Analysis of Space Concepts Enabled by New Transportation (ASCENT) Study

摘要

The ASCENT Study is evaluating all those markets (both commercial and government missions) that may be served by a future Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle. The markets are being analyzed, and twenty-year forecasts are being generated, in order to assist NASA in defining the attributes of the Second Generation RLV that will eventually replace the Space Shuttle. The forecasts will make possible an evaluation of alternative architectures for the Second Generation RLV. and also help assess the extent to which new commercial markets, enabled by the proposed pricing and reliability benefits of the Second Generation RLV, can contribute to the funding of the vehicle. This paper provides a status of the project at the time of the conference, and describes the way in which the markets are being treated and data is being obtained. The sectors range from the relatively well understood telecommunications markets to the newer evolving market opportunities like public space travel.