 The Military Spaceplane (MSP) program is an Air Force (AF) program aimed at developing a much more responsive capability for launch and on-orbit operations. In the near past, MSP was funded by congressional adds, but the core AF is taking renewed interest in MSP. A Common Aero Vehicle (CAV)/Operationally Responsive Spacelift (ORS)/Hypersoar program called FALCON (Force Application and Launch from CONUS) was recently funded for nearly $0.5B with the objective of flying a CAV (maneuvering, conventional reentry vehicle) in the 2006 timeframe. An ORS Mission Need Statement has been formally approved and an ORS Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) is underway at AF Space Command.
Schafer has a wide-ranging role supporting MSP for the AF Research Lab and AF Space Command spanning the development of concepts of operations, to detailed analyses of the launch and propulsion systems, to support of the ORS AoA. Over the past several years Schafer has provided an extensive, innovative regimen for developing and analyzing potential applications for the MSP system, such as Space Operations Vehicle (SOV), Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV), Modular Insertion Stage (MIS), CAV, and Orbit Transfer Vehicle (OTV). Schafer has helped flow mission requirements down to system concepts that would be required to carry these missions out and to the technology developments that would be required to enable the system concepts.
Schafer runs NASA's Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST) trajectory code and Satellite Tool Kit (STK) 3D and provides very fast reaction results to any launch, on-orbit, or reentry environment analyses required for reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), expendable launch vehicles (ELVs), and on-orbit vehicles.
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