Beleagured by time and budget constraints, operating in a wildly fluctuating political environment that swings back and forth on the final end date for the shuttle program, NASA today announced it was lightening up the new Orion space capsule.
The originally-planned six-seater now will be trimmed back to accommodate four space voyagers. Originally, NASA had planned to create the larger module to ferry astronauts to the space station, with a four-seater used for the projected moon missions in 2020.
NASA also had concerns about the weight of the Orion during early flight days. The 21,000-pound capsule must be able to land safely if one of the three landing parachutes failed to deploy properly.
Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, said that NASA is not "giving up" on the six-seater model, but instead will delay its development to focus on the lighter model. Without the space shuttle, NASA must figure out ways to provide increased crews to the International Space station (ISS).
Recent shuttle missions have expanded the station so that it can now house six people instead of the current three. Getting a six-pack of astronauts and cosmonauts ferrried to and from the station without the space shuttle will be a tricky scheduling task. The Russian Soyuz vehicle will offer some availability to American crews, but a U.S. vehicle is needed for long-term continued occupation of the space station.
Congress is currently tussling with the actual date for ending the space shuttle program. Although 2010 is planned as the year of the final mission, mission delays and concerns over the U.S. being grounded, other than hitching rides aboard Soyuz, for at least five years has sparked vigorous debate and competing political plans.
Meanwhile, NASA continues without a new administrator. President Obama, just ending his first 100 days in office, has left the space agency on a low-voltage back burner.
Shown above: Orion capsule water testing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The video provides a look at Orion transport and water exercises. Orion is the capsule component of the new Constellation program, which will use the proposed Ares rocket.
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