DOCSLIB.ORG

D2.3.11 Suitability of Reusability for a Lunar Re-Supply System

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
D2.3.11 Suitability of Reusability for a Lunar Re-Supply System 67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Guadalajara, Mexico, 26-30 September 2016. Copyright 2016 by DLR-SART. Published by the IAF, with permission and released to the IAF to publish in all forms. IAC-16- D2.3.11 Suitability of Reusability for a Lunar Re-Supply System Etienne Dumont Department of Space Launcher Systems Analysis (SART), Institute of Space Systems, DLR, Robert Hooke Straße 7, 28359 Bremen, Germany, [email protected] Abstract Moon landers built in the past were designed and optimized for specific missions, with a limited consideration of follow-on missions. They were expendable and based on storable hypergolic propellants. In order to enable a sustainable presence on the Moon for research but also other activities, a new type of transportation architecture is needed. Technical developments since the 1960s open a large range of new solutions which could be beneficial for a lunar transportation. The ROBEX (Robotic Exploration under Extreme Conditions) project, in particular, is focusing on new types of lunar architectures, for which modularity, re-configurability and flexibility should play a central role to guarantee the sustainability of the design. In this framework a reusable lunar single stage to orbit vehicle called RLRV (Reusable Lunar Resupply Vehicle) has been designed. It is able to land payloads on the Moon and to launch payloads from the lunar surface in anticipation of their return back to Earth. The RLRV is characterized by a design relying on the combination of cryogenic propulsion, in-situ propellant production and reusability. Important technologies that are enabling such a design have been identified to refine the RLRV design. The flexibility of the vehicle has been demonstrated with the assessment of its performance for a whole range of missions. The comparison of the RLRV with a classic lander such as the descent module of the Apollo Lunar Lander demonstrates that a large reduction of the payload to be injected by an Earth launch vehicle and an Earth departure stage can be achieved with the proposed design. Keywords: Moon mission, Reusability, ISPP, Cryogenic propellant, ROBEX Nomenclature NTO Nitrogen Tetroxide RCS Reaction Control System Isp Vacuum Specific Impulse s RLRV Reusable Lunar Resupply Vehicle MR Engine Mixture Ratio - SSTO Single Stage To Orbit Pcc Combustion Chamber Pressure bar UDMH Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine T Thrust kN W (Earth) Weight N or kN 1. Introduction ΔV Velocity Increment m/s or km/s In the past, several missions managed to land safely on the Moon and were big scientific successes such as Acronyms/Abbreviations the Surveyor and Luna robotic programs or more recently China’s Chang’e 3 mission. These missions API Advanced Porous Injector together with the Apollo program helped to understand APU Auxiliary Power Unit better our natural satellite. However none of these EML1 Earth Moon Lagrange Point 1 programs succeeded to allow a long term presence and ESAS Exploration Systems Architecture Study study of the Moon. Such a goal is however currently GH2 Gaseous Hydrogen increasing in interest in particular under the impulse of GOx Gaseous Oxygen the “Moon Village” initiative launched by ESA’s ISPP In-Situ Propellant Production general director J. Wörner. IVF Integrated Vehicle Fluids Key assets which would greatly help to increase the LEO Low Earth Orbit sustainability of a new Moon program are modularity LH2 Liquid Hydrogen and reusability. Indeed landers built until now were LLH2 Lunar (produced) Liquid Hydrogen designed and optimized for very specific missions, with LLO Low Lunar Orbit a limited consideration of follow-on missions. They LLOx Lunar (produced) Liquid Oxygen were expendable and based on storable hypergolic LM Lunar Module of the Apollo programme propellants. While storable propellants are particularly LOx Liquid Oxygen adapted to several day long missions and the hypergolic LSAM Constellation Lunar Surface Access Module property increases the reliability of the mission, it NPSP Net Positive Suction Pressure implies the fueling of the vehicle with relatively large IAC-16-D2.3.11 Page 1 of 14 67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Guadalajara, Mexico, 26-30 September 2016. Copyright 2016 by DLR-SART. Published by the IAF, with permission and released to the IAF to publish in all forms. mass of propellant coming from the Earth. More recent those described in [3] but also to launch payload back to studies and plans to come back to the Moon such as the Earth. This characteristic naturally influences the choice ESA Lunar lander or the ESA Cargo Lander also used of the architecture and design of the transportation storable and hypergolic propellants. While these system, which should also be flexible. A lunar lander vehicles were already considering a certain modularity able, for its reference missions, to land payload masses and adaptability since they could transport various of 10 metric tons and to re-supply a Moon base has been payloads, they had an additional limitation as their pre-designed. This vehicle should also have the design is constrained by the capabilities of existing capability to launch payloads from lunar surface in launchers available: such as Soyuz or Ariane 5 [1]. anticipation of their return back to Earth. For these NASA with its Constellation program considered the reasons, we pre-designed a reusable lunar SSTO (Single design a bit differently, as from the very beginning the Stage To Orbit) vehicle called RLRV (Reusable Lunar payloads to be launched and the corresponding lander Resupply Vehicle). This vehicle, which should work as (Altair) were designed with limited constraints on the a shuttle between the Moon orbit and the Moon surface, capabilities of the launcher. As a matter of fact for this should have the capability to be refueled both in Moon program a new launch vehicle, Ares V, in the class of orbit and on the Moon surface. It has been chosen to Saturn V was planned to be built. However, with such consider liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as architecture, regular missions to the Moon imply the propellant for the RLRV. production and the launch of huge and expensive launch After elaborating on how newly developed vehicles. It cannot be sustained easily by any space technologies and researches allow considering the agency in the world. combination of LOx/LH2 propulsion, ISPP and A way to increase the sustainability of a Moon reusability to design an efficient and flexible program would be to take advantage of the many new transportation system, an overview of the architecture, technological developments which have been achieved focusing on trajectories, staging and the origin of LH2 is in the past years. These developments are indeed proposed. A preliminary sizing of the RLRV including allowing considering as reasonably feasible, designs, for instance the design of the structure and of the feed which for instance in the 1960s were considered as far and propulsion systems will be presented. Missions and too risky. This is the case for instance of cryogenic performance are following. In order to assess the propulsion for which experience has been gathered for advantages of the reusability of the RLRV, it is already many decades [2]. In-Situ Propellant Production compared to the Apollo Lunar Module, a classic (ISPP) has not been tested yet on the Moon, but expendable vehicle. For that purpose, different mission numerous studies on the topic have been performed and scenarios amongst which the establishment of the lunar several solutions to produce LOx from Moon regolith base with habitat, pre-sized previously in the frame of exist [3], [4] and [5], and some of them have been tested ROBEX [3] are considered. on Earth [6]. A source of propellant directly on the Moon would allow reducing strongly the mass to be 2. Design rationale launched from the Earth. Recent studies [7] also With the exception of China’s Chang’e 3, all soft indicate that water ice is present on the Moon; this landings on the Moon occurred between 1966 and 1976. would allow producing not only LOx but also LH2. These 19 missions took place in the frame of the Space While these two technologies are expected to improve Race between the Soviet Union and the United States of the performance of transportation between the Earth and America. The main design driver was at that time to be the Moon, their combination with reusability seems the first one on the Moon while sustainability or cost of particularly beneficial. It is indeed expected that a a design was only a secondary aspect. From this period further reduction of the size of the transportation system a lot of experience has been gathered and still strongly as well as an increase of the mission flexibility can be influences the design of vehicles for future missions. obtained. Actually, reusability is expected to be Basically, these designs can be summarized as being beneficial for the different sections of the transportation based on pressure-fed engines running on terrestrial system: the Earth launch vehicle, the Earth-Moon based storable propellants, often relying on Low Lunar transfer vehicle and the Lunar Lander. Orbit (LLO) for rendezvous or at least as a parking orbit In the frame of the ROBEX (Robotic Exploration and being expendable. Several studies performed in the under Extreme Conditions) project, a new transportation past years came out with ideas, which could bring a cost system for lunar missions is being studied. An important reduction in comparison with Apollo-type designs, aspect of the ROBEX project is the consideration of qualified by Zubrin as “brute-force means” [5]. But as modularity, flexibility and re-configurability for the regretted by Zubrin, these ideas such as In-Situ design of the ground infrastructure in order to increase Propellant Production (ISPP) are often applied to classic its sustainability.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Geoscience and a Lunar Base
    " t N_iSA Conference Pubhcatmn 3070 " i J Geoscience and a Lunar Base A Comprehensive Plan for Lunar Explora, tion unclas HI/VI 02907_4 at ,unar | !' / | .... ._-.;} / [ | -- --_,,,_-_ |,, |, • • |,_nrrr|l , .l -- - -- - ....... = F _: .......... s_ dd]T_- ! JL --_ - - _ '- "_r: °-__.......... / _r NASA Conference Publication 3070 Geoscience and a Lunar Base A Comprehensive Plan for Lunar Exploration Edited by G. Jeffrey Taylor Institute of Meteoritics University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico Paul D. Spudis U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Astrogeology Flagstaff, Arizona Proceedings of a workshop sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C., and held at the Lunar and Planetary Institute Houston, Texas August 25-26, 1988 IW_A National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Management Scientific and Technical Information Division 1990 PREFACE This report was produced at the request of Dr. Michael B. Duke, Director of the Solar System Exploration Division of the NASA Johnson Space Center. At a meeting of the Lunar and Planetary Sample Team (LAPST), Dr. Duke (at the time also Science Director of the Office of Exploration, NASA Headquarters) suggested that future lunar geoscience activities had not been planned systematically and that geoscience goals for the lunar base program were not articulated well. LAPST is a panel that advises NASA on lunar sample allocations and also serves as an advocate for lunar science within the planetary science community. LAPST took it upon itself to organize some formal geoscience planning for a lunar base by creating a document that outlines the types of missions and activities that are needed to understand the Moon and its geologic history.
    [Show full text]
  • No. 40. the System of Lunar Craters, Quadrant Ii Alice P
    NO. 40. THE SYSTEM OF LUNAR CRATERS, QUADRANT II by D. W. G. ARTHUR, ALICE P. AGNIERAY, RUTH A. HORVATH ,tl l C.A. WOOD AND C. R. CHAPMAN \_9 (_ /_) March 14, 1964 ABSTRACT The designation, diameter, position, central-peak information, and state of completeness arc listed for each discernible crater in the second lunar quadrant with a diameter exceeding 3.5 km. The catalog contains more than 2,000 items and is illustrated by a map in 11 sections. his Communication is the second part of The However, since we also have suppressed many Greek System of Lunar Craters, which is a catalog in letters used by these authorities, there was need for four parts of all craters recognizable with reasonable some care in the incorporation of new letters to certainty on photographs and having diameters avoid confusion. Accordingly, the Greek letters greater than 3.5 kilometers. Thus it is a continua- added by us are always different from those that tion of Comm. LPL No. 30 of September 1963. The have been suppressed. Observers who wish may use format is the same except for some minor changes the omitted symbols of Blagg and Miiller without to improve clarity and legibility. The information in fear of ambiguity. the text of Comm. LPL No. 30 therefore applies to The photographic coverage of the second quad- this Communication also. rant is by no means uniform in quality, and certain Some of the minor changes mentioned above phases are not well represented. Thus for small cra- have been introduced because of the particular ters in certain longitudes there are no good determi- nature of the second lunar quadrant, most of which nations of the diameters, and our values are little is covered by the dark areas Mare Imbrium and better than rough estimates.
    [Show full text]
  • Radar Remote Sensing of Pyroclastic Deposits in the Southern Mare Serenitatis and Mare Vaporum Regions of the Moon Lynn M
    JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 114, E11004, doi:10.1029/2009JE003406, 2009 Click Here for Full Article Radar remote sensing of pyroclastic deposits in the southern Mare Serenitatis and Mare Vaporum regions of the Moon Lynn M. Carter,1 Bruce A. Campbell,1 B. Ray Hawke,2 Donald B. Campbell,3 and Michael C. Nolan4 Received 21 April 2009; revised 12 July 2009; accepted 3 August 2009; published 5 November 2009. [1] We use polarimetric radar observations to study the distribution, depth, and embedded rock abundance of nearside lunar pyroclastic deposits. Radar images were obtained for Mare Vaporum and the southern half of Mare Serenitatis; the imaged areas contain the large Rima Bode, Mare Vaporum, Sulpicius Gallus, and Taurus-Littrow pyroclastic deposits. Potential pyroclastic deposits at Rima Hyginus crater, the Tacquet Formation, and a dome in Mare Vaporum are also included. Data were acquired at S band (12.6 cm wavelength) using Arecibo Observatory and the Green Bank Telescope in a bistatic configuration. The S band images have resolutions between 20 and 100 m/pixel. The pyroclastic deposits appear dark to the radar and have low circular polarization ratios at S band wavelengths because they are smooth, easily penetrable by radar waves, and generally contain few embedded blocks. Changes in circular polarization ratio (CPR) across some of the pyroclastic deposits show areas with increased rock abundance as well as deposits that are shallower. Radar backscatter and CPR maps are used to identify fine-grained mantling deposits in cases where optical and near-infrared data are ambiguous about the presence of pyroclastics.
    [Show full text]
  • The J–2X Engine Powering NASA’S Ares I Upper Stage and Ares V Earth Departure Stage
    The J–2X Engine Powering NASA’s Ares I Upper Stage and Ares V Earth Departure Stage The U.S. launch vehicles that will carry nozzle. It will weigh approximately 5,300 explorers back to the moon will be powered pounds. With 294,000 pounds of thrust, the in part by a J–2X engine that draws its engine will enable the Ares I upper stage to heritage from the Apollo-Saturn Program. place the Orion crew exploration vehicle in low-Earth orbit. The new engine, being designed and devel­ oped in support of NASA’s Constellation The J–2X is being designed by Pratt & Program, will power the upper stages of Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., both the Ares I crew launch vehicle and Ares for the Exploration Launch Projects Office at V cargo launch vehicle. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The J–2X builds on the The Constellation Program is responsible for legacy of the Apollo-Saturn Program and developing a new family of U.S. crew and relies on nearly a half-century of NASA launch vehicles and related systems and spaceflight experience, heritage hardware technologies for exploration of the moon, and technological advances. Mars and destinations beyond. Fueled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydro­ The J–2X will measure 185 inches long and gen, the J–2X is an evolved variation of two 120 inches in diameter at the end of its historic predecessors: the powerful J–2 upper stage engine that propelled the Apollo-era Shortly after J–2X engine cutoff, the Orion capsule will Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets to the moon in the separate from the upper stage.
    [Show full text]
  • The Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES)- a Low-Cost, Low-Risk Approach to Space Exploration Launch
    The Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES)- A Low-Cost, Low-Risk Approach to Space Exploration Launch J. F. LeBar1 and E. C. Cady2 Boeing Phantom Works, Huntington Beach CA 92647 Space exploration top-level objectives have been defined with the United States first returning to the moon as a precursor to missions to Mars and beyond. System architecture studies are being conducted to develop the overall approach and define requirements for the various system elements, both Earth-to-orbit and in-space. One way of minimizing cost and risk is through the use of proven systems and/or multiple-use elements. Use of a Delta IV second stage derivative as a long duration in-space transportation stage offers cost, reliability, and performance advantages over earth-storable propellants and/or all new stages. The Delta IV second stage mission currently is measured in hours, and the various vehicle and propellant systems have been designed for these durations. In order for the ACES to have sufficient life to be useful as an Earth Departure Stage (EDS), many systems must be modified for long duration missions. One of the highest risk subsystems is the propellant storage Thermal Control System (TCS). The ACES effort concentrated on a lower risk passive TCS, the RL10 engine, and the other subsystems. An active TCS incorporating a cryocoolers was also studied. In addition, a number of computational models were developed to aid in the subsystem studies. The high performance TCS developed under ACES was simulated within the Delta IV thermal model and long-duration mission stage performance assessed.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Vision for Space Exploration
    Constellation The New Vision for Space Exploration Dale Thomas NASA Constellation Program October 2008 The Constellation Program was born from the Constellation’sNASA Authorization Beginnings Act of 2005 which stated…. The Administrator shall establish a program to develop a sustained human presence on the moon, including a robust precursor program to promote exploration, science, commerce and U.S. preeminence in space, and as a stepping stone to future exploration of Mars and other destinations. CONSTELLATION PROJECTS Initial Capability Lunar Capability Orion Altair Ares I Ares V Mission Operations EVA Ground Operations Lunar Surface EVA EXPLORATION ROADMAP 0506 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 LunarLunar OutpostOutpost BuildupBuildup ExplorationExploration andand ScienceScience LunarLunar RoboticsRobotics MissionsMissions CommercialCommercial OrbitalOrbital Transportation ServicesServices forfor ISSISS AresAres II andand OrionOrion DevelopmentDevelopment AltairAltair Lunar LanderLander Development AresAres VV and EarthEarth DepartureDeparture Stage SurfaceSurface SystemsSystems DevelopmentDevelopment ORION: NEXT GENERATION PILOTED SPACECRAFT Human access to Low Earth Orbit … … to the Moon and Mars ORION PROJECT: CREW EXPLORATION VEHICLE Orion will support both space station and moon missions Launch Abort System Orion will support both space stationDesigned and moonto operate missions for up to 210 days in Earth or lunar Designedorbit to operate for up to 210 days in Earth or lunar orbit Designed for lunar
    [Show full text]
  • Extensions of Remarks
    22152 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS SALUTE TO STEVE wrr'I'MAN In 1931 Wittman went to Oshkosh to take Many of the committee members were ac­ over the airport there and managed it until tive in the promotion. of ai:r s~ows her~ in his retirement this spring. the 1950's, and some, like Rutledge, are well HON. WILLIAM A. STEIGER S. J. Wittman was born in Byron April remembered for the job they did in promot­ OF WISCONSIN 5, 1904, and attended grade schools at Byron ing the 1953 City of Oshkosh centennial and Lomira. He was graduated from Fond celebration. · IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES du Lac High School. So, he has fl.rm roots When they speak, then, of drawing 100,000 Monday, August. 4, 1969 in Fond du Lac County and has many friends spectators to their show, or plan a banquet here. Certainly, many a local resident took with an attendance limited to 1,000 persons, Mr. STEIGER of Wisconsin. - Mr. to the air for the :first time in an open cock­ it seems to be no wishful thinking. Speaker, S. J. Wittman is one of tfie au­ pit, wooden "prop," strutted biplane with The renown of Wittman perhaps makes it thentic aviation leaders of our Nation. Steve Wittman at the controls. easier to put on a show of the magnitude the Steve has more hours in the air zoom­ Steve gained his national reputation pilot­ committee envisions. His friends in avia­ ing around the pylon in air races than ing aircraft in races all around the country.
    [Show full text]
  • Apollo 12 Photography Index
    %uem%xed_ uo!:q.oe_ s1:s._l"e,d_e_em'I flxos'p_zedns O_q _/ " uo,re_ "O X_ pea-eden{ Z 0 (D I I 696L R_K_D._(I _ m,_ -4 0", _z 0', l',,o ._ rT1 0 X mm9t _ m_o& ]G[GNI XHdV_OOZOHd Z L 0T'I0_V 0 0 11_IdVdONI_OM T_OINHDZZ L6L_-6 GYM J_OV}KJ_IO0VSVN 0 C O_i_lOd-VJD_IfO1_d 0 _ •'_ i wO _U -4 -_" _ 0 _4 _O-69-gM& "oN GSVH/O_q / .-, Z9946T-_D-VSVN FOREWORD This working paper presents the screening results of Apollo 12, 70mmand 16mmphotography. Photographic frame descriptions, along with ground coverage footprints of the Apollo 12 Mission are inaluded within, by Appendix. This report was prepared by Lockheed Electronics Company,Houston Aerospace Systems Division, under Contract NAS9-5191 in response to Job Order 62-094 Action Document094.24-10, "Apollo 12 Screening IndeX', issued by the Mapping Sciences Laboratory, MannedSpacecraft Center, Houston, Texas. Acknowledgement is made to those membersof the Mapping Sciences Department, Image Analysis Section, who contributed to the results of this documentation. Messrs. H. Almond, G. Baron, F. Beatty, W. Daley, J. Disler, C. Dole, I. Duggan, D. Hixon, T. Johnson, A. Kryszewski, R. Pinter, F. Solomon, and S. Topiwalla. Acknowledgementis also made to R. Kassey and E. Mager of Raytheon Antometric Company ! I ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Forward ii I. Introduction I II. Procedures 1 III. Discussion 2 IV. Conclusions 3 V. Recommendations 3 VI. Appendix - Magazine Summary and Index 70mm Magazine Q II II R ii It S II II T II I! U II t! V tl It .X ,, ,, y II tl Z I! If EE S0-158 Experiment AA, BB, CC, & DD 16mm Magazines A through P VII.
    [Show full text]
  • Water on the Moon, III. Volatiles & Activity
    Water on The Moon, III. Volatiles & Activity Arlin Crotts (Columbia University) For centuries some scientists have argued that there is activity on the Moon (or water, as recounted in Parts I & II), while others have thought the Moon is simply a dead, inactive world. [1] The question comes in several forms: is there a detectable atmosphere? Does the surface of the Moon change? What causes interior seismic activity? From a more modern viewpoint, we now know that as much carbon monoxide as water was excavated during the LCROSS impact, as detailed in Part I, and a comparable amount of other volatiles were found. At one time the Moon outgassed prodigious amounts of water and hydrogen in volcanic fire fountains, but released similar amounts of volatile sulfur (or SO2), and presumably large amounts of carbon dioxide or monoxide, if theory is to be believed. So water on the Moon is associated with other gases. Astronomers have agreed for centuries that there is no firm evidence for “weather” on the Moon visible from Earth, and little evidence of thick atmosphere. [2] How would one detect the Moon’s atmosphere from Earth? An obvious means is atmospheric refraction. As you watch the Sun set, its image is displaced by Earth’s atmospheric refraction at the horizon from the position it would have if there were no atmosphere, by roughly 0.6 degree (a bit more than the Sun’s angular diameter). On the Moon, any atmosphere would cause an analogous effect for a star passing behind the Moon during an occultation (multiplied by two since the light travels both into and out of the lunar atmosphere).
    [Show full text]
  • Glossary of Lunar Terminology
    Glossary of Lunar Terminology albedo A measure of the reflectivity of the Moon's gabbro A coarse crystalline rock, often found in the visible surface. The Moon's albedo averages 0.07, which lunar highlands, containing plagioclase and pyroxene. means that its surface reflects, on average, 7% of the Anorthositic gabbros contain 65-78% calcium feldspar. light falling on it. gardening The process by which the Moon's surface is anorthosite A coarse-grained rock, largely composed of mixed with deeper layers, mainly as a result of meteor­ calcium feldspar, common on the Moon. itic bombardment. basalt A type of fine-grained volcanic rock containing ghost crater (ruined crater) The faint outline that remains the minerals pyroxene and plagioclase (calcium of a lunar crater that has been largely erased by some feldspar). Mare basalts are rich in iron and titanium, later action, usually lava flooding. while highland basalts are high in aluminum. glacis A gently sloping bank; an old term for the outer breccia A rock composed of a matrix oflarger, angular slope of a crater's walls. stony fragments and a finer, binding component. graben A sunken area between faults. caldera A type of volcanic crater formed primarily by a highlands The Moon's lighter-colored regions, which sinking of its floor rather than by the ejection of lava. are higher than their surroundings and thus not central peak A mountainous landform at or near the covered by dark lavas. Most highland features are the center of certain lunar craters, possibly formed by an rims or central peaks of impact sites.
    [Show full text]
  • Progress on the J-2X Upper Stage Engine for the Ares Launch Vehicles
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20080036837mSFC-9;LO 2019-08-30T05:16:33+00:00Z From Concept to Design: Progress on the J-2X Upper Stage Engine for the Ares Launch Vehicles Thomas Byrd, Deputy Manager, J-2X Upper Stage Engine Element Ares Projects Office Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL 35812 Abstract In accordance with national policy and NASA's Global Exploration Strategy, the Ares Projects Office is embarking on development ofa new launch vehicle fleet to fulfill the national goals ofreplacing the space shuttle fleet, returning to the moon, and exploring farther destinations like Mars. These goals are shaped by the decision to retire the shuttle fleet by 2010, budgetary constraints, and the requirement to create a new fleet that is safer, more reliable, operationally more efficient than the shuttle fleet, and capable ofsupporting long-range exploration goals. The present architecture for the Constellation Program is the result ofextensive trades during the Exploration Systems Architecture Study and subsequent refinement by the Ares Projects Office at Marshall Space Flight Center. The vehicles selected to support those goals are the Ares I crew launch vehicle and the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, the first new human-rated launch vehicles developed by NASA in more than three decades (Figure 1). Ares I will begin its initial operating capability offlying up to six astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) no later than 2015. Ares V is scheduled to be operational in the 2020 timeframe to support lunar missions. Figure 1. The Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle (left) and Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (right) will form the backbone of America's new space fleet.
    [Show full text]
  • VV D C-A- R 78-03 National Space Science Data Center/ World Data Center a for Rockets and Satellites
    VV D C-A- R 78-03 National Space Science Data Center/ World Data Center A For Rockets and Satellites {NASA-TM-79399) LHNAS TRANSI]_INT PHENOMENA N78-301 _7 CATAI_CG (NASA) 109 p HC AO6/MF A01 CSCl 22_ Unc.las G3 5 29842 NSSDC/WDC-A-R&S 78-03 Lunar Transient Phenomena Catalog Winifred Sawtell Cameron July 1978 National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC)/ World Data Center A for Rockets and Satellites (WDC-A-R&S) National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt) Maryland 20771 CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................... 1 SOURCES AND REFERENCES ......................................... 7 APPENDIX REFERENCES ............................................ 9 LUNAR TRANSIENT PHENOMENA .. .................................... 21 iii INTRODUCTION This catalog, which has been in preparation for publishing for many years is being offered as a preliminary one. It was intended to be automated and printed out but this form was going to be delayed for a year or more so the catalog part has been typed instead. Lunar transient phenomena have been observed for almost 1 1/2 millenia, both by the naked eye and telescopic aid. The author has been collecting these reports from the literature and personal communications for the past 17 years. It has resulted in a listing of 1468 reports representing only slight searching of the literature and probably only a fraction of the number of anomalies actually seen. The phenomena are unusual instances of temporary changes seen by observers that they reported in journals, books, and other literature. Therefore, although it seems we may be able to suggest possible aberrations as the causes of some or many of the phenomena it is presumptuous of us to think that these observers, long time students of the moon, were not aware of most of them.
    [Show full text]