Author Topic: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES  (Read 48796 times)

Offline Chris Bergin

Tail off and end.
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline Chris Bergin

And done.
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline Bargemanos

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 331
  • The Netherlands
  • Liked: 108
  • Likes Given: 684
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #62 on: 03/11/2015 02:33 pm »

Offline Chris Bergin

Quenching.
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline Chris Bergin

Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline Prober

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10348
  • Save the spin....I'm keeping you honest!
  • Nevada
  • Liked: 721
  • Likes Given: 729
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #65 on: 03/11/2015 02:34 pm »
nice pic & the end
2017 - Everything Old is New Again.
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..." --Isoroku Yamamoto

Offline Bargemanos

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 331
  • The Netherlands
  • Liked: 108
  • Likes Given: 684
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #66 on: 03/11/2015 02:37 pm »
And back to work  ;D

Offline phred

  • Member
  • Posts: 92
  • Liked: 6
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #67 on: 03/11/2015 02:40 pm »
It looked like the plants up on the hillside to the boosters left were set on fire from radiant heat.

Offline Lee Jay

  • Elite Veteran
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8566
  • Liked: 3603
  • Likes Given: 327
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #68 on: 03/11/2015 02:40 pm »
That arm that moved into the nozzle is there to pump 31 tons of CO2 into the engine to preserve it's state at the end of the test.  Think of it as an enormous CO2 fire extinguisher!

Offline eric z

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 545
  • Liked: 475
  • Likes Given: 2127
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #69 on: 03/11/2015 02:45 pm »
wow! :)

Offline PahTo

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1698
  • Port Angeles
  • Liked: 271
  • Likes Given: 1194
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #70 on: 03/11/2015 02:46 pm »

I heard mention of the TVC actuation (and actually saw it during the test).  As this is QM, do they actually move the nozzle through the identical motions that would be used to launch to 28.5 degrees/pitch maneuver for a port booster and/or a starboard booster?  Along those lines, is any roll needed considering there is no sidemount?

Offline Chris Bergin

Funny to see how there was minor interest in this on Twitter and such, with no one falling for the Mars hashtags and such. Then the firing and everyone's "Cool. I want to go to one! Epic!"

People like big booms!
« Last Edit: 03/11/2015 03:02 pm by Chris Bergin »
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Online Bubbinski

High res pics I got of QM-1:
« Last Edit: 03/11/2015 03:19 pm by Bubbinski »
I'll even excitedly look forward to "flags and footprints" and suborbital missions. Just fly...somewhere.

Online Bubbinski

More pics I got of the firing:
« Last Edit: 03/11/2015 03:22 pm by Bubbinski »
I'll even excitedly look forward to "flags and footprints" and suborbital missions. Just fly...somewhere.

Offline SkipMorrow

It looked like the plants up on the hillside to the boosters left were set on fire from radiant heat.
Yes, I saw that too and came to the same conclusion.

Offline Chris Bergin

Orbital ATK ‏@OrbitalATK  5m5 minutes ago
.@Astro_Precourt says the data so far indicate test success.
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline newpylong

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1499
  • Liked: 200
  • Likes Given: 343
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #76 on: 03/11/2015 04:39 pm »

I heard mention of the TVC actuation (and actually saw it during the test).  As this is QM, do they actually move the nozzle through the identical motions that would be used to launch to 28.5 degrees/pitch maneuver for a port booster and/or a starboard booster?  Along those lines, is any roll needed considering there is no sidemount?

Yes there will be a roll program to change SLS's attitude (for a number of reasons) like Saturn V.

Offline catdlr

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11190
  • Enthusiast since the Redstones
  • Marina del Rey, California, USA
  • Liked: 8820
  • Likes Given: 7823
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #77 on: 03/11/2015 07:13 pm »
Full Coverage Replay:

SLS Qualification Booster TestPublished on Mar 11, 2015
Orbital ATK Promontory, Utah - Captured Live on Ustream at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc


Tony De La Rosa, ...I'm no Feline Dealer!! I move mountains.  but I'm better known for "I think it's highly sexual." Japanese to English Translation.

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #78 on: 03/11/2015 07:29 pm »
March 11, 2015

NASA's Space Launch System Booster Passes Major Ground Test

The largest, most powerful rocket booster ever built successfully fired up Wednesday for a major-milestone ground test in preparation for future missions to help propel NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft to deep space destinations, including an asteroid and Mars.

The booster fired for two minutes, the same amount of time it will fire when it lifts the SLS off the launch pad, and produced about 3.6 million pounds of thrust. The test was conducted at the Promontory, Utah test facility of commercial partner Orbital ATK, and is one of two tests planned to qualify the booster for flight. Once qualified, the flight booster hardware will be ready for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first SLS flight.

"The work being done around the country today to build SLS is laying a solid foundation for future exploration missions, and these missions will enable us to pioneer far into the solar system," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations. "The teams are doing tremendous work to develop what will be a national asset for human exploration and potential science missions."

It took months to heat the 1.6 million pound booster to 90 degrees Fahrenheit to verify its performance at the highest end of the booster’s accepted propellant temperature range. A cold-temperature test, at a target of 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the low end of the propellant temperature range, is planned for early 2016. These two tests will provide a full range of data for analytical models that inform how the booster performs. During the test, temperatures inside the booster reached more than 5,600 degrees.

"This test is a significant milestone for SLS and follows years of development," said Todd May, SLS program manager. "Our partnership with Orbital ATK and more than 500 suppliers across the country is keeping us on the path to building the most powerful rocket in the world."

During the test, more than 531 instrumentation channels on the booster were measured to help assess some 102 design objectives. The test also demonstrated the booster meets applicable ballistic performance requirements, such as thrust and pressure. Other objectives included data gathering on vital motor upgrades, such as the new internal motor insulation and liner and an improved nozzle design.

When completed, two five-segment boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the SLS on deep space missions. The 177-feet-long solid rocket boosters operate in parallel with the main engines for the first two minutes of flight. They provide more than 75 percent of the thrust needed for the rocket to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth.

The first flight test of SLS will be configured for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit to test the performance of the integrated system. The SLS will later be configured to provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions farther into our solar system.

For more information on SLS, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sls
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: LIVE: QM-1 SLS Booster Test - March 11, 2015 - UPDATES
« Reply #79 on: 03/11/2015 07:30 pm »
Rocket Motor Test Moves NASA's Space Launch System Closer to Deep Space

Orbital ATK’s Five-Segment Rocket Motor Fires Up Space Exploration

(Promontory, Utah, 11 March 2015) – NASA and Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA) today conducted the first qualification ground test of the five-segment rocket motor that will be used for NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS), which is being designed to enable exciting new exploration missions throughout the solar system.

The successful pre-flight test, known as Qualification Motor 1 (QM-1), is an important milestone in validating the rocket motor’s use for SLS and its deep space missions. Initial test data indicate the motor performed as designed and delivered the anticipated performance. The rocket motor produced approximately 3.6 million pounds of thrust (equivalent to 22 million horsepower) and fired for just over two minutes. More data will be available as post-test analysis is accomplished on the 102 design objectives that are supported by 531 instrumentation channels.

“This motor firing is the first of two qualification tests to certify the motor configuration for NASA’s Space Launch System,” said Charlie Precourt, Vice President and General Manager of Orbital ATK’s Propulsion Systems Division, and four-time space shuttle astronaut. “The data from today and from our three development motor tests, along with information we have collected on hundreds of predecessor motors over the past three decades, confirms this is the most capable and powerful solid rocket motor ever designed.”

Measuring 12 feet in diameter and 154 feet in length, Orbital ATK’s five-segment motor is the largest human-rated solid rocket motor built today. When it is fully assembled as a booster, it will be 177 feet tall (approximately 17 stories). It produces 20 percent more power than the previously-used four-segment motor, and it also uses new materials that provide cost and weight savings. The five-segment motor was designed to maximize safety while providing a reliable and affordable launch capability for human missions deeper in the solar system than we have ever gone before – including to the surface of Mars.

“NASA’s SLS, along with the Orion crew capsule, enables us to blaze new trails, and embark on missions to deep space that leverage more than five decades of pushing boundaries,” said Blake Larson, Orbital ATK’s Chief Operating Officer. “Deep space missions require a heavy-lift vehicle to ensure success, and SLS and Orion can accomplish a deep space mission in fewer launches than current or planned vehicles.”
 
Today’s qualification test included newly-designed avionics hardware and equipment to control the motor and provide improved test monitoring capability. Other test improvements include a new main pivot flexure design in the forward thrust block to transfer the massive forces from the test into the various load cells for thrust monitoring, as well as an added mid-span support that assisted in adjusting the motor centerline to make the test more consistent with actual flight conditions.

“This is an exciting time for exploration, as we venture farther into space,” said Precourt. “The promise of deep space exploration will inspire the next generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math – preparing them to run the missions we’re designing.”

NASA’s SLS will launch on its first mission, Exploration Mission-1, in just a few years. The next major milestones for SLS include Boeing’s Vertical Assembly Center core stage welding, continued testing of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RS-25 engine at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, avionics and controls testing at Marshall Space Flight Center, and Orbital ATK’s QM-2 static firing next year.

The SLS and Orion programs are supported by a network of hundreds of suppliers representing 47 states. Orbital ATK has 29 key SLS booster suppliers across 16 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

Jacques :-)

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0