Everything Old Is New Again....Part 2

Tim Sayell just send me a note concerning NASA's newest mission post. Or is it an new old mission? hummm. This is what is going on. Since the White House put the breaks to a return to the moon NASA has been looking for a way to put the Orion project to good use. As you might recall, Orion was part of the Constellation program that was suppose to return men to the moon by 2020. Instead NASA was tasked with sending people to an asteroid by 2025, and then on to Mars missions by the 2030s. To do this NASA plans to modify the Orion capsule with help from the Orion's main contractor - Lockheed Martin. The new capsule will be designated the MPCV or Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.

The design is very Apollo Command Vehicle in design but will carry 4 crew members for up to three week. From the article:

• The MPCV will be capable of performing a variety of in-space activities, such as rendezvousing and docking with other craft. And astronauts aboard the MPCV will be able to perform spacewalks

Complete article here

Obama Tells NASA to Junk the Moon Project

Ok, here is some stuff just to make you crazy....

Dvice.com reports that president Obama is telling NASA to Scrap plans to have men on the Moon by 2020! Want more Junk the Constellation program.

Ok, first off, I know, I took one look at the Constellation program and the planned Moon missions and said this is Apollo redux! And I did hammer on the Constellation with it's vibration problems and the asinine spring solution. And I know, I have said that going back to the Moon instead of focusing on Mars seemed like a serious waste of time. (why redo what has been done....the earlier programs were "this is how you do it" not "this is a recipe on how to do it just like this again) It's one thing to sit and grumble, I don't set policy so I can take that liberty, but it's another thing to see the paring knives come out and the butchering begin. And now without even the poorly conceived Constellation rockets, we have NOTHING as a follow on to the Shuttle program. Obama is citing lack of innovation in both projects...
ok, that is a hard one to call him on, but my grumbling was almost "inhouse" - as a space enthusiast I felt that this was not one of NASA's best efforts, but I would have been right there when one of them bad boys roared off the pad. It's hard to see NASA being put down like an old dog by someone from "outside" lol, I know...but it just feels wrong.

This is what the Dvice article quoted the NY Times about:

• Mr. Obama's 2010 budget proposal for NASA asks for $18 billion over five years for fueling spacecraft in orbit, new types of engines to accelerate spacecraft through space and robotic factories that could churn soil on the Moon — and eventually Mars — into rocket fuel.

ok, that doesn't sound so bad, but refueling what spacecraft? What, our space program is now relegated to gas station attendants? Just feels .......... wrong.

read the complete Dvice article here

read the NY Times article here

Politics Threatens U.S. Occupation of Space Station

The Universe Today has noted that once again politics is interfering with the space program. With the recent chilling of U.S. - Russian relations, due in part to the recent Russian invasion of Georgia, Congress is understandably reluctant to authorize buying Soyuz seats for U.S. astronauts.

The problem is that "NASA also is counting on using the Soyuz to bridge the five-year gap between the end of shuttle operations in 2010 and the debut of the Constellation program in 2015." This gap is the result of delays caused by short sighted politicians underfunding NASA.

NASA Administrator Mike Griffin notes that this leaves only three possibilities. Either there won't be any U.S. and partner country astronauts on board the ISS for a time, or NASA will be authorized additional money to extend the space shuttle's life, or Nasa will be told to keep the shuttle flying without extra money. Griffin doesn't say it, but the last possibility is the most typical of Congress.

<The Universe Today article>

(Thanks Dave, I might want to suggest everyone take a look at a previous article I wrote dealing more with the political end of what is happening here. At risk here is of course the ISS, what is in play though is a WMD non proliferation waver that Russia has enjoyed for some time now and is about to expire. <- read more ->)

NASA awards contract for new suits!

NASA has awarded a contract to Oceaneering International Inc. of Houston, for the design, development and production of a new spacesuit system. The Constellation Program mission requires two spacesuit system configurations to meet the requirements of Orion missions to the space station and to the moon. Configuration One will support dynamic events such as launch and landing operations; contingency intravehicular activity (IVA) during critical mission events; off-nominal events such as loss of pressurization of the Orion crew compartment; and microgravity. Configuration Two will build upon Configuration One and will support lunar surface operations. While preparing to walk on the moon, the astronauts will construct Configuration Two by replacing elements of Configuration One with elements specialized for surface operations.



Image Credits: NASA.

NASA planing an asteroid mission

Progress is being made on defining a human mission to an asteroid. A feasibility study to stage a human mission to an asteroid is underway, said Carlton Allen, Astromaterials Curator and Manager of the Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). “It would involve flying people to one of the NEOs and, among other things, collect samples and bring them back,”

Edward Lu, veteran shuttle and International Space Station astronaut, is a member of the JSC study team. They are looking into use of Orion technology earlier than 2020, as well as utilizing Delta or Atlas Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles.

“There are many asteroids that have very low relative velocities with respect to Earth,” Lu observed. Identifying an “ideal” NEO is one that’s both slow moving and comes close to Earth – sort of a match made in heaven. “Those are easy targets, they wouldn’t require a lot of rocket oomph to rendezvous with," he said.

Lu also said that the question now is 'How can already existing or currently planned Constellation hardware be used or minimally changed to permit other exploration agendas?'

Constellation boosters and spacecraft hardware are now geared to support NASA’s return to the Moon and onward to Mars plans.