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NASA’s Ares I Rocket Passes Review to Reach Critical Milestone

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

September 10, 2008

thomas

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NASA has taken a
major step toward building the nation’s next generation launch vehicle with
Wednesday’s successful completion of the Ares I rocket preliminary design
review.

Starting in 2015, the Ares I rocket will launch the Orion crew
exploration vehicle, its crew of four to six astronauts, and small cargo
payloads to the International Space Station. The rocket also will be used
for missions to explore the moon and beyond in the coming decades.

The preliminary design review is the first such milestone in more than
35 years for a U.S. rocket that will carry astronauts into space. The
review was conducted at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,
Ala. It examined the current design for the Ares I launch vehicle to assess
that the planned technical approach will meet NASA’s requirements for the
fully integrated vehicle. That ensures all components of the vehicle and
supporting systems are designed to work together.

“This is a critical step for development of the Ares I rocket,” said
Rick Gilbrech, associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission
Directorate in Washington. “Completing the preliminary design review of the
integrated vehicle demonstrates our engineering design and development are
on sound footing, and the Ares I design work is taking us another step
closer to building America’s next mode of space transportation.”

The preliminary design review included more than 1,100 reviewers from
seven NASA field centers and multiple industry partners. The review is the
final step of this design process. Teams representing each major part of
the Ares I rocket — the upper stage engine, first stage and upper stage —
all have conducted similar reviews during the past year.

The preliminary design review is one of a series of reviews that occurs
before actual flight hardware can be built. As the review process
progresses, more detailed parts of the vehicle design are assessed to
ensure the overall system can meet all NASA requirements for safe and
reliable flight. This process also identifies technical and management
challenges and addresses ways to reduce potential risks as the project goes
forward.

“Risk assessment is a very important part of the process,” said Steve
Cook, manager of the Ares I rocket at Marshall. “It allows us to identify
issues that might impact the Ares I rocket. For example, we identified
thrust oscillation — vibration in the first stage — as a risk. In
response to this issue, we formed an engineering team. The team conducted
detailed analyses and reviewed previous test data, and then recommended
options to correct the problem.”

“We intend to hold a limited follow-up review next summer to fully
incorporate the thrust oscillation recommendations into the stacked vehicle
design,” Cook added. “Identifying risks that can impact the project and
resolving them is a necessary and vital part of the development process.”

With the completion of this review, each element of the Ares I rocket
will move to the detailed design phase. A critical design review will mark
the completion of the detailed design phase and allows for a more thorough
review of each system element to ensure the vehicle design can achieve
requirements of the Ares program.

This week, the J-2X engine will be the first Ares I element to kick off
the critical design review process. The engine will power the Ares I upper
stage to orbit after separation from the first stage.

“We’re excited about getting into full system engine tests with the new
J-2X engine,” Cook said. “This will be one of the safest, most affordable
and highest performing rocket engines ever built, and testing is critical
as we begin preparation for future flights.”

Marshall manages the Ares projects and is responsible for design and
development of the Ares I rocket and Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle.
NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the Constellation Program,
which includes the Ares I rocket, the Ares V vehicle, the Orion crew
capsule and the Altair lunar lander. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
is responsible for ground and launch operations. The program also includes
multiple project element teams at NASA centers and contract organizations
around the U.S.

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