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. Ares V and the smaller Ares I were named after Ares, the Greek god of war.
Artist's impression of an Ares V during solid rocket booster separation | |
| Function | Cargo Launch Vehicle |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 116 m (381 ft) or 109 m (358 ft) |
| Diameter | 10 m (33 ft) or 8.4 m (28 ft) |
| Mass | 3,700,000 kilograms (8,200,000 lb) RS-68 variant |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 188,000 kg (414,000 lb) |
| Payload to TLI | |
| Mass | 71,100 kg (156,700 lb) or 60,600 kg (133,600 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Canceled as of October 2010 |
| Launch sites | (would have) Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A |
| Boosters – 5- or 5.5-segment Shuttle-derived SRB | |
| Powered by | 2 solid |
| Propellant | APCP (solid) |
| First stage | |
| Empty mass | 140,000 kg (310,000 lb) |
| Gross mass | 1,914,000 kg (4,220,000 lb) |
| Powered by | 5 or 6 RS-68B or 5 SSME (RS-25) |
| Maximum thrust | 8,350 kN (1,880,000 lbf) or 10,350 kN (2,330,000 lbf) upper atmosphere (for RS-25) 18,822 kN (4,231,000 lbf) (for RS-68) |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
| Second stage – Earth Departure Stage | |
| Powered by | 1 or 2 J-2X |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
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. 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. However, the Constellation program, including Ares V and Ares I, was canceled in October 2010 by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010. In September 2011, NASA detailed the Space Launch System as its new vehicle for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit, while commercial space companies would provide low Earth orbit access for both cargo and astronauts.