Soil stabilization mat for lunar launch/landing site

Acord, Amy L.; Cohenour, Mark W.; Ephraim, Daniel; Gochoel, Dennis; Roberts, Jefferson G.

Facilities which are capable of handling frequent arrivals and departures of spaceships between Earth and a lunar colony are necessary. The facility must be able to provide these services with minimal interruption of operational activity within the colony. The major concerns associated with the space traffic are the dust and rock particles that will be kicked up by the rocket exhaust. As a result of the reduced gravitation of the Moon, these particles scatter over large horizontal distances. This flying debris will not only seriously interrupt the routine operations of the colony, but could cause damage to the equipment and facilities surrounding the launch site. An approach to overcome this problem is presented. A proposed design for a lunar take-off/landing mat is presented. This proposal goes beyond dealing with the usual problems of heat and load resistances associated with take-off and landing, by solving the problem of soil stabilization at the site. Through adequate stabilization, the problem of flying debris is eliminated.

Document ID

19900016812

Acquisition Source

Legacy CDMS

Document Type

Contractor Report (CR)

Authors

Date Acquired

September 6, 2013

Publication Date

March 1, 1990

Subject Category

Report/Patent Number

Accession Number

90N26128

Funding Number(s)

Distribution Limits

Public

Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

Name

Type

19900016812.pdf

STI

No Preview Available

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Available Downloads

Related Records