Author Topic: Ares I Thrust Oscillation meetings conclude with encouraging data, changes  (Read 295509 times)

Offline Jim

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If needed, first stage recovery can be deleted to provide a substantial payload improvement.  The first stage could go from steel to composite casings, providing a vast performance improvement, if needed. 

Negates the prime reason for selecting the SRB as a first stage over EELV's

I would call that bait and switch. 
« Last Edit: 12/12/2008 09:13 pm by Jim »

Offline jarmumd

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If needed, first stage recovery can be deleted to provide a substantial payload improvement.  The first stage could go from steel to composite casings, providing a vast performance improvement, if needed. 

Negates the prime reason for selecting the SRB as a first stage over EELV's

I would call that bait and switch. 

If you need to use those upgrades...  but you don't...  these last few posts seem no different than the DIRECT posts about upgrades to Jupiter.  Sure they can be done, but not needed... 

Offline Herb Schaltegger

Meta-post: I find it more than a bit suspicious that all this new "Hey, guess what!  It's not as bad as we thought!" data starts being leaked out, YEARS after the design architecture was ID'd and this problem was mentioned as a potential show-stopper, right before a new Administration (predicated and elected on the nebulous concept of "Change") is about to take over.  I find the timing of this new information especially troubling given how much friction has apparently developed between Dr. Griffin's people and the new Administration's transition team.

But maybe I'm just turning into a cynic.

In any case, clearly NASA has shown they can "Rube Goldberg" this so-called "shuttle derived" launch vehicle into some semblance of functionality, but the cost in time, effort and money has been absurd.  It's been YEARS and we're still how many years away from any kind of real Ares I launch.  Meanwhile, we as a nation have unused EELV production and launch capability, not to mention much better REAL shuttle-derived options too. 

But maybe that's why I'm turning into a cynic. :)
« Last Edit: 12/13/2008 01:34 pm by Herb Schaltegger »
Ad astra per aspirin ...

Offline robertross

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Herb, I do not see you as a cynic. I would say you are more of a realist.

Anyway, you can always join my group...the experienced optomist club  :)

Offline Khadgars

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Good article. Don't expect to be hearing much from the EELV folks on this thread.

agreed, they came to terms that this thing is actually going to fly and only takes time to figure it all out.

Great article and great news!
Evil triumphs when good men do nothing - Thomas Jefferson

Offline Jim

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Good article. Don't expect to be hearing much from the EELV folks on this thread.

agreed, they came to terms that this thing is actually going to fly

Not true.  Ares is not a given

Offline Khadgars

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Maybe Ares I can lift Orion into ISS orbit, but at the max of its capabilities. There is zero growth potential.

"Von Braun's" Saturn IB could only lift 18.6 tonnes to LEO.  Apollo outgrew that rocket, despite all of that knowledgeable Marshall engineering.  Early plans had called for circumlunar missions and launches with CSM and LM launched together. 

There is going to be growth potential in a 910 tonne GLOW launch vehicle.  J-2X specific impulse can be tweaked, for example.  A lot of dry mass reduction will be available after Ares I has flown several times, providing structural data.  It should also be possible to reduce residual propellant with flight experience, providing quite a bit of extra payload capacity.  Guidance and flight control can be fine-tuned with flight experience, etc.  If needed, first stage recovery can be deleted to provide a substantial payload improvement.  The first stage could go from steel to composite casings, providing a vast performance improvement, if needed.  And so on.

Ares I can lift Orion with margin to spare.  That margin will likely be used, eventually.

 - Ed Kyle

Well said!
Evil triumphs when good men do nothing - Thomas Jefferson

Offline jarmumd

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Meta-post: I find it more than a bit suspicious that all this new "Hey, guess what!  It's not as bad as we thought!" data starts being leaked out, YEARS after the design architecture was ID'd and this problem was mentioned as a potential show-stopper, right before a new Administration (predicated and elected on the nebulous concept of "Change") is about to take over.  I find the timing of this new information especially troubling given how much friction has apparently developed between Dr. Griffin's people and the new Administration's transition team.

But maybe I'm just turning into a cynic.

In any case, clearly NASA has shown they can "Rube Goldberg" this so-called "shuttle derived" launch vehicle into some semblance of functionality, but the cost in time, effort and money has been absurd.  It's been YEARS and we're still how many years away from any kind of real Ares I launch.  Meanwhile, we as a nation have unused EELV production and launch capability, not to mention much better REAL shuttle-derived options too. 

But maybe that's why I'm turning into a cynic. :)

Your right, Griffin himself must have called down to the engineers working on this analysis and told them that they would lose their jobs if this wasn't fixed....  I mean he must have - it couldn't possibly be that this is a detailed analysis with immature data.  It couldn't possibly be an that an early analysis gave bad answers.  It couldn't possibly be that different Orion models (FROM THE SAME LOAD CYCLE) have over a 10% difference in overall axial frequency?  Surely it was a bag of lies when I saw the axial frequency response plots of the last load cycle finite element model, versus the most recent model's whose frequency response around the TO frequency is much much less...  I mean where is Darth Vader?  Let's kill him so Luke can build an EELV or DIRECT....

Sorry for the rant, but Ares has some real problems, and some that are no longer issues due to the maturity of the analysis and models...  But I suppose if you just don't want to believe that the answers change with new data - well I suppose you have every right to do that...
« Last Edit: 12/14/2008 02:36 am by jarmumd »

Offline robertross

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oooookkkkkkaayyyyy.....

I guess we know where your vote is on that one jarmumd...lol.

I personally want to see Ares-IX fly...only to prove or disprove the theory. It may not be a perfect test, but if it can provide good data that can be useful, then that's a step forward in my books. If by some miracle Ares-I is the chosen rocket, we'll have lots of discussion for years to come. And it wouldn't matter which architecture is chosen, there will always be one group or another professing it to be the wrong decision (from the other camps). But where this leads, Ares-VI (current version) is just beyond anything reasonable.

Yes, I know NASA's trying to build a rocket, but I personally don't see the whole point of re-inventing the wheel. I'm also personally biased towards RP/LOX for 1st stage, and shake my head at MMH & N2O4 (toxicity). I also hate destroying perfectly good hardware when we have a way to make use of it. But I wouldn't do that for my love of RP/LOX.

I would like to see a completely unbiased, honest, and accurate detailling of the entire Ares architecture. I have yet to see it. I try and take everything with a grain of salt. The numbers on Ares-I might be improving, but until she flies, we are still only half way there.

Offline jarmumd

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oooookkkkkkaayyyyy.....

I guess we know where your vote is on that one jarmumd...lol.


I would like to see a completely unbiased, honest, and accurate detailling of the entire Ares architecture. I have yet to see it. I try and take everything with a grain of salt. The numbers on Ares-I might be improving, but until she flies, we are still only half way there.

Manned Mars missions, Moon Bases, Offroad competitions on the moon...  These are just a few of the things I would love to have...  If the best way to get there is DIRECT or EELV, so be it...  All that I ask is that people be wary of actual data and analysis, not opinions and suggestion. 

The TO problem has changed since the data has changed - Not because of Griffin

Offline Herb Schaltegger


Your right, Griffin himself must have called down to the engineers working on this analysis and told them that they would lose their jobs if this wasn't fixed....  I mean he must have - it couldn't possibly be that this is a detailed analysis with immature data.  It couldn't possibly be an that an early analysis gave bad answers.  It couldn't possibly be that different Orion models (FROM THE SAME LOAD CYCLE) have over a 10% difference in overall axial frequency?  Surely it was a bag of lies when I saw the axial frequency response plots of the last load cycle finite element model, versus the most recent model's whose frequency response around the TO frequency is much much less...  I mean where is Darth Vader?  Let's kill him so Luke can build an EELV or DIRECT....

Sorry for the rant, but Ares has some real problems, and some that are no longer issues due to the maturity of the analysis and models...  But I suppose if you just don't want to believe that the answers change with new data - well I suppose you have every right to do that...

Given every single comment and report about Dr. Griffin's "I'm smarter than everyone else in the room" management style, I don't doubt that there has been an awful lot of "top down" management in this program since Day One.

As I said in my previous post, I also doubt the timing and veracity of these new reports and will continue to do so until Dr. Griffin is replaced as NASA Administrator.
Ad astra per aspirin ...

Offline jarmumd

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Your right, Griffin himself must have called down to the engineers working on this analysis and told them that they would lose their jobs if this wasn't fixed....  I mean he must have - it couldn't possibly be that this is a detailed analysis with immature data.  It couldn't possibly be an that an early analysis gave bad answers.  It couldn't possibly be that different Orion models (FROM THE SAME LOAD CYCLE) have over a 10% difference in overall axial frequency?  Surely it was a bag of lies when I saw the axial frequency response plots of the last load cycle finite element model, versus the most recent model's whose frequency response around the TO frequency is much much less...  I mean where is Darth Vader?  Let's kill him so Luke can build an EELV or DIRECT....

Sorry for the rant, but Ares has some real problems, and some that are no longer issues due to the maturity of the analysis and models...  But I suppose if you just don't want to believe that the answers change with new data - well I suppose you have every right to do that...

Given every single comment and report about Dr. Griffin's "I'm smarter than everyone else in the room" management style, I don't doubt that there has been an awful lot of "top down" management in this program since Day One.

As I said in my previous post, I also doubt the timing and veracity of these new reports and will continue to do so until Dr. Griffin is replaced as NASA Administrator.

Well, certainly believe what you wish to, and just so you know, I doubt the veracity of ESAS and the Direct rebuttal, but this time, I know the engineers that did one of these TO studies, and I've seen some of the plots of the frequency response, so ...

Offline robertross

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Oh you can't just say that jarmumd and go offline...that's just cruel!!!  lol

From your tone, you are suggesting that the latest analyses point towards a mitigatable solution? How many dB are we talking here, 12 dB reduction??? Roughly?

Too many teases on here today. 'Tis the season of giving, after all...lol.

Offline Khadgars

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Your right, Griffin himself must have called down to the engineers working on this analysis and told them that they would lose their jobs if this wasn't fixed....  I mean he must have - it couldn't possibly be that this is a detailed analysis with immature data.  It couldn't possibly be an that an early analysis gave bad answers.  It couldn't possibly be that different Orion models (FROM THE SAME LOAD CYCLE) have over a 10% difference in overall axial frequency?  Surely it was a bag of lies when I saw the axial frequency response plots of the last load cycle finite element model, versus the most recent model's whose frequency response around the TO frequency is much much less...  I mean where is Darth Vader?  Let's kill him so Luke can build an EELV or DIRECT....

Sorry for the rant, but Ares has some real problems, and some that are no longer issues due to the maturity of the analysis and models...  But I suppose if you just don't want to believe that the answers change with new data - well I suppose you have every right to do that...

Given every single comment and report about Dr. Griffin's "I'm smarter than everyone else in the room" management style, I don't doubt that there has been an awful lot of "top down" management in this program since Day One.

As I said in my previous post, I also doubt the timing and veracity of these new reports and will continue to do so until Dr. Griffin is replaced as NASA Administrator.

Just because you don't like the man doesn't mean he's not smart or can't get things done.  By your own admission your own comments should be taken with a grain of salt since they're highly biased.  You have right here some one saying they know the engineers and has seen some of the tests done.

You may not like the Ares design but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of brilliant minds working on it, and certainly doesn't mean it won't fly.
Evil triumphs when good men do nothing - Thomas Jefferson

Offline kraisee

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I doubt the veracity of ESAS and the Direct rebuttal...

I guess that to have already formed such an opinion about our Rebuttal, you must have already read it.

Would you mind sending me a copy please?   A finished copy of our Rebuttal would sure save me an awful lot of time writing it over the next few days :)

Please, can everyone just wait and read it before deciding anything about it.   We need critical thinking at this time.   Critical thinking is the only thing that's going to get us out of the current mess the program is in.

Ross.
« Last Edit: 12/14/2008 10:49 pm by kraisee »
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Offline Tim S

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Oh you can't just say that jarmumd and go offline...that's just cruel!!!  lol

From your tone, you are suggesting that the latest analyses point towards a mitigatable solution? How many dB are we talking here, 12 dB reduction??? Roughly?

Too many teases on here today. 'Tis the season of giving, after all...lol.

Did you not read Chris' article? When wasn't TO a mitigatable situation? This thread is being dumbed down by the post.

Offline jarmumd

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I doubt the veracity of ESAS and the Direct rebuttal...

I guess that to have already formed such an opinion about our Rebuttal, you must have already read it.

Would you mind sending me a copy please?   A finished copy of our Rebuttal would sure save me an awful lot of time writing it over the next few days :)

Please, can everyone just wait and read it before deciding anything about it.   We need critical thinking at this time.   Critical thinking is the only thing that's going to get us out of the current mess the program is in.

Ross.

Haha, oops...  got a little carried away, I meant Nasa's analysis of Direct - not the Direct rebuttal.

Offline kraisee

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Gotcha :)

No worries.

Ross.
"The meek shall inherit the Earth -- the rest of us will go to the stars"
-Robert A. Heinlein

Offline docmordrid

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You may not like the Ares design but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of brilliant minds working on it, and certainly doesn't mean it won't fly.

The Spruce Goose flew and had great minds working on it too, but that didn't make it either either practical or  economically viable.  Far from it.
« Last Edit: 12/15/2008 03:24 am by docmordrid »
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Offline edkyle99

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You may not like the Ares design but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of brilliant minds working on it, and certainly doesn't mean it won't fly.

The Spruce Goose flew and had great minds working on it too, but that didn't make it either either practical or  economically viable.  Far from it.

What alternative would be "economically viable"? 

 - Ed Kyle

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