NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Ares V: Application to Solar System Scientific ExplorationThe development of the Ares V launch vehicle will provide levels of performance unseen since the days of Apollo. This capability, like the Saturn V before it, is being developed primarily for crewed lunar missions. However, the tremendous jump in performance offered by the Ares V launch system has tremendous potential for the furtherance of robotic solar system exploration missions as well. Preliminary performance assessments indicate that Ares V could deliver 5 times the payload to Mars as compared to the most capable US expendable launch vehicle available today. Beyond Mars, the outer planets offer a number of high-priority investigations with compelling science. Presently, missions to these destinations are only achievable using indirect flights with gravity assist trajectories and, in many cases, suffer from long flight times. An Ares V with an upper stage could capture these missions using direct flights with shorter interplanetary transfer times that would enable extensive in situ investigations and possibly the return of samples to Earth. This paper lays out an estimate of Ares V performance for moderate and high C3 missions, and goes on to discuss a range of revolutionary mission concepts that could be enabled by this significant in-crease in launch capability.
Document ID
20150008641
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Elliott, John
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Spilker, Thomas
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Reh, Kim
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Smith, David
(Boeing Co. Arlington, VA, United States)
Woodcock, Gordon
(Gray Research, Inc. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
May 20, 2015
Publication Date
September 29, 2008
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
IAC-08-D2.8.3
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Astronautical Congress 2008
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Country: United Kingdom
Start Date: September 29, 2008
End Date: October 3, 2008
Sponsors: International Astronautical Federation
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available