SpaceDev Reveals Commercial Lunar Plan

[realtime]

Crikey, they're some cheeky beggars, eh?  

http://www.spacedev.com/newsite/templates/subpage_article.php?pid=543

Lennie David's take:

http://www.space.com/news/051121_spacedev.html

I'm still cruising the site for the actual ILO Human Service Study, proper.

[realtime]

Looks like a pre-release press release.  Some interesting stuff here on the International Lunar Observatory (ILO) homepage.

http://www.spaceagepub.com/ilo/ilo.home.html

[AndyMc]

realtime - 21/11/2005  10:59 PM

Crikey, they're some cheeky beggars, eh?  

http://www.spacedev.com/newsite/templates/subpage_article.php?pid=543

Lennie David's take:

http://www.space.com/news/051121_spacedev.html

I'm still cruising the site for the actual ILO Human Service Study, proper.

It looks like they added this aftter your post:

http://www.spacedev.com/newsite/templates/subpage_article.php?pid=545

This linked page - http://www.spacedev.com/newsite/templates/subpage_article.php?pid=546 has pictures from a 99mb video file (also available) outlining the mission. It appears to leave a lot of questions unanswered, as the plan requires multiple launches of hardware to LEO and Lunar Orbit for rendezvous with the arriving manned craft.

One thing they mention about their plan is quote, "The study also concluded that a combination of technology already under development or under consideration by SpaceDev and other companies could be combined to create a growing and lasting presence at the Moon again at costs significantly lower than those proposed by other organizations."

Their plan appears to include inflatable hab modules as are currently under development by Bigelow Aerospace: http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/news.html - some good links on this page.

Also the rocket chair we see maybe what Armadillo Aerospace is planning on developing: http://media.armadilloaerospace.com/misc/manned_flight.jpg
http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/n.x/Armadillo/Home

There are some interesting ideas here, but I think there is much more work to do on this concept before any or all of it comes to fruition. The rocket chair looks like it might be useful for small unpressurised cargo transportation, or for emergency (human) use. For general human transportation, ascent/descent would be safer inside a small pressuirsed two stage lander. Perhaps using a drop stage similar to what they show attached to the Hab modules when beginning their descent to the Lunar surface. The cabin of this lander could possibly be left in Lunar orbit and be met by a new ascent, descent and drop stages. Still its' great to see all these ideas, some old, some new being considered once again.

[AndyMc]

The Suns Take on it (UK Tabloid)

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005550647,00.html

[braddock]

This linked page - http://www.spacedev.com/newsite/templates/subpage_article.php?pid=546 has pictures from a 99mb video file (also available) outlining the mission. It appears to leave a lot of questions unanswered, as the plan requires multiple launches of hardware to LEO and Lunar Orbit for rendezvous with the arriving manned craft.

Man, how did we ever manage space travel before computer generated mission animations?  

I'm pretty sure the Armadillo rocket chair was a bit of a lark on their way to more serious X-prize ambitions.  That was back in 2002, described in detail here: http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/n.x/Armadillo/Home/News?news_id=175

I always tune in for the Armadillo updates every month, they are just having too much fun!

I was wondering why in the mission animation SpaceDev had their lunar transport capsule look apparently capable of reentry, but they redock with their shuttle in LEO anyway and dispose of the capsule like so much space junk.  Just showing off their Dream Chaser mini-shuttle ambitions I suppose.

Does anyone know what the factors are in scaling up their rubber hybrid engines?

[publiusr]

Just some more of how alt.space yahoos undermine heavy-lift and spaceflight in general. This is all the Proxmire types in DC need.
I used to speak highly of SpaceDev. Not anymore.