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NASA is looking to get back into #vanlife.
The space agency issued a request for information (RFI) requesting ideas for an Artemis crew transport vehicle to succeed the iconic “Astrovan” used in the space shuttle era.
The Astrovan was last used in 2011.
(Tom Pennington / Getty Images)
NASA is preparing to send astronauts into space as part of official government missions as part of the Artemis moon landing program in the coming years, but it needs a way to get them to space first. the launch pad.
The previous Astrovan, which is a secret Airstream Excelle RV technically known as the Astronaut Transfer Vehicle that entered service in 1983 and has been on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center since the end of the program. the shuttle in 2011 alongside its predecessor, a Clark -The Cortez camper van that was used from Appolo 7 until the inaugural flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983.
Apollo and the first Space Shuttle astronauts were driven to the launch pad in a converted Clark-Cortez camper van.
(Borders / Getty Images)
The RFI provides for a vehicle that can accommodate a driver, four flight crew members in appropriate clothing and three additional staff members. There should also be room for six bags of gear, cooling units, and two cubic feet per passenger for miscellaneous. At least two large entry / exit and emergency exit doors are also required.
A big difference from the old minivan is that the new one must have a zero emission powertrain which is either a plug-in hybrid, an electric battery, or an electric fuel cell.
NASA’s commercial space partner SpaceX is currently using an electric Tesla Model X to transport crews to its launch pad, while Jeff Bezos participated in Blue Origin’s first launch in Texas in a Rivian-built SUV, supported by Amazon.
Boeing unveiled its own Airstream / Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based Astrovan II in 2019, which it plans to use on trade missions from its Starliner capsule, which has experienced delays.
Boeing has not yet used its Astrovan II.
(Boeing)
Interestingly, NASA said it would also consider an electrical overhaul of the historic Airstream that would give the project a retro-futuristic feel.
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Responses are expected by October 25. No timeline or budget for the program is mentioned, but NASA aims to send the first Artemis program astronauts to space by the end of 2023 and to the Moon by 2024.
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