Lockheed Martin has created a new website which showcases their concepts for the CEV. Apparently not to be outdone by Boeing, who quietly posted some concept art shortly after President Bush's speech.
The new website boasts downloadable posters and also includes more background information on their concepts in the form of a "Marketing Materials" section.
An editorial from Florida Today that warns Congress to give NASA "tough scrutiny" and require "firm assurances" that the necessary reforms required by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board have been carried out before funding the new projects. It also warns that the true costs of a Moon-Mars initiative is not truly reflected in the budget request.
A story from United Press International which goes into detail on NASA's new Aeronautics enterprise, and some of the new projects which are funded in the FY05 budget request.
"The agency previously lumped aeronautics research efforts into its Office of Aerospace Technology, which received $946 million for FY 2026. The president had requested just over $1 billion for the office, but Congress cut more than $50 million to pay for special interest projects."
This article from Aviation Week on the NASA budget request provides more details on the CEV's spiral development approach.
"The CEV will be produced [in] three development blocks: prototype test vehicles, an unmanned Block 1 configuration, and a manned Block II version. Formulation concept studies will take place in FY '04, with preliminary design in FY '05 and FY '06, according to NASA. "
With the recent announcement of Project Constellation as part of President Bush's new space initiative, now is a good time to examine past attempts at building a successor to the Space Shuttle, so that we may maintain a fresh perspective.
[This is an article I wrote that's currently running as the lead feature on the online journal New Mars. It is an expanded version of my previous Project Constellation backgrounder, accessible from the left navigation menu of this site.]
This new Space.com article talks about the focus of new robotic missions in preparation for human landing on the Moon.
"These missions will not be driven by science," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for the NASAs Office of Space Science. "They will be driven by preparations for human landings."
"This will be the first digital recon mission of the Moon," he said. In addition to high-resolution photographs, the orbiter will likely work to map lunar resources, such as water ice that is suspected of hiding in permanently shadowed craters. Frozen water would be a key resource for any future Moon base, providing drinking water and, when broken down into hydrogen, fuel for return flights or missions beyond the Moon.
NASA has released a new document to supplement its FY 2008 budget. The document, titled "A Vision for Space Exploration", contains more details on future missions and how NASA will transform to fulfill these goals.
+ A Vision for Space Exploration (PDF - High Res)
+ A Vision for Space Exploration (PDF - Low Res)
I just finished this article which provides the latest details on Project Constellation and the emerging concepts for the CEV.
A substantially longer version will appear later this week in the online journal New Mars. The longer version puts the CEV in context with past attempts to develop a worthy successor to the Space Shuttle, and the reasons why they all ended in failure.
A few articles written after today's press briefing on the FY 2008 budget...
+ Budget proposal for NASA blueprint puts emphasis on Mars, beyond (Houston Chronicle)
+ Out-of-this-world costs match exploration vision (Orlando Sentinel)
+ Science in space gets $167M boost from 2008 budget (Huntsville Times)
Today at NASA headquarters, Administrator Sean O'Keefe gave remarks on the FY 2008 budget for NASA, which includes new money for the Crew Exploration Vehicle under Project Constellation. It also refocuses NASA's other programs towards the new space exploration initiative announced two weeks ago by President Bush.
+ NASA FY 2008 Budget (PDF presentation)
+ Transcript of Remarks
The long awaited release includes details on Project Constellation and other NASA projects. NASA will hold a series of detailed briefings tomorrow (Feb 3rd) to discuss the budget.
The budget mentions that Project Constellation will be developed not as a single vehicle (like the Orbital Space Plane) but a series of modular systems to enable manned missions to low earth orbit, the Moon, and beyond.
While comparisons to the Apollo systems will be inevitable, this is truly a new series of spacecraft with 21st century technology, not a simple retooling of Apollo. Current thinking of the shape of the main crew vehicle is indeed an Apollo-style capsule as depicted in the Boeing concept artwork (which I've used for the header graphics on this page.)
Unmanned tests of the new vehicle will begin as soon as 2011, with the first mission to ISS targeted around 2017, and missions to the moon following soon afterwards.
+ NASA Budget Documents (NASA)
+ PDF Budget Document (White House)
+ Overview of NASA's FY 2008 Budget (SpaceRef)