Ares I
Artist's impression of Ares I launch
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|
| Function | Human-rated orbital launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer |
Alliant Techsystems (Stage I) Boeing (Stage II) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Project cost | at least US$ 6 billion |
| Size | |
| Height | 94 meters (308 ft) |
| Diameter | 5.5 meters (18 ft) |
| Mass | TBC |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | 25,400 kg (56,000 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Followed by Liberty |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Launch sites | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B |
| Total launches | 1 (prototype) |
| First flight | October 2009 (Prototype) |
| First stage | |
| Engines | 1 Solid |
| Thrust | TBC |
| Burn time | ~150 seconds |
| Fuel | Solid |
| Second stage | |
| Engines | 1 J-2X |
| Thrust | 1,308 kilonewtons (294,000 lbf) |
| Burn time | TBC |
| Fuel | LH2/LOX |
Ares I was the crew launch vehicle that was being developed by NASA as part of the Constellation Program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars. Ares I was originally known as the "Crew Launch Vehicle" (CLV).
NASA planned to use Ares I to launch Orion, the spacecraft intended for NASA human spaceflight missions after the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011. Ares I was to complement the larger, unmanned Ares V, which was the cargo launch vehicle for Constellation. NASA selected the Ares designs for their anticipated overall safety, reliability and cost-effectiveness. However, the Constellation program, including Ares I was cancelled by Barack Obama in October 2010 with the passage of his 2010 NASA authorization bill. In September 2011, NASA detailed the Space Launch System as its new vehicle for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit.
In 1995 Lockheed Martin produced an Advanced Transportation System Studies (ATSS) report for the Marshall Space Flight Center. A section of the ATSS report describes several possible vehicles much like the Ares I design, with liquid rocket second stages stacked above segmented solid rocket booster (SRB) first stages. The variants that were considered included both the J-2S engines and Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) for the second stage. The variants also assumed use of the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) as a first stage, but the ASRM was cancelled in 1993 due to significant cost overruns.
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