ROMONTORY, UTAH - September 01, 2010
-- With a loud roar and mighty column of flame, NASA and ATK Aerospace
Systems successfully completed a two-minute, full-scale test of the
largest and most powerful solid rocket motor designed for flight. The
motor is potentially transferable to future heavy-lift launch vehicle
designs.
The stationary firing of the first-stage development
solid rocket motor, dubbed DM-2, was the most heavily instrumented
solid rocket motor test in NASA history. More than 760 instruments
measured 53 test objectives.
Prior to the static test, the
solid rocket motor was cooled to 40 degrees Fahrenheit to verify the
performance of new materials and assess motor performance at low
temperatures during the full-duration test. Initial test data showed
the motor performance met all expectations.
"For every few
degrees the temperature rises, solid propellant burns slightly faster
and only through robust ground testing can we understand how material
and motor performance is impacted by different operating conditions,"
said Alex Priskos, first stage manager for Ares Projects at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "Ground-testing
at temperature extremes pushes this system to its limits, which
advances our understanding of five-segment solid rocket motor
performance."
The first-stage solid rocket motor is designed
to generate up to 3.6-million pounds of thrust at launch. Information
collected from this test, together with data from the first development
motor test last year, will be evaluated to better understand the
performance and reliability of the design.
Although similar to
the solid rocket boosters that help power the space shuttle to orbit,
the five-segment development motor includes several upgrades and
technology improvements implemented by NASA and ATK engineers. Motor
upgrades from a shuttle booster include the addition of a fifth
segment, a larger nozzle throat, and upgraded insulation and liner. The
motor cases are flight-proven hardware used on shuttle launches for
more than three decades. The cases used in this ground test have
collectively launched 48 previous missions, including STS-1, the first
shuttle flight.
After more testing, the first-stage solid
rocket motor will be certified to fly at temperature ranges between
40-90 degrees Fahrenheit. The solid rocket motor was built as an
element of NASA's Constellation Program and is managed by the Ares
Projects Office at Marshall. ATK Aerospace Systems, a division of
Alliant Techsystems of Brigham City, Utah, is the prime contractor.
For more information about NASA, visit: http://www.www.nasa.gov