The suitability of various spacecraft for future space applications missions

Abstract

The Space Applications Advisory Committee (SAAC) of NASA's Advisory Council was asked by the Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications to consider the most suitable future means for accomplishing space application missions. To comply with this request, SAAC formed a Task Force whose report is contained in this document. In their considerations, the Task Force looked into the suitability of likely future spacecraft options for supporting various types of application mission payloads. These options encompass a permanent manned space station, the Space Shuttle operating in a sortie mode, unmanned platforms that integrate a wide variety of instruments or other devices, and smaller free fliers that accommodate at most a few functions. The Task Force also recognized that the various elements could be combined to form a larger space infrastructure. This report summarizes the results obtained by the Task Force. It describes the approach utilized, the findings and their analysis, and the conclusions