July 03, 2006
Bob Zubrin Must Be...Uh...Proud?

I don't think it's quite what Dr. Bob intended, nor do I believe it was done because of him, but the "Shuttle-derived" launchers to be used for Constellation will be named "Ares I" and "Ares V".

They're okay names. I think the appended numbering as an "homage" to the Saturn launchers is kinda goofy, though. The Saturn nomenclature had its origin in a long design evolution, from the Nova concepts, to the Saturn "letter" configurations, to the final "number" configurations. Giving the Ares launchers similar numbers seems like cheating somehow...it would have been better to have given them simple sequential numbers, or different names entirely.

Given that this confirms the launch vehicle name portion of the nomenclature circulating in the rumor mill several months back, I wonder if it's any indication as to the accuracy of the spacecraft names portion of the rumor -- will CEV shortly become "Altair", and LSAM "Artemis"? It's going to take a while to get used to calling a manned spacecraft by the same name as a kit-built ur-PC...

Posted by T.L. James on July 3, 2006 08:55 PM | TrackBack

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