The Shuttle Program Is Winding Down–What Next?
This morning (May 16), the 2d to last NASA Space Shuttlecock launch deuced off from Cape Canaveral, with the final launching, STS-135, planned for launch in early July. With the Shuttle Plan finish, many citizenry think that IT's the end of NASA's manned space travel programme. But the reality is that information technology's quite the opposite: Non only will manned space travel continue, just National Aeronautics and Space Administration is also receiving a budget increase. The realism is that the Space Shuttle is simply being replaced by safer and more efficient means. So what's side by side?
The budget
Contrary to what you may think, NASA is to receive a budget increase of some six billion dollars (although more than of it whitethorn be to adjust for inflation) over the next twin years, thanks to the Obama administration. Additionally, National Aeronautics and Space Administration sucks up way to a lesser extent money than most people think it does. Reported to a canvass away The Space Revaluation, respondents connected average thought that NASA accounted for roughly 1/4 of the Federal budget.
In reality, NASA actually receives inferior than 1% of the entire budget. The budget increase–despite the cancellation of the Constellation Program (a failed attack at development a replacement to the Space Shuttle), is designed to meliorate the efficiency of everything that NASA does, including the manned spaceflight program.
With the signing of the Launch Services Buy in Act of 1990, nether George H.W. Bush NASA is required to buy launch services for its payloads from commercial providers when so much services are needed. So what does that mean? While there are a number of factors, it means that NASA saves a significant add up of money by going with commercial services. Not only that, but should commercial spaceflight alternatives be safer than any existing NASA program, then that service should be considered as an alternative.
Russia And NASA Deal
NASA recently signed a cope with Russia for $753 million to ply NASA with 12 disc-shaped trips to the Supranational Space Station at a cost of about $62.7 cardinal per seat. This signals an 8.5% increase; however, statistically speaking, the Soyuz spacecraft is one of the safest spacecrafts ever created, and is safer than NASA's Space Shuttle. Additionally, reported to the Aerospace Corporation, the Commonwealth of Independent States (Commonwealth of Independent States)/USSR has carried our Sir Thomas More space-bound launches (manned and unmanned) than all other countries cooperative, at some 1300 successful launches More the US's approximately <1200.
NASA is also contracting with SpaceX, founded by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, to fly supply missions to the International Space Station connected NASA's behalf, from after the Space Bird program ends direct December 2020. This deal is worthy up to $3.1 billion, depending on the number of missions flown.
However, until NASA either comes up with their possess alternative or US private corporations buy out, then Russia will comprise the main way for the US to send on persons into space for some time to fall.
Leading Alternatives
The Atlas V and the Delta IV are currently the 2 almost probably alternatives that NASA may use to carry astronauts into quad. As a matter of fact, both the Atlas and the Delta rocket families were being considered As replacements before NASA took on the Configuration Program.
Recently the United Establish Alliance (ULA) released documentation (PDF) that the Atlas V and the Delta IV could cost human-rated (i.e. competent to support manned spaceflight) with certain modifications. To boot, the Atlas family already has a story of human spaceflight with the Atlas Fifty-five-3B–the same vehicle which was in use to send astronauts to low Globe orbit for Project Mercury. The Atlast LV-3B logged quaternion human space flights, and other Atlas vehicles logged a list of unmanned space flights under Project Mercury.
There are a number of companies which want to use these vehicles for human space flying including Lockheed Martin who wants to Launch the Orion Spacecraft along the Delta IV Heavy, and Bigelow Aerospace WHO wants to use the Atlas V to contribute paying passengers to the Bigelow Space Station, currently under construction.
Inclined the success and history of the human-rated Book of maps 55-3B, the Telamon V has a precise good chance of itself beingness human-rated. Both launch vehicles are operated and built away the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Set up Alinement.
Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy
The Falcon Heavy, created by SpaceX, is apparently the near powerful rocket engine in the world-wide, with a plagiarise capacity of over 117,000 pounds–doubly the payload of the future closest vehicle.
The Falcon Disturbing provides a nuber of benefits including huge cost savings. According to SpaceX, the "2012 Airforce budget includes $1.74B for four launches, an common of $435M per launch. With Falcon Heavy priced at $80-125M per launch SpaceX has the potential to provide the U.S. government significant value. In add-on, the medium-lift Falcon 9 could support a number of medium-plagiarize Air Force launches at entirely $50-60M per launch, if SpaceX were allowed to vie for this business."
At a draw of the cost of current launch systems, the Falcon Heavy is sure as shootin to get extremely competitive against the Atlas vertebra and Delta rocket families which cost a large portion.
SpaceX says that its Falcon 9 skyrocket could be ready for manned spaceflight in 2020; the company tells us that NASA recently awarded information technology a $75 million contract to advance the Falcon 9 to being human-rated. Not only that, but Elon Musk says that they will try to put a human being happening Mars by 2020.
SpaceShip Two and the White Knight Two
Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans to cater spaceflights to the paying public, using craftiness built by Branson and Burt Rutan's The Spaceship Company.
The Spaceship Accompany is currently delivery two vehicles, the SpaceShip Two (SS2) and the White River Knight Two (WK2), into commercial production. The WK2 is designed to bring the SS2 to a high EL and then plunge it. This reduces launch costs of a traditional rocket and greatly improves the guard.
Currently, a suborbital flight will cost $200,000 for tourists (start rescue your pennies!). However, Virgin Galactic also plans to offer suborbital science missions, orbital satellite launches, and orbital earthborn spaceflights. If Virgin Galactic can pop the question bodily cavity missions to the ISS with comparable costs (obviously scaled up), then they precise well take off the run of the space industry.
Other Alternatives
There are literally scores of other private space companies that are trying to develop launch vehicles for both unmanned and manned flight. Some of these companies are already in the testing phases of their quad vehicles.
Blue Stock, founded away Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon River.com (yes, space flight appears to constitute a billionaires' hobby), is trying to create a commercial suborbital tourist inspection and repair. Blue Origin is significantly ahead of the game with planned remote-controlled flights in 2020 and manned in 2020 at a frequency of or so in one case per calendar week!
Space Adventures , the but private company to have actually sent private citizens to space on orbital misisons (7 times), now plans to station valet de chambre to the moon and it'll entirely be you $150 million (really start saving your pennies!). Infinite Adventures is also impermanent with Armadillo Aerospace, another leading light company capable of manned flight.
XCOR Aerospace , a spacelfight company utilizing the spaceplane design (very much ilk Virgin Group), builds rocket engines and plans to send man to place on suborbital missions. They also improved this insane LOX/methane rocket!
The Future Of Space-Flight
The fact is that there are a large total of companies, governmental and private producing human worthy distance vehicles. They aren't all in the US either: You might taste picking up a ride on an Ariane 5 rocket (existence built for the European Space Representation), which is intentended to be human-rated.
So at that place will be plenty of options after the Space Shuttle. The era of manned spaceflight is not ending; instead it's taking a new course. And in cases similar the Falcon Heavy, information technology's resulting in even larger and tank rockets than always before.
And for the record, the US launches a lot more rockets than the oecumenical public gives them credit for. The shuttle isn't the only program that they experience that $19 billion a class for. In addition to launching rockets out of Cape Canaveral NASA has four additive plunge sites more or less the US. National Aeronautics and Space Administration also funds research around the US in universities and colleges, provides scholarships, fellowships, and internships to students through both NASA main and through Space Subsidisation. They also have to assert their state-of-the-art facilities close to the US and in some cases around the world.
The future of space flight is non coming to a halt, but is about to grow uncontrollably through privatization and government/NASA funding. I just hope that McDonald's ne'er sets foot in Space…
[Video of Atlas V Rocket via AFBlueTube / Images: Soyuz, Atlas, Falcon Heavy, SpaceShipTwo (Myself488 on Wikipedia; 200 BY-SA 3.0)]
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