The USC
UNIVERSAL SPACE CRUISER
A room with a view like never before
Mandy Cordova
ASTE 527
Problem:
President Obama recently extended the life
of the International Space Station to 2020,
but is only allowing one additional shuttle
flight past the original retirement date
WHAT’S THE NEXT MOVE?
Option 1: Shuttle Modifications
PROS:
CONS:
•Multipurpose
•Challenger and Columbia tragedies
•Multitasking
•Risks in original design
•People/payload Ferry
•Conducts experiments
•Repair/maintenance
missions
•Aging/obsolete technology
•Aging but developmental at the same
time
•Access to space is inflexible
•Versatility of shuttle makes it expensive
•Payload is $10K/lb
•Crew escape poor, too expensive to
make modifications
Option 2: Russian Soyuz
Pro: NASA already signed a contract, which provides for six
astronauts to launch on four Soyuz vehicles in 2013 and
return on two vehicles in 2013 and two in 2014
"I've heard it [landing in a Soyuz capsule] described as a train
wreck followed by a car crash followed by falling off your bike"
– NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson (flight engineer on Soyuz TMA-18 Expedition 23)
Con: Plan after 2014?, Costs 141M for transport, Limited
seating, dated technology, very few launching/landing sites,
harsh landings, massive g-forces
Option 3: US Military X37B
General characteristics
•Crew: None
•Length: 29 ft 3 in (8.9 m)
•Wingspan: 14 ft 11 in (4.5 m)
•Height: 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
•Loaded weight: 11,000 lb (4,990 kg)
•Power: Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells with
lithium-Ion batteries Payload & Payload Bay:
500 lb (227 kg), 7 ft x 4 ft (2.1 m x 1.2 m)
Performance
•Orbital speed: 17,500 mph, 28,200 km/h
•Orbit: Low Earth orbit
•Orbital time: Up to 270 days
CON:
•Military purpose trumps ferry usage
•International implications regarding
ulterior motives
•Budget/Time issues
•Dependent on president/economy/
health of the US
Privately Built
Single-Stage-To-Orbit Reusable
Launch Vehicles
The beginnings of the USC
Capsule vs. Space Plane
G forces re-entry
Landing sites
Landing config consistancy
Persons
Maneuverability
Launch
Comfort/space
1 1 gs
few
poor
1 to 3
poor
Multiple stages
poor
6gs
many
excellent
3+
great
SSTO
great
KLIPER
Crew Size: 6 Habitable
Volume: 20.00 m3
AKA: Clipper
Gross mass: 12,500 kg
(27,500 lb)
Payload: 500-700 kg
(1,100-1540 lb)
Height: 12.00 m (39.00
ft)
Diameter: 3.90 m
(12.70 ft)
Span: 8.00 m (26.20
ft).
ONE PURPOSE: TRANSPORT PEOPLE!
•Soyuz Replacement
•Funded through at least 2015)
•People ferry to ISS
•Increase quantity of passengers
•More efficient rescue/emergency
vehicle
•lower G force on re-entry
•More landing sites
•Ferry to different parts of ISS
during the same mission
•Improved comfort
•Simple components
•Reusable so no wastes in space.
•Long lifecycle (30 to 40 years)
•Potential for joint ventures!
Take the Kliper technology one step further…
To the Universal Space Cruiser (USC)
Universal Space Cruiser
Just as you would use a tender
to get to a cruise ship, so would
you use the USC to get to the
ISS.
Tender
Ship
PEOPLE MOVER and WASTE REDUCER
•Will NOT be multitasking/multipurpose
•Smaller, lighter, more maneuverable
•Lower fuel costs
•Less complex to build and fly
•Faster turnaround time between flights
•Reusable
•Eliminates “space junk”
Land on existing global ground infrastructure!
Launches and landings will be a
highly publicized, visible and awe-inspiring
activity again
From Cruise Ports
- Many ports and many ships
- Price depends on location
- Price depends on duration
To SPACEPORTS
- Eventually many ports and many planes
- Price depends on location
- Price depends on duration
UNIVERSAL SPACE CRUISER
Renew faith in space
exploration -- leading to
increased funding for
science and further
discovery
The Future of Space Travel is for
EVERYONE…comfort, affordability and
accessibility is no longer optional.
USC
Thank You
SOURCES
•NASA/SOYUZ contract: http://www.motherboard.tv/2010/4/7/nasa-signs-up-for-more-russian-spacetaxi-rides
•X37B international problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXrqmUAltA8
•X37B info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-37
•Space plane background:http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Intro/spaceplane_concept.jpg
•Space Ports, space adventure ltd: http://www.bornrich.org/entry/space-adventures-announces-115million-spaceport-in-singapore/
•X37 picture:http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/24/JP-SECRET-popup.jpg
•Soyuz landing photo: http://images.spaceref.com/news/2009/oo200904080001HQ.jpg
•Launch
photo:http://www.zastavki.com/pictures/1280x1024/2008/World_other_world_Rocket_launch_008483
_.jpg
•Soyuz cost to ride: http://www.thespacebuff.com/current/spacex-seeks-to-replace-soyuz/
•Soyuz LV:http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz3_lv.html
•Obama leg: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/348172,signs-new-space-plans.html
•Space.com shuttle:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8960158/ns/technology_and_science-space
•x43A: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-040-DFRC.html
•X33: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_X-33
•Space shuttle cancellation/xplaes: http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/newshuttle/overview.php
•Buran: http://www.russianspaceweb.com/buran.html