Orion Hardware Reviewed For Human Asteroid Flight

[groovychk]

Originally published at Twixel.net. You can comment here or there.

Progress is being made on defining a human mission to an asteroid. Experts at several NASA centers are sketching out a prospective piloted stopover at an asteroid—a trek that could return samples from a targeted space rock as well as honing astronaut proficiency and test needed equipment for other space destinations.

 

At the heart of such a mission is drawing upon the technology of NASA’s Constellation initiative—the overarching program that is gearing up to extend human presence at the Moon, on Mars and beyond. One key ingredient is the Orion spacecraft—a post-Space Shuttle vehicle now under design to thrust crews further than low Earth orbit.

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/061227_asteroid_orion.html

Comments

[kyrie1618.livejournal.com]

I'm pumped about the new ship, I am. But Orion was Dyson's baby, and calling the CEV Orion is So Very Wrong. *sigh* I know they knew the name was taken, so why would they do this?

[groovychk.livejournal.com]

Yeah - Quite a hijack. Orion is a starship!
It was even featured in Footfall if I remember right.

[kyrie1618.livejournal.com]

Wham Wham Wham Wham Wham "God was knocking, and he wanted in Bad." When I was a kid I went through a phase where Niven was all I read... Footfall was one of my very favorite. Why couldn't Independance Day have been more like that? Fighter jets and a crop duster against interstellar saucers? Don't get me wrong, it's still great fun, but I can't watch it in the cold light of day.

Also Orion showed up in a book called "The Starship and the Canoe" by Kenneth Brower... which is basically my holy book. So I am more familiar with that particular stardrive than any healthy person should be. :)

But moving on - we're going to visit an asteroid! Singleship license, here I come!