Ares

The Ares launch vehicle was designed for support of Zubrin's Mars Direct expedition. It was a shuttle-derived design taking maximum advantage of existing hardware. It would use shuttle Advanced Solid Rocket Boosters, a modified shuttle external tank for handling vertically-mounted payloads, and a new Lox/LH2 third stage for trans-Mars or trans-lunar injection of the payload. Ares would put 121 tonnes into a 300 km circular orbit , boost 59 tonnes toward the moon or 47 tonnes toward Mars. Without the upper stage 75 tonnes could be placed in low earth orbit.

LEO Payload: 121,200 kg (267,200 lb). to: 300 km Orbit. at: 28.50 degrees. Payload: 47,200 kg (104,000 lb). to a: trans-Mars trajectory. Associated Spacecraft: Mars Direct. Total Mass: 2,194,600 kg (4,838,200 lb). Core Diameter: 10.00 m (32.00 ft). Total Length: 82.30 m (270.00 ft).

• Zubrin, Robert, Baker, David A, and Gwynne, Owen, Mars Direct: A Simple, Robust, and Cost Effective Architecture for the Space Exploration Initiative, AIAA-91-0328, 1991. Accessed at: http://mars.nw.net/.