Test statico per un SRB il 16/11

Missioni con equipaggio concluse Space Shuttle
1

Il prossimo 16/11 si terrà nello Utah un test di accensione a piena durata di un SRB.
La prova servirà sia a valutare la qualità delle immagini del motore in funzione ottenibili in un contesto notturno, sia per ottenere una serie di parametri utili alla creazione del nuovo vettore Ares I.

June Malone Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Nov. 9, 2006 256-544-0034

MEDIA ADVISORY: M06-128

NASA TO CONDUCT SPACE SHUTTLE SOLID ROCKET MOTOR TEST IN UTAH NOV. 16

WHAT: Full-scale, full-duration test of a space
shuttle reusable solid rocket flight support motor

WHERE: The test facility of ATK Launch Systems, a unit of
Alliant Techsystems Inc., in Promontory, Utah, north
of Salt Lake City

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006, 6 p.m. MST (7 p.m. CST)

NASA will conduct a two-minute, static firing of a space shuttle flight
support motor at a Utah test facility. The motor firing will provide the
Space Shuttle Program with nighttime vehicle imagery performance data on
how image quality is affected by night launch conditions. The motor
firing also will provide two test objectives for the Ares I crew launch
vehicle and NASA’s future exploration goals to return humans to the
moon.

Flight support motors are tested by the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid
Rocket Motor Project Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., to qualify any proposed changes to the rocket motor
and to determine whether new materials perform as well as those now in
use.

For supporting materials for this news release - such as photographs,
fact sheets, video and audio files and more - please visit the NASA
Marshall Center Newsroom Web site at:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news

News media attending the test must register in advance with ATK Launch
Systems. A pass is required to attend. Requests must be in place by 4
p.m. MST, Wednesday November 15. Interviews may be prearranged in
advance with ATK and NASA representatives. If you are bringing live
broadcast equipment, please schedule in advance. For more information
and to request a media pass contact Trina Paskett (801) 251-3517 or
(801) 699-0943.

On the Web:

Media Advisory
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2006/M06-128.html

2

Test effettuato!

Nov. 17, 2006

Katherine Trinidad/Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-3749/1979

June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034

RELEASE: 06-356

ROCKET MOTOR TEST HELPS NASA’S SHUTTLE AND ARES 1

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.

“Full-scale static testing such as this is a key element of the ‘test
before you fly’ standard and ensures continued quality and
performance,” said Jody Singer, manager of the Reusable Solid Rocket
Motor Project, part of the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at
Marshall.

The shuttle solid rocket motor firing also supports NASA’s future
exploration goals to return humans to the moon. The test provided
data for development of the first stage reusable solid rocket motor
for NASA’s Ares I, the launch vehicle that will carry the Orion crew
module to space. Engineers with NASA’s Exploration Launch Projects
Office at Marshall, which manages the Ares launch vehicles, will
analyze motor-induced, roll-torque measurements. The information -
how the motor affects the rotation and twisting of a system - is
needed for the Ares I control system design.

Thursday night’s test provided data on numerous process, material and
design changes planned for shuttle solid rocket motors, including a
propellant structural redesign that more evenly distributes loads and
improves safety during storage and transportation; an improved
adhesive bonding process to eliminate insulation voids and increase
bond strength; and a new nozzle liner material to replace a material
that is no longer available. Stress data was also gathered on an
instrumented external tank attachment ring, which connects the solid
rocket booster to the shuttle’s external fuel tank.

Preliminary indications are that all test objectives were met. After
final test data are analyzed, results for each objective will be
published by NASA in a report that will be available early next year.

The shuttle’s reusable solid rocket motor is the largest solid rocket
motor ever flown, the only one rated for human flight and the first
designed for reuse. Each shuttle launch requires two reusable solid
rocket motors to lift the 4.5-million-pound shuttle. The motors
provide 80 percent of the thrust during the first two minutes of
flight. Each motor, just over 126 feet long and 12 feet in diameter,
generates an average thrust of 2.6 million pounds. It is the primary
component of the shuttle’s twin solid rocket boosters.

During a shuttle launch, the rockets take the shuttle to an altitude
of 28 miles at a speed of 3,094 mph before they separate and fall
into the ocean. Then they are retrieved, refurbished and prepared for
another flight.

Regular static-fire tests of the motors help maintain the highest
safety, quality and reliability standards of solid rocket motors used
for human spaceflight. Engineers conduct approximately 110,000
quality-control inspections on each motor designed for flight.

For more information about the Space Shuttle Program, visit:

For more information about the Ares 1 launch system, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ares

-end-