Jupiter Spacecraft - Proposed Reusable Tug

Well, someone has heard.  Someone has come to reason.  In the Tech Times article called Lockheed Martin In Collision Course With SpaceX In Providing Reusable Spaceflight Architecture by Sumit Passary, Lockheed Martin is proposing a reusable space tug to compete in the new cargo resupply contracts bid to the ISS coming up.  I first wrote about a tug that was very similar in January of 2013 in my post Space Exploration Plans From Beoing.  I am happy to see that someone is taking the idea seriously.  This proposal is sophisticated and versatile enough for future infrastructure in space.

Locheed Martin calls it Jupiter spacecraft.  It has solar panels, propulsion (chemical), a robotic arm, and a refueling system.  Once in orbit, it will receive canisters called Exoliners one at a time.  After delivering the initial Exoliner with which Jupiter is launched,  Jupiter will rendezvous and capture the subsequent Exoliners for deliver.  Exoliners can also be deorbited as trash.  This is a very sophisticated if not complicated procedure.  Where is the refueling coming from?  I'm sure the Jupiter spacecraft is getting its fuel from the Exoliners.  Sure, it's not straight forward like Cygnus or Dragon cargo spacecraft, but the benefit is that it is reusable which brings down the launch weight and subsequently the cost.

Now, a craft like this can operate for years.  It may out live the ISS and start servicing other missions like a Bigelow Aerospace commercial space station.  The technology could be expanded into satellite repair/refuel.  It can also be upgraded to service flights to the Moon and back.  Such a technology is quite versatile.  It can not only move cargo pressurized or not, but also space capsules carrying people to higher orbits, different orbits, to asteroids, or the Moon.  It can expand our presence in space.  The idea of automated space tugs is not a new one, but this is the first commercially proposed one.

Jupiter/Exoliner space tug system is sophisticated, versatile, and commercial.  I'm happily surprised that Locheed Martin came up with the proposal.  Now, if they would only replace their venerable and rapidly obselete Atlas V with a reusable rocket that uses more principles from my Space Faring Standards post, they would be set.

Set Orbit Around Ceres

Courtesy of NASA

Dawn, the amazing unmanned spacecraft at the command of Marc Rayman as Mission Director and Dr. Chris Russell as the Principal Investigator with thier crew of scientists and engineers, has entered into orbit around Ceres.  This is a remarkable achievement as it is the first time in human history that an unmanned spacecraft has entered into orbit around a second space body in one mission.  Dawn was able to do this thanks to its multiple ion drives.  Dawn is an amazing spacecraft and will likely find new discoveries at Ceres.

No other spacecraft has been as powerful or versatile as Dawn.  It has been in orbit around the asteroid Vesta and has made geologic observations with spectrographic data.  Then it left Vesta and made its way to Ceres, a 30 month journey.  It did encounter equipment failures, but the crew was able to work around them to keep the mission alive.

Ceres is currently labeled as a Dwarf Planet.  That is the same label Pluto ended up with.  There are other Dwarf Planets of lesser notoriety.  Dawn will take some time to close its orbit around Ceres to get good image resolutions.  Ceres is already causing mystery.  It is sporting a bright spot or two that is making people get messed up hair from all the scratching.  I'm sure conspiracy theorists and ufologist are loving this.  Yep, drama may ensue.

So finding new discoveries at Ceres and being just amazing I think Dawn is flipping the bill.  For sure it is a mission to keep track of.  So here is to the venerable crew of Dawn.  Live long and prosper.