Ares I-Y deletion, no Ares I-X Prime, Orions 1 & 2 face delays

Hyperbola has learnt that in the course of the reviews for NASA's return to the Moon Constellation programme, and its many avenues for meeting the new budget reality, the deletion of test flight Ares I-Y, an Ares I crew launch vehicle (CLV) with a dummy upper stage, is not without its problems

While there have been references to an Ares I-X Prime test flight in the blogosphere the planning reality that is emerging is that no Ares I-Y means that Orion 1, the test flight for the complete CLV, Orion crew exploration vehicle (CEV) stack, will be the first launch of any and all of the vehicle's operational hardware

While this is not without precedent, the Space Shuttle flew manned on its very first launch that brought together all its component parts, today NASA planners are concerned that without an earlier test run, including for the processing of the CEV and CLV and launch operations, there will be inevitable delays as obstacles are overcome

Such a learning curve is thought to not only threaten Orion 1's timing but also Orion 2's