Ares V

Ares V

Artist's impression of an Ares V during SRB separation
Function	Cargo Launch Vehicle
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	116 m (381 ft) or 109 m (358 ft)
Diameter	10 m (33 ft) or 8.4 m (28 ft)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO	188,000 kg (414,000 lb)
Payload to TLI	71,100 kg (156,700 lb) or 60,600 kg (133,600 lb)
Launch history
Status	Canceled
Launch sites	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A
Total launches	0
Boosters - 5- or 5.5-segment Shuttle-derived SRB
No. boosters	2
Engines	1 solid
Fuel	APCP (solid)
First stage
Engines	5 or 6 RS-68B or 5 SSME
Fuel	LH2/LOX
Second stage - Earth Departure Stage
Engines	1 or 2 J-2X
Fuel	LH2/LOX

The Ares V (formerly known as the Cargo Launch Vehicle or CaLV) was the planned cargo launch component of the NASA Constellation program, which was to have replaced the Space Shuttle after its retirement in 2011. Ares V was also planned to carry supplies for a human presence on Mars. Ares V and the smaller Ares I were named after Ares, the Greek god of war.

The Ares V was to launch the Earth Departure Stage and Altair lunar lander for NASA's return to the Moon, which was planned for 2019. It would also have served as the principal launcher for missions beyond the Earth-Moon system, including the program's ultimate goal, a manned mission to Mars. The unmanned Ares V would complement the smaller, and human-rated Ares I rocket for the launching of the 4–6 person Orion spacecraft. Both rockets, deemed safer than the then-current Space Shuttle, would have utilized technologies developed for the Apollo program, the Shuttle, and the Delta IV EELV programs. However, the Constellation program, including Ares V and Ares I was canceled in October 2010 by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010. In September 2011, NASA detailed the Space Launch System as its new vehicle for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit.

In the 1996 book The Case for Mars, author Robert Zubrin discussed a possible future heavy launch vehicle named Ares. In the book, the rocket would have consisted of the Space Shuttle's External Tank powered by four Space Shuttle Main Engines and a second stage powered by an RL-10 engine. One notable difference in the Zubrin et al. design is that the SSMEs were on a small side-mounted flyback craft. This design was meant to allow the Ares to fly using existing Space Shuttle infrastructure.