Development of advanced composite manufacturing technologies through the NASA national center for advanced manufacturing

摘要

Safe, low-cost space transportation remains the key enabler of the commercial development and civil exploration of space. NASA has established risk reduction activities collectively referred to as the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to enable a 2~(nd) Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) architecture as the agency's top new-development program priority and to meet the goal of substantially reducing space transportation costs. Furthermore, to assure long term, improved space access beyond the 2~(nd) generation space launch initiative, NASA is also investing in far term technologies collectively known as 3~(rd) Generation RLV. NASA intends to invest in technical risk reduction activities, driven by industry need, to enable full-scale development of commercially competitive, privately owned and operated Earth-to-orbit RLV's by 2005 and operations by 2010. NASA anticipates several key decision gates that will both determine specific architecture paths and provide updated assessments of the viability of enabling a commercial launch services competition.