The Falcon/Dragon commercial launch industry
The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program is a United States government, primarily a Department of Defense–sponsored effort begun in the 1990s. Its goal is to develop at least one family of space launch vehicles, that would meet the long term needs of the military and fulfill commercial and government need for cost-efficient and reliable access to Earth orbit.
NASA's new heavy lift launch vehicle
The launch vehicle combines two of the world's most reliable propulsion systems. ATK is the prime, providing the human-rated five-segment solid rocket motor as the first stage, and Astrium (an EADS Company), is providing the core stage from the Ariane 5 rocket, including the Vulcain 2 engine as Liberty's upper stage. Liberty has the capability to lift 44,000 pounds to low-Earth-orbit, the highest pounds to orbit of any other vehicle currently working under commercial agreements.
DIRECT 3.0 was an alternative approach to launching missions planned under NASA's new mandate: The Vision for Space Exploration (VSE). DIRECT would replace the separate Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV) with one single "Jupiter" launcher, capable of performing both roles. This forum as of now is closed. It will be available for your reading pleasure for historical purposes.
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