NASA Shows Off Two-Launch Plan To Get To Moon
Lunar Landing Could Come In 2018
POSTED: Monday, September 19, 2005
  NASA NASA's plan for a new round of lunar missions calls for launching crews and supplies on what the agency called "shuttle-derived" systems based on the current solid-rocket boosters. |
NASA plans to return to the moon by using systems modified from the space shuttle program and the Apollo program that went to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s.Administrator Michael Griffin detailed for the public Monday the new mission architecture that had previously been unveiled to Congress and the White House.The plan calls for two launches to get a crew of four to the moon. Both launches would take place on what Griffin called "shuttle-derived vehicles."One would be like the current shuttle's launch package -- an extended external tank and two boosters. It would have five main shuttle engines to take the lunar module and other supplies to orbit, where it could wait up to 30 days.A second launch would place the crew atop a modified shuttle booster with an extra stage. The crew would ride in the yet-to-be-designed Crew Exploration Vehicle that is meant to be the next generation of space transport.In orbit, the CEV and other module would meet up, then head to the moon. A lunar lander would carry four people to the surface, while the CEV orbited unmanned.While there are similarities to the Apollo plan, Griffin said that it will be "Apollo on steroids," with bigger vehicles.Many details, such as how the system will land on the moon and back on Earth, will be decided by contractors, he said.President George W. Bush's vision called for a program that would send robotic explorers to the moon, followed by manned flights, a permanent presence and then missions farther into the solar system.The system could also be used to construct pieces for a Mars mission in orbit, Griffin said. It also will allow for service of the space station, space telescopes or doing other tasks, Griffin said.It can also establish a permanent presence on the moon.Griffin said one of the advantages of the architecture is that it allows exploration far from the moon's equator, something scientists had requested.Bush has called for the space shuttle to be retired in 2010, after it completes construction of the International Space Station.Statistical risk analysis shows that the new system is 10 times safer than the space shuttle, Griffin said.NASA also plans robotic missions to the moon before people return.Griffin was questioned about the costs of the program in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The program will not take new money, Griffin said, and said that space flight is a long-term investment that must be made, like the Air Force or Navy.
Previous Stories:
- July 22, 2005: House Approves Bush Vision For Space
- February 11, 2004: Public Can Comment On Future NASA Missions
- January 15, 2004: Experts Question Costs Of Bush Space Plan
- January 14, 2004: NASA Gets Focus, Vision, Goals From Bush
- January 13, 2004: Budget Needs For Moon-Mars Missions Revealed
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NASA's plan for a new round of lunar missions calls for launching crews and supplies on what the agency called "shuttle-derived" systems based on the current solid-rocket boosters.NASA -
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