Shuttle-derived vehicle

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Comparison of Saturn V, Shuttle, Ares I, Ares V, Ares IV, and SLS Block 1 Saturn V-Shuttle-Ares I-Ares V-Ares IV-SLS Block 1 comparison (2019).png
Comparison of Saturn V, Shuttle, Ares I, Ares V, Ares IV, and SLS Block 1

Shuttle-derived vehicles (SDV) are space launch vehicles and spacecraft that use components, technology, and infrastructure originally developed for the Space Shuttle program. [1]

Contents

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, NASA formally studied a cargo-only vehicle, Shuttle-C, that would have supplemented the crewed Space Shuttle. In 2005, NASA was developing the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles, based in part on highly modified Shuttle components, to enable exploration of the Moon and Mars. [2] [3] The agency also studied a third such vehicle, the Ares IV. [4]

Artemis 1 Launch NASA Artemis 1 Launch.jpg
Artemis 1 Launch

After the earlier programs were cancelled, NASA began development of the Space Launch System (SLS) in 2011. SLS is a super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle. Its core stage is structurally and visually similar to the Space Shuttle external tank. Each SLS launch reuses and expends four of the pre-flown RS-25D engines that were de-mounted from the Space shuttles. SLS also uses a pair of solid rocket boosters derived from the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster. The first SLS was delivered to Kennedy Space Center in 2021 for the Artemis 1 mission. As of November 2022, this SLS was rolled out to Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B for several attempts to launch, finally launching on 16 November 2022. [5]

Concepts

SDV concepts were proposed even before the Space Shuttle itself began flying. [6]

Shuttle-C

The Shuttle-C was a study by NASA to turn the Space Shuttle launch stack into a dedicated uncrewed cargo launcher. The Space Shuttle external tank and Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) would be combined with a cargo module in place of the shuttle orbiter including the RS-25 engines. Various Shuttle-C concepts were investigated between 1984 and 1995. [7] [8]

National Launch System

The National Launch System (or New Launch System) was a study authorized in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush to outline alternatives to the Space Shuttle for access to Earth orbit. [9] Shortly thereafter, NASA asked Lockheed Missiles and Space, McDonnell Douglas, and TRW to perform a ten-month study. [10]

A series of launch vehicles was proposed, based around the proposed Space Transportation Main Engine (STME) liquid-fuel rocket engine. The STME was to be a simplified, expendable version of the Space Shuttle main engine (SSME). [11] [12] The NLS-1 was the largest of three proposed vehicles and would have used a modified Space Shuttle external tank for its core stage. The tank would have fed liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to four STMEs attached to the bottom of the tank. A payload or second stage would have fit atop the core stage, and two detachable Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters would have been mounted on the sides of the core stage as on the Shuttle. [11] Period illustrations suggest that much larger rockets than NLS-1 were contemplated, using multiples of the NLS-1 core stage. [13] [14]

Constellation program

Comparison of the Ares I, Ares IV, and Ares V rockets. AresFamily.jpg
Comparison of the Ares I, Ares IV, and Ares V rockets.

One of the main goals of Constellation program was the development of spacecraft and booster vehicles to replace the Space Shuttle. NASA had already begun designing two boosters, the Ares I and Ares V, when the program was created. [15] Ares I was designed for the sole purpose of launching mission crews into orbit, while Ares V would have been used to launch other hardware which required a heavier lift capacity than the Ares I booster provided. [16]

Ares I

Ares I was the crew launch vehicle that was being developed by NASA as part of the Constellation program. [17] The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars. [18] Ares I was originally known as the "Crew Launch Vehicle" (CLV). [19]

NASA planned to use Ares I to launch Orion, the spacecraft intended for NASA human spaceflight missions after the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011. Ares I was to complement the larger, uncrewed Ares V, which was the cargo launch vehicle for Constellation. NASA selected the Ares designs for their anticipated overall safety, reliability and cost-effectiveness. [20] However, the Constellation program, including Ares I was cancelled by U.S. president Barack Obama in October 2010 with the passage of his 2010 NASA authorization bill. [21]

Ares V

The Ares V (formerly known as the Cargo Launch Vehicle or CaLV) was the planned cargo launch component of the cancelled 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. [4] Ares V and the smaller Ares I were named after Ares, the Greek god of war. [18]

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. [22] It would also have served as the principal launcher for missions beyond the Earth-Moon system, including the program's ultimate goal, a crewed mission to Mars. The uncrewed 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 employed technologies developed for the Apollo program, the Shuttle program, and the Delta IV EELV program. [20] However, the Constellation program, including Ares V was cancelled by U.S. president Barack Obama in October 2010 with the passage of his 2010 NASA authorization bill.

Ares IV

The Ares IV concept combines an Ares I upper stage on top of an Ares V. [23] Specifically, the vehicle would consist of the liquid-fueled core stage from the Ares V design, two five-segment solid rocket boosters, and the liquid-fueled upper stage from the Ares I, as described by NASA in January 2007. The Ares IV would be a combined 367 ft (112 m) tall and could be used to reach the Moon. Total payload capacity would be 90,420 lb (41,000 kg) to 240 miles (390 km) for direct trans-lunar injection. [24]

NASA had considered using Ares IV to evaluate high-speed "skip" reentry profiles of the Orion capsule in 2007. [25] NASA had planned flight demonstrations of Ares I and Ares V hardware in "Heavy Lift" configurations beginning in 2013. The "Heavy Lift" test flights were to test the first stage of the Ares V simultaneously with the Ares I upper stage attached on top to save both time and money. The later Heavy Lift test vehicle configurations are similar to the Ares IV vehicle. [26]

Ares V Lite

Ares V Lite was an alternative launch vehicle for NASA's Constellation program suggested by the Augustine Commission. Ares V Lite was a scaled down Ares V. [27] [28] It would have used five RS-68 engines and two five-segment SRBs and have had a low Earth orbit payload of approximately 140 tonnes (310,000 lb). [29] If chosen, Ares V Lite would have replaced the Ares V and Ares I launchers. One Ares V Lite version would have been a cargo lifter like Ares V and the second version would have carried astronauts in the Orion spacecraft. [29]

NASA Side-Mount Vehicle

The Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) was an alternate super heavy-lift launch vehicle proposal for the NASA Constellation program. It was first presented to the Augustine Commission on 17 June 2009. [30]

Based on the Shuttle-C concept which has been the subject of various studies since the 1980s, the HLV was a SDLV that proposed to replace the winged Orbiter from the Space Shuttle stack with a side-mounted payload carrier. The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) and Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) would have remained the same.

Jupiter

The Jupiter family of super heavy-lift launch vehicles was part of the proposed DIRECT Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle architecture. It was intended to be the alternative to the Ares I and Ares V rockets. [31]

Major benefits were projected from re-using as much hardware and facilities from the Space Shuttle program as possible, including cost savings, experience with existing hardware, and preserving the workforce. [31]

Space Launch System

The Space Launch System (SLS) is a U.S. super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle, which is used in the Artemis program. It is very similar in design to the NLS-1 concept. It is the primary launch vehicle of NASA's deep space exploration plans, [32] [33] including the planned crewed lunar flights of the Artemis program and a possible follow-on human mission to Mars. [34] [35] [36] Its first launch, Artemis 1, flew on 16 November 2022. [37]

Liberty

Liberty was a 2011 launch vehicle concept proposed by Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and Astrium for phase 2 of the NASA Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program intended to stimulate development of privately operated crew vehicles to low Earth orbit.

Similar to the defunct Ares I project, which consisted of a five segment Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) and a new cryogenic second stage, Liberty would combine a five-segment SRB with the core stage of the European Ariane 5 as a second stage. [38] [39]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Shuttle program</span> 1972–2011 United States human spaceflight program

The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official name, Space Transportation System (STS), was taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constellation program</span> Cancelled 2005–2010 NASA human spaceflight program

The Constellation program was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a "return to the Moon no later than 2020" with a crewed flight to the planet Mars as the ultimate goal. The program's logo reflected the three stages of the program: the Earth (ISS), the Moon, and finally Mars—while the Mars goal also found expression in the name given to the program's booster rockets: Ares. The technological aims of the program included the regaining of significant astronaut experience beyond low Earth orbit and the development of technologies necessary to enable sustained human presence on other planetary bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster</span> Solid propellant rocket used to launch Space Shuttle orbiter.

The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was the first solid-propellant rocket to be used for primary propulsion on a vehicle used for human spaceflight. A pair of these provided 85% of the Space Shuttle's thrust at liftoff and for the first two minutes of ascent. After burnout, they were jettisoned and parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean where they were recovered, examined, refurbished, and reused.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39</span> Historic Apollo Moonport

Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built as the Apollo program's "Moonport" and later modified for the Space Shuttle program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile launcher platform</span> Structure used to support large rockets

A mobile launcher platform (MLP), also known as mobile launch platform, is a structure used to support a large multistage space vehicle which is assembled (stacked) vertically in an integration facility and then transported by a crawler-transporter (CT) to a launch pad. This becomes the support structure for launch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exploration Systems Architecture Study</span> NASA study

The Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) is the official title of a large-scale, system level study released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in November 2005 of his goal of returning astronauts to the Moon and eventually Mars—known as the Vision for Space Exploration. The Constellation Program was cancelled in 2010 by the Obama Administration and replaced with the Space Launch System, later renamed as the Artemis Program in 2017 under the Trump Administration.

The Earth Departure Stage (EDS) is the name given to the proposed second stage of the Block 2 Space Launch System. The EDS is intended to boost the rocket's payload into a parking orbit around the Earth and from there send the payload out of low Earth orbit to its destination in a manner similar to that of the S-IVB rocket stage used on the Saturn V rockets that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. Its development has been put on hold until stages capable of transferring heavy payloads to Mars are required.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ares V</span> Canceled NASA rocket key to Project Constellation

The Ares V was the planned cargo launch component of the cancelled 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ares I</span> Canceled NASA rocket key to the Constellation program

Ares I was the crew launch vehicle that was being developed by NASA as part of the Constellation program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars. Ares I was originally known as the "Crew Launch Vehicle" (CLV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B</span> Historic launch pad operated by NASA

Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B) is the second of Launch Complex 39's three launch pads, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The pad, along with Launch Complex 39A, was first designed for the Saturn V launch vehicle, which at the time was the United States' most powerful rocket. Typically used to launch NASA's crewed spaceflight missions since the late 1960s, the pad is currently configured for use by the agency's Space Launch System rocket, a Shuttle-derived launch vehicle which is currently used in the Artemis program and subsequent Moon to Mars campaigns. The pad had also been leased by NASA to aerospace company Northrop Grumman, for use as a launch site for their Shuttle-derived OmegA launch vehicle, for National Security Space Launch flights and commercial launches, before the OmegA program was cancelled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle</span> Space launch vehicle concept

The Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle ("HLV") was an alternate super heavy-lift launch vehicle proposal for the NASA Constellation program. It was first presented to the Augustine Commission on 17 June 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DIRECT & Jupiter Rocket Family</span> Proposed family of US super heavy-lift launch vehicles

DIRECT was a late-2000s proposed alternative super heavy lift launch vehicle architecture supporting NASA's Vision for Space Exploration that would replace the space agency's planned Ares I and Ares V rockets with a family of Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicles named "Jupiter". It was intended to be the alternative to the Ares I and Ares V rockets which were under development for the Constellation program, intended to develop the Orion spacecraft for use in Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Shuttle retirement</span> End of NASAs Space Shuttle spacecraft system in 2011

The retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle fleet took place from March to July 2011. Discovery was the first of the three active Space Shuttles to be retired, completing its final mission on March 9, 2011; Endeavour did so on June 1. The final shuttle mission was completed with the landing of Atlantis on July 21, 2011, closing the 30-year Space Shuttle program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Launch System</span> NASA super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle

The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis Moon landing program, SLS is designed to launch the crewed Orion spacecraft on a trans-lunar trajectory. The first SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis 1, which took place on 16 November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis 1</span> 2022 uncrewed Moon-orbiting NASA mission

Artemis 1, officially Artemis I and formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis 1 marked the agency's return to lunar exploration after the conclusion of the Apollo program five decades earlier. It was the first integrated flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and its main objective was to test the Orion spacecraft, especially its heat shield, in preparation for subsequent Artemis missions. These missions seek to reestablish a human presence on the Moon and demonstrate technologies and business approaches needed for future scientific studies, including exploration of Mars.

Super heavy-lift launch vehicle Launch vehicle capable of lifting more than 50 tonnes of payload into low earth orbit

A super heavy-lift launch vehicle is a rocket that can lift to low Earth orbit a "super heavy payload", which is defined as more than 50 metric tons (110,000 lb) by the United States and as more than 100 metric tons (220,000 lb) by Russia. It is the most capable launch vehicle classification by mass to orbit, exceeding that of the heavy-lift launch vehicle classification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exploration Ground Systems</span> NASA program for launch vehicle support

NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program is one of three programs based at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. EGS was established to develop and operate the systems and facilities necessary to process and launch rockets and spacecraft during assembly, transport and launch. EGS is preparing the infrastructure to support NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its payloads, such as the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I. Artemis I is the first to launch in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the Moon and Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis program</span> NASA-led lunar exploration program

The Artemis program is a robotic and human Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) along with six major partner agencies— the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Israel Space Agency (ISA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The Artemis program is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The main parts of the program are the Space Launch System (SLS), the Orion spacecraft, the Lunar Gateway space station, and the commercial Human Landing Systems. The program's long-term goal is to establish a permanent base on the Moon to facilitate the feasibility of human missions to Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Studied Space Shuttle designs</span> Launch vehicle study

During the lifetime of the Space Shuttle, Rockwell International and many other organizations studied various Space Shuttle designs. These involved different ways of increasing cargo and crew capacity, as well as investigating further reusability. A large focus of these designs were related to developing new shuttle boosters and improvements to the central tank, but also looked to expand NASA's ability to launch deep space missions and build modular space stations. Many of these concepts and studies would shape the concepts and programs of the 2000s such as the Constellation, Orbital Space Plane Program, and Artemis program.

References

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Bibliography

Further reading