Word: spacecraft
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Magnus said that every space mission harbors notable hazards—including a 1-in-100 chance of a fatal disaster, according to official NASA estimates—but that the spacecraft set to launch tomorrow incorporates numerous fine-tuned enhancements that address problems plaguing past missions...
...research projects at eight different universities to raise $2 million in ALS funding. But now Kremer and Boaz have their eyes set on five times that amount. After Kremer and Boaz heard of the the Ansari X Prize—a $10 million competition to launch a piloted spacecraft into space twice within two weeks in 2004—Kremer said they decided to create a company based on the same business model.“One of the big problems with ALS is that there are not a lot of novel treatment ideas coming from new places...
...images of NASA's celebrated lunar landings are lasered onto the national retina, and perhaps no two things are better remembered than the sister ships that made the trips: the cone-shaped Apollo command module and the leggy lunar lander. If NASA has its way, those kinds of spacecraft will be flying again soon. They will not, however, be your daddy's moonships...
...thing that has made the shuttles such lethal disappointments is that they have tried to do too many things--fly like a spacecraft, land like an airplane, haul cargo like a truck. Part of the reason the Apollo ships succeeded was that they had an exceedingly clear goal: to fly to the moon and strictly obey the laws of simplicity and safety on the way. Both ships were also wisely mounted at the top of the booster that lifted them off the ground--keeping them away from the fire and foam that killed Challenger and Columbia...
...selling point of the CEV is its versatility. If the spacecraft is ready by its 2011 starting point and the moon trips indeed don't start until 2018, that means seven years of downtime. Astronauts could fill part of that gap flying shakedown trips to the International Space Station. After the U.S.'s moon presence is re-established, the CEV could become a central player in eventual Mars missions. "The spacecraft would have to evolve for the different demands of a Mars flight, particularly the higher re-entry speed," admits Horowitz. The basic design, however, would remain the same...