Earth transportation node requirements and designThe objective of this paper is to establish the requirements for an inhabited earth orbiting transportation node and to develop design concepts for such a facility. The use of an earth orbiting transportation node is required to support many of the space flight projects proposed for the beginning of the 21st century. The requirements for such an orbiting facility are derived from the missions which they support. Future missions investigated include automated and human exploration of the solar system, support of a lunar base, and missions to planet earth. Design concepts are presented for transportation nodes based on a variation of the current Space Station Freedom design. Designs accommodate a variety of earth-to-orbit, orbit-to-orbit, and deep-space probe transportation systems. Finally, the technology needed to develop such a transportation node is summarized.
Document ID
19890030338
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hook, W. Ray (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Ayers, J. Kirk (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Cirillo, William M. (Planning Research Corp. Hampton, VA, United States)