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Ares V Rocket Bigger and Stronger For Moon Mission

Posted by timothy on from the ask-your-doctor-if-ares-v-is-right-for-you dept.

wooferhound writes "In a move to make the heavy-lift vehicle more robust (predicting an increased launch thrust requirement) to send four astronauts, a lunar lander plus supplies, NASA has announced the Ares V rocket will be beefed up to cater for our future needs to get man back to the Moon. This huge vehicle is now designed to carry payloads of over 156,600 lb (71,000 kg), some 15,600 lb (or 10%) more than the original concept. Ares V was originally designed to be approximately the same length as the original Saturn V lunar rocket (361 feet or 110 metres long), but to accommodate an extra booster engine and extra payload volume, Ares V will be 381 feet (116 metres) long. This upgrade will be capable of sending far more instrumentation into space, an extra 15,600 lb (7,000 kg, or the equivalent mass of a male African elephant)."

10 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Thank god. by sleeping123 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Elephants have been rather underrepresented in space recently.

    1. Re:Thank god. by 32771 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Then again, in space no one can hear you trumpet.

      --
      Je me souviens.
    2. Re:Thank god. by joetheappleguy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Little known fact, but the mass of a male African elephant is a common unit of measure used at NASA and other space agencies.

      for smaller masses the female Albanian shrew is the preferred unit.

    3. Re:Thank god. by rswail · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is that a metric elephant or imperial?

    4. Re:Thank god. by Fred_A · · Score: 4, Funny

      Little known fact, but the mass of a male African elephant is a common unit of measure used at NASA and other space agencies.

      Which has led to a number of failures when some engineers counted in African elephants when others counted in Asian elephants.
      Those engineering units are difficult to master.

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    5. Re:Thank god. by clang_jangle · · Score: 4, Funny

      Now that's just plain silly. Everyone knows it's turtles all the way down !

      --
      Caveat Utilitor
  2. NASA Engineers by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 4, Funny
    God bless them, they really do think of everything...


    NASA Engineer: "The extra weight it can carry is equivalent to a male elephant."
    The Press: "Oh yeah, African or Indian?"
    NASA Engineer: "Why African of course."
    The Press: [wanders off trying to find someone to interview who will make them feel smarter]

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
  3. In the spirit of one-upmanship... by Lendrick · · Score: 5, Funny

    If China manages to put a man on the moon, we'll put a goddamn elephant on the moon, because we're America!

  4. Re:African elephants ARE migratory by oodaloop · · Score: 4, Funny

    Funny, I never saw any in rural England.

    --
    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
  5. Re:Except in... by clang_jangle · · Score: 4, Funny

    Get your trunks off me, you damned, filthy, elephants !

    --
    Caveat Utilitor