Michael Curie
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4715
michael.curie@nasa.gov
Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
steven.e.roy@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 08-111
NASA TEST FIRES SPACE SHUTTLE REUSABLE SOLID ROCKET MOTOR
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA's Space Shuttle Program on Thursday
successfully conducted a test firing of a space shuttle reusable
solid rocket motor in Utah.
The test firing of Flight Verification Motor 2 evaluated possible
performance changes as motors age. Space shuttle solid rocket motors
are certified for flight for five years from their date of
manufacture. At more than seven years of age, the four-segment motor
tested Thursday is the oldest ever fired. The test further
substantiates the certification that was established by NASA at the
beginning of the shuttle program.
The test also provided important information for continued launches of
the shuttle and development of the Ares I rocket, a key component of
NASA's Constellation Program that will launch the Orion crew vehicle
on missions to the moon.
The test measured external sound, or acoustics, to help define
motor-generated external loads for Ares I. This valuable data will
assist in the final design of the launch structure for Ares I rockets
by engineers from NASA and ATK Launch Systems Group of Promontory,
Utah.
Preliminary indications are that all test objectives were met. After
final test data are analyzed, results for each objective will be
published later this year.
"This test is an example of the aggressive testing program NASA
pursues to assure flight safety," said David Beaman, manager of the
Reusable Solid Rocket Booster Project office at NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "It also allows us to gather
information on how motors with different ages perform."
The test provided a unique opportunity to compare performance data
from two motors of different ages to validate midlife and full-life
certification of their components. The segments tested Thursday were
originally stacked at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2002
and returned to Utah in 2004. As a result of this test, engineers
will better understand the effects of aging and exposure to different
climates for extended periods of time.
Each space shuttle launch requires the power of two reusable solid
rocket booster motors to lift the 4.5-million-pound shuttle vehicle.
They burn for approximately 123 seconds and generate an average
thrust of 2.6 million pounds. In Thursday's test, the motor generated
3.3 million pounds maximum thrust for two minutes, which is the same
time each reusable solid rocket motor burns during a space shuttle
launch.
The space shuttle reusable solid rocket motor is the largest ever to
fly. It is the only solid rocket motor rated for human flight and the
first designed for reuse. Two motors provide 90 percent of the thrust
needed to launch the space shuttle.
The Reusable Solid Rocket Booster Project Office manages the tests.
ATK Launch Systems Group, a unit of Alliant Techsystems Inc.,
manufactures space shuttle solid rocket motors.
For more information about the Space Shuttle Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more information about Constellation Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
