Project Orion Exploration Systems by wblack

Bryce • Science Fiction • posted on Mar 04, 2011

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Description

General Atomics Interplanetary Exploration Systems Earth Return System & Exploration Lander Part five of my Project Orion Series, previous installments at the links below. Part One: Project Orion: A Design Overview. Part Two: Right Before Part Three: Project Orion Historical Context Chart Part Four: General Atomics Lunar Shuttle Currently my hi-detail Interplanetary Spacecraft model is in progress – I have elected to go with the 20-meter (65.7 Ft) diameter model to be used for high speed Mars missions (30 to 90-day one way flight times for a 450 day total duration mission) and longer duration Jupiter System exploration. The Mission Lander dilemma: At the point Project Orion was terminated final mission work-ups to final hardware stage had not been completed – the 8 man 10-meter (33 Ft) diameter Mars mission spacecraft was depicted in the proposal with the Ford Aeronutronic lifting-body style lander – the problem is that this was a pre-Mariner IV mission design. The Mariner IV data confirmed that the density of the Martian atmosphere would not support a lifting-body entry-vehicle design. I’ve relied on my extensive research into various lander designs to create a lander which might reflect something close to what a final hardware choice might have looked like. Selection of this design then forced my selection of the 20-meter diameter base spacecraft as it accommodates the bulk of the lander far better than the 10-meter design – which forces me to wonder if mission planners facing such a real-world choice might have been forced along similar lines for the same reasons. As always, thank you all for your thoughtful comments, interest, and encouragement.

Comments (10)

Mikeall

3:07PM | Fri, 04 March 2011

Beautifully realised!

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geirla

4:25PM | Fri, 04 March 2011

Very nice! I appreciate all the work you're putting into this. I'm having my fun on challenges with Orion-like designs... One thing, for the descent stage, I'm guessing for Mars, even with the thin atmosphere, most of the fuel would be needed for ascent, not descent (maybe 4-5kps up, but only 1 kps down) even with the thin atmosphere. Of course, I don't know how heavy you envision the lower living quarters to be, so maybe it's fine the way it is.

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wotan

5:58PM | Fri, 04 March 2011

Great models and textures!

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wblack

6:21PM | Fri, 04 March 2011

Thanks geirla!I'm looking forward to seeing your Orion style designs. I chose externally rigged descent engines and tanks to maximize the internal space. I was calculating for a range, an eight to twenty man crew, gear, consumables, and equipment for a 180 day surface stay. If anyone is really interested in spacecraft design some good design tools can be had at Lifesupport. For some great notes, read Rick Robinson's Rocketpunk Manifesto essay on Spaceship Design 101. Also worth reading are Rick's essays on constructing things in space and the price of a spaceship – links found on page linked above. And if you want to get down to the real grit I recommend the Advanced Design page on Winchell Chung’s atomic rockets site. I went with the rough and fast calculations yielding about 4.5 tons for structural mass – the Eric Rozier on-line calculator for consumables gave me the following figures for a 180 day surface stay: Crew: 8 Water: 70.6 Food: 3.6 Air: .09 Total: 75.9 Crew: 20 Water: 176.6 Food: 9.1 Air: .22 Total: 187.5 * all parameters in tons. Then when you consider gear it brings your descent weight in somewhere between one and two hundred tons depending on crew size.

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peedy

12:02AM | Sat, 05 March 2011

Fantastic modeling! Corrie

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flavia49

8:16AM | Sat, 05 March 2011

excellent work

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Dann-O

9:40AM | Sun, 06 March 2011

Great work nice to see someone who takes the time to make something good.

pdq1234

4:10AM | Tue, 08 March 2011

I love the concept, great to see someone remember what great visions we once had. It looks like NASA may get around to a NERVA mission to mars in oh, my guess is like 40 years, most likely longer, at the current rate of ploddingly slow progress with major setbacks every time there is a problem. We should have been tera-forming Mars for the last 30 years with bases there for over 50 years and and have a livable second earth in like another 70 years. There no reason what so ever we couldn't have made it to mars with just the technology from the Apollo program. The way things are going we may not make it off earth in time and we mite have a fall mankind will never recover from, all because some fools say "It costs too much,". Well I for one say "NO PRICE IS TOO HIGH", mankind needs to expand off earth and we need to fix the world we started on. And make sure we don't make the same mistakes on those planets that can be made livable that we have made on earth. Space is vast and there are resources for all, all we need to get out there before the resources of this world are used up, if we don't we may not survive. All it takes is a commitment. Once mankind gets its mind in gear, the rest is easy.

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