Personnel Launch System definitionA lifting-body Personnel Launch System (PLS) is defined for assured manned access to space for future U.S. space missions. The reusable craft described is configured for reliable and safe operations, maintainability, affordability, and improved operability, and could reduce life-cycle costs associated with placing personnel into orbit. Flight simulations show the PLS to be a very flyable vehicle with very little control and propellant expenditure required during entry. The attention to crew safety has resulted in the design of a system that provides protection for the crew throughout the mission profile. However, a new operations philosophy for manned space vehicles must be adopted to fully achieve low-cost, manned earth-to-orbit transportation.
Document ID
19910029216
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Piland, William M. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Talay, Theodore A. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Stone, Howard W. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)