CSTS

Last updated

CSTS (Crew Space Transportation System)
ACTS (Advanced Crew Transportation System)
Euro-CTS-2008.jpg
Proposed CSTS design (spring 2008)
Manufacturer RKK Energia, EADS Astrium (original proposal)
EADS Astrium (later proposal)
Country of origin ESA member states, Russia (original proposal)
ESA member states (later proposal)
Operator Roscosmos, European Space Agency (original proposal)
European Space Agency (later proposal)
ApplicationsCarry cosmonauts and astronauts to orbit and back (main goal)
possible future improvements for beyond-LEO missions (additional goal)
Specifications
Regime Low Earth orbit (main operations)
circumlunar spaceflight (proposed beyond-LEO operations)
Production
StatusStudy phase; original proposal cancelled
Related spacecraft
Derived fromoriginal version of Orel (older proposal)
Automated Transfer Vehicle evolution variant (later proposal)
Derivatives Orel (after Russian departure from the project)

Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS), or Advanced Crew Transportation System (ACTS), was a proposed design for a crewed spacecraft for low Earth orbit operations such as servicing the International Space Station, but also capable of exploration of the Moon and beyond. It was originally a joint project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Roscosmos, but later became solely an ESA project. This study was conceived as a basic strategic plan to keep a viable European human spaceflight program alive.

Contents

CSTS had completed an initial study phase, which lasted 18 months from September 2006 to spring 2008, before the project was shut down before an ESA member state conference in November 2008. However, the head of the ESA denies that the ATV evolution plan is an alternative and talks are ongoing as to whether to continue funding the ACTS plan. [1] As of late November 2008, the project funding had been limited to a feasibility study with a launch of an actual vehicle possible no earlier than 2017. [2]

In 2009, Russia decided it would go with a version of the original design of the CSTS and renamed it the Prospective Piloted Transport System (PPTS). [3] ESA decided to go with an ACTS (Advanced Crew Transportation System), an evolution of the CSTS craft that would be an upgraded crewed version of the ATV spacecraft. In mid-2009 EADS Astrium was awarded a €21 million study to design a crewed variation of the European ATV vehicle which is believed to now be the basis of the ACTS design. [4] Since early 2013, ESA and NASA have begun cooperation on developing the European Service Module for the current version of the Orion spacecraft. This has cast previous ESA efforts concerning a crewed derivative of the ATV spacecraft into uncertainty. As of summer 2015, no known new developments on the CSTS/ACTS project had been disclosed to the public.

Background

CSTS as an answer to the Orion

In 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration, a program that included the United States return to the Moon by 2020 and a crewed mission to Mars by 2030.

For these purposes the Orion spacecraft was to be developed. ESA officials inquired whether they could be part of this program for exploration, [5] however received a negative response. Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's General Director stated with regard to this rejection by NASA: "I have been told by Mike Griffin and Marburger that the CEV is not for international cooperation. But if Europe is not involved in the next-generation transportation systems, we will stay forever a second-class partner." [6]

In a July 2006 interview with New Scientist, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin however suggested interest in international cooperation in the general context of NASA's Moon exploration plans. "The US will return to the Moon but we think we will do it better, that it will be more rewarding for all, if it can do it in the company of as many of our ISS partners as we can, and with new partners." [7] In this statement Griffin speaks of a general cooperation, not a cooperation in developing the Orion, the actual vehicle to be used for Moon missions, which would be an entirely American built spacecraft.

Cooperation with Russia

Since 2004, ESA had been in talks with Roscosmos on cooperation for the development of Kliper, the Russian successor project to the Soyuz spacecraft, which has been in service since 1967. [8] While ESA's management was enthusiastic about this cooperation, their member states turned down funding for a design and collaboration study in December 2005, mainly because certain member states felt that ESA would just be a minor industrial contributor to the program, while Russia would actually develop and design the Kliper spacecraft.

On the Russian side, the concept of Advanced Crew Transportation System, ACTS, conceived as a sort of "Euro-Soyuz", emerged during 2006, when Russian authorities realized that their proposal to replace the Soyuz with the Kliper was too ambitious in terms of funding. [9]

After the December 2005 rejection of Kliper by ESA, Jean-Jacques Dordain emphasized that a collaboration with Russia on a new spacecraft could still be decided in June 2006. On June 13, 2006 the press reported that the winged Kliper project had been replaced by a study to develop a capsule under the Advanced Crew Transportation System program that ESA would fund. [10] [11] This rejection by ESA notwithstanding, Kliper was a Russian program that could still have been funded entirely by FKA – although this was unlikely if Russia and Europe would really have gone forward with the CSTS concept together. In mid-July 2006, the Kliper tender process was cancelled, after having no winners. [12]

Reasons given for choosing the CSTS over Kliper included that the former would offer Europe the possibility to be a full partner in a Russian-European program, because the modular structure (see below) allows for a division of design responsibilities between the partners (for instance, Russia could be in charge of the overall design of the reentry capsule, while ESA works on the habitation module etc.). [13]

About €15 million were pledged for the CSTS program at ESA's regular meeting on June 21 and June 22, 2006. Further funding of the study was to have been asked for at the next ESA meeting in July. [6] Both partners, Russia and ESA, would have borne their own costs in the first 2 years of the program. "We are now entering a phase of working with the Russians where we will establish a preliminary design of the vehicle, establish all the legal framework for the operation, delineate the work share for the parties, and outline the aspects of development," said Manuel Valls, head of Policy and Plans Department in ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity, and Exploration Program. [6]

On 4 July 2006, Russian media reported that the head of the Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov, had met with Jean-Jacques Dordain to discuss the CSTS proposal; however, no agreement was signed between the Russians and Europeans as a result.[ citation needed ]

On 18 July 2006, Perminov announced that the Russian tender for the Kliper spacecraft had been cancelled. [12] It was noted that the ACTS proposal had gained more support among ESA member states than the Kliper design.[ citation needed ]

Farnborough Air Show

Jean-Jacques Dordain announced on the Farnborough Air show on July 25, 2006, that the collaborative study together with Roscosmos on the ACTS spacecraft would begin in September 2006 and end early in 2008, "So in 18 months' time we will have got[sic] a proposal to make to our ministers for the development of such a vehicle." [14] It was confirmed that ESA's financial contribution to this study would be €15 million, shared among seven ESA member states. The work areas of the study were:

Overall Design

After the initial study phase was completed in May 2008, FKA and ESA announced that the overall design chosen was a conical crewed capsule with an ATV-derived service module. The CSTS spacecraft should have had a total mass of 18,000 kg. However, the capsule and service module combined mass may have been less. [2] [15]

The ACTS follows the format of the Russian Soyuz craft by having a separate descent/ascent module and a detachable orbital module. The descent module somewhat resembles the American Apollo spacecraft command module while the orbital module resembles a man-rated version of the ATV.

Possibilities of missions beyond LEO

Manuel Valls, head of Policy and Plans Department in ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity, and Exploration Program noted on the question of available launch vehicles for the CSTS spacecraft that "although nothing at this stage is definitive, [...] both the Russians and we think that it is only prudent, and most efficient and effective, to go with 2 stages and not one. The 1-stage has been done already with Saturn V and Apollo. To do that now would entail the development of quite a new launcher and that will take time and money like hell, if I may say. Going with two stages is far more effective [...] because we could use – and this is our intention – existing launch vehicles or launch vehicles with minimal development." [6] This means that CSTS would have had a tight mass budget, as only launchers with a maximum payload capacity in the class of Ariane 5, Proton or Angara will be available for a launch. With two launches and low Earth Orbit (LEO) docking that means that CSTS together with an Earth Departure Stage will not be able to weigh more than about 45 to 50 tonnes in LEO (note however that this is just for the lunar spacecraft, a lunar lander is not integrated in this calculation).

An ESA presentation from June 13, 2006 presents a lunar orbital mission of the CSTS spacecraft with 3 launches, of which two are propulsion modules to propel the spacecraft to a trans-lunar trajectory. Such a scenario, while more complicated than the 2-stage approach mentioned by Manuel Valls, gives more leeway in terms of the CSTS' mass budget.

EADS Astrium Space Transportation concepts for adapting the Ariane 5 ECB for lunar exploration could increase Ariane 5 LEO performance to 27 tonnes. [16] These performance adaptions would entail the use of a composite solid rocket casing, and upgrades to the Vulcain Mk III and Vinci (ECSB) engines.

Proposed launch sites

Both the ESA's site at French Guiana and the planned Russian spaceport at Vostochny were considered as launch sites for the CSTS spacecraft. It had not been decided what launcher would carry the spacecraft to orbit, however Manuel Valls indicated that beside a Russian rocket, Ariane 5 could possibly also function as the carrier rocket. [15]

Competition within Europe

At about the same time as FKA and ESA announced their plans for the CSTS spacecraft, the German space agency, DLR, together with EADS Astrium announced their support for the ATV evolution proposal. This proposal envisioned the development of a modified ATV with a reentry capsule that would be return cargo from the ISS by 2013 and in a second phase a crewed vehicle based on this modified ATV by 2017. Those dates were later revised to 2015 and 2020 respectively. This proposal was presented to ESA's governing body at its meeting in November 2008 and received funding for an initial development phase of a cargo return vehicle that may be ready by 2017. The ATV Evolution concept may have contributed to the end of the CSTS project. However, the head of the ESA denies that the ATV evolution plan is an alternative and talks are still ongoing as to whether or not to continue funding the ACTS plan. [1]

Later developments

In 2009, Russia had decided to keep the general design of the CSTS spacecraft for their new crewed spacecraft, which eventually developed into the PPTS project. In the meantime, the European Space Agency took on a solo project modeling the ACTS after the ATV craft that carries supplies to the International Space Station. At the start of the new decade, Russian plans for the development of the PPTS became gradually postponed. [17] [18]

In January 2013, NASA announced that ESA would build the service module for the Orion test flight Artemis 1, which is a major step in international cooperation in deep space exploration. Subsequently, ESA signed an agreement with NASA that saw it shift part of its ATV development focus towards the development of a service module for the Orion spacecraft. This module is derived from the existing service module of the ATV resupply spacecraft. [19]

See also

European crewed spacecraft

Russian crewed spacecraft

US crewed spacecraft

Other crewed spacecraft

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Space Agency</span> European organization dedicated to space exploration

The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 22-member intergovernmental body devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, the ESA was founded in 1975. Its 2024 annual budget was €7.8 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz programme</span> Human spaceflight programme of the Soviet Union

The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. The Soyuz spacecraft was originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. It was the third Soviet human spaceflight programme after the Vostok (1961–1963) and Voskhod (1964–1965) programmes.

Human spaceflight programs have been conducted, started, or planned by multiple countries and companies. Until the 21st century, human spaceflight programs were sponsored exclusively by governments, through either the military or civilian space agencies. With the launch of the privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of human spaceflight programs – commercial human spaceflight – arrived. By the end of 2022, three countries and one private company (SpaceX) had successfully launched humans to Earth orbit, and two private companies had launched humans on a suborbital trajectory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automated Transfer Vehicle</span> Uncrewed cargo spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency

The Automated Transfer Vehicle, originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle or ATV, was an expendable cargo spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), used for space cargo transport in 2008–2015. The ATV design was launched to orbit five times, exclusively by the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle. It effectively was a larger European counterpart to the Russian Progress cargo spacecraft for carrying upmass to a single destination—the International Space Station (ISS)—but with three times the capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roscosmos</span> Space agency of Russia

The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos, is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kliper</span> Proposed partly reusable crewed spacecraft concept by RSC Energia

Kliper was an early-2000s proposed partially-reusable crewed spacecraft concept by RSC Energia. Due to lack of funding from the ESA and RSA, the project was indefinitely postponed by 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crew Return Vehicle</span> Proposed dedicated lifeboat or escape module for the International Space Station

The Crew Return Vehicle (CRV), sometimes referred to as the Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV), was a proposed dedicated lifeboat or escape module for the International Space Station (ISS). A number of different vehicles and designs were considered over two decades – with several flying as developmental test prototypes – but none became operational. Since the arrival of the first permanent crew to the ISS in 2000, the emergency return capability has been fulfilled by Soyuz spacecraft and, more recently, SpaceX's Crew Dragon – each rotated every 6 months.

Space logistics is "the theory and practice of driving space system design for operability and supportability, and of managing the flow of materiel, services, and information needed throughout a space system lifecycle." It includes terrestrial logistics in support of space travel, including any additional "design and development, acquisition, storage, movement, distribution, maintenance, evacuation, and disposition of space materiel", movement of people in space, and contracting and supplying any required support services for maintaining space travel. The space logistics research and practice primarily focus on the modeling and management of the astro-logistics supply chain from Earth and on to destinations throughout the solar system as well as the system architecture strategies to minimize both logistics requirements and operational costs of human and robotic operations in space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz TMA-19</span> 2010 Russian crewed spaceflight to the ISS

Soyuz TMA-19 was a crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) and is part of the Soyuz programme. It was launched on 15 June 2010 carrying three members of the Expedition 24 crew to the International Space Station, who remained aboard the station for around six months. Soyuz TMA-19 was the 106th crewed flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, since the first mission which was launched in 1967. The spacecraft remained docked to the space station for the remainder of Expedition 24, and for Expedition 25, to serve as an emergency escape vehicle. It undocked from ISS and landed in Kazakhstan on 26 November 2010. It was the 100th mission to be conducted as part of the International Space Station programme since assembly began in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Space Station programme</span> Ongoing space research program

The International Space Station programme is tied together by a complex set of legal, political and financial agreements between the fifteen nations involved in the project, governing ownership of the various components, rights to crewing and utilisation, and responsibilities for crew rotation and resupply of the International Space Station. It was conceived in September 1993 by the United States and Russia after 1980s plans for separate American (Freedom) and Soviet (Mir-2) space stations failed due to budgetary reasons. These agreements tie together the five space agencies and their respective International Space Station programmes and govern how they interact with each other on a daily basis to maintain station operations, from traffic control of spacecraft to and from the station, to utilisation of space and crew time. In March 2010, the International Space Station Program Managers from each of the five partner agencies were presented with Aviation Week's Laureate Award in the Space category, and the ISS programme was awarded the 2009 Collier Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Orbital Segment</span> Russian components of the International Space Station

The Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed in Russia and operated by the Russian Roscosmos. The ROS handles Guidance, Navigation, and Control for the entire Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orel (spacecraft)</span> Planned reusable crewed spacecraft

Orel or Oryol, formerly Federation, and PPTS, is a project by Roscosmos to develop a new-generation, partially reusable crewed spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz TMA-03M</span> 2011 Russian crewed spaceflight to the ISS

Soyuz TMA-03M was a spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS). It launched on 21 December 2011 from Site One at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, carrying three members of Expedition 30 to the ISS. TMA-03M was the 112th flight of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, since the first in 1967, and the third flight of the modernised Soyuz-TMA-M version. The docking with the International Space Station took place at 19:19 Moscow Time on 23 December, three minutes ahead of schedule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orion (spacecraft)</span> American–European spacecraft class for the Artemis program

Orion is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin and the European Service Module (ESM) manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Capable of supporting a crew of four beyond low Earth orbit, Orion can last up to 21 days undocked and up to six months docked. It is equipped with solar panels, an automated docking system, and glass cockpit interfaces modeled after those used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. A single AJ10 engine provides the spacecraft's primary propulsion, while eight R-4D-11 engines, and six pods of custom reaction control system engines developed by Airbus, provide the spacecraft's secondary propulsion. Orion is intended to be launched atop a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with a tower launch escape system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European contribution to the International Space Station</span> Overview of the contribution to the International Space Station from Europe

The European contribution to the International Space Station comes from 10 members of the European Space Agency (ESA) and amounts to an 8% share in the programme. It consists of a number of modules in the US Orbital Segment, ATV supply ships, launchers, software and €8 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Service Module</span> Primary power and propulsion component of the Orion spacecraft

The European Service Module (ESM) is the service module component of the Orion spacecraft, serving as its primary power and propulsion component until it is discarded at the end of each mission. In January 2013, NASA announced that the European Space Agency (ESA) will contribute the service module for Artemis I, based on the ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). It was delivered by Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen, in northern Germany to NASA at the end of 2018. After approval of the first module, the ESA will provide the ESMs from Artemis II to Artemis VI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the International Space Station</span> How nations operate the orbital research complex

The politics of the International Space Station have been affected by superpower rivalries, international treaties, and funding arrangements. The Cold War was an early factor, overtaken in recent years by the United States' distrust of China. The station has an international crew, with the use of their time, and that of equipment on the station, being governed by treaties between participant nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial Crew Program</span> NASA human spaceflight program for the International Space Station

The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International Space Station program. American space manufacturer SpaceX began providing service in 2020, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and NASA plans to add Boeing when its Boeing Starliner spacecraft becomes operational no earlier than 2025. NASA has contracted for six operational missions from Boeing and fourteen from SpaceX, ensuring sufficient support for ISS through 2030.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz MS-22</span> 2022 Russian crewed spaceflight to the ISS

Soyuz MS-22 was a Russian Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station with a crew of three launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 21 September 2022. The launch, previously planned for 13 September 2022, was subsequently delayed to 21 September 2022 for a mission length of 188 days.

References

  1. 1 2 "ESA aims for manned capsule by 2020". Flight Global. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 Zak, Anatoly (July 2008). "Advanced Crew Transportation System". Russian Space Web. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Zak, Anatoly (March 2009). "Perspective Piloted Transport System". Russian Space Web. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Coppinger, Rob (7 July 2009). "PICTURE: EADS Astrium wins €21 million reentry vehicle study". Seradata. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Stirn, Alexander (30 October 2006). "Vorherrschaft im All: Europa und Russland planen ihr Gegen-Shuttle" (in German). Spiegel Online . Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "International Space Race Heats Up as More Players Jump In". Fox News Channel. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Marks, Paul (19 July 2006). "NASA seeks help for human exploration of Mars". New Scientist . Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "RSC Energia: Concept of Russian Manned Space Navigation Development". Energia. 24 May 2006. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  9. ↑ de Selding, Peter B. (23 June 2006). "ESA, Russia to Collaborate on New Spacecraft Design". Space.com . Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  10. ↑ Coppinger, Rob (13 June 2006). "Kliper dropped for lunar capsule". London: Flight Global. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "Europe and Russia Join Forces to Study Advanced Crew Transportation System". planetary.org. The Planetary Society. 28 June 2006. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Farnborough: Russia's Federal Space Agency cancels manned spacecraft tender". Flight Global. 18 July 2006. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Potential European - Russian Cooperation on an Advanced Crew Transportation System" (PDF). EISC – Brussels. 13 June 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Farnborough: Crew transport work to start". Farnborough, Hampshire: Flight Global. 25 July 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  15. 1 2 Coppinger, Rob (22 April 2008). "Apollo-like capsule chosen for Crew Space Transportation System". Flight Global. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  16. ↑ Iranzo-Greus, David (23 March 2005). "Ariane 5 – A European Launcher for Space Exploration" (PPT). EADS SPACE Transportation. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Manned spaceship design unveiled". BBC News (Science & Environment). 22 July 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Russia mulls rocket power 'first'". BBC News (Science & Environment). 29 April 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  19. ↑ "ESA Commissions Airbus Defence and Space as Prime Contractor for US Space Capsule Orion Service Module". spaceref business. 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.