NASA prepares to launch its new Ares I-X rocket

Orlando Sentinel

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For the first time in more than 30 years, Kennedy Space Center is about to launch a rocket that’s not the space shuttle. At 327 feet — 15 stories taller that the shuttle — the Ares I-X is the tallest rocket in the world. But looks are a little deceiving: It’s carrying a dummy second-stage and capsule, because it’s intended to test only a version of the solid- fuel first stage engineers hope will power the proposed replacement for the shuttle, the Ares I.

The future of the Ares I is uncertain, however. A committee named by the White House to review NASA’s human spaceflight plans has recommended scrapping it, saying it simply costs too much. “With time and sufficient funds, NASA could develop, build and fly the Ares I successfully,” its report said. “The question is, should it?”

Still, NASA is proceeding with the $445 million test as an opportunity to provide rocket designers with real data from a real rocket flight.

What is Ares I-X?

It’s a test rocket intended to show NASA engineers how a long, thin, solid-fuel rocket flies through the atmosphere. Its first stage is a version of the pencillike solid-rocket boosters that help power the space shuttle. There are no people aboard, but more than 700 sensors will collect data about everything from how much the rocket shakes to how much it bends while thundering through the sky.

Why is it launching?

The aim is to see if a single solid-rocket motor can be put directly under a capsule and steered safely as it zooms through the atmosphere. Ares I-X is the first rocket to use a solid-fuel first stage. Previous rockets — such as the shuttle — used them on the side as boosters to the main liquid-fuel engines. “We want to demonstrate that we can control that vehicle. That’s the prime objective to this test really,” said Ares I-X mission manager Bob Ess.

Why not fly Ares I?

Ares I is not designed yet and will not be ready to fly until March 2015 at the earliest. The idea is to take information gained from this flight to help refine the Ares I design.

When will Ares I-X launch?

Its four-hour flight window opens at 8 a.m. today, though NASA says there’s a 60 percent chance that clouds and showers will keep it grounded for a day. Its six-minute flight will take it due east over the Atlantic Ocean, to a maximum altitude of 153,000 feet and a top velocity more than 4.7 times the speed of sound. The first stage is supposed to separate from the dummy second stage and parachute down to a recovery vessel. The second stage and capsule will crash into the water and sink.

What does NASA hope to learn?

Basically, engineers want to know if the computer simulations they’ve devised to predict the rocket’s performance are accurate. That’s important to determine if similar models used to design Ares I are valid. But NASA says the results can be applied to any rocket design. “The only failure on this flight is the failure to learn from it,” Ess said.

Will it fly?

NASA managers say they are confident; the solid-rocket motor has flown safely for 23 years aboard the shuttle. But this is a test flight, they add, without all of the shuttle’s backup systems and safety checks. The U.S. Air Force will be standing by, ready to blow the rocket up if it looks like it will veer off course and threaten anybody on the ground.

What happens next?

Good question. The president’s space panel last week cast doubt on whether Ares I will be built. Some White House officials say that using commercial rockets to fly astronauts to the space station would make Ares I unnecessary. Supporters hope that a successful test will convince President Barack Obama to stick with Ares I.