NASA Engineers Work On Alternative Moon Rocket

Gibson writes "A team of 57 engineers at NASA's Marshall Spaceflight center feel that the Ares rocket is not the best solution for launching the new CEV. They are currently working on their own time developing an alternative launch system known as Jupiter. The 131 page proposal, along with other information, is available on the project website. Proponents of the project say that it is 'simpler, safer, and sooner' than the Ares project, predicting the ability for a return to the moon in 2017, two years before the current goal. Ares management has so far dismissed the proposal as a 'napkin drawing.'"

Comments

Re:"A Napkin Drawing?"

[l2718]

Meanwhile, their brilliant project isn't expected to get anyone to the moon before, what, twenty years?

Eleven years, actually (till 2019). It will take longer in practice, I'm sure, but you should check your figures before posting.

Re:It is all of those things, but

[smoker2]

Insightful - bollocks !
1)The "one" danger ? I seem to remember more than 1 dead shuttle.
2)"The o-ring connected the booster to the liquid fuel tank" - Wrong - See AC below.
3)"The o-ring has already been addressed" - Handwaving about an invalid point does not make it go away.
4)"I fail to see how solid fuel rockets are inherently more dangerous than liquid fuel ones." - not surprising as you fail to see things in any kind of clarity at all.
5)Oh here we go - " solid fuel rockets can't stop" - You just said there was nothing "inherently" more dangerous about solid fuel rockets - well there's one (quite major) thing. Not to mention that when you get into space, it's quite useful to have some, you know, FUEL, to maneuver with !
You do realise that the shuttle uses BOTH types of propulsion simultaneously ?
Mods - eat my shorts.