An artist's conception of the Liberty rocket. Credit: ATK

A new rocket that would combine parts from NASA's canceled Ares I rocket as well as the Ariane 5, a well-proven European satellite launcher, could provide a low-cost option for taking crew and cargo to the space station.

The rocket proposal was announced this week by ATK, an aerospace and defense company that manufactures the solid rocket motors for NASA's space shuttles, and Astrium, the European company that makes the Ariane 5. They say the rocket, called Liberty, would be ready for flight by 2015.

The Liberty's main advantage is that it is built on existing technology. For its lower stages the rocket will use a version of the solid rocket boosters designed by ATK for the Ares I, the rocket NASA was building to replace the space shuttles. Ares I was part of the Constellation program to return humans to the moon, which was canceled by the Obama administration in favor of a new course relying on the commercial sector for transportation to low-Earth orbit. Liberty would also be much cheaper than the Ares I because it's upper stage it would use the first stage of the Ariane 5, which has been launched successfully 41 consecutive times.

Charlie Precourt, a former shuttle astronaut who is vice president and general manager of ATK Space Launch Systems, in Aviation Week:

"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. This approach allows NASA to utilize the investments that have already been made in our nation's ground infrastructure and propulsion systems for the space exploration program."

ATK and Astrium are also building the rocket to carry a larger payload to low-Earth orbit than the Atlas V, which is built by United Launch Alliance. Other commercial companies, including Boeing and Orbital Sciences Corporation, are looking to use low-end versions of the Atlas V to carry the capsules they are building. Liberty could carry any capsule at a cost less than that of the Atlas V, according to ATK.

The companies have entered the rocket into the second round of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program, a $200 million competition. Liberty's first test flight would be in 2013.

Today Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a private company based in Hawthorne-CA, successfully launched its test rocket, Falcon 9. The historic flight lasted almost 10 minutes and the spacecraft reached low earth orbit where it will remain for a few weeks. The success of the flight is a great feat as well as a sigh of relief for SpaceX and other commercial space companies, which NASA has charged with building the next U.S. spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the space station after the space shuttles retire this year. NASA expects the Falcon 9 rocket to be the first vehicle ready by 2015.

Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, FL on its second attempt--its first try was automatically aborted seconds before launch. Tensions remained high until the first stage successfully separated from the second stage, and a second set of engines fired to propel the spacecraft into earth orbit. The test rocket carried a simulated capsule, called Dragon, which will be used to carry cargo and eventually crew to the International Space Station. The capsule will remain in low earth orbit collecting data for a couple weeks. The goal of the flight was sheer data gathering, and prior to its launch, Elon Musk, the company's founder and CEO, said even a 70 to 80 percent success rate would be an accomplishment.

Last year, the company won a $1.6 billion contract through NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to provide NASA with a vehicle capable of reaching ISS. Falcon 9 is part of a family of rockets that SpaceX is developing that could provide U.S. transportation to space since President Obama announced a new plan for NASA, which included canceling the Constellation program and the development of the Ares I rocket, the agency's spacecraft to replace the shuttle. Instead, Obama's plan is to rely on the commercial space industry, companies like SpaceX and Orbital Science Corporation, to develop rockets for transportation and until they are ready the U.S. will have to buy rides off the Russians. Allowing commercial companies to build rockets for low earth orbit will enable NASA to focus on developing a spacecraft for missions to the moon, asteroids, and eventually Mars.

Many critics fear that commercial companies will undergo the same budge issues and schedule push-backs as NASA's Constellation program, the reason Obama wants it terminated. Skeptics also fear that commercial rockets would not be as safe and reliable as a government-built vehicle. The success of Falcon 9 today shows promise that the commercial industry can get the job done.

President Obama is set to announce his 2011 budget on Monday, February 1, and reports accross the Web suggest it won't be good news for NASA.

According to CBS News and the Los Angeles Times, sources in the White House have said that the president's budget will not allocate the money needed for NASA to return humans to the moon as outlined in the agency's Constellation program.

Instead, according to these unnamed insiders, the White House wants to concentrate on Earth-science projects like climate change research and the development of new technology--possibly a heavy-lift rocket--that could someday enable human exploration of asteroids and the inner solar system. Reportedly, the White House also wants to invest money in commercial companies for spacecraft that can ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, which is expected to remain in Orbit until at least 2020.

Many of these ideas were raised in final report of the Augustine Panel, a committee commissioned to review NASA's Constellation program. The panel's report suggested that the White House should abandon the development of Ares I, NASA's next rocket to carry crew, and should rely instead on the commercial sector. It also outlined plans that would skip the moon, and send robotic missions to Mars or Lagrange points.

The Augustine Panel said that an additional $3 billion a year was required for a "worthy" human spaceflight program. There is speculation that NASA will get less than $1 billion. However, the Obama administration still has to get its budget through Congress, and it could face opposition there.

Meanwhile, the New York Times is reporting that NASA is preparing a technical evaluation of its human spaceflight program, which would "survey all the available rockets and spacecraft, consider different strategies for reaching future destinations and recommend a framework on how to proceed." But the study will not be conducted until NASA's budget has been determined.

According to the NYT, the administration might also turn to other nations to aid in space exploration, perhaps giving the European Space Agency the job of building a lunar lander. Michael Griffin, former NASA administrator, told the NYT that would be a mistake. "I can't imagine the situation where the United States doesn't want to have end-to-end capability to reach the lunar surface," he said.