|
Project Constellation is NASA's current plan for space exploration. Image File history File links ProjectConstellationLogo. ...
NASA logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the Moon. ...
It consists of a family of new spacecraft, launchers and associated hardware that allow for a variety of missions, from Space Station resupply, to lunar landings. Most of the Constellation hardware is based on systems originally developed for the Space Shuttle, although the key hardware, the Orion Spacecraft (formerly known as the "Crew Exploration Vehicle" or CEV), is heavily influenced by the earlier Apollo Spacecraft, using a two-part crew and service module system. A spacecraft is a vehicle, vessel, craft or device designed to operate beyond the surface of the Earth in outer space. ...
An expendable launch system is a single-use launch vehicle usually used to launch a payload into space. ...
Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space objects and generally anything that involves the technologies, science, and politics regarding space endeavors. ...
International Space Station insignia ISS Statistics Crew: 3 As of July 21, 2006 Perigee: 352. ...
Supply has a number of meanings: In economics, supply is the aggregate amount of any material good that can be called into being at a certain price point; it one half of the equation of supply and demand. ...
Lunar may refer to: an adjective that means having to do with or pertaining to the Moon, or to moons in general. ...
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal or aircraft returns to the ground. ...
This article is about the NASA Space Shuttle vehicle. ...
Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit Orion spacecraft with docked LSAM lunar lander Orion spacecraft approaching the ISS Orion during a landing on Earth Orion is a manned spacecraft currently under development by the United States. ...
Apollo Spacecraft: Command Module, Service Module, Lunar Module. ...
The new transportations system, which uses both an Earth Orbit Rendezvous and a Lunar Orbit Rendezvous technique, can be broken down into three parts: The Orion Crew & Service Modules, the Lunar Surface Access Module, and the Earth Departure Stage. The rockets to be used for launching of the different components consists of the unmanned Ares V (for launch of the Earth Departure Stage and either the LSAM or cargo), and the manned Ares I for launch of the Orion Spacecraft. Earth Orbit Rendezvous was a proposed method for American space missions to the moon. ...
Lunar Orbit Rendezvous was the method of flying to the moon used in the Apollo Missions, where a Main ship would carry a ferry to the moon which would carry astronauts down to the surface. ...
Boeings early CEV concept CEV with lunar lander The Crew Exploration Vehicle is NASAs proposed series of human spaceflight spacecraft, intended to supersede the space shuttle system. ...
The Earth Departure Stage (EDS) is the name of the upper stage of the heavy-lift Ares V (CaLV) that will place the Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) into low Earth orbit for Project Constellation. ...
Comparison of the Saturn V, Space Shuttle, Ares I, and Ares V. This article is about the Ares V launch vehicle. ...
This article is about the Ares I launch vehicle. ...
Orion Crew & Service Modules
 Conceptual drawing of the Earth Departure Stage, docked to the Crew Exploration Vehicle, firing its engine to leave Earth's orbit. -
The Orion Crew & Service Modules (CSM) consists of two main parts--a conical crew module shaped similarly to the Apollo Command Module (a truncated 70° cone), and capable of holding four to six crew members, and a cylindrical service module which will hold the spacecraft's onboard supplies. The Orion CSM will be built on the designs of the Apollo CSM, but with the technologies introduced on both the Space Shuttle and in the private sector in the past 30 years since the last Apollo flight in 1975. Such technologies will include, but are not limited to, the "glass cockpit" technologies, improved waste management (the use of a miniaturized camping-style toilet and unisex "relief tube" instead of the much-hated plastic bags), and an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere at sea level or slightly reduced pressure instead of a pure oxygen atmosphere, the latter being extremely flammable as was the case in the tragic Apollo 1 fire in 1967. The main feature that will be introduced in the new crew module will be a new recovery system that will employ the use of a combination of parachutes and airbags for capsule recovery. This will allow NASA to retrieve the CEV crew module on land, much like the retrieval of either the Russian Soyuz or Chinese Shenzhou descent module, and eliminate the need for an expensive naval recovery fleet employed on previous pre-Shuttle manned missions. A docking hatch and transfer tunnel, based on the Russian docking assembly for the Shuttle/Mir, and later Shuttle/ISS missions, eliminates the Apollo-era "probe and drogue" (male/female) system, and can allow, in extreme emergencies, for an in-space rescue without the need for an EVA transfer (as the two spacecraft would have the same docking adapter that was first demonstrated on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x971, 423 KB) Summary Conceptual drawing of the Earth Departure Stage, docked to the Crew Exploration Vehicle, firing its engine to leave Earths orbit. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x971, 423 KB) Summary Conceptual drawing of the Earth Departure Stage, docked to the Crew Exploration Vehicle, firing its engine to leave Earths orbit. ...
Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...
Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...
Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit Orion spacecraft with docked LSAM lunar lander Orion spacecraft approaching the ISS Orion during a landing on Earth Orion is a manned spacecraft currently under development by the United States. ...
A Glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic instrument displays. ...
Apollo One is the official name given retroactively to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft, destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 (Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral) atop a Saturn IB rocket. ...
Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station Soyuz (Russian: Союз, pronounced sah-YOUS, meaning union) is a series of spacecraft designed by Sergey Korolyov for the Soviet Unions space program. ...
Shenzhou (Chinese: 神舟; pinyin: Shénzhōu) is the name of a spacecraft from the Peoples Republic of China which first carried a Chinese astronaut into orbit in 2003. ...
Mir (Мир, which can mean both world and peace in Russian) was a highly successful Soviet (and later Russian) orbital station. ...
Astronaut Bruce McCandless on an untethered EVA Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of his or her spacecraft. ...
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the first joint flight of the US and Soviet space programs. ...
Another feature will be the partial reusability of the Orion crew module. Each crew module will be able to be reused for up to 10 flights, thus allowing NASA to construct a fleet of Orion CMs like that of the current Shuttle fleet. Part of this reusability will come from the landings made on solid ground, as the heat shield is discarded to expose the landing airbags, and that seawater, as evident on the pre-Shuttle splashdowns and current recovery operations of the Solid Rocket Boosters, is corrosive and difficult to remove (despite that the Mercury-Redstone 4 Liberty Bell 7 capsule, which sunk into the Atlantic Ocean near The Bahamas in 1961, remained mostly undamaged due to the capsule being made primarily of titanium). Most of the non-critical areas of the Orion CM will be covered with nomex felt-like blankets and the Orion CM will be constructed of an aluminum/lithium (Al-Li) alloy to make the spacecraft lightweight and to keep production costs down. The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) is the rocket that provides 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. ...
Mercury 4 was a Mercury program manned space mission launched on July 21, 1961 using a Redstone rocket. ...
1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...
General Name, Symbol, Number titanium, Ti, 22 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 4, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic mass 47. ...
NOMEX® is the brand name of a flame retardant meta-aramid material marketed and first discovered by DuPont in the 1970s. ...
Aluminum is a soft and lightweight metal with a dull silvery appearance, due to a thin layer of oxidation that forms quickly when it is exposed to air. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number lithium, Li, 3 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 2, s Appearance silvery white/grey Atomic mass 6. ...
Like its Apollo predecessor, the Orion service module (SM) will have a cylindrical shape, but the new Orion SM will be larger, shorter, and lighter (it too will be constructed of the same Al-Li alloy). It will feature a pair of deployable solar panels, eliminating the need to carry malfunction-prone fuel cells and its associated hardware (liquid hydrogen tanks). For propulsion, the Orion spacecraft will be fueled by the same hypergolic fuels used on every manned spacecraft since Apollo. This was not NASA's first choice, due to the corrosive nature of hypergolic chemicals (as evident on debris recovered from the Columbia accident). NASA originally wanted to use liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane (LCH4) as the primary propellants, but due to the infancy of LOX/LCH4 rocket technology, and the need to launch the first manned CEV by 2012, the agency decided to use hypergolic technologies on the CEV and LOX and liquid hydrogen (LH2) for the Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM). Photovoltaic array A laundromat in California with solar hot water panels on the roof. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ...
Hypergolic rocket fuels spontaneously ignite when their two components come into contact with each other. ...
The Space Shuttle Columbia breaks up over Texas. ...
The simplest hydrocarbon, methane, is a gas (at standard temperature and pressure, STP) with a chemical formula of CH4. ...
Boeings early CEV concept CEV with lunar lander The Crew Exploration Vehicle is NASAs proposed series of human spaceflight spacecraft, intended to supersede the space shuttle system. ...
The use of LOX/LCH4 would allow NASA to develop the technologies that would be needed to convert, "in situ" any methane found on Mars, the lunar polar regions, and on any methane-rich body in the Solar System, especially Titan, Pluto, similar dwarf planets, and most smaller trans-Neptunian objects and even comets in the outer solar system (Kuiper Belt, Scattered Disc, and Oort Cloud). The Reentry Control System (RCS) on both the Orion CM and SM, identical in arrangement to the Apollo RCS, will use the same hypergolic fuels as that of the main propulsion system, but will be powerful enough to propel the Orion spacecraft back to Earth in the event of a main engine failure. The main engine on the CEV SM is the same engine used on the second stage of the Delta II rocket and will be built by Aerojet. In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ...
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ...
Major features of the Solar System (not to scale): The Sun, the eight planets, the asteroid belt containing the dwarf planet Ceres, outermost there is the dwarf planet Pluto (the dwarf planet Eris not shown), and a comet. ...
Atmospheric characteristics Pressure 146. ...
Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ...
Artists impression of Pluto (background) and Charon (foreground). ...
A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system with all or most of its orbit beyond that of Neptune. ...
The outer solar system (as opposed to the outer planets) is that part of the Solar System which begins at roughly the orbit of Neptune and terminates at maximum orbit distance, approximately one Light Year from the sun in terms of orbital measurements. ...
A Delta II rocket launches from Cape Canaveral carrying a GPS satellite The Boeing IDS Delta II family of launch vehicles has been in service since 1989. ...
Aerojet is a major rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Sacramento, California with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange, VA, Gainesville, VA, and Camden, AK. Their products include a wide range of propulsion, from main engines used on a number of NASA vehicles and ballistic missiles, down to stationkeeping...
 Conceptual drawing of the Ares I rocket leaving Earth's atmosphere. The Orion spacecraft will be launched into a low earth orbit using the new Ares I rocket (formerly referred to as the Crew Launch Vehicle or CLV). Based on the Shuttle's SRBs and Space Shuttle External Tank (ET), the Ares I will consist of a solid-fueled first stage, built using a modified SRB with five segments instead of four and with a new interstage assembly, and a liquid-fueled second stage fueled with LOX and LH2 and powered by an uprated Apollo-era J-2X rocket engine. Originally, the Ares I would have used a slightly modified 4-segment SRB and a second stage using a single throw-away version of the Space Shuttle Main Engine, but the expense of designing and constructing an air-startable, throwaway version of this engine (the current SSME is a ground-started engine) forced NASA to redesign the booster to incorporate the newer J-2X engine. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x844, 232 KB) Summary Concept of the Crew Exploration Vehicle http://www. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x844, 232 KB) Summary Concept of the Crew Exploration Vehicle http://www. ...
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit in which objects such as satellites are below intermediate circular orbit (ICO) and far below geostationary orbit, but typically around 350 - 1400 km above the Earths surface. ...
The Space Shuttle External Tank (ET) on its way to the Vehicle Assembly Building. ...
J-2 Rocket Engine Specifications. ...
Space Shuttle Main Engine cluster The Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) are the three main engines on the Space Shuttle orbiter. ...
During the first two minutes of launch, abort capability is provided by a launch-escape system (LES), a standard for manned space capsules. The LES, based on the Russian Soyuz and Chinese Shenzhou LES systems, is bolted directly atop of a fiberglass "boost protective cover" (BPC), which is then in turn bolted to the Orion CM. The BPC, identical to that used on the Apollo spacecraft, is designed to protect the Orion CM and its nomex thermal protection system during the first 2½ minutes of powered flight (first stage or SRB operations) and is discarded along with the LES after second-stage ignition. It has been suggested that History of fiberglass be merged into this article or section. ...
NASA also has plans to build two unmanned variants of the CEV. One version will be identical in design and construction to the manned CEV, but with the pressurized crew module stripped of all crew-required equipment, and replaced with storage lockers that would bring up fresh supplies from Earth. This version, which can be recovered, will allow astronauts to return old experiments, or results from on-going experiments on a regular basis; a feature not possible on the current unmanned Progress spacecraft used by Russia. Another variant, which has the crew module completely replaced with an enlarged CEV SM and docking system, will allow NASA to boost the ISS into a higher orbit than that currently possible with the Progress vehicle or the unmanned Orion Cargo CSM, which has limited fuel supplies for reboosts. This will allow NASA to reduce the need for reboost flights from three times per year to only once or twice per year, depending upon the 11-year solar activity period. ISS Progress cargo spacecraft (NASA) The Progress is an expendable unmanned freighter spacecraft; it was derived from the Soyuz spacecraft, and is launched with the Soyuz launch vehicle. ...
Lunar Surface Access Module -
The Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) is the main transport vehicle for lunar-bound astronauts and has its heritage from the Apollo Lunar Module (LM). Like its Apollo predecessor, the LSAM consists of two parts, a sideways cylindrical ascent stage which houses the four-person crew, and an octagonal descent stage which has the landing legs, the majority of the crew's consumables (oxygen and water), and scientific equipment. The LSAM, like the LM, descends from lunar orbit on the descent stage, and uses the same stage as a launchpad when the ascent stage departs from the Moon. Unlike the Apollo LM, the LSAM will play a major role in braking the Orion/LSAM stack into lunar orbit, which can be an Apollo-like (0 to 30-degree) equatorial, or an ISS-style (55 to 60-degree) inclinational orbit, allowing the LSAM to touch down in the lunar polar regions favored by NASA for future lunar base construction. [1]. This "lunar orbit insertion" (LOI) technique is similar to the former Soviet Union's lunar mission profile in which the Zond orbiter (a modified two-man Soyuz) and lunar lander, attached to the "Block E" stage of the N-1 rocket, would enter lunar orbit, allowing a spacesuited cosmonaut to make a transfer spacewalk to the lander, which only then the Soyuz and lunar lander would separate and then proceed with the lunar landing. The Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) is the planned landing vehicle of Project Constellation that will allow astronauts to land on the lunar surface when flights to the Moon will resume after 2015. ...
¹ ² ³ ™ bob loves cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee: The LEM flight instrumentation panel and front windows. ...
This article deals only with preparations for manned flight to the Moon by the USSR. For the Moon research by Soviet automatic interplanetary stations see Luna program. ...
Two N1 Moon rockets appear on the pads at Baikonur Cosmodrome in early July 1969. ...
Soyuz 4 launched January 14, 1969. ...
This use of the LSAM for braking the stack into lunar orbit will be accomplished by the use of four RL-10 rocket engines that are currently used for the Centaur upper stage used on the Atlas V rocket . Unlike the current RL-10 engines in use, the newer RL-10s would be able to throttle down to as low as 10% rated thrust (the current specifications allow for 20%), thus allowing the use of the LSAM for both the LOI and landing stages of the lunar mission. RL-10 Rocket Engine Specifications. ...
The Centaur is an upper stage rocket designed for use on satellite launch vehicles, boosting the satellite into its final orbit or, in the case of interplanetary probes, to escape velocity. ...
Mercury Atlas 9 rocket and capsule on pad The Atlas is a venerable line of space launch vehicles built by Lockheed Martin. ...
Like the Orion Spacecraft, the ascent stage was originally planned to use an RL-10 type engine fueled by the same LOX/LCH4 mixture originally planned for the CEV, but this has since been replaced with a single RL-10 fueled by the same LOX and LH2 mixture. Despite the change in the type of fuel to be used for the LSAM, the vehicle will feature the same equipment as planned for the Orion Spacecraft itself, but will have provisions for the LSAM to be powered by either solar batteries or with fuel cells (using leftover hydrogen in the descent stage's tanks), eliminating the extra weight and space created by batteries needed for a seven-day lunar stay. It would also have an airlock, a feature not found on the Apollo LM, that would allow the LSAM to remain pressurized during a lunar EVA, and minimize the dust transfer from the lunar surface to the cabin. The LSAM, like its Apollo predecessor, is not reusable and is discarded after use. An airlock is a device which permits the passage of objects, people, and the like, between a pressure vessel and its surrounding space while minimizing the change of pressure—and loss of air—in the vessel. ...
Earth Departure Stage
 Conceptual drawing of the Ares V rocket shortly after liftoff. -
The Earth Departure Stage (EDS) is the main propulsion system that will send the entire Orion/LSAM stack from low Earth orbit to the Moon. It will be launched on the Ares V rocket (formerly referred to as the Cargo Launch Vehicle or CaLV), an in-line Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicle roughly based on both the in-line Magnum (U.S.) and piggy-back Energia (U.S.S.R./Russia) boosters. The Ares V will incorporate five RS-68 engines (five Space Shuttle Main Engines were originally planned for the Ares V, but the RS-68 engines are more powerful and less expensive than the SSMEs) with assistance from a pair of five-segment SRBs. The Ares V will fly for the first eight minutes of powered flight, while the EDS will place itself and the LSAM into low Earth orbit while awaiting the arrival of the Orion. Like that of Skylab, the manned Orion Spacecraft will be launched separately (at least 2 to 4 weeks after the Ares V launch, depending upon the lunar phase) and then rendezvous and dock with the EDS/LSAM combination. After configuring the system for the journey to the Moon, the EDS will then fire its engines to propel the Orion/LSAM stack to the Moon. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x844, 178 KB) Summary Concept of the Cargo Launch Vehicle http://www. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x844, 178 KB) Summary Concept of the Cargo Launch Vehicle http://www. ...
The Earth Departure Stage (EDS) is the name of the upper stage of the heavy-lift Ares V (CaLV) that will place the Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) into low Earth orbit for Project Constellation. ...
Comparison of the Saturn V, Space Shuttle and the two Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicles proposed to replace the Shuttle. ...
The Magnum Booster is a large, heavy-lift rocket designed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center during the mid-1990s. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit in which objects such as satellites are below intermediate circular orbit (ICO) and far below geostationary orbit, but typically around 350 - 1400 km above the Earths surface. ...
Drawing of Skylab with components labelled Skylab was the first space station the United States launched into orbit. ...
Based on the S-IVB upper stage of the Saturn V rocket, the EDS is in essence an enlarged S-IVB with larger LOX/LH2 tanks and is powered by the same J-2X engine already being planned for the Ares I. The EDS, while primarily being designed for its lunar role (and eventual Mars role), can also launch large modules that cannot be launched with the Russian Proton booster in support of the International Space Station, or even a Skylab-class or Mir-class space station in an ISS-like orbit. It can also, with the LSAM removed and a docking collar added, allow a CEV to change its orbital inclination (either the standard 29-degree orbit or the 51.5-degree ISS orbit) to that of a Sun-synchronous, Clarke, or near polar orbit in a manner originally planned for the Apollo Applications Program. The EDS, teamed with an LSAM-derived or even a Centaur upper stage, could also be used to launch large space probes in the same weight class as Galileo and Cassini-Huygens to Uranus, Neptune, and any trans-Neptunian object (TNO) using direct-trajectory profiles similar to that used on the Voyager spacecraft. For instance, it could have easily launched the now canceled JIMO mission directly to the moons of Jupiter. The S-IVB (sometimes S4b) was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine. ...
This article is about the rocket. ...
The Proton rocket (formal designation: UR-500) is a Russian unmanned space vehicle design first launched in 1965 and still in use as of 2003. ...
By analogy with the geosynchronous orbit, a heliosynchronous orbit is a heliocentric orbit of radius 24. ...
A geostationary orbit (abbreviated GEO) is a circular orbit in the Earths equatorial plane, any point on which revolves about the Earth in the same direction and with the same period as the Earths rotation. ...
A satellite in a polar orbit passes above or nearly above both poles of the planet (or other celestial body) on each revolution. ...
The Apollo Applications Program (AAP) was established by NASA headquarters in 1968 to develop science based manned space missions using surplus material from the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. ...
Galileo is prepared for mating with the IUS booster Galileo being deployed after being launched by the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-34 mission Galileo was an unmanned spacecraft sent by NASA to study the planet Jupiter and its moons. ...
Cassini-Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI unmanned space mission intended to study Saturn and its moons. ...
Adjective Uranian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 120 kPa (at the cloud level) Hydrogen 83% Helium 15% Methane 1. ...
For other uses, see Neptune (disambiguation). ...
A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ...
The Voyager spacecraft Launch of Voyager 2 Voyager is also the name of a planned series of unmanned probes to Mars, cancelled in 1968. ...
Artistss Conception of Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) was a proposed spacecraft designed to explore the icy moons of Jupiter. ...
It could also support a Mars Sample Return mission with direct descent and ascent from Mars surface, without the complication and technical challenge of a rendezvous in Mars orbit.
Mission Profiles - See also: List of Constellation missions
Like that of the Apollo Program, Project Constellation will involve the Orion CSM flying near-Earth orbit missions, with the emphasis on servicing the ISS, and lunar orbit and landing flights. Currently (as of 2006), there are no immediate plans on the type of mission profile that would be flown to Mars, a mission which will not take place until after 2030. In October 2006 NASA released a draft schedule of all planned NASA Project Constellation missions through 2019 [1]. This document included descriptions of a series of proposed vehicle test missions. ...
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth between the atmosphere and the Van Allen radiation belt, with a low angle of inclination. ...
Low-Earth Orbit & ISS Service Flights The Orion CSM and Ares I will be assembled on a modified Apollo/Shuttle-era Mobile Launcher Platform in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After the Orion/Ares I launch stack is assembled, it is then transported to either Launch Pad 39A or 39B (currently envisioned to be LC-39B as it will be taken off-line in 2007, but both pads will be made identical to each other by placing the service tower on each Mobile Launcher Platform) where the second stage is fueled with LOX and LH2 and the Orion CSM is filled with hypergolic propellents. A Crawler-Transporter carries a MLP atop. ...
The vast Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center (2005). ...
Merritt Island and Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA space vehicle launch facility (spaceport) at Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. ...
Launch Complex Plan - 1963 Launch Complex 39A Launch Complex 39B with Discovery shuttle Launch Complex 39 actually refers to LC39A and LC39B at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA, which are currently launch pads for the space shuttle. ...
A Crawler-Transporter carries a MLP atop. ...
Once the crew is secured inside of the spacecraft and all systems are cleared for launch, the solid-fueled first stage of the Ares I is ignited, at the same time the access arms are retracted. This is followed by the detonation of the hold-down posts, allowing the Ares I to "spring" off of the pad (much like that of the Shuttle, and to a lesser extent, the Saturn IB, as the Saturn V had to "lumber off" the pad and take 8 seconds to "clear the tower"), followed by a roll maneuver to place the Ares I onto the proper trajectory, either a due-east trajectory for solo LEO flights or a trajectory with inclination of 51.5 degrees for flights to the ISS. The Saturn IB was an uprated version of the Saturn I, which was the first manned launch vehicle that was not directly derived from an ICBM (though its tanks were derived from the Jupiter and Redstone tanks, and its first stage engines were Navaho derived). ...
This article is about the rocket. ...
Two minutes into the flight, the depleted solid first stage is jettisoned to fall into the Atlantic Ocean for recovery and reuse in the same manner as the Shuttle's SRBs. The single J-2X engine on the liquid-fueled second stage is then fired. Also at this time, the launch escape system and protective cover atop the spacecraft are jettisoned to expose the docking ring and crew windows (as the spacecraft is above most of the atmosphere, and thus chances of damage to the thermal protection system is minimized). The second stage burns for four minutes, shutting down at 6½ minutes mission-elapsed time and placing the Orion spacecraft, at that point, into a roughly 80 km × 560 km (50 mi. × 350 mi.) elliptical orbit. This orbit is then circularized with the second firing of the second stage engine 45 minutes later, following with the Orion spacecraft separating from the second stage to allow for it to fall back into Earth's atmosphere to burn up. After seperation, the twin solar panels on the Orion SM unfurl, providing the spacecraft with the electricity needed to support spacecraft systems.
On solo flights, the four-man crew will carry out Earth observation and other experiments. The Orion CSM is designed to support a four-man crew for 14 days, but the usual flights will last approximately 8 to 10 days, much like that of the early Apollo flights.
For flights to the ISS, after orbital circularization and seperation from the Ares I, the Orion CSM will fly for at least 2 days to catch up with the ISS, during which it will trim its trajectory to match that of the ISS. Upon reaching the space station, Orion will dock at either the main node docking port (currently used by the Space Shuttle) or the auxiliary docking port originally planned for use by the cancelled X-33 rescue ship, and is currently planned to be the primary port for unmanned Orion-derived supply spacecraft. The X-33 was a technology demonstrator for NASAs next-generation of space launch vehicle. ...
During the 7 to 14-day stay at the ISS the crews may be exchanged. Typically three to four of the crew will be American astronauts while the remaining two or three will be international, NASA-trained astronauts, with one flying as a "guest" astronaut, borrowing an element from the Russian Soyuz Program. Completed experiments will loaded onto the Orion CSM from the ISS. Following the same precedence as the Russian Soyuz going back to the Salyut 6 space station (the first multi-port station), the most recently-launched Orion will remain at the ISS with the ISS expedition crew, whilst the old Orion will return to Earth with any crew who may be returning. If the Orion CSM is required to be moved to allow docking of an unmanned spacecraft to reboost the station, which consists of an Orion Spacecraft with the pressurized crew capsule replaced by a docking port attached to an enlarged service module, the spacecraft will be "rotated" or moved to the auxiliary port once the old CEV had departed from the station. A six-man Orion spacecraft will always remained attached to the ISS, along with a three-man Soyuz TMA to provide a necessary escape route in the case of an emergency. The Soyuz human spaceflight programme was initiated in the early 1960s as part of the Luna programme that was intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. ...
Salyut 6 was a Soviet space station launched on September 29, 1977. ...
At the end of a flight, the spacecraft will turn around so the main engine faces forward. After the deorbit burn has been completed, the service module will be jettisoned, which will burn up in the atmosphere while the crew module re-enters in the same manner as all NASA spacecraft prior to the Shuttle, using the heat shield to both shield and to slow down the spacecraft from 28,000 km/h (17,500 mph) to 480 km/h (300 mph). After reentry is completed, the forward assembly is jettisoned, and two drogue parachutes will be released, followed at 20,000 feet by three main parachutes and airbags filled with nitrogen (N2), which does not combust when exposed to heat, allowing the spacecraft to touchdown at a landing site in the western United States, such as Edwards Air Force Base in California or White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The Orion CM is then returned to Kennedy Space Center for refurbishment for a later flight. An Orion CM can be used up to 10 times under normal operating conditions. Edwards Air Force Base is a USAF airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, USA at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home...
This article is becoming very long. ...
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the White Sands Proving Grounds, is located in a valley between the Organ Mountains and the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico. ...
Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area Ranked 5th - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²) - Width 342 miles (550 km) - Length 370 miles (595 km) - % water 0. ...
Lunar Flights Unlike the Apollo flights, when both the Apollo Command/Service Module and the Apollo Lunar Module were launched together on the Saturn V rocket, the first phase of a lunar mission will occur with the launch of the Shuttle-derived Ares V. Like the Ares I, the Ares V will be assembled at the VAB and then transported to the launch pad, which will likely be LC-39A, although NASA may use LC-39B as a backup. Upon giving the clearance to launch, the five RS-68 engines will ignite and upon verification by the on-board computer, the twin five-segment SRBs will ignite. At the same time, the EDS swing arms and Ares V core stage collect "chocks" will retract, and the booster will then lift off from the pad. The Command/Service Module (CSM) was a spacecraft built for NASA by North American Aviation. ...
After clearing the tower, the Ares V will perform a roll maneuver and travel due east from the launch pad so that the orbital inclination is the same as the latitude of Cape Canaveral, 28.5 degrees. This launch profile has the twin SRBs jettison at 2 minutes into the flight and the main engines shutting down approximately 8½ minutes later, followed by the jettisoning of the core stage and launch shroud. The spent core stage and its RS-68 engine cluster will then burn up in the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean west of Australia. The EDS, powered by its single J-2X motor, will steer the LSAM/EDS combination into a stable 360 km. (approx. 225 mi.) high circular orbit.
Approximately 2 to 4 weeks after the Ares V launch, the Orion/Ares I stack will lift off from the adjacent launch pad at the same orbital inclination, allowing the mannned Orion CSM to dock with the LSAM/EDS combination already in low-Earth orbit. After the systems are configured for lunar flight, the EDS will fire for the five-minute translunar injection (TLI) burn, which will accelerate the spacecraft stack from 28,000 km/h (17,500 mph) to 40,200 km/h (25,000 mph). Unlike the Apollo/Saturn TLI burn, the Orion/LSAM/EDS TLI burn will be done in the same "eyeballs out" fashion (with the astronauts being "pulled" from their seats) similar to that envisioned with the Manned Venus Flyby missions planned during the Apollo Applications Program in the late 1960's. After the TLI burn, the EDS is jettisoned, and either enters into an orbit around the Sun or steers into a slightly different trajectory to crash into the lunar surface (similar to that employed by the S-IVB stages from Apollos 13 to 17). During the remaining Orion/LSAM combination's trans-lunar coast, which will last 3 days, the four-man crew will monitor the Orion's systems, inspect their LSAM and support equipment, and, if necessary, change their trajectory to allow the LSAM to land in a near-polar landing site suitable for a future lunar base. As part of the Apollo Applications Program, in 1967 NASA studied the possibility of carrying out a manned flyby of Venus using hardware derived from the Apollo program. ...
The Apollo Applications Program (AAP) was established by NASA headquarters in 1968 to develop science based manned space missions using surplus material from the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. ...
A heliocentric orbit is an orbit around the sun. ...
Apollo 13 was the third American-manned lunar-landing mission, part of the Apollo program. ...
Apollo 17 was the eleventh manned space mission in the NASA Apollo program and was the sixth and last manned mission to date to land on the Moon. ...
Three days after TLI, the Orion/LSAM combination, approaching the lunar far side, will orient the LSAM's engines in the proper direction for the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) burn to begin. Once in orbit, the crew will refine the trajectory and configure the Orion CSM for unmanned flight, then all crew members will transfer to the LSAM, undocking from the Orion CSM after receiving clearance from Houston. Ground controllers will next peform an inspection of the LSAM using a remote, near-time (a signal takes approximately 3 seconds total to go to and from the Earth and Moon due to the distance) TV camera; formerly this was performed by the Apollo Command Module Pilot (CMP). Once the subsequent separation maneuver is completed, the unmanned Orion CSM is placed in a 95 to 110 km. (approx. 60 to 70 mi.) high circular orbit to wait for the LSAM's return. Mission Control Center (MCC) is a unit that manages aerospace flights. ...
After the crew receives approval from Houston, the four RL-10 engines on the LSAM's descent stage will fire again, and like that of Apollo LM, the crew will land their LSAM in a pre-determined landing spot that was scouted out before by unmanned spacecraft. Upon landing, the crew will don their moonwalking spacesuits and commence the first of five to seven lunar EVAs collecting samples and deploying experiments.
After completing their lunar deployment operations, the crew will enter the LSAM's ascent stage and lift off from the Moon's surface, powered by a single RL-10 engine and using the descent stage as a launchpad (and as a platform for future base construction), then dock with the Orion CSM in lunar orbit. Once the crew transfers the samples and photographs over to the Orion CSM, the LSAM will be jettisoned to crash into the lunar far side, and the Orion CSM will then ignite its single engine (transearth injection – TEI) for the return trip to Earth. Upon reaching Earth, the service module is jettisoned and a special reentry trajectory is established; the reentry trajectory is designed to both slow the vehicle from its speed of 40,200 km/h (25,000 mph) to 480 km/h (300 mph) and allow for a West Coast landing. The Orion CM will then land on Earth in the same manner as that of an ISS/solo Orion flight. Like that of the ISS/solo missions, the Orion CM will be flown back to KSC for refurbishment and reuse on another flight, while the lunar samples are flown to JSC for analysis at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory. An aerial view of the complete Johnson Space Center facility in Houston, Texas in 1989. ...
First samples from the Moon being delivered to LRL in 1969 The Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) is a facility at NASAs Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (Building 37) that was constructed to quarantine astronauts and material brought back from the Moon during the Apollo program. ...
See also
The Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) is the official title of a large-scale, system level study conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Summer of 2005 in response to President George W. Bushs announcement on January 14, 2004 to return astronauts to the Moon...
Image from NASA site Two planned configurations for a return to the moon, heavy lift (left) and crew (right) The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy announced on January 14, 2004 by President George W. Bush. ...
ACTS (Advanced Crew Transportation System) is a crew transportation system which is jointly studied by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) with the objective to design a spacecraft for LEO operations such as servicing the International Space Station but also capable of exploration of the...
Human spaceflight Mercury program Gemini program Apollo program Apollo-Soyuz (Soviet Union partnership) Skylab Space Shuttle Shuttle-Mir Program (Russian partnership) International Space Station (working together with Russia, Canada, ESA, and JAXA along with co-operators, ASI and Brazil) Orion Program Satellite and Robotic space missions Earth Observing Explorer I...
This article is about the NASA Space Shuttle program. ...
International Space Station insignia ISS Statistics Crew: 3 As of July 21, 2006 Perigee: 352. ...
Project Mercury was the United States first successful manned spaceflight program. ...
The X-15 in flight, early 1960s The North American X-15 rocket plane was perhaps the most important of the USAF/USN X-series of experimental aircraft, after only possibly the Bell X-1. ...
Project Gemini insignia Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program in which the United States of America sent humans into space, between Projects Mercury and Apollo, during the years 1963-1966. ...
Apollo CSM in lunar orbit. ...
Drawing of Skylab with components labelled Skylab was the first space station the United States launched into orbit. ...
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the first joint flight of the US and Soviet space programs. ...
The Shuttle-Mir program was a collaborative space program involving Russia and the United States. ...
Man In Space Soonest was a American program to put an astronaut into outer space before the Soviet Union would be able to. ...
An artists conception of the NASA reference design for the Project Orion spacecraft powered by nuclear propulsion. ...
Artists conception of the X-20 during re-entry The X-20 Dyna-Soar (Dynamic Soarer) was a USAF program to develop a spaceplane that could be used for a variety of military missions, including reconnaissance, bombing, space rescue, satellite maintenance, and sabotage of enemy satellites. ...
Manned Orbiting Laboratory early 1960 conceptual drawing that did not use the Gemini spacecraft. ...
Space Station Freedom was the name given to NASAs project to construct a permanently-manned earth-orbiting space station. ...
// Background The Orbital Space Plane program (now defunct and replaced by the Spiral series of CEV — Crew Exploration Vehicles) was designed to support the International Space Station requirements for crew rescue, crew transport and contingency cargo such as supplies, food and other needed equipment. ...
Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit Orion spacecraft with docked LSAM lunar lander Orion spacecraft approaching the ISS Orion during a landing on Earth Orion is a manned spacecraft currently under development by the United States. ...
Boeings early CEV concept CEV with lunar lander The Crew Exploration Vehicle is NASAs proposed series of human spaceflight spacecraft, intended to supersede the space shuttle system. ...
This article is about the Ares I launch vehicle. ...
Comparison of the Saturn V, Space Shuttle, Ares I, and Ares V. This article is about the Ares V launch vehicle. ...
This article is about the NASA Space Shuttle program. ...
External links |
Feeds |
Contact