What is the optimal Crew
Transfer/Rescue Vehicle to support both the International Space Station and
the Space Shuttle?
As a graduation requirement, each student at my high school
conducts a year long research project and then applies that knowledge.
Since I have been fascinated by manned spaceflight for as long as I can
remember, I decided to design a spacecraft, seen above, to allow more astronauts
to live aboard the International Space Station. Since I also have great
respect for scientific research, I hoped that such a vehicle could allow for
more experiments to be conducted aboard the Station.
After the Columbia Tragedy, I modified my Senior Project to
not only incorporate Station objectives but also to allow for rescue of
astronauts stranded in space, specifically Shuttle crews. Luckily, adding
this rescue capability did not require a complete redesign of the vehicle, only
some ingenuity.
