Retiring the Apollo CSM

Centauri Spaceworks returned the last Apollo CSM, along with a crew from STA to earth.  The Apollo CSM is being phased out in favor of the Orion III.

The Apollo CSM was the original crew transport and lifeboat vehicle for Centauri Spaceworks.  It's use started before many of the vehicles and stations posted on this blog were constructed.  Its use was discontinued in favor of the Orion III.  The Orion III has a larger crew capacity, and is easier to service with its larger drop area for cargo.  Another advantage is that the engine ignition does not have the delay of the CSM main engine, which can provide much needed seconds in an emergency.

Here are photos from the crew transfer mission that replaced the last Apollo CSM vehicle.

Orion III on launch pad 39A

Orion III en-route to STA with replacement crew.

Orion III arriving at STA

Apollo CSM departing STA

Apollo CSM during coast back to HOM

Crew module separating from service module prior to re-entry.

Splashdown! 

Ghostship Desdemona

The Desdemona was a surface exploration vessel sent out at the start of the last decade. It's crew vanished in orbit around ENC.

The Desdemona's mission went as planned through arrival at ENC. While in orbit around ENC, a large solar flare disrupted communications. .  The ship's last communication was:

Copy information about upcoming solar event. The crew on board the Desdemona will take shelter inside the radiation shelter of the ships engine room.

Ingo and his assistant Natalia will remain on the surface. The plant's magnetosphere combined with the shielding on the lander should be sufficient protection. Ingo has discovered a network of caves. This is an exciting discovery and he wants to have as much time on the surface as possible. He also thinks that the caves are deep enough to provide shelter from the storm if needed.  

Expect to re-establish contact in 24 to 32 hours.  Desdemona out.

The crew of the Desdemona failed to re-establish contact after the solar flare subsided.  After several days of radio silence, a robot probe originally planned to study the rings of YEL was re-directed to ENC to investigate.

Desdemona drifting in orbit around ENC

Using the robot probe, operators on the home planet found the ship without power and drifting in orbit. The camera images showed that the first lander had returned to the ship. A second lander had been launched and landed on the surface of ENC.  They were unable to establish radio or visual contact with any of the crew.

Over the course of the next month operators on the home planet used the robot probe's manipulator arm to activate the airlock on the empty docking port of the Desdemona and explore the ship.  Inside they found no signs of an emergency, but no signs of the crew either.