ULA, Bigelow propose space station near moon by 2022

James Dean
Florida Today

On the heels of the Trump administration promise to return astronauts to the moon, a pair of space industry partners unveiled a concept Tuesday that hopes to jump-start a lunar exploration program.

Billed as "lunar sooner," Bigelow Aerospace and United Launch Alliance said a new ULA rocket could launch one of Bigelow's privately developed space stations from Florida into an orbit near the lunar surface as soon as 2022.

The outpost, from which astronauts could potentially shuttle to the surface and back, would give NASA a deep space foothold as a step toward the agency's longer-term goal of reaching Mars.

"What we’re looking for is to get something going," said Robert Bigelow, president and CEO of Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace. "It’s a start, and we’re anxious try and get something going, and trying to get a salute from the White House and from NASA that by God, this makes a lot of sense."

[On 5th try, Atlas V blasts off from Cape Canaveral with spy satellite]

[SpaceX Falcon 9 booster arrives at Port Canaveral hours after Atlas V launch]

Concept image of a United Launch Alliance rocket stage powering a Bigelow Aerospace B330 module on its way from low Earth orbit to an orbit low over the moon.

Bigelow estimated the proposal would cost $2.3 billion — "small potatoes" compared to the tens of billions NASA will spend to develop its Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule, plus on any future habitats or landers.

And, he said, the privately developed station would give the SLS, Orion and potentially other vehicles a destination and purpose they currently lack.

"Now you have a real reason for the SLS and Orion machines to be developed, and now it all makes sense, now it all comes together," he said.

Here's how the concept would work:

A version of ULA's Vulcan rocket, which is still early in development, would launch a Bigelow B330 station into low Earth orbit. Packing 330 cubic meters of volume, the expandable B330 offers about one-third the living area of the International Space Station.

Commercial capsules such as SpcaeX's Dragon would initially visit to outfit the "depot," as Bieglow calls it. A checkout period from months up to a year would prove the habitat's readiness to venture out to the moon.

Two more Vulcan rockets would launch, loaded with fuel that would be consolidated into one of the rocket's upper stages. That stage, transformed into a refuelable tug, would link up with the habitat and propel it to an orbit roughly 40 miles above the moon.

"So low the moon would be just right in your face," Bigelow said.

The low orbit would enable sorties to the surface without needing much fuel.

The announcement came less than two weeks after Vice President Mike Pence, heading a reconstituted National Space Council, promised American astronauts would return to the moon "not only to leave behind footprints and flags, but to build the foundation we need to send Americans to Mars and beyond."

"The moon will be a stepping stone, a training ground, a venue to strengthen our commercial and international partnerships as we refocus America’s space program toward human space exploration," Pence continued.

At the Oct. 5 meeting, Pence directed the National Space Council to produce a report with recommendations for exploration and defense programs within 45 days.

So far, NASA has floated a concept to deploy a small space station in lunar orbit known as the Deep Space Gateway. The agency has said the gateway could support moon landings that commercial or international partners might want to pursue.

By the late 2020s, a crew would fly a one-year mission aboard a "deep space transporter" that could carry people to Mars, testing the system's readiness for a Mars mission before straying too far from home.

NASA is targeting 2019 for the first launch of SLS and Orion from Kennedy Space Center without a crew, and 2022 for a crew to launch into orbit around the moon.

Asked about the Bigelow-ULA proposal, NASA said in a statement that it was excited to see continued interest in pushing humans farther out in the solar system.

“A sustainable crew presence in deep space will require the best of NASA, our international partners and the private sector," the statement said. "The agency is studying the deep space gateway concept with U.S. industry and space station partners for potential future collaborations."

Bigelow and NASA already are testing a prototype expandable habitat attached to the ISS. Bigelow will build a larger structure based on the B330 that may also be tested on the ISS, as one of six companies NASA has selected to develop deep space habitat concepts and ground prototypes.

Bigelow and ULA think they can accelerate the timeframe and lower the cost for meaningful NASA missions at the moon, plus potentially for other customers including space tourists.

The depot could be expanded in later phases, and Bigelow said it would spark development of the landers, rovers and other infrastructure needed for a permanent lunar base. To start, it would enable humans to return close to the moon.

"It’s been 45 years since anyone has been that close to the moon and been able to do that," said Bigelow. "So this has a lot of value as getting to the first step."

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com. And follow on Twitter at @flatoday_jdean and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FlameTrench.