Aug 31, 2010

Michael Braukus Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1979 michael j braukus@nasa gov

Jennifer Stanfield Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala 256-544-0034 jennifer stanfield@nasa gov RELEASE: 10-202

NASA AND ATK SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIVE-SEGMENT SOLID ROCKET MOTOR

PROMONTORY, Utah -- With a loud roar and mighty column of flame, NASA and ATK Aerospace Systems successfully completed a two-minute, full-scale test of the largest and most powerful solid rocket motor designed for flight The motor is potentially transferable to future heavy-lift launch vehicle designs

The stationary firing of the first-stage development solid rocket motor, dubbed DM-2, was the most heavily instrumented solid rocket motor test in NASA history More than 760 instruments measured 53 test objectives

Prior to the static test, the solid rocket motor was cooled to 40 degrees Fahrenheit to verify the performance of new materials and assess motor performance at low temperatures during the full-duration test Initial test data showed the motor performance met all expectations

"For every few degrees the temperature rises, solid propellant burns slightly faster and only through robust ground testing can we understand how material and motor performance is impacted by different operating conditions," said Alex Priskos, first stage manager for Ares Projects at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala "Ground-testing at temperature extremes pushes this system to its limits, which advances our understanding of five-segment solid rocket motor performance "

The first-stage solid rocket motor is designed to generate up to 3 6-million pounds of thrust at launch Information collected from this test, together with data from the first development motor test last year, will be evaluated to better understand the performance and reliability of the design

Although similar to the solid rocket boosters that help power the space shuttle to orbit, the five-segment development motor includes several upgrades and technology improvements implemented by NASA and ATK engineers Motor upgrades from a shuttle booster include the addition of a fifth segment, a larger nozzle throat, and upgraded insulation and liner The motor cases are flight-proven hardware used on shuttle launches for more than three decades The cases used in this ground test have collectively launched 48 previous missions, including STS-1, the first shuttle flight

After more testing, the first-stage solid rocket motor will be certified to fly at temperature ranges between 40-90 degrees Fahrenheit The solid rocket motor was built as an element of NASA's Constellation Program and is managed by the Ares Projects Office at Marshall ATK Aerospace Systems, a division of Alliant Techsystems of Brigham City, Utah, is the prime contractor

For more information about NASA, visit:

http://www www nasa gov

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

https://aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/NASA_REPORTS/example/example com/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]