LTS system architecture is built around a fleet of two different reusable spacecraft and a fleet of two expendable spacecraft. The reusable spacecraft, which make up the heart of the system, are the Lunar Landers and the Propellant Transporters. These two types of reusable spacecraft perform different functions in the system.
The Payload Dispenser, the Propellant Dispenser, and the Propellant Transporter, operate only in space. The Lunar Lander operates in space as well as on the lunar surface.
The structures of the Lunar Lander and the Propellant Transporter are nearly identical and consist of an inner aluminum tube that carries three aluminum plates, one at each end of the tube and one middle plate located below the mid section of the spacecraft. Six sets of cryogenic propellant tanks, arranged in a circle, fit between the plates. These tank sets are so attached that they can be robotically transferred from one spacecraft to another. Each tank set consists of a tall hydrogen tank and a shorter oxygen tank, with the six hydrogen tanks located on top of the central plate and the six oxygen tanks located on top of the bottom plate. |
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