Exploration launchers system

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The Little Hercules launchers<br />By Kevin ,J waldroup<br />Little Hercules Tourist<br />The Medium Lift Hercules, or Little Hercules is a solid rocket booster with a second stage hydrogen fueled J2 class rocket engine that can launch 40,000 pounds into low Earth orbit. It will able to launch the new NASA spaceship I call "Clementine".<br />The Little Hercules will launch government spacecraft and will also launch private based craft that will launch tourist into low Earth orbit. The spacecraft will be based on what was called back in the 70's Big Gemini. The big Gemini can launch 10 tourist instead of the Soyuz 3, or the Shenzhou which can carry 4 space tourist. The Big Gemini will use a paraglider that can be guided to an airport and landed on a runway.<br /><br />The Little Hercules will use Russian spacecraft like the Soyus and the Kliper while we wait for the Big Gemini to be built. It will probably take tourist to Bigelow’s inflatable space hotels, or the International Space Station, or an external tank built space hotel.<br /><br />Improved Little Hercules<br /><br />The class A or basic Little Hercules design have 2 stages. A solid Rocket Booster, that is fully reusable, the chemical 2nd stage is non-reusable. The basic package will be used to launch the Clementine into low Earth orbit. This basic design will also be used to launch tourist into orbit.<br /><br />The class B will add 4 strap on chemical rockets that are similar to the Long March rockets used by the Chinese. We will have to use a cleaner fuel because the United States is judged by a different standard, environmentally. With the 4 strap on boosters will be increased from 40,000 lbs to approximately 48,000 to 50,000 lbs. The class C is basically a Little Hercules with 2 solid rocket boosters attached. It will be able to lift approximately 60,000 lbs. Into low Earth orbit.<br />The improved Little Hercules used a 5 segment solid rocket booster with an improved chemical upper stage. This should increase the p

 

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Taking the Vision to the Next Step<br />http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/65847main_orbital.pdf<br />http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/vision_concepts.html

 

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Taurus<br /><br />The Taurus rocket offers an affordable, reliable means of launching small satellites into low-Earth orbit. Developed under the sponsorship of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Taurus was designed for easy transportability and rapid set-up and launch. Since its debut flight in 1994, Taurus has conducted six of seven successful missions launching 12 satellites for commercial, civil, military, and international customers.<br /><br />Taurus is a ground-based variant of our air-launched Pegasus rocket. The four-stage, inertially guided, all solid propellant vehicle can deploy 1,350-kilogram (3,000-pound) satellites into low-Earth orbit. Two fairing sizes offer flexibility in designing a particular mission, and with the addition of a structural adapter, either can accommodate multiple payloads, resulting in lower launch costs for smaller satellites "sharing" a mission.<br /><br />A cornerstone of the Taurus program is a simplified integration and test capability that includes horizontal integration of the rocket's upper stages and offline encapsulation of the payload within the fairing. The upper stages and the encapsulated cargo are delivered to the launch site, where they are mated. The whole assembly is then stacked on the first stage using a mobile crane.<br /><br />The Taurus launch system includes a complete set of ground support equipment to ensure the ability to operate from austere sites. Thus far, Taurus has launched from the U.S. Government's Western range at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. Taurus is also approved for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) in Florida, Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in Virginia, and Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska. <br />http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/Publications/taurus-user-guide.pdf<br />Gemini began<br />http://yarc

 

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NASA ADVANCED PLANNING & INTEGRATION OFFICE (APIO) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) <br />http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/synopsis.cgi?acqid=113190<br />http://www.lockheedmartin.com/wms/findPage.do?dsp=fec&ci=14051&rsbci=13647&fti=0&ti=0&sc=400<br />ate Released: Friday, November 05, 2004<br />Source: Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG)<br /><br />Findings of the Moon-Mars Science Linkage Science Steering Group<br /><br />Download full report (Microsoft Word) <br />http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=14439<br />http://www.transformspace.com/<br />

 

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The case for shuttle-derived heavy lift<br />by Thomas Olson<br />http://www.thespacereview.com/article/208/1<br /> Delta IV Heavy<br />http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bls/d4heavy/flash.html<br /> Expendable Launch Vehicles<br />http://www.spaceandtech.com/spacedata/elvs/elvs.shtml<br />A Budgetary Analysis of NASA's<br />New Vision for Space Exploration<br />http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=5772&sequence=0&from=0<br />

 

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Stepping-Stones to the Future of Space Exploration: A Workshop Report (2004)<br />Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB)<br />http://books.nap.edu/books/0309092507/html/R1.html<br />N A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N I S T R A T I O N<br />http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/55524main_FY05%20Agency%20Summary-2.31.pdf<br />Future space flight missions will require significant payload-to-orbit capability to implement<br />America’s new space exploration initiative, which calls for a return to the moon and travel<br />to Mars and beyond. Launch systems derived from Space Shuttle infrastructure and system<br />components, including ATK’s Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM), offer an affordable<br />and sustainable way to achieve the necessary medium-lift, heavy-lift, and ultra heavy-lift<br />capabilities. The largest solid rocket motor ever to fly and the only one rated for human<br />flight, ATK’s Reusable Solid Rocket Motor has provided the initial lift for every Space<br />Shuttle mission since the first flight of the Shuttle Columbia in 1981.<br />Suggest adding this link:<br />http://www.atk.com/investor/2004AR/ar-04.pdf<br />http://ast.faa.gov/files/pdf/Book1screen.pdf<br />Report of the President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy<br />A Journey to Inspire, Innovate, and Discover<br />June 2004<br />Moon, Mars and Beyond...<br />http://www.olympus.net/personal/ptmaccon/pif/issues/other/moontomars.html

 

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Boeing to Join Northrop Bid for NASA's New Spacecraft (Update1)<br /><br />Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co., the largest private contractor to the U.S. space program, said it will join Northrop Grumman Corp. to bid for the contract to develop NASA's next manned spacecraft, which could carry humans to the moon and Mars.<br /><br />The contract for the so-called ``crew exploration vehicle'' will be the largest awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the next five years, analyst Royce Dalby said. It could be worth as much as $5 billion through 2010, he said.<br /><br />Boeing wants a piece of the contract to replace NASA's shuttles and allow astronauts to go beyond Earth orbit. The company leads construction of the International Space Station and helps manage the U.S. shuttles through a venture with Lockheed Martin Corp. President George W. Bush in January called for NASA to resume manned lunar trips for the first time in three decades.<br /><br />``To not be involved in this would be to not play a major role in manned space exploration,'' said Dalby, a space analyst at Washington-based consulting company DFI International. ``It would be an incredible plum for any company to win something like this.''<br /><br />The competition to begin development of the crew exploration vehicle is expected to begin in 2005, Boeing and Northrop said in a statement. They didn't disclose the terms of their agreement.<br /><br />Study Contracts<br /><br />Bush in January said he would reallocate $11 billion in existing funds and add $1 billion in new money over five years to pay for robotic and manned trips to the moon as a step toward a journey to Mars.<br /><br />Chicago-based Boeing and Los Angeles-based Northrop were among 11 companies which got six-month contracts in September worth a combined total of as much as $54 million to study concepts for manned missions to the moon and the development of new space vehicles.<br /><br />NASA plans to issue a formal request for proposals

 

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External Tanks in Orbit<br /><br />This page is devoted to the concept that the Space Shuttle's External Tank is a valuable resource which can be used for a variety of on-orbit purposes, if only its orbit was circularized after separation from the Shuttle during launch.<br />STS-51 External Tank <br /><br />(last modified at Mon, 23 Aug 2004 06:33:12 GMT)<br />http://www.orbit6.com/et/<br />

 

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http://groups.msn.com/DaveDietzler/touristrockets.msnw<br /> <br />http://www.ilslaunch.com/&%$#@!/Best_Launch_Service_Survey_and_Analysis.pdf

 

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NASA Facing Few Choices To Build CEV<br />Robert Zimmerman<br />Washington (UPI) Nov 11, 2004<br />The decision by Boeing and Northrup Grumman to join forces in their bid to build NASA's next generation manned spacecraft, dubbed the crew exploration vehicle or CEV, significantly reduces the number of major aerospace players available to the agency.<br /><br />This also forces NASA to make its choice from only two camps, neither of which is ideal: the oversized and experienced vs. the undersized and innovative.<br /><br />The CEV is planned as NASA's primary manned spacecraft as soon as the space shuttle fleet is retired, probably in 2010. The agency's road map for building the CEV calls for proposals to be submitted early in 2005, with two companies then chosen to build a prototype that actually will stand for flight tests in 2008. NASA then will pick its prime contractor from these two companies.<br /><br />The first manned mission is set for no later than 2014. After that, the CEV will be augmented so it can be used for all manned missions to the moon and beyond.<br /><br />According to the Boeing-Northrup Grumman announcement, the two companies plan to alternate as prime contractor should they win the bid to build the CEV. In the early years, Northrup Grumman will take the lead, using Boeing as a major subcontractor as they construct the CEV's low-Earth-orbit version.<br />http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nasa-04zp.html<br /><br />http://www.aiaa.org/aerospace/images/articleimages/pdf/viewnovember04.pdf

 

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http://www.eclipticenterprises.com/newsinfo_launchhistory.php