Think Aerospace

Not a flying car, but a roadable aircraft, the Terrafugia Transition took flight for the first time March 5, 2009.

NASA has been busy planning for a new spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), to be able to rendezvous with the ISS and then to take a crew back to the moon in conjunction with the Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM).

A Crew Launch Vehicle, named Ares I, derived from the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) will deliver the CEV to low Earth Orbit (LEO) while a larger rocket, Ares 5, will deliver ISS cargo of the LSAM to LEO. Once in LEO, the CEV and LSAM will dock and a J-2X Earth Departure Stage (EDS) will deliver the CEV/LSAM to Low Lunar Orbit (LLO) at 100 km. The EDS is discarded and CEV/LSAM temporarily decouple.

The LSAM then performs the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) to deliver the LSAM to the lunar surface will all 4 astronauts onboard. After some amount of time on the surface, an ascent stage from the LSAM boosts the crew back to LLO and the ascent stage docks with the unattended CEV.

The ascent stage is discarded and the service module section of the CEV boosts the crew module (with crew) towards Earth reentry, and the service module is then discarded. The crew module reenters the upper atmosphere and an ablative heat shield slows the craft to a point where it is captured by the Earth. Parachutes then slow the crew module for a land (or sea in emergencies) landing.

Whew, safe at last from solar storms! Ares V will be able to launch 130 metric tons LEO inclined at 28.5 degrees or it can deliver 55 metric tons to trans-lunar orbit. By comparison, the Saturn V was capable of 118 metric tons to LEO or 47 metric tons to lunar orbit.

See http://www.plasmaben.com/CEV.html for more info.

NASA’s Ares 1 spacecraft is seen launching from Cape Canaveral carrying the Orion spacecraft. The Lunar Access Module (LSAM), launched separately, will join with the Orion Command Module (CM) in order to deliver 4 astronauts to a Low Lunar Orbit (LLO). Once in LLO the CM and LSAM separate and the LSAM lands 4 astronauts on the surface of the moon. After ~1 week, the ascent stage of the LSAM returns the astronauts to the CM in LLO for a return back to Earth. The CM will re-enter like an Apollo or Soyuz capsule with an ablative heat shield.

Lockheed Martin’s new lunar lander and the Orion spacecraft separating in low lunar orbit.