Making More Orions
Lockheed Martin Moves into Full-Scale Assembly and Test of NASA’s Orion Spacecraft
“Lockheed Martin and NASA have completed the majority of Orion’s Critical Design Review (CDR) which means the spacecraft’s design is mature enough to move into full-scale fabrication, assembly, integration and test of the vehicle. It also means that the program is on track to complete the spacecraft’s development to meet NASA’s Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) performance requirements. The complete Orion EM-1 CDR process will conclude after the European Service Module CDR and a presentation to the NASA Agency Program Management Council in the spring.”
Now if Congress will appropriate sufficient funds to complete both the Orion and the SLS launch vehicle, and the next president will decide not to cancel the program in favor of some other non-existant concept… And, if NASA will give the SLS an imaginative name…
For the Orion (aka MPCV) to be useful beyond LEO. You need a upgraded service module, a deep space hab module, a interplanetary transfer vehicle and a lander for the Moon or Mars with surface exclusion rovers. Plus the advanced strapped-on boosters and the EUS upper stage for the SLS. All have to be funded in addition to the current SLS in the Block 1 configuration and the cis-lunar Orion. IMO any SLS program will take at least 3 Presidential terms to be realized.
Currently only the SLS Block-1 and the Orion capsule are partially funded with no mission capability other circling the Earth and flying around the Moon. AIUI the current Orion does not have orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities.
Awww, details, details, details! Wonder how many yuan it will cost us for a seat on the Chinese moon missions…IF Congress allows us to even talk to the Chinese Space Agency. Or if they will even sell us seats. May have to re-write the script for “The Martian” or Watney gets left on Mars to starve!
That’s what we need a catching name!!!!
We should have never built this waste of money to start with. Dragon and CTS 100(SpaceX and Boeing) offer spacecraft that can do what Orion does, it’s stupid how much money we wasted on this thing.
Nasa should be in the business of buying these services from private industry, not funding a rocket that will only fly once a year at best! With all the money saved from shutting down these Nasa programs, we could be at Mars or the Moon already.
If NASA truly needs HLVs, they should be funding “commercial HLV” contracts just like commercial cargo and commercial crew. This would actually free up money NASA could use to develop important pieces of the puzzle to Mars, like a deep space HAB module and large Mars landers.
“Cos we can never have too many over-priced spacecraft for visiting the ISS which we won’t be using much longer.
“Incredible complexity” is not something I would brag about.
“Michael Hawes, Lockheed Martin Orion vice president and program manager. “Considering the incredible complexity of this spacecraft…”
Excellent observation. Unfortunately, NASA drives the requirements and LM tries to deliver the product… just keep billing the hours to the project. Until NASA starts considering life cycle costs in space systems, we will be “incredibly expensive” and un-affordable. But hey, cheer up. We’re going to Mars! 😉
We will go to Mars in a vehicle with a big “X” on the side. 🙂