- For the nuclear powered spacecraft designed in the 1950s, see Project Orion (nuclear propulsion)
Project Orion was the first engineering design study of a spacecraft powered by nuclear pulse propulsion, an idea proposed first by Stanisław Ulam during 1947...
.
Orion is a
spacecraftA spacecraft is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters space then returns to the Earth. For an orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters a closed orbit around the planetary body. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as...
design currently under development by the United States space agency
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
. Each Orion spacecraft will carry a crew of four to six
astronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s. The spacecraft is designed to be launched by the
Ares IAres I is the crew launch vehicle being developed by NASA as a component of the Constellation Program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars...
, a
launch vehicleIn spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....
, also currently under development. Both Orion and Ares I are elements of NASA's
Project ConstellationConstellation is a human spaceflight program within NASA, the space agency of the United States. The stated goals of the program are gaining significant experience in operating away from Earth's environment, developing technologies needed for opening the space frontier and conducting fundamental...
, which plans to send
human explorersHuman spaceflight is spaceflight with a human crew and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike robotic space probes or remotely-controlled satellites...
back to the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is , about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system is located at about —a quarter the Earth's...
by 2020, and then onward to
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface....
and other destinations in the
Solar SystemThe Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial objects bound to it by gravity, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago...
. On August 31, 2006, NASA awarded
Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin is a multinational aerospace manufacturer, global security and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed with Martin Marietta. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Lockheed Martin employs 146,000 people...
(LM) the contract to design, develop, and build Orion.
Orion will launch from
Launch Complex 39Launch Complex 39 is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built for the Apollo program, and later modified to support Space Shuttle operations...
at
Kennedy Space CenterThe John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States. The site is near Cape Canaveral, midway between Miami and Jacksonville, Florida. It is long and around wide, covering . A total of...
, the same launch complex that currently launches the
space shuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
. While shuttle operations continue from launch pad 39A, 39B is being readied for Ares launches. NASA will use Orion spacecraft for its
human spaceflightHuman spaceflight is spaceflight with a human crew and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike robotic space probes or remotely-controlled satellites...
missions after the last shuttle orbiter is retired in 2010. The first crewed Orion flight is anticipated in 2015. Subsequent flights will visit the
International Space StationThe International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015...
. If
commercial orbital transportation servicesCommercial Orbital Transportation Services is a NASA program to coordinate the commercial delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station. The program was announced on January 18, 2006...
are unavailable, Orion will handle logistic flights to the Station. After that, Orion is to become a key component of human missions to the Moon and Mars.
History
On January 14, 2004,
PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
announced the Orion spacecraft, known then as the
Crew Exploration VehicleThe Crew Exploration Vehicle was the conceptual component of the Vision for Space Exploration that later became known as the Orion spacecraft. The concept for the vehicle was officially announced in a speech given by George W...
(CEV), as part of the
Vision for Space ExplorationThe Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy announced on January 14, 2004 by then-U.S. President George W. Bush. It is seen as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the state of human spaceflight at NASA, and a way to regain public enthusiasm for space...
:
Our second goal is to develop and test a new spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Vehicle, by 2008, and to conduct the first manned mission no later than 2014. The Crew Exploration Vehicle will be capable of ferrying astronauts and scientists to the Space Station after the shuttle is retired. But the main purpose of this spacecraft will be to carry astronauts beyond our orbit to other worlds. This will be the first spacecraft of its kind since the Apollo Command Module.
The proposal to create the Orion spacecraft was partly a reaction to the
Space Shuttle Columbia accidentThe Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107.The loss of Columbia...
, the subsequent findings and report by the
Columbia Accident Investigation BoardThe Columbia Accident Investigation Board was convened by NASA to investigate the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-107 upon atmospheric re-entry on February 1, 2003. In addition to determining the cause of the accident, the panel also recommended changes that should be made...
(CAIB), and the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
's review of the American space program. The Orion spacecraft effectively replaced the conceptual
Orbital Space PlaneThe Orbital Space Plane program 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...
(OSP), which itself was proposed after the failure of the
Lockheed Martin X-33The Lockheed Martin X-33 was an unmanned, sub-scale technology demonstrator for the VentureStar under the Space Launch Initiative. The VentureStar was planned to be a next-generation, commercially operated reusable launch vehicle...
program to produce a replacement for the space shuttle.
The name is derived from the
constellation of OrionOrion, often referred to as "The Hunter," is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the largest, most conspicuous, and most recognizable in the night sky...
, and was also used on the
Apollo 16Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program, the fifth mission to land on the Moon and the first to land in a highlands area. The mission was launched on April 16, 1972, and concluded on April 27. It was a J-class mission, featuring a Lunar Rover and it brought back 94.7 kg of...
Lunar ModuleThe Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman to achieve the transit from lunar orbit to the surface and back...
that carried astronauts John W. Young and Charlie Duke to the lunar surface in April 1972.
After the replacement of Sean O'Keefe, NASA's procurement schedule and strategy completely changed, as described above. In July 2004, before he was named NASA administrator, Michael Griffin participated in a study called "Extending Human Presence Into the Solar System" for The
Planetary SocietyThe Planetary Society is a large, publicly supported, non-government and non-profit organization that has many research projects related to astronomy. It was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman, and has members from 125 countries around the world...
, as a co-team leader. The study offers a strategy for carrying out Project Constellation in an affordable and achievable manner. Since Griffin was one of the leaders of the study, it can be assumed that he agrees with its conclusions, and the study may show insight into possible future developments of the CEV. Griffin's actions as administrator supported the goals of the plan.
According to the executive summary, the study was built around "a staged approach to human exploration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO)." It recommends that Project Constellation be carried out in three distinct stages. These are:
- Stage 1 – "Features the development of a new crew exploration vehicle (CEV), the completion of the International Space Station (ISS), and an early retirement of the shuttle orbiter. Orbiter retirement would be made as soon as the ISS U.S. Core is completed (perhaps only 6 or 7 flights) and the smallest number of additional flights necessary to satisfy our international partners’ ISS requirements. Money saved by early orbiter retirement would be used to accelerate the CEV development schedule to minimize or eliminate any hiatus in U.S. capability to reach and return from LEO."
- Stage 2 – "Requires the development of additional assets, including an uprated CEV capable of extended missions of many months in interplanetary space. Habitation, laboratory, consumables, and propulsion modules, to enable human flight to the vicinities of the Moon and Mars, the Lagrange points, and certain near-Earth asteroids."
- Stage 3 – "Development of human-rated planetary landers is completed in Stage 3, allowing human missions to the surface of the Moon and Mars beginning around 2020."
A number of changes to the original CEV acquisition strategy were explained in a NASA study called the
Exploration Systems Architecture StudyThe Exploration Systems Architecture Study is the official title of a large-scale, system level study conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the Summer of 2005 in response to American president George W...
. The results were presented at a news conference held on September 19, 2005. The ESAS recommends strategies for flying the manned Orion by 2014, and endorses a
Lunar Orbit RendezvousLunar orbit rendezvous is a key concept for human landing on the Moon and returning back to Earth.In an LOR mission a main spacecraft and a smaller lunar module travel together into lunar orbit. The lunar module then independently descends to the lunar surface. After completion of the mission...
approach to the Moon. The LEO versions of Orion would carry crews of four to six to the ISS. The lunar version of the Orion would carry a crew of four and the Mars Orion would carry six. Cargo could also be carried aboard an unmanned version of Orion, similar to the Russian
ProgressThe Progress is a Russian expendable freighter spacecraft. The spacecraft is an unmanned resupply spacecraft during its flight but upon docking with a space station it allows astronauts inside, hence it is classified manned by the manufacturer. It was derived from the Soyuz spacecraft, and is...
cargo ships. The contractor for the Orion is
Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin is a multinational aerospace manufacturer, global security and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed with Martin Marietta. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Lockheed Martin employs 146,000 people...
, which was selected by NASA in September, 2006 and is the current contractor for the Space Shuttle's External Tank and the
Atlas VAtlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
EELV.
The Orion re-entry module would weigh about 12 tons — almost twice the mass of the Apollo Command Module — and, like Apollo, would be attached to a service module for life support and propulsion. The CEV will be an Apollo-like capsule, with a
VikingNASA's Viking program consisted of a pair of space probes sent to Mars, Viking 1 and Viking 2. Each vehicle was composed of two main parts, an orbiter designed to photograph the surface of Mars from orbit, and a lander designed to study the planet from the surface...
-type
heat shieldA trans-atmospheric heat shield is a protective layer on a spacecraft or ballistic missile that is designed to protect it from the high temperature of atmospheric entry, on a body with an atmosphere, such as Earth, Mars and Venus....
, not a
lifting bodyThe lifting body is an aircraft configuration where the body itself produces lift. It is related to flying wing which is a wing without a conventional fuselage. A lifting body is a fuselage that generates lift without the shape of a typical thin and flat wing structure. A flying wing seeks to...
or
wingA wing is a surface used to produce lift for flight through the air or another gaseous or fluid medium. The wing shape is usually an airfoil. The word originally referred only to the foremost limbs of birds, but has been extended to include the wings of insects , bats, pterosaurs, and aircraft.A...
ed vehicle like the current Shuttle. It would land on land rather than water, similar to the
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n
Soyuz spacecraftSoyuz ; English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolyov Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet Manned Lunar program...
and the
ChineseChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
Shenzhou spacecraftShenzhou is a spacecraft developed and operated by the People's Republic of China to support its manned spaceflight program. The name is variously translated as "Divine Craft", "Divine Vessel of the Gods", "Magic Boat" or similar, and is identically pronounced, though differently written, with a...
. However, it would be capable of a water recovery if an emergency splashdown were needed. Possible landing areas that have been identified include
Edwards Air Force BaseEdwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond. It is named in...
, California, Carson Flats, Nevada, and the area around
Moses Lake, WashingtonMoses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 14,953 as of the 2000 census. According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management's April 1, 2008 estimate, the city has a population of 18,310. Major attractions include the Sand Dunes, Moses Lake,the...
state. Landing on the west coast would allow the majority of the reentry path to be flown over the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
rather than populated areas. The Orion will have an ablative (Apollo-like) heat shield that would be discarded after each use, and the CEV itself could be reused about 10 times.
Accelerated lunar mission development is slated to start by 2010, once the Shuttle is retired. The Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) and heavy-lift boosters would be developed in parallel and would both be ready for flight by 2018. The eventual goal is to achieve a lunar landing by 2020. The LSAM would be much larger than the
Apollo Lunar ModuleThe Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman to achieve the transit from lunar orbit to the surface and back...
and would be capable of carrying up to 23 tons of cargo to the lunar surface to support a lunar outpost. This weight in cargo is greater than the mass of the entire
Apollo Lunar ModuleThe Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman to achieve the transit from lunar orbit to the surface and back...
(LM).
Like the Apollo LM, the LSAM would include a descent stage for landing and an ascent stage for returning to orbit. The crew of four would ride in the ascent stage. The ascent stage would be powered by a
methaneMethane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees. Burning methane in the presence of oxygen produces carbon dioxide and water. The relative abundance of methane and its clean...
/
oxygenOxygen Oxygen Oxygen (acid, literally "sharp", from the taste of acids) and -γενής (-genēs) (producer, literally begetter) is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O...
fuel for return to lunar orbit (later changed to liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, due to the infancy of oxygen/methane rocket propulsion). This would allow a derivative of the same lander to be used on later Mars missions, where methane propellant can be manufactured from the Martian soil in a process known as
In-Situ Resource UtilizationIn space exploration, in-situ resource utilization describes the proposed use of resources found or manufactured on other astronomical objects to further the goals of a space mission....
(ISRU). The LSAM would support the crew of four on the lunar surface for about a week and use advanced roving vehicles to explore the lunar surface. The huge amount of cargo carried by the LSAM would be extremely beneficial for supporting a lunar base and for bringing large amounts of scientific equipment to the lunar surface.
Design revisions and updates
July 2006 design revisions
In late July 2006 NASA's second design review resulted in major changes to the spacecraft design. Originally, NASA wanted to use liquid
methaneMethane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees. Burning methane in the presence of oxygen produces carbon dioxide and water. The relative abundance of methane and its clean...
(LCH
4) as the SM fuel, but due to the infancy of oxygen/methane-powered rocket technologies and the need to launch the Orion by 2012, the switch to hypergolic propellants was mandated in late July 2006. This switch will allow NASA to man-rate the Orion and Ares I stack by no later than 2011, and eliminate one potential cause of the gap between the shuttle's retirement in 2010 and the first manned Orion flight.
April 2007 contract revision
On April 20, 2007 NASA and Boeing signed a modification to the Orion contract. The updated contract adds two years to the Orion project design phase, adds two test flights of Orion's launch abort system, and deletes from the initial design phase production of a pressurized cargo carrier for the International Space Station.
May 2007 design update
An article in "Aerospace Daily & Defense Report" indicates that in the latest Orion design revision, called configuration "606" by LM, the service module will have exterior panels that are jettisoned shortly after the second stage engine of the
Ares IAres I is the crew launch vehicle being developed by NASA as a component of the Constellation Program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars...
ignites. This configuration will save 1,000 pounds of the mass compared with the prior "605" configuration.
August 2007 design update
On August 5, a report surfaced stating that the airbag landing system was removed from the next Orion design cycle ("607") in a weight saving measure, opting to return to an Apollo-style splashdown for the vehicle's end of mission.
2009 Human Space Flight Plans Committee
On September 8, 2009, the
Human Space Flight Plans CommitteeThe Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee is a group reviewing the human spaceflight plans of the United States...
is scheduled to release a report proposing a short list of different long term plans for the US Government's human space flight program. The review is commissioned by the Obama Administration to take into account several objectives. These include support for the
International Space StationThe International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015...
, development of missions beyond
low Earth orbitA low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
(including the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is , about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system is located at about —a quarter the Earth's...
) and use of commercial space industry. These objectives must fit within a defined budget profile.
Among the parameters to be considered in the course of the review are "crew and mission safety, life-cycle costs, development time, national space industrial base impacts, potential to spur innovation and encourage competition, and the implications and impacts of transitioning from current human space flight systems". The review will consider the appropriate amounts of research and development and "complementary robotic activity necessary to support various human space flight activities". It will also "explore options for extending International Space Station operations beyond 2016".
Funding
President Bush's budget request for Fiscal Year 2005 included "$428 million for Project Constellation ($6.6 billion over five years) to develop a new crew exploration vehicle". The budget for FY2005 was confirmed by the Congress in November 2004 with full funding for the CEV.
The FY2006 budget request includes $753 million for continuing development of the CEV. As of 2005 the total development costs of the CEV are estimated at $15 billion.
Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin is a multinational aerospace manufacturer, global security and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed with Martin Marietta. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Lockheed Martin employs 146,000 people...
's contract for the initial "Schedule A" part of the Orion project, awarded on August 31, 2006 and running through 2013, is worth $3.9 billion. Additional development options in the "Schedule B" part of the contract could be worth up to another $3.5 billion.
Although to date the exploration systems have received full funding and a House endorsement, there was a possibility that rising shuttle
Return To FlightReturn to Flight can refer to:* Apollo 7, NASA's first mission after the Apollo 1 fire* Space Shuttle mission STS-26, NASA's first mission after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster...
costs would make funding of CEV development extremely difficult. There has been discussion of either obtaining a special supplemental from Congress to pay for the extra shuttle costs, or of involving private industry in CEV development and operations. The total funding of Project Constellation through 2025, inflation-adjusted and without any other increases to NASA's budget, is estimated at $210 billion; the ESAS estimates the cost of the program through that date at being only $7 billion more, at $217 billion. This cost may in fact end up lower as it includes developing new engines for the EDS instead of the newer idea of using J-2 derivatives.
Design
The
Orion Crew and Service Module (CSM) stack consists of two main parts: a conical Crew Module (CM), and a cylindrical Service Module (SM) holding the spacecraft's propulsion system and expendable supplies. Both are based substantially on the
Apollo Command and Service ModulesThe Command/Service Module was a spacecraft built for NASA by North American Aviation. It was one of the two spacecraft that were utilized for the Apollo program, along with the Lunar Module, to land astronauts on the Moon. Together they were called the Apollo spacecraft...
(Apollo CSM) flown between 1967 and 1975, but include advances derived from the space shuttle program. "Going with known technology and known solutions lowers the risk," according to Neil Woodward, director of the integration office in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.
Crew Module
The Orion CM will hold four to six crew members, compared to a maximum of three in the smaller Apollo CM or seven in the larger space shuttle. Despite its conceptual resemblance to the 1960s-era Apollo, Orion's CM will use several improved technologies, including:
- "Glass cockpit
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic instrument displays. Where a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mechanical gauges to display information, a glass cockpit uses several displays driven by flight management systems, that can be adjusted to display flight information...
" digital control systems derived from that of the Boeing 787The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-sized, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner currently under development by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Its maximum seating capacity in a one-class configuration is between 290 to 330 passengers depending on variant...
.
- An "autodock" feature, like those of Russian Progress spacecraft
The Progress is a Russian expendable freighter spacecraft. The spacecraft is an unmanned resupply spacecraft during its flight but upon docking with a space station it allows astronauts inside, hence it is classified manned by the manufacturer. It was derived from the Soyuz spacecraft, and is...
and the European Automated Transfer VehicleThe Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV is an expendable, unmanned resupply spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency . ATVs are designed to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, payload and experiments...
, with provision for the flight crew to take over in an emergency. Previous American spacecraft (Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle) have all required manual piloting for docking.
- Improved waste-management facilities, with a miniature camping-style toilet and the unisex "relief tube" used on the space shuttle (whose system was based on that used on Skylab
Skylab was the United States' first space station, and the second space station visited by a human crew. It was also the only space station NASA launched alone...
) and the International Space Station (based on the Soyuz, Salyut, and Mir systems). This eliminates the use of the much-hated plastic "Apollo bags" used by the Apollo crews.
- A nitrogen/oxygen (N2/O2) mixed atmosphere at either sea level or slightly reduced pressure.
- Much more advanced computers than on previous manned spacecraft.
Another feature will be the partial reusability of the Orion CM. NASA aims to reuse each craft for up to ten flights, allowing it to build a fleet of both manned and unmanned Orion CMs. Both the CM and SM will be constructed of the
aluminium lithiumAl-Li alloys are a series of alloys of aluminium and lithium, often also including copper and zirconium. Since lithium is the least dense elemental metal, these alloys are significantly less dense than aluminium...
(Al/Li) alloy currently used on the shuttle's
external tankA Space Shuttle External Tank is the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplies the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the three space shuttle main engines in the orbiter...
, and the
Delta IVDelta IV is an active expendable launch system in the Delta rocket family. Delta IV uses rockets designed by Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems division and built in the United Launch Alliance facility in Decatur, Alabama. Final assembly is completed at the launch site by ULA...
and
Atlas VAtlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
rockets. This alloy is as strong as the shuttle orbiter's aircraft aluminium skin, but will make the spacecraft lighter than both its Apollo and shuttle predecessors. The CM itself will be covered in the same
NomexNomex is a registered trademark for flame resistant meta-aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967.- Properties:...
felt-like thermal protection blankets used on non-critical parts on the shuttle such as the payload bay doors. The reusable recovery parachutes will be based on the parachutes used on both the Apollo spacecraft and the
Space Shuttle Solid Rocket BoosterThe Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters are the pair of large solid rockets used by the space shuttle during the first two minutes of powered flight. Together they provide about 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. They are located on either side of the orange external propellant tank...
s, and will also use the same Nomex cloth for construction. Water landings will be the exclusive means of recovery for the Orion CM.
To allow the Orion spacecraft to service the International Space Station, and to mate with other Constellation vehicles, it will use a new
Low Impact Docking SystemThe Low Impact Docking System is the space vehicle mating system designed by NASA for the next generation of space exploration vehicles included in Project Constellation...
, a simplified version of the
universal docking ringThe Androgynous Peripheral Attach System, or Androgynous Peripheral Assembly System, is a spacecraft docking mechanism used on the International Space Station. It is used to dock the Space Shuttle orbiter and to connect the Functional Cargo Block to Pressurized Mating Adapter-1...
currently used on the shuttle fleet, which itself was a Russian design that originated during the 1975
Apollo-Soyuz Test ProjectThe Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the last mission in the Apollo program and was the first joint flight of the U.S. and Soviet space programs. The mission took place in July 1975...
. Both the spacecraft and docking adapter will employ a
Launch Escape SystemA Launch Escape System is a top-mounted rocket connected to the crew module of a crewed spacecraft and used to quickly separate the crew module from the rest of the rocket in case of emergency...
(LES) like that used in Mercury and Apollo, along with an Apollo-derived "Boost Protective Cover" (made of
fiberglassFiberglass, , is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; the resulting composite material, properly known as fiber-reinforced polymer or glass-reinforced plastic , is called "fiberglass" in popular usage...
), to protect the Orion CM from aerodynamic and impact stresses during the first 2½ minutes of ascent.
The Orion Crew Module (CM) is a 57.5°
frustumIn geometry, a frustum is the portion of a solid — normally a cone or pyramid — which lies between two parallel planes cutting it....
shape, similar to that of the Apollo Command Module. As projected, the CM will be in diameter and in length, with a mass of about . It is to be built by the Lockheed Martin Corporation. It will have more than 2.5 times the volume of an Apollo capsule, which had an interior volume of , and will carry four to six astronauts. After extensive study, NASA has selected the Avcoat
ablatorAblation means removal of material from the surface of an object by vaporization, chipping, or other erosive processes. The term occurs in space physics associated with atmospheric reentry, in glaciology, medicine, and passive fire protection.-Space physics:...
system for the Orion crew module. Avcoat, which is composed of
silica fiberSilica fibers made of sodium silicate are used in heat protection and in packings and compensators...
s with a resin in a honeycomb made of
fiberglassFiberglass, , is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; the resulting composite material, properly known as fiber-reinforced polymer or glass-reinforced plastic , is called "fiberglass" in popular usage...
and
phenolic resinPhenolic resin can include any of various synthetic thermosetting resins such as Bakelite, obtained by the reaction of phenols with simple aldehydes such as formaldehyde. Phenolics can be used to make molded products including pool balls, laboratory countertops, and as coatings and...
, was previously used on the Apollo missions and on early space shuttle flights.
Service module
The service module designed for Orion will serve as the primary power and propulsion component of the spacecraft system, and like its predecessors, will be discarded at the end of each mission. Roughly cylindrical in shape, the Orion service module, like the crew module, will be constructed of
Al-LiAl-Li alloys are a series of alloys of aluminium and lithium, often also including copper and zirconium. Since lithium is the least dense elemental metal, these alloys are significantly less dense than aluminium...
alloy (to keep weight down), and will feature a pair of deployable circular
solar panelA photovoltaic module or photovoltaic panel is a packaged interconnected assembly of photovoltaic cells, also known as solar cells. The photovoltaic module, known more commonly as the solar panel, is then used as a component in a larger photovoltaic system to offer electricity for commercial and...
s, similar in design to the panels used on the Mars Phoenix lander. The panels, the first to be used on a U.S. manned spacecraft (except for a 10-year period, the Soviet/Russian
Soyuz spacecraftSoyuz ; English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolyov Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet Manned Lunar program...
has used them since the first mission in 1967), will allow NASA to eliminate the need to carry malfunction-prone fuel cells, and its associated hardware (mainly LH
2 tanks) from the service module, resulting in a shorter, yet more maneuverable spacecraft.
The spacecraft's main propulsion system is an Aerojet
AJ-10The AJ-10 is a hypergolic rocket engine. It has been used to propel the upper stages of several carrier rockets, including the Delta II and Titan III. It will also be used as the main engine of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle for NASA's Project Constellation.It was first used in the Able second...
rocket engine, derived from the second stage of the Delta II rocket, powered by hypergolic fuels, that are kept in helium pressured fuel cells. The SM Reaction Control System (RCS) the spacecraft's maneuvering thrusters (originally based on the Apollo "quad" system, but currently resembles that used on Gemini), will also be pressure-fed, and will use the same propellants. NASA believes the SM RCS would be able to act as a backup for a trans-Earth injection (TEI) burn in case the main SM engine fails. A pair of LOX tanks (similar to those used in the Apollo SM) will provide, along with small tanks of nitrogen, the crew with breathing air at sea-level or "cruising altitude" pressure (10.2 to 14.7 psi), with a small "surge tank" providing necessary life support during reentry and touchdown.
Lithium hydroxideLithium hydroxide is a corrosive alkali hydroxide. It is a white hygroscopic crystalline material. It is soluble in water, and slightly soluble in ethanol. It is available commercially in anhydrous form, or as the monohydrate.-Applications:...
(LiOH) cartridges will recycle the spacecraft's environmental system by "scrubbing" the carbon dioxide (CO
2) exhaled by the astronauts from ship's air and adding fresh oxygen and nitrogen, which is then cycled back out into the system loop. Because of the switch from fuel cells to solar panels, the service module will have an onboard water tank which will provide drinking water for the crew, and (when mixed with glycol), cooling water for the spacecraft's electronics. Unlike the practice during Apollo of dumping both water and urine overboard during the flight, the Orion will have an onboard recycling system, identical to that used on the
International Space StationThe International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015...
, that will convert both waste water and urine into both drinking and cooling water.
The SM also mounts the spacecraft's waste heat management system (its radiators) and the aforementioned
solar panelA photovoltaic module or photovoltaic panel is a packaged interconnected assembly of photovoltaic cells, also known as solar cells. The photovoltaic module, known more commonly as the solar panel, is then used as a component in a larger photovoltaic system to offer electricity for commercial and...
s. These panels, along with backup batteries located in the Orion CM, will provide in-flight power to the ship's systems. The voltage, 28
voltThe volt is the SI derived unit of electromotive force, commonly called "voltage". It is also the unit for the related but slightly different quantity electric potential difference...
s
DCDirect current is the undirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also be through...
, is similar to that used on the Apollo spacecraft during flight.
Like the Orion crew module, the Orion service module will be encapsulated by a fiberglass shroud that would be jettisoned at the same time as the LES/Boost Protective Cover, which would take place roughly 2½ minutes after launch (30 seconds after the solid rocket first stage is jettisoned). Prior to the "Orion 606" redesign, the Orion SM resembled a squat, enlarged version of the Apollo Service Module. The new "Orion 606" SM design retains the 5-meter width for the attachments of the Orion SM with the Orion CM, but utilizes a Soyuz-like service module design that allows Lockheed Martin to make the vehicle lighter in weight and permitting the attachment of the circular solar panels at the module's mid-points, like that of the Soyuz, instead of at the base near the spacecraft/rocket adapter, which may subject the panels to damage.
The Orion service module (SM) is projected comprising a
cylindricalA cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given straight line, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...
shape, having a diameter of 5.03 m (16.50 ft) and an overall length (including thruster) of 4.78 m (15.68 ft). With solar panels extended, span is 17.00 m (55.00 ft). The projected empty mass is 3,700 kg (8,000 lb), fuel capacity is 8,300 kg (18,000 lb).
Launch Abort System
In the event of an emergency on the
launch padA launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecrafts liftoff. A Spaceport can contain one or many launch pads. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures. The service structure provides an access platform to inspect the launch vehicle prior to launch....
or during ascent, a
launch escape systemA Launch Escape System is a top-mounted rocket connected to the crew module of a crewed spacecraft and used to quickly separate the crew module from the rest of the rocket in case of emergency...
called the Launch Abort System (LAS) will separate the Crew Module from the launch vehicle using a
solid rocketA solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a rocket with a motor that uses solid propellants . The earliest rockets were solid-fueled and powered by gunpowder; they were used by the Chinese, Mongols and Arabs in warfare as early as the 13th century...
-powered launch abort motor (AM), which is more powerful than the
Atlas 109-DAtlas is a family of U.S. space launch vehicles. The original Atlas missile was designed in the late 1950s. It was a liquid-fuel rocket burning LOX and RP-1 in three engines configured in an unusual "stage-and-a-half" or "Parallel Staging" design: two of its three engines were jettisoned during...
booster that launched astronaut
John GlennJohn Herschel Glenn Jr. is a retired United States Marine Corps pilot, a former astronaut and United States Senator who was the first American and third person to orbit the Earth. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program, NASA's original astronaut group. He...
into orbit in 1962. There are two other propulsion systems in the LAS stack: the attitude control motor (ACM) and the jettison motor (JM). On July 10, 2007, Orbital Sciences, the prime contractor for the LAS, awarded
Alliant TechsystemsAlliant Techsystems Inc., most commonly known by its ' ticker symbol, is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in America with approximately 17,000 employees and operations in 21 states. The company headquarters is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Background:ATK was formed in 1990...
(ATK) a $62.5 million sub-contract to, "design, develop, produce, test and deliver the launch abort motor." ATK, which has the prime contract for the first stage of the
Ares IAres I is the crew launch vehicle being developed by NASA as a component of the Constellation Program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars...
rocket, intends to use an innovative "reverse flow" design for the motor. On July 9, 2008 NASA announced that ATK has completed a vertical test stand at a facility in
Promontory, UtahPromontory in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, is notable as the location of Promontory Summit where the United States' first Transcontinental Railroad was officially completed on May 10, 1869....
to test launch abort motors for the Orion spacecraft. Another long-time space motor contractor,
AerojetAerojet is a major rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Sacramento, California with divisions in Redmond, WA; Orange, VA; Gainesville, VA; and Camden, AR. They are the only US propulsion company that provides both solid rocket motors and liquid rocket engines...
, was awarded the jettison motor design and development contract for the LAS. As of September 2008 Aerojet has, along with team members Orbital Sciences, Lockheed Martin and NASA, successfully demonstrated two full-scale test firings of the jettison motor. This motor is important to every flight in that it functions to pull the LAS tower away from the vehicle after a successful launch. The motor also functions in the same manner for an abort scenario.
Another idea, recently floated by NASA, would see the LAS tower being replaced with the so-called
Max Launch Abort SystemThe Max Launch Abort System is a proposed alternative to the Max Faget-invented "tractor" Launch Escape System currently planned for use by NASA for its Orion spacecraft in the event an Ares I malfunction during launch requires an immediate abort.A "pad abort" flight test of the MLAS was...
(MLAS), in which four existing solid-rocket motors, integrated into the boost protective cover and placed at 90° intervals, would fire and pull the Orion crew module away from an Ares I rocket in the event of a launchpad or in-flight abort during the first 2½ minutes of launch. If implemented in place of the LAS, the MLAS would allow NASA to reduce further weight of the Orion/Ares I stack (which has been described by critics as being overweight) and the design, which is shaped like a bullet, would reduce stresses on both the spacecraft and the launch vehicle, as well as reducing the overall height by 20-25 feet.
Abort tests
ATK successfully completed the first Orion launch abort test on November 20, 2008. The abort motor will provide a half-million pounds of thrust for an emergency on the launch pad or during the first 300,000 feet of the rocket's climb to orbit. The test firing was the first time a motor with reverse flow propulsion technology at this scale has been tested.
This abort test firing brought together a series of motor and component tests conducted in 2008 as a preparation for the next major milestone, a full-size mock-up or
boilerplateThe term boilerplate in rocketry refers to a non-functional craft, system, or payload which is used to test various configurations and basic size, load, and handling characteristics. It is far less expensive to build multiple, full-scale, non-functional boilerplate spacecraft than it is to develop...
test scheduled for the spring of 2009.
Pathfinder
On March 2, 2009, the LAS Pathfinder began its transfer from the Langley Research Center to the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, for launch tests. The Pathfinder is a combination of the Orion Boilerplate and LAS module. The 45-foot-long (13.7 m) rocket assembly will begin its first Pad Abort 1 Test on the Missile Range.
Acquisition strategy
The
Space Frontier FoundationThe Space Frontier Foundation is a small space advocacy organization promoting increased involvement of the private sector, rather than governments, in the exploration and development of space.- History :...
has asserted that the $3.9 billion initial phase of the Orion contract essentially duplicates the functionality of NASA's $500 million
Commercial Orbital Transportation ServicesCommercial Orbital Transportation Services is a NASA program to coordinate the commercial delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station. The program was announced on January 18, 2006...
(COTS) program. Additionally, NASA's contract with Lockheed Martin is a
cost-plus contractA cost-plus contract, more accurately termed a Cost Reimbursement Contract, is a contract where a contractor is paid for all of its allowed expenses to a set limit plus additional payment to allow for a profit...
, a contracting method which has been criticized for being prone to cost overruns and delays, while contractors in the COTS only receive payment for successes. The U.S.
Government Accountability OfficeThe Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government....
(GAO) is also critical of NASA, saying, "NASA's current acquisition strategy for the CEV places the project at risk of significant cost overruns, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls because it commits the government to a long-term product development effort before establishing a sound business case."
Rehashing Old Technology
The Orion spacecraft visibly resembles the Apollo spacecraft, the predecessor to the Space Transport System (STS). In the past, it had been the Russians who emulated United States spacecraft designs, but with the Orion spacecraft, NASA is reviving a previous spacecraft design - under a new budget program.
Testing
NASA will perform environmental testing of Orion from 2007 to 2011 at the
Glenn Research CenterNASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center, located within the cities of Brook Park, Cleveland and Fairview Park, Ohio between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Cleveland Metroparks's Rocky River Reservation, and has other subsidiary facilities in Ohio. Its...
Plum Brook Station in
Sandusky, OhioSandusky pronounced [suhn-duhs-kee, san-] is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. The municipality is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east.The population was...
. The Center's
Space Power FacilityThe Space Power Facility is a vacuum chamber built by NASA in 1969. It stands 122 feet high and 100 feet in diameter, enclosing a bullet-shaped space. It is the world's largest thermal vacuum chamber. It was originally commissioned for nuclear-electric power studies under vacuum conditions, but...
is the world's largest thermal vacuum chamber.
NASA will perform a series of six Abort Flight Tests between the fall of 2008 and the end of 2011 at the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
's
White Sands Missile RangeWhite Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in area, the largest military installation in the United States. WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range. WSMR and the 600,000-acre Fort Bliss ' to the south, form a contiguous swath of territory for military testing...
(WSMR), New Mexico. The Orion AFT subproject includes two
pad abort testA pad abort test is a test of a launch escape system to determine how well the system could get the crew of a spacecraft to safety in an emergency on the launch pad.- Project Mercury :Section sources....
s and four ascent abort tests. Three of the four ascent aborts are planned to be flown from a special test launch vehicle, the
Orion Abort Test BoosterThe Orion Abort Test Booster is a small solid rocket launcher which will be developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation under contract by U.S...
, the fourth one being performed with
Ares I-YAres I-Y will be a structural test flight in the Ares I spacecraft development program. The test flight vehicle will be similar to the planned Ares I-X mission , with a planned scheduled launch in September 2013....
. The Orion Abort Flight Tests are similar in nature to the
Little Joe IIThe Little Joe II tests were tests for the LES.- Little Joe II program :From August 1963 to January 1966, a series of unmanned flight tests were conducted at the White Sands Missile Range to demonstrate the adequacy of the Apollo launch escape system and to verify the performance of the command...
tests performed at WSMR between September 1963 and January 1966 in support of the development of the Apollo program's
Launch Escape SystemA Launch Escape System is a top-mounted rocket connected to the crew module of a crewed spacecraft and used to quickly separate the crew module from the rest of the rocket in case of emergency...
. The LAS Pathfinder boilerplate is being used.
- Post-landing Orion Recovery Test (PORT)
The PORT Test is to determine and evaluate what kind of motions the astronaut crew can expect after landing. This will include conditions outside the capsule for the recovery team. The evaluation process will support NASA's design of landing recovery operations including equipment, ship and crew necessities.
The Port Test will use a full-scale boilerplate of NASA's Orion crew module and will be tested in water under simulated and real weather conditions. Tests began March 23, 2009 with a Navy-built, 18,000-pound boilerplate. It will be placed in a test pool at the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division in West Bethesda, Md. Full sea testing will begin April 6, 2009, in a special location off the coast of NASA's Kennedy Space Center with media coverage.
Schedule
NASA hopes to follow this schedule in development of the Orion:
- 2006–2007 — Engineering review of selected design
- 2009 (TBD) — PA-1
Pad Abort 1 is a flight test of the Orion Launch Abort System . Orion is a component of Constellation, a human spaceflight project within NASA, the space agency of the United States...
(Pad Abort-1) unmanned pad abort testA pad abort test is a test of a launch escape system to determine how well the system could get the crew of a spacecraft to safety in an emergency on the launch pad.- Project Mercury :Section sources....
.
- 2009 (Sep) — AA-1 (Ascent Abort-1) unmanned ascent abort test (transonic
Transonic is an aeronautics term referring to the condition in which a range of velocities of airflow exist surrounding and flowing past an air vehicle or an airfoil. Air flow velocities are concurrently below, at, and above the speed of sound at the pressure and temperature of the airflow of the...
)
- 2010 (Spring) — PA-2 unmanned pad abort test
- 2010 (August) — AA-2 unmanned ascent abort test (Max Q
In aerospace engineering, max Q is the point of maximum dynamic pressure, the point at which aerodynamic stress on a spacecraft in atmospheric flight is maximized....
)
- 2011 (February) — AA-3 unmanned ascent abort test (low-altitude tumble test)
- 2012 (September) — Ares I-Y unmanned ascent abort test (high altitude)
- 2012 — First unmanned flight of Orion in Earth orbit.
- 2014 (September) — First manned flight of Orion in Earth orbit.
- 2015–2018 — First unmanned flight of Altair.
- 2016–2018 First manned flight of Altair.
- 2019 First manned lunar landing with Orion/Altair system.
- 2020 Review of Mars missions
- 2031 The Mission to Mars has tentative dates
NASA initially established that it would initiate a phased retirement of the space shuttle, which would have begun with the retirement of one orbiter,
AtlantisSpace Shuttle Atlantis is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States...
, in 2008. This decision was later changed; all three remaining shuttles would keep flying until 2010. In the meantime, NASA engineers would work to upgrade the current launch facilities to work with the next generation shuttle-derived launch vehicles.
Such a plan would allow lunar mission development to begin much earlier than currently planned, as additional funding will be available earlier.
Existing craft and mockup models (as of April 2009)
This is a list of the mockups that look like a whole crew module or other major component of Orion. There are other simulators that are just cockpits and smaller components, but those may be even more difficult to keep current. The flight crew module will be predominantly white (as opposed to silver).
- Lockheed Martin
- Houston: Exploration Development Laboratory has a Low-Fidelity Crew Module Human Engineering Mockup
- Kennedy Space Center Operations & Checkout Facility: full scale Crew Module Pathfinder
- Michoud: Crew Module Ground Test Article is currently being built
- Orbital, Dulles"""
- Launch Abort System Inert Vehicle
- ATK
- Launch Abort System Abort Motor
- United Space Alliance
- 1/10th scale crew module for buoyancy testing with Texas A&M-Galveston
- KSC: crew module wire frame mockup in the Human Engineering Modeling & Performance Lab
- Johnson Space Center
- Bldg 9: Medium Fidelity Crew Module
- PORT – Post-landing Orion Recovery Test (full scale) – currently at KSC, was built at Navy Carderock facility
- WEST – Water Egress Survival Trainer (1/4 scale) – Houston
- Dryden Flight Research Center
- Pad Abort 1 Flight Test Crew Module
- White Sands Missile Range
- Launch Abort System Pathfinder
- Pad Abort 1 Crew Module Pathfinder Mockup
Project Constellation nomenclature
- Orion – Crew/Service Module (CSM) manned/unmanned multi-role spacecraft.
- Altair – Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM), the manned/unmanned lunar logistics vehicle.
- Ares I
Ares I is the crew launch vehicle being developed by NASA as a component of the Constellation Program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars...
– ("The Stick") Medium-lift crew/cargo launch vehicle.
- Ares IV
Ares IV is a design for a heavy-lift launch vehicle that could be used for human spaceflight missions. It is one of the launch vehicle designs which has been proposed for inclusion in the Constellation program, which NASA plans to use for space exploration after the Space Shuttle is retired.-...
– Medium-heavy lift launch vehicle announced in February, 2007.
- Ares V
The Ares V is the cargo launch component of the upcoming Constellation program, which will replace the Space Shuttle after its retirement in 2010...
– Heavy-lift cargo launch vehicle.
See also
- Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric reentry refers to the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a planet from outer space, in the case of Earth from an altitude above the "edge of space." This article primarily addresses the process of controlled reentry of vehicles which are intended...
- Boilerplate (rocketry)
The term boilerplate in rocketry refers to a non-functional craft, system, or payload which is used to test various configurations and basic size, load, and handling characteristics. It is far less expensive to build multiple, full-scale, non-functional boilerplate spacecraft than it is to develop...
- Cleon Lacefield
T. Cleon Lacefield is Lockheed Martin vice president and Orion Program manager.With his Lockheed Martin team in Denver and Houston, he won the CEV / Orion development contract from NASA in September 2006.-Career:...
, Orion program manager for LM
- Colonization of the Moon
The colonization of the Moon is the proposed establishment of permanent human communities on the Moon. Advocates of space exploration have seen settlement of the Moon as a logical step in the expansion of humanity beyond the Earth. National claims to the best locations on the moon may eventually...
- Colonization of Mars
The colonization of Mars by humans is the focus of speculation and serious study, as the surface conditions and availability of water on Mars make it arguably the most hospitable planet in the solar system other than Earth...
- Exploration Systems Architecture Study
The Exploration Systems Architecture Study is the official title of a large-scale, system level study conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the Summer of 2005 in response to American president George W...
- Crew Space Transportation System
CSTS or ACTS is a human spaceflight system proposal which was jointly studied by the European Space Agency and the Russian Space Agency , with the objective to design a spacecraft for LEO operations such...
, European-Russian counterpart of the CEV
- Soyuz
Soyuz ; English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolyov Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet Manned Lunar program...
, Russian manned spacecraft
- Shenzhou
Shenzhou is a spacecraft developed and operated by the People's Republic of China to support its manned spaceflight program. The name is variously translated as "Divine Craft", "Divine Vessel of the Gods", "Magic Boat" or similar, and is identically pronounced, though differently written, with a...
, Chinese manned spacecraft
- Kliper
Kliper is a partly reusable manned spacecraft, proposed by RSC Energia.Designed primarily to replace the Soyuz spacecraft, Kliper has been proposed in two versions: as a pure lifting body design and as spaceplane with small wings...
, Russian concept for replacement of the Soyuz SpacecraftSoyuz ; English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolyov Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet Manned Lunar program...
- ISRO Orbital Vehicle
The Indian manned spacecraft temporary named as Orbital Vehicle intend to be the basis of indigenous Indian human spaceflight program. The capsule will be designed to carry three people, and a planned upgraded version will be equipped with a rendezvous and docking capability.In its maiden manned...
, India's planned manned spacecraft
- SpaceX Dragon, planned commercial spacecraft
- Orion Lite
Orion Lite is a proposed spacecraft design from Bigelow Aerospace which would be a lighter, more basic version of NASA's Orion. Bigelow is working on the design with technical assistance from Lockheed Martin, the primary contractor of the Orion...
, proposed commercial variant of Orion from Bigelow AerospaceBigelow Aerospace is a North Las Vegas, Nevada space technology startup company that is pioneering work on expandable space station modules. It was founded in 1999 by hotelier Robert Bigelow....
, intended for low earth orbit
- Orbital Space Plane
The Orbital Space Plane program 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...
- Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicle, Current front-runner launch vehicle for the CEV
External links