In a flight as short as it is spectacular, theAres 1-X experimental rocketleft platform 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center at 11:30 a.m. local time (15:30 GMT) today, Wednesday, to trace an arc in the sky at45 kilometers highand fall dismembered into the sea a couple of seconds later. It is the first time in more than a quarter of a century (since the last of the venerableSaturno Vof the ProgramApollo) that a 100-meter-high rocket is launched by NASA.
The Ares 1-X is a prototype of exact size and shape to theAres I,made from materials derived from the space shuttle, specifically solid-fuel rocket boosters. Its main mission, in case of receiving the green light, would betransport astronauts to the International Space Station and later to the Moon. The 1-X mission, however, is much more mundane, as it did not even intend to leave Earth’s atmosphere.
“We hope to learn a lot about this vehicle,” says Robert Ess, director of the Ares 1-X. ? Two minutes may not seem like a big deal, but it is a lot. It will take us years to study everything we are going to learn from this flight. And unravel some myths. There are people, for example, who say that rockets have the problem of “pogo”, that is, the pronounced vibrations. That’s not a problem; it is a characteristic of these engines. Something that can be fixed and that is an integral part of the shape of the rocket. Is that why we install a lot of sensors in those key places?
After leaving the platform, the white rocket, loaded with more than 700 mechanical, electrical and thermal sensors, turned 90 degrees to locate in an easterly direction seeking an orbit of 28.5 degrees of inclination and accelerating to4.76 times the speed of sound. At an altitude of almost 40 kilometers, thefirst stageit was separated and gently tackled thanks to its parachutes, to be later recovered by a ship. As thesecond stageIt was a simulator, it had no motor to continue accelerating the spacecraft, so instead of going into orbit, it followed an uncontrolled ballistic trajectory until it reached 45 kilometers in height. And since it didn’t have a parachute either, it crashed into the ocean nearly 250 kilometers from the Kennedy Space Center. There was no separation between the second stage and the Orion capsule simulator, nor was the escape tower ejected during the flight as would be the case with Ares I.
During the flight, part of the sensor data was being transmitted in real time to the consoles at the launch center, while another part was stored in the avionics installed in the simulated fifth stage, which will be recovered from the ocean after the test.
These are the mainobjectives of this mission Ares 1-X:
?Evaluate rocket rotation control systems during ascent: probably the most significant element. Due to its shape, Ares I will tend to rotate on its own axis during ascent to orbit. The cancellation of this effect will be in charge of two pairs of engines located at the base of the second stage simulator; the test flight will analyze its behavior and help in the development of an effective system to mitigate this problem.
?Evaluate the behavior of the rocket under the aerodynamic loads of the flight: It could be said that Ares IX is the largest wind tunnel model ever built, since the information on the aerodynamic behavior will allow a final design better adapted to the conditions it will have to endure, making the Ares I more efficient and safe. Ares I has a wingspan never seen before due to its great height (97 meters) and small diameter (5.5 meters).
?Assist in the development of launch procedures in the launch control room: countdown profile was taken from rocketsAtlas V. Conducting a test so far in advance relative to the start of its operational life will make it easier for launch controllers to develop launch procedures, warning of potential problems.Ares 1-X vital data
Height:100 meters, like a 32-story building, almost twice that of the space shuttle).
Diameter:6 meters at its widest part. Much thinner – for its height – than any rocket previously launched by NASA.
Push:2.96 million pounds.
Cabling:20 miles of cable.
Structure:The components to build the Ares 1-X come from old pieces of space shuttles, previously flown. The oldest piece is 20 years old.
?Train in rocket handling: Vehicle assembly was practiced in the Vehicle Assembly Building, and its transfer to the launch site was a challenge due to its volume, as was the processing on the platform. All of this will contribute to the development of access points, handling techniques and security measures.
?Test the separation in flight between the first and second stage: Separation engines work differently than those used on the shuttle. The effect of the separation will be evaluated on the basis of the second stage, where the J2X engine will go in the Ares I, to ensure that it is not damaged by the exhaust from the separation engines.
?Test the re-entry of the first stage after separation, together with the operation of the new parachutes: the new first stage will weigh more and travel faster than when traveling in the ferry, so it is necessary to test its re-entry and the performance of the new parachutes.
?Train in the recovery of the first stage after tanningA: something that was always done in shuttle launches, this time with the particularity of being a rocket with 5 sections instead of 4.
Angela Posada-Swafford from Cape Kennedy
Sergio Taleisnik / www.programaespacial.com
