Orbital propellant depot 1970 concept (MSFC-9902049)

The Space Transportation System (STS), also known internally to

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

as the Integrated Program Plan (IPP), was a proposed system of reusable crewed space vehicles envisioned in 1969 to support extended operations beyond the Apollo program. (NASA appropriated the name for its

Space Shuttle Program The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. I ...

, the only component of the proposal to survive Congressional funding approval). The purpose of the system was two-fold: to reduce the cost of

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in ...

by replacing the current method of launching capsules on expendable rockets with reusable

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, ...

; and to support ambitious follow-on programs including permanent orbiting space stations around

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

and the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, and a human landing mission to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. In February 1969, President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

appointed a Space Task Group headed by Vice President Spiro Agnew to recommend human space projects beyond Apollo. The group responded in September with the outline of the STS, and three different program levels of effort culminating with a human Mars landing by 1983 at the earliest, and by the end of the twentieth century at the latest. The system's major components consisted of: * A permanent space station module designed for 6 to 12 occupants, in a

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never m ...

, and as a permanent lunar orbit station. Modules could be combined in Earth orbit to create a 50 to 100 person permanent station. * A chemically fueled Earth-to-orbit shuttle. * A chemically fueled space tug to move crew and equipment between Earth orbits as high as geosynchronous orbit, which could be adapted as a lunar orbit-to-surface shuttle. * A nuclear-powered shuttle or ferry using the NERVA engine, to move crew, spacecraft and supplies between low Earth orbit and lunar orbit, geosynchronous orbit, or to other planets in the solar system. A crew module derived from the space station module would be used to send humans to the Moon or Mars. The tug and ferry vehicles would be of a modular design, allowing them to be clustered and/or

staged ''Staged'' is a British television comedy series, set during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and primarily filmed using video-conferencing technology. The first series premiered on 10 June 2020 on BBC One, and the second series pre ...

for large payloads or interplanetary missions. The system would be supported by permanent Earth and lunar orbital propellant depots.Space Task Group Report, "Program Objectives", 4.b. The

Saturn V Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with multistage rocket, three stages, and powered with liquid-propellant r ...

might still have been used as a heavy lift launch vehicle for the nuclear ferry and space station modules. A special " Mars Excursion Module" would be the only remaining vehicle necessary for a human

landing. The STS was championed by NASA Administrator

Thomas O. Paine Thomas Otten Paine (November 9, 1921 – May 4, 1992) was an American engineer, scientist and advocate of space exploration, and was the third Administrator of NASA, serving from March 21, 1969, to September 15, 1970. During his administration ...

until May 1969 and gained Agnew's enthusiastic support. However, as Apollo accomplished its objective of landing the first humans on the Moon, Nixon realized that political support for further crewed space activities was beginning to wane, and the Congress would be unwilling to provide funding for most of these extended activities. Based on this, Nixon rejected all parts of the program except 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 n ...

, which inherited the STS name. Nixon accepted Paine's resignation in July 1970 and replaced him as administrator with James C. Fletcher. As a result of funding constraints, Shuttle was significantly scaled back from its planned degree of reusability. The overall program scheduled was also delayed. The Shuttle first flew in 1981, and was retired in 2011. A second part of the system, Space Station Freedom, was approved in the early 1980s and announced in 1984 by president Ronald Reagan. However, this also became politically unviable by 1993, and was replaced with the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

(ISS), with substantial contribution by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. The ISS was completed in 2011.

1969 Space Task Group

System vehicles

Earth-to-orbit shuttle

Space tug

The MSFC space tug was designed to handle a number of missions including satellite repair, transfer to geosynchronous orbit, and as the name implies, towing payloads to the nuclear shuttle. Its modular design was centered around a cylindrical propulsion module, with an attachable crew module, cargo module, and lunar landing legs to convert it to a lunar orbit-to-surface shuttle.

Nuclear ferry

Planned uses for NERVA included a visit to

by 1978 and a permanent lunar base by 1981. NERVA rockets would be used for nuclear "tugs" designed to take payloads from Low Earth Orbit to larger orbits, resupply of several space stations in various orbits around the

and

, and support for a permanent lunar base. The NERVA rocket would also be used in the Saturn S-N, an upper stage for the

rocket' upgrading the Saturn's

(LEO) capability to .

Space station module

Projected program cost

References

External links

*

{{NASA space program NASA programs