains small satellites.
Mission manger Air Force Capt. Rachel Derbis said the Kodiak launch is the most complex mission the Space Test Program has attempted in 20 years — in part because it packs in so many small payloads.
“It is our hope that these experiments will prove out the rapid access to space for small satellites and push forward the frontiers of space,” she said. “In essence, accomplishing more with smaller satellites is the true meaning of maximizing access to space.”
Among the seven satellites carrying the experiments on the Kodiak launch, four are about 400 pounds and three weigh less than 10 pounds.
In addition to making satellites small, some of the organizations with experiments on board used standardized satellite forms like the blocky CubeSat to help keep costs down.
One especially small experiment on the mission is a CubeSat called NanoSail D that is smaller than a loaf of bread before launching and costs $250,000.


It is part of a larger NASA satellite with an $8 million to $12 million budget, not including experiments.
Although NASA has access to the International Space Station for space experiments, missions like STP-S26 are still useful for the space agency, said Mark Boudreau, project manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the manager of one of the satellites on the STP-S26 mission.
“Launch vehicles and services (rockets or shuttles), as we all know, are expensive,” he said. “Sometimes it can take years to get even the smallest scientific or technology experiment manifested for flight. That means delaying the return of scientific knowledge.”
In addition to NASA and the military, the University of Texas at Austin and the National Science Foundation have satellites on the STP-S26. Here’s a look at all of the satellites.
• Primary Satellite: The mission’s primary satellite carries a pair of experiments off the military’s Space Experiment Review Board (SERB) list.
One experiment, the top-ranked priority from 2006, will test how well military electronics function in space. The other experiment is an ocean telemetry link, a project to relay information from ocean buoys.
• FastSat: The larger of two NASA satellites, FastSat carries a set of three instruments to measure space weather, including the temperature at the top of earth’s atmosphere and astrophysical plasma.
Also on board the FastSat is the tiny $250,000 satellite, the NanoSail D. The satellite’s mission is to unfurl into a thin sheet that uses sunlight to leave the earth’s orbit. If successful, the technology could one day be used to keep abandoned satellites out of earth’s orbit where they might damage other satellites.
• OREOS: The second NASA satellites launch is a separate set of three CubeSats that will study how micro-organisms survive in space.
• FastTrac: The FastTrac satellite is the winner of a biannual contest between American universities sponsored by the Air Force. This winning satellite on this mission will breaks into two satellites, which then communicate with each other. It was built by the University of Texas at Austin.
• FalconSat-5: Another student project, the FalconSat-5 was built by cadets at the U.S. Air Force academy in Colorado Springs. The satellite handles a pair of SERB priorities related to space communication and navigation.
• Radio Aurora eXplorer: This National Science Foundation satellite is also a CubeSat, and also like the FastSat will study astrophysical plasma to understand patterns that can disrupt communications.
• Ballasts: The mission is also a test for the Minotaur IV rocket that will take the payloads into space.
Kodiak’s launch will be the third Minotaur IV launch ever conducted. It will also be the first to test whether the rocket can drop payloads at multiple elevations. After deploying its other experiments to a 650-kilometer elevation orbit at 72 degrees inclination, the rocket will continue to 1,150 kilometers to release ballast.
The first Minotaur IV launch took place in April. The missile is made out of decommissioned Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The Kodiak launch is scheduled for 4:24 p.m. Nov. 19.
Mirror writer Sam Friedman can be reached via e-mail at sfriedman@kodiakdailymirror.com.

NASA to Hold Media Telecon to Discuss Upcoming Satellite Missions

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA will hold a media teleconference at 10:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010 to discuss the Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital Stresses, O/OREOS and Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, or FASTSAT -- scheduled to launch Nov. 19, 2010 on a Minotaur IV launch vehicle from the Alaska Aerospace Corporations Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska.

The goal of the O/OREOS mission is to demonstrate the capability to conduct low-cost astrobiology science experiments on autonomous nanosatellites in space. Scientists will apply the knowledge they gain from O/OREOS to plan future experiments in the space environment to study how exposure to space changes organic molecules and biology. These experiments will help answer astrobiologys fundamental questions about the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe.

The Small Spacecraft Division at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., manages the O/OREOS payload and mission operations supported by staff and students from Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif.

FASTSAT is NASA's first microsatellite that supports the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adaptor, or ESPA -- an adapter ring developed by the U.S. Department of Defense specifically to accommodate secondary spacecraft launch opportunities. FASTSAT will demonstrate the capability to build, design and test a spacecraft platform to enable governmental, academic and industry researchers to conduct low-cost scientific and technology experiments on an autonomous satellite in space.

Teleconference panelists are:

-- Mark Boudreaux, FASTSAT project manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
-- Joseph "Joe" Casas, FASTSAT science operations director at Marshall
-- Dean Alhorn, NanoSail-D principal investigator at Marshall
-- John Sigwarth, Thermospheric Temperature Imager principal investigator at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
-- Pascale Ehrenfreund, O/OREOS project scientist, Space Policy Institute at George Washington University in Washington

Supporting experts will be online to answer questions about the experiments on FASTSAT and O/OREOS.

For dial-in information, journalists should e-mail their name, media affiliation and telephone number to Kim Newton at kimberly.d.newton@nasa.gov.

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live on NASA's website at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

For more information about FASTSAT and O/OREOS visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats

UPDATE: Kodiak Launch Complex Pork Requests

KRLIG received the following clarification related to our KLC for Sale? post  from a Kodiak resident who spoke with Tom Walters who sits on the Alaska Aerospace Board of Directors.
AAC is indeed requesting ten million dollars per year for the foreseeable future from the State of Alaska.
The 80 million dollar request is to construct an air strip at Narrow Cape, a second rocket storage facility, and a second launch pad.
Mr. Walters was noncommittal on the question of whether the KLC would be offered up for sale if AAC did not receive the requested corporate welfare.
AAC has publicly admitted that launch revenues have NEVER covered the costs of operating and maintaining the KLC.
The audacity of this plea for government handouts is astounding!  No launches since December 2008 and, according to the AAC Timeline, of the fourteen launches that have occurred thus far, almost all were Missile Defense Agency (MDA) launches. The MDA has terminated its contract with the KLC for launches and providing funds to keep the facility open.
So, more rocket storage capacity and another launch pad although few, if any, launches will occur at the KLC?   Why should the state and federal government continue to pour dollars into a bottomless black hole of waste?
Narrow Cape is an important recreation, subsistence, hunting, and fishing area - further development of KLC infrastructure will contribute to substantial degradation of these uses.
The Nov 2 elections results seem to indicate that people want less government spending - zero bailouts for the KLC is an excellent step in the "right" direction. It's time to put this rusting white elephant to rest, once and for all.

Kodiak Launch Complex For Sale??

[We are currently trying to obtain independent verification of the following information]
KRLIG learned recently from a very reputable source that the Alaska Aerospace Corp. is requesting 10 million (more) dollars a year from the state for the next 4 years.  This handout is on top of the millions of dollars in corporate welfare they have already received from the state in recent years to keep them going between the few launches that have occurred since the facility was first built.  AAC has admitted publicly that launch revenues have NEVER covered the cost of operating the complex.

In addition to this plea, they are also requesting from the state an additional 80 million dollars to build another complex at Narrow Cape!  Apparently, the current infrastructure is corroding in the severe marine environment of Narrow Cape and is fast becoming obsolete. And remember the launch tower (aka Faulty Tower) is built on a major earthquake fault.

Reportedly, if they can't get the money they are requesting from the state, they might try to sell the KLC.  Our question is, "Who could they legally sell it to?" A foreign country? If sold to someone from out of state, Kodiak and Alaska would have even less control of it than we do now.

All of this is obviously disturbing on many levels. While Kodiak is working so very hard to improve the local quality of life by becoming more energy independent and adopting more sustainable living practices, AND struggling to finance the new high school, this proposal is ludicrous and if financed, would be like pouring more of our state revenue into a black hole that hasn't produced a dime of profit for the state. Don't forget that the federal government has also poured tens of millions of dollars into the KLC for construction and maintenance.

The AAC website doesn't even list the names of their board members to facilitate public contact.

UPDATE: Minotaur IV launch delayed again

Processing for another slightly delayed Minotaur IV launch is under way at Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska, for STPSat 2/STP-26 (Space Test Program S-26), aimed at enabling responsive access to space for small experimental satellites and payloads. The launch vehicle is configured in a Multi-Payload Adaptor configuration with several small satellites and nanosats, including FalconSat 5, Fastrac A/B, FASTSat-HSV 01, NanoSail D, O/OREOS and RAX (Radio Aurora Explorer), a National Science Foundation ground-to-space bistatic radar experiment. Launch is on track for November. (from Aviation Week)
The last launch at the KLC was in December 2008 - further delays might mean two consecutive calendar years with no launches at the KLC which requires millions of dollars of government funding just to maintain the facility even when not launching.

UPDATE: Rocketeer Follies

Secret Sandia settlement taps taxpayers

Larry Barker Investigates

• Reporter: Larry Barker
• Web Producer: Bill Diven

KODIAK, Alaska (KRQE) - Just before dawn more than three years ago the military launched a rocket with a secret payload off the coast of Alaska, a success touted by the Pentagon that left a trail of injury and secret payouts for Sandia National Laboratories.
It was February 2006, a dark and bitter night in the rugged Alaskan back country. What followed the launch was an incident so foolhardy and so reckless that it literally ruined lives.
It is also something the government kept quiet for three years.
"We had a very tragic and unfortunate incident that happened in Alaska," Dr. Al Romig, Sandia chief operating officer, told KRQE News 13.
Kodiak Island is a remote sportsman's paradise, and it was there that Sandia engineers from New Mexico tested a secret missile radar system. But it wasn't rocket science that got Sandians in trouble.
The successful liftoff wrapped up weeks of research. Sandia's engineers worked hard, and then they played hard.
They celebrated with a big party back at the Narrow Cape Lodge that went on much of the day. There were speeches, champagne toasts, chips and salsa and booze, lots of it.
One top Sandia engineer was described as being tipsy, swaying and slurring his speech.
Post-launch bashes are a Sandia tradition. On Kodiak they partied with beer, champagne, whiskey, vodka, rum and wine.
What happened next is documented by an internal investigation obtained by News 13 investigative reporter Larry Barker. The report so sensitive, the lab won't make it public.
Late in the afternoon, the Sandians moved their celebration to the beach. Josh Lucas, 29, and two others hopped into a government Jeep for a little joy ride
Lucas later said he drove onto the sand looking for firewood and to go four wheeling. But their fun was cut short when the Jeep got stuck in the seaside muck.
"Diana Helgeson and myself are avid four wheelers and thought we had the situation under control," Lucas told Alaska State Troopers in a recorded statement. "I ended up getting stuck in the sand. I was screwing around. So we walked back to the lodge."
Lucas, Helgeson and Dave Stokebrand returned to retrieve the abandoned vehicle with Lucas again driving. He was tired, had been drinking, and he was driving too fast in the dark.
Lucas hit a ravine, launched through the air and slammed into the pit.
In the pitch black Helgeson and Stokebrand were unconscious. Lucas, his broken arm, ran the half mile back to the lodge for help.
Witnesses described Lucas as hysterical and the scene at the lodge chaotic.
"Along comes Josh. and he's yelling and screaming from hundreds of yards away," Eric Schindwolf said in statement to Alaska troopers. "He's yelling, 'We need help out here; we need emergency medical.'
"He was just trying to get somebody to pay attention."
Helgeson and Stokebrand suffered critical injuries and were airlifted to a hospital by Coast Guard helicopter. Alaskan police launched an investigation.
"When the troopers arrived we pretty much had chaos trying to figure who were the injured, who were involved, who were people that were there to help," Sgt. Maurice "Mo" Hughes of the Alaska State Troopers post on Kodiak Island said in an interview with News 13. "Alcohol had a component in this incident. People that were unfamiliar with the location, the time of day--it was dark--factor of alcohol and potentially being tired.
"All those can build up very quickly to disaster. In this case it did."
Lucas was charged with two counts first-degree assault and driving while intoxicated. The criminal case was turned over to the Kodiak district attorney.
Either the crime was reckless or negligent, but either way conviction could result in a prison sentence, according to District Attorney Mike Gray.
Helgeson suffered multiple injuries including severe head trauma that left her permanently disabled. Her 20-year career at Sandia is over.
The crash cut short Stokebrand's 17 years as a Sandia engineer. He has significant brain damage and today requires around-the-clock care.
Sandia attorneys concluded if there were a lawsuit a jury could find labs liable for substantial damages, as much as $2 million to Helgeson and as much as $10 million to Stokebrand.
Last year Sandia quietly reached a settlement with the injured employees and then stuck the taxpayers with the bill. The Department of Energy confirmed government funds were used to pay for what happened in Alaska.
Taxpayers are on the hook for what is likely to be millions of dollars although exactly how much is not known. The lab said it's a secret and won't discuss either the decision to settle or the terms of the settlement.
"We don't discuss legal matters involving the laboratory," Romig said. "Those (terms) are protected by confidentiality agreements."
So what went wrong in Alaska? Sandia said its chief operating officer would answer News 13's questions.
Romig, however, declined to characterize Lucas's actions that night.
"I wasn't there to observe what Josh Lucas did or didn't do," he said. "I wasn't at the party. I didn't see Josh Lucas. I wasn't on scene to observe it."
But Romig does know what happened and conceded he read Sandia's detailed report on the incident. Still he ducked a question on whether he believed the investigation showed Lucas acted recklessly when he got behind the wheel of a government Jeep after drinking to go four wheeling on the beach.
"Sandia doesn't discuss the contents of its internal investigations," he said.
Nor would Romig comment on whether Sandia employees acted in a responsible manner.
"It's difficult to say that based on reading the report; I wasn't there," Romig continued. "There was an accident that was unfortunate.
"Sandia has taken corrective actions to try and prevent those things from happening again in the future."
Lucas still works at Sandia labs and wasn't prosecuted in Alaska where the Kodiak District Attorney changed his mind after consulting with victims.
News 13 approached Lucas at his home about getting his side of the story but was rebuffed.
"You can stop right there," he said. "Get off my property."
Trooper Hughes offered one summation for the combination of four-wheeling on an unknown beach in the dark while fatigued and after drinking. "Made for a very bad night," he said.

AAC application for marine mammal take

[Federal Register: July 7, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 129)]
[Notices]               
[Page 38991-38992]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07jy10-39]                         

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-AY99

 
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Space Vehicle and Missile Launch Operations at Kodiak 
Launch Complex, Alaska

AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:  Notice; receipt of application for regulations and subsequent 
letters of authorization; request for comments and information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY:  NMFS has received an application from the Alaska Aerospace 
Corporation (AAC) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental 
to launching space launch vehicles, long range ballistic target 
missiles, and other smaller missile systems at Kodiak Launch Complex 
(KLC) for the period of February 2011 through February 2016. Pursuant 
to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt 
of the AAC's request for the development and implementation of 
regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and 
inviting information, suggestions, and comments on the AAC's 
application and request.

DATES:  Comments and information must be received no later than August 
6, 2010

ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to P. 
Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, 
Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225. The mailbox address 
for providing email comments is PR1.0648-AY99 @noaa.gov. Comments sent 
via e-mail, including all attachments, must not exceed a 10-megabyte 
file size.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jaclyn Daly or Michelle Magliocca, 
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability

    A copy of the AAC's application may be obtained by writing to the 
address specified above (see ADDRESSES), telephoning the contact listed 
above (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), or visiting the internet 
at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm.

Background

    Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) 
direct the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to allow, upon request, 
the incidental, but not intentional taking of marine mammals by U.S. 
citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial 
fishing) if certain findings are made and regulations are issued or, if 
the taking is limited to harassment, notice of a proposed authorization 
is provided to the public for review.
    Authorization for incidental takings may be granted if NMFS finds 
that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or 
stock(s), will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the species or stock(s) for certain subsistence uses, 
and that the permissible methods of taking and requirements pertaining 
to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such taking are set 
forth. NMFS has defined ``negligible impact'' in 50 CFR 216.103 as 
''...an impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot be 
reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely 
affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of 
recruitment or survival.''
    The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; Pub. L. 108 136) 
removed the ``small numbers'' and ``specified geographical region'' 
limitations and amended the definition of ``harassment'' as it applies 
to a ``military readiness activity'' to read as follows (Section 
3(18)(B) of the MMPA):
    (i) Any act that injures or has the significant potential to 
injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild [Level A 
Harassment]; or (ii) Any act that disturbs or is likely to disturb a 
marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing 
disruption of natural behavioral patterns, including, but not 
limited to, migration, surfacing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or 
sheltering, to a point where such behavioral patterns are abandoned 
or significantly altered [Level B Harassment].

Summary of Request

    On June 4, 2010, NMFS received a complete application from the AAC 
requesting authorization for the take of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias 
jubatus) and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), incidental to space vehicle 
and missile launch activities from KLC for a period of 5 years. These 
launches are designed to support the U.S. Department of Defense 
training and operations and hence are considered military readiness 
activities. Marine mammals, specifically pinnipeds on nearby haulouts, 
may be exposed to launch noise. AAC is requesting the take, by 
harassment, of juvenile and adult Steller sea lions and all age class 
of harbor seals.

Specified Activities

    AAC is proposing to launch small to medium space launch vehicles 
ranging in size from the small Castor 120 and the related Peacekeeper 
derived Minotaur IV and V vehicles to the medium lift Taurus II 
(currently under development) from the KLC. KLC can also support launch 
of the Minuteman II and III derived Minotaur I (a space launch vehicle) 
through III (which are primarily used as ballistic targets). Additional 
target missiles include the C-4 Trident, Quick Reaction Launch

[[Page 38992]]

Vehicles, and tactical missiles such as the Patriot and Theater High 
Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). A number of smaller target and 
interceptor missile systems may also be flown from KLC. The AAC 
anticipates ability to accommodate nine launches per year.
    Marine mammals, specifically pinnipeds hauled out on Ugak Rock, 
which lies immediately south of Narrow Cape, would be subjected to 
rocket launch noise. Sound monitoring previously conducted on Ugak Rock 
demonstrates that noise levels could reach up to 101.4 dBA for the 
loudest vehicle, the Castor 120. AAC is requesting the take of 10 
Steller sea lions per launch and the take of 125 harbor seals per 
launch.

Information Solicited

    Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and 
comments concerning the AAC's request (see ADDRESSES). All information, 
suggestions, and comments related to the AAC's request and NMFS' 
potential development and implementation of regulations governing the 
incidental taking of marine mammals by the AAC near the KLC will be 
considered by NMFS in developing, if appropriate, regulations governing 
the issuance of letters of authorization.

    Dated: June 29, 2010.
Helen M. Golde,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-16493 Filed 7-6-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S

Kodiak Launch Complex to Close?

Well, Alaska Aerospace's desperation continues to get even more pathetic; now they've got the Alaska congressional delegation begging the Missile Defense Agency to please please please please oh please launch rockets from the Kodiak Launch Complex.  


This letter (reproduced below) is a hoot - note that the KLC is referred to as a "national treasure" - oh, really?  Mount Rushmore is a national treasure - the KLC is an already obsolete facility that can't even support itself financially.  Hence the need for MDA bailout money.
      They fail to mention that at least one rocket had to be destroyed about one minute after launch for undetermined reasons.
      Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski and Representative Don Young claim that the KLC may have to close if MDA won't come and launch rockets.  The only reason they ever launched any rockets in the past was due to pressure from once powerful, former Alaska senator "Uncle" Ted Stevens.  In fact, it was Stevens who pressured the Air Force to fund the construction of the KLC when the State of Alaska determined that AAC would not be able to repay a construction loan.
  The launch tower is rusting, it sits on an earthquake fault, the facility can't pay for itself, the conclusion is obvious: shut it down before it sucks any more money out of state and federal coffers. The lack of MDA launches has produced the best idea yet for this travesty of corporate welfare!

We Told You So, Part Deux: Kodiak Launch Complex Loses Missile Defense

Note that nowhere in the story below does it mention AAC attempting to find commercial launch customers. When AAC first came to town, they rarely mentioned military launches - they were going to launch telecommunications satellites for private firms - we're still waiting for the first non-military customer. And they want to build even more infrastructure - they are not using the launch pads they have, but they want to build another one!  Now, that's wise use of government funding!

Launch complex loses missile defense

Article published on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

By SAM FRIEDMAN

Mirror Writer

The Alaska Aerospace Corporation is looking for new customers to launch rockets from its Kodiak Launch Complex as it prepares to lose business from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, its most valuable customer.
Since 2004, the MDA has been the only customer to launch missiles from the Narrow Cape facility. In total, it has launched eight rockets from Kodiak, the majority of the facility’s 14 launches.
The MDA’s contract with Alaska Aerospace ends Aug. 31.
In the past, rockets launched in Kodiak have played the role of test target missiles to intercept rockets launched from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. New plans call for sending the test missiles from Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands said MDA spokesman Richard Lehner.
“To make it more challenging we’re launching the test missiles from Kwajalein,” he said. “To make it more operationally realistic.”
To pay some of its costs while it searches for new customers, Alaska Aerospace Corporation requested $4 million from the State of Alaska’s capital budget to help pay costs in its 2011 budget. The $4 million sum is approximately the same as the company’s net loss before capital contributions in the 2009 fiscal year.
The funding request is now winding its way through the state Legislature, which concludes its session Sunday.
“We need to be prepared,” said Alaska Aerospace Corp. CEO Dale Nash. “We don’t yet know what will happen with the MDA launches. We have asked for the state Legislature to tide us over.”
Alaska Aerospace Corp. also hopes to cover its costs with two non-MDA launches this fall. Both are for the U.S. Force, which has used the Kodiak Launch Complex before.
In mid-September the Kodiak Launch Complex is expected to launch STP-S26, a rocket that holds several scientific experiments Nash said.
Its payload includes a space phenomenology experiment and an ocean data telemetry satellite according to the Alaska Aerospace Corp’s annual report. The rocket also contains FalconSat-5, a satellite designed by engineering students at the Air Force Academy.
Between 60 and 90 days later the complex is supposed to launch the TACat4, a satellite that will provide Ultra High Frequency communication channels.
The launches were previously scheduled for 2009, but have been delayed.
Back in January, Alaska Lt. Gov. Campbell wrote in a guest opinion in the Kodiak Daily Mirror that the Kodiak Launch Complex needs to move beyond its MDA work.
In early January, he traveled with Nash to Colorado to lobby the Air Force to use the Kodiak Launch complex for its future launches. He expressed optimism about a meeting with Gen. Robert Kehler, Air Force Space Commander
”While it is too early to declare victory, our meetings netted some very positive direction,” Campbell said.
This summer, work is expected to finish on the Kodiak Launch Complex’s new rocket motor storage facility. Another proposed project would add a third launch pad to the complex, allowing two customers to use the launch complex simultaneously.
Nash said engineering work has been done for the third launch pad, but there are no further plans unless federal stimulus money becomes available or the complex sees an upswing in commercial spaceport demand.
Mirror writer Sam Friedman can be reached via e-mail at sfriedman@kodiakdailymirror.com.

We Told You So: Kodiak Launch Complex Bailed Out Again

Since 1995, KRLIG's research has shown that the Kodiak Launch Complex would never be a successful business; for 15 years we've said that the KLC and AAC could not survive on their own without continual and substantial handouts from the federal and state governments. This aging facility has yet to cover its operating costs with launch revenues.  It has been a constant drain on state and federal resources.  Here is the latest example of Alaska pouring money down the toilet:
The Alaska Legislature has budgeted " $4 million to the Alaska Aerospace Corporation to temporarily cover operating expenses." (Kodiak Daily Mirror 4/0/10) 
Note the number of days since the last launch in the counter to the right.
The KLC just sits out at Narrow Cape on an earthquake fault slowly rusting away in the harsh marine environment.
Meanwhile, property owners in Kodiak have to help pay for a badly needed new high school - that four million would be far better spent on education infrastructure (or operating costs for that matter)

A Pathetic Plea for Business for Space Pork Kodiak

Since 1995, those of us that have done our homework have known that the KLC would never be a self-supporting business.  The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority refused to lend Alaska Aerospace funds to build the facility because AAC's business model showed they could not repay the loan.  It was only built after pressure from then Senator Ted Stevens on the USAF to provide construction funding.  Read about it here and here.

KRLIG's research showed that private launch customers were not interested in the KLC because it was too expensive.  Occasional military launches (plus a one-off NASA launch) have been the only business and many of those were due to Stevens' influence.

There was not a single launch at the KLC in 2009. The facility remains dependent on federal and state funding to operate and maintain this dormant white elephant.
After twelve years, the KLC is no "secret" (as Campbell implies below) and AAC has had all that time to market itself and attract private launch customers.  The KLC is a drain on government finances and provides an inadequate return for the size of the investment.

KLC is looking for launch customers
Guest opinion by Alaska Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell
Article published on Tuesday, Jan 19th, 2010 Kodiak Daily Mirror

Alaska is fortunate for our superb geographic location. We are blessed with abundant natural resources which can and should be developed for the economic vitality of our state. From seafood and mining to oil and gas resources, Alaska has what the world needs. And we are located at the northern apex to North America and Asia, giving us two directions to focus our sales and export opportunities.
But our geographic location also has tremendous value in the aerospace industry. Our Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC), owned and operated by the Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC), is a gem. Located on 3,700 acres of state land at Narrow Cape on Kodiak Island, the site is ideal for both government and commercial rocket launches. Over the past 12 years, KLC has been critical to our space launch access and missile defense testing capability. In the past six years there have been eight Missile Defense Agency (MDA) target missile launches from KLC, demonstrating the value of this site to our nation. Now it is time to look beyond missile defense launches, to other military capabilities and potential commercial operations.
Earlier this month, I traveled to Colorado to meet with General Robert Kehler, Commander, Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) to discuss potential opportunities for increased use of KLC. Along with Mr. Dale Nash, AAC chief executive officer, and Mr. Tom Case, AAC president and chief operating officer, we presented the rational for increased use of KLC by AFSPC. While it is too early to declare victory, our meetings netted some very positive direction.
We received assurances that KLC will be included in determining launch locations for future AFSPC launches. This is important, as KLC provides the ideal site for launches into polar orbits. It also allows for almost a 20 percent payload advantage when launching into the Molniya and Tundra orbits over Vandenberg AFB in California.

The State of Alaska has provided direct financial support to KLC in the past. In 1998, $16 million was invested to develop the complex. Last year, the state provided an additional $7 million for rocket motor storage facility construction. Additional funding is being considered for expansion of the site, based on increased demand for use. So the trip to Colorado was a specific targeted effort to expand the market for KLC and secure greater opportunities for launches in the coming years.
I have a mission for all Alaskans: Let’s not keep the Kodiak Launch Complex a secret. The site has matured to the point where Alaska needs to be more proactive in marketing the capabilities and opportunities for increased use, both government and civilian. The team at Alaska Aerospace Corporation is doing a tremendous job operating the site and looking for expansion opportunities. Alaska is best positioned to provide greater access to space and I am committed to leading that effort with the team from AAC. As KLC increases launch activities in the coming years, Alaska will benefit. Let’s keep the momentum going.

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