Sep 01 2006
News From My Day Job
America has a Crew Exploration Vehicle, to be called Orion, to replace the Space Shuttle and take America (and the world) back to the Moon and onto Mars. NASA selected Lockheed Martin to build the vehicle which is based on the Apollo design concept. Feel free to ask any questions you want in the comments, I will do my best to answer them.
AJ,
Does this mean that a completely new booster system will be developed in addition to the Orion module, or are they going to modify an existing booster system to handle the demands?
If they’re designing a new booster, that means that the US capability to lift heavy payloads into LEO will be significantly enhanced.
Just wondering… and thanks in advance.
Lawhawk,
The boosters are a combination of proven technology. They are not going to be necessarily using the Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) capabilities. There are two launch vehicles: the one you see in the pictures to launch the CEV (Orion) and one to launch cargo, the Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) and the equivalent for Lander for Mars.
Both are made of the same elements Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) which are the same as the ones on the Shuttle and a liquid rocket second stage based on the Apollo J2 engine. In the CLV (Crew Launch Vehicle) the lower stage is the SRB and the upper stage is the J2 based system. In the Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV) the first stage is a cluster of the SRB’s and the upper stage is a J2 based system (sometimes it is the LSAM itself).
We can loft some pretty heavy stuff now. But yes, the boosters are being redesigned for the heavy stuff.
Okay, here are my questions: 1) We’re going back to a capsule system? 2) Is this an admission that the shuttle system was an abject failure? 3) Is this a one-size fits all replacement, because if it is, it seems less capable? 4) What happened to building a shuttle without disposable tanks?
The original space program had an underlying agenda, getting to the high ground before the soviets. Apart from the noble idea of going where no one has gone before (Mars), it seems the president’s and congress’ goals are about doing space on the cheap.
Our first go round with space really brought America to the forefront of science and technology. Present plans break no new ground. If we are not going to go into this seriously, lets just send out probes and forget about. The present program will suck much needed capital from programs that do real science. Don’t get me wrong, I want a strong manned flight space program, but if we aren’t going to commit significant funds to both, then I favor probes.
So AJ, I presume you were with the LMC team, not NGC here in El Segundo?
Sammy, I don’t work for either team. I work out of GSFC. My condolences to your side. These competitions are tough ones to lose. (BTW, I did work for Grumman when I worked Space Station Freedom – for one of the major subs actually – Fred Hayes ran the shop up here in NOVA).