Universe Today » Constellation

KSC Workers Rally to Continue Constellation and Extend Shuttle

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:34:11 +0000

Supporters at a rally want to continue the Constellation program and extend the shuttle program. Image credit: Alan Walters, awaltersphoto.com. Used by permission.

About 2,000 people turned out for a "Save Our Space Exploration" rally in Titusville, Florida on Saturday. Organized by union leaders, the event focused on preserving jobs at Kennedy Space Center, vital to the economy on the Space Coast. "Canceling the Constellation program is a movement away from what we Floridians know that we made happen," said Brian Dempsey Secretary/Treasurer of Florida AFL/CIO. "Space Coast, space travel — that's Florida. That's what we're known for. This is not a small matter. This is a huge fight that we're going to have to buckle down to win. It's going to take serious dedication and determination."
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Post tags: Constellation cancelation, kennedy space center

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Tough Times Could Be Ahead for Kennedy Space Center

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 04:23:59 +0000

The Vehicle Asssembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Image: Nancy Atkinson

The cancellation of the Constellation program compounds an already bleak picture for the Kennedy Space Center and those who work there. 7,000 shuttle workers are expected to lose their jobs by the time the shuttle program comes to an end by late 2010 or early 2011. So far, NASA has not provided an estimate of how many government and contractor jobs will be lost as Constellation — the program that would have sent astronauts back to the Moon — will be slashed. But it could be a hard blow to KSC and communities surrounding the space center.

"This is a big deal and it is going to affect us," said Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana about the cancellation at a press conference earlier this week. Shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach talked about the "shock" and "uncertainty" that many at KSC are feeling.
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Post tags: Constellation program, kennedy space center, NASA, Space Shuttle

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President Can't Cut Constellation Without Congressional Approval

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:59:19 +0000

With all the speculation currently making the rounds about Obama axing the Constellation program and ending the possibilities of humans returning to the Moon anytime soon, it was brought to our attention by a reader that under the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 3288, passed on September 17, 2009, Congress inserted a clause in the language of the FY2010 NASA funding bill that would prevent President Obama from terminating the Constellation program without Congressional approval. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida and Senator Richard Shelby from Alabama — two states that have a huge stake in NASA's future — were the main sponsors of the clause in the Senate version. So, it doesn't appear that Obama can just cut Constellation, not without a fight, anyway.

Also while we're on the subject of NASA's future, Administrator Charlie Bolden spoke in Israel yesterday, and journalist Avi Blizovsky from the online publication Hayadan shared with Universe Today some interesting comments Bolden made about NASA's direction.
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Where is NASA Going? Rumors Fly

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:55:59 +0000

The rumors are flying fast and furious as to details of NASA's budget and future path that will be officially announced on February 1, 2010. The Orlando Sentinel says the Constellation program is dead: Obama and Congress are going to pull the plug on the Ares rocket and nix returning to the Moon. The Houston Chronicle says there is no way NASA will get a budget boost, especially not the $3 billion suggested by the Augustine Commission. New Scientists reports that Mars' moon Phobos will be the next destination of human explorers, as part of the undefined "flexible path" — again suggested by the Augustine panel. Most interesting among the mix is a blog post by NASA's Wayne Hale, who suggests NASA should get out of the human spaceflight business – and allow commercial space companies to handle hauling astronauts to space.

Some speculate this could be the end of America's space agency as we know it — we might as well take the "S" out of NASA.
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Post tags: Ares, Constellation program, NASA

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Engineers Find Fixes For Potential Thrust Oscillation Problem on Ares

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:11:28 +0000

Will the Ares rocket stay or will it go? For now, no one knows, but NASA engineers have developed multiple options for "de-tuning" the Ares I rocket to prevent any problematic thrust oscillations that could potentially expose astronauts to dangerous levels of vibrations as the rocket climbs to orbit with the Orion crew vehicle atop. Even though the Ares I-X test flight showed no problematic thrust oscillation vibrations took place during the flight, engineers believe they have found a solution to preclude it from actually ever happening with any future Ares rocket. Read the details below; and enjoy this video round-up of everything that happened with the Constellation program in 2009.
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Post tags: Ares, Ares I-X, Constellation program

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Latest Buzz: NASA to Get Bigger Budget and New Launcher

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:56:24 +0000

OK, I guess I was wrong yesterday when I said nothing happened during the meeting between President Obama and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden. Science Magazine has now published this:

President Barack Obama will ask Congress next year to fund a new heavy-lift launcher to take humans to the moon, asteroids, and the moons of Mars, ScienceInsider has learned. The president chose the new direction for the U.S. human space flight program Wednesday at a White House meeting with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, according to officials familiar with the discussion. NASA would receive an additional $1 billion in 2011 both to get the new launcher on track and to bolster the agency’s fleet of robotic Earth-monitoring spacecraft.

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Time Magazine Names NASA's Ares-I As "Best Invention of 2009"

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:16:02 +0000

Ares I-X. Credit: NASA/Scott Andrews

Whoa. As many people noted on Twitter: Didn't see this one coming. Time Magazine named NASA's Ares rocket as the 2009 Invention of the Year. Ares beat out the what has been billed as the world's best paper airplane, the bladeless fan, rubber made from dandelions, and, my favorite, teleportation. I don't know who Time had for their judges, but obviously Buzz Aldrin wasn't among them. Check out his Huffington Post article where he says although the Ares I-X launched looked spectacular, Ares I needs to be scrapped.

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NASA May Drop Ares I-Y Test Flight

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:09:19 +0000

Artist concept of Ares I. Image Credit: NASA

Just one week after the first test flight test of the Ares I-X rocket, NASA says it may decide to cancel a follow-up launch called Ares 1-Y, which wasn't scheduled until 2014. Reportedly, program managers recommended dropping the flight because, currently, there isn't the funding to get an upper stage engine ready in time. The test flight may be replaced with a new, still undefined test flight in 2012 or 2013. “It simply does not fit where we are headed,” said Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program manager was quoted in NASA's Constellation Blog. “The test vehicle was intended to meet evolving needs but the current configuration is too different from what the program requires to certify the Ares/Orion vehicle systems.”
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Chase Plane Footage of Ares I-X Flight

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:11:21 +0000

Here's some great additional footage from the Ares I-X flight taken from a chase plane, which shows the entire flight, including booster separation and parachute deploy — and the problems that happened with the parachutes. The video was taken from a Cessna Skymaster aircraft positioned approx. 10 nautical miles away from the vehicle at an altitude of 12,000 feet. The videographer used a gyro-stabilized high-definition camera system mounted to the outside of the aircraft to capture this spectacular footage which provides extremely valuable engineering data, and imagery of the recovery sequence in rarely-seen detail. This provides NASA with additional critical data from vehicle ascent, booster deceleration and parachute deploy.
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Ares I-X Manager Addresses Booster Damage, Stage Tumbling and Thrust Oscillation

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:28:19 +0000

Divers recover the Ares I-X booster. Credit: NASA, via Spaceflightnow.com

The damage seen on the Ares I-X booster occurred as a result of parachute failure, which caused the rocket to impact the water harder than expected. Ares I-X manager Bob Ess briefed reporters today on the preliminary data from Wednesday's test flight of NASA new rocket, and said the parachute failure was not a significant event. "The damage we see is analogous to when there has been parachute failure on the space shuttle boosters, but actually the parachute guys were ecstatic overall and are not worried about it," Ess said. "This is all part of doing a test flight, so team is still very elated. The fact that the parachute team has something interesting to go work makes them excited. The damage was all collateral because of the parachute." He also touched on the "tumbling" of the second stage, and their findings on thrust oscillation for the vehicle.
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Ares I-X Booster Damaged

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:26:58 +0000

Buckling on the first stage booster for Ares I-X. Credit: NASA via Spaceflightnow.com

The booster rocket used in the Ares I-X test flight was found to be badly dented when divers located it in the Atlantic Ocean. The damage could have occurred as the booster hit the water. UPDATE (7:30 pm CDT): Bill Harwood from CBS news is reporting that according to NASA officials, one of the three 150-foot-wide parachutes designed to gently lower NASA's Ares I-X first stage booster to the Atlantic Ocean deflated after deployment, resulting in a harder splashdown than expected. All three main chutes deployed, but while two inflated fully, the third collapsed. "A source said the deflated parachute contacted one of the others as it whipped about in the wind, causing a partial deflation. That could not be immediately confirmed, although a splashdown in that condition might explain the buckling seen in the lower segment of the rocket's case," Harwood wrote. (end of update).
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What's Next for the Ares Rocket?

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:03:17 +0000

Launch day. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Kevin O'Connell

After Wednesday's picture perfect launch of the Ares I-X test rocket — which revealed no real showstoppers or issues as of yet for the vehicle — the obvious next question is: now what? Much of what comes next for the Ares program, and Constellation in general, hinges on any decisions the Obama administration and Congress make in regards to NASA's budget and the options put forth by the Augustine Commission. But if the Ares program is given the green light, here's an overview of the next steps, future test flights and milestones. First on the list? We won't hear the word "triboelectrification" ever again.
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Ares I-X Launch Image Gallery

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:39:11 +0000

A bowshock forms around the Arex I-X rocket. Credit: NASA

There are some great images of Wednesday's Ares I-X launch. Most notable is this one of the Prandtl–Glauert singularity ~~bow shock~~ that formed around the 327-foot-tall rocket as it went supersonic at about 39 seconds into the flight. Liftoff of the 6-minute flight test from Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida was at 11:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 28. This was the first launch from Kennedy's pads of a vehicle other than the space shuttle since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired. See more great images below.
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Arex I-X Launches Successfully

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:18:04 +0000

After waiting out weather and triboelectrification issues, the Arex I-X rocket thundered and crackled away from the launch pad at 11:30 am EDT with a successful (and beautiful) launch. The vehicle ran through the entire 2-minute test flight with no obvious problems or issues, ending with the stages separating and parachuting down to the Atlantic Ocean. This marks the first time a new vehicle has launched from Kennedy Space Center since the first space shuttle launch in 1981. "The only thing we were waiting for was weather," said a jubilant test flight director Ed Mango to his team after the flight, "and that means all of you did fricking fantastic!"
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Ares I-X Launch Scrub: Can You Say Triboelectrification?

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:53:38 +0000

NASA's Ares I-X rocket is seen on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The test flight for the Ares I-X rocket was scrubbed on Tuesday after a roller coaster of repeated delays which included weather, a stuck cover on a probe, a cargo ship straying into the launch hazard zone, weather, and weather. "We had some opportunities, but just couldn't get there," launch test director Ed Mango said to the team. "Weather didn't cooperate." The biggest issue with weather was the launch commit criteria of avoiding possible static discharge called “triboelectrification” created by the outer coating of the rocket rubbing against cloud vapor or precipitation that is colder than -10 degrees C (14 deg. F). This static electricity could disrupt the transmission of flight test data from the rocket, and getting data is one of the main desired outcomes for the test flight.

Another 4-hour launch window opens at 8 am EDT (1200 GMT) on Wednesday.
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Weather Only Issue for Ares I-X Test Flight

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:44:55 +0000

Ares I-X and the space shuttle on the launchpads at KSC. Credit: NASA

The Ares I-X and the space shuttle on the launchpads at KSC. Credit: NASA. Click for larger version.

Possible rain and high clouds are the only "ifs" so far for the test flight of the Ares I-X rocket on Tuesday morning, the first test flight of a new rocket for NASA in over 30 years. Central to the concern about weather is a possible static discharge called "tribo electrification" created by the outer coating of the rocket if it flies through cloud vapor or precipitation that is colder than -10 degrees C (14 deg. F). This static electricity could disrupt the transmission of flight test data from the rocket, one of the main reasons for the test. At a briefing Monday morning, managers for the Ares program said the only other issue they are working with also deals with weather – the timing when to remove a probe cover.
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Ares I-X Test Flight is Go For Oct. 27 (Video)

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:05:03 +0000

Following a flight test readiness review, NASA has given the 'all systems go' for the Ares I-X maiden test flight on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 8 a.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "I am proud of the work this team has done to ready this test rocket for launch," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. "This test will yield important data to support the nation's next steps in exploration. There is no substitute for hard data – flight testing clarifies the distinction between imagined outcomes and real flight experience."

This is the first time in more than 30 years that NASA has built a vehicle in a new configuration. The uncrewed test flight last two minutes, and go 45 kilometers (28 miles) in altitude. The stages will separate 69 km (43 miles) down range and end 236 km (147 miles) over the Atlantic Ocean, with the dummy upper stage landing in the ocean.

The flight will be broadcast on NASA TV. Watch it online here. In the meantime, here's a pre-launch video to whet your appetite for a new rocket.

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NASA Administrator Orders Study of Heavy Lift Alternatives

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:21:46 +0000

Jupiter 110 and 232. From Directlauncher.com

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden has asked for an evaluation of alternative heavy lift rockets, including DIRECT’s Jupiter launch vehicle. The evaluation is a “top priority,” according to NASASpaceflight.com, and a special team from the Marshall Space Flight Center has been commissioned to conduct the study, with the directive to have a report ready by the end of November. Looking at alternatives to the Constellation program is an apparent reaction to the final Augustine Commission report, which will be made public on Thursday.
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Ares I-X at the Launchpad

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:10:03 +0000

Ares at the pad. Credit: NASA

"The Stick" made it out to launchpad 39B without falling over. I have to admit, NASA's new rocket looked tall, super-skinny and pointy (as Dr. Brian Cox described it), as it rolled out on the crawler transporter. Somehow, it seems the Ares I-X should be wider. It's definitely tall — at 100 meters (327 feet,) it is 43 meters (143 feet) taller than the space shuttle. But appearances aside, this is an historic occasion. For the first time in more than a quarter century, a new vehicle is sitting out at the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

More pictures below:
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Build the Ares I-X in Less Than Six Minutes

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:26:49 +0000

Here is a very nifty time-lapse video of what it took to put together the Ares I-X test vehicle, which will launch next month to test out NASA's newest family of rocket. The big news is that NASA has actually moved up the date for the launch to Tuesday, October 27 from the original date of October 31. The new date is pending successful testing and data verification.
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NASA, ATK Unleash Ares Engine in Test Firing

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:38:32 +0000

In an impressive show of the power and might of the new Ares rocket, NASA and ATK Space systems successfully completed the first full-scale, full-duration test firing of the first stage motor for the potential successor to the space shuttle. The two-minute burn was powered with 22 million horsepower, and this first stage motor will generate up to 3.6 million pounds of thrust, or lifting power, at launch. Flames shot out twice as long as the rocket itself, at temperatures where steel boils and sand turns to glass — about 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit (2,480 degrees Celsius). 650 sensors sampled data from the test firing with rates up to 2000 samples a second. "We got an incredible amount of data today, " Alex Priskos, first stage manager for Ares Projects, "and we were looking at 46 different objectives, but we should be able to understand every aspect of this motor, including strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately deliver the safest and most reliable motor possible."
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Ares I-X Fully Stacked

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:45:38 +0000

Ares I-X in the VAB. Credit: NASA

For the first time in more than a quarter-century, a new space vehicle stands ready in NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building. But will it fly without violent vibrations, and what verdict will the Augustine Commission give the Constellation program? Only time will tell, but for now the Ares I-X is at its fully assembled height of 100 meters (327 feet) and is one of the largest rockets ever put together in the VAB's High Bay 3. Ares I-X rivals the height of the Apollo Program's 364-foot-tall Saturn V. The Ares I-X flight test currently is targeted for Oct. 31. Ares I-X consists of a four-segment first stage solid rocket motor, and a simulated upper stage that represents the weight and shape of the Ares I rocket and Orion crew vehicle. It will be launched in a suborbital arc into the Atlantic to collect data on its flight dynamics and parachute recovery performance.
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Ares I-X Comes Together (and it is BIG)

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:37:12 +0000

The Ares I-X is stacked in NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building. Credit: NASA

The Ares I-X rocket is being stacked on the Mobile Launch Platform in NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building in preparation for the rocket's first test flight, scheduled for October 31, 2009. The "super stack 1" was mated to the forward motor segment, and the rocket — which will stand at 99 meters (327 feet) — is now more than half way assembled. Assembly is done using a massive overhead crane, specially adapted for I-X use.

For comparison, the space shuttle stands at 56.1 m (184 ft), the Saturn V rocket was 110.6 m (363 ft), and the Ares V will be 116 m (380 ft) high.

See more images of the rocket below.
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Could Ares Be Axed?

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:02:56 +0000

The Constellation program's Ares rockets. Credit: NASA

Members of the Augustine Panel reviewing NASA's future plans have asked the space agency to consider different approaches to send astronauts back to the moon. According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel, panel members have told NASA they want to see the effects of both "minor tweaks and wholesale changes to its Constellation Program," which includes the newly designed Ares rocket and the Orion crew capsule. Ares has been controversial from the start, but NASA has spent the past four years and more than $3 billion creating and defending the rocket. Would starting over just mean a bigger gap between the shuttle and whatever comes next?
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NASA Tests Alternative Escape Pod

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:23:40 +0000

Launch of the MLAS at Wallops Island on Wednesday. Credit: NASA

While the Constellation program is undergoing design reviews, NASA conducted a successful test on an alternative abort system for the Orion spacecraft to provide options and additional data on how to best protect astronauts in the event of a problem on the launch pad or during ascent. A simulated launch of the Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, took place Wednesday morning at 6:26 a.m. EDT at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. The 10 meter high (33-feet) MLAS vehicle was launched to an altitude of about 1.5 km (1 mile)to simulate an emergency on the launch pad. A mock-up of the Orion crew vehicle successfully separated from the launch vehicle seven seconds into the flight and parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean. While there were some concerns about the various pieces of the MLAS possibly hitting each other, the test went without a hitch.

Meanwhile, the Ares I-X rocket is in the process of being "stacked" for a test flight later this summer.
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