Cheap, simple, dependable
plane could be 5 years away

By Paul Recer
AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON — In five years, astronauts may journey to the International Space Station in a stripped-down four-seater instead of the mammoth — and aging — space shuttle.

In effect, NASA hopes to commute to orbit in a sleek sedan instead of an 18-wheeler.

An artist rendering shows four concepts being considered for the design of the Orbital Space Plane.

The space agency is rushing to design, build, test and fly a simple four-person craft that can more cheaply haul people and light cargo to the space station.

"The focus is to keep it simple and flexible," said Dennis Smith, the Orbital Space Plane program manager at the Marshall Spaceflight Center. "We're doing everything we can to get it up by 2008."

The space plane will have only two missions: to carry people up and down from the space station, and to act as a standby lifeboat, parked at the space station for the evacuation of astronauts if there is an emergency.

NASA expects to settle on a final design within a few months.

Smith said the space plane initially will be launched by either Atlas or Delta boosters, possibly a Delta booster built by Boeing in Decatur. These American rockets are among the most dependable, each with decades of success. Later, NASA hopes to develop another booster system.

Unique to American spacecraft, the plane will be designed to fly either manned or unmanned. Smith said an auto guidance system will allow the plane could be flown remotely to rendezvous and dock with the Space Station, and then return to Earth. With no humans aboard, the craft could be used to haul light cargo to the orbiting lab.

Source: The Decatur Daily, Monday, September 1, 2003 (see full article).