…maybe the right solution to the Ares nomenclature goofiness is to simply kill the CLV and come up with something else (like, say, an EELV variant).
The CLV tail is clearly wagging the CEV dog. The sad thing is, at some point NASA is probably going to realize the “stick” is a stupid idea, but by then it will be too late to change, or at least too late to put back into the CEV the capabilities that were lost in trying to shrink it down to fit CLV.
Why is the “stick” a stupid idea? I’m not saying it isn’t — I just don’t know enough about the hardware to have an opinion.
Without going into much detail, it’s not up to the task, particularly since they decided to use the J-2 instead of an SSME variant in the upper stage. This is forcing changes onto the CEV which they will end up regretting sooner or later. And far from being a less expensive option (vs. “man rating” an existing EELV) as claimed when justifying the choice of an SRB-derived vehicle, the estimated development cost has more than doubled, erasing the advantage of using ostensibly existing hardware. And yet they stick with it despite these problems, at a point when the decision could still be reversed.
Calling it “stupid” was perhaps a bit harsh. But it certainly is ill-considered.