OrbitalHub

Credits: NASA

 

Constellation Program is NASA’s new generation space transportation system. It is designed to cover a wide range of space missions, such as delivering supplies and human crews to the International Space Station (ISS) and traveling beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). The goal of the program is to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon and then go to Mars and other destinations.

 

The Constellation Program promotes exploration, science, commerce, and the United States’ presence in space.

 

Constellation consists of two launching vehicles (Ares I and Ares V), the Orion spacecraft, the Earth Departure Stage, and the Altair, which is the Lunar Surface Access Module.

Credits: NASA

 

Ares I is the crew launch vehicle that will be used to deliver the Orion spacecraft to LEO. Ares I is a two stage rocket, 94 m long and 5.5 m in diameter that can deliver a 25,000 kg payload to LEO.

 

The first stage is a solid rocket booster that evolved from the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB). An additional fifth segment was added to the initial SRB design, which enables the rocket to produce more thrust and burn longer. The second stage uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as fuel. The J-2X engine used by the second stage evolved from the J-2 engine used on the Saturn V rocket.

 

In addition to its primary mission, Ares I can also be used to deliver resources and supplies to the ISS or to park payloads in orbit for retrieval by other spacecraft bound for the Moon or other destinations.

Credits: NASA

 

Ares V is the cargo launch vehicle of the Constellation Program. Ares V is a two stage rocket, 116 m long and 10 m in diameter. It will be able to deliver a staggering 188,000 kg (188 metric tonnes!) payload into a LEO.

 

The first stage uses both solid and liquid propulsion (two SRB-derived boosters and 6 RS-68 liquid fueled engines) while the second stage (the Earth Departure Stage) uses a single J-2X engine. It is a versatile launch system and it will be used to carry to LEO cargo and the components needed to go to the Moon and later to Mars.

 

Both launch vehicles are subject to configuration changes. The images reflect the configuration as of September 2006.

Credits: NASA

 

Orion is able to carry four to six astronauts. It will provide logistic support to ISS in the first stage. After that, Orion will become an important part of NASA’s human missions to the Moon and Mars.

 

The conceptual design is similar to the Apollo, but has been improved: an updated digital control system, automated pilot for docking procedures, and a nitrogen/oxygen mixed atmosphere.

 

The conical form is the safest and most reliable design for re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. The landing procedure has also been modified: instead of a splash in the Ocean, the module will land on solid ground using a combination of parachutes and airbags.

 

Credits: NASA

Altair is the lander spacecraft component of the Constellation Program. Like its predecessor, the Apollo Lunar Module, Altair has two stages.

 

Altair will land all crew members of the lunar mission on the surface of the Moon, while Orion will stay in lunar orbit until the mission ends. The ascending stage brings the crew back on Orion for the journey home.

While the ultimate goal of the program is a manned mission to Mars (there are predictions for 2030), the main activities will be providing logistic support to ISS and establishing a permanent human settlement on the Moon.

Credits: NASA

For more information you can visit the Constellation Program page on NASA’s web site.

Credits: NASA

 

In July 2008, NASA Images, a service of Internet Archive, started to offer public access to NASA’s images, videos, and audio collections. Internet Archive, a non-profit library, has set the goal of increasing our understanding of the earth, our solar system and the universe beyond in order to benefit humanity.

 

It is important to mention that Internet Archive receives no financial support from NASA. The project is currently funded through a grant from the Kahle-Austin Foundation, and it is actively looking for additional financial support. Potential sponsors can find more information on the NASA Images site.

 

The archive is organized into five main categories: Universe, Solar System, Earth, Aeronautics, and Astronauts. A really neat feature available is called Spaceflight Timeline. It allows you to browse the archive in chronological order. The timescale starts in 1958 with Explorer 1 Project. Other historical projects featured are Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and SkyLab.

 

It is an excellent collection, check it out!

Credits: NASA

 

A book ahead of its time, The High Frontier – Human Colonies in Space was written by Gerard K. O’Neill (1927-1992) and first published in 1976. O’Neill was an American physicist and space pioneer. He was born in Brooklyn, graduated from Swarthmore College in 1950, and received a doctorate in physics from Cornell University in 1954. He joined the faculty of Princeton University, which he remained associated with until his death. As a faculty member of Princeton University, he invented the particle storage ring and the O’Neill cylinder. He began his studies on the colonization of space in 1969.

 

The book contains a possible roadmap for the human settlement of the Solar System, essays by experts in the field of space research (David P. Gump, Peter E. Glaser, Margo R. Deckard, George Friedman, Rick N. Tumlinson, John S. Lewis), and a CD-ROM featuring presentations by Gerard O’Neill and the Space Studies Institute.

 

Gerard K. O’Neill presents three major designs for human space colonies. He calls these designs Island One, Island Two, and Island Three. Just to have an idea of the scale of these artificial structures, Island Three consists of two counter-rotating cylinders (also known as the O’Neill cylinders) each two miles in radius, and capable of scaling up to twenty miles long. Each cylinder has six stripes that run the length of the cylinder. Three stripes are transparent (the “windows”), allowing the sunlight inside and three stripes correspond to the land. Each one of these designs represents a stage in the colonization of the space close to Earth. The two major resources needed for developments of such scale are energy and building materials. The proposed solutions are Satellite Solar Power Stations and mining operations on the Moon. Earth cannot be used as a source of raw materials needed for the construction of the colonies due to the prohibitive launching costs. Mass drivers powered by solar power or nuclear reactors on the surface of the Moon would be able to provide raw materials at prices at least one order of magnitude lower than the traditional payload carriers used in the present.

 

Gerard K. O’Neill presented his vision on space colonization and he described the driving force behind it as an economic force. Considering the latest developments in Space Tourism and the growing interest that venture capitalists show, the roadmap that Gerard K. O’Neill described seems to be less of a dream and more of a reality.