Next big hurdle for SpaceX: Relaunch a used rocketOrlando Sentinel
By Marco Santana•January 20, 2017, 3:48 PM
Reusing a rocket that has already delivered a payload into space is the next big thing for commercial space pioneer SpaceX.
There's little doubt the company can do it; the technology exists. But many observers in the industry and at research institutions are waiting to see just how much reusability will cost.
On one hand, reusing rockets could dramatically cut launch costs. That would be great for the commercial space industry, space exploration and Florida's Space Coast.
But skeptics say retooling costs — not to mention possible added risk — may cancel out any benefits. The proof will come as SpaceX gets closer to reusing seven Falcon 9 boosters that have successfully landed after delivering a payload into orbit.
The company plans to relaunch a rocket for the first time near the end of February, from Florida.
"Reuse isn't inherently riskier or less risky," said Ben Goldberg, director of technology for aerospace firm Orbital ATK. His company is a SpaceX rival in developing launch vehicles, but has also used SpaceX rockets to launch payloads.
But Goldberg added, "There are additional risks associated with the unknown elements of doing something for the first time, and the learning always associated with that. This is true, to some extent, for any new system."
Previous efforts to reuse rockets have been limited, experimental or partial. The best-known reusable system was the space shuttle, which only reused the shuttle itself and the booster rockets, not the main fuel tank. The shuttle program was canceled over serious concerns about its mission, safety and cost. Orbital's CEO David Thompson has said he's skeptical of plans to reuse rockets, calling past experiences with reusability "mixed, at best," according to the industry news site Space News.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said at an industry conference last year that reused rockets could eventually provide a 30 percent discount over expendable versions, according to multiple media accounts of the event. But the company is still evaluating the process, and its price chart doesn't reflect any savings from reuse yet: $62 million for a launch on the Falcon 9 rocket and $90 million for the bigger Falcon Heavy.
Doubts about reusing rockets will linger until SpaceX proves it can, regularly and efficiently, said Roger Launius, associate director of the Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.
"Skepticism is always a good idea," he said. "Thus far, they have not demonstrated any capability to do this beyond a test. The trick is, can they do this in a way that will enable them to reduce costs and engage in commercial activity at a level of reliability at least as good as we are used to?"
When SpaceX first landed a rocket that had delivered its payload into space, on Florida's Space Coast in December 2015, it was hailed as a milestone in space history.
It has since repeated the feat multiple times, landing a total of seven rockets on land and on a sea barge. All but one of those occurred in Florida, with the exception having landed at California's Vandenburg Air Force Base on Jan. 14.
SpaceX, along with Jeff Bezos' company Blue Origin, has been leading the charge on reusability, a development that could ultimately help the companies reach Mars.
SpaceX first started working on a reusable rocket in 2013, when it tested its experimental prototype the Grasshopper. SpaceX officials wouldn't say what process its rockets undergo after a launch.
However, one spokesman said the goal is to launch a rocket, bring it back in for a thorough inspection and then relaunch.
If reusing rockets does eventually lower the cost of launching, that would be a big benefit, said Matt Desch, CEO of satellite company Iridium, SpaceX's client on Jan. 14.
"The technical geek in me is excited, too," Desch said. "Reading my science fiction as a child 50 years ago, spacecraft are supposed to land. That's how Star Wars works and that's how all sci-fi works."
Attempts to relaunch a rocket would require extensive post-launch inspection. That would include valves, pumps and other hardware, said Justin Karl, an engineer and assistant professor of aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The costs associated with the inspection and replacement parts will ultimately determine whether reusability is viable for both SpaceX and its customers, Karl said.
"At some point, you have to decide whether to fix it or scrap it," he said.
Several questions still need to be answered by SpaceX, said Daniel Dumbacher, a Purdue University professor who once worked on NASA's shuttle program, including how often a rocket can be used, along with the cost of infrastructure and personnel neededto support reusability.
Practice, good design and lowering the cost of hardware will be the key factors to providing cheaper space travel, Dumbacher said, just as those factors eventually made air travel more affordable.
SpaceX is also focused on returning to a regular schedule of launches after a Sept 1. explosion on the pad at Cape Canaveral, a company spokesman said in an email.
"We're confident in our ability to meet our launch manifest needs and look forward to many launches in the months and years to come," he said.
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