With the recent launch of the Ares 1-x test rocket this week I thought it would be useful to review the NASA program that this belongs to.  This new program is designed to allow NASA to gain experience away from the Earth’s environment.  To do this it needs to move beyond the Space Shuttle which only achieves relatively low Earth orbits. It was actually announced under President Bush’s administration and attempts to reignite interest in the NASA space program.

But this is not just about the Moon. There are obviously visions of Mars landings further down the line. The first problem is NASA does not currently have the capability of getting a lot of MASS into Orbit. The image below gives you some idea of the payload capabilities of various rockets.  Ares I gives slightly more lift but its main purpose is to put Astronauts into Orbit with the heavy lifting to be done by Ares V. This means that we are only beginning to see the new prototype systems rolling out and still have a way to go.

Payload capabilities of NASA booster vehicles

So there are two basic technologies in development. Booster Rockets and Spacecrafts.

Booster Rockets:

Ares 1 booster rocket design to deliver the Orion Crew Module in orbit

Ares I is designed to lift the Orion Crew Capsule with its 4 man payload into space and will be an expensive, safety focused rocket which must deliver it’s human payload into orbit in one piece.

Arees V bvooster designed to lift EDS and Altair into orbit

Ares V is the muscle behind the program and it reuses the booster modules from the Shuttle to launch massive payloads of equipment and materials.  The payload from Ares V will include the Earth Departure Stage module which includes the Altair payload (the Lunar Lander).

Spacecrafts:

EDS with Altair and Orion Module connected ready to launch out of Earth Orbit

Once the Ares I and the Ares V have launched their payloads (the Altair/EDS module and the Orion Capsule) the crew of the Orion will then dock with the Altair/EDS module and use the EDS to launch into a lunar orbit.

The EDS is a once off module and will be discarded after insertion into Lunar Orbit. The Altair will then detach from Orion (which remains in orbit) and will descend to the Lunar surface with all 4 crew members. The Altair will have 2 stages. This basically means that the spacecraft will land on the moon with equipment, fuel and crew, but the majority of the craft will remain on surface while a portion of the lander ascends to the waiting Orion module.

Most of these are still at the “Artists Impression” stage, and until it is delivered there will be calls to review the program. But its quite a neat system, so lets recap.

1. Ares V launches a Moon Lander (Altair) with another booster (EDS) into low earth orbit
2. Ares I launches a crew capsule (Orion) also into orbit
3. The crew of the Orion dock with the Altair/EDS module
4. The Orion/Altair/EDS escape the orbit of the Earth to another the Moon or Mars (possibly)
5. Once in orbit, the EDS is discarded
6. The Altair takes the crew to the surface of the Moon/Mars
7. The Altair returns to the Orion
8. The Orion brings them home…..

Oh if only it were that easy!