Operational Concept for the NASA Constellation Program's Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle

The Ares I is a shuttle-derived two-stage launch vehicle. The Ares I is comprised of a first stage, which is a five-segment reusable solid rocket booster, and a second stage, or upper stage, which is a liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen rocket system powered by a single J-2X engine. The operational goal for this launch vehicle is to reduce operating costs and increase system reliability for human missions to the International Space Station and to the Moon. The Ares I will be designed to accommodate efficient operations for the ground and ascent phases of the mission by both the Ground Operations Project and the Mission Operations Project, respectively. This paper provides an overview of the latest Ares I architecture, operations goals, and the operational concepts for both the ground operation and mission operation phases of the launch vehicle. The latest concepts for the Ares I communication and tracking, engineering support, system integration laboratory, operational infrastructure, logistical support, flight and ground operational planning and execution, training, and sustaining engineering are also addressed. The integration of these across the Ares I system, as well as ongoing trades that may impact the design, are examined as well. The operational scenarios for the Ares I element assembly, integration and testing, transportation, prelaunch operations, launch and ascent operations, and post-mission operations are discussed, along with a status of the contingency and off-nominal operations scenarios. Operational concepts drive operations requirements, which drive optimized operations attributes into the design. These operations attributes in the design—‘design for operability’ —ensure that the launch vehicle can be operated in an efficient and cost-effective manner, at minimum risk of loss of crew or mission, and are characterized by high levels of safety, producibility, reliability, maintainability and supportability. The degree to which the design is imbued with the attributes will be manifested in the system readiness, launch availability, and affordability of the integrated vehicle, all of which are governed by Ares I operations requirements.