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112-500: Major benefits were projected from re-using as much hardware and facilities from the Space Shuttle program as possible, including cost savings, experience with existing hardware, and preserving the workforce. DIRECT was a late-2000s proposed alternative super heavy lift launch vehicle architecture supporting NASA 's Vision for Space Exploration that would replace the space agency's planned Ares I and Ares V rockets with

224-596: A "common core stage" consisting of a tank structure based closely on the existing Space Shuttle External Tank with a pair of standard four-segment Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) mounted at the sides as on the Space Shuttle . Up to four Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) from the Space Shuttle Orbiter would be attached to the bottom of the External Tank. The engines would be deorbited along with

336-515: A Structural Test Article (STA-099), but was converted to a complete orbiter when this was found to be less expensive than converting Enterprise from its Approach and Landing Test configuration into a spaceworthy vehicle. On April 24, 1990, Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into space during STS-31 . In the course of 135 missions flown, two orbiters ( Columbia and Challenger ) suffered catastrophic accidents, with

448-598: A crew escape system for use during controlled gliding flight. Recommendation VIII – The nation's reliance on the shuttle as its principal space launch capability created a relentless pressure on NASA to increase the flight rate ... NASA must establish a flight rate that is consistent with its resources. The Shuttle program operated accident-free for seventeen years and 88 missions after the Challenger disaster, until Columbia broke up on reentry , killing all seven crew members, on February 1, 2003. The ultimate cause of

560-801: A detailed series of evaluations for supporting facilities such as data on the existing manufacturing facilities for the External Tank at the Michoud Assembly Facility and the various launch-processing facilities currently at the Kennedy Space Center . DIRECT proposed to re-use nearly all of the existing facilities with minimal modifications in contrast to the Ares I and Ares V rockets which would have required extensive modifications and replacements over existing facilities. The DIRECT's core stage would have remained at

672-468: A disposable external fuel tank , carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would reenter the Earth's atmosphere and land like a glider at either the Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Air Force Base . The Shuttle is the only winged crewed spacecraft to have achieved orbit and landing, and

784-511: A family of Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicles named "Jupiter". DIRECT was advocated by a group of space enthusiasts who asserted that they represented a broader team of dozens of NASA and space industry engineers who actively worked on the proposal on an anonymous, voluntary basis in their spare time. In September 2008, the DIRECT Team was said to consist of 69 members, 62 of whom were NASA engineers, NASA-contractor engineers, and managers from

896-509: A gap as possible after the planned retirement of Shuttle. According to the DIRECT team, the first version of the DIRECT proposal was the product of a three-month study produced by more than a dozen NASA engineers and managers working in their free time, and a small group of engineers and non-engineers outside NASA. DIRECT took the final ESAS recommendation of using the EDS during the ascent phase of

1008-600: A new vehicle by the early 1990s. The stalled plans for a U.S. space station evolved into the International Space Station and were formally initiated in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan , but the ISS suffered from long delays, design changes and cost over-runs and forced the service life of the Space Shuttle to be extended several times until 2011 when it was finally retired—serving twice as long as it

1120-764: A panel reviewing US space efforts, in Washington D.C. With the October 11th signing of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 (S. 3729) by President Obama mandating work on the Space Launch System Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle , the DIRECT Team declared their effort a success and disbanded. DIRECT advocated developing a single, high-commonality family of rockets named Jupiter, adapted closely from existing Space Shuttle systems. Each Jupiter launch vehicle would use

1232-560: A partially fueled (75 t) JUS carrying Orion/Altair and the other with only a fully fueled (175 t) JUS. After orbital rendezvous, the Orion would invert and re-dock with Altair much like in the Apollo Program and Constellation Program. However, with DIRECT, the crew in Orion would have to separate Orion/Altair from the first JUS and dock Altair to the second JUS. The second JUS would have enough remaining propellant to serve as

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1344-484: A payload fairing on top. "130" stands for one cryogenic core stage, three main engines, and zero upper-stage engines. Initial launches would rotate crews and bring cargo to the International Space Station , a function carried out by Soyuz rockets at the time. DIRECT calculations indicated that the Jupiter-130 would have been able to deliver between over 60 t and over 70 t of cargo or cargo and crew to

1456-465: A revised DIRECT proposal was released. To address criticism of relying on engine studies rather than working engines, DIRECT v2.0 specified human-rating the standard performance RS-68 as used on existing Delta IV launchers and for the upper stage chose the lower of two specifications of J-2X engine which Rocketdyne was developing for NASA's Ares launchers. DIRECT v2.0 introduced a scalable, modular family of Shuttle-derived launch vehicles, starting with

1568-486: A total cost projection for the program of roughly $ 54 billion (in 2011 dollars). The total cost of the actual 30-year service life of the Shuttle program through 2011, adjusted for inflation, was $ 196 billion. In 2010, the incremental cost per flight of the Space Shuttle was $ 409 million, or $ 14,186 per kilogram ($ 6,435 per pound) to low Earth orbit (LEO). In contrast, the comparable Proton launch vehicle cost

1680-428: A variety of circular and elliptical inclined low Earth orbits. When the mass of the proposed Orion spacecraft and crew is subtracted (18 - 22 t depending on the mission), the remainder compared favorably with the approximately 25 t cargo capacity of the Space Shuttle, and the lack of capacity of Ares I besides the Orion spacecraft. The Jupiter-246 would have used four Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) in

1792-578: A variety of commercial companies were also offered but generally fell by the wayside as each NASA lab pushed for its own version. All of this was taking place in the midst of other NASA teams proposing a wide variety of post-Apollo missions, a number of which would cost as much as Apollo or more. As each of these projects fought for funding, the NASA budget was at the same time being severely constrained. Three were eventually presented to United States Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1969. The shuttle project rose to

1904-456: A year later, on 18 May 2009, the DIRECT team released a rebuttal to the charges raised by NASA, concluding that "significant flaws in the evaluation of DIRECT" rendered the October 2007 analysis useless. On 29 May 2009, DIRECT spokesperson Stephen Metschan gave a presentation to the 28th Annual International Space Development Conference in Orlando, Florida entitled, "Direct 3.0: Landing Twice

2016-461: Is an expanded crew. Crews of up to eight have been flown in the Orbiter, but it could have held at least a crew of ten. Various proposals for filling the payload bay with additional passengers were also made as early as 1979. One proposal by Rockwell provided seating for 74 passengers in the Orbiter payload bay, with support for three days in Earth orbit. With a smaller 64 seat orbiter, costs for

2128-682: Is scheduled to start ISS crew service from 2025. For missions beyond low Earth orbit , NASA is building the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft , part of the Artemis program . Space Shuttle missions have included: Early during development of the Space Shuttle, NASA had estimated that the program would cost $ 7.45 billion ($ 43 billion in 2011 dollars, adjusting for inflation) in development/non-recurring costs, and $ 9.3M ($ 54M in 2011 dollars) per flight. Early estimates for

2240-686: The Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969 , NASA began studies of Space Shuttle designs as early as October 1968. The early studies were denoted "Phase A", and in June 1970, "Phase B", which were more detailed and specific. The primary intended use of the Phase A Space Shuttle was supporting the future space station , ferrying a minimum crew of four and about 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of cargo, and being able to be rapidly turned around for future flights, with larger payloads like space station modules being lifted by

2352-496: The Ares V would be more expensive to develop than the Ares I . The schedule for Ares I incurred several delays since the inception of the new lunar program. The original intent in the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) Report was to have a crewed flight as early as mid-2011 after the Space Shuttle retirement in 2010. A subsequent official NASA schedule had a 65% confidence that

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2464-468: The Challenger accident). The Shuttle program continued in September 1988 with the launch of Discovery on STS-26 . The accidents did not just affect the technical design of the orbiter, but also NASA. Quoting some recommendations made by the post- Challenger Rogers commission: Recommendation I – The faulty Solid Rocket Motor joint and seal must be changed. This could be a new design eliminating

2576-505: The Constellation Program . The small number of non-NASA members of the team publicly represented the group. The project name "DIRECT" referred to a philosophy of maximizing the re-use of hardware and facilities already in place for the Space Shuttle program (STS), hence a "direct" transition. The DIRECT Team asserted that using this approach to develop and operate a family of high-commonality rockets would reduce costs and

2688-579: The Constellation program . In late 2006, the head of the ESAS Study, Dr. Doug Stanley, declared that the DIRECT v1.0 proposal could not work as it relied on overly optimistic and speculative performance specifications for an upgraded RS-68 Regen engine. Stanley produced official specifications from Rocketdyne about the RS-68 Regen upgrades as evidence for his point. On May 10, 2007,

2800-632: The Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission, SpaceX's Dragon 2 sent astronauts to the ISS, restoring America's human launch capability. The first operational SpaceX mission launched on November 15, 2020, at 7:27:17 p.m. ET, carrying four astronauts to the ISS. Although the Constellation program was canceled, it has been replaced with a very similar Artemis program . The Orion spacecraft has been left virtually unchanged from its previous design. The planned Ares V rocket has been replaced with

2912-617: The ISS by 2013. Proponents asserted that the DIRECT proposal would enable NASA to fulfill the mandate of the Vision for Space Exploration sooner and more safely than the planned Ares I and Ares V, at a lower cost and with less programmatic risk due to a simpler approach which decreases new development efforts. Advocates said the DIRECT proposal would allow NASA to provide sufficient money to continue funding programs beyond launch vehicle development and operation, including extending its participation in

3024-663: The International Space Station , which was scheduled to end in 2016 as of 2009. The DIRECT proposal also suggested that NASA could use costs savings from the DIRECT proposal to accelerate the VSE's schedule for returning to the Moon and to potentially fly other missions such as servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope. In contrast to these claims, NASA senior manager for the STS program, John Shannon stated that he thought

3136-521: The J-2X on the first-generation Jupiter-130 vehicle, by not requiring the five-segment SRB and by providing more than 60 t of lift performance that would ameliorate weight issues on the Orion design. DIRECT also claimed that money would be saved by avoiding a parallel development of the Ares V booster, since the Jupiter family would represent a single rocket family program. The group suggested that

3248-657: The Saturn V . Two designs emerged as front-runners. One was designed by engineers at the Manned Spaceflight Center , and championed especially by George Mueller . This was a two-stage system with delta-winged spacecraft, and generally complex. An attempt to re-simplify was made in the form of the DC-3 , designed by Maxime Faget , who had designed the Mercury capsule among other vehicles. Numerous offerings from

3360-479: The Vehicle Assembly Building , the existing Mobile Launcher Platforms and Crawler-Transporters , and parts of the structure of the existing Fixed Service Structure and Flame Trenches at Launch Complex 39 could be used without major modifications. The Space Launch System , NASA's eventual successor to Ares, retained the Space Shuttle tankage diameter of 8.41 m (27.6 ft). One of

3472-785: The X-37B . By 2012, cargo to the International Space Station was already being delivered commercially under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services by SpaceX's partially reusable Dragon spacecraft , followed by Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft in late 2013. Crew service to the ISS is currently provided by the Russian Soyuz and, since 2020, the SpaceX Dragon 2 crew capsule, launched on the company's reusable Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program . Boeing 's Starliner capsule

DIRECT & Jupiter Rocket Family - Misplaced Pages Continue

3584-540: The 1991 National Launch System effort. Proposed jointly by NASA and the Department of Defense as an alternative to the Titan IV , the design was based on the same solid rocket boosters and modified external tank, but instead of the reusable Space Shuttle main engine, specified four of the proposed disposable, less expensive Space Transportation Main Engines. The United States Congress did not appropriate funding for

3696-541: The Ares V Earth Departure Stage. In the case of DIRECT, the combined mass of Orion and Altair would exceed the carrying capacity of the Jupiter-130. If a Jupiter-130 were launched with Orion and a Jupiter-246 launched with Altair, the Jupiter Upper Stage (JUS) with Altair would have insufficient propellant to push Altair/Orion beyond Earth orbit. Thus, the DIRECT baseline was to launch two Jupiter-246s, one with

3808-521: The Constellation program was never fully funded, and in early 2010 the Obama administration asked Congress to instead endorse a plan with heavy reliance on the private sector for delivering cargo and crew to LEO. The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program began in 2006 with the purpose of creating commercially operated uncrewed cargo vehicles to service the ISS. The first of these vehicles, SpaceX Dragon 1 , became operational in 2012, and

3920-571: The DIRECT proposal underestimated the costs for the Jupiter rocket family. The DIRECT proposal required more orbital assembly steps than the proposed Constellation Program. In Constellation, after Low Earth Orbital rendezvous of Ares I and Ares V, the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (approximately 22 t) from the Ares I would invert and dock with the Altair lunar lander (approximately 44 t) which would still be attached to

4032-452: The DIRECT team made a presentation to NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Douglas Cooke, and NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations, William H. Gerstenmaier , in a meeting convened by NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. According to the DIRECT team, many NASA engineers and managers supported the concept and completed a cost analysis comparison with NASA's current Constellation program and

4144-496: The DIRECT v3.0 concept to the committee, which was formed to offer independent advice to the incoming Obama Administration . The committee's final report did not directly compare DIRECT to the Constellation Program, but did offer budget, schedule, and mission combinations where a shuttle-derived launch vehicle could be used. On 19 January 2010, amid rumors that NASA would propose a DIRECT-like inline launch vehicle,

4256-664: The Earth Departure Stage. The first JUS would be discarded in Low Earth Orbit, while the second would be discarded after its Earth departure burn. The Jupiter Upper Stage (JUS) mass to propellant capacity has been regarded as realistic. Minimal upper stage mass is desirable so that the stage may propel the Orion and Altair spacecraft out of Earth orbit, but the JUS would need to be large enough to carry enough propellant to both achieve low Earth Orbit and to serve as

4368-778: The Earth Departure Stage. The two upper stages would meet in low Earth orbit and the lunar spacecraft would transfer from the spent JUS to the fresh JUS. The assembled Orion/Altair/JUS would leave Earth orbit for the Moon. The spacecraft would enter lunar orbit, and the entire crew would descend to the Moon in the Altair while the Orion remained in lunar orbit. DIRECT calculated that the two Jupiter-246s will be able to send 80.7 t of mass through trans-lunar injection . This compared favorably with an Ares I / Ares V dual launch, as of September 2008, projected to be capable of 71.1 t. DIRECT's Jupiter vehicle would have been an "in-line" Space Shuttle-derived launch vehicle . This broad category of Space Shuttle adaptations, postulated since before

4480-564: The Earth departure stage. The DIRECT v3.0 JUS had a putative mass of 11.3 t for a propellant capacity of 175.5 t. While claiming a design heritage from the Centaur series of upper stages, DIRECT specifically cited new materials, new welding techniques, and a common bulkhead separating the Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen tanks as sufficient to account for the low stage mass. Bernard Kutter of United Launch Alliance described

4592-585: The ISS in the event of an emergency. STS-135 launched on July 8, 2011, and landed at the KSC on July 21, 2011, at 5:57 a.m. EDT (09:57 UTC). From then until the launch of Crew Dragon Demo-2 on May 30, 2020, the US launched its astronauts aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Out of the five fully functional shuttle orbiters built, three remain. Enterprise , which was used for atmospheric test flights but not for orbital flight, had many parts taken out for use on

DIRECT & Jupiter Rocket Family - Misplaced Pages Continue

4704-465: The ISS on the Shuttle cost $ 272,000 in 2017 dollars, twice the cost of Cygnus and three times that of Dragon. NASA used a management philosophy known as success-oriented management during the Space Shuttle program which was described by historian Alex Roland in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster as "hoping for the best". Success-oriented management has since been studied by several analysts in

4816-630: The Jupiter rocket family compared to the current NASA baseline. They suggested that the proposed new missions and payloads could provide useful employment for many people who were working in the Space Shuttle program . As with NASA's Constellation Program baseline, two launches would be performed for a DIRECT lunar mission. One Jupiter-246 rocket would carry the crew in NASA's planned Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle along with NASA's planned Lunar Surface Access Module lunar lander. Another Jupiter-246 would be launched, its Jupiter Upper Stage (JUS) fully fueled with no payload. This particular JUS would serve as

4928-496: The Jupiter-120 and Jupiter-232. According to the proposal, the single-stage Jupiter-120 could achieve low Earth orbit with two standard ablative RS-68 engines, while an extra RS-68 was required on the core stage of the heavier two-stage Jupiter-232. The Earth Departure Stage for Jupiter-232 now required two standard J-2X engines instead of one. The DIRECT team produced a 131-page DIRECT v2.0 exploration architecture study that

5040-459: The Jupiter-130 and Jupiter-246, with claimed lift capacities exceeding 60 and 90 tonnes (t) (or 70 and 110 tons for cargo versions), respectively, to low Earth orbit . DIRECT proposed that the Jupiter-130 be the first configuration developed, with the goal of becoming operational within four years of the start of the development program. The Jupiter-130 would have consisted of the Jupiter common core stage with one SSME removed, no upper stage, and

5152-587: The Jupiter-130 and Jupiter-246, with claimed lift capacities exceeding 70 and 110 tonnes , respectively, to low Earth orbit . DIRECT asserted that the extra payload capability of the Jupiter-130 would allow for a range of additional cargo payloads to be flown with each Orion crew, a capability which is not possible with the Ares I . The team suggested a number of extra missions which would be enabled by Jupiter in their proposal, including: The DIRECT team asserted that these additional new missions could have been planned and funded due to development cost savings with

5264-598: The Mass on the Moon at Half the Cost." In April 2009, following NASA trade studies comparing use of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) to the originally planned RS-68 engine for Ares V, the DIRECT Team announced that future DIRECT proposals would recommend SSME as the core-stage engine. The engine change was due to concerns that the ablatively -cooled RS-68 would not survive the intense heat produced by

5376-590: The Mission Management Team gave the go for launch. This mission increased the ISS crew to three. Discovery touched down successfully on July 17, 2006, at 09:14 (EDT) on Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center . Following the success of STS-121 , all subsequent missions were completed without major foam problems, and the construction of the ISS was completed (during the STS-118 mission in August 2007,

5488-423: The NASA human spaceflight program. These capabilities included missions to Mars, Lagrangian point staging architecture options, and mission architectures for visiting Near-Earth object destinations. In June 2008, David King , director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center stated that NASA has considered DIRECT as well as many other rocket proposals, and that the Ares family was the right set of rockets for

5600-506: The Orion crew capsule. The combined test results from the Ares I-X launch and the Ares I static test firing indicated that thrust oscillation was not a critical issue, according to program engineers. DIRECT contended that the requirement to develop 5-segment SRBs and the J-2X upper stage engine for Ares I in order to fly the first Orion was directly responsible for the delays in schedule and

5712-575: The Space Shuttle Exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex and has been on display there since June 29, 2013, following its refurbishment. On October 14, 2012, Endeavour completed an unprecedented 12 mi (19 km) drive on city streets from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center , where it has been on display in a temporary hangar since late 2012. The transport from

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5824-422: The accident was a piece of foam separating from the external tank moments after liftoff and striking the leading edge of the orbiter's left wing, puncturing one of the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panels that covered the wing edge and protected it during reentry. As Columbia reentered the atmosphere at the end of an otherwise normal mission, hot gas penetrated the wing and destroyed it from the inside out, causing

5936-432: The airport took two days and required major street closures, the removal of over 400 city trees, and extensive work to raise power lines, level the street, and temporarily remove street signs, lamp posts, and other obstacles. Hundreds of volunteers, and fire and police personnel, helped with the transport. Large crowds of spectators waited on the streets to see the shuttle as it passed through the city. Endeavour , along with

6048-454: The area. In the course of 135 missions flown, two orbiters were destroyed, with loss of crew totalling 14 astronauts: There was also one abort-to-orbit and some fatal accidents on the ground during launch preparations. Close-up video footage of Challenger during its final launch on January 28, 1986, clearly shows that the problems began due to an O-ring failure on the right solid rocket booster (SRB). The hot plume of gas leaking from

6160-618: The common core stage with a second stage, but instead of 6 RL-10B-2s, 1 J-2X, if the technology became available. “241” stands for two cryogenic stages, four main engines, and one second stage engine. Its purpose would be the same as the Jupiter-246’s. Space Shuttle program The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official program name

6272-468: The common core stage with an upper stage , informally called the Jupiter Upper Stage (JUS). The Jupiter-246 would use six RL10B-2 engines on the upper stage. "246" stands for two cryogenic stages, four main engines, and six upper stage engines. The primary role for the Jupiter-246 would be to launch heavier cargo as well as crew and cargo for lunar missions. The Jupiter-241 would have four SSMEs in

6384-468: The comparatively high development costs. All-new manufacturing at the Michoud Assembly Facility and launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center would also be required for Ares I. In contrast, DIRECT proposed to reuse the existing 4-segment fully human rated Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster and Space Shuttle Main Engine . DIRECT also proposed reuse of existing manufacturing to build a modified variant of

6496-461: The core engines for Ares V . The DIRECT proposal specified that its core should include two RS-68 engines. Additional performance for carrying payloads to Low Earth Orbit would be provided by upgrading the main engines with Regenerative Cooling Nozzles to improve their efficiency. The v1.0 proposal was submitted on October 25, 2006, to NASA's administrator, Michael D. Griffin , and a wide range of industry, political and advocacy groups involved in

6608-426: The cost to deliver payload to low-Earth orbit were as low as $ 118 per pound ($ 260/kg) of payload ($ 635/lb or $ 1,400/kg in 2011 dollars), based on marginal or incremental launch costs, and assuming a 65,000 pound (30 000 kg) payload capacity and 50 launches per year. A more realistic projection of 12 flights per year for the 15-year service life combined with the initial development costs would have resulted in

6720-400: The development. A great deal of reference material exists in the public domain regarding NLS. NASA's Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) of 2005 included a similar design to the DIRECT proposal using three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME). Known as LV-24 in crew launch form, and LV-25 in cargo configuration, the idea was dismissed because it did not have sufficient performance for

6832-470: The even more radical DIRECT v2.0 JUS design as, "...very reasonable. I’d even call it conservative." The payload capacity of Ares V to low earth orbit, according to NASA, would have been 188,000 kg. This was more than the largest proposed Jupiter rocket (Jupiter-246 Heavy with 5 segment SRBS) which was claimed to lift about 120,000 kg to LEO. For potential Mars missions more launches per mission would thus be required using Jupiter instead of Ares V and

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6944-409: The existing Space Shuttle External Tank . Only moderate modifications would be required at Kennedy Space Center to enable launches. DIRECT's proposal for a single launch vehicle were intended to remove the program risks associated with the possible cancellation of the Ares V launcher due to budgetary constraints. DIRECT asserted its Jupiter launchers would avoid the delays of Ares I by not requiring

7056-419: The existing 8.41 m (27.6 ft) diameter of the Shuttle's External Tank compared to 10.06 m (33.0 ft) for Ares V. The DIRECT team claimed that by not increasing the core stage diameter the existing External Tank manufacturing tooling at the Michoud Assembly Facility , the existing Pegasus barge used to transport the tank from Michoud to Kennedy Space Center , the existing work platforms in

7168-567: The expended tank to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. Crews would be carried atop the launch vehicle in NASA's planned Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle , itself topped by the planned Launch Abort System . Cargo, whether carried behind the Orion spacecraft or alone on a cargo-only launch would be enclosed by a payload fairing . Many configurations of Jupiter were seen as possible, but the DIRECT version 3.0 proposal, released in May 2009, recommended two:

7280-444: The external tank between flights.) Per-launch costs can be measured by dividing the total cost over the life of the program (including buildings, facilities, training, salaries, etc.) by the number of launches. With 135 missions, and the total cost of US$ 192 billion (in 2010 dollars), this gives approximately $ 1.5 billion per launch over the life of the Shuttle program. A 2017 study found that carrying one kilogram of cargo to

7392-412: The failed joint caused the collapse of the external tank, which then resulted in the orbiter's disintegration due to high aerodynamic stress. The accident resulted in the loss of all seven astronauts on board. Endeavour (OV-105) was built to replace Challenger (using structural spare parts originally intended for the other orbiters) and delivered in May 1991; it was first launched a year later. After

7504-502: The first Shuttle launch, removes the winged Space Shuttle Orbiter , moves the liquid main engines to the bottom of the cryogenic tankage (typically proposed to be adapted from the Shuttle external tank ), and relocates the payload to above the tankage. The first official study of the concept was conducted in 1986 by NASA 's Marshall Space Flight Center in the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster . It

7616-508: The first crewed flight of Ares I with Orion ( Orion 2 ) would occur in March 2015. A critical activity of Ares I development was the schedule for the J-2X upper stage engine and the five-segment version of the SRB . Engineers were concerned about thrust oscillation and Orion-Ares I integration. In 2008, Lockheed Martin requested that NASA redesign Ares I in order to end integration risks with

7728-508: The first reusable crewed space vehicle that made multiple flights into orbit. Its missions involved carrying large payloads to various orbits including the International Space Station (ISS), providing crew rotation for the space station, and performing service missions on the Hubble Space Telescope . The orbiter also recovered satellites and other payloads (e.g., from the ISS) from orbit and returned them to Earth, though its use in this capacity

7840-611: The flight to gain additional launch performance on the Cargo LV, and applied this same methodology to the LV-24/25. The next change in DIRECT's development was in response to NASA dropping the Space Shuttle Main Engine on the Ares V design due to the high manufacturing cost of the SSME engines and the difficulty in producing the required number of units per year with existing manufacturing facilities. NASA specified five RS-68 engines as

7952-461: The gap between retirement of the Space Shuttle and the first launch of Orion, shorten schedules, and simplify technical requirements for future US human space efforts. Three major versions of the DIRECT proposal were released with the last, Version 3.0, unveiled in May 2009. On 17 June 2009, the group presented its proposal at a public hearing of the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee ,

8064-690: The joint or a redesign of the current joint and seal. ... the Administrator of NASA should request the National Research Council to form an independent Solid Rocket Motor design oversight committee to implement the Commission's design recommendations and oversee the design effort. Recommendation II – The Shuttle Program Structure should be reviewed. ... NASA should encourage the transition of qualified astronauts into agency management Positions. Recommendation III – NASA and

8176-712: The last flight-qualified external tank (ET-94), is currently on display at the Science Center's Samuel Oschin Pavilion (in a horizontal orientation) until the completion of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center (a planned addition to the California Science Center). Once moved, it will be permanently displayed in launch configuration, complete with genuine solid rocket boosters and external tank. One area of Space Shuttle applications

8288-424: The late 1960s. The program formally commenced in 1972, becoming the sole focus of NASA's human spaceflight operations after the Apollo , Skylab , and Apollo–Soyuz programs in 1975. The Shuttle was originally conceived of and presented to the public in 1972 as a 'Space Truck' which would, among other things, be used to build a United States space station in low Earth orbit during the 1980s and then be replaced by

8400-611: The late 1980s would be around US$ 1.5 million per seat per launch. The Rockwell passenger module had two decks, four seats across on top and two on the bottom, including a 25-inch (63.5 cm) wide aisle and extra storage space. Another design was Space Habitation Design Associates 1983 proposal for 72 passengers in the Space Shuttle Payload bay. Passengers were located in 6 sections, each with windows and its own loading ramp at launch, and with seats in different configurations for launch and landing. Another proposal

8512-413: The long run, and would actually increase the gap between space shuttle retirement and development of a new vehicle. Even more importantly, the Ares approach offers a much greater margin of crew safety - paramount to every mission NASA puts into space." In July 2008, following NASA statements of no special studies on DIRECT, the space agency released some internal studies conducted in 2006 and 2007. Nearly

8624-697: The loss of Challenger , NASA grounded the Space Shuttle program for over two years, making numerous safety changes recommended by the Rogers Commission Report , which included a redesign of the SRB joint that failed in the Challenger accident. Other safety changes included a new escape system for use when the orbiter was in controlled flight, improved landing gear tires and brakes, and the reintroduction of pressure suits for Shuttle astronauts (these had been discontinued after STS-4 ; astronauts wore only coveralls and oxygen helmets from that point on until

8736-692: The loss of all crew members, totaling 14 astronauts. The accidents led to national level inquiries, detailed analysis of why the accidents occurred, and significant pauses where changes were made before the Shuttles returned to flight. After the Challenger disaster in January 1986, there was a delay of 32 months before the next Shuttle launch. A similar delay of 29 months occurred after the Columbia disaster in February 2003. The longest Shuttle mission

8848-483: The mission modules would need to be separated in more different parts. However, NASA's Design Reference Mission 5.0 completed in 2007 required only a 125mt+ launch vehicle with a 10m+ diameter shroud for a Mars mission with 6 separate Ares V launches. The Jupiter rocket would fulfill the requirements of the Design Reference Mission with only a very narrow shortfall in payload to LEO, while fulfilling

8960-485: The mission, but initially the director stood firm. On October 31, 2006, NASA announced approval of the launch of Atlantis for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, scheduled for August 28, 2008. However SM4/ STS-125 eventually launched in May 2009. One impact of Columbia was that future crewed launch vehicles, namely the Ares I , had a special emphasis on crew safety compared to other considerations. The Space Shuttle retirement

9072-426: The mission. "DIRECT v2.0 falls significantly short of the lunar lander performance requirement for exploration missions as specifically outlined in Constellation Program ground rules. The concept also overshoots the requirements for early missions to the International Space Station in the coming decade. These shortcomings would necessitate rushed development of a more expensive launch system with too little capability in

9184-421: The money saved on Ares V be reused to speed development work of such other elements as the Orion , the Jupiter-130, launch facility modifications and all associated systems. A significant cash injection was expected to allow the schedules of all those elements to be trimmed substantially, allowing full operational capability of an Orion /Jupiter-130 system to perform 6-person crew rotations and cargo deliveries to

9296-712: The nearby exhaust plumes of the Space Shuttle SRBs. DIRECT asserts that the higher cost of the regeneratively cooled SSME will be offset by the time and money saved by not human-rating the RS-68. Similarly, for the upper stage, the DIRECT Team recommended using six of the flight-proven RL10B-2 engine. In May 2009 the Office of Science and Technology Policy announced the Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee to be chaired by Norman R. Augustine . On 17 June 2009, team member Stephen Metschan presented

9408-409: The orbiter to lose control and disintegrate. After the Columbia disaster, the International Space Station operated on a skeleton crew of two for more than two years and was serviced primarily by Russian spacecraft. While the "Return to Flight" mission STS-114 in 2005 was successful, a similar piece of foam from a different portion of the tank was shed. Although the debris did not strike Discovery ,

9520-478: The orbiter was again struck by a foam fragment on liftoff, but this damage was minimal compared to the damage sustained by Columbia ). The Columbia Accident Investigation Board, in its report, noted the reduced risk to the crew when a Shuttle flew to the International Space Station (ISS), as the station could be used as a safe haven for the crew awaiting rescue in the event that damage to the orbiter on ascent made it unsafe for reentry. The board recommended that for

9632-622: The other orbiters. It was later visually restored and was on display at the National Air and Space Museum 's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center until April 19, 2012. Enterprise was moved to New York City in April 2012 to be displayed at the Intrepid Museum , whose Space Shuttle Pavilion opened on July 19, 2012. Discovery replaced Enterprise at the National Air and Space Museum 's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center . Atlantis formed part of

9744-547: The primary shuttle contractors should review all Criticality 1, 1R, 2, and 2R items and hazard analyses. Recommendation IV – NASA should establish an Office of Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance to be headed by an Associate Administrator, reporting directly to the NASA Administrator. Recommendation VI – NASA must take actions to improve landing safety. The tire, brake and nosewheel system must be improved. Recommendation VII – Make all efforts to provide

9856-577: The program budget: for example, during fiscal years 2004 to 2006, NASA spent around $ 13 billion on the Space Shuttle program, even though the fleet was grounded in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster and there were a total of three launches during this period of time. In fiscal year 2009, NASA budget allocated $ 2.98 billion for 5 launches to the program, including $ 490 million for "program integration", $ 1.03 billion for "flight and ground operations", and $ 1.46 billion for "flight hardware" (which includes maintenance of orbiters, engines, and

9968-448: The program was grounded once again for this reason. The second "Return to Flight" mission, STS-121 launched on July 4, 2006, at 14:37 (EDT). Two previous launches were scrubbed because of lingering thunderstorms and high winds around the launch pad, and the launch took place despite objections from its chief engineer and safety head. A five-inch (13 cm) crack in the foam insulation of the external tank gave cause for concern; however,

10080-469: The proposed lunar program - however the concept was not considered using an Earth departure stage (EDS). DIRECT's re-exploration of the SDLV idea began in 2006 in frustration with the high cost and delays of Ares I and worries that any similar issues with the giant Ares V might put the whole Constellation Program in jeopardy. An additional goal was to maintain US ability to launch crews to space with as short

10192-501: The regular crew. Some passenger modules used hardware similar to existing equipment, such as the tunnel, which was also needed for Spacehab and Spacelab During the three decades of operation, various follow-on and replacements for the STS Space Shuttle were partially developed but not finished. Examples of possible future space vehicles to supplement or supplant STS: One effort in the direction of space transportation

10304-549: The remaining flights, the Shuttle always orbit with the station. Prior to STS-114, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe declared that all future flights of the Space Shuttle would go to the ISS, precluding the possibility of executing the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission which had been scheduled before the Columbia accident, despite the fact that millions of dollars worth of upgrade equipment for Hubble were ready and waiting in NASA warehouses. Many dissenters, including astronauts , asked NASA management to reconsider allowing

10416-459: The second, Orbital Sciences 's Cygnus did so in 2014. The Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program was initiated in 2010 with the purpose of creating commercially operated crewed spacecraft capable of delivering at least four crew members to the ISS, staying docked for 180 days and then returning them back to Earth. These spacecraft, like SpaceX 's Dragon 2 and Boeing CST-100 Starliner were expected to become operational around 2020. On

10528-531: The strongest programmatic criticisms with the Ares I and Ares V architecture was the high cost for both developing two new launchers and for operating two concurrent programs. The cost concerns were cited in GAO Reports to Congress noting that the Ares I alone was expected to cost up to $ 14.4 billion to develop. Former NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin confirmed that the total cost for developing both Ares launchers would be $ 32 billion, indicating that

10640-550: The top, largely due to tireless campaigning by its supporters. By 1970 the shuttle had been selected as the one major project for the short-term post-Apollo time frame. All Space Shuttle missions were launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Some civilian and military circumpolar space shuttle missions were planned for Vandenberg AFB in California. However, the use of Vandenberg AFB for space shuttle missions

10752-451: The volume requirements. The Jupiter rockets would be shorter in height than the Ares V, permitting very long payload fairings and thus greater total internal volume than possible with the taller Ares V, which would quickly encounter restraints due to height limitations within the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center . Many configurations of Jupiter were projected, with the May 2009 DIRECT version 3.0 proposal recommending two:

10864-489: Was STS-80 lasting 17 days, 15 hours. The final flight of the Space Shuttle program was STS-135 on July 8, 2011. Since the Shuttle's retirement in 2011, many of its original duties are performed by an assortment of government and private vessels. The European ATV Automated Transfer Vehicle supplied the ISS between 2008 and 2015. Classified military missions are being flown by the US Air Force's uncrewed spaceplane ,

10976-412: Was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development, as a proposed nuclear shuttle in the plan was cancelled in 1972. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips. The Space Shuttle , composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and

11088-455: Was $ 141 million, or $ 6,721 per kilogram ($ 3,049 per pound) to LEO and the Soyuz 2.1 was $ 55 million, or $ 6,665 per kilogram ($ 3,023 per pound), despite these launch vehicles not being reusable. NASA's budget for 2005 allocated 30%, or $ 5 billion, to space shuttle operations; this was decreased in 2006 to a request of $ 4.3 billion. Non-launch costs account for a significant part of

11200-400: Was announced in January 2004. President George W. Bush announced his Vision for Space Exploration , which called for the retirement of the Space Shuttle once it completed construction of the ISS. To ensure the ISS was properly assembled, the contributing partners determined the need for 16 remaining assembly missions in March 2006. One additional Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission

11312-412: Was approved in October 2006. Originally, STS-134 was to be the final Space Shuttle mission. However, the Columbia disaster resulted in additional orbiters being prepared for launch on need in the event of a rescue mission. As Atlantis was prepared for the final launch-on-need mission, the decision was made in September 2010 that it would fly as STS-135 with a four-person crew that could remain at

11424-482: Was based on the Spacelab habitation modules, which provided 32 seats in the payload bay in addition to those in the cockpit area. There were some efforts to analyze commercial operation of STS. Using the NASA figure for average cost to launch a Space Shuttle as of 2011 at about $ 450 million per mission, a cost per seat for a 74 seat module envisioned by Rockwell came to less than $ 6 million, not including

11536-529: Was canceled after the Challenger disaster in 1986. The weather criteria used for launch included, but were not limited to: precipitation, temperatures, cloud cover, lightning forecast, wind, and humidity. The Shuttle was not launched under conditions where it could have been struck by lightning . The first fully functional orbiter was Columbia (designated OV-102), built in Palmdale, California . It

11648-547: Was cancelled in 2002, and the HL-20 was cancelled in 1993. Several other programs in this existed such as the Station Crew Return Alternative Module (SCRAM) and Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) According to the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration, the next human NASA program was to be Constellation program with its Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles and the Orion spacecraft ; however,

11760-512: Was delivered to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on March 25, 1979, and was first launched on April 12, 1981—the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin 's space flight —with a crew of two. Challenger (OV-099) was delivered to KSC in July 1982, Discovery (OV-103) in November 1983, Atlantis (OV-104) in April 1985 and Endeavour (OV-105) in May 1991. Challenger was originally built and used as

11872-817: Was evolved into two programs, the Orbital Space Plane Program and the Next Generation Launch Technology program. OSP was oriented towards provided access to the International Space Station. Other vehicles that would have taken over some of the Shuttles responsibilities were the HL-20 Personnel Launch System or the NASA X-38 of the Crew Return Vehicle program, which were primarily for getting people down from ISS. The X-38

11984-408: Was on February 18, 1977, only five years after the Shuttle program was formally initiated; leading to the launch of the first space-worthy shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1 . The Space Shuttle program finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis , in July 2011, retiring the final Shuttle in the fleet. The Space Shuttle program formally ended on August 31, 2011. Before

12096-477: Was originally designed to do. In 2004, according to President George W. Bush 's Vision for Space Exploration , use of the Space Shuttle was to be focused almost exclusively on completing assembly of the ISS, which was far behind schedule at that point. The first experimental orbiter, Enterprise , was a high-altitude glider, launched from the back of a specially modified Boeing 747, only for initial atmospheric landing tests (ALT) . Enterprise' s first test flight

12208-403: Was promoted as one of the alternatives for launching uncrewed cargo and would have potentially allowed a restarted lunar program as well. There were, however, no funds available to NASA for building any new vehicles while the Space Shuttle program continued. The idea was shelved and NASA concentrated on fixing and operating the Space Shuttle instead. DIRECT's approach had a resemblance to that of

12320-449: Was rare. Each vehicle was designed with a projected lifespan of 100 launches, or 10 years' operational life. Original selling points on the shuttles were over 150 launches over a 15-year operational span with a 'launch per month' expected at the peak of the program, but extensive delays in the development of the International Space Station never created such a peak demand for frequent flights. Various shuttle concepts had been explored since

12432-526: Was released on September 19, 2007, at the AIAA "Space 2007" Conference in Long Beach, California. According to the group, this paper was created within a nine-month study. The paper provided detail on how the launch vehicles would be one component of a wider-reaching architecture for enabling the US to maintain the International Space Station (ISS), fly lunar missions, and provide additional capabilities for

12544-635: Was the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program, initiated in 1994 by NASA. This led to work on the X-33 and X-34 vehicles. NASA spent about US$ 1 billion on developing the X-33 hoping for it be in operation by 2005. Another program around the turn of the millennium was the Space Launch Initiative , which was a next generation launch initiative. The Space Launch Initiative program was started in 2001, and in late 2002 it

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