Discovery One - Specifications

Specifications

Official Name: USSC Discovery One
USSA "Registration Number": XD-1
Overall Length: 140.1 m
Overall Beam: 16.7 m
Overall Draft: 17 m
Command Module Diameter: 16.5 m
Reactor Module Length: 32.2 m
Reactor Module Draft: 8.8 m
Mass: 5,440 tonnes
Life Support: (two men, out of hibernation): 90 months

Engine Type: Cavradyne Plasma Propulsion System (Six Engines) - Liquid Ammonia Propellant- Thrust Deflector Plates- Maximum Thrust 280,000 kgf (2.75 MN).

Computer: HAL 9000 Logic Memory System (Completed Jan. 12, 1992 at the HAL Plant in Urbana, IL.)

Suspended Animation System: Meditech 712-R Hibernacula (3 Centrifuge, 5 Medical Level)

EVA Craft: Grumman DC-3 EVA Pods (3)

Pod Bay features: Three each Pod turntable Base, Extension motor, Extension Platform, Outer hull door, Space suit rack. Test bench with two LCD screens and HAL 9000 terminal. Two large emergency oxygen bottles. Nine small emergency oxygen bottles. Circuit Breaker Box. Manual control station with HAL 9000 terminal, Six LCD screens, and full control set.

Pod Bay Deck: Along with the Pod Bay, the Pod Bay Deck also features an emergency airlock, circuitry storage bay, two fresh water tanks, a maintenance equipment room, an emergency shelter and space suit rack, emergency batteries for the centrifuge and pod bay, and a zero-g toilet.

Living Module: Centrifuge, Magnetic-Drive type. 11.6 m. diameter. Rotation Rate 3 RPM. Living Module Control Stations: 12-screen HAL 9000 interface/ communications module, Nuclear reactor monitoring station, Remote probe control, Radar mapping station, climate control, and Revival Monitoring Station.

Living Module Habitation Features: Sanitary module, (Shower, Sink, Waste water recycling Control) Three Meditech 712-R Hibernacula, Sun-ray tanning station, Water closet (Head), Three Circuit breaker panels. One emergency space suit locker, Two spare part lockers, Three clothing lockers.

Cockpit: Two seats for Mission Commander and Deputy Commander. Full range of instruments and control panels. Two sets of four LCD screens and HAL Visual Sensor.

Command Deck: The Command Deck includes the cockpit, zero-g astronomy lab, zero-g sciences lab, two fresh water tanks, six-spacesuit recharge unit, a pre-launch personnel clearance area, the circuit breaker room, and a zero-g toilet. The Command Deck also includes all HAL 9000 related systems (see below).

HAL 9000 systems: Logic memory center, auxiliary power unit, computer climate regulation system, autonomic systems control center, and reactor control system.

Thrusters: Eight Mk 114 on command module. 720 kgf (7.1 kN) thrust each. Two forward and two aft of reactor module. Nine Mk 29 vernier thrusters; three clustered around each Cavradyne engine exhaust. 1,600 kgf (15.7 kN) thrust each. Eight mid-course correction thrusters (four on each TJI propulsion mount) Four emergency escape rockets at Command Module rear.

Central Communications Complex: Discovery One's central communications complex is mounted atop the seventh fuel module aft of the command section. The main audio-visual communications antenna measures 4.13 meters in diameter. Both telemetry antennas measure 1.26 meters across. The entire assembly can be swiveled 360 degrees and aimed upwards or downwards at any angle between 0 and 285 degrees.

Misc. Equipment: An emergency communications antenna, about half the size of the main antenna, is stored beneath the blow-away cover at the command module's top. Four probes (two atmospheric, two remote-controlled landers) and a telescope array are stored beneath the bottom blow-away cover.

Structural Support: Discovery One's reactor module is secured to the aftermost fuel module by four heavy-duty docking latches. Twelve reinforced coupling units along the spine provide additional support. The spine and reactor module are held in place by six docking latches at the intermodule adapter plate. The entire spine/reactor assembly can be jettisoned in an emergency by eight explosive separation bolts installed in the adapter plate. Finally, the entire Emergency Propulsion System (EPS) can be jettisoned using a ring of 16 explosive bolts installed in a ring around the forward section of the EPS. There is no re-docking capability for any assembly.

Crew:

• David Bowman (Mission Commander)
• Frank Poole (Deputy Commander)
• Victor Kaminsky (Survey Team Leader)
• Jack Kimball (Geophysicist)
• Charles Hunter (Astrophysicist)