Post by sherlew (Ret) on Oct 28, 2009 8:56:54 GMT -6
NASA to give Ares I-X rocket another go
Link to article
(CNN) -- NASA says it will try to launch the Ares I-X rocket Wednesday in the late morning.
The tentative launch time is 11 a.m. ET. The launch was delayed several times Wednesday morning because of bad weather.
The launch window closes at noon. At 10:35 a.m., NASA said the weather appeared to have cleared enough for a launch.
Tuesday's launches were scratched, also because of bad weather, primarily upper-level clouds.
Late Tuesday and early Wednesday, rain fell on the Kennedy Space Center and at least four lightning strikes hit near the launch pad. The rain damaged a sensor atop the vehicle.
Even though the National Weather Service predicted no rain for Wednesday afternoon, NASA was concerned about the cloudy skies.
High-level, cold clouds can cause triboelectrification, or the production of a kind of static electricity, similar to what happens when you walk across a carpet, then touch something.
If static surrounds the rocket, it can interfere with radio signals sent by or to the rocket.
NASA is negotiating with the Air Force to allow it to try the launch again Thursday if Ares I-X doesn't launch Wednesday. The Air Force handles logistics of the launches.
If the Air Force doesn't agree, Ares I-X will have to wait until November 16 to try again. An Atlas rocket is set to be tested Thursday.
The unmanned Ares I-X is a part of the Constellation Program. The program has been developing new vehicles to replace space shuttles, which will be phased out in 2010.
The rocket's launch is part of NASA's mission to someday return astronauts to the moon and later travel to Mars.
If the Constellation Program moves forward, the Orion capsule atop the Ares rocket will not be ready to take astronauts into space until at least 2015, leaving a gap of at least five years in which the only way the United States would be able to put humans in orbit would be by hitching a ride with the Russians.
Part of the test rocket mission is for scientists to try out three massive main parachutes, measuring 150 feet in diameter and weighing one ton each -- the largest rocket parachutes ever manufactured.
The parachutes are a primary element of the rocket's deceleration system, NASA says. After the rocket is successfully launched, the parachutes are to open at the same time, "providing the drag necessary to slow the descent of the huge solid rocket motor for a soft landing in the ocean," the agency says on its Web site.
The two parts of the rocket are to separate at about 130,000 feet. The top of the rocket, known as the upper stage, includes a mock Orion crew capsule and a launch abort system. The upper stage will continue its ascent until gravity forces its return to Earth, after which it will fall into the Atlantic Ocean.
The launch comes at a critical time, when NASA is waiting for President Obama to decide future funding for the agency.
An independent committee reviewing the future of space flight recently reported that the U.S. space program appears to be pursuing goals that exceed current funding.
The committee also recommended to the White House that funding for NASA's under-construction international space station should be extended until 2020.
CNN's Kim Segal and John Zarrella contributed to this report.
Link to article
(CNN) -- NASA says it will try to launch the Ares I-X rocket Wednesday in the late morning.
The tentative launch time is 11 a.m. ET. The launch was delayed several times Wednesday morning because of bad weather.
The launch window closes at noon. At 10:35 a.m., NASA said the weather appeared to have cleared enough for a launch.
Tuesday's launches were scratched, also because of bad weather, primarily upper-level clouds.
Late Tuesday and early Wednesday, rain fell on the Kennedy Space Center and at least four lightning strikes hit near the launch pad. The rain damaged a sensor atop the vehicle.
Even though the National Weather Service predicted no rain for Wednesday afternoon, NASA was concerned about the cloudy skies.
High-level, cold clouds can cause triboelectrification, or the production of a kind of static electricity, similar to what happens when you walk across a carpet, then touch something.
If static surrounds the rocket, it can interfere with radio signals sent by or to the rocket.
NASA is negotiating with the Air Force to allow it to try the launch again Thursday if Ares I-X doesn't launch Wednesday. The Air Force handles logistics of the launches.
If the Air Force doesn't agree, Ares I-X will have to wait until November 16 to try again. An Atlas rocket is set to be tested Thursday.
The unmanned Ares I-X is a part of the Constellation Program. The program has been developing new vehicles to replace space shuttles, which will be phased out in 2010.
The rocket's launch is part of NASA's mission to someday return astronauts to the moon and later travel to Mars.
If the Constellation Program moves forward, the Orion capsule atop the Ares rocket will not be ready to take astronauts into space until at least 2015, leaving a gap of at least five years in which the only way the United States would be able to put humans in orbit would be by hitching a ride with the Russians.
Part of the test rocket mission is for scientists to try out three massive main parachutes, measuring 150 feet in diameter and weighing one ton each -- the largest rocket parachutes ever manufactured.
The parachutes are a primary element of the rocket's deceleration system, NASA says. After the rocket is successfully launched, the parachutes are to open at the same time, "providing the drag necessary to slow the descent of the huge solid rocket motor for a soft landing in the ocean," the agency says on its Web site.
The two parts of the rocket are to separate at about 130,000 feet. The top of the rocket, known as the upper stage, includes a mock Orion crew capsule and a launch abort system. The upper stage will continue its ascent until gravity forces its return to Earth, after which it will fall into the Atlantic Ocean.
The launch comes at a critical time, when NASA is waiting for President Obama to decide future funding for the agency.
An independent committee reviewing the future of space flight recently reported that the U.S. space program appears to be pursuing goals that exceed current funding.
The committee also recommended to the White House that funding for NASA's under-construction international space station should be extended until 2020.
CNN's Kim Segal and John Zarrella contributed to this report.