Second
Generation Shuttle
The
second generation shuttle should be smaller, coming in two versions.
One with a cargo bay for transporting small payloads; and, the second
one with cabin space, for additional astronauts, replacing the cargo
bay. A tentative design of the new shuttle results in a wide-bodied
aircraft,
which looks like a cross between a Galaxy transport
aircraft and the Raptor fighter plane. All the mass of the aircraft is
found below the wings, just as in the Galaxy; and, is made of two
levels. The top level is the cabin level, and the bottom level is for
cargo space. The overall shape of the new shuttle ensures a flushed
integration of the wings with the body; where body and wings are seen
clearly as separate structural elements, which we believe, after
testing, should make flying the aircraft, by the flight computers,
easier. The under body of the aircraft, and its integration with the
wings, should be designed to provide additional lift capabilities for
the second version; which will house in the bottom level, instead of a
cargo bay, a scramjet in the center, and a jet engine on each side,
plus fuel reservoirs. The second version will additionally provide
placement, on top of the wings, for the rockets required for the final
push into space. The wing shape should be triangular, as in the raptor.
Aileron placement, whether vertical, slanted, or horizontal, is to be
decided, based on their effectiveness in providing close to airliner
stability, in final approach and landing -- stall speed must be lower
than that of the current version of the shuttle. Vertical, or slanted
ailerons, and tail assembly must not get in the way of the rocket, or
rockets required for last push into space.
High-grade
ceramic should be used for exterior heat shielding. The carbon tile
heat shield should be kept, as a middle heat shielding layer; and the
last layer should be a ceramic one, burned into the aluminum/titanium
frame. The frame, itself, is built as a single unit, using meld welding.
The
alternative to using a solid external high-grade ceramic layer is to
use a softer one, which sublimates at high temperature in a uniform
manner. The sublimation must be uniform, in order to prevent the
shuttle from being destabilised at supersonic and hypersonic speed.
Only a thiny layer should sublimate on each re-entry. After each trip,
the shuttle could be wheeled into a hangar; where robots could re-apply
a new coat of the soft ceramic compound, while diagnotics are
performed, on other systems of the shuttle. The process should take no
more than 72 hours; and the rest of the week is to address problems
that the diagnostics routines could have uncovered. The harder coat
alternative is a way to keep a shuttle in circulation, as long as,
possible; therefore, a shuttle would have to be taken out of
circulation, for at least a few months, for refurbishment.
Cargo Train
The
idea of cargo train service, probably supplied by a private company, is
to ensure, that an appropriate amount of cargo always reaches the
astronauts; since, we expect that a substantial number of them may be
posted on the moon (100 or more), five years after the first
launch.
The cargo train is made of 10 to 15-meter sections,
some radiation shielded, some not. The shielded ones, can be fully
shielded, and used as,
additional cabin space for astronauts, for a week-long trip to the
moon; as long as, the required thrust can be achieved.
A
walker robot is needed for loading and unloading cargo on and off the
train. Cargo should be carried in re-usable, shielded, tagged, and
weight-calibrated crates. All the research and development can be done
by a private company. The sections can be launched into space, with
heavy-lift, Atlas-type rockets.
At
each end of each section there should be an armored layer made of
kevlar, ceramic, or any new material which can prevent damage to the
vulnerable parts of the train, due to an explosion of the rocket
module, or to impacts by space debris.
Rocket Module and Fuel
Two sections are required for the rocket and fuel module which will push the
train to the moon. A new type of fuel, which is
safer to store and handle, over a long period of time, is the
first
question mark in the project planning. This new fuel is only required
for space-based transportation. A Methane-hydrogen mix could be
considered -- for fuel chemists to research and develop -- kerosen and
hydrogen alone are probably too volatile.
Combustion type rocket engines can be avoided altogether, by adopting
plasma-type
rocket engines.
The rocket modules design can be done by
a private company. The requirements to be satisfied are the capability
to push a 100-150 meter train to the moon in a 28-day trip; a short
train in 7-days, a very short one, the same time, as the Apollo
missions.
The
Downloaders
The
downloaders are the
second question mark in the whole enterprise. The
question is, whether or not, the appropriate rocket engine can be
developed to provide for a re-usable, reliable, safe vehicle, which can
take-off from the moon, after re-fueling; and, download cargo and
people, in a safe, automatic pilotable fashion, as a single unit.
People
Downloader
The
people downloader should be fully automated. It should be able to take
off and land, given origin and destination coordinates. The LEM should
be able to automatically gauge the total load, and fuel requirements;
as well as, plan its own trajectory, from origin to destination. It
should be able to take-off and land as a single unit. It should be fully
shielded, and able to carry 2 to 3 astronauts. It should be easily, and
safely re-fuelable, on the moon and in space. It should be able to
position itself safely near a train, to be grabbed by a robotic arm.
The robotic arm can then move the LEM near a hatch to an habitable
section of the train. The LEM should be able to dock with an habitable
section of the train, or vice-versa.
Cargo
Downloader
The
cargo downloader is essentially, a carrying platform, a stripped down
version of the people
carrying version. It should also be able to position itself safely near
a train, to be grabbed by a robotic arm. The robotic arm can then load
an appropriate number of crates on the LEM. It should take the robotic
arm a specified amount of time -- for engineers to estimate -- to load
and unload cargo from the LEM.
Moon Habitat
The
habitat must be modular, using panels for construction. The panels must
be fully shielded, and use vacuum seals as latches. The vacuum seal
mechanism must be able to be powered by a fuel cell, requiring just an
adaptor. The adaptor should always be in the control of the commander
of the mission, or station. The panel must not exceed a lunar weight,
that an astronaut could not handle alone. The base and walls, of each
habitat, are built with the same type of panels.
A set of habitats can be
built, essentially, as a honeycomb structure -- left to architects and
engineers to research and develop. The paneled habitats must be able to
handle condensation, without a filtering mechanism -- the panels
themselves must be engineered appropriately. The filtering mechanism
must handle condensation, sweat, water vapor, lunar sand, etc.. To reduce the impact of
lunar sand; the hatch of every habitat must have efficient
sand
filtering, to prevent said sand from entering the main area of the
habitat. A habitat model can be tested in Antartica, during the winter
months, to examine the effects of cold and wind pressure, on the vacuum
seal mechanism; as well as, gauge to what level does condensation rise,
inside the habitat.
Habitat
Location
The
location of the habitats should preferably be chosen in the 5-10 KM
ring along the dark side, close to the lighted side. There is less
exposure to solar radiation, and a lesser need to extensively shied the
habitats. Planning for every eventuality, the requiremenent
is that there should be no more than
one
astronaut death per 20 years.
Kilometer-square
fields of solar panels can be setup on the lighted side; and miles of cables can be used to carry the
electricity to the habitats. The secondary supply of energy should come from fuel cells and
hydrogen/oxygen canisters.
The downloaders should always land, as least the distance that debris from an explosion would travel, from the
habitats -- for engineers to estimate.
Pierre Innocent