NASA’s Constellation Program is in trouble and it really is no surprise to anyone who knows how NASA or the United States Government operates. When Constellation was announced as a main component of President Bush’s Vision for Space Exploration in 2004, it was to be the “Apollo Program on Steroids” that would return us to the Moon and eventually land humans on Mars. Space advocates cheered for the idea of a new rocket, but honeymoon was pretty much non-existent as the cheers gave way to petty bickering between space travel advocacy groups and scientists over the design, cost, and proposed destination of the new system. In fact, nightShifted Astronomy shares some of the guilt in the petty bickering as we were a contributing member to The Planetary Society until they published a report suggesting that Constellation skip the Moon and go directly to Mars. I do not regret pulling my membership because I feel that they do not truly represent the desires of the people when it comes to space exploration initiatives, but it did happen and we do have to live with being part of the mess.

Now, Constellation is under intense review by the Obama White House and every day it seems that the program is growing closer and closer to joining the oblivion inhabited by so many other NASA projects (see The Countless Many Who Cried Spacewolf and The Sharks are Circling). The Augustine Commission, which was appointed to review the Constellation Program and specifically, its Ares I and V rocket designs, gave very little support to NASA and its program. This does not bode well for an agency competing more and more with commercial rocket companies. There is a huge amount of contempt for the new designs and it has unfortunately put NASA’s future in limbo. Everyone that depends on the United States Space Program for their livelihoods is on high alert as they wait for an announcement from President Obama about the future of the agency. Keith Cowing, the ultimate NASA watchdog has more information at NASAWatch.

I believe that it would be reasonable to cancel the Ares I rocket because I feel that there is enough evidence available to show that it is a gross waste of hardware and is an unnecessary redesign of technology that is already available in mass quantities today. I have spoken before about getting human ratings for Delta rockets and other ICBM-type missiles and I still believe that it would be our best bet. I really like the DIRECT Launcher proposal which takes hardware from the Space Shuttle Program and combines it with the Orion capsule. DIRECT makes perfect sense if the Government decides to cancel the Ares I rocket. However, I think that a full-on cancellation of the Constellation Program would be a blow to our nation’s space program of unfathomable consequences. The U.S. Government and NASA have let us down too many times in the realm of space exploration and there are already very few people listening to what they have to say. Another failure, especially one of this magnitude, would be nothing more than the death rattle of a glorious agency strangled by partisan politics and overburdened by meaningless bureaucracy.

Image Credits: NASA/DIRECT

I apologize in advance for the angry rant, but it is long overdue. A recent piece in The Guardian and the pathetic Space.com article mentioned below have compelled me to say what most of us are thinking: We need a space exploration project that fulfills our hopes and dreams instead of crushing them under the weight of government bureaucracy. Simple, right? Are you wondering what type of hallucinogens your humble host has been smoking tonight? Well friends, you can relax because I am not hallucinating, I am just getting fed up with stories like this. Congratulations to the group of college students who used a 3D rendering program to design a sub-par add-on module for the International Space Station. You are a credit to space exploration and certainly have inspired many to reconsider their apathy toward low-Earth orbit. I am really saddened by this story because it is not a newsworthy event. Artists design 3-dimensional renderings of space stations, spacecraft, alien cities, solar systems, and other space-related objects every day. Many of these are based on real, modern technology that offer much more than the so-called “hotel in space”.

I am a firm believer that it is stories like these that add to the apathy that exists toward any space exploration endeavors. It seems as though we’re introduced to some “fascinating” new technology or space hardware design every few weeks only to see them disappear without a trace. Bigelow Aerospace and its Genesis modules are the only designs I can think of in the last few years that seemed like complete BS, but were ultimately built and launched. It is much like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Yes, I know that it is a HUGE cliché to use this comparison, but it must be done. With a new design for a spacecraft or a station released every few weeks, but nothing new in the way of completed contracts or launches, people will naturally begin to assume the worst when it comes to these designs. I am already there. I read this article and already assigned my own opinion to its chances for completion before I was finished: Zero. None. Nada. We’re NEVER going to see this design attached to the International Space Station. It does not matter what the reasoning is, but the fact is that it just will not happen. I am tired of seeing this “marvels” that will “change the way we think about living in space” come and go without changing how we actually live in space! This is nothing new, however. Remember Space Station Freedom (see pic on right)? I think it is time for NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to start cruising the forums at some 3D art websites for ideas on practical designs for future spacecraft. After all, the terrible design of this little “space hotel” has just as much chance of being constructed and launched to the ISS as a prototype fighter plane from a Gary Tonge painting. Zero. None. Nada.

The Guardian article is on target, but the Space.com article is a waste of time. The sense of wonder and adventure that exploring the stars used to bring to people’s lives is mostly gone. It is, in my opinion, going to take a successful space program of some kind to reignite the dream of reaching the cosmos for many people. Bar charts and 3D renderings are not enough. Give me enough time and I can build you a 3D rocket and a timeline for launching it into orbit. If you want to donate $1.2 billion to this blog, I’ll even make sure that it is repeatedly pushed back until one of my friends convinces me to cancel it and pocket the money. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Image Credit: Imperial College of London/NASA

There’s a new rocket in town! At Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the Ares I-X, a test model of the proposed Constellation Program rocket that will carry the Orion CEV into orbit has been completed and is on track for an October 31 launch. It is the first new space vehicle to be constructed in the VAB in 25 years! Ares I, also known as “The Stick”, is a two-stage rocket based on designs that combine modern technology with modified Apollo-era propulsion systems. The completed rocket stands at 325 feet tall and is quite an impressive sight; standing almost twice as high as a Space Shuttle launch stack.

Program setbacks and a spiraling budget aside, safety of the Ares I’s design has been a paramount concern since it was revealed. The slim construction, weight of the Orion CEV, and the length of time between designing the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters and the Ares launch vehicles have caused great concern for critics and advocates of the new program. A report early in the concept phase of constructions theorized that the Ares I would suffer from severe vibration problems that would ultimately render the vehicle unusable. The October 31 launch will send the Ares I-X into a suborbital arc that will hopefully give NASA scientists an opportunity to gather valuable data about the rocket’s stability as well as a chance to test out its safety and recovery system. NASA hopes that the Ares I-X flight will provide the data necessary to make the vehicle safe enough to achieve a human flight rating. A NASA fact sheet outlining the entire Ares I-X test flight is available here (1MB PDF).

With the mounting criticism of the Constellation Program’s spiraling budget (which isn’t large compared to the Apollo Program), there is a very real possibility that Ares I-X may never actually launch. We can only hope that advocates for space exploration in the halls of Congress give NASA what it needs to successfully complete the program and help us escape from low-Earth orbit. I personally see at least one launch of the Ares rocket stack happening, but I’m not sure if the program has enough momentum and support from the U.S. Government and the general public to actually launch a human being into orbit. My question, however, is that if the Constellation Program will ultimately not carry us into space…then what, if anything, will?

Image Credit: NASA