Altair 4

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Altair 4
insignia = Altair insignia.jpg
launch_vehicle = Ares V
launch_pad = Launch Pad 39A
launch = June, 2020
landing = August, 2020
duration = ~75 ± 10 days w/ 7 days on lunar surface
altitude = ~200-250 nautical miles (~320-400 km) in LEO
inclination = ~28.5 degrees in LEO
distance = TBD
crew_photo =
crew_caption =
previous = Orion 17 & Altair 3
next = Orion 21 & Altair 5

Altair 4 is the current designation for the Altair spacecraft that will attempt to make, during the Orion 19 mission, the third Constellation lunar landing, and, unless a landing is attempted by the Russian/ESA CSTS or Chinese lunar Shenzhou, the ninth manned landing in human history. Altair 4 will be the tenth U.S. manned-rated lunar lander on the surface of the Moon and like Orion 17, will carry 3 astronauts to the lunar surface, despite Altair's design to hold four astronauts. A landing site has not yet been chosen.

Altair 4 is currently scheduled to take place in late June, 2020, six months after Orion 17/Altair 3. It will be launched atop the powerful Ares V SDLV from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, and will be linked up in low earth orbit, along with the Earth Departure Stage, by the Orion 19 crew in August, 2020.

While the Orion 19 mission is planned to last approximately 21 days total, Altair 4 will be on the lunar surface for up to 7 days, and will be discarded after the landing party returns to lunar orbit. Like Altair 3, Altair 4 will be discarded in lunar orbit and will most likely be deliberately crashed into the lunar surface, most likely on the lunar far side. This may be done to keep "lunar traffic" to a minimum and to allow NASA to calibrate any lunar seismometers left on the Moon's surface.

ee also

*List of Constellation missions