I ventured over to NASA’s section about the space shuttle and saw where the Ares rocket, or part of it, had been successfully test fired. I mentioned the Ares and the Orion back in October.
Rocket Motor Test Helps NASA’s Shuttle and Ares I
PROMONTORY, Utah – NASA’s Space Shuttle Program successfully fired a reusable solid rocket motor Thursday, Nov. 16, at a Utah facility. The two-minute test provided important information for nighttime shuttle launches and for the development of the rocket that will carry the next human spacecraft to the moon.
The static firing of the full-scale, full-duration flight support motor was performed at 6 p.m. MST at ATK Launch Systems Group, a unit of Alliant Techsystems Inc. in Promontory, Utah, where the shuttle’s solid rocket motors are manufactured.
The flight support motor, or FSM-13, burned for approximately 123 seconds, the same time each reusable solid rocket motor burns during an actual space shuttle launch. The Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Project Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages these tests to qualify any proposed changes to the rocket motor and to determine whether new materials perform as well as those now in use.
The motor firing also provided the Space Shuttle Program with data on how image quality is affected by night launch conditions. The data will help determine camera settings and techniques that are most suitable for future night shuttle launches and those which could possibly enhance imagery gathered during a day launch.
I think the Orion concept (part of the Constellation Program) is a step backwards in space flight. Instead of re-working the shuttle and maintaining the controlled landing aspect, they retreated back in time. But hey, I can only hope that they know what they are doing. I’ve always had great faith in NASA. I agree they got too relaxed about the shuttle program which lead to the loss of the Columbia. But the wake-up call and the resulting house cleaning, was handled well.