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dwightlooi
Guest
<p>Perhaps... just perhaps... NASA should build a much smaller version of the ARES I. Something intended to be responsive rather than heavy lift. The concept remains the same, an SRB with a LH2/LOX Upper Stage. But much smaller. Instead of a 20 ton CEV, it'll carry just a minimalist 4 ton capsule capable of transfering three astronauts with no supplies or small quanities of cargo and no humans to and from orbit with a 48 hour endurance in space.</p><p>Instead of a 5 segment SRB, it'll use a really short 1 segment SRB. Instead of a 125 ton upper stage, it'll use a 25 ton Centaur upper stage with a single RL10 engine. On top of the stack is a 4 ton class capsule. The upper stage itself acts as the orbital maneuver vehicle and the capsule is simply that, a 3 man re-entry capsule. 4-tons by the way is the same weight class as the Gemini capsules and Service modules combined.</p><p>Simple calcualtions indicate that a single SRB segment and a 25ton Centaur upper stage will put 4.5 tons into LEO. The lift off mass will be in the order of 180 tons; 150 of that the SRB, 25 the upper stage and 4 the capsule. The Solid booster will take the vehicle to about Mach 9+, the upper stage will take it the rest of the way to orbital velocities. </p><p> <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/1/3/81f7f3e8-8d98-4a30-8346-7dd76cdc6754.Medium.jpg" alt="" /><br /> </p><p> </p>