Non-Lunar Landing Missions for Orion

[radarredux]

I was thinking of some non-Lunar Landing missions that involved Orion before 2020. In particular, I was thinking of some missions that could be accomplished before Ares V comes online. Here are a couple of quick thoughts along with a guess as to the probability of seeing such a mission. Anyone have any other ideas?<br /><br />(1) Orion docking with ISS. This seems pretty obvious, short of any unexpected minor problems. Probability = 98%.<br /><br />(2) Orion performs an Apollo-8 class mission -- entering Lunar orbit and then returning home (see my post in Ares IV thread). Griffin mentioned such a mission in his Planetary Society report. Probability = 80%.<br /><br />(3) Orion rendezvous with a Near Earth Object such as an asteroid. Once again, this was mentioned in Griffin's Planetary Society's report, it has recently received a fair amount of press (CNN story), and NASA has a report on such a mission due in about a month. Probability = 60%.<br /><br />(4) Orion docking with a Bigelow space habitat. Assuming everything goes well, Bigelow will have the Sundancer and maybe BA-330 in orbit by the time Orion flies. Will NASA spring for the money to launch a mission to a private space station? How will this affect support for ISS? Probability < 40%.<br /><br />(5) Orion docking with another Orion capsule in either LEO or Lunar orbit. Such a docking could test capabilities for emergency rendezvous. It could also provide a mini-space station capability (perhaps around the Moon) -- launch one Orion without a crew, a second crewed Orion docks with the first Orion, and the crew doubles its habitat space. Will NASA have the capability or interest in launching two Orion capsules in a short window of time? Probability &lt

 

[dreada5]

I think the first two are definites. But after that I would actually put your number 5 as number 3 and end there!<br /><br />All this talk (http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/061227_asteroid_orion.html) about NEO missions for the CEV sounds interesting and quite relevant long term for VSE (post-Moon, pre-Mars), but I have difficulty in seeing how NASA will be able to fund and schedule NEO misison requirements and still hit the 2020 Lunar deadline. Surely a NEO mission will require specific training, some asteriod-related unique hardware, transfer of NASA human resources away from the lunar exploration program etc, etc. I can't help but seeing such a mission making the 2020 lunar deadline slip.<br /><br />As for your number 4, I don't see how a trip to a Bigelow habitat would be in NASA's interests - considering that they would have just spent $100 billion constructing ISS for full-scale international utilisation. Saying that, if Bigelow habitat module is docked to the ISS (to expand its capacity) then perhaps we may see a docking between Orion and a "Bigelow/TransHab" module, thats if Orion doesn't use one of the existing ISS ports.<br />

 

[tohaki]

Orion-Shenzhou Test Project?

 

[themanwithoutapast]

Well, I don't think (3) to (5) are very likely either. But let's add one more:<br /><br />(6) Venus orbital or flyby science mission. <br />*Transit to Venus would be shorter than a Mars mission, however due to Venus greater mass, a higher delta-v would be required for break into orbit. I guess only a flyby would be possible by only using a Moon type Orion mission (one Ares I, one Ares V). <br />*Remote control of landers without large time-gaps between control inputs are critical considering that life expectancy of any hardware landed on the surface of Venus is rather limited because of the harsh environment and high pressure.<br />*Nominal crew size: 3-4; nominal mission duration: 18 months for orbital and 6-8 months for flyby<br />*Nominal mass after EDS-burn: nearly the same as for a Moon mission, that is a bit over 60 tons. A flyby mission would require a 40-ton habmodule and any lander robots and scientific equipment to be used for the flyby science. An orbital mission would require more delta-v than it is available by the Orion spacecraft, 60-tons would probably not be enough. The mission would at least require 2 Ares V launches (one large EDS and one Ares V carrying a Venus orbit breaking stage)

 

[radarredux]

> <i><font color="yellow">ut I have difficulty in seeing how NASA will be able to fund and schedule NEO misison requirements and still hit the 2020 Lunar deadline. </font>/i><br /><br />I agree that funding will have to be added for such a mission, but that could come with enough stories regarding the potential danger asteroids may pose to Earth. Maybe funding for the mission could come out of the Department of Homeland Security. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Below is a link to a picture of how close asteroid 2004 MN 4 will come to Earth in 2029 -- it is well inside the Moon's orbit. Being able to develop greater knowledge of the composition of various asteroids and develop countermeasures might be worthy of their own funding independent of the current VSE plans.<br /><br />Picture:<br />http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/2004mn4d4.gif<br /><br />Science at NASA article:<br />http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/13may_2004mn4.htm</i>