NASA has just announced they want to send manned flights to the Moon within 5 years. The plan has been to use the SLS for such flights as a launcher comparable in payload to the Saturn V, ca. 130 tons to LEO. The problem is this would require the Exploration Upper Stage(EUS) for the SLS, a large and expensive stage whose funding is still in doubt:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System
Instead of that I suggested use of the Ariane 5 core as the upper stage for the SLS here:
http://exoscientist.blogspot.com/2013/09/budget-moon-flights-ariane-5-as-sls.html
However, the Ariane 5 would be beyond the size and weight limits NASA wanted for the upper stage. But the Ariane 6 core will be a shortened version of the Ariane 5 core so may be within the size limits required by NASA. The Ariane 6 is expected to make its first flight in 2020 so NASA may have the needed Moon launcher by that time frame.
Submitted April 04, 2019 at 05:34AM by RGregoryClark https://ift.tt/2Vnftvo
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