NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA's Ares I Rocket Passes Critical Landmark: New Human-Rated Rocket Takes Giant Leap Toward Reality

Artist concept of Ares I launch. Image Credit: NASA

NASA has taken a successful, giant leap toward building the nation’s next generation rocket with the completion of the Ares I rocket preliminary design review. The review, conducted at the Marshall Center examined the current design for the Ares I to ensure that the planned technical approach is on track to meet NASA’s requirements for the fully integrated vehicle, ensuring that all components of the vehicle are designed to work together.

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Ares I and Ares V. Image Credit: NASA

NASA's Ares rockets, named for the Greek god associated with Mars, will return humans to the moon and later take them to Mars and other destinations.

Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. A liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen J-2X engine derived from the J-2 engine used on Apollo's second stage will power the crew exploration vehicle's second stage. The Ares I can lift more than 55,000 pounds to low Earth orbit.

Planning and early design are under way for hardware, propulsion systems and associated technologies for NASA's Ares V cargo launch vehicle -- the "heavy lifter" of America’s next-generation space fleet. Ares V will serve as NASA's primary vessel for safe, reliable delivery of large-scale hardware to space -- from the lunar landing craft and materials for establishing a moon base, to food, fresh water and other staples needed to extend a human presence beyond Earth orbit.

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