Constellation

Project Summary

Project Constellation was the overall name given to the manned spaceflight program initiated by tne National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to replace the reusable space shuttle. The intent was for several variations of the manned spacecraft (Orion) to provide access to the International Space Station in low Earth orbit, return humans to the Moon, and eventually mount man's first visit to Mars. For the lunar landing mission, a new lander (Altair) would be designed and constructed. Specifics of Mars mission spacecraft were still in the design process as of 2009. Two separate booster rockets would be developed for future manned flights. The Ares I booster, based on an upgraded space shuttle solid rocket booster would be used to launch the Orion manned spacecraft. A much larger Ares V booster would be used for unmanned launches of the lunar lander and Mars mission spacecraft. The Ares V would combine liquid fueled engines and solid rocket boosters and be even larger that the Saturn V rocket used for the manned Apollo missions to the moon. A presidential commission in 2009 reported that actual funding provided for NASA was insufficient to realistically fund the Constellation program, and it's future was still undecided. Despite this uncertainty, in October 2009, NASA completed the first successful suborbital launch of the Ares rocket. The 327-foot Ares I-X produced 2.6 million pounds of thrust and reached a maximum altitude of 150,000 feet in it's first launch test.

Project Constellation effectively came to an end on April 15, 2010, when President Barack Obama cancelled the project and instead put the United States manned space program on a combined NASA/Private track. The Orion manned spacecraft is to be reconfigured by NASA to act as a 'lifeboat" for the crews of the International Space Station. NASA was also charged with working with private partners to develop next-generation launch capabilities that would eventually be used for manned missions to near-Earth asteroids and to Mars. With regard to low-Earth orbit missions, including launching astronauts to the International Space Station, the President would put those completely in the hands of private enterprise. The President's proposals still have to be approved and funded by the U.S. Congress.

Missions Flown

                                 # of Flt.                          
  Date       Spacecraft Name     Crew Days      Mission/Payload     
-------- ----------------------- ---- ----  ------------------------
Manned Flight Details
10/28/09 Ares I-X                  -     -  Suborbital launch test  

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Last Updated: April 21, 2010