Houston (TX) – NASA and Alliant Techsystems plan to conduct the first full-scale, full-duration test of the new first-stage solid rocket motor for the Ares I rocket later this month.
Says NASA: “At 1 pm MDT, on Tuesday, August 25, the test will take place at the ATK test facility in Promontory, Utah. The static firing of the five-segment solid Development Motor -1, will last two minutes. The goal is to obtain valuable thrust, roll-control, acoustics and vibration data as engineers continue to design Ares I.”
The Ares I rocket is designed to launch the Orion spacecraft and the next generation of NASA astronauts after the retirement of the three Space Shuttle orbiters, originally scheduled for next year, but looking increasingly likely to be granted a stay of execution.
