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Spaceflight Entertainment and Hobbies / Re: Hazegrayart Master Thread
« Last post by catdlr on Today at 07:02 pm »Space Station Freedom
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Oct 24, 2024
Space Station Freedom was a NASA-led multi-national project proposed in the 1980s to construct a permanently crewed space station in low Earth orbit. Despite initial approval by President Ronald Reagan and a public announcement in the 1984 State of the Union Address, the ambitious project faced significant budget cuts and delays. Ultimately, a scaled-down version of Freedom evolved into the US Orbital Segment (USOS) of the International Space Station (ISS).
"Power Tower" space station concept (1984)
In April 1984, the newly established Space Station Program Office at Johnson Space Center produced a first reference configuration; this design would serve as a baseline for further planning. The chosen design was the "Power Tower", a long central keel with most mass located at either end. This arrangement would provide enough gravity gradient stability to keep the station aligned with the keel pointed towards the Earth, reducing the need for thruster firings. Most designs featured a cluster of modules at the lower end and a set of articulated solar arrays at the upper end. It also contained a servicing bay. In April 1985, the program selected a set of contractors to carry out definition studies and preliminary design; various trade-offs were made in this process, balancing higher development costs against reduced long-term operating costs
"Dual Keel" space station concept (1985)
The newly conceived "Dual Keel" Station emerged as a sophisticated blend of Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas designs, boasting a structure that was significantly stiffer—resulting in enhanced stability. This innovative architecture promised not only increased space for external instruments but also a superior microgravity environment, a marked improvement over its predecessor, the gravity gradient-stabilized "Power Tower."
In response to the pressing concerns of scientists, the crew size was elevated to eight astronauts. The rationale? A mere six-member team would likely be overwhelmed by the demands of assembly and maintenance, leaving scant time for crucial research activities.
NASA set its sights on a launch date for the station's first element in January 1993; however, the initial operational capability was pushed back to January 1994. This delay stemmed primarily from a significant budget cut in Fiscal 1986, which slashed funding from $280 million down to a mere $200 million. The implications were profound, reshaping timelines and expectations for this ambitious project..
Revised Baseline Configuration (1987)
At the same time, late 1986, NASA carried out a study into new configuration options to reduce development costs; options studied ranged from the use of a Skylab-type station to a phased development of the Dual-Keel configuration. This approach involved splitting assembly into two phases; Phase 1 would provide the central modules, and the transverse boom, but with no keels. The solar arrays would be augmented to ensure 75 kW of power would be provided, and the polar platform and servicing facility were again deferred. The study concluded that the project was viable, reducing development costs while minimizing negative impacts, and it was designated the Revised Baseline Configuration. This would have a development cost of US$15.3 billion (in FY1989 dollars) and FEL in the first quarter of 1994. This replanning was endorsed by the National Research Council in September 1987, which also recommended that the long-term national goals should be studied before committing to any particular Phase 2 design.
This work is based on "Spacestation 7 - Procedural" (https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/spacestation-7-procedural-5e8cb801870f4cbc89246ba4f9c8e6b2 )
) by re1monsen (https://sketchfab.com/re1monsen )
During 1986 and 1987, various other studies were carried out on the future of the U.S. space program; the results of these often impacted the Space Station, and their recommendations were folded into the revised baseline as necessary. One of the results of these was to baseline the Station program as requiring five shuttle flights a year for operations and logistics, rotating four crew at a time with the aim of extending individual stay times to 180 days.