Aug. 7, 2009 -- While debate swirls over whether the United States should stick with plans for a base on the moon or head straight to Mars, members of a presidential panel assessing options for NASA's future have another idea: orbital gas stations. Stashing rocket fuel in orbit around Earth would open a world of possibilities for long-distance space travel, said a subcommittee of the board convened by the White House to review the nation's human space flight program. "It is often said that if you want to go beyond LEO (low-Earth orbit, or about 200 miles above the planet) you've got to have a big rocket. I don't think that's right," said Jeff Greason, co-founder of XCOR Aerospace based in Mojave, Calif., and a member of the space program review panel. A key facet of the current plan for the space program after the space shuttles are retired next year is to design a heavy-lift rocket called Ares 5 which, like the Saturn boosters of the 1960s Apollo-era program, would have the muscle to leave Earth's orbit and deliver cargo to the moon. The space agency estimates the cost of a program to land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2020 to be $108 billion. Related Content:
Current 10-year budget projections for NASA, however, fall tens of billions of dollars short, delaying the return to the moon to the mid to late 2020s in the best-case scenario. Greason presented an alternative path, one that would rely on smaller, already existing launch vehicles to deliver propellants into orbit. This would enable rocket stages needed for deep space travel to be launched empty or nearly empty and later fueled in space. "You can now do much larger missions with the same-sized booster," Greason told panel members at a meeting in Cocoa Beach, Fla., last week. "It really is a game-changer." Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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