Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space

Orion On Delta IV

11 Comments

Clark asks a question:

No word on how to keep the public from wondering why we need a multi-ten-billion dollar SLS if an Orion can fly on existing launchers.

Well, to be fair, that’s an unmanned launch, with no escape system, for an entry test, right? The Delta might not be capable of handling the full mission. Here’s a question that I have, that perhaps one of my readers on the program knows. Are they still using the monstrosity LAS that they had designed (and tested at WSMR) for Ares I, or have they redesigned it to something less heavy and costly now that they don’t have to get away from a giant firecracker underneath them?

Of course, it still doesn’t justify SLS, which is grossly oversized for an Orion per se.

11 thoughts on “Orion On Delta IV”

  1. I don’t have a definitive answer. Since early versions of the Stupid Launch System have 5 segment SRBs, it seems likely that oversized LAS is still the baseline design. They could use a much lighter LAS on the Delta IV Heavy, especially if they went with one of the pusher designs like Boeing, SpaceX and the others. That would just further undermine the need for the SLS, though, so I doubt it will happen.

  2. I get the impression they worked pretty hard making sure Orion was too heavy for anything but a customized heavy launch vehicle.

  3. I think Delta IV Heavy is capable of the full mission, especially with RS-68A. But wouldn’t it be a delicious irony if they screwed up Orion by enough to make it not fit on a Delta, only to see SLS cancelled? They already succeeded in making it not fit on Ares I, which may have contributed to cancellation of the latter.

  4. The Orion’s Launch Abort System was sized to escape from a fast accelerating Ares 1. It had to be pretty big to pull that off (joke not intended). A smaller LAS should be sufficient for both SLS and Delta IV. Neither of them accelerate as fast as Ares 1. Resizing the LAS could be as simple as cutting out propellant, but it would probably be better to redesign the burn to reduce the forces involved.

    I expect that both LM and most people at NASA would be happy to fly Orion on just about any launcher, but they have to listen to the people that pay the bills (Congress).

    1. I expect that both LM and most people at NASA would be happy to fly Orion on just about any launcher, but they have to listen to the people that pay the bills (Congress).

      Correction, Tom. Congress never consulted the people who pay the bills.

      They’re called taxpayers.

      As Ronald Reagan once said, you could compare Congress to drunken sailors, but that would be unfair to drunken sailors. The sailors are spending their own money.

      1. Okay, Ed. That is almost a reasonable quibble, but last I checked we were living in a representative democracy not a direct democracy. I’m certainly not happy with everything that our representatives choose to spend tax receipts on, but I’d rather not have referendums on everything.

        1. Who said anything about “direct democracy”?

          Do you think there’s some reason why elected representatives can’t (or shouldn’t) listen to the people who elect them?

  5. They already succeeded in making it not fit on Ares I, which may have contributed to cancellation of the latter.

    Orion had to get lighter several times due to Ares I constraints.

  6. A few months ago I calculated that you could fill the entire pressurized volume of an Orion with solid steel and the SLS could still put it in orbit.

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