Ares V-Y
Encyclopedia
Ares V-Y was the proposed designation for the maiden flight of the cancelled heavy-lift Ares V
Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle
. The rocket launch was supposed to conducted first stage testing, which uses six RS-68 rocket engines currently in use on the Delta IV EELV rocket with two 5.5 segment Solid Rocket Boosters
. The Ares V would have had an active Earth Departure Stage
, which would have had a single J-2X
rocket engine, but it would have not carry the Altair spacecraft. A Constellation derivative of the Apollo Lander Mass Simulator (used on Apollos 4
, 6
, and 8
) would have been be used instead. Ares V-Y was supposed to see the first use of Kennedy Space Center
's Launch Pad 39A, while the Launch Pad 39B was beign reconfigured for use as the Ares I launch facility.
Before the cancellation of the Constellation Program, Ares V-Y was scheduled to take place in June 2018. A little over 50 years since the unmanned Apollos 4 and 6 flights. It would have flown a so-called "Shuttle Standard Insertion" flight profile from launch into Low Earth Orbit, allowing NASA to test the SRBs, the five RS-68 engines, and the single, restartable J-2X engine, the last engine being very important in that it would have to both insert the EDS and Altair into LEO, and then after an Orion spacecraft docks with Altair, propel the two vehicles out to the Moon. Once the initial launch sequence had been done, NASA may then have propelled the EDS and its mass simulator into a permanent solar orbit or fire its J-2X engine and have had the assembly crashed into the Pacific Ocean
in a manner similar to the de-orbiting of the Space Station Mir
in 2001.
Ares V
The Ares V was the planned cargo launch component of the 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...
Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle
Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle
Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle, or simply Shuttle-Derived Vehicle , is a term describing one of a wide array of concepts that have been developed for creating space launch vehicles from the components, technology and/or infrastructure of the Space Shuttle program. SDVs have also been part of...
. The rocket launch was supposed to conducted first stage testing, which uses six RS-68 rocket engines currently in use on the Delta IV EELV rocket with two 5.5 segment Solid Rocket Boosters
Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters were the pair of large solid rockets used by the United States' NASA Space Shuttle during the first two minutes of powered flight. Together they provided about 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. They were located on either side of the rusty or...
. The Ares V would have had an active Earth Departure Stage
Earth Departure Stage
The Ares V Earth Departure Stage was a rocket stage which NASA planned to design at its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama as part of Project Constellation...
, which would have had a single J-2X
J-2 (rocket engine)
Rocketdyne's J-2 rocket engine was a major component of the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo program to send men to the Moon. Five J-2 engines were used on the S-II second stage, and one J-2 was used on the S-IVB third stage. The S-IVB was also used as the second stage of the smaller Saturn IB...
rocket engine, but it would have not carry the Altair spacecraft. A Constellation derivative of the Apollo Lander Mass Simulator (used on Apollos 4
Apollo 4
Apollo 4, , was the first unmanned test flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, which was ultimately used by the Apollo program to send the first men to the Moon...
, 6
Apollo 6
Apollo 6, launched on April 4, 1968, was the Apollo program's second and last A type mission—unmanned test flight of its Saturn V launch vehicle. It was intended to demonstrate full lunar injection capability of the Saturn V, and the capability of the Command Module's heat shield to withstand a...
, and 8
Apollo 8
Apollo 8, the second manned mission in the American Apollo space program, was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to Earth from another celestial...
) would have been be used instead. Ares V-Y was supposed to see the first use of Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
's Launch Pad 39A, while the Launch Pad 39B was beign reconfigured for use as the Ares I launch facility.
Before the cancellation of the Constellation Program, Ares V-Y was scheduled to take place in June 2018. A little over 50 years since the unmanned Apollos 4 and 6 flights. It would have flown a so-called "Shuttle Standard Insertion" flight profile from launch into Low Earth Orbit, allowing NASA to test the SRBs, the five RS-68 engines, and the single, restartable J-2X engine, the last engine being very important in that it would have to both insert the EDS and Altair into LEO, and then after an Orion spacecraft docks with Altair, propel the two vehicles out to the Moon. Once the initial launch sequence had been done, NASA may then have propelled the EDS and its mass simulator into a permanent solar orbit or fire its J-2X engine and have had the assembly crashed into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
in a manner similar to the de-orbiting of the Space Station Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
in 2001.