Next Generation of Space Shuttles

Tom

An Old Friend
NASA is still looking into new shuttle designs and some are not as adventurous as I would like to see.
Locheed Martin:
CEV=Crew Exploration Vehicle

PMX0605shuttle014.jpg


There is also Project Constellation which ties in with the CEV for NASA

The Mars Society is also interested in CEV and references Lockheed Martin

Solar Voyager has lots of pictures that explore the CEV concepts for Mars

Finally here is the site with a map of Worldwide Launch Sites

GlobalMap.gif



I just realised that you can get the lat/long for the launch sites on that page and plug those coordinates into TerraFly or other flyby imagers and look at them. Nifty!

United States Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
Latitude 28.5o N Longitude 81.0o W

On January 31, 1958, the United States became the second nation to launch an artificial moon to orbit above Earth. The satellite, Explorer 1, rode a Jupiter-C rocket from Cape Canaveral. Today, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, is part of the U.S. Space Command 45th Space Wing. Cape Canaveral has active Titan, Atlas and Delta launch complexes. It provides facilities for military, NASA and commercial organizations. More than 500 space launches have been made from the Cape, including NASA's many manned missions. The annual launch rate is about 25 to 30 flights because the Cape was built in the1950s. Currently, Titan rockets are launched from pads 40 and 41, Delta from 17A and 17B, and Atlas Centaur from 36A and 36B. Orbital inclinations range up to to 57o. Polar launches from Canaveral are not permitted because they would have to fly over populated areas. The Cape's Eastern Range tracking network extends all the way into the Indian Ocean where it meets the Western Range network. Spaceport Florida Facility is a commercial launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Station operated by the Spaceport Florida Authority (SFA), a state agency. It converted the Navy's old Launch Complex 46 pad for firing small to medium commercial launch vehicles ferrying satellites to equatorial orbit. The Navy originally used the pad for testing the Trident II fleet ballistic missile.
excerpt from the map site
 
skwirlinator said:
NASA is still looking into new shuttle designs and some are not as adventurous as I would like to see.
In this day & age of reduced budgets and 'stick to what works' mentality I wouldn't at all be shocked to see NASA shuttles taking a backseat to private enterprises like SpaceShip One. And, personally, I think that's a good thing. :smiley:
 
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