Ares I-X
Encyclopedia
Ares I-X was the first stage prototype and design concept demonstrator in the Ares I
program, a launch system
for human spaceflight
developed by the United States space agency, NASA
. Ares I-X was successfully launched on October 28, 2009 . The project cost was $445 million.
The Ares I-X vehicle used in the test flight
was similar in shape, mass, and size to the planned configuration of later Ares I vehicles, but had largely dissimilar internal hardware consisting of only one powered stage. Ares I vehicles are intended to launch Orion crew exploration vehicles. Along with the Ares V
launch system and the Altair lunar lander, Ares I and Orion were part of NASA's Constellation Program, which was developing the spacecraft for U.S. human spaceflight after the Space Shuttle
fleet was retired.
The flight also had several secondary objectives, including:
The Ares I-X flight profile closely approximated the flight conditions that Ares I will experience through Mach 4.5, at an altitude of about 130,000 feet (39,600 m) and through a maximum dynamic pressure (“Max Q”) of approximately 800 pounds per square foot (38 kPa).
The Ares I-X flight profile resembled the uncrewed Saturn I
flights of the 1960s, which tested the Saturn propulsion concept.
By flying the vehicle through first stage separation, the test flight also verified the performance and dynamics of the Ares I solid rocket booster in a “single stick” arrangement, which is different from the solid rocket booster’s current “double-booster” configuration alongside the external tank
on the space shuttle.
(SRB) stage, a fifth segment mass simulator, an upper stage simulator (USS), which was similar in shape and heavier than the actual upper stage, as well as a simulated Orion crew module (CM) and launch abort system (LAS). Since the actual upper stage hardware could not be produced in time for the flight test, the upper stage mass simulator allowed the booster to fly approximately the same trajectory through the first stage of flight. The USS and the CM/LAS mass simulators launched by the Ares I-X were not recovered and fell into the Atlantic Ocean
. The first stage, including the fifth segment mass simulator, was recovered to retrieve flight data recorders and reusable equipment.
Launch Services of Promontory, Utah
. The new forward structures were manufactured by Major Tool & Machine of Indianapolis
, Indiana
. The first stage element was managed by Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Alabama
. Modifications to the solid rocket booster include:
For the Ares I-X flight test, the frustum and forward skirt extension were made of aluminum. The forward skirt and fifth segment simulator were made of steel.
in Cleveland. Because of transportation limitations (bridge heights on highways and rivers), the simulator was built out of eleven steel segments 9.5 feet (2.9 m) tall by 18 feet (5.5 m) wide. The USS simulated the shape, mass, and center of gravity characteristics of Ares I from the interstage to the top of the service module
of the Orion Crew exploration vehicle. The centers of mass for the liquid hydrogen
and liquid oxygen
tanks were simulated through the use of steel ballast plates.
The USS included a variety of temperature, vibration, thermal, and acoustic sensors to collect the primary data needed to meet the mission objectives. It also housed the Fault Tolerant Inertial Navigation Unit (FTINU), which controlled the vehicle’s flight and primary avionics functions. For stability, the FTINU was mounted on the underside of the lower ballast plates. Ground operations personnel accessed the FTINU through a crew hatch on the side of the interstage segment, which also housed the roll control system. Each USS segment included a ladder and ring-shaped platform to allow access to the sensors and cabling for the developmental flight instrumentation. The stairs and platforms were necessary because Launch Complex 39B is not tall enough to provide crew access to the upper parts of Ares I-X.
. The RoCS performed two primary functions:
The RoCS modules, placed on opposite sides of the outer skin of the Upper Stage Simulator, used hypergolic monomethyl hydrazine
(MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide
(NTO) for propellants and each included two nozzles, which fired tangential to the skin and at right angles
to the roll axis in order to provide a controlling roll torque. The propellants were loaded into the modules at Kennedy Space Center’s Hypergol Maintenance Facility (HMF) and transported on the ground for installation into the USS in the Vehicle Assembly Building
(VAB) prior to rollout to Launch Complex 39B.
The RoCS modules were designed and constructed to fit into the Interstage segment of the USS by Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama. The engines were hot-fire tested at White Sands Test Facility
in 2007 and 2008 to verify that they could perform the pulsing duty cycle
required by Ares I-X.
The CM/LAS simulator was built with high fidelity to ensure that its hardware components accurately reflect the shape and physical properties
of the models used in computer analyses and wind tunnel
tests. This precision enables NASA to compare CM/LAS flight performance with preflight predictions with high confidence. The CM/LAS simulator also helps verify analysis tools and techniques needed to further develop Ares I.
Ares I-X flight data were collected with sensors throughout the vehicle, including approximately 150 sensors in the CM/LAS simulator that recorded thermal, aerodynamic, acoustic, vibration and other data. Data were transmitted to the ground via telemetry and also stored in the First Stage Avionics Module (FSAM), located in the empty fifth segment.
Aerodynamic data collected from sensors in the CM/LAS contribute to measurements of vehicle acceleration and angle of attack
. How the tip of the rocket slices through the atmosphere is important because that determines the flow of air over the entire vehicle.
The CM/LAS splashed down in the ocean along with the upper stage simulator (USS) after the boost phase
of the mission.
This simulator was designed and built by a government-industry team at Langley Research Center
in Virginia. It was flown to Kennedy Space Center by C-5 transport and was the last piece of hardware stacked onto the rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building.
(EELV) to control its flight. This hardware included the Fault Tolerant Inertial Navigation Unit (FTINU) and Redundant Rate Gyro Units (RRGUs), and cable harnesses. The first stage was controlled primarily by heritage hardware from existing Space Shuttle systems. A new electronics box, the Ascent Thrust Vector Controller (ATVC), acted as a translation tool to communicate commands from the Atlas-based flight computer to the solid rocket booster’s thrust vector control
system. The ATVC was the only new avionics box for the flight. All other components were existing or off-the-shelf
units. Ares I-X also employed 720 thermal, acceleration, acoustic, and vibration sensors as part of its developmental flight instrumentation (DFI) to collect the data necessary for the mission. Some of this data was transmitted real-time via telemetry while the rest was stored in electronics boxes located in the First Stage Avionics Module (FSAM), located inside the hollow first stage fifth segment.
The ground-based portion of the mission’s avionics included a ground control
, command, and communications (GC3) unit, which was installed on Mobile Launcher Platform
#1 (MLP-1) for launch at Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center. The GC3 unit enabled the flight control system to interface with computers on the ground. The flight test vehicle flew autonomously and was controlled by the FTINU, located on the underside of the lower ballast plates of the upper stage simulator (USS).
The avionics were developed by Lockheed-Martin
of Denver, Colorado
, a subcontractor to Jacobs Engineering of Huntsville, Alabama
, and is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Alabama.
Ground operations and ground systems were handled by United Space Alliance
and NASA personnel at Kennedy Space Center.
& Integration (SE&I) Office, managed by the NASA Langley Research Center, was responsible for integrating the vehicle’s parts into a complete rocket and making sure they work together as a system to meet flight test objectives. SE&I was responsible for ensuring all components functioned collectively to satisfy primary and secondary mission objectives. Detailed management of system interfaces, mission level requirements, validation plans, and flight instrumentation management were key SE&I contributions. SE&I provided the structural, thermal and aerodynamic analyses for the overall system to allow the components to be designed and built. SE&I also managed the mass of the vehicle and developed the trajectory and the guidance, navigation, and control algorithms used for vehicle flight.
To complete these tasks, wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) were used to investigate forces acting on the vehicle in various phases of flight, including lift-off, ascent, stage separation and descent. Once the basic design was understood SE&I provided structural analyses for the system to assure the rocket would behave properly once it was integrated.
Schedule development, management and control was provided by ATK Schedule Analysts permanently located at the NASA Langley Research Center working through the TEAMS contract agreement between ATK and NASA Langley.
launch. The launch on the 27th was delayed due to weather (including upper-level winds) and other last-minute concerns, including difficulty removing a protective cover from an important nose-mounted five-port sensor package
. Concerns that launching through high cirrus cloud
s would cause triboelectrification, potentially interfering with range safety
communication and hampering the RSO
's ability to issue the self-destruction command, ultimately caused Launch Director Ed Mango to repeatedly delay resumption of the countdown from the planned countdown
hold, at T-00:04:00. The constraints of the 4-hour launch window, coupled with a consistent layer of high clouds, finally caused the mission to be scrubbed for the day at 15:20 UTC on October 27, 2009, and rescheduled for a four-hour launch window opening at 12:00 UTC on October 28, 2009.
LC-39B, successfully completing a brief test flight. The vehicle's first stage ignited at T-0 seconds and Ares I-X lifted off from Launch Complex 39B
. The first stage separated from the upper stage simulator and parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean roughly 150 miles (241.4 km) downrange of the launch site. The maximum altitude of the rocket was not immediately known, but had been expected to be 28 miles (45.1 km).
of the Ares I could create high vibrations during the first few minutes of ascent. The vibrations are caused by sudden acceleration pulses due to thrust oscillations inside the first stage. NASA admitted that this problem is very severe, rating it four out of five on a risk scale. NASA was very confident it could solve the problem, referring to a long history of successful problem solving. NASA
officials have known about the problem since fall 2007, stating in a press release that they had wanted to solve it by March 2008. According to NASA, analysis of the data and telemetry from the Ares I-X flight showed that vibrations from thrust oscillation were within the normal range for a Space Shuttle flight.
leak was detected on the 95 feet (29 m)-level, between the Payload Changeout Room and the Fixed Service Structure. Both leaks were capped without injury.
Due to the Pad Avoidance Maneuver performed by Ares I-X, shortly after liftoff, the Fixed Service Structure at LC-39B received significantly more direct rocket exhaust than occurs during a normal Space Shuttle
launch. The resulting damage has been reported as "substantial," with both pad elevators rendered inoperable, all communication lines between the pad and launch control destroyed and all outdoor megaphones melted. The vehicle-facing portions of the Fixed Service Structure appear to have suffered extreme heat damage and scorching, as do the hinge columns supporting the Rotating Service Structure.
This damage was anticipated, as NASA intends to remove the FSS and launch future Ares flights from a "clean pad".
parachutes, intended to slow and stabilize the booster stage into a vertical descent performed normally. Upon separation of the forward skirt extension, it has been reported that two of the three main parachutes deployed normally, partially inflating, while the third streamed, unopened. The streaming parachute is believed to have snagged one of the two partially inflated canopies, deflating it.
According to NASA, partial parachute failures are not uncommon in Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
s, from which the Ares I-X is derived. Eleven partial parachute failures have occurred to date on Space Shuttle SRBs, most recently on STS-128
. NASA will use that data to make sure the parachutes deploy successfully on the next test launch.
Solid Rocket Booster
s. However, recovery divers noted buckling of the lower portion. Reports also note an apparent fracture of the booster's forward segment casing and a fractured bracket that held an actuator, part of the SRM's nozzle vectoring system. A NASA memo states that engineers believe that the lower segment buckled when the first stage landed at a much higher speed than designed as a result of one of three main parachutes failing to deploy, as well as the failure of a second main parachute to remain deployed. It is unclear, at this point, what caused the apparent casing fracture and broken bracket, and NASA has not commented on this damage.
The USS was not a precise match to the characteristics of a real Ares I upper stage, and was not intended to test the upper stage's independent performance. The fact that the upper stage was not powered, and separated at a lower altitude than the real upper stage will on the final Ares I, contributed to the spin.
Ares I
Ares I was the crew launch vehicle that was being developed by NASA as part of the Constellation Program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars...
program, a launch system
Launch vehicle
In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....
for human spaceflight
Human spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
developed by the United States space agency, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. Ares I-X was successfully launched on October 28, 2009 . The project cost was $445 million.
The Ares I-X vehicle used in the test flight
Flight test
Flight test is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops and gathers data during flight of an aircraft and then analyzes the data to evaluate the flight characteristics of the aircraft and validate its design, including safety aspects...
was similar in shape, mass, and size to the planned configuration of later Ares I vehicles, but had largely dissimilar internal hardware consisting of only one powered stage. Ares I vehicles are intended to launch Orion crew exploration vehicles. Along with the Ares V
Ares V
The Ares V was the planned cargo launch component of the Constellation program, which was to have replaced the Space Shuttle after its retirement in 2011. Ares V was also planned to carry supplies for a human presence on Mars...
launch system and the Altair lunar lander, Ares I and Orion were part of NASA's Constellation Program, which was developing the spacecraft for U.S. human spaceflight after the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
fleet was retired.
Test objectives
Ares I-X was the first test flight of a launch vehicle like the Ares I. The test flight objectives included:- Demonstrating control of a dynamically similar vehicle using control algorithms similar to those used for Ares I.
- Performing an in-flight separation/staging event between an Ares I-similar First Stage and a representative Upper Stage.
- Demonstrating assembly and recovery of an Ares I-like First Stage at Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
- Demonstrating First Stage separation sequencing, and measuring First Stage atmospheric entryAtmospheric reentryAtmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
dynamics, and parachute performance. - Characterizing the magnitude of integrated vehicle roll torque throughout First Stage flight.
The flight also had several secondary objectives, including:
- Quantifying the effectiveness of the first stage booster deceleration motors.
- Characterizing induced environments and loads on the vehicle during ascent.
- Demonstrating a procedure for determining the vehicle’s position to orient the flight control system.
- Characterize induced loads on the Flight Test Vehicle while on the launch pad.
- Assess potential Ares I access locations in the VAB and on the Pad.
- Assess First Stage electrical umbilical performance.
The Ares I-X flight profile closely approximated the flight conditions that Ares I will experience through Mach 4.5, at an altitude of about 130,000 feet (39,600 m) and through a maximum dynamic pressure (“Max Q”) of approximately 800 pounds per square foot (38 kPa).
The Ares I-X flight profile resembled the uncrewed Saturn I
Saturn I
The Saturn I was the United States' first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher, a rocket designed specifically to launch large payloads into low Earth orbit. Most of the rocket's power came from a clustered lower stage consisting of tanks taken from older rocket designs and strapped together to make...
flights of the 1960s, which tested the Saturn propulsion concept.
By flying the vehicle through first stage separation, the test flight also verified the performance and dynamics of the Ares I solid rocket booster in a “single stick” arrangement, which is different from the solid rocket booster’s current “double-booster” configuration alongside the external tank
Space Shuttle external tank
A Space Shuttle External Tank is the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplies the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the three Space Shuttle Main Engines in the orbiter...
on the space shuttle.
Description
The Ares I–X vehicle consisted of a functional four-segment solid rocket boosterSpace Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters were the pair of large solid rockets used by the United States' NASA Space Shuttle during the first two minutes of powered flight. Together they provided about 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. They were located on either side of the rusty or...
(SRB) stage, a fifth segment mass simulator, an upper stage simulator (USS), which was similar in shape and heavier than the actual upper stage, as well as a simulated Orion crew module (CM) and launch abort system (LAS). Since the actual upper stage hardware could not be produced in time for the flight test, the upper stage mass simulator allowed the booster to fly approximately the same trajectory through the first stage of flight. The USS and the CM/LAS mass simulators launched by the Ares I-X were not recovered and fell into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. The first stage, including the fifth segment mass simulator, was recovered to retrieve flight data recorders and reusable equipment.
First stage
The four-segment solid rocket motor and aft skirt for Ares I-X was drawn directly from the Space Shuttle inventory. The motor was manufactured by ATKAlliant Techsystems
Alliant Techsystems Inc., most commonly known by its ticker symbol, ', is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the United States with more than 18,000 employees in 22 states, Puerto Rico and internationally, and 2010 revenues in excess of an estimated...
Launch Services of Promontory, Utah
Promontory, Utah
Promontory in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, is notable as the location of Promontory Summit where the United States' Transcontinental Railroad was officially completed on May 10, 1869....
. The new forward structures were manufactured by Major Tool & Machine of Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. The first stage element was managed by Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
. Modifications to the solid rocket booster include:
- The aft skirt was modified to include eight booster deceleration motors, which pulled the booster directly away from the upper stage simulator, as well as four booster tumble motors, which caused the booster to tumble horizontally to decrease its velocity prior to reentry. The aft skirt also housed one of two Redundant Rate Gyro Units (RRGUs), which provided data to inform the Fault TolerantFault-tolerant designIn engineering, fault-tolerant design is a design that enables a system to continue operation, possibly at a reduced level , rather than failing completely, when some part of the system fails...
Inertial Navigation Unit (FTINU) of the vehicle’s attitude and position. Steel ballast of 3,500 pounds (1,589 kg) was also added to the aft skirt to move the first stage’s center of gravityCenter of massIn physics, the center of mass or barycenter of a system is the average location of all of its mass. In the case of a rigid body, the position of the center of mass is fixed in relation to the body...
aft to ensure that the first stage would tumble properly after separation.
- An extended service tunnel along the exterior, which accommodated:
- An extended linear shaped chargeShaped chargeA shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
for the flight termination system, to cover all four segments in the event the stage needed to be self-destructed.
- Cabling for additional pressure and environmental instrumentation.
- A fifth segment simulator, which allowed the Ares I-X to simulate the length and mass of the Ares I five-segment motor and housed the First Stage Avionics Module (FSAM). The FSAM contained the electronics boxes that:
- Captured and stored flight data for recovery after splashdown.
- Provided electrical powerElectric powerElectric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
for the avionics systems.
- Performed separation and parachute deployment commands.
- Contained video cameraVideo cameraA video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in...
s that record the first stage separation.
- A hollow forward skirt which simulated the Ares I First Stage forward skirt.
- A forward skirt extension, which housed new, larger parachutes. The three main parachutes each had a 150 feet (45.7 m) diameter, compared to the Shuttle booster main parachutes, which are 136 feet (41.5 m) across. It also had a Shuttle booster heritage nosecap that covers the pilot and drogue parachutes. Jettisoning the nosecap released the pilot parachute which pulled out the drogue. The forward skirt extension separated from the booster deploying the main parachutes.
- A frustum, which was a hollow, inverted half-cone that connected the 12 feet (3.7 m)-diameter first stage to the 18 feet (5.5 m)-diameter upper stage simulator.
For the Ares I-X flight test, the frustum and forward skirt extension were made of aluminum. The forward skirt and fifth segment simulator were made of steel.
Upper stage simulator
The upper stage simulator (USS) was manufactured by NASA personnel at Glenn Research CenterGlenn Research Center
NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center, located within the cities of Brook Park, Cleveland and Fairview Park, Ohio between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Cleveland Metroparks's Rocky River Reservation, and has other subsidiary facilities in Ohio...
in Cleveland. Because of transportation limitations (bridge heights on highways and rivers), the simulator was built out of eleven steel segments 9.5 feet (2.9 m) tall by 18 feet (5.5 m) wide. The USS simulated the shape, mass, and center of gravity characteristics of Ares I from the interstage to the top of the service module
Service module
A service module is a spacecraft compartment containing a variety of support systems used for spacecraft operations. Usually located in the uninhabited area of the spacecraft, the service module is jettisoned upon the completion of the mission, and usually burns up during atmospheric reentry...
of the Orion Crew exploration vehicle. The centers of mass for the liquid hydrogen
Liquid hydrogen
Liquid hydrogen is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecular H2 form.To exist as a liquid, H2 must be pressurized above and cooled below hydrogen's Critical point. However, for hydrogen to be in a full liquid state without boiling off, it needs to be...
and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
tanks were simulated through the use of steel ballast plates.
The USS included a variety of temperature, vibration, thermal, and acoustic sensors to collect the primary data needed to meet the mission objectives. It also housed the Fault Tolerant Inertial Navigation Unit (FTINU), which controlled the vehicle’s flight and primary avionics functions. For stability, the FTINU was mounted on the underside of the lower ballast plates. Ground operations personnel accessed the FTINU through a crew hatch on the side of the interstage segment, which also housed the roll control system. Each USS segment included a ladder and ring-shaped platform to allow access to the sensors and cabling for the developmental flight instrumentation. The stairs and platforms were necessary because Launch Complex 39B is not tall enough to provide crew access to the upper parts of Ares I-X.
Roll control system
The active roll control system (RoCS) was needed because the flight test vehicle had a tendency to roll around its axis of forward motion. The RoCS for Ares I-X consisted of two modules containing engines originally used on now-decommissioned Peacekeeper missilesLGM-118A Peacekeeper
The LGM-118A Peacekeeper, also known as the MX missile , was a land-based ICBM deployed by the United States starting in 1986. A total of 50 missiles were deployed. They have since been deactivated....
. The RoCS performed two primary functions:
- Rolling the vehicle 90 degrees after liftoff to emulate the Ares I roll attitude at launch.
- Maintaining a constant roll attitude during ascent up to stage separation.
The RoCS modules, placed on opposite sides of the outer skin of the Upper Stage Simulator, used hypergolic monomethyl hydrazine
Monomethylhydrazine
Monomethylhydrazine is a volatile hydrazine chemical with the chemical formula CH3 NH2. It is used as a rocket propellant in bipropellant rocket engines because it is hypergolic with various oxidizers such as nitrogen tetroxide and nitric acid...
(MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide
Dinitrogen tetroxide
Dinitrogen tetroxide is the chemical compound N2O4. It is a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an equilibrium mixture with nitrogen dioxide; some call this mixture dinitrogen tetroxide, while some call it nitrogen dioxide.Dinitrogen tetroxide is a powerful oxidizer, making it highly...
(NTO) for propellants and each included two nozzles, which fired tangential to the skin and at right angles
Angle
In geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays sharing a common endpoint, called the vertex of the angle.Angles are usually presumed to be in a Euclidean plane with the circle taken for standard with regard to direction. In fact, an angle is frequently viewed as a measure of an circular arc...
to the roll axis in order to provide a controlling roll torque. The propellants were loaded into the modules at Kennedy Space Center’s Hypergol Maintenance Facility (HMF) and transported on the ground for installation into the USS in the Vehicle Assembly Building
Vehicle Assembly Building
The Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center was used to assemble and house American manned launch vehicles from 1968-2011. It is the fourth largest building in the world by volume...
(VAB) prior to rollout to Launch Complex 39B.
The RoCS modules were designed and constructed to fit into the Interstage segment of the USS by Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama. The engines were hot-fire tested at White Sands Test Facility
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
in 2007 and 2008 to verify that they could perform the pulsing duty cycle
Duty cycle
In engineering, the duty cycle of a machine or system is the time that it spends in an active state as a fraction of the total time under consideration....
required by Ares I-X.
Crew module/launch abort system simulator
At the top of the Ares I-X flight test vehicle was a combined Orion crew module and launch abort system simulator, resembling the structural and aerodynamic characteristics of Ares I. The full-scale crew module (CM) is approximately 16 feet (5 m) in diameter and 7 feet (2.1 m) tall, while the launch abort system (LAS) is 46 feet (14 m) long.The CM/LAS simulator was built with high fidelity to ensure that its hardware components accurately reflect the shape and physical properties
Physical property
A physical property is any property that is measurable whose value describes a physical system's state. The changes in the physical properties of a system can be used to describe its transformations ....
of the models used in computer analyses and wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
tests. This precision enables NASA to compare CM/LAS flight performance with preflight predictions with high confidence. The CM/LAS simulator also helps verify analysis tools and techniques needed to further develop Ares I.
Ares I-X flight data were collected with sensors throughout the vehicle, including approximately 150 sensors in the CM/LAS simulator that recorded thermal, aerodynamic, acoustic, vibration and other data. Data were transmitted to the ground via telemetry and also stored in the First Stage Avionics Module (FSAM), located in the empty fifth segment.
Aerodynamic data collected from sensors in the CM/LAS contribute to measurements of vehicle acceleration and angle of attack
Angle of attack
Angle of attack is a term used in fluid dynamics to describe the angle between a reference line on a lifting body and the vector representing the relative motion between the lifting body and the fluid through which it is moving...
. How the tip of the rocket slices through the atmosphere is important because that determines the flow of air over the entire vehicle.
The CM/LAS splashed down in the ocean along with the upper stage simulator (USS) after the boost phase
Boost phase
The boost phase is the portion of the flight of a ballistic missile or space vehicle during which the booster and sustainer engines operate until it reaches peak velocity. This phase can take 3 to 4 minutes , the altitude at the end of this phase is 150–200 km, and the typical burn-out speed...
of the mission.
This simulator was designed and built by a government-industry team at Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center is the oldest of NASA's field centers, located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It directly borders Poquoson, Virginia and Langley Air Force Base...
in Virginia. It was flown to Kennedy Space Center by C-5 transport and was the last piece of hardware stacked onto the rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Avionics
Ares I-X used avionics hardware from the Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch VehicleEELV
Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch system program of the United States Air Force , intended to assure access to space for Department of Defense and other United States government payloads...
(EELV) to control its flight. This hardware included the Fault Tolerant Inertial Navigation Unit (FTINU) and Redundant Rate Gyro Units (RRGUs), and cable harnesses. The first stage was controlled primarily by heritage hardware from existing Space Shuttle systems. A new electronics box, the Ascent Thrust Vector Controller (ATVC), acted as a translation tool to communicate commands from the Atlas-based flight computer to the solid rocket booster’s thrust vector control
Vector control (motor)
Vector control is one method used in variable frequency drives to control the torque of three-phase AC electric motors by controlling the current fed to the machine.-Method:...
system. The ATVC was the only new avionics box for the flight. All other components were existing or off-the-shelf
Commercial off-the-shelf
In the United States, Commercially available Off-The-Shelf is a Federal Acquisition Regulation term defining a nondevelopmental item of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract...
units. Ares I-X also employed 720 thermal, acceleration, acoustic, and vibration sensors as part of its developmental flight instrumentation (DFI) to collect the data necessary for the mission. Some of this data was transmitted real-time via telemetry while the rest was stored in electronics boxes located in the First Stage Avionics Module (FSAM), located inside the hollow first stage fifth segment.
The ground-based portion of the mission’s avionics included a ground control
Mission Control Center
A mission control center is an entity that manages aerospace vehicle flights, usually from the point of lift-off until the landing or the end of the mission. A staff of flight controllers and other support personnel monitor all aspects of the mission using telemetry, and send commands to the...
, command, and communications (GC3) unit, which was installed on Mobile Launcher Platform
Mobile Launcher Platform
The Mobile Launcher Platform or MLP is one of three two-story structures used by NASA to support the Space Shuttle stack during its transportation from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center as well as serve as the vehicle's launch platform...
#1 (MLP-1) for launch at Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center. The GC3 unit enabled the flight control system to interface with computers on the ground. The flight test vehicle flew autonomously and was controlled by the FTINU, located on the underside of the lower ballast plates of the upper stage simulator (USS).
The avionics were developed by Lockheed-Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
of Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, a subcontractor to Jacobs Engineering of Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, and is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
in Huntsville, Alabama.
Commemorative payload
Three shoebox-size packages were affixed inside the fifth segment simulator of the first stage to carry:- Three DVDs with 60-second home videos recorded by the public and submitted through NASA's website.
- 3,500 flags to be distributed to Ares I-X team members.
Ground operations
Ground operations include activities such as vehicle stacking, integration, rollout, and liftoff, while ground systems include vehicle interfaces and lightning protection. Several new procedures and hardware items were developed for Ares I-X, including:- A new, taller lightning protection system for Launch Complex 39B, which is taller than the existing tower used for Space Shuttle operations.
- A Shuttle-era firing room was updated with new computer hardwareComputer hardwarePersonal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...
to support Constellation. - A platform inside the Vehicle Assembly Building was removed to allow the Ares I-X vehicle to fit and roll out.
- A new vehicle stabilization system (VSS), which kept the vehicle from swaying on the launch padLaunch padA launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecraft lift off. A spaceport can contain one or many launch pads. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures. The service structure provides an access platform to inspect the launch vehicle prior to launch....
after rollout. The VSS uses off-the-shelf hydraulic shock absorberShock absorberA shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy. It is a type of dashpot.-Nomenclature:...
s from the Monroe division of Tenneco, Inc. - Environmental controlHVACHVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
systems (ECS) regulated temperatures inside the VSS and fifth segment simulator to keep the avionics and ground crewGroundcrewIn aviation, the groundcrew is the support crew supplying the aircraft with fuel and maintenance, as opposed to the aircrew.In airlines, ground crew members include:*Airframe and powerplant technicians*Avionics technicians*Baggage handlers*Rampers...
cool. - Improved computer systems in Firing Room 1 at Launch Complex 39B.
- The ECS interfaces to the rocket are “T-0” units, meaning they disconnected from the launch vehicle automatically when the countdown reached zero.
Ground operations and ground systems were handled by United Space Alliance
United Space Alliance
United Space Alliance is a spaceflight operations company. USA is a joint venture which was established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company , equally owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas and, employed approximately 8,800 people in Texas,...
and NASA personnel at Kennedy Space Center.
Systems engineering and integration
The Ares I-X Systems EngineeringSystems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more...
& Integration (SE&I) Office, managed by the NASA Langley Research Center, was responsible for integrating the vehicle’s parts into a complete rocket and making sure they work together as a system to meet flight test objectives. SE&I was responsible for ensuring all components functioned collectively to satisfy primary and secondary mission objectives. Detailed management of system interfaces, mission level requirements, validation plans, and flight instrumentation management were key SE&I contributions. SE&I provided the structural, thermal and aerodynamic analyses for the overall system to allow the components to be designed and built. SE&I also managed the mass of the vehicle and developed the trajectory and the guidance, navigation, and control algorithms used for vehicle flight.
To complete these tasks, wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with...
(CFD) were used to investigate forces acting on the vehicle in various phases of flight, including lift-off, ascent, stage separation and descent. Once the basic design was understood SE&I provided structural analyses for the system to assure the rocket would behave properly once it was integrated.
Schedule development, management and control was provided by ATK Schedule Analysts permanently located at the NASA Langley Research Center working through the TEAMS contract agreement between ATK and NASA Langley.
October 27, 2009 (Launch attempt 1)
Ares I-X had been scheduled for launch on October 27, 2009, the 48th anniversary of the first Saturn ISaturn I
The Saturn I was the United States' first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher, a rocket designed specifically to launch large payloads into low Earth orbit. Most of the rocket's power came from a clustered lower stage consisting of tanks taken from older rocket designs and strapped together to make...
launch. The launch on the 27th was delayed due to weather (including upper-level winds) and other last-minute concerns, including difficulty removing a protective cover from an important nose-mounted five-port sensor package
Pitot tube
A pitot tube is a pressure measurement instrument used to measure fluid flow velocity. The pitot tube was invented by the French engineer Henri Pitot Ulo in the early 18th century and was modified to its modern form in the mid-19th century by French scientist Henry Darcy...
. Concerns that launching through high cirrus cloud
Cirrus cloud
Cirrus clouds are atmospheric clouds generally characterized by thin, wispy strands, giving them their name from the Latin word cirrus meaning a ringlet or curling lock of hair...
s would cause triboelectrification, potentially interfering with range safety
Range safety
In rocketry, range safety is assured by the systems which protect people and assets on the rocket range in cases when a launch vehicle might endanger them. Range safety is usually the responsibility of a Range Safety Officer...
communication and hampering the RSO
Range Safety Officer
In the field of rocketry, Range Safety Officer is a generic term referring to an individual who monitors the performance of rockets in flight, and who is responsible for their remote destruction if it should be judged that they pose a hazard...
's ability to issue the self-destruction command, ultimately caused Launch Director Ed Mango to repeatedly delay resumption of the countdown from the planned countdown
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of counting backward to indicate the seconds, days, or other time units remaining before an event occurs or a deadline expires. Typical events for which a countdown is used include the launch of a rocket or spacecraft, the detonation of a bomb, the start of a race, and the...
hold, at T-00:04:00. The constraints of the 4-hour launch window, coupled with a consistent layer of high clouds, finally caused the mission to be scrubbed for the day at 15:20 UTC on October 27, 2009, and rescheduled for a four-hour launch window opening at 12:00 UTC on October 28, 2009.
October 28, 2009 (Launch)
Ares I-X launched on October 28, 2009 at 11:30 EDT (15:30 UTC) from Kennedy Space CenterKennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
LC-39B, successfully completing a brief test flight. The vehicle's first stage ignited at T-0 seconds and Ares I-X lifted off from Launch Complex 39B
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39
Launch Complex 39 is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built for the Apollo program, and later modified to support Space Shuttle operations. NASA began modifying LC-39 in 2007 to...
. The first stage separated from the upper stage simulator and parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean roughly 150 miles (241.4 km) downrange of the launch site. The maximum altitude of the rocket was not immediately known, but had been expected to be 28 miles (45.1 km).
Thrust oscillation
Prior to the flight there had been some concern among NASA scientists and among Ares critics and skeptics that the thrust oscillation would prove too violent for human astronauts to safely ride an Ares rocket. NASA Watch revealed that the first stage Solid Rocket BoosterSolid rocket booster
Solid rocket boosters or Solid Rocket Motors, SRM, are used to provide thrust in spacecraft launches from the launchpad up to burnout of the SRBs. Many launch vehicles include SRBs, including the Ariane 5, Atlas V , and the NASA Space Shuttle...
of the Ares I could create high vibrations during the first few minutes of ascent. The vibrations are caused by sudden acceleration pulses due to thrust oscillations inside the first stage. NASA admitted that this problem is very severe, rating it four out of five on a risk scale. NASA was very confident it could solve the problem, referring to a long history of successful problem solving. NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
officials have known about the problem since fall 2007, stating in a press release that they had wanted to solve it by March 2008. According to NASA, analysis of the data and telemetry from the Ares I-X flight showed that vibrations from thrust oscillation were within the normal range for a Space Shuttle flight.
Pad damage
Approximately two hours after launch of Ares I-X, safing crews entering pad LC-39B reported a small cloud of residual nitrogen tetroxide leaking from an obsolete shuttle oxidizer line at the 95 feet (29 m)-level of the Fixed Service Structure, where it connects to the Rotating Service Structure. At 8:40am on October 29, 2009, a hydrazineHydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the formula N2H4. It is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odor. Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Approximately 260,000 tons are manufactured annually...
leak was detected on the 95 feet (29 m)-level, between the Payload Changeout Room and the Fixed Service Structure. Both leaks were capped without injury.
Due to the Pad Avoidance Maneuver performed by Ares I-X, shortly after liftoff, the Fixed Service Structure at LC-39B received significantly more direct rocket exhaust than occurs during a normal Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
launch. The resulting damage has been reported as "substantial," with both pad elevators rendered inoperable, all communication lines between the pad and launch control destroyed and all outdoor megaphones melted. The vehicle-facing portions of the Fixed Service Structure appear to have suffered extreme heat damage and scorching, as do the hinge columns supporting the Rotating Service Structure.
This damage was anticipated, as NASA intends to remove the FSS and launch future Ares flights from a "clean pad".
Parachute malfunction
Initial press reports indicate that the first stage parachute system experienced a malfunction, though at this time, NASA has yet to officially comment on whether the parachute system performed as expected. According to reports, the pilot and drogueDrogue parachute
A drogue parachute is a parachute designed to be deployed from a rapidly moving object in order to slow the object, or to provide control and stability, or as a pilot parachute to deploy a larger parachute...
parachutes, intended to slow and stabilize the booster stage into a vertical descent performed normally. Upon separation of the forward skirt extension, it has been reported that two of the three main parachutes deployed normally, partially inflating, while the third streamed, unopened. The streaming parachute is believed to have snagged one of the two partially inflated canopies, deflating it.
According to NASA, partial parachute failures are not uncommon in Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters were the pair of large solid rockets used by the United States' NASA Space Shuttle during the first two minutes of powered flight. Together they provided about 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. They were located on either side of the rusty or...
s, from which the Ares I-X is derived. Eleven partial parachute failures have occurred to date on Space Shuttle SRBs, most recently on STS-128
STS-128
-Crew notes:Nicole Stott was originally scheduled to return aboard Soyuz TMA-15, but a change in the flight plan was made due to the possible flight delays in future shuttle missions, which may extend Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk's mission beyond the six-month duration preferred for station...
. NASA will use that data to make sure the parachutes deploy successfully on the next test launch.
First stage damage
The first stage was found floating upright, as is typical of expended Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
Solid Rocket Booster
Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters were the pair of large solid rockets used by the United States' NASA Space Shuttle during the first two minutes of powered flight. Together they provided about 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. They were located on either side of the rusty or...
s. However, recovery divers noted buckling of the lower portion. Reports also note an apparent fracture of the booster's forward segment casing and a fractured bracket that held an actuator, part of the SRM's nozzle vectoring system. A NASA memo states that engineers believe that the lower segment buckled when the first stage landed at a much higher speed than designed as a result of one of three main parachutes failing to deploy, as well as the failure of a second main parachute to remain deployed. It is unclear, at this point, what caused the apparent casing fracture and broken bracket, and NASA has not commented on this damage.
Upper Stage Simulator flat spin
The unpowered Upper Stage Simulator (USS), which was not meant to be retrieved, impacted further out into the Atlantic Ocean. The USS began to tumble, in a flat, counterclockwise spin almost immediately after staging. After initial concerns that the motion might have been caused by a collision between the USS and the first stage, further analysis showed that no actual recontact happened and that the tumble had been one of the possible behaviours predicted by pre-flight simulations.The USS was not a precise match to the characteristics of a real Ares I upper stage, and was not intended to test the upper stage's independent performance. The fact that the upper stage was not powered, and separated at a lower altitude than the real upper stage will on the final Ares I, contributed to the spin.
External links
- Video of Ares I-X launch from the KSC Press Site - SpaceflightNews.net at YouTube
- Video, high-altitude aircraft captures Ares I-X launch, parachute deployment and splashdown - SpaceflightNews.net at YouTube
- Kennedy Space Center multimedia gallery for Ares I-X
- Ares I-X Blog
- Spherical panorama of the completed stack of the Ares I-X in highbay 3 of the VAB
- Ares I-X components on the floor of highbay 4 of the VAB
- Ares I-X components on the floor of highbay 4 of the VAB seen from above
- Ares I-X upper stage in the VAB, highbay 3
- Top-to-bottom view of Ares I-X at mid vehicle in the VAB, highbay 3
- Ares I-X launch videos from various camera angles at YouTube
- Astronomy Photo of the Day