At NASA
exhibit, classic spacecraft shape
is still out of this world
Story and photo by Frederick Johnsen
NASA Public Affairs
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Green Bay native Larry Huebner, a NASA specialist from the Langley Research Center, can help explain the planned Crew Exploration Vehicle behind him in the entry to the NASA exhibit at AirVenture.
Photo by Frederick Johnsen |
The focal point at the
entrance to NASA’s exhibit building at EAA AirVenture is a
floor-to-ceiling shape representing what the next generation human-rated
spacecraft to circle the moon could look like. If its symmetrical
gumdrop silhouette looks familiar, that’s no accident. Called the crew
exploration vehicle or CEV for short, this new idea in space travel
upholds the tradition of NASA’s earlier triumphant Apollo command
module. The basic shape that brought astronauts safely home from the
moon more than three decades ago resurfaces with the advantages of
modern technologies, four decades of learning, and a new charter to
explore the moon, Mars, and beyond.
The outline of the CEV,
which looks like an inverted spinning top, is a proven design that
reduces development time. It promotes both acceleration on launch and
heat deflecting aerodynamics on re-entry. Where its Apollo ancestor was
only tasked with carrying three astronauts, the modern CEV has grown to
have three times the volume of an Apollo capsule, enabling it to
accommodate as many as six explorers on return flights from outposts in
space. NASA envisions sending four astronauts on lunar trips in the CEV.
This time, unlike Apollo,
the capsule won’t be a one-shot affair. Plans call for reusing each
CEV up to 10 times. That utility will help make the CEV a viable vehicle
for delivering crew and cargo to the International Space Station.
Decisions are yet to be made on the CEV’s mode of landing. It might,
as seen in some artists’ concepts, use inflatable cushions in
conjunction with parachutes to land gently in the western United States.
Or, the tried-and-true water landings of previous American capsules
might be revisited during the CEV’s development. The service module
envisioned to be attached to the base of the CEV will deploy solar
panels to provide electrical power to the capsule.
True to its Apollo
pedigree, the new CEV will connect to a lunar lander to permit
astronauts to return to the surface of the moon. But it won’t be a
nostalgic amble; this time, astronauts plan to set up living stations
for extended stays on the moon, proving concepts of exploration that
will one day enable travel to Mars.
The back side of the CEV
mock-up in the NASA exhibit at AirVenture is a flat wall featuring two
holographic projectors. Three-dimensional images of two future
astronauts discuss the vision for space exploration regularly here.
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is an intersection
of thousands of pilots and future pilots. What is the likelihood that
some of the men and women who will one day be picked to take the CEV to
the moon are among the aerospace-minded throng here today?
