Nautilus-X

Nautilus-X
Nautilus-X spacecraft
OperatorNASA
ApplicationsMulti-mission crewed spacecraft[1]
Production
StatusConcept

Nautilus-X (Non-Atmospheric Universal Transport Intended for Lengthy United States Exploration) is a rotating wheel space station concept developed by engineers Mark Holderman and Edward Henderson of the Technology Applications Assessment Team of NASA.

The concept was first proposed in January, 2011 for long-duration (1 to 24 months) exo-atmospheric space journeys for a six-person crew. In order to limit the effects of microgravity on human health, the spacecraft would be equipped with a centrifuge.

The design was intended to be relatively inexpensive by crewed spaceflight standards,[2] as it was projected to cost US$3.7 billion. In addition, it was suggested that it might only need 64 months of work.[3][4]

The project was cancelled in favour of other projects due to budget constraints.[5]

  1. ^ Mark Holderman and Edward Henderson of NASA Johnson Space Center (26 January 2011). "Nautilus-X Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle". Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  2. ^ TopSpacer on hobbyspace.com (28 January 2011). "NASA NAUTILUS-X: multi-mission exploration vehicle includes centrifuge, which would be tested at ISS". Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference geekosystem was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Boyle, Rebecca (2011-02-14). "New NASA Designs for a Reusable Manned Deep-Space Craft, Nautilus-X". Popular Science. Retrieved 2011-02-15. [as of 2011] Construction would take at least five years and require two or three rocket launches. It would cost about $3.7 billion.
  5. ^ Hollingham, Richard (2014-11-18). "The rise and fall of artificial gravity". BBC Home. Retrieved 2024-07-22.