ZANL188 From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 3258 posts, RR: 0 Posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 6637 times:
Well the Augustine Commission and the Obama Administration aside I think it's time to start the Ares I-X thread.
Ares I-X is a 4 segment SRB with a dummy 5th segment, dummy second stage, and dummy spacecraft and launch abort mission. Mission is to test vehicle dynamics during first stage flight.
Planned launch is 31 Oct.
Vehicle has been stacked and is presently testing in the VAB.
Sinlock From United States of America, joined Dec 2000, 1533 posts, RR: 3 Reply 1, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 6 hours ago) and read 6381 times:
Any word yet on when roll out will take place. might try to drive up for that.
ZANL188 From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 3258 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 6362 times:
Quoting Sinlock (Reply 1): Any word yet on when roll out will take place. might try to drive up for that.
27 Oct is my understanding.
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ZANL188 From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 3258 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (3 years 9 months 2 hours ago) and read 6064 times:
RELEASE : 09-219 NASA Sets Target Date for Ares I-X Rocket's Test Launch CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA is targeting Tuesday, Oct. 27, for the flight test of the Ares I-X rocket, pending successful testing and data verification. Senior managers made the decision after a meeting Monday at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The Oct. 27 target date has been confirmed with the Air Force's Eastern Range. The launch window will extend from 8 a.m. to noon EDT. There is another launch opportunity on Oct. 28. The date will be finalized at a Flight Test Readiness Review scheduled for Oct. 23 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Technicians at Kennedy have completed the stacking, or assembly, of the rocket on a mobile launch platform. This week, Ares I-X team members are conducting a launch countdown simulation and conducting final checks of the rocket's systems. The checks will begin with the launch abort system simulator atop the rocket and continue down to its aft skirt. The rocket is targeted to roll out to Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B on Oct. 19.
The launch will provide NASA with an opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations, while gathering critical data for the Ares I rocket and future launch vehicles. To follow Ares I-X processing on Twitter, visit:
Sinlock From United States of America, joined Dec 2000, 1533 posts, RR: 3 Reply 4, posted (3 years 8 months 2 weeks 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 5685 times:
ZANL188 From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 3258 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (3 years 8 months 2 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 5533 times:
Not strictly regarding Ares I-X (there's a Ares I-X blurb at the end) but this recent quarterly update on the Ares program is interesting.
ZANL188 From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 3258 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (3 years 8 months 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 5168 times:
Quoting Sinlock (Reply 6): Small delay to Rollout 1-2 days. Launch target has been mover up to the 27-28th.
Rollout now scheduled for 20 Oct at 12:01AM EDT
MEDIA ADVISORY : M09-201 NASA Reschedules Rollout Of Ares I-X CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has rescheduled to Tuesday, Oct. 20, the rollout of the Ares I-X rocket to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first motion of the Ares I-X out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building is targeted for 12:01 a.m. EDT. The 4.2-mile journey is expected to last about seven hours. Media activities include a first motion photo opportunity and interviews with Ares I-X managers. In addition, a sunrise photo opportunity will be available at 7 a.m.
Live NASA Television coverage with commentary will start at 11:45 p.m., Oct. 19, and 7 a.m., Oct. 20. Video highlights of the move will air on NASA Television's Video File.
Reporters must arrive at Kennedy's news center by 10:30 p.m., Oct. 19 for transportation to the viewing area. For the sunrise event, reporters must arrive by 6:30 a.m., Oct. 20. Media accreditation for these events is closed.
Badges will be available for pick up at the badging facility on State Road 3 on Monday, Oct. 19, from 8:30 - 10 p.m. Updates with times for all events are available by calling 321-867-2525. All participants must be properly dressed in full-length pants, flat shoes that entirely cover the feet, and shirts with sleeves.
The rollout of Ares I-X originally was set for Monday, Oct. 19. During testing on Oct. 14, engineers detected a nitrogen gas leak in an accumulator located in the aft skirt of the rocket. The accumulator, which absorbs hydraulic pressure spikes as the system operates, was replaced and successfully retested. Management is assessing what effect, if any, this delayed rollout will have on the targeted Oct. 27 launch date.
For NASA Television downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:
Tugger From United States of America, joined Apr 2006, 4657 posts, RR: 7 Reply 9, posted (3 years 8 months 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 5026 times:
Quoting ZANL188 (Reply 8): Rollout now scheduled for 20 Oct at 12:01AM EDT
Rollout is complete! Ares I-X is now standing for launch, tests will be performed between now and the scheduled Oct. 27 launch date.
Quote: The 327-foot-tall rocket, bolted to a shuttle mobile launch platform, arrived at the pad at 9:17 a.m. EDT (1317 GMT) after a nearly eight-hour sojourn from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launch pad 39B.
....
Scheduled to launch next Tuesday, the $445 million mission will hand engineers data on the environments the Ares 1 rocket will encounter during the first two minutes of flight.
The rocket is made up of a scaled-down four-segment solid rocket booster first stage and aerodynamic simulators for the Ares 1's upper stage, the Orion crew module and the launch abort system.
Tiger119 From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 1919 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (3 years 8 months 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 4914 times:
That's one tall sucker! I'm looking forward to seeing it launch. Do they (NASA) have a firm schedule on future launches? I am wondering about night launches.
David
Flying is the second greatest thrill known to mankind, landing is the first!
Sinlock From United States of America, joined Dec 2000, 1533 posts, RR: 3 Reply 11, posted (3 years 8 months 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 4857 times:
Ares I-X launch window is from 8am to 12pm.
I would not expect a Ares night launch until well into the program. The first Shuttle night launch was STS-8 and night launch and landing were part of the Mission goals, the next night launch after that was over 6 years later on STS-33.
Andz From South Africa, joined Feb 2004, 8306 posts, RR: 11 Reply 12, posted (3 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 4728 times:
I just saw on the news that it might not launch at all. Damned politicians.
Quoting Norman Augustine:
"The premier conclusion and finding of the committee is that the human space flight program that the United States is currently pursuing is one that is on an unsustainable trajectory. We say that because of a mismatch between the scope of the program and the funds to support the program.
"We believe there are compelling reasons to extend the ISS for at least another 5 years but if we do that we also believe it is very important that we provide additional funds for the utilisation of the space station, there's no benefit that we can see for having the space station continue in space without providing money to conduct science and engineering aboard."
The report concludes saying that President Obama has the final say on the launch.
After Monday and Tuesday even the calendar says WTF...
L-188 From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 29367 posts, RR: 61 Reply 13, posted (3 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 4707 times:
So a suborbital flight?
Sounds like this rocket can do everything the Redstone that Alan Shepard rode can do.
OBAMA-WORST PRESIDENT EVER....Even SKOORB would be better.
Rwessel From United States of America, joined Jan 2007, 2005 posts, RR: 2 Reply 14, posted (3 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 4706 times:
Quoting Andz (Reply 12): I just saw on the news that it might not launch at all. Damned politicians.
Quoting Norman Augustine:
"The premier conclusion and finding of the committee is that the human space flight program that the United States is currently pursuing is one that is on an unsustainable trajectory. We say that because of a mismatch between the scope of the program and the funds to support the program.
"We believe there are compelling reasons to extend the ISS for at least another 5 years but if we do that we also believe it is very important that we provide additional funds for the utilisation of the space station, there's no benefit that we can see for having the space station continue in space without providing money to conduct science and engineering aboard."
The report concludes saying that President Obama has the final say on the launch.
Ummm... No. The report is a long range planning document and has basically no bearing on the Ares-I-X launch. What the report says is the direction to be taken for the manned spaceflight program is up to the president (subject to congressional approval and funding, of course). While the president could, presumably, tell NASA to scrub next weeks Ares-I-X launch, why would he? As flawed as the test is, and as little of anything actually related to the "real" Ares-I configuration that it's going to be testing, it *is* ready to go.
The report makes it clear that there is a serious disconnect between the current plans, funding and reality. This is not exactly news, but the Augustine Commission report pretty well spells out the issues, and presents some plausible alternatives, at least assuming some budget increases.
At the current budget levels (adding only enough to run the Shuttle program a few months into 2011 to finish the current flight schedule, and provide funds to de-orbit ISS as scheduled in 2016), we won't be doing anything since Ares-I won't be ready to go to LEO until 2017, Ares-V won't be ready until the late 2020s, and Altair (the lunar lander) not until the 2030s, if ever. At that point the question is what's the point of pursuing any of this stuff? The Ares-V-Lite option, doesn't do much better.
But with increased funding ($3B/year more, plus a realistic inflation adjustment, is the minimum increase needed to fund a viable exploration program), they do lay out some reasonable plans, none of which include an actual Mars landing, but do build towards that goal.
Rwessel From United States of America, joined Jan 2007, 2005 posts, RR: 2 Reply 15, posted (3 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 4699 times:
Sounds like this rocket can do everything the Redstone that Alan Shepard rode can do.
It's an extremely limited test of a partial configuration of the first stage only. There's nothing wrong with that per se, and many rockets have flown that way early in their development. I do think this test is rather more limited than engineering principals would dictate because NASA needs some good PR to show some progress on the program, so they've sort-of hacked some stuff together for a somewhat quick-and-dirty test.
Note that the next scheduled flight (Ares-I-Y in 2013), which is to be of a "real" Ares-I first stage and a partial second stage (specifically missing a functional engine - but the rest of the stage should be approximately real), will also be suborbital.
TheSonntag From Germany, joined Jun 2005, 3350 posts, RR: 30 Reply 16, posted (3 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 4669 times:
In fact the Augustine Commission has brought forward a very reasonable report. I still do not think we will see an Ares-1-Y launch in the upcoming future, but the Ares-1-X launch is useful in itself.
I just hope they go forward with the "flexible path" concept, which seems to be quite reasonable without abandoning the moon at all.
PC12Fan From United States of America, joined Jan 2007, 2262 posts, RR: 5 Reply 17, posted (3 years 7 months 3 weeks 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 4453 times:
I personally would support Direct Launcher over Ares as it seems to be a much more capable launch platform.
Just when I think you've said the stupidest thing ever, you keep talkin'!
JBirdAV8r From United States of America, joined Jun 2001, 4459 posts, RR: 22 Reply 18, posted (3 years 7 months 3 weeks 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 4361 times:
Well, the weather's looking pretty poor for a Tuesday launch.
I'm trying to decide whether or not to buy an airline ticket. I could stay for Tuesday or maybe Wednesday, or Wednesday or maybe Thursday. I'm conflicted. 40% go Tuesday, 60% Wed/Thurs...
I'm close enough to drive (10 hours) and I'm thinking I may save up my pennies to try STS-129 in a few weeks...
I'm thinking they might go fairly conservative on the weather flight rules since the triboelectrification rule (primary concern) has tightened up. I may chance getting a ticket/driving down for Wednesday. I'm just not sure.
RedFlyer From United States of America, joined Feb 2005, 4181 posts, RR: 30 Reply 19, posted (3 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 4229 times:
Four minute hold continues...but they announced that we can expect a launch at 9:24 AM ET. Just a little over an hour to go. Been up since 3:00 AM PT to watch this event on NASA TV. Sure hope it goes off today.
FlybaurLAX From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 634 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (3 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 4181 times:
Just a few more minutes! (Hopefully). This is pretty exciting. I hope we'll see a full test in the near future.
AGC525 From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 989 posts, RR: 0 Reply 21, posted (3 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 4159 times:
Another Wx hold.
Launch now scheduled for 1054hrs.
American Aviation: From Kitty Hawk to the Moon in 66 years!
RedFlyer From United States of America, joined Feb 2005, 4181 posts, RR: 30 Reply 22, posted (3 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 4128 times:
Dazed767 From United States of America, joined May 1999, 5447 posts, RR: 53 Reply 23, posted (3 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 4123 times:
FlybaurLAX From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 634 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (3 years 7 months 3 weeks 4 days 7 hours ago) and read 4063 times:
I was pretty much expecting that. I mean, there's only about a 20% chance that a shuttle launch will actually happen on the first scheduled time.
Boilerup! Go Purdue!
25 RedFlyer: Very cool launch. My heart skipped a beat when the nose pitched over slightly right after clearing the pad as I thought something had gone wrong, but
26 Sinlock: Great launch. Whether kept everyone on their toes till the end. Post launch conference on NASA TV at around 1:30EST.
27 FlybaurLAX: That was quite awesome. About half of the students in the computer lab were watching the launch. About a minute into it someone said "Hey, it didn't b
28 DiamondFlyer: Eh, it was quite unimpressive to me. Sure, it worked (sadly, but that's another discussion). Granted, we couldn't see much in DAB, due to cloud cover,
29 ZANL188: Staging was interesting. The Upper Stage Simulator pitched over, looked like there might be a recontact situation.
30 Centrair: I stayed up till 1:00am to watch NASA TV. I did to. I know rockets don't go straight up but it seemed the roll program was just earlier than anything
31 N328KF: FYI, Orion (the Constellation capsule) has a crew of six.
32 Connies4ever: I think it is likely to be limited to four for some time as the capsule with six people is pretty near the load limit for the parachute system. Orion
33 ZANL188: Won't happen. An order of magnitude more energy is required to go to orbit and that energy has got to go somewhere, SS1 & SS2 have no way to handle i
34 Rwessel: It's both. Ares-I *and* Orion have gotten considerably heavier, and despite changes to increase Ares-I's capabilities, the weight increases have outp
35 ZANL188: Article and pix here; http://www.floridatoday.com/content/...ksc-ares-i-x-parachutes-fail.shtml
37 ZANL188: 1 chute deployed, 1 opened partially, and the 3rd failed altogether. http://blog.al.com/space-news/2009/1...ares_i-x_solid_rocket_booster.html The FSS
38 Tiger119: I liked this YouTube though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5htFcB3_X8c David
39 ZANL188: Some pix starting to emerge now. These two from NASA.gov show the launch and the view the divers had of the buckling damage. Note that you can see the
40 ZANL188: Chase plane video of powered flight, sep, descent, and parachute deployment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4l2wxbMEQg
41 Sinlock: That video is great. Really shows the stresses that the SRB go's through. I under stand why the recovery ship would have a hard time seeing the booste
42 RedFlyer: Looks like that 3rd main just shredded right after deploying.
43 ZANL188: Yeah I like it as well. Not too many launch videos where the launch vehicle gets bigger vs smaller. Would have been cool to see the upper stage splas
44 Francoflier: A piece of metal the size of a few houses hitting the water at terminal velocity... That would have been a big splash indeed. The part where the SRB
45 RedFlyer: The infrastructure costs of the recovery system has already been paid for thanks to almost 30 years of STS flights, so we're only talking the cost of
46 Francoflier: It probably is, but then I don't know if the difference in cost is that big. I'm guessing they get a thourough overhaul from the ground up. But you a
47 Fsnuffer: What is the opportunity cost of the lost payload to space? Anyone have the specs on the weight of the recovery system? I know this is simplistic but
48 RedFlyer: They do, and there's no doubt costs associated with that. But one has to assume that in the current configuration the cost of recovery/refurbishment
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