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Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
ENABLING DISCOVERY IN SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS
21
experienced flight hardware development personnel and the inability to attract fresh talent to the field.
Another prominent threat is the lack of availability of a U.S. medium-class launch vehicle with a track
record comparable to that of the Delta-II, which ended production as a result of the decline in orders from
the U.S. Air Force. The limited availability of a medium-class space launch system places severe constraints
on new missions, restricting them to smaller and lighter scientific payloads suitable for available launchers
like the Pegasus or Taurus, or requiring the use of heavier-lift and much more expensive evolved expendable
launch vehicles. New entrants to the field, most prominently Space Exploration Technologies’ (SpaceX’s)
Falcon 9, which NASA has begun to use for resupply missions to the International Space Station, and
Orbital Sciences’Antares (neé Taurus II) launch vehicle, which had its first test flight in April 2013, offer
the potential for reduced launch costs and medium-lift capabilities. Both vehicles are still early in their
development and utilization, and it remains to be seen if they can meet future needs for reliable, low-cost
launch vehicles (see Box 1.2, “Access to Space,” for further analysis of this issue).
An already-lean solar and space physics program is also threatened by the prospect of level or even
declining budgets for the foreseeable future. The rising cost of executing space missions only exacerbates
this problem, 5 and the resultant shortfalls affect programs and, indirectly, the “pipeline” of future engineers
and scientists who choose to enter the field (see Appendix D). In the coming years, the solar and space
physics enterprise will be challenged by demands to maintain and expand the breadth of its system-level
observatory to meet the needs of a space-faring nation.
The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), a set of U.S. government regulations that controls the export of spaceflight hardware, designs, or design and development information, is also a threat
to progress. Although there are efforts within the government to streamline and rationalize the process
for review and approval of such exports, ITAR remains an obstacle to international cooperation in space
research and, thereby, an impediment to opportunities to enhance science returns and reduce costs in many
scientific missions. Notably, problems with ITAR compliance extend even to collaborations with nations
that are close allies of the United States.
In summary, although the survey committee found the solar and space physics community generally
to be vibrant and more integrated among relevant government agencies than in prior eras, it also found
significant weaknesses and threats to the continued health of the enterprise. Nevertheless, the survey
committee concluded that if stakeholders (including agencies, the science community, and policy makers)
vigorously exploit the community’s capabilities, great opportunities for science and for society are still
within reach. It is within this context that the survey committee makes its recommendations for programs
and activities that will build on existing capabilities in an affordable and cost-effective manner and make
fundamental contributions worthy of public investment.
KEY SCIENCE GOALS FOR A DECADE
Significant accomplishments in solar and space physics over the past decade have set the stage for
transformative advances in the decade to come. Reports from the survey’s three interdisciplinary study
panels (Chapters 8-10) enumerate the scientific opportunities and priorities for the interval addressed by
this decadal survey, 2013-2022; these provide detail and context for the survey committee’s four key science goals.
5 NRC, Controlling Cost Growth, 2010.
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
ENABLING DISCOVERY IN SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS
21
experienced flight hardware development personnel and the inability to attract fresh talent to the field.
Another prominent threat is the lack of availability of a U.S. medium-class launch vehicle with a track
record comparable to that of the Delta-II, which ended production as a result of the decline in orders from
the U.S. Air Force. The limited availability of a medium-class space launch system places severe constraints
on new missions, restricting them to smaller and lighter scientific payloads suitable for available launchers
like the Pegasus or Taurus, or requiring the use of heavier-lift and much more expensive evolved expendable
launch vehicles. New entrants to the field, most prominently Space Exploration Technologies’ (SpaceX’s)
Falcon 9, which NASA has begun to use for resupply missions to the International Space Station, and
Orbital Sciences’Antares (neé Taurus II) launch vehicle, which had its first test flight in April 2013, offer
the potential for reduced launch costs and medium-lift capabilities. Both vehicles are still early in their
development and utilization, and it remains to be seen if they can meet future needs for reliable, low-cost
launch vehicles (see Box 1.2, “Access to Space,” for further analysis of this issue).
An already-lean solar and space physics program is also threatened by the prospect of level or even
declining budgets for the foreseeable future. The rising cost of executing space missions only exacerbates
this problem, 5 and the resultant shortfalls affect programs and, indirectly, the “pipeline” of future engineers
and scientists who choose to enter the field (see Appendix D). In the coming years, the solar and space
physics enterprise will be challenged by demands to maintain and expand the breadth of its system-level
observatory to meet the needs of a space-faring nation.
The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), a set of U.S. government regulations that controls the export of spaceflight hardware, designs, or design and development information, is also a threat
to progress. Although there are efforts within the government to streamline and rationalize the process
for review and approval of such exports, ITAR remains an obstacle to international cooperation in space
research and, thereby, an impediment to opportunities to enhance science returns and reduce costs in many
scientific missions. Notably, problems with ITAR compliance extend even to collaborations with nations
that are close allies of the United States.
In summary, although the survey committee found the solar and space physics community generally
to be vibrant and more integrated among relevant government agencies than in prior eras, it also found
significant weaknesses and threats to the continued health of the enterprise. Nevertheless, the survey
committee concluded that if stakeholders (including agencies, the science community, and policy makers)
vigorously exploit the community’s capabilities, great opportunities for science and for society are still
within reach. It is within this context that the survey committee makes its recommendations for programs
and activities that will build on existing capabilities in an affordable and cost-effective manner and make
fundamental contributions worthy of public investment.
KEY SCIENCE GOALS FOR A DECADE
Significant accomplishments in solar and space physics over the past decade have set the stage for
transformative advances in the decade to come. Reports from the survey’s three interdisciplinary study
panels (Chapters 8-10) enumerate the scientific opportunities and priorities for the interval addressed by
this decadal survey, 2013-2022; these provide detail and context for the survey committee’s four key science goals.
5 NRC, Controlling Cost Growth, 2010.