All missions have time periods where they can't abort. But I have to agree - the Ares seems to me to be going backwards, not forwards. I am looking forward to the day when the space shuttle can take off the way it lands - instead of being fired off of a launch pad! :-) I really don't get the whole reasoning behind Ares. Seems like they just want to 'hurry up' another moon mission - just seems like a really bad idea to me. Seems like a no-brainer.
Lara Ancientwarrior67777 wrote: > > > *Breaking News * > > *Report: No escape system could save astronauts if Ares I rocket > exploded during first minute* > > /Orlando Sentinel/ > <http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/orl-new-blow-to-nasa-ares-071809,0,3051613.story> > > > > > > 2009-07-19 > > > > WASHINGTON - The crew of NASA's newest spacecraft "will not survive" > an explosion of the Ares I rocket within the first minute of launch > because blazing chunks of solid-rocket fuel would melt the parachutes > on the crew-escape system, according to a new Air Force report. > > The report by the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base -- which > has safety responsibility for the Cape Canaveral rocket range -- used > data from an unmanned Titan IV that was blown up by safety officers > when its guidance system malfunctioned soon after leaving the pad at > Cape Canaveral in 1998. Like Ares I, the Titan used solid-fuel motors. > > The explosion created a cone of red-hot debris that spread across > nearly three miles. If a similar safety decision was made to blow up > an Ares I, the report said, no escape system could blast the Orion > capsule and its crew away from the flaming debris quickly enough to > keep its parachutes from being incinerated. > > "The capsule will not survive an abort [in the first minute] as the > capsule is engulfed until water-impact by solid propellant fragments > radiating heat from 4,000F toward the nylon parachute material (with a > melt-temperature of [about] 400F)," said the 25-page report. > > But Jeff Hanley, who manages NASA's Constellation program that > includes the Ares I, questioned the validity of the Air Force study > because it relied on only one example. He said NASA had done its own > study, using supercomputers to replicate the behavior of Ares I, that > predicted a safe outcome. > > "We have analysis that tells today that the capsule will fly free of > the danger," Hanley said. "Our analysis says the crew capsule will not > be exposed to the more severe environments." > > He did note, however, that NASA would consider the Air Force study. > > Critics countered the new report is the latest reason why Ares needs > to be re-examined, or scrapped. > > "This is one technical issue among many," said Mike Gold, the > Washington director of Bigelow Aerospace, a commercial space company. > "What we find disturbing is that any time there is an external > organization looking at NASA's plans, they seem to come across an > issue, and this is just one example." > > The Air Force report, first published by nasawatch.com, is the second > safety challenge by the 45th Space Wing to the solid-fuel first stage > of Ares I. Air Force officials previously warned NASA they fear that > violent shaking on liftoff of the Ares I-X, a rocket that will test > the Ares I first stage, would disable the steering and self-destruct > mechanisms, meaning it could not be destroyed if it veered off course. > > If that problem is not fixed, the Air Force has said, the rocket > cannot fly from Kennedy Space Center for fear it could endanger > populated areas along the Space Coast. > > This warning, and the new report, come at a crucial time for Ares I, a > key element of NASA's Constellation program to return humans to the > moon. An independent team is reviewing whether the Ares I -- intended > to launch astronauts -- and the much larger Ares V cargo rocket are > the best choices. > > Alternatives include rockets that would use the main engines, boosters > and giant fuel tank of the space shuttle, which is slated for > retirement next year; commercial rockets now used to launch > satellites; or a redesign of the liquid-fueled Ares V. > > During a conference call on Friday with reporters, the head of the > review team, Norm Augustine, said the panel was aware of the Air Force > report and called it a "legitimate technical question" and that team > members were devoting a "great deal of effort to that, among other > technical questions." > > In the past 18 months, outside critics and internal reports have > raised several questions about Ares I, whose first stage is a > five-segment stack of solid-rocket boosters like those used on the > shuttle. Concerns range from price, which could cost at least $35 > billion before the rocket is ready for a 2015 mission, to technical > problems. > > Chief among them: violent shaking caused by the way solid-rocket fuel > burns, compounded by the use of a solid-fuel motor as the primary > propulsion source rather than as boosters. > > The shaking, called "thrust oscillation" by engineers, continues to > vex the agency. NASA officials announced this week that it is one of > the issues that will delay the first test flight of the Ares I-X -- a > single-stage mockup of the Ares I. > > The target date of the launch, from Kennedy Space Center, was changed > from Aug. 30 to Oct. 31. > > "This is still a very aggressive schedule and requires a lot of tasks > to complete on or before their planned dates," wrote Robert Ess, the > Ares I-X mission manager, in a memo obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. > > Despite the problems, Augustine denied that the panel already has > declared Ares dead. > > "As far as our committee is concerned, it would be completely wrong to > say that Ares is dead in the water. We have looked at various versions > of Ares, derivatives of Ares and alternatives to Ares, and I think it > would be a totally incorrect characterization," said Augustine, former > CEO of Lockheed Martin. > > "We're looking at a whole bunch of possibilities," he added. > > The Augustine panel should present its findings next month. > > http://www.godlikeproductions.com/news/Breaking_News/14901-Report__No_Escape_System_Could_Save_Astronauts_If_Ares_I_Rocket_Exploded_During_First_Minute > > / A person who wants to learn will always find a teacher./ > // > /Persian proverb/ > > > > > > > > -- Linda *http://freedetainees.org <http://freedetainees.org/> "If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd here While these visions did appear..." - William Shakespeare * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "bangla-vision" group. 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