RLV News Special Edition:
Space Frontier Foundation's
Return to the Moon VI
July 21-23, 2005, Las Vega, Nevada.

This report on the Return to the Moon VI - 2005 meeting consists of a collection of postings on RLV News during the meeting and new comments added afterwards from my notes. I also include links to comments and articles posted by other attendees.

Other reports and articles on the meetings:

• Michael Mealling
  • RocketForge several entries, incl. photos:
  • Innovative Programs announcements
  • RTTM VI Day 2
  • RTTM VI Day 1
• Jonathon Goff:
  • Selenian Boondocks several entries:
  • Back from RTM
    
  • RTM Boeing Luncheon
    
  • How Do We Live on The Moon Panel
    
  • Lunar Science Panel
  • t/Space and Magnificent Desolation
    
  • NASA, VSE, and The Need for Commercial Space
  • What Will We Do On The Moon: Commercial Applications
  • Bigelow Aerospace Tour
  • More RTM Stuff: In-Space Business Models
    
  • Brant Sponberg: Centennial Challenges/Innovative Programs
  • Last RTM Session: Space Law and Property Rights
  • RTM Summary
• Jeff Foust
  • A vision for commercialization - The Space Review - July.25.05
  • Commercialization becomes essential - Space Politics - July.23.05.
• Other Articles:
  • Local students participate in Moon mapping project - Coalfield.com - Aug.18.05 - Virginia students, who attended the meeting, are developing a Geographic Information System database for the lunar polar regions. It will be posted at LunarGIS.com.
  • Final Frontier: Las Vegas Space Conference attendees explore lunar manifest destiny - Las Vegas City Life - Aug.05
  • NASA Calls on Private Sector to Help Make Exploration Affordable - SFF - July.28.05
  • Columnist Susan Snyder: Devotees launching a crater cause - Las Vegas Sun - July.25.05
  • Group promotes mans return to the Moon - Las Vegas Sun/Space Race News! - July.21.05
• Latest update: Aug.6.05
• DVDs of presentations at Space Frontier Foundation's 6th Lunar Development 2005 Conference: Return to the Moon - Reality Check

Jeff Feige, Return to the Moon Conference Manager.
SpaceShow interview with Jeff Feige

August 1 , 2005

Return to the Moon Conference Summary ... For the various panels and presentations I give brief synopses and comments and/or links to postings by Jon Goff and others about the presentations.

Meeting Agenda

Day 1:

• Rick Tumlinson - opening remarks - See comments below ...
  
  
• How Do We Get To the Moon? (Earth - Orbit) - panel on the status of lower cost access to space - See comments below ...
  
  
• How Do We Get To the Moon? (Cis-Lunar) - panel on transport from LEO to the Moon - See comments below ...
  
  
• Luncheon talk by Paul Eckert of Boeing - See comments by Jon Goff
  
  
• How Do We Live On the Moon? - panel
  Brant Sponberg (NASA Centennial Challenges) - Panel Chair
  Ken Stratton (Caterpillar)
  Dennis Wingo (Orbital Recovery)
  
  
  • How Do We Live on The Moon Panel - Jon Goff - Jon covers most of this session. Here are some miscellaneous items:
    
    

  • Ken Stratton impressed me with the news that Caterpillar has done some fairly serious studies over the years on extraterrestrial construction concepts without NASA funding. In addition, for earth construction they are already developing fuel cell powered vehicles and stakeless, digital earth-moving systems, which would provide a good basis on which to develop lunar equipment.
    

  • Brant Sponberg discussed possible lunar related Centennial Challenges in addition to the current oxygen extraction competition. These Challenges could include regolith movers and VTOL demonstrator vehicles for lunar transportation.
    

  • Dennis Wingo said that 3-4% of the meteorites that pounded the Moon over the eons were of the nickel/iron kind that also include platinum group metals. Since platinum group metal deposits on earth are located on meteorite impact sites, it follows that similar deposits should be found on earth. Larry Taylor pointed out that the eight sites examined by Apollo and the Russian (unmanned) missions didn't spot any sign of nickel/iron. Dennis responded that examining eight random spots on the equator of the Earth would also fail to find nickel/iron deposits.
    
    Dennis's Moonrush book goes into great detail on the potential of mining platinum group metals from the Moon and how they would support the hydrogen/fuel cell economy on earth.

• What Will We Do On the Moon? (Science) - panel
  Michael Wargo (NASA) Panel Chair
  Wendell Mendell (NASA JSC)
  Larry Taylor (Planetary Geosciences Inst., Univ. of Tennessee)
  
  
  • Lunar Science Panel - Jon Goff
    
    
  • Michael Wargo discussed the work of the Lunar Exploration and Analysis Group (LEAG), which will hold a conference this fall: LEAG 2005, Oct. 25-28, 2005..
    
    
  • Larry Taylor, as Jon discusses, gave an informative talk about the interesting properties of lunar soil. See Taylor's homepage for links to resources about lunar development such as this Lunar Colony Lecture.
    
    
  • Wendell Mendell said that the lunar science community had for decades felt left out of NASA science priorities. Things brighten up a few years ago when a major study of possible future science missions included a lunar sample return mission on the suggestion list. This got the attention of NASA management who didn't know there was any interesting science left to do on the Moon. The VSE has now made lunar science a high priority.
    
    Mendell also pointed out a difference between "pure" science and the utilitarian science that is needed to support development of lunar systems and facilities to support human communities there.

• Brett Alexander (t/Space and former Bush administration official)
  • See my comments below.
  • t/Space and Magnificent Desolation - Jon Goff
  • See also the CXV Earth-to-Orbit System Summary - t/Space - July.14.05
    
    
• Evening Entertainment
  • t/Space and Magnificent Desolation - Jon Goff
  • Preview: Magnificent Desolation by Jeff Foust - The Space Review - Aug.1.05
    

Christopher Shanks - Special Assistant to the NASA Administrator

Day 2:

• Keynote Speaker: Chris Shrank - NASA
  • See comments below...
  • A vision for commercialization - The Space Review - July.25.05
  • NASA, VSE, and The Need for Commercial Space - Jon Goff

• What Will We Do On the Moon? (Commercial) - panel
  Paul Eckert (Boeing) Panel Chair
  David Gump (t/Space))
  Red Whittaker (CMU Robotics Institute)
  Hugh Arif (Cisco)
  Dennis Wingo (Orbital Recovery)
  
  
  • What Will We Do On The Moon: Commercial Applications - Jon - Jon covers this session quite well so I'll only post a couple of items.
    
    Hugh Arif's talk made it clear that Cisco is taking space Internet very seriously. There is currently a Cisco "off-the-shelf" rounter running on the UK-DMC satellite built by Surrey Satellite and launched in Sept. 2003:
    
    • Cisco Takes Its Internet Router to Space - Space News - Apr.26.04
    • CLEO: Cisco router in Low Earth Orbit - Lloyd Wood

    
    A subcontractor is developing a rad-hard router. GSFC and SpaceDev have also done space TCP/IP development.
    
    Cisco wants to convince spacecraft builders to make TCP/IP the standard communications protocol. All data, video, imagery, and voice on the spacecraft should be merged into a packet stream for end-to-end IP linking.
    
    Dennis Wingo noted that for every ton of oxygen derived from iron oxide in the lunar soil (using Vapor Phase Pyrolysis), 2.4 tons of iron will be produced. This iron will be very useful for structures and radiation protection. It won't be very strong without carbon or other additives, but making the slabs thick in the low lunar gravity will ameliorate this problem. Aluminum and silicon can also be produced from lunar soil oxygen extraction processes.
    
    

• Enabling Technologies - short presentations
  Michael Mealling
  • This was a very interesting session organized by Michael in which fourteen different people came up sequentially to give 5 minute spiels on their lunar related commercial enterprise or supporting technology. (Actually, the session was split and last four presented in the afternoon.)
    
    
  1. Michael Mealling reported on the plans by Masten Space Systems to develop low cost VTOL vehicles for suborbital flights. They want to serve the K-12 and university education market with flights in the $25k range, with up to 8 flights per day. The technology is potentially useful for lunar transport.
  2. Rich Pournelle talked about a XCOR's composite LOX tank project. They want to target in-space propulsion applications and replace hydrazine thrusters.
  3. Manny Pimenta of Lunar Explorer discussed the company's Virtual Reality Simulator in which one can experience walking on the Moon via high resolution 3-D viewers.
  4. Dennis Wingo reported on his SkyCorp company, which is developing on-orbit spacecraft assembly.
  5. Tom Taylor of Lunar Transportation Systems talked about Shuttle External Tank salvage to orbit.
  6. Steve Durst of Space Age Publishing discussed the International Lunar Observatory project they are studying with Spacedev. See comments below...
  7. Dennis Laurie of Transorbital reported on the status of the company's commercial lunar orbiter project. He said the project is still moving along but did not give a specific launch date. A collaboration with Hewlet-Packard is continuing. Development of some commercial opportunities have caused delays. Currently, the main commercial applications of the orbiter will be science experiments (e.g. NASA paying for imagery and video) and carrying memorabilia and cremated remains. Longer term, he mentioned landers that could provide a secure data storage service.
  8. Hugh Arif of Cisco said they will pursue the opportunities to supply TCP/IP routers for spacecraft and lunar facilities. He gave an example of a formation of nanosats communicating with each other via Wi-Fi.
  9. Gene Myers of Space Island Group talked about their continuing efforts to use Shuttle External Tanks to build orbital habitats and solar power stations. He also showed a shuttle derived vehicle whose top stage is a DC-X derived manned module.
  10. Lee Valentine of the Space Studies Institute discussed their project with Prof. William Jewell at Cornell to develop closed loop life-support systems to support in-space habitats and lunar facilities. They need about $2M to proceed to a Phase 2 study that would last 5 years.
  11. Bruce Pitman of Lunar Transportation Systems has a separate venture (he mentioned prometheus2.com but this site is currently empty) that is studying aneutronic fusion systems, such as those that would burn He3.
  12. Jason (? - didn't get his last name) of GSFC worked in the group that was developing a robotic service mission for the Hubble. The group is offering its rendezvous and proximity operations technology for various other applications such as fuel depots and space tugs.
  13. Derek Shannon of Red Planet Ventures (founded by John Spencer) discussed the Red Planet Expeditions resort under development in California in which people will experience a highly realistic simulatio