Spacedock 1988 Space Station Spacedock. This 1988 illustration depicts a large "Drive-thru" spacedock facility for assembly and checkout of manned lunar spacecraft. Credit: NASA via Marcus Lindroos. 40,581 bytes. 578 x 475 pixels.

After the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger accident, a number of space policy reports ('Pioneering the Space Frontier', 'Leadership and America's Future in Space') advocated an aggressive manned lunar/Mars program to restore America's lead in space. NASA now embarked on a number of studies to see how the downscaled Space Station Freedom could assist this goal. This would involve use of a large spacedock facility for assembly and checkout of manned lunar or planetary spacecraft.

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Spacedock - Space Station Spacedock. This free-flying "spacedock" would be constructed from Space Station subsystems such as solar thermodynamic power generators, radiators, truss segments etc.. The white tanks contain rocket propellant for the space tug. Credit: NASA via Marcus Lindroos. 73,035 bytes. 599 x 479 pixels.

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• The 'Drive-thru' spacedock would have weighed more than twice as much as the basic Space Station Freedom, which had an in-orbit mass of 200 metric tons. Lunar transfer vehicles would have been assembled, serviced and refuelled in a rectangular enclosure on top.
• The 'Atrium' spacedock would also have utilised the same type of modules and structures as Space Station Freedom.
• The 'Platform' spacedock would have featured a large gravity gradient-stabilised extension at the bottom. The Canadian Mobile Servicing Center would have been capable of moving up and down this structure, transporting the lunar spacecraft stack along the way.

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  Atrium Spacedock - The "Atrium" spacedock would also have utilized the same type of modules and structures as Space Station Freedom. Credit: NASA via Marcus Lindroos. 19,261 bytes. 466 x 480 pixels.

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Tether and Spacedock - Space Station Spacedock. Most NASA studies preferred to develop a separate spacecraft assembly & checkout facility in order to minimize the impact on sensitive experiments onboard Space Station Freedom. This "spacedock" would be connected to the Space Station by a long tether. The space tug (top) will receive a free boost from the centrifugal forces when it releases the tether Credit: NASA via Marcus Lindroos. 30,353 bytes. 535 x 404 pixels.

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Spacedock - Space Station Spacedock. The "Drive-thru" spacedock would have weighed more than twice as much as the basic Space Station Freedom, which had an in-orbit mass of 200 metric tons. Lunar transfer vehicles would have been assembled, serviced and refueled inthe rectangular enclosure on top. Credit: NASA via Marcus Lindroos. 25,766 bytes. 640 x 480 pixels.

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Spacedock - Space Station Spacedock. The "Platform" spacedock would have featured a large gravity gradient-stabilized extension at the bottom. The Canadian MobileServicing Center would have been capable of moving up and down this structure,transporting the lunar spacecraft stack along the way. Credit: NASA via Marcus Lindroos. 12,315 bytes. 640 x 350 pixels.

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