[FPSPACE] The Ares 1 test article

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi David - 

This thing's a solid, and to be an N-1 scale disaster its guidance and control system would have to fail, and it would have take off side ways, taking out several launch pads and the launch control center.

You can be damned sure there is no Ares exit strategy - based on past performance Thiokol lobbies to kill any of them with their money from arms sales. Millions and millions of dollars, to paraphrase Carl Sagan.

Let's say NASA keeps on with Ares 1. What will the US  end up with many many years from now? If Ares 1 has a defense role, they need to be upfront about it now, because as a manned launcher it stinks.

NOW is the time for Obama to act, and for the US to get on with Direct. Otherwise, over the next decade we'll get to watch the US loose its leadership role in space.

Ed

PS - any one have any news from the international lunar working group meeting?

PS2 - For a precise demonstration of the reasons why criminalizing marijuana use for medical purposes is unconstitutional, see my article "Monticello Mellow", Washington Post, July 17,1988:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-1268351.html
(looks like you have to pay)

Any of you benefiting from this, don't bother to thank me; send money instead. 

It's now 2009. For those who needlessly suffered in the meantime, my apologies. I did all that I could do.

From: Kosmos327 at aol.com
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:33:09 -0400
Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] The Ares 1 test article
To: epgrondine at hotmail.com; fpspace at friends-partners.org









My concern is what happens when this test fails?  I'm assuming 
currently there's no Aries Exit Strategy. Will this become America's 
equivalent of the N1 - as in, will the forces that be at NASA keep trying to 
MAKE Aries work until our resources are exhausted?
 
David L. Rickman
 
 
In a message dated 3/19/2009 6:37:26 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, 
epgrondine at hotmail.com writes:
The 
  motor segments for the flight 
  test were taken from the existing space shuttle solid rocket booster inventory. 
  The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new 
  forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. These modifications help 
  NASA better replicate the size and shape of the five-segment booster 
that 
  will be used for the Ares I crew launch vehicle. "

So essentially an 
  SRB with a dummy fifth segment. This
sad joke and bit of PR is costing us 
  billions.

E.P. Grondine


 
_________________________________________________________________
Express your personality in color! Preview and select themes for Hotmail®. 
http://www.windowslive-hotmail.com/LearnMore/personalize.aspx?ocid=TXT_MSGTX_WL_HM_express_032009#colortheme
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/fpspace/attachments/20090319/ab885d82/attachment.html