New commercial rocket to fly to space station

European aerospace company Astrium, partnering with Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) in the US, will build a new, low-cost launcher, called Liberty, shown left at Kennedy Space Center, for a space taxi service to the International Space Station. It could also be used to take tourists into orbit.

ATK and Astrium are working together in response to NASA's Commercial Crew Development-2 (CCDev-2) procurement and are offering launch services with the Liberty rocket.

With the ability to lift 44,500 lbs, Liberty will provide a viable commercial alternative to the Ares I project, designed to send astronauts to the moon, but cancelled by President Obama.

A first flight is planned for late 2013, a second test in 2014 and operational capability in 2015.

‘The Liberty initiative provides tremendous value because it builds on European Ariane 5 launcher heritage, while allowing NASA to leverage the mature first stage,’ said Charlie Precourt, vice-president and general manager of ATK Space Launch Systems.

‘We will provide unmatched payload performance at a fraction of the cost, and we will launch it from the Kennedy Space Center using facilities that have already been built.

ATK will supply the launcher’s first stage, a five-segment solid rocket derived from the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters (SRBs) that was successfully flight-tested in October 2009.

ATK has enhanced the propellant grain, provided a larger nozzle opening and upgraded the liner and insulation to meet performance requirements and increase reliability while lowering manufacturing costs.

Astrium, working with Europe's leading propulsion company Snecma (Safran Group), is providing Liberty's second stage (top half of the rocket) based on the liquid-fueled cryogenic core of the Ariane 5 vehicle powered by the Vulcain2 engine.