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Spacesuit Task Force
Space Lifestyle Magazine
NASA's Big Booster: Boon or Bust for Space Science?
May 8th, 2008 Author Leonard David
A just released report has taken a first look at using NASA's monster booster —
the Ares V
— to support visionary space science missions. Ares 1 and Ares 5 are booster
elements of
the space agency's Constellation system of Moon, Mars and beyond hardware.
The interim report, Science Opportunities Enabled by NASA's Constellation
System, is a
product of the National Research Council's Space Studies Board, written by a
blue ribbon
panel of experts.
The report notes that the first flight of Ares V is not expected until 2018 at
the earliest.
Lunar missions would begin in 2019 or 2020, and for at least the first several
years of
flights, the mega-booster would be tied up tossing hardware to the Moon to build
a lunar
outpost. Therefore, Ares V could not be available to support science missions
until the
early or mid-2020s at the earliest.
At this point, the report explains, NASA doesn't have reliable price tag info on
the Ares V.
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