A transportation system for a lunar base

The conceptual design of a transportation system for supporting a permanent base on the moon early in the 21st century is discussed. The principal components of the transportation system include a node in low earth orbit, an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) for providing transportation between the earth orbit and the lunar orbit, and a landing craft for transporting payloads between the lunar orbit and the lunar surface. Each vehicle can be operated in an expendable or a reusable mode. The techniques used in the development of the conceptual design are examined, as are other transportation options considered in system selection.