NASA Mulls More Missions for the SLS, a Return to the Moon (ContributorNetwork)

NASA Spaceflight has published a new piece concerning the development of an exploration road map that focuses on the moon. There seems to be a growing interest in the space community for such a goal, despite President Barack Obama's desires.

The article contains more information from the November Human Space Exploration Community Workshop on the Global Exploration Roadmap. There is some interesting information coming to light on what are called Design Reference Missions using the Space Launch System that go beyond servicing the exploration program.

What is being contemplated for the Space Launch System?

One of the criticisms of the Space Launch System is the claim that it would only be launched once or twice a year. NASA seems to have taken this criticism to heart and has come up with a number of other missions the SLS could accommodate besides beyond low Earth orbit exploration.

For example, there is some discussion of using the SLS to launch an Orion to the International Space Station should the commercial crew program falter. This is the role the Ares 1 would have been used for initially under the now cancelled Constellation program.

The SLS could also be used for a number of planetary and commercial missions. A sample return mission to Europa, a moon of Jupiter, was mentioned. Also the SLS could launch large commercial space stations into low Earth orbit, much as the Saturn V launched Skylab in the early 1970s.

All of this is designed to reduced launch costs and to keep ground crews experienced in processing the SLS.

What about the Moon?

A conventional return to the moon would involve two launches of the 130 metric ton version of the SLS, pushing that mission into the late 2020s. This mission would launch the lunar lander and a propulsion system into lunar orbit. Then, about 120 days later, the Orion and another propulsion system would be launched into lunar orbit and would dock with the lunar lander. The crew would transfer to the lunar lander and proceed to the surface.

Therefore more interest seems to be focusing on a concept being developed by Boeing of using a way station at one of the Lagrange points where the Earth and moon's gravity cancel one another out. It is thought that this approach could result in a much earlier return to the moon.

According to a document provided by NASA, such a way station would be build primarily of ISS style modules at the International Space Station and then, after a period of testing, it would be boosted to either the L1 or L2 points. The way station would provide a platform for, among other things, a reusable lunar lander that could fly between it and the lunar surface. A crew would fly to the way station on an SLS boosted Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle, transfer to the reusable lander, and then proceed to the lunar surface.

Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times and The Weekly Standard.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111217/sc_ac/10701141_nasa_mulls_more_missions_for_the_sls_a_return_to_the_moon

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