Refining the Ares V Design to Carry Out NASA's Exploration Initiative
- Paper number
IAC-08.D2.9.-D1.6.3
- Author
Mr. Stephen Creech, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States
- Year
2008
- Abstract
NASA’s Ares V cargo launch vehicle is part of an overall architecture for U.S. space exploration that will span decades. The Ares V, together with the Ares I crew launch vehicle, Orion crew exploration vehicle and Altair lunar lander, will carry out the national policy goals of retiring the Space Shuttle, completing the International Space Station program, and expanding exploration of the Moon as a steps toward eventual human exploration of Mars. The Ares fleet is the product of the Exploration Systems Architecture study which, in the wake of the Columbia accident, recommended separating crew from cargo transportation. Both vehicles are undergoing rigorous systems design to maximize safety, reliability, and operability. They take advantage of the best technical and operational lessons learned from the Apollo, Space Shuttle and more recent programs. NASA also seeks to maximize commonality between the crew and cargo vehicles in an effort to simplify and reduce operational costs for sustainable, long-term exploration. The Ares I is designed to carry the Orion crew exploration vehicle and its crew of 4 to 6 astronauts. It comprises a Space Shuttle-derived 5-segment Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) and a new upper stage powered by the Apollo heritage J-2X liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen (LOX/LH2) engine. The Ares V is designed to carry the lunar lander or other supplies to support future exploration missions. The Ares V comprises a Core Stage, powered by a cluster of RS-68 LOX/LH2 engines, 2 SRBs similar to the Ares I first stage, and a new Earth departure stage (EDS) powered by the J-2X engine. The Ares Projects Office (APO) in 2006 and early 2007 used “seed money” from Congress to perform early engineering analyses on the mission, trajectory, and design of the Core Stage. Since that effort concluded, a variety of programmatic and technical activities have been conducted at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, as well as other NASA centers around the country. Ares V is a cornerstone of the lunar exploration missions, and will fly in support of crewed missions and cargo missions to various locations on the lunar surface. In addition, Ares V will be extensible to crewed and cargo missions to Mars, and is being evaluated by various scientific, exploration, and governmental customers for additional heavy lift applications. A significant challenge in this endeavor is to create a sustainable infrastructure for heavy lift by creating an Ares V capability focused on the initial lunar missions, while still applicable to as many other mission sets as possible. To meet this objective, designers are applying mission-level optimization trades into the systems engineering process as early as possible as the design is refined. They also are working with the many stakeholders that have interest in the advantages of heavy lift. This paper will update the international community on progress to date on the development of the Ares V, including the systems design processes and tools used to help refine the vehicle and its mission.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.D2.9.-D1.6.3.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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