Lunar News Network

Ares Soars

Finally some good news from NASA:

For first time since 1981, the rocket that took off Wednesday from a launching pad at the Kennedy Space Center here was not a space shuttle. With a clearing in a partly cloudy sky, the Ares I-X rocket — a prototype of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s next-generation Ares I rocket — zipped off at 11:30 a.m., heading east over the Atlantic Ocean. [...] For the NASA team working on the Constellation program to send astronauts to the Moon and beyond, the flight was a moment of smiles and joy, if not quite vindication. Critics have described the Ares I, which would be the first Constellation rocket to fly, as too expensive and technically flawed.

A successful launch is great news, but this comes at a time when the entire manned space program is under review. I'd like to feel good about this launch but I don't. The political winds are turning against NASA. Where are NASA's supporters in Congress? Who is speaking out for the U.S. space program? It's all about to be shut down, thousands thrown out of work, and expertise and skills lost that can't be quickly recovered. The U.S. is on the verge of sitting out the next stage of the space race just as other countries are starting to ramp up their efforts. I'm at a loss to explain it.

Photo Credit: The New York Times

Alternative Lunar Plan Proposed

The panel reviewing NASA's plans to return us to the Moon and then go on to Mars recently heard a proposal from within NASA that would dramatically change the plan. The alternative plan is based on the space shuttle hardware, infrastructure and personnel, and promises a cheaper and faster path to the Moon than the present Constellation program. This AP report provides all the details, but check out the amazingly negative way the report is introduced:

Like a car salesman pushing a luxury vehicle that the customer no longer can afford, NASA has pulled out of its back pocket a deal for a cheaper ride to the moon. It won't be as powerful, and its design is a little dated. Think of it as a base-model Ford station wagon instead of a tricked-out Cadillac Escalade. Officially, the space agency is still on track with a 4-year-old plan to spend $35 billion to build new rockets and return astronauts to the moon in several years. However, a top NASA manager is floating a cut-rate alternative that costs around $6.6 billion. This cheaper option is not as powerful as NASA's current design with its fancy new rockets, the people-carrying Ares I and cargo-lifting Ares V. But the cut-rate plan would still get to the moon.

From what I've read, the alternative plan (the Shannon plan, formally called the Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle) has merit, but making the plan sound like a used car (that could be a lemon) hardly does NASA any favors. At any rate, you can learn more about the alternative plan in this YouTube video:

Introducing the Constellation Program

NASA provides an overview of the Constellation program in this video:

Orion Makes a Splash on the Mall

Many Americans who are not in the space community are getting their first look at the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. NASA displayed a full-scale model of the vehicle on the National Mall yesterday so people could get up close and personal with the craft that will take us back to the Moon in 2020. Here is a roundup of national media coverage of the event:

CNN - Orion space capsule previewed on National Mall

Reuters - US unveils Orion spacecraft to take crew to Mars

Chicago Tribune - Preview of the Orion crew exploration vehicle

DVICE - Orion spacecraft mockup shows up in Washington

Aviation Week - NASA Prepares Orion Test

io9 - First Look at the Spacecraft That Will Take Humans to Mars

Wall Street Journal - Hard Times on Earth Inspire Some to Look to the Stars

Photo: Straits Times

Oxygen from Moon Dust

Happy New Year everyone! I had a nice extended break and now I'm back to what appears to be a very busy time. I anticipate light (lite, actually, but that isn't a word according to spellcheck) blogging for some time until the pace of work and life slows down a bit). I did want to note this interesting report on the Space.com site about How Moon Dust Could Yield Oxygen, Fuel and Water :

Recently, a team of scientists working for the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) demonstrated its first field test for NASA's In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Project. Research Operations Manager John Hamilton supported the mission simulation to show how astronauts will be able to prospect for resources on the moon to make their own oxygen, fuel and water from lunar rocks and soil. A key motivation of these experiments is the fact that almost half the moon, by weight, is made of oxygen. [...] NASA's lunar exploration plan says that on-site lunar resources could generate about one to two metric tons of oxygen per year, enough to support four to six people annually. Since it takes about 100 kilograms (kg) of soil to get 1 kg of oxygen, team leaders are looking at electrostatic and magnetic separation techniques to possibly concentrate the soil and increase the production rate.

I like these kinds of reports because they point to the viability of a lunar colony. Research continues and the methods of extracting oxygen will be refined, so the future of this plan looks very promising.

New Space Age Cup

Revolutionary new cup design means to no more drinking from straws in a weightless environment:

Good News for Ares

Here is some good news about the development of the Ares rocket and the potential gap between the shuttle and the next gen craft (AP - NASA may be able to speed up launch of moonship):

NASA officials said Wednesday it might be possible to try out its new moon rocketship a year earlier than its current target date of 2015.

That would mean just a four-year gap between the last space shuttle flight and the next-generation spacecraft, instead of five years. Many in Congress, including the two presidential candidates, are troubled by the prospect of the United States having to rely on Russia for trips to the international space station during that time.

NASA is midway through a study looking at ways to move up its March 2015 test launch of the new Ares rocketship with a crew, in case the next president wants that. The new rocket would ultimately return the United States to the moon, but the initial flights would be to the space station.

I think it's clear that for now at least, we can say that both McCain and Obama do want that, though how they act after looking at the budget deficit and their desire to cut spending remains to be seen.

Ares Milestone

The Ares rocket was in the news today (AP - NASA new moon rocket passes early design test):

NASA's new moon rocket passed a key design milestone late Wednesday. Senior NASA management unanimously approved the preliminary design review of the planned Ares I rocket that would launch astronauts into space by 2015 and back to the moon by 2020. But next year there will be another narrowly focused "delta" preliminary design review for one pending engineering issue - too much shaking after launch.

Nice to see the news media taking notice of some good news out of NASA.

Saving Ares from Shock

A severe engineering challenge on the Ares rocket has been solved (AP - NASA fixes moonship shaking with shock absorbers):

For close to a year, NASA engineers working on the new Ares 1 rocket and Orion crew capsule have been wrestling with the problem of heavy vibrations from the massive rocket engines about two minutes after launch. If the vibrations are not dampened, it could potentially harm the crew or make it too difficult for them to operate for a few seconds. Officials on Tuesday said they have settled on a solution that is similar to what smooths the rides of pickup trucks: shock absorbers. But NASA's shock absorbers will be big and mostly remote-controlled.

Ok, so it's not exactly inertial dampeners, we can't do that yet, but we can certainly do shock absorbers, nice to see that this problem has been solved.

Orion Delayed

More bad news to report (CNN -  NASA: Space shuttle replacement won't fly until 2014):

NASA has put off the planned launch of its next-generation Orion spacecraft for a year, a setback to efforts to fly a successor to its aging space shuttles, the space agency announced Monday. The Orion space vehicle in this artist rendering from Lockheed Martin's web site, won't see space until 2014. [...] a year later than NASA had planned to launch the first Orion, but still six months short of the March 2015 commitment date set by Congress. Program managers were hoping to fly the new vehicle much sooner than that to keep the gap between the last shuttle flight and the first Orion flight to a minimum.

I wonder if this is something that a new president can change? After all, with both McCain and Obama (a new convert) strongly supporting the program perhaps there will be more momentum. I'm worried though that past budget cycles are dictating what can be done and when, and even if a new president wanted to give NASA more money in the future, it may be too late to reverse these delays.

Plan B

Ok, maybe I just wasn't paying close attention, but I didn't know anything about this Ares alternative mentioned in this AP report (NASA engineers work on alternative moon rocket):

By day, the engineers work on NASA's new Ares moon rockets. By night, some go undercover to work on a competing design. These dissenting scientists and their backers insist they have created an alternative rocket that would be safer, cheaper and easier to build than the two Ares spacecraft that will replace the space shuttle. They call their project Jupiter, and like Ares, it's a brainchild of workers at the Marshall Space Flight Center and other NASA facilities. The engineers involved are doing the work on their own time and mostly anonymously, with the help of retirees and other space enthusiasts.

It really impresses me that they have NASA engineers working on this in their spare time, volunteering their expertise (and maybe even jeopardizing their jobs) for something they obviously feel passionate about. Perhaps they will eventually be called visionary, I mean, if Obama wins and then cuts the NASA budget, NASA will be looking for cheaper alternatives, and perhaps Jupiter will be the right rocket for the time. It's always good to have a plan B.

End of the Shuttle Era

The public is starting to get the news that the shuttle era is ending (Space - End in Sight: Final Space Shuttle Missions Slated):

NASA has set target launch dates for the eight space shuttle missions in 2009 and 2010 that are expected to be the fleet's last. The pre-retirement schedule for the shuttle has 10 remaining flights, including missions already scheduled for Oct. 8 and Nov. 10 of this year. The plan is to replace the shuttle fleet with the Orion craft, which is being built and tested now.

I'm hoping that once the public understands that this will mean a gap between the shuttle service and Orion that will leave the U.S. dependent on Russian hardware, they will support increased funding for Orion and the rest of the lunar program.

Supporting the Constellation Program

In this article in the The Huntsville Times (End debate and go to the moon) Joy Bryant argues for a strong national commitment to the NASA Constellation program:

NASA's plan calls for completion of the International Space Station by 2010, followed by space shuttle retirement while carrying out a new, ambitious program to get us beyond low Earth orbit and return to the moon by 2020. The Constellation program will accomplish this by allowing us to learn the skills and develop the technologies needed to live and work on another world. The program has received congressional support and public opinion, as measured by a recent Gallup poll that endorses NASA's plan for the future. 

Ares V Upgrade

The AP is reporting that NASA is making some upgrades to the Ares V rocket (NASA beefs up next-generation moon rocket):

The rocket is to be about 20 feet longer than a previous design and have six main engines at its base, instead of five. Engineers said they also decided to enlarge the twin solid-rocket boosters that will be bolted to its side so it can hold more fuel and carry more supplies and equipment than first envisioned. Steve Cook, manager of the Ares project office at the Marshall Space Flight Center, said the new design would make Ares V capable of carrying about 15,600 pounds more than the original concept [...]  the rocket will be capable of carrying four astronauts, a lunar lander and other equipment to a landing anywhere on the moon.

Of course, it's worth noting that all of this is a bit far off, work on Ares won't begin until 2010, and that's only if the political and budgetary environment remains positive for NASA.

Have Spacesuit? Part II

This New Scientis report (NASA's new spacesuits are made for walking) is far better than the report I linked to in my last post on the spacesuit contract, it includes more details and provides this NASA graphic on what the new suit may look like: