Final Project

Dane A.

Legislator:  Pete Laney, Speaker of the House

(Click on the image above to enlarge.)

(Click on the image above to enlarge.)

Aeolus Design Description

The Aeolus Spacecraft a completely new design in almost every concept.  This can be true for the main propulsion of the ship. Aeolus is propelled chiefly by a magnetic wave something I would call a Pulsed Magnetic Wave Plasma Propulsion (PMWPP). This wave, as seen in the second page of the design, helps to bring the gases emitted by the ion drives to a plasma state. The gases are emitted into the magnetic to be excited into plasma.  Once the gas turns into plasma, it is carried away by the magnetic wave, as the following wave of gas becomes plasma, it repels the previous wave because of their same charge. This is a relatively simple drive system and the only research on magnetic wave propulsion is that of the mini-magnetospheric plasma propulsion (M2P2) project. This system is not as large as the Aeolus Spacecraft, so the actual performance of Aeolus is relatively unknown to me. With the use of the magnetic waves and plasma as propulsion, the Aeolus should be able to outperform any other platform slated for Mars at this point in time.

Do not be fooled, Aeolus is not a first mission Spacecraft. Aeolus is designed for use in Earth to Mars travel once a colony or colonies have been properly established. Aeolus is designed for flight in space only, it would be impossible to launch or land this 360-foot long spacecraft at all on Earth or Mars. Aeolus is built in space while in orbit of the Earth or the Moon (whichever the cheapest production costs would be, Earth or Lunar Colony). Unlike many ship designs, Aeolus is a unitized body instead of modular. This is to promote a better and stronger structure and is easier to repair should it suffer some form of damage. Could you imagine trying to search for a micrometeorite impact or small punctures in the skin of a modular style spacecraft? Aeolus is capable of taking greater stress loads than a modular spacecraft as well because of its uniform construction.

Aeolus is equipped with four Station Docking and Grapple Points. These points are designed with future Space Stations in consideration. Because of the size of Aeolus, it would be close to impossible for it to dock with the ISS, which, will unfortunately be obsolete by the time Aeolus is built and interplanetary flight is fully established. The four points are designed to keep Aeolus stable while in docked and provide an exit for the crews onto the station.

Below and behind the Cockpit is the Storage Area. This houses all the supplies to be shipped down to or from the awaiting planet. The supplies are loaded in reusable sealed containers that somewhat resemble those used in airlines today. The containers are airtight to protect the merchandise and keep any of the perishables fresh. Aeolus is equipped with four Maintenance Vehicles (MV’s), which are usually loaded in the Vehicle Bay.  These four vehicles (Boreas, Zephir, Notus, Eurus) are used to load and unload supplies from Aeolus to the awaiting Station.

The magnetic wave emitter is the system responsible for what makes the PMWPP system work. The magnetic wave is also a form of protection from micrometeorites and that ever so relentless cosmic radiation.

The Ion Drive Housings are chiefly a low velocity system for use in orbit and as propulsion on the arrival and the departure from a docking station. The Ion Drive is later responsible for pumping ionized gas into the magnetic waves.

Inside the Aeolus Spacecraft, you will find many comforts of home. In one area there is simulated gravity, but we will get to that later. We will begin in the fore of the internal structure of the ship. Aeolus is equipped with a radar system, it’s a crowded space out there, and we don’t want any collisions. But really, the radar is for the detection of possible collisions and to help evade any possible harm that could be done to the ship.

The cockpit of Aeolus is a greatly advanced setup. For one, the seats are no longer bolted to the floor, but suspended from the ceiling. The controls are fully digital and computerized. Aeolus is equipped with some of the best avionics available on the market, as I know NASA would be able to do. The cockpit is set up to where the crew can see almost all that is going on within and without the ship, this makes for easier docking with all the blind spots a 360-foot long ship would have. This system virtually makes the parallel parking of the Giant SUV’s on the market turn to the ease of parking a Moped. This makes it easier to direct the Maintenance Vehicles for the docking and repairs of Aeolus. Consider the MV’s as the tugboats for Aeolus.

Under the Cockpit is the Computer Room; this houses all the needed technology for the trips to and from Mars. Because of the time of which Aeolus will be completed, Nanotechnology will more than likely be running at full steam. Aeolus could easily be powered with a multitude of Supercomputers that run at a fraction of the power of those we have today.  The computer room is the brain of Aeolus also known to the crew as Athena. Athena is an artificial intelligence program that can run on voice command alone. Each crewmember carries an interface that can communicate with Athena anywhere around the Aeolus spacecraft. Athena can transfer needed information on almost any topic to a crewmember wearing the interface.

The main passageway is a tunnel with an 8-foot radius that travels right through the center of the ship; this allows each area to be easily accessed. And with zero gravity, you can get from one end of the ship to the other relatively fast.

Moving down the Main passageway from the fore of the ship towards the aft, you come towards a rotating section of the ship, this is the centrifugal habitat. This habitat contains all the comforts of home, boarding, restrooms & showers, kitchen & dining area, lounge, and infirmary.

With the use of a centrifuge, most of the crew is continually subjected to simulated gravity not too different from that of Earth. The habitat also has a waste container that is unloaded and replaced when the ship is docked.

In the habitat, there are spots that are workout areas; this helps to provide as good a workout as possible while also experiencing the resistance of Terran gravity.

Just past the habitat is the “engine room” of Aeolus. This contains the main power source, which is a fusion generator, and the fuel source.  The fusion generator powers all of Aeolus and is what fuels the magnetic wave emitter.

Just past the “engine room” is an airlock that leads to the vehicle bay. Inside the vehicle bay is the four MV’s and the Aeolus Landing Craft known as Hermes. In the Bay, Hermes is disassembled for ease of storage and movement. The bay houses most of the equipment needed in the maintenance of Aeolus and its components. One system that is extremely useful in the movement of large objects in the bay is the pair robotic manipulator arms.  These arms run on a set of tracks, both on the opposite side of the Vehicle Bay. These arms are especially useful in the help of guiding Hermes out of and into the Vehicle Bay through the hatch. Once out of the hatch, the MV’s begin the assembly of Hermes.

Hermes is designed to transport crewmembers to the surface as well as supplies. Hermes could easily accommodate 30 passengers and have enough room for supplies and fuel. Hermes is a VSTOL aircraft because most areas on Mars will not be capable of taking on a conventionally landing aircraft because of the lack of runways. Hermes is capable of landing on normal rocket pads and would not have to use as much fuel during re-entry for deceleration. Consider Hermes as a combination of an AV-8B Harrier, the Space Shuttle and a Camp Tent. It lands and takes off in short leaps and bounds; it carries cargo to and from space, and can be packed away when not in use.

Resources: http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/prop19aug99_1.htm

http://spike.geophys.washington.edu/Space/SpaceModel/M2P2/

Last Updated:  09/10/01