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credit: NASA / caption: click on this image to see a larger version in the same browser window
At the International Astronautical Congress 2008, held in Glasgow, Scotland last week NASA's crew launch vehicle implementation office manager Charles Cockrell gave a briefing on the 3 October about the Constellation programme's vehicle testing plans
Click through to the extended portion of this blog post to see the Ares testing briefing video
Recently in Ares Category

credit: NASA
At the International Astronautical Congress 2008, held in Glasgow, Scotland last week NASA's Constellation operations and test integration associate director, Thomas Rathjen, gave a briefing on the 3 October about the programme's flight test strategy
Tomorrow I will post a video briefing about NASA's Ares testing plan
Click through to the extended portion of this blog post to see the Ares strategy briefing video
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credit: NASA
At the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2008, held in Glasgow, Scotland last week NASA's Ares V integration manager Stephen Creech gave a briefing on the 3 October about the new heavy lift rocket, Ares V cargo launch vehicle
Tomorrow I will post a video briefing about NASA's Ares flight test strategy
Click through to the extended portion of this blog post to see the Ares V briefing video
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credit: NASA
At the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2008, held in Glasgow, Scotland, last week NASA's deputy mission manager for its Ares I-X test flight Stephan (pronounced Stephen not Stef-an) Davis gave a briefing on the work underway to fly the representative rocket next year
Tomorrow I will post Steve Creech's IAC 2008 Ares V briefing
Click through to the extended portion of this blog post to see the Ares I-X briefing video
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credit: NASA / caption: this slide is not from Steve's presentation
You have seen him on NASA tv and perhaps heard him on a media telecon if you dialled in but the video in the extended portion of this blog post is 30min of NASA's Ares project office manager Steve Cook, chief designer of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, talking about that rocket, which is so controversial in some quarters, and taking questions from the audience at the International Astronautical Congress being held here in Glasgow, Scotland this week
The presentation took place on Monday but due to internet access limitations I am only posting it now
1130h
Perish Parikh
Orion LAS programme
developing three completely new rocket motors with new technology
attitude control motor
jettison motor
abort motor
Thursday 11 September
1000h
Steve Davis
Marshall Space Flight Center
Ares I-X is needed to study,
Bending moments/motions
Roll, no corkscrewing up to space
Separation effect on J-2X
Recovery process
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credit: NASA / caption: Shuttle SRB aft skirt's thrust vector control hydrazine powered hydraulic system
On 5 August NASA released a pre-solicitation synopsis for a Request for Proposal (RFP) for its Ares [I crew launch vehicle solid rocket booster (SRB) first-stage] electric thrust vector control (TVC) prototype risk reduction system requirement - more easily written than read
Its another example of how the CLV's first-stage will bear little resemblance to the original Shuttle SRB. From memory, I think, a change to an electric TVC would literally mean the only original bit of the Shuttle SRB design to remain will be the steel segment casings
For years TVC electromechanical actuators (EMA) have been investigated because NASA believes they are lighter, cleaner, possibly even safer in their operation, and are easier to maintain than the hydrazine powered hydraulics used by Shuttle today

credit: NASA
credit: NASA

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