Reusable spacecraft
Reusable spacecraft are spacecraft capable of repeated launch, atmospheric reentry, and landing or splashdown. This contrasts with expendable spacecraft which are designed to be discarded after use, although many partially reusable spacecraft discard some kind of expendable module before reentry and recovery.
Reusable spacecraft may be crewed or uncrewed and orbital or sub-orbital. Examples include spaceplanes such as the Space Shuttle and the Boeing X-37B, and space capsules such as the SpaceX Dragon. The Blue Origin New Shepard is an example of a sub-orbital spacecraft.
History
[edit]
On July 17, 1962, the North American X-15, a rocket plane, reached an altitude of 95.9km on a sub-orbital flight, marking the first spaceflight with a reusable vehicle according to United States definition.[a] In 1963, the X-15 completed two flights above 100km.
The first spacecraft to be reused in orbit was the Soviet VA spacecraft, a capsule that was part of the larger TKS spacecraft. A VA capsule that launched in 1977 was reflown in 1978.[1]
The Space Shuttle was the first orbital spacecraft designed for reuse according to NASA, and first launched in 1981.[2] Five orbiters would launch 135 times before the vehicle's retirement in 2011. As of November 2024, Space Shuttle Discovery holds the record for the most spaceflights by a single spacecraft at 39.[3] The Space Shuttle program faced criticism that it failed to reduce the cost of access to space and had safety concerns following the Challenger and Columbia disasters.[4]
The SpaceX Dragon 1 first flew in 2010, and became the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to be recovered from orbit. In 2012, Dragon became the first commercial vehicle to attach to the International Space Station (ISS), after which it conducted regular cargo resupply flights for NASA.[5] Its first reuse was in 2014, and the vehicle led to the development of the Dragon 2, which first reached orbit in 2019. Dragon 2 carries both cargo and crew, and has been described as the most cost-effective spacecraft ever used by NASA.[6] On November 11, 2021, Dragon 2 conducted the first orbital flight with only private astronauts onboard.[7]
SpaceShipOne, another rocket plane, completed the first private sub-orbital spaceflight in 2004 and led to the development of SpaceShipTwo. The Blue Origin New Shepard capsule conducts commercial sub-orbital spaceflights, as did SpaceShipTwo.[b]
Design
[edit]Atmospheric entry
[edit]Reusable spacecraft include mechanisms to deorbit and survive reentry. The Boeing Starliner and Orion discard their service modules, including their maneuvering engines, before reentry. The SpaceX Dragon discards its trunk, which includes its solar panels and radiators, but retains its Draco engines in the capsule.[8] The Space Shuttle was notable for recovering the entire spacecraft.
In general, around 15% of the landed weight of an atmospheric reentry vehicle is heat shielding.[9]
Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) can be made of a variety of materials, including reinforced carbon-carbon and ablative materials.[10] Historically these materials were first developed on ICBM MIRVs. However, the requirements of reusable space systems differ from those of single use reentry vehicles, especially with regards to heat shield requirements. In particular the need for durable high emissivity coatings that can withstand multiple thermal cycles constitutes a key requirement in the development of new reusable spacecraft. Current materials for such high emissivity coatings include transition metal disilicides.[11]
Ablative heat shields are reliable, but they can only be used once, and are heavy. Reinforced carbon-carbon heat tiles like those used on the Space Shuttle are fragile, and this was proved on the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Making a resistant yet lightweight and effective heat tile poses a challenge. The LI-900 material was used on the Space Shuttle.
Landing and refurbishment
[edit]Spacecraft that land horizontally on a runway require lifting surfaces and landing gear. The mass of these items, along with heat shielding, reduces the payload mass of the spacecraft. Concepts such as lifting bodies offer some reduction in wing mass,[citation needed] as does the delta wing shape of the Space Shuttle orbiter.
Vertical landings can be accomplished either with parachutes or propulsively. SpaceX Dragon was an example of a space capsule with parachute reusability. Its derivative, Dragon 2, was originally intended to propusively land on land. However, that was canceled in 2017 and Dragon 2 also uses parachutes to splashdown in the ocean.[12] The SpaceX Starship, which is under development as of November 2024, is designed to propulsively land. It aims to be "caught" by the launch tower, as is done for the Super Heavy booster. This reduces the mass of landing infrastructure on the vehicle by eliminating the need for traditional landing legs.
After the spacecraft lands, it may need to be refurbished before its next flight. Depending on the spacecraft design, this process may be lengthy and expensive, and there may be a limit on how many times a spacecraft can be refurbished before it has to be retired.[13]
List of reusable spacecraft
[edit]Operational
[edit]| Vehicle | Origin | Manufacturer | Orbital or sub-orbital | Crew capacity | Reuse | Recovery method | First spaceflight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon 2 |  United States
|
SpaceX | Orbital | 0 (cargo) 4 (crew) |
Partial | Parachute splashdown | 2019 (cargo) 2020 (crew) |
| New Shepard | United States
|
Blue Origin | Sub-orbital | 6 | Full | Parachute landing | 2015 |
| X-37B | United States
|
Boeing | Orbital | — | [c] | Runway | 2010 |
| Starliner | United States
|
Boeing | Orbital | 4 | Partial | Parachute landing | 2019 |
| Orion | United States
|
Lockheed Martin (Crew Module) Airbus Defense and Space (Service Module) |
Orbital | 4 | Partial | Parachute splashdown | 2014 |
| Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft |  China
|
Orbital | — | Runway | 2020 |
Under development
[edit]| Vehicle | Origin | Manufacturer | Orbital or sub-orbital | Crew capacity | Reuse | Recovery method | Expected spaceflight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dream Chaser | United States
|
Sierra Space | Orbital | 0 (cargo) 7 (crew) |
Partial | Runway | 2025 (cargo) TBA (crew) |
| Starship | United States
|
SpaceX | Orbital | 0 (cargo) 100 (crew) |
Full | Propulsive landing | 2024[d] |
| Space Rider |  Europe
|
Avio and Thales Alenia Space | Orbital | 2 | Partial | Parachute landing | 2025 |
| Mengzhou | China
|
CAST | Orbital | 3-7 | Partial | Parachute landing | 2020[e] |
| RLV-TD |  India
|
— | Runway | ||||
| Orel |  Russia
|
RKK Energia | Orbital | 4-6 | Partial | 2028 |
Retired
[edit]| Vehicle | Origin | Manufacturer | Orbital or sub-orbital | Crew capacity | Reuse | Recovery method | First Spaceflight | Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X-15 | United States
|
North American Aviation | Sub-orbital | 1 | Full | Runway | 1962[f] | 1968 |
| Gemini | United States
|
McDonnell Aircraft | Orbital[g] | 2 | Partial | Parachute splashdown | 1964 | 1966 |
| VA spacecraft |  Soviet Union
|
NPO Mashinostroyeniya | Orbital | —[h] | Partial | Parachute | 1976 | 1985 |
| Space Shuttle | United States
|
Rockwell International | Orbital | 8 | Full | Runway | 1981 | 2011 |
| Buran[i] | Soviet Union
|
Orbital | 10[j] | Full | Runway | 1988 | 1988 | |
| SpaceShipOne | United States
|
Scaled Composites | Sub-orbital | 1 | Full | Runway | 2004 | 2004 |
| Dragon 1 | United States
|
SpaceX | Orbital | — | Partial | Parachute splashdown | 2010 | 2020 |
| SpaceShipTwo | United States
|
Scaled Composites & The Spaceship Company | Sub-orbital | 6 | Full | Runway | 2018[k] | 2024 |
Proposed
[edit]Canceled
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Used spacecraft for sale: Soviet-era space capsule up for auction in Belgium". collectSPACE. May 6, 2014.
- ^ "Space Shuttle Era Facts" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "Most re-used spacecraft". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ Cegłowski, Maciej (2005-08-03). "A Rocket To Nowhere". Idle Words. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- ^ Chang, Kenneth (25 May 2012). "Space X Capsule Docks at Space Station". New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ "Infographic: Why SpaceX Is A Game Changer For NASA". Statista Daily Data. 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
- ^ Overbye, Dennis (21 September 2021). "What a Fungus Reveals About the Space Program - One thing's for sure: Escaping the dung heap doesn't come cheap". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ "Coming Up: Crew Dragon Deorbit Burn – Commercial Crew Program". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ Chung, Winchell D. Jr. (2011-05-30). "Basic Design". Atomic Rockets. Projectrho.com. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
- ^ Johnson, Sylvia (September 2012). "Thermal Protection Materials: Development, Characterization, and Evaluation" (PDF). NASA Ames Research Center.
- ^ High emissivity coatings on fibrous ceramics for reusable space systems Corrosion Science 2019
- ^ Thompson, Loren. "SpaceX Abandons Plan To Make Astronaut Spacecraft Reusable; Boeing Sticks With Reuse Plan". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "SpaceX launches Dragon as it prepares for next cargo contract". SpaceNews.com. 2019-07-25. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ The United States defines spaceflight as above 80km, while 100km is internationally recognized by the FAI
- ^ SpaceShipTwo has exceeded altitudes of 80km, but not 100km
- ^ OTV-7 is known to have an expendable service module
- ^ Starship completed suborbital spaceflights in 2024, but has not yet been recovered
- ^ Mengzhou completed an uncrewed test flight in 2020
- ^ The X-15 reached an altitude of 95.9km on July 17, 1962. It reached an altitude of 106.1km on July 19, 1963
- ^ Gemini SC-2 was used on two sub-orbital spaceflights
- ^ The VA spacecraft was designed to carry crew, but this was never proven
- ^ Buran was designed to be reused and was recovered, but only completed one spaceflight.
- ^ Buran was designed to carry cosmonauts, but this was not proven
- ^ SpaceShipTwo exceeded an altitude of 80km, but not 100km