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Pending Ares I-X Flight Test Launch Date Set for Oct. 31

August 7, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS

  
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NASA issued several status reports during July and early August on the Ares I-X flight test, scheduled for Oct. 31. pending final NASA approval.

Separately, on July 20, NASA and Alliant Techsystems unveiled the completed Ares I first-stage, five-segment, solid-rocket booster.

The Ares I is NASA's next crew launch vehicle, and the Ares I-X flight test will allow NASA to evaluate hardware, modeling methods, facilities and ground operations.

Additionally, the flight test will let NASA gather data during the ascent of the integrated stack of the Ares I rocket and the design of both the Ares I and the Orion crew exploration vehicle.

The data and analysis will ensure the entire vehicle system is safe and fully operational before astronauts use it to travel the International Space Station and the moon.

Highlights of the recent status updates include:

  • The Ares I-X test launch date was set for Oct. 31 on launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, pending final NASA approval.
  • The Super Stack 1 was lifted and mated to the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) on Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) 1 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 3 (VAB HB3).
  • Electrical instrumentation testing was conducted.
  • Modifications continued at launch pad 39B for Ares I-X ground support equipment. The vehicle stabilization system is being built at the base of the launch pad.
  • The Ares I-X Mate Review was conducted June 30 - July 1 to evaluate the readiness to begin stacking major vehicle components on the MLP.
  • The forward-center motor-segment stacking and the final of four motor segments stacking were completed.
  • The Stack 1 modal test was completed. A series of sensors located throughout the stack measured the amount and direction of movement, as electro-mechanical shakers imposed random loads to determine the rocket segment's first several bending modes.
  • The Super Stack 1 assembly was completed. Stack 1 contains eight pieces: interstages 1 and 2, the frustum, the forward skirt extension, the forward skirt, and the aft, center and forward segments of the fifth segment simulator. It also includes two internal elements - the roll-control system and the first-stage avionics module.
  • The aft-center motor segment was moved from the Rotation Processing and Surge Facility to the VAB and attached to the aft assembly in HB3.
  • A camera was installed on the upper-stage simulator.

The next processing milestones identified in an early August status update include:

  • Super Stack 2 to be lifted and mated to Super Stack 1 on MLP 1 in VAB HB3.
  • Ballasts (or weights) to be placed into Super Stack 2.
  • Super Stack 3 to be lifted and mated to Super Stack 2 on MLP 1 in VAB HB3.

The unveiling of the completed Ares I first-stage, five-segment solid-rocket booster (announced by NASA and Alliant Techsystems on July 20) began as the movable structure that houses the booster was rolled off to reveal the Ares I first-stage motor.

The completed rocket was installed horizontally in a test stand modified from the space shuttle's four-segment configuration to fit the new five-segment Ares I booster.

Instrumentation will be installed over the next month in preparation for the first major ground test on Aug. 25.

For more information, visit the NASA Constellation Program web page.

Sources: NASA, Alliant Techsystems.