Study reveals a six RS-68 and 5.5 segment booster for Ares V

[Zachstar]

Source: NASASpaceFlight.com

By David Harris, 6/15/2008 11:15:54 PM
The mammoth Ares V is continuing to grow - on paper at least - to olympic proportions to close the performance shortfall in the Ares architecture.

The new vehicle - that is officially classed as a study option, but touted as the new baseline - shows an Ares V with two stretched 5.5 segment Solid Rocket Boosters, an even longer Core Stage powered, now by six RS-68 main engines, and a 10 meter diameter Upper Stage and matching Payload Fairing.

However, the earlier Ares-V configuration has been suffering from an inability to close the performance requirements for being able to heavy lift the four-man Altair Lunar Lander being planned. With Ares I lifting the Orion spacecraft, the Ares-V needs to push 75.1 mT of payload through Trans-Lunar Injection (TLI) but was only able to push 64.6 mT.

This new more powerful configuration, identified as the 'LV 51.00.48' is now able to put 71.1 mT through TLI. While this configuration still can not reach its targets, this is a clear improvement towards closing the performance requirements NASA has for the Lunar architecture.

Read more: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5451

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This is the reason Obama talks about removing funding to move towards education in my view.

Ares 1 in my view has been a disaster. Constantly changing and constantly developing problems to the extent in my view that the only thing it uses from the shuttle is the foam and a few small parts here and there.

And that made it MUCH harder to actually build this thing to return to the moon...

Now THIS rocket is growing by leaps and bounds and what do you know! Now its going to use yet ANOTHER different SRB so now its not going to have any relation to the Ares 1.

There is a better way. A more "Open Source" way to heavy lift without the extreme amount of politics and bull going into existing designs. http://www.directlauncher.com/

Please continue to let the Obama campaign know about http://www.directlauncher.com/ and how it can improve our space policy while allowing him the extra money for use in education!

[Zachstar]

1. So in your view who would be the best for NASA Admin?

[Zachstar]

2. Um excuse me? Why was this moved?