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NASA Sees Minivan for Moon

The shuttle's replacement, due in 2015, will be a utilitarian craft

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 9, 2007 11:30 AM CST

(Newser) – Engineers are busy at work building America's next spacecraft, the long overdue replacement of the 33-year-old shuttle, and NASA has this advice for those who can't wait to see the finished product: Think minivan, not Ferrari. Fast Company explores the work at Lockheed and finds the Orion to be utilitarian and reliable, with engineers embracing solutions of the past over razzle-dazzle sci-fi innovation.

Unlike the shuttle, the Orion is "more of a vehicle to go to the grocery store in,” says NASA’s project manager. With limited funds and time—the $8 billion project is due in 2015—the guiding principle has been to use existing technology rather than expend research and development time and money on new solutions. One easy upgrade: Astronauts will no longer have to take reams of paper into space. Flight plans will be built into Orion computers.

Space shuttle Atlantis is seen on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Thursday Dec. 6, 2007. The Apollo shuttle design is more than 30 years old. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Space shuttle Atlantis is seen on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Thursday Dec. 6, 2007. The Apollo shuttle design is more than 30 years old. (AP Photo/John Raoux)   (Associated Press)
An artist rendition released by the European Space Agency on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007, shows the main bodies of the solar system, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, from left in foreground, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, from left in background. NASA hopes Orion will have humans living on...
An artist rendition released by the European Space Agency on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007, shows the main bodies of the solar system, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, from left in foreground, Uranus, Neptune,...   (Associated Press)
A mock-up of the Orion spacecraft, due to be in operation by 2015.
A mock-up of the Orion spacecraft, due to be in operation by 2015.   (Getty Images)
In a room at the Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto, mechanical engineer Tom Nichols makes adjustments to NASA imaging machinery. Lockheed Martin is the primary contractor on the vehicle that will replace the space shuttle for the next generation of astronauts. (PRNewsFoto/Lockheed Martin, Russ Underwood)
In a room at the Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto, mechanical engineer Tom Nichols makes adjustments to NASA imaging machinery. Lockheed Martin is the primary contractor on...   (Associated Press)
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