Space Travel Present & Future Aerospace

Space Shuttle Program 1st reusable spacecraft Engineering started in 1972 4 shuttles were initially built (Columbia, Discovery, Atlantis, Challenger) The orbiter was designed with a large cargo bay area to accommodate a variety of tasks. 1st flight April 12, 1981 Shuttle Columbia The shuttle also allowed for crews of more than 3. 1983; 1st time a women was in space. Typical mission length is 7-8 days but can extend to 14 days 1st untethered flights in space took place using a MMU (manned maneuvering unit)

Space Shuttle Program How it works Launching the Space Shuttle To lift the 4.5 million pound shuttle from the pad to orbit (115 to 400 miles) above the Earth, the shuttle uses the following components: two solid rocket boosters (SRB) three main engines of the orbiter the external fuel tank (ET) Orbital maneavering system (OMS) on the orbiter T minus 31 s - the on-board computers take over the launch sequence. T minus 6.6 s - the shuttle's main engines ignite T minus 0 s -the SRBs are ignited and the shuttle lifts off the pad. T plus 60 s - shuttle engines are at maximum throttle. T plus 2 min - SRBs separate from the orbiter and fuel tank at an altitude of 28 miles. Main engines continue firing. Parachutes deploy from the SRBs. SRBs will land in the ocean about 140 miles off the coast of Florida. Ships will recover the SRBs and tow them back to Cape Canaveral for processing and re-use.

Space Shuttle Program How it works T plus 7.7 min - main engines throttled down to keep acceleration below 3g's so that the shuttle does not break apart. T plus 8.5 min - main engines shut down. T plus 9 min - ET separates from the orbiter. The ET will burn up upon re-entry. T plus 10.5 min - OMS engines fire to place you in a low orbit.

Space Shuttle Program

Space Shuttle Program Accidents Challenger Accident January 28, 1986 24 successful missions prior Failed o-ring on the solid rocket booster caused the death of 7 astronauts Columbia Accident February 1, 2003 107th shuttle mission Space Shuttle disintegrated over Texas during re- entry into the Earth's atmosphere due to tile damage

International Space Station The (ISS) is a research facility currently being assembled in outer space above the Earth. ISS is a joint project between five space agencies Project was started in 1998 and anticipates a completion date of 2010 The first crew to occupy the ISS was in 2000 & consisted of 1 American astronaut and 2 Russian cosmonauts Powered by large solar panels

The Future of NASA X-33 Project Went into development in 1996 Unmanned spacecraft to replace the shuttle Developed to be a completely reusable single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) launch vehicle to replace the aging Space Shuttle by about 2010 NASA cancelled the project in 2001 after spending over $1 billion in R&D (X-33 was 75% completed) Reasons for canceling: over budget and technology was to advanced

Project Orion Modeled after the Apollo program Will take man back to the moon 1st flights are planned for 2014 to the ISS & 2020 the the moon Orion will be capable of transporting cargo and up to six crew members to and from the ISS. It can carry four crewmembers for lunar missions. Later, it can support crew transfers for Mars missions. Lockheed Martin Corp was awarded the contract to build Orion on Aug. 31, 2006.

Project Orion

Ares Rockets Ares I: missions to the ISS Areas IV & V:missions to the moon