posted 01-09-2005 08:16 AM               

I wonder how this period of "low orbit" will be viewed. Have we gained anything by waiting, by catching our breath, before moving on? Have we improved any of the technology that will allow us to move forward cheaper, safer, or better?

I know there are a lot of ways that this "pause" was bad (loss of momentum, equipment, experience). But, is there anything positive to be said about taking a "time out"?

posted 01-10-2005 11:13 AM               

What have we learned from the "period of low orbit" of Skylab, Shuttle and ISS? It would be hard to even begin to list even just things that will benefit us on the way to Mars and living on the Moon, but here's a few seconds worth of thought about the more obvious ones:

1) Like Carrie said, we now have experience with long-duration spaceflight. We've learned things about how the body adapts to microgravity that were never dreamed of after Borman and Lovell set the pre-Skylab endurance record. This experience will assure that not only will people be able to fly to Mars, they'll be able to get to work as soon as possible when they get there.

2) We've gained space operations experience. Through A17, spaceflight was about either testing out equipment (pre-A11) or reaching a destination (A11-A17). There were a few experiments conducted in space, but they were definitely secondary concerns. Beginning with Skylab and continuing through today, the focus shifted to doing things in space. Having the focus be on the journey was great for the relatively short trip to the Moon, but on trips to Mars, the crew will have to have something to do. And, of course, there's no point in setting up a Moon base if you're not going to do something there.

3) In just the last few recent years, we've gained on-orbit assembly experience. Kennedy's Apollo deadline meant that the von Braun method of developing an infrastructure for leaving LEO had to be scrapped in favor of a "heave it all to the Moon" Saturn V approach. To return to the Moon, and to go on to Mars, could very easily mean going back to an approach much more like the one von Braun outlined. Fortunately, we now have the experience to do that.

4) As recent events on the ISS have demonstrated, we're developing increased on-orbit in-situ repair capabilities, another must-have skill for making trips to Mars. The A13 crew's famous CO2 scrubbing fix is the highlight of this sort of thing in the Apollo period, but they still had to make a quick return to the planet. On a trip to Mars, that quick return will not be an option, and so it's vital that we know as much as possible about anticipating the unplanned and responding to the unanticipated on the way there and back.

5) We've proved over the past decade that nations can work together in space productively, and that together can accomplish more than any could individually. It's hard to imagine this experience won't be incredibly important to leaving LEO again.

Like I said, that's just a few of the more obvious ones. Sure, leaving LEO is far sexier than circling the Earth, and Apollo will almost certainly be remembered as a more impressive feat and A11 will always be one of the most historically significant dates of the 20th century. But, I believe in the long run, this LEO period will be remembered as incredibly productive in our evolution to becoming a space-faring people.