Ares I-X rocket takes flight with Glenn-built hardware
By Kevin Kelley
Westshore
Published Nov. 4, 2009

NASA’s Ares I-X test rocket, which included hardware manufactured at Glenn Research Center, completed its six-minute flight from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Oct. 28. But whether this rocket design is the one that will carry astronauts in decades to come remains unclear.

The flight, which NASA said cost $445 million, was intended to test the performance of the solid rocket booster – the skinny part of the rocket at the bottom — in the Ares I design. Glenn workers were given the task of designing and fabricating the upper stage simulator — the fat upper half of the rocket.

Ares I is the crew launch vehicle that NASA has designed to send astronauts into orbit and the International Space Station, and later, with the help of the Ares V rocket, to the moon.

However, a blue-ribbon panel led by retired aerospace executive Norman Augustine last month said NASA should consider scrapping the Ares rocket program in favor of other options. The panel also said the space agency’s plans to land astronauts on the moon by 2020 is not feasible under current budget projections.

The Obama administration, which commissioned the Augustine committee, has yet to instruct NASA on which direction to take.

Jim Free, who was recently appointed as director of Glenn’s space flight operations, said working on Ares has not been frustrating despite the lack of a firm commitment from the White House.

“The decisions that will be made by the president are his to make, not ours,” Free told West Life. “Until and if we are provided different direction, we will continue to execute the program with the diligence Glenn has shown to date.”

The Ares I-X test rocket clears Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 28. The 327-foot-tall rocket produces 2.96 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and reaches a speed of 100 mph in eight seconds. (Photo credit: NASA)

Glenn will also develop the service module of the Orion spacecraft, which will launch on top of the Ares I rocket and carry astronauts into space. In addition, Glenn will also oversee development of the spacecraft adapter, the hardware that connects the capsule and its service module to the Ares I rocket. Glenn was also given lead responsibilities for the upper stage of the Ares Crew Launch Vehicle.

“The center’s focus to date has contributed to the success of the Orion and Ares Preliminary Design Review, with both projects heading toward Critical Design Review in the next 18 months,” Free said. “Glenn continued vital inline support to these projects in the form of engineering design, test and analysis.”

Construction of the Ares I-X upper stage simulator, which served as a substitute for the actual upper stage rocket to be used in future launches, was led by Therese Griebel, chief of manufacturing at Glenn.

The simulator consisted of 11 segments, each 18 feet wide. Fully assembled, the simulator measured 120 feet in height.

The outer shell of each segment consisted of two 10- by 30-feet pieces of carbon steel welded together, Griebel said. The welds had to be tested using radiographs and ultrasound, she added. Just under 200 Glenn employees worked on the simulator.

The Ares I-X test rocket arcs toward its trajectory during its six-minute flight. (Special to West Life by Andrew Knapp)

On the Glenn campus, the simulator was referred to as the “tuna can” because the simulator consisted of several “tuna can”-like cylinders stacked on top of one another. Hundreds of sensors were placed on board the simulator before launch to measure vibrations, temperatures, thrust, acceleration and pressures.

The “tuna can” reached an altitude of roughly 28 miles and then fell uncontrolled into the ocean. The simulator will remain forever on the ocean floor, as it was never meant to be retrieved.

Griebel said Glenn gained valuable experience by manufacturing the simulator.

“Through the process of manufacturing the upper stage simulator, we became AS9100 certified, which means we are accredited to manufacture space flight hardware,” Griebel said. “In addition, we are currently building another segment and assembling a low-cost vibration test article that will be used to validate the vibration table at Plum Brook Station’s Space Environmental Test Facility [located in Sandusky].”

Glenn also plans to use build stands and equipment from the simulator construction to build multiple thermal and structural test articles for the Ares I Project, Griebel said.

Griebel, who attended the Ares I-X launch, said being personally involved in the construction of the hardware made it even more exciting than other space shots she’s witnessed.

“The difference between watching a really awesome event and one that you were very personally involved in is dramatic,” she said. “If launches are like watching a professional football game, this launch was like watching your own kid play a really key role in that game.”

On the Web:

• NASA Glenn Research Center
• NASA's Ares I-X Web site