Space Shuttle Replacement: Project Constellation: Orion CEV; Ares I & Ares V Launchers; Altair LSAM Lunar Lander

(updated Feb 19, 2008) Exploration Systems is the name of the NASA directorate that has overall responsibility for developing new launch vehicles and spacecraft. The progam to replace the current Space Shuttle system with new vehicles is called Project Constellation.     The Lockheed Martin-built manned spacecraft component of the new system, now named Orion (formerly called the Crew Exploraton Vehicle, CEV), was to be operational by 2014 (with "boilerplate" tests by 2009 and unmanned flight tests of the actual vehicle by 2012), and to be capable of carrying astronauts to the moon by 2020.     However, on April 21, 2007, Florida Today reported that the planned delivery date of the first Orion spacecraft had been shifted from Aug 2011 to Dec 2013, delaying the first manned flight until March 2015.     Like the Apollo spacecraft, the Orion will be divided into a "capsule" shaped Command Module (CM), which reenters the atmosphere, and a Service Module (SM) containing the main propulsion, avionics and consumables, which is discarded after use.     The Orion CM will be larger than the Apollo CM (5.5 meters, or 16.5 feet, in diameter), with 2.5 times the internal volume, weighing about 50,000 pounds. The craft will carry 6 astronauts for Earth-orbit missions, and 4 for lunar missions.     The thermal protection system for the Orion as it reenters the Earth's atmosphere will be an ablative heat shield, similar to that used by Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft. Boeing is the prime contractor for the heat shield.     Orion will descend by parachute to a dry land recovery site (with ocean splashdown as a backup); the landing will be softened by a rocket and airbags.     The Orion Service Module will differ from the Apollo SM by using solar panels, rather than fuel cells, for electric power. The Orion SM was to use liquid methane as fuel, with liquid oxygen as oxidizer. The decsion to use liquid methane fuel for the first time, requiring new engine development work, was made because methane might be manufactured from the Martian atmosphere on future Mars landing missions, and because the methane/LOX combination provides higher specific impulse (thrust per pound of propellants) than the hypergolic hydrazine/nitrogen tetroxide combination used on the Space Shuttle OMS engines and the Apollo SM.     However, in 2006 NASA decided to abandon the liquide methane fuel plan in order to reduce Orion's development time. Thus the Orion SM and the LSAM lunar lander ascent stage will use the same reliable hypergolic hydrazine/nitrogen tetroxide fuel and oxidizer as Apollo and the Space Shuttle.     There are to be four versions of the Orion CEV:     Block 1A: for transferring crew and cargo to and from the International Space Station.     Block 1B: a pressurized but unmanned version for transferring cargo to and from the ISS.     Block 2: for lunar landing missions, in conjunction with a Lunar Surface Access Module.     Block 3: Earth reentry vehicle for Mars landing missions, in conjunction with an as yet unspecified Mars Transit Vehicle.     A unmanned, unpressurized Cargo Delivery Vehicle (CDV) is also to be developed to transport unpressurized cargo to the ISS, using the same Service Module propulsion and avionics system as the Orion CEV.     Each Orion Command Module is to be reusable up to 10 times. Orion development is managed by the Johnson Space Center. Orion CEV Fact Sheet 1.5MB .pdf     At the end of August, 2006, NASA awarded the prime contract for the development and construction of the Orion spacecraft to Lockheed Martin, who won the contract over the team of Boeing & NorthopGrumman.     Design, Development Technology & Engineering (DDT&E) work is estimated to occur from Sept. 8, 2006, through Sept. 7, 2013, with an estimated cost of $3.9 billion.     Post-development spacecraft delivery orders may begin as early as Sept. 8, 2009, and extend through Sept. 7, 2019, if all options are exercised.     The cost of spacecraft orders is estimated not to exceed $3.5 billion, plus up to $750 million for sustaining engineering work. Orion CEV procurement documents     The Altair Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM), a companion lunar lander craft (generally similar to the Apollo Lunar Module), and the Block 2 Orion are to provide transportation for a new lunar landing program with a total price of $104 billion. The Altair LSAM does not need to be ready as soon as the Orion CEV, and several configurations are still being considered. Like the LM, the LSAM will almost surely have separate descent and ascent stages.     The LSAM was to be fueled by liquid methane and LOX. If methane is abandoned, in order to meet weight limits, the descent stage of the Altair will probably use 4 Pratt & Whitney RL-10 engines, which burn liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The RL-10 was the first LH2-LOX engine put into production in the 1960s, and improved versions have been in use ever since. The ascent stage of the Altair will likely have a single engine, possibly a version of the Orion's hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide engine, or possibly a single RL-10 engine (although this presents problems in keeping the LH2 liquid over long periods of time).     All 4 astronauts will descend to the lunar surface while the Orion spacecraft orbits unattended, and eventually stay on the moon for as long as six months. Development of the Altair LSAM lunar lander, which could be in testing as early as 2010, is to be split between Marshall Space Flight Center and Goddard Space Flight Center. LSAM Design Proposals Presentation     Feb. 20, 2007 by project manager John F. Connolly, 6.95MB .pdf NASA Ares I exploded view     Ares I: The crew launch vehicle will be called Ares I, and will be capable of delivering 25 metric tons (55,000 pounds) to low earth orbit. Boeing's Delta IV and Lockheed-Martin's Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs) had been suggested as launch vehicles for the CEV. Instead NASA has decided to build a new dedicated launch vehicle for the spacecraft using a configuration offered by Alliant Techsystems, with a solid rocket booster (much like the Shuttle SRBs, which Alliant makes) as the 1st stage. NASA Ares I Upper Stage exploded view     The 2nd stage will use a LH2-LOX fueled engine. A single Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) had been considered for this purpose, but instead an engine called the J-2X, derived from the J-2 engine which powered the 2nd and 3rd stages of the Saturn V launch vehicle, will be used. The J-2X will have 280,000 pounds of thrust. The upper stage will be 5.5 meters in diameter, constructed of 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy. The Orion CEV, consisting of Command and Service modules plus an escape tower ("Launch Abort System") rides atop the 2nd stage. Ares I fact sheet 2 page, 1.4 MB .pdf - Upper Stage Info 19 page .pdf Ares I Upper Stage Production RFP Documents All MSFC Procurement Documents NASA Ares V exploded view     Ares V: The Orion CEV will carry astronauts, but not the LSAM for lunar missions. The launch vehicle for LSAM or, potentially, for other very heavy cargo, will be known as Ares V. NASA has selected a Shuttle-derived cargo LV with 5 RS-68 LH2-LOX fueled engines at the base of a "stacked" or "in-line" vehicle, with the fuel and oxidizer tanks and payload directly above (not "side mounted" as in the current Shuttle).     The RS-68 was desgined for Boeing's Delta IV EELV by Rocketdyne--originally a division of North American Aviation, later North American Rockwell, and later still, Boeing. Boeing sold Rocketdyne to Pratt & Whitney in 2005, a transaction which unfortunately left only one major maker of large liquid-fueled rocket engines in the United States.     The 5 RS-68s will be flanked by a pair of solid rocket boosters (longer than that used for the CEV).     The Ares V second stage, like the Ares I second stage, will be powered by a single J-2X engine. The combination will be able to put up to 287,000 pounds into low earth orbit, which is about one and a half times the weight of a shuttle orbiter (not just the payload, the whole orbiter). The vehicle can also send 143,000 pounds to the moon. Ares V fact sheet 4.6 MB .pdf     NASA was planning to use Space Shuttle Main Engines for this vehicle, but the very expensive SSMEs have now been ruled out. Not surprisingly, Alliant Techsystems had recommended using only clusters of SRBs (the same SRBs that will launch the CEV) for heavy lifting; this too has been ruled out).

NASA Orion & Altair spacecraft as they would appear orbiting the moon, and Altair LSAM on the lunar surface MISSIONS: NASA - ESA - JAXA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER: Shuttle Countdown Online KSC Video Feeds webcams galore NASA TV LIVE: RealVideo - Windows Media alternate RealVideo - sound only RealAudio POSTION TRACKING: Shuttle - ISS - ESA LAUNCH SCHEDULES: KSC - SpaceflightNow Space.com - Space-Launcher.com SPACE & ASTRONOMY: JPL Space Calendar SHUTTLE LAUNCH WEATHER: radar - satellite - forecast Spaceflight Meteo. Group: Shuttle Weather See also: QuickShop: Science Gifts, Space Shuttle, Space Station, NASA, Space, STS-107 Columbia, Mars NASA Orion CEV Command Module exploded view NASA: Multi-Program Integrated Milestones schedule     for Orion, Shuttle & ISS, Jan 25, 2008, 1.8MB .pdf Project Orion Overview 725KB .pdf Orion Contract Images Project Constellation Overview 5.9MB .pdf NASA Exp. Sys. Arch. Study 758 page, 24.5 MB .pdf     ESAS Executive Summary Distribution of Proj. Constellation to NASA centers Chariots for Apollo 1979 online .html book B-II Apollo Ops Handbook Apr 1969 index to 16 .pdfs Apollo CSM Systems Sep 1967 9.7MB .pdf jdkbph.com Skylab Apollo CSM Systems Apr 1972 11.1MB .pdf Apollo LM Familiarization 1965 8.8MB .pdf Apollo Lunar Module Orientation 1966 2.7MB .pdf Apollo LM Handbook Jun 1970 36.8MB .pdf Apollo Lunar Surface Journal Advanced Space Habitation Efforts 784KB .pdf Wikipedia: Orion CEV Apollo Command & Service Modules Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) Apollo Lunar Module Launch Vehicles: Ares I - Ares V RL-10 Engine Encyclopedia Astronautica: Orion CEV CEV Development Crew Exploration Vehicle Apollo Command & Service Modules Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) Apollo Lunar Module Launch Vehicles: Ares I - Ares V Mars Direct Space & Tech: RL-10 Engine Specifications table: Properties of Rocket Propellants Air&Space: Son of Apollo: The Next Lunar Lander LockheedMartin Video Gallery .mpg Animations: Orion Cockpit 3.48MB - Orion to ISS 6.01MB Orion and Lunar Lander 2.35MB  Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle News Space Search: The DMOZ Open Directory searches for keywords in website titles and descriptions (not page content). You can limit your search to the Space links category, or search all science links. find this: in: All Space Space Shuttle Space Station Space Missions NASA Sites All Science Countdown Creations is a leading retailer of space T-shirts, apparel, and gifts, including NASA t-shirts, space station gear, astronaut flight suits, mission patches (the new Project Orionlogo patch is now available) and caps, and more. scitech.quickfound.net's NASA Subdomains Search & Links page links to dozens of the numerous NASA subdomains, and includes two search engines, NASA advanced search and a customized version of Google, both of which you can use to search the NASA subdomains independently by copying the subdomain name (using ctrl-c) and pasting it (using ctrl-v) into the appropriate place on the forms (which are at the bottom of the page). Google Usenet Newsgroups sci.space.shuttle - sci.space.news - sci.space gov.us.fed.nasa.ksc.announce gov.us.fed.nasa.announce

Ares Launch Vehicle Development Quarterly Report Videos:
Oct 2007 (Real Video) - Aug 2007 (WMV) - May 2007 (Real) - Jan 2007 (WMV)

    The current Shuttles are scheduled to be retired by 2010. On September 21, 2005, Congress passed a bill allowing NASA to purchase Russian Soyuz spacecraft until 2012 to keep the International Space Station operating, and NASA has agreed to pay Russia's Federal Space Agency $719 million to carry 15 crew members to and from the ISS between 2009 and 2011.
    However, some members of Congress did not want a gap of several years while the US has no capability to put astronauts in orbit. This would have required either extending the use of the current Shuttles, or accelerating the development of the Orion CEV. Lockheed Martin CEO Robert Stevens suggested that NASA should shorten the Orion CEV and Ares I development time, so that the spacecraft may be ready for use sooner.
    But this is still not indicated on NASA's revised Multi-Program Integrated Milestones schedule, which, as of Jan 25, 2008, shows a 6-person ISS crew beginning in 2009, the last Shuttle flight in 2010, the first Ares I LV test flight in August, 2009, first Orion test flights in 2013, first manned flight in mid 2015, and Orion not operational until 2016.
    The revised MPIM states only a 33% confidence in the early Orion test dates at current funding levels. And the first Ares V LV test flight is not scheduled until 2018, and the first Altair LSAM test flight until 2019.

  Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS)

    In August, 2006, NASA awarded Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contracts to two companies: $278 million to SpaceX and $207 million to Rocketplane Kistler
    In February, 2008, when Rocketplane Kistler failed to secure enough financing to meet contract obligations, the remainder of their part of the COTS contract was transferred to Orbital Sciences, a company which already has proven its capabilities with dozens of payloads launched to orbit.
    The COTS program, the cost of which is about the same as a single Space Shuttle flight, calls for the companies to demonstrate their capability to service the International Space Station (ISS) after the current Space Shuttles are retired in 2010.

    Orbital Sciences has conducted over 50 space launch missions since 1990, using solid fueled vehicles.
    For NASA's COTS program, Orbital intends to develop the medium-lift Taurus II solid-fueled launch vehicle, and a cargo spacecraft called Cygnus, using interchangeable modules for pressurized and unpressurized cargo. The Taurus II/Cygnus combo is to deliver up to 2,300 kg of cargo to the ISS, and return 1,200 kg of cargo to Earth. Taurus II/Cygnus artists renderings

    Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies, aka SpaceX, founded in 2002 by PayPal cofounder Elon Musk, had 400 employees as of November, 2007. SpaceX is developing their Dragon spacecraft in both manned and unmanned versions to recrew and resupply the International Space Station.
    SpaceX also is developing two launch vehicles, the Falcon 1 and the Falcon 9, both of which use LOX/kerosene burning engines. The Falcon 9 is slated to lift the Dragon spacecraft on flights to the ISS. It is hoped that the Falcon 9-Dragon combination will be able to go into operation by the time the current Space Shuttles are retired in 2010, filling the gap before NASA's new Orion spacecraft is ready.
    During the first test flight of the Falcon 1, in March, 2006, a fuel leak due to a corroded aluminum nut lead to failure of the 1st stage engine and loss of the vehicle. The second test flight, in March, 2007, fared better, the first stage had no problems, but during stage separation bumped into the 2nd stage, leading to motion exceeding design parameters and the premature shutdown of the 2nd stage 7 min 30 sec. into the flight.
    The third test of the Falcon 1 is scheduled to be launched from Vandenberg AFB in the first quarter of 2008.