Boltz, Fredrick W.  Letter.  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  20 January 2003: 6.

This Correspondence outlines some of the key features needed of a possible Crew Transfer Vehicle, including simplicity, reliability, and noncryogenic propellants.  It served as a confirmation of my own research and conclusions from a truly independent source.

Covault, Craig.  "Mission Control Transcript Mixes Professionalism, Tension."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  24 February 2003: 49-50.

This is an abridged chronological version of the transcript of Mission Control and abnormal sensor readings, and again demonstrates the necessity not only for a Mission Control, but for them to analyze more data quickly so that they can better foresee catastrophic failures.

Covault, Craig.  "National Effort Mobilized to Access Shuttle Flaws."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  22 July 2002: 55-56.  [view]

This article explained the work surrounded the repair work done on the Shuttles last summer when a hairline crack was found in the engines.  More importantly, it demonstrated the complexity of the Shuttles and their high maintenance, underlying the fact that an efficient space vehicle is a simpler and low maintenance one, characteristics I have strived to keep in my orbiter.

Covault, Craig.  "Rough Wing + Debris = Fatal Combination?"  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  24 February 2003: 20-22.

This article outlines the fragile nature of the Shuttle's Thermal Protection System after the recent loss of Columbia.  With this, and other, articles, I have decided to not use a tile-based TPS on my orbiter due to both its fragility and high maintenance nature.

Engelbert, Phillis and Diane L. Dupuis.  The Handy Space Answer Book.  Detroit, Visible Ink Press, 1998.

This book provides answers to many questions about spaceflight in an easy to understand manner, frowning away from engineering and technical details.  This background information was extremely useful in compiling my Subsystem Reports.

Harford, James.  Korolev.  New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.

Korolev provided me with the early history of both manned and unmanned space projects undertaken by the USSR, on a mission by mission basis.  Their rocket engine technology is also covered in great detail, and focuses on Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the single most important man in the early era of Soviet space flight.

Jensen, Claus.  No Downlink.  Trans. and Ed. Barbara Haveland.  New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1996.

No Downlink is a narrative about the Challenger Incident and its aftermath.  Its author, Claus Jensen, is Danish, and in his forward explicitly states that he has toiled to keep his book as unbiased and true to the facts.  It is written like a book of fiction, but like the movie Apollo 13, sometimes the real story is so good that you don’t need to edit it.

No Downlink showed the lessons learned by NASA in the years that followed as its Shuttle program was redesigned.  This is just one source of many that I have studied out of personal interest concerning emergency situations NASA has encountered in human spaceflight.  It has been an important part to me to ensure that I, like NASA, learn from these events so that their mistakes will not be repeated in future designs.

Kranz, Gene.  Failure is not an Option.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.

Failure is not an Option is, in many respects, the American equivalent of Korolev.  Gene Kranz did not play as important a role as Sergei Korolev did in the USSR, he was an integral component as either the right hand man to the Flight Director or the Flight Director himself for many missions throughout Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, and was the flight director for Apollo 13, played by Ed Harris in the movie directed by Ron Howard of the same title. 

Morring, Frank Jr.  "ISS Attitude."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  27 May 2002: 21.  [view]

This article shows how GPS Technology can be applied to spaceflight guidance and navigation systems, reducing costs and complexity of the systems while maintaining or improving accuracy and performance.  This is direct proof to the next generation navigations systems outlined in my Guidance Subsystem Report.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "ISS Partners Will Set Crew Return Method."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  25 November 2002: 26-28.

This article states the simple fact that Russia is not obligated to supply Soyuz vehicles to be used as lifeboats for the space station after 2006.  While it is assumed they would continue to do so after that time, the Russian Space Agency is very short of cash, and NASA cannot directly purchase vehicles from them due to a missile proliferation agreement.  Until NASA has a replacement lifeboat, we can only hope that the European Space Agency will supply the funds for the Soyuz vehicles.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "NASA Overhauling SLI To Fund Station Lifeboat."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  28 October 2002:  26-27.  [view]

This article states the obvious requirements for a new vehicle, but more importantly it states NASA's unwillingness to work "from the ground up."  In order to save money and R&D time, NASA hopes to use the Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) that is commonly used in Air Force and DoD operations.  While cost benefits between expendable and reusable vehicles are not yet viable, there has only been one practical application of the reusable technology, and that is the Shuttle.  It is obvious that NASA has its hands tied due to budget constraints and is sacrificing a superior and more efficient launch vehicle for something that already exists.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "NASA Rewiring To Link Centers."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  12 August 2002: 25-26.

 This article was pivotal in the design of my orbiter.  As my vehicle developed, more and more of its capabilities could be handled and controlled internally.  However, Mission Control is pivotal to the safety of the crew and the vehicle and is vital to working around unexpected events or problems that effect the mission plan.  Had I not read this article, I would have forgotten that, and Mission Control would have played a much lesser role.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "NASA Shifts SLI Funds to Kerosene Engines."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  30 September 2002: 34-35.  [view]

This article demonstrates how conventional kerosene is an excellent choice as rocket fuel.  Its a storable propellant, meaning it does not have to be chilled like liquid oxygen or hydrogen do, and does not have the toxic or carcinogenic properties that plague storable propellants.  Combined with its ready available, its no wonder why a majority of Russian rockets use kerosene, and its curious that we have only began to see it potential within the past decade.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "NASA To Leave ISS Crew Size Issue Open."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  18 November 2002: 44-45.

Many of the facts in this article have been described elsewhere, but there is one disturbing note:  in an effort to extend the crew size of the ISS, which is limited by the number of people that can fit in its lifeboat, NASA is considering retrofitting the shuttle for staying docked to station for months at a time.  Granted, this article was written before Columbia, but the risk of damage to the TPS after being up there so long is almost unbearable.  The shuttle's tiles are far to fragile to meet those requirements.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "Northrop Adopts Twin-Booster for SLI."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  16 September 2002: 32-33.  [view]

This discuss a competing an excellent design to my own orbiter.  The orbiter itself is somewhat similar to my own, but the launch system is 100% reusable.  In this design, all the individual rockets have wings, and literally fly back to a conventional runway via gliding or conventional aircraft engines for reuse.  Our technology is improving rapidly, but this ability to fly back appears to be more complicated than Northrop would like, and in turn I did not use this technology in my project.  This launch platform is also land based, not receiving the benefits of an air-based launch platform.  Nonetheless, the navigation and guidance system in this design is very similar to the one portrayed in my Guidance Subsystem Report.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "O'Keefe: Science Goals Setting ISS Capability."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  15 July 2002: 26-27.  [view]

Mr. O'Keefe's outline of the preliminary science objectives for ISS demonstrate the necessity that the space station be capable of supporting more than three people if any valuable science is to be conducted.  My orbiter will assist in expanding the crew capacity of the station so that such science is possible.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "Telescience Enlarges Limited Resources of Station Crew."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  8 July 2002: 64-65.  [view]

As the title indicates, the crew of the ISS is too small to be able to focus only a small part of their time on science.  Since expansion of the crew size requires hardware that does not yet exist, NASA is attempting to maximize the science yield in the interim.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "Two-Step Crew Vehicle Option Under Study for Space Station."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  1 July 2002: 33-34.  [view]

This is one of the articles I found that demonstrate how a vehicle designed for crew return can be readily adapted to a crew transfer ability.  This shows how, while the X-38 by itself is an excellent vehicle, a similar vehicle could do the job just as well and more.

Morring, Frank Jr.  "Water, Soyuz, Training Drive New ISS Plans."  Aviation Week & Space Technology.  17 February 2003: 26-27.

This article demonstrates the limitation of the Soyuz spacecraft to support the ISS while the Shuttle is unavailable, making the necessity of a new vehicle painfully obvious.  Without Shuttle, Soyuz can barely maintain the logistics needed for a two-person ISS crew, let alone the altitude boost capability that Shuttle provides to maintain the ISS' altitude.

"Multipurpose Aerospace System (MAKS)."  Molniya Research Industrial Corporation.  28 March 2003.  <http://www.buran.ru/htm/molniya6.htm>.  [view]

This provided me with technical specifications and launch profile for the MAKS launch platform.  It also has a bibliography with links to other sources, which have been benefitial as well.

"RD-701."  Molniya Research Industrial Corporation.  28 March 2003.  <http://www.buran.ru/htm/rd-701.htm>.  [view]

This is the technical specifications and details of the RD-701 tripropellant engine, which I have decided to use as the main propulsion system for my orbiter.  It also has a high resolution image of the engine which was invaluable in creating the 3D model of the orbiter.

Scott, William B.  " 'Playing the Odds' With Space Debris." Aviation Week & Space Technology.  17 February 2003: 30-32.

This article provided me with the nerve-wracking fact that 95% of space debris that can be fatal to any spacecraft is not traceable with today's most advanced radar technology.  This single fact forced me to write a completely new Subsystem Report discussing detection and repair of micrometeorite debris impacts.

"Spiral Project."  Molniya Research Industrial Corporation.  28 March 2003.  <http://www.buran.ru/htm/molniya3.htm>.  [view]

Many vehicle designs, both Soviet and American, have derived from the old Soviet design that was part fighter plane, part spacecraft.  Its aerodynamic characteristics, particularly its flared nose, has been seen time and time again since.

Thomson, William Tyrrell.  Introduction to Space Dynamics.  New York: Wiley, 1986.

Introduction to Space Dynamics is a handbook designed for undergraduates in college majoring in space dynamics.  It involves a extreme amount of calculus and physics, and a good deal of it is above my level of understanding.  Nevertheless, I was able to use the book to ensure that my launch configuration could indeed reach the altitude of the International Space Station.  This was an important milestone for me, because the launch configuration that I based my design on was originally intended for roughly half the altitude that ISS resides at. 

Wade, Mark.  "An-225."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/stages/an225.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "Lox/Kerosene/LH2."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/props/loxnelh2.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "Lox/LH2."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/props/loxlh2.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "MAKS."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/craft/maks.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "N2O4/UDMH."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/props/n2o4udmh.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "RD-250."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/engines/rd250.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "RD-251."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/engines/rd251.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "RD-261."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/engines/rd261.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "RD-701."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/engines/rd701.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "X-33."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/x33.htm>.  [view]

Wade, Mark.  "X-38."  Encyclopedia Astronautica.  CD-ROM.  <http://www.astronautix.com/craft/x38.htm>.  [view]

X-33: An Educator’s Guide with Activities in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education.  EG-1999-08-005-DFRC.  [view]

Mr. Pritchett gave this document to me the Friday before the Columbia incident.  It is about 90 pages in length, filled with a wealth of information from the X-33 program.  It supplied me enough information to create a CAD model of the vehicle, and the mission criteria and detailed plan for the testing phase of the X-33.  It was, in essence, a mini “Mission Rules,” book, and I agree with all of its criteria and test phase to the point that I will use the same plan for my orbiter.