NASA to unveil space exploration plans on September 19

WASHINGTON – NASA briefed senior White House officials Wednesday on its plan to spend $100 billion and the next 12 years building the spacecraft and rockets it needs to put humans back on the Moon by 2018.

The U.S. space agency now expects to roll out its lunar exploration plan to key Congressional committees on Friday and to the broader public through a news conference on Monday, Washington sources tell SPACE.com.

U.S. President George W. Bush called in January 2004 for the United States to return to the Moon by 2020 as the first major step in a broader space exploration vision aimed at extending the human presence throughout the solar system.

NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle is expected to cost $5.5 billion to develop, according to government and industry sources, and the Crew Launch Vehicle another $4.5 billion. The heavy-lift launcher, which would be capable of lofting 125 metric tons of payload, is expected to cost more than $5 billion but less than $10 billion to develop, according to these sources.

NASA’s plan also calls for using the Crew Exploration Vehicle, equipped with as many as six seats, to transport astronauts to and from the international space station. An unmanned version of the Crew Exploration Vehicle could be used to deliver a limited amount of cargo to the space station.

NASA would like to field the Crew Exploration Vehicle by 2011, or within a year of when it plans to fly the space shuttle for the last time. Development of the heavy lift launcher, lunar lander and Earth departure stage would begin in 2011. By that time, according to NASA’s charts, the space agency would expect to be spending $7 billion a year on its exploration efforts, a figure projected to grow to more than $15 billion a year by 2018,

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Thats my birthday by the way.

i am so ready for the next age of usa space vehicles. with todays tech they will b able to create an amazing ship. my 5 year old tells me someday she will go into space and i believe her. happy bdayNWguy83, did u kno today is my un-birthday

Not a lot of time, but a lot of technology to develop...damn dog just puked...but is there enough time to get it all done? I know we did it in the 60's, but computers just seem to make things so complicated, they take forever. And time to send military people up again, so we can stop focusing so much on safety, and more on exploration.

I have been waiting for this since the day I was born. I want to see humanity's greatest achievement conducted once again.

And with China going to the moon as well, it's apparent we got another Space Race on our hands.

finaly plans are 2018 landing 4 astronauts on the moon.
building cev with boosters capable of lifting 125 metric tons.

little bit late we could all ready have been much further..

[edit on 15-9-2005 by MarkLuitzen]

It's about freaking time, but I dont understand why they need twelve years to do it. It took less than ten the first time and we had to develop everything from scratch. I understand safety is an issue, but come on, the space program is, and always has been, experimental. Considering how many launches we've had versus how many fatalities, NASA has done much better than just about every fighter development program since the 1930's. Let's get this show on the road!

Just some some details, appears they are going to recycle shuttle components, and hack together a heavy lift launch vehicle. Sounds interesting, and a faster way to do it. Check out drudge report. they have this article up right now.

About time too...I remember the Apollo days with great affection...2018 though...WHY?

2018? I don't like hearing dates that far off since quite frankly I don't think we'll ever make it that far given everything going on in the world.

Needs to be faster!!

It's going to use some shuttle components, and be the size of a Saturn V booster. There are going to be two varients. One for cargo hauling, one for hauling passengers. Supposedly they'll make the first flight in 2012.