Constructing a moon base

[waxy]

Yes, yet another question. it seems to be all i post around <br />here. (maybe one day i'll beat the rest of you to a punch on<br />new News.)<br /><br />Earlier i asked about the CEV's crew and cargo sizes and <br />diminsions. but i was wondering... What will they use to <br />send the moon base materials there? the CEV? Or <br />something with more volume/tonnage capabilities?<br /><br />EG: if i wanted to design a "Moon base in a bottle" then<br />what weight & size deminsions is it limited to?<br /><br />(i've only been able to find CEV information on NASA.gov, nothing<br />about the future cargo to the moon or anything.)<br /><br />Thanks again guys. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[darkenfast]

The most probable way (at this point), to send materials for a lunar base is to use the other launcher of the ESAS system. This is the CaLV (Cargo Launch vehicle, previously referred to as the SDLV). If you've looked at the ESAS report, you'll realize that the lunar missions use a "1.5" launch method. That's a slick way of saying "one big rocket, one not-so-big rocket. This is what enables the ESAS program to send more astronauts and a larger lander to a wider area on the moon than Apollo.<br /><br />In the case of just delivering cargo for a base, only a CaLV is needed. It's identical to the one in the manned landings, except that the Ascent Stage of the lander is replaced by the cargo. That's actually a fair amount of weight available (I think the amount is 21 tonnes). There's been talk of using discarded parts of lunar landers as components of a base, but that's not as easy as it would seem. <br /><br />Hope this helps!

 

[waxy]

Found it.<br />if the CaLV will be using the shuttle's Main External Feul <br />Tank for cargo, then the maximum dimensions for cargo <br />are :<br /><br /> 153.8 feet (47 m) long and has a diameter of 27.6 feet (8.4 m)<br /><br />Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_external_tank<br /><br />as per your reply on tonage, all necessary information is<br /> now here. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> tks agian for your reply.