MSV - Manned Space Vehicle - A New Capsule for 6 Astronauts

Paper number

IAC-05-B4.5-D2.7.07

Author

Mr. Andreas Kruselburger, Technical University of Munich, Germany

Year

2005

Abstract

Within the Orbital Space Plane Program and now especially within the new US Exploration Program, the US are searching for a new manned access to space. The Orbital Space Plane was planned to be the successor of the space shuttle. After the loss of Columbia, the need for a new kind of manned space transportation vehicle arose. After years of development for new winged vehicles like X-38 or Venture Star and with the Columbia accident, it became obvious that, with the available technologies, capsule technology is still the safest and cheapest way to get in orbit. President Bush’s new vision of space exploration emphasized the need for a new capsule especially for missions beyond Low Earth Orbit.
This paper describes a possible configuration of a six person capsule in detail, which should be used in the first phase as crew transportation and rescue vehicle to and from the ISS. Because of the modular construction an advanced version of this vehicle can be used for missions beyond Low Earth Orbit through addition of an orbit module similar to the one of Soyuz.
After a short overview of existing technologies and spacecrafts, accidents and their reasons will be described. Main part of the paper is about the construction of this vehicle. The different main subsystems will be described briefly. At the end of the paper/ presentation, the whole configuration will be visualized through technical 3D- Catia drawings. 
Commercial of the Shelf technologies and especially the Apollo configuration are the basis for this new vehicle. Therefore development costs and risks could be reduced significantly. Altogether the new vehicle will have a mass of about 8 tons and could be launched with different launchers. So there is no need to construct a complete new launcher which also reduces costs and time. The development costs will lie far below the development costs for winged vehicles. Depending on launcher selection and the flight rate, one mission will vary between 150 and 200 million Dollars.

Abstract document

IAC-05-B4.5-D2.7.07.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-05-B4.5-D2.7.07.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.