Lunar GAS

[Graham2001]

The Shuttle Era (Now:Beyond Apollo) is a space history blog that I visit from time to time.

The most recent post covered a 1987 proposal to launch a micro-satellite to the moon from the Space Shuttle from one of the 'Get Away Special' canisters they used to carry.

If engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, had had their way, a GAS payload might have flown much higher. In May 1987, they proposed that a small (149-kilogram) spacecraft be launched on board a Space Shuttle inside an Extended Get Away Special (GAS) canister and ejected into Earth orbit. Lunar GAS (LGAS) spacecraft would then employ electric thrusters to spiral outward to the moon.

This might make for a interesting mission add-on. Especially if, say the GAS Bridge was modeled as well. There seem to have been other micro-satellites that actually did get launched from GAS canisters, see reference number 3 which covers missions up to 1986

See:

1. Lunar GAS (1987)

2. Get Away Special (GAS) Kennedy Space Center (KSC) user handbook (General info on the GAS Program)

3. Get Away Special: The first ten years (General info on the GAS Program)

 

[Graham2001]

Bumped after a quick update of the links. I believe this would make an interesting add-on for use with the Shuttle Fleet, Shuttle Ultra or even the stock Atlantis.

 

[Graham2001]

I am bumping this thread again. The original article linked to in the OP had been deleted by it's creator and a new version has been placed online.

I still think this would make an interesting addon and a challenging flight.

 

[garyw]

Woo482 did this -> [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=4407"]XR2 "GAS" (Get Away Special) Payload canister[/ame]

and you have microsats out there which can be used as payload for the GAS canister. it wouldn't be too hard to add thrusters to them so you already sort of have this.

 

[Graham2001]

The original article that I posted in the OP has been re-posted. The link is below for anyone interested.

If four engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, had had their way, a GAS payload might have traveled far beyond LEO. In May 1987, the team proposed that an advanced-design small spacecraft be launched on board a Space Shuttle inside an Extended GAS canister and ejected into Earth orbit. The spacecraft, called Lunar GAS (LGAS), would then use electric-propulsion thrusters to spiral outward to the moon.

http://spaceflighthistory.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/lunar-gas-1987.html