Altair 2

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Orion 15 & Altair 2
insignia = Altair insignia.jpg
launch_vehicle = Ares V
launch_pad = Launch Pad 39A
launch = June 2019
landing = June 2019
duration = ~45 ± 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 13 & Altair 1 ("lunar")
Orion 14 ("ISS")
next = Orion 16 ("ISS")
Orion 17 & Altair 3 ("lunar")

Altair 2 is the current designation for the Altair spacecraft that will attempt to make, during the Orion 15 mission, the first Constellation lunar landing, the seventh manned landing in human history. Altair 2 will be the eighth U.S. manned-rated lunar lander on the surface of the Moon, the first crewed lander since the Apollo LM "Challenger" in 1972 (Altair 2 will conduct a lunar test landing similar to Apollo 10), and despite its design to hold four astronauts, will carry three astronauts (leaving the fourth in lunar orbit aboard the Orion 15 spacecraft). A landing site has not yet been chosen. [ cite web | url = http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5335 | title = $700m gap threatens major delays to Ares test flights/development | publisher = NASAspaceflight.com|date=2008-01-18|accessdate=2008-02-01] [ cite web | url = http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/forums/get-attachment-big.asp?action=view&attachmentid=38704 | title = Manifest Comparison PMR07 vs. PMR08 Guidelines | publisher = NASA|date=2008-01-18|accessdate=2008-02-01]

Altair 2 is currently scheduled to take place in June 2019. 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 15 crew.

While the Orion 15 mission is planned to last approximately 21 days total, Altair 2 will be on the lunar surface for up to 7 days, and will be discarded after the landing party returns to lunar orbit. After Altair 2 is discarded, it will be left in lunar orbit, in which it will either crash into the lunar surface after its orbit decays (as it happened with the LM "Eagle"), or it will be deliberately crashed into the surface as NASA did with all of the remaining (except for the LM "Aquarius") Apollo LMs from Apollos 12 to 17. The deliberate crashing of all of the LMs by NASA was used to calibrate the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP) seismometers left on the lunar surface.

Notes