What will the shuttle replace?
The destruction of the Columbia shuttle in 2003 forced the national administration of aviation and the universe (NASA) to seek alternative methods of traveling in space. The vehicle to replace the shuttle is the constellation Orion produced by Lockheed Martin. Orion seems to be very similar to the Apollo spacecraft of the 1960s, although it is larger and much more advanced. Orion will have a crew of four men whose primary goal is to research. Unlike previous lunar missions, all four crew members leave the vessel in orbit to travel to the moon's surface.
Orion was sometimes called "Apollo on steroids" because of its similar appearance as the original lunar vessel. In many basic ways, it is much more similar to Apollo than the current shuttle. Orion is shaped as a cone and has a capsule that will be a fall into safety after its return to the ground, rather than a shuttle aircraft, such as landing.
Plans for Orion Measure 16.5 feet (5 meters) in diameter and 10.8 feet (3.3 meters) in height. BudE weigh about £ 31,000 (14,000 kg) when it is empty. The estimated bulky volume is 692 cubic tracks (11 cubic meters). As a result, it is larger than Apollo, but smaller than the shuttle.
Orion will have a one -time engine module in which storage bays are located. Basic functions will be operated by batteries and electricity producing fuel cells. These electrical functions will be enhanced by solar fields that will maintain power at a minimum level during unmanned lunar orbit.
Starting must be carefully timed to make the lunar landing successful. First, Orion launches from the Kennedy Space Station using the Ares I. An hour and a half after its launch, the RES rocket will start in the spacecraft Altair Lunar Landing and the Earth's departure phase in the orbit. They join and circulate on the ground for up to four days while waiting for the moon to be in the right position.
when it is trAns-lunar injection window open, which means that the moon is properly aligned with the vehicle, the Stadium of the Earth's departure will fire the connected spacecraft towards the moon. The Earth's departure phase will fall away and the Altai lunar landing missiles remaining vessel in orbit around the moon. The crew uses a lunar landing to land on the surface of the moon, while the rest of the spacecraft remains in orbit and waits for their return.
The initial constellation Orion Mission will be a trip to the international space station. This first system test will help to determine any problems that could be harmful to the moon landing. The aim of the first month is a seven -day stay on the surface. Scientists plan to stretch this for 180 days in decades of Orion's first mission, with a possible destination of the lunar station. It is that the eventual landing on Mars will start with a lunar start, so the Orion mission is likely to test water for this option.