The Cislunar Vehicle (CV) is nothing more than a standard OV space vehicle that has been "stretched" to accommodate about twice the amount of propellant. Additional propellant tanks will be strapped to each side of a core vehicle in a "saddlebag" configuration. The core vehicle will house two RL10C–2–1 instead of one (Image 1).
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| Image 1: Cislunar Vehicle (CV) Core internal view |
The top of the core vehicle will have the USIS Docking Ring to mechanically connect payload.
Between the LH2 and LO2 tanks is the Intelligence Module (IM). Electrical power will be provided by a fuel cell being fed cryogenics.
The IM also houses the four Reaction Control System (RCS) quads. The quads will burn 11 kg of propellant per day including boiloff, which gives an 8–day operational duration, just like the OV.
The CV core will have the propellant tanks replenished for refurbishment and reuse whilst in space.
The Cargo Hold Guide Rails (CHGR) are used to secure the CV core to the VentureStar Cargo Hold.
The exterior of the CV core (Image 2) will be painted white to help offset increased internal heating. The RCS will be located in each of the rounded corners.
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| Image 2: Cislunar Vehicle (CV) Core external view |
The additional propellant tanks are simply the CV core without the rocket engines (Image 3). It is strapped onto each side of the core "saddlebag"–style.
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| Image 3: CV "Saddlebag" propellant tanks internal view |
The top of the core vehicle will not have the USIS Docking Ring to mechanically connect payloads. All payload will be connected to the core vehicle instead.
Between the LH2 and LO2 tanks is the Intelligence Module (IM). Electrical power will be provided by a fuel cell being fed cryogenics.
The IM also houses the four Reaction Control System (RCS) quads. The quads will burn 11 kg of propellant per day including boiloff, which gives an 8–day operational duration, just like the OV and CV core.
This vehicle differs in one more important area: it has a propellant input docking collar on one side of the vehicle and a propellant output docking collar on the other side. The propellant output collar is an exact duplicate of the output docking collar on the Propellant Module. The "saddlebags" will in turn continuously refill the CV core vehicle.
The CV "saddlebags" will have the propellant tanks replenished for refurbishment and reuse whilst in space.
The Cargo Hold Guide Rails (CHGR) are used to secure the CV "saddlebag" to the VentureStar Cargo Hold.
The exterior of the CV "saddlebag" (Image 4) will be painted white to help offset increased internal heating. The RCS will be located in each of the rounded corners.
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| Image 4: CV "Saddlebag" propellant tanks external view |
The Cislunar Vehicle (CV) is a collection of one core vehicle and two "saddlebag" vehicles on each side where the propellant output of the "saddlebag" inserts into the propellant input of the core vehicle. (Image 5).
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| Image 5: The Cislunar Vehicle (CV) fully assembled |
The CV core and "saddlebag" inert mass specifications are summarized in Tables 1 and 2.
The core vehicle propellant mass specifications are summarized in table 3. The "saddlebag" vehicle has an identical propellant mass as the CV Core.
Altogether, the CV will hold five times the propellant of an OV.
CV Inert Mass = CV Core + (2) CV "Saddlebags"
CV Inert Mass = 3079 + 2447 + 2447
CV Inert mass = 7,972 kg
CV Propellant Mass = CV Core Propellant + (2) CV "Saddlebag" propellant
CV Propellant Mass = 30088 + 30088 + 30088
CV Propellant Mass = 90,265 kg
CV Stage Mass = CV Inert Mass + CV Propellant Mass
CV Stage Mass = 7972 + 90265
CV Stage Mass = 98,237 kg
CV Mass Ratio = Propellant Mass / Stage Mass
CV Mass Ratio = 90265 / 98237
CV Mass Ratio = 0.919
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