Human Spaceflight to Mars Proposed Using Novel Combination of NASA Space Shuttles

HARTFORD, CT--(Marketwire - January 6, 2009) - Veteran inventor, business pioneer, futurist, and entrepreneur, Eric Knight, unveiled today his concept to enable the human exploration of Mars in a handful of years -- instead of the 20-year timetable proposed by NASA and other space authorities.

Knight describes his concept in a thought paper entitled: "Mars on a Shoestring: A novel method to transport humans to Mars based on a pair of tethered Space Shuttle orbiters."

Full details of Knight's concept and thought paper are published here: www.remarkable.com/marsonashoestring.html

Knight's thought paper describes propulsion, environmental, food and nutrition, and Mars-landing systems and processes.

Instead of retiring the Space Shuttles in 2010 as is currently proposed by NASA, Knight proposes to utilize the vehicles for "...a grand mission... something that would be truly historic -- even through the lens of time a millennium from now."

The following is an excerpt from Knight's thought paper:

--  Fly two Space Shuttle orbiters into earth orbit.
    
--  Rendezvous and connect the two orbiters together -- top to top -- by a
    truss.
    
--  The ends of the truss are anchored to the bases of the orbiters'
    payload bays.
    
--  At the center of the truss, dock a sufficiently sized propulsion
    stage.
    
--  Install a "crew-transfer conduit" -- a pressurized, accordion-style
    inflatable system that connects the airlock hatches of the two orbiters so
    that the crew could freely move between the two spacecrafts.
    
--  Once the propulsion stage has accelerated this entire system on its
    trek to Mars, the truss is detached from the two orbiters and the truss-
    propulsion assembly is jettisoned.
    
--  The two orbiters then separate to a distance of a few hundred feet,
    but remain connected -- top to top -- by a tether cable that is spooled
    out.
    
--  During the separation, the accordion-style inflatable crew-transfer
    conduit equally elongates.
    
--  Once the orbiters are at their maximum fixed distance apart, they
    would simultaneously fire their reaction control systems to set the pair
    into an elegant pirouette -- creating a comfortable level of artificial
    gravity for the crew's voyage to the red planet.
    

Knight further describes a parachute system that would enable the Space Shuttle orbiters to safely land on the Mars surface.

A long-term bioregenerative life-support system for the Mars mission is also described.

To view the complete thought paper, please visit: www.remarkable.com/marsonashoestring.html

About Eric Knight

Eric Knight is a veteran inventor, business pioneer, futurist, and entrepreneur. He is the president of Remarkable Technologies, Inc. www.remarkable.com. As an inventor, Eric Knight has appeared on numerous television programs and networks (such as CNN, The Discovery Channel, and the BBC) as well a variety of talks shows, including a guest appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. His company founded "UP Aerospace" in 2003 -- the aerospace firm that, as a free-standing entity in 2007, launched into space the cremated remains of Star Trek's "Scotty" James Doohan and NASA astronaut and pioneer L. Gordon Cooper.