Amid growing disquiet over the lack of definition in the USA's vision for space exploration, NASA is preparing to invite industry to propose mission objectives, system architectures and vehicle concepts for Project Constellation. A broad area announcement to be released on 14 June will seek preliminary proposals for lunar exploration in the 2015-20 timeframe and initial concepts for the crew exploration vehicle (CEV).
NASA plans to award multiple 12-month, $6 million contracts by 1 September. Winners will recommend scientific, economic and security objectives for lunar exploration, develop initial system architecture concepts, conduct trade studies between cost and performance and identify areas of commonality with Mars exploration requirements.
Contractors will also produce initial CEV concepts, including mould lines and launch systems, and preliminary cost estimates for Spiral 1 of the Constellation programme. Spiral 1 involves crewed operations in Earth orbit, with further system development resulting in Spiral 2 and manned missions to the Moon from as early as 2015 and no later than 2020. Later spirals would allow missions to Mars after 2020.
NASA's "accelerated development" schedule calls for a request for proposals for CEV development in January next year, with award of at least two contracts by June 2005 leading to risk-reduction flight demonstrations of CEV concepts in 2008. One concept will be selected for development in 2008, leading to the first uncrewed flight of a prototype CEV in 2011 and the first crewed flight in 2014.
Project Constellation is intended to be a "sustained and affordable human and robotic exploration programme", says NASA. Industry is rallying around the programme, for which public and political support has been lukewarm.
Source: Flight International
