NASA s planned Ares V cargo vehicle with its 10 meter diameter fairing and ~60,000 kg payload mass to L2 offers the potential to launch entirely new classes of space science missions such as 8-meter monolithic aperture telescopes, 12-meter aperture x-ray telescopes, 16 to 24 meter segmented telescopes and highly capable outer planet missions. The paper will summarize the current Ares V baseline performance capabilities and review potential mission concepts enabled by these capabilities

Langhoff, Stephani

Lester, Daniel

Lillie, Chuck

Postman, Marc

Stahl, H. Philip

Thronson, Harley

NASA Technical Reports Server

Potential science missions enabled by NASA's planned Ares V
H. Philip Stahl
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Harley Thronson
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Stephani Langhoff
NASA Ames Research Center
Marc Postman
Space Telescope Science Institute
Daniel Lester
University of Texas, 
Chuck Lillie
Northrop Grumman Corporation
ABSTRACT
NASA’s planned Ares V cargo vehicle with its 10 meter diameter fairing and ~60,000 kg payload mass to L2 offers the 
potential to launch entirely new classes of space science missions such as 8-meter monolithic aperture telescopes, 12-
meter aperture x-ray telescopes, 16 to 24 meter segmented telescopes and highly capable outer planet missions.  The 
paper will summarize the current Ares V baseline performance capabilities and review potential mission concepts 
enabled by these capabilities.
Keywords: Astronomy, Large Space Telescopes, Ares V Launch Vehicle
1.  INTRODUCTION
NASA’s Ares V cargo launch vehicle is a disruptive capability whose payload mass and volume capacities offer the 
potential to completely change the paradigm of future space science mission.  Future space science telescopes desire 
increasingly larger telescope collecting aperture.  But, current launch vehicle mass and volume constraints are a severe 
limit.  The Ares V greatly relaxes these constraints.  For example, while current launch vehicles have the ability to 
launch approximate a 4.5 meter diameter payload with a mass of 13,000 kg to Earth-Sun L2, the Ares V is projected to 
have the ability to launch an 8.8 meter diameter payload with a mass of ~60,000 kg to L2 or a mass of ~180,000 kg to 
Low Earth Orbit.  The Ares V mass and volume payload capabilities have the potential to enable entirely new classes of 
mission architectures.  For example, the large shroud diameter will accommodate 8 meter class monolithic primary 
mirrors, or 15 to 20 meter class segmented primary mirror systems, or even 8 to 16 meter class x-ray telescopes.  While a 
Delta IV has the ability to launch approximate a 4.5 meter diameter payload with a mass of 13,000 kg to L2, the Ares V
is projected to have the ability to launch an 8 meter diameter payload with a mass of 60,000 kg to L2 and 180,000 kg to 
Low Earth Orbit.  
Please note that the Ares V vehicle specifications are in a constant state of flux and final performance capabilities will 
not be known for several years. Most of the performance specifications discussed in this paper are for launch vehicle 
configuration LV 51.00.39.  LV 51.00.39 configuration is a 10 meter diameter 110 meter tall rocket with a core stage and 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20090034254 2019-08-30T08:01:55+00:00Z
an upper stage.  The core stage has five RS-68 engines and two 5-segment solid rocket boosters.  The upper stage uses a 
single J-2X LOX/LH2 engine.  An alternative configuration with significantly more performance capability is launch 
vehicle LV 51.01.48.  LV 51.01.48 has a core stage with six RS-68 engines and two 5.5-segment SRBs which provides 
approximately 180,000 kg to LEO and 62,500 kg to L2.
2.  ARES-V LAUNCH CAPABILITY
NASA’s Ares V cargo launch vehicle, planed to enter service in 2019, completely changes the paradigm of future space 
science mission concepts.  It has the potential to revolutionize space astronomy by being able to place into orbit far more 
volume and mass than any existing system (Table 1). [1,2,3,4,5] 
Table 1:  Current and Planned Launch Vehicle Capabilities
Fairing Dia Payload Volume Mass [kg] to
LEO GTO GEO L2 Escape
Space Shuttle 4.6 m x 18.3 m 25,061 NA NA NA NA
Ariane 5 ECA 5 m 4.5 m x 15.5 m 21,000 10.500 6,600 4,300
Atlas V HLV 5 m 4.5 m x 12.9 m 29,420 13,000 6,350
Delta IV H 5 m 4.5 m x 16.3 m 22,950 12,980 6,160 9,305
Ares V (LV 51.00.59) 10 m 8.8 m x 17.2 m 143,000 70,300 36,200 55,600 53,000
The maximum payload mass which can be delivered to various orbits (SE -L2, GEO, etc.) was analyzed assuming a direct 
insertion without gravity assist.
The current baseline shroud is a biconic fairing with a 10 m outer diameter and 21.7 m height providing an 8.8 -m 
diameter by 17.2-m tall dynamic envelope for a payload volume of 860 cubic meters.  This volume is nearly three times 
that of the Space Shuttle payload bay.  A leading contender to replace the biconic is an ogive configuration (Figure 1) 
which would provide even more payload volume and useable cylindrical vertical height . A longer ‘stretch’ 10-m fairing 
has been considered that is 26 meter tall with 1410 cubic meters of volume. 
Figure 1 Ogive Faring Dimensions
The predicted Ares V launch environment launch loads (summarized in Table 2) are similar to those for existing launch 
vehicles.  Please note that these loads are not concurrent.  They are the maximum load experienced at some time during 
launch.  And, the lateral loads do not include wind loading or vibration.
Table 2 Predicted Maximum Launch Loads of an Ares V 
Maximum Launch Load Steady State Dynamic
Axial (Z) 4 g’s +/- 1 g’s
Lateral (Y) 1.5 g’s +/- 0.5 g’s
Acoustic 152 dB
The maximum payload mass which can be delivered to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) as a function of altitude and inclination 
angle was analyzed (Figure 2).  The Hubble Space Telescope is at an orbit of 590 km with an inclination angle of 28.5 
deg.  The International Space Station is at an orbit of 360 to 440 km with an inclination angle of 51.6 deg.  Payload mass 
includes spacecraft, payload adapter and any mission specific hardware.
Figure 2:  Ares V Payload Mass (metric tons) to Low Earth Orbit depends on Orbit Altitude and Inclination Angle, the higher the orbit
or greater the inclination angle, the less mass which can be launched.  Data is for LV 51.00.39
3.  POTENTIAL SCIENCE MISSIONS
For over 30 years, science mission capabilities have been constrained by launch vehicles.  The Hubble Space Telescope 
and Chandra x-ray telescope were specifically designed to match the Space Shuttle’s payload volume and mass
capacities.  And, the James Webb Space Telescope is currently being designed to match the capacities of an Ariane 5.  
Now, the planned Ares V mass and volume payload capacities could significantly enhance astronomical science by 
allowing much larger telescopes, which in turn enables the observation and study of much fainter objects. [6,7] Four 
specific potential astrophysics missions which could be enabled or enhanced by the Ares V include:  ATLAST -8, 
ATLAST-16, SAFIR and Gen-X.
3.1 ATLAST-8
ATLAST-8 (Advanced Technology Large Aperture Space Telescope) is an 8-m monolithic UV/Optical telescope (Figure 
3).  ATLAST-8 would have unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution in the optical region. It could investigate a 
wide range of important astronomical topics, such as how the modern Universe formed, how galaxies form, and how 
planetary systems arise from circumstellar disks. And, it would be able to study the atmospheres of exosolar planets.
Figure 3 Ares V can launch an 8 meter monolithic mirror telescope.
ATLAST-8 is specifically designed to fit inside the Ares V 10 meter diameter 
fairing (Figure 4).  The 17.2 meter vertical center height is completely sufficient to 
allow for a fully deployed telescope to stand up inside the fairing with its primary 
mirror towards the bottom (with its surface normal parallel to the direction of 
launch) and its secondary mirror towards the top.  The primary mirror structure 
supports the entire mass of the observatory, i.e. the primary mirror, the optical 
bench, the spacecraft and the science instrument module.  This mass is then 
transferred through the payload adapter fixture (PAF) to the Ares V outer shell.  A 
Hubble style cylindrical optical bench meters the distance to the secondary mirror 
spiders.  The height of this bench is determined by the cylindrical height of the 
fairing.  Four doors seal the payload package on the ground from potential 
contamination.
ATLAST-8 is specifically designed to take full advantage of the Ares V’s ability to 
deliver a 65,000 kg payload to Sun-Earth L2.  The total observatory (telescope, 
science instruments and spacecraft) has an estimated dry mass of ~51,400 kg with 
a 45% margin against the Ares V 65,000 kg capacity (excluding th e primary mirror 
whose mass can only decrease as material is removed).  If the Ares V mass 
capacity were to decrease, the design mass can be reduced to maintain a minimum 
mass margin of 30%. 
3.2 ALTAST-16
ATLAST-16 is a 16-meter segmented UV/Optical telescope with truly revolutionary capabilities.  It could do all the 
science of ATLAST-8 and more.  It would be able to obtain spectra of the atmospheres of Earth-like planets in the 
habitable zone of thousands of candidate stars. [10]
ATLAST-16 is a JWST class segmented telescope consisting 
of 36 ~2.4 m (flat-to-flat) hexagonal segments, in a 3-ring 
arrangement. (Figure 5) The edge-to-edge primary-aperture 
diameter is 16.8 m. The mass of ATLAST-16 can easily be 
kept within the Ares V lift capacity using currently available 
mirror technology.  Even if the primary mirror assembly areal 
density was 50 kg/m2, its total mass would be less than half 
the mass allocated to just the solid glass 8-meter monolithic 
primary mirror.  As with JWST, segment orientation is 
controlled in six degrees-of-freedom by rigid body actuators. 
Packaging the 16.8-m telescope and its instrument suite is a 
significant challenge, even with the large volume in an Ares 
V fairing. Minimizing the primary-secondary mirror distance 
reduces mass, increases telescope stability, and increases the 
packaging options. To this end, we constrained the primary 
mirror focal ratio to 1.5 during the optical design phase. The 
geometry for the instrument volume depends on the folding 
scheme used for the telescope. A chord-fold design shares 
significant heritage with JWST.  The primary mirror is folded 
to fit within the shroud and the secondary mirror is stowed 
along one edge. This architecture provides a cylindrical 
stowage volume 16 m in height x 8 m in width.  Within this 
volume, a 16 m x 4.5 m diameter volume is available for instrument packaging.  The disadvantages of this configuration 
are the increased center of gravity offset of the payload and reduced structural stiffness of the metering structure.  In 
addition the secondary mirror must be replaced with a hexapod (vs. JWST’s tripod) to achieve reasonable (>10 Hz) 
decenter/despace frequencies. 
Figure 4  ATLAST-8m Packaged 
inside Ares V
10 m
8.8 m
12.25 m
5 m
PM vertex (0,0)
4.75 m
7.5 m
10.05 m
SM vertex
Figure 5.  ATLAST-16 stowed in Ares V fairing and 
deployed (but with sunshade and solar sail, to mitigate 
solar torque, not shown)
3.3 SAFIR
SAFIR (Single Aperture Far-Infrared) will explore the FIR (20 to 300 micrometer) universe with higher sensitivity and 
spatial resolution than previously achieved.  It will provide new insights into the cosmic history of star formation and 
nucleosynthesis.  Diffraction limited at 20 micrometers, SAFIR needs to operate at temperatures below 10K. [11 ] Similar
to the ATLAST project, there are at least two potential SAFIR mission concepts: monolithic and segmented.  The 
planned Ares V enables the ability to build and launch an 8-meter class monolithic SAFIR, or a 16-meter class 
segmented SAFIR or even a larger 20 to24 meter class segmented SAFIR [12] (Figure 6). An approximately 20-m 
diameter telescope would have 10 times the sensitivity and 2–3 times the spatial resolution of JWST.  This high 
sensitivity and spatial resolution would enable SAFIR to both detect and individually distinguish galaxies in a manner 
that is much less affected by source confusion.  In nearby galaxies, it could study star formation, resolve details of 
planetary system formation, and trace the chemical processes that lead to life.  
Because SARIR’s diffraction limited wavelength is 40X longer than ATLAST (20 micrometers vs 0.5 micrometers), a 
SAFIR observatory should be significantly easier and lower cost to manufacture.  The mirror quality can be much 
relaxed as well as the telescope stiffness requirement for system alignment and mechanical stability.  Because of these 
relaxed stiffness requirements, the launch mass may be as low as 10 mT or ~20% of the launch capacity of Ares V for a 
mission to Sun-Earth L2. This could allow for significant augmentations to the observatory such as more/larger 
instruments, as well as an enhanced spacecraft. A large segmented SAFIR should be achievable with existing JWST 
technology.
Figure 6.  Concepts for packaging in an Ares V fairing and deploying a 20 meter class segmented telescope using 8 meter point to 
point hexagonal mirror segment or a 24 meter class segmented telescope with a circular aperture using pie segments.
3.4 Generation-X
Generation-X proposes to study the early universe when the first black holes, stars, and galaxies formed, as well as their
evolution with cosmic time. Gen-X would also provide new insights into the physics of matter in extreme environments.
[13]
Key requirement necessary to enable Gen-X science are that 
the effective area at 1 keV is 50 m2 and the angular 
resolution is 0.1 arcsec. To meet the angular resolution 
requirement requires a mirror with a diameter of at least 12 
meters.  To meet the effective area requirement of 50 m2
requires about 104 m2 of total glass area. This is 
accomplished with 40 to 50 cm long mirror segments 
stacked ~0.1–0.2 mm apart.  While such a mirror is very 
massive, it is well within the Ares V capacity.  The Ares V
enables a  simplified and cost-effective mission concept
which can be deployed in a single launch. The baseline 
concept folds a partially filled 16-m diameter mirror into the 
Ares V 10-m fairing. The X-ray telescope is delivered 
directly to Sun-Earth L2.  The estimated spacecraft mass of 
22 mT is far less than the 65 mT Ares V capability. Since the
telescope is volume-limited, not mass limited, the mass 
margin enables design freedom for the optics, structure, 
supporting electronics, and the science instruments.
4.  CONCLUSION
NASA’s planned Ares V cargo launch vehicle’s payload mass and volume capabilities completely change the paradigm 
of future astrophysics and planetary space science mission architectures.  Its ability to place 140,000 to 180,000 kg of 
payload into Low Earth Orbit and ~60,000 kg of payload into Sun-Earth L2 inside of a 10 meter diameter fairing enables 
entirely new generations of space telescopes.  Potential space telescopes enabled by an Ares V include:  an 8 meter class 
monolithic primary mirror ultraviolet/visible observatory; a 16 meter class segmented UV/optical telescope; a 16 to 24 
meter class segmented far-infrared telescope; and a 12 to 16 meter class x-ray observatory.  These next generation great 
observatories for the 21st century offer very high angular resolution, very high sensitivity, broad spectral coverage, and 
high performance stability. But of equal importance is that they do not require any new technology.  Because of the Ares 
V’s mass and volume capacities, these observatories can be built today with existing technology.  Mission designers can 
use simple mature technology to eliminate complexity and reduce program cost and increase mission reliability as well 
as science return.  Thus, allowing NASA to invest its time and resources to mature technology to reduce risk and enhance 
performance.  And, to start investing in developing technology to enable even more advanced mission concepts such as 
synthetic aperture observatories via formation flying or 100 meter class apertures via on-orbit assembly.
Figure 7  Gen-X Stowed in Ares V Fairing and Deployed.
REFERENCES
1.  Arianespace, Ariane 5 User’s Manual Issue 4, 2004
2.  United Launch Alliance, Atlas Product Sheet, 2006
3.  United Launch Alliance, Delta Product Sheet, 2006
4.  International Launch Services, Atlas Launch System Mission Planner’s Guide, 1999
5.  Boeing, Delta IV Payload Planners Guide, 2000
6.  Langhoff, Stephanie, Dan Lester, Harley Thronson, Randy Correll, “Workshop Report on Astronomy Enabled by 
Ares V”, NASA/CP-20080215361, April 26-27, 2008
7. Thronson, Harley, Daniel F. Lester, Stephanie R. Langhoff, Randall R. Correll, and H. Philip Stahl, “Ares V and 
Future Very Large Launch Vehicles to Enable Major Astronomical Missions”, 59th International Astronautical Congress, 
Glasgow, Scotland, Sept 2008.
8. Stahl, H. Philip, "Design study of an 8 meter monolithic mirror uv/optical space telescope", SPIE Astronomy 
Conference, Marseille, France, June 2008
9. Stahl, H. Philip and Marc Postman, "8 meter Monolithic UV/Optical Space Telescope", 59th International 
Astronautical Congress, Glasgow, Scotland, Sept 2008.
10. Postman, Marc, et. al. “Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST): A Technology Roadmap 
for the Next Decade”, Final Report for NASA’s Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Study, 24 April 09.
11. Lester, Dan, et. al., Large Infrared Telescopes in the Exploration Era – SAFIR, SPIE Proc.6687, (2007).
12. Lilly, Chuck, "Future Deployment Systems and Very Large Fairings", Ares V Astronomy Workshop, ARC, NASA, 
27 April 2008.
13. Brissenden, Roger, “Generation-X: A Mission Enabled by Ares V”, Ares V Astronomy Workshop, ARC, NASA, 27 
April 2008.


Potential Science Missions Enabled by NASA's Planned Ares V

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NASA Technical Reports Server