Ares Orion
Written by Jerry Coffey

Artists rendition of Orion in Lunar orbit.
The Ares Orion is supposed to replace the Space Shuttle after its retirement in 2010 and should be launched the first time by 2015. Early missions are intended to service the International Space Station if there are no commercial service flights in commission by that time. The Constellation program was first announced by President Bush in a January 14, 2004 speech outlining the future of the U.S space program. According to the executive summary, the study was built around "a staged approach to human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. It recommends that Project Constellation be carried out in three distinct stages. These are:
The largest challenge to the Ares Orion to this point is funding from Congress. Although to date the exploration systems have received full funding and a House endorsement, there is a possibility that rising shuttle return to flight costs would make funding of CEV development extremely difficult. There has been discussion of either obtaining a special supplemental from Congress to pay for the extra shuttle costs, or of involving private industry in CEV development and operations. The total funding of Project Constellation through 2025, inflation-adjusted and without any other increases to NASA's budget, is estimated at $210 billion. This cost may in fact end up lower as it includes developing new engines for the EDS instead of the newer idea of using J-2 derivatives.
It is about time that our space program turned its eyes towards lunar and Martian exploration. Here is a link that is more in depth about the Ares Orion. Here on Universe Today we have a great article about the recent stories about flaws in the Ares Orion. Astronomy Cast offers a good episode about the Constellation program.
Filed under: Astronomy
Tags: Ares Orion, Constellation program
