CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — In the wake of criticism that NASA’s
next-generation Constellation Program rockets are behind schedule and over
budget, teams of agency engineers are hastily reviewing alternative designs for
a new heavy-lift rocket capable of exploring the solar system affordably and
relatively quickly.
Among the options they are looking at: a rocket made of the
space shuttle’s external fuel tank, engines and solid-rocket boosters that has
been championed by freelance engineers and hobbyists, and a successor to the
Saturn V that once carried astronauts to the moon.
The study, ordered last month by NASA Administrator Charlie
Bolden as a “top priority,” is supposed to be finished by
Thanksgiving so that Bolden can present it to President Barack Obama to help
him chart a new course for America’s space policy.
Bolden told managers at Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., and Kennedy Space Center to set up a “special team”
to evaluate alternatives to the Constellation Program’s rockets — the Ares I that’s
supposed to ferry crew to low Earth orbit, and the Ares V cargo lifter that can
carry the extra fuel and equipment astronauts would need to go on to the moon.
Those designs have run into technical and budget problems and the first launch
of Ares I — scheduled for 2015 — could be delayed until 2017.
That was among the reasons a White House blue-ribbon panel
suggested last month that NASA scrap Ares I and its goal of returning to the
moon by 2020 in favor of a single rocket design capable of exploring the solar
system. The panel, chaired by former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine, also
said NASA needed another $3 billion a year to sustain a human-spaceflight
program.
“There is a lot of viewgraph engineering going
on,” said Jeff Hanley, NASA’s Constellation manager who is overseeing the
study. “The study is looking at the efficacy of different configurations
of heavy-lift vehicles … so that agency leadership can understand the
benefits and the downsides of any particular configuration.”
The study team is focused on designs that can be developed
quickly and cheaply, using existing engines and motors. The team is trying to
figure out how much each would cost to launch and operate — and whether it
could be upgraded later to a more-powerful version if funding becomes
available.
Still, it remains unclear whether any of the designs will be
seriously considered by the Obama administration — or whether there will be
enough money to build any of them during the next decade.
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According to documents obtained by The Orlando Sentinel,
there are five options:
—A “side mount” heavy-lift rocket that uses the
same engines, boosters and fuel tanks as the shuttle but replaces the orbiter
with a carrier. It’s considered the cheapest and fastest alternative but cannot
be upgraded. There are also safety issues because the capsule is mounted on the
side of the fuel tank instead of on top of it.
—A shuttle-derived “In-Line” rocket advocated by
the so-called “Direct” group of free-lance engineers and hobbyists.
It’s based on an old NASA design that uses the shuttle’s hardware but puts
engines underneath the tank and the capsule on top.
—Two versions of the Ares V “Lite,” smaller
versions of the Ares V cargo rocket and meant to carry both crew and cargo. The
difference between the two versions is the number of engines and the size of
the first stage. Both make use of NASA’s work during the past four years but
would require big changes to assembly and launchpad infrastructure at KSC.
—An all-liquid-fuel heavy-lift rocket described as a modern
version of the Saturn V that carried the Apollo astronauts. It’s a powerful new
design using Russian-made engines and kerosene as the main fuel for the first
stage. Considered the cheapest alternative to operate, it cuts costs by doing
away with solid-rocket boosters. KSC was originally designed to handle
liquid-fuel rockets.
NASA critics say the study is proof of the end of Ares I.
But agency officials say that conclusion is premature: At the same time the
study is going on, they are also drawing up new plans for Ares I.
Hanley has commissioned another study to look at the
possibility of adding more Ares I test flights from KSC starting in 2012. NASA
last month successfully launched a prototype called the Ares I-X.
The aim of additional tests would be to gain more confidence
in the Ares I rocket and Orion capsule and preserve some jobs at KSC until Ares
was ready to launch sometime in 2015, Hanley said. The launch facility is
expected to lose at least 7,000 jobs when the space shuttle is retired in
either 2010 or 2011.
“It could be one test flight, or it could be multiple
test flights.” Hanley said. “We’ll sit down and see what it costs,
and then we will see what monies are available to realize it.”
Via McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
