User:SuperCisco/sandbox

Sandbox edit for Future of Space Exploration:

After years of research and discovery using robotics and technology, we have began to plan for missions involving crew, Similar to the Apollo missions by the United States in the 1960's. In the upcoming years the United States and other countries alike have planned missions to further space exploration in hopes to learn, explore, and find new markets of business. Of which, objectively the most expanse is NASA's new initiative of exploration, the Artemis Program. NASA has planned to send astronauts to explore the moon and eventually set the moon as a base for further exploration to Mars [1]. This mission is revolutionary and is completely different than any prior initiatives in space exploration. Space exploration achievements have primarily been reached only though government initiatives. The reasoning behind this being that much of the knowledge about space that is needed to capitalize on the market was restricted in some part, and the technology needed in order to actually reach space required significant financial and man hour investments to remain even remotely feasible.

Only until recent has the market been created in Space. Several companies have jumped in the initiative, putting together proposals for different aspects of the Artemis Program. The program involves a large number of stakeholders, "engaging a broader set of universities, international partners, and private companies in lunar exploration than ever before on a single mission" making it truly unique [2]. Privatizing the industry has done more than create a competition in the space exploration market, it created the market. Companies are investing billions of dollars to devise proposals to meet NASA's interests including the crew capsule to send astronauts to and from the International Space Station. These companies have invested in an effort to part take in the program and participate in the initiative as a contractor building the steps to reach the Moon and Mars.

SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing have been the major frontrunners in developing and testing their own designs of crew capsules to meet NASA's design specifications. Nicknamed the Commercial Crew Program, the participating companies have taken years to offer a solution that is mission capable and flight ready for crew. Of these, a design by SpaceX and another by Boeing have proven to meet the necessities of the NASA mission and will go on to fulfill the needs of transportation of the crew in the future. Past the design of the spacecraft and testing of the components, the next steps prior to utilization of the designs in the Artemis Program is to crew test the vehicles. The future of collaboration between NASA and the private companies entails two crew tests on the SpaceX Dragon crew capsule, and a crew operated mission on the Boeing Starliner crew capsule to ensure flight control and docking capabilities [3]. Both of these efforts are one of a kind. Aside from the implementation of the newest and most up-to-date technology in all systems, the crew is also different. On August 2nd, 2020, "NASA astronauts completed the first commercial crew flight to the International Space Station using a private industry's design, SpaceX's Crew Dragon" [4]. While this mission was to preform scientific experiments on board the space station and serve as a final test to the transportation vehicles, the mission success expands opportunity for future missions for a variety of purposes and crew teams. Boeing Starliner is looking to operate a mission involving a private industry astronaut, from Boeing of the three crew members, an opportunity that has only been created from the designs of the two crew capsules for the Artemis Program [5]. Both missions are actively working to change the future of space exploration and alter the way we go about exploring the universe and its bodies.

Beyond the current solutions companies have offered to NASA for the Commercial Crew Program, third parties are looking at developing the solutions to meet the needs of the rest of the Artemis Program. Regardless of the parties that are involved, all of the industry and all of us, as a species defined by our achievements directly benefit. By evolving the methodology behind exploring space to include collaboration of privatized stakeholders, NASA and the United States is seeing progress that is more aligned with capitalistic corporate goals. This involves faster timelines, increased resource devotion, more interest by the general public, and a devotion to decreasing cost while increasing potential for profit. The future of space exploration involving privatized organizations is a mutual benefit to all parties involved and creates a future of collaboration in achieving humanity's greatest feats.

References:

[1] “Artemis.” [Online]. Available: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/. [Accessed: 01-Nov-2020].

[2] “Artemis Plan: NASA's Lunar Exploration Program Overview,” nasa.gov The Artemis Program Plan, Sep-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/artemis_plan-20200921.pdf. [Accessed: Oct-2020].

[3] Boeing. [Online]. Available: http://www.boeing.com/space/starliner/. [Accessed: 02-Nov-2020].

[4] K. Northon, “NASA Astronauts Safely Back from First Commercial Crew Trip to Station,” NASA, 02-Aug-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronauts-safely-splash-down-after-first-commercial-crew-flight-to-space-station. [Accessed: 02-Nov-2020].

[5] J. Cawley, “Boeing's Starliner Makes Progress Ahead of Flight Test with Astronauts,” NASA, 28-Aug-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/boeing-s-starliner-makes-progress-ahead-of-flight-test-with-astronauts. [Accessed: 02-Nov-2020].

Crew Capsules Within Space Exploration Page:

Commercial Crew Development

Main Article: Commercial Crew Development

The Commercial Crew Program is a human spaceflight program designed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX and Boeing have been selected by NASA as the major frontrunners to develop and test designs to complete the NASA missions and will go on to fulfill the needs of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation of the crew in the future [1]. The Artemis Missions designed by NASA to bring the first man and woman to Mars will feature a Lockheed Martin crew capsule as part of the Orion Spacecraft [2].

Dragon Capsule

Main Article: SpaceX Dragon 2

On August 2nd, 2020, the Dragon Crew Capsule was launched with NASA astronauts onboard to complete the first commercial crew flight to the International Space Station using a private industry's design [3]. While this mission was to perform scientific experiments on board the space station and serve as a final test to the transportation vehicles, the mission success expands opportunity for future missions for a variety of purposes and crew teams.

Lockheed Martin

Main Article: Lockheed Martin Orion Spacecraft

Lockheed Martin developed a Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to transport crew to and from the International Space Station using the Space Launch System (SLS) Rocket. The design was fairly large at a total mass of 33,446kg but was designed with a flight life of 21.1 days. The design proposal created as part of NASA’s Constellation Program was developed alongside the European Service Module to form the Orion Spacecraft. Since the selection of the design by NASA in 2006 beating out Northrop Grumman, three flight-ready Orion spacecraft are under construction and one successful launch was performed in 2014. The longest flight performed using the spacecraft to date has been under 5 minutes long, however the planned Artemis 3 mission seeks to test the vehicle’s life span design to 30 days.

Boeing Capsule

Main Article: Boeing Starliner

A slightly smaller design than Lockheed Martin’s Orion Spacecraft with a launch mass of 13000kg, the Boeing Starliner is another variation of a spacecraft created to transport crew to and from the International Space Station, this time for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The capsule features a higher crew capacity of up to 7 but much shorter design life of only 60 hours undocked flight time. The design varied as it was a reusable spacecraft that featured a ground landing rather than a splashdown recovery which can be reused 10 times [4]. The design proposal was selected by NASA in 2014 along with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to serve as the crew capsule for the Artemis Missions. Since the final design review, Boeing faced issues with docking with the International Space Station but was able to prove a successful land-based touchdown. One more hardware test flight is currently planned for the vehicle in July 2021.

Future Missions

SpaceX Crew 1

Main Article: SpaceX Crew 1

The 180-day long mission was originally planned for a lunch date in 2012. It was postponed pending the success of the hardware demonstration and operational flight missions. Currently expected to launch on 15 November 2020, the SpaceX Crew 1 Mission will be the second crewed orbital flight of the Crew Dragon following the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission and the certification of the vehicle by NASA. The launch will serve as the first fully crewed flight designed for operational testing to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew on board will be three NASA astronauts and one Japanese astronaut launching atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket.

SpaceX Crew 2

Main Article: SpaceX Crew 2

The crewed operational flight of the Crew Dragon capsule will serve as the third overall crewed orbital flight. The mission, currently proposed for launch on 30 March 2021, details a 210 day mission with two NASA astronauts, one Japanese Astronaut, and a European Space Agency Astronaut following the completion of the SpaceX Crew 1 mission and refurbishment of the Crew Dragon Endeavor capsule after the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission.

Boeing Crew Flight Test

Main Article: Boeing Crewed Flight Test

The Boeing Crew Flight Test will serve as the first crewed mission to test the Boeing Starliner crew capsule and the first crewed spacecraft launching atop the Atlas V Rocket. The current launch date is set for June 2021 and will last anywhere from two weeks to six months. The crew comprises of three NASA astronauts, one of which being the first woman to serve as a crew of an American spacecraft.

Boeing Starliner 1

Main Article: Boeing Starliner 1

The Boeing Starliner 1 mission will be the first operational crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner and the first mission to reuse the Starliner Spacecraft. The mission is expected to launch no earlier than December 2021 using the Atlas V rocket with a crew of four astronauts, three NASA astronauts and likely one international partner astronaut from either Japan, Canada, or the European Space Agency. This mission will be the fourth US spaceflight with a female commander.

References:

[1] J. Cawley, “Boeing's Starliner Makes Progress Ahead of Flight Test with Astronauts,” NASA, 28-Aug-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/boeing-s-starliner-makes-progress-ahead-of-flight-test-with-astronauts. [Accessed: 02-Nov-2020].

[2] “Artemis Plan: NASA's Lunar Exploration Program Overview,” nasa.gov The Artemis Program Plan, Sep-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/artemis_plan-20200921.pdf. [Accessed: Oct-2020].

[3] K. Northon, “NASA Astronauts Safely Back from First Commercial Crew Trip to Station,” NASA, 02-Aug-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronauts-safely-splash-down-after-first-commercial-crew-flight-to-space-station. [Accessed: 02-Nov-2020].

[4] Boeing. [Online]. Available: http://www.boeing.com/space/starliner/. [Accessed: 02-Nov-2020].