NASA Receives 1st Stage Rocket Hardware for Ares I-X Test Flight
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(Cape Canaveral, Fla., November 17, 2008) -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida welcomed the arrival Nov. 10 of important hardware for the Ares I-X rocket's upcoming test flight.
Called the forward skirt, the component is part of the rocket's first stage. The Ares I-X launch will be the first test flight for NASA's next crew launch vehicle. The launch is targeted for July 2009 from Kennedy and will provide an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I rocket.
The forward skirt began its trip Nov. 7 from Major Tool & Machine Inc. of Indiana, a subcontractor to Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, of Utah. ATK is the prime contractor for the first stage of the Ares I rocket.
The rocket's first stage provides the primary propulsion -- 2.6 million pounds of thrust -- for the vehicle from liftoff to stage separation, which occurs 120 seconds into the flight. Part of the first stage, the nearly 14,000-pound forward skirt is constructed entirely of armored steel and stands seven feet tall and 12 1/4 feet wide. The main deceleration parachutes that slow the return of the rocket's boosters to Earth after launch are attached to this hardware. The forward skirt was designed as an empty, buoyant space to be used as ballast, keeping the first stage afloat for recovery.
"We could not be more pleased that the vehicle first stage hardware is beginning to arrive," said Pepper Phillips, director of the Constellation Project Office at Kennedy. "This is one of many major milestones and is a testament to the tremendous NASA and contractor team working together to ensure a successful test flight for the new program."
The upper stage simulator was the first major piece of the Ares I-X rocket to arrive at Kennedy on Nov. 4. During the next few months, all of the additional hardware needed to complete the test vehicle will be delivered to Kennedy, beginning with a piece that simulates a fifth segment for the four-segment solid rocket booster and concluding with delivery of the complete motor set in January 2009.
United Space Alliance of Florida, under a subcontract to ATK, will complete the integration and assembly of the forward skirt in Kennedy's Assembly and Refurbishment Facility. The hardware then will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking operations in high bay 3 during the spring of 2009.
"The forward skirt has 12 parachute brackets, with each bracket restraining two parachute spools," said Bob Herman, ATK's Florida site director. "For the Ares I-X launch, six of these spools will be used to measure parachute loads passed on to the forward skirt. ATK is proud to play a critical role in helping NASA achieve its vision to return to the moon."
Source : NASA
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