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Last year I saw the scrapping of the Orbiter tooling, this May I got to see what will most likely be the final Shuttle External Tank going through the major weld stations at Michoud, and now they’ve run the final SSME test at Stennis:

With 520 seconds of shake, rattle and roar on July 29, NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center marked the end of an era for testing the space shuttle main engines that have powered the nation’s Space Shuttle Program for nearly three decades.

This was the final planned test of a main engine for the shuttle, which currently is set to retire next year. More than 34 years ago, on June 27, 1975, Stennis engineers conducted the first test on one of the world’s most sophisticated rocket engines…

At one point, all three test stands at Stennis were involved in shuttle engine testing. Today, testing for the program occurs on the A-2 Test Stand as Stennis engineers prepare the A-1 Test Stand for testing the J-2X engine currently in development. That engine will help power the Ares I and Ares V rockets that will take humans back to the moon and possibly beyond as part of NASA’s newest space challenge – the Constellation Program.

NASA assigned Stennis to test space shuttle main engines in 1971. Prior to the first shuttle flight, Stennis engineers conducted some 500 tests on the engine and its components. They also test-fired the three-engine cluster arrangement – the main propulsion test article – that is used to power the shuttle, an accomplishment some called the facility’s “finest hour.”

Luckily, I got to see one of these tests back in April 2001:

Quite impressive – even from only about 200 yards away, the sound was felt more than heard.

With any luck I’ll get to see one or more of the Orbiters up-close next week while at KSC on business, but I still need to fit in a launch trip before the program ends.

Posted on July 31st, 2009 under Constellation, Rocket Science, Space Technology. Tags: Constellation, External Tank, nasa, Orbiter, Shuttle, SSME, Stennis. Comments Off

The MLAS, which I thought had been shelved due to lack of funds, is apparently nearing its test launch:

Specially funded outside of the Constellation program, under the leadership of former Constellation head Scott Horowitz and NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), the MLAS is confirmed to be just a month away from an opening salvo of tests…

For now, the Constellation program are only classing MLAS as an “alternative” to the LAS tower, even though it would be near unthinkable to make such a large change to Ares I at this stage of development.

“Near unthinkable”. Don’t be too sure – it’s never too late for a major architecture change.

“Like the leading NASA launch abort concept, MLAS offers a safe, reliable method of pulling the spacecraft capsule and crew out of danger in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during the climb to Earth orbit,” noted NASA in releasing the date of the pad abort test.

Don’t forget the rainbow-enhanced unicorn guidance system that will keep it stable.

“A NASA team is preparing to demonstrate an alternate escape system design to explore different technological approaches. Named after Maxime (Max) Faget, a Mercury-era pioneer, the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) concept will be validated by conducting an unmanned pad-abort test in March at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.”

The dates listed involve a parachute drop test of the MLAS on March 5, followed by the pad abort test on March 27.

My cynical guess: if the test succeeds, there will be pressure on Constellation to adopt this concept regardless of cost and schedule impact, and if it fails, Orion will get a black eye in public and in Congress (and never mind this was an internal NASA effort separate from the main Orion project).

Posted on February 28th, 2009 under Constellation, Orion, Rocket Science, Space Technology. Comments: 6

Someone at SciFi has been doing their homework as regards spacecraft metal fatigue — last night’s episode, No Exit, features character Galen Tyrol performing, of all things, a dye penetrant inspection of Galactica’s major structures.

I have a hunch that that is the first time an authentic non-destructive inspection technique has figured in a science fiction television series.  I’m impressed.  If it had been Star Trek, they would have just made up some BS technobabble.

It is a little strange, though, that it’s a Cylon doing it.

Posted on February 14th, 2009 under Entertainment, Rocket Science, Science Fiction, Space Technology. Tags: Battlestar Galactica, dye penetrant, NDE, Science Fiction, television, ultraviolet. Comments Off

What is a hybrid rocket, how does it work, and what are the advantages and disadvantages versus conventional solid and liquid rockets?

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Posted on September 21st, 2003 under Rocket Science. Comments Off

In a recent conversation, someone asked me about the benefits of friction stir welding to rocket design. After having initially raised the subject, I then embarrassed myself by not being able to answer the question coherently, all my knowledge on the subject having suddenly dropped down the memory hole.

Naturally, it all came back to me later, when it did me no good. Hmpf. But like lemons to lemonade, my embarrassment becomes your enlightenment — here’s a brief intro to FSW: what it is and what it’s good for.

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Posted on September 5th, 2003 under Rocket Science. Comments Off

Don’t like your old showerhead injector? Tired of combustion instability? Looking for a way to deep throttle on ascent (wink wink, nudge nudge)? Try pintle injection!

[Thanks to Dominic Pledger for inspiring this topic]

Posted on August 25th, 2003 under Rocket Science. Comments: 1