Location
Radisson Resort at the Port, Convention Center, Jamaica Room
Start Date
2-5-2002 2:00 PM
End Date
2-5-2002 5:00 PM
Description
The next step in space exploration must be on a scale that has never been experienced before. In order to construct a fully functioning spaceport, tremendous amounts of cargo and materials as well as large numbers of people will have to be transported into orbit. The size of the program and the spaceport that will have to be built will be orders of magnitude greater than anything yet accomplished.
Unlike ISS Alpha, the spaceport will have to support more than just research. For it to be economically feasible, it must provide space and services to a number of different operations. Manufacturing, tourism, research, construction, commerce and exploration are just some of the activities that will take place on or from the spaceport. These requirements dictate that the spaceport be able to provide space and services for over 300 people to live and work. If the spaceport is assumed to be a circular design providing artificial gravity such as the one proposed by von Braun and exemplified in 2001: A Space Odyssey it could easily exceed 500 meters in diameter.
The effort to lift the amount of material needed to construct a spaceport of this size is staggering. Current vehicles and methods will be unable to achieve the needed volume or launch frequency. A new set of systems and vehicles must be developed. The lessons of the past must be re-evaluated and integrated into the new program. By combining methods developed for Apollo, SkyLab, Mars Pathfinder and the Space Shuttle with modern materials and technology a new “old way” to lift mass into space becomes possible.
This paper will explore this new “old way” and how the achievements of the past will help illuminate the way into the future.
Paper Session III-C - A New "Old Way" to Space: Taking the Best From the Past to Forge Ahead into the Future
Radisson Resort at the Port, Convention Center, Jamaica Room
The next step in space exploration must be on a scale that has never been experienced before. In order to construct a fully functioning spaceport, tremendous amounts of cargo and materials as well as large numbers of people will have to be transported into orbit. The size of the program and the spaceport that will have to be built will be orders of magnitude greater than anything yet accomplished.
Unlike ISS Alpha, the spaceport will have to support more than just research. For it to be economically feasible, it must provide space and services to a number of different operations. Manufacturing, tourism, research, construction, commerce and exploration are just some of the activities that will take place on or from the spaceport. These requirements dictate that the spaceport be able to provide space and services for over 300 people to live and work. If the spaceport is assumed to be a circular design providing artificial gravity such as the one proposed by von Braun and exemplified in 2001: A Space Odyssey it could easily exceed 500 meters in diameter.
The effort to lift the amount of material needed to construct a spaceport of this size is staggering. Current vehicles and methods will be unable to achieve the needed volume or launch frequency. A new set of systems and vehicles must be developed. The lessons of the past must be re-evaluated and integrated into the new program. By combining methods developed for Apollo, SkyLab, Mars Pathfinder and the Space Shuttle with modern materials and technology a new “old way” to lift mass into space becomes possible.
This paper will explore this new “old way” and how the achievements of the past will help illuminate the way into the future.
