My Space BlogBy Anthony Matthews – with an emphasis on Small Launch Vehicles |
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| By N2H | ||||
Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin is unshakably opposed to switching from NASA’s Ares 1 rocket to an upgraded Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, or EELV.
A chief reason: crew safety.
“Our probabilistic risk assessment for loss of crew on Ares 1 showed it to be twice as safe — I repeat, twice as safe — as a human-rated EELV-derived vehicle,” Griffin said recently.
I’ve actually stood in the now-famous warehouse in Samara, Russia and seen the 100 or so leftover NK-33 engines all covered in plastic. It will be thrilling to see one of these engines launched into space on a US vehicle.
The vehicle, under a new designation, is slated for use on Taurus II.
Orbital will employ its Taurus II medium-lift launch vehicle and the Cygnus spacecraft in order to service the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.