NASA seeks a new ride for astronauts to the Artemis launch pad

Enlarge / NASA first began using the 1983-model Airstream for space shuttle missions in 1984. (credit: NASA)

NASA has asked industry for ideas to develop an "Artemis Crew Transportation Vehicle" that will take its astronauts from suit-up facilities to the launch pad on launch day.

The space agency, of course, has not launched its own astronauts on a NASA-built vehicle since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011. From 1984 through the end of the shuttle era, the agency used a modified Airstream motor home, known as the "Astrovan," to ferry crews to the launch pad. This iconic vehicle had a shiny, silvery exterior but a fairly spartan interior. "The current vehicle's appeal is rooted in its tradition rather than its decor," the agency acknowledged in 2011.

Now, NASA is gearing up for a new era of deep space exploration, and it plans to launch four astronauts at a time inside the Orion spacecraft, on top of a Space Launch System rocket. The first human flights on these vehicles could occur in late 2023 or early 2024, NASA administrator Bill Nelson recently said.

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