Inspired by my visit to the Kennedy Space Center and the large amount of information NASA gave me on the new Constellation Space Program. We are going to do a series of articles on the new space problem as it progresses.
These articles will delve into what the Constellation Program will consist of in terms of technology, vehicles and goals. We will be posting NASA Press Releases as they come in and also hope to get interviews with program designers, engineers and Constellation Astronauts.
So let’s get started.
First off, what is the Constellation Space Program?
Before the end of the next decade, NASA astronauts will again explore the surface of the moon. And this time, we're going to stay, building outposts and paving the way for eventual journeys beyond.
This journey begins soon, with development of a new spaceship. Building on the best of Apollo and shuttle technology, NASA's creating a 21st century exploration system that will be affordable, reliable, versatile, and safe.
The centerpiece of this system is a new spacecraft designed to carry four astronauts to and from the moon, support up to six crewmembers on future missions to Mars, and deliver crew and supplies to the International Space Station.
The new crew vehicle will be shaped like an Apollo capsule, but it will be three times larger, allowing four astronauts to travel to the moon at a time.
The new ship can be reused up to 10 times. After the craft parachutes to dry land (with a splashdown as a backup option), NASA can easily recover it, replace the heat shield and launch it again.
Coupled with the new lunar lander, the system sends twice as many astronauts to the surface as Apollo, and they can stay longer, with the initial missions lasting four to seven days. And while Apollo was limited to landings along the moon's equator, the new ship carries enough propellant to land anywhere on the moon's surface.
Once a lunar outpost is established, crews could remain on the lunar surface for up to six months. The spacecraft can also operate without a crew in lunar orbit, eliminating the need for one astronaut to stay behind while others explore the surface.
Safe and reliableThe launch system that will get the crew off the ground builds on powerful, reliable shuttle propulsion elements. Astronauts will launch on a rocket called Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. A liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen J-2X engine derived from the J-2 engine used on Apollo's second stage will power the crew exploration vehicle's second stage. The Ares I can lift more than 55,000 pounds to low Earth orbit
Ares V, a heavy lift launch vehicle, will use five RS-68 liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engines mounted below a larger version of the space shuttle's external tank, and two five-segment solid propellant rocket boosters for the first stage. The upper stage will use the same J-2X engine as the Ares I. The Ares V can lift more than 286,000 pounds to low Earth orbit and stands approximately 360 feet tall. This versatile system will be used to carry cargo and the components into orbit needed to go to the moon and later to Mars. It can be modified to carry crew as well.
Ares V and Ares I
Best of all, these launch systems are 10 times safer than the shuttle because of an escape rocket on top of the capsule that can quickly blast the crew away if launch problems develop. There's also little chance of damage from launch vehicle debris, since the capsule sits on top of the rocket.
The Flight PlanIn just five years, the new ship will begin to ferry crew and supplies to the International Space Station. Plans call for as many as six trips to the outpost a year. In the meantime, robotic missions will lay the groundwork for lunar exploration. In 2018, humans will return to the moon.
Here's how a mission would unfold:
A heavy-lift rocket blasts off, carrying a lunar lander and a "departure stage" needed to leave Earth's orbit (below left). The crew launches separately (below, center), then docks their capsule with the lander and departure stage and heads for the moon (below, right).
Three days later, the crew goes into lunar orbit (below, left). The four astronauts climb into the lander, leaving the capsule to wait for them in orbit. After landing and exploring the surface for seven days, the crew blasts off in a portion of the lander (below, center), docks with the capsule and travels back to Earth. After a de-orbit burn, the service module is jettisoned, exposing the heat shield for the first time in the mission. The parachutes deploy, the heat shield is dropped and the capsule sets down on dry land (below, right).
'Into the Cosmos'with a minimum of two lunar missions per year, momentum will build quickly toward a permanent outpost. Crews will stay longer and learn to exploit the moon's resources, while landers make one way trips to deliver cargo. Eventually, the new system could rotate crews to and from a lunar outpost every six months.
Planners are already looking at the lunar south pole as a candidate for an outpost because of concentrations of hydrogen thought to be in the form of water ice, and an abundance of sunlight to provide power.
These plans give NASA a huge head start in getting to Mars. We will already have the heavy-lift system needed to get there, as well as a versatile crew capsule. A lunar outpost just three days away from Earth will give us needed practice of "living off the land" away from our home planet, before making the longer trek to Mars.
This is not some far off pipe dream plan either; the Constellation Program is already under way. Prototype vehicles have been built and are being tested. New Space Suits are being designed and Lunar habitats are being tested in Antarctica for Human inhabitation on the Moon. The Engines for the Launch vehicles are built and are being testing as we speak.
This will all lead to the first Manned mission to Mars. Everything about Constellation is being designed to lead us to Mars and right now
NASA estimates that the very first Commander that will lead Humans to Mars is between the ages of 6 and 16 years old. This fact given to me by NASA while on tour of the Kennedy Space Center gave me goose bumps. A Crew of people from my Daughters generation will be the first ever Humans in the history of Mankind to step foot on another planet.
These are indeed exciting times, however, given the fickle nature of Congress funding will always be something to be worried about and that’s why right now every American Citizen needs to email or call their Congressional Representatives and tell them that you expect them to support NASA’s funding needs for the foreseeable future and I mean right now!!! Don’t hesitate, be a factor in moving Mankind forward into the future.
Now that you have an overview of what Constellation is, our next article will dive into the details of the vehicles themselves. So stay tuned.
Please feel free to discuss this article and ask questions.
All Information, Material and Pictures are provided courtesy of NASA
