Ares I Rocket Test Flight Facing Five Week Delay

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - The first test flight of NASA's new ARES I
launch vehicle faces a five-week slip, constellation program officals
said today. Delays in the production of new external tanks for the
space shuttle will likely force a delay in the upcoming Hubble Space
Telescope servicing mission and cause a domino effect on preparations
for the Ares I-X flight currently targeted for next April.

News of the potential schedule slip came Monday during a
teleconference with project managers in NASA's Project constellation
office.

The Ares I-X test flight is currently targeted to blastoff from
Kennedy Space Center's Launch complex 39-B around April 15, 2009. The
launch pad hasn't been used since Discovery's STS-116 launch in
December, 2006.

No more space shuttle launches are scheduled to take place from the
pad, but it can't be modified to accommodate the Ares I-X flight until
after space shuttle Atlantis mission to service Hubble later this
year.

Before the launch pad can be handed over to Constellation, the shuttle
program will require its availability to mount a mission to rescue the
crew of Atlantis should that orbiter become disabled or experience
serious damage that would prevent a safe re-entry.

The full article and audio is available online he
http://www.spacearium.com/article.ph...80518165726838

And this is new news??
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"spacearium" wrote in message
...
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - The first test flight of NASA's new ARES I
launch vehicle faces a five-week slip, constellation program officals
said today. Delays in the production of new external tanks for the
space shuttle will likely force a delay in the upcoming Hubble Space
Telescope servicing mission and cause a domino effect on preparations
for the Ares I-X flight currently targeted for next April.

News of the potential schedule slip came Monday during a
teleconference with project managers in NASA's Project constellation
office.

The Ares I-X test flight is currently targeted to blastoff from
Kennedy Space Center's Launch complex 39-B around April 15, 2009. The
launch pad hasn't been used since Discovery's STS-116 launch in
December, 2006.

No more space shuttle launches are scheduled to take place from the
pad, but it can't be modified to accommodate the Ares I-X flight until
after space shuttle Atlantis mission to service Hubble later this
year.

Before the launch pad can be handed over to Constellation, the shuttle
program will require its availability to mount a mission to rescue the
crew of Atlantis should that orbiter become disabled or experience
serious damage that would prevent a safe re-entry.

The full article and audio is available online he
http://www.spacearium.com/article.ph...80518165726838

Brian Gaff wrote:
And this is new news??


Out of curiosity, just how vapourware vs hardware is that Ares I rocket
at this point in time ?

Are there final detailed designs and manufacturers are able to start to
build it ? Or are the plans still being changed as fast as the mission
specs are changing ?

From the time when the detailed designs are finalised, how long does it
take to actually built it ?

On Tue, 20 May 2008 16:48:05 GMT, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

And this is new news??

Or like anyone really cares about a five week delay in a program that
won't be operational until something like 2016, even if nothing goes
wrong between now and then?

Brian

"Brian Thorn" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 20 May 2008 16:48:05 GMT, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

And this is new news??

Or like anyone really cares about a five week delay in a program that
won't be operational until something like 2016, even if nothing goes
wrong between now and then?

Brian

I'm hoping the monstrosity is cancelled by the next administration.

"John Doe" wrote in message
...
Brian Gaff wrote:
And this is new news??


Out of curiosity, just how vapourware vs hardware is that Ares I rocket
at this point in time ?

That first "Ares I" flight will bear little resemblance to actual Ares I
hardware. It appears to be an attempt to maintain support for the program
by getting something, *anything*, flying a.s.a.p.

Jeff
--
A clever person solves a problem.
A wise person avoids it. -- Einstein

"Alan Erskine" wrote in message
...

I'm hoping the monstrosity is cancelled by the next administration.

You and me both.

Jeff
--
A clever person solves a problem.
A wise person avoids it. -- Einstein

On Thu, 22 May 2008 14:09:36 -0400, "Jeff Findley"
wrote:

Out of curiosity, just how vapourware vs hardware is that Ares I rocket
at this point in time ?

That first "Ares I" flight will bear little resemblance to actual Ares I
hardware. It appears to be an attempt to maintain support for the program
by getting something, *anything*, flying a.s.a.p.

That's actually a brilliant move by NASA. I didn't think they had that
in 'em anymore. Make no mistake, the public will eat it up.

My question is, "If ATK test fired a five segment booster in Utah
several years ago, why can't they use that configuration for the Ares
1-X demo?" At least, you'd think they'd try it on a Ares I-X Flight 2
or something. It's not like the FSB blew itself apart on the test
stand.

Brian