Former US President George Bush spoke on January 14, 2004 about his vision for the American space program which then raised further interest in the $17 billion industry. Then the questions came spilling out, and finally people got interested in what NASA had planned for the space program. NASA responded to former President Bush’s “Vision for Space Exploration”, which has since then received mixed feedback from the country.
What Is The “Vision for Space Exploration”?
The VSE speech was precise, and set out an important program that every citizen of the United States should understand. The Vision for Space Exploration program is the United States space policy announced on January 14, 2004 by George W. Bush. It had gradually developed over the years leading up to the speech, until the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003 paved way for its commencement.
What Is The US Space Program Trying to Accomplish?
- Complete construction of the International Space Station by 2010
- Retire the Space Shuttle by 2010
- Develop the Orion spacecraft (formerly known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle) by 2008, and conduct its first human spaceflight mission by 2014
- Develop Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicles
- Explore the Moon with robotic spacecraft missions by 2008 and crewed missions by 2020
- Explore Mars and other destinations with robotic and crewed missions
Why is The Moon So Important?
The moon boasts huge scientific benefits. The moon contains the past 4 billion years of its history on its dusty lunar surface! Preserved perfectly by the lack of atmosphere, the record it contains will help scientists understand hazards to the Earth and Moon, while also showing the processes attained by the evolution of the sun, which plays a vital role in the Earth's climate.
The view from the moon is astonishing and allows observation of the sky at radio wavelengths that are currently unattainable due to Earth’s disruptive radio noise. The moon is close to Earth in space (only three days away), but is filled with mysteries beyond what is currently understood.
The moon's composition remains very important. With its resources it could be very valuable to have a supply base stationed on the lunar surface. Water is very valuable in space, and when broken into chemical formula, it is Hydrogen and Oxygen. These two elements can be combined to create a densely powerful chemical rocket propellant that would be the most powerful by chemical grade standards.
Scientists estimate that each pole of the moon contains over 10 billion tons of water, which could power a liftoff of a fully fueled space shuttle every day for 39 years. This creation of fuel would allow for routine travel to and from the moon.
Cosmologist Carl Sagan has once stated, "All civilizations become either spacefaring or extinct." The moon has excellent weather for building installations and harvesting the eco-friendly solar energy power. This could be collected on the moon and sent directly to the earths’ solar panels. This is not the first plan to build man-made structures on the white surface. Former President Bush has even suggested using the moon as a launching pad to get to Mars.
How Will We Get There?
This isn’t too difficult; after all, it has been done with 40 year old technology. Building onto the best of Apollo, the spacecraft will be designed to carry four astronauts to and from the moon, and support up to six crewmembers. The new crew vehicle will be shaped like an Apollo capsule; however, its size will be increased by a standard of three, allowing four crewmen to travel at once. It will be equipped with solar panels for power, and they will all use liquid methane for additional power. They plan to use this method, because, someday in the future astronauts may be able to convert Mars resources’ into a methane composite fuel.
Astronauts will leave earth on a rocket dubbed, Ares I. According to NASA, for the first stage, this rocket employs one 5-segment rocket booster. Once the second stage is reached, a liquid oxygen and hydrogen J-2X engine will be powered to take the crew into orbit. The rocket has a 55,000 pound tow capacity for Earth orbit entry.
The Ares V, on the other hand, is for heavy lifting. This monster can take 286,000 pounds with it into orbit. It uses five RS-68 oxygen/hydrogen fused rockets with two 5-segment solid propellant rockets for the first stage. Standing over 110 meters (360 feet) tall, this powerful machine will be primarily used for cargo transport to the moon. Later, it may possible carry mass amounts of people as well.
These systems are much safer than the average shuttle. The crew capsule carries an escape rocket, similar to an ejector seat in the pilot’s seat of a modern fighter jet. This little rocket will abruptly blast any living personnel quickly away from the rocket fuel if problems arise.
U.S. Space History
It has been 40 years since Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the lunar surface, while in command of the Apollo 11 mission. Since then, a total of twenty-four American astronauts have been to the Moon, with 12 strolling on its surface and three taking the trip twice. The United States, Russia, India, Japan and China have all announced plans to send astronauts to the Moon around again by 2020, so the space-race continues on again after a four decade hiatus.
 |
 |
 |
