View Single Post
  #3  
Old 05-10-2012, 09:38 AM
ManofSteele ManofSteele is offline
Level 5 Certified
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Sandy, UT
Posts: 206
Default

NASA did not keep all of the shuttle RSRM casings for SLS - just enough for the first couple of flights. After those flights, they will switch to the newer version of the booster, either the solid rocket versions with filament wound carbon fiber casings (not filament wound over steel) or the liquid alternatives. When the old ones are used up on Liberty or Athena III, we likely will switch to carbon fiber casings as well.

We don't intend to recover the stages - the performance hit is not worth the effort.

Adapting the Ariane V first stage for use as a second stage is one of the program challenges, no doubt. The Liberty is not intended to be a replacement for Ares 1, so we are just taking the performance that the Vulcain gives us.

There are some details still to be worked out, but the capsule onboard systems are likely to come from Lockheed Martin - probably versions similar to those used on Orion.

We have been in detailed discussions with KSC - they won't be demolishing the MLP, that's for sure.

Matt
Reply With Quote