CLLARE
From CSTART Wiki
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[edit] Overview
CLLARE (Collaborative Lunar Landing and Research Expedition) is CSTART'/a> project to put a single human on the Moon and return them to Earth. The project is intended to be very minimalist in comparison to Apollo, taking the approach of "doing the simplest thing that could possibly work", using inexpensive, off-the-shelf technology wherever possible, in accordance with our Design Philosophy. A more detailed description of the project will be constantly updated as work progresses.
The CLLARE flight plan is based on a lunar orbit rendezvous profile: one spacecraft is used to carry the astronaut from Earth into lunar orbit; the astronaut then transfers to a second vehicle which is used to travel down to and back up from the lunar surface, before the original spacecraft is used to return the astronaut to Earth. The core hardware items required for the flight are the CLLARE Command Module, the CLLARE Orbital Support Module, the CLLARE Propulsion Module and the CLLARE Lunar Lander.
The Command Module is a conical capsule with a cylindrical nose section (similar in appearance to the US Mercury and Gemini spacecraft) as is designed to fill a range of mission roles, ranging from suborbital flights to lunar missions. This versatility is achieved by the use of attachable modules to provide supply storage and propulsion. The CM is in some regards most like Mercury (small size, crew of one) and in other regards most like Gemini (it features a hatch which can be opened in space to facilitate spacewalks).
The lunar lander is an open, very light weight and very low cost system, similar to numerous landers planned but never built during the early stages of the Apollo project, such as the Apollo Lunar Escape System ("LESS"), the Langley Light, Lighter and Lightest landers, and the SpaceDev Rocket Chair.
Currently we are planning to launch the entire hardware configuration as a single unit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9. An earlier plan, still documented on the Wiki but not currently under active consideration, was to build our own family of launch vehicles, using a modular approach, inspired by the OTRAG rockets, in which a large number of small and simple individual rockets are clustered together to form larger, more powerful stages. This allows economies of scale to reduce launch costs and removes the need for large workshops or equipment. Unfortunately, US export laws (ITAR) would make such an undertaking extremely difficult. We may revive this aspect of CLLARE in the future when CSTART has a larger community, more of a reputation and more money.
[edit] Project Core Documents
The following four documents are the most authoritative sources of information on the OHKLA project. Their contents should be trusted above and beyond anything else you read on the Wiki, forums, etc. The documents provide a range of detail for a range of audiences.
[edit] CLLARE Press Kit
This document (coming soon!) explains the most important details of CLLARE project in brief, straightforward, non-technical language with lots of pictures. It is intended to be accessible to anybody from the general public.
[edit] CLLARE Project Overview
This document provides a complete overview of the CLLARE project in a way which is much more detailed and specific than the press kit, but still without going into complete technical detail. It will leave engineers and scientists with unanswered questions, but should satisfy the interested layperson who wants more detail than the press kit provides.
[edit] CLLARE Technical Manual
This document (coming soon!) is the definitive source for technical details on the CLLARE project. It provides the absolute maximum level of detail on every aspect of the project. It will be accessible to people with a background in engineering and science disciplines.
[edit] CLLARE Operations Manual
This document (coming soon!) is the definitive source for operational details on the CLLARE project. It provides details on how the project will actually be run, discussing such things mission timelines, safety procedures, contingency plans for various scenarios, etc.
[edit] CLLARE Construction Manual
This document (coming soon!) contains detailed instructions on how to construct all the hardware involved in the CLLARE project. When finished, it should provide all the information required for anybody with the appropriate resources to build their own instances of the CLLARE hardware!
[edit] Engineering Process Pages
These Wiki pages contain material related to the application of the CSTART Engineering Process to the CLLARE project. They contain various material used to justify the design decisions which were made in developing the material which is in the Core Documents.
[edit] Project Proposal Phase
The CLLARE project is currently in the Project Proposal Phase of the Engineering Process. The proposals currently under development are:
[edit] Design Phase
In principle, no work in the Design Phase should commence until after the Project Proposal Phase and Systems Outline Phase are complete. In practice, a lot of design work on CLLARE was done before the Engineering Process was invented. You can see this work at the page below.
[edit] Assorted Wiki Pages
These Wiki pages provide details of various aspects of the CLLARE project. They constitute a sort of web-based version of the various Core Documents, and are easier for the casual reader to navigate. Due to the open nature of the Wiki, they are less authoritative sources of information than the Core Documents.
[edit] Overview pages
[edit] Core hardware
[edit] Workgroups
You can learn more about all the technical details of the CLLARE project by looking at the Wiki pages for each of the project's workgroups:
- Mission Planning Workgroup (MPW)
- Propulsion Workgroup (PW)
- Spacecraft Engineering Workgroup (SEW)
- Life Support Workgroup (LSW)
- Computer Systems Workgroup (CSW)
- Navigation and Guidance Workgroup (NGW)
- Communications Workgroup (CW)
