Keith’s 2 Feb update: Eric Stallmer and his staff at the Commercial Spaceflight Federation have risen to the challenge (on very short notice) and have set up their own livestream of this conference – you can view it here: . Too bad the FAA has not figured out a way to tell everyone that this event is now being streamed.
Keith’s 1 Feb 2:53 pm note: The annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference is being held in Washington, DC on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Unlike the past several meetings none of the sessions will be webcast. So, unless you are in the room, you won’t be able to listen in. As best I can understand the situation from the FAA they do not know how to do a webcast themselves and/or can only do a webcast that costs vast sums of money. Its too bad the FAA did not invite NASA TV to come over and do a webcast. NASA TV covers virtually everything that NASA does – and the whole space commerce thing is something that NASA is hot on these days. Indeed, if you look at the agenda multiple panels at this event are filled with NASA people. Oddly, no one from CASIS is speaking – and they are all about space commerce.
When things are deliberately closed off like this, its hard to take a lot of what FAA and NASA say about space commerce seriously – especially when they approach the promulgation of their activities so half-heartedly. NASA wants everyone to know that they are doing commercial crew and cargo and that they want the private sector to take over routine chores in LEO so that NASA can focus its efforts elsewhere. Indeed, their whole cis-lunar exploration plan requires that this happen. But when it comes to the meetings wherein the nuts and bolts of commercializing LEO are discussed – its suddenly too hard to do a simple webcast. Yes, its FAA’s meeting – but the agency most affected is NASA. You’d think that something as simple as a webcast would be easy to do. I did them from Everest Base Camp for crying out loud.
First off, its a commercial space TRANSPORTATION conference not a space COMMERCE conference; second, where is it written that everything has to be web cast? Besides the expense of web casting, they may be trying to fill the room – its hard to get high level speakers to talk to an empty room – even if you do tell them there are thousands watching on their computers while answering e-mails. Lastly, the conference is pretty cheap – lots of far more expensive venues don’t web cast everything – give them some slack; after OPM, its amazing they are allowed to have this at all.
It is called the annual “FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference”. It is sponsored by the FAA Space Commercialization Office. All of the participants are involved in space commerce.
Slight correction:
The Conference was sponsored by the FAA’s “Office of Commercial Space TRANSPORTATION”. While, yes, “commercial transport” may be considered a part of conducting commerce, this is much more focused, concerning the mode of transportation. Or as a down-to-earth example, think commercial freighters versus the cargo they carry, or delivery companies like UPS and not the packages they are being paid to transport. That’s why AST is under the FAA (as delegated by Dept of Transportation), and not Dept of Commerce (DOC).
However, FYI, there’s actually an “Office of Space Commerce” under DOC. Borrowing from its website
[ http://www.space.commerce.gov/ ]: That Office focuses on various sectors of the space commerce industry, including sat-nav (GPS), comm’l remote sensing, space transp, and entrepreneurial activities. It also works internally to increase NOAA’s use of comm’l space solutions. While they might sometimes attend the FAA’s conference, they aren’t the ones who set it up.
I tend to agree with KC / NW on this one! Web casting is not a “make or break” expense and should be a no brainer ..For these are technology companies and organizations.
From the announcement it says:
“For the latest information and dialogue on U.S. commercial launch activities, commercial human spaceflight, commercial crew, and commercial spaceports”
What the difference? Space Commerce? Space Transportation? All sounds like “Space” to me.
Unless someone knows a better way to get there without transportation…
Web casting can be done with a wifi node and a cell phone. I am sure my 12 year or nephew can do it.
Loads of SpaceX news
Today at FAA conf. Shotwell reported SES-9 flies in the next couple of weeks, and mods are being made based on the landed stage test. Also, a refurbished Dragon flies this year, new performance numbers for Falcon Heavy later this week or next, and 39A is operational..
SpaceX is getting seriously jammed up with delays. I wonder how much the customers are pushing back.
That’s a good question. The customers are balancing cost savings against schedule risk. I wonder what a one month delay costs them. This might be a serious issue when NASA starts flying planetary missions on Falcons. (And I think that is a when, not an if.) If a delay means missing a launch window, that could mean a two-year delay. That might eat up the cost difference between SpaceX and other launch providers.