The Columbia Aftermath:
Humans to Mars? Versatile Space Capsule?
James Burk
September 20th:
After the release of the final report of the Columbia Accident Investigation
Board, NASA is focusing on the return to flight of the Space Shuttle fleet and the development of an Orbital Space
Plane. But, are there even larger plans in the works to transform this nation's space program
and catapult it towards greater goals?
Humans to Mars: Bush's Trial Balloon However, rumors are circulating in Washington of plans within the Bush Administration that could spell
a major announcement of a Humans to Mars program
during next January's State of the Union address. Already projected plans by
NASA (informal at this time) would call for the development
of capabilities at NASA to launch a mission sending 4-6 astronauts to the Red Planet no earlier than the 2012 opportunity.
The rumors mention that an announcement would take advantage of the anticipated
successes of NASA's upcoming Mars Exploration Rovers and
Europe's Mars Express missions.
When asked by reporters recently about the next steps for NASA after the Columbia tragedy, U.S. President George W. Bush
stated: "We've got an interagency study going on now that will enlighten us as to the best recommendations necessary for NASA
to proceed in a way that is a good use of taxpayer dollars." Bush also added that the
scope of future human exploration has not yet
been decided. Yet political reporters note that the Administration is working at a feverish
pace on the Administration's response to the CAIB report and NASA's draft Return to Flight Implementation Plan. Congressional
hearings are also ongoing over the next few months in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
In a more telling quote, when asked directly about a mission sending Humans to Mars, Bush responded: "I really don't have
an opinion on Mars, but I do have an opinion that the more we explore, the better off America is. I believe in pushing the
boundaries."
The launch of a major new aerospace initiative such as a Humans to Mars program
would accomplish several objectives for the nation. It would fulfill one of the
long-term recommendations of the CAIB report by giving NASA a concrete, long-term goal. It would
provide the justification for an increase in spending on technology development, which could
eventually help the U.S. economy and provide new breakthroughs in several different industries.
Orbital Space Plane or Versatile Space Capsule? An announcement regarding Humans to Mars could also go
hand-in-hand with a decision by the Bush Administration to
formally proceed with plans to develop a short-term replacement
to the Space Shuttle for crew-transfer to the Internaional Space Station.
Despite an (at this point) all-but-inevitable return to flight of Space Shuttles next year to
restore America's ISS crew transfer capability, NASA officials are clearly looking beyond the Shuttle.
It is becoming clear to many space industry
analysts (as well as our resident experts at MarsNews.com) that the idea of using Space Shuttle
as a long-term solution for ISS crew transfer is all but abandoned. At a minimum, an
Orbital Space Plane (which could actually take the form of an Apollo-style capsule) will likely be
the method for shuttling crew to the ISS in approximately 3-5 years' time.
NASA already has experience in building and operating three generations of capsule-shaped
vehicles during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. While those were done in the 1960s,
the superiority of the capsule shape for piloted space exploration applications has been underscored by China's decision to
adopt that method of spacecraft design in its Shenzhou program. After many years of development and unmanned test missions,
that program is nearing a major objective with the launch of the piloted
Shenzhou V mission, scheduled for later this year.
Taking the Orbital Space Plane Out of LEO*
A capsule shaped vehicle could be easily adapted to enable missions of human exploration beyond
low earth orbit, such as missions to a near-Earth asteroid, circumlunar missions, or even missions
sending Humans to Mars. An Orbital Space Plane-derived vehicle could easily serve as the final
re-entry vehicle for a crew returning from these destinations.
A recent Reuters article backs up this idea with this interesting paragraph, buried at the
bottom of the story: "The thermal tiles and wing panels used on the shuttle
today could not withstand the heat and stress of trans-lunar re-entries."
Now, why would the "Orbital Space Plane" need to have that capability if it's just going to shuttle
crews back and forth to the International Space Station in low earth orbit? Stay tuned, we may have the answer sooner rather than later...
* LEO = Low Earth Orbit
Bush will wait before setting goals for NASA (Orlando Sentinel)
Apollo-like capsule may replace shuttle (Reuters)
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