Beyond Low Earth Orbit program

           Beyond Low Earth Orbit program (2010–present)

For missions beyond low Earth orbit (BLEO), NASA has been directed to develop the Space Launch System (SLS), a Saturn-V class rocket, and the two to six person, beyond low Earth orbit spacecraft, Orion. In February 2010, President Barack Obama's administration proposed eliminating public funds for the Constellation program and shifting greater responsibility of servicing the ISS to private companies.^[90] During a speech at the Kennedy Space Center on April 15, 2010, Obama proposed a new heavy-lift vehicle (HLV) to replace the formerly planned Ares V.^[91] In his speech, Obama called for a manned mission to an asteroid as soon as 2025, and a manned mission to Mars orbit by the mid-2030s.^[91] TheNASA Authorization Act of 2010 was passed by Congress and signed  law on October 11, 2010.^[92] The act officially canceled the Constellation program.^[92]

Orion spacecraft design as of January 2013

The Authorization Act required a newly designed HLV be chosen within 90 days of its passing; the launch vehicle was given the name "Space Launch System". The new law also required the construction of a beyond low earth orbit spacecraft.^[93] The Orion spacecraft, which was being developed as part of the Constellation program, was chosen to fulfill this role.^[94] The Space Launch System is planned to launch both Orion and other necessary hardware for missions beyond low Earth orbit.^[95] The SLS is to be upgraded over time with more powerful versions. The initial capability of SLS is required to be able to lift 70 mt into LEO. It is then planned to be upgraded to 105 mt and then eventually to 130 mt.

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                 Commercial Crew Program (2010-present)

The Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program was initiated in 2010 with the purpose of creating American commercially operated crewed spacecraft capable of delivering at least four crew members to the ISS, staying docked for 180 days and then returning them back to Earth.^[84] It is hoped that these vehicles could also transport non-NASA customers to private space stations such those planned by Bigelow Aerospace.^[85] Like COTS, CCDev is also a fixed price milestone-based          developmental program that requires some private investment.^[77]

In 2010, NASA announced the winners of the first phase of the program, a total of $50 million was divided among five American companies to foster research and development into human spaceflight concepts and technologies in the private sector. In 2011, the winners of the second phase of the program were announced, $270 million was divided among four companies.^[86] In 2012, the winners of the third phase of the program were announced, NASA provided $1.1 billion divided among three companies to further develop their crew transportation systems.^[87] In 2014, the winners of the final round were announced.^[88] SpaceX's Dragon V2 (planned to be launched on a Falcon 9 v1.1) received a contract valued up to $2.6 billion and Boeing's CST-100 (to be launched on an Atlas V) received a contract valued up to $4.2 billion.^[89] NASA expects these vehicles to begin transporting humans to the ISS in 2017.^[89

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      Commercial Resupply Services (2006–present)

The development of the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) vehicles began in 2006 with the purpose of creating American commercially operated uncrewed cargo vehicles to service the ISS.^[76] The development of these vehicles was under a fixed price milestone-based program, meaning that each company that received a funded award had a list of milestones with a dollar value attached to them that they didn't receive until after they had successful completed the milestone.^[77] Private companies were also required to have some "skin in the game" which refers raising an unspecified amount of private investment for their proposal.^[78]

On December 23, 2008, NASA awarded Commercial Resupply Services contracts to SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation.^[79] SpaceX uses its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft.^[80] Orbital Sciences uses its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft. The first Dragon resupply mission occurred in May 2012.^[81] The first Cygnus resupply missionoccurred in September 2013.^[82] The CRS program now provides for all America's ISS cargo needs; with the exception of a few vehicle-specific payloads that are delivered on the European ATV and the Japanese HTV.^[83]

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International Space Station (1993–present)

The International Space Station (ISS) combines NASA's Space Station Freedom project with the Soviet/Russian Mir-2 station, the European Columbus station, and the Japanese Kibō laboratory module.^[59] NASA originally planned in the 1980s to develop Freedomalone, but US budget constraints led to the merger of these projects into a single multi-national program in 1993, managed by NASA, theRussian Federal Space Agency (RKA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and theCanadian Space Agency (CSA).^[60][61] The station consists of pressurized modules, external trusses, solar arrays and other components, which have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and the US Space Shuttles.^[59] It is currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. The on-orbit assembly began in 1998, the completion of the US Orbital Segment occurred in 2011 and the completion of theRussian Orbital Segment is expected by 2016.^{[62][63][needs update]} The ownership and use of the space station is established in intergovernmental treaties and agreements^[64] which divide the station into two areas and allow Russia to retain full ownership of the Russian Orbital Segment (with the exception of Zarya),^[65][66] with the US Orbital Segment allocated between the other international partners.^[64]

Long duration missions to the ISS are referred to as ISS Expeditions. Expedition crew members typically spend approximately six months on the ISS.^[67] The initial expedition crew size was three, temporarily decreased to two following the Columbia disaster. Since May 2009, expedition crew size has been six crew members.^[68] Crew size is expected to be increased to seven, the number the ISS was designed for, once the Commercial Crew Program becomes operational.^[69] The ISS has been continuously occupied for the past 15 years and 346 days, having exceeded the previous record held by Mir; and has been visited by astronauts and cosmonauts from 15 different nations.^[70][71]

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     Space Shuttle Program (1972–2011)

                    

   The Space Shuttle became the major focus of NASA in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Planned as a frequently launchable and mostly reusable vehicle, four space shuttle orbiters were built by 1985. The first to launch, Columbia, did so on April 12, 1981,^[51] the 20th anniversary of the first known human space flight.^[52]

Its major components were a spaceplane orbiter with an external fuel tank and two solid-fuel launch rockets at its side. The external tank, which was bigger than the spacecraft itself, was the only major component that was not reused. The shuttle could orbit in altitudes of 185–643 km (115–400miles)^[53] and carry a maximum payload (to low orbit) of 24,400 kg (54,000 lb).^[54] Missions could last from 5 to 17 days and crews could be from 2 to 8 astronauts.^[53]

On 20 missions (1983–98) the Space Shuttle carried Spacelab, designed in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA). Spacelab was not designed for independent orbital flight, but remained in the Shuttle's cargo bay as the astronauts entered and left it through an airlock.^[55] Another famous series of missions were the launch and later successful repair of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990 and 1993, respectively.^[56]

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   Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1972–75)

On May 24, 1972, US President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin signed an agreement calling for a joint manned space mission, and declaring intent for all future international manned spacecraft to be capable of docking with each other.^[48] This authorized the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), involving the rendezvous and docking in Earth orbit of a surplus Apollo Command/Service Module with a Soyuz spacecraft. The mission took place in July 1975. This was the last US manned space flight until the first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle in April 1981.^[49]

The mission included both joint and separate scientific experiments, and provided useful engineering experience for future joint US–Russian space flights, such as the Shuttle–Mir Program^[50] and the International Space Station.

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                   SKYLAB(1965–79)

                   

Skylab was the United States' first and only independently built space station.^[46] Conceived in 1965 as a workshop to be constructed in space from a spent Saturn IB upper stage, the 169,950 lb (77,088 kg) station was constructed on Earth and launched on May 14, 1973 atop the first two stages of a Saturn V, into a 235-nautical-mile (435 km) orbit inclined at 50° to the equator. Damaged during launch by the loss of its thermal protection and one electricity-generating solar panel, it was repaired to functionality by its first crew. It was occupied for a total of 171 days by 3 successive crews in 1973 and 1974.^[46] It included a laboratory for studying the effects of microgravity, and a solar observatory.^[46] NASA planned to have a Space Shuttle dock with it, and elevate Skylab to a higher safe altitude, but the Shuttle was not ready for flight before Skylab's re-entry on July 11, 1979.^[47]

To save cost, NASA used one of the Saturn V rockets originally earmarked for a canceled Apollo mission to launch the Skylab. Apollo spacecraft were used for transporting astronauts to and from the station. Three three-man crews stayed aboard the station for periods of 28, 59, and 84 days. Skylab's habitable volume was 11,290 cubic feet (320 m³), which was 30.7 times bigger than that of the Apollo Command Module.^[47]

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                 Project Apollo (1961–72)

The U.S public's perception of the Soviet lead in the space race (by putting the first man in space) motivated President John F. Kennedy to ask the Congress on May 25, 1961 to commit the federal government to a program to land a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, which effectively launched the Apollo program.^[33]

Apollo was one of the most expensive American scientific programs ever. It cost more than $20 billion in 1960s dollars^[34] or an estimated $206 billion in present-day US dollars.^[35] (In comparison, the Manhattan Project cost roughly $26.3 billion, accounting for inflation.)^[35][36] It used the Saturn rockets as launch vehicles, which were far bigger than the rockets built for previous projects.^[37] The spacecraft was also bigger; it had two main parts, the combined command and service module (CSM) and the lunar landing module (LM). The LM was to be left on the Moon and only the command module (CM) containing the three astronauts would eventually return to Earth.

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, 1969

The second manned mission, Apollo 8, brought astronauts for the first time in a flight around the Moon in December 1968.^[38] Shortly before, the Soviets had sent an unmanned spacecraft around the Moon.^[39] On the next two missions docking maneuvers that were needed for the Moon landing were practiced^[40][41] and then finally the Moon landing was made on the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969.^[42]

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                Project Gemini (1961–66)

Based on studies to grow the Mercury spacecraft capabilities to long-duration flights, developing space rendezvous techniques, and precision Earth landing, Project Gemini was started as a two-man program in 1962 to overcome the Soviets' lead and to support the Apollo manned lunar landing program, adding extravehicular activity (EVA) and rendezvous and docking to its objectives. The first manned Gemini flight, Gemini 3, was flown by Gus Grissom and John Young on March 23, 1965.^[30] Nine missions followed in 1965 and 1966, demonstrating an endurance mission of nearly fourteen days, rendezvous, docking, and practical EVA, and gathering medical data on the effects of weightlessness on humans.^[31][32]

Under the direction of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, the USSR competed with Gemini by converting their Vostok spacecraft into a two- or three-man Voskhod. They succeeded in launching two manned flights before Gemini's first flight, achieving a three-cosmonaut flight in 1963 and the first EVA in 1964. After this, the program was canceled, and Gemini caught up while spacecraft designer Sergei Korolevdeveloped the Soyuz spacecraft, their answer to Apollo.

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          PROJECT MERCURY (1959–63)

Shortly after the Space Race began, an early objective was to get a person into Earth orbit as soon as possible, therefore the simplest spacecraft that could be launched by existing rockets was favored. The US Air Force's Man in Space Soonest program considered many manned spacecraft designs, ranging from rocket planes like the X-15, to small ballistic space capsules.^[24] By 1958, the space plane concepts were eliminated in favor of the ballistic capsule.^[25]

When NASA was created that same year, the Air Force programwas transferred to it and renamed Project Mercury. The first seven astronauts were selected among candidates from the Navy, Air Force and Marine test pilot programs. On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard Freedom 7, launched by 

aRedstone booster on a 15-minute ballistic (suborbital) flight.^[26] John Glenn became the first American to be launched into orbit by an Atlas launch vehicle on February 20, 1962 aboard Friendship 7.^[27] Glenn completed three orbits, after which three more orbital flights were made, culminating in L. Gordon Cooper's 22-orbit flight Faith 7, May 15–16, 1963.

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