Modular Common Spacecraft Bus
 | This article or section is in a state of significant expansion or restructuring. You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. If this article or section has not been edited in several days, please remove this template. If you are the editor who added this template and you are actively editing, please be sure to replace this template with {{in use}} during the active editing session. Click on the link for template parameters to use.
This article was last edited by InertReactionMass (talk | contribs) 15 years ago. (Update timer) |
Modular Common Spacecraft Bus (MCSB) is a fast-development, low-cost, general purpose spacecraft platform. It's modular design is intended to reduce the cost, complexity, and lead time on missions by providing a reliable, well-characterized system that can carry a variety of payloads. According to NASA, "the spacecraft is roughly one tenth the price of a conventional unmanned mission and could be used to land on the moon, orbit Earth, or rendezvous with asteroids"[1]
The initial prototype was built by 14 researchers at NASA Ames Research Center in just 15 months with a budget of $4 million. The fast development time is due in part to the novel use of repurposed SCUBA air tanks and a rocket engine that uses cold gas, in place of a conventional fuel/oxidizer or monopropellant engine. This allowed the team to test the system as fast as every 40 minutes in their lab, rather than waiting weeks or months for a time slot at an appropriate testing facility.[2]
Missions
- After a flight demonstration to top NASA officials, the system is being included in the $80 million Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission.
- Odyssey Moon, a team participating in the Google Lunar X-prize competition, is using the MCSB in it's MoonOne (M-1) lander.[3]
References
- ^ NASA Lunar Science Institute, Common Spacecraft Bus for Lunar Explorer Missions, includes video.
- ^ Wired.com Science Blog, Meet the Spacecraft That Could Save NASA a Fortune, posted May 7, 2008
- ^ Google Lunar X-Prize, NASA Ames' Common Spacecraft Bus- Hover Test Vehicle flights, posted November 3, 2008