Artemis V launch vehicle revealed!
The plans for the Artemis V launch vehicle are nearing completion. The layout is very similar to what was being tested on the Aquila booster tests. This arrangement will be useful with upcoming tests using radio telemetry payloads.
Artemis V launch vehicle
The Artemis V uses a standard Artemis booster section, and a “long” payload stage. The standard parachute bay is being proposed for use with this new configuration. Tests are scheduled for later this year.
This is the first of the new payload stages to be shown. Work is being done on a “camera” payload stage for aerial photography from higher altitudes (2,000 feet), and a series of general flight data recorder payloads are also in the works as well.
None of our rockets have ever flown any higher than 1200 feet (The Aquila booster’s maximum range), so the higher altitude launches will be ones to watch for! Currently, the Artemis boosters are limited to a range just below 1,000 feet during the flight trials stage of the program. By late summer, plans are in the works to send the launch vehicle to around 1500 feet, and by winter, we will go for beyond 2,000 feet at the O’Reily field.
A busy year is shaping up for the Artemis booster program!
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Artemis Launch Vehicle configuration data.
Artemis 1B – Flight trials, small payloads
Artemis 1C – Camera payloads
Artemis 1D – Telemetry payload
Artemis V – “long configuration” – radio telemetry payloads
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