December Test Flight Huge for NASA's Next Manned Spacecraft

Well this is great news for NASA. I hope all goes well.

The first flight test of NASA's new manned spacecraft may be six months away, but agency engineers are already looking forward to what they will learn from the trial.

NASA's Orion capsule, which is designed to take astronauts to Mars and other farflung destinations, will blast into space for the first time in December. During the unmanned mission, known as Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), Orion will travel 3,600 miles (5,790 kilometers) from Earth, then come rocketing back into the planet's atmosphere at 20,000 mph (32,187 km/h).

www.space.com...

a reply to: nighthawk1954

I am starting to think this falling out with Russia may be a blessing in disguise for US space exploration by reawakening the American spirit for doing what is hard.

The Orion looks tiny. How long would a trip to Mars be? What about shielding from cosmic radiation?

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to spend weeks inside that tiny toy of a spacecraft with the same people. Really NASA, you can't build something impressive? That thing is marginally bigger than the Apollo craft.

SMH. I guess private industry will be leading the way on this, as NASA seems to enjoy stalling. I wonder what for...?

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Depends on when they launch the spacecraft and what the location of Mars and Earth is at the same time. Generally speaking its about a 250 +/- day journey to Mars. That is based on current missions and technology.

For a chance to go to Mars I would gladly force myself to ignore room constraints. With that being said the craft could easily be attached to something much larger for the journey to mars. We did the same thing for the Moon missions. The astronauts there didn't have to restrict themselves to the LEM.

Private industry, in my opinion, is what's needed to jump start our manned space exploration phase of humanity so to speak. Government projects are restricted to the basic where as private industry already has plans for hotels in space and on the moon. mining operations of the asteroid belt.

Government involvement to jump start the industry and let the free market go from there.

Is it wrong to worry that when we get to Mars Arken might be right about a few things? LOL

when i build my star cruiser these things will be lucky if they get designated as life boats.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Have you ever been inside a circus tent (chapiteau)? Such things look smaller on the outside than on the inside. Orion has 8.95 cubic meters of habitable volume, which is 50% larger than the Apollo CM. It is approx 5 meters in diameter, and 3.3 meters high. For a 3 or 4 person mission to Mars, the Orion looks quite spacious.

en.wikipedia.org...

Here's a video demonstrating how big just one cubic meter is: www.youtube.com...

And the Orion has almost 9 of those

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: nighthawk1954

I am starting to think this falling out with Russia may be a blessing in disguise for US space exploration by reawakening the American spirit for doing what is hard.

This test and program was planned years before the current falling out.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: MystikMushroom

Depends on when they launch the spacecraft and what the location of Mars and Earth is at the same time. Generally speaking its about a 250 +/- day journey to Mars. That is based on current missions and technology.

For a chance to go to Mars I would gladly force myself to ignore room constraints. With that being said the craft could easily be attached to something much larger for the journey to mars. We did the same thing for the Moon missions. The astronauts there didn't have to restrict themselves to the LEM.

Private industry, in my opinion, is what's needed to jump start our manned space exploration phase of humanity so to speak. Government projects are restricted to the basic where as private industry already has plans for hotels in space and on the moon. mining operations of the asteroid belt.

Government involvement to jump start the industry and let the free market go from there.

Private industry can build the vehicles but they still need a buyer.

There is no profit in pure scientific exploration for exploration sake.

originally posted by: JadeStar

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: MystikMushroom

Depends on when they launch the spacecraft and what the location of Mars and Earth is at the same time. Generally speaking its about a 250 +/- day journey to Mars. That is based on current missions and technology.

For a chance to go to Mars I would gladly force myself to ignore room constraints. With that being said the craft could easily be attached to something much larger for the journey to mars. We did the same thing for the Moon missions. The astronauts there didn't have to restrict themselves to the LEM.

Private industry, in my opinion, is what's needed to jump start our manned space exploration phase of humanity so to speak. Government projects are restricted to the basic where as private industry already has plans for hotels in space and on the moon. mining operations of the asteroid belt.

Government involvement to jump start the industry and let the free market go from there.

Private industry can build the vehicles but they still need a buyer.

There is no profit in pure scientific exploration for exploration sake.

i am not certain that is completely true. its true in spirit. but I betthe fisrt semi permanent human presence in the asteroids would be miners, fabricators and the like.

for the moon there may be a scientific presence but the thing that will establish it forever is titanium mining or 3He mining or perhaps solar power or something like that. scientific activities are dependent on the vagaries of politics and the programatic and budgetary maneuvering wreak havok on large govt sponsored science efforts. a few examples; we were supposed to use the space station to get to mars when first proposed. and the superconducting super collider is now just fire ant food. but when civilians are there permanently science can easily hitch a ride so to speak.

so these mean old corporationss want to get the gold off a asteroid; but along the way they have to develop the transports, mining equipment, life support, habitats and so forth. so they contract a lot of that out and other companies bid and get in on the development work accelerating progress in ship design, propulsion and other bits of the big picture. and in selecting mining asteroids, sites and so forth they have to do astronomy space science and physics and other things to develop the capability to do what they want to do.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
The Orion looks tiny. How long would a trip to Mars be? What about shielding from cosmic radiation?

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to spend weeks inside that tiny toy of a spacecraft with the same people. Really NASA, you can't build something impressive? That thing is marginally bigger than the Apollo craft.

SMH. I guess private industry will be leading the way on this, as NASA seems to enjoy stalling. I wonder what for...?

You beat me.

Nothing to add.

Sadly the humans will perish in space and the craft will be unmanned after all

a reply to: JadeStar

Correct however my point was to show that with strained relations the focus shifted back to domestic production / American ingenuity. It forced people to reevaluate our space program based on the uncertainty of international relations.

a reply to: JadeStar

Hence the government doing the jump start by their scientific missions. Private industry is planning on space hotels, asteroid mining etc.

The Hotels / Mining can be profitable.

I'm a HUGE proponent of private space development for things which they will excel at.

What they won't excel at is pure science for science sake. There's no money to be made there.

I do not believe scientific missions should have to wait until private industry deems them useful to develop some sort of technology they can use to make a profit.

If that were the case things like Kepler would not have been built yet as there simply is no commercial motive to discovering extrasolar planets through transit observations.

Ditto the GAIA mission, ditto the TESS mission and so on.

Like it or not there will probably always be a reason for government space agencies, and that's a good thing.

a reply to: nighthawk1954

NASA's Orion capsule, which is designed to take astronauts to Mars

First come the MOON and ten years after..................... MARS

Ask to Bigelow Aerospace...

Robert Bigelow thinks a happy medium can be found. The founder of Bigelow Aerospace made a fortune in the hotel and real estate businesses, and he's pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into an enterprise that will create inflatable habitats designed for life beyond Earth. He entered into an agreement with NASA to provide a report on how ventures like his could help NASA get back to the moon, and even Mars, faster and cheaper.

They forgot to show the trampoline their going to use...

Personally, I believe NASA will put the fitst boots on Mars.

Not private business.

Something tells me that they don't want to be "one upped" by anyone else.

But that is only my opinion.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
The Orion looks tiny. How long would a trip to Mars be? What about shielding from cosmic radiation?

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to spend weeks inside that tiny toy of a spacecraft with the same people. Really NASA, you can't build something impressive? That thing is marginally bigger than the Apollo craft.

SMH. I guess private industry will be leading the way on this, as NASA seems to enjoy stalling. I wonder what for...?

it would only be part of a Mars cruise vehicle; it would not be the whole thing.

The reentry capsule would go to mars docked with a crew habitat, similar in concept to something like the image below. In this case, there Mars Transfer Vehicle (some call it a Mars Transit Vehicle) would also consist of an inflatable module -- similar to a Bigelow Module -- and tanks for fuel and other consumables:


The image above is from NASA's Constellation Program when it was in full swing (before it was cancelled). The link below is more information on potential transfer vehicles to Mars.

marsbase.org...

_____________________

originally posted by: wildespace
Have you ever been inside a circus tent (chapiteau)? Such things look smaller on the outside than on the inside.

Do you mean it's like one of these :

a reply to: Xcathdra

Agreed.
may be just the jump start we need.
I'd like to see a space built, extended range Shuttle design...wouldn't it be easier to launch from orbit, where the Atmosphere interferance [ drag] would not be a factor..?