In recent years, we have witnessed the resurgence of space exploration as a relevant field in terms of technologic innovation and economic relevance. From the numerous unmanned exploration missions sent to Mars in the last decade to the development of reusable orbital launch systems by companies like SpaceX, goals like returning to the Moon (NASA’s Project Artemis) and the eventual sending of astronauts to Mars seem closer than ever before.
However, one big limitation that is hindering further progress is the amount and volume of cargo that can be launched into orbit and beyond, since it becomes not only an issue of the structure of the aircrafts or the thrust achievable by current designs and fuels, but also about finding new ways to pack this cargo and avoiding damages for both the payload and the aircraft itself.
As a possible solution to this problem, the team at ShipinSpace, a startup based in Witney, England lead by Francisco Boer, proposes a design for what they call a Lunar Base Launcher (LBL), which is a transportation system especially created to move heavy loads from Earth to the Moon, with functionalities that allow it to return to Low Earth Orbit (ELO).
Retaking Small Steps
Since early advances in the later 50’s by the Soviet Union, space exploration became a way to display not only advances in militaristic development, since this knowledge was required to design and build rockets powerful enough to escape the Earth’s gravity, but to also open the gates for further scientific research and broadening our understanding of the universe.
Then came the Cold War, which would confront the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. in what came to be called the “Space Race”, where the successes of a side were quickly overshadowed by the other and concluded officially in 1969, with the landing of the Apollo 13 mission on the surface of the Moon. Since then, space exploration has been focused mainly on studying the effects of zero-gravity in a plethora of scientific experiments and, indirectly, in the human physiology, with multiple flights carrying astronauts to the International Space Station and back.
But in 2018, NASA announced that they would be making new efforts to return humans to the Moon, as well as eventually establishing a lunar outpost that may allow them to send astronauts further into space. What we now know as Project Artemis (Apollo’s sister in Greek mythology) is aimed in multiple fronts, including the development of new propulsion systems, transport shuttles and landing capabilities, with the aim of further improving these technologies in preparation of a potential manned mission to Mars.
New Challenges
As usual, new obstacles arise with ambitious projects, even if the main objective is to replicate previous successes. Since the target this time is to set the required bases for manned exploration beyond the Moon, it’s important to make efforts in possibly turning the Moon into a mid-trip destination where missions could rest, refuel and continue onwards, a project for an orbiting station referred to as “the Gateway”.
NASA described the Gateway as a “platform that will consist of at least a power and propulsion element and habitation, logistics and airlock capabilities”, focusing first in power and propulsion, with the initial launch of elements targeted for 2022 and habitation capabilities launching in 2024. The big challenge of a project of this magnitude comes with transporting the required materials in a safe way, along with enough crew to carry on with the construction and maintenance.
The main hurdle to surpass is the logistics of the shipping. Given the large amount of heavy materials that needs to be sent, the possible solutions include either more frequent launches, which could drastically increase the cost of the project, or developing ways of storing more cargo in current rockets, making each launch more efficient. ShipinSpace is planning to tackle this issue in two fronts: a high-capacity Lunar Base Launcher and a way to adapt its shipping capabilities into the fairings of current launchers, like the Falcon 9 and Ariane 6.
Creating and Adapting
The first half of the project is the design and creation of a new model of lunar launcher: A 4-phase ship with a total of 11 boosters (10 boosters surround the main cargo compartment and a last one is attached to the bottom, which would sit underground during launch). Achieving a thrust of 6000 tons at launch, it is calculated to reach payload masses of 240 tons for LEO and 66 tons to the Moon. Along with this, the schematics also include plans for standardized compartments to hold the cargo, and the use of pre-compressed airbags to avoid movement and damage, which makes the shipping an extremely secure process.
Most interestingly, the second part of the proposal, the Multi-Task Logistic Module (MTLM) is aimed to adapt the previously mentioned designs into the fairings of existing rockets, mainly by reducing the diameter of the 4th phase (cargo compartment) from 12 meters to 5 meters, which naturally reduces the maximum payload mass, but allows for an incredible development opportunity: multiple missions without re-entering Earth.
If advancements are made to create a refueling stations in LEO, the MTLM will be able to return and carry up to 6320 kg of cargo from LEO back to the Moon, which can reduce the duration and total costs of the process drastically. This new objective also implies improvements in structural design and new landing systems that properly couple with the existing launcher.
Given NASA’s mid- and long-term plans for exploration and development in the Moon, projects like the MTLM will be serious contenders for collaboration, since they offer a way not only to safely deliver large amounts of building materials per trip, but eventually become a way to bring back other cargo like waste, equipment in need of repair or products of lunar mining, a sector that is gaining momentum as more resources are discovered on the satellite.
Metals like silicon, iron and aluminium are found in lunar rocks in useable concentrations, and other rare-earth elements and resources (like solar energy) could also be extracted, which would require the use of safe transport to bring back certain amounts of these products to Earth, a field which ShipinSpace is trying to enter and eventually dominate with their ambitious yet viable proposal that could immensely broaden our reach and represent a second giant leap for manking.