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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster | 9/9 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Booster | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:22:36.055022+00:00 | kb-cron |
NASA initially planned to reuse the four-segment SRB design and infrastructure in several Ares rockets, which would have propelled the Orion spacecraft into orbit. In 2005, NASA announced the Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle slated to carry the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle into low-Earth orbit and later to the Moon. The SRB-derived Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), named Ares I, was planned to feature a single modified 4-segment SRB for its first stage; a single liquid-fueled modified Space Shuttle Main Engine would have powered the second stage. The Ares I design updated in 2006 featured one 5-segment SRB (originally developed for the Shuttle, but never used) as a first stage; the second stage was powered by an uprated J-2X engine, derived from the J-2, which had been used in the upper stage of Saturn V and Saturn IB. In place of the standard SRB nosecone, the Ares I would have a tapered interstage assembly connecting the booster proper with the second stage, an attitude control system derived from the Regulus missile system, and larger, heavier parachutes to lower the stage into the Atlantic Ocean for recovery. Also introduced in 2005, was a heavy-lift Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV) named Ares V. Early designs of the Ares V utilized 5 standard-production SSMEs and a pair of 5-segment boosters identical to those proposed for the Shuttle, while later plans redesigned the boosters around the RS-68 rocket engine used on the Delta IV EELV system. Initially, NASA switched over to a system using the 5-segment boosters and a cluster of 5 RS-68s (which resulted in a widening of the Ares V core unit), then NASA reconfigured the vehicle with 6 RS-68B engines, with the boosters themselves becoming 5.5-segment boosters, with an additional half-segment to provide additional thrust at liftoff. That final redesign would have made the Ares V booster taller and more powerful than the now-retired Saturn V/INT-20, N-1, and Energia rockets, and would have allowed the Ares V to place both the Earth Departure Stage and Altair spacecraft into low-Earth orbit for later on-orbit assembly. Unlike the 5-segment SRB for the Ares I, the 5.5-segment boosters for the Ares V were to be identical in design, construction, and function to the current SRBs except for the extra segments. Like the shuttle boosters, the Ares V boosters would fly an almost-identical flight trajectory from launch to splashdown. The Constellation program, including Ares I and Ares V, was canceled in October 2010 by the passage of the 2010 NASA authorization bill.
=== DIRECT === The DIRECT proposal for a new, Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle, unlike the Ares I and Ares V boosters, used a pair of classic 4-segment SRBs with the SSMEs used on the Shuttle.
=== Athena III === In 2008, PlanetSpace proposed the Athena III launch vehicle for ISS resupply flights under the COTS program; it would have featured 2+1⁄2 segments from the original SRB design.
=== Space Launch System (SLS) ===
The first versions (Blocks 1 and 1B) of the Space Launch System (SLS) use a pair of five-segment Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), which were developed from the four-segment SRBs used for the Shuttle. Modifications for the SLS included the addition of a center booster segment, new avionics, and new insulation which eliminates the Shuttle SRB's asbestos and is 860 kg (1,900 lb) lighter. The five-segment SRBs provide approximately 25% more total impulse than the Shuttle SRB, and are not recovered after use.
== See also == Solid rocket booster PEPCON disaster Studied Space Shuttle variations and derivatives
== References == This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
== External links ==
NASA Technical Report 19720007149 Origins of the shuttle SRB, engineering study for NASA 1971, volume 1, summary NASA Technical Report 19720015135 Origins of the shuttle SRB, engineering study for NASA 1971, volume 2, technical report "Solid Rocket Boosters". NASA. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2007. Solid Rocket Booster Separation video Liberty Star and Freedom Star bio page Archived February 9, 2021, at the Wayback Machine Cary Rutland Collection, The University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections Files of Cary Rutland, deputy of the SRB program after the Challenger disaster Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. TX-116-K, "Space Transportation System, Solid Rocket Boosters, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, Harris County, TX", 32 photos, 3 measured drawings, 8 photo caption pages