Mankind has made a step toward a manned flight to Mars – Economic News

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Yesterday the test launch of the Orion spacecraft that will return Americans to manned space program. Over time, the ship will drop off people to the moon and later to Mars. Last mankind fly farther Earth orbit 42 years ago.

Illustration for NASA study of the possibility of human flight to Mars, made in 1963.

The satellite was launched from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral ( FL, USA) using heavy rocket United Launch Alliance Delta IV. Launch took place one day later than planned, due to some problems in the fuel system of one of the accelerators. Making two turns around our planet, Orion returned to earth, falling into the Pacific Ocean. The test flight lasted 4:00 24 minutes. In the apogee distance from Earth reached 5,800 km, according to Economic News.

The purpose of the flight was to test the systems and rapid separation stages (32 thous. Km / h) re-entry – in particular, the thermal shield capable of withstanding up to 3000 degrees Celsius, as well as the triple system of parachutes, which will reduce the speed from 480 to 30 km / h. The actual temperature during the descent was as high as 2200 degrees, and that 80% of the temperature which is reached when returning from the moon or Mars.

At the time this article the ship had to go back and cool down to an acceptable temperature for operation. It was detected in the atmosphere with the help of the UAV Ikhana, after which time it was monitored as a helicopter. To evacuate him headed experts on an inflatable boat, which towed it to the ship USS Anchorage. Data obtained from a variety of different sensors, yet to be explored, but in any case the entire flight and descent went flawlessly, the ship returned whole, after landing, all appliances worked, including cameras.

So far, the only fly in space command module. Made in the form of a truncated cone size 5h3,3 m, it looks like flying to the moon Apollo, only a little more. He is able to transport the team of 4 people for 21 days. Still there is a service module that contains the engines, as well as supplies of fuel, oxygen and water. For longer flights will be added to the design module for long-term stay, which will be made on the basis of a similar module for the International Space Station (ISS). In the expanded configuration, it will allow the crew to stay in space up to 500 days. That’s enough for a flight to Mars, even when taking off from Earth (need 400-450 days), but if you collect several stages in Earth orbit and launch spacecraft to Mars there, such a flight there and back at all, you can crank out over 245 Earth days.

Read: Scientists have proved the existence of life on Mars

The idea to return to the ships of this kind, instead samoletopodobnym shuttles, appeared ten years ago, shortly after the crash space shuttle Columbia in 2003. The administration of President George W. Bush (Jr.) in 2004 proposed a new program of space exploration, which eventually gave the name Constellation (Constellation). Under this program, we decided to once again make small manned modules in the style of Apollo. In 2010, the program covered due to lack of funds, but developments have not gone away, and in some areas the work continued. In the same year a law was passed NASA Authorization Act, which defined new priorities and secured funding.

Orion though outwardly similar to the Apollo, but still different. He is more and can accommodate up to six people instead of three. It has, instead of the solar battery cells (which at least in terms of energy makes possible flight conventionally infinite). The cockpit is similar to those which are now installed in the latest models of aircraft Boeing (there are many instruments are replaced by screens where you can display anything). During test execution Orion will constantly improve, for which it was originally designed modular. With the emergence of more advanced technologies, old devices will be replaced by new ones.

Test run Orion – one of the steps in the development of NASA technology that will allow a person to visit the new facilities of the solar system, for example, already mentioned Mars. This planet very similar to Earth, and its study to better understand the history of the Earth and the possibility of life on other planets. Mars exploration by robots has been going on for over 40 years (for example, now there is Curiosity), but the Orion spacecraft must provide and manned journey. In terms of duration of flight and energy, the next window of opportunity – in 2018 and 2020. When the Earth will fly close to Mars. By this time, NASA will not have time to prepare, and the next window – already in 2033 and 2035.

Read: Orion returned to Earth after a test run

The duration is a big problem. The longer fly, the more you need reserves to sustain the astronauts, respectively, need a more spacious and expensive design of the ship, it will be more expensive to run. During the long flight crew will be irradiated, the dose was 0.66 Sv, with the limit set by NASA for one person in 1 sievert. Stay in weightlessness during this time nor is it anything useful to health (for example, it is fraught with a strong deterioration of vision). In this case, any health problems should be solved on their own. Finally, a long narrow flight of the company in a limited space in the absence of online communications with Earth can create psychological problems. The chances of a hardware failure, the higher the longer flight.

However, before traveling to Mars will ship first nonstop fly to the moon without the people (2018), then the people (at least 2021). Then may take place a manned mission to one of the asteroids (2023). Technically, the schedule can be sealed, but all depends on the budget. Compared to other needs and not the best state of the US economy, and NASA are glad that there (about $ 17 billion. Per year). This is about 0.5% of the federal budget, one and a half times lower than the average over the past 40 years, and nine times lower than the peak in 1966, during the program Apollo.

In any case, projects of this magnitude is not implemented for four decades – last man flew to the moon in 1972. In addition, we now have the United States for the first time in half a century there are no manned spacecraft – ISS Americans fly on Russian “Soyuz” in the international expeditions ( recently returned from there the 41 th instead went to 42th). Given the current state of political relations and the phasing out of cooperation programs in the long term US cooperation with Russia in question, so the appearance of its own manned program for the United States becomes not that critical, but important task.

It is possible, in parallel with the new the program will be changed and priorities of Americans in space. Critics of the current policy in this area say they regularly spend money on flights to the ISS is meaningless, this practice had long been discontinued. Say, near space should become fully commercial and automatic. For most research robots enough, people run into orbit makes sense only in exceptional cases, such as repair of the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA released the same money could be spent on the study of deep space. For example, on manned missions to the Moon, Mars, asteroids and eventually even further.

In addition, this time at Orion has competitors, which should accelerate progress. In addition to the state NASA, the development of manned ships engaged in two private US companies – Boeing and Space X (their offspring are called CTS100 and Dragon V2, respectively). So far closer to a possible target Dragon, current (unmanned) version of which has already visited several times in orbit and which also has a powerful thermal shield, like the Orion. In addition, Space X makes its own launch vehicles. So plans of the company founder Elon Musk (PayPal and the founder and Tesla Motors, the state of $ 9.3bn.) Personally fly to Mars is not only real – they may be implemented before the flight back Orion.

Run Delta IV rocket with Orion.

Orion in Earth orbit (installation) .

Inside the prototype ship Space X Dragon V2.

The collected of multiple photos “self” robot Curiosity on Mars.