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.
Ares I-X booster on its descent into the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: NASA
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.”
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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.”
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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: NASAThe separation connectors that failed during descent. Credit: NASAA view looking up at the three parachutes–the main chute failed, and a second partially failed–during descent. Credit: NASA
