Full duration orbit insertion firing of the Falcon 9 second stage, conducted on January 2, 2010. Credit: SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a private company based in Hawthorne-CA, successfully fired the second stage engines of its Falcon 9 rocket for 329 seconds (the time intended for a full duration orbit) on Saturday. The company says that its spacecraft should be ready to take to the sky in the next couple months.

Falcon 9 is part of a family of rockets that SpaceX is developing that could fill the gap in U.S. transportation to space. The space shuttles are expected to retire in 2010 and NASA's next launch vehicle, Ares, is not scheduled to be ready for flight until 2015.

SpaceX initially started developing its rockets for space tourism and for launching scientific and commercial satellites into orbit, and has successfully flown a previous rocket, Falcon 1. Last year, the company won a $1.6 billion contract through NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to provide the space agency with a vehicle capable of reaching the International Space Station. Commercial launch vehicles could also help reduce spaceflight costs for the U.S. government. Aboard Falcon 9 will be the company's Dragon capsule, a spacecraft designed to carry both cargo and crew.

The maiden flight of Falcon 9 has been hit with delays--last fall the company was promising to launch the rocket by the end of 2009 after they conducted successful first stage engine firings. But the company says it will be shipping the second stage to Cape Canaveral, FL (the launch site) by the end of the month and, "depending on how well full vehicle integration goes, launch should occur one to three months later."

Ares I-X booster on its descent into the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: NASA

In late October NASA conducted the first test flight of its next-generation rocket, Ares. In a press conference at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston this afternoon, project managers and engineers reported their preliminary findings.

The flight was successful in many ways, said Bob Ess, project manager of Ares I-X. For instance, it demonstrated the viability of the guidance, navigation and control systems. "The algorithms were perfect and performed flawlessly; a key result for validating our [predictive] models."

Marshall Smith, manager of systems engineering and integration for the rocket, added that Ares I-X, the tallest rocket ever to be flown, shows that "[NASA] can push forward with the design of Ares I."

The rocket's flight lasted--from liftoff to splash down--approximately six minutes, enough time for engineers to gather data on the performance of the rocket's avionic systems, accelerations and vibrations experienced, roll torque and thrust oscillation, as well as the separation of its stages.

One key problem during the flight was the malfunction of the parachutes designed to carry the rockets solid rocket booster back to earth. At an altitude of 45 kilometers the rocket's two stages separated. The first stage, composed of four solid rocket boosters and a dummy fifth segment, were dropped into the Atlantic Ocean via three large parachutes. (The mock second stage broke apart and was not recovered.) But the main parachute failed and a second parachute partially failed causing the booster to splash down hard into the ocean, leaving a nice dent in its side.

The main parachute failed at inflation, said Smith. The parachutes are supposed to open in three stages, and at each stage there is a cable that keeps the chutes from opening too far. The engineers believe that one of the cables opened too far putting too much force on the lines causing them to shear. The engineers are still investigating the partial failure of the second chute. They plan to give two more Ares I-X performance reports--one in January and the other late February 2010.

The engineers now want to do additional tests flights in 2012 or 2013. "Each time we can make it more like Ares I, so the next [test rocket] will have a full five segment solid rocket booster," said Jon Cowart, deputy project manager. But any future test flights will be contingent on the Obama administration's decision on the future of human spaceflight.

A camera on the rocket captures the second stage after separation from the first stage. Credit: NASA

The separation connectors that failed during descent. Credit: NASA

A view looking up at the three parachutes--the main chute failed, and a second partially failed--during descent. Credit: NASA

A time-lapse photo of a rocket launch powered by new aluminum-ice propellant. Credit: Purdue University

Last week researchers from Purdue and Penn State University launched a rocket that uses an unconventional propellant: aluminum-ice. The fuel mix, dubbed ALICE, is made of nano-aluminum powder and frozen water, and gets its thrust from the chemical reaction between the ingredients. The propellant is environmentally friendly, and it could perhaps allow spacecraft to refuel at locations like the moon, where water has been discovered.

Using aluminum for fuel is not completely new--the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters use a small amount of the metal, as will NASA's Ares rocket. But the new work involves making aluminum one of the key ingredients by using nanoscale particles. These tiny particles, when ignited, combust more rapidly than larger particles, forcing more exhaust gases out of the metal and giving the rocket the necessary kick.

The oxygen and hydrogen in water molecules enhance the combustion of the aluminum. Freezing the propellant keeps it intact, avoiding any premature reactions.

The propellant was able to lift a rocket 396 meters during an August flight test, which was funded by NASA and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Now, for even better performance, the researchers are working on adjusting the ratios of different ingredients and possibly mixing the nano-aluminum with larger aluminum particles.

A water-based propellant might one day mean that spacecraft could carry less fuel when traveling to distant locations like the moon or even mars. But it would also be nice to have a "greener" fuel for rocket launches back on Earth.