Posted by Raimondo Pictet | 0 comments
Program Constellation takes off, and splashes down
October 28th was blessed by Ares I’s first test flight.
Ares I and Ares V are the launch vehicles that NASA will use to replace the Space Shuttle. On top of Ares I will sit the Orion capsule, designed to send men so space (while unmanned Ares V will be a heavier launcher designed to send cargo). This flight is the first of NASA’s Constellation program, conceived to ultimately send astronauts to the moon and mars.
The tested rocket was named Ares I-X. It was primarily designed to test the first stage and the roll control system (that prevents the rocket from rotating around it’s vertical axis). It contained simulators instead of the upper stage, the crew module and the launch abort system.
NASA declared the test flight to be successful. However, the launchpad and the rocket’s first stage suffered suffered substantial damage. The launchpad was actually burnt by receiving too much exhaust from the rocket during the Pad Avoidance Maneuver (since pad LC-39B was originally designed for Space Shuttles, Ares had to lift off in a slightly different way).
The first stage was damaged because one of it’s three parachutes didn’t deploy itself properly, resulting in a high velocity splashdown.
The next test flight in the Constellation program was supposed to take place in 2013. After having been postponed to 2014, it was cancelled. The first Ares manned flights were supposed to take place in 2015, but will realistically take place around 2018. We still have a long way to go. You can find a detailed report on the damage caused to Ares I-X here.
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