Orbital и Virgin Galactic объединяют усилия в рамках CCDev 2

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http://science.compulenta.ru/583405/

В США разработан мини-шаттл для доставки грузов на МКС[/size]

17 декабря 2010 года, 13:00 | Текст: Андрей Величко

Возможно, этот «малыш» в скором времени станет частым гостем мировых выпусков новостей. (Здесь и ниже иллюстрации Orbital.)
Возможно, этот «малыш» в скором времени станет частым гостем мировых выпусков новостей. (Здесь и ниже иллюстрации Orbital.)

Пилотируемый космический корабль, пока ещё не имеющий названия, официально предложен НАСА. Он должен заменить уходящие в 2011 году в историю привычные «челноки».

Американская программа запуска многоразовых космических кораблей Space Shuttle близится к завершению. Последний полёт шаттла намечен на июнь будущего года. Теперь НАСА активно ищет альтернативные способы доставки людей и грузов на Международную космическую станцию.

Для этого в 2009 году ведомство запустило программу Commercial Crew and Cargo, которая должна стимулировать частные компании на разработку космических аппаратов. На инициативу откликнулась разрабатывающая спутники и ракеты-носители компания Orbital, представив свой мини-шаттл.

Аппарат имеет аэродинамическую схему «несущий корпус», а его экипаж состоит из четырёх человек. Грузоподъёмность и другие технические характеристики пока не уточняются.

Корабль способен маневрировать в космическом пространстве, отклоняясь от орбитального курса и вновь возвращаясь на него. В космос он выводится с помощью ракеты-носителя (предполагается, что это будет Atlas V, запускаемая совместно Lockheed Martin и Boeing), а посадка осуществляется тем же способом, что и у самолёта. Пристыковка к МКС происходит через шлюз в задней части аппарата.

У предложения Orbital, уже заключившей с НАСА контракт на разработку ракет-носителей, целый ряд конкурентов. К ним относятся ракета Falcon 9, с успехом выводящая на орбиту корабль Dragon (разработчик SpaceX), проект CST-100 компании Boeing, а также имеющийся в «загашнике» самого НАСА проект Orion. И если названная троица представляет собой аппараты в форме капсулы, осуществляющие посадку с помощью парашютов, то ещё один конкурент — Dream Chaser компании SpaceDev — такой же крылатый, как и разработка Orbital. При этом не будем сбрасывать со счётов и беспилотный военный космический корабль X-37B, только что приземлившийся после полугодового «секретного» полёта. Тоже, к слову, мини-шаттл.

В общем, НАСА ждёт непростой выбор, который должен быть сделан к 2015 году.

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2010/12/17/05.xml&headline=Virgin%20Galactic%20Joins%20Two%20CCDev%20Teams

Virgin Galactic Joins Two CCDev Teams
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Dec 17, 2010
 
By Frank Morring, Jr.

Virgin Galactic plans to market orbital flights for space tourists and scientists on two spaceplanes proposed under NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) effort, in the hope it can expand its business beyond the suborbital flights it is planning on its SpaceShipTwo vehicle.

The company has signed on as a teammate with both Orbital Sciences Corp. and Sierra Nevada Corp. in the second round of competition for NASA seed money to develop commercial human spacecraft that can deliver crews to the International Space Station. The space agency is offering $200 million in this round.

"We are now very close to making the dream of suborbital space a reality for thousands of people at a cost and level of safety unimaginable even in the recent past," says Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic. "We know that many of those same people, including myself, would also love to take an orbital space trip in the future, so we are putting our weight behind new technologies that could deliver that safely whilst driving down the enormous current costs of manned orbital flight by millions of dollars."

Both of Virgin's teammates are basing their CCDev entries on winged spaceplanes that will take off vertically atop an expendable launch vehicle and return to a gliding runway landing.

Sierra Nevada, which won $20 million in the first CCDev competition to begin work on its Dream Chaser vehicle, will use the same hybrid-rocket technology that powers SpaceShipTwo, and has already built the tooling for its composite airframe.

"We are thrilled to have Virgin Galactic as part of our effort to make commercial orbital transportation a reality," says Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president and head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems. "The knowledge gained in the development and promotion of the history-making SpaceShipTwo suborbital system will add considerably to our program."

Orbital Sciences has announced a spaceplane entry for CCDev round two that builds on earlier NASA testbeds like the HL-10.

Thales Alenia will build its pressurized crew compartment, and Northrop Grumman will develop its composite airframe to a proprietary "blended lifting body" shape developed at Orbital.

"They have experience in this area," says Frank Culbertson, Orbital's senior vice president for human spaceflight systems, of the partnership with Virgin "They have contacted a lot of people around the world who are interested in flying for various reasons, and we think that there are other possibilities for using this spacecraft commercially that may or may not involve humans. We think it has a tremendous potential for the future of the company."

Both companies' vehicles are likely to launch on the Atlas V, at least initially, provided they win sufficient support from NASA to attract private investment to complete development under the partnership approach required in the CCDev program.

Branson, who told a commercial-spaceflight conference in October that he was negotiating with two companies for a CCDev partnership and planned to pick one of them, apparently decided to hedge his bets by joining both teams.

"Today's announcement is an important step along the way to achieving our ultimate and long-term goal of leading an industry which opens up the huge potential of space to everyone, whether it be for the experience itself, for science research, for fast and efficient transportation around the globe or for delivering payloads to space safely, cleanly and cheaply," Branson says.

[instml]

http://твой-космос.рф/2010/12/17/virgin-galactic-присоединяется-борьбе-за-право-вып/
 

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Aviation Week: Orbital Aims For Station With Lifting Body[/size]

[ronatu]

The unnamed vehicle will be the fifth generation of a lifting body shape that traces its heritage back to NASA's HL-10/20 testbeds of the 1960s and '70s, and includes work Orbital did on the Orbital Space Plane ISS crew rescue concept early in this decade, according to Antonio L. Elias, executive vice president and general manager for advanced programs.

Orbital selected a lifting body for cross range and softer landings, as well as possible benefits that may be derived from using the flight surfaces to handle atmospheric loads on ascent. The company chose the Atlas V as its baseline launcher because of its safety record and affordability, although other vehicles including Europe's Ariane V may also be used eventually.

[Salo]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/science/space/01private.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&hpw

Officials at Orbital Sciences — a company in Dulles, Va., that builds and launches rockets and satellites for everything from television broadcasts to scientific research — say they are excited by the possibilities of commercial crew, but they are more cautious. Orbital, founded in 1982, was a survivor from the last boom-and-bust in commercial space.

Its space plane design is a refinement of the HL-20. Following in the pattern of tapping Greek mythology for the names of its spacecraft, [color=yellow:65e19640bc]Orbital calls its plane Prometheus. Orbital says development of Prometheus would cost $3.5 billion to $4 billion, which would include the cost of upgrading the Atlas V rocket and two test flights.[/color:65e19640bc]

With enough financial support, David W. Thompson, chief executive of Orbital, is sure that his company can build and operate Prometheus. But he is less sure that his industry is at a tipping point for spaceflight to become much more common, driving down prices and opening up space to new businesses.

"I think it depends on what the demand curve really is," Mr. Thompson said. "I would say I'm highly skeptical."

Пора тему переименовывать в Orbital Prometheus. :wink: