Integrated Lander Vehicle

The Integrated Lander Vehicle is a human spaceflight lunar lander design concept for the NASA Human Landing System component of the Artemis Program, currently aiming to return humans to the Moon by 2024. Blue Origin is the lead contractor for the multi-element lunar lander that would include major components from several large US government space contractors including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper Laboratory.

The lander concept was initiated in 2019, and in April 2020, Blue won a US$579 million contract from NASA for a 10-month design concept study to be completed in 2020-2021.[1][2] NASA expects to subsequently issue build and test contracts to one or two of the three awardees in the April design competition awards in order to advance the human landing element of the Artemis Program. If the program remains on schedule, NASA hopes to land "the first woman and the next man" on the Moon in 2024.[2]

The National Team of Blue/Northrop Grumman/Lockheed-Martin/Draper is just one of three organizations who are developing lunar lander designs for the Artemis program over a 10-month period in 2020–21 under the NASA HLS funding rubric. If the ILV team completes the milestone-based requirements of the design contract, then NASA will pay the combined contractors US$579 million in design development funding. The other teams selected are Dynetics—with SNC and other unspecified companies with the Dynetics Human Landing System (DHLS)—with US$253 million in NASA funding, and SpaceX, with its Starship HLS concept, slated to receive US$135 million in NASA funding.[2][1] At the end of the ten month program, NASA will evaluate which contractors will be offered contracts for initial demonstration missions and select firms for development and maturation of lunar lander systems.[2][3]

History

Initial design work for the Integrated Lander Vehicle began in 2019.[4]

ILV is being designed by "the National Team", consisting of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper.[1][2] Blue is leading the combined integration effort, and will design the descent element. Northrop Grumman is designing the transfer element, for the initial engine firing to place the ILV on a trajectory out of NRHO (near-rectilinear halo orbit) and toward the lunar surface with an initial descent burn. Lockheed-Martin is designing the ascent element, that will depart the lunar surface and return the astronauts to the NASA space facility and capsule in lunar orbit.[4]

Description
Further information: Artemis program § Human Landing System

The ILV lander system is composed of three-elements: a transfer element, the descent element, and the ascent element. ILV is proposed to be used for long-duration crewed lunar landings as part of NASA's Artemis program. The Integrated Lander Vehicle (ILV)—also known as the "National HLS"—is being designed for long-duration in-space use, as well as long stays on the lunar surface.[4] The Blue ILV system was proposed to NASA to dock in lunar orbit either with the Lunar Gateway or with the Orion crew vehicle.[5]

If built, the ILV HLS variant would be launched to lunar orbit by one of several different launch vehicles—including, potentially, the Blue Origin New Glenn and the United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur—for the lunar transit to join up with the NASA Lunar Gateway and a NASA crew to be shuttled to the lunar surface. In the mission concept, a NASA Orion spacecraft would carry the NASA crew to the lander where they would depart and descend to the lunar surface in the ILV. After lunar surface operations, the ILV ascent element would ascend and return the crew to the Orion.[1][2]

References
  1. Burghardt, Thomas (1 May 2020). "NASA Selects Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX Human Landers for Artemis". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  2. Potter, Sean (30 April 2020). "NASA Names Companies to Develop Human Landers for Artemis Missions". NASA. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  3. Berger, Eric (30 April 2020). "NASA awards lunar lander contracts to Blue Origin, Dynetics—and Starship". Ars Technica. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  4. Couluris, John (11 June 2020). Human Landing System: Putting Boots Back on the Moon. American Astronomical Society. Event occurs at 5:45–9:20. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via YouTube.
  5. https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/04/30/blue-origin-wins-lions-share-of-nasa-funding-for-human-rated-lunar-lander/
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