NASA Moves Forward on Manned Spaceflight

NASA's plans for human spaceflight got a shot in the arm this week.  A test flight of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle has been proposed for 2014.  Exploration Flight Test 1, or EFT-1, will launch an unmanned Orion into Earth orbit to test critical systems and re-entry at a high velocity.  NASA had previously stated that an unmanned Orion test flight could occur in 2017, so for once in the history of spacecraft development things are actually ahead of schedule.

Still from a NASA animation depicting the Orion capsule detaching from the upper stage of a rocket (NASA).

The Orion capsule is being developed by Lockheed Martin, and it appears to be NASA's choice for the next phase of human exploration of the solar system.  Originally designed as part of the now defunct Constellation program, Orion got a second chance at life, and now looks like it may serve a dual role as a deep space exploration vehicle, as well as possibly doing some ISS taxi/escape boat service.

Eventually, Orion will ride atop NASA's planned Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.  However, as the SLS probably won't be ready for a test flight in 2014, EFT-1 will take place using an existing commercial heavy-lift rocket.  While no existing American made commercial rockets are man-rated, a Falcon-9 or a Delta-IV could launch an unmanned Orion capsule to the high orbit required of the test flight.

Artist's depiction of the SLS (NASA).

Speaking of SLS, NASA is making headway in that department as well.  This week NASA successfully tested the powerful J-2X engine at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.  The J-2X will be the engine on the second stage of the SLS rocket.  When complete, the SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built, with the ability to lift over 130 tons into orbit.  It is this massive rocket that will one day be lifting the Orion capsule out of Earth's orbit entirely, on trips to the Moon, an asteroid, or Mars.

NASA's New Vehicle

Last week, NASA unveiled its new Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV).  A redesign of the Orion capsule (which was originally planned to take astronauts to the Moon), the MPCV is slated to ferry up to four astronauts on longer missions to near-Earth asteroids and eventually Mars.  While many details, such as what type of habitation module would accompany these flights and on what rocket it will launch, have yet to be determined, this is certainly a step in the right direction for NASA.

Since Obama's scrapping of the Constellation Program, which aimed to return humans to the Moon in the next decade, NASA has struggled to define its manned exploration goals to the public.  The announcement of the MPCV finally puts a face on their new mission to send humans further into interplanetary space.  By next year, China and Russia will be the only two nations capable of putting humans into orbit, and it's important that NASA at least appear to have a concrete plan for the future of our manned space program.

Using the Orion capsule as the template for the MPCV is a smart move.  Not only is it cheaper and faster to re-tool a vehicle that has already been designed, but terminating the contract with Orion's designer, Lockheed Martin, certainly would have meant layoffs, which wouldn't be attractive in anyone's eyes.  And like Orion, the MPCV will retain the ability to dock with the International Space Station, should the need arise.

While the road ahead for the MPCV still has many uncertainties, as even a potential launch date hasn't been set, this is a good step for NASA and for manned space exploration.

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