Nasa Rethinks Lunar Role For Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle

摘要

Despite receiving more than $1 billion of development funding, NASA's Ares I crew launch vehicle (CLV) may not take part in Moon missions if the space agency concludes it can "human-rate" its Ares V cargo launch vehicle (CaLV). With a 2015 in-service date, the CLV would only take crew to the International Space Station for the station's final five years of operation, but then not operate in tandem with CaLV for Moon missions from 2020, as conceived. With the CLV as the half in NASA's "1.5 launch architecture" concept, NASA has claimed the duo would be safer than the Apollo programme's single-rocket method.