In November 2005, NASA created the Constellation Program to develop an entirely new fleet of spacecraft to include the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle and the Ares V Cargo Launch vehicles. The Ares I First Stage Team has made significant progress on the design of a propulsion system capable of lofting that new fleet. To minimize technical risks and development costs, the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) of Shuttle served as a starting point in the design of a new motor that would meet the requirements of those new vehicles. By bringing in a fifth segment, this new propulsive element will provide greater total impulse to loft a safer, more powerful fleet of space flight vehicles. Additional modifications include the use of composite structures, new metallic forward structures, new parachutes, a new propellant grain design, and a new nozzle. Although still ongoing and in process, significant design, development and concept testing has already been conducted. This includes a full-scale motor firing, deceleration subsystem testing, and testing of several complete avionics line replaceable units. The suborbital development flight, Ares I-X, provided the opportunity to gather critical data about the flight dynamics of the integrated launch vehicle stack. The Ares I-X test flight has also informed our Ares First Stage design. It brought a more comprehensive understanding in a number of areas, which are now being analyzed. This paper will provide an overview of the design, development, challenges, and progress on the production of the new Ares First Stage propulsion system. Challenges and mitigation strategies will be addressed. An overview will also be included of testing to date.
2010 JANNAF Abstract Propulsion System Status: Ares First Stage
57th JANNAF Joint Propulsion Meeting ; 2010 ; Colorado Springs, CO, United States
03.05.2010
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Keine Angabe
Englisch
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