Tue, Mar 17, 2009
Now Making 2,900-Mile Cross-Country Journey From UT To KSC
The final pieces of the Ares I-X flight test rocket left the
Alliant Tech Systems manufacturing facility in Promontory, UT
Thursday and began a 2,917-mile journey to its launch site at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first stage motor segments are the last shipment of Ares I-X
major hardware elements. The hardware will arrive in Florida later
this month and undergo final processing and preparations before
being stacked with the other portions of the rocket.
"This shipment means great things for the Ares I-X mission,"
said Ares I-X Deputy Mission Manager, Steve Davis. "It's wonderful
to see the next generation of American spaceflight continue to take
shape. The excitement is really building now as we start stacking
the pieces and preparing for launch later this year."
The Ares I-X will be the first flight test for the Ares I
rocket; the agency's next-generation spacecraft and crew launch
vehicle system. The flight will provide NASA an early opportunity
to test and prove hardware, analysis models, facilities and ground
operations associated with Ares I.
The Ares I-X rocket is a combination of existing and simulator
hardware that will resemble the Ares I rocket in size, shape and
weight. It will provide valuable data to guide the final design of
the Ares I. The test flight also will bring NASA one step closer to
its goals of returning to the moon, and traveling to destinations
beyond. The Ares I-X launch is scheduled later in 2009.
The Ares I-X first stage uses a four-segment solid rocket motor,
capable of generating 3.3 million pounds of thrust. The motor
provides the primary propulsion for the vehicle from liftoff to
stage separation 120 seconds into the flight. The motor segments
were taken from the existing space shuttle solid rocket booster
inventory for the flight test. The booster used for the Ares I-X
flight test is being modified to meet Ares needs by adding new
forward structures and a fifth segment simulator to better
replicate the size and shape of the Ares I crew launch vehicle.
More News
Aero Linx: JAARS Nearly 1.5 billion people, using more than 5,500 languages, do not have a full Bible in their first language. Many of these people live in the most remote parts of>[...]
'Airplane Bounced Twice On The Grass Runway, Resulting In The Nose Wheel Separating From The Airplane...' Analysis: The pilot reported, “upon touchdown, the plane jumped back>[...]
"Burt is best known to the public for his historic designs of SpaceShipOne, Voyager, and GlobalFlyer, but for EAA members and aviation aficionados, his unique concepts began more t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
There Are SO Many Ways To Get YOUR Aero-News! It’s been a while since we have reminded everyone about all the ways we offer your daily dose of aviation news on-the-go...so he>[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.04.24)
See All