Space Launch Capabilities and National Strategy Considerations

Launching spacecraft into orbit is one of the most challenging and critical aspects of spaceflight, and thus, is a key element of any national space strategy. Over the last several decades, the United States, seeing the high cost of space access as a primary impediment to greater government and commercial utilization of space, has made several attempts to lower the cost of space access, but without success. This analysis challenges whether cost should be the primary criterion for any national space launch strategy. A review of six different civil, commercial, and national security space launch customers shows that for the four major existing customer segments, cost is a lower priority than launch reliability, crew safety, and schedule assurance. Only for two emerging customer segments, Operationally Responsive Space and entrepreneurial space ventures, is cost a primary factor. Given this analysis, existing launch systems actually meet most customers' needs, creating equilibrium in the market. Several even...