It looks like it鈥檚 back to splashdowns for NASA. Engineers figure they can shave 500 kilograms off the weight of the future Orion crew module if it lands in the sea, like Apollo-era capsules.
But budgets remain the biggest concern for meeting the March 2015 target for the module鈥檚 first crewed flight, officials say.
Orion, which will replace the space shuttle after it is retired in 2010, was originally intended to touch down on the ground. But calculations suggested the ground landing system would weigh nearly 700 kilograms.
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That was so heavy 鈥渨e decided to look at a water landing鈥�, Mark Geyer, manager of the Orion project, said in a news conference on Thursday.
When engineers worked out a sea landing system that would weigh just under 200 kilograms, NASA pencilled in the approach it had used in the Apollo era.
Because of high launch costs and limited onboard fuel reserves, weight is a key problem for space capsules. But Geyer says other issues must still be resolved, such as how seawater could be kept from damaging equipment that might prevent the capsule from being re-used. Unspoken was concern that the capsule might sink, as happened in 1961 after .
NASA officials say there are currently no major delays expected for Orion or its Ares rocket launcher, which together comprise the 鈥淐onstellation鈥� programme. But that could change if NASA鈥檚 budget doesn鈥檛 grow, they said.
Funding 鈥渋s the biggest governor on how fast and slow we can go鈥�, said Jeff Hanley, manager of NASA鈥檚 Constellation programme.
A budget stalemate between Congress and President Bush could leave NASA limited to its current budget for the first six months of fiscal year 2009. NASA could manage that, but if the freeze lasted longer, schedules would have to slip, Hanley said.
