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Exploration

NASA Releases New SLS and Orion Artists Concept Images

By Marc Boucher
NASA Watch
August 2, 2013
Filed under ,

Artist Concept: NASA Space Launch System and Orion Spacecraft, SpaceRef
NASA has releases new artist concepts of the SLS and Orion spacecraft including being stacked in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceRef co-founder, entrepreneur, writer, podcaster, nature lover and deep thinker.

22 responses to “NASA Releases New SLS and Orion Artists Concept Images”

  1. SpaceHoosier says:
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    Interesting. Is that a covering sheath that is about to go over the bottom of the escape rocket tower and crew capsule (Orion) at the top? Will it have a hole in the side of it for the crew to gain access from the launch gantry?

    • Anonymous says:
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      Recall that for Apollo capsules we had a boost protective cover. Look up pictures of Apollo launches ready to go. White capsules. Look up the same capsules in space. Silverish. Now here I believe the rational might be dual-fold, both ascent and re-entry (as to re-entry weight) requirements.

      A way around this is to keep the size small, I believe, as regards re-entry weight, and on ascent to avoid having your launch escape system possibly impinge across the thing. Or certain things like windows in bad spots.

      Umm…so what does that look like with no cover, smaller, and more robust, in a single piece…ummm…

      • dogstar29 says:
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        Or use a pusher LAS and eliminate the need for the shroud.

        • Jack says:
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          You would still need one to protect the windows from bird droppings and bug splatters while on the pad and during launch.

        • Steve Whitfield says:
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          If an off-the-pad abort or early abort should happen, there’s no way to know what the relative attitudes of the capsule and LAS will be just after they separate; or if their attachment gets skewed by impact or explosion before they separate; or if not all of the separation bolt pyros blow; etc. So I’ve always assumed that a shroud (cover) was SOP with a LAS to keep from frying the astronauts or the hardware with the LAS solids (which can’t be shut off once burning).

          • dogstar29 says:
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            The shroud is heavy, expensive, and not reusable. The shuttle hit the occasional bird without damage, and damage on the pad anywhere (not just the capsule)would be prevented by just-in-time rollout (Falcon, Atlas) a mobile service tower (Delta) or access stands providing full weather protection (Long March).

  2. Neil Fraser says:
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    I thought it was well-established that the core stage would be orange (same as the STS-ET). Why is the new artwork still depicting a Saturn V paint scheme?

  3. Andrew Gasser says:
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    Very Pretty

  4. Todd Austin says:
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    Gosh, I’m just so glad that my tax dollars are going to pay for paintings of this utter waste of our money. At least there will be something to show for those billions in ten years.

    • dogstar29 says:
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      I don’t ever recall seeing an artist’s concept of a blueprint, and I’m old enough to remember blueprints. Maybe we could save some money by deleting the hardware and just continuing with the drawings.

      • Steve Whitfield says:
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        Artists concepts and Powerpoint slides are all you need. And they use a lot less fuel than actual hardware. That gives us the all-important inspiration without any of the risks and at a tiny fraction of the cost of building anything. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that paintings and slides would be preferable to building SLS (and think about it — SLS went ahead without actually being designed, so why not continue on without actually building it). Q.E.D.

    • hikingmike says:
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      At least it appears they are using 3D modeling through whatever 3D render software they used. This means that models can be reused pretty easily and additional “paintings” don’t cost too much. And they could contract this work out to a larger pool of people that do this kind of thing letting them use the models.

    • korichneveygigant says:
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      dont forgot the TONS of giant posters of the Constellation program at Centers around the country that were slowly taken down after its cancellation. hope they at least recycled the foam board

  5. DTARS says:
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    I like angle of the perspective the artist chose! Very cool!

    Isn’t that about the same angle of the camera on the hexocopter when it took video pictures of the last grasshopper test launch??

  6. DocM says:
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    Strickland’s articles at TSR make a very good case that if ever a program deserved a merciful death it’s SLS. Someone *please* kill it and start a milestone based HLV competition.

    • Jeff Havens says:
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      I think an interesting comparison that has reared it’s ugly head recently can be made here — killing SLS and killing ObamaCare. Both are being called for, both will never be killed totally, and both will probably have pieces shaved off that prove to be unworkable, saving the core workings plus other attempts to make it better (Lunar Lander? maybe).

      And no, I’m not saying that is the best route with either.. just trying to look at it thru reality-tinted glasses.

      –J

      • Steve Whitfield says:
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        The difference I see is that ObamaCare is, in theory, for the benefit of the majority of the population, whereas SLS is, in theory, for the benefit of a handful of politicians and company officials who are already well off compared to the majority of the population.

  7. Paul451 says:
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    A few have. But none of the official PR.

    http://www.nasaspaceflight….

    http://www.nasaspaceflight….

  8. Rich_Palermo says:
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    I have always been moved by the space art of Bonestell and his contemporaries. They still invoke a sense of wonder. Modern space art is an insipid as the listless programs for which they shill. This cheap-looking hodgepodge of warmed-over solid models is a prime example.

    • Steve Whitfield says:
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      It makes me wonder what the artists’ concepts in another 50 years from now will look like.

  9. Ben Russell-Gough says:
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    Or if not the spirit, at least the public interest and approval.

  10. Steve Whitfield says:
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    Senatorous Rex