Ares I and Orion could be delayed by up to 4 years

[sunzt]

Link

So the Augustine Committe (The Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee) is presenting its review of the Constellation program and the current development of Ares I and Orion does not bode well... No word on Ares V though.

Ares I and Orion crew capsule could be delayed further by lack of money and design challenges

Posted by Shelby G. Spires July 28, 2009 2:25PM

Development of the Marshall Space Flight Center-developed Ares I rocket, along with NASA's Orion crew capsule, could slip by up to four years, according to the panel charged with setting NASA's future course.

This afternoon, former astronaut Dr. Sally Ride presented figures to the Augustine panel, which is meeting at the Johnson Space Center, near Houston, that showed an independent assessment of the Ares and Orion development could be delayed by at least two years and maybe four because of development problems, or technical challenges, and a shortfall in federal dollars of about $14 billion.

The development and money woes would create up to a six year gap in American human space flight when the shuttle is retired in late 2010 or 2011. "By the way the longest since we started flying people into space," Ride said. "We are going to have a period of six years where we get out of training and practice on" putting people into space.

There was a more than five year gap between the end of the Apollo program - the July 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project - and the April 1981 first launch of the space shuttle.

The Augustine Commission, which is named for its chairman aerospace veteran Norman Augustine, is slated to conduct a public hearing 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center's Davidson Center for Space Exploration.

Now what is not mentioned in the article above (Disclaimer: this is from what I have heard on the rumor mill) is that the committee is looking to push something of a "Shuttle C" concept for cargo delivery in order to make use of the launch facilities and keep its employees. They are also looking at a Orion-like, but lighter apollo capsule to be mounted on top of an Atlas heavy. This all could mean that the Constellation program as we know it today would be delayed if not totally scrapped.......

 

[PJABBER]

There goes my last chance to take that long vacation to Mars that I was planning. Guess I'll have to wait and see if my son gets a chance to go in 20 years or so.

I am a big advocate of the U.S. space program and as time goes on it looks like it will be the Europeans, the Chinese and the Indians that will be doing space travel and not us.

 

[EagleKeeper]

It would be an excellent use for the stimulus pork money.

Boost to technology, good salaries and avaiable immediately

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: PJABBER
as time goes on it looks like it will be the Europeans, the Chinese and the Indians that will be doing space travel and not us.

perhaps, but the european ride will be too expensive, the Chinese ride will fall apart and the indian ride will lack english speaking tech support

 

[PJABBER]

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: PJABBER
as time goes on it looks like it will be the Europeans, the Chinese and the Indians that will be doing space travel and not us.

perhaps, but the european ride will be too expensive, the Chinese ride will fall apart and the indian ride will lack english speaking tech support

 

[umbrella39]

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: PJABBER
as time goes on it looks like it will be the Europeans, the Chinese and the Indians that will be doing space travel and not us.

perhaps, but the european ride will be too expensive, the Chinese ride will fall apart and the indian ride will lack english speaking tech support

Wonders if that call center will be in Bangalore or if they'll outsource it.

 

[theeedude]

What about SpaceX Falcon 9?

 

[yllus]

After reading some random article about this a few weeks back, I can't help but wonder if this isn't perhaps a good move. Why build Constellation - essentially a supersized version of Apollo? Might NASA's talents be better suited to next-next-gen spacecraft? Ramjets, nanotech? Constellation just seems like a bit of a wasted effort. We already know we can do that.

 

[tvarad]

Originally posted by: yllus
After reading some random article about this a few weeks back, I can't help but wonder if this isn't perhaps a good move. Why build Constellation - essentially a supersized version of Apollo? Might NASA's talents be better suited to next-next-gen spacecraft? Ramjets, nanotech? Constellation just seems like a bit of a wasted effort. We already know we can do that.

The goal of NASA should be to provide a frequent, reliable, economical and safe human ride into space. This is what they promised with the Shuttle and failed miserably at it, albeit for some reasons that were beyond it's control. The Constellation/Ares program simply does not fit the bill.

Man rating a Atlas heavy is the first step to force NASA off it's "not invented here" syndrome and put it's focus back on achieving this goal, which is what it should have been after Apollo in the first place.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: PJABBER

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: PJABBER
as time goes on it looks like it will be the Europeans, the Chinese and the Indians that will be doing space travel and not us.

perhaps, but the european ride will be too expensive, the Chinese ride will fall apart and the indian ride will lack english speaking tech support

It's ok, with the European ride, you will get a public ride that is publicly funded and there's a guarantee for low cost trips. Oh and you won't be prohibited from riding simply because you have acne.

 

[Pneumothorax]

Originally posted by: senseamp
What about SpaceX Falcon 9?

Yeah it can probably lift gerbils into space lol. Private manned TRUE space flight is still a fantasy. BTW the vaunted Virgin plane spaceshipTWO not only has it not flown yet, is not even designed for true orbital flight.

If they're saying it's going to be 6 years late, giving the governments history it's really going to be a decade before test flights.