Sequel to the Primitive Orbital Station series - Crewed Cargo Return Vehicle Development Videos

[Goddess Bhavani]

Previously I made a short series about low tech space stations, entitled

. The series ends with a permanent presence around the Mun with two space stations, one of which deployed two re-usable mini landers, and the other is a monolithic science block.

One half of the station will detach and proceed on to Minmus, but without a space transportation infrastructure it would be unwise to push the limits and risk lives.

With Level 2 technology now accessible thanks to science gains from the POS missions, the KSC is developing a 2.5m crewed spacecraft slated to launch atop advanced variants of the prototype heavy launcher designs previously used during POS construction. In the below short film, a SRB launcher (R-5-3 comprising 3x Kickback SRBs) sends CCRV-1 on a sub-orbital tourist flight.

This capsule differs from standard re-entry vehicles by having aerodynamic guidance vanes at the top to allow for 'hands off' ballistic re-entry while carrying cargo. Sending a 'winged' capsule likewise requires larger wing area on the launch vehicle, resulting in this configuration quite similar to early surface to air missiles.

Sub-orbital test flight CCRV-1 successfully detaches from the R-5 SRB Launcher.