AEDC engineers play critical role in NASA Ares I-X first flight

  • Published
  • By Janae Daniels
  • Arnold Engineering Development Center Public Affairs
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. (AFNS) --  Workers at the Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center here contributed to the successful unmanned flight test of the NASA Ares 1-X flight vehicle, which was launched for the first time Oct. 28.

The Ares will replace the shuttle and is slated for completion in 2017.

AEDC testing to date includes transonic (below the speed of sound), supersonic (speed of sound to approximately 4 times the speed) and hypersonic (greater than 4 times the speed of sound) wind tunnel work. The vehicle's aerodynamics, stage separation, roll control and crew escape launch system are also undergoing testing. In addition, workers tested materials made to protect the manned capsule, known as Orion, during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. 

In order to reuse the Ares I first stage, it must be able to withstand the high heat experienced during its uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere at speeds as high as 7 times the speed of sound after it separates from the rest of the flight vehicle.

Once the first stage separates, it then coasts at an altitude of almost 300,000 feet before reentering the atmosphere in a tumbling and rolling motion. The motion and orientation are similar to the Shuttle's solid rocket booster during reentry but the speed during reentry is significantly higher.

The high heating anticipated due to the higher re-entry speeds made it much more important to obtain accurate data to produce a better flight vehicle.

The Ares I-X flight test will give NASA a chance to obtain this data, while providing information on the rocket's flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations. The mission will also help verify computer and wind tunnel models and allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the integrated stack, which includes the Ares I launch vehicle with a simulated upper stage, Orion crew exploration vehicle and launch abort system. 

Data collected from the more than 700 sensors located throughout the rocket will begin to confirm whether or not the vehicle is safe and stable in flight.

A team at the AEDC's von Kármán Gas Dynamics Facility conducted aerodynamic load and stability testing associated with stage separation testing in 2008. Since the 1950s, AEDC has tested all of NASA's manned spacecraft.