space tug
''Space Tug'' is a young adult science fiction novel by author Murray Leinster. It was published in 1953 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 5,000 copies. It is the second novel in the author's Joe Kenmore series. Groff Conklin gave it a mixed ...
spacecraft concept by Lockheed Martin, which was initially conceptualized as a 2015 bid proposal to NASA for an
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
(ISS) cargo resupply services contract. The proposal was not accepted by NASA, and future Lockheed plans for the concept are unknown.
The conceptual spacecraft is designed to operate in
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...
indefinitely, and be refueled from cargo pods delivered to the craft. Other proposed uses for the technology include on-orbit space tug services, according to company officials in a March 2015 presentation made in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
History
In 2014, Lockheed Martin proposed a cargo
transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
after 2017. Lockheed publicly announced the program in March 2015, and released an overview of the spacecraft and space cargo services they envision. By October 2015, NASA had eliminated the ''Jupiter'' proposal from the shortlist of the remaining competitors.
Description
The ''Jupiter''
space tug
''Space Tug'' is a young adult science fiction novel by author Murray Leinster. It was published in 1953 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 5,000 copies. It is the second novel in the author's Joe Kenmore series. Groff Conklin gave it a mixed ...
is intended to launch to space — conjoined with an ''Exoliner'' cargo container — on an
Atlas V
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was originally designed by Lockheed Martin, now being operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Mart ...
launch vehicle
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...
, and deliver the cargo container to the
ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...
. Once the cargo is unloaded, the Exoliner would be filled up with trash and other disposables, as is normal with the
Orbital Sciences
Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...
Automated Transfer Vehicle
The Automated Transfer Vehicle, originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle or ATV, was an expendable cargo spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), used for space cargo transport in 2008–2015. The ATV design was launched to orbit fiv ...
(ATV), and the JAXAH-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). However, in contrast to the typical cargo resupply spacecraft built prior to 2015, the Jupiter tug is proposed to remain in orbit following the completion of the initial delivery, where it would be available to meet up with a subsequent Atlas V/Exoliner and repeat the process. As proposed, in that meet up, the Jupiter would exchange an Exoliner filled with trash for the follow-on Exoliner carrying fresh cargo, and the Atlas V second stage would
deorbit
Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the entr ...
the trash-filled container while Jupiter would shuttle the new container to the space station.
Jupiter is to be derived in part from designs of two earlier Lockheed Martin spacecraft:
* Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN), and the
*
Juno spacecraft
''Juno'' is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter. It was built by Lockheed Martin and is operated by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 5, 2011 UTC, as part ...
.
''Jupiter'' is to include a
robotic arm
A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm; the arm may be the sum total of the mechanism or may be part of a more complex robot. The links of such a manipulator are connected by join ...
— which Lockheed intends to procure from
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates
MDA Ltd. is a Canadian space technology company headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, that provides geointelligence, robotics & space operations, and satellite systems.
History
MDA (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates) was founde ...
(MDA) — based on MDA's earlier development of
Canadarm
Canadarm or Canadarm1 (officially Shuttle Remote Manipulator System or SRMS, also SSRMS) is a series of robotic arms that were used on the Space Shuttle orbiters to deploy, manoeuvre, and capture payloads. After the Space Shuttle ''Columbia ...
, the robotic arm technology previously used on the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
. In addition to the ''Jupiter'' space tug itself, the Lockheed concept includes the use of a new -diameter cargo transport module called ''
Exoliner
''Jupiter'' is a proposed space tug spacecraft concept by Lockheed Martin, which was initially conceptualized as a 2015 bid proposal to NASA for an International Space Station (ISS) cargo resupply services contract. The proposal was not accepted ...
'' for carrying cargo to the ISS. ''Exoliner'' is based on the earlier
ESA
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
-developed
Automated Transfer Vehicle
The Automated Transfer Vehicle, originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle or ATV, was an expendable cargo spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), used for space cargo transport in 2008–2015. The ATV design was launched to orbit fiv ...
, and is to be jointly developed with
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufactur ...
On 12 March 2015, Lockheed Martin announced the spacecraft and its proposal for Commercial Resupply Services Phase 2, which utilized the vehicle. The proposal competes with
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
's
CST-100
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner is a class of two partially capsule,
Orbital ATK
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of Northrop Grumman from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alli ...
Dragon capsule
American private space transportation company SpaceX has developed and produced several spacecraft named Dragon. The first family member, now referred to as Dragon 1, flew 23 cargo missions to the ISS between 2010 and 2020 before being retired. ...
proposals for the same contract. Similar to Orbital ATK's Cygnus, the system is not capable of bringing payload safely back to Earth. Lockheed's proposal, as of March 2015, is the only proposal for more than one spacecraft.
Lockheed Martin's proposal to the U.S. government uses the ''Jupiter'' in conjunction with the Exoliner cargo capsule. The first launch will include the ''Jupiter'' spacecraft launching along with a filled Exoliner cargo capsule. Once in orbit, ''Jupiter'' would be designed to perform maneuvers to approach the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
. The ''Jupiter'' and Exoliner then will deliver cargo to, and carry trash from, the on-orbit facility. The combined unit will disconnect from the station and move away.
After these events, a new launch of the Exoliner cargo capsule is projected to occur. All launches after the first flight will deliver only Exoliner cargo capsules, assuming that the ''Jupiter'' spacecraft is in good health. The new craft would include fuel for ''Jupiter'' as well as cargo to be delivered to the space station. The arriving Exoliner will remain attached to the upper stage through a mounting ring. ''Jupiter'' and the departing Exoliner, now filled with trash, will approach the nearly spent rocket stage. The departing container will undock from the ''Jupiter'' spacecraft and will briefly be unattached to either the upper stage or the spacecraft. Immediately following the undocking, the arriving Exoliner docked to the upper stage will be removed by the ''Jupiters
robotic arm
A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm; the arm may be the sum total of the mechanism or may be part of a more complex robot. The links of such a manipulator are connected by join ...
, and refastened onto the ''Jupiter''. Finally, the departing container will be moved to the docking system on the upper stage of the rocket. After the ''Jupiter'' and Exoliner move away, the rocket stage will guide the used cargo pod down for a destructive
reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the ...
.
Fuel within the new cargo unit will transfer to the ''Jupiter'' spacecraft by unannounced means to keep the tug fueled. The refueled spacecraft will then tug the new cargo unit to the space station. ''Jupiter'' is planned to last indefinitely in orbit.
Lockheed Martin's goal is to launch a single ''Jupiter'', which will be reused for each on-orbit delivery, and the ostensibly less expensive cargo units would be expended through atmospheric reentry. ''Jupiter'' is projected to maintain fuel over its lifespan due to the fuel transfer during each Jupiter-Exoliner rendezvous.