VentureStar/X-33 vs. Ares

[Brolan]

The VentureStar project was cancelled back in 2001 after technical difficulties that were considered insurmountable at the time. With the aging of the Space Shuttle NASA has gone "back to the future" with another Saturn V like rocket like Ares.

But isn't this a profound mistake? How can mankind attempt to exploit space without an (relatively) inexpensive way to get up there? It also guarantees launches will be few and far between. These launches will always be under control of the government, and we all know how good they are at managing things.

We should take another look at the VentureStar project. Some of the difficulties may be solvable by today's technologies. Indeed, some claim it was solvable at the time of the project's cancellation.

We can do this if we put enough will and resources behind the project. I hope the next president will support this concept.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VentureStar

 

[NCC621]

Venturestar was a cool idea, but one that depended on a large number of major technological breakthroughs. While none of these potential breakthroughs was impossible, each had a good chance of costing far more than the project could have afforded in money AND time. Ares, by contrast, is largely based on existing technology and hardware. While Ares certainly has its share of technical challenges, they are far smaller than those that would have been necessary for the X33.

Ares may well go over budget, but even if this happens, it will probably be only a tiny fraction of the cost that it would have taken to make Venturestar work. Even alternatives like the Atlas 5 all come with surprisingly high hidden costs compared to Ares.

Naturally, we all hope that something like Venturestar will become a reality sooner, rather than later. In the meantime, Ares is probably the safest, least-expensive option with the shortest development time for maintaining access to space for American astronauts and spacecraft in the near term.

 

[NCC621]

By the way, ask your favorite presidential candidate about his or her position on space exploration. (At least, do some Googling and check their statements.) Neither the Democratic nor the Republican frontrunners look like supporters of space exploration, and at least one of them has all but promised to cut NASA's already-tight budget.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

Yeah Ares is cheap, and proven technology...

But humanity as a whole won't reap as many technological spin-offs if we just keep rinsing, lathering, and repeating.

NASA of old wasn't just our pathfinder for the final frontier, they also shared new technologies.

I'm not saying that won't be the case wit Ares, but there will be fewer collateral benefits since less new ground is being researched.

AG

 

[Meredith]

I blame the screw up son of the late great Jonas Venture for why the "Venture Star" never materialized