Skylab II
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| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. Artist's conception of the Orion spacecraft docking with a module of the proposed Skylab II. | |
| Station statistics | |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | Template:COSPAR |
| SATCAT no. | Template:Wd |
| Crew | 4 |
| Launch | after 2021 |
| Carrier rocket | Space Launch System |
| Mission status | Proposed |
| Mass | Template:Cvt[1]Template:R/superscript |
| Length | Template:Cvt |
| Diameter | Template:Cvt |
| Pressurised volume | Template:Cvt |
| Orbital inclination | 5.145° |
| Orbital period | 27.321661 days[2]Template:R/superscript |
| Days occupied | 60–180 days (planned) |
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| Configuration | |
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. Skylab II Habitat made from the SLS upper-stage hydrogen tank. | |
Skylab II was a space station concept proposed in 2013 by the Advanced Concepts Office of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, to be located at the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrangian point.[3]Template:R/superscript Proposed by NASA contractor Brand Griffin, Skylab II would have been constructed as a "wet workshop" using a spent upper-stage hydrogen fuel tank from the Space Launch System (SLS), much as the Skylab was originally planned to be built "wet" from the spent bipropellant tanks of the Saturn S-IVB upper stage.[3]Template:R/superscript If constructed, Skylab II would have been the first crewed outpost located beyond the orbit of the Moon.[4]Template:R/superscript
Space station design
Skylab II would have orbited the Earth-Moon L2 point, which revolves around the Earth at an approximate mean distance of 443,000 kilometers (239,000 nmi) from the surface, and stays approximately 62,800 kilometers (33,900 nmi) beyond the far surface of the Moon.[5]Template:R/superscript Given its location far away from the nearest food, water, and air, the first iteration of the space station would have had to have been able to support a four-person crew for 60 days on one shipment of supplies, to be eventually improved to 180 days.[1]Template:R/superscript As Skylab II would be built from an SLS hydrogen fuel tank, the costs of assembly were estimated at a relatively low $2 billion, a tremendous savings over a previously projected cost of $4.175 billion for a similar space station.[1]Template:R/superscript
The space station would have large modules with diameters of Template:Cvt — much larger than the Template:Cvt diameter of International Space Station modules or the Template:Cvt diameter of the original Skylab.[4]Template:R/superscript This large diameter would lead to a module volume of about 495 cubic meters (17,500 ft3), allowing for a large amount of space for both storage and habitation.[6]Template:R/superscript This large interior volume, in turn, would make Skylab II suitable for its deep-space location, where resupply missions would be rare and astronauts would have to store the food they received from each mission for months at a time.[3]Template:R/superscript The supplies themselves could be carried in a variety of vehicles, such as the existing Progress and Dragon, or perhaps a new, SLS-derived logistics module, which could resupply the whole station in one mission.[1]Template:R/superscript
Potential uses
Once at Earth-Moon L2, Skylab II could be a "stepping stone" for further human exploration in the Solar System,[1]Template:R/superscript for example by being a docking site for a crewed lunar lander before the trip to the Moon.[1]Template:R/superscript The second use would be to add a servicing capability for the astrophysics missions located near Earth-Sun L2, extending the cryogenic mission lifetime of such missions by continually refilling their liquid helium and enabling some astrophysics missions which may otherwise have not been possible or would have been launched in a less-capable state.[1]Template:R/superscript
For extravehicular activities (EVAs) near the space station, a small, one-person FlexCraft may be used in lieu of a spacesuit to improve dexterity and safety for astronauts, as well as the efficiency of EVAs.[1]Template:R/superscript[7]Template:R/superscript FlexCraft would eliminate the requirement of an astronaut to prebreathe the pure oxygen atmosphere in a spacesuit, reducing overhead time for EVAs significantly and enabling longer EVAs to be carried out.[7]Template:R/superscript Additionally, FlexCraft would improve astronaut speed during EVAs, as moving around space installations would be faster and less physically demanding in automated vehicles.[7]Template:R/superscript
See also
- Lunar Gateway – a station under development from 2017 to 2026, intended to take up a near-rectilinear halo orbit about the Moon.
References
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- ^ a b c d e f g h Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.B. N. Griffin; D. Smitherman; K. Kennedy; et al. (11–13 September 2012). Skylab II: Making a Deep Space Habitat from a Space Launch System Propellant Tank (PDF). AIAA Space 2012 Conference and Exposition. Pasadena, California. doi:10.2514/6.2012-5207.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.M. Wieczorek; B. L. Jolliff; A. Khan; et al. (2006). "The Constitution and Structure of the Lunar Interior". Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry. 60 (1): 221–364. Bibcode:2006RvMG...60..221W. doi:10.2138/rmg.2006.60.3.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.M. Hammonds (14 April 2013). "Skylab II: Living Beyond the Dark Side of the Moon". Discovery News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.M. Wall (2 April 2013). "NASA Mega-Rocket Could Lead to Skylab 2 Deep Space Station". Space.com. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.T. Dunn (2008). "Lagrange Point Calculator". Orbit Simulator. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.M. Wall (14 May 2013). "40 Years Later, Skylab Space Station Inspires Possible Successor". Space.com. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.B. N. Griffin (15–19 July 2012). Benefits of a Single-Person Spacecraft for Weightless Operations (PDF). 42nd International Conference on Environmental Systems. San Diego, California. doi:10.2514/6.2012-3630.
External links
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