CAMELOT 2: Personnel transport between Earth and Mars

A summary of the second phase of a design study fo a cycling spacecraft for regular and frequency personnel transport between Earth and a Mars base is presented. The first-phase study, called project CAMELOT, was a mission analysis and configuration design and was completed by the Space Systems Design class at the University of Michigan in the winter term, 1987. In the second phase, the configuration and component design has been developed by the Space Systems Design class in the winter term, 1988, beyond the initial configuration study. Analysis has led to numerous design modifications and improvements, as well as providing more detailed system definition. Major components of the second phase study include innovative detailed designs such as an interface between the rotating and non-rotating portions of the spacecraft, an elevator system that changes orientation to eliminate Coriolis forces, an electromagnetic radiation shield that significantly reduces the mass of the spacecraft, and a detailed assembly sequence and cost analysis. In addition, modifications to the propulsion and the power generation subsystems, taxi-docking facilities, and internal layout design have led to a more efficient, more reliable, and more comfortable vehicle. Finite-element stress and dynamic analysis has verified much of the system and indicates the validity of the design. Computer simulation of many moving components, including torus rotation, elevator and interface operations, and attitude control mechanisms further validate and support the various systems.