Article

NASA’s New Robotic Lunar Program

January 2008

DOI:10.1007/978-0-387-73997-7_9

Authors:

On 14 January 2004, President George W. Bush issued a policy statement entitled A Renewed Spirit of Discovery in which he called upon NASA to begin to plan for a resumption of human missions to the Moon, as a precursor to a mission to Mars. As a first step, and beginning no later than 2008, NASA was instructed to “initiate a series of robotic missions to the Moon to prepare for and support future exploration activities”. In The Vision for Space Exploration, which the agency published on 11 February, the Goddard Space Flight Center was directed to establish a Robotic Lunar Exploration Program.

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Article

With Mike Griffin

September 2005

F. Sietzen Jr

The views of Michael D. Griffin, 11th administrator of NASA, on direction for NASA and NASA's culture, are presented. NASA has three main functions, three main mission areas: human spaceflight, science, and aeronautics. Now the Bush administration's Vision for Space Exploration is primarily about the directions in which the NASA take human spaceflights, with robotic exploration. The most enduring ... [Show full abstract] thing about the space station program has been the quality of the international partnership. He would expect that the NASA ramp up their plan and arrangements to go to the Moon, they will find the international community those who will want to accompany them.

Chapter

Vision for Space Exploration

January 2009

Erik Seedhouse

The above excerpt from President Bush’s speech launched a bold and forward-thinking space exploration policy now known as the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) that set a direction for NASA’s human spaceflight program for decades to come. To accomplish the VSE, President Bush assigned NASA to initiate the Constellation Program, tasked with developing a new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and a ... [Show full abstract] new heavy-lift vehicle. For space enthusiasts and those working in the space industry, the VSE announcement was a statement long overdue.

Conference Paper

Experimental Investigation of the Wake Characteristics of the NASA Orion Capsule

January 2008

The Vision for Space Exploration, established by President Bush in January 2004, has prompted NASA to begin development of a new spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Vehicle. This vehicle, named Orion, will possess the capabilities to travel to the space station, the moon, and eventually Mars. The purpose of this research was to analyze the wake characteristics behind the Orion capsule and provide ... [Show full abstract] NASA with main and drogue parachute deployment strategies and recommendations. The facility used for this research was the Subsonic Wind Tunnel at the United States Air Force Academy. Four planes, 3.35 Orion diameters by 3.72 Orion diameters, located at 5.5, 6.5, 10.5 and 12 diameters aft of the Orion model were surveyed with the Orion model at 0 and 17 degree angles of attack and Mach 0.475 and Mach 0.35 tunnel velocity. The results from the wake survey indicated three significant trends for all planes and configurations tested. The lowest measured dynamic pressure recovery fraction was similar at each angle of attack and Mach number. The displacement of the wake center at 17 degrees angle of attack increased linearly to the side of the Orion model from 0.62 diameters at Mach 0.35 to 1.3 diameters at Mach 0.472. The radius of the wake displayed dynamic characteristics by increasing for regions of high pressure recovery fractions and decreasing for regions of low pressure recovery fractions as distance aft of the Orion model increased. The results provided sufficient data to recommend continued development with the six diameter bridle on the drogue chute, a drogue skirt that can withstand dynamic pressures that are 71% of the freestream dynamic pressure, and a triple drogue chute configuration. It is also recommended that the main parachute selection consider both the total bridle/line length and the wake radius in a triple chute configuration. This effort was sponsored by NASA Johnson Space Center.