If you get into the test program for the J-2X and it develops a fault, some serious problem, can you bring the SSME back into the Picture?Do you have any backup engine that could be substituted for service in the Ares launchers?I think it would have to be a pretty major problem. ...So you are not maintaining the SSME in mothballs or anything like that?No, not at this point. Of course, as we progress through development, if agency management for whatever strategic reason thinks we need to do something like that, we will do it. But right now we are pretty confident ...
renclod - 23/8/2007 1:34 PMhttp://www.aiaa.org/aerospace/images/articleimages/pdf/Conversations_August20071.pdf
gladiator1332 - 23/8/2007 10:32 PMWhat is nice in that interview is that he sums up Ares I-X in a way that doesn't make it sound more than it is. He is perfectly clear that there is no real flight hardware flying on Ares I-X. There was a lot of stress on the fact that the vehicle will "look" like the real thing. This leads me to believe that Ares I-X is possibly more for political reasons, rather than engineering reasons.
gladiator1332 - 19/8/2007 3:25 PM2. NO ARES / NASA BASHING.
gladiator1332 - 23/8/2007 2:32 PMWhat is nice in that interview is that he sums up Ares I-X in a way that doesn't make it sound more than it is. He is perfectly clear that there is no real flight hardware flying on Ares I-X. There was a lot of stress on the fact that the vehicle will "look" like the real thing. This leads me to believe that Ares I-X is possibly more for political reasons, rather than engineering reasons.
MrTim - 24/8/2007 5:39 AM Also, the results of this test shot could very well cause changes in the design of the flight hardware and/or avionics.
Jim - 24/8/2007 11:14 AMQuoteMrTim - 24/8/2007 5:39 AM Also, the results of this test shot could very well cause changes in the design of the flight hardware and/or avionics. Way too late for this. It is just for show. See the many other threads on this subject
gladiator1332 - 24/8/2007 9:20 AMDon't get me wrong, the Ares I-X flight is going to be exciting, but I will have to agree with Jim on this one. The shape is there, but nothing else on Ares I-X will test the true flight article. And MrTim, I do not think this qualifies as Ares I bashing. I am simply stating an opinion that Ares I-X is more of a political flight than an engineering flight. This doesn't make it any less exciting and is not meant in a derogatory way!
clongton - 24/8/2007 2:53 PMThe only real concern I have with the Aes-1-X test flight is the interstage. I have heard that it will be much beefier than the flight article. I would hope that it would be much closer to the true mass and section, because this is an early opportunity to get some data on the suspected buckling the interstage may be subjected to. If it’s going to fail, this would be the time to find out, while there is still reasonable schedule available to address it before it also commits to an Orion flight. If they substitute instead a beefier interstage, the flight would provide no data on this critical element. To me, this element is one of the most critical of all in the system design.Can anyone address this concern I have?
JIS - 24/8/2007 10:29 AMQuoteclongton - 24/8/2007 2:53 PMThe only real concern I have with the Aes-1-X test flight is the interstage. I have heard that it will be much beefier than the flight article. I would hope that it would be much closer to the true mass and section, because this is an early opportunity to get some data on the suspected buckling the interstage may be subjected to. If it’s going to fail, this would be the time to find out, while there is still reasonable schedule available to address it before it also commits to an Orion flight. If they substitute instead a beefier interstage, the flight would provide no data on this critical element. To me, this element is one of the most critical of all in the system design.Can anyone address this concern I have?When aerodynamic forces are known (also from Ares 1-X) all you need to do is to use CAD and proper testing methods. We live in 21.century. Giant planes are designed using CAD only. You can forget buckling.
clongton - 24/8/2007 9:46 AMComputer modeling and analysis is great. Like I said, I make my living doing it. But after you’ve gone as far as you can with the modeling, there is just no substitute for the acid test. The interstage is the weakest point in the structural design (which is what I do), and it needs to be tested in the real world.
clongton - 24/8/2007 8:53 AMQuotegladiator1332 - 24/8/2007 9:20 AMDon't get me wrong, the Ares I-X flight is going to be exciting, but I will have to agree with Jim on this one. The shape is there, but nothing else on Ares I-X will test the true flight article. And MrTim, I do not think this qualifies as Ares I bashing. I am simply stating an opinion that Ares I-X is more of a political flight than an engineering flight. This doesn't make it any less exciting and is not meant in a derogatory way!The only real concern I have with the Aes-1-X test flight is the interstage. I have heard that it will be much beefier than the flight article. I would hope that it would be much closer to the true mass and section, because this is an early opportunity to get some data on the suspected buckling the interstage may be subjected to. If it’s going to fail, this would be the time to find out, while there is still reasonable schedule available to address it before it also commits to an Orion flight. If they substitute instead a beefier interstage, the flight would provide no data on this critical element. To me, this element is one of the most critical of all in the system design.Can anyone address this concern I have?