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Just fleshed out today -
Historical:
Aries-1 was the NASA launcher for its Orion spacecraft in the now canceled Constellation lunar program. It suffered many problems; budgetary, strong thrust oscillations (an artifact of solid rockets + the natural frequency of the structure) and moving target specifications because of weight problems with Orin. All this plus delays in developing its upper stage, using an updated J2 engine adapted from the Saturn V upper stage, caused the demise of the entire program.
The Liberty rocket:
Long dismissed as a vaporware/PowerPoint rocket, Aries-1 is reborn as the ATK-Astrium Liberty. The partners are ATK, Europe's Astrium, and for the spacecraft Lockheed Martin. They also have an Space Act Agreement with NASA which gives them access to the NASA test centers. No NASA money though.
The Liberty spacecraft:
Composite Crew Module (CCM), a carbon composite version of the Orion. This cuts weight, a big problem with Orion, and increases strength. Internal systems by Lockheed Martin. The attached images are of the CCM when NASA was prototyping it as an option for the Constellation program.
They say it can also launch other spacecraft with physical & electrical adapters. The large attached image shows it with a Boeing CST-100 capsule.
Launch Abort System (LAS):
MLAS - a cocoon that surrounds and protects the CCM, pulls it from danger, then sheds bits before releasing the capsule for descent. Frankly, this adds back all of the weight saved by CCM and then some, plus complexity - more to go wrong. Looks cool though.
Note though that the big fins in the attached imagery and video below are there for tests only - in operation they wouldn't be there.
YouTube video of MLAS test....
Liberty launcher specs -
Height: 91.44 meters (300 ft)
Diameter: 5.4 meters (17.7 ft)
Payload to low Earth orbit (LEO): 22 metric tons (48,502 lbs)
Stages -
First stage: 5 segment (vs. originals 4) Space Shuttle solid rocket booster (SRB), but made using lower cost structural methods.
Fuel: a variant of the Shuttles Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP)**
Second stage: Astrium (Europe) Ariane V first stage core w/one Vulcain-2 engine (1,340 kN)
Fuel: LH2/LOX
Tidbits -
The Ares-1 thrust oscillation problem went away as soon as the Ariane / Vulcain-2 upper stage was selected; it has a different natural frequency.
Vulcain-2 engine air-start (a 2nd stage requirement) turned out to be easy to develop. The changes required were implemented after the failure of Ariane V157, but not with that goal in mind. The qualification tests included some in a high altitude chamber at 200 mbar, so air-start was a freebie.
** ammonium perchlorate (oxidizer, 69.6% by weight), powdered aluminum (fuel, 16%), iron oxide (catalyst, 0.4%), polymer (PBAN or HTPB, serving as a binder & secondary fuel, 12.04%), and an epoxy curing agent (1.96%)
Historical:
Aries-1 was the NASA launcher for its Orion spacecraft in the now canceled Constellation lunar program. It suffered many problems; budgetary, strong thrust oscillations (an artifact of solid rockets + the natural frequency of the structure) and moving target specifications because of weight problems with Orin. All this plus delays in developing its upper stage, using an updated J2 engine adapted from the Saturn V upper stage, caused the demise of the entire program.
The Liberty rocket:
Long dismissed as a vaporware/PowerPoint rocket, Aries-1 is reborn as the ATK-Astrium Liberty. The partners are ATK, Europe's Astrium, and for the spacecraft Lockheed Martin. They also have an Space Act Agreement with NASA which gives them access to the NASA test centers. No NASA money though.
The Liberty spacecraft:
Composite Crew Module (CCM), a carbon composite version of the Orion. This cuts weight, a big problem with Orion, and increases strength. Internal systems by Lockheed Martin. The attached images are of the CCM when NASA was prototyping it as an option for the Constellation program.
They say it can also launch other spacecraft with physical & electrical adapters. The large attached image shows it with a Boeing CST-100 capsule.
Launch Abort System (LAS):
MLAS - a cocoon that surrounds and protects the CCM, pulls it from danger, then sheds bits before releasing the capsule for descent. Frankly, this adds back all of the weight saved by CCM and then some, plus complexity - more to go wrong. Looks cool though.
Note though that the big fins in the attached imagery and video below are there for tests only - in operation they wouldn't be there.
YouTube video of MLAS test....
Liberty launcher specs -
Height: 91.44 meters (300 ft)
Diameter: 5.4 meters (17.7 ft)
Payload to low Earth orbit (LEO): 22 metric tons (48,502 lbs)
Stages -
First stage: 5 segment (vs. originals 4) Space Shuttle solid rocket booster (SRB), but made using lower cost structural methods.
Fuel: a variant of the Shuttles Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP)**
Second stage: Astrium (Europe) Ariane V first stage core w/one Vulcain-2 engine (1,340 kN)
Fuel: LH2/LOX
Tidbits -
The Ares-1 thrust oscillation problem went away as soon as the Ariane / Vulcain-2 upper stage was selected; it has a different natural frequency.
Vulcain-2 engine air-start (a 2nd stage requirement) turned out to be easy to develop. The changes required were implemented after the failure of Ariane V157, but not with that goal in mind. The qualification tests included some in a high altitude chamber at 200 mbar, so air-start was a freebie.
** ammonium perchlorate (oxidizer, 69.6% by weight), powdered aluminum (fuel, 16%), iron oxide (catalyst, 0.4%), polymer (PBAN or HTPB, serving as a binder & secondary fuel, 12.04%), and an epoxy curing agent (1.96%)