Jacques van Oene
March 25th 05, 06:11 PM
NASA's Marshall Center Successfully Tests 48-inch Solid Rocket Motor March
24
03.24.05
June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256.544.0034)
News release: 05-033
A scaled-down version of the Space Shuttle's Reusable Solid Rocket Motor was
successfully tested March 24 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala. The 28-second firing tested a 48-inch-diameter, modified
NASA motor.
Space Shuttle's solid rocket motors are periodically tested to ensure they
can withstand environments similar to those generated by an actual motor
during flight. For example, the motor's insulation materials must withstand
chamber gas temperatures that reach 5,652 degrees Fahrenheit during a
Shuttle launch.
Testing a sub-scale version of the Shuttle's Solid Rocket Motor is a
versatile, quick-turnaround and low-cost way to determine the performance of
new materials and instrumentation. Test results will be used to evaluate the
performance of internal replacement insulation materials in the aft dome of
the motor. The best performing insulation candidate will be tested in a
full-scale motor test firing in July 2006.
The test is expected to further evaluate the performance of the Intelligent
Pressure Transducer, a gauge which samples motor pressure 25 times faster
than instruments now used.
The test, replicating launch conditions, is part of the Shuttle program's
ongoing verification of components, materials and manufacturing processes
required by the Space Shuttle Program and the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor
Project Office at the Marshall Center.
"Testing continues to be a key element to the success of the Solid Rocket
Motor, providing valuable information on design, process and material
changes," said Jody Singer, manager of the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor
Project Office.
Engineers from the Marshall Center Engineering Directorate and Shuttle
Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Project Office conducted the test. ATK Thiokol
of Promontory, Utah, manufactures the Shuttle's Solid Rocket Motor. The
motor test -- used to qualify any proposed changes to the motor -- is a
stepping stone to a Flight Support Motor test performed at ATK Thiokol's
Test Services facility in Promontory.
At 126 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, the Shuttle's Reusable Solid
Rocket Motor is the largest solid rocket motor ever flown and the first
designed for reuse. During its two-minute burn at liftoff, each motor
generates an average thrust of 2.6 million pounds. During Space Shuttle
flights, Solid Rocket Motors provide 80 percent of the thrust during the
first two minutes of flight.
For supporting materials for this news release, please visit the NASA
Marshall Center Newsroom Web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
24
03.24.05
June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256.544.0034)
News release: 05-033
A scaled-down version of the Space Shuttle's Reusable Solid Rocket Motor was
successfully tested March 24 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala. The 28-second firing tested a 48-inch-diameter, modified
NASA motor.
Space Shuttle's solid rocket motors are periodically tested to ensure they
can withstand environments similar to those generated by an actual motor
during flight. For example, the motor's insulation materials must withstand
chamber gas temperatures that reach 5,652 degrees Fahrenheit during a
Shuttle launch.
Testing a sub-scale version of the Shuttle's Solid Rocket Motor is a
versatile, quick-turnaround and low-cost way to determine the performance of
new materials and instrumentation. Test results will be used to evaluate the
performance of internal replacement insulation materials in the aft dome of
the motor. The best performing insulation candidate will be tested in a
full-scale motor test firing in July 2006.
The test is expected to further evaluate the performance of the Intelligent
Pressure Transducer, a gauge which samples motor pressure 25 times faster
than instruments now used.
The test, replicating launch conditions, is part of the Shuttle program's
ongoing verification of components, materials and manufacturing processes
required by the Space Shuttle Program and the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor
Project Office at the Marshall Center.
"Testing continues to be a key element to the success of the Solid Rocket
Motor, providing valuable information on design, process and material
changes," said Jody Singer, manager of the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor
Project Office.
Engineers from the Marshall Center Engineering Directorate and Shuttle
Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Project Office conducted the test. ATK Thiokol
of Promontory, Utah, manufactures the Shuttle's Solid Rocket Motor. The
motor test -- used to qualify any proposed changes to the motor -- is a
stepping stone to a Flight Support Motor test performed at ATK Thiokol's
Test Services facility in Promontory.
At 126 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, the Shuttle's Reusable Solid
Rocket Motor is the largest solid rocket motor ever flown and the first
designed for reuse. During its two-minute burn at liftoff, each motor
generates an average thrust of 2.6 million pounds. During Space Shuttle
flights, Solid Rocket Motors provide 80 percent of the thrust during the
first two minutes of flight.
For supporting materials for this news release, please visit the NASA
Marshall Center Newsroom Web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info